A while back, I posted a picture of Erik at work. Well, today I have another one to show how hard Erik works and how seriously he takes his managerial responsibilities:
Yes...he's wearing a thong. Something I never really wanted to see, but I wanted to make sure no one else missed out!
Lillian has a book about a poor penguin who wishes he were more brightly colored. So he goes around to all his animal friends trying on their colors. One option is an orange orangutan (in a jungle gang...yeah, the rhyming is a little suspect!). Every time we get to that page, without fail, Lillian calls him "Daddy." Don't you see the resemblance?
Now that both Christmas and Lillian's birthday are over, it's becoming increasingly apparent that we are running out of space. When we moved into this house, I was thrilled to do some weeding of our possessions. I got rid of a ton of books, clothes, and crap we didn't use anymore. It was wonderful to start with a (mostly) clean slate. But here we are, 2.5 years later, and we're out of space again.
My book collection has grown back to at least the size it was before the move, so I've decided I will, once again, go through them all and weed out those books I probably won't ever read again. Or at least put them in storage until I have the space to display them properly. The problem is, as I go through them, I remember each book and think, "I might read this again" and can't bear to part with it. My real problem is that as long as it's a book, I enjoy it. There aren't many books I just absolutely hate (except anything by Hemingway...that's who it was, Cheryl: Hemingway :) ), and if I've made it to the end of the book, chances are I liked it enough to keep it. If I don't finish a book, it's a sign it wasn't for me and I have no problem giving it up. Of course there's always the exception to that rule when I think it's a book I really should read so I better give it another try.
Our master closet, which seemed enormous when we first put our combined wardrobes in it, now appears to barely hold everything. But I just recently went through my clothes, so it's Erik's turn. Don't even suggest getting rid of shoes!
Some how, we also managed to amass a ton more crap we don't need. Not to mention we now have another person's belongings tossed into the mix. And they don't seem to confine themselves to one room of the house. Most of the items are in with the TV where the toy box is, but some have been relegated to her bedroom so we have room to move around in the other room.
What I've decided is this: the real solution is to move to a larger house. For a while now, I've been falling in love with this one: dream home 1.
I pass it every time I drive to Hyde Park to pick Lillian up from daycare. It's been a year and a half, and it still has a "for sale" sign up. After a year, I finally looked it up to see what was so wrong with it that no one had bought it yet; it looked nice enough from the outside. It didn't take me long to find it online, and once I saw the pictures, I was hooked. I still don't know why it hasn't sold. The listing has a build date of 2006, and I don't think it's ever been occupied. But with the market the way it is, it's entirely possible someone's taste just surpassed their budget and the deal fell through.
But with almost half an acre, I can see Laddie running free as a puppy should and Lillian having plenty of space for all her toys, not to mention a separate room for the TV. With an unfinished basement that, by itself, is larger than our entire house, the possibilities are almost endless! Of course we'd add that fourth bedroom so the baby that Buzzy is so insistent we get in the works would have some where to sleep but we could still have a guest room. And so many big windows! I love natural light.
Unfortunately, this is just my own little pipe dream since I don't see us moving anytime soon. The market aside (our neighbors have been trying to sell for over a year), we don't know where Erik's job will take him in the next year or so, and until that's a little more solidified, I'm not packing up to just do it again in a few months. But a little dreaming never hurt anyone...of course, if you're going to dream, dream big. What I really want is this: dream home 2. Smaller, but oh so adorable. Some day...
Lillian's birthday party was last Sunday, and in addition to the cake and ice cream, we had tacos. They were delicious, but Erik way overestimated the amount of food we would need. Except for the Chili's salsa, which came out just about right. But we still have three bags of chips sitting on our counter and there was a good sized bowl full of taco meat. But hey...I like tacos so I don't mind eating a few leftovers. :)
Lillian got some great gifts, including the vacuum and other cleaning accessories I already posted about, a tricycle, a new baby and all the accessories, and a puppy complete with carrying case. But I would have to say, the hit of the party was the Princess camera Carson picked out. It was the only gift to actually warrant a "Cute!" from the birthday girl herself.
I can't believe my baby is two years old. She's grown up so much so fast and now I'm wondering where the time went. Thank goodness I kept up on scrapbooking through out the year because I can hardly remember what happened last week. :) But even with her scrapbook, I know I'll never remember everything that happened this year. There were so many little moments where she was cute or funny or just plain precocious, and while I'm sure we'll have more moments to equal those this year, I wish I'd done a better job of recording them. She's come a long way from the tiny newborn who needed a tube to help her eat. Now, not only does she feed herself with a fork and spoon, she gets mad if you try to help. She sleeps in a big-girl bed (even though she still waits for me to come get her in the morning). She is starting to potty train herself, which I won't turn down. She wants so badly to be miss independent and is for the most part. She has to try everything herself before getting help, like putting on shoes and sock or opening packages, but I love that she's willing to try. It's been quite a year and definitely never dull, and I can't wait to see how much she'll grow this coming year.
Right now, Lillian is trekking around the house with a vacuum she received for her birthday. My only question is, why couldn't they make it actually suck? Sure...she wouldn't get everything, but every little bit helps, right? And if I have to listen to the sound effects, the least they could do was make it worth my while. :)
I'm hoping to post birthday pictures soon. I feel like such a slacker, but I swear...they're coming!
Caution: if you are planning on reading Marley and Me and don't want the ending spoiled and you haven't guessed it already, skip down a few paragraphs.
Anyway, I just finished reading Marley and Me, and I wonder why people write books where animals die. It's just cruel...to me. I just can't handle it! Yet I read them anyway...
Ok...so granted, this one was a true story, and unless he completely changed the ending to "...and Marley lived happily ever after for ever and ever with no arthritis or twisted stomach and was able to always hear the birds chirp and run up the stairs after his owner and best friend," it had to end the way it did. And I guess I should have known how I would react, which included all-out weeping that started 40 pages before the dog actually gets put down...yes: weeping. When Erik got home from work, I'm sure I was a complete sight to behold with mascara and eyeliner making me look like some crazed raccoon. My only justification for reacting so intensely is that Marley is Laddie. Some of the neuroses were just a bit different, but for all intents and purposes, Laddie is the same, ill-behaved dog. But we love him just the same.
This was the start of my new dedication to reading. I used to read nonstop; I always had a book going. Lately, it seems I've been slacking. I received a couple books for Christmas and got some hand-me downs from my mom, so now I have a nice-sized stack on my nightstand, just begging for some attention. There's a nice mishmash of titles: a spy-spoof by Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) that I just had to try, a romance-slash-mystery, a 16th century murder mystery, and a novel based on the post-war Japanese imperial family. Should keep me entertained for a while.
I've decided there are no excuses: I will get back into the habit every good English major should have. Maybe I'll try Cheryl's approach to make sure I get a good variety going as well as ensure I'm reading something that could actually make a difference in how I see the world, but first I'm going to finish the stack I have and start on the list I made of ones that look interesting. It may take a while, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice.
For some reason, I love fog. Not driving in it necessarily, but just looking at it and the way lights are softened. Everything is just so quiet and peaceful (of course that may have been the fact that it was 7:30 and freezing and I was the only person dumb enough to be outside taking pictures). There's also something about not being able to see what's beyond the fog, like you're isolated from the rest of everything. And as you move farther and farther into it, you never seem to reach the edge. There's always that barrier you can't quite get through to see what's beyond, and even though you know what's there, it's still a little unnerving that you can't actually see it. But it kind of makes you focus on what you can see, which is nice since you don't always notice what's right there in front of you. I don't know; I guess I'm weird.
With fog at this time of year usually comes hoarfrost, which I also love. It makes everything so sparkly and winter-wonderlandy. So when I noticed both out our window this morning, I had to grab the camera. You might remember the lantern from the sunrise pics a few months ago. Maybe I should do a series...
Yesterday, Lillian and I started swimming lessons. Every time we take her swimming, it takes about 15 minutes to calm down enough to enjoy it. This time was no different, but by the end of the hour, she was jumping in when I'd put her up on the edge of the pool and having a fantastic time splashing me in the face. This first time was just to get used to the water, so there wasn't a ton of actual instruction, but I'll keep you updated on her progress. The little boy who'd done a few sessions already was paddling himself around on a pool noodle, so I have high hopes.
Well...Christmas and New Years are over. The last couple months have flown by for me, and the last two weeks zoomed by faster than ever before. The sad thing is, looking back, I can't even remember everything what kept me feeling like I was seemingly so busy. We had two work Christmas parties (mine was definitely the better of the two), a night of sledding on a golf course (and now Lillian refuses to walk on any amount of snow no matter how small), a marathon of painting at work, the end of boot camp (and sadly, I don't think I'm fitter than a 5th grader), loads of Christmas shopping followed by loads of Christmas wrapping, and a trip to California. I know there were more things in there, but it's all a blur.
But we had a fantastic Christmas. Lillian got an art easel from Santa and is loving it. After opening presents Christmas morning, we drove to Roy and opened more with Erik's parents. Well, really...Lillian opened more. For the second year, Erik and I opted for the more adult, responsible gift of a freezer full of meat. But it's best if it just stays in the freezer. Plus, wrapping it would be a pain. Lillian, however, made quite the haul. I don't know where we're going to put most of it, but I guess we'll find some place. With a birthday in just over 2 weeks, we're going to have stuff all over the place.
After lunch, Lillian and I left for the airport. Lillian had never met my grandmothers (her great grandmothers), so my mom and I made the trip to Modesto to see them. We stayed with my mom's mom and had a nice visit. On Saturday, we made the half-hour trip to Oakdale to my uncle's. My dad also came up from Arizona, so Lillian was able to spend time with the whole family. My dad's mom didn't know we were coming, so it was a fantastic surprise for her. It was so nice that Lillian was able to spend some time with family she doesn't get to see often.
But, it was also nice to be home. Since our babysitter doesn't tend kids between Christmas and New Years (and the University decided not to give us the time off like they have for the last 5 years), I took some vacation time. I had a million things planned for that time off, but not much of it panned out. I did start one of the books I got for Christmas, and I bought the new paint and painting supplies for the kitchen, but that's about all the progress I made.
On New Year's Eve, we made the trek to Springville so Lillian could open her presents from Nana and Grandpa Len. On the way back, we made a pit stop at Cabella's. Oh. My. Gosh. It was like a zoo...only you could get closer to the animals and it didn't stink. I had no idea such a place existed. But disappointingly, they didn't have snow pants for Erik. Or at all for that matter. Foremost outfitter my foot. 
The rest of our New Year's Eve was spent with the gang going to dinner, of course; playing games; and having a rowdy time. What can I say...we're a crazy bunch. ;)
Our final event before heading back to work was sledding out in Mendon. They have some great hills out there that are best reached by snowmobile. We left Lillian with Karina (where I probably should have stayed, too) and headed up. Watching people go down the hill on their tubes made me think about those annual combined YM/YW tubing activites. You know, where you pile four, five, six, as many people as you possibly can on a tube and see if you can all stay on. That in and of itself is great fun, but the best part was really the anticipation of getting on a tube with one of the cute YM or, even better yet, getting in a position where they had to put their arm around you so everyone fit in the tube. Yeah...good times. Was that really the wholesome activity the leaders were hoping for? At any rate, this tubing was nothing like that. I just said it made think about it. This tubing was really more of a luge. In fact, the green sled we bought for the golf course adventure sent Jared and his brother-in-law all the way to the road. That included a trip through the canal. And if we needed snowmobiles to get there, you can imagine how far they went.
I ended up just watching the fun since I'd hurt my back the night before. I figured that since I could barely bend over, I shouldn't be bouncing down a solid sheet of ice. Oh yeah...did I mention that it had rained the night before so there wasn't any nice fluffy powder to do the sledding on...
But the vacation is over. Tomorrow I have to report to work and get back to real life, I guess. But I still need to paint my kitchen. I suppose that's one way to extend it all just a bit longer...sort of...not really. Dang.
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