Don't You Forget About Me

I have been tagged by my friend Arlynda (or as the chick in Idaho thought, R-Linda), and I'm supposed to make a list of six random things about myself. I'll try to think of things that not many people know about me. 1. In High School, I had a crush on Jeff Goldblum. It pretty much started with Jurassic Park, but I loved him in Independence Day, too. When he and Will Smith are walking across the desert after having saved the world, swaggering and smoking their cigars . . . so sexy! 2. As many of you know, I love to read, but I hesitate to start new books. I have a problem I refer to as "Readers ADD." If a book doesn't get my attention within the first few minutes (around five pages), I'm done with it. I seriously can't bring myself to read it anymore! When it does 'grab' me, I have a really hard time putting it down. I have been known to stay up all night reading, just to know what happens. I usually get my books from the D.I. (a chain of local thrift stores) for less than $1. I should really go to the library to save some coin, but if I like a book, I'll read it more than once. 3. I love all things French. The language, the culture, the food . . . I get homesick for it. In response to all the hype surrounding the election, Allen has said (more than once), "Do you want to move to France?" Honestly, I'd love to. I can very easily imagine raising my family in la campagne (the country), taking trains everywhere, eating fresh baguettes for breakfast every day. Man. I truly left part of my heart there. I love Belgium too, but I feel an irresistible draw toward la France. I love to watch Rick Steves' Europe; it gives me my 'fix.' This is my friend Rick in Belgium: 4. My hair is stick-straight. It has been damaged enough from coloring that it will hold some curl from the 3-barrel and curlers, but I am absolutely incapable of coaxing any natural curl from my head. 5. I have a really strange memory--I'm really good at remembering song lyrics. If you give me a phrase, I can usually come up with a song that includes it. When I'm in surgery, I'm actually better at concentrating when there is music in the background that I know, and I can sing along unconsciously. We were listening to some cool Jazz-type music on a surgeon's iPhone yesterday, and he actually told me he was sorry I couldn't sing along to it, because he thinks I have a nice voice! Warm fuzzies! 6. If I could afford it, I would get a "nose job" (rhinoplasty). I really hate the way it looks in pictures--I swear it's getting more bulbous every year! Here's a little bonus random fact. I tried out for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir last year. I was rejected, which isn't surprising. And I'm okay with that. I tried out before I knew I was pregnant, so it would have been a bad time anyway. I'll try again in a few years, after I have had some singing lessons! I'm supposed to tag 10 other people, but I'll just leave it to you--if you want to do it, go for it. I'd love to learn random things about you! Here are some cute pictures of my new niece Tessa and my little man. Such sweethearts!

Show Me Life

I haven't posted for a while, and right now my brain is pretty numb, but I should do some kind of update! So on Monday, I had to work at 11, and around 9am, I was taking a shower. Benji was in the exersaucer in the living room. Our house is on a hill, so there is a door on the main floor, with stairs that lead to the basement (where we live). At the top of the stairs are two doors that lead into the upstairs apartment. The stairs are between the bathroom and the living room, and when I got out of the shower, I was going to check on Benji. I didn't see anything, but Mrs. X had her head in the door and said, "Mary?" I backed up pretty fast, but I'm 99% sure she saw me naked. Nice. She said there was someone there to fix the furnace, which is in our apartment (we have had a gas leak). I asked her to give me a minute to get dressed, which she did. It's just a little obnoxious, to know that people are in and out of your house all the time, with them trying to sell it and all. Gotta love it. We chatted a little bit while she was down here with the furnace guy. She hasn't been kicked out of the military, but she does think her superiors are trying to get rid of her. She has lost 30 lbs in the last couple of months, and she looks really good, but she's having "panic attacks" about being discharged. I asked her what is so great about it, and she said that she likes the adventure, and going interesting places, and that the Navy had 'kept her sane' for the past six years (basically the whole time she has been married). She said she'd even go on active duty if it meant she could stay. Hmm. I'm not really shy, but I am a fairly private person. Even so, the other day I heard Mrs. X talking, and it was pretty loud. So I eavesdropped. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I sat on the bottom of the stairs for a few minutes and listened. I don't know who she was talking to, but she was describing (pretty graphically) some intimate moments with her husband. She also said she thinks Mr. X is addicted to porn, and she's thinking about putting up a hidden camera that faces the computer screen to 'catch him in the act.' That way, she'll have something to go on if she files for divorce. And I thought I had problems! I feel bad for the kid--this woman simply doesn't want to be a mother. It really is too bad. I really need to go to bed. I'm going to try to convince Allen to give our 30-days notice on November 1st (that will be about 2 months since they told us they were selling the house), and that way we can begin apartment hunting in earnest. I'm just not really comfortable here anymore. It's pretty sad to feel that way about your home.

A Time And A Place For Everything

For those of you who are not in Northern Utah, consider yourselves lucky. This is the view from my back door. Yes, that's snow. It's October, people! I liked the fall weather, with the temperature around 70 degrees. What do you do? I guess I shouldn't have ordered that milk shake (I was in denial). I love Christmas, but winter is seriously depressing. Here are some pictures of my cute baby. The first one is the original, the second is the one I retouched. He has a strange rash on his cheek, so I took it out. Doesn't he have the most beautiful eyes? I love looking at them. He was so cute during his bath tonight that I had to take some pictures. His faux-hawk is getting pretty long (it stands up a good two inches!), but I can't bring myself to cut it! I love his hair! And this is just a cute picture of him in the hand-me-down jammies (both Lily and Noah wore them, I think). We actually have some room for him to move around now, since we got rid of the couch and the coffee table. We put them out with the trash this week, but we still need to bring the futon into the living room. Anyway, Benji can roll all the way across the room, but he's not on his hands and knees yet. It will happen soon enough. We have been apartment hunting, and we found a pretty good one today. She wants us to move in ASAP, but we don't have $500 lying around for a deposit! We'll talk to our neighbors about getting our deposit back tomorrow. I don't know if it will happen, since we are supposed to give them 30 days notice. I think they could sell the house faster with us gone. We shall see. I'm not particularly excited about moving, but it is time.

The Best Laid Plans This Side Of America

I came across a very interesting article about my friend Rick Astley. Okay, so he's not really my friend, but I have had a little crush on him since I was about 8 years old. Actually, that's pretty much the last (and only) time he had a hit single, but now he's up for an award from MTV Europe as "The Best Act Ever." I think it's hilarious. It's likely thanks to "Rickrolling" (see Wikipedia definition here. It makes me happy. I was hoping to have some good family time this weekend, with General Conference and such, but it didn't happen. I caught the cold that had been spreading around my work. I have been waiting for Benji to catch it--if I couldn't fight this one off, how could he? He has been a bit stuffy and somewhat grumpier than usual, but it hasn't hit him too bad. Even so, we stayed away from family in hopes that they won't catch it either. It's sad--I want to see baby Tessa again! I was looking forward to going to Logan, too. Tant pis. I probably got more out of conference (even though I pretty much slept through the session this morning) than I would have had we been in Logan, but I love spending time with my family. It doesn't happen often enough for my liking. I needed to include this little video of my baby laughing. Make sure you have some volume--his laugh is precious! My mom (Nanny) was punching a balloon in front of him, and every time she did it, he would crack up. He's such a cutie. Yes, I'm a little biased, but I just can't help it. This picture is of Nanny tickling him. He's only ticklish around his shoulders and neck--he won't even crack a smile if you don't get him in the right spot. He'll usually take a good 2-3 hour nap during the day, but he wasn't having any of it today. I'm sure many of you parents out there understand the drama involved with nap time. Any hints on how to make it easier? If he's not already asleep when I put him down, he'll scream. Allen just lets him cry it out, but I'm a softy. If he's really tired, I'll let him cry for a few minutes, but today he went on for more than 15 minutes, and when I went in to check on him, he was still wide awake. In other news, we are getting rid of our couch this week--it's Bountiful city's bulk clean-up, so we can put the big stuff out with the trash. I'm debating on whether or not to get rid of the love seat; I don't think I will, but I'm not sure where to put it. It'll probably go into Benji's room, and we'll bring out the f'ton. We'll doze the coffee table as well, so we can make some room for the little man to crawl. He's not there yet, but there isn't any kind of room to do so right now! It will also be good to simplify, since we'll probably be moving again soon. Our landlords (the upstairs neighbors) told us they are thinking about moving, so he can go to grad school. So . . . we are apartment hunting again. We'd like to be a little closer to my work (in the Murray/Taylorsville area). If you see anything promising (with at least one full bath--bathing a 22 lb baby in the kitchen sink is getting old!), let me know! Here's the video. Enjoy! P.S. Here's a link to a really funny blog entry. I don't know who this chick is, and although I like Twilight, I can appreciate her point of view!

I'll Teach You All This In 8 Easy Steps

8 8 TV Shows I Love to Watch: 1: Grey's Anatomy 2: Scrubs 3: Rick Steve's Europe 4: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 5: The View 6: Good Things Utah 7: Law and Order 8: America's Got Talent 8 Things That Happened Yesterday: 1: I called in sick to work 2: I took a nap and woke Allen up from a nap 3: I fed Benji squash and rice cereal 4: I washed dishes and scrubbed the sink 5: I watched the Vice-Presidential debate (and cringed at Palin's pronunciation of "nuclear" 6: I made Easy-Mac for dinner 7: I took Mucinex and Benadryl so I could sleep 8: I wrote a blog entry while trying to watch Scrubs! 8 Favorite Places to Eat (In No Particular Order): 1: Mama Spaghetti's 2: The Cheesecake Factory 3: Cafe Rio 4: In-N-Out 5: Best Burger (the best fries & fry sauce in Bountiful!) 6: The Mandarin (the best chinese food in Utah!) 7: The Pie 8: The Bluebird 8 Things I'm Looking Forward to: 1: General Conference 2: Taking some time off to get my shoulder fixed 3: The next family gathering (probably Thanksgiving) 4: The Christmas season 5: Getting out of debt (someday!) 6: Moving into our own house 7: Being a SAHM eventually 8: Watching Benji grow up 8 Things on My Wish List: 1: A real wedding ring 2: An awesome body 3: Rhinoplasty (a nose job) 4: A Cayenne (yeah, right!) 5: A house of our own 6: A cruise to Hawaii 7: Lasik 8: A Canon Rebel XSi

It's Too Late, Baby

I have pretty much been a blogging slacker when it comes to writing tributes to my friends and family on their special days. I'd like to blame it on this nasty cold I have right now, but one day out of many is a pretty poor excuse; I'm a day late and a dollar short on a lot of things right now. So first of all, Happy Birthday, Rebecca! I'm glad it has been a good one so far; she deserves some happiness. I love this picture. Becca probably won't (because she's not wearing any makeup!), but it says so much about her. Mia is beautiful and happy, and Becca is looking at her with so much love. Rebecca is a great mother, a beautiful woman and a fierce friend. Thank you for being such a wonderful sister, Beck. She also posted a lovely tribute to my brother John on his "Angel Birthday." You may read it here. I have a hard time talking about him, because it was such a sacred experience for me. John was (and still is) one of my best friends. We were so close in age (he was 15 months younger than me) and we were the middle children in our family. As such, we had a special connection, and I think we understood each other. I still miss him acutely, but I know he's still around. Even if I can't see him, I think my baby can. I'll 'talk' to him sometimes. I know I will see him again. Although I may not understand everything about the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have no doubt that we will live again after we die. Christ made it possible for us to live together as eternal families, and I am so grateful for that knowledge.