Mondays....

Today I am a bit depressed. I just found out a girl I graduated school with passed away last night. She fought a long battle with leukemia and she died after having a stroke last week. Reminds you how precious life is. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Rima Family.

As for us, we had a relaxing weekend. The weather continues to be beautiful so we spent a good portion of the weekend outdoors.

Today I started my full-time babysitting job for some friends. They have a 5 ½ month old…she is a sweetie. I forgot what its like to have one that young, they just sit there and smile. Besides Erin petting her like a dog, it has been going very well.

I was going to post photos, but they have haing server issues....tomorrow!

Beautiful Days

By the Bay

Yesterday I spent the morning being initiated into “stamping up” with a crazy woman named Dianne. We put together some products for our youth group using rubber stamps. It’s all the craze down here, everyone is always stamping something. I’ll admit I rather enjoyed myself but not something I am planning on taking up anytime soon.

It was one of those beautiful days, almost like early June. For a moment, days like these make you forget that the hellish heat of the summer is lurking around the corner. I took Erin out to the park by the bay. I watched in amazement as she climbed, went over bridges and took on the biggest slides. It’s defiantly a two-person job. I would help her to the top to make sure she did not dive off the side of the equipment and then I would jump down to meet her at the bottom. I considered it my workout for yesterday, buy the time we left I was worn out.

She then found a squirrel (who obviously thought she was going to feed him) and terrorized him by chasing him tree to tree. She would point up in the tree and say “kitty kitty”. Then he would drop down and run to the next and she would be right behind him. It was a very obese squirrel so Erin had no problem keeping up.

I got up early this morning and biked again. I think I am finally getting out that initial I haven’t exercised it way too long and now my body hates me. Of course now that I have lived here 1.5 years, I can still manage to get lost (no longer in the land of the grid). So my ride was a little longer then expected, but I was out late enough to see the sun rise over JSC, which was well worth the 20 minutes of confusion.

Well the day is slipping away till next time……

Where did he go?

Erin Pics

My personal secretary

Erin in her New Dress

Erin loves to kiss now, This is her "kiss face"

Toilet Pandemonium

We finally got a good rainstorm last weekend. It rained most of Sunday and along with the rain came an unrelated flood. Erin has this new obsession with putting things in the toilet. Most instances of her chucking objects in the toilet we have been standing 5 feet away. She’ll wait until I have a curling iron wrapped up in my hair or am washing my hands. She flashes her innocent smile, flips the lid, drops the object and then quickly closes the lid in hopes you did not see her. I have come accustomed to fishing out shoes, kitchen bowls, clothing and the occasional box of Kleenex, but Sunday something was flushed. After a relaxing morning at church, I came home to a plugged toilet. As I watch in horror as it started to overflow, I came to the realization that we didn’t even have a plunger. To make matters worse the water would not turn off and our bathroom quickly flooded. So I spent Sunday afternoon scouring the town for a plunger in the pouring rain. We finally got the mess cleaned up (I am sure the neighbors below us were thrilled with the water leaking through their ceiling). We never found out what she put down there, it was probably my good watch Jared got me for our anniversary that has been missing a week. So Erin and I had a nice chat about what is appropriate behavior around the toilet.

I finally started my exercise routine this week. I started alternating biking and weight lifting. I thought if I biked at 6 am the traffic would be better (don’t worry mom, I have a light), but in reality people out at that time just drive worse because there is no one else on the road. However, I found a sidewalk, which I attribute to my survival.
It’s a beautiful day today, like an early June day up north. Erin and I went out behind the complex, fed the ducks, and took a little walk. She can now walk 10-15 minutes without stopping. Minus a few face plants here and there she is very nimble on her feet.

Sandcastles & Wheels

Last night we went out to eat at this quaint little Mexican restaurant called mamacitas. Typically it’s not the best Mexican food around, but Thursday nights they have buy one meal get one half off, which fits our frugal budget. The food last night was exceptionally good, so two thumbs up for mamacitas!

Erin and I went to the park today and played in the sand. I find the city parks around here provide an interesting social network of stay-at-home moms. A network that I attempt to avoid at all costs. I like meeting new people and every now and then I will meet a mother and we’ll chat about a book or food production. But typically the conversations in these networks seem to always revolve around the same thing: scrap booking, the jymbroee, and some parent who spent $300 on their kid’s first birthday party. So while all the other mothers are sitting on the sideline talking about what paper texture is better I built a sandcastle with some Chinese kids and then Erin pretended to be Godzilla and destroyed it.

Then on to the grocery store…. HEB (the large grocery store down here) just put in new carts and some of them have a big plastic car on the front to put your kids in (genius!) So as I am shopping Erin is in her little car having honking wars with the old man riding along on his scooter. We would meet him every isle or so and she would hang out the side and wave at him and honk. She is such a little flirt, makes me worried what age 16 will bring. Ever wonder why its name is HEB? The owner’s last name was BUTTS! Nothing like buying your food at Butt’s grocery, I imagine it was a very intelligent marketing person that suggested the initials instead of the full name for the store.


Tonight we are just lounging; I think it’s going to rain all weekend, which we need it. We are in the midst of a severe drought. Here a new pic of Erin and I, one of the few. I am usually the one operating the camera. Looking at it I desperately need to highlight my hair…hmmmmm put it on the to do list.
Have a good weekend. Until next time….

Free Clothing & Space Rockets

Dianne and I went to the blood bank today because she was on a mission to get a free t-shirt and I was due to donate now that I have committed for life. Unfortunately I was rejected because my iron was just a few points low. Nothing like getting rejected at the blood bank to make you feel wanted. However, they must of thought I needed a new wardrobe because they gave me a free t-shirt anyway…yuppie!

Then we headed to the wonderful world of Wal*Mart where I purchased a strobe light for Jared’s bike (since some illegal worker painting our building stole mine last fall). The light is to replace my overzealous goal of going to the gym every morning. The gym is 3 miles away, the bike is on my patio, now I can’t make the excuse at 5am that gas is too expensive and I need to conserve buy not driving to the gym.

This afternoon I watched part of the Houston’s weekly hi-speed chase. Today’s lasted 90 minutes. You think living in Texas everyone carries a gun and someone would have shot out his tires, but I guess we were all glued to the t.v. watching it on all 4 network channels. I wish I could say he was driving like a maniac, but in reality it was not much worse than how the normal Houstonian drives.
Tonight Jared and Erin were playing “rocket ship”, Erin’s new favorite game with dad as he tosses her into the air. Here are some photos from liftoff. Till some other time…..

Questionable Photos

I just got back some photos from our Christmas trip to Iowa. While visiting my parents, we took the opportunity to catch a bareback ride on one of Max’s llamas and tour the frozen tunrda of Strawberry Point, Iowa.

Something you just can’t do in Houston.

Erin and her new hat….

Erin the graffiti artist…..

Home with the sickies.

After a crazy weekend of running all over the city I was looking forward to a relaxing day, only to wake to Jared with the stomach flu and Erin with a spur in her bottom. Both were ornery and I had nowhere to escape to. Luckily both of them took long naps and are feeling better.

Today I started my New Years workout goal. After a few surgeries and a kid I sag and sway in places that use to be firm. So now it’s off to the gym. I didn’t make it there this morning, but I did make it to my living room to do crunches and pushups. It’s a start!

Today was MLK day, a new holiday for me since I grew up in the North Country where frankly everyone is a white farmer and like all other holidays its just another workday. There were lots of celebrations across the city, but I stayed home with the sickies.

Saturday night I chaperoned a church youth dance. Its was three hours of great entertainment as we watched awkward boys get the nerve to ask a girl to dance and then look like a fish out of water as they shuffled across the floor attempting to avoid her feet. To make it even more enjoyable the theme of the dance was Napoleon Dynamite so we spent the rest of the night attempting who was dressing up like a nerd and who was in their regular attire. The youth had a great time, as did we.

Sunday night Jared and I sat on a “relationship" panel for a youth fireside as we discussed the ups and downs of dating a marriage. As we sat there reminiscing on our best and worst dates, I decided the best thing about marriage is that the realm of dating is over. No more boys who can’t dance and awkward dates where the time seems to stand still and your date is standing at the door ready and willing to kiss you and you have to make up some excuse like you have rabies to dodge the moment. Now I just deal with dirty diapers and lost keys….Marriage life is good.
Well Its off to bed, we’ll see if I make my 5 am goal for the gym tomorrow.

Hello!

It occurred to me that I have not updated our website since late October and we have a slow connection so the website take forever to upload. And I made a new years resolution to start a journal, which has not materialized yet. So Shannon gave me a great idea to start a blog. So here it is my first official blog!

We returned from an excellent two weeks in Iowa Jan 4 and are now back in a semi-normal routine. Jared is spending a good chunk of time this week in mission control training and I am between projects so Erin and I are just chilling.

I just contracted as a graphic designer for a greeting card line. I was ready to get started when they realized their company name was already trademarked by Hallmark so now I am just waiting while they wade through the legal waters of trademarks and copyrights.

Its really windy here today, which is odd but a welcomed cleansing of all the chemical & pollution in the air. Now the sharks in the bay will have three eyes and not my kid.

Erin learned to kiss this week, now she wants to kiss everyone. And it’s a cute kiss, not one of those open-mouth slobbery one most kids give. She also threw her first major tantrum this week in Hobby Lobby. While in line she screamed so hard she make herself vomit…the days motherhood its toils…. We went to the car and had a nice little chat and I thin she got the drift because her behavior has been extremely pleasant the rest of the week.
Well I think that’s a good start. Till next time!