Welcome Elise Party 9-2010

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DC July 2010

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my new car!

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I got a 2010 pre-owned (11k miles) Nissan Cube! It's shorter and narrower than an SUV (technically it's a wagon), and only has a 4-cylinder engine. But it has the feel of an SUV that's not as high up, not as heavy, not as expensive, with much better gas mileage (this past week I've averaged 28mpg around town). I'm lovin' it!

I will definitely miss my old car, that has taken me through SO MANY HUGE LIFE EVENTS (love, hate, birth, death, etc.). But now it's time for ME, for a car that *I* chose and purchased all on my own, for a car that looks a little goofy and silly (just like me!).

See more about the Cube here. And one more picture (although this one isn't mine, it looks just like mine):

My great-niece was born yesterday!

Elise Arwen Thomas
born 6/30/10
4 lbs. 8 oz., 14"

Mama and baby are doing fine, although it was a difficult birth. The mama had pre-eclampsia (as did I 11 years ago), so they had to induce at 36 weeks (that's a month early). The baby didn't tolerate the contractions well so they had to do a c-section.

A very long day for those of us NOT in the delivery room or the hospital waiting room! I'm just so glad and thankful they are both okay. (By the way, this is my third great-niece but the first that lives near.)

Appropos Quote

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain.

wow. i really like that quote. seems to be telling me something: stop waiting and start dancing! easier said than done, of course, but it certainly sounds more fun.

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green are Hot for Teachers: watch the video here.

Sign the petition here.

It's my birthday!!!

and the beat goes on...

We'll be singing the Beatles this weekend... when we celebrate my birthday! Tuesday is my 48th.



I decided I wanted some friends and family to come over Saturday night and make me dinner. I think the total is up to about ten people, so it should be fun.

The last couple of days I've been in a really good mood. I'm not sure why, since (among other unpleasant things) I spent two hours yesterday at the dentist. Half that time was spent trying to get a good fit on my new night guard (YAY); no more grinding my teeth while I sleep! The other half was spent on a couple of fillings (one was a redo and the other was actually a new filling--my first in many years, boo hoo).

Anyways, I think I'm in a good mood because it's all about ME now. This is MY month. Saturday night we celebrate ME. Next Tuesday I'll be spending my birthday with Johnny. Yep, I'm going to go see the new Alice in Wonderland movie. This won't be the first time I've spent my day with the man himself. I wonder, is it really a coincidence that Mr. Depp releases a lot of his movies in or around March?

A few weeks ago I was talking to my counselor about not getting much joy from anything, not even "that wonderful feeling of getting between crisp clean sheets." Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Like you want to just sink into the sheets and kick your feet around, relaxing into the soft smell! Well, last weekend I changed my sheets and duvet cover and guess what!?! Yep, been in a good mood ever since.

Then I had an epiphany (well, actually Barbie did and I acted on it) about my scrap room. My son has been playing on the floor and on my desk, my sister has been at the desk as well, using my computer (and someone always leaves papers lying around or a drink on the table or something). So I set some ground rules about it being MY space. And then I reclaimed it! I emptied the last box from our move--stuff that went into and on my desk. It felt so good to finally be DONE. Then I started creating at my scrap table!!!

The project I chose to start with was a kit where half of it is just following directions and the other half I have to use my imagination. It was hard to get back into it! At first I felt like I couldn't think of anything to do. But now I can hardly wait to get off work and go home to it. :)

Griffin and his walker

Shoulda Got an "A" on It!

Modern Medicine

Argh, I’m a mess. My doc gave me new meds which were simply horrendous. I’ve been a raging lunatic for over a week now. Everything makes me either yell and scream or cry, I’m clumsy, I can’t concentrate, I have no focus, I’m forgetting things, and I’m completely exhausted. The worst part I think, though, is that I’m not happy, nor does much give me joy—short of getting a hug and kiss from my son.

So now we see what happens with a different med and hope for the best.

the wedding!

The beautiful bride gets ready:
My son (an official photographer) and I:
The bride and groom:
The bride, her sister, and their gorgeous mother in the middle:
(Notice the bride's dress and headpiece: all made by my sister, the bride's mother.)

And finally, here is the guest board that the bride asked me to create (in lieu of a guest book). Guests wrote their words of advice and well wishes on little cards and pinned them to the board.

Good News, Bad News

Good news: Today is my last day at work for a whole week, a week that will be mostly spent doing wedding stuff for my niece.

Bad news: My dad is a jackass. That's not new news but it's still bad. He will not be attending the wedding. Because he's previously engaged? Because he'll be out of town? Because he's sick? NO! Because he got his nose out of joint a couple of years ago and canNOT get over it. Damn grouchy 87-year-old man.

Good news: Last night my niece helped me find a dress to wear at her wedding. Yay! I love it: it fits, it's comfy, it's dressy, it's classy. Now I just need shoes.

Bad news: My sister can drive me seriously insane. Also, not new news.

Good news: Next Tues. we have a two-hour appt. at Stanford's Dept. of Psychiatry to talk about options for my son to deal with his ADHD (or whatever it is). New meds? Maybe. New diet? Who knows. I can hardly wait.

Bad news: My meds aren't really doing it for me anymore. I have an appt. with MY dr. next Wed.

Of course, as my mom always said: "This too will pass."

Full on wedding mode.

Yep, that's what we're in right now! My niece J is getting married in just 23 days! We all have some part in the planning: my sister L is making the wedding dress and collaborating on decorations, niece A (maid of honor) is also the wedding planner and shower-thrower, Barbie is the reception coordinator (aka FOOD person). And I'm creating a guest [bulletin] board (instead of a guest book), as well as other assorted labels and tags. I also did the Save the Date cards for them. Her cousin E is a designer so he did the invitations and let me borrow his "wedding tree" design for some of my creations (see picture).

Anyways, it's all really cool because not only does this spread around the work, it lets us each do what we're the best at.

I thought I would get started on everything during the holidays but with me being sick that just didn't happen. Then I kinda lost my creative mojo for a bit and didn't feel like doing it!

Now I have some really great ideas brewing in my head and I'm anxious to get moving on it all. Fun, fun, fun!!!

But in 24 days: That's when we'll be in full on baby mode. I can't wait to find out if I'll be creating in blue or pink next! :)

Movie Review: The Tooth Fairy

So this weekend we went to see The Tooth Fairy. It was predictable but cute. I have to say, though, that the best scene in the movie was with my niece A's future boyfriend, Seth MacFarlane. (And I say HER future boyfriend because although Seth is only 11 years younger than I am, he is just 11 years older than A. And that might be a bit more feasible.)

Anyways, when Seth came on the screen I got really excited and started grabbing my son's arm, whispering VERY loudly, "Oh my god! That's Seth MacFarlane! Oh my god!"

His one little scene was pretty funny. Too bad he wasn't in it more.