9.28.2006

home sweat home

Before you tar and feather me, I meant to spell it that way. "Oh the cleverness of me!" Based on the title, I am visiting my sunny and hot Mesa. I hate the heat, I really do... But I do love the memories of my childhood home (part duex). I'm here hanging out with my bro while my parents are away. A fact that my husband keeps forgetting. And if he's reading this, no honey, my mom is not here so I can't be having fun with her. Yes, Brad is back in California, studying. He had his first midterm today, of which I am dying to hear how it went!

Anyway, back to ranting. You know what else I hate? Dial-up. Anytime Brad starts whining about how slow it is, I try to defend it. You know me, always trying to be fair. Well, no more. It's official; I despise it. I mean, it takes FOREVER! Consequently, there will be no pictures today (I made an honest effort people, but I didn't want my head to explode... I just fixed my hair). Also missing from this page: a post with a theme. Unless you count random complaints, mingled with insignificant news. There you have it!

9.26.2006

all in a day's work

WARNING: heavily detailed! Not for those with a lazy eye or an eye patch, and certainly not for anyone with a short attention span, including ADHD. But I will spare you of any bathroom trips or diaper changes...



I just thought I'd fill you in on what I spend all my free time doing. And I'll be using this very day as an example. Woke up at 5:30 am. No, Will was still asleep, but husband wasn't. Brad's been waking up early to get in some more studying... normally I sleep through it, but we had gotten to bed really early the night before (due to some tasty, but not so yummy in the tummy, home-made mac and cheese). Anyway, couldn't sleep, so got some finances done. Woohoo...

Will woke up an hour later and we made some breakfast for Brad. Not a usual occurence, sadly. During this time, I put on some Christmas music. That's right, you read right. I'm not ashamed to admit that once it starts feeling all holiday-ee I break out the carols! Hey, if you can see your breath in the morning, then it's time for soup and songs, regardless of sunny 84 degree weather! Sent the student off to school and chilled with Will.

While Willlie took a nap, I got some cleaning in, a little time on the computer, and then some yoga! Yay yoga! However, this morning nap was shorter than normal, and the Monkey (or Monk for short) joined me for some downward facing dog. Wanting to finish my yoga session, I set the kid up with a biscuit and some juice. But, my stamina quickly waned and Willie was done and it was time to clean him up, and his work station.

Since crumbs don't resort to staying nicely on the table or in his mouth, our next mode of action was to vaccuum. After cleaning up the rest of the house that Monk had used to preoccupy himself, I got some dinner in the crock-pot. I am officially the queen of crock-pots, seeing as we have no stove (just two hot plates we plug in) and no oven; it's just easier this way. Made a nice mess but forgot about it while we went on a nice long walk. I'll have to post some pics of what I like to call Memory Lane, because I want to commit all the homes to memory so I can build one later.

Upon returning home, I decided to wash some dishes. But before I could do that, I had to Will-proof everything. So, I went about securing some baskets to our shelves. As the pictures suggest, Will had discovered that these baskets come off of the shelves, along with everything they contain, falling to the floor. I was getting real tired of picking these up, 10 times a day, so I decided to do something about it. I whipped (or heaved) out the hammer and pinned them down. Needless to say, my child was not too happy when he realized he couldn't yank them off. Yesss! Mom:1, baby:0...

Next task was to lock the cabinet door with all of the baggies and cleaning supplies. I hauled out the drill and proceeded to put the whole locking system together. In the meanwhile, I had to put Will under bedroom arrest, because he kept trying to sit on my lap while I had a live screw in my hand! And then, the biggest task of them all: washing dishes. It's true, we have no dish washer, and everything needs to be done by hand. It takes about an hour, with Monk whining in the background and finding free-range collanders, pots, pans, bottles, pitchers, etc.

By now it's 3:00 pm. Doesn't sound like much has happened, huh? Certainly not anything of real excitement... but is there anything to report that will make all of this worthy to post? Not really. I now sit here, typing up a novel about my ho-hum day, after fixing the bed and picking up the toys, of course. I was able to get Will down for his afternoon nap, which is looking like there's some potential. I'll probably waste the rest of the day reading, packing, and showering. And I don't want to hear, "You're getting ready for the day? And what time is it?" As for this being a long-winded post, congratulations for making it this far. One look at my page would have told you this was an eye-full! I'm partially torn, because when I started this whole blog thing I didn't want to bore anyone. But at the same time, this was to be a memoir. It's not my fault if I have an un-eventful life! Then again, maybe it is... Posted by Picasa

9.25.2006

home of the waves

Brad may sleep in the guest house, but his real home is Pepperdine. When asked if he's ever distracted by the scenery while at school, Brad simply replies that the beauty makes it easier for him to stay focused! According to him, he can take ten seconds and shift his gaze from Torts to the ocean, and automatically feel refreshed and ready to hit some more books! Crazy, I say; but he insists that studying is much easier when it's pleasant all around you...



Any time we take a trip to campus we agree that there is a wonderful feeling and atmosphere here. We are glad that we made the right decision, that Brad enjoys law and doesn't mind going to school (in shorts, flip-flops, and a face full of hair, no less)!



I've included some photos capturing Pepperdine's charm. Some of you may not realize that Pepperdine is a Christian school, affiliated with the Church of Christ. And yes, deer. Deer greet you as you cruise up the hill. And there's a picture of Brad's studying point. Hard life huh? Somehow, I don't feel too bad for him...

Posted by Picasa

9.24.2006

in celebration of the new season

Most of you probably know that my favorite season of all times is Fall (also known as Autumn, my more preferred name. Don't ask me why). I can't quite explain why I love it so much or describe how I feel about it. But I love it! The colors, the scents, the crispness, the laziness, the food, etc. So, I'm devoting an entire post to my favorite season, since it is now officially Fall (as of September 23)! Hip hip hooray!!! Let's give it up for some artistic display!


Autumn Poem

Honied yellow dripping gold,
Leaf of autumn
in the cold

Dancing on

in crisp despair

Whirling on

enchanted air

Falling silently to

earthen tomb

Away from tree's

rooted arm

Perhaps the silence

broken then

By hollow cries

of autumn grief

Synchronized with

the falling leaf

- S.K.Lindeman


"Autumn" by 'Slime'. Image courtesy of slimeland.com

9.23.2006

just call me curious george



He's a monkey. Our boy is growing up fast and displaying his maturity... in finkness! Turns out he's got his father's charm and his mother's wit. He gets in to everything and has the audacity to ignore me! But he gives the best hugs and kisses; nevermind the noses he bonks in the process! Yes, Brad and I are whooped. This little monkey (with ears to match, compliments of both parents) sure does have us wrapped around his finger; right before he sticks it in the nearest outlet! Posted by Picasa

9.22.2006

welcome to our humble abode

If you call $1,500 a month humble... which in Malibu, it is! Man, we could have bought a house in Rexburg and we'd be paying our mortgage right now, not just throwing it down the crapper! But at least that crapper leads to an ocean, eh?

Anyway, here are some pictures of our "new" home. I'm just showing you the outside first, as I'm striving to break you all in gently. I'll be posting pictures room by room in the days (or weeks) to follow. But for now, this will just have to wet your palate...


The Welcome Gate
I have yet to hear the story behind the design. But I bet it's a good one!

Our Rustic Cottage
If cottages and guest houses alike have no real kitchen, then we qualify!


My Herb Garden
That's it, in the background! You all know how excited I am about this feature!


Our Eccentric Aunt
This is the home of our very interesting, single, scandinavian land-lady.
We call her Aunt Lena (long story).

Well, that's it for now. Once I have our place decorated to my liking, or to the best of my ability, I'll post pictures of the inside and give some more details. But as of this second, I'm very happy with where we are. Most likely because I just took the pictures and the time to appreciate our beautiful surroundings. Money, mold and lack of appliances aside, we are very blessed to have found this charming home for our family.

9.21.2006

acceptance is required, and embraced!

I've finally agreed. To blog that is... The phrase "everyone's doing it!" has never been so attractive until now! Those darn friends and relatives, all with their own blogs! Email will soon be replaced by personal web page shout outs... What's a girl to do if she wants to comment? Well, to accept defeat and join the club!

But seriously, I'm not bitter, just sarcastic. I'm quite excited about this new avenue of time wasted/saved. You see, I'm terrible at keeping a journal only because I'm writing to an unknown audience, by hand! But shoot, I'm good at typing and I always update (sooner or later) via email. Why not combine my love hate relationship of technology and geneology and do something productive! Besides, I can't write 30 emails a day. Contrary to popular belief, I have to have a life beyond the wonderful world wide web...

I also realize that that last statement will most likely come back and bite me where the sun don't shine! You all know that I'll be addicted to this new hobby and my new life will be blogging! Let's just hope I don't bore anyone. And on that note, enjoy!