Why ask Why?

Amanda, CEO of Beans & Co., asked why I visit the mom blogs....
That is a very good question with a 3 pronged answer (as many things in life are 3 prongs):

1.) In reading your blogs, I hope I am less shocked by the things that will come my way as a mom. I do not think it will make me a smarter mom, hopefully just a little less frightened and a little less alone in the drama.

2.) I enjoy learning about people's lives and the way they do things. Knowing more options in child-rearing, marriage, birthing, etc. than what I was exposed to growing up, will only make my decision process better. Also, I truly love having "blog friends," and knowing your kids is knowing you. Plus, kids pictures make me smile...and we all need that in a work day. I do hope I get to meet some of you one day. There should be a tour of "Freak Alex Out: she babysits, we laugh" Tour. I get to meet you guys, you get free babysitting.

3.) It is just funny.

Carnies, Cabbage, and Babies

Are things that frighten me.
No, I am not one of those people who do not want babies cause they are "icky."

I want 'em despite their ickiness, but they are scary.

Because many of you (ahem, MCMOMMY!) are helping me cultivate that fear with your list of SCARY CRAP THAT BABIES DO AND PRODUCE, you are forcing me to show my hand and explain myself...so I don't seem like a nut.

There are three reasons that having a baby frightens the bejesus out of me:
1.) Having the baby: Pregnancy seemed beautiful and natural before I read some of the mom blogs...now it seems scary and gross (pooping in front of people?!?!?! Come on they should teach that to teenagers in sex-ed...that will scare them into abstinence).
2.)The things babies do. You know, the usual...projectile poop, say the darndest things, take your brain cells...the usual. I know I will come to love and laugh at all of these things in time, but to be honest it is not appealing without the good parts of the baby staring at you too reminding you it is worth it.
3.) The things that could happen to babies. I do not want to screw up my kids...now I'm not talking mentally (cause that is just going to happen)...I mean physically. I constantly start doing the what-ifs about what could happen to a kid...(I have tried to write them down, but they are not fun...so I refuse). They just freak me out cause it is such a. HUGE. RESPONSE. ABILITY! (I'm not a quick responder and I'm not sure I have the ability to cope.)

Look, I know that everything is in Gods plan, so #3 is really out of my hands...but that does not stop me from fretting. The other two on my list...they make me go like this:


Happy Friday!
------------------------------------------
Checking in: 05.29.08
The good: stayed so good on my points that I had some left over for wine
The bad: drank more wine than I was supposed to and ate a Slim-a-bear Klondike Bar. I know you are thinking, so what? well I only had some Flex points for it and figured might as well eat it now when I have some points than later when I might not: good logic, Alex.
The sweaty: Did the unthinkable: Got in a bathing suit and went swimming. Yup, scary. But I got some extra points for some extra wine and had fun with the KW.
Weighed in this morning (my scale is not digital so there are some fudging until I can get one): It looks like I lost around 3 lbs.

Less Than Wordless Wednesday

click for enlarged picture

People and Places

What is a girl to do with a camera around? TAKE PICTURES:

Here are some pictures of my peeps celebrating (Trying, I don't know if celebrating is the right term...please don't yell at me!) Memorial Day.


Mers, our hostess. She thinks she looks pissy, but I think she looks normal...what does that say? (She is my nearest: works, lives, and plays with me, so we treat each other like that, okay?)

(JCPF, a great friend, who hates his picture being taken...since I just did his engagement pictures, he is not terribly amused).

The Cita, JCPF's fiance....playing a board game next to me.

The Cita Bling

My main man...studly as usual.

These I took at the office. Why? oh, I'm so glad you asked?!?! Because I wanted to figure out the timer and I final cleaned my desk...yes that is clean, shut up.
Me, working hard for my money (unh-uh, uhn-uh)

Showing my love/addiction for the nectar of the gods.

Checking in-05.27.08
The Good-Stayed within my points while eating out (Breakfast at a cafe, Sushi for dinner and coldstone for dessert)
The Bad-skated on thin ice for those points.
The Sweaty-played with Wii Fit a bit with K-Ree and Tom but spent most of my time building KW's Mii. He is so cute even in digital form! (stupid Wii told me I have gained weight--but that was after Coldstone-Fatfree sweat cream and 1 oreo-4 pts.)

Changing: Growing Up or Will Power

Disclaimer: I'm going to get all "thinky" on you right now. So if you want a light, fun post (okay all my posts are light and fun but this is not trying to be!), go down to my SATC discussion.

I got to thinking this morning (I know, I don't usually do that without several cups of caffeine but I had to get up extra early for KW's new internship that started today...so I had to fill the time somehow). I started thinking about my personality and how it has changed over the years.

As a teenager, my main ambition in life was to blend in the walls, mainly because I was scared of doing something wrong. But how I wanted to be effortlessly cool and fun. To think, "I don't care if you don't like what I am doing" not the goth-angsty way...the fun, breezy, laugh-out-loud way. I wanted to have a lot of friends and have a full social calendar, but I was crippled by social fear. Maybe I was an extrovert trapped in an introvert's body.

When I got to college (the first night to be exact), I decided I was not going to be scared anymore. I have probably wrote about this before or talked about it in person-it was kinda a big deal for me. I jumped in literally (to a singing circle at a karaoke night-dancing like a fool). I have not really looked back.

I think most people would consider me pretty outgoing...I'm definitely silly. And I generally do not care if I make a fool of myself.

But here is the question: Did I decide to change myself to a different person or did I just grow up to become the person I was inside?

I have changed from a tom boy to a preppy girl in the past 7-8 years (i think that was a decision-type of change)AND I have become more easy going (I think that is growing up and living with KW).

But if I wanted to become a more jovial, happy-go-lucky person, could I decide to be more like that and just be that way (instead of my sarcastic humor ridden self) or would I look like a person acting like someone else? In an effort to "fake-it-till-you-make-it," would I look like Karen Walker's sarcastic-uppers-induced happy?

In a sense, I think I could, esp. if I was moving again. When I move, I always end up "tweaking" myself. Whether it is taking what I learned at my previous location and changing it to the new (ie. when I moved from DC and started dressing nicer) or making a decision to be someone new (ie. going to college and deciding to be more outgoing).

Does anyone else do this? Is it just me? Do you think I could change myself in the middle of being somewhere? I wonder if I will revert to my old self if I ever move back home?

Food for Thought...yum.

Plans for Sex and the City

My gal, McMommy, is talking about her plans for seeing the Sex and the City movie with the help of the awesomeness that is The Preppy Princess.

What are you planning?

My girl, KRee, and I are watching back issues of Sex and the City and then going with a bunch of our girls (and maybe some guys) to see the movie the first week of June.

My question to you? Should we dress up, ala McMommy?
And if so, who should I be...who would you be?

Checking In

So, How was this weekend so far?:

The Good: I have re embraced Weight Watchers and found some good low-points, tasty food:
1.) Egg white sandwich: 2 egg whites, 1 slice of lite wheat bread (grilled on a griddle with a tish of margarine)=.5 pts
2.) Veggie Wrap: Whole Wheat Tortilla, 1 slice of lite cheddar cheese, 2 tbs. of hummus, lots of onions, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, and some spritz of balsamic dressing=4 pts. For extra flavor and less points: sautee the onions and mushrooms and spinach and heat the tortilla w. cheese (which allows you to forgo the hummus)=2 pts.

The Bad: Ate a tasty sandwich at Hardees with yummy yummy fries. I seem to be eating bad but have been trying to make it up with the low point snacks and working out more.

The Sweaty: I had to do a lot of walking both Saturday and Sunday (2-3 hours) and have played tennis with Ken (btw. we play low-impact and very bad).

How is your memorial weekend shaping up?

Challenge Extended

Okay, so I noticed a lot of y'all are saying, "wow I should do this too!" Well, how about I challenge you to do it with me.

Now I'm not saying you need to Weight Watchers, but I challenge you to get your little weight loss ticker to your blog and report every day how you did. Now, do not fret your pretty heads, this is not turning into a weight loss blog. I would bore myself with that.

What I am going to do is at the end of the day's post is to put 1 good thing I did for myself the past day (this could be drinking my 8-8oz of water, eating all my veggie allotments, etc.), the bad that I did succumb to (this will help me track patterns-hello, french fries), and the exercise I did (even the minutiae).

If you don't want to do weight watchers with the points (even the online tracker is cheaper than the full-go-into-meeting thing), I have found that if I drink 8-8oz of water, 4 veggies and 4 fruits in the day...I naturally eat a LOT less bad stuff. I don't have the stomach room for it.

Amber, does a weekly boot camp roundup at her blog. This will be just you and your blog. Letting us know that we have someone losing it with us. If you try it and you fail, no worries. At least you tried (that is one more day, meal, week, that you ate better). If you try for awhile, mess up, and do it again...even better.

I would love to have you all rolling through these punches together, share some fun stories about food arch-nemeses and foibles (why, cause it means we are not alone and not "losers for not losing"), and have y'all keep me accountable.

So let me know if you're willing to give it a try.

********05/22/08**********
The Good: I started it, I committed myself
The Bad: I ate a LOT of pizza and drank a LOT of beer (both at the office party and with my friend, KRee.
The Sweaty: KRee let me use her WiiFit before the pizza and beer...so this is one more tool to getting fit and keeping accountable. It was actually fun and not as worthless as I thought it would be...and my abs HURT!

The Decision Has Been Made

What decision you may ask?

TO LOSE MY BELOVED CHUNKY BUTT!

I did Weight Watchers and martial arts last summer and lost about 15 pounds. But I've gained it back, yea me!

I want to lose that back and more. However, I can not really afford to waste it.
So here is what I am doing:

1.) Use Weight Watchers online tools
2.) Use my handy weight lose ticker in side bar as meeting weigh-ins. This will be my accountability
3.) Sign up for kickboxing (which I really want to do but it is $$) after I show some dedication to my diet and other excersice (one month of being on WW and going to the gym 4 times a week or 10 lbs., whichever comes first).

The reasons I am kicking this into high gear are two fold:
1.) I'm feeling not so attractive which really effects everything I do (I don't feel cute in clothes, I'm not as chipper, and I have zippo energy)
2.) I want to be a good weight/in shape when I get pregnant. I feel if I prepare myself for pregnancy now, it will be better for my body and my baby later.

So, Watch Alex Shrink and Watch that Bug Move!

Things I Want My Daughter To Know #1: love

For this first post, on a series that I alluded to last week...okay, two weeks ago...I'm a bad blogger :commence with the slaps across the wrist, Sister Mary Clarence: ($1* to anyone who can tell me what movie that name is from!).

Focus, Alex, back to the reason for posting: what do you want to tell your daughter! Oh yeah, so I thought long and hard (yes, that is why it has taken me 2 weeks to post the first follow up to this series, I swear!), and I thought of one of the most memorable lessons my mom has taught me: Love.

Now I will go on at some point about how my mom taught me and my 2 younger brothers the importance of family love, parental love, and love for our community...but I distinctly remember my mom's first lesson on amorous love.

I was in 4th grade and was "dating" Scott Martin, who I found out in college (by a girl who I went to college with who went to high school with him) that he is gay-needless to say I know how to pick 'em. But Scott Martin was smart and funny in my 9 year old eyes, and we wrote frequent notes to each other back and forth throughout our time together. In one note my mom found in a pocket somewhere, Scott professed his love for me and evidently I had written back that I loved him too (on the same page-we were ecologically minded at a young age).

My mom was VERY UPSET. She told me that I shouldn't say I Love You to just anyone. Loving someone means something. She gave me this test to know whether I should say I love you to someone: Do you care about them as much as or MORE than your brothers. Now, she found my weak spot. I, being the oldest sister and mini-mom, loved my brothers like something crazy. I made up my mind then that I would only say I love you to my husband.

From then on, friends would casually say "I LOVE YOU" and I would casually deflect it. Even though it was not the same amorous love I didn't want my friends thinking that I loved them on the same level as my future husband. When I dated, I kept things casual (after hitting the 5 month mark, they usually fizzled by either time, distance (i was a fan of the long distance relationship), or lack of drama). I never got close to saying I love you. The few guys I came close to loving I never dated, they remained friends that I cared and still care a great deal about...almost like a brother.

While not saying I LOVE YOU did not keep me 100% innocent and pure...it kept a certain level of distance in my relationships. I am and was the type of girl that plays all or nothing. I'm not sure if I would express the severity of the love spectrum that my mom did, but I do think she gave me an invaluable lesson on what true love means at the most basic levels and how to tell it from lust or fancy or infatuation.

And yes, when I said I LOVE YOU for the first time, it was to my future husband. But, him being the love-happy-jump-the-gun type of guy he was, he said it very quickly in our relationship and I did not say it back immediately. He almost broke up with me (I found out later) because I waited so long to say it. But I said it and haven't stopped saying it with every breath of my body since.

Do you have any lessons of love? If you do and would like to post about what you want to teach your children about love (amorous, filial, paternal (some other Latin base phrase) or how you fell in love (first last or greatest), please link it up here (this is an informal linky...maybe I should formalize it with a graphic...what do you think?

*$1 of my love and devotion!

I'm a semi-finalist

So, over at Confessions of an Apron Queen, I am a finalist for her slogan contest about aprons...

Of course, mine was the risque one!

Click over to check it out!

This picture on her site was my inspiration!
Go and vote for me!
Although it is not probably in the spirit of the Apron Queen who would probably want this to be more organic...
because sending all three of my loyal readers would really tip the scales.
So, just go guess which one is mine!

Make Me Laugh Monday-Baby Fight Club

For all my mom bloggers out there...you don't know what happens when you go out for a girls night, do you? Why, cause the first rule of fight club....


For more good laughs head over to Absolutely Bananas:

Oh Yeah

I wasn't a fan before, but I might be now!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24664786#24664786

The Full Story

As way of background, I have many hats (theoretical and non) at the school. One of my "fun" jobs is posting pictures on the school bulletin board every two weeks. These usually are the pictures I have shot at the many different school functions I attend. It seems like a fun job, but it is a lot of editing, sorting, printing, cutting and pasting. But the students seem to enjoy it, so I do as well.

However, every so often, some student will take it upon themselves to take down a picture or deface a picture. This irks me to no end. I spend my time putting it up there, and they have the nerve to take it down without telling me. This bothers me for two reasons:
1.) I put the time in to do it...respect my work
2.) When they mess with it (even taking it down), it makes my work look bad (see: respect my work).

I know to you law students, this is a stupid job that you can just treat as if it is sweeping the floor but to me it is not.

Evidence of this treatment:

Last night, I took down the old board, which had the exam schedule on it. I took it down because graduation is Saturday and I did a 3L retrospective. Figuring most people would know when and where their last exam was, I did not think much of taking the schedule down (it usually is not put there to begin with...I was filling up space, to be honest and thought it would be nice).

I walked in this morning and noticed that someone had scribbled: WHERE IS OUR EXAM SCHEDULE?


Why they wrote that down on the board is beyond me?
Are they 2 years old and do not know the difference between paper on the wall and paper in their hand?
Are they a moron who doesn't know the difference between asking someone and asking a piece of paper?
Did they expect the wall to give them an answer or the exam schedule back? This is not Hogwarts, people. Inanimate objects do not have the ability to help you here.
Or is the likely case, that they are immature, lazy, and disrespectful? (I think we have a winner, Bob)

I was so irate (mainly, because I just got some good news-more about that later, was running to tell KW in the library, and saw this...talk about a crash). I immediately envisioned administering a Charlie's Angel butt-whooping to the culprit. My 4 in. heel would pin the idiot's trachea to my board...that would make me feel vindicated for the extra hour of work I would have to redo. I was so angry that I vented to...well...a lot of people. But my office soul mate understood my heel-inflicted-pain-plan, and made me this to put up on the board:
That is a shoe in the throat, fyi. Isn't she awesome, btw?

Some people thought it was crazy...I thought it crazy funny.
I did not put it on the board, instead I wrote an email to the students dripping with southern sarcasm. The final line read:

Thank you for continuing to treat the law school and the work of others with respect.

I think my mom would be proud.

Due To The Serious Lack of Comments

Due to the serious lack of comments coming forth lately, I have decided not to post! Just Kidding, between getting KW done with finals, trying to get stuff at work ironed out, and planning things for the summer...I just haven't had anything really inspirational or hilarious to right about on the blog this week...until now...stay tuned!

How to Spot a Non-Mom Blog

As some of you know, I go on the hunt for blogs. It is part of my search for GREAT BLOGS OF THE UNIVERSE. Yeah, I know I need to post a new segment of my searches, but my searches have been so much fun that I haven't had time to organize them. I'm being swamped in the mire of all the good (and sometimes weird) blogginess. Maybe, I should do another section of WEIRD BLOGS OF THE UNIVERSE, but I like to laugh at other peoples follies (ala. Elizabeth Bennett) so I might end up laughing at someone instead of with...so I'll stay away from that for now.

Anyways, I thought I would pass on a trick of the blog search trade: How to spot a Non-Mom Blog.

Now some of you guys are thinking this is obvious...does the blog have odes to Minivans, scanned crayon drawings, and a jam-flavored-stickiness on the screen? Then it is a mom blog. But you are wrong: some clever minxes don't wear their mom-ness on their blog sleeve. Or, gasp, they have a non-mom blog and a mom blog elsewhere. So here are some tricks to deciphering a non-mom blog:
1.) Are their pictures of kids in the header or pleas for sanity masking as slogans? Then your at a mom blog.
2.) Do they have a glossary of their kids names in a side bar? Some mombloggers are great at keeping their kids identity safe and give them fake names to hide them from those "to catch a predator" stalkers. Mom Blog.
3.) Can you scroll down more than 3 posts without a picture of a kid? Not a mom blog!

DISCLAIMER! You are probably asking your self: "Self, why is Alex so concerned with this?" or "Self, does Alex not like Mom blogs as much as non-mom blogs?" First, I am concerned because I don't want to forward blogs that are those strict "to connect my family with my kids" blogs out for the world to love. Secondly, I love mom blogs and learn so much from them. Sometimes, though, when I am going through the "I WANT A BABY MODE" it is best to stay clear of mom blogs so my uterus does not feel inferior. Ultimately, this classification system helps me categorize my blog searches in two ways: 1.) Can I learn for my future Mom-i-tude? 2.) Can I relate to this person in a "we don't have kids yet" way?

So, put these rules in your trusty fanny pack next time you go out searching for great blogs...and let me know any of your tricks when searching blogs?
(shhhh, I'll give you one of my secrets...I use my blog-regular's blogroll to start my search).

Lord Knows Why #2: Daughters

Lord knows why I keep thinking about this, but I do know why I started thinking about it: what do I want to teach my daughter as she grows up (if I ever have one).

When I was 15 or so, I saw that a mother who was dying of cancer video tapped herself recording life lessons for her 2 year old daughter. I thought that was a great idea. And thought if something like that would happen to me I would record several tapings to be aired when my daughter was an appropriate age....bras at 12, shaving at 13, boys at 14, etc. (btw. can you tell I have no idea what age does what?)

yes, yes, I know that is morbid, but I am a boy scout in many ways: Always Prepared. Not in the perfectionist-Bre Van DeKamp/Hodges way, just wanting to be emotionally ready for what life throws at me so it won't be as hard (yeah, you can tell I've had it easy so far).

Since 15, I would think about this a lot...and ponder what things I want to tell my daughter to do or not to do or what I did or wished I did when she gets older. And let me tell you, it has helped me make some decisions when peer pressure came calling. Not to say I was an angel, but I always wanted to tell my daughter that I was able to wait till I was 21 till I drank, so she can too. That picking at your zits will make your face worse. That you can always say your sorry but you can never really take it back.

A lot of this really just means, in my head, what are the things that I hope that my daughter (or son) learn from me. What can I tell them? Whether they take this information and use it is up to them...I just hope that they can learn from it.

My own mom was great at this. She loved talking to me about everything. We talked about sex at a young age and throughout my life (she was a big advocate of not making it a mystery...there are a lot of stories on that one...remind me to tell you later). She taught me the importance of saying I love you to the right people and meaning it. How to be a good friend. How to be sweet and strong and creative and different and loving. These are things that I want to be able to share with my kids. I am not going to fluffy coat things and say my mom and I were always best pals. We fought like cats 90% of the time from age 13-20. But she never stopped teaching me what was what. And I would like to think I helped her figure out things from a different perspective too. We still have our cat moments, but they are fewer between (thank Gawd!), and I hope with all my heart that we continue on the path of being great friends.

So on today, Mother's Day, I am contemplating starting a series of posts about "What I want to teach my kids." If nothing else, it puts it down on "paper" so I can look back and remember all the ideas I had...and your thoughts about them too. What do you want teach your kids? Or what did you teach them? Or wish you did?

I'll leave you today with a pic of me and my mom from my friends wedding this past Thanksgiving. She's pretty neat, huh?

Maybe I'll do a post tomorrow....extolling all the cool things about my mom, so you Internet peeps can start to get how cool she really is.

McParty Over Here (hey)...McParty Over There (ho!)

So McMommy is celebrating the day of her birth, and I am celebrating with her. I am so excited to celebrate...of course, it doesn't hurt that she let me design some of her graphics!

Right now she is asking for recipes for the digital party!

So here are two of my favorite appetizers that are so easy and yummy!


This is my mom's classic Pillsbury-Crescent-Roll-Pizza-circa-1990.
I know it is not terribly fancy or chic, but I did not put on my fancy pants today.

Here is my take on the recipe

2 pkgs. crescent dinner rolls
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese
2/3 c. horseradish sauce (some use mayo...I like the kick)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper
Chopped and Shredded veggies: like mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, radishes and onions, desired amount of each
Press crescent rolls onto pizza pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees until brown. Let cool. Mix next 5 ingredients together. Spread on cooled crust then sprinkle shredded vegetables as desired. Cool for 2 minutes, cut and serve.

Here is the other


Pepper Jelly/Cream Cheese dip

Get ready people...it is tough to do.

Unwrap cream cheese package
pour jar of pepper jelly (green or red or both for Christmas) over cream cheese
Dip with Club crackers....

ooooh so yummy.

So grab some food and head over to McMommy's party...
oh and vote for my shoes at the party!

Lord Knows Why #1: Supposed To

I figured I would start a new series of posts called: Lord Knows Why (I do the things I do). These will be my opportunity for me to explain some nuances and quirks about myself...and boy, do I have them.

The first "Lord Knows Why" is about my hatred of the phrase: supposed to.

Meaning: "Aren't you supposed to be going to class?" "Aren't you supposed to be wearing a dress?" "Why aren't you doing THIS?" "Shouldn't you be doing THAT?"

I think I finally figured out why I dislike it. When someone says, Supposed To...they are really saying, "I thought you were going to do THIS, why aren't you?"

I hate A.) not living up to people's expectations and B.) doing what I'm told when I'm told how I'm told to do it.

I would never work in the military life, obviously.

For some reason this phrase just drives me crazy...I just feel bad about myself but worse...I react badly. I just want to bite the person's head off...and say, "YOU DON"T KNOW ME!" "YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

Yup, that's right...I am a two year old.

*UPDATED: Even Lea acknowledges that blogs are used to blow things out of proportions in entertaining ways...I don't know if this was entertaining but at least I know it is blown out of proportions.

Saving Lives, being a Super Hero and Super Model

Yup, that's right...me, saving lives! Kinda reluctantly.

So the people at the Red Cross have found me again. I have gone into the platelet relocation program, but those Red Crossers can smell blood from miles away.

The full, true story:
I started my saga of donating blood when I was 18, but the story starts months before my first trip to the Red Cross. (actually, it started with my childhood love of Clara Barton, who was my inspiration for many a book, history, and science report).

During my senior year in high school I had some awful abdomen pains and the doctors could not figure out what it was...Appendicitis, NOPE; Stomach problems, no; bad tuna salad, neicht; Uterarian troubles, nada...they later explained it away that my ovary likes to "wig out" (his highly professional and expensive term-thank you 8 years of medical training!) when I ovulate. (TMI? sorry) Throughout this time I was subjected to a battery of tests (MRI, barium chugging, x-rays, lots and lots of poking with needles). This is when I first learned that I have thin willowy veins...my limbs and ass...no, my veins, yes. The nurse (who I found out later was very very new to the job) spent 18 times and 18 places trying to get my IV in...fun times! I looked like a druggie later. It took the senior nurse 3 times. So needless to say...it is not easy to get to my veins.

Well, this did not send me running to the Red Cross Blood Bank. However, when I was working on a political campaign, we hosted a blood drive with the Congressman. They asked all of us to give blood and pretty much said if I didn't I would contribute to our candidate losing. Being 20 and gullible...I became susceptible to peer pressure and Just Did It. It took the technician several times, but he got it out of me.

This was the beginning of the end. A few weeks later, the lovely ladies of the Red Cross hotline called to tell me that I have "a very rare blood type and the only type of blood available for baby transfusions...and don't you want to give more blood for the babies." Well, how could I say no to that?

I can't...I don't...Since then I give blood anywhere from 3-8 times a year or try to. When I was in DC, it was harder to get the blood bank...but the blood bank here found me and they want me...so I must go.

Now this is not to say that I don't love going...I do. The people are usually really nice, it doesn't hurt too much, you get to save a life or two, and you get free cookies (I have my priorities straight, people). I don't love having to get stuck three or four times while trying to coax out my Kate Moss-like veins.

The reason why I am going today...the lady from the blood bank called me this weekend and kept saying, "So, superhero, when are you coming in?"....ME! a Superhero! I could get used to that. Being nice and giving blood...sure those are good things...but being called superhero stroked my skittish-fragile-vein-ego.

Besides...this is a good time for me to plug the Red Cross. If you can give blood, you should. Even if you are scared, even if you think it is yucky or hurts...it makes you feel good and really does make a difference in the day to day operations of saving lives. Click here to learn more!



Oh, and the supermodel part...My hair has been supermodel-rific lately...Getting that Tyra inspired breeze through it as I walk around school. Mainly, I've been saying it to myself because I've put back on a few pounds since this fall and am trying to think thin while I work out. Yeah, let's see that work!

Make Me Laugh Monday-Seinfeld Babies

Since, I exclaimed my love for Muppet Babies last week...this week I bring you Seinfeld Babies.


Mainly I love this because I loved the Muppet Show and the old men commentary.

For more laughter, go to Absolutely Bananas by clicking the picture (she's clever and figured out how to do it ages ago!):



Here is the original opening of the Muppet Show. I love it but mainly cause we used it as our opening number one summer as a camp counselor.

You, You, You Oughta Know

I am homesick.

Some of y'all hear me complain about that in person, on the phone, or have read my whining before on this blog. But that is the thing, I started this blog to combat my home sicknesses or have someone to whine to that isn't cramming for finals.

My parents are on vacation overseas, and I can't call and cry to them.
My brothers don't really get it (surprise, surprise).

KW gets it and has offered to take me home in a couple of weeks.

I wish we could but there are a few reasons to not:
1.) we'd like to go on a real vacation before his summer jobs start
2.) I'm not sure if my parents are going to be there (they are traveling a LOT this summer)
3.) I have 4 other things I need to take time off for this summer (2 weddings-with the in laws, maleless retreat-more on this later, and a vacation with Ken)
4.) I am hoping to go home in August before one of the aforementioned weddings.

Sadly, I just miss my mom.
It is silly, but I do.
Sorry for the complaints.

Photo (with minimal photoshop)

Today was our May Crowning. This is one of my favorite pictures of the day. It is a big honor to be the girl chosen to crown Mary. You could tell this little girl felt the honor keenly and worked her hardest to behave properly and be solemn.

Everything's coming up Milhouse*

*explains title

KW got a second internship offer!!!!
no, it is not paying but it is a great opportunity for him to learn another part of the law.

Here is the nougatty goodness: He went out to this firm, convinced them they needed an intern, and they hired him as their first intern and to start an intern program for them!

I'm so proud.

He is a workhorse, my husband. It drives me crazy. It turns him into Finals KW, who I hate...but I love when he gets compensated for his hard work. I love people realizing what I have known all along. That my husband is AWESOME.