Sad

On my way home from work I was suddenly and unexpectedly overcome with a heavy sadness. Since I'm not one to cry in general and definitely not in public, I initially tried to pass it off as intense thinking. Somehow that didn't work. Then I tried flipping through my iPod to find a song that would push it away. I was listening to Lady GaGa's Poker Face when it started so I guess I should have known Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne, Milkshake by Kelis and Ninety-Nine Red Balloons by Countdown Singers wouldn't do anything either. Even my attempts to concentrate on the words, "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard..." did no good. The tears spilled over my eyes and I started sniffling like a coke head. For some reason I can't explain, Convoy by C.W. McCall really brought on the waterworks. I felt my cheeks grow hot and subtly wiped my eyes only to discover my mascara was running... A LOT. This was going to be ugly.

Even upon reflection I couldn't tell you what it was. I racked my brains for a cause: Rough day at work? Liesel's Oscar-worthy dramatics when I left this morning? Senator Kennedy's passing? I'm actually a Jedi and someone has destroyed a planet full of innocent people with no weapons? For the life of me, I couldn't pinpoint it. I guess I was just overwhelmed and my body couldn't hold it in any longer. The more I tried to stop it, the worse it became (ever had that happen to you?). I eventually gave into silent sobbing over holding my breath which led to alternating choking and gasping. Neither option was very discreet, but I couldn't help myself.

It's a strange thing to be crammed in a tight space like a subway train during rush hour with so many people and have so few even notice you. Or perhaps they did and just ignored me anyway. That thought just sunk me deeper into my funk. The girl sitting next to me actually slid away as soon as she got the chance. Maybe she thought I was sick and didn't want to catch what I had. That's okay, I wouldn't have wanted to pass it along to her. Two people actually did take notice. One was an ancient Asian woman who peered at me searchingly behind her deep wrinkles and wide cone-shaped hat. The other was a balding middle-aged man standing by the door. He looked truly concerned and had he not been packed in by so many people I think he would have made his way over to me. As it was, he was pushed out the door by exiting traffic at one of the stops and I never saw him again.

I cried the whole way home... almost all of my 45 minute commute. Liesel met me at the door and she was so excited she stomped her feet and hugged my legs right away. I'm going to bed early and that should help. Most of all, I think I just need a new day... I'm tired of this one!

Positively Pensive

I don't get the women's shaving cream/razor commercials which show a woman in her skivvys perched with one leg on the edge of a bathtub and the other on the ground. WHO does that? It seriously doesn't make any sense. One slip and the bathroom becomes a scene from Psycho. She has a RAZOR in her hands people! And it's not like they do it to keep the model modest because like I said, she's in her skivvys. Would the commercial be less effective if she were actually IN the tub, frothed in bubbles and shaving like most normal, non-European women do? Help me out here!

I think if a baseball player is found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs he should be banned from the game. Period. I also think said player should be stripped of any awards won during the time of usage. They should also be banned from ever getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Somehow I think usage would drastically decrease if that were the rule. Players would also be less likely to take some "vitamin" not really knowing what's in it. Why do baseball players have to take anything at all? They should just be athletes and stop destroying the game. Am I reaching for the stars here?

Someone in this house is putting the toilet paper on backwards so the roll tears off underneath. What's up with that? You can't find the end of the roll for easy grabbage when you want to get out of there. Doesn't everyone put the roll with the loose end over the top? I know, I really shouldn't complain considering the fact people in this house actually replace the empty toilet paper. Also, I recently learned those empty cardboard rolls can be remade into Christmas crackers. Oh the things we learn in Relief Society!

My biggest church pet peeve is when women trash on themselves in Relief Society. I highly doubt the men sit around in Priesthood saying stuff like, "Prayer is something I'm just sooooo bad at!" or "Brother Baker should really talk about food storage because he's much better at it than me." Why are women so self-deprecating? It's not humility, it's just irritating. Just my humble opinion.

There hasn't been one good pro military movie set in contemporary times since Top Gun. Sad, since that was an iconic movie.

Like Taking a Camera From a Baby...

I love the cinematography. You get stunning views of our floors and Liesel's feet. Fabulous!

Too Cute Not to Post

Liesel likes to sit on our laps while Whitney and I do our makeup. She watches...

And then tries a look of her own...
It's SO cute! This morning she was honest to goodness putting blush on her cheeks while I primped for work.

Of course, she doesn't need any makeup. She's adorable just as she is. Welllllll, maybe she could use some eyebrow definition.

Just kidding!

LOL

My very wise brother-in-law Matthew once told me there are layers of humor. The highest form manifests itself in wit which requires a wide range of knowledge on different subjects, the talent for subtlety and an almost esoteric mindset. This is the humor of the educated, the elite, the Mensa-type people. It's caviar-type humor.

The next layer comes with the ability for stories, one-liners, and the more obvious commentary on ironic situations. The humor of the people if you will. Most people like, tell and subscribe to this type of humor. Kind of like Applebees or Olive Garden.

The lowest layer consists of slap-stick comedy, corny knock-knock jokes, blonde jokes, "There's a Jewish rabbi, Catholic priest and Mormon bishop on a..." jokes, etc. This is the Burger King of humor. It doesn't take much intelligence or insight. Anyone can get it although it may garner rolled eyes rather than belly laughs. Why don't blind people go skydiving? Because it scares the dog. Get it? Get it? I think you know what I mean.



While Matthew is of course very witty, I have to confess that I'm among the Neanderthals which falls in that last group. After a looooong week, I love nothing more than to heat up a cheesy pizza, turn on the TV/DVR and watch the latest episode of Wipeout. No matter how frustrating, tiring or irritating the events of my day have been I find myself laughing so hard I can barely talk. Oh how I love those big, red, rubbery balls! I cannot get enough of watching people gingerly jump on to them only to bounce off into the water. The best ones involve "The Motivator" which pushes them from behind. Not that I'm entirely sadistic, I've cheered the 3 times I've seen someone manage to bounce on top of them and make it to the platform on the other side.

A Little Anime

My sister Whitney recently posed this question to me: Who is your animation crush? Initially I was really thrown... how can you have a crush on a cartoon? But then she went on to describe her crush on Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid. She went on and on about his dark hair, rippling muscles and the Old English Sheepdog sidekick. So I thought about it and thought about it. My anime-man would likely be a Disney prince - classy yet timeless.

I have to hand it to Prince Charming. Any guy who understands the connection between shoes and true love is definitely a keeper. The only problem is that all he ever did was dance with Cinderella and then send his lackeys to work overtime to find her. I'm a girl who wants someone to FIGHT for me and Prince Charming isn't it. (Side note: have you ever noticed that he's never actually called Prince "Charming" in the movie?) Come to think of it though, Cinderella doesn't do much either. Her fairy godmother, the mice and the birds do the grunt work. She just kind of cries and acts helpless. So I guess they're a pretty good pair and I wouldn't want to break that up. Man oh man does my father in law typify Cinderella's father in law though! I swear he does nothing but dream of grandchildren.

I'm leaning a little more towards Aladdin. I love traveling and that magic carpet ride date was pretty dang sweet. He's kind of a social climber which bugs me a little but I guess that means he's ambitious which is important. I love that he had street smarts and was kind to animals. Plus Jasmine had hips and he seemed to go for that. Aladdin also had a sense of humor which is so very important in a relationship. So yeah, I definitely like Aladdin but that's based more on personality than looks. To be honest though, I haven't really found my animation crush yet. I still haven't found what I'm looking for. I'm sure he's out there... somewhere... probably in Asia hanging out with the totally wrong cartoon girl... like Hello Kitty or someone like that. Perhaps someday our paths will cross and then I'll just know he's the one.

Interestingly enough, when Whitney posed the same question to Brent he didn't even hesitate: Minmei from Robotech. No wonder he was all for me getting bangs. Living the fantasy?

Okay 3 people who read my blog, who's your animation crush? If it's a secret shame feel free to leave your comment anonymous... I won't judge.

My Fellow Americans

On our first 4th of July together, Brent and I announced our engagement to our parents and then snuggled under a sky of fireworks on the Cambridge side of the Charles River. We were in NYC on vacation for our second 4th and elected to avoid the crowds by skipping the fireworks. It was incredibly eerie walking the quiet and empty streets of Manhattan while hearing loud booms in the distance. The following 4th we took our then 3-month old girl to New Jersey to visit my parents. We watched the fireworks at Liberty Park close to the Statue of Liberty. So it feels like we're coming full circle by being back in Boston for this 4th.

Brent and I had work off yesterday so we were able to take care of all our Saturday items. This morning I ran some final errands and Brent mowed the lawn. We thought about going to some batting cages (what could be more American than baseball?) but they were all closed. Once Liesel woke up from her nap, we packed up the stroller and headed downtown. Don't ask me why, but I had a feeling I'd get a good parking spot and we did! We crossed the street to the Boston Commons and stopped at the Frog Pond so Liesel could get her feet wet. She was so funny, she'd walk towards the water and then run away when the fountains came on.

Then we headed to the Freedom Trail. I work kitty-corner to the State House so it's not far for me. When I'm able to get away for lunch every now and again I'll do what I can that's close. Brent, on the other hand, had never officially done it. One place I'd never made it to was the Granary Burial Ground. There were lots of people dressed in period costume giving tours but Liesel and I wandered on our own to see the graves of Sam Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and the victims of the Boston Massacre. Very cool. There was a wedding at the next-door Park Street Church and the newly married couple was taking photos IN the graveyard. Weird?

We headed home to barbeque like good Americans. Brent and I found a recipe for a Dr. Pepper marinade that's SO good! We've slowly been refining our technique and the result is a juicy, tangy, VERY tender meat. While Brent fired up the grill I put on some Aaron Copeland. Somehow we had a plethora of lemons so I made lemonade Stonewall Jackson style which is more on the tart side. Surprisingly, Liesel was the biggest fan. We also had corn on the cob (in honor of America's heartland, IOWA!). Again, Liesel was a surprisingly huge fan. She was begging for it before we'd even said the blessing and then she went to town. We rounded it out with some rice pilaf (uhmmmm, in honor of the Chinese who gave us fireworks? and because it goes well with the meat). Using pound cake, Cool Whip, strawberries and blueberries I made an image of a flag that was nice and light after the barbecue.

Liesel's been having nightmares lately and generally having trouble sleeping at night. Because of that we decided to skip the jarring loud noises that accompany fireworks. Before putting her down for the night I read her Longfellow's The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Right now we're winding down by watching the Boston Pops and just waiting for Neil Diamond (the featured performer this year) to sing Sweet Caroline.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

A Bad Case of the Gimmes

I've been meaning to get some video of Liesel when she's chattering because it's so adorable. When I pulled out my camera I remembered why I hadn't done it up to now- she always grabs for the camera. I thought if I gave her another equally exciting electronic she'd be set. WRONG! You'd probably agree my first attempt to capture the chatter failed miserably:



Take Two was much better. It still doesn't quite capture exactly how chatty she gets, but close enough. Call me crazy, but I think she knew she was being filmed.


Not that she's always such a handful. Liesel's usually a really good little girl. She can play happily on her own and now she's going through a phase where she likes to "help." If we leave a room, she's happy to turn off the light switch for us. She loves sitting on top of the dryer and helping me put the dirty clothes into the washer.When we finish loading the dishwasher she wants to help us close the door. She's normally a complete sweetheart. On Sunday she looked freakishly adorable and somehow she looked even more so in Brent's arms.

But she still hates the beret. Brent is holding her hands so she can't pull it off. I think somehow even the crying makes it cuter! Am I totally biased?

Bummer

It was about 8 PM when I was checking out Brent's bootie (I do this on a regular basis) that I noticed this:Brent is unsure of when or more importantly HOW it happened. It's not like it's subtle either, he really ripped his pants! After examining the damage I sadly told him it was beyond repair. It's like the fabric stretched and then separated because it's completely shredded.

Even after carefully reviewing his day Brent couldn't remember sitting on anything that could have caused it and didn't remember hearing a tear. He assures me his co-workers are the kind of people who would have pointed it out to him to keep him from embarassing himself. Brent added that most of the day he's been wearing his black leather jacket which covers it. I dunno, the thought of my husbands cheeks hanging out all over Boston still kinda bothers me... Apparently not enough to blog about it though :) Be sure to take the poll!

Scooper Bowl

There's no doubt about it, the Wuehler family LOVES ice cream! It was the first food item we moved into our freezer. It was among the first solids Liesel really enjoyed. It's no wonder we were eagerly looking forward to the Jimmy Fund's Annual Scooper Bowl last week.

In our humble opinion, the Scooper Bowl ranks up there with winning the lottery. We paid our flat fee of $8 per person, collected our spoons and headed off to the tents of cool deliciousness. Haagan-Dazs, Brighams, Ben & Jerry's, Baskin Robins, Hood, Garelick, Edy's, Breyers and a new favorite Spasso Gelato all had cups with tiny scoops of well, different flavors of heaven.

Liesel's young enough to get in for free but she ended up eating enough ice cream for a regular person. Brent had her in the Snugli and if he didn't give her ample shares of whatever he was eating she was sure to let him know about it. This was also Whitney's first Scooper Bowl and she was appropriately impressed. We walked away with the best of sugar highs. I wish I could say we do it for the good cause but the truth is we just do it for the ice cream.