Just another day in Paradise.

Just another day in Paradise.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Firepit/Hammock




Ben built a firepit while on paternity leave. He also purchased and installed a hammock. It's looking more and more like Neverland Ranch everyday.




Now if the rain would only go away.




Wednesday, May 26, 2010


Recently in the news there was some debate over the wording on the diplomas* at my (or our for some of you reading) alma mater which caused me to actually read what mine said. While doing so I discovered that it has been a decade since I graduated from college. I guess I should have realized at our 10 yr high school reunion that this milestone wouldn't be too far behind but it snuck up on me nevertheless. So what better time for me to get out the scrapbooks and photo albums and relive those college days. Excuse the quality of the pictures - this was before the time of digital cameras. And widespread use of cell phones - having one actually would have saved me a lot of money in phone bills. Here's my awesome i.d card picture to start.


College 10-14 years ago wasn't just about i.d cards with your social security number on them (we must have lived in a different world back then ;)). It was about getting your first email address (and a few months later being able to write a web page in HTML).
It was about room/suitemates (Jenisteen, Kimi, Naseem and later Mary-Alice) from different backgrounds (but all from Texas), different religions (Zoroastrian, Baha'i, non-denominational, non religious) with different majors (communications, business, engineering, anthropology) and different interests (athletics, newspaper, sororities) who may have never found each other were it not from random roommate selection and mandatory campus living (with maid service!). I couldn't have ended up with better ones had I picked them myself.



With these girls I did lots of fun/dumb things - like going to a party dressed in bubble wrap, saran wrap and tinsel and jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.


College was about studying abroad and meeting new friends there. I went to Australia because they spoke English there and studied Chinese. Which landed me an internship that sent me to China (once while in college and many many times after).

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It was also about finding out that you are not as good as soccer as the rest of the team.
And taking up lacrosse instead.











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Of course there was lots of swimming (also not as good as the rest of the team but good enough to be on it) and more good friends.

Which led to triathlons - and since I have a case of the it's-my-blog-and-I'll-post-what-I-want-to/I-only-have-one-hard-copy-of-this-picture-and-if-I-lose-it-I'll-be-really-upset/I-can't-believe-I-ever-had-abs-like-that-no-wonder-I-am-smiling/put-down-the-BBQ-potato-chips-please I am posting this picture to remind myself that everyone looks better with a tan (it is the opposite of fat remember?)
It was also about studying. Less for me than my engineering roomies though.
Is it sad that I still have (and wear) that sweatshirt and those slippers?

Ten years ago? Wow. Really? I guess this is where I thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to learn so much (and my mom for making me go out-of-state)(and Coach Ryan for a fateful early morning phone call - he didn't care much for time zones or he thought all swimmers are up by 6 am). It was an amazing four years of which I am still reaping the benefits.



















*So about that diploma thing - Someone apparently wanted Trinity to remove the phrase "in the year of our Lord" so they started a petition (which they are entitled to do) and it got some press. Honestly I had never even read it before and doubt most people have even noticed that verbage on their diplomas (now that I am looking two of ours say that and two don't). Not to mention that the people who are bringing it up decided to go to a school named "Trinity" University. Not that it currently has religious affiliation, it doesn't, but still. So anyway, the university respectfully denied their request and I particularly like what the current president said:

"Democracy is not letting a small number of people have their way. Democracy is listening to the different voices and making an informed decision."


Do as I say...


I found Avery with a stack of books resting precariously on the ledge of the tub while she herself was enjoying a good soak. I informed her that it was a bad idea to bring books in the bath. She said...but you do...



Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Moth's Day


I awoke on a beautiful sunny Mother's Day to this for breakfast. No we weren't at a fancy hotel brunch, and no, Ben didn't get up early to make breakfast (I'm pretty sure Ben has forgotten how to even pour himself a glass of orange juice, much less locate a pan to fry an egg in, or make hashbrowns from scratch. Which is just what this guy did.
Bearing resemblance or being related to the chef (cousins) does unfortunately not win any points for Ben who got his own delicious plate of food once he finally woke up (by the way Tyler's wife got hers delivered in bed. a girl can only dream. i would have killed for a bowl of cereal in bed while recovering from cruz's birth, but i guess that's what i get for not marrying a mind reader) and I'm sure Ben would use his favorite Mother's Day expression "you're not my mother" if I even attempted to show disappointment. Luckily I enjoyed my day anyway and was super glad we ended up spending the night at the Rogers'.*
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I got this card from Avery.
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And this wall hanging - which I usually wouldn't be so excited to display but man do I need this touching reminder often (mostly with Miles right now).
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In fact my Mother's Day resolution 2010 was to see things from my kids perspective and not get mad at them when they do stuff that is annoying to me but is appropriate behavior given their age (if they do something legitimately bad that's another story). And I am trying not to say "hurry" all of the time. If we have to hurry to do something or get somewhere it's usually because I didn't allot them enough time to do it given their current skill set or leg length. In short, I'm trying to be the best moth I can be.
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And here is just a gratuitous picture of Cruz (on Mother's Day morning).

*We had to take an emergency road trip to Utah for Ben's grandfather's funeral. It turned out to be a wonderful reunion with family we haven't seen in so long. More pictures and info to come.

32...33??

Here I am, the big 3-2 - actually the big 32 and 9 days to be exact - and although 'big' is not the operative word here, I do hope to look a little less...um...healthy when the next bday comes around, but for now I'll just enjoy the fact that carrying some extra padding fills in the burgeoning wrinkles ;)

Until a couple months ago I thought I was going to be turning 33 this year which I was kind of excited about (I just like the way the number looks) but it turns out that I was only 31 all of last year so I guess I get a bonus year. So here's to being 32 all over again!

Friday, May 7, 2010

6 weeks



Photo by Auntie Sara (the love of Cruz's life from the way he smiles at her - he also has eyes for Martha Stewart - or at least her picture on the cover of her book 'Gardening from Seed'. So I know his type - ultra-talented women. And ceiling fans.*
*Ceiling fans describes neither of these ladies. But all babies love ceiling fans and Cruz is no exception.