Friday Random

-We harvested our first two tomatoes from our tomato tree this week. It looks like we'll have a steady stream of them the rest of the summer.

-I pit 11 pounds of cherries yesterday; well, most of the 11 pounds. Some will be frozen and some will be pies. No canning this year. Still a lot of leftover from last year. I'm thinking it may be an every other year thing for me...

-I'm having a motivation problem lately. I hate that. I have things I want to do (jewelry, sewing, writing) but no desire - Sharon. Should we do beading or sewing day next week?

-Sammy now has eight words he can read on sight (mommy, daddy, sammy, on, off, pie, car, dog). I think that's amazing.

-Sarah Palin cracks me up.

-Did you see Emma Watson's dress from the Harry Potter premiere? So freaking lovely.

-The entire South Carolina governor debacle was fascinating to watch until this. I read it a week ago and I still can't get it out of my mind. Who publically says that about their wife and mistress? Yikes.

-Ring of the week:

My pregnancy wedding ring. $30 Target special. I love it.

-Song of the week:

(Bright Lights, Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20)) One of my guilty pop music obsessions. I try hard not to like him, but I just...do. I love Rob Thomas. Sue me.


And I just love this cover. I have yet to hear a version of this song I hate, though. Just a testament to what a great song this is! (The race is on...who out there can find a version I'll hate?! Did Slim Whitman do a cover, anyone?)

Come Undone

I've always been a fan of Duran Duran, but when this disc came out, my fan-ness became a little...um...over the top. To this day, this is my favorite Duran song. Not a travel mix is made in this house without this addition. Seriously.

Come Undone, Duran Duran

Numbers, Letters, Learn to Spell

I had a friend that I had to break up with a few years ago. Just a very toxic relationship from head to toe. It started out in that wonderful WE HAVE SO IN COMMON place and quickly headed toward that SHE IS SUCKING OUT MY SOUL place. It was a tough thing to do, and took a long time, but I had to stop letting her into my life. Once it was said and done, I often used the excuse that I didn't respect her anymore, but I think that was just a handy excuse to use. I have other friends who made similar life and parenting choices and I like them fine. Respect them fine. I had a hard time pinpointing what made her different, but finally realized it was her drama. Her need to make everything about her and everything about her bigger, better and higher drama than everyone else. It left no room in the relationship for me. At all.

As I get older, I'm more selective with letting people into my life. I choose the associations (related or not) that will be healthy and worthwhile. I think that's, hopefully, natural to most of us. I was talking to a friend this weekend about a mutual acquaintance who is becoming more and more the soul sucking friend I described above. My friend talked about how draining it was, how she tries to distance herself and point this person in other, more positive directions, but it doesn't seem to work. My friend mentioned how draining the relationship had become, but that she was hanging on because she really feels as though she should be this person's friend.

While we were talking I realized I am very conscious of the venting I do to my friends. I never want to be the one that someone needs to break up with, so I tend not to reveal a lot of personal stuff about myself. I never did, but I'm aware I do it even less after my experience with my former friend. I don't think I like this. Every relationship, especially good friendships, need give and take. In trying to be the opposite of a soul sucker friend, I've managed to become the one who doesn't share anything. The one who wants to be close to her friends, who wants to help and take care, but never reveals what's relevant to her right now - always with the stories. I don't want to do that. I want...no I NEED to do better, be more vulnerable and more balanced in the giving AND the taking (and the having and sharing? Heh...).

What I've Been Doing With My Summer Vacation...

I feel like summer just started. After all the rain we had, it's certainly been recently that we've started our summer activities. The fact were nearly a week into July already is something I'm trying to ignore!

My brother's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, so I made a raspberry cheese pie **YUM** and we went over and had grilled steaks and shrimp and pie with my brother, his girlfriend and all his kids. It was a really good time.

Last Wednesday my little brother (see below) and his wife flew in from Australia.

We were lucky enough to have them stay for a couple of days. It was fun, once Cindy found her land legs and Sammy immediately latched on - first to Cindy and then to Dustin since he would sit and play cars and gave him the (creepiest), I mean funniest! action figure ever...

Thursday, Sharon and I met up with bythelbs for lunch. It was a great time and I loved finally meeting her and we both remarked how it felt as though we've always known her. It was just totally comfortable and we all felt we had some solid background to start on. I'm hoping to see her again when we get to the northwest this summer.

That night, to continue the holiday gorge-fest, I had made my second cheese pie in a week as my contribution to taco and rock band night at Sharon's. Both my brothers, my brother's sons, Sharon's family, Dustin and Cindy and my family got together and had a lovely meal of tacos followed by Coke cake, Italian cream cake and cherry cheese pie. Lovely! Then everyone worked it off with a little rock band...

(Isn't he dainty? Funny to learn he's the more sensitive / feminine one in their marriage...)


(Sammy and Simon curling up for a movie after dinner)

Friday felt like our holiday day. We went to Salt Lake with Dustin and Cindy to go shopping. If you ever want to feel better about crappy American pricing, go to a mall with an Australian! Everything was apparently cheap! My favorite part of the day was definitely stepping into Anthropologie for the first time. Can I live there? It was even better than finding out Cindy really can fall asleep anywhere - including standing up on a hot day in a busy mall! Isaac knew I was a goner the second we walked in. That store is just so very me. Holy cow. I browsed for a little while and picked up a game for Sammy (he's very into matching lately and scary good at it). We played it last night as a family and our normally patient, loving, everyone have fun son was so stinking impatient and competitive. He's honed his skill on my iTouch and wanted nothing of these "turns" we kept talking about...

After I picked up the game I found this:

OH MY. I think all four of us (well, 5...Sammy was very into them) spent the next 1/2 hour looking at drawer pulls and doorknobs. We all know how very cool my new door is, so I picked this up to finish it off.


Unfortunately, my trim is now going to have to be repainted a dark blue - the bird is a robin's egg blue - (I'm thinking something like this) instead of the eggplant, but at least it hadn't been redone yet!

On our way back to the car and heading to IKEA, we ran into our friends Shelly and Chris. What a fun surprise to cap off a fun shopping trip!

Friday night was fireworks night. Our town always does them on the 3rd, so we trekked up to the university and settled in to watch the show. Dustin and Cindy weren't feeling well (altitude, too much sun) and came a little later. In all, it was the whole taco / rockband group together again for the fireworks.

(how beautiful a town do I live in?)

Sammy had a great time playing soccer before it got dark. I swallowed a great deal of mommy paranoia and let him run off with his cousins and have fun.


Sammy did great. The fireworks didn't freak him out, but he was so tired that he fell asleep just a few minutes in. After about 10 minutes of holding a sleeping Sammy while sitting on a blanket on the ground,(he would wake up and crawl back onto my lap if I tried to put him down!) I was seriously coveting my brother's foresight to bring a chair...I guess he really IS older and wiser!

(ahhhh...next year!)

A happy, albeit tired, family...


Saturday was filled with errands and napping. And Isaac building my IKEA shoe shrines. Gotta love a hubby who will help fix your (clearly important) shoe crisis! How great is this?



To top off a good week, I was supposed to get together with Diane today for lunch. Clearly, the third time is NOT a charm for us as she had to cancel. I swear, one of these days our plans will actually pan out...