If You Don't Know

This is an open family newsletter.
It's to be sent off to family members and friends who live far away that I have not been able to keep updated as much as I should. Mostly it's for the New Englander's and Denmarker's in Erik's family.

(Some of this is stolen from my other blogs...)

Hello All!
I’d like to start this out by sharing Elaine’s first couple of days with you, and then we’ll get to our updates.
We went into Texas Women’s hospital February 3rd as early as they’d let us; the thing with inducements at this particular hospital is that there are so many births taking place there that natural births take precedence, of course. So what you have to do is call in, starting around 8:00 in the morning and you leave your name and number and tell them that you would like to be induced, if your doctor has sent an okay ahead of your call you will be put on the list. We were told to expect a call anywhere from two to ten hours… but our prayers were heard when we got a call only one hour later! We took our hospital bag and jumped in the car for the forty minute drive downtown where they had me all set up and ready to go in record time.
My mother, angel that she is, made sure to capture all of the important moments. (At my best angles too. )

After only 7 minutes of labor; pushing labor, that is, Erik shouts "It's a girl!" and I start crying just as Laine does too. I am a blessed woman, don’t I know it.

We tried to breastfeed but Laine had trouble latching on at first and the doctor told us that the muscles in her cheeks were not developed enough to allow for breastfeeding and after she lost some weight, a little over five ounces we started her on formula. While at home we kept pumping so that she was on a half and half diet, but eventually we had to give it up, which was incredibly disappointing but we all soon got over it, especially when she found out that she didn’t have to fight for her food anymore. And mommy was happy that daddy could help with the midnight feedings! He was excited too, even if he didn’t look like it.

Dad was the first one to get a day off, the local soccer team the Houston Dynamo were having a scrimmage before their season began to which Erik was so giddy about there wasn’t much saying no, and we survived well enough on out own. But we did take a picture just to rub in his face later. Ha!

You know come to think of it, he doesn't watch a game without her any more.
I must say that Erik is the most amazing father. He does so much to help me that sometimes it seems like he does most of the caretaking of Laine himself and it’s me that’s helping him. I’m lucky that he wanted to be a father. He looked forward to being a parent just as much as I did and he’s not taking any of this experience for granted. He understands that we have to recognize the value of everything about her infancy because she won’t be like this much longer. He is even aware of the beauty of the sound of her cries; he knows that sound will change soon. I have a greater appreciation of him as my husband the more I see him with our daughter.

Now for the updates. A lot has been happening in the last few months and I’m going to try to update on all of it. We have been doing a lot of first lately, but I guess that’s what the first year is all about, huh? And everything is happening so very fast.

When March came (too soon), I had to return to work, for the first week I didn’t know what we were going to do, we split up Laine’s week between family and friends, one of which (my super amazing best friend) was kind enough to help me with my separation anxiety by hooking up a web cam to Laine's bassinet so that I could watch her while I was at work.
But at the end of the week we decided it was time to start Laine at daycare. She began attending the la Petit Academy; an amazing daycare with knowledgeable experienced childcare experts that impress me to no end. We love our Miss April the most. And on most Monday’s and some Friday’s my mom with go get her early to spend time with her; which turned out to be really nice for me in that I no longer needed to rush through traffic to get to the daycare before closing time.

April came and we had a professional photographer come by the house and take some photos for us, they came out amazing!

We have since lost all of our dark curly hair and have replaced it with a much lighter blonde. We still have one or two curls in there too, at lease I am not giving up hope on them coming back. Fingers crossed!

Easter was wonderful this year; Erik ordered a bunny costume online so she was able to be the Easter bunny for the egg hunt!

And then we changed into our pretty dress for church.
In May we took our first airplane ride to Midland, Texas to see our Sydney, my brother's new beautiful wonderful wife, graduate from Texas Tech in Lubbock. Laine is the BEST traveler ever. She slept during the hard parts, like security checks and take offs and landings, and for the rest of the time she was awake and a joy to be around and to care for.

May also had us swimming for the first time at Tricia’s house. I forgot to pack her swimsuit so we went naked and loved it. Gran got in the water with us but I think Laine was more interested in chewing on grandma’s fingers than she was in the actual water at first, but she did take to the water really well. We spent the majority of the time trying to keep the sun off her and then dad came out with the smarts and got us an umbrella.
June brought with it Laine’s four month check up, she was fourteen pounds and twenty-four inches and that meant that in two months Laine had grown three inches and gained three pounds! Apparently the average is around nineteen pounds, so I don’t know if she is behind or if this is just her pace, but I’m going to go with the “everything-is-fine-and-my-baby-is-perfect” outlook on the situation.
We were given permission to start on rice cereal at that check-up. She did so well with it. She didn’t have the problems swallowing the cereal like we were told she would, she doesn’t spit much out, and the only time it gets all over her is when something makes her smile when she has her mouth full. Due to the fact that she's got me and Erik standing over her and applauding each bite she takes that happens a lot.
We started on veggies a few weeks later. Actually, let me back up. First we started her on fruits, applesauce, bananas and pears. She is not a fan of pears, but if we mix it with the rice cereal she does fine.
Anyway, she got sick with some major congestion and coughing so we took her to go and see the doctor again, just two much too short weeks after her four month checkup. I think she remembered the three shots she had received the last time because she wasn’t too happy to be there again. But we learned that she had gained two pounds! We got some decongestant and infant Tylenol and after about a week she made a full recovery. During the time she was sick we took her off the cereal and fruits and afterwards we started on veggies. Anything green seems to be her favorite.
She was officially into size two diapers June 10th. This little one has thunder thighs like you wouldn’t believe. She wears size 6-9 month clothes already, but it fits lose on top and tight on bottom.
And her personality is really starting to come out now. Funny,but it's looking alot like my own at the moment.

We are working on sitting up, rolling over and crawling. She seems to be giving all of it equal attention and effort.
I’m pretty sure she’s going to start teething soon; all that drooling and gnawing on fingers has to mean something other than she’s hungry.
Overall everything is great. Laine is the apple of our eye and the pig in our sty. Parenting is fun work and we are enjoying every minute. Hopefully we will be able to see you all soon, but in the meantime be happy, be healthy and be safe.
Much Love,
Amanda
(and Erik and Laine)

Day One

In celebration of Laine's 5 month 1 week and 6 day birthday, here is a gathering of moments that were caught on her first day with us.
It should be "read" left to right, top to bottom.


Beginning to end.
Makes a girl proud of what she's done.


And just so it's out there, here's proof.
Colleen was there.

:) I love you person.

I'm Cured!

***Before I start today’s diatribe on this country’s inhabitants ability to shirk their responsibility in any and all aspects of life I have to say that I am angry, I’m seething, irate, teed off, mad. I was listening to my favorite morning radio program on my way into work and they touched briefly on a scientific study that they had come across in some article they had read, it piqued my early morning foggy brain’s interest and I decided to Google and Wikipedia my way around the subject while I had my super amazing cup of coffee before getting my day started. And what I found, my dear God in Heaven, upset me to the point of nausea. I may need my mom to Theophostic me and tell me why it bothers me so much, but anyway of course I need to share my findings. Be forewarned. I write this with angry fingers backed by angry thoughts.

They have a name for why I’ve acted like such an A-hole for most of my life. It’s not my fault that I’ve been a bitch. It’s no ones fault. It’s all because of this disorder I’ve had, that you probably have too. That really, if you think about it, we all have.
I mean everyone is moody and argumentative sometimes, right? Especially during the teenage years. And even the best behaved children can be difficult now and again; but there is no reason to fear parents, it’s not your fault. The persistent patterns of tantrums and arguing and disruptive behavior towards authority figures are in reality a disorder that as many as one in ten children may have.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

Symptoms of ODD may include:
-Frequent temper tantrums
-Excessive arguing with adults
-Often questioning rules
-Active defiance and refusal to comply with adult requests and rules
-Deliberate attempts to annoy or upset people
-Blaming others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior
-Often being touchy or easily annoyed by others
-Frequent anger and resentment
-Mean and hateful talking when upset
-Spiteful attitude and revenge seeking

Does any of that sound familiar? It should because I just described EVERY TEENAGER ON THE PLANET!
What is this world coming to that every single thing has to have a name and a treatment? Just put the chips in our heads now and move us to Stepford because that seems to be the end game.
For the love of peanuts, how many people are there really who refuse to take responsibility for their children? It must be quite a few because they have to make being a teenager a disorder. A disorder with a treatment at least though.

Treatment of ODD may include:
-Parent Management Training Programs to help parents and others manage the child’s behavior.
-Individual Psychotherapy to develop more effective anger management.
-Family Psychotherapy to improve communication and mutual understanding.
-Cognitive Problem-Solving Skills Training and Therapies to assist with problem solving and decrease negativity.
-Social Skills Training to increase flexibility and improve social skills and frustration tolerance with peers.

Parents can help their child with ODD in the following ways:
-Always build on the positives, give the child praise and positive reinforcement when he shows flexibility or cooperation.
-Take a time-out or break if you are about to make the conflict with your child worse, not better. This is good modeling for your child. Support your child if he decides to take a time-out to prevent overreacting.
-Pick your battles. Since the child with ODD has trouble avoiding power struggles, prioritize the things you want your child to do. If you give your child a time-out in his room for misbehavior, don’t add time for arguing. Say “your time will start when you go to your room.”
-Set up reasonable, age appropriate limits with consequences that can be enforced consistently.
-Maintain interests other than your child with ODD, so that managing your child doesn’t take all your time and energy. Try to work with and obtain support from the other adults (teachers, coaches, and spouse) dealing with your child.
-Manage your own stress with healthy life choices such as exercise and relaxation. Use respite care and other breaks as needed

How’s that now? They want us to spend time with our children? Give them positive reinforcement? Support them? Don’t pick fights with them? Jeez! Has it really come to this? Is the treatment for a kid being a teenager really for a parent to be a parent? People have to be TOLD that? How many people out there really think otherwise? And HOW did they begin thinking that way? It makes me crazy how some parents refuse to take responsibility for their children. First it wasn’t the parent’s fault that their kid is an A-hole because there are hormones involved. Now it’s really not their fault because it’s got a name and a treatment. And that means that no matter how you parent your kids it doesn’t matter in the end because however they end up there is a name for it and that name is It’s Not My Fault. How can parents expect their kids to take responsibility for their actions if the parents themselves won’t take responsibility for their children?

I’ve got to say though that I’m sure there are some kids out there who really do have disorders; that really do have issues with violence and serious emotional instability. I also believe that there really is such a thing as ADD and ADHD for some kids. Some kids, not one in ten. I’m also sure that there really are some children, again NOT one in ten, that do have this ODD. I think that there are some kids that take normal teenage angst to the umpteenth level and need either medication or therapy. Of course I’m talking about the kids that are actively aggressive towards people and animals, kids that deliberately engaged in activities with the intention of causing serious damage to people or property. I believe that those few really do really benefit from the treatment programs and the medication. I also believe that there are some people that are true blue sociopaths that need to be institutionalized for the sake of everyone else around them.

But for the most part I believe kids are just jerks that need a swift kick in the ass to cure most of their attitude problems. Walk into any high school or junior high in your area and park yourself in the cafeteria, you’ll see. Kids are jerks. Really, it’s the nice ones, the ones that just want to sit at the library doing their homework, or the kids that want to hang out with their families on the weekends; those are the weird ones. Those are the odd ducks, the ones that stick out like sore thumbs. Those are the ones that should have a name and treatment. But I’m sure that if I looked hard enough, Google and Wikipedia around a bit, I’d find that they even have a medication to fix that too.

I am angry about this. I’m angry that there is now such a thing as Oppositional Defiant Disorder. I’m angry that there are people out there who want to make their teenager go to psychotherapy sessions to work out their negativity and frustration tolerance. I’m angry that so few parents are willing to spank a child when they talk back, I’m upset that so few parents will explain to a child why it is not okay for them to throw a tantrum or be mean and hateful. Talk to these kids, give them a time out, smack their butts, but do not call their defiant attitude a disorder. It’s ridiculous and I really can’t stomach it.

But really the thing I am most angry about is that the fact that there is going to be countless parents now that will use this ODD as an excuse to give up on their kids, and countless teenagers who will take advantage of the fact that their defiance can be categorized as a disorder.
Soon no one will be held accountable for their actions. No one will need to take responsibility for anything, least of all themselves. No one is liable. And where, it the end, when all disorders have been named and all treatments have been developed, where will that leave us?

Wordless Wednesday

Feb-June

Improving Family Fun Time

Erik bought us a Wii Fit this weekend. He told me he wants me to "do the yoga stuff so we can boink like circus freaks"... Interesting.
I told him to focus on the strength training stuff so that we can improve our stamina.

Maybe I should get him to focus on the yoga...

Starbucks. It's My Grown-up Medicine.

Laine is sick. Starting Friday evening she got a really stuffy nose and would sneeze every now and then. Then all day Saturday she was stuffy and snotty and coughing, and Sunday she was just plain miserable. Today she is better. I think she's okay anyway. I hope she's okay, no, I know she's okay; I just can't stop thinking about her while I sit here at my desk, far, far away from her. Mom’s taking care of her and I got a photo from her so I know she’s fine, I have proof that she is fine; but I’m not. I need to be close to her, taking care of her myself. I feel like I’m snubbing my responsibilities; I should have taken the day off work and stayed home with her.
Even though Laine slept somewhat peacefully after the Tylenol kicked in, I was up about every hour and a half to check on her. Around three thirty this morning I just had to give up on getting any sleep. Her breathing kept spontaneously clearing up so it sounded to me like she wasn’t breathing at all which would wake me up with a violent start and I’d jump out of bed, not easily done with a body shape conforming foam mattress and a blubberous midsection, to check on her. Once I realized that the rest of the night would be just me continuing to get an abdominal workout I decided to get up and do some laundry instead.
Stupid sickness hurting my baby.
Stupid paranoid parent syndrome making me crazy.

Life With Bitty

A lot has been happening in the last few weeks and I’m going to try to update on all of it but for the most part the photos will have to speak for themselves. Maybe.

We had a super lazy weekend but got some amazing pictures out of it.

She's been geting into those Dynamo games with dad.

Laine had her four month check up last Friday, she is now fourteen pounds and twenty-four inches and that means that in the last two months Laine has grown three inches and gained three pounds. When Jacob was four months old he was nineteen pounds, so I don’t know if she is behind or if this is just her pace, but I’m going to go with the “everything-is-fine-and-my-baby-is-perfect” outlook on the situation.

She got three more shots at this checkup and she still has little knots on her thighs but we’ve been rubbing at them and they seem to be going away.
She is officially into size two diapers, the last of the one-two got used this morning.
We went swimming for the first time at Erik’s parent’s house. I forgot to pack her swimsuit so we went naked and loved it. Grandma got in the water with us but I think Laine was more interested in chewing on grandma’s fingers than she was in the actual water, but she took to the water really well.

She’s a lounger. She’s her mother’s daughter. We spent the majority of the time trying to keep the sun off her and then dad came out with the smarts and got us an umbrella.

I’m pretty sure she’s going to start teething soon.

All that drooling and gnawing on fingers has to mean something other than she’s hungry.

We were given permission to start on rice cereal this week;

She's dong so well with it.

She doesn’t have the problems swallowing the cereal like we were told she would, she doesn’t spit much out, and the only time it gets all over her is when something makes her smile when she has her mouth full. Due to the fact that she's got me and Erik standing over her and applauding each bite she takes that happens a lot.

We are proud parents of a genius child, what can we say?

Roger and Elaine = Erik and Amanda

This is somthing that I came across in my random browsing of the internet today. I will be so much more than just surprised if evey one of you can not relate.


A Matter of Sex
possibly by Dave Barry

A guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts. They have a pretty good time. A few nights later, he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else. And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Elaine and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?"
And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Gosh, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship. Maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.
And Roger is thinking: Wow, six months.
And Elaine is thinking: But hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward.... I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?
And Roger is thinking: So that means it was ... let's see ... February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means ... lemme check the odometer ... Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here!
And Elaine is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment. Maybe he has sensed -- even before I sensed it -- that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.
And Roger is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they'd better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a crummy garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600!
And Elaine is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. Oh, I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.
And Roger is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty. That's exactly what they're gonna say, the scumballs!
And Elaine is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to care about me, a person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl, romantic fantasy.
And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty! I'll take their warranty and stick it....
"Roger," Elaine says aloud.
"What?" says Roger, startled.
"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have said ... Oh, I feel so...." She breaks down sobbing.
"What?" says Roger.
"I'm such a fool," Elaine sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight; I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight and there's no horse."
"There's no horse?" says Roger.
"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Elaine asks.
"No!" says Roger. He's glad he finally knows the correct answer.
"It's just that ... that ... I need some more time," Elaine says.
There is a long pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally, he comes up with one that he thinks might work.
"Yes," he says.
Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand. "Oh Roger, do you really feel that way?" she asks.
"What way?" asks Roger.
"That way, about time," says Elaine.
"Oh," says Roger. "Yes."
Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.
"Thank you, Roger," she says.
"Thank you," says Roger.
Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn. Roger, in the meantime, gets back to his place, opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure that there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it. (This is also Roger's policy regarding world hunger.)
The next day, Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.
Meanwhile, Roger, while playing squash one day with Elaine's brother, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: "Bill, did Elaine ever own a horse?"

Six Word Memior

Made a mess. Cleaned it up.

I Look Again and Consecrate

Consecrate means that means I made a solemn commitment of my time to some cherished purpose. Yeah okay really all I did was take some time out of my day to remember and to try my hand at something I used to be good at. I haven’t drawn anything in years, not since high school, that’s a long story that isn’t worth my time to type out but I will say; no, Mrs. Fox, I will not put any gold in it.
So I was sitting at my desk twirling a pencil in my hand and thinking about how I never really use pencils anymore. It was one of those nice real wood pencils that smudge really well and I though “What the hey lets give it a go.” Then I thought “What is the most difficult thing for me to draw? What will get this out of my system in a way that will make me not want to try it again for a long time?” The human body in an awkward position! So I Googled “body positions” and as you would imagine a lot of sexual positions came up. The one I decided on was the raised missionary but I couldn’t find any body types I wanted to try to I basically winged it. And this is what I got out of it. You'll have to click on it to make it bigger, it looks better bigger.

Not too shabby for someone who doesn’t draw if I do say so myself.
Sorry she's naked Mom.
And up yours Mrs. Fox. Up yours.

Let's Play a Game

Open two Internet windows: in the first go to http://www.flickr.com/ and in the second go to http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php. Take this survey...
1. What is your first name? Amanda
2. What is your favorite food? Popcorn
3. What high school did you go to? Westminster
4. What is your favorite color? Yellow
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jason Statham
6. Favorite drink? Coffee
7. Dream vacation? Greece
8. Favorite dessert? Lemon Bars
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Librarian
10. What do you love most in life? Literature
11. One Word to describe you? Imaginative
12. Your flickr name? aprosendahl

...and then search your answers at flickr. Copy the URL (the http://www..com/ address) from the picture you like best from the first page and paste it into one of the options at the mosaic place. When you are finished you can leave it as a comment here or post it yourself, just let me know so I can see it too.

1. Flower of Milkweed, 2. morning after, 3. LONDON EYE, 4. House nestled in Vineyard, 5. Jason Statham, 6. Cookie splash! v6, 7. Greece, 8. lemon bar, 9. RETRATO - A LA ARCIMBOLDO - PORTRAIT, 10. Literature, 11. beauty, 12. red rose

I love the randomness of it. It's my favorite things and pieces of me but you wouldn't know that unless I told you. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make a whole bunch more, I'm already coming up with new questions to be answered by flickr pictures.

Its fun to take the time for yourself to do things like this every now and then. Spending time with myself on myself is something that is important to me, and that makes this mosaic important to me.

We Be Jammin'

Every good road trip needs a good soundtrack that has music to keep you alert at the wheel, to bond you and your co-travelers, to get you safely to your destination and to lock into your memory bank the entirety of the trip with certain moments linking to certain songs from now until forever.
There are a number or questions that must be answered to even start the compilation of a good road trip soundtrack. It’s important that you don’t throw together songs willy-nilly and expect that to be tolerable, because let me tell you, if you are riding with me, it isn’t.
The first question to be answered being who I am riding with. It’s just dense of you to assume that whoever is in the car with you will want to listen to exactly what you want to listen to for the whole trip. I don’t care how tolerant you’re friends are, no one is indulgent enough to listen to fourteen hours of nonstop Johnny Cash. I don’t care how big a fan they think they are; it’s unconscionable to think to force someone to endure such torture (David Hayes). This weekend I will be traveling with my mom. So that means that music which is overtly suggestive, has blatant sexual overtones or has any profanity are to be left at home. I don’t have much of that but it’s still wise to include that proviso in my list. It would be nice of me to include music that I know she enjoys listening to, not just music that I think she might like listening to. I’ll be taking into account that my daughter will be in the car and it might be fun to look up music from November of 1981, being as that was the first road trip my mom and I ever had together. There are also songs I remember her singing along to when I was young and I’ll add some songs from 1999, that being the last year we took a road trip together.
The second question to be answered being what is your destination? If you are on your way to go fishing in the Tennessee woods then I’d suggest leaving the Greatest Hits of the Banjo Brothers at home seeing as how you wouldn’t want to freak yourself out before you were even halfway there. If you are on your way to a concert, don’t listen to nothing but the band you are going to see, that will just burn you out and you’ll be disinterested once you get there and end up drinking too much to compensate for your boredom and then you’d have to get your co-traveler to take care of you and then you’d be screaming out the window all the words to the songs that your friends just heard live and you’ll ruin the entire experience for them(You know who you are). This weekend I’m traveling to my Aunt’s funeral. Now, considering that it is a long drive there and back and we don’t want to be all weepy the whole way, a little disco to seriously lighten the mood would be a good start. Songs that will make us want to bop our heads and sing along are defiantly getting added, but not too much of it, we don’t want to roll up to the burial site doing the twist and giggling like adolescents. That wouldn’t go over too well. So we can add in some late 70’s hippy stuff, Simon and Garfunkle and Peter Paul and Mary should be mellow enough.
The third question to be answered being are we planning on talking over this music. If there is one thing I hate in life it is when people talk over good music. I will turn that music off and wait for you to finis… who am I kidding, I’ll stare at you with the stink eye until you shut up and then I’ll start that song over. So, if I choose to bring new music that I want to introduce to my mom then there will be no talking or else I will have to keep starting the song over every time she says anything and considering that she talks as much as I do I am going to opt for not choosing to bring new music. So I’ll need to choose music that is well known to the both of us and music that isn't something that I need to sing along to. It needs to be music that can easily be turned down and spoken over. So no story telling songs needing to be followed in order to be enjoyed can be added to the list; sorry Justin Timberlake.
The final question to be answered being is this trip really worth spending the time to make a soundtrack for. Because lets face it, sometimes a road trip is just a radio road trip. When you are driving in the country, on back roads, or across state lines you need a CD to keep a constant flow of music with no static. Static is the number one cause of road rage in this country, did you know that. True story. However, if you are driving from one suburb to another and you do not leave the big city or the range of its radio stations then there isn’t a need for a soundtrack. Oh man! This weekend I will be going from League City to Spring to Beaumont and never leaving Houston’s radio stations range so there isn’t a need for a soundtrack at all for this trip. JEEZ!

Whatever.

And Another Thing...

Just because you can philosophize on the negative ramifications and impractical significance of believing in a higher power doesn’t mean that your rationalizations are superior to the commitments I have to my convictions. I am not misguided, my beliefs are not erroneous; and your assumption that I need to further develop the maturity of my certainty of faith is unacceptable and inappropriate.
I can use big words too, you unexceptional son of an under-evolved primate. My childlike faith suits me perfectly and it is absurd for you to presume to call me naïve.

I do what I do

I can’t file just one nail; I must make all of them even if I start at all.
Sometimes I have to listen to a song all the way through with no one talking and if you speak I will start that song over.
If a song is playing that I do not like and I am unable to leave the room or turn the station, I will get a headache, swift and fierce like.
Every time I change my pants I have to put on clean underwear, even if I am just changing my mind about my pants. New underwear with new pants and that includes in the morning, even if I put on a new pair right before bed the night before.
I cannot eat an orange. The stringy flesh catches in my throat and I feel like I’m dying.
Same goes for bananas if you don’t get all the little stringy's off.
I cannot eat lima beans or black-eyed peas because they are too dry and I feel as though they are sucking the moisture out of my body.
I hate little doors and if there is one near me it must be closed. Evil things live behind little doors.
I don’t like being alone in a dark house. All the lights in the house must be on if Erik isn’t home, evil things are scared of the light.
And if I have to go to bed without Erik then I have to be completely under the covers, evil things can’t find you if they can’t see you.
I can’t fold socks if they aren’t in a matching pair. If there is no match for two socks they both get thrown away rather than folded together.
I hate the feeling of hair on my neck but I like to wear my hair down and long.
I cannot start reading a book until after I have read the last page first.
I hate to wear makeup but I wear it every day because if I don’t then I’m not fully dressed and I don’t like walking around half naked.
I hate my arms but I insist on wearing tank tops more often than not.
I refuse to clean my car and I don’t know why.
I cannot just hang up on telemarketers; I have to let them know I am not interested first.
When I meet new people I don’t typically give them the benefit of the doubt, I just assume I won’t like them, especially if they are female.
I have issues with watching a movie before I know how it ends.
I don’t like to be told no. I react like a two year old child when I am told no.
I know I am a sore loser and still I play games I know I lose at.
If I’m working, reading, cooking or doing any thing at all and someone interrupts me its not that big of a deal, but if I’ve been staring into nothing for long enough for my imagination to jump start and I’m interrupted I feel as though my space is being invaded and the my walls come crashing down like Jericho.
If I make dinner and it isn’t perfect the first time, I’ll never make it again.
The fact that I know these things about myself would make you think that I would actively try to change them. And yet I don’t, because I do what I do. Right BColleen?
Srsly.

Breakfast

This was my breakfast this morning. Well, this was part of my breakfast; I also had sixteen Wheat Thins and a banana. That may not sound like much but I feel satisfied.

Sometimes I Have To Share

I love finding new music. It makes me feel like I’ve found some buried treasure; and I download most of my music so… buried treasure… piracy… it fits. I like knowing that no one I know has discovered my music before and it’s only me that knows these bands exist so that when I do tell someone about them I am doing my friends a favor. But I don’t like sharing my new music all the time. It seems whenever I do it goes main stream that much faster. A bit arrogant of me to assume I have anything to do with it but how should I feel when I discover Silversun Pickups three months ahead of anyone else and then all of a sudden they are in the MLB playoff commercials. I know in my soul it’s because I told all my friends about them and one of my friends secretly has a friend that works for MLB marketing. Bastards. So I reserve the right to not tell my friends about good music until it gets to the point where I HAVE to share my melodious discovery because it’s just embarrassing to dance alone. Does that make me a music miser? Maybe. Will I ever change? No.
I will tell you one of my discoveries here though considering there are only three of you readers. As long as you swear on a stack of Rolling Stone vinyl’s that I’ll never hear of you sharing this gift I’m giving you with any major sports marketing team.
Shadwell. I wouldn’t mind hearing these guys on the radio. If only we could get them off their Myspace arses long enough to get a label. Their song Fire, literally makes me want to hunt down the singer and tear his underclothes off, I don’t even know what he looks like and I really don’t care, not with a voice singing words like that. Sigh. And Short Breath, if you listen to that song you will be satisfied in ways no man or machine could do for you, however you can’t find them anywhere other than Rhapsody and iTunes. Meaning you have to buy each song. Which I refuse to do; no matter how much I love the music, if it’s not the real CD I’m not paying for it. This band does tempt me though. I swear Aaron is singing to me sometimes. Hey, a girl can dream…
This will hook you up with some rhapsody links. Go there. Be happy. You're welcome.