the thing is...

True Love

2010-01-02T22:27:00.000-06:00

My Children

2009-12-31T00:21:00.006-06:00

"Every night, I prayed for you, my special child. I prayed that your bones would be straight and your heart would be strong. But most of all, I prayed that someday you would love God."

-God Gave Us You

Book Review

2009-12-28T18:50:00.004-06:00

American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson

Synopsis: The auto-biography / memoir (what's the difference anyway?) of Criag Ferguson, host of The Late Late Show. He starts by talking about his parents' lives in Glasgow at the end of World War II, and takes us all the way through his own birth, schooling, and career as a Scotsman. Intertwined through each fantastically depicted memory, he ruefully describes the way alcoholism affected his life.

Readability: Not hard to read at all. Very enjoyable, in fact. Be warned: this book contains colorful language and grown-up content relating to drugs, alcohol and sex. It was not gratuitous, though, and not necessarily written to shock, which I appreciate. It reads like a journal entry, though it is very intro-spective, well-thought-out, hilariously funny and at times very emotional. In short, I laughed, I cried, I empathized. The only down side is that there are a lot, A LOT of names to keep track of. Other than that, no complaints.

Predictability: Well, I knew going into it that Ferguson currently hosts a late night television show, so I wouldn't exactly call it a shocker. I learned a lot about Ferguson's life as a Scot, and why he became an American (which, incidentally, I did not see coming--I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so if you want to know his reasons, shoot me an email.).

Couldn't Put it Down Factor: I really couldn't put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed it from word one. I don't know what I expected, but it is very well-written.

Recommend it?: I DO recommend it! It's like talking with a friend. Like I said, though, Ferguson is a true Scotsman and as such enjoys using the f-word and enjoyed (past-tense) whiskey and women.

Four out of five stars. Really loved it. Really, really.

(I just re-read this post. Could I gush any more??)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T17:55:00.002-06:00

Snow, snow, snow.

2009-12-22T17:02:00.002-06:00

It's all I can think about.
We're now in a Winter Storm Warning.
This storm has the potential to wreak havoc on our Christmas. I'm sure I'm not alone here.

!!!!*&^$@#%!!!!

2009-12-16T14:58:00.002-06:00

Silent Monks A-Singing

2009-12-15T23:10:00.002-06:00

Santa

2009-12-15T12:23:00.003-06:00

I don't think we're probably going to "Do Santa" at our house (though I'm not too stressed about it), but I have to say, the temptation to take Shirley to have her picture made with Santa at the mall is almost overwhelming, just because I'm pretty sure it will go SO BADLY.
You KNOW what I'm saying:

Now and Then

2009-12-14T22:51:00.006-06:00

10 years ago

1.) How old were you? 17.
2.) Where did you go to school? Austin High School, Decatur, Alabama.
3.) Where did you work? Ha. At the carousel at the mall.
4.) Where did you live? On Ramona Drive in Decatur, AL.
5.) Where did you hang out? We had people over at our house a LOT. We also hung out at Books-A-Million. That's really all I remember.
6.) Did you wear glasses? Yes. Sigh.
7.) Who was your best friend(s)? Lauren. Ten years ago is when Lauren became my best friend.
8.) How many tattoos did you have? None. I was 17.
9.) How many piercings did you have? Ears.
10.) What car did you drive? A 1983 Volvo 240, four-speed. Her name was Daphne. She had no radio so we sang. We sang a lot.
11.) Had you been to a real party? Haha, no.
12.) Had your heart broken? I thought I had. Boy was I wrong.
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Single-ish.

5 years ago

1.) How old were you? 23
2.) Where did you go to school? University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
3.) Where did you work? Five years ago today, I don't believe I had a job.
4.)Where did you live? Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
5.) Where did you hang out? Baldwin, Wisconsin. My fiance lived there. :)
6.) Did you wear glasses? Yes. I will forever wear glasses.
7.) Who was your best friend(s)? Jenna and Bia.
8.) Who was your crush? Richard.
9.) How many tattoos did you have? One.
10.) How many piercings did you have? Both ears and I think belly button. I was WILD!
11.) What car did you drive? Whatever Richard happened to own that week.
12.) Had you had your heart broken? Yessssssiree. Badly.
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: About to be married.

December 2009

1.) How old are you? 2-ahem-8.
2.) Where do you work? I am in human relations and nutrition. I moonlight as a maid.
3.) Where do you live? Minnesota.
4.) Where do you hang out? The couch.
5.) Who is your best friend? I have a lot of best friends.
6.) Do you talk to your old friends? Many of them. There are a few who are missing, still, but I have not lost faith in Facebook. When you go to two high schools, it's easy to lose people. This is one of the greatest sadnesses in my life. Truly.
7.) How many piercings do you have? Two.
8.) How many tattoos? One.
9.) What kind of car do you have? I choose not to answer this. I still have some friends who think I'm cool.
10.) Has your heart been broken? It has. But it was only really applicable for the 5-year set of questions.
11.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter? Forever married.

Your turn (if you want)!
Naomi
Kristi
Lauren
Carla
Jessie
If anybody else wants to do it leave a comment so we are sure to come read yours!

75 Feet

2009-12-13T23:37:00.005-06:00

If you've ever wondered how long your kitchen is, just lose control of the Reynolds Wrap.
As it turns out, my kitchen is NOT 75 feet long and as such I only had to re-roll about 20 feet of aluminum foil. Color me thankful.

Ode to a Toddler

2009-12-13T19:42:00.004-06:00

My pre-two year old can not come play,

she has not got her way.

There are not enough cookies

what happened to all the nookies?

A hurricane in my house

she is never quiet as a mouse.

Publicly humiliating mama

who needs TV drama?

If I say no more Nemo

she gets all sad and emo.

Shirley Jean will see you at kindergarten

and not a moment before then.

Sainthood?

2009-12-09T20:54:00.000-06:00

Gives new meaning to "Saint Nick."

Icky Christmas

2009-12-08T19:00:00.008-06:00

Today I stopped at The Home Depot to pick up some air flow directors for the air vents in our FREEZING house. Basically, they're a little bandshell for your heat vent, that, incidentally have already made a big difference.
Anyway, on my way in the door, I stopped to smell some candles. As I was sniffing, a very normal-looking man cornered me against the display with his cart. He picked up a candle, sniffed it, and said, "You smell good."
My first inclination was to think that I must have misunderstood him, but when he kept staring at me with a dumb grin on his face not unlike THIS:

I knew I had not, afterall, misunderstood.
Without another word, I squeeeeeezed out of the tight spot he had me in (literally and figuratively), and made my purchases.
Icky. Icky Christmas. Not Merry.

For what it's worth, I'm still seeing spots from taking this picture.

Equations for Keeping House

2009-12-07T15:24:00.003-06:00

Vaccuum Cleaner + Space Heater = Blown Fuse.*
Baby Hangers + Paper Bags = Barrell of Monkeys

*The bedroom clock (even though I have not reset it since I blew the fuse two days ago) is currently closer to real time than it was before the vaccuuming incident. Why bother resetting it? I can't see it from the bed anyway and Richard doesn't use it. Whatever.

Stuff that doesn't last forever that while you're in it seem endless:

2009-12-07T00:09:00.002-06:00

-Broken hearts
-Puberty
-Trials
-Winter

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Book Review

2009-12-04T18:13:00.004-06:00

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Synopsis: Robert Langdon once again finds himself in the middle of a Symbologist's scavenger hunt where time is of the essence. This time, in our nation's capital.

Readability: Easy--very wordy, though. I found myself skipping entire paragraphs.
Predictability: I was surprised on this one--I didn't really know how it would all turn out. There were a couple twists and turns I didn't see coming, and a handful that I did.
Couldn't Put it Down Factor: As usual, Dan Brown delivered a real page-turner. Toward the end, it lost me, though. Once the mystery was solved, there were three or four more chapters to wrap up all kinds of loose ends. It was hard to stay awake for the finish.

Recommend it?: Well...that depends. In Dan Brown's other books, he has a lot to say mostly about the Catholic church. I feel like he works really hard doing his research so that nothing he says is absolutely WRONG, so it's hard to put your finger on it. Well...in The Lost Symbol, Brown has a lot to say about Christianity and religion as a whole. He's right on the money about a lot of things, but then he starts talking about how "God is in all of us," and that if we can each just elevate ourselves to one-ness, blah, blah, blah. He's missing the crucial point: As Christians, we have a savior. Remember? He missed it completely. Anyway, would I recommend this book? Sure...if you aren't offended by that sort of thing.

p.s. I felt like this was the most poorly-written book by Dan Brown yet. He repeats FULL SENTENCES from one page to another. What kind of editor did he have? Do they really think I'm so stupid that I can't follow the story? Really?

Two out of Five stars. I am disappointed.

Christmas Cutthroat

2009-12-01T12:56:00.003-06:00

Christmas lights get ONE chance this year.
If they don't light up on the first try, they go straight in the trash.

Ruthless? Maybe.

I'm not messing around here. I learned my lesson last year.

Merry Christmas.

Any way the wind blows...

2009-11-28T22:22:00.000-06:00

From our house to yours...

2009-11-28T14:24:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just woke up from my turkey stupor, and am finally able to blog...

My mom made all the chefs and sous chefs matching aprons for the big day. Don't we look great??

Shortage

2009-11-23T10:40:00.002-06:00

We've been on a closet-cleaning kick at our house lately.
By virtue of the fact that Richard is a man, three things are true about his wardrobe:
1. It is MUCH smaller than Shirley's or mine.
2. His clothes get dirtier, faster than Shirley's or mine.
3. His laundry turnover is faster and more important than Shirley's or mine because of #1 and #2.

It seems as if there is always a shortage of clean clothes for Richard to wear to work. To be fair, his requirements are not much--he only needs a pair of "nice" jeans and a shirt bearing the name of his company. By my last count, he had three shirts that work for work.
As you can imagine, this sometimes adds stress to our Sunday nights, trying to locate a clean shirt for Richard.
So...imagine my surprise and happiness when he found FOUR of them stuffed at the back of his closet this morning!
Just four more reasons to put off doing laundry!

Would you like fries with that?

2009-11-21T21:34:00.002-06:00

I've been craving coffee lately, in a big way. It tastes so good to me that I will even drink decaf, which until previously, I didn't see the point in, but that is neither here nor there.
Since I usually have the Shirl in the car with me when I want coffee, I've been utilizing the drive through window more frequently than ever. I love it when I get a drive thru guy with a sense of humor...

At Caribou
Erin: I'd like a small, decaf white chocolate raspberry mocha, please.
Barista: Ok, so that's a small raspberry latte?
E: No, a small, decaf white chocolate raspberry mocha.
Barista: Oh, sorry. A small white chocolate mocha.
E: No, a small, decaf white chocolate raspberry mocha.
Barista: Ok. A small white chocolate raspberry mocha.
E: Decaf!
Barista: A smal, decaf white chocolate raspberry mocha?
E: I know how to party.
Barista: Yeah you do.

At Mcdonald's
Erin: Ooh! Can I try one of these new caramel frappes? Small?
Order Taker: A small frappuccino coming up.
[At the wondow]
OT: Here's your frappuccino.
E: Are you supposed to be calling them that?
OT: Fine, here's your FRAP-PAY.

Snob with a capitol SNOB.

2009-11-20T03:05:00.004-06:00

Tonight I had the SUPERFUN (!!!) pleasure of going to see a midnight screening of New Moon with Masha. Remember ol' Masha?
The theater we were at sold out fourteen theaters! FOURTEEN THEATERS!
So, as you can imagine, things were a little crazy, and the girl in front of us was using her very beautiful purse to save a seat for a friend.
Out of my love for all things with handles, I tapped her on the shoulder and said, "You'd better guard your bag--I'd hate to see it get stolen!"
She replied, "Oh, NO one is touching my bag. This is a $500 purse. If anybody touches it, they're leaving. the. theater."
"Oh, right," I said.

Quietly, to Masha I said, "That's not a $500 bag."
She said, "I know, right??"
I said, "What do I look like? Some kind of schmuck?"
Masha said, "It's not even from this season."

Child #1 and Child #2

2009-11-11T14:02:00.002-06:00

Richard and I are making practically zero headway in the Naming Baby #2 Department. Richard tends to be a more traditional, where I tend to like more unusual names, so we're having a very hard time agreeing on almost anything this time around.
Since time has flown by, and I expect the second half of my pregnancy to FLY by as well, I'm starting to feel the pressure, so I decided to take my concerns to Rich last night.
I started by saying, "Rich, we have to start getting serious about picking some names for the new baby. I don't want to give it a run of the mill, average name, because our kids are special. We both liked the name Shirley because it's so unusual, interesting and a little old-fashioned--"
"Yeah, but don't you think it would be confusing if they're both named Shirley?"

I guess I walked right into that one.

Can I just say?

2009-11-09T19:40:00.005-06:00

If you want to pierce your eyebrow, it's your business. I really don't have a problem with it. In fact, on some people, many people, it can be very cute (read: Hannah N.).
BUT.
If, Nordic guy, you're going to pierce your eyebrow, maybe--and this is just a recommendation--you could take the time to tweeze? Just a little? And most importantly, more important than anything, in fact, DON'T choose the green earring / hardware. Next to your bushy blond eyebrow, it just looks infected and makes me very uneasy to drink the coffee or eat the meal you've just made for me.
I'm just saying.

Crisis Averted

2009-11-08T19:27:00.004-06:00

Rich and I were faux-arguing tonight about who would go pick up dinner (today has truly been a day off), when I said, "Do I really look like I'm fit to go out in public?"
Richard, in his sweatpants and t-shirt said, "I'm not dressed any different than you! You should go."
I said, "No way, man. I'm not going anywhere."
He said, "Are you wearing a bra?"
I said, "Yes..."
Rich said, "See? You're more dressed than me. You should go."
I said, "Do you usually wear a bra when you go out for the day?"
Rich said, "Well...no."

Thank goodness, I say.