A Halloween Treat for Y’all

Orison went trick-or-treating for the first time tonight.

I wish I could’ve bottled up some of his enthusiasm and zest as he ran, full-speed, from house to house.

I wish I could’ve apologized to all the people whose doorbells were rung in rapid-fire fashion as he waited to scream “Trick or Treat” with all the excitement a four-year-old body can handle. He didn’t seem to hear me when I said, “Only ring it once!”

He dressed as a cowboy, and he was the cutest little cowboy there ever was.

There’s another pretty cute cowboy in this town, too, and they joined forces for a little croonin’ before bed.

(Yes, they both have *real* cowboy boots!)

Happy Halloween, y’all!

Blogs I Read: Improv Everywhere

I’m sure many of you have heard of the sensation that is Improv Everywhere. Basically they set up all kinds of hilarious improv scenarios in the midst of everyday life and surprise the heck out of people.

One of my fanatasies in high school was for an impromptu musical to start in the hallways of McDowell High School—people everywhere bursting into spontaneous song and dance. Can you tell I was a musical theater person? It really wasn’t cool back then, but I’m glad for Improv Everywhere making my dreams come true vicariously.

My favorite:

Their blog is cool because you don’t get bombarded by tons of stuff, you just periodically get a laugh at their newest, creative scheme.

Other Blogs I Read

• Honey for a Child’s Heart
• Elizabeth Esther

Do pedicures come with guarantees?

When we were in Santa Barbara, California last week (a place that has recently been added to my mental list of “Favorite Places”), I got my first pedicure.

I know, I’m thirty years old and I’ve never had a pedicure. I honestly had no idea what the big fuss was about. But I’m happy to report that 45 minutes of pampering to my tired old feet was something spectacular that I wish could happen on a frequent and regular basis.

We strolled into this nail place around 7:30pm in the funky, fun shopping district of Santa Barbara (State Street, for those of you who know it). I was hesitant to spend the money (of course), but Abraham insisted. It wasn’t that it cost all that much, I just have issues with spending money on stuff like that. Anyway…

There were two Asian women working that night. One spoke decent English, but the other one spoke almost none. But she didn’t even need it—she was speaking some unknown foot love language that is kept secret from the population at large. She was the pedicure master.

I had a difficult time picking out what color I wanted, so picked a few finalists and had Abraham pick his favorite from those. He chose a deep burgundy red that I liked a lot. So I went with it.

The pedicure was nothing short of fantastic. There was lots of rubbing, snipping, filing, polishing… my toenails have never shone like that!

I was transfixed by the pretty color and how professional they looked. I never thought of my at-home toenail jobs as unprofessional, but I had now seen a whole new level of potential for my piggies, and I was diggin’ it! Imagine my sadness when I discovered a chip in my polish just two days later!

For all you pedicure veterans, is this normal? Obviously I can’t go back to Santa Barbara (as much as I’d like to) and get it fixed, but do pedicures usually have such a short life? Will nail salons fix it within a certain window of time?

I was definitely thinking it would last a week. Were my expectations totally overblown?

I’ve Figured Out How All of Us Women Can Get More Done

Please read the following segment in the most cheesy infomercial voice you can muster:

Ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in a day?
Do you struggle to get through your to-do list?
Are all those tasks piling up on you and making you feel perpetually behind?

Well… do we have the answer for YOU!

It’s called “Start Living in a Different Time Zone!” With “Start Living in a Different Time Zone!” there’s no need to move, just adjust yourself to the time zone one or two behind you and—BAM!—instant time! Now you can give yourself the gift you’ve always wanted… more time!

[end cheesy announcer voice]

We got back from our  California trip on Thursday night. Every night since then I’ve been up until at least 1am. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m just going to start living on Pacific time.

I mean, it’s not working out as well at the morning end of things, but hey, I’m always tired then so… it’s cool.

Here’s how it works: when I wake up I’m living in Central time (real-time for me). I do all my normal tasks in my actual time zone. Then, after the kids go to bed, I just started telling myself, “Well, it’s only 6pm California-time.” I’m seriously getting so much more done!

Just wanted to impart this amazing discovery to all of you.

We’ll see how it works out tomorrow at work.

Getting stung really hurts! Oh yeah, and California’s cool.

Right now, Abraham and I are enjoying the views of southern and central California to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary. My awesome parents came from PA to be with our kids (thanks, Mom & Dad)!

Today we took on “The PCH” (see Abraham’s post for a funny discourse on CA highways), which stands for the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as Highway 1.

It’s the windy one that travels along the stunning west coast of America. One word for that experience: stunning. I said to Abraham, “Everyone should do this drive before they die.” It’s really that amazing (and I’m really that good at exaggerating).

My camera is a really crappy point & shoot, so it won’t do justice to the awesomeness of what we saw today, but I’ll attempt to include you in it anyway.

At a beach near Cambria, CA where we watched elephant seals!

A very cool restaurant called Nepenthe in Big Sur. This was their waiting area!

One of our stops along the PCH was at this state park where you could hike along a mountainside trail for 1/4 of a mile or so. I got to the end and started reading one of the state park plaques and felt this horrible feeling in my right hip. It kind of felt like a sting, but I couldn’t be sure.

You see, I’d only been stung by a bee one time in my life. It was when I was probably 14 years old, and I was walking and talking to a friend. And a bee flew into my mouth and stung me on the tongue. My mouth, people!!! It was horrible. And since it was my first sting, I had no idea whether I was going to be fine or if my tongue was going to swell up and choke me to death.

Anyway, back to the horrible stinging feeling in California. I thought for sure it was just my point & shoot camera in my pocket (you know, the crappy one) digging into my leg or something. So I tried to ignore it.

But it would not be ignored. It just kept getting worse and worse. The pain was shooting down my leg. “Surely this is not my camera,” clueless Molly finally concludes.

I started digging for the source of the horrible pain I was experiencing and finally found a bee in the pocket of my capris, stinging the heck out of my leg. And then he was sure to get me on the hand on his way out, just for good measure.

I know I probably sound like a total wuss, but it’d been so many years since I’d been properly stung that I just want to remind all of you…

Bee stings really hurt. Just go ahead and avoid them. Thankfully I was able to recover enough to still enjoy lots more of these:

A beautiful beach view, taken immediately before the sting.

Another post in which I commend my favorite…

… YouTube video! You’ve probably seen this one before, but it’s worth another go.

It cracks me up over and over and over.

Welcome, and let me introduce you to a friend of mine.

So I had a few new visitors to the old bloggy-blog yesterday. Welcome. Thanks for visiting.

Not every post is about the loss of our daughter. I do a little of everything, and I sometimes share things from day-to-day life.

And today is one of those days, because I had one of the best nights of my life last night, and I just have to share.

Abraham and I were offered 2 tickets to see one of our favorite musicians in concert last night. None other than the amazing Lyle Lovett!!!

Most of you probably know him as the funny-looking guy who used to be married to Julia Roberts. If that’s true, I feel sorry for you and I want that to change.

One of the things I love about Lyle (I like to refer to him on a first-name basis, just to pretend that he and I are friends) is that his style is so diverse—gospel, country, folk, blues. So if you like any of those genres of music, chances are you’ll like something of his.

He often tours with his “Large Band,” meaning that there was anywhere from 4 to 13 people on the stage last night during any given song. It was pure musical excellence.

I have to admit that I’m primarily a sucker for his croony, buttery ballads. And I love story songs, so I’m usually drawn into his music for that reason as well.

Last night, my favorite song they played was called “I Will Rise Up/Ain’t No More Cane,” which is a medley of Lyle’s original lyrics and melody and a South Texas folk song from the early 1900s, “Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos,” a chain-gang song.

I found this video of Lyle and his Large Band performing it on Leno, so here it is. Enjoy!

And if you’re new to this blog, I’d love for you to subscribe. And I always welcome comments from new readers. Thanks for visiting.

50 Things About Me: More stuff than you probably ever wanted to know.

1. I always have a glass of water by my bed at night but rarely use it.
2. I was the last kid in my class to lose their first tooth. I think I was in 3rd grade!
3. My favorite flowers are lilies. The stronger the smell, the better.
4. My favorite junk cereal is Peanut Butter Kid’s Crunch from Aldi’s.
5. I’ve only broken one bone in my life—my arm when I was 4 or 5.
6. I used to always get the Presidential Fitness Award when I was in elementary school. My best event was the sit-ups.
7. I think I hate asparagus, but I actually like it.
8. I don’t like raw tomatoes on anything other than a BLT.
9. I had my braces put on and then had my wisdom teeth taken out within two days of each other. It was a rough week for my mouth.
10. I’ve been wearing glasses since sixth grade. I was really excited about it back then, but now it’s not so great.
11. I once sang the National Anthem at a Minnesota Twin’s game. However, it wasn’t as cool as you might think. They pre-record it and you just lip sync because of the reverb in the Metrodome.
12. I grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania.
13. My dad is a retired high school music teacher, and he was my choir director in high school.
14. Abraham and I get addicted to TV shows via the internet.
15. My first job was when I was 13 years old. I worked full-time during the summer at the local amusement park.
16. I’ve only been stung by a bee one time in my life, and that was on my tongue. I was walking and talking and before I knew it there was something weird in my mouth that I spit out. And since it was my first bee sting I didn’t know if I was going to have an allergic reaction, so I was basically just sitting there waiting to see if my tongue was going to swell and choke me to death.
17. In high school I sang Alto II in choir and Soprano I for my voice lessons.
18. I used to HATE mayonnaise. I like it a little bit now, but only on certain things.
19. I only had one pet as a child, a cat named Mork.
20. I’ve never been to Florida. Weird, right?
21. I love staying at hotels with a pool, even now as an adult.
22. I don’t really like eating salad at home. I like it out at a restaurant or even at other people’s houses, but it just tastes different at home.
23. I am really bad at painting my nails. I’m also really bad at remembering to take it off—I just let it slowly chip off.
24. I think my least favorite job would be a waitress/server.
25. I wish I were charismatic/skilled enough to have a TV show. I don’t know what it would be about.
26. I love picking blueberries. I wish I could do it for my job. Just kidding.
27. My favorite fruit is fresh pineapple.
28. I never went off the continent until I was 26 years old, when we traveled to England and Scotland. And I haven’t been off since, but not by my choice. If anyone has an extra house in England/Scotland/Wales/Ireland/Australia (or really anywhere) that they want to let us use, let me know.
29. My favorite salad dressing is probably ginger sesame.
30. My eyes are green, but Abraham says they change color depending on the scenario.
31. I really like putting lotion on my feet.
32. I like it even better when Abraham rubs lotion on my feet.
33. I have only owned one car. It’s a 1996 Honda Accord and it’s been the best car in the whole world.
34. My favorite Blizzard at Dairy Queen is Butterfinger. I think it’s been my favorite since the Blizzard was invented.
35. My hair is naturally curly/wavy, so I have to blow dry it straight. If it’s humid in the summer, I let it go curly.
36. I hate going to bed with wet hair, unless it’s really hot.
37. I loved being in musicals in high school. I wish real life were more like a musical; everyone would just randomly bust into the same song and choreography together.
38. We kind of have a weird, quirky language that we use at home. Even Orison uses some of the vocab we’ve invented.
39. I used to love New Kids on the Block as a kid. I even went to one of their concerts. My mom is amazing; I’m not sure I would do the same for my kids.
40. I don’t know how to snap my gum, which is probably better, because it would annoy people.
41. I never had guacamole until I was probably 25 years old. Now, I love it!
42. I don’t think I would go out of my way to go see the president, any president.
43. My favorite chain restaurant is probably Chili’s.
44. I have 8 nieces and nephews.
45. I’m not a big pet person.
46. I always talk about wanting to live in the “fake country”—I want the scenery of country but also be able to get to Target in 10 minutes, tops.
47. I over-pack for every trip.
48. I’ve only been camping one time in my life—last summer. It was definitely car camping, where your car is within 50 yards and you have fully-functional showers and flushing toilets. I liked it a lot more than I was expecting to, and we’re even talking about doing it again this summer.
49. I keep my external hard drive in a fire-proof box. If I lost my pictures, I think I would cry for days.
50. My favorite music is probably alt. country/folk.

Are you as distracted on the internet as I am? A poll.

So many times I go to post on my blog or write an email or just look something up on the internet, and before I know it I’ve been sucked into the vortex of social networking applications. Does this happen to you?

I suppose if I were really organized and disciplined, I would make a list of internet to-dos and complete those first. And then I could visit my social network sites. I’d probably get more done, but I’d be so anti-social!

Encomium to the Internet

What did people do before the internet?!?!

I know some of the smug answers:

They spent time with their families.

They connected with “real” people.

But seriously, I see the internet as a tool, a common grace. Here’s why I think so, just from my life today:

• My dear friend Kate calls me at lunchtime to say her flight through Minneapolis is going to now have a longer layover, so can I meet her for dinner at the airport?

  Pre-internet, I would have been calling Northwest Airlines 4-5 times this afternoon and would have spent half my day on hold, just trying to follow her flight’s status. With the internet, it’s done in a matter of minutes, thus leaving me more time with my family!

  Also it took me 2 minutes to map out our route to Potbelly’s 3.9 miles away.

• I have a wedding shower to go to on Saturday. But the next two days are going to be really busy for me, so I’m not going to have a lot of shopping time.

  What does the internet allow me to do? I go to target.com, browse the registry, pick the gift I want to give, and I can either order it right then or find out if it’s available at my closest store.

  Since I didn’t give myself enough time to ship it, I’ll just run over and get it on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. Without the internet, it would take me until Saturday morning just to choose a present!

It’s such a time-saver. I know the reverse could be said, that it’s a time-waster, and that’s often true. But when I think about how much time and effort the internet saves me, it makes me want to blog about it!!!

Also, how many of you have already used the internet to find out what the word encomium means? That’s what I did!

Shopping and Spring

I went to the mall for a few minutes this morning to begin the quest to find a bridesmaid dress. (I’m in a wedding in June for a dear, dear friend.) My assignment is to locate a brown bridesmaid dress. All of us are allowed to pick our own in whatever style we like, so the search is on!

I have to admit, I didn’t look as hard as I could, mostly because I found myself sucked into spring clothes and colors (oh, and the 75% off boots at Macy’s). What is it about spring clothes? Every year I find myself wanting a whole new wardrobe when March comes on.

I’m happy to report that I made it out of the mall without buying anything (mostly because I’m cheap). But I found myself thinking, “I wish I could win a huge shopping spree.”

Why do I feel like that in the spring? Is it just the change in weather that makes me want to go drop tons of money on stuff I don’t need? And as I’ve thought about it this afternoon, I realized that I haven’t worn my spring clothes in 2 years because I’ve been pregnant, so maybe they’ll feel fresh and fun—here’s hoping. More likely, they’ll just feel dreadfully out of style and ridiculously ill-fitting on my new (not improved) body shape. Ah well.

Then Abraham and I got to talking, and here’s the question: If someone gave you a $10,000 shopping spree to one store (no expiration), what store would it be?

The only rule is that you can’t say the grocery store. My painfully practical side would definitely give that answer, but I’m making myself not answer that. So you can’t either—HA!

And if you have trouble giving just one answer, tell me what you’d debate between. I love the struggle of such a difficult, and unfortunately imaginary, choice.

Update (for those of you who must have more rules):

1. Men are permitted to participate (Abraham’s first choice was the Apple Store)
2. Online stores are an option.

What I probably won’t be making for Valentine’s Day.

In my delusions of homemaking grandeur, in which I am perfectly organized and endlessly motivated and nothing ever happens to derail me from my perfectly-laid plans, I imagine myself doing all kinds of things.

I have dreams of being a crafty woman. Everything I touch would turn beautiful.

Something about Valentine’s Day is pretty to me. I like the colors, I guess. Soft pinks, shades of red, all offset with some white… so pretty. Yeah, I know it’s a Hallmark holiday, but I like love. Love is good.

I’ve come across some Valentine’s Day projects in the past couple days that have me dreaming… that’s probably where it’ll end, though.

These are the ones that’ve caught my eye particularly:

Skill level: Easy

I think these heart doilies made out of napkins are adorable (via Martha Stewart, the one who inspires many of my delusions):

Skill level: Intermediate

If I were a scrapbooker, another one of my grand delusions, I’d be all over these 3D paper decorations.

Skill level: Are-you-freakin’-kidding-me

All of this is made of cake. All of it. Not much more to say about that, except not gonna happen. Major props to Bakerella on this one.

What are your favorite Valentine’s Day crafts? Nothing’s too remedial to share (trust me, I’m the world’s worst artist). But if you have mad skills you’ve been wanting to show the world, I promise I’ll still like you.

Happy crafting, whatever shape it takes this week!

A Less Painful Exercise Solution: Community Ed!

A couple of my girlfriends asked me to sign up for a Community Education fitness class. I agreed because:

1. I need to get out of the house more.
2. I just had two back-to-back pregnancies.
3. It would be funny to do this with friends.
4. Morrow’s getting too old to use the “I just had a baby” excuse.

Last night was our first class. Here are some observations about why I like Community Ed. exercise classes:

1. People were in real clothes. I honestly have 3 pairs of workout shorts, and I’ve had all of them for at least 6 years. I own no stylish workout clothes. I feel like I’m doing pretty good to have a few semi-stylish choices in my regular clothes. But here I didn’t feel the same fashion consciousness that I usually feel at other fitness venues. It was refreshing!
2. The instructor was really good. And yet, a real-looking woman. At this point in my life I’ve realized that I won’t have the body of a 21-year-old. For pushing 3 kids and pushing 30, I think I’m doing pretty okay. I didn’t feel like I was being judged by a fitness goddess. Again, refreshing!
3. No gym-class heroes! Instead, there was a chorus of assenting groans every time she called out, “Are you feelin‘ it?” We were all being similarly tormented and there was a camaraderie in it, not competition. I hate when you go to a fitness class and you’re looking around the whole time wondering, “Does anyone else feel like they’re about to die?!?!” The answer is yes.

But next week I’ll put on my ancient workout clothes and we three moms will make another fitness pilgrimage to the nearby high school. If I’m lucky, I’ll get over the muscle soreness by then. We’ll groan our way through the seven weeks of pain together… in community ed.