My Style

When I announced that I was doing a 30 Day Blog challenge, I solicited requests for blog post topics and my friend, Bear suggested talking about my parenting style and I thought that was a great request.  I don't know that I've ever elaborated on what I'd define as my parenting style and yet, I write about the product of said parenting ad nauseum, so it seems only logical that I give it a whirl and do my best to convey how it is that Jim and I parent our children.

My life has been happily chaotic for a while now, I define exactly what that means by way of a timeline in my "About Me" section of this blog, but allow me to give you the cliff notes version: graduated college in 2005, met Jim in 2006, married Jim in 2008, had Cullen in November of 2009 and had Arden in February of 2011.  Prior to having Cullen, I had a miscarriage when I was 15 weeks- it was total devastation, I literally cried so hard that my eyes were blurry for weeks and at points it literally hurt to breathe.  It happened 20 days before my birthday and I was convinced that I would never recover, never go on.

But then, two months later, I did go on; and while I will never know what my family would've been like- nor will I ever stop wondering, I truly felt like I got a second chance.  I explain all of this to give a frame of reference for the basis of my personal parenting style and where Jim and I consistently parent from... most of the time.  I honestly think, as I'm sure everyone who's ever been pregnant or has been a parent believes, that my children were the most wanted, loved, cherished children that have ever been born; yet I can distinctly remember holding my breath for 40 weeks, after my initial loss, the crazy abandon with which I embraced pregnancy was never able to be replicated because I was too fearful that it would be taken away from me again.  

So, it is with that feeling of total love from which I parent-- let me just be clear that when I say total love, I mean a healthy, balanced love, one that allows my children to be imperfect and human while still being my world and the reason I get out of bed in the morning.  I parent from the perspective of love first, secondly I parent from a perspective of reason and third from an awareness for the future; in reality, I'd like to have a child that knows they are loved unconditionally, who was raised to be an independent, kind person that will make an impact on society- and that doesn't mean on a large scale, it can be as small as donating library books or as large as becoming president, just so long as their happy.

Recently, I've noticed that parents can be destructive in their parenting choices and, whether intended or not, I think it's unfortunate that it happens, because really, every parent (in any capacity) is just trying.  Trying to do their best, whether they can or not, that's another story.  I know it may sound odd, but parenting from the perspective of loss, or more accurately challenge, has helped me and Jim be eternally grateful for the blessings that children have brought to our lives, don't get me wrong though, I fully respect everyone's decision about becoming a parent, it's incredibly complex and by far the most challenging thing I've ever done, but I know for a fact that it's the best decision we've ever made.

Above all else, I try to be kind to my children (and let me tell you, that's sometimes very difficult) and let them be "free thinkers," but I don't confuse that with being disrespectful or unkind.  I've tried to continue an important element of my parent's parenting style- while being the adult in charge, my parents allowed us, within reason, to make decisions independently and listened when we came to them to talk about everything- big or small.  It's something that Jim and I have worked hard to create within our own family structure, we make it a point to have dinner as a family every night and we sincerely attempt to listen to our children, not just hear them, but really listen... and so far it's working.

This is what makes me happy.

Olympics Party

This Friday, friends and family gathered to watch the opening ceremonies of the XXX Olympic games and it was awesome.  There were lots of Pinterest inspired delights and an Olympic ring installation that came out almost better than I expected.  Please enjoy some pictures of the day.  I will be posting some how to's in the days to come.

Happy Birthday, Dad

I'm pretty sure that every girl thinks, at one point or another, that her Dad is the tallest person she knows.  I still think that, probably because my Dad's 6'3" and I don't meet a lot of people that are legitimately taller than him.  The reason I mention this is because my Dad has not only seemed tall, but he's always seemed larger than life; a somewhat fabled person who, by in large, can do no wrong.

This weekend, my family and I had the great fortune of celebrating my Dad's birthday with him- we all gathered under one roof and for a moment in time we celebrated the man that we all look up to- again, partly because he's taller than most of us.

So, to my Dad and hero, I love you.  Happy Birthday.

We danced to Bing Crosby's Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral, which is the lullaby that he's sang to all of his children and grandchildren.

This pretty much is the best picture of my father and I, ever.  I think it accurately depicts our relationship, while I'm acting like a complete doof, he's silently smirking in the background.

A How To

For like 6 months, I've been complaining about the aesthetics of the ole' blog-a-roo and lamenting that I don't have the time to spiff it up.  Well, yesterday, I got off my keister and finally did something about it.  As you can see, the blog banner- or headline where the title of this blog is featured, has gotten an update.  Being a member of the blogging community, I think we all should be sharing tips to help one another, so this inspired me to share exactly how I created this new blog banner and how you can to, using on free, basic programs that almost everyone has on their home computer.  I will post pictures of steps via the Pic Monkey website.

1. Open Microsoft Paint.
2. When the blank document comes up, save it.  (For simplicity, I will assume that you will save it "untitled" and will refer to it is as such throughout the rest of the instructions.)
3. Open Pixlr Express or Pic Monkey and upload the untitled picture by clicking on "Edit a photo" and then uploading it from your computer.  (Please be aware that both of these programs require a Flash player.)

4.  In either program you will need to resize the untitled picture and also "uncheck" the box on both sites to "keep proportions."  This is the most important part of the process and I'm here to tell you that I haven't found what I feel is the correct pixel size for a blogger banner yet.  So here it is: it needs to be 825 pixels wide by 240 pixels high.  Try it out, see what you think.  Let me know if you can get a better fit.

5. Once you've gotten it sized correctly, then you are free to create whatever you want.  I typically tend to change the back ground color which can be done by choosing the "beaker with bubbles"  on the left hand side and then choosing "Warhol." 

After that you can add text by clicking on the the letter "P."

I hope this helps you on your way to making your blog fierce!

I Keep Forgetting

About once a week, I walk by certain pictures in my house and think, "I really, really freaking like that picture."  For whatever reason, these pictures (there's about 3 or 4) "get me" every time and instead of just ignoring them as I walk by, I still have a connection with them, similar to when I saw them for the first time.  It's the way someone is smiling, or the way someone isn't.  It's discovering something new in the background that I'd never noticed before, and how that someone's in the background blissfully unaware that they are part of a moment in time that I genuinely love.

Sidenote: For various reasons, I sometimes shy away from having pictures taken of myself; however, that same insecurity doesn't exist when it comes to being in the background of other people's pictures.  Sometimes, at Disney World or larger picture taking spots, I will purposely put myself into someone else's picture; not that I do anything vulgar or disrespectful, it's more symbolic.  I'm their afterthought or the stranger in the background of their favorite family snapshot; think about it, if they ever had a fire, they'd by default be saving a picture of me too.  Just think about how many pictures you've been in, ones that were taken by complete strangers, and that you've never seen.

And I keep forgetting that I want to add some of those pictures here and write about why I really freaking like them.

I like this picture of my Mom and me because, believe it or not, it's actually an old school Polaroid, not just an editing border, which means that the quality is amazing.  I literally have to pay to get lighting this good. And, most importantly, look at my Mom, she's naturally stunning. I was probably a week old and doesn't she  look fierce; after I had my babies, I looked like crap.  I was all pukey and washed out and overwhelmed, but not her, she looks totally natural- a complete beauty.  My favorite part about this is that she exudes confidence and chicness.  I mean, come on, she has the hair that I've always wanted and can never get just quite right.

What about you?  Are there pictures that you walk by every day but still have a connection with?

10 Minute Post #1

Sometimes, it takes me 2 or 3 hours to formulate a complete blog entry- I know, right?  And I realize that it may not always seem like it, considering there are grammar mistakes out the wha-zoo up in here, but trust me, I edit and re-edit and then, when no one's looking, I edit some more.  So tonight (when I'm pressed for time and don't have anything scheduled to post) I'm trying something new, a 10 Minute Post and since it's my first one, it shall be called: 10 Minute Post #1; yep, that's some good old fashioned chronological order and also the inference that there will be more to come...  


The rules are simple, I'm going to write for 10 minutes about a randomly selected topic; today's post topic was chosen by Jim and is about fashion.  

Fashion
I wouldn't consider myself qualified to talk about fashion, of course I understand what articles of clothing look good together, but most of the that is based on what different retailers, designers and advertisements tell me looks good together.  If I actually had to construct an outfit simply by conjuring up a feeling, time period or place in my mind, I couldn't do it.  In other words, genres of clothing (romantic, whimsical, rocker-chic, grunge, hippie, bohemian, etc.) are not my forte.  So, I guess that begs the question, what exactly is my forte?


Well, as a mother and a cheapskate, my passion and motto is living life with champagne taste on a beer budget; when it comes to clothes that means pulling a few random items off of the Target 30% off rack and creating something that resembles designer.


Besides my general lack of skill in the knowing the what's what (and by the who's who) of popular fashion, there's also this little habit and secret- soon not to be I guess, that I have: I'm still wearing maternity pants (I do have some dignity however, since I packed away the shirts away about 6 months ago.) and since my youngest child is almost 18 months old and I'm not pregnant, that's a little unacceptable.  


Hear me out though.  I purchased high quality maternity clothes from The Gap while I was pregnant with both of my kids because:

1. I like The Gap's maternity clothes, I find them to be the best of the best.

2. I have the unfortunate body type where I carry most of my weight all over in my mid section, which actually works great in the maternity fashion world, because once I went all elastic, all the time, I dropped like 2 sizes because the band was able to "absorb" my belly, but my legs were thin enough to fit into a smaller size.  Instant confidence booster.

So, you see continuing to wear maternity pants 18 months later is all very logical and reasonable.  These $70 jeans are going to be worn until they're patched, sewn and stained; I figure that I've got at least 2 more pregnancies and about 5 years before I officially have to "retire" them.


In general though, I'm a live-and-let-dress-how-ever-you-want type of gal.  If it fits, wear it.  If you want to reinvent yourself, clothing is a great option.


And scene.  It's been 10 minutes and that's been a blog post, now please enjoy this hilarious picture of me trying to squeeze into my cousins ballet recital costume when I was 5 years old.  Once a fashionista, always a fashionista.

Brothers

I've done several posts about the relationship that Cullen and Arden have now and I've also elaborated on the type of friendship I hope that they will have in the future here, here, here, here, and here.  As anyone who's ever had a sibling or have children who are siblings knows, the dymanic is ever evolving and can change literally second-by-second.

These days, the boys are in the "passive aggressive sharing" phase, which is when you have a toy and you "share" it by throwing it at your brother's head while screaming, "here Brother!  Look, Mom, I'm sharing!"  This weekend, I was able to capture a little interaction that I'd like to call, Brother's Sharing.

"Can I have the ball?

"Maybe... are Mom and Dad looking?"

I know where you think this is going... and it's not, but that sometimes happens too.
"Here's the ball..."

"But you're going to have to chase after it.  Look, Mom, I just shared!"

Ma, Ma, Mommy

The sweetest word by far that I've ever heard has got to be "mama."  It was as if a light went on in my life the first time Cullen said "mama" and it was more than baby babble; he knew who I was.  It's funny though, because as my children have grown up, we've already hit different stages of our relationship and right now, Cullen and I are entering the "mom" stage.  When I say, "I love you Cullen," he says, "I love you too, Mom."  That used to be "I love you, Mommy" and before that I was "Love you, Mama."

You see, as he grows up, I'm being reminded that he's, well... he's growing up and our relationship is taking on a more toddler-mom dynamic as opposed to a need-you-every-second-of-the-day-mama one.  I've gotta be honest, it sucks.  I want to have totally developmentally capable children, who want to become productive members of society; however, I just want all of that to happen while being their number one gal; that's realistic, right?

As Cullen gets older and more independent with each day, I find myself looking nostalgically at old photos, like the one before, where I was his mama and he was my "baby boy."  Today, he's still my baby boy- pretty sure he always will be, but to him, I'm his Mom- and I'm fine with that, because it's still the sweetest word I've ever heard.

State of the Heart

Ok, so that blog post title is so punny it almost makes me want to vom, but because it's clever, I'm not.  I'm all... well, I'm kinda like this clip from Jurassic Park 1 at 0:52 seconds:



But besides that gratutious JP1 clip, there is an actual point to this post.  A little while ago, I happened to come across Atlases of the United States in the dollar spot at Target, not gonna lie, I bought like 4 of them-- totally to Jim's dismay.

After collecting lots of dust in the office, I decided that it was now or never to get my craft on with these things.  So I started simple.  I have seen this done many different ways, but here's the inspiration.  Of course I don't have access to such sophisticated editing software and printing equipment, so I busted out those atlas maps and here's what I managed to come up with:

What you'll need:
1. A map- I have an antique map waiting to be used for the perfect project, I'm not sure if this is it, but the nicer the map, obviously the nicer the project will turn out.
2. Needle and thread and a pencil.
3. A frame.

Here's how to do it:

First, take your pencil and draw a heart on the opposite side of the paper on where you want the heart to appear, I didn't do it this way the first time and you can still see the pencil guidelines.  Then start sewing away, using your guidelines on the back.  Please keep in mind that paper is incredibly unforgiving and cheap paper even more so.  Therefore, use your guideline meticulously or you'll end up ripping the paper and the project will be a bust.

After you've got the first few stitches in, you're pretty much home free.  Once you've got your heart complete, then you can secure it in the back, I did this by threading my string through the knot at the end of the thread.  Next, you should frame it and then either display on a table, or hang.

Wha-lah, here's my handmade heart map- please note that I don't live in Washington, nor have I ever been, I chose a random state and a random city.  So, if your're from Clarkston, Washington and would like a heart-map of your city, let me know; I'll mail it to you.

Also, and I think I've said this before, but I'm always so torn as to whether or not I actually want "home-made" projects to look that way or not.  In this case I actually think it adds to the character- like I said that quality of the map leaves a little to be desired, but that can be remedied pretty easily.

I hope you make a hear-map of your own and that your friends and family enjoy seeing your handiwork.  

Stop-Start, Stop-Start

Is anyone else perpetually living in a "stop-start" land?  Well, in case you're not, let me explain how it works in "stop-start" land; I'm the president, my husband is the vp and the kids, well they're the citizens of our lovely land.  "Stop-start" land is my version of life right now; everyday it seems like I'm starting something, only to have to stop it- either by choice or necessity, in order to gain precious moments in my life...


"Stop-start" is like this little parasite that grows over time to become some sort of global crisis in our household, all but whisking us away, whether we like it or not.

It's why I find myself trying to make 5:30 am into a full on play session with Arden, because I just don't know if we will have the opportunity to do so later, and if we do, there's a good chance that we'll have to stop long before he's belly laughed enough.  "Stop-start" mania is also why I have 40+ drafts in my blog post section; all started but never completed.  


How and when does this cycle end?  "Stop-start" is crampin' our style right now.  The kids are entitled to long, lazy summer days with sticky popsicle hands and feet that are grey from running on driveways inked with chalky color; instead ours are getting a dum-dum and crayons at a restaurant, where they draw stuff that  ends up getting water wrinkled and ketchup splattered.


So, I'm officially resigning as president and requiring that my husband and kids do too; we're closing the door, handing the "out for lunch sign" and having the camera pan over to the tumbleweeds rolling across the landscape, 'cause sorry y'all "stop-start" land is closed.  


The only problem is, how do we do this?  I suspect it has something to do with unplugging from the outside world- can that be done these days?  Well, we're going to find out.  Next weekend, we're doing it without technology, oh, we want to go somewhere, well allow me to get out a map.  Or we need to get a recipe, well let's look at one of our recipe box, or call a mother who has an even better recipe.  That's right, next weekend, we're making "stop-start" a thing of the past... well, for at least 48 hours.

Questions

I once watched Diane Sawyer on Oprah's Masterclass on OWN (is that still a thing?) and she quoted Albert Einstein, quoting his father (confusing, I know, but stay with me here); Einstein said that while his family ate dinner every night, his father never asked 'what he did in school today,' but rather, 'what was the best question he asked in school today.'  This quote and the sentiment of the thirst for knowledge via asking questions really resonates with me.

I question everything and believe it or not, sometimes I question things a little too much; I can't help it though.  I love a good question, one that stops me completely in my tracks and leaves me thinking, "I have no idea how to answer that."  It serves as a reminder- I don't know everything and that's okay.

I've tried to keep Einstein and Diane Sawyer's message alive in how I choose to parent my children: be open to their questions, no matter how many they ask, because when there are questions, there's a spark. A genuine interest and wide-eyed wonder at the world around us. I am, by nature, a person who questions everything- not in like a me vs "the man" way, but in a healthy, "now why's that?" sorta way and it's served me well and I hope it will translate into something meaningful for my children.

So, to all of those parents out there, encouraging their children to ask great questions in order to really experience the world and ultimately contribute to it, keep doing what you're doing; it's going to make your babies and our world a much better place.

I'll Admit that I

I have an irrational fear that if I ever enter an elevator that some important item ( like my keys, phone, money, etc.) will fall down the crack between the building floor and the elevator door, rendering me totally f'ed.  In reality, this has never and probably will never happen, but the shot of anxiety I got because it could happen is enough to keep me living in fear.

This Is Colossal

In light of the fact that I pined about my affection of photography yesterday and longed, via twitter (of course) to be able to draw well- or be an artist of any kinda, which I'm definitely not confusing with being a "crafter," I'd like to share one of my favorite websites ever, Colossal.

Colossal is an art blog that shares stunningly beautiful artwork from around the globe and from across the internet.  Entries feature art of all mediums and artists of all caliber- both professional and amateur.  Here are a few of the recent artworks that I've found incredibly beautiful.  I hope that you have the opportunity to explore the site and marvel at the other featured works, I promise that you will not be disappointed.

I found this portrait, done by Kumi Yamashita using a single sewing thread and wrapping it around hundreds of little nails to be breathtaking. 

And the carvings that Guy Laramee composed using books were stunning.  Utterly stunning.

And not to be outdone, here's something from a little artist of my own:

Hey, for being 1, this piece by Arden ain't half bad.

So... I Have A Blog

Every once in a while, I inadvertently mention that I have a blog to someone that wasn't aware and it's a really weird feeling: kinda like panic, filled with pride with a dash of "it's fierce, you should read it" type confidence.

Last night, I heard Aaron Sorkin discussing his latest endevaor, HBO's The Newsroom, and it reminded me that OnDemand had a free preview of the first ep, which I watched and thought was really good.  In that ep, there was an exchange between the main character, Will McAvoy- a fictional News Reporter on a cable station, and a newsroom employee, Neal:

Neal: Take the grand canyon, make it 3 times deeper, fill it with water and then poke a hole in the bottom. You  can't just yank the pin out of the planet and that's what's happened.
Will: How do you know all of this, you're the IT guy.
Neal: I'm not the IT guy, I write your blog.
Will: Are you kidding?
Neal: I think we're in the first hours of a serious story.
Will: No- I have a blog!

That exchange literally made me  laugh out loud, because I understand how Will's character feels.  Blogs are these forums in which anyone can "publish" anything they'd like, factual or not, funny or not- and trust me, I read a lot of not so funny ones (why?!).  So, last night on my way home from work, when I heard Aaron Sorkin on NPR's Fresh Air discussing his writing style, it brought me back to that laugh-out-loud moment I had a week or two ago: blogs are so anonymous that almost anyone can have one, yet they create this feeling of intimacy that is, in my opinion, unrivaled; and that's why I read them.  Mr. Sorkin basically said that he is not his character and that he writes in order to create a beautiful sound- something I think he does very well.


That got me to thinking: I write not because I consider myself a writer, but because it allows me to do somethings that I genuinely enjoy, like:

1. Post photographs of my kids.

2. Make funny comments about the photographs of my kids.

3. Share my experience- it's clearly not perfect, but I believe that I have a good life and that's not something that I don't recognize.
4. Get to live out my dream of being a party planner by going into the nitty gritty deets of the "homemade" parties we throw.


So, just so everyone's aware, I don't consider myself a writer, but I do consider myself a lifestyle blogger.  Writers attempt to make something beautiful and I attempt to make something tolerable- and that's the biggest distinction.  However, there are some legit writers that also are bloggers, like my friend Jaime, from whom I "stole" the picture below.  She meant it and I do too, thanks for liking me in spite of my crazy, mixed up, chaotic and marginally optionally grammatically correct written blog, I'm incredibly lucky and very grateful that people continue to read and that some of those readers still consider me a friend!

via: someecards

Cookin'

Over the weekend, we celebrated Uncle Joseph's birthday at a Hibachi restaurant and it was especially awesome for Cullen since he loves, "cookin'!"  Here's how it went:

We waited patiently for the chef, but that didn't stop Cullen from greeting everyone that walked into the room as though they were the chef.

The boy will no longer look at the camera without be promised gum.

Pretty sure he's wondering if this chef knows what he's doing and no, he didn't because he was the waiter that Cullen kept calling the chef.

Preparing for the magic to start...

So, besides the practical cooking portion of dinner, there's also a little "showmanship" if you will.  I've been to other Hibachi restaurants and it seems to be pretty similar, in that the chef likes to get the crowd's attention with some sort of "fire" flare up on the griddle.  Well, let me tell you that when the chef did that, Cullen ran into my arms (notice the empty chair next to me) and talked about the fire, "it's not gonna hurt me..." for the rest of dinner.  Eventually though, he realized that watching a chef cook live outweighed his fear and he was able to make it back into his seat.

It's cool though, my face was hidden so you can't see me laughing, but I was.

Assuring him that everything was going to be fine and that the "fire" was all gone.

In the end, we had a fantastic dinner and Cullen thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  We will definitely be back.

Olympic Thoughts

I have watched the Olympics forever.  One of my favorite events in gymnastics; hello, Kerri Strugg doing the vault in the 96' Olympics anyone?  So, I have always legitimately been puzzled as to why all and I literally mean all gymnasts across the world wear these hair clips.  Does anyone know?

Kinda Like A Circus Act, But Not

As a mother, wife, sister, cousin, friend, part-time doctor, full-time employee and human being, I find myself struggling all too often with balance.  Balancing my personal life and my work life, my mother time with my wife time, my family time with my social time and I've yet to feel like I've been able to achieve a consistent balance.  I think that's typical though, when one thing is going well, I'm saying to another thing, "give me a minute, I'll be right there."

If my life were a circus, I'd be the highwire tightrope walking act that would be featured somewhere between motorcycles blasting at full speed inside of a steel cage act and the 80 year old riding a horse while juggling fire sticks act- not a bad place to be if you ask me.

Since this isn't a circus and I never got any highwire tightrope training, nor do I have a balance pole, I'm just tryin' to do the very best that I can with what I've got.  Today, was one of those rare opportunities, where what I got was kinda' amazing and I really feel like I had a few solid hours of individual, quality time with my younger son and that's not something I get the opportunity to do often enough.

As he and I ran up and down Target aisle and weaved our way in and out of department stores, I found myself relishing every time he waved his little sticky fingers at a charmed stranger.  And it brought me sincere happiness as we jammed out together to Journey, Dave Matthews, The Who, Natalie Cole (yep, you can legit jam out to her) and Billy Joel, while we zipped around town, going every which-a-way and not looking back.  I didn't mind one bit that his agenda was to stay two-baby steps in front of me at all times or that he distracted me to the point of having to make 2 Target trips in 3 hours, because it was worth it to have these moments- that are definitely too short and sometimes too far between.

Here's a recap of how we spent the afternoon (please excuse the cell phone pictures):

He gets his fascination with mirrors from my side of the family; if there's a mirror, my family's all up in it.

Ahhh, I cannot imagine the day when he will really need a book bag to go off to kindy-garten.  Serious tears will be shed.

Lovely to meet you...

looks like there's a fuzzy in between your toes, let me get that for you.

Favorite part of the day for me: watching Arden play hide and go seek in the rack of white Ralph Lauren pants.
Worst part of the day for the store employee: watching Arden play hide and go seek in the rack of white Ralph Lauren pants.

Even More Commitment

I've talked a little bit about my 30 before 30 goal of maintaining some sort of overall wellness plan here and here, but I continue to struggle with consistency.  I've taken some expensive steps throughout this year that haven't really worked out, ahem Weight Watchers- it's a great program and lots of people have had long-term success with it; however, I will never be one of them.  So, keeping that in mind, I fell back on what works for me: hittin' the gym.

For the last 14 years, I've sporadically gotten myself into shape and every time, it's been by working out- the food part is what I struggle with, so this week, I decided to join a gym and here's how it's going:

Day 1: Didn't happen because I got stuck working late.

Day 2: Total fear, I was pretty sure that it was going to go something like this, my crying and being all embarrassed because I was so out of shape and all of the youngsters there were lappin' me big time:

But in reality, it was more diverse.  There were people of different shapes and sizes and I was somewhere in the middle.  And I gotta give mad props to all of the 60+ crowd that's working out- I hope that I have the same ability and commitment as they do when I'm their age.

Day 3: Not scary, not scary at all.  I had the distinct feeling that I can do it.


This morning, I've realized that I'm getting back into the groove and I'm on track to cover about 900 miles by the end of December, just in time for my big Par-tay, which is amazeballs for me.  And for the record, I've also come to grips with the fact that should I ever become a size 6 (hey, it could happen, right?) I wouldn't care if my head looked too big for my body; as my family would say, "this is a risk I'm willing to take!"

This Boy

Jim and I amuse ourselves in many ways.  One of the ways that we like to do this is by giving the other person a challenge to create a story or poem that has to include specific things.  For example, last night, I asked Jim to come up with a fictional robot romance story.  Needless to say, the story isn't going to make it onto the New York Times Best Seller list, but it was pretty funny listening to him describe the robot:

Jim: Once upon a time, there was a lady robot.

Me: What did she look like?

Jim: Uhm, she was gray and she had a bow on her head.

Me: On her head?  How did it stay on there?

Jim: It's glued on there.

Me: Well, that sounds painful.

Today, in the spirit of doing something a little out of the ordinary, I've decided to do something I haven't done since like the 5th grade: write a poem.  But not just any poem, a Haiku inspired by the series of pictures below.  So, without further ado, here's my Haiku entitled This Boy:

it is easy to

see that he is very cute

but really messy