Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a blessed and joyous Christmas!

Goobers!

All of us lookin so cute!

Countdown till Christmas!

I LOVE Christmas.  I love the religious aspects of it, I love the materialistic aspects of it.  We always spend Christmas Eve with my husbands family and their (newish) church is becoming one of my favorite places to celebrate Christmas.  They have a large Deaf and Hard of Hearing population and I love watching the signing of the singing.  I wish my signing skills were up to par!  Their church does an exceptional job of reminding us that this holiday isnt filled with gifts and food for kicks.  It's really about the birth of Jesus.

Anyway this will be our 2nd Christmas as a family of 3 and the bebes is REALLY getting into it this year.  We got the fisher price nativity set for her and this way we have physical objects she can touch and relate to while we talk to her about Christmas.  It also plays music which is not such a bad thing!  We've learned she LOVES to help unwrap gifts even if they aren't for her and her new favorite word is tee (tree).

Yesterday we had to hit up urgent care for the bebes and myself because we were hit over the weekend with a sore throat swollen glands painful ears 102 temp and massive sinus issues (for me) and a wicked one ear infection (for bebes) that the Dr said was one of the worse she'd ever seen.  After 6 HOURS of doctors and pharmacies we arrived at home...took our med and passed out for 4 hours each.  Thank goodness we went yesterday it looks like we'll be back to our normal healthy selves by Christmas.

I'm so excited to cram in 4 different family events in 2.5 days and then head back home to relax for a week with Dave and the bebes.  Dave and I have our 3 year wedding anniversary.  I know I know...we are suuuuch an old married couple haha  It should just be a good time off with friends and family.

I have a few more gifts to wrap and one more to purchase.  A quick selfish trip to the mall and some cookies to bake...and I should be ready.  I'm so not stressed this year its been really great.  I'm so prepared I'm glad too because this weekends sickness festivities would have really put a wrench in my plans if things needed to get done.  My house may be a mess but no ones going to see it...I'll deal with it after Christmas.  For now...I'm just relaxing...doing some laundry so I don't look 'special' in front of family...and enjoying the season.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and some tasty cookies and a few extra calories and are able to enjoy all the wonderful people in your lives.

Wordless Weekend

Wordless Weekend.

I am Thankful.

Most years we celebrate Thanksgiving as a small family of three (or two because the bebes hasn't been around that long).  My husband is in retail...we can't make it home for Thanksgiving...we've never made it home for Thanksgiving.  It's always just us...a straggler friend here and there...and a lot of leftovers...mmm I love leftovers!

This year though...THIS YEAR...we have family coming.  I'm so excited my parents are coming up for Thanksgiving.  We love to cook for people and its nice to just relax with family.  Dave has been brining the turkey since this morning.  I'm heading home shortly to work on sides and appetizers.  Tomorrow should actually be pretty low key.

Our normal holiday traditions usually center around my mom and I cooking/baking/running around like crazies...while my step-dad watching James Bond on Spike TV.  Now I didn't check the schedule for Spike yesterday but I do know the SyFy channel will have a Bond marathon and heck...we own all of them so it shouldn't be a problem.  I can guarantee that the volume will be up so loud that it will be a challenge for any of us to talk over it.  My Dad has little understanding of the fact he MAY be loosing some of his hearing...and probably has been for the past 30 years....

Anyway I'm excited...I bought a $2.50 turkey decoration to really class up my house.  Ironically the dining room looks very classy...the turkey brings it down a few notches.  Right where I like it.

Okay I'm done rambling...bring on the pie...I am thankful for pie.

(And yes I'm thankful for about 2938473 other little things right now...but I'm hungry and not so nostalgic.  Maybe I will be later?  Maybe not?)

Wordless Weekend

Wordless Weekend

Lets see how much I can spit at you in 8 minutes

and go...

This weekend I think we are going to be cooking/baking and dirtying the kitchen in the general havoc of family frying fiasco. I've requested doughnuts be made and imitation auntie Anne's pretzels.

I'm also hoping to get in a good full Saturday of college football and at least one glass of chocolate milk...no those two things don't go together but heck there's no internal or external editing going on right now.

This week has FLOWN by and I'm insanely exhausted we got the bebes chipped ghetto tooth fixed and a weird spot on her leg analyzed which is good because it looks as though there is no issue. Huzzah (I wasn't overly worried though). Shes also officially in a toddler bed. Holy crap I'll discuss my neurosis about that whole subject later...Yikes.

In other news I'm OBSESSED with every new bit of new holiday decor that is out. Most specifically in the Williams-Sonoma Inc. group. If I had a million dollars...I would end up with one room done from that company and I wouldn't let anyone in it. ever.

Well I've been an utter failure at the awesome 8 minute blog but I'm chatting with friends and answered my phone twice so I'll just let myself be immortalized (on my own blog?) as a slacker and a failure.

Have a great weekend everyone.

xoxo and soft pretzels,

lindso

My eyes hurt and the bebes is getting a new tooth...

Can I even tell you how much I NEEDED this jimmy deans breakfast sandwich and my large nalgene filled with ice water...

like woah.

You've Got Mail!

I LOOOOVE GETTING THE MAIL! Like...I love it. I LOOOOOVE IT. I'm such a wacko.

I'm that guy...who mails things from home just so that I know when the red flag goes down that the mail has come. My mom used to say when I was little that I wouldnt like getting the mail when I grew up because it would just be bills and flyers etc etc. She was SOO wrong.

I often get upset when Dave is home and I'm not and he gets to retrieve the mail. How childish am I? VERY childish....yep very. I just REALLY want to get the mail before anyone else. I don't even mind getting the bills. Because when bills come you work on budgets and spending plans and its like answering questions like "how broke am I?" and "how much wine can I buy with my earnings after paying the gas bill?" You know...Important life altering questions.

I get really excited when home/garden/design magazines come because that means I get to make a mess ripping out all the important pages for my various projects and detailed expensive home improvement plans.

Now that I have the bebes getting the mail is an adventure for both of us. Not only do we spend a GREAT deal of time making our way down to the mailbox (ahem about 30 feet)....but my child I truly believe shares my love of mail delivery. She gets insanely excited to hold all the junk mail and often leaves it around the front yard for Dave to pick up when he gets home from work. I've taught her well.

Ironically tragically and rudely...I'm HORRIBLE at sending mail. I mean I'm really not awesome. I should probably work on that. Sorry. My bad.

Wordless Weekend a little Fuzzy?

Wordless Weekend

I really want pickles...

and no I'm not pregnant!

I'm also craving things like cheeseburgers and chocolate. If you know me I don't crave chocolate I don't know whats wrong with me. Also since the bebes birth...I had a hard time enjoying a glass of wine. I get all stuffed up. I also LOVE tomatoes now? It's like they are candy!

Maybe I'm just crazy....last night I had the meanest craving for tuna noodle casserole. We are SOOO having tuna noodle casserole tonight for dinner! Everyone I've said that to has given me the "ew gross" look but I'm really excited about it. It's not going to be one of those heavy creamy casseroles its going to be loaded with peas and broccoli and tuna...aaaand some pasta and cream sauce but still...it's going to be amazing. I threatened a coworker with it earlier. I know she secretly wants it!

I have been monitoring my Twitter and Facebook over the last week and apparently all I talk about is food? Am I a bit of a foodie? Yes. Is it all I do? No......am I now blogging about it? You betcha!

That is all...goodnight and so long!

Forget Wordless Wednesdays....this is Wordless Weekend

A Cathartic Need to Share my Opinions

Last Friday the Bebe's fell, and chipped her tooth...and busted up her lip...yes busted up...it looked rather ghetto so busted up is the right phrase here. First thing Saturday morning we took her to the dentist to get her all checked out. Apparently there wasn't an exposed nerve so our options were to A) leave it alone B) if sensitivity is noticed fix the tooth or C) for aesthetic reasons we could just fix the tooth.

Saturday and Sunday proved to be a bit of a pain for the Bebe's and you could tell her tooth was bothering her. Monday morning I called and made an appointment for the following day (because Dave had that day off) to take her in and get it fixed. We were presented with two more options. A) put an inexpensive "band aid" over the tooth and wait a few years for the baby tooth to fall out or B) fix the tooth and return it to its normal shape. I struggled with whether we were being vain in wanting our child's flawless till Friday baby teeth back to normal or if we actually cared. After talking to everyone I know...because that's just what I do...we decided to fix the tooth completely. Dave and I felt like having our child with a bum tooth for the next 4-5 years till it feel out was rather silly and it would affect her chewing and all that crazy nonsense. So decision made....Tuesday Dave heads to the dentist.

I get a call when everything is all over (I like it this way...causes me to chill out and not freak out). Apparently it did not go well. The Bebe's tooth got infected. Her cute little snaggle tooth managed to get infected between Saturday and Tuesday. They did x-rays and decided that we had two new options....A) pulpotomy or a pulpectomy (Baby root canal) or B) pull the tooth. Dave decided to do the what I come to find out is a VERY painful for all parties option the pulpotomy.

Poor Dave is now laying on the dentists chair with the Bebe's over his shoulder and their heads are right next to each other and she's screaming and hes within inches of it and I don't even want to type the rest out here...it was bad...

They came to visit after it was all done and she looked like she had been beaten with a wet noodle...for hours and hours and hours. Poor kid needed a hug and a bath and some baked beans from Steak n' Shake apparently. Point here: she needed some serious extra lovin.

So Dave's giving me the recap of the events and he's really good at remembering specific details much better than I am. So I feel adequately informed of everything that went on and heck if I had an issue, it's done and over with what am I going to do about it? Apparently though... during the whole dentist visit the doctor kept asking Dave if he wanted to call his wife and talk it over, make sure everything was okay with me yadda yadda etc etc. Dave insisted quite a few times that it was no big deal and what he agreed with and supported in our child's dental health was fine. At the end of the visit the Dr. said he would call later and check on our kiddo and see if we had any additional questions. Or I guess to see if "I" had any additional questions.

I'll get into my equal parenting rant here in one short moment.....to conclude the story....the dentist called...from a blocked number...at NINE FORTY FIVE AT NIGHT. Now maybe I'm old fashion or maybe I'm just much lamer than I was back in college and high school...but who the heck calls after 9/9:30 if it's not an emergency...unless you are expecting a call? Often my MIL calls later in the evening but that's expected. Heck my mother sometimes calls after 10 her time (very scandalous). I have a few friends who call later in the evening too but most people leave a married couple with kid(s) alone after a certain hour in the evening. On top of that...most of our friends and family are in a time zone an hour ahead of us so it's even later for them than it is for us. So really 9:45 maybe I'm being a bit dramatic but it's just a little late for a non-emergency medical call?

(Side note...this whole experience as much as it sucks...the Dr's really have rocked. From our pediatrician to the pediatric dentist they are all awesome...I think they should be given a lot of credit. And yes I'm complaining about 9:45 but heck it was nice for him to call us just to check in....)

Okay equal parenting rant.... I often get really uppity with Dave when I think he's slacking off on his parenting/husbanding/life partnering duties. Rightly so and sometimes not so rightly so....yes so rightly so rightly so...I like to use the English language and mold it into my own structure and lexiconical usages....

I get frustrated with Dave when he leaves the kitchen a mess or can't manage to get his clothes in the laundry basket. I get frustrated when I've given the Bebe's a bath for 4 straight evenings (because hes not home...hes at work...not cause hes a slacker lol) and he gives me some attitude when I suggest he take a turn. Sometimes he walks out of a room that I'm in with our child and doesn't even think to ask if I don't mind hanging out for a few minutes so he can get something done. He often assumes I'm just going to 'watch' the child. Part of this I know...is that our culture so ingrains in us that it's my responsibility. I realize in the grand scheme of things I maaaaaay have particularly high standards. I do try (although Dave would adamantly deny this) to chill out and relax about some things...

I am VERY lucky. Dave does so much around the house as an equal partner in our marriage/parenting/family life. 4-5 Days a week Dave gets our child out of bed, feeds her breakfast, packs her lunch, often packs my lunch...dresses her and hands her off so we can get out the door. On his day off during the week he stays home with her, spending quality time with her, playing beauty parlor (yep), or just hanging out refusing to get out of their pajamas.

They have a really amazing bond having absolutely nothing to do with me. The Bebe's is slightly more attached to me than she is to Dave but that's only because our work schedules permit me to spend more time with her than he gets.

Lets see if I can get to the part where I make a point. Tuesday night when the Dr called he wanted to reassure me that Dave did a great job at the office today with 'my' child. He said it 3-4 times. He then wanted to make sure that I was fine with everything that happened and to see if I had any questions. I'm so nagged by the fact that he wanted to confirm that Dave did a good job? What option was there other than to do a good job? This is our kid? We have no intention of doing a crappy job at raising her? And WHYYYYY was this so special that "Dad" brought her into the dentist? When scheduling appointments for our daughter I often look at our schedules and see what works with us and the doctors office. I regularly try to get both of us at an appointment but in this particular scenario it was just Dave. Sometimes it's just me. I can't in a million years fathom a doctor calling my husband to let him know that I handled our daughter really well at an appointment?

I'm so frustrated by this mind set and I work so hard in my own personal life to have equal parenting responsibilities with my husband that getting a phone call to tell me that my husband got an A+ reaaaaaally rubs me the wrong way. The best part is I'm not necessarily against specific gender roles but when one parent is present in a situation that parents in charge I don't need a follow up on his performance. I'd be just fine with a follow up on my child's tooth...and the dentists performance.

Now I've been ranting for WHOA...a long time here...Ironically as I'm writing this, NPR posted a story on their website and I LOVE IT. It's so very true. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113786014&sc=emaf

And because I hate when links fail here's the text:

When my son was 3, my wife and I rushed him to the emergency room. Bouncing from couch to chair in our living room, he had slipped and crashed into a coffee table. The pediatrician and the nurse explained how to care for his five stitches. At some point, it dawned on me that neither one made eye contact with me, even after I asked a question. They gave directions to my wife only. Soon after, I was bringing my older son to school, and his teacher asked me: "Would you tell your wife to pack an extra pair of shoes for Jake tomorrow?"

Admittedly, I'm not eager to pack the shoes, and my wife and I easily slip into classic gender roles. But at the same time, my better nature cringed. Why should I so easily be let off the hook?

These days, fatherhood is trendy. Fathers are either celebrated or challenged — or both — in a flurry of dad memoirs; a new TV sitcom, Hank; and a Clive Owen film about a widowed father raising his kids solo. President Obama recently launched a series of town meetings on responsible fatherhood. His central message is that fathers need to step up and carry their share of the parenting load.

What if President Obama and other political leaders, rather than just challenging fathers, challenged the rest of us to hold fathers accountable?

But fathers, whether they are wealthy suburban corporate executives or urban convenience store clerks struggling to get by, are not likely to shape up because of this fanfare or because they hear these messages sporadically from our political leaders. These messages need to be in the air fathers breathe every day.

Schools typically don't send report cards to fathers post-divorce or invite them to graduations or parent-teacher conferences. At times when fathers answer the phone when a teacher calls, the first question they get is: "Is your wife there?" Sociologist James May's research indicates that health care professionals ask fathers 1 question for every 15 questions that they ask mothers when both are in the room, and rarely make eye contact with fathers. Hospitals and community centers routinely organize new-mom groups, but rarely groups for new dads.

Richard Weissbourd is a child and family psychologist on the faculty of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and School of Education ... and a dad.

In one sense, these people are simply responding to reality. While more fathers are taking on greater parenting responsibilities, only about 10 percent of fathers in this country are the primary caretaker.

But what if we all raised the bar? What if a teacher reminded me to pack the shoes for the field trip? What if pediatricians urged mothers to make sure fathers periodically bring the kids to checkups? What if religious leaders regularly asked noncustodial fathers how often they visit their kids, and asked all fathers whether their children confide in them? And what if President Obama and other political leaders, rather than just challenging fathers, challenged the rest of us to hold fathers accountable?

If mothers suddenly became as marginal a presence in children's lives as dads are now, the public outcry would be deafening. We can get much closer to gender parity in caring for our children. But we as fathers need to step up — and others need to expect and accept no less.

And now back to Lindso... I know there are fathers out there that may not be taking a head on roll in parenting but when you question their right to make decisions about their kid(s) maaaaaybe that's part of the problem?

And to finish up the Bebe's story: They drilled...they filled...they sealed. We have to back in a few weeks and check to see if the bacteria is gone. If its all cleared up we can fix the tooth and she'll have everything back where it started. If for some reason its not all cleaned up and bacteria free...we may have the worse case scenario of pulling the tooth.

Moral of the story folks. Brush your teeth.

This story was not brought to you by the American Pediatric Dental Association or the Feminist Mom's Movement of the Greater Chicago Area....it's here for my simple and plain amusement and out there in hopes that someone actually reads my blog...

This is me....siiiiigning off...and being lame...or lamer...as I've previously stated.

Diorama

Dave: WE HAVE FISH STICKS?

Lindso: Yeah I totally binge shopped the other day and they sounded good I thought the bebes might like them too.

Dave: Well does she?

Lindso: She LOVES them. She scarfed them down so fast the other day it was crazy. It's like baby crack!

Lindso: I don't think I've ever bought fish sticks. I think my mom used to buy them for me a lot as a kid. They kind of remind me of 4th grade sitting in my kitchen working on a dinosaur diorama in a shoe box.

Dave: *Keeping his mouth shut*

Lindso (pointing to plate with fish sticks): Do you want the last one?

Dave: You can have it, I don't want to rob you of all your precious diorama memories.

Life altering update: We are almost out of fish sticks...I wonder if they sell a HUGE bag at Costco? Oooooooh fish sticks!

Falling in Love

Yes I'm corny and No I don't care! (I also don't make any sense...please read on)

This week wholeheartedly ushered in Fall. I couldn't be more thrilled. This is by far the best season of the year. I don't care if you agree with me...cause this is my square box of the world and I'm rockin it! :)

I've been wearing sweaters and zip up hoodies and casual slightly warm scarves all week. I busted out the argyle the other day...all clear signs that Fall is upon us! Dave has made me hot tea to take to work almost every morning. I've made soup! I'm embracing the season change with everything I have in me. I'm desperate to get my Fall decor out. Pumpkins and Harvest colored wall hangings and creative cream and burnt orange serving bowls. Gah! I love it.

I also love my nutcracker collection which spans all seasons. This time of year not only is beautiful it reminds me that right around the corner is Christmas. I start to pull out my Halloween themed nutcrackers and then comes Thanksgiving and ooooooh then comes the Christmas tree. I'm such a sucker for decorating. This time of year is clearly here for my own personal benefit and enjoyment.

I would flat out live every day of my life in a warm sweater comfy shoes and a hot cup of tea in my hand....

This Sunday is one of my favorite parts of Fall. The Apple Festival which we attend almost every year has finally come and I'm so jazzed for apple cider doughnuts and the eclectic group of semi farmers market booths selling everything from jalapeno jams and hot mustard's to bushels of apples and fresh apple cider. We always buy something small from the festival that's normally related to Charlie Brown and Snoopy although that really has nothing to do with anything haha

Regardless I'm just over the moon with this chilly slightly dreary...Fall is here...kind of weather. It gives me full on excuse to be cozy all the time.

*sigh*

A Rant of Geekiness

Okay...Lets put all our cards out on the table here...I LOVE geektv...I love almost all areas of SciFi. I'm only a few short steps away from attending Trekkie conventions. I was the one talking Dave into attending Comic-Con next year. Not that it took much convincing.

I really love futuristic science fiction or traveling to other worlds etc etc. I like tv that takes me to a new imaginary place. For that matter I'm really not all that into reality tv.

Star Trek Stargate Star Wars...you name it I've seen it...and I love it. I enjoy fantasy like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Narnia is also a good one.

I'm also a really big fan of science fiction that is quirky and fun. Eureka and Warehouse 13 make my day. I like seeing everyday people in strange unusual and unlikely situations. I consider Chuck in the same category as well, even though its technically classified as action-comedy.

I'm here today (yep...I'm just that cool) to throw a toddler-esque hissy fit about what is 'considered' scifi. WHY are horror movies considered science fiction? Its a bloody mess of chainsaws and creepy stalkers and guys wearing masks and disgruntled ignorant main characters getting killed off in no special or interesting way?

Now...I have no interest in watching movies such as Alien v.s. Predator but at least that's scifi horror. Most of what is on tv now that is considered scifi is horror and there's nothing SCIENCE fictional about it.

What on earth does Ghost Hunters have to do with scifi? It's considered a paranormal reality show. Ghosts are more paranormal rather than science fiction? Supernatural NOT science fiction. It's a reality show meant to scare you.....I'm still confused.

I looked at the scifi(syfy) channel line up over this upcoming weekend and its all horror, blood and gore. Why is this scifi? This is just violence meant to scare you?

How about we compromise and create a second syfy channel dedicated to Science Fiction Horror....you show enough of it now to create an entire channel and never run a repeat...come on....let me have back my true scifi and let all the people out there truly fascinated with death and dying in a most ridiculous and horrible way watch it on another channel....

Ghost Hunters...you can stay but can you not have mini marathons 2-3 nights a week. It's a bit much...and I don't really consider you scifi either...if you wanted to jump to my newly proposed SciFiHo...ooh I like that my new SciFiHo channel...I wouldn't complain.

Why not show more Chuck's and Narnias which are more closely related to the term SciFi than Slaughter and See No Evil.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programing...I hope it's something geeky!

Excuse me!

Look how offended she is...what a tragedy!

A list for my Houseversary

Today....is our 1 year Houseversary. Ooooh Happy House!

For my own benefit I wanted to make a list of all the things we've gotten done around our house in the past year....so feel free to stop reading now...because this might be boring...annnd here I go.

1. Dining room was baby blue, is now dark tan, chocolate brownish color.

2. Dining room light was industrial line from Ikea, one of their 'not going to last a lifetime' items. Light was replaced with old world antique looking chandelier.

3. Shades and curtains replaced Ikea sliding panels that didn't fit the window properly to begin with.

4. Dining room is so 'done' that I actually could and have staged it for dinner. The only room in the house that is totally complete.

5. Large accent wall in Living room is painted with same color as dining room to help create flow and continuity between rooms.

6. Family room is a soft yellowish cream color, better than the white grey that preceded it. Glad the patched holes I've been looking at for the better part of 6 months are gone.

7. Entryway is almost completely painted. I'm calling this a finished project because we are one can of paint away from it being done. It used to be baby blue too...or in some parts not painted at all.

8. 3 Pictures as of two weeks ago are OFFICIALLY hung where I want them and not just prehung because we hadn't painted yet and I wanted to see what they looked like in a specific spot.

9. Well water has been studied researched broken and fixed successfully by Dave. I think he learned a lot which is pretty awesome! lol

10. Cat door installed. Way to bring profit back into your home by craving a hole in a hollow door and inserting a place for animals to run through. Worst idea for resale best idea for Lindsos mental stability.

11. Office florescent light was taken down from kitchen and replaced with really pretty and simple florescent light from Costco...Horray Costco!

12. Entryway and hallway lights have gone from classy shiny butt ugly gold lanterns to simple silver lights. The chandelier needs to be replaced still but the old one is down, we just need to install the new one. Which I guess should go in 'in progress projects.'

In progress projects:

1. Kitchen cabinet knobs...gone....need to be replaced with new ones in drawer

2. Kitchen needs to be painted red, may happen this weekend.

3. Lavender bathroom is still lavender despite having the paint for over 6 months to paint it.

4. Living room need to be painted same color as entryway...maybe I could convince Dave to paint it Jute...one shade darker? Hummmmm.

Future projects not really started yet:

1. Bathroom vanity fixture and mirror need to be purchased so I can hang my cute art work in small 1/2 bath downstairs...yes I want an entire bathroom completed so I can hang a small picture.

2. All three bedrooms need completed but that's being put on hold till after Christmas and Vacation and way in the future...other children will play into how we handle extra bedrooms.

3. Framing, Drywalling, and Flooring the basement for more usable space. What fun that will be!

Just writing all of that has totally exhausted me. Holy Cow! Looking back Dave's done a lot of work! Maybe I should be nicer to him?

Jealousy

I know you're all jealous that she got to lick the spatula.

Dancing

dot dot dot

Dave placing child on dangerously small ledge at my request.

Bebes unhappy with being placed on small ledge.

Dave trying to walk away....note there are no more pictures which means....end of photo shoot.

Tiberius Update:

Tiberius is the brown dead plant on the far left....he's surrounded by his friends Spock and Bones. Spock is standing proudly in the middle and Bones is on the right.

Still pretty sure my neighbors probably think we think...that these are plants...but I'm just so proud of my 5 foot tall weeds...so proud.

Bones kinda looks like a squash or zucchini plant. But...he's just a dying weed.

*sigh*

Not Bush

5 years ago I was at a John Kerry rally. 5 years ago two of my girlfriends and I were strongly supporting "Not Bush" I was a huge fan at the time of "Not Bush." I'm a huge "I support the President" person, but I live in a country where I can freely go to rallies or protests or whatever political interest group is cool that day. So anyway...5 years ago I was at John Kerry rally...that is not the point of my rambling....

2 weeks...and 5 years ago. I started talking to this guy. Mostly online. He was a friend of my roommates. I sent him a picture, he sent me a picture. It took a long time to load because HELLO it was 2004 and we didn't have stellar Internet in my ghetto apartment building at that time. We talked and talked and decided we should definitely meet. He said he would drive to Cleveland (where he was originally from) from Chicago (where he was going to school) and he would take me out Saturday night. A few days before he was heading home he was in a minor traffic accident...said he couldn't/shouldn't drive his truck back to Cleveland. This was either A) a way to avoid meeting me or B) the honest truth. I'd like to think it was B.

After hearing this...I decide to do the only irrational thing I've done in my life...to this day...I bought a plane ticket...and flew out to meet this guy. I spent 3 days in Chicago with a guy I'd never met. I went from "we can go out Saturday night" to "lets spend the weekend hanging out." I was naive enough to think that I would actually get along with this guy so well that I planned to spend 3 days with him. Good night. I met this guy...on September 4th...after the John Kerry rally.

Flash forward to today...aaaand I'm married...to him.....we have a kid....she's cute and loud...and we have cats...that pee on our couch....and in corners...and I'm pretty happy...about everything but the cat pee. I could pretty much do with out that.

But to the guy who made me sausage this morning...and packed my lunch...and is currently fixing the water softener and mowing the lawn and taking care of all of us...well...I'm happy I've known you for 5 whole years. I also think you're rather cute.

Hello!

Greetings from the couch.

With love, Orange Julius

Pillows!

Note the brown couch and the brown shades in the background...

brown brown brown

Now check out my new pretty pillows!

Oh I'm in love. Our family room is a sea of blah. Very boring and even the color we are putting on the walls soon is VERY neutral. This room is attached to our Kitchen which is overly stimulating to say the least so finding the right balance is proving to be a big pain in my butt!

Butt...I love my pillows.

I cut you up man.

Family Guy:

Manager: And this is the bathroom, but watch out we got some bad roaches here.
Red Roach: Hey, you're on our turf man!
Green Roach: Hey man! I'll cut you, I'll cut you up so bad you, you gonna wish I no cut you so bad!
Brian: Those are bad roaches.
Manager: I blame the schools.

I have no idea why this reminds me of Family Guy but lets be honest...quoting family guys is like quoting The Godfather. There's a quote for everything....Tom Hanks taught me that in You've Got Mail. Okay I'm just getting mad with underlining power. Moving on....

These knives I believe...were a gift my parents got back in the 70's for their wedding. I'll have to double check with my Mom on that but I think that's accurate. They are made from HIGH quality plastic...I mean...1970s high quality plastic...classy. I some how managed to receive these as a hand me down when I went away to college and I started out with 8 I believe. I'm now down to 1. Over the years (what like 35 years?) they have started to break down. This was what happened last weekend when I tried to cut through a stick of butter...I mean seriously...this is some quality craftsmanship. I'm impressed.

So long story short...I now have 1 knife left. ONE...that averages about one a year I've killed since got my first apartment in college...and that my friend....is a skill.

Ironically...we have a nice set of steak knives. We never use them? I have no idea why. I like the vintage 1970s charm instead.

Summary of Awesome.

I was driving to work this morning with my carpool friends: Dave and the bebes...and we were driving past this banquet hall with a crowd of people in front of it. There were also three police vehicles in the turning lane and one officer watching/directing traffic. Not sure what was going on and with no option to turn right...turn left...we headed forward. As we approached we learned many things. Obama is apparently a Socialist. In case any of you are wondering. I have plenty of family members that believe this. I love having that fight. Along side the Socialist Obama posters (with the sOcialist part being the Obama logo) there was a woman holding a sign that said Free Peas. Now there's a decent chance I'm missing the joke on this one. I miss plenty of jokes but I carefully googled this one and I'm feeling rather confident in saying "What the heck was that lady protesting?"

Seriously folks...if you're going to protest and I have...please make a point with your signage that makes sense. All I took away from this mornings protest is a very confused and misunderstood woman protesting free peas. Maybe she was supposed to be at a food manufacturing warehouse protest...and instead she got wrapped up in a side of the road rush hour protest....all I know is I would love some free peas....if you don't want them I'll take your Obama socialistic lovin free peas. Bring on the Peas!

Also up for debate is WHY I have to pay for a whole box of cereal when the bottom of my box of "squares of cinnaminnie goodness" is a big mess of crunched up mangled crumbs. Seriously folks...I feel that the "squares of cinnaminnie goodness" are robbing us of the true pleasure of end of box of cereal amazingtasticness. I don't get this kind of disappointment when I eat "flakes of corn" or "unique q with generic fruit" or "multicolored circle death of sugar" or for that matter "lieutenant commander crunch & munch"

Giggling

(Aren't you all just tickled that my iPhone has video...I know I am haha)

Keys!

I'm not sure if she's trying to start the door with my car keys or lock the door from the inside? Maybe she's trying to escape me? or she's locking herself in with me to keep me safe?

Q-tips = Love

I was car pooling this morning and we were chatting about additictions such as drugs and alcohol. As I am not addicted to either I didn't have much to add to the conversation. Rather than dragging up some lovely stories of alcoholics I may or may not know...I sat and thought about my most serious addition: cleaning my ears. Yep...I feel the need to just get this out there...I LOVE to clean my ears. I have more Q-tips in my home than most comercial drug stores or super chain walmart/target places. All I have to say is I don't hear anyone complaining...and I would hear it...because my ears are so dang clean....

I just lost so many friends...so many...

JerkFaceBook

Okay people...if you're on Facebook...and you can scroll down through your entire page and not one of your status updates has anything positive to say...stop updating...if you don't have anything nice to say...don't say anything at all...Love, Lindso....well that was positive wasn't it. I love being a hypocrite.

I recently changed my privacy settings on Facebook because I was painfully aware that there were people out there I might actually want to be friends with...cool people with interesting lives and friends from my past. People who I care about but have lost contact with after high school or college etc etc. I'm really glad I changed this all around because in the last two weeks I've had a few friend requests from people I didn't know were on Facebook. It's excited to catch up with people and see how their lives have changed.

I always dread those few people though...the ones that might find me. People who I was happy to leave in my past. Happy I don't live in my home town anymore. Thrilled that I graduated college and do not know their whereabouts...they don't know mine.

The thing is...I'm too nice. Not in the way that I'm actually nice because seriously I'm not. But in the way that I don't want to hurt peoples feelings so if they friend me I'll friend them back. Of course they all had semi locked profiles so I couldn't see their daily activities until I became their friend. Now I'm friends with all these super negative people who never have anything nice to say and the world is ALWAYS going to end. Facebook has this wonderful thing where you can adjust how much you read about certain people. I'm glad for that because I see very little about my college friends new wife and her constant yammering about their new house and excessive drinking (did I just say that...wow they must drink a lot by my standards). In contrast I get to see most things that my SIL participates in which is nice because shes 19-20ish and has a fun and interesting life. There are still those people who feel the need 6-7 times a day to tell you how devastating their lives are and how sad this day is and "Ugg I have to go to work again!" Well yes oh bright one...that is how you make money and afford things like shelter and sustenance. Of course no matter how many filters Facebook provides for you, you can not block this person out with out blocking them...and HEAVEN FORBID the status update after you un-friend someone on Facebook...I mean if waking up was devastating for them I wonder what the social ramifications will be for my un-friending.

Now in no way am I even implying that I'm more awesome than people who friend me on Facebook...what I am saying is my friendship should mean enough to you to perk up and try to enjoy life...at the very least FAKE IT ON FACEBOOK! I don't want to be friends with someone who is negative and dramatic all the time.

*end hypocritical dramatic rant*

4 years of my life I'll never get back...but may get the chance to relive

I was chatting with a few acquaintances from high school over facebook the last few days. It all stemmed from one girl talking about a singing dancing group she was in and then I referenced friends dancing to Thriller in marching band and then...the dreaded comment. One girl (I like her shes wonderful) said I should bring video of the Thriller dance to our 10 YEAR REUNION....ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 10 year reunion? I have a small child...I own a home and I don't feel like an adult. I don't feel old. & then out of no where those three little words sent me into adulthood. 10 year reunion. I spent 10 years away from these people...honestly it feels like much longer I feel like 20-30 years ago (heck I'm not 30 but I'm being dramatic) I was sitting in the high school cafeteria looking a few tables over at my boyfriend who was sitting with all the other football players. Skipping out of lunch early to go hang with my friends near the library and be a general waste of space. Goodness maybe I really do miss high school?

I was always one of those people who said they would never go back to a high school reunion. I'm pretty sure I'm still one of those people. But the fact that this girl just assumed I would be there was sort of touching. Made me think maybe it would be fun to see all those people.

I think part of the reason I never felt the need to go back was because I was never part of a group. I didn't have that babysitters club group I wasn't one of the athletic people who hung out with the softball players or the basketball team. I had a lot of friends I just wasn't 'in a group' I always imagined that my high school reunion would be odd for me because I wouldn't be able to walk into the room and find my old group. I was in the band (insert commentary) and I did have a few groups I mingled with but I wasn't one of the essential people in a group that allowed it to function.

All my social psychosis aside....10 YEARS? I'm blown away....and apparently old.

Zack Attack...what does that even mean?

I'm sorry I've been an anti-social waste of space this last month....and 5 days. I have been busy in the outside 3-D world and if I wasn't super busy I was in a cranky mood. I don't like to blog when I'm cranky it's not fair to the few people that actually like to read what I say cause there are people in the world with real problems and serious stuff going on and my melodrama is not worth wasting peoples time. What I'm trying to say here...is you're all not worthy enough to listen to me complain endlessly about the stupids in my life.

Now I wasn't cranky for a whole month that would be a little bit of a dramatic statement but when I was in a good mood I was super busy being social outside of the Internet. It's a tangled web I'm trying to weave here and I've never really been so good at weaving....I digress.

Happiness has returned and its coming full force so hopefully I'll feel the need to ramble more often. It might also have to do with the increase in availability of coke zero product placement.....in front of my face.

I just recently referenced this: Click me I'm a fun link of Lindso sanity!!! It's inspiring me. I wonder what else I could write a song about. This morning instead of "We built this city on Rock and Roll" I felt the need to sing "Detroit Rock City is a big boooowl" don't ask me what that meant but hey...this is all about the creative process. Maybe tonight to really annoy Dave I'll sing Detroit Rock City in my New Jersey accent. He LOVES that.

I in my kerchief and Dave in his sink....

Happy 6th of July Everyone! I have to be honest...we did little to no celebrating this weekend. The past two weekends have been busy and this upcoming weekend I'll be having fun out of town so we decided to be extremely antisocial and not make any plans for the 4th. I'll be more festive the rest of this week then I was over the weekend.

Last Thursday our new sitter called to let me know that the bebes had a fever. I'll have to comment later in a whole separate ramble on our amazing new sitter...she makes me constantly sing "nobody solves a problem like Maria".........ALL FREAKIN DAY LONG. If I didn't love the Sound of Music so much I would punch myself in the face for how annoying I am. Anyway poor kiddo had a fever of about 100. When I picked her up that afternoon she was a sad little shell of a bebes...She was really not feeling well.

By Friday morning her temp was 102 and by the time we got to the doctor it was 103. I'm rarely in panic mode over sickness (the rest of my life is another story)...but I was really worried about her. Our regular doctor was off on Friday so we met with this new guy and he was ADORABLE...not in the way that I want to divorce Dave and marry a doctor but in a "oh my goodness your this tiny little adorable man and lets be friends"....kinda way. Grace was her normal screaming self. I swear we walk into one of those sterile rooms and the crinkle of the paper they put on the patients bed area thingamagiger...sets my kid off. Poor child spent a good 30 minutes SCREAMING from getting her temperature taken. It was a tiny wand stuck under her arm...WHY is that terrifying...I do not know. So the new guy...gave us WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION on fevers...and told us she was fine but she has Roseola. Which after I googled it means: you get a fever...fever goes away....you get a rash....you are cranky the whole time. I added the "cranky the whole time" thing from personal experience.

The rest of Friday was spent with the bebes running around the caged in family room area. At first I thought her waddling around in circles was endearing and cute...and then I worried she was delirious from fever and walking in circles because one leg is actually shorter than the other and she can't walk a straight line because the muscles in her body are breaking down and shes going to walk slightly to the left for the rest of her life....GAAAAH! Friday night all joking aside ended with me having a panic attack. Please note my child did not have me freaked out...the fever had gone down...she was asleep in her crib peacefully...there was truly no reason for me to have a meltdown...but there I was..melting down. Sweating, heart racing, shortness of breath FREAKIN OUT. It was very unfun. Not sure what that was all about. Glad its over...aaaamen!

Saturday....4th of July. While we had no plans to formally celebrate I did make A TON of delicious food. I took a few tips from The Pioneer Woman and her cooking site. I made a really amazing potato salad which was this funky cross between egg salad and potato salad. Dave who's not mustard's greatest fan didn't LOVE it but he said it wasn't half bad. I really enjoyed it though. In fact I have a smallHUGE container of it for lunch today. Not sad about this...not sad at all. I also made a version of her hot artichoke and olive dip. If you don't like onion this dip may not be for you. I on the other hand LOVED IT. Dave put it on his hot dog. I don't know if I would have gone that far with it but heck...I have that for leftover snacks today too.

Enough about the food although that was a major factor for the success of Saturday. Lets talk about THE SINK. So I was peeling potatoes...and I DID NOT break the garbage disposal. Dave did...no he didn't but heck I'm going to blame him for it. So we went to Menard's...I love Menard's...and bought a bunch of stuff....stuff we probably didn't need but whatever I love dates to Menard's....did I mention that? We bought a 'cat door' to devalue our home a little and allow us to FINALLY after 10 months of living in our home...close the basement door. We cut a jumbo size hole in our door, fitted it with a new cat door and now our child won't fall down a flight of stairs...EVERYONE WINS! Oh heck I'm off topic....THE SINK. So we have an ugly boring cheapest sink they could find to fill the hole in the counter top with an ugly faucet and a white ugly sprayer thingy and a water filtration knob that always looks dirty because it is...run-ons that make no sense give me purpose in life...ROLL WITH IT. Anyway the sink was the most generic run of the mill sink they could have installed. It also wasn't very deep. (I'll post pictures soon when I get 5 minutes alone at the computer to chill...heeey I promise). The best part was you couldn't even fill a pitcher of water in this sink and there was no spray handle nozzle thing it was VERY not functional.

So...first trip to Menard's resulted in a clearance steal of a deal brand new faucet with a spray nozzle thing that extends and all that loveliness. We saw a sink there that we liked but didn't have sink measurements with us so we had no idea if it would fit. We had no intention of replacing our sink. We got home from trip #1 and IDAVE broke the garbage disposal. So as he was taking it apart it slowly turned into HECK LETS JUST GO BUY A NEW SINK THIS THING IS STUPID AND I HATE IT AND I LOVE YOU BUT I HATE THIS AND I'M SOOO OVER IT. Back to Menard's we traveled. We got all the fancy new sink accessories (this thing is classier than I am now) and we checked out a few other sinks one we liked a lot but it was on special order and wouldn't be delivered for 22 days. The obvious fact that we had a gaping hole in our counter and would have to wash vegetables in the half bath with the pedestal sink lead us back to the original sink that we liked. It's white which doesn't go well with the stainless steal appliances but does go nicely with our wood work. By golly I'm gonna make this sink work in our space. Have I said yet that it's cast iron. So it was really light to carry around. I mean Dave just tossed it around Menard's and then Bebe Grace picked it up and had fun with it like a toy. Totally normal.

Dave and I came to the realization over the weekend that we are sadly going to be stuck with our counters. Our counters are VERY taste specific. I'm not a huge fan...considering they are the EXACT same counter tops that my parents have. They look pretty nice in my parents house but even my mom doesn't like her laminent (sp?) counter tops. Anyway they are a light speckled green and then there's a terra cotta orangeish red tile back splash so picking a paint color for the kitchen and family room has been a task. I REALLY need my MIL to just come up and tell me what color to paint these rooms. I don't need assistance I need flat out guidance and I want someone to make this decision for me. Oh point being...since we are stuck with our counters for a decently long time or till we move...the sink was an appropriate upgrade. We also got this fancy push button thing to turn our garbage disposal on. Before you had to walk halfway across the kitchen to turn it on so using the disposal and turning it on and off was rather difficult. The whole combo is just downright sexy. Seriously...it's hot. The new sink is 4 inches deeper than the old one which means I can fill up a stock pot now. Even if I couldn't the faucet now has a spray spout thing that moves so heck I could fill up a 10-Gallon bucket. I'm in love...if you couldn't tell!

Sunday: I used my new sink...end of story...JUUUUST KIDDING. On Saturday our water filtration system went out. We have well water so the amount of products and filters and do-dads in our basement that I cannot name are overwhelming. Luckily I live with Dave who can jury rig pretty much anything. We were one step away from having to call a repair man to the house and Dave fixed it. It's rather annoying how he does that. The extensive plumbing and water issue repair he did this weekend was among many things IMPRESSIVE. I'm currently renting out his home repair services so if anyone needs something done just let me know. Obviously...he has so much free time...to do other peoples projects.

Anyway Sunday I ran errands with my favorite little lady, the bebes, and then I spent the afternoon in my pajamas on the couch watching some bad TV. Husbando got home from work and we just vegged on the couch. Dave tried out rice pudding and it was pretty tasty. I slept...I woke...I showered...and now here I am.

I think the shredded mini wheat's made me chatty. Although I'm always chatty.

*end rant*

**pictures of home improvement coming soon...not because you care...but because I took these pictures and someone HAS to look at them or else I'll be a sad sad Lindso...bye!

Crazy Finns.

I took this picture yesterday on my iPhone. Only say this because I don't have the new iPhone I have the crazy old 4GB and the quality is not stellar. New phones are forthcoming! Huzzah! Anyway this picture reminds me a lot of my cousin Maija, I think I kinda look like her here. I think I look very Finnish in this picture. Which is a good thing. I'm rather fond of my Finnishness. It's a word go loooook it up! I sometimes Finnishness a sentence.

***this was a rare snuggle picture with me and the bebes. She was particularly cuddly yesterday. I didn't mind at all....not one bit!

Lights Camera...No action!

Before:

Ahhhhhhh After:

(note my dirty laundry in the basket on the floor. I'm just keepin it real.)

I like to edit stupid pictures:

These are some of the changes going on in our house right now. The new lights are so pretty. Dave has been busy spackling the upstairs and prepping it to paint. When this paint and lighting project is done our entire entryway will be unified and done. It will look pretty....as long as no one looks to the left when they walk in the front door and see the old couch currently being used as a cat scratching post. As long as no one does that my house will look pretty and orderly.....yep....don't look left.

What you cannot see in the above pictures is the 'shiny' icky light those old lights gave off. Maybe I can get a picture of the ones upstairs before they get taken down. The light was harsh and bright and the old fixtures made weird shadows all over the wall. The new lights are soft and flush to the ceiling and they look a little more modern but classic and simple at the same time. They are almost so simple they are boring which is kinda nice because they are in a large area.

This light:

....is coming down very soon. We bought a nice big fantastically reasonably priced chandelier to go in it's place. If you could see the whole area you'd understand how small this light is for our space. It looks rather silly, although it did match all the rest of the ugly in our house. I don't really think any of the fixtures were ugly I just didn't like how shiny the gold was. And I mean....candlesque lanterns are soooo Paul Revere 1775. Now THAT is vintage...and while I love vintage....I can't make an argument for these lights. Bad analogy....moving on....

Dave and I will be spending our weekend and the 4th of July doing work on the house, I asked him if we could go on a date to Menards. It gets me all excited. We've been so busy the last few weekends and the next few weeks are crazy as well so we made plans to not have plans this weekend. That doesn't mean however that I will not be making TONS of food. There are three salads planned, two hot appetizers, hot dogs and hamburgers and I'm thinking light and fruity for desert. For the 2.5 people that currently eat the food in my house, we're going to have a lot of leftovers.

I LOVE HOME REMODEL AND HOLIDAYS!

Bye Bye Blue

This is my Crayola Crayon Colored...front door.....

But nooooo more!

Check out my Huck Finn pants. I'm a sexy lady. I'm so glad I don't wear these jeans in public. Dang they are not pretty.

Tadaaaaaaaa!!!!! New door!

I meant to paint it charcoal gray....It turned out black. I'm not necessarily upset about this. Not a little bit at all. It's soooo much better than it was....when I dreamed of blue balloons and blue bicycles and blue baboons and blue berrrrries? I'm done...cut me off...

Tiberian Vocalization

Not gonna lie...I flat out Wikipediad that. Cause I felt the need to conjugate or to make a word into a new word...a Lindsoism if you will and I like to pretend I know what I'm talking about so I often google things to make sure I'm not swearing in another language or offending an aboriginal tribe in another country that doesn't even have Internet access.

This is my life...lets just roll with it okay?

This is your Tiberian Update. Tiberian Vocalization information can be found here. This current rant on the other hand has NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT.

In the last week Dave has gotten around to calling Tiberius by his actual name. It's adorably and ridiculous that I talk about this plant SO MUCH that Dave has started referring to it by name. He talks about Tiberius like he's hangin out the couch with us watch TV...eating some popcorn.

This is Tiberius the other day, before the storms. I swear he's about to make his move...into my house to hang out on my couch...maybe he can keep the cats from peeing on the brand new couch? Maybe?

Look how much taller he is, this kid is totally growing like a weed. Er...maybe I'm being a little too direct here...or blatantly using really bad humor...I mean...I think I'm funny?

Anyway we got A TON of rain over the weekend...and look at poor Tiberius! He's falling over. I probably shouldn't have given him a girly name cause he has purplish pink flowers. But he does not look like a lady?

Anyway check this out... Tiberius is down and he's still trying to grow. He's now hanging about three feet into our yard but the flowers are still pointing up. What a wack job. Seriously this WEED was meant to live in my backyard. Our neighbors probably think we are nut cases considering how often I go out and take pictures of him....or the fact that our lawn looks like a overflowing weedtastic tundra. There's always that.

I do however pride myself on having a nicer yard than some of my neighbors...which is EXTREMELY sad, and also makes me very very proud!

xoxo to my friend Tiberius. Live long and prosper.....in my backyard!

Wise words.....

Don't kiss your honey

When your nose is runny

You might think it's funny

but it snot.

Recycle...the four letter word.

I'd like to send a big shout out and a thank you to my special friends in the movie theatre over the weekend. I'd like to thank you for bringing your young impressionable tweens to a movie and making sure you allow them to become the most obnoxious careless citizens in a few short years when you are not always available for guidance and counsel. Thank you for guiding them away from throwing trash into the trash can, and recycling their 3D glasses. I appreciate you telling your daughter after she ASKED YOU if she should take her trash with her....to just leave it there. I enjoyed watching the nacho cheese hit the theatre seats and drip down to the floor.

It was also very nice of you to tell your children that they could just keep their 3D glasses....in front of the HUGE SIGN that said RECYCLE YOUR 3D GLASSES HERE!!!!! I'm sure the inner city kids who are missing out on seeing a really cool 3D movie appreciate your blatant consumeristic selfish hording. Or possibly the man or woman who injured themselves; that silly plastic you chose not to recycle wasn't going to make them a cast or brace. It wasn't going to turn into packaging to send needed food and supplies for humanitarian aid. I mean really...there's no reason to recycle? I also know that your trashcan which those glasses will soon be residing in...appreciates the business. I'm pretty sure with the social awareness you displayed today that you do not recycle at home.

I want to take this one more opportunity to thank you for the continued effort it will now take me, my husband and the rest of my environmentally conscience family to clean up after you and your slobtastic children. What I most enjoyed about this entire interaction was the fact that your daughter asked if she should do the right thing and you told her not to bother.

Thanks for that...go pour some oil on wildlife!