Friday Five Faves - vol. 17

Last night I went to buy Halloween candy. I like to buy right before Halloween or I end up eating 95% of the candy pre-trick-or-treaters. It's a little thing I like to call Lack of Self-Control. I've even tried buying candy that I don't like. Enter Snickers. Yeah, that didn't work. Snickers does really satisfy.

My plan of attack this year was to buy them the day before Halloween because 1) it's on sale and 2) all the good candy would be gone. I'd get stuck with some generic Milky Way that tasted more like sawdust. Everyone who has trick-or-treated knows what I'm talking about.

Well, the plan backfired. The candy was on sale, so the checkbook didn't take the hit. What kind of candy is left the day before Halloween, you ask? Kit Kat, Milky Way and M&M's. Of my top 5 of candy bars, those three are on there. They also had Reese's available too, but will power cannot handle that kind of temptation.

I basically shelled out half the money for a big bowl of temptation. I'm hoping we get lots of trick-or-treaters tonight.

All this talk of Halloween got me thinking about the holiday. My dear friend Becca is married to a man that hates the holiday. He didn't even like to celebrate it as a child. What kid doesn't like free candy?

We also started talking about Halloween costumes. Apparently in junior high Becca went trick-or-treating as a prostitute. Fake money included. She's completely awed at her mother's lack of disapproval. She doesn't think her mom won "mother of the year" that year.

It got me thinking. I was never anything scary and most of my costumes were homemade. I don't think I ever had a costume that was store bought. I always remember going to the fabric store and sitting down at the pattern table looking for my perfect costume. I had some elaborate costumes. Which leads me to think FFF. Five Fave Halloween costumes that I've worn.

1) Rainbow Brite. I'm so glad she's making a comeback. When I was in first grade my mom made me a Rainbow Brite costume that was the COOLEST EV-AR. The skirt even stayed full because she stuffed the hem with stuffing. The shin guards were padded and so were the arm guards. I LOVED that costume. Until I had to stand on my chair in Mrs. Miner's class and tell everyone what I was. When I sat down Mark Inners told me he saw up my skirt. Kinda ruined that outfit. I was totally paranoid the rest of the day. Although I'm sure my mom put some shorts underneath.

2) 50's Girl. In 5th grade my best friend Amber and I dressed alike as 50's girls. We had the poodle skirt, with an actual poodle on it. A sweater with our initial on it like Laverne from Laverne and Shirley. Our hair in ponytails. We were so cool. We went bowling like that.

3) Raggedy Anne. I was 4 and totally cool because I had yarn in my hair. Who doesn't become instantly cool with yarn in their hair?

4) Cheerleader. In 4th grade I wanted to be a cheerleader from my school. Our colors were red and white, so my mom made a cheerleader skirt with red on the outside and white inside the pleats. I twirled in that so much I got dizzy.

I guess I only had 4 favorite outfits.

I hope you all have a fabulous Halloween. Enjoy the costumes and the candy!

Pumpkin Guts and Harvest Parties

Zoe's social calendar keeps us busy. She is in high demand. You throw in Halloween and her social calendar is almost too much to keep track of. It's almost to the point we have to hire an assistant just to keep track.

Tuesday was the only day we could carve the pumpkins we got at the patch. This is the first year she's aware of what I'm doing. I have to say, she's 100% my daughter. When she saw that I put my hand in the pumpkin and was pulling out guts, she raised both hands, made a disgusted face and said, "ewe."

She eventually got curious and looked into the sack-o-guts, but that's as close as she got.

Until some of the guts got on her foot. She stared at it, furrowed her brow, grabbed those guts and threw them as far as she could. I can't be sure, but I think she shivered.

With the pumpkins finally carved and the guts in the trash, it was time to get the finishing touches for her Halloween costume.

Last night our church had a Harvest party. We got all dressed and went to play games and visit with all her friends. We were sad that Mia and Gabe were too sick to come. I think Zoe has a little crush on Gabe.
After we chatted with some other friends (Katie K and Eve), we went to play some bowling. Although she was a bit reluctant to give the ball away. She thought that was her prize. We quickly distracted her with a sucker and all was good.

Then she was totally sticky, so we went to the bathroom to wash up. This was the highlight of her night. A counter with a full-length mirror. She was enthralled with this butterfly beauty she saw. They chatted for several minutes. I'm not sure what about, but it did include counting and lots of pointing. Apparently butterflies are a bit bossy!

We can't wait for the big show tomorrow. We're working on saying trick-or-treat. All I get is ball?

Squeakers

For years N has been bugging me about getting a puppy. After getting up at night with an infant, a puppy is low on the priority list.

Now that Zoe is sleeping through the night, he uses her as a reason. "A child should grow up with a pet." Blah blah blah. I had a goldfish when I was little. His name was Grease Lightening. On my 4th birthday, I invited all my friends to come look at my fish. Only to be escorted into the kitchen by my mother who informed me that Grease Lightening had gone to the big tank in the sky. After reassuring me that she did bury him in the backyard and had a small ceremony, was I able to go on with the party.

For years I never played in the dirt in our backyard for fear of coming across Grease Lightening's corpse. We all know that wouldn't have been a possibility unless by some freak of nature I dug into the sewer system. As a 4 year old, I took my mom's words at face value.

I never want to have to lie to Zoe (this is my excuse). I never want to tell her that Juneau (N's pick on the name) is buried in the backyard and is now playing with the other little puppies in heaven. That's just freaky.

My solution? Squeakers.

She pulls him all over the house, he doesn't make any messes and he seems to keep Zoe satisfied on the puppy front.

My work here is done.

I've been tagged

My dear friend Jamie tagged me in her blog.

(The rules....link your tagger and list these rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.)

Fact #1 - I'm a picky eater. If you know me, you know this. However, my food aversions go far beyond what I let people see. I have rules. I always follow them. I don't like my food to touch on the plate. Corn shouldn't combine with mashed potatoes. Salad should have it's own plate. This is one of the reasons I have a strong dislike for buffets. In addition to the fact that you don't know who just served themself.

Fact #2 - I have wanted to write a screenplay for many years. I just don't have any ideas that I can materialize into something as awesome as Juno or American Beauty.

Fact #3 - I hate feet (my own included). They tend to freak me out. I don't think they're pretty. I hardly ever like to walk around barefoot. I'm a sock girl. Once in college my friend Kati took a picture of her foot and sent it to me in the mail. I still can feel the horror in my memory. Zoe's feet are the only exception to this rule.

Fact #4 - For the first two years of college, I never wrote a paper. Since I had taken Advanced Placement classes in high school, the first two years of college were like reruns for me. I tweaked papers from high school and turned them in. I only cracked open the books to finish assignments or if I was studying with other people.

Fact #5 - I was almost arrested at age 10 for toilet papering a friend's house. I was the youngest with all the high schoolers from church. We were running away from the house when the cop stopped us. He singled me out and told me that I could go to juvenile if the person decided to file charges. When asked where my mom was I couldn't exactly tell them she was driving the getaway car. It was my first brush with the law.

Fact #6 - I met John Travolta in August 2004. As I was in line to get my picture with him, I was thinking of all the things I could say. I wanted to walk up to him, all dramatic and say, "fine, fergit it." Or "watch the hair. I spend a lot of time on my hair." All that came out was, "hi." I was totally starstruck. I'm never without words. It's one of my biggest regrets.

Fact #7 - I hate scary movies, haunted houses, etc. I know they aren't real, however I have such bizarre nightmares for weeks afterward, that they might as well be. Even as an adult. I know most people think Blair Witch Project was stupid. It scared the stuffing out of me. I hate Halloween because of this. All the commercials for horror movies. I tend to avoid television during the last couple weeks of October.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to play along, leave a comment.

Rock the Vote

So this Cold of Death '08 has a new name. Sinus Infection '08. This is my first. Thankfully the antibiotics I've been taking for the last 24 hours seem to be helping a little. I can breathe through one nostril now. That's progress.

We're also progessing in another arena of our life. N registered to vote. I could not understand why a military man wouldn't choose to pick his own Commander in Chief. After fours years of me hounding him, he finally did it.

This weekend he sat down with his ballot and voter's pamphlet. I was so proud of him.

Zoe didn't want to be outdown. She doesn't understand this age requirement. She is, afterall, 21 months now. She decided to get her own ballot and write in some candidates.

Here they are, ready to go to the county auditor. Although I think they will have a hard time deciphering Zoe's choices.

Friday Five Faves - vol. 16

I'm still in a haze of cold medicine. While I can't be somewhat comatose during work hours, I've switched to DayQuil. It's kinda ruined my buzz. I just don't have the same love connection with the non-drowsy stuff as I do with the NyQuil. It really does complete me.

In an effort to not make this Five Fave about all the different types of cold medicines that are on the market, which I know would be totally stimulating, I thought I would keep it light.

Be warned, I'm still on medication. Heavy medication. Some of this may or may not be coherent.

1) The Bulb Syringe. When Zoe was in the NICU, she had to have her nose cleaned out with the bulb syringe every few hours. She hated it. I was glad that she didn't come home on oxygen because that meant I wouldn't have to bulb syringe. It freaked me to think I would attach a vacuum to her face for any reason.

Then she caught her first cold. At the same time, some other parents elsewhere decided that dosage recommendations didn't need to be followed and they OD'd their kids. The government decided to ban all infant cold medication all together. Because well, according to the governement, we don't take direction well. Enter the bulb syringe. It's still battle to get that hand-held vacuum up to her face, but when I can, it's music to my ears to hear her breathing through her nose.

2) Sick cuddles. One of the best parts of being sick, besides the NyQuil, is cuddling on the couch with Zoe. She's got the same cold, so we've spent the last few evenings, cuddled on the couch, with our Kleenex, watching Darby, Tigger and Pooh save Christmas. While I can't wait for both of us to be over these colds, I'm going to enjoy every minute of cuddling that I can get.

3) N. He has totally stepped to help me out since I've been sick. He came home early from school one night so I could sleep and he would stay with Zoe. He's cleaned up the house and called to check up on me. He's an amazing caretaker. I'm so blessed to have him in my life.

4) SNL. I'm not going to get political on here or anything, but I do think the political sketches they do are hilarious. The most recent of George W. Bush endorsing McCain is priceless. You can see the discomfort stretching across Darrell Hammond's face and you feel bad for him. It's worth a good laugh.

5) Harvest parties. This weekend we are going to spend some time with other young families from our church. They have a chili contest, which N will love. They also have some pumpkin carving, which Zoe and I will do. It'll be a good time with our friends, just enjoying this time of year.

Happy Autumn everyone.

Hangin' Tough

A couple nights ago N and I had a very serious discussion about NKOTB (New Kids on the Block). Growing up I was not a huge fan. I had a Pocket Rocker with Hangin' Tough, but beyond that I wasn't that into NKOTB.

Like all girls, I did have a favorite. Mine was Donnie. Mainly because he seemed rebellious and no one else really had a thing for him in my 5th grade classroom. I didn't have to know too much about him during the intense debates that come with elementary lunchrooms and boy bands.

You get me talking about The Bangles, The Go-Gos or early Michael Jackson and that's another story.

N was trying to convince me that Mark Wahlberg was a member of NKOTB. N can bust out all their moves and even recite the songs. He claims it is because of having two sisters, but I'll let you make your own judgment on that one. He felt he was an expert on the band members of the group.

You don't mess with a girl from that era who listened to her friends debate the cuteness of Joey vs Jordan. Let alone which one was going to sweep their 11 year old self right off her feet.

We bet a coffee. As you can guess, I won that one. My secret, not-so-real crush was on the only Wahlberg in NKOTB.

While drinking said coffee, I heard their first single off The Block album. I have to say, while I wasn't a child fan, I'm a HUGE fan of the adult NKOTB.

I'm off to get my hot pink scrunchy, crimper and Pocket Rocker.

NyQuil, you complete me

I have Cold of Death '08 right now. I went to the store last night and bought NyQuil, DayQuil, Airborne (although it's already too late for that), cough drops and orange juice.

Did I go overboard?

I'm going to curl up, fall asleep and let this illness have it's way with me.

See you in a couple years.

Trick-or-Treat: A Preview

With Halloween right around corner, I had to get busy on Zoe's costume. This year, we're planning on being a butterfly. I found some adorable wings, but the problem was making the rest of the costume something more than just a black sweatsuit.

Enter some tulle and a pattern for a tutu.

You get this:

ADORABLE!

Hordes of Gourds

This weekend we took Zoe to the pumpkin patch at Greenbluff. Last year was very memorable as she puked in the corn maze. I'm happy to report that this year the corn maze had no ill effects on her tummy.

Although she was completely freaked out by the large, stuffed, caged animals they had on display. Quite frankly, it was a little alarming to see a stuffed zebra looking completely at home in the corn stalks. It was a little like Little People at the Zoo meets Children of the Corn.

Instead of pondering that horrible claymation possibility, I think I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Getting ready for the maze. With her trusty pine needle.
Telling mommy about her plan of attack on the corn.Well who knew we'd have so much fun in that maze there. Although this is pre-animal siting.

Dad, I think mom's lost.

Kissing in the corn.

After getting lost and surrounded by teenagers that like couldn't like figure it like out, we took the shortcut through the maze to the Pumpkin Junction.

Getting a ride in the green limo.

Finding the perfect pumpkin.


With her loot

Having an end-of-the-patch apple.

Old MacDonald's Farm

Zoe and I like to play in the evenings. Sometimes it involves me throwing her into the air so many times I lose my breath.

Sometimes it involves color crayons and many reminder of where we color.

Other times it's bonding while we watch another episode of Tigger and Pooh and sing along to all the songs.

Last night it was playing in her kitchen. We have a bin of dishes that we make wonderful, make-believe meals. After every pretend bite, Zoe makes an "mmmm" sound. Like the soup we made from the stirring the bear toy around in the bowl and pretending to squirt a little mustard in is thee absolute best tasting food ev-ar.

Let's face it, what would be better than a little bear meat with some mustard. Really?

What I love most about our play time is how much she's learning. She colors better now. She pats her baby's back and then wraps her in a blanket. She will even pull out a book and read it to me. She's becoming so much more communicative and sweet. I see more of her personality coming out each day. I fall more in love with her each day.

It was especially exciting last night when she pulled the pig toy out of the dishes, held it up and said, "pig."

This is the first time she's identified something on her own without just repeating what I said. I LOVE watching her learn. It is incredibly exciting.

Friday Five Faves - Vol. 15

Another week gone in a haze of smoke detector beeping. I almost started freaking out when the microwaved beeped to let me know my food was done. I have developed a weird tick for beeping sounds.

I don't even want to comment on what happened, but I will since I know you're all in suspense. We had, packed away in some random box, a carbon monoxide alarm from Puyallup. In a random act of incompatability, it had a low battery and somehow signaled to all 5 smoke detectors that it was low, causing all of them to beep.

After calling an electrician who installed new smoke detectors, we found the real issue. Once we took the batteries out of the carbon monoxide alarm, they all stopped.

I don't even want to tell you the bill we got for new smoke detectors we didn't need. It would totally kill the buzz from the peace and quiet last night. You could call this a very expensive smoke detector test.

Onto the Top 5 for this week. Because we have an offer on the house, I thought I would focus this Friday Five Fave on the things we'll be able to do without that HUGE mortgage payment.

1 - Grocery shopping. I know, you shouldn't show all your cards right off the bat. To come out strong with this type of thing as #1 is just plain crazy talk.

To save money, we've had to shop at a sub-par grocery store. The meat section leaves something to be desired. The produce doesn't last two days. It's safe to say our eating habits have been severely hampered by this. Now I get to shop at my favorite grocery store. They sell wonderful produce, my favorite kind of milk (yes, different brands taste different to me), and a meat section that I could stand in for hours. It's safe to say that I'm completely, 100% excited to make this change.

2 - One yard. For 18 months I've had the Puyallup's yard in the back of my mind. We don't get over there often, so when we visit we have weeds that are almost as tall as the fence. Thank you Western Washington rain. So when we do visit, it's exhausting because of all the work that has to go into the yard.

Now, we only have one yard to focus on. I can plant tulips, roses, herbs and various other flowers. I'm beyond excited to be able to garden in the spring.

3 - Target. This is, by far, my favorite store. I've had to avoid this store in the last year and a half because I have been known to buy things that I may or may not have needed right away. It also has a children's clothing section that is stocked with kicky outfits. It's my go-to store when I want to wander and browse. In some ways, it's like a little haven when I need to get out of life into the aisles of fun purses, cute jewelry and new CD's.

I can now wander around this store, taking in the sights and smelling the popcorn from the snack bar. It will be good to be back.

4 - Eye brow waxing. For as long as I can remember I've had a problem with the brows. When I was younger it was almost impossible to determine if I only had one or if there were two, separate ones on my face. Then I discovered waxing. Sure it's a little painful, but when you have a forest to pluck, pouring hot wax and then ripping it off is the only way to go. I have tried electrolysis on my brows. I have to be completely honest, it could be a form of torture that helps the insurgants find those terrorists. After two hairs, you're ready to spill your life's secrets just to make the pain stop.

Now, I can pay someone to rip hair off my face all at once rather than hair-by-hair. Bring on the wax I say!

5 - Lessons for Zoe. Because she doesn't attend daycare, I try to find things that would allow her interaction with other children. Because of her age, that usually happens in the form of some class. Our local YMCA has several classes that would be great for her. Additionally, so does Gymboree Play & Music. I'm very excited to get her participating in music classes. The girl loves her some music.

I know this sounds like I can't wait to spend money, but I'm more excited about a return to "normal." We haven't had any discretionary income for almost 2 years. This is the first time that we will, as a family, be able to enjoy some of life's comforts. Despite what is happening in the economy, we will be able to rest at night. That should be my #1!

Happy weekend all.

The One Where They're Up All Night Remix

The saga continues. I'm really hoping for only a two-parter on this here subject rather than a trilogy. Because that's just plain wrong.

Let me give you a little glimpse into my smoke detector arrangement first. We have a one story, no basement, 1,448 square foot house. The layout is very open. We have 5 smoke detectors.

Count 'em. FIVE.

Seriously, any hint of smoke and fire department will hear our house beeping. No need to call 911.

Each bedroom has one. Which makes sense. The hall has two. They are 5 feet apart. Which doesn't make any sense.

The one in the master bedroom is on the ceiling. 10 feet above the ground. One of the hall detectors is on the ceiling. 15 feet above the ground.

Did the builder not know I'm terrified of heights? Did they know that I would be more annoyed with the beeping than to let my fear stop me from climbing that ladder?

We called the fire department yesterday with some questions. They told me that I need to clean each alarm with a can of compressed air and replace all 5 batteries. Once the battery is replaced, you have to reset the alarm. This means I had to dangle collectively 25 feet in the air with a can of air as my only hope of survival. My palms are still sweating. Which makes battery removal very tough. I had thoughts of Clark Griswald on the ladder hanging lights and falling backward into the bushes below.

That thought didn't last too long. Zoe, being incredibly helpful, likes to beat the bottom two steps on the ladder. When you're 15 feet in the air, it's like an earthquake. She apparently likes to hear mommy scream. Fortunately my mom was there to keep the little drummer far away from the ladder. (For the record, the man of the house was in school, unable to attend this little charade. He owes me big time. He knows it.)

I get all 5 done and they still chirped. I went back to the manual. Apparently these little spawns of Satan only take certain kinds of batteries. The Coppertop ones are not on the "approved" list. Who knew 9-volt batteries were different. We went back to the store to buy the super-expensive, guaranteed to last 10 years, approved ones. Which I could've fed my family for a week on the price of these bad boys.

Back up the ladder I went. With my batteries the same price as liquid gold and compressed air.

Still the chirping.

The manual then said to turn off power to the alarms, replace the batter, reset, then turn the hardwire power back on.

Third time up the ladder I went. If I thought my palms were sweaty on the first try, try the third try. I think I could've filled a pitcher with all that moisture.

Still more chirping. Now they're like talking to one another. A hall one will beep and a bedroom one will chirp twice. I'm pretty sure they're laughing at me.

We finally got in touch with an electrician. He's coming this morning. To troubleshoot.

We slept at my mom's house last night. Our house is not big enough for all of us.

The One Where They Were Up All Night

Sometimes I feel like my life imitates an episode of Friends. One of my favorite episodes is in Season 7 where they're up all night. Joey and Ross get stuck on the roof, Chandler and Monica either read or clean and Rachel and Tag go to the office to find some contracts.

The second best part of that episode is Phoebe. Her smoke detector keeps beeping and she destroys it. Only to discover that it keeps beeping or screaming at her, no matter what she does to it.

The look of anguish and frustration on her face is priceless.

Fast forward to this morning. It's 4:00 am, I'm peacefully sleeping. N is in the kitchen getting ready for work. Zoe is asleep in her room. Everything is as it should be.

Then I heard it. Faintly in my dreams at first. Then it slowly brought me to reality. A beeping that I couldn't identify. It wasn't anything in my bedroom, so I opened the hall door.

N was standing in the hall staring up. At the smoke detector.

It's been beeping once a minute since 4:00 am to let us know that the battery back-up is dying. My mom graciously brought over a 9-volt battery at 4:30 am since we have none on hand. I put the new power into the alarm and started walking back to my room.

Then it beeped again. And again. AND AGAIN.

I've tried everything. Reset buttons. Taking the battery out and putting it back in.

I even called N to see if he could offer anything. He knows nothing about the smoke detector world.

I pulled up the manual on-line to see if maybe I was missing something. Nope. This low, once-a-minute chirping indicates a low-battery. These alarms require hardwiring and batteries to work effectively. If it detects a weak link anywhere, it will beep constantly. For-ever.

This battery is weak. Not weak enough to stop a once-a-minute chirping sound. Oh no. It's like the Clark Kent of the comic world. All the power of Superman, but hidden behind the glasses. Or you know, hardwired power.

Zoe is totally unawares of all this. She's sleeping like a baby.

I'm off to make an entire pot of coffee.

Zechariah

These last 18 months have been full of many trials. Yet, among those trials were countless blessings. It was the blessings that got us through.

Tonight I was helping my mom with a lesson for her AWANA group. She's studying Luke 1 and the story of Zechariah.

He was a high priest. In the temple one day, the angel Gabriel came to visit him and told him he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son and they would name him John.

Zechariah was like, "dude, I'm old, so is my wife, you've got the wrong guy."

Gabriel said, "I'm not wrong, I stand with God, your wife is preggers. Because you doubted, you won't be able to speak. How do you like them apples?"

I'm paraphrasing, but I'm positive it was something like that.

It got me thinking about doubting. In the last 18 months I've done my fair share of doubting. Yet God has remained completely faithful. He's provided so much for my family, it doesn't seem like I'm worth any more of his blessings. Yet I know He loves me in a way I cannot comprehend.

I'm awestruck.

His blessings are unfathomable.

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to sign on the dotted line

Apparently on Mondays I like to make up my own lyrics to Kenny Rogers' songs.

I have no excuse other than this is, by far, one of the best weeks of my life. First off I won the Travis Cottrell Ring the Bells CD givaway on BooMama's blog. I'm beyond elated at this. I've been reading her and Big Mama rave about Travis and his vocal abilities. Now I get to experience them for myself. With Christmas music.

I don't think anything could be better than that.

It is, my friends. In a big way.

Yesterday, during a cut-throat game of Sorry with D & E, we got the call we've been waiting for since April 2007. We got an offer on the Puyallup house.

Not only is it a good offer, it's beyond anything we had ever hoped for.

N and I quickly signed on the offer's dotted line.

They want to close by November 21st. While we still have much to do before then and this could still fall through, we are one step closer to no longer having that house in our name.

God is good ALL the time.

Soccer Stars

Yesterday D and E had soccer games. It was cold enough to feel like winter, so I felt really bad for them.

Although with all that running, they really didn't complain about the cold. N, their cheerleader, was another story. I don't know if he ever thawed out.

As if we had any doubt, they both won their games. D had to bring snacks to her game. We put some Goldfish crackers, fruit roll ups and Capri Suns into black bags, decorated them with soccer stickers and tied a white ribbon to the top. She was a huge hit for snack day.

I thought I would include some action shots that our very own cheerleader got for them. N had to take his hand out of his pocket long enough to capture these. Risking frostbite. Whatta guy!

The other team looks a little surprised.
Defending her goal

Laundry in Bethlehem

Zoe is a big helper with laundry. She loves to take the clothes or towels out of the laundry basket and shake them out, like you would before folding.

Then she is also known to throw the clothes all over the floor.

It's really hit or miss between helpful and her own ideas.

This week she decided she would try something new. Wearing the laundered items.

I'm positive this is how Mary did laundry in Bethlehem.

The Friday Five Faves - vol. 15

This Friday Five Fave is a little hard for me. I've had my head in books all week.

Seriously, I think N might be planning an intervention soon. The Stephenie Meyer series is making me lose sleep, consuming my time.

You know what, I feel no remorse.

I'm a sucker for a romance.

In my single days I would buy 2-3 books a week and devour them. Some were fabulous (Kite Runner, Secret Life of Bees) and some were not so much my type of book.

Then, when I re-met N, I stopped reading and started focusing on us. Planning a wedding, moving, being a wife and mother. Life took over.

Then I had to study for work. I don't count that when I think of reading.

This is the first book (series of books) that has captured my attention since my single life. It's oddly exhilarating.

I'm on the final book now. Which roughly translates that I've read about 1,500 pages. Since Sunday.

I thought about posting my 5 favorite parts of the story or having 1-4 be the four books, but I didn't want to appear too addicted.

I guess it's too late for that.

I will get done with this book during the weekend and then next Friday I'll be back with an all new Five Fave.

Have a fabulous weekend!

We love Lamby

As Zoe is growing and starting to communicate more, one of the things she loves the most is Lamby. He's a stuffed lamb that sits on her dresser. He's also the first thing after mommy or daddy that she hugs in the morning.

Lamby has taken on a new role recently. He's her companion now. She will hug him and rock him.

When she's tired, she'll rest her head on him.

I think they're going to be great friends.

GNO and GNI

Because I have the best husband in the whole world, he let me go to girl's night out on Saturday with 4 of my best friends.

We went to Twigs to celebrate my birthday and enjoy the company. Twigs is known for their martinis. What is so fun about this group of ladies, we all enjoy different types of drinks, so I got to try three martinis and only actually call one my own.

Although I did try one called the Grape Ape. Unless you enjoy swigging Robitussin regularly, I wouldn't recommend it.

Becca, Bev, Amber, me and Morgana

While we enjoyed the night out (and I was getting pressured to read Twilight - to which I am now grateful), the boys were enjoying a guy's night in with the kiddos.

Not to mention playing some Mario Kart - gangsta drive style. At least I think that's what N's doing. It's best not to ask!

Licking the Bowl

These past couple weeks held four birthdays in my close family. Since N and his sister Bev are twins, they obviously share the same birthday.

In an odd twist of fate, both of their spouses (me and Chris) have birthdays around theirs. On Saturday we did some belated celebrating.

With cupcakes, of course.

Since I can make muffins jumbo, I thought we should also make the cupcakes jumbo. Our own version of a Sprinkle cupcake.

It's a little different because I involved underage laborers.

To lick the bowl.

Andie Walsh meet Michael Corvin

For months I have been asked to read a book I thought sounded "stupid" and totally outside anything I would find interesting. I made fun of people who thought this book was so wonderful. I may have even rolled my eyes a time or five.

It's about an agnsty teenager who falls in love with a vampire who doesn't eat humans. Quite frankly it sounds a bit like Pretty in Pink meets Underworld. Without Duckie.

My dear friend Becca assured me that I would LOVE this book. When she talked about it, her eyes got all big and googly. I assured her that I would not love the book, nor would I read it.

She dropped it off to me "in case I changed my mind."

For two months Twilight by Stephenie Meyer has been sitting in my nightstand. While Becca and I do have similiar taste in books, she got through Harry Potter. That's just not something I can do.

On Saturday, I went out with some girlfriends. My dear friend Morgana was with us and of all my friends, I thought for sure she'd agree with me. She's totally hooked too. Her eyes got all big and googly at the mention of Edward Cullen.

She told me to just try 30 pages or so and if I didn't like it, I wouldn't like the book at all.

I could do 30 pages of eye rolling. I figured it would be about 20 minutes of skimming the pages and then telling them it was in fact "stupid."

Although that's not what I'm saying. Those 30 pages were very inviting. The next 468 were the best crow I've ever eaten.

I couldn't put the blasted thing down. I read the entire 498 pages yesterday. While it's not exceptionally well written and the story is totally predictable, I loved every single word on those pages.

Now I need book 2 the same way Andie needed Blaine. Or Bella needs Edward.

Friday Five Faves - vol. 14

I love that it's Friday again. I think you could say that I live for Fridays. Not just because I love me some weekends, but because it's a time to spend with N and my girls.

This weekend is going to be extra fun. There is a girl's night out planned. Oh yes it does include a martini.

In preparation of the weekend, here are my top 5 for this week. In no particular order.

1) Political debates. I know there have been some already, but with a 20 month old in the house, unless they're debating at the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I miss out. Last night was different. I got to watch (for the most part) the vice presidential candidates debate. This one is my favorite because you hear the presidential candidates talk ALL. The. Time. You hardly ever hear from the VP candidates.

Because of the 20 month old, I missed the National Conventions too. This is the first time I've heard Sen. Biden and Gov. Palin speak. I was proud to see it was civil and, at times, humorous. It was also the first time I thought Sen. Biden didn't come across as arrogant (based upon my newspaper reading).

Here's the thing that cracks me up with these political races (warning, I may get a little political myself). Especially when they include Senators. I love that they point the finger toward the current president. Doesn't the president need the Senate's approval for the laws and changes that are made? Quite frankly, Gov. Palin is the only one who could point fingers because she's not in the house or the senate. I love irony.

2) I love that it's autumn. Time to pull out the sweaters and tennis shoes. Not to mention Greenbluff is open for fall now. That means fresh apples, pumpkin patches and corn mazes. Last year Zoe got sick and puked in the corn maze. I'm hoping this year is memorable in other ways for her.

3) Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My aunt is a survivor, although she did have to sacrifice two parts of her to say that. I think it's just a fabulous cause. I love all the pink. Which is why, when they did a fund raiser at our office I joined in.

We all had pink hair extensions put in. Isn't mine so cute?



4) Sunrises. With the new autumn weather, it's time to watch the sunrise as I head to work. Yesterday, this was my view on the way to work.

Isn't it beautiful? God sure can paint the sky.

5) The age of 31. Today is N's birthday. He's finally caught up to me. Poor guy has a cold though. Nothing like being sick on your birthday.

N, here's to another great year together. Thanks for walking this walk with me. I feel so blessed to have you in my life. I hope your day is full of many blessings. Happy Birthday. I love you.

With that, I'm off to celebrate a birthday and prepare for a girl's night out. Have a great weekend all!

Prunes and Polish

In my mom' s kitchen she has a cabinet. It is where she keeps her phone book, cereal, popcorn and baby food. Some of the baby food is in glass jars.

Zoe loves to play in that cabinet. Not only can she open it, but everything (except the phone book) is at her level. It wouldn't be uncommon for her to bring us a package of popcorn and expect us to make it for her.

One afternoon this summer, I was at the sink and Zoe was playing in the cabinet. I heard a thud followed by screaming and crying. A glass jar of baby food was lying on the floor.

Obviously Zoe had dropped the food on her foot. When I picked her up, she curled her right leg into me and just wailed. Which is unusual for her because she has a higher pain tolerance than I do.

I'm positive it hurt. A glass jar full of pureed prunes sounds like a deadly weapon to me. In several ways.

After about 20 minutes Zoe finally calmed down, but she limped the rest of the day.

As I was giving her a bath I noticed the cuticle bed was blue. At first I didn't think too much of it. Then I realized. She injured her toenail.

Which totally freaks me out. I know it's going to fall off. Fortunately our pediatrician said that baby toenails take awhile to grow and to keep the nail cut really short so nothing snags it.

Not a problem. I can handle cutting her toenails more frequently. I cannot handle a toenail hanging on for dear life.

Fast forward to last night. For the first time in months we can see white nail growing. This is both good and bad. Good because she'll eventually have a normal looking nail. Then we can start painting her toes again.

Bad because that new nail is pushing out the black part. I guess, medically speaking, this is good. It just freaks me out. Because she has little toes. All this pushing will more than likely happen sooner rather than later.

I present you with the toe that freaks me out.

Wish me luck. If you don't hear from me for awhile in a couple months you'll know I passed out and hurt myself because of a hanging nail.

Die Hard

This week has been a bit turbulent. I'm coming off The Best Birthday EV-AR, so I don't have a fair view of what this week should look like.

Typically I like to celebrate my birthday for the entire week, so by those standards I should be sitting home, scrapbooking, hanging with N, playing with Zoe and not having to lift a single finger.

That's not realistic, unless say we won the lotto or I had a great uncle I've never met who left me millions.

I have better odds of contracting a flesh eating bacteria.

I'm just sayin'.

It just seems like every few months I have a check point with God. Like it's my turn through the buffet line and He keeps piling things on my plate. I know He'll help me with those things. He's promised not to give us more than we can handle (Phil. 4:13). However, sometimes I just feel like He has higher hopes for me than I care to realize.

This plate of mine. It is full.

We're on a new budget now that N is in school. He's been needing new tools for his courses. For those of you who know nothing of tools. They cost as much as a closet full of Manolos. While that creates a financial stress, N LOVES school. He comes home most nights with a new metal thing he's created. He keeps begging me to read the tool catalog like it's full of shoes or the latest fall trends.

I know how much the thought of school freaked him out. Yet this program is feeding his passion. The only thing I've ever wanted for him was to have a career he's passionate about.

Our house in Puyallup isn't selling. With the market being all freaked out by this lack of bailout decision, the housing market is the first to feel it. I got an e-mail from our realtor talking about renting it out or having the house foreclose. Neither of which are an option right now. The hope I had for this house to sell becomes less with e-mails like that. Yet I know God has a buyer for this house.

Then if that wasn't enough, my car died. It wouldn't even act like it wanted to start. I rubbed the steering wheel and totally knew how it felt. There are days I don't want to start either.

There is something about car trouble that freaks me out more than anything. Maybe it's because it usually starts with about $400 and some mysterious part no one has ever heard of. Maybe it's because when it comes to cars, my knowledge is limited. To the extent that I know where the key goes, the gas goes and which ones would look oh-so-cute in my driveway.

Fortunately, after some inspection and jumper cables, it was determined to just be a dead battery. Which is about the same price as a tank of gas. In the big scheme of car maintenance, that ain't bad.

I'm standing in the automotive center, almost a little teary with one more decision I have to make, staring at all the battery options. The only thing I know about Die Hard is that Bruce Willis always wins.

As I watched the mechanics put the battery in my car, I got to thinking about all that's happened this week. How much faith and trust I have to put in God to get through the next hurdle. How much my own desires and wants have to die hard to His desires and wants.

Ultimately, His desires for my life are far better than anything I could imagine. It's just this road is dark, winding and unknown. I'm having to find His light in all of this. Somedays that's easy. Others it's not.

Thankfully today, despite all that is happening, His light was easy to find. She's about 2.5 feet tall. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss. Despite all that I have on my plate, she always seems to help me find the strength I need to start each day.