Beauty is random

J., in our office, cleaned out her closet this weekend and found 30-plus bottles of ununsed nail polish. She's giving them away. Then, The Boss, who's just returned from a week in France, came back with a plethora of mini perfumes, which he just gave to each staff member, White-Elephant style. (We drew numbers. I know, right??!) On my desk I now have Rosewine and Creamy Cocoa for my toes, and "O" de Lancome (its real name) for behind my ears.

Random.

Unfit.

We tried desperately to baby-proof the house over Memorial Day weekend. I know that we're late doing this... was just reading advice from Baby Center.com, which said that when Baby is 6 months old, it's time. Oops. So we've put it off about 5 months longer than we should have. But we finally have latches on all the dangerous cabinets -- not every cabinet, mind you; I don't believe it cutting them off from all exploratory activity, and I think pots and pans make wonderful (cheap!) toys. We have installed netting along the spindles of our upstairs landing, so that AJ won't wiggle through the gaps and fall to his death. And we tried -- boy, did we ever try -- to hang gates at the top and the bottom of the staircase. Unfortunately, the gates gave us trouble. The first ones we bought required hardware to fasten them to the walls/bannisters, and I wasn't willing to ruin our woodwork. Sorry. We returned those, in exchange for these, which were too tall. Driving to Babies R Us a third time, we came home with what promised to be "the charm"... but these, alas, are not quite wide enough. We suck for not measuring. I will be buying the stinking extenders tonight, and then praying that we can make them work.

Meanwhile, AJ is climbing the stairs handily. And yesterday, he fell from them, onto the hardwood floor. Headfirst. I was sitting right there. (See: Title.) I was busy re-organizing the pile of books I've got shoved in my hall closet, getting them ready to go to the used bookstore (one of these days). I didn't even hear him fall over the rustle of paper bags. He hit his head pretty good. Thanks be to God, there wasn't blood or even a bruise. A little apple juice and some hugs, and he felt better. He must not have fallen from very far up (although I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE I'M SUCH A TERRIBLE, INATTENTIVE MOTHER). He did get sleepy quite early last night, and woke up later than usual this morning, but I don't think he has a concussion, or if so, it must be extremely mild and he'll probably live. In the end, I'm sure I cried more than he did (I took a short drive later, and it all came flooding out).

I realize that kids are going to fall down, especially at this age. A co-worker told us last week, when I mentioned we were getting the gates for the stairs, "Oh, they all fall down the stairs." Not sure if that's true (horrors!), but I know I'm not the only Mommy this has happened to. I'm just ashamed of having been so busy with my own crap that I didn't watch him. Four-point-five seconds was all it took. To think what might have happened... it plays right into My Biggest Fear (see previous post). Anyway, God has given me another chance to be a decent mother. A chance that I will guard much more carefully in the future.

Five, five, 'n' five

Gratitude Journal:

1. It's Friday! It's a long weekend! We have no plans!
   
2. I found a very cool self-tanner by Jergens, called Natural Glow, made especially for very fair-skinned people like me! Wa-hoo! I no longer resemble the color of snow, and for that I am grateful.
   
3. My co-worker just brought in Hot Doughnuts Now from Krispy Kreme. I had one.
   
4. I made mashed potatoes last night and they were not lumpy. (Elbow grease, baby, not an electric mixer!)
   
5. My birthday is only 8 days away! I'm grateful for another year, but having a birthday around the corner just makes me happy. I'm goofy like that. ;)
   

Friday's Feast:

1. Appetizer -- Approximately how many hours per day do you spend watching television?
   I'd say 1-2. The TV is ON at my house for about 4 hours a day (ugh, that makes me sad), but during most of that time I'm doing other things like cooking dinner or playing with AJ; it's just background noise. If I were the only one living at my house, I think this would be different... I like me some peace and quiet.
   
2. Soup -- Which colors decorate your kitchen?
   Hmph, "cornflower" blue is the paint and wallpaper color. With a floral border that the previous owners chose. Not my favorites, but they look okay. The cabinets are (horrible) off-white formica.
   
3. Salad -- Name 2 brand names you buy on a regular basis, and what do you like about them?
   Squeeze Parkay, which I like because it's convenient as all heck; and Crystal Light, which I like because it is a much more delicious way to drink water. (And serves up all the aspertame a girl could want.)
   
4. Main Course -- What is your biggest fear? -- That something is going to happen to completely change the general good fortune of my family. We've had our share of stuff, I mean -- jobs lost, grandparents dying -- but I mean like, a dreaded disease or a horrible accident or unexpected tragedy. We have always been so richly blessed, that the frightened part of me wonders when will the odds turn against us, and something awful change the course of our history? That's my (somewhat irrational) fear. It hides in the corners of my heart and sometimes bubbles up to worry me.
   
5. Dessert -- If you could wake up tomorrow and find yourself in another location, where would you want to be?
   At the family's beach condo for the next 3 weeks. Only 22 days 'til we're actually there (for 1 week), but that is NOT SOON ENOUGH.
   

...and finally... Five things I want to buy Right Now:

1. new swimsuits for me, AJ, and hubby
   
2. spray-bottle sunscreen
   
3. shovel and pail for someone's first beach trip
   
4. brightly colored summer shorts and tops for me
   
5. about 4 new pairs of sandals
   

You can't tell what I'm dreaming about, can you?

Ooh, Famous People!

How come nobody told me that Rob & Amber bought a house in Pensacola?! That is my hometown, folks! Practically my whole family lives there. We think we could tell what side of town they lived on, but of course CBS was quite discreet and didn't give much away. I wonder if they bought there for anonymity's sake? Or was it because they "fell in love on the beach" (as was repeated more than once on the 2-hour "Rob & Amber Get Married" special last night), and so they wanted to live near a [perfect, most beauitful in the world] beach? DH suggested that maybe since Rob's in construction, he's gone down there to help rebuild after Hurricane Ivan (they're still not fully recovered from it). It'd be nice if he were that considerate... although I'm sure it'd be a good-paying job. On the other hand, I can't imagine that he needs construction any more. DH and I said last night we'd watch even MORE of Rob if CBS gave him his own show. We're that dorky about it. He's funny as hell. We love that Boston accent.

We're totally going to drive around looking for them when we go down in June. Stalkers R Us.

And what's with there being NO info about this in the Pensacola newspaper? Help me out, here!

Ohhhh. Now I get it.

This past weekend, AJ got a bit sick. He had a fever when I picked him up from daycare on Friday, and that fever continued through the night and into most of Saturday, until he finally had a decent nap around 5:30pm. We had made a quick weekend trip to see his great-grandparents, and with all the extra people wanting to play with him, he just couldn't settle, y'know? Didn't want to miss the action... even though you could plainly see he was Dying For A Nap.

I have talked about fever before, but lordy mercy, was he hot! Despite me pouring Tylenol in him every 3 hours. Didn't have a clue what to do about his sleeping arrangements. When I'm sick, I get chilled and want to cuddle down under all the blankets and get to the part where the fever breaks and I sweat. But I didn't know if he was hot or cold. What to do? I guess he lived with the light blanket I left in his Pack-n-Play. Anyhow, by Saturday evening he was acting like himself again, which means he was zooming across the floor in his little walker thingy. Yay!

Last night, I cuddled my chilled self under my covers. I woke up sweaty, but still feel pretty oogy today. You couldn't pay me to eat, not because I'm sick to my tummy, I just don't feel like it.

So I guess maybe I shouldn't have tried So Dang Hard all day Saturday to get some food into my little one. I tried Cheerios, yogurt (his favorite), cereal, applesauce, juice.... he wanted none of it. Sorry 'bout that, kiddo. Now I get it. But where do you draw the line between feeding them to be sure they are getting some nutrition, and letting them go hungry? I guess they let you know if they get to "I'm starving" mode. At any rate, I will do better next time. Reminder to self: He's a person. A little one, but a person just like me.

This is not a movie review

But it is a comment on my generation

I loved Revenge of the Sith. Love, love, loved it. And let me just make an important disclaimer right here: I am Not a Geek. There are no costumes in our household and we wouldn't be caught dead at any Convention. However, my heart got caught in my throat when the first chord struck, and the block-lettered Star Wars logo scrolled up the screen For The Very Last Time in our lives. I cried a little. It was the beginning of me spending 140 minutes thinking about how this epic series has defined my generation. I wrote an article about this in 1997 -- which was published in the local newspaper, I might add boastfully -- when Episode IV was re-released. The original was, if I remember correctly, the first or second movie I ever saw in a theater. (Mom, do you remember? I think I was about six, which doesn't make sense because I was six in 1980, but somehow, it's imprinted as a milestone in my memory.) That article I wrote was about how, even though I was a little girl in 1977 and thus, didn't have any action figures or that cool Darth Vader carrying case, the movie and its sequels made an impact on me. Somehow we knew they were Important. My sister and I had a friend, Betsy, who made us "play" Star Wars in the mid '80s. Of course, she always got to be Leia. I think I was C-3PO on a good day. Probably a nameless storm trooper when she was feeling particularly bossy. And my sis, because she was the youngest, got to be an Ewok. (Whom we loved. What's with all the uber-fans being mad about the the Ewoks?! They were nowhere near as hateful as Jar-Jar. They were for us GIRLS, people. Get it, for Marketing? And thank you, Mr. Lucas.)

My point being, these movies have been part of my whole life. I never cared that much about them after the first three were done -- you know, in high school when cheerleading and musical theater and boys and algebra became central to my life. Or in college when I learned that there was such a thing as a Star Wars Geek. But since it has now been almost THIRTY years since the first "Ta-Da!" of John Williams' score hit the screen, I realize that in my life, Star Wars has always been there. The struggle between good and evil. The knowledge that there's A Force. The "I've got a bad feeling about this." I mean, our government named a missle defense system after this story. It's the mythology of our time. It's legend. It's that important.

Important enough, if I may be so bold, that I think I want my children to know (and maybe love?) these stories as much as we do. That was another thought I had while watching on Friday. At one point, the scene cut to a beautiful view of the planet Naboo, and I immediately knew it was Naboo, and I thought, "I want AJ to be able to recognize Naboo instantly, too." As if it's a real place! Ha! Am I weird for feeling that way?

I think it's hugely significant to these actors to have played a part in this story. It's like they, too, are a part of history. Forever, for All Time, their faces will represent these characters, no matter what other movies they go on to make. Because no one would ever re-make Star Wars, I hope. At least not in my lifetime.

I learned something interesting in talking to my co-workers about this last installment. Several women in our office -- my age, mostly, although a few are a bit younger -- said they never cared for Star Wars. WHAT? Well, they explained that their brothers had all the action figures and annoyed them to death with light sabre wars when they were little. Huh. Never thought about that. Since I didn't have any brothers, I wasn't made to hate it! And I'm so glad. I'm glad it means so much to me.

I think I'm making too much of this. Let me break it down to specifics.

• Hayden Christensen, despite his perfectly AWFUL performance in Attack of the Clones, was great. He sank beautfully into the dark side of himself.
• C-3PO had funny lines, just like in the first movies, that added comic relief when it was sorely needed.
• (Warning: Mini-Spoiler here:) I cried again when Obi-Wan was screaming, "Anakin, you were my [figurative] brother!" Ewan MacGregor rocks.
• And I cried the third time at the end, where the whole series, all six episodes, were finally tied up so neatly. The one question I'd been asking myself as the film progressed (based on a line in the movie that I won't give away) was answered at the very end, and I was so glad. Glad because it was the one surprise left in the storyline, that I hadn't read about anywhere.

In summary, go see it. Especially if you are part of Gen X, and even if you are not a Geek. You owe it to yourself to experience the whole long legendary thing. And (I have to say it, forgive me), May the Force Be With You.

So much to say

...so little time. I have posts percolating about Episode III, our weekend, life and death, families, AJ, and other sundries. Just not enough time to write them! (Darn this real job.) Hope all of you are having a great Monday so far. :)

C'mon, get happy

If, in your lifetime, you get to have a morning like I have almost every morning, you are indeed a lucky soul. My little AJ wakes up so happy! He sleeps very well through the night, for which I am also grateful. He sometimes stirs at 4 or 4:30, but not enough to wake up; just a little "Mmmuh. Muummh," to let us know he's all right. Then, when it is time to wake up, and I slowly open the door to his room, I see him through the crib slats, sitting with his blankie curled around his legs. He ducks his little head with a grin, kind-of shy and still sleepy. He rubs his eyes a bit and peers out to see if Puppy is coming in, too. Usually when he sees Puppy, the leg-kicking starts. And then he climbs up to meet me as I lean over, grab him and SMOOOSH him with kisses and hugs. He's the most cuddly after he wakes up and I just can't take it, it's so cute!! AAAAHHH!! It gets me right in the heart!! He's napping now, so I get to enjoy this very scene in about 30 minutes. :)

Thoughts on child-raising

I just read a profound comment to the recent post on parenting methods,
at a little pregnant.

"What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well meaning relations -- what they taught me was that they couldn't teach me much at all. Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize it is an endless essay. No one knows anything."

Perhaps this is why all of us parents are busily writing in our blogs.

Our drama!

For the sake of posterity, I think it's important to make note of the events of this weekend. My Mom and Dad came for a weekend visit on Friday afternoon, from Florida. Any of you with kids know, when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit, it is All About The Baby. Despite claims that they were coming to pick up something they'd shipped to me (in order to avoid paying the sales tax).... despite the fact that I'm their firstborn and they used to like seeing me (kidding, Mom).... despite any nice plans we make to go to dinner or go shopping, or any other event.... they now visit for the sole purpose of seeing/holding/cooing at/tickling/watching/lovin' on The Baby.

Imagine my surprise, then, when Grandma arrived and went right past AJ, up to the guest room bed with a sick stomach! She maybe gave him a quick kiss, and commented on how he'd grown, but did not stay to tickle or cuddle or goo-goo at him. I expected a short nap and a return by dinnertime, but no such thing happened. When 10:30pm rolled around with no hope whatsoever of her making a social appearance, we were all a bit concerned, and Grandma moreso, since she had realized the pain was located in her lower right abdomen, and hurt to the touch, and Would Not Go Away. A quick phone call to the family doctor, and we were off to the Emergency Room to be sure this wasn't Appendicitis. . . but it WAS!!

Long story short, her surgery began at about 1:00am. Ended about 1:40am. (Amazing how fast they can do it with the laproscope!) She and Granddad stayed overnight at the hospital, and she was released about 14 hours after she first entered their doors, on Saturday afternoon. We were impressed with the hospital's efficiency; paperwork, tests, admittance, and discharge were all very well handled. She's doing just fine, thanks to the Percocet, and even returned home to Florida on Sunday. (It's just a 6-hour drive.)

She's a trooper, that Mom of mine. AJ being all squirmy these days, she didn't dare hold him before or immediately after the surgery. But for a few minutes on Sunday when she just couldn't stand it any longer, he was a good boy and sat quietly on her lap. Awwwwww. I'm so glad it all worked out okay -- they made it here, and she could rest, and there was a good surgeon ready and waiting for her. And I'm so thankful it's all over -- all that remains is a funny story for me to tell this morning.

Feel better, Mom.

personality type

I've never taken the Myers-Briggs. But here I am:

Your #1 Match: ISFJ

The Nurturer You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal. A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways. In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music. You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for. You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

Your #2 Match: INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

Your #3 Match: ISFP

The Artist You are a gifted artist or musician (though your talents may be dormant right now). You enjoy spending your free time in nature, and you are good with animals and children. Simply put, you enjoy bueaty in all its forms and live for the simple pleasures in life. Gentle, sensitive, and compassionate - you are good at recognizing people's unspoken needs. You would make a good veterinarian, pediatrician, or composer.

What's Your Personality Type?

Also found this interesting. It's pretty dead-on for who I think I am. And I like being in the company of Louisa May Alcott and Melanie, from GWTW! :) They were nice. I'll have to get DH to take this.

P.S. Did you see how it says I should be an interior decorator??!

Fast and furious

This is what I'm talking about -- at my job, it's either feast or famine. And today it's feast, and feast fast. Am working mad fast to get a new website proofread and fixed and presentable by tomorrow morning when the client was promised a chance to see it. Yi-yi-yi. My heart's all jumpy and I can't seem to think fast enough while assigning last-minute tasks, and making decisions here and there and everywhere.

One day it's this craziness, the next day it's s-u-p-e-r--s---l----ooooowwwww (or, more accurately, I'm either frantic and worried, or wholly un-motivatived and bored).

Zig Ziglar and Zip-a-dee-doo-dah

At the risk of sounding entirely too perky....
If anyone asks me, "How are you?" today, I'm going to respond, "Fine as frog's hair!" like my Uncle Paul always says, because it is one of my favorite expressions of his and always makes me smile.

The weather is gorgeous. By 2pm it will be entirely too hot at 82 degrees, but no matter, I will be inside at that time.

I am wearing a new shirt that I bought yesterday on a mad-dash lunch-hour spree, and I like it. It's so nice to have new clothes. Especially when they are $9.99.

The Amazing Race ended last night with a rousing 2-hour episode and a team worthy of winning... (except... DH and I are almost sure that the plane re-opening its doors to let Joyce and Uchenna on was a CBS scam. Planes just don't do that, I'm sorry. However, J & U overcame a whole lot of other obstacles -- flat tire, begging for money, hello! -- and they played a good game the entire time. So, woo-hoo! They deserved it.)

On my way to work this morning, I had the privilege of hearing a radio interview with none other than Zig Ziglar, who evidently has a new book out. Zig is a motivational speaker with a thick southern accent whose "See You At the Top" class I took way back in 1985. I was in the 6th grade. He's getting older, and you could tell by his corny jokes, like this one: Did you hear about the two holes in the ground?.......Well, well..... (Groan.) But he's still a stirring, enthusiastic guy. It was great to hear him. Several times, I laughed out loud. It's surprising how many things I still remember from his class! For example, that we shouldn't ever say, "I never got around to it." (To combat this, he handed out wooden coins imprinted with the words "Round Tuit" -- so no one in the class could claim they never got one. A round tuit. Get it? Get it?? Clever man.) He talked about never coming home after a rough day and "kicking the cat." Meaning, even if you're stressed or tired, don't take it out on other people (or innocent animals)! I don't remember loving the class at the time I took it (twice), but now, years later, I'm grateful for the experience. (I wish I still had my Tuit.)

At any rate, when the interview was over, Zig signed off by saying, "See you at the top!" which I thought was so cute! He kind-of snuck it in, last minute. Half the listeners didn't even catch it, I bet. But I did. It made me smile. His whole deal is being postiive, so that's going to be the goal. There's a lot of negativity in the world. And a lot in our household, sometimes -- we're too tired, or there's not enough money, or the baby isn't eating well, or work drains our energies. But: Today, let's be happy. OK? Ok. Cool.

Follow-up to my decorating dilemma

On Sunday, Mother's Day, I was given the directive to do whatever I wanted to do... and that meant Shopping. For my mantel. For the decorating. So, armed with not much but a lifetime of Trading Spaces episodes in my head, I proceeded to Garden Ridge hoping for some bargains. And I found some: A large mirror for $50 (regularly $70), dried flowers on sale for .99 a bunch, picture frames, etc.

More important, while I was there wandering the aisles, wondering how in the world to position all my new items and give this mantel some focus, I experienced the touch of the Muses, and had An Idea! I hurried home, because this Idea was Good. This was Creative, and Contemporary, and Sophisticated, and Slightly Off-Center, and I needed to get home so that the folks at Architectural Digest could just go ahead and schedule their photo shoot in my New Fabulous Living Room.

Monday was a work-from-home day, so in-between scooting AJ around the house on his little plastic trike and writing some pages for the New Client website, I Windexed the mirror, cleared out the rest of the c-r-a-p still hovering in that room, and Did the Decorating. Now, let me see if I can explain this for you... I stood the rectangular mirror vertically, rather than horizontally, about 2/3 of the way off-center toward the left. (We have high celings in this room which can accommodate a tall mirror.) I had never intended to hang the mirror, just to lean it against the wall (which, I've read, is the current trend). At the far left, I put three wrought-iron-and-glass candle holders, filled with dried split peas under the votives, a trick I learned at a Southern Living at Home party. (Guess I have to take back the mean things I said about them before!) To the right of the mirror I've got two antique books laying horizontally, spines facing out (Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, incidentally). They're sorta catty-corner. Above them, a pretty little red 5x7 picture frame, which I will hang on the wall. It's small, but postitioned lower, close to the mantel, it fills the space between the mirror and the far right edge. The far right is home to a new floral arrangement of eucalyptus, tall, thin, green bamboo sticks, and some fuzzy "weeping" fronds... (how to describe?!)... I'm pleased with it. It's very tall, which balances the height of the mirror. And eucaplytus smells so darn good. Finally, I intend to buy a small mantel clock and set it atop the books. Haven't found one yet, but you can imagine it there.

Now, isn't that pretty? Elegant, simple, and not the norm. The norm would be hanging the mirror horizontally, right? And maybe putting a picture frame ON the mantel. But MY Idea is just a little better. Vertical mirror! Hanging the picture frame! Brilliant, right? I was (and am), as you can tell by the length of this post, very proud of my accomplishment, and relieved that I'd succeeded! I couldn't wait for hubby to get home so I could show him. (NOW you know where this is going, don't you?) Here's what he said when he walked into the room -- which I had also, I might point out, Cleaned Up before he got home, to give it the full effect of its Glory. He said:

"That is pretty interesting."

Hey, what's that on the floor? Oh, sorry, let me get that. It's my Spirit. It wilted. *Sigh.*

Bless his heart, he later said he thought it looked good. And I guess it wasn't what he expected. It's just that I'd worked so hard. I felt SO GOOD about it. Oh well. I guess you can't win 'em all.

I still love it. Come on over, I'll show you -- it's the perfect room for having tea, or Book Club. It's perfect.

Spring Cleaning

Our new carpet has been installed. Not quite the thrill I was hoping for, because it's essentially the same color we had before. But this carpet is CLEAN and NEW and that is a wonderful thing.

However. The whole event has gotten me into cleaning mode, and that might NOT be such a good thing. We had to move all the furniture, of course, which included a bookshelf. I have had this (Wal Mart) bookshelf for at least 5 years, and in that time it has accumulated many, many shelves' worth of c-r-a-p. Books, yes, but also crap. Where did I get a San Diego travel guide? And why? I've never gone touristing to San Diego. And why do we still have DH's fraternity tiki-shaped thing -- I don't know, is it a coffee mug? I think maybe we've outgrown tiki memorabilia by now. Also, why do I have 7 sets of playing cards, some of them still unopened? We have played cards exactly once in the time we've lived at our house (maybe a 2nd time when Mom and Sis visited, and we broke out in simultaneous Solitaire games, as is our tradition). Anyway, when I had to dislodge all this junk from the bookshelf, and more important, when I had to put it all back last night, I started having a panic attack about how to better decorate and how much stuff there is to get rid of. I'm even ready to toss some of the somewhat valuable stuff. I'm just sick of looking at all of it.

My house hasn't ever looked like a magazine, but I'd like to head more in that direction than the post-college, "no-money-to-buy-nice-things" look I've been harboring all these years. And less clutter! I've got to pare down if I'm going to keep my sanity. Truly. We can't continue to collect little junk items and me have a stress-fit every other year. I have two mantels in the house. One has a collection of family photos -- probably 15 or so. I want to wipe it clean. I'm sick of the pictures, sick of the frames. My other one has several books, a decorative plate, a crystal vase, a set of candles, 2 knick-knacky angels... ?! It's bad, it's really bad. They say a mantel is the focal point of the room, and mine need focus!

Here's my main problem. I know I joke about shopping... but I am NOT a very good shopper. I don't like spending money. I cringe when a decorative item is $29.99. That seems expensive to me. (I know, it's a sickness.) My developing theory is that, in order to have fewer things that look nicer.... I need to have somewhat expensive things. So there ya go, I'm in a fix. Quite literally. I will be fixing this problem from now, until.

Your kind offerings, on my behalf, to the gods of interior decorating are appreciated.

I've been tagged!

Ooh, fun, a Game! Thanks, Miss Issues, for pegging me. Here's how we play: I choose, from this list, 5 things I might want to be, and complete the sentences. I add one at the end, chain-letter-style, along with a link to me. I pick three people to try this game after me, and then, TAG! They're it! So, here we go:

If I could be a scientist...
If I could be a farmer...
If I could be a musician...
If I could be a doctor...
If I could be a painter...
If I could be a gardener...
If I could be a missionary...
If I could be a chef...
If I could be an archaeologist...
If I could be an architect...
If I could be a linguist...
If I could be a psychologist...
If I could be a librarian...
If I could be an athlete...
If I could be a lawyer...
If I could be an innkeeper...
If I could be a professor...
If I could be a writer...
If I could be a llama-rider...
If I could be a bonnie pirate...
If I could be a servicemember...
If I could be a business owner...
If I could be an actor...
If I could be an agent...
If I could be video game designer...
If I could be photographer...
If I could be a circus performer...
If I could be a spy...
If I could be a fashion designer...(MySelf)

If I could be a musician... and actually get paid enough from it to make a living, I would do it. I would sing weddings (the CHURCH part, not the Adam Sandler-Wedding Singer part!) and I would be a paid staff singer at some church, and be invited to sing in various seasonal choirs, and maybe even be brought in as a soloist for some concerts. Quelle Dream!

If I could be a gardener... that is, if I had any resemblance of green anywhere near my thumb, I would try to work for a landscaper. I think it would be immensely gratifying to touch the earth every day, and to make things prettier by my having worked with them. To water flowers, pray for sunlight, and watch nature's magic take place. I wouldn't want to be the designer, mind you. Not 'til I had at least a few years under my belt. I'd like to plant things, and wear sunscreen and a hat, and yes, do the manual labor.

If I could be an athlete... I would get plenty enough exercise, for once in my life! I would either be a diving champion (platform, not springboard), a tennis player, or maybe a gymnast. Not an ice-skater, although I am definitely that cheesey.

If I could be photographer... I would take pictures of babies and families. And weddings. And I wouldn't charge an arm and a leg. (Well, maybe I would. We have to eat, after all. And shop.)

If I could be a bonnie pirate... well, all the loot (jewels, treasures) would be nice, but I think I'd get awfully seasick, riding on those old boats all the time. Also, if I could be a bonnie pirate, I would make sure that Johnny Depp was my pirating buddy.

NOW THEN... I'm tagging Beans, Chantal and Gerah. Have fun, ladies!

p.s. Beansy, if you want to do yours in the comments, that's fine, since it really has nothing whatsoever to do with your wedding! :)

Little Debbie is the Devil

OMG, what WAS I thinking?

This morning, I arrived at work hungry and had nothing to eat, not even in my secret stash drawer. I quickly made the decision to take a walk to the Vending Machine. I knew what I wanted. It was calling to me in a breathless whipser: "Yoooo-hooo.... remember me, long-lost friend? Come release me from my vending machine prison. I taste yummmmmmmy. You know you want me and nothing else. I am most certainly a Breakfast Food."

Incidentally, I blame my Neighbor, who was obviously eating something delicious, since the wrapper on it made delightful crinkly-paper noises and got my mouth all watery for Something Processed and Packaged. You Know Who You Are, Neighbor! It's your fault!! (Although yours was probably a healthy granola bar, or at least "fat-free" chocolate.) ;)

And now, as my poor tummy aches just like my mommy said it would, I make my breakfast vow: I will never eat Nutty Bars again. Never never never never. No, Never.

Getting stuff done

Well, damn. I made it to the grocery store, and got my window box annuals planted finally, and have managed to unpack and do a load of laundry, but dang if I can't get my work-work done. Guess it's not as interesting as home-caring. Guess I will be doing it during tonight's episode of 24. Not that I really care if I miss that show anymore. It's always about this point in the season when I'm like, "How many more freaking hours are there in this guy's [super-un-realistic, better than a soap-opera] day, anyway??" But I do admire Jack Bauer... he can get stuff DONE. On zero sleep, no less! Wish I had that skill!

ma-ma, da-da

We think AJ is figuring out ma-ma and da-da. Real WORDS. Evidently while I was gone, he saw a picture of me and DH, and looked at it and said, "ma-ma." **Heart melts.** Sweet, sweet, boy. I missed you, too.

Mom, Sis and I had a wonderful weekend together. We shopped for hours and ate plenty, so it was a great trip by my calculations. The bridal shower was lovely, I thought.

I am devoid of anything else interesting to say.