Songlist of silly things

There are a few songs that I have heard lately that have made me happy. Just happy. Happiness is a beautiful thing and I thought I would share them with you, no matter how cheesy it is.

Would it help melt the cheese a little if I gave a little explanation to why these make me happy? I hope so.

Take me the way I am, by Ingrid Michaelson

Whenever I hear this song I think of John and how he puts up with my craziness. I have mood swings and hormones and he just takes me the way I am. I love it.

Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani

Annie loves this song and sings along to it whenever it comes on the radio, which is a lot. It would be annoying how often we hear it if it wasn't for Annie. She calls it the "Wee-hoo, Woo-hoo song" and asks for it whenever we're home listening to music. I should get the CD and let her dance around to it whenever she wants, but I'm a loser mother and just wait for her to hear it on the radio. We have spent countless minutes waiting in the car for the song to finish before I shut off the car. We dance in our seats and yell the lyrics. Fun, fun, fun.


Everything by Michael Buble

My family is everything to me. I think of John and Annie when I hear this song and I smile and smile. This is the cheesiest of the bunch, but it's the song that makes me think of twirling girls and fields of Jonquils. It makes me think of my wedding day and the day my little girl was born. It makes me grateful for my everything.

Summer Daze

Summer is here - and boy is it hot! It seems like we live in our pool. Either that or we go from our pool to someone elses pool. My hair is in a constant state of damp. If it wasn't for the chlorine, I would be growing mold.

I actually love summer, and I actually don't mind the blistering heat. We are blessed to be able to keep our house at a reasonable temperature throughout the day, and both our cars have A/C - so I can't really complain.

And popsicles . . . oh boy do I love popsicles! My mom and dad used to take us through the drive-thru dairy in Chino and get Big Sticks and Sidewalk Sundaes. The Sidewalk Sundaes were our favorites - chocolate coated vanilla ice cream with a streak of dark fudge on the inside. I didn't realize how much I adored the Big Sticks until I moved to the South and couldn't find them anywhere under any name. They are a pineapple/cherry popscicle that I really missed - until I found them at every grocery store in Arizona. The only problem is that they are not quite the same.

The Big Sticks of my youth were heavily flavored and rather slushie-like - I feel like I can suck all the juice out of the imitation Big Sticks and all I'd be left with is a ice-pop. But I'll take them rather than leave them. They still remind me of backyard swingsets, hot porches, burning skin and many happy afternoons. It's those kind of memories I want to pass onto Annie.

This is the reason I will only allow Annie to eat popscicles outside - even if it is 120 degrees. It's not because I can't stand the drips!

The cupcake dress

Having a mother who sews is a blessing. Having a grandmother (with currently only two granddaughters) who sews is the most awesome thing on the planet. When you have a grandmother who likes to sew for her granddaughters, you get a cupcake dress that you can wear to church.

There are rules to wearing the cupcake dress to church.

1. You always have to smile - it's hard to be sad when you are wearing frosting.

2. Always offer anyone who smiles back at you a pretend cupcake, straight from the top pocket. Be prepared for spontaneous hugs and kisses.

3. Beg your mother to wear your cupcake dress while you eat. Promise you will not get anything on it and you will make sure to wipe your hands on the napkin, not your dress.

4. Tell everyone who asks (which will be many people) that your Grandma Cathy made the cupcake dress, and then stand back and watch the jealousy.

I wasn't really worried

Yea right!

I've been stressing about this appointment with the doctor ever since my little procedure last Tuesday where they knocked me out so they could look at the inside of my uterus and take away anything that wasn't supposed to be there.

They found five polyps, scraped them all out and sent them to the pathologist.

They also looked at my strangeness. I'm still weird. According to my doctor that is a histological term.

Benign uterine tumors.

Never have three words made my heart stop racing so quickly.

Earth Day Amazingness

I guess Earth Day is coming up, and I've been seeing on other people's blogs how they are trying to help the world. So I've decided to list how I try to help! I'm not perfect in all that I do (and I'm NOT an environmentalist-wacko), but I am fully aware that living on this Earth means I need to do my part in keeping it healthy.

Here's a list . . .

1. I recycle. I didn't before I moved into a home that had curbside pick-up, but now I am fully on the bandwagon. Our HOA used to pay for our trash/recycle pickup. They decided it was too expensive so now we're in charge of it. I decided to stick with the company that recycles instead of the one that picks up regular garbage twice a week. I was proud to see most of my neighborhood doing the same.

2. I cook from scratch. I know that sounds like a long shot, but have you ever noticed how much packaging goes into frozen pre-made foods versus the ingredients that go into said foods? It's significant.

3. I reuse (and then recycle) plastic grocery bags. I have this nifty little contraption under my sink that fits a grocery bag perfectly. Since this is my recycling bin, I end up recycling the grocery bag along with all the other glass, aluminium and plastic. Yes, I feel superior.

4. I think it's really cool that my friend Colleen is getting her new (to her) diesel car to run on vegetable oil. I would do it in a heartbeat. I don't think it would be difficult to find a source for used oil here. I think the first step in doing this is to think that other people doing it is the right thing, don't you?

Happy thoughts

I'm in a better mood than I have been in a while. Maybe it's because we've started swimming in our pool again (even though it's a little cold when you first get in). Maybe it's because general conference was this past weekend and I've been thinking about how my life is really good. Maybe it's because we're finalizing our vacation plans and we're getting closer and closer to leaving on a fabulous road trip. Maybe it's because Annie is acting like a kitty and keeps telling me to "pet" her.

Whatever the reason, I've got a good life and I'm happy.

This is my life

So here I am, sitting on the couch upstairs while my daughter is sleeping next to me. She was exhausted today because of preschool and going over to a friends house. I know I need to pick her up and put her in her bed, but I'm liking her head on my shoulder. I know these tranquil moments are soon going to be replaced by less tranquility.

When did my little girl grow up?

I held a little five-week-old baby today and, while I wasn't uncomfortable with the whole experience, I definitely felt out of practice. Babies are so floppy, so wiggly, so terribly small. How did I ever do it? I guess we all have more in us than we think we do.

So this is my life. My really good life. I love my husband and my daughter and we are "a family," even if we don't have a bazillion kids. I would love to have more kids, but if this treatment doesn't work, I hope that I will still be happy with what I have. I hope I won't unwind and think that my life is somehow not blessed. I hope that I will continue to savor Annie's breath on my arm. I hope I will feel as honored as I do tonight to be Annie's Mommy. She's one special kid.