Innocent

Isn't this such an innocent look? My heart melts when I see this picture. I took it this weekend.

Grandma's buffet

Uncle Bill and Melanie brought me the buffet table that I have always grown up with. I did not realize that it used to be grandma's. I will have to find out the history of it from mom.

The Bucket List

The Bucket List. Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not, then send it to your friends (including me).



Things you have done during your lifetime:
Gone on a blind date
Skipped school
X Watched someone die
X Been to Canada
Been to Mexico
Been to Florida
Been to Hawaii
X Been on a plane
Been on a helicopter
X Been lost
XGone to Washington, DC
X Swam in the ocean
X Cried yourself to sleep
Played cops and robbers
Recently colored with crayons
x Sang Karaoke
Paid for a meal with coins only
Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
X Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
X Made prank phone calls
Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
X Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
X Caught a snowflake on your tongue
Danced in the rain-naked
Written a letter to Santa Claus
Been kissed under the mistletoe
X Watched the sunrise with someone
X Blown bubbles
x Gone ice-skating
X Gone to the movies
Been deep sea fishing
Driven across the United States
Been in a hot air balloon
Been sky diving
X Gone snowmobiling
Lived in more than one country
X Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
X Seen a falling star and made a wish
Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
Seen the Statue of Liberty
Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
Been on a cruise
X Traveled by train
Traveled by motorcycle
X Been horse back riding
Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
x Been to Disneyland
X Truly believe in the power of prayer
X Been in a rain forest
Seen whales in the ocean
Been to Niagara Falls
Ridden on an elephant
Swam with dolphins
Been to the Olympics
Walked on the Great Wall of China
Saw and heard a glacier calf
Been spinnaker flying
Been water-skiing
x Been snow-skiing
Been to Westminster Abbey
Been to the Louvre
Swam in the Mediterranean
X Been to a Major League Baseball game
Been to a National Football League game
Been to a National Basketball Assoc. game
Been to a National Hockey League game

I thought this was fun to do, a take off of the Obama posters.

Life Update

I just read Kj's blog and coincidentally I just started reading The Pillars of the Earth today. I'm only about 50 pages into it and it's a much different book than I thought it would be, so far so great! It's so good to be diving into a new book.

I recently read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. This book is about a deaf boy and his love and silent communication with his dogs and his communication with those around him. It is a MUST read.

Jesse has not worked since just before Thanksgiving. Work in painting is always slow this time of year. I am amazed that we have been able to manage as well as we have. He worked on a project last weekend painting a mural at the medical center where his mom works. He needs to go back this weekend to finish it.

We got snow here yesterday, it's gone now, but it's supposed to snow again this weekend. :( NO! I say, "Go away snow." You would think that growing up in a place that got a ton of snow that I actually wouldn't mind the snow. I don't mind it as long as I don't have to drive in it. Luckily, I have been taking mass transit to work since October. Not only have I saved on gas, but I've saved on parking as well. I don't mind taking the bus so much, the bus pass is free through my employer.

Hope everyone is staying warm!

And the memories live on...

Yesterday I went to an 80's costume party. It is amazing to see that some of the things we wore back then can still be found in stores, i.e. leg warmers and scrunchies. I didn't do the typical 80's attire but instead decided to dress as one of the prop girls from Robert Palmer's music video "Addicted to Love." Some people knew who I was, some didn't get it, which I figured would happen. There was also a karaoke machine with 70's and 80's music, lots of "jungle juice" and beer, some Twister going on, Footloose and Flashdance movies playing. It was way, way fun. It is cool to relive that God-awful era. How did America get away with such awful fashion? What were we thinking?

Friends, Family and Children

I think sometimes I feel insecure with friends. If it's me and at least two other people, I feel like the third wheel. I feel like I might as well be invisible because it's the others who are having fun without me. I kind of think it's because I'm too serious, it's hard for me to loosen up and just have fun. For me, everything has to be a certain way. Why am I like this even in my friendships? Being like this will cause me to not have many friends. It's not like this with all my friends. There are only a few people who I feel at ease with and don't feel like I have to compare myself to them or feel jealous. Thank God for those people in my life.

Sometimes, I even feel insecure around family and/or friends who have children. I feel like I can't relate to what they are saying, how would I know, I don't have children. I feel like I have nothing in common with them. When you have children they are your life, they are all people talk about and if you have a conversation with them, it's always about their children or their family, so I feel like I don't have any common ground. Now, please don't be offended if you have children, I'm just saying how it is from my childless perspective only.

Sometimes I feel like I should have a kid just so that I can be like everyone else. It's uncommon nowadays to be a young married couple and not have children, people almost find it incredulous if you don't have them, as if life is only about getting married and starting a family. It's also about living and dying and life lessons and finding out about yourself. It's so much more.

Although, I don't know why I am even saying this stuff because it's not like I am that social. Jesse and I are such homebodies these days. I hardly do any social activities at all, not like I did in college when I had bible study and Salt and church and sports. So, if I'm not very social then why are these very social issues of friends and family such an issue for me? I guess because I find myself in these types of situation every now and again.

I think what got the ball rolling for me about this is my friend that drove all the way from Beaverton Oregon to come and see me and our house yesterday. She brought her children and she is one of those friends I mentioned above that I feel like I can be myself and totally at ease with and not insecure in any way. And I thought about how nice it felt to be around her and feel relaxed and not feel like I'm at a loss for words or find myself struggling what to say or do or think. I can just be me. It's a feeling that has stayed with me.

So, this is my rambling for the day, maybe even for the rest of the week. I hope I didn't offend any of my family that I know have children, my sis and cousins. It is just how I feel at the moment. It doesn't mean I dislike children, it just means I don't have any and that comes with a price as well.