"experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." -randy pausch

Friday, April 3, 2009

spanish speaking hottie

dear sean a.k.a. "spanish speaking hottie,"
i love listening to you speak spanish. it's dang hot. like walk on top of hot coals kind of hot. i love seeing you speak to president and hermana alonso. it's so cute. i love that you served a faithful mission. the fact that it was in TJ is a cherry on top. what were the chances? i love that other elders from your mission talk about you...in good ways;-)...like some kind of legacy. did i mention i think you're aMAZing? well, i do. i fall more and more in love with you every day. AND would you look at our son? he's just exhausted. even after a 3 1/2 hr nap (thank you "napping gods"). he was still toasted by the end of the night, but to see hermana alonso gush brennan's cheeks made it all worth it. to hear president speak...and sweet hermana just makes you feel warm inside. to feel so good that i can't believe i didn't have a stronger testimony before hearing them speak b/c they just make you want to be THAT much better. i'm amazed every time. when i look over, i see you with light in your eyes, and i think, "no way, how did i score him?" you made dreams come true that i didn't even know i had. i love you.
emily

jaws in the water

my confidence is high this morning.
nothing out of the norm has happened.
we woke up.
s.d.gib got to sleep in until 7, that was nice.
i love cuddling in the morning.
i went in to get brennan, he was standing in his crib and had thrown his binky AND monkey over the side.
binky suicide is what i call it.
we went to the front for chocolate milk and cartoons/today show.
he drank, i held him.
it's my favorite time of the day.
i'm tired, but it's okay, b/c i'm snuggling with the pork loin.
he had oatmeal and yogurt .
i had oatmeal and blueberries (with whole milk, i spoiled myself).
i put him down with his toys and sat down at the computer.
pork loin loves the computer.
he knows he's not allowed to touch mine.
so limits.
i've been trying to set them.
"that's mommy's computer, where's brennan's?"
(i gave him my old laptop from school)
so today off he went toward us.
like jaws in the water.
and what did he do? crawled right past us (the computer and me).
i felt so empowered!
woo, go me, mommy of the year!
maybe this "limits" thing is working?
and then...
he came back and turned off the dang computer.
oh well.
at least i saved the ball from going out of bounds last night and almost made a couple shots;-) remember last week? click here.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

emilisq's bloggin' bookies!: april/may's choice!

okay, so i'm not in hawaii, but i was in 2006!
doesn't that count;-)
the "pre-pork loin" years.
but this really was our view.
that was no lie!
it was aMAZing!
without further a-doo,
ladies & gents,
guys & dolls,
young & old,
i give you
emilisq's bloggin' bookies
book choice for
APRIL/MAY!!!!
i've heard so many women say this book was life changing for them.
there's a good chance some of you may have read this previously.
i always seem to pick out more things when i read a book the second time around.
i love to revisit characters.
live i've missed a good friend.
i'm already missing lily and august from last month's "the secret life of bees,"
aren't you!?
i hope you'll read with us!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

aloha!!!

that's right folks, this morning we woke up to this!!!
grandma C decided to take us to a warmer climate for the week.
we feel OH so spoiled.
the pork loin did "ok" on the plane.
although he didn't sleep a wink.
i just kept asking for them to "fill-er up!" with the guava.
by the time we arrived, i was passion fruit sauced.
the warm, thick humid air was full of flowers that hit us when we stepped off the plane.
it was glorious.
whenever i come here i make a pledge to never leave.
the aloha spirit is relaxing our bones.
i can't wait for a day at the beach.
too bad dad couldn't be with us:-(
plans for today:
beach
guava
beach
nap
sunscreen
beach
luau.
these are the two views from our room.
aloha!!!

april fools!!!
this is actually what we woke up to this morning.
and no foolin', i was excited!
i love the snow.
it makes me run to the door for a peak of the fluffy white topping.
how is that not beautiful?
it's gorgeous.
and we will bask in it today.
fully clothed of course.
good news?
we won't have to wear sunscreen!
i don't mind the smell too much, but i'm not a fan of the sticky, oiled feeling it leaves (even if i use the non oily version).
and for realz, grandma C really is in aloha land.
pork loin's new trick below:
happy snow day!
goddesses, you'll have to wait another day for april/may's book club selection.
loves to you and yours,
e

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

dare devil pork loin!!!

those of you who have an investment in this may want to watch these below.

i give you, dare devil pork loin!

this is the best one, about 60 seconds, just dark.

more light in this one, about 60 seconds

about 50 seconds

those still in the running go as follows:

bree, 1st

synergy girl, 2nd

snarky, 3rd

kate w, 6th

keri, 9th (on her birthday)

stacy b, 10th

leah p. & silver fox/my dad, 12th

aunt dana, 13th

hastings, & leah c., 15th

kels, 20th (silly girl!)

tiff w, 24th (our anniversay!)

katie, 26th

fiauna, 27th

gigi, may 4

soon to be Mrs. D, may 12

dana, may 21

for heaven's sake, if he's not walking by then we'll start the betting over. someone WILL win baked goods!!!

Monday, March 30, 2009

it's honey time: Part 2

"See, Lily, honey is a preservative. It seals over the comb in the hives to keep it safe and pure so the bees can survive the winter. When we bathe Our Lady in it, I guess you'd say we're preserving her for another year, at least inside our hearts we're doing that." (pg. 269)

My favorite quotes, thoughts, and lessons from the book:

1. "You know how adults love to ask, 'So what are you going to be when you grow up?' I can't tell you how much I'd hated that question..." (pg. 16)
me too!!! one of my professors in college (elementary education degree) told me once, "Don't ask your students 'What do you want to be when you grow up.' Ask them 'What kind of a person do you want to be when you grow up.'" Meaning, a good person, a person with integrity, character, love, humility, desire to help others, etc. I LOVE that.
2. "Day one of my new life, I said to myself. That's what this is." (pg. 57)
It's ours for the taking. So get out there and TAKE it for yourself!
3. "We were to offer them the five-part plan of salvation, which they could accept or not. The church gave us a plastic glove with each step written on a different finger. You started with the pinkie and worked over to the thumb. Some ladies carried their salvation gloves in their purse in case they ran into a Catholic unexpectedly." (pg. 58)
hahahahaha, salvation gloves! I loved this, it made me laugh...only because I pictured our missionaries teaching the discussions with gloves on though;-)
4. "The body knows things a long time before the mind catches up to them. I was wondering what my body knew that I didn't." (pg. 69)
5. "It separates the honey," she said. "Takes our the bad stuff, leaves in the good. I've always thought how nice it would be to have spinners like this for human beings, Just toss them in and let the spinner do its work." (pg. 77)
thinking of anyone in your life you'd like to put in the spinner right now? how about yourself sometimes? me too:-)
6. "She reminded me that the world was really one big bee yard, and the same rules worked fine in both places: Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and long pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates, while whistling melts a bee's temper. Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing want to be loved." (pg. 92)
this was my favorite lesson of this book. it pretty much summed up life for me. how to live it.
7. themes: and the truth shall set you free (example on pg. 101), having purpose, not dwelling on the past, honesty, sisterhood, life lessons, equality, learning to love those you nurture (June learning to love Lily, pg. 226), rebirth, readiness (pg. 237), saving grace
anyone else with me on this?
8. "I laid my head on his shoulder and wondered how he could stand me. In one short morning I had exhibited insane laughter, hidden lust, pissy behavior, self-pity, and hysterical crying. If I'd been trying to show him my worst sides, I could not have done a better job than this." (pg. 128-129)
ain't love grand?
9. salty peanuts and coca cola (pg. 139)
10. women loving people that sting (pg. 143)
11. "You've been halfway living your life for too long. May was saying that when it's time to die, go ahead and die, and when it's time to live, live. Don't sort-of-maybe live, but live like you're going all out, like you're not afraid." (pg. 211)
12. "We can't think of changing our skin," he said. "Change the word--that's how we gotta think." (pg. 216)
13. "She was like a sponge, absorbing what I couldn't hold anymore." (pg. 238)
14. "It was scary, my secrets spilled out across the room, like a garbage truck had backed up and dumped its sorry contents across the floor for her to sort through." (pg. 240)
sometimes laying it all out seems to be part of the healing process to me.
15. "...no matter how much you thought you could leave your mother behind, she would never disappear from the tender places in you." (pg. 237)
sooooooo true.
16. "In a weird way I must have loved my little collection of hurts and wounds. They provided me with some real nice sympathy, with the feeling I was exceptional. I was the girl abandoned by her mother. I was the girl who kneeled on grits. What a special case I was." (pg. 288)
17. "When you're unsure of yourself...when you start pulling back into doubt and small living, she's the one inside saying, 'Get up from there and live like the glorious girl you are.' She's the power inside you, you understand?...that's the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love--but to persist in love." (pg. 289)
goddesses! are we allowing our hearts to live to their fullest potential?
18. "People can start out one way, and by the time life gets through with them they end up completely different." (pg. 293)
19. "If you need something from somebody, always give that person a way to hand it to you." (pg. 298)
what a lesson to learn.

what were your favorite quotes, thoughts, and lessons?

tune in tomorrow to see what the April/May selection will be!

book club today, it's honey time: Part 1

"We lived for honey. We swallowed a spoonful in the morning to wake us up and one at night to put us to sleep. We took it with every meal to calm the mind, give us stamina, and prevent fatal disease. We swabbed ourselves in it to disinfect cuts or heal chapped lips. It went in our baths, our skin cream, our raspberry tea and biscuits. Nothing was safe from honey. In one week my skinny arms and legs began to plump out and the frizz in my hair turned to silken waves. August said honey was the ambrosia of the gods and the shampoo of the goddesses." (pg. 84)

it's honey time goddesses!!!
today will be questions for all of you,

tomorrow will be a more in depth discussion of what my favorite parts and thoughts were.

i can't WAIT to hear what you're thinking,
so without further ADU, here's some questions for YOU!
...
1. Who was the queen bee in this story?
2. Who was your favorite character or who did you find yourself connecting to the most?
Why?
3. Who did the Black Madonna symbolize for you?
4. What "wailing walls" do you have in your life?
5. What do you see in Lily's future?
6. Which month would you have wanted to be named after? Why? (see pg. 137)
7. What themes did you pick out? (see #7 tomorrow AFTER you've written your answer!)
8. "If you could have one miracle from the Bible happen to you, what would it be?" (pg. 271)

...
tune in tomorrow to hear some thoughts from me,
including some of my favorite lessons and quotes!

part 2 is on it's way AND i can't wait to share with you!!!