a steal at only $17.95!

I don't even care that it squirts gel out like snot. What I DO care about is how uncomfortable I would be with a gigantic nose staring at me while I shower.

Michelle's birthday is coming up. We usually just go the "gift card shopping spree" route, but this changes everything.

WHY I LOVE DRIVING IN THE RAIN:

Reflections. Everything always looks so crisp and shiny and fresh.


WHY I SHOULDN'T TAKE PICTURES WHILE DRIVING:
#1 I end up driving like I'm 95. Which we all know is generally not the safest thing.
#2 Jen will scold me.

saving the best for last.

This weekend turned out to be a really great one for a variety of reasons:

#1 On Friday I finally had my shaggy hair trimmed. IT’S ABOUT TIME. It was that awkward length where I feel like it never looks attractive but is necessary to fight through in order to be long again. Lately I’ve been joking about my “mullet” because the back is growing faster than the front. So on Friday afternoon I sit down at the salon, pull off my hat with shame, and laughingly say, “Kim, please help me. I have a mullet.” Kim takes one look and quickly says, “Oh wow. You really do. Yes, we definitely need to fix that.” Oh. I was only half serious about the mullet thing. But apparently there was no need to joke because it was the truth. How long have I been embarrassing myself in public?

#2 That night we took Hilda out to dinner for her birthday. She has an obsession with Olive Garden so of course we ended up there followed by cake and ice cream. Last year I had grand plans of making her a faux hamburger birthday cake (this girl can eat burgers like you wouldn’t believe), but that idea fell flat on its face. So this time around I chose something a little more doable: an Andes mint chocolate cake. Eating chocolate with mint is preferred because it fools your mind into thinking you’re eating something fresh instead of buttery fat. And I got to use my pretty cake stand which was AWESOME. Anyway, Happy Birthday Hilds!




#3 Saturday I had a FANTASTIC long run. Which was a much needed morale boost considering the previous Saturday’s Long Run from Hell. Now to somehow make it 26.2. Pray for me.

#4 Remember this? Well, it finally happened. Definitely the highlight of the weekend (and then some). Everyone give a warm welcome to the handsome Cash Richard Venable!

He arrived on Saturday weighing in at 6 lbs 11 oz and 19 inches long. Isn’t he perfect? I’m so incredibly happy to finally have him with us. And you KNOW this kid is gonna be stellar because he started things off at 19 inches. That’s just good luck.

Can't beat that.

... and my fur isn't red enough ... and my nose is crooked ...

This weekend Michelle and I made a quick stop at Ikea (well, quick for Ikea). While searching through the kid section for something cute for my soon-to-be nephew Cash, we ran across this little burst of sunshine.

I've never seen a depressed fox before. Is the Swedish depression rate sky high or something? Definitely not the type of stuffed animal I'd want to give little Cash. "Welcome to the world, kid. Good luck. You're gonna need it."

thursday.

Today's sunrise was pretty great ...

painting

Yesterday after dinner Curlie and I painted nails with the girls. I don't know how we made it through without nail polish all over our clothes. Maybe we didn't and I just haven't found the big glob of pink on my jeans yet.

Kambri: Rainbow ... of mostly pinks and purples.

Aubree: All purple. At least until she saw Kambri's "rainbow" and had to follow suit.

Curlie: Kambri chose a nice and cheery dark blue for her.

Me: Aubree painted {see below}. She said "uh oh..." a lot. But coloring outside the lines is artistic, right?

At least my shy pinky toe escaped some of the mayhem.

if? or WHEN ...

Remember Conan’s If They Mated? Awhile back Hilda and I conducted our own and LUCKY LUCKY – I found the pictures! I give you …

LEECHELLE

A pleasing mix of Lee A. and Michelle. We DID always want them to get together.

STEVEANNA

Steve S. + Shanna. Gorgeous. What scared us most about this mate is that we’re pretty sure this person has been spotted at Wal-Mart.

We had more, but they really weren’t very good and we got distracted Photoshopping hair on Ricky. I give some value to these pictures because of the grief they caused me. The “special” program we downloaded to make them was apparently a 3-for-1 virus special that ended with my laptop out of commission for about a month. That’s what I get for haphazardly downloading. Guess at the very least I got a blog post out of it.

bizkit the sleep walking dog

This is HILARIOUS. Brings back fond memories of Karlee's sleep walking phase...

k & a

The Princesses had birthdays this month. Of course, pink is all the rage when you're 3 going on 4 -- pink princesses, pink ponies, pink fingernails, pink hair bows, PINK PINK PINK. Since my goal in life is to be the favorite aunt, I went in search of the pinkest gifts I could find. Too bad I wasn't the only one in the family with that genius idea. I think we had pink nearly exploding from the living room both times. Buuut .... you should have seen their excited little faces. Bring on the pink. Sorry, Josh -- but we'll be into blues and greens soon enough (1 more month!)

Oh, and I got to experiment by making a rainbow cake. Heart shaped and eventually frosted PINK. Of course.

the '80s -- broken down.

hey ... mazel tov!

After Virginia/DC in the fall and now recently Connecticut/NYC , I think I've fallen in love with the east coast. Of course, that might be "vacation" love and not necessarily "living" love, which I consider to be a notable difference. But I think I could live out there for a time -- it's beautiful. I'd eventually finding my way back to Utah, though. The combination of family and mountains is a strong motivator.

Anyway -- here is a quick slide show of pictures from our trip. I would add more commentary, but I'm exhausted right now and sleep sounds more appealing than typing. Suffice it to say that the trip was jam packed full of new things. New York was FREEZING COLD, but it was still exciting to see it for the first time, even if it was for only a day. I can't wait to go back when the temperature isn't 2,000 below and wind isn't burning my face raw. But I still need to get a hot dog from a street vendor, take a run in Central Park, and see a Broadway show so I'll definitely be back. The Bar Mitzvah was awesome. It was really interesting to observe and be a small part of the Jewish culture for a couple of days. We ate kosher, went to synagogue, tried some classic Jewish food, and attempted to help out where we could. Overall, definitely time well spent.

Okay really, here's the slide show:

And to top it all off, a little taste of the Bar Mitzvah. This is Ira, Asher's dad:

You're stone cold if that video doesn't make you smile -- even just a little bit. Now if only I could find Shanna's "Carlton" video to share. It's conveniently missing ....

Need a laugh? This worked for me, especially with the commentary. I think we should bring some of these cards back .... just to make things a little more interesting. One of my favorites:

"Ladies, should a pretty young man wearing a bright pink cowboy hat ever tell you that he wants you to be his valentine, he's not only lying to you, he's also lying to himself."

let's go outback tonight

Out of the thousands of millions of jingles out there, I have a favorite: Outback Steakhouse. Hearing it the first time I thought it was a real song, loved it, was ready to write the name down to download it, only to be disappointed when the Aussie guy started jabbering about the restaurant.

Then today happened. Today I discovered that it was an actual song before it was a jingle. How great is that? Except that now I associate it with Outback Steakhouse. And I've never even been there. Anyway, the song is called Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games by Of Montreal.

CT & NYC

We're back. It was a getaway full of new things and funny stories. I have pictures to post, but am also still ridiculously tired so this will have to do for now.

Now you KNOW it was a good time because what else happens when there are Elton John glasses involved? You just wait. I have a picture of a grown man doing the splits.

'Answer me this Richard, what sort of animal would serve a desert with peas in?'

You've probably all read this already, but I can't help but post about it. It's a complaint letter written to Richard Branson, head of Virgin Atlantic airways, from a customer on one of his flights. The guy is hilarious. I'd love to hear his take on waiting in line at the DMV or the dentist. Or the Walmart on 13th south. My favorite part of the letter:

"I’ll try and explain how this felt. Imagine being a twelve year old boy, Richard. Now imagine it’s Christmas morning and you’re sat their with your final present to open. It’s a big one, and you know what it is. It’s that Goodmans stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.

Only you open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your hamster, Richard. It’s your hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this ...."

I love it. Anyway, read the whole thing here if you want.