Bucket List?

Got it from Shannon. And have seen it a few other places, too. Highlight the ones you've done. Just cuz. It seemed like a fun thing to do and you might enjoy doing it, too. I've done a lot more than I realized.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyworld.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check. (NSF)
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

The BIG 3-O!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Ryan. We love you lots. Welcome to the 30's Club. *wailing* My little brother is 30? Impossible.



Now all we need is a picture of you with little "Gasper". (Sorry. Couldn't resist.) Unfortunately, he missed your birthday by a couple of days. Maybe next time.

Peek-a-Boo

With permission, here's a peek at my nephews. They're both pretty new, and this picture makes me want to give them lots of squeezes. And maybe a few kisses, too. Welcome, Jasper Glenn. What a handsome baby boy you are.

Spot On

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Non-conformist, Visionary, and Independent

13 Abstract, -15 Islamic, -15 Ukiyo-e, 0 Cubist, -5 Impressionist and -25 Renaissance!

Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which exists independently of what may appear to others as visual realities. Western had been underpinned by the logic of perspective and an attempt to reproduce an illusion of visible reality. It allowed the progressive thinking artists to show a different side to the world around them. By the end of the 19th century many artists felt a need to create a 'new kind of art' which would encompass the fundamental changes taking place in technology, science and philosophy. Abstract artists created art that was diverse and reflected the social and intellectual turmoil in all areas of Western culture.

People that chose abstract art as their preferred artform tend to be visionaries. They see things in the world around them and in people that others may miss because they look beyond what is visual only with the eye. They rely on their inner thoughts and feelings in dealing with the world around them instead of on what they are told they should think and feel. They feel freed from the tendency to be bound by traditional thought and experiences. They look more toward their own ideas and experiences than what they are told by their religious upbringing or from scientific evidence. They tend to like to prove theories themselves instead of relying on the insight or ideas of others. They are not bound by common and mundane, but like to travel and have new experiences. They value intelligence, but they also enjoy a challenge. They can be rather argumentative when they are being forced or feel as if they are being forced to conform.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Begin It

What you can do, or
dream you can, begin it.
Courage has genius,
power, and magic in it;
Only engage, and then the
mind grows heated.
Begin it and the work will be completed.

I could stand to remember this when I get overwhelmed trying to do things I don't know how to. *rolls up sleeves*

8 Lbs. 8 Oz.

I'm an auntie again!!! Jasper Glenn was born at 11:00 a.m. this morning. Was waiting for a picture to post with this announcement, but none here yet, so this will have to do. Can't wait to get my hands on the little guy.

Charlie Bites the Dust

After two years, I found Charlie at the bottom of the fish bowl this afternoon. He'd almost doubled in size. *gags* So we had a "flush" funeral for him somewhat similar to this one. Kekoa wants another fish, but I tried to explain to him pets are better off with people who actually remember to take care of them. Charlie and I had a love/hate relationship. In spite of my resentment, however, I found in the end I felt similar to this about our pet. The feeling wasn't strong enough to run right out and find a replacement, though. Rest in peace, Charlie. Rest in peace.

Panic

With just two weeks until travel time, panic has started to set in. How am I going to get it all done? Whose idea was this anyway? Oh... and being disciplined and skipping out on those banana and blueberry muffins that someone (see Mr. Optimism) brought me at the fitness center last night resulted in a two pound weight gain this morning. Evidently, just "thinking" about food works against me. Next time? I'm stuffing my face.

Notice?

Anyone else noticed the days are getting longer? Sunlight earlier in the morning and later in the evening. Yay. Maybe I've just noticed because the sun has actually been shining for the past week. Seems like we had a lot of cloudy days before that. Nice to see blue sky overhead. Speaking of cloudy days vs. sunny ones, Craig's been flat on his back for the past 24 hours with back pain (he thinks it's muscular). Talked with him this a.m., though, and the clouds may have parted. He's not having pain anymore... just tightness. Here's to hoping he's on the mend.

Curious?

So what have the boys been up to lately? Eating CARS noodles and ladybugs. Gavyn calls them "ants". Oh... and there's the small matter of the "who-dun-it" mystery potpourri mess in the bathroom, but we won't talk about that, m'kay? Thanks for being patient with my boys, Jess.

Inauguration Day

Dear Lady in the Gym Locker Room,

No, I do not want to stand looking up at the locker room tv to witness the historic moment that is our new president and his wife making their way to St. Johns Church this morning as you stand alongside me naked from the waist up. It kind of ruined the experience for me. Put some clothes on already!

Sincerely,
Me

What'd YOU Do This Weekend?

We ate.




And ate.



And ate.



But it was all with good company so the calories don't count, right? Right? And this doesn't even show the half of it. There were oatmeal cookies and oatmeal bars and biscotti cookies and banana bread and...

You get the picture. Evidently the key to not getting discouraged about this is to not eat or get on the scale for a week, right?

All eating and guilt associated aside, it was so nice to have visitors this weekend. It hadn't happened for a LONG, LONG time. I think we scare everyone away with our lackadaisical ways. Or maybe it's our overbearing personalities. Whatever the case, it's been awhile since our guest bedrooms have been occupied. Last year, we were too sick to host these special guests. Nice they took pity on us and came to visit anyway. Thanks, you guys, for a fantastic weekend. It meant more than you'll ever know.

Ninja Burger

Craig was excited to try out his new game on our company this weekend and they were happy to oblige. Or that's how it appeared on the surface, anyway. So Ninja Burger it was. I guess when they finally figured out how to play by the rules, Shane was the chief Ninja Burger delivery guy?

Finally!

When we got home this afternoon it had finally warmed up enough we could play outside in the snow. Made a snowman and snow angels. And, yes, it can be done in a skirt. (I was in too much of a hurry to change us out of our dress clothes.) Nothing like record setting sub zero temperatures and winds to make 28 degrees feel downright balmy. Meet this year's Mr. Frosty:



He's a nice addition to our collection from year's gone past.

Broken Snow Globes and Such

If you break a snow globe, it doesn't stop the snowing. We tried this week and it didn't work. Just added a late Saturday night ER trip to our weekend schedule. Since then, we've had two snowstorms. You might even call them blizzards.

All I wanted to do was bake some cookies. Kekoa's been begging to make cookies with the new star cookie cutters he got for a Christmas present from the mother of one of Craig's high school friends. The idea is you cut out the dough in different sizes of stars and then stack them up and frost them. Sounds simple enough. Especially when you buy pre-made sugar cookie dough in a tube. All was going along as smoothly as it can with a four year old making random decisions during the process of how the process would be more fun. Like cutting smaller stars to make pretty holes in the large star cut outs. Whatever. They'll still stack. More holes to hide extra cream cheese frosting, I say.

As we're transferring the last of the baked cookies to the cooling rack (and trying to keep little four-year-old fingers from breaking off points of the stars for a pre-decorating snack), I hear a crash. I know instinctively and immediately Gavyn has smashed the musical snow globe Santa brought him by accidentally dropping it on the fireplace step. Without even looking. Mad dash. Egads. Glass and teeny, tiny white Styrofoam balls and nasty smelling clear liquid everywhere. The smallest snowman has lost his orange carrot nose. I grab Gavyn (still stunned and wondering if he's going to get in trouble for this one) and move him away from the carnage. Kekoa wants to take a closer look but I corral him back explaining the dangers of the situation.

Here's where I take a deep breath and get ready to roll up my sleeves and clean up the mess. "It's ok, Gavyn. It was an accident," I'm saying. And that's when the screams start. Gavyn has evidently been hurt by some cut glass, I realize, but he's not saying where. Just screaming. And then the bleeding starts. Oh. There. He has a cut on his left hand pointer finger. "Let me look at it," I'm saying. He continues screaming and trying to pull his hand away from me. I run cold water on it and attempt to get a closer look. Not looking too serious, but the bleeding won't stop. And neither will the screaming. Pin him down and wrap a Clifford the Big Red Dog band-aid around his hurt finger. Then we head for his bed and lay down for a cuddle. He's wiped out from all the wrestling and emotion and settles down for a good afternoon nap.

Fast forward to the evening. Brilliantly, we have allowed him to take a bath AND a shower (yes, my boys were very clean that day) over the course of the afternoon. Which of course didn't help much with the blood clotting. Hindsight's 20/20. Just before bed, we decide to take the band-aid off and put a new one on. He is not thrilled. Screaming ensues. I try to cut off the band-aid and he's acting like he's about to die from pain. Then Craig tries. Kekoa's watching with a pained look and his lower lip starts to quiver. "Mommy, I don't like this. It's making me feel like I need to cry," he says. He's very protective of his little brother. Nice to see him feeling empathy rather than hitting his little brother on the head with a plastic Whac-A-Mole mallet to see if he'll cry. And then I notice the bleeding starting up again and I start to panic. What if there's still glass in there? Why won't it stop bleeding? What if it was something serious and I didn't take him in? Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to the ER we go....

Prognosis? No glass. Just a little skin scraped off creating a little dent. Kinda like the kind you get when you're shaving your legs and take off a couple of layers of skin. You only do that once. Well. Maybe twice. Those won't stop bleeding, either, if I remember right. Observation from one of the techs? Gavyn has a healthy set of lungs.

He has a cute little mitten made of white gauze by the time we leave, and Mommy has instructions to keep it covered and dry for 24 hours so it has a chance to scab over. Tech was wondering if we'd have problems with him taking off the bandage. Are you kidding? He guarded his mittened hand with his life for 36 hours straight. If anyone came within three feet of it, he screamed and pulled his hand away.

This isn't the first time he's fooled us into thinking he has a life threatening injury worthy of immediate medical attention. This little man has no pain tolerance. At all.

You Have No Idea

So, Kekoa and I were talking this past week...

Kekoa: "Mommy, did you like me when I was a baby?"
Me: "Oh, yes, did I ever."
Kekoa: "Are you happy God made us for you?"
Me: "I am very, VERY happy God made you and gave you to us."

In my head I was thinking, "You have no idea, my little Kekoa. NO idea."

Waiting With Bated Breath

So I know you all are waiting with bated breath to see what we finally concluded. It was Kendra W. who finally sealed the deal. After seeing pictures of her and her husband's recent trip to Mexico with my stealthy (creepy?) stalker techniques via Jill's facebook comments, I contacted her and asked where she stayed. We are headed to an all-inclusive Secrets Capri Riviera Cancun vacation in February. Passports have been overnighted for renewal. Vacation package has been booked through Expedia. Time off at all three work places has been secured. Grandmother has agreed to watch the rugrats for a few days. Now all I have to do is set up the babysitting for her so they can get to their basketball games and make babysitting arrangements and reservations so they can go out to a nice dinner (sans kids) one of the evenings for her birthday which also occurs while we're gone. I am stoked. This is actually gonna be happening. I honestly can't believe it.

Didn't Bat An Eye

We're all down in the basement last night. Craig's painting his army men - his little hobby. I'm on the computer looking for travel deals. The boys are engrossed in the Bee Movie. And wouldn't you know our bat decided to reappear. I saw it swooping and looping with my own two eyes. And let's just say... well, it's traumatizing for me. Craig was not very excited to see it again, either, but sat there with a goofy grin evidently amused by my reaction. Kekoa and Gavyn glanced up for a few seconds to watch the action and then went back to their movie. Didn't even bat an eye. Heh.

So what does a girl do when there's a bat in the house? She buries her head in the sand. I skated (we had ice storms this weekend) down to the neighbor's house to borrow a tennis racket. Then I went to our bedroom, closed the door and took a bubble bath by candlelight and read a magazine and a book while Craig went on a bat hunt. And guess what? It didn't go away. The bat, that is. Craig couldn't find it. I did feel a little more relaxed after my bath, though.

Be My Travel Agent

Ok all you travelers out there. Put on your travel agent thinking caps. Craig and I are trying to plan a trip to someplace warm within the next month. Just the two of us. We're cozy like that. Crazy like that? Somethin'.

This is all I want. To lay by the pool or on the beach for four days straight doing nothing but napping, reading, sipping on some yummy drink and having people bring me food. Maybe a nice dinner or two with just the two of us in the evenings. All I want to have to pack is a swimsuit, a book/magazine, a cover up and a nice evening dress that I can crumple up into a ball in a carry on bag. A simple vacation involving me, my husband, the sun, the ocean, and a pool. Simple. Easy. No stress. Something involving me not making any decisions.

So I go to try to find a good deal and do you know how many options there are? What happened to not having to make any decisions? There's Mexico. There's the Bahamas. There's Hawaii. And do you know how many options there are within just those three locations? Here's where you come in. Do you have someplace in particular you have been that you would recommend?

Initially, I thought Hawaii was out of the question, but they have some pretty good travel deals, evidently, because the prices I'm finding are coming out less than prices to some of the places I thought would be cheaper. Only problem is that traveling to Hawaii involves 9 or so hours of flight time from our location.

This is a trip my hubby and I wanted to take on our 10 year anniversary. Only problem is... Gavyn was two months old about then. Then there was the issue of having no money, but now that I'm working again, it's once again in the realm of possibility. Also. I never thought of myself as a "renewing vows" kinda gal, but after reading some things about it, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a nice touch. Do you think that would be too over the top?

Anywayz... send me your recommendations, thoughts, ideas. In the meantime, Craig and I will be asking for "time off". Depending on how that goes, this may or may not be a wishful thinking endeavour.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2009 brings everyone joy. True joy.

Looks Innocent Enough

Looks like a sweet "I love my brother." moment, no? In actuality, Kekoa is trying to get Gavyn to protest. I'll just go ahead and pretend like his intentions were good, m'kay?