Did we mention how much we love Chris Porter? Oh, and Happy Birthday Big D!

I'm doing back to back birthday posts - Bridget's 1st Birthday and now Big D's 30th birthday... I tried to think of a way to compare the two, but while Bridget actually opened presents, was sang happy birthday to, and ATE her cake, her Aunt Molly didn't really partake in any of those usual birthday events - well, at least we made them both wear a lot of goofy birthday paraphernalia. That's gotta count for something, right?

When all was said and done, though, a very wise man (or at least one that had perhaps imbibed in a few too many red bull and vodka's) had this to sum up the 30th Birthday experience:

We came, we saw and we kicked some serious KC ass...

OR, maybe, just maybe, it kicked ours - I'm not really sure, but either way, I believe Molly-Big D-Midget-MeMe-Delanty had a good time celebrating her big 3-0!

Warning - Long drawn out recap of the day ahead.

We kicked the day off at Charlie Hoopers for a little lunch, a lot of pitchers and the Mizzou vs. Illini game. There was some *friendly* natured competition between the Mizzou Alum (Mark, Tim and I) and Jim, the lone Illinois Alumni. Really, he didn't have much of a chance up against us, but Mizzou did almost fold and shut all of us up at the end, luckily the Tigers squeaked out the victory.

Next, we headed to the Falloon on the plaza where Sara and Paul helped us get the location festive with 30th decor. We had surprise guests John Quigley, Dave Shomin, Adam Watkins and even Mr. Quigley make an appearace - plus a few others that I can't remember right now (see previous paragraph about pre-party again). It was a fun time and I would write more about it but mostly I just remember talking a LOT to a bunch of people about the same things....or maybe I was talking to the same people about the same things, I do that sometimes.

Then some of us girls headed to O'Dowds for a little dancing. This is where I first spotted Chris Porter. I made Libby ask the guy in the band if it was him and he confirmed, but our attempts to seek him out proved fruitless after he disappeared into the crowd. I was so bummed and I knew Tim would be, too, but it was back to dancing to some good Dave Matthews and Jack Johnson. Not the typical Nelly or Murphy Lee that I prefer to really get my hip hoping groove on, but it was still fun and the guy had an amazing voice. Of course, I think had Pee Wee Herman been singing "Crash", at that point in the evening, I might have thought he had an awesome voice, too.

Finally, while leaving the Falloon - the most amazing thing happened (no, we didn't run into Oprah, Ghandi, Ellen, The Queen of England, Dave Matthews, Jimmy Buffett AND Bono on the sidewalk - but you would have thought we did) we ran smack dab into ...wait for it... Chris Porter...

Like, did I mention we saw Chris Porter? Well, we did you know. We saw Chris Porter. Do you know who that is? What? You don't know Chris Porter? Well, Tim and I, we LOVE Chris Porter and he does this joke about a grandpa and a casket that they bought at Costco and oh my god - it's a cosket and... you put grandpa in a cosket??! It is so funny. Doesn't that sound funny? Isn't that just hilarious? Haven't you ever seen Last Comic Standing? and Chris Porter? He lost to Josh Blue? I mean, seriously, THAT was Chris Porter! It was Chris Porter! Is anyone listening to me? Oh my god we just got our picture taken with Chris Porter. Do you know who he is??? That's Chris Porter...

... and that's mostly what I remember at the end of the evening, but I'm pretty sure to many of you there Tim and my's Chris Porter love fest was even worse than that!


Happy Birthday Big D!
Love,
Tim, Chris & Erin

View all the pictures here.

Should we be worried about how much she liked the cake?

Neither Tim nor I are big big desert people. Not that I don't like sweet stuff, I just wouldn't crave it, I wouldn't seek it out most of the time. Well, unless we're at a wedding, then I would seek out the cake - not like Kim might seek it out, wrap it in whatever is closest by and store it throughout her home like a squirrel hides nuts for the winter - but I do enjoy the wedding cake. Most of you have heard me say this, but give me a big plate of cheese fries (preferably like those ones in Dallas that were the BOMB) vs. chocolate cake and I'll take the cheese fries every time. So, when Bridget started, albeit slowly and daintily (also not sure where she got that from) to really get into the chocolate cake, I was surprised. At some point, I even heard a couple party goers question when we should cut her off.... I'm pretty sure Aunt Kim and Aunt Aimee were pretty proud of their little cake lover.

All in all, the big ONE was a BIG success. There were too many presents (but in my world there can never really be too many presents) and every single one was great. She got some too cute fall clothes, fun noise making toys, educational toys, a thoughtful Piggy Bank from the Muldrows with a really cute note and idea inside (yes, A-le, of course I opened it...that night...!) and some great books just in time since she is finally starting to get into looking at them. There was good food (courtesy of Viviano's fabulous catering which I highly recommend for events and appetizers courtesy of Mom D) and we all had a fun time celebrating our little Bridgey's first year.

It actually was perfect. Sure I forgot an appetizer, didn't have the best plan for how to cook the food and needed some help from family and friends, but all in all it was perfect. The babygirl was surrounded by family and friends that love her and have been there for her throughout her first year of getting acquainted to this world and I'm pretty sure she knew it!

I worked and stressed and made about 18 different batches of icing to make the perfect buttercream icing (note to future Erin: confectioners sugar is different from granulated sugar) for her cupcake tower, but when it comes right down to it, the only thing that really matters is that tpd, Bridgey and I are so lucky to have all of you in our lives, just as we are all lucky to have her!

So, here's to a great first year of trials and tribulations, and, as surprising as it was, this wasn't that overly emotional to me. I was prepared to feel sad or longing for her babyhood, and, sure it was nostalgic thinking about her birth and the emotions of finally having her after 9 long months, but mostly it was just exciting. Exciting that she is growing and learning and understanding who her family is and, selfishly, exciting that we've made it relatively unscathed. I kinda feel like, yeah, we did this and if we can do this, we can do about anything. We've been through colic (or at least something that caused her to scream for hours on end for the first few months), we've been through late nights, early mornings, being tired to the bone, an overnight emergency room visit and all the way, in between, we've seen the funniest, most entertaining little person emerging day by day. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Of course, I took way too many pictures. Here you go, those of you who don't mind 25 pictures of baby cake eating... click here!

ps - Thanks for the nice birthday tribute Blogging Mommy A-le. It was really sweet!

It was supposed to be Happy Birthday Eve...

but now it's just plain old Happy 1st Birthday babygirl! I am up way too late putting (I would like to say final touches - but it's really more like mid touches as there is sadly still very much to be done) on your big 1st birthday bash. It's after midnight, so instead of wishing you a happy birthday eve, I now get to say happy birthday.

Interestingly enough this year reminds me of last year - I've been working hard all day long, I'm up way after midnight and I'm looking ahead to a lot more to go! Regardless, I did it last year and I'd do it every year from now on for you.

Things won't be perfect tomorrow like I'm sure every first time - first birthday party mom wants it to be, but dad and I will do our best to make sure you have lots of presents, lots of time with family and lots of cake (well, Aunt Kim and Aunt Aimee will definitely help in that department - they like the cake) and sometime - when I have more time I'll blog all about the crazy things your mom has done to get ready for this day.

Let's just hope I'm not still awake at your actually birth time - 4:16am!

I love you! Happy 1st my sweet babygirl.

Is it just me ?

Maybe... probably, but I don't find this cake topper to be particularly cute nor do I think "this whimsical topper also makes a great keepsake for the mother-to-be". Not sure about all you other moms/preggos out there but I don't really need to be reminded that I was so large during pregnancy my scale staged an uprising. Especially not in a cover-my-mouth "he he - I'm taking this all in stride" sort of way.

Don't worry, Sheryl, we will not be choosing this particular "keepsake" for your shower!

Parental Epiphany

Sure I've had many of these along my almost 1 year (yikes!) crash course in parenting, but today surpassed them all. I'm not sure what was different or why it finally clicked, but there it was... click click click... right there, right then.

I was changing babygirl on her table after the morning nap and I was doing my usual rambling/singing/finding any object that will serve as entertainment long enough for me to get the clothes off and diaper changed when I see she is pointing up towards the wall... after asking a couple times "what? what are you pointing at? what do you need?" you know, basically the questions I repeatedly ask her, I say, "the lion? do you want the lion?" Immediately, her face lights up, a huge smile comes across and she starts flipping her hands feverishly back and forth as if to say, "duh, mom, of course that's what I want... you know the lion that you always talk about when you change me..."

Click - insert light bulb here.

Almost every time I change her, I talk about this little lion my mom painted on the wall near the changing table. We talk about the color and how grandma painted it and how there is a palm tree and then how much mommy likes palm trees and beaches and Jimmy Buffett... and, well, you can see where this is going, but basically we talk about the lion. Well, today I wasn't talking about the lion or showing her the lion and she knew it. She was telling me to talk about the lion. SHE was telling ME what to do. She is a person with her own thoughts and desires and feelings and it was just so shocking. Obviously I knew this on many levels prior to this occurance, but to have her point it out to me in such an obvious you-shoulda-had-a V8 sorta way, was just eye opening. I'm not sure why, in the past, it hasn't been as eye opening when she hits me and screeches at me because she wants me to stop changing her, but that doesn't make for nearly as cute of a story and I just never made the connection I made today with that behavior, so I'm sticking with the little lion. It was so innocent and so cute and so perfect.

Thanks babygirl - you made my day.

Is this my college fund mom?

yes, it is babygirl and apparently it should also be the "buy Bridget some more clothes" fund, too.

Hmmm...questionable, but so darn funny

*Warning* - questionable bleeped language. If anyone watches Jimmy Kimmel, this is pretty funny - or even if you just have a monster crush on Matt Damon like me.

If short on time, slide over til about 2:26 minutes are left. I think this will be funny to everyone but I could be clouded by my LOVE for Matt Damon, so pretty much anything he does is fine by me.

Making our daughter perform purely for our enjoyment

For growing up in a video household long before any of my friend's parents had video cameras, it has certainly taken me far too long to figure out how to post my videos to my blog and youtube. My dad would not approve. Now, to be fair, I do this for clients all the time and it's no big deal, but MY camera has to be super difficult and old computers didn't help the situation. So, finally just in time for the big #1 birthday, I have conquered the video beast - a new cord and a few new computers later, we are ready to roll. Look out blog readers, it's about to get interesting... or incredibly boring seeing as how every time I turn the camera on she immediately stops doing funny stuff.

So, for my first test post, a quick clip from tonight. It highlights a few of her new tricks: where's your monkey, being a snickelfritz (sorry big d), finding her nose (sort of), and being bonked in the head by brogan - that one is not so much of a trick but an everyday occurance - don't worry she was fine it phased her more than normal since she was tired and up past bedtime.

I promise not to bore you constantly with "things I think are funny that my baby does but really they are only funny to me" video clips every other day, but I really am excited about finally joining the video world, so for tonight indulge me with an "I know this is not really all that exciting but it finally works PEOPLE!" video.

21 days, 11 hours and 7 minutes

I'm just a little excited... so excited I wanted to change my whole blog to reflect the upcoming fantasy football season and then decided that was incredibly bad mommyish of me considering BEFORE the fantasy football season begins I have another major event for end of summer 2007...Bridget's 1st Birthday! So I guess we will wait on the FF headers until I have given that monumental event it's proper attention, but still... GET EXCITED friends its FF season. Hey, if I can get excited about doing a FF draft with a 7 day old, I can certainly get excited now!

Yup, I totally stole this from you, Courtney

Not that my summer vacation wasn't awesome and fun (vomit and all), but man, pictures of gorgeous beaches, beautiful streets and cliffs over looking the water in FRANCE sure look good to me too, people.

Here's my favorite pic stolen from Court's blog. I would blow this puppy up, add a slight glow and subtle blur to the edges, get rid of that big power line and hang this in my living room I love it so much. In fact, I just might...

Bad Asses are not for Church Meetings Client Services Lesson #1

When going to meet with a church about designing their website, it's best not to bring the laptop that you've chosen to name "Bad Ass Erin Delanty" as the adminstrator login name (you know the name and image that pop up as soon as the computer fires up, the one that everyone can see right there in the middle of the screen as they're all waiting anxiously to discuss their website options...you know, that one.)

It can easily seem like a good idea: a newly purchased laptop, giddy with new laptop excitement, sitting in your living room in comfy pants, and the first question your shiny new piece of hardware asks you is what name you would like for your administrator account. You think pensively for a second....hmm...the perfect name for the login screen.... and then it just becomes obvious - BAD ASS! Of course! That's it! How obvious, how magnificent, how perfect, because, after all, you are a bad ass...

Friends, don't let this happen to you - don't let that little manipulative perfect piece of HP innovation fool you... friends don't let friends name their computers "Bad Ass". Let this be my lesson to you for the day - you are not as bad ass as you think you are.


So, to sum it all up:

ps - Aimee, I bet I have a SERIOUS PG-13 rating now - ass, ass, ass....

pps - I'm sorry to anyone I may have offended by using the word ass over and over again in this post, though not nearly as sorry as I was to the 4 women and one pastor who undoubtedly saw this word on their *professional* (I'm using that word loosely now) web designer's laptop.

Believe me, I don't have the time it took to write this post

I love flowers and I love getting flowers, but in classic Erin style, flowers are stressful to me. Why is it if I am not stressed by a client deadline in 5 minutes (so not stressed, in fact, that I am actually blogging about the stress of flowers instead of stressing about my deadline) do flowers stress me out? The answer is not clear to me at all.

Maybe it's because I know they have a very limited shelf life and I feel compelled/drawn almost obsessed to mentally document the stage they are at... new tight buds, slightly open, full bloom... even the wilting and then dying. It must be that the whole process - from receiving them to trash can (minus the one I save for posterity) is so stressful because I want to keep them on my kitchen table, I want them for longer than I know I'll have them. I want to avoid the inevitable trash can. This is probably why many of you have seen wilted, crinkly vases of dirty water and flowers still on the kitchen table, it's not that I'm lazy (although I am) it's that I haven't yet had the heart to throw them out.

Maybe it's because I strive to remember them perfectly with a photo and anyone who's ever taken flower bouquet photos knows that is not easy. So I end up taking 8 million photos (okay, a bit of an Erinism, but not far off) and never end up with a perfect one and even if I did - what would I do with it? It's not like I'd frame it and set it out anywhere...

Anyway, I'm sure a psychologist could analyze the hell out of me by this post, but really, my original intent was just to subject you all to some of my flower photos, after all, I have 8 million photos of them!

Ludacris will always have a special place in my heart

Don't try to act like you guys didn't see this post coming:


Just like it was yesterday, I can still see Tommy and Michael standing on coolers clinging for dear life to the handles on the sides of the limo bus. They are dancing and singing to sweet melodies like Ludacris's Get out the Way and Action Mrs. Jackson, I am for REALLLLLLLLLL.... it's an amazing atmosphere full of genuine excitement and I'm trying to take it all in knowing it's a fleeting moment in my life, but one with such significance. It's real, we're married and all these crazy people on this bus are here to support us and to celebrate with us because they are genuinely excited for us, well, that and we have free beer on the bus.

That day was filled with so many fun moments, I'd be here forever if I tried to recap them all, but a few off the top of my head that made the day so awesome:

• Waking up in my house where I'd spend 27 years growing up and going downstairs to find mom working on last minute favors (we won't go there) and seeming so excited and happy even though now I realize that must have been a day filled with lots of mixed emotions for them.
  
  
• White balloons on the lamppost and more white balloons all around town (Tim's house, Tim's parents house) set out by my parents earlier that morning so we would all awake to a nice wedding day surprise.
  
  
• My dad trying to pull a last minute swap on my father/daughter dance song to the schmaltziest, tug at your heart strings Barbara Streisand song (shocking, isn't it?) but, it was classic dad and just added to the funny moments of the day.
  
  
• Stepping out of the van onto Mary Queen's parking lot and have the reality of the day hit me and having a serious fight or flight instinct and for one brief moment thinking about being the runaway bride - obviously, I got over it.
  
  
• Dad walking me down the aisle and doing a last minute brush over of my veil as we almost forgot the blusher as the doors opened.
  
  
• Walking down the aisle and thinking "oh my god, that's Delant, I'm actually marrying Delanty", it most definitely felt surreal.
  
  
• Walking out of the church as husband and wife and having a few minutes to ourselves that was the most perfect time.
  
  
• Dad's heart tugging speech, Tommy's gotta-be-as-fast -as-me-to -get-half-of-these- hilarious-references speech and Sheryl's sweet maid of honor toast
  
  
• Dancing with both of my Grandpa's and listening to them talk about their brides of 50 and 60+ years and how to "not sweat the small stuff", to say the least, it was pretty special.
  

In the interest of time and so as not to completely indulge myself, I will just say these are some of the major things I carry with me from the day. There are so many more little moments that I can remember and hopefully always will, but the moral of our wedding story has to be that, it's true what they say, you can stress and stress about pantone colors and program paper and every minute detail until you go crazy, but looking back 5 years removed, those things just aren't what I remember.

What really matters five years later? That's easy, the same things that mattered five years ago today: Good friends, a loving and supportive family, Tim and I becoming a family and of course, a little Ludacris and some free beer.

Happy Anniversary Delanty!

Yup, here's some more photos of this day, you didn't think only two would suffice did you? I scanned some pics from Sheryl's wedding scrapbook for us! Kim - you made the scrapbook, too! Happy 5th Anniversary to Mark and Kim's first date, too!

Marge & Gladys come to a grim realization

Gladys: Marge, isn't that the third time this week that Oscar's been in here on your lap?

Marge: Oh crap! Oh noo!!! I've been thinking this cat was spending a lot of time in here lately.... well, it's been nice knowing you Gladys, but it looks like I won't be making that quilting class next week.

Gladys: Somebody really needs to do something about this cat.

No, really, I LOVE this dress

I just hate all the D$#& photo shoots.
(Thanks Aunt Carmen!)

Apparently, we keep our house a little too cold

July 21, 2007

Yes, Mark is wearing a fleece in our living room.

This post may not be suitable for pregnant women or mexican food haters

For your viewing enjoyment/dismay, I've decided to share my perfect Chipotle/Qdoba burrito:

It's a work of art, isn't it? Although, I do at times feel challenged by the black vs. pinto bean debate - usually managing to royally pi$$ off the 18 people in line behind me as I oscillate back and forth between the two (indecision may or may not be my problem).

Too bad you really can only eat about 1/8 of it without using up all your calories for the week in one shot, so, please sign this. The world needs smaller burritos, people!

Happy Mexican Food Monday everyone and, no, I really do not have this much time on my hands in case you were wondering.

Imagine what I'll put up with 12 years from now...

It all started Thursday of vacation week. We were getting ready to go somewhere and I was hurriedly trying to get babygirl to finish eating. She was being kind of fussy about it and kept putting her hand up as if to say, "hold it woman, I'll let you know when I am ready to continue...". Well, after a few rounds of this, I looked at her and said "look, missy, there is only room for one snickelfritz in this family, and I took that position 30 years ago."

A little background information on being a "snickelfritz" is that my next door neighbor Mr. Will, a second grandpa to me, bestowed that name on me as a young child. I'm pretty sure you can surmise the meaning behind that term on your own, but I always chose it to mean the smartest, most intelligent and beautiful kid in the neighborhood, but that's neither here nor there and I'm betting my parents probably have different definitive words of me as a child...

Anyway, after I said that to her, I furrowed my brow and gave her a little look to let her know that I am the Queen Snickelfritz and I don't plan on relinquishing my crown anytime soon. Well, after looking at me for a second and seemingly understanding exactly what I said to her, she did something similar (I don't have photos of the actual exchange) to this right back:

Hmm... you think you're the only one in this family that can be a snickelfritz?

I don't think so lady, you've got another thing coming.

I most certainly have the ability to be the world's
biggest and BEST snickelfritz ever.

Yeah, I'm talking to YOU, Queen Snickelfritz...

What, little old me? What did I do?
Aren't I just the sweetest cutest thing you've ever seen?

Ahhh, Mr. Will, you would be proud...
(and, okay, okay, so am I... just don't let her know!)

Man vs. Woman in the battle of dinner preparation

My brother in law (and I'm not saying which one here to protect his anonymity) thinks that in 90% of married middle-class families, the woman always plans and prepares dinner.

I don't know about all of you, but this is how Tim and I prepare dinner every night (isn't it uncanny how closely this stock photo mirrors our real appearance?):


Here is what I found on the topic:

Only one -third of people under age 30 say the woman usually plans dinner, compared with 62 percent of those aged 70 or older.

What do you guys think?

To the best bad vacation ever!

Due to lack of time since returning home from my 8 wonderful days and one terrible night away, I haven't had time to properly discuss the highlights from our first vacation with babies. So, in true Ehlert/Delant fashion, I've compiled a recap of moments I can remember in my head. A-Le, Mike, TPD, BAD and MWM, if you have anything to add, please let me know.

• I told you we wouldn't leave until 2pm.
• They said she was VERY crabby today, not at all like herself.
• She must be tired, she's been sleeping for like 2 hours.
• Ugh.. we've been in this traffic forever- what is the deal here - we're only to Mount Vernon.
• Finally on the road again - what do you think all that traffic was ab.... BLLLAAAAHHH
• Oh my god!
• What, what?
• She just threw up - like projectile, all over everything throw up.
• Here, babygirl do you want a puff - BLLLLLAAAAAHHH
• The hospital is two miles that way.
• Oh good, fat babies are so hard to put IV's in.
• WWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHH WWWWWAAAAAAHHHHHHHH SNIFF SNIFF WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH
• She's held the gatorade down for 30 minutes, I think we can get you guys back on the road again.
• Do you want to start driving and see how she does?
• Snoring, snoring....
• Does a cow really weigh more than a car?
• Snoring, snoring....
• I'm so getting a snack here and you can't say anything about it
  
• Snoring, snoring
• Oh, I love that stinky ocean smell - we are finally here!
  
• Pbbbssttt.... ahhhh... finally the most well deserved reward - cold bud light -clink
  
• Snoring, snoring..
• I wonder if giving her dramamine was the best idea - who am I kidding, I might give her dramamine every day from now until she's 20.
• When are the Muldrow's going to get here?
• We've run out of things to say after 5 years.
• Muldrows! In the house!
• pbsstt, pbsst, pbsst, pbsst...
• Babies all want to go to sleep now?
• Has anybody been to the beach yet?
• Uh-oh, my stomach isn't feeling so good.
• Look at that awesome lightning.
• My dad would not like us out here in this.
• Sparky needs his socks for golf.
• Oh my god Aimee HELP! Have you ever seen this much poop everywhere?
  
• Sparky is off the sauce today.
• Da da da da dad a di a di
• Maybe she's coming out of her dramamine coma
  
• Crash... Aimee, did you just walk into the screen?
  
• Should we go to the beach now?
• My stomach feels kinda bad.
  
• Mandelbaum... mandelbaum...
• Bobby...bobby...bobbby...
• Sparky is back on the sauce.
• Bang, thud, smack.... You're the only person I've ever seen fall over while sitting down.
  
• 2 for 1 margaritas -yes!
• Anybody want to go the beach?
• Do you guys ever not do laundry?
• Bllllaaaahhhhhhh.... Bllllaaaaahhhhhhh....
  
• Michael, that is not a dirty diaper smell, I think he threw up.
• Let's go to the beach ALREADY.
  
• Well, sir, I can stack three high chairs, but I don't know if that's safe.
• This is NOT acceptible.
• That is enough food for 8 people, tpd.
• Whhhhooooooaaaaaaa.... Woooooowwwwww.....
  
• Tim ate more than Michael and I did combined.
• My stomach's not feeling so great.
• Beach today?
• It's so beautiful, I don't want to go home.
• Don't leave Muldrows!
• I miss the Muldrows.
• Bang! Pow! Ohhh.. Ahhhh...
  
• I will call that one flaming stars of glory.
  
• That one is shooting comets.
• I miss the Muldrows.
• daddy dad dad, dad dadadadadadadadadaddadd
• There are so many dead fish everywhere.
• I still don't want to go home.
• See, they don't even have alligators here, tpd.
• I wish the Muldrows were here.
  
• I don't feel like packing right now, I feel like relaxing.
• Bye beach!
• Can't we go to both McDonald's and TacoBell?
• I am not your mom and dad, only one restaurant per stop.
• I see the Arch first, you owe me $5
  
• Here's to the best bad vacation ever!
  

Enjoying our last day, but missing our homies

Building sand castles on the beach

I think I'm getting the hang of this "beach" thing mom always talks about

Sparky wishing he could have more time because he
always enjoys the eye candy on the beach beautiful ocean view.

Pouring one out for our homies, Sparky even pays tribute by not wearing socks.

Whose Birthday is it?

It's the nation's birthday....


Man, Matthew is McDreamy in those cool shades.

I'm tired of these "4th of July" photo shoots, how about you?

Happy Birthday, America from sunny Ft. Walton Beach

Minus the night in the ER, we're having a great time!

Plenty of details to come later, but here's a sneak peak of how we're all doing now!

No one likes getting punched in the stomach

The past couple weeks have been very busy for us. So busy in fact that I'm not entirely sure where the past month went. I remember thinking on June 1st how fast things were going to come at us, but I didn't even realize that typing this on - oh! *sidebar - it's actually Bridget's 10 month bday today* - June 26th, that the past 4 weekends would seem like such a blur. With this influx of crazy life things, I wanted to make sure to take a little time to highlight an event that I think, (I hope) was a nice one and a baby step in the healing direction for my cousin's family. This is the cousin that lost his wife to breast cancer last month.

So you can probably guess, but the event was the Race for the Cure on June 16th. I was pretty excited about going to this since I didn't get to go last year (I don't know why - maybe because I was 7 1/2 months pregnant, but honestly, I think it was more that Tim was out of town and I was lazy without him, but anyway... I didn't make it last year). It's probably better that I wasn't there last year so that I didn't have the memory of Karla in a pink survivor shirt crossing the survivor finish line. I can't imagine what they must have been feeling doing all the same things they did last year but without the hope and optimism that she had beaten cancer and most of all without her.

It was hard enough for me and I didn't expect how sad it would make me, so I can only imagine how they were feeling. Now, on the flip side, there was a sense of doing something. Something small, yet something important and hopefully something that Karla would want us to do... we kept fighting for her.

They've been kicked in the teeth by cancer - given a "cancer-free" diagnosis only to have her taken from them in less than a year from that diagnosis. And yet they got back up. Not even a month after losing a mom and wife, they put on their "Karla's Krew" shirts and they kept fighting. Fighting for her memory and fighting for all the other women that are still fighting and it was powerful to watch and be a part of. I don't know if I would have that strength.

I once asked my mom and dad, shortly after Ryan had died, when you stop feeling like you are getting punched in the gut. It's like you're going along fine, you even start to sing along with the car radio again and then there it is - whammo - right there, right in the pit of your stomach all the way up to your throat. It's that feeling that all is not right in the world. When, actually, in reality, all will never be "right" again.

Maybe part of the healing process is to find your new "right"- perhaps it's finding a way to honor and remember those that we have lost. Maybe it's through events like Race for the Cure or maybe it's just simply finding a way to connect with those we have lost, that we keep memory alive and find strength and, hopefully over time, we find we are getting punched in the stomach a little less and singing along with the radio a little more.

Karla, I know these days I'm singing along to Jimmy Buffett's "Barefoot Children in the Rain" with a little less sadness and a little more strength... for you.

---

Take a look at the whole album here.

Race for the Cure

I don't think you can search iStockPhoto for a landlord hat. (AKA - Why client services can really SUCK sometimes.)

Some humorous web design client quotes I gathered from personal experience. In the interest of full disclosure, I did steal that hilarious one about the landlord hat. I can totally see a client saying something like that and me just shaking my head like I know exactly what they mean but simultaneously thinking to myself, "what? what the hell is a landlord hat?" P.S. The rest all really did happen to me, even the last one, you just can't make that stuff up.

• "We love it like this! Oh, we were wondering if we could change the font, the color the images, and can we move a few things around?
  
  
• "Please put a landlord hat on the landlord."
  
  
• "Oh yeah, one more thing, will you also make sure that we appear at the top of Google when someone searches for 'interior design', I want us to be in the top three..."
  
  
• "Can you make it more like a power-point presentation, you know, with the sliding text stuff and all?"
  
  
• "Well, I don't think we really want it to look too much like a Web site. You know what I mean?"
  
  
• "Please send me all the site files, my nephew just started taking a class in HTML and he's going to be maintaining the website from now on..."
  
  
• "The website does not print out in color. Please fix."

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Follow up - Apparently you can search iStock for a landlord hat - this is the one single image that you get - personally, I think more Homer Simpson maintenance man, but that's just me...

Who needs lullabyes when you have the Shop Boyz

Every Friday I look forward to 5:00 and not because that's when I get off work (don't be silly - you all know Custom Web has a mandatory 12pm quitting time every friday) but because that is when the Z 107.7 Friday 5:00 Mixphoria starts. Yes, my friends, you read that right, I am referring to that station.

If you've never tried the Mixphoria, don't knock it. Not only can it get your toes tapping and Nelly-loving heart beating, but it is also creates the optimum time to go work out - that's when I hit the streets new mommy-style. Thirty uninterrupted minutes of hip-hop & pop re-mixed for your listening enjoyment. After a long day of work and completely draining rewarding childcare, there's nothing that babygirl and I like better than hitting the streets DJ Mike Justis style.

Oh yeah, and the added bonus, apparently "Party Like a Rock Star" has the following effect on babygirl:


Happy Friday and Race for the Cure weekend everyone!

Let's hug it out, Starbuckers

Okay, I am over my apparent extreme bitterness with Starbucks and wish to apologize to any Starbuckers that I may have insulted. While I still think we can all take a lesson in politeness and hold the doors for people and say excuse me a little bit more, I must have been a little too bitter about the client not showing and my cell phone being put in a diaper bag and having said diaper bag leave the house before I realized the error. Regardless, I am here to say today was a much better Starbucks experience and I am not going to pass judgement any longer on each and every individual SB estblishment.

Other than that, in the three minutes I had to spare today I updated the template. Hope you all enjoy.

I guarantee you ARE not the most important person EVER

When in a Starbucks alone, it must be an unwritten requirement that you talk VERY loudly on your cellphone in some sort of effort to prove that you are the most important person in Starbucks at that very moment. There is definitely an "i'm big-time" person complex in that place. They are all trying to out do each other in importance level. Here is what the three people sitting in too close proximity to me might as well have been saying:

"I must be a VIP because I am talking very loudly and very sternly on my cellphone right now and saying things like 'now, right now - get him on the phone' ."

"No, I must be the most important person in here because I have one of those phones that makes that annoying beeping sound and then someone says my name as if paging me for everyone in the store to hear, then I answer them loudly and wait for them to reply all the while leaving the whole thing on that annoying beeping speakerphone."

"Well I have you all beat because I am talking on the phone VERY loudly with that ultra-yuppy Bluetooth thingy in my ear and simultaneously typing with such intensity and fervor that obviously this email must be sent immediately or my entire company's existence is at stake"

I, on the other hand, sit at my little table, drinking my delicious coffee*, typing emails (and blog entries) and cussing out Starbucks for making me pay $10 for internet access while just two doors down I could get this for free at bread company.

I watch 5 (yes, 5) people in a row exit Starbucks, piping hot coffee in one hand, cellphone attached to the ear with the other hand and not ONE single one stops to hold the door for the one behind them. It was really quite unbelievable. Not ONE person held the door often making the door close rapidly on said Starbucker (copyright eej 2007) with hands full. Yet that was not enough to make that person hold the door for the one behind them. It was probably one of the saddest commentaries on humanity that I've seen in a while. I'm sure I can't capture the real rudeness of it in a blog and had I had my cell phone this morning (another long story adding to my bad monday morning) I surely would have videotaped this just to document on youtube or something.

Well, I am off to another client site as the client that insisted we meet at Starbucks, thereby making me waste $10 on internet access and get a lesson in human indecency decided not to show... happy freaking monday.


*Regardless of the selfishness and rudeness that I often encounter in Starbucks (not to say that all Starbuckers are this way), this post is in no way meant to reflect the true love I have for a Grande (sometimes Venti) non-fat no whip Mocha and should not discourage anyone from drinking their lovely beverages (lord knows I don't need any bad Starbucks karma.)

Family resemblance?

Making sure she gets her 15 minutes of reading in a day

Perfect, I am quite in the mood for a little light,
yet thought provoking reading this afternoon.

Hmmm.. while I am pensively contemplating the reflections of the protaganist's
soliloquy, I'd have to say I don't necessarily acquiesce to his point of view.

Ah, yes, now we return to the witty, insightful and
ingratiating satire of the great Jimmy Buffett.

Why did you Hassel the Hoff, Anne??

Believe me, I am not ever going to be one to defend David Hasselhoff, in fact, I don't really like taking up precious blogging time writing about this, but that interview by Anne Curry this morning was probably one of the worst things I've ever seen her do. I mean, give the guy a break. He came on the show I'm sure to promote that ridiculous show, America's Got Talent and here Anne uses the entire time with her fake sympathetic concern drilling him with questions about alcoholism and his daughters. I'm sure he agreed to discuss elements of this problem, but she didn't even ask him ONE single question about America's Got Talent.

At the end of the interview she does her fake, let me put my hand on your knee
disingenuously and act like I care about your well being, and says, "David, get well, get well..." The look on his face was like, "Woman, I'm about to smack you upside your head with the fifth of Jack I got sitting right next to this chair" and I don't blame him at all. If I can find the clip of it in a couple hours I'll post it so you can see the rage in the hoff's eyes. I think he was about to go Hoffwild on her a$$.

I mean, anyone that's done this kind of quality work, surely doesn't deserve an Anne Curry drilling, of course then again, maybe he did...



*Disclaimer* This post is not meant to defend or encourage anyone to give a rats behind about David Hasselhoff, but is more meant to encourage everyone to start an extreme disliking for Anne Curry.

Most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you....

Okay, girlies... you all know where is that line from, right? Was I the only major Dirty Dancing fan out there?

Tonight I'm being taken back 20 years ago to 1987. How is it that I can remember 20 years ago? That is strange enough in and of itself, but I digress. 1987 - what a simpler time, I was 12 years old and nothing mattered in life but butterfly t-shirts (I'll have to explain that one another blog time) and giggling with friends about which boy in my neighborhood was cutest (my neighborhood was freakishly overrun with boys 1-2 years older than me and hardly a girl in sight).

So watching this movie totally brings me back. I'm guessing a lot of us felt the same, but this was my absolute favorite. I had Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray posters all over my walls (in fact I had the poster you see here), the cassettes, I reenacted the famous "come here loverboy" scene in my pre-teen bedroom 100's of times, I pretended that I was Baby and that Johnny was really in love with me. Remember that song - She's like the wind? Ugh... and I really loved that, too...

Anyway, the sickest part of all of this is that I just found out (thanks IMDB) that Patrick Swayze is 55 years old. Making him 35 in that movie meaning a 35 year old was shacking up with a 17 year old? Yuk - totally took some of it away not to mention that now when I look at Baby's father all I see is Lenny from Law and Order cracking some stupid dead guy joke at the beginning of the show, we do miss you, though Lenny!

I gotta say, I love my husband, I love my baby, I love my dogs, but man do I love being able to sit home by myself on a Saturday night and watch my kind of movies! It's amazing how a movie or a song can take you back to a completely different time in your life - how in that brief fleeing moment you can remember exactly how you felt exactly at that time in your life and that's [usually] an awesome thing.

Okay, enough reminiscing...I'm going to snap out of it and get back to 2007. So, again, in a miserable attempt to try and elicit more comments from my blog readers, how did you guys feel about this movie? Love it/hate it/favorite/stupidest moments, etc...

Remember girls, nobody puts baby in the corner.