grape headache
we are not as young as we once were. poor cam. maybe we won"t buy that wine ever again.
low foot clearance
surreptitiously blogging since 2005
July 3, 2009
shake it
am oddly fascinated by the flirtygirl fitness videos. i dig that you can try out a pole for a $1. where on earth would you put such a thing?
in with the fix, out with the cash
our awnings were finished and installed two weeks ahead of schedule. they look great, but of course, now everything else looks a little shabby. our next project will have to involve a little more elbow grease, a little less contractor assistance. i'm thinking repainting the railings.
it's been a rough few weeks money-wise. as soon as we paid the deposit for the awnings, we had a plumbing emergency to the tune of $2K+. and then the car was in the shop twice... i'm glad we got the awnings done, but it seems to have triggered a chain reaction that we could have done without.
July 2, 2009
liquid soap
i tried an experiment.
yesterday i noticed the soap dispenser in the bathroom was almost empty, so i put the big costco refill bottle on the counter.
today i found the soap dispenser even emptier and the refill bottle in exactly the same place. i filled up the dispenser and put the bottle away.
har.
July 1, 2009
sibling rivalry
the kids, oh how they fight. nola usually wins with a swipe and a scream. paul falls back, pouting and whining. it's a little disturbing to realize that it can only get worse from here, but i can find comfort in the fact that it will not last. at least it won't if i can help it.
my brother and i fought like crazy when we were growing up. we argued over anything, everything. (my mother blamed me for the decline of that relationship.) we were legendary amongst the family for our inability to get along. it was so bad that at my own brother's FUNERAL my aunt asked me why i was sad. "you hated each other." never mind that we had pretty much eased up on the fighting for years by the time he died. never mind that he was MY brother and i was HIS sister and that DEATH had taken away a person i had known my entire life. he was GONE. is GONE. FOREVER.
pardon the caps. the rank stupidity of that comment never fails to rankle.
i like to think that my brother and i could have had a good adult relationship. it hurts that there isn't one. i think about people estranged from their siblings and i wonder, "how could they have let that happen? this is the only person who knows exactly what you went through. there is a lifetime, a wealth of shared experience wasted because of past strife." (not that i always think in such language.) nola and paul will one day be friends -- or just not enemies. that's all i ask.
June 29, 2009
a new start or more of the same?
my boss announced late last week that he has a new boss. what kind of changes are in store for us?
June 28, 2009
re facebook
it pleases me to know that people have grown ugly or plump or just plain aged. so much more interesting than staying exactly the same ("you haven't changed in x years!").
not a typical saturday night
cam and i had a date night (5:30-8:30?) while his parents and sister watched the kids. we went to an italian restaurant in brentwood -- nothing fancy, just a little neighborhood kind of place. one of our favorites. after dinner, we sat outside and laughed at ridiculous high school experiences with all the good cheer engendered by a bottle of wine and a happy relationship. we sang all the way home.
then we went to pick up the kids. newsflash: nola took THREE steps to me! so exciting. i'm still a little astonished i didn't cry. apparently she stood up a few times while we were gone, but there was no walking until we arrived.
it was pretty late by the time we got home, so we put the kids straight to bed. i wanted to stay up with cam, but nola was fussy so i spent more time with her than with him. around a quarter to one, he woke me but then decided i should go back to sleep. since i was asleep, i don't think i had anything intelligent to contribute.
and here i am now, awake with a crippling stomachache. am not quite certain what could have caused it -- dirty vegetables? maybe the dairy i sneaked in my dessert? (insert shamefaced emoticon here.) whatever it was, man! not exactly the best ending to a really great night.
June 27, 2009
musical taste must not be genetic
nola just crawled over to the tv remote, changed the channel to a documentary on the rolling stones and gave it three thumbs up. what?
June 26, 2009
grownup
one of my assistants pointed out the difference between him and me:
him: when i walk into your office, i do get the feeling that you are definitely an adult.
him: and i definitely am not.
me: um, thanks.
me: enjoy it.
him: oh i do... every. single. day.
dude. when did i get so old? he's older than i am, but i am so... boringly suburban. (plus i am his supervisor, so i can see how that might be a factor.) after i spent a bit of the day looking at old pictures and talking about past experiences, i really am feeling a hundred years old. i was cool and adventurous once, right?
walk the walk
did i mention that nola is now standing on her own? it is sooo cute. paul likes to have standing contests with her -- when she sits down on her diapered behind, paul cheers. "i win!" (it's crucial to him that he wins, and it's not important to her if she loses, so... there you have it.) i both can't wait for and fear the advent of walking. it will be a new era.
but even without walking, it's not like she's not mobile. just the other day she scooted through an open baby gate and shoved it closed -- with me on the other side. i looked at cam. "your mom says she does that to her all the time," he remarked.
she's almost 14 months now. paul started walking at 15. when will her turn come?
