Monday, June 26, 2006

Happy Two Year Anniversary...


Time flies when you're having fun...

Fun Weekend...

Summer weekends are the best. Liza, Mason, Rory, and Iain came to visit. I got some quality hammock time with the kids. Saturday I went to a Barbecue at Liz's, one of my favorite summer past times. I did get a bit sunburned. You would think I'm old enough to have learned the sun screen lesson by now..

Friday, June 23, 2006

Once a cute saxophone player...



Always one.

Summer Reviews To Date...

So hooray for summer. (At least my two week break before I start summer school.) I have been able to read and watch a few movies, and here are the reviews:

By Sarah Dessen:
The Truth About Forever and Just Listen. Both novels are adolescent fiction, but very good reads. The characters are very believable and you start to care about them.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I chose this for a book club that I am in. I found it on an NPR summer reading list. I really got sucked into the story and couldn't put it down for the two days it took me to read. It didn't change my life or anything, but I love those novels that you can't put down.

Swapping Lives by Jane Green. I am pretty much getting over chick lit of the British single girl variety, but I think Jane Green is one of the best writers in this genre. Her characters are somewhat more believable than many others in the books with the pink covers.

The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg. I really like her stories. They are more idealistic than many writers today. Her characters are flawed, but they work on these flaws and try to fix things in their lives. This novel is no different, and it reminded me to appreciate some of the good things in my life.

Movies:
The Break-Up- I read and heard so many negative reviews I was expecting it to suck, but I mostly liked it. There were several parts where I laughed out loud, and it made me want to move to Chicago. (Oh, wait...) Even Jennifer Aniston, who has seemed to only have two facial expressions lately was likeable and funny. My one beef was with the ending, but I don't want to ruin it for you.

Munich: I know this is pretty old, I just had no intentions of seeing it, but Joel put it on and I got sucked in. First of all Eric Bana, you of the divine cheek bones, next time I have an opening in my womb I'd gladly bear your children. And! You will totally be able to buy Daniel Craig as James Bond, blonde hair or not. But moving beyond the hotties, it is suspenseful and emotional and true. I loved it.

Queen Latifah in
Beauty Shop and Last Holiday. These are essentially the same movie. Queen Latifah plays a salt of the earth woman with problems who teaches greedy people of all races how to enjoy the simple things in life. AND! with just a bit of hard work we can pull ourselves up and solve our own problems. BUT! her screen presence is real, and you watch it and buy into both stories a little bit. Neither of those messages are bad ones, and so these movies are light, non-thinkers, but watchable.

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic -She is one funny, extremely raunchy comedian. If you don't like South Park you probably won't think she is funny, but if you do...you will probably love it. I fast forwarded through the musical numbers just to her stand up. Joel and I were both falling off the couch laughing, but hating ourselves for it.

That's all for now...I'm always open for recommendations if you have any.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Happy Birthday Mom!


I hope that somewhere in Lithuania you are enjoying you cake as much as I used to.

I take it back...

I used to think Day Lillies were nothing flowers. It was when I was working as a gardener's assistant in St. Louis and they seemed to scratch at my ankles and I thought the fronds were ugly, and that on the whole they were just so common.


And then with no effort at all from me they bloomed in my back yard.

I take it back.


Tuesday, June 20, 2006

I got free tickets to Wicked...





and all I had to do was dress like a total freak...

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Schooooool's Out for Summer!

Not that it matters a whole bunch because I decided to be a summer school sucker this year. This would normally be the time I would rub it in to any friends or family who have real jobs. Alas, not this year. Still, I do have a two week break in which I plan to have some quality hammock and virgin daquiri time.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

It's in the genes...


ZZ
Originally uploaded by NKB.
This is my great grandma and grandpa Welch. I hope I have inherited her resourcefulness in addition to the other things she has passed down.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

In which I talk a lot about my boobs...

I was a late bloomer. I got made fun of a lot in middle school for being "as flat as the wall". So then I just assumed I was. Then I got to high school and I still considered myself flat chested. It shows you how self-aware and self-assured I was that one of my friends had to point it out to me. ("Quit making flat-chested jokes about yourself, you have bigger boobs than all of us." "I do?") Quickly, I sort of moved from one extreme to the other. I remember several times in the next few years I had to physically move a boys face up by the chin so they'd be looking me in the eyes. I was stacked, which was fine at eighteen, but gravity begins to take its toll by thirty.

And then I got pregnant.


OhmiGod! I didn't think they could get any bigger. And I know that they will just keep growing. I swear if this kid doesn't breastfeed properly we are going to have words because the thought of lugging these puppies around for another nine months is sort of driving me crazy. And really, it was attempting to zip the girls into this dress that tipped me off to the impending motherhood before anything else.
Sincerely,
Chesty McKnockers

Monday, June 05, 2006

Mary Jane got married...

Hi! My mom's wedding was this weekend. Here is a link to my sister's flickr account. It has 240 pictures from the day posted, but there will be many more to come.