Random Friday

One more week until we find out if it is a boy or a girl! Yay! Aiden used to insist that he was getting another baby brother, but now he insists it is a girl. I guess you can't always rely on a three and a half year old.

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A girl we go to church with is getting married next month to a French Canadian who lives in Montreal. We got the invitation/announcement in the mail yesterday. It is beautiful. On the left side, everything is in English, and on the right side everything is in French. Very cool.

We've been teasing this girl that she is "going Canadian" on us, and if she's going to marry someone from the True North, I prefer western Canada, but the girl will hear none of it. She is so happy with what she's doing. Which is good! We are very happy for her.

Funny how I call her a "girl", like she's 14 or something. I think she's older than me. However, when someone is in love and about to be married, it makes them seem so much younger. You could be 21, 45, or 83 and I think I would still say "this girl". It's really cute.

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Fourth Fret, you like strawberry pie the best, right? Because if I'm going to show you appreciation for showing me the "grown up age" when you hit it (whenever that may be), I need to make sure I make you the right kind of pie.

Ches' favorite pie is lemon meringue. I'm getting better and better at making a good lemon meringue pie for the guy. I don't do it all that often, though, because I make a huge mess out of the kitchen and I don't feel like cleaning it up afterward. It also doesn't seem fair for Ches to have to clean up the mess when I'm doing something extra nice for him by making him his favorite pie (and often I make it for something special, like finishing grad school!).

I don't think I have a favorite pie. I like most pies. Key lime.... mmmmmm. Aunt Marisa makes the best key lime pie in the world. No kidding. Banana cream.... mmmmmm. As long as there is no coconut (yes, I know I'm crazy that way). Strawberry.... mmmmmmm. How can you not love strawberry pie? Rhubarb... mmmmmm! I haven't had that in forever. It's about that season, right? And then, of course... anything chocolate. Chocolate silk pies are wonderful.

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Last night Ches got some ice cream to celebrate. He got himself Ben and Jerry's "Everything but the..." (man oh man, I love Ben and Jerry's! Laural and I go way back with that stuff.) and he got me Godiva "Belgian dark chocolate". I ate the entire container in one sitting while watching Survivor. Talk about addicting.

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Oh, Alyson! I'm so sorry! I just remembered I promised NOT to talk about food on my blog so I won't make you crave stuff and sabotage you! Please oh please forgive me! I will work on that more from now on.

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Okay, so who here watches The Amazing Race? I'm just curious, because I really need someone to talk to about it. I don't know why, but my family just isn't into that show, but Ches and I looooove it. It's so awesome. Someday, when I am on The Amazing Race, during the little interviews they have I am going to avoid using the word "amazing" as an adjective because it just seems to cheesy to me: "I have had an amazing time on this race!" or "My partner is so amazing, I'm just amazed at all he can do and what he is like." Ugh. Find a new word, people!

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Speaking of reality shows... at the end of Survivor last night I yelled "WHAT-ever!" Of course, Aiden jumped in with "Mom, we don't say whatever."

Sorry, Aiden. I totally forgot. I was caught up in the moment.

You see, a while back I would tell Aiden to do something, and he'd say, "whatever, Mom." Excuse me?? You are 3, not a teenager. And even then, you don't "whatever" me. So now Aiden has it in his head that "whatever" is a garbage word. Yesterday he even told on me to my mom:

"Grandma, Mom said whatever. Whatever came out of the garbage, but we don't take words out of the garbage. We throw them away and leave them there!"

I can't get the kid to realize that sometimes whatever is an okay word! It's all about the context. And I'm having a really hard time eliminating the word from my vocabulary, just to keep him happy.

Other garbage words (as of now, because he has tried to use them): stupid, shut up, and crap.

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I get to go to a Tupperware party tomorrow. I'm so excited! It's my first! Yes, I am a Tupperware virgin. Although I guess technically that isn't true because my mom sold Tupperware when I was really little.

You know what would be cool? If Tupperware came up with a "retro" line and had designs that looked like what our moms had in the 70s or something. That would make me laugh, and I think I'd totally buy some of it.

So, yeah. I'm excited for tomorrow. Sorry, Kris. If I were anywhere near you, I'd buy from you. You know that. However, considering you are up in Calgary and moving even farther away, I gotta do what I gotta do. But I'll be thinking about you tomorrow! :)

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When I was in high school, I got on this kick where if my little brother and sister were asking me where I was going, I'd say, "I'm going to Alaska." Don't ask me why. I don't know where it came from. It just popped out one day, and it kinda stuck. One day (when I was 18), my friends and I were about to leave my house. We were in Carolyn's car, when my little, preshool-aged brother came running out of the house, across the front lawn, yelling, "wait for me! I want to come, too!" I tried to tell Carolyn to just drive, but Mike felt so sorry for Richard and convinced her not to leave yet. Poor Richard was crying. He wanted to come with us big kids so badly. He asked, "where are you going?"

"To Alaska," I replied, as usual.

"You went there yesterday!!!"

We ended up driving away with Richard standing on the curb, crying. My friends all thought I was completely cold-hearted, but I felt bad. I really did. Honestly, though, did they expect to actually bring him? I got to take him with us a lot, but sometimes 18 year olds just don't want to hang out with 4 year olds, you know?

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I got to use the phrase my freshman year in college, too. There was a boy I had gone on a couple of dates with, and while he was really nice and all, I just wasn't interested. We had several classes together, so he'd call all the time to get "help" with homework. I put a message on our apartment white board: "If my mom calls, take a message. If Sean calls, tell him I moved to Alaska."

One time, my dad called and my roommate Jessica answered the phone. When dad asked for me (and I wasn't home), Jessica asked, "Is this Sean?"

"WHO is Sean?!?!?"

I had some explaining to do when I got home and returned the call. No, Dad. Not a new boyfriend. A semi-stalker. Don't worry, I'm still studying and practicing all the time!

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I got my June Reader's Digest in the mail yesterday. I guess since June is the "wedding month" or whatever (sorry Aiden), most of the quotes are about marriage and kids. So my quote of the day is along those lines:

Marriage is like a 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle -- all sky.
--Cathy Ladman