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Last April my Dad generously added my sister and me to his cell phone plan. Chuck and I had cut back to only one phone so returning to two made us feel quite luxurious. This is the good news.
The bad news is that my new phone number came from a shady source. The previous owner not only had multiple debts (as noted by all the calls I get from collectors) but she was also either a prostitute or drug dealer. These are the only logical conclusions given the patterns of calls I receive. (Hmmm...apparently selling your body and/or drugs does NOT pay! I must remember to tell my Young Women.)
What's happening is that about once a month, I'll get a series of 15-20 calls from a few different phone numbers within a very short time period. Sometimes I'll answer the calls and tell them to stop calling me. Sometimes I just let them go to voicemail. Either way, it's annoying.
I don't understand why these calls come in waves. The only scenarios I can create are (1) someone is giving out my phone number as a joke. You know, boy meets girl in a bar and girl gives fake number. But then why is that number passed around to so many people? Or (2) maybe it's given during drug deals. I don't know why this one makes sense, but I like to think it's true.
Another thing I don't understand is that these people sometimes leave messages. Do they not listen to the voicemail recording that says, "Hey, you've reached Erin..." Uhhh, ERIN, not Brenda, nor Sophie, and certainly not Chad. I'm pretty sure my voice is girly-enough to not be mistaken for a Chad, right? But alas, that's happened.
I've since changed the voicemail message. To those of you who call me on purpose, I apologize for the semi (okay, really) rude intro, but hang on and you'll be quickly returned to the nice version of me.
a. My husband's sweatshirt: a token of his devotion to a team that (sorry chuck) sucks.
b. The tree behind us: some leaves are green while some are not. What's up with that?
c. The dry sidewalks: I mean, we've had straight rain since Wednesday afternoon, why should Mother Nature stop now?
Answer: C. It has, no exaggeration, been raining (and record-setting cold) since Wednesday afternoon. I thought it would never stop. I thought I'd have to run in wet, squishy shoes for the rest of my life. I thought I'd be stuck inside my house with a toddler until Rhett canoed himself to kindergarten. I thought wrong. Thank goodness.
Which fictional TV character's life would you most like to have?
Although many were tempting, for some strange reason we both thought about characters from Seinfeld. I think I could definitely handle Elaine's life and Chuck would enjoy being Jerry. Others that we tossed around were Pam from the office (for me). I would have to be old Pam though, before she was a salesperson. I would love being a secretary, and working with crazy people would give me such good stories. Chuck thinks he'd also consider being Alex P. Keaton. I think he could pull it off.
...you lie in bed in the morning thinking the following:
"I know that hot dogs come from pigs and steak comes from cows. But where does sliced turkey come from?"
Seriously. I did this.
And yes, I realize this picture has nothing to do with the origins of sliced turkey, but I don't care. I like it.
What does he know?!
I wish I had a better excuse for my lame posts this week, but truth is, my life has been pretty lame. I'm having one of those weeks where I wish my life wasn't my life, you know? I saw this "Intervention" the other night about an addict from Salt Lake and I was almost crying (alright, I was crying) at how much I miss Utah. There was snow on the ground and the mountains looked beautiful. It just made me feel sorry for myself.
Then I remembered: I had a baby. Honestly, how different do I think my life would be if I was living in Utah right now? Considering my status as a mom, I don't think it would be that different. I couldn't be taking my desired backpacking trips in the Winds or the Tetons. I couldn't be skiing all the time (can't afford to). I'd probably still be taking trips to the library, running, and waiting for Chuck to come home. With the exception of occasional dinners at my parents' house instead of Chuck's parents' house, honestly, my life wouldn't be that different. I'd just have a better view and less humidity.
So now I have to stop feeling sorry for myself. It's a little easier when I look at this little guy enjoying his very first pillow. He seems to be getting the hang of it. (And yes, we really did wait 18 months to give him a pillow in his crib. He has yet to get a blanket, however.)
Cousin Emily, I hope this is honest enough. I don't have it in me to reveal nine more things. Forgive me, please?
The shop is open, just in time for Halloween. Happy shopping.
I had thoughts of posting something else until I took these pictures. These are the reason I love digital cameras so much: instant gratification.
Doesn't he look like he's totally getting some eagerly anticipated information in that second picture? (Let's just ignore the upside-down-ness of the phone, shall we?)
Rhett started nursery on Sunday. I was unprepared for this: I thought he'd have to wait until this Sunday because last Sunday was one day before his actual 18-month birthday (if there is such a thing). So I was really not ready. But not in the "my-baby's-growing-up-so-fast" not ready sense, rather the "uh, will you keep him until dinner time?" Rhett being my first child in nursery meant that I didn't know the routine. I felt proud that I knew where to go. That's where my knowledge stopped.
Please share with me your wisdom. I need it.
Last night as we talked each other to sleep, Chuck and I started discussing candy. I asserted that gummi bears (Chuck's favorite candy) didn't even make my top 20. It was a glib statement, and I thought that I should work on seeing if it's true. So here's the list:
1. Hot Tamales. Easy.
2. Runts. Pink and red are my favorites, with green being the yuckiest, albeit still-eaten. The bananas used to be just underneath pink and red, but lately they have been surpassed by orange. I really like them orange ones!
3. Candy Corns. Brach's Candy Corns. I'm eating some (and by "some," I mean an entire bag) right now.
4. Cherry heads. Fun Fact: Once I ate a fairly large-sized bag of these (during one of three trips to the theater to see Titanic) and ended up with a mouth full of canker sores. Totally worth it.
5. Sour watermelons. These, too, have been retired. Some of you will say, "Oh erin, I saw them the other day!" But you didn't; trust me. You saw a cheap imitation. A part of me died when I learned that.
6. Skittles. Eaten in the following order: green, yellow, orange, purple, red. And when I have six reds left, I have to eat one, and then two at once, and then ALL THREE AT ONCE for the grand finale.
7. Lik-m-Aid (aka "Fun Dip"). I eat all three pouches with one stick and eat the other stick all by itself.
8. Twist 'n' Fill Twizzlers. Sadly, these are no longer made. Another small piece of happiness gone.
9. Regular Twizzlers. Best. Beach. Snack. Ever.
10. Smarties. I'm trying to get over the delusion that the different colors have a different taste. My therapist is helping. Until then, pink and yellow get eaten last; green first.
11. Almond Joy. My favorite piece of chocolate.
12. Butterfinger. Second favorite piece of chocolate.
13. Starburst. Once Chuck went to Hershey Park and brought me a bag of only pink and reds. It was heaven.
14. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The little, individually-wrapped ones only please.
15. Swedish fish. But only the red ones.
16. Jolly Ranchers. When I have a sore throat, I contend that these are just as good for me as stupid sore throat lozenges.
17. Airheads. I love the white mystery flavor!
18. Carmels. But not good carmels. Carmels that are perfect cubes and sold in bulk. I'm sure to candy purists I'm breaking some rule. But you can't help what you like.
19. Nerds. These are great in a Dairy Queen Blizzard. Trust me.
20. Cinnamon bears. I eat the head first, then the legs, finally the torso.
An honorable mention has to go to SweetTarts just because of the game played between my sister, my mom, and me. You wouldn't get it.
There. I did it. I was right. Not even in my top 20.
(And now you maybe you understand why I have to run.)
Do you ever have one of those days (or maybe, if you're lucky, two or three of those days) that are just perfect and even if you tried, you couldn't plan them any better? That was my weekend.
On Friday I relaxed at home working on this project. I didn't make two and I'm so angry at myself because of I didn't. I love it. Have I mentioned that I love Halloween? Because I do. L-O-V-E it. And that describes how I feel about this bunting.
When we woke up on Saturday (at 6:45 a.m---totally sleeping in for the little one!), we had perfect running weather. It was crisp and cool. I was able to get in a long-ish run and enjoy every second of it. When I came home, Chuck offered to let me have a morning alone. He took Rhett to his parents' house while I stayed home, showered, read the paper, ate breakfast, and wanted to cry at how great a husband I have for giving me that present. Honestly, I want to roll around naked in that morning, that's how great it was. Which is a slight step up from how I feel about Halloween.
When I was ready to return to my normal life, I joined Chuck at his parents' house where two out-of-town brothers (and families) were visiting. It is always fun to see his family and for Rhett to see his cousins. I got out of there for a small break to attend a baby shower where, happily for me, no baby shower games were played! Bonus. The above bunting was delivered and hopefully the gift will be used. I told her if she was unsure about putting a newborn in black, let me know and I'd take it back and make her anything she wanted. She kept it. Sigh.
When that was over, it was back to Chuck's parents' house for more family time and dinner. The weather was gorgeous and it was great being outside.
Sunday is pretty busy with meetings, but as the woman who brought these happy flowers had to leave early, I got to bring them home. What an end to my weekend, right? When do I get to do this again?
As much as Emily's eviction of Miles to Exile sounded like a pretty great place for my ultra-fussy eighteen-month-old, it took only one of these faces to make me reconsider.
P.S. Are you watching Glee? If not, you really really need to. It's on Fox on Wednesdays night, I think they're rerunning them on Fridays, and you can watch it here, right now. No excuses.
"I can't stop eating these hint of lime chips. This is not a good thing."
"I want my two nostrils! Dang this stupid cold."
"Why is there nothing good on the internet? How else am I supposed to waste my time?"
"I now have two tricks for killing crickets: throwing a book on them and vacuuming them. One more effective than the other."
And we should all bow our heads and say a prayer of gratitude that I don't use twitter.
Here's hoping for one sleepy baby tonight!
