"Grandpa"

Ellie found an old picture of me and my dad today. I pointed out my dad, who is now with God, and said, "grandpa". And then she said, "grandpa", so clearly and softly. How could tears not flow from my eyes? I wish she would have known him.

Pool Party

Ellie and I were finally able to take a dip in the pool. It was nice and sunny...very hot. Ellie was eager to step into the water...it's barely knee deep for her. Chloe also wanted to get in but only managed to get half her body inside.

I added some boats and frogs into the pool but naturally, Ellie showed little interest in them. What should I find her playing with but her fat, white, chalk! She kept dunking it into the pool. Chloe seemed to think the chalk was meant for her to fetch and kept plunging her nose into the water only to pop back out and shaking the water off of her face and onto Ellie and me. We retaliated by splashing Chloe back. Then Chloe proceeded to drink the pool water...then Ellie tried to drink the pool water..."No! Jhee jhee!", I told both of them. Ellie looked confused as if to ask "why are we playing in water I'm not allowed to drink from?" Ha ha ha.

I found the whole morning to be delightful. Although we were sitting next to tiny bugs and Chloe hair, I was just relieved Ellie did not pee or poop in the pool. God is good all the time.

Summer Solstice!

Whoo Hoo! I love Summer Solstice. It's actually on the 21st, but who cares? Ha ha ha!

Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and most celebrated way back when. June was a time to harvest "the goods". June was also a time to get married...for reasons I can't articulate without raising many eyebrows and "huh?" echoing from readers in confusion. Basically, people didn't want to compete with the gods to be wed (I guess in springtime) so summer seemed ideal.

But I love Summer Solstice because it is the longest, most sunniest, most beautiful day of the year! (and also near my birthday!) hee hee hee....

After Watching "The Incredibles"

If I were a *super-hero*, what incredible power would I want?...to manipulate the wind. I'd be able to create a constant breeze into Ellie's face to make her laugh...I could create my own tornado so I wouldn't have to search for one...I'd create a nice cool breeze on hot days perfect for tanning...I would never have to smell fish again...I could blow out fires, I could whirl my enemies half a world away, and dry the dishes in no time! Or I'd settle for being able to eat whatever I want and not gain any weight. What super-hero power would you want?

Metropolitan Ice Cream

Jae went to the store to get groceries. One of the items was ice cream. I asked him which flavors he bought...he said, "One is banana and the other one is that metro ice cream with the 3 different flavors." I raised my eye brow in confusion..."Huh?" Then Jae replied.."it has 3 flavors...vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. it's the metropolitan ice cream." I shook my head..."It's neopolitan ice cream!"

As I've said over and over again...Sometimes all you can do is shake your head.

Frank Jr.

This is Frank Jr. enjoying a Maple tree seed in our front lawn. The possibility that this squirrel is the same squirrel in our back yard is remote, but it's fun to pretend, isn't it? I truly believe it's the same darn squirrel. Chloe just about went bizerk when she saw him, but I could not let her chase him since he was in our front lawn...who knows how long and far the chase may go.

The Rubberband...

I thought I'd make a tie-dye shirt for Ellie, so yesterday, I had the shirt and dye, but couldn't find any rubberbands. This meant I'd have to search the messy rooms in the house so I headed up to Jae's computer room. Surely I will find rubber bands there! Not one stinking rubber band! I started searching the floor and corners by the book case, then I hear Jae come upstairs with Ellie... (jae in blue) (me in orange)
"Can you put her to bed?"
"Did you guys watch the sleepy scenes?"
"Huh?...Yeah..."
"Did she (Ellie) watch the dwarves go to sleep?"
"She watched the sleepy part."
"But did she watch them go to sleep? She needs to see the dwarves go to sleep."
"Oh...no, we didn't watch that part."
I took Ellie and brought her downstairs to the tv so she could watch the dwarves go to sleep. Ellie said goodnight to the dwarves, daddy, and chloe. I took her upstairs, put her in her crib, covered and kissed her goodnight.
"Nite mommy"
My search for the rubber bands continued into the garage. I braced myself. You see, our garage consists of everything on earth except the car. I had to walk around floor boards, a table saw, a deep fryer, a hand-saw, more plywood, illuminating christmas deer, and so on and so on. I couldn't handle the mess and just HAD to clean at least enough to make a walkway visible. I don't know how long I was in there putting/throwing things away, but I made it out there alive and well.
Jae came downstairs and looked at the garage...now somewhat clean.
"That's impressive."
"Yeah...I just had to clean. Can you believe I didn't find one single rubber band in there?"
"I believe it."
A moment of silence...
"I like how you put the garbage cans by the door. We can actually throw the garbage bags into the cans instead of the floor."
"All you have to do is put things away or at least put them on the shelves."
"Or finish the floors in the foyer. I guess I should finish putting up the cabinets too."
"Why don't you?"
"I can't find the studs as easily."
A moment of silence...
Jae patted my back and said, "good work." as if I'll forget about the cabinets...

Best salsa

I was craving salsa one day and just made one fresh with the ingredients in my fridge. Took me 5 minutes. This is the best salsa ever! Tastes even more amazing the next day. Ingredients...simple, pure, and flavorful....

• 1 large chopped tomato
• 1 medium/small chopped red onion
• 1 chopped jalepeno
• chopped cilantro (to taste)
• 1/2 squeezed lime juice
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Nummy!

An "early" mid-life crisis

My birthday is slowly approaching (hint-hint...tennis bracelet) and I'm beginning to feel older and heavier. I can't fight it from happening...I have to just deal. Poopy to that!

Just this morning I found a 1 and a half inch long white hair growing from my eyelid! Yes! I pay so much attention to my face, I hadn't realized I was growing a whisker for weeks that would turn me into a cat! What was more shocking was that Jae didn't seem to be surprised! Hmmm... My blackheads have found a nice oily home on my nose and my forehead is beginning to form the San Andreas fault. The daily scratches I find at the end of the day are not healing as fast and my scale is lying to me! The skin on my arms and legs resemble closely to the reptilian family.

So, with these things in mind, I've come to a conclusion that I must now begin a night-time regimine which consists of washing my face with something other than bar soap, toning my face with toner to restore ph balance the cleanser has taken away, and moisturizing my face, arms, and legs with lotion containing *miracle* vitamins and other ingredients found in the Amazon. Including this torturous ritual, I must now set aside time to move my limbs until I sweat and only eat grass and water in hopes that my fat cells will be so repulsed by this diet, they will leave my body.

And as I said to my friend, "I now refuse to take any advice, encouragement, or 'it's okay...you had a baby' from someone who is taller, thinner, younger, or prettier than me." Being that I am only 5 feet tall, this leaves me with dwarves and children to receive comfort from.

(By the way, I'm really not this depressed...okay? Just having fun with aging.)

Table Etiquette Warning to Men!

1) Never ever ever ask your wife (especially if you have kids) "So, what did you do all day?"

2) Never make yourself dinner (especially if you have kids) while your wife is making you dinner.

3) Never add salt or other spices to "enhance" the meal your wife made you, especially if it's a dish most other people love and crave and call it her "signature" dish.

4) Never complain at the table to your wife (especially if she's popped out a kid) that you seem to have such a hard time gaining weight.

Doing all these things will result in death.