Lost

I haven't wanted to blog lately. I didn't want to bump my puppy's picture because I just loved staring at it so much. So it is now over there in my sidebar for ever and ever amen. Hi, puppy! Hi! How're things in the sidebar?

Lost returns tonight. Olivia and Katherine are coming over to watch it with us and we have enforced a No Talking Rule. I think I will probably have the hardest time adhering to this rule. Don't get me wrong. Jonathan and I have been watching Lost since the very first episode. But my interest has waned a little bit with each passing season. I don't know. I guess I just got a little weary of no one answering anyone's questions on that island. Wouldn't all that mystery get old? Why the hell is Locke acting so weird? And why is no one demanding an explanation for why he is acting so weird?


Hopefully something will be explained tonight or I will be seriously pissed.

I'm deluding myself, aren't I? I know that nothing will be explained. And that I will dutifully tune in next week, no matter how "seriously pissed" I may claim to be.

Here she is:

This is the puppy we have reserved! Isn't she adorable?

We will be able to pick her up in a few weeks...

I wonder how many billions of hours J and I will stare at this picture...

yaaaaayaaaaayaaaaayaaaaay!

Jonathan is getting me one for my birthday!

an unfinished life

And I'm not talking about Heath Ledger.

A little girl in Blue's preschool class lost her mother yesterday.

She was my age. She had breast cancer.

I only spoke with her once but she and I both would kind of stand off on the sides waiting for our daughters after school while the other moms who know each other from church or are just more naturally outgoing would clump together and chat. So we exchanged lots of shy smiles.

The last time I saw her was just before Halloween. She was wearing a wig for the first time. I told her "I like the hair!" and she laughed and said thanks.

The next day at preschool she wasn't there. I asked the teacher if she was okay and she told me no. That she had an infection and was in the ICU. I went home and cried and prayed and I told Jonathan I wished I had tried harder to be friendly. And that I was so grateful that I said something about her hair. That no one else standing outside the preschool acknowledged her that day.

Since that day the little girl has not missed a day of school. Her grandfather or father drops her off and picks her up. I would look at her little round face and her tousled hair and I would wonder, "Who picked out her little clothes today? Who brushed her hair?" I would pray for her mom and wish with all my heart that she would be at the preschool the next day. And she never was.

Today Blue's teacher called to tell me that this mom passed away suddenly yesterday while her little girl was in school.

I have been so upset and so angry. It is so unfair. This woman was my age. Her daughter is the same age as my daughter. It is just so unbearably sad. My heart aches for this little girl, for this husband who is now alone. I cannot imagine how scared and angry this mom must have been. How incredibly brave.

I would feel so cheated if I thought Blue and the Lion would grow up without me. That I would miss out on watching them grow. All those milestones. All those everydays. That they would not know how badly I love them.

I know I didn't know this woman, but my heart is breaking for her and for her family.

Heath Ledger

1979 - 2008

tonight's selection:

Northanger Abbey

also, I suck

because I didn't go to bodypump today.

things that suck

after doing bodypump:

coughing
sneezing
laughing
walking
climbing and descending the stairs
picking up the Lion
getting down on the floor to change diapers
sitting down on and getting up from the toilet

basically, moving any part of my body

ouch

I went to bodypump on Tuesday morning. It was very hard, but I think I like it. I mean, I definitely got a good workout. I am going to try to go 3 times a week.

As soon as I can walk normally again.

Persuasion

I watched the new BBC adaptation of Persuasion Sunday night. And again on Monday. And I may watch it tonight.

It was okay. I think that the 1995 version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds is just so good. Like the definitive adaptation. It is so excellently cast and acted and the script is so true to the novel.

This new one was cast very well also. (The Wentworth, though no one can compare to Ciaran Hinds, was very cute - in a poor woman's David Beckham kind of way) But they took some liberties with the story in order to condense it into 90 minutes. They still, thankfully, had The Letter at the end, which I was a bit worried they were going to cut from the story. Because the are-men-or-women-more-faithful? conversation between Anne and Harville, which is the impetus for The Letter, was changed to a conversation between Anne and Benick and moved to the center of the story. But by condensing the story so much, the characters of Anne and Wentworth became a little 2-dimensional. I don't think such a slow, blooming story of rekindled passion can be hurried along.

But. Having said that. I love the story. And I love seeing a different take on it. And I will probably watch it again and again.

shout out

Thank you, Adrienne for the head's up about the Jane Austen series on Masterpiece Theatre starting tonight. Check it out, people. Check. It. Out.

Tonight's selection:

Persuasion
(which just so happens to be my favorite JA novel)

every, every minute

Well, I guess I have definitely not been blogging every day. Sigh. I'm glad that I didn't really promise I would or anything. It was just an idea I was kickin' around, that's all.

I cannot believe the Lion is going to turn 2 next month. It really is passing so fast. It's exhausting, trying to savor every minute. To be present in the moment every day. It reminds me of the line from Our Town:

Emily: Doesn't anyone ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute?
The Stage Manager responds: No. Saints and poets, maybe; they do some.

I just love Our Town, by the way. No matter how cheesy it may be. It always makes me cry. And it always reminds me of Deron Bos, who played George in our high school production. Andrea and I had such crushes on him! The way he would stage-whisper, "psst! Emily!" We went weak in the knees every time!

rhetorical question

If you know I am a Democrat, and if you are my family or friend why do you send me emails bashing Democrats?

I don't find them funny. I don't care if you are Republican. I don't care that Obama's middle name is Hussein. I don't care if you hate all Muslims. I don't.

If you know I am a Democrat and you are my family or friend, why send me incendiary emails? Why go out of your way to piss me off?

Again, this is a rhetorical question.

milestone

This is major, people. Ma-jor.

Blue galloped for the first time today in ballet class!

She actually, finally galloped.

I was so proud. I thought my heart would burst from the pride.

Her skipping still looks like a bad Frankenstein impression, but she'll get there. She'll get there.

Waitress

Dr. Pomatter: I want to talk to you, somewhere outside of here. Maybe we can have a coffee or something?

Jenna: I can't have coffee, it's on the bad food list you gave to me. What kind of doctor are you?

I really liked this movie. I thought Keri Russell was very good. But what I loved the most were the pies. I want to bake pies. I want to make up my own fabulous pie recipes and give them catchy names just like Jenna did in this movie.

brace yourselves, I am feeling patriotic:

What an amazing time we are living in right now. And what an amazing party I support. That come November there will be a woman or a black man on the ballot.

I find I am torn. I mean, I am a Democrat. I will vote for whoever is ultimately chosen to represent the Democratic party. But. I am torn as to who I support right now. Right at this moment, sitting at my computer. I love Barack Obama. I hear him speak and I am moved. Inspired. Excited. I hear him speak and I feel patriotic. Which I haven't felt in a long, long time. Every time I hear Bush say "the American people" (and he says it every time he opens his mouth) I want to vomit. How on earth did that man ever ... What ever. I will not discuss that.

I sometimes think, Is Obama really so eloquent or am I just used to listening to our current incoherent president? And then I hear Obama speak again, and I think, No. He is eloquent. He is That Good.

But I am a woman. And how could I not support another woman running for president? How can I call myself a feminist?

Because I really think Hillary is an amazingly qualified and seriously brilliant candidate. And if we are to have a female president anytime in the near future, she is the only one I see that could possibly win. I mean, who else is out there that that many people have even heard of? Oprah?

But I have always thought Hillary also would have so many people voting against her just because they hated her husband, that she might not stand a chance. So why not throw my vote in with the most electable candidate? Who just happens to be someone that really inspires me?

At any rate, how incredible is this?! A woman and a black man both running for president? Both winning in the primaries so far?! I know I am just stating the obvious, but I really think this is an amazing time to vote. That this is truly history in the making.

New Hampshire

things i love - #34

The Lion calls him "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

happy birthday, Elvis

birthday gift ideas for the Elvis fan in your life:

the book, Where's Elvis

Elvis earrings from smsnoveltiques
Elvis cuff links from justcufflinks.com
an animatronic Elvis bust (he sings)
the new Elvis Reese's cups

a cookie jar to store them in
some collectible Elvis PEZ dispensers
blue suede shoes
and my personal favorite, Elvis coffee from (where else?) elviscoffee.com
for more ideas, check out shopelvis.com

build-a-bear

We took the kids to Build-a-Bear on Sunday.

Jonathan's cousin, Jill, sent the toodlers gift cards to Build-a-Bear for Christmas. Otherwise I don't think I would have ventured in there. Looked way too scary.

But in we went. And Lion finally, after much coaxing and about a hundred "No-wuh"s (those of you with children are familiar, I am sure, with the annoying two-syllabled "no") grabbed a plain brown teddy bear skin. Blue took about 2 seconds to run over to a very garish pink spotted leopard skin (wearing leopard makeup) and fell hopelessly in love.

So then we watched Blue kiss the leopard's little cloth heart, blow a wish onto it, warm it with her hands and then help the man in the store stuff the leopard skin. She seemed to think it was all pretty cool.

Lion, on the other hand, repeated "No-wuh" a few thousand more times and would not let go of his bear skin. So we grabbed a duplicate bear skin from the bin and stuffed that one instead, with much less pomp and circumstance. Just stuffed it, stitched it and switched bears. He looked down at the bear, after I had wrestled the limp bear skin out of his grimy fist and replaced it with a stuffed bear and said (what else) "No-wuh!"
 
So we named his bear Noah.

Blue dressed her leopard. In the sluttiest clothing available. A denim mini skirt and a tank top with a tattoo of a rose on the front. Which somehow looks appropriate on a pink leopard wearing makeup.

Blue named her Leopard. But you can call her whatever you want, honey.

Atreyu

I had such a crush on him. This morning I was wondering, Whatever happened to that kid from "The Neverending Story?" And what on earth was Bastian's mother's name?????? He opens the window and calls her name out into the storm and no matter how many times I rewound that damn scene I could never tell what on earth he said.

excuse me, sir, please step away from the computer

I would have posted last night, but my dear husband was on facebook for hours last night. He is addicted, I think.

If you have a facebook account, and if you know my husband, even remotely, he probably poked you.

Daddy and Blue play hide and seek

Jonathan counts to ten, covering his eyes. There is a frantic thudding of little bare feet across the hardwood floor and then the bathroom door shuts loudly.

Jonathan looks at me, a huge smile on his face. "Where could Blue have gone?" he asks himself loudly.

Someone is giggling in the bathroom.

Iowa

on filthy floors, frozen fish and "Finding Nemo"

I have decided I am going to try and post something every day. There is a group doing the NaBloPoMo all year in 2008. Maybe I'll join. Although I didn't blog on Jan. 1, so I am probably automatically disqualified.

Of course, having decided this, I find myself not in a writing mood.

What is going on in my world today? Anything? Um, not really. I am cleaning my kitchen floor. Which is a task I do not care for. And that I put off as long as humanly possible. So that the floor is absolutely disgusting and that much harder to clean when I decide to finally try to clean it.

I am defrosting some fish to make seafood lasagna tonight. Which I am ridiculously excited about. I found the recipe card given to me by Andrea's mother for my bridal shower. I haven't made it yet, but the minute I came across the recipe last month I was very excited to try it out because I loved this lasagna whenever I had some at Andrea's.

So, yeah, that's my day so far. Cleaning the floor and defrosting fish. And watching Finding Nemo for the billionth time.

Yay, me.

happy new year