Movie Review: Bride Wars

I'm not sure how I feel about this movie. It was obviously extremely predictable, like most movies of this nature. And to be totally petty, I hated Kate Hudson's hair and it distracted me the entire movie. I hated her bangs. I actually enjoyed Anne Hathaway.....though her teeth distract me. I told you - it's petty today. Anyway, it was a cute movie and every girl who has been a bride will appreciate the humor in this movie. But it was a good movie with a good story and a good ending.

Open for Business

So a little while back, I decided to take my blog off the public market. Without going into a whole lot of unnecessary detail, I was informed that I have an ex-friend who likes to check my blog regularly. Why, you ask? I have no idea. Apparently my life is just THAT fascinating and she feels the need to stalk my every move. Flattering? Not so much. Creepy? Absolutely.

However, taking my blog private really placed a burden on my regular readers to create accounts, sign in, etc. and that's not what I want. This is supposed to be a place for my family and friends to follow along on my journey. And I understand that from time to time, random people would stumble upon the blog.....people that don't really have any business reading about my life. And I was fine with that. I'm always careful to limit sensitive information and crop out addresses from photographs, etc. And while this one specific person isn't family (thank god) and is no friend I would ever wish on even my worst enemy (oh, wait...ha ha), she's not important enough to continue to inhibit all the other folks who DO read my blog.

So, read on my friends. I guess I just need to accept the fact that I have a permanent psycho stalker who just can't get enough of my life. Yay me.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my brother, Dana!! He is 24 years old today....and the best uncle my little boy could ever ask for.

Random Fact #59

I'm a locker.

I lock everything. All the time. My house, my doors, my car, my windows, my phone, etc. If it can be locked, it WILL be locked. It drives me nuts when my husband doesn't go around the house and night, before bed, to make sure all the doors are locked and the house is secure. I know we live in a real neighborhood now, with nice neighbors, who have dogs....and WE have a dog. But dang it, I just don't feel right if my house isn't locked down like a fort.

And my car? Yeah - when I go into gas stations or the store....it's locked. The husband gives me soooo much crap for this.

So, if you ever plan to break into my house? Good luck!

This Little Piggy

Patience

Let the Swimming Continue

......well, not that it hasn't. The camera just hasn't come with us. And if it behaves again like it did tonight, it will be staying home grounded. I'm not sure what the deal was, but virtually every picture was fuzzy. But we had fun nonetheless.

Carter has really taken a liking to the water. He's not afraid to get in at all - though depending on the temperature of the water, the shaking does set in. The last time we went, it was really warm. This time? Not so much. At all. It was cold even for me.

And jumping in? The child has no fear. He loves it. And he has mastered holding his breath....he doesn't come up choking on water anymore.

And he loves all the floaty toys. The gym where we have our membership has many locations throughout the valley, and since we moved, we have been going to a different location. And this new location has LOTS of floaty toys. The other had none. So it was a good move.

His concentration was off tonight. There were waaaay too many little girls around and he was being a little flirt! They all love him and I can't say that I blame them.

And the lifeguard even offered to take a family pic. What a great kid! We'll definitely keep coming back to this location.

The Discussion that Shouldn't Have Happened

We had two of our good friends over for dinner last night. And for some reason, the topic of religion came up, which I KNEW was a bad idea. Religion is one of those topics that should NEVER be discuss with family or friends. Why? Because people are entitled to believe what they choose. And no one has the right to change anyone else's mind, or tell them what is right or wrong to believe, etc. However, our discussion went on for three mind-numbing hours and at the end of the night, nothing was accomplished....other than I was REALLY tired.

So, lesson learned. DO NOT discuss religion with friends. It will never remain a light-hearted discussion. Someone is bound to get pissed off or offended and there's really no point to add unnecessary tension to a friendship.

Trash

"Love me, hate me, say what you want about me.

But, all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to

F-U-C-K. me"

Seriously? This is what's playing on the pop stations on the radio these days?

Pure white trash that only Britney can pull off.

I'm sticking to my country stations....sheesh!

An Overdue Visit

So our new house, in our same city, but different zip code (love ya CG), is right around the corner from the cemetery where my Grandfather is buried. And to make the experience more pleasant, there is a good variety of wild life at the cemetery.

First up, we stopped to see the caribou. This is how I plan to explain to Carter that Santa IS real. He clearly keeps some of his reindeer here in Idaho for safekeeping! ;-) Shhhh.....keep my secret, mmmm kay?

As you can tell from my shadow (sheesh....I hate when that happens), I took the liberty of staying AWAY from the beast, while Eric got up close and personal with Carter.
The picture below best describes how Carter felt about the caribou.

He wanted NOTHING to do with the adults, but he did love the little babies.

Then we moved on to the pond where all the birds were hanging out. We had a good variety of geese, ducks, swan, and other birds that I cannot identify because I'm not current on my NatGeo, folks.

This family of geese? Super cute.....but they got mean. Well, I should say....the MAMA got mean. You will see later what I'm talkin' about.

So we focused on the nicer birds who appreciated our bread. The swans were just gorgeous and dang they swim fast!! Much faster than the ducks.

It was about that time that this same family of geese.....or the mama.....decided that we were just a tad too close for comfort to her babies. And the hissing began. Did y'all know they hiss? And CHARGE at you? Let me tell ya....I grabbed up MY baby and headed for the car. I wasn't sticking around to be attacked by a dang bird.

I finally skirted my way around the pond, away from the vicious mama, to get some pictures of these weird looking birds. I have no clue what they are....some sort of duck, maybe?

And these birds too.....I haven't the slightest clue what they are. But they sure honked really loud!! We must have been close to their eggs.

We finally made it over to see my Grandfather. I tried to sit Carter down to introduce them and tell him about his Great-Papa, but he wouldn't sit still.

But we did take some flowers from our yard to freshen the place up and I got a chance to say hello. I'm hoping to get back there on a more regular basis now that we live so close.

It's been five years, Grandpa, and I sure still miss you.

A Refreshing Evening

For those who don't read my twitter updates (you should....they are fun and humorous most of the time!), things have been quite......tense......in our house lately. So I decided today at work that after work, we were headed out to the park to do something fun. Mostly, I was just hoping we could get along for an hour and Carter could have some fun. And I was right. We had a great time and there were lots of other kids for Carter to play with.

So, we tackled the playground first. There was definitely a bigger kids playground and a toddler playground. Though Carter was only interested in the bigger kids playground. It had more stuff for him to crawl in and around.

And the slides were definitely better. He's quite the little daredevil.

Then we took our bat, ball, and other toys and headed over to the grass.

Carter LOVES kicking the ball. When he gets a good kick, he will clap and say "yaaayyyyy!" He's his own greatest fan!

Then, because it really was warm enough outside (mid 80s), we headed over to the river to splash around a little bit. He HATED that I held his hand the entire time. He wanted me to let him go exploring.....which would have been fine if there was a beach or something. But there wasn't. It was a straight step down into the deep water and let's face it, this mama ain't lettin' go of that kid's hand. :-] I know. Party-pooper.

So when we got home, it was bathtime and that always brings the biggest smile to his face.

A Sweet Goodbye

So I decided last week that it was time to say goodbye to.......................the pacifier.

So this weekend was the test. Friday, when I put Carter down for the night, I didn't go through the usual routine of finding one of the two pacifiers left in the house (at one time, I swear we had at least a dozen....in the car, in my purse, in his room, in OUR room, in the diaper bag, in the SPARE diaper bag, etc. You get it.) I just put him down and told him I love him and walked out. I was fully prepared to wake up several times with him throughout the night as he cried for his comforting friend. He didn't wake. Not once. And Saturday, when it came time for his nap, I cringed, thinking there's no way we could go 2 for 2. But we did. Never a peep for that pacifier. And of course Saturday night and last night went just as well. I'm thinking the pacifier had pretty much become a distraction for him.....something to wake him up when it fell out at night, and he would embark on his search of the crib to find it again, crying the whole time.

So, dear pacificer, your time has come. Thank you for your services; however, they are no longer required. One less item to take up the already cramped real estate in my purse and the diaper bag. :-)

Even MORE Bubbles!!

We had to upgrade our bottle of bubbles. The one from the Easter hunt at daycare quickly ran out. So we went off in search of bigger bottle with a better wand. The old wand only had one ring, and we wanted one with several rings to maximize the bubble experience for all. And there were seriously like 5 gallon jugs of bubbles!! Which were still super cheap....but I'll be honest with ya, I'm not going to lug around that thing just to blow bubbles. So we opted for a smaller container, with a wand with 4 rings. Oh yes....we have moved up in the world.

So I passed off the camera to the hubby and I started my stint as a bubble blower. And let me tell ya, this new wand? I can blow bubbles until I run OUT.OF.AIR. It's fantastic! Our entire yard was filled and Carter was having a BALL.

He likes when they pop on his head. Makes him giggle like a little girl!

Even the dog and cat were getting into it!!!

Though the cat was even more into it than Carter! I caught her a couple times leaping through the air.

Bubbles are definitely a hit with the entire family.

Definition Please

Relax

(ri-laks)

1. to release tension

2. to rest from work

3. to be at ease

4. to release physical or mental pressures from oneself

Random Fact #58

{DISCLAIMER: the pictures in this post are NOT me}

I used to have my tongue pierced.....for about 8 years.

And I also used to have my belly button pierced.....for maybe 3 years.

Both of which were ended by pregnancy.

I LOVED having my tongue pierced. It cut off the need to chew on pens, straws, etc. It didn't hurt one bit....in fact, getting my ears pierced hurt more. I got really sick for a couple of months like two years ago and decided it was time to ditch the tongue piercing (much to my father's delight, I'm sure). I miss it. I still move my tongue to play with what isn't there anymore....kind of like the phantom limb theory? Shhh....just go with it. I miss it. I want it back.

I pierced my belly button several years ago - my friend at the time wanted hers done, but she was being a chicken. So I went and did mine, thinking that would light a fire under her. Her husband wouldn't "allow" it and I was on a mission to show her that she can do whatever the hell she wanted to - it was HER body. And she did it. I was proud. For like a second. Because she ended up being a backstabber. But....water under the bridge and all that, right?

Anyway - once the latter stages of pregnancy belly set in, it was time to take out the barbell because it was honestly starting to hurt. I DON'T miss that piercing. It never really healed right and was quite uncomfortable. Plus, I don't have the flat tummy for that one anymore.

Movie Review: Feast of Love

Summary: Portland, over an 18-month period. Eight couples, four uncouplings, two weddings, two graves, an angry father, a grieving couple, love, sex, heartache, and a dog. Penniless kids Oscar and Chloe' meet at Bradley's coffee shop, fall in love, and share their dreams. Bradley's wife falls for another woman when he's not paying attention. He tries again with his realtor, who's having an affair with a married man. Watching all and providing counsel is Harry, a professor on leave, married to the patient Esther, and paralyzed by grief over the loss of his son. What is love's nature: blindness in the service of procreation, heartbreak, or everything? Can Chloe, Harry, and Bradley discover the answer?

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It had a good mix of every emotion.....though a little more nudity than I care for. But overall, I thought it was a good drama with some funny parts scattered throughout.

My Current Obsession

mmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

How Rude!

So, in our new neighborhood, there are ducks all over the place. Which is nice....they are very tame and I don't mind them at all. I haven't seen our cats chase them yet, and one landed in our yard the other day and the dog just laid there and looked at it. So these ducks must be quite used to animals.

Yesterday evening, I noticed some in our front yard. So I grabbed a piece of bread (yes, the heel piece) and went out to feed them. I tore off some small pieces and tossed them around the ducks.

They didn't eat it.

I thought this was odd.....most animals welcome food. If someone started tossing yummy treats at me, I would certainly not ignore them.

But the ducks ignored me.

I kept tossing.

Finally, I gave up and went back inside, thinking that maybe they were shy and didn't want to have an audience while they ate their treats. So I watched from the front window. One of those male ducks walked right over to one of the pieces of bread on the sidewalk and POOPED on it! Seriously! Who poops on a treat someone has given you?!?

I was highly offended.

Clearly these birds need a fancier treat. And they can certainly waddle their butts over to someone else's house because I'm not being nice anymore.

Sheesh!

Random Fact #57

(First of all - before I even begin this post....it's been since FEBRUARY since I posted a random fact?!?!??? Seriously - you people need to keep me in line because I know some of you must lose sleep over not knowing useless, random facts about me. Ha....ha.....only NOT.)

Back to our regular schedule....hopefully. I'll try.

I do not eat the heel pieces on a loaf of bread.

I'm not sure why. I do the same thing with cheese. I just cannot eat the outside piece for some reason!! Normally, I'm an embarrassment to society and I throw them away......however, since we have so many friendly ducks in our neighborhood, I think I will start saving those pieces for them. See, good deed and all.

Bubbles!!!

Carter received quite the basket of goodies from daycare Friday. Specifically, a bottle of bubbles.

Judging from his enthusiastic reaction, I think we will be buying LOTS of bottles of bubbles this spring and summer!

He would squeal in delight at all the bubbles floating around him.

And of course, try to catch them and pop them.

Bubbles are HUGE hit right now! Thanks daycare!

Happy Easter Weekend

Since we don't celebrate Easter, Carter colored you an Easter egg instead. We support the Easter Bunny!

I LOVE watching his little fingers at work. So precious!!

Happy Easter weekend - no matter how you celebrate!!!