Friday, May 20, 2011

This is the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)

It's been a while since I've posted anything at the old bloggy-blog. I read the other day that *somebody* doesn't consider a blog a true blog unless you're posting at least twice a day. I think that's pretty arbitrary; but, nonetheless, it's nice that I'm not trying to measure up to anybody's standards here [good lesson for life and parenting: don't spend your time trying to measure up to other peoples' standards].

In the spirit of Facebook's current question, though, I thought I might post a couple of "What's on your mind?" thoughts...

- My grandpa died just over a month ago; the second grandpa to die in 6 months, and an ongoing weird juxtaposition of new life and the end of life. We had a great week in Wyoming with family celebrating his life and, really, getting reacquainted with one another; HH met many of my family members for the first time and, being the multi-faceted extrovert that he is, hit is off well with them. It was a great time, all around.

- We left from WY to resume a previously-scheduled trip to OR to visit a huge chunk of HH's family. Because we are both now "differently-employed" (read: don't have 8-5 jobs that require us to be in an office), we had the luxury -- and I mean luxury -- of taking our time, dividing the drive into manageable chunks and staying with friends along the way. We experienced fantastic hospitality and fellowship all along the way; some expected and some unexpected, but I was reminded what a tremendous blessing it is to have friends who love God and who love you and will open their hearts and homes to you at the last minute. It was also a luxury to spend quality time with so many family members in Oregon, since HH was able to just keep working wherever he got an Internet connection.

- But enough about me. The young one keeps getting ever cuter and ever more interested in the world around him. He loves our dogs, he delighted all the family, and he just started solid foods this week. I took these pictures of him yesterday morning; the monkey hat is because I turned off our gas fireplace and it got cold again. I turned it back on today. Also coming today: Tito tries avocado!
"The Sock Monkey Series"








Onto more generic "what's on your mind?" questions...

- I tried roasting strawberries the other day. It didn't go as well as I'd planned (I LOVE roasting veggies). HH thought the texture was gag-inducing, I didn't love the texture, and they were strangely salty. Probably won't be trying that again; you can't win them all.

- My friend Vanessa does a fashion blog that I enjoy immensely. If you like bold, funky fashion, check it out.

- I have this inexplicable (and I truly mean inexplicable) urge to get a cat. There are a million good reasons for us to NOT get a cat (including the hair, OH the hair, the allergies of guests and what on earth would we do with it when we travel?), but I still found myself scouting them out at Petsmart yesterday. Two reasons to get one: to help develop T's immune system against allergies and asthma, and to keep those pesky rabbits that are ruining my backyard at bay. Migo tries, but he's just not wily like a cat.

- I enjoyed this blog post this morning. I first came across this blog when I was pregnant with lil' T, where he did a fun picture every week of his wife's belly. Feeling sick nearly all the time and huge and bloaty and uncomfortable, it was fun to see pregnancy celebrated like this. If you're pregnant, do take a look and enjoy.

- Anyway, today he muses over the Harold Camping prophecy that the world will end tomorrow. I'd seen the prophecies but hadn't given it much thought; apparently he's getting more press outside of little Billings, MT. I appreciated his tone -- snarky, but not mocking, and actually a bit sincere. Enjoy, if you get the chance.

- And, finally, reading that made me think of college when I discovered the music of REM. I listened to one of their albums nonstop when my boyfriend left for a semester in England. But more specifically, it made me think of their song: "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

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