rant on motherhood

I see more and more often on the internet divergent points of view on stay at home moms and working moms and why one is better than the other, and I tell you what -- I'm sick of it.

Why aren't we praising mothers for being mothers? Why do people feel the need to praise being either a stay at home mother or a working mother? Why don't we all support each other in the great magical role of being a mother? A woman is a mother whether or not she works a job in addition to working in her home raising her kids. She's still mother to her children with all the validity a stay at home mother has. Both are working women who have made well-thought out sacrifices to become mothers and to spend their days where they do, and both are mothers. We, especially us women, need to quit defining types of mothers as if one is worth more than the other. Just the word 'mother' alone should say it all.

End rant.

fish out of water

Almost three weeks ago now, I was asked to serve as our stake's Girls Camp Director. I said yes. I said yes?! What am I thinking? I went to Girls Camp twice, once for three days and once overnight. I will never forget my first camp meeting. Because the leaders switched what determined one's level, they told me my first year that I was actually supposed to be a second year. Over to the second years I went. Those girls were not nice. I received a few dirty looks and a few mean remarks and then told the leader, "I do not want to be a second year." Let me sum up my entire five days at girls camp by saying I didn't like it. I didn't feel comfortable. I didn't want to be there. A girl from my ward spat up her soup all over me at dinner. If I ever hear that elbows on the table song again, I swear I'm gonna.....

I get a do-over! This is definitely one of those callings where I don't feel like my skill set qualifies me very well. I don't craft, I don't camp, I don't feel comfortable in church leadership positions. But, I do love. I love my sisters, I love the Savior, I love His gospel. "Now remember, faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify [her] for the work." (D&C 4:5). These are the prerequisites for any calling in His kingdom.

I don't have a theme just yet, but I'm getting there. All I know is that this is going to be the coolest looking girls camp ever. We're going all out with hip graphics and well-fitting t-shirts.

If you have any memories of girls camp (favorite activities, horror stories, advice), please, send it along!

(Also, I'm going to see Polica tonight! Yay!)

Do you realize?

A good friend of ours died suddenly last night. Just died. He was 29.

RIP Craig Ruggles. There are a lot of people on Earth who are going to miss you tons.

Obsessed

Been obsessed with Poliça for a few months. Their new album, 'Shulamith,' came out yesterday. Still getting into the groove of it.

Here's track one off the new album.



And here's a song off their first album, 'Dark Star.'



Thank heaven Houston is finally getting a great show. Polica is playing here November 14, and La Sera is opening for Kate Bush on the 15th. YESSSSSSS.

Also, I will always love Arcade Fire very much. Can't wait for their new album this Tuesday. 

Just call me Pansy

My unicorn name is: Pansy Rainbow Mare

Pansy is good-humoured and always in high spirits.
She is rainbow-coloured and bright,
and she dances on the spindrift as the tides change.
Get your own unicorn name from the unicorn name generator!

nothing has changed, literally

Remember last time I posted about how I had these weird chapped lips? Well, I still have them. It's so bizarre. Not only are my lips constantly dry and flaky, but so is my chin, my upper lip, my smile lines, my eyelids, and the skin on the sides of my eyes and cheekbones. Luckily, it is still really difficult to see unless you're up close to me. But yesterday I was talking to the richest lady in our congregation and she was looking at my face quizzically. I'm not a dirty person! Seriously, I'm so over it. I'm still using coconut oil and lavender essential oil, but I'm also using Mentholatum because it feels really good and actually smooths out my lips for a little bit, but sadly not enough to wear lipstick again. So all my lipstick is just chillin in my bathroom drawers because I can't wear it. I've cleaned up my diet and cut out all potential allergens with the hope that it will help. We shall see.

I also mentioned in my last entry that I was about to leave for Disney World. Well, I went, and it easily surpassed every dream I've ever dreamed about it. It was so awesome. The magic hits you BAM smack in the middle of the head the second you walk into the park, even the second you get to the Disney World shuttle stop at the Orlando airport. Every process is so finely tuned to perfection. I had such an amazing time. I got really sick and still had an amazing time.

The only problem is that now I feel addicted to Disney, which is so embarrassing, but I feel like I need to be vocal about this so I can work through it. As Jeff knows, I obsess over things really quickly; for example, I have obsessed over every vacation we've ever taken. Currently I'm obsessed with trying to go to Disneyland in January since my company's annual meeting is in Santa Barbara. So why not fly out a few days early and go to the most magical place on Earth (tied with all the other Disney parks, of course)? Guys, I AM SO WEIRD. I hope it's not too late for me. At least I'm not walking around with Mickey on every article of clothing. I only have two Disney shirts--one was for this trip and the other is a vintage Mickey sweatshirt I thrifted as a missionary. I really do feel badly about this addiction. But at the same time I can't feel bad because I love it so much. I promise I will never start collecting and trading pins like all those crazies. Them peeps are nuts.

it burns

I'm leaving for a trip to Disney World tomorrow. I'm going with my gal pal Megan. She's really great and I haven't seen her for three years. I'm excited to see her. I'm also excited for Disney World. Going there is a lifelong dream. Hopefully it's not lame and awful. Jeff is going to Utah to meet up with his college buddies while I'm in Florida. It's been awhile since we were apart. I'm just glad we are each taking a trip instead of one of us staying home alone. Part of me wishes I were going to Utah, mainly to see friends, but I made my decision and I know I won't regret it.

Last week I got an e-mail from airfarewatchdog telling me that American Airlines has flights from Houston to New York City for $167 round trip! For this weekend only. What a deal. Too bad I'll be in Disney World.

I've had a weird case of chapped lips for a few weeks now, and they are not getting better. I've tried everything. Absolutely everything. Coconut oil soothes them, lavender essential oil soothes too, Vaseline lotion helps some, but most lip balms just sting and burn. I'm so sick of this. At least they're not chapped anymore. Just red/stinging/burning/dry. I refuse to see a doctor because I'm stubborn and I don't like medicine. It all started a few weeks ago when Jeff and I were swimming a lot. I think that may have had something to do with it, perhaps a sensitivity to the chlorine, or to the bat guano in the water. I'm only guessing there's bat guano, or bat something in the water since one time when we were swimming a bat dove into the pool. It was so gross. And scary. I don't like bats and I sure as heck don't like swimming with them. Anyway my lips and chin are on fire right now and I don't know what to do since I'm at work and didn't bring coconut oil. I brought Vaseline lotion, but that's not helping. Ugh.

Any other suggestions? I feel like I have a diaper rash on my face.

I watched this band play at the iTunes Festival yesterday. Now I'm obsessed. They're coming Houston November 14. Who's in?

Georgia on my mind

There are few things better than a relaxing week-long vacation, and few things worse than coming back from one.

Jeff and I recently went to Tybee Island, Georgia to spend some quality time with the Ward fam. His dad turned 60, our sister-in-law turned 28, and all 15 Wards went to stay in 3,000 sq ft of condo chaos. It was a fun time.

We left early July 20, around 4:30 am, for what Google said would be a 16-hour drive to Georgia. Multiple Coke Zeros, a bag of gummy worms, one chocolate bar, a few handfuls of chocolate-covered almonds, four bananas, one pound of baby carrots, one stop at BK (disgusting), another at Cracker Barrel (slightly better than BK), a dozen bottles of water, two traffic jams, one major routing mistake, a huge rainstorm, one freak-out over driving stick in the rain and traffic (guilty), two gas stops, five bathroom stops, and 19 hours later, we arrived very tired, and pretty sick, at the condo on Tybee. It was a long drive, and we were so happy to get there.

The week was filled with lots of eating, beach time, lots of time wandering through Savannah, the best pot roast we've ever had in our lives, history, and screaming kids that we love so it wasn't so bad. Savannah is absolutely gorgeous. If you ever have a chance to go, go. You will not regret it. Go on a walking tour. Eat some of the amazing southern food, go antiquing, just drive and walk around. It's so pretty.

The night before we left, we decided to take the 'long way' home through Atlanta and Birmingham. Saturday we left early and arrived in Atlanta around 11, just in time to catch a 90-minute wait at Gladys Knight's Chicken 'N Waffles. Heck no. So we yelped a different place, a more upscale eatery that arguably had better chicken and waffles. Considering I don't really care for fried anything, I figured we'd better go all out on our one time eating it. South City Kitchen didn't disappoint. Cloth napkins, filtered water, real maple syrup, freshly battered and fried chicken with a crispy waffle. It was awesome. And, I didn't even get a stomach ache. It was a definitely a one-time meal. I like my chicken and waffles separate I guess.

We then headed down to the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coke Museum, which were both packed to the brim. Jeff and I have a rule: If we have to wait in a line, we leave. So after talking to a really nice senior missionary couple about all the miracles in the Atlanta mission, we left for Birmingham and the Civil Rights Institute Museum.

The only problem was, we had to get to Birmingham in two hours or we wouldn't be able to make it to the museum. So Jeff mustered up his best lead foot and we drove as fast as we could to get there by 4:30 pm. Around 4:20 pm, just outside of Birmingham, a stroke of genius struck me and I thought, When does the time zone change? Sure enough, we were safely inside Central Time. We hadn't laughed that hard the whole trip.

We were two of three white people in the whole place. Probably in all of downtown Birmingham. At one point a very passionate young black woman, who'd spent the entire time in the museum trying to understand white people or something like that, looked right at me, I looked back, and she said, 'I appreciate you being here.' I told her I was happy to be there. It was a little awkward. We shared a moment. To me, race is an issue only if we make it one. Let's just all love each other and be friends, be kind.

Jeff and I were so glad to have good friends to stay with that night in Birmingham, Alex and Elisa. Alex is one of two guys I dated who I'm successfully good friends with, and Elisa is just plain cool. We had a real awesome time being jealous of their beautiful 1920s bungalow, full of incredible vintage thrift store finds, including Elisa's Broyhill Brasilia desk she scored for $40. Still jealous. We ate some delicious Mediterranean food, some tasty sorbet, and had a generally good time chatting while we saw some beautiful parts of Birmingham. What a sad city, but at the same time, so vibrant. It has a real life to it. I would go back.

Sunday we drove home, all day, we drove and drove and got home around 7 pm. Monday saw me back to work for a very very busy week.

Jeff and I are both getting excited for our next trips, to Utah and DISNEY WORLD! Separate trips, taken over our 3rd anniversary. We are totally weird. Let the record state that I love my Jeff more than anyone in the world! There's no one I'd rather drive for 19 straight hours with than him. I love you, Jeff. Thanks for putting up with me and helping me be a better person. I don't ever want to live without you. Let's die at exactly the same time.

I would post pictures of the trip, but I'm too lazy. Sorry.

from the archives

We had a visiting child in our Primary class Sunday. Her name was Carol.

I don't know about you, but anyone named Carol is automatically a grandma in my mind.

so, uh

I was just asked to sing on a float in a 4th of July parade.

That makes me nervous.

But really, what's in a name?

Isn't it strange how certain songs on certain days can transport your mind and heart back to certain times and people and places and feelings? Part of me likes it. Most of me doesn't.

I don't like feeling emotions spring up spontaneously. I've been struggling with that lately, especially with judging. Negative emotions keep swelling inside me over particular things I see other people do. I won't get into particulars unless you want to hear about it. I don't like it. I am working through it.

The gospel is alive and well here in Houston. Our ward is really, really great. Many people in our ward are wealthy, very wealthy. And there are many young couples, just starting out like Jeff and I. There are many single members, and many members who are not as well off financially. I see how the ward bands together. I'm sure not everyone sees it this way, but I do. Perhaps I see this because I have an easy time getting along with everyone in the ward, old and young. I am sad to admit that I feel uncomfortable befriending one certain type of person, mostly because I feel a lack of interest on their part. Do you feel that ever? Perhaps I am intimidated by these people, by their looks. I'm not sure what it is yet. Can one look at a person and know they have nothing in common? Or is that a completely immature way to think? I am striving to serve unconditionally, be kind unconditionally. I am doing okay with it...for the most part. Nothing annoys me more than knowing someone, meeting them once or twice, and then they never talk to me again despite seeing me at church each Sunday. It is so rude. I try to avoid these people. I also try to not be that person. It always makes me feel sad when someone does that to me. We should just love everyone. At one point, just a few months ago, my ward had five Lisa's in it. Sadly, two moved away so we are down to three. I am good friends with all the other Lisa's. I miss the Lisa's who moved away. Lisa is such a funny name.

Do you feel like you personify your name? I have no idea if I do, I suppose because I don't identify myself by my name so much as I do my likes, interests, my core beliefs, my character. Lisa is just something other people call me. Whether I personify my name or not, I have acquaintances and friends who I feel most definitely personify their names. I suppose I might personify mine too, if I'm using my perception of others as a barometer.

Yesterday I went to our local LDS peanut butter cannery and screwed lids, assembled boxes, packed boxes, loaded boxes onto pallets, wiped down jars, etc., for 6 hours. It was so fun. I felt so happy. I am happy a lot these days. Not that I've been sad. I've been happy. Maybe it's just summertime. It is really hot in Houston, but I like that, even though I complain about it all the time.

I am happy when I take care of my body. I am happy when I sleep for 8+ hours, when I work out, when I eat healthy foods. I need to take better care of my spirit. I'm making more of an effort to pray always. It's amazing what that constant line of communication can do to better one's day. I feel grounded, more temperate, calmer, more satisfied. I deeply appreciate my loving Father in Heaven.

Lastly, I would really like to go to a cool place this weekend and go hiking with my Jeff.

strap on your boots

It's venting time!

I have this friend. She's a good friend. Loyal. Encouraging. Supportive...usually. She is also extremely close-minded, so whenever my philosophies on medicine come up, she becomes confrontational and rude. She asks questions with a mocking tone. It happens every time. I try to avoid conversations about anything medical or health-related with her, because they always end the same way.

For example, I would like to birth our children naturally, with a midwife, either in our home or at a birthing center. I've read about this a lot; it's not a decision I reached on a whim. My friend proceeded to argue for a good 15 minutes about why hospital births are better and that I must be a real nut case to even consider a home birth. Won't you be scared if something goes wrong? Won't you want drugs? I am probably more anti-hospital than I am anti-hospital birth. I've had friends who've had great experiences birthing in hospitals, and friends who've had horrible experiences. All I know is that I want to choose what happens during my child births, and based on the research I've done, I feel that I will have more control with a midwife, in my home or a birthing center. I know my body is capable of handling childbirth, because women have done it for centuries. That gives me confidence. My body will go into labor when it's good and ready, not when it's convenient for the hospital's schedule. Also, the c-section rate in Houston is astronomical, ranging from a low 7% at some hospitals to a repulsive 70% at one hospital. The average is in the mid-50s. I'm not saying c-section isn't needed sometimes--it is. I'm saying that if I have healthy pregnancies, I want to be able to labor naturally, with no pitocin drip and no epidural, when my babies are good and ready to come out.

Can't you just let me voice my opinion without jumping down my throat about it?

Then today, well let me telllll you about today. She asked what Jeff and I did for his birthday, so I told her. She asked if we had a special dinner, I said no because Jeff has class and he's doing a candida cleanse. I explained what it is and why he's doing it. He's doing it to try to treat a skin condition he's had for 8 or 9 years, something he's seen MDs for numerous times. Not once has any doctor ever successfully treated it. It always goes away for a little while then comes back with a vengeance. So he tells that to the next doctor and they say, Oh well you didn't do this. Try these pills/creams/etc. So he does and it goes away. Then he stops treatment because he's 'cured,' and guess what? It comes back full steam ahead. Jeff did a lot of research about the internal issues that could be causing this condition and found that a candida cleanse would be helpful. Great! He's eating a specific diet, taking specific supplements, and using essential oils to topically treat it. You know what my friend says? "So you're telling me Jeff read a bunch of hooey online and decided to treat himself? I just don't think some 20-year-old kid knows as much as a doctor. Maybe self-medicating will work. Who knows."

You know what? If you know nothing, don't pretend to know something.

Jeff and I are anti antibiotics, we are anti-chemicals. Maybe I'll explain why someday, but it sure makes sense to me. A missionary I knew on my mission was cured of cancer using essential oils. Yes, you read that right. Plant extracts with ZERO side effects. Some of you are probably reading this thinking, Pft, yeah right. But he was.

I guess all I'm saying is, don't knock something or someone until you've done a little research and tried to see where they're coming from. Don't harp on their opinions just because they're different. Don't be afraid of new ideas.

Don't be afraid to be wrong.

Birthday boy!

Today is Jeff's 28th birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He opened his presents last night because we just can't wait around here. And also he has class every night and I get home from work after he's left so we pass like strangers in the night. He said it was a great birthday! Luckily I didn't strike out on every present like I usually do. I got him gym chalk, those squeezy things to work on your grip and build mega huge forearms, and an elevation mask.

Now not only do we get to annoy our neighbors with our loud music and heavy weights when we work out, we get to emotionally scar them too! Huzzah!

The word huzzah reminds me of two things. One, another person named Lisa who I knew in high school. She always used to say it. And two, Tobias Funke.

Have you watched season 4 of Arrested Development? How did you like it? We have two episodes left. The first few episodes really were awful, but then you keep watching and each episode leaves little presents all along its way. I've enjoyed it a lot. To a new start!!

LOL!!!!

Moisture

Isn't that just the grossest word? Moisture. It's gross to say, it's weird to hear, and it is so non-descriptive. Let me suggest some situations where I commonly hear the word 'moisture' used.

From the pulpit during prayer: 'We are thankful for the moisture we've received.' Why not just say rain? That's what you really mean.

Outside in the summer: 'There's so much moisture on my water bottle.' Moisture? I think you mean condensation.

At a BBQ restaurant: 'Would you like a moist towlette?' Oh, you mean wipe? Yes, I'd love one.

In the suffocating Houston summer humidity: 'Sick. It is so moist out here.' You mean hellish. Go away now.

After running through a sprinkler: 'Darn. Now my shirt is moist.' Just say wet, because that's what it is.

I'd like to say I won't punch you if you ever say 'moist' around me, but I can't make any promises.

What got me started thinking about this was how much water I've drunk in the past four weeks. Each workday (and most Sundays, Saturdays I often slack off) I drink an entire bottle like this:

That is 101.4 fl oz of mois water, just 26.6 oz shy of a full gallon. I started it as a challenge to myself to see if I could actually do it. It's surprisingly easy. Sure, it's a ton of water and I pee a few more times daily than I used to (I commonly drank around 80-90 oz daily before, so I'm not drinking too much more), but it has done a few great things for me.

1. improved my digestion
2. improved my minor skin dryness issues. You may think that because I live in the most humid place in the world that I never have to use chap stick. Think again. This helps my otherwise very dry lips and eyelids.
3. made my fingernails super strong. Part of this is due to the protein in my diet, but I've noticed a definite increase in fingernail growth over the past few weeks. Luckily I haven't noticed any outrageously long toenails. Sick. Toenails are gross.
4. My body stays cooler. I work out in my 100-degree garage, so you know I sweat a ton, and I drink another 30-40 oz of water each night after I get home/workout. But for some reason, I feel like I don't sweat nearly as much as I used to. Call me crazy. My sweat also isn't salty.
5. given me more excuses to leave my office!!

In fact, it's just now 1 pm and I finished the jug already! I can't believe it.

Guys, I really have to pee now. But before I leave, you have to make this recipe. It is so good. Peace out.

I told you!

I told you to come back and there'd be another entry! My job can just be really boring. Very left-brained work, so I have to take frequent breaks or I will melt.

Speaking of work, on our last day in Maui back in January, our office manager quit. Guess who took her job?! It's been nice because I get paid a lot more, but I am doing more work, and it's not fun work. I like doing all the website stuff, but I don't like all the contracts. Many of our contracts are with countries I won't name for fear of evil men coming for me in the night, but they are the biggest, most corrupt bureaucracies on Planet Earth and as such they require oogles of paperwork. It's so awful. Definitely not what I pictured myself doing, or what I even want to be doing, but it's a good job and I am lucky/blessed to have it. I mean, I work from 7 am to 3 pm! It's awesome! And I'm still teaching piano lessons a few days a week during the school year.

Sometimes I feel actual shame over my job. When I was in college, I really wanted to be a music critic and write for Pitchfork or some dumb blog, or be famous. I still wish I were a famous singer, preferably in a rad band. I miss playing in bands. Now I guess I don't care, and that's my problem. I'd love to be someone, not just an office manager for some oil and gas firm, but you know, life is about many other things. In some ways, I am so glad I have this job because it doesn't define me at all! My poor boss is such a workaholic I don't think he'll ever retire. And then he'll be this 95-year-old cute little Jewish man saying, 'I'm so glad I have so much money to die with.' Yeah, right. I feel liberated by the fact that I am me, independent of anything in my life. At the same time I spend 40 hours a week doing something I really don't like! But it's okay. If I really hated it, I would leave!!

Jeff is in the last semester of the first year of his Masters in Education Administration. One more year! Not sure what the year after that will bring, except that we are open to staying in Texas and moving away from Houston. We like Texas. Who knew? Jeff is a really good husband. He was stressed this year with school and work, and I was stressed suddenly picking up more of the load around the house, but we figured it out and now things are peachy. Now he gets to be Mr. Mom because he has summer break! Someday soon I'll tell you about the trips we've taken this year and the trips we're taking soon.

Back in the winter we quit going to our Crossfit gym and bought all the junk so now we work out in our garage. We were thinking about long-term affordability, and owning the equipment is definitely the way to go. I'll admit, we got out of shape there for awhile, ate what we wanted and didn't think much of it. Getting out of shape after being in such great shape was not fun. I don't think we will make that mistake again. We've been working out steadily the past month or two, so we're back on the wagon at least. Because Jeff is now out of school and has tons of time, we've started a strength training program. We're both looking to make some gains in our main lifts (squats, deadlifts, standing press, and bench press), so we started using the Wendler 5/3/1 system, as of this morning.

This is Jim Wendler. He is a former strong man competitor. 

At a weight of 275 pounds, he lifted a 1,000-pound squat (as shown in the picture), 675-pound bench press and a 700-pound deadlift. I just can't even fathom how his bench press and deadlift are so close in weight, as usually these two lifts differ greatly in max weight. Obviously, Jim Wendler is the man.

These lifts are something we're used to but haven't strictly focused on. We'll lift three days a week, conditioning on Tuesdays, yoga Thursdays, sprints on Saturdays. Since Jeff is ditching me for class every afternoon/evening, I'm going to work in some extra conditioning at night, rowing, kettlebell work, whatever. Just keeping it light and easy so I can save myself for lifting HEAVY. Now, before you go thinking Jeff and I are going to get a huge and nasty, don't worry! I have no interest in consuming the amount of food needed to get that big. But if you want to be strong, you've gotta lift heavy!

Jeff's birthday is Thursday, so everybody tell him HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! IT'S THE BIG 2-8!!!

Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down

If you check my blog history, you'll see that I was once an avid blogger, mainly because I wrote about whatever I did. I'm going to try to do that again instead of waiting until I just have to say something. Maybe someone out there wants to read about what Jeff and I are up to. If you don't, I'll crack myself up.

Jeff and I are almost to 3 years of marriage, and where has the time gone? I remember when we married thinking, yeah, about two years and then we'll have a kid. Psssh. I am so psyched to be a mom! Someday! But man, these past years have been rad.

Did I ever mention that we bought a couch? We did. Back in February. It's the Taylor sofa from Thrive Furniture and we love it. We got the ottoman too, and it's huge, but we love that too. Yes, it's gray because I just have a thing for gray right now. And we got the lighter legs. My only complaint is that the legs screw on, and they don't screw on tightly, so sometimes the legs, which are supposed to point outward, point inward. So last week, after three months of having the couch, I finally realized Thrive should fix that. We're supposed to get eight new legs (were supposed to on Saturday!! Grrr...) and hopefully those will work.

A few months back we also scored two Drexel Declaration pieces at the neighborhood high school's garage sale. I had a cow when I saw them, and saw their prices because these things can be expensive! Luckily ours weren't.

They both have the original white globe knobs, except the six-drawer dresser which is missing one knob, so we will end up replacing them all. The highboy had a broken leg. The thing weighs at least 250 lbs, so I can understand how the leg broke. We finally got that back from our guy Allen and it's as good as new! Did you know you can clean wood with vinegar? That's what we did and it works great. These pieces were both really really REALLY dirty, so we were afraid they wouldn't polish up, but they did. The highboy, though technically a dresser, works great in our dining room as a sideboard thingy, and our TV sits on our dresser. It works. I love love love them!

What's next? An Eames lounge chair and ottoman? I hope so. When will my bonus get here? Come on, November!!

There are so many more things to say! But I'll stop now before you're too bored. Come back in a few days (or a few hours if work stays this slow) and you can read all about my life! You know you want to!

You know you're old when...

the Harlem Shake is new to you.
Is it like the Macarena?

just for today

Sometimes I wish I were a little bluebird, who fulfills the measure of its creation just by existing. It has no tests, no trials other than survival from cold and hunger. It is always considered beautiful and sings a song everyone wants to hear.Yes, I would like to be a bluebird. Just for today.

nesting, finally

It's been awhile. Again.

We had a nice Thanksgiving in Dallas, a nice Christmas in Dallas, and an even better start to the new year with a trip to Maui, paid for by my work. Nine days. Yep. It was bliss. Too bad what tan I had is already fading.

Our dilemma with what to do with our nasty wall texture is solved. We had some guys paint our place while we were gone. And---I LOVE IT! I walked in after little sleep on our redeye from Maui, just hoping it wasn't ugly. And it is beautiful! The texture is still there, but I can ignore it thanks to the lovely paint job.

We used Behr's Polar White on all the walls (we wanted Ben Moore's chantilly lace, but those prices are just too much). We used SW Passive on the ceilings in all the white rooms. I LOVE having grey on the ceilings. It's so calming and brings our high ceilings down visually to create warmth (even though we chose really cool colors). The dining room, adjacent to the family room, has Passive on the ceiling and Grey Matters (two shades darker than Passive) on the walls. This is my favorite room in the house, by far.

The kitchen and bathroom are Sea Salt, a greyish blue, also Sherwin Williams. Incredibly, these rooms look like they're painted different colors because of the difference in lighting in the two rooms. The kitchen has halogen bulbs; the bathroom has regular incandescent (for now). I love all the colors we chose so much! All the doors and trim are Polar Bear in Satin, I think. The rest of the paint is flat. It looks awesome!

Next we are trying to figure out what furniture to get.

Tell me, few friends who read this blog. Our living room is 18' x 13'--long and skinny. How would you decorate that space? We will hang our flat screen on one of the 18'-long walls; the cable box/DVD/AppleTV will be hidden in the closet in the 2nd bedroom, with all the cords routed through the walls. I want this Beauty underneath (custom made since this thing is 6k) with the receiver and turntable on top. Other than that, I can't figure out the best layout. Sofa? Chair and a half? Just a tough call, and I am so afraid to buy something that won't fit in the space.

We also need to redo our fireplace file. Wowee, is it ever ugly. Here's what I'm thinking needs to go on instead. I just love stone and wood and I want our whole house filled with greys and olive greens and wood and stone. And yes, we could do cement floors as our condo has a cement sub-floor. For rentability however, we will most likely put down laminate.

Let me know what you think!