Hello, Old Blog!

How have you been? I hope it's not too lonely without any new posts to keep you company. Now, I need to talk to you about something. I've recently learned that a few people forgot that I moved over to a new blog...remember....Ultra Vroom? Yeah, it's going great. But I was just wondering if maybe you could remind everyone about the change? I know almost half of my subscribers didn't follow me, and that's more rejection than my little Internet-heart can handle, so I'm going to assume more people just forgot. Could you pass on this message? Thanks.

Do a good deed for someone's Internet-self-esteem...switch your subscription today!

Ultra Vroom!

My blog told me it needed a new name. Then it rejected all the ideas I came up with. We almost settled on Eel Vibe. It's a long story. Well, not really. Someone gave us some metal letters for our wedding that spell 'believe.' Displaying mass produced mantras isn't really our thing, so when our friends Schteven and Amber worked their anagram magic and made it 'eel vibe,' we left it and loved it.

Today if you google those words, it will come up with tons of hits for a new dance club in Kosovo. But when we looked it up three years ago, the first hit was, "here is a list of random words: xxx, xxxx, eel, vibe, xxxxx, xxxxx." Awesome.

I never really thought about the other words on the list until today when I looked it up again. When my blog saw the next to random words, 'ultra' and 'vroom,' it screamed, "That's it! That's it! That's my new name! It's so deep you could dive into it without hitting your face!" And who am I to argue with a talking blog.

Note to readers: Be sure to update your subscriptions and follow me over to my new url and I'll be your best friend. (I'll be changing it later today.) ultravroom.blogspot.com

Make a Home from a Rented House*

Well, that was the shortest tragedy of my life...except for maybe the "heartbreak" I felt when I found out my boyfriend in sixth grade had kissed some other girl right after we had started "going out" (ya know...saying we liked each other, followed by a total freeze on all communication except through other people). I felt fine after my best friend called and dumped him for me.

Anyway, it looks like we'll be able to come back to our apartment after all the work is done, and it will be even better than before! Also, I found out I have really great friends who send really nice emails when frustrating things happen to me. Can't beat that.

Here's wishing everyone a happy day of celebrating legalized explosions and freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

*Name that stellar song!

Who Needs Giant Windows, Glorious Built-ins, or a Garage?

They say every cloud has a silver lining. I don't know who "they" are or why "they" think metal rain wouldn't be super painful, but today is one of those days when I need to see the good in a situation that makes me sick to my stomach. So here is my attempt.

REASONS IT'S TOTALLY AWESOME THAT WE HAVE TO BE OUT OF OUR [BEST EVER] APARTMENT BY THE END OF THE MONTH:

1. It forces me to get rid of even more of the junk I've been carting around since 2002...the stuff I couldn't part with four months ago when we moved here.
2. Now I can do whatever I please with my hair color and not have to deal with the annoying transition where everyone gives me weird looks and asks awkwardly, "Um...do you like it?" I can just show up in a new place with whatever new look I want.

That's really all I can come up with that isn't sarcastic like:

1. It's so fun to be without internet for weeks!
2. Figuring out what to do with all the stuff in our huge storage room that belongs to us and people who are gone for the summer will be like an exciting puzzle!
3. Spending time every day thinking about how happy I feel with all this natural light and how I love this apartment and this neighborhood is really a waste of time, I suppose.
   

I Like Boys! I Really Like Boys!

That's what I kept saying over and over to the guy who had recently asked my best friend if I was a lesbian.

"Hey, I've always wanted to date a lesbian!" he defended himself, like that would help.

Granted, it was 10th grade, and I was in the middle of awkwardly growing my hair out, so it sort of looked like Sean's butt cut on Boy Meets World. My passport picture from that year totally looks like a dude. And maybe someone should have told me that the Bridging Award from Girl Scouts on my patch-covered backpack was sending the wrong message. (Gay pride just wasn't on my radar as a pubescent ex-pat in Rio de Janeiro, so I really had no idea that's what it meant.)

I was very shy of anything rainbowy or purple for a lot of years. But eventually I realized that my soul, my personality, and my face called for short hair, so I chopped it off again in 2004. I frequently got called "sir," but it never bothered me much. More eye make-up and tighter clothes made me feel better.

Then there was the semester where my wonderful friend Petra and I went to the library every night to study (or listen to music and surf the Internet for hours). She also has short hair. We often ran into a guy from a class she TAed: Hot Boy (I know...middle school much?). Chatting would ensue, and we'd try to make him see how awesome and equally hot Petra was. But apparently our intentions were lost on him because we heard later from someone that he'd said, "Oh, I just assumed they were lesbians."

!!!

So those are my stories of the times people thought I was gay. Life is funny. Don't worry...if I liked boobs, I'd let you know. And not through a haircut.

[insert hair pun here]

Once upon a time, I bleached my hair (the goal was white, but alas...platinum blonde was all I got).

Once upon a more recent time, I felt like doing this again. I even purchased all the stuff a few weeks ago, but I've yet to do anything but get a haircut (which always makes people think i've dyed it darker, for some reason...hmmm).

Why am I so scared to do this again? My hair is super short, so there's very little commitment involved. And it's not such an extreme color that people would judge me. Would people judge me? Maybe I worry about that on some silly level. Maybe the Crocs I had to wear when I was pregnant sapped all my bravery. Maybe it's seeping out through my stretch marks! Help! I'm turning into a boring mom!

Ode to a Great Weekend

This might end up being a boring i-did-this-then-this-then-this post, but I feel like the past couple days deserve to be honored...if only because they included some sweet slide-hair on my serious little girl.
Friday started out strong with Simon getting a raise at work. Raises are awesome any time, but to get one when there's a freeze on student wage raises? To get one right after being told by your boss's boss that he wants to hire you when you graduate? It makes me want to brag all over my blog about him. (It also makes me miss making money, but that's a post for another day.) We celebrated with a trip to Costco. Is it weird that buying in bulk makes my heart go pitter patter? Because it does...pitter pitter patter. Maren enjoyed her dinner made up of samples like baked beans, tortellini, and fruit, and I enjoyed its freeness.

Then there was Saturday. Oh, sweet Saturday. How wonderfully full you were of good friendship and handmade goods! The Bijou Market didn't disappoint. It feels good to support interesting things like that in this valley of mine, and buying locally handmade goods just feels swell. Especially when those goods include things like this board book. I also nabbed that 'scatter sunshine' print on the left sidebar because I think sometimes Mormon cultural references are cool. Also? Kathy is the best company in the world.

Sunday has been a day of simple pleasures. I found myself feeling really satisfied with this wall in my house. I'm even okay with the sort of awkward space to the left of the clock, and that's a happy place for me to be as someone who is constantly making minute changes to my house. And the scene on the TV even cooperated at the second I took the picture.
The day and the weekend ended with a perfectly delicious dinner with family that we love and a trip to a park that made me feel like a parent and a child at the same time. Maren didn't care for the slide, but slide static is hilarious when combined with fine baby hair. And watching my child discover pine cones and mulch was just so peacefully pleasant. And now she's learned that pine cones are not good for eating, and I leave you with that little life lesson.

Look Where I'm Going on Saturday!

I do really love fairs like this, and I am really excited to check out a new one that promises to be swell, but I have to explain. The Market is doing a giveaway for $50 towards a Bijou Market purchase, and they draw from people who have posted about it. Frankly, I'm just curious to see if my luck has run out yet. See, I used to be one of those people who never won anything ever. Then I went to a book signing last year and won a raffle, which was even more exciting than the free mint truffles I got to eat.

So I really am going to the Bijou Market on Saturday (with one of the coolest girls on the planet), and I really do think people should go, but please forgive the strange post.

Bullet Blog: June 2009

It's about 95 degrees outside right now. Summer has apparently decided to make an appearance halfway through itself, and I'm left wondering a few things:

• If a month goes by without a single instance of turning on the heat and only maybe a few hours-worth of AC use (on accounta summer not showing up till now), how is it possible that the utilities bill was exactly the same as the month before?

• If my baby has learned how to give hugs without me teaching her, what else is she picking up on? I better stop kicking puppies.

• Who are the 11 and 5 people who subscribe to Simon's and my family blogs respectively (you know, the kinds where we just post pictures of our kids and brag about projects and school awards...it's great)? I'm fine with people reading about our comings and goings, but it pretty much kills me that I don't know who they are.

• Why did I like Incubus so much at one point?

• And this isn't really a wonderment, but gosh, I never thought Michael Jackson would die, did you?

Getting Her First Molar

I think that girl in the corner is telling me to blog about something other than my daughter already. Will do.

The Party

High expectations usually end up leaving me disappointed with myself, but I'm happy to report that Maren's birthday party played out in reality exactly how it had in my imagination. It was beautiful to be surrounded by so much matching paper and loving family and delicious food.

I took advantage of this time in Maren's life when she lets me make design decisions for her and made the banner with some of my favorite colors. Then I used the same paper for the garlands and present decoration (a silly habit, I know...but I like pretty presents). Speaking of which, Maren did a great job of playing with each present as we unwrapped it for her (she wasn't interested in the unwrapping part). Maybe that means she'll grow up to be better at writing thank-you notes than I am.

My family is incredible, and they helped make the preparations and celebrations extremely enjoyable. And thanks to all of you who left birthday wishes on my last post (for those of you who didn't, it's never too late to de-lurk and make a little girl and her mother feel loved and read!)

So a year ago yesterday I was bursting at the seams with pain and baby. This year, 6.33pm on June 19th was MUCH more fun....more frosting and less placenta!