I love this picture of Cadence. Granted, the lighting is all softened because my flash is broken (I’d love to claim credit for the “mood lighting” but alas I cannot). Cadence is one of the most entertaining little ones ever… She is 10 months old and learning new things all the time. Her new baby language is completely incomprehensible (expect for the fact that Jeff & Julie are positive she can say, Here ya go!) and so gurgly that it is quite impossible for someone with fully developed vocal chords to imitate it. She loves paper, rattly toys and dancing. Every time I see her I just want to squeeze her. Cadence = cuteness.

This is one of Jeremy’s favorite shots of Nathan, half of the adorable Nickeson duo. The boys and I dropped Jeremy off at the Odell’s house to help Steve & Jen Allen pack up their U-Haul, then headed over to Holmes Lake on a beautiful summery Saturday. There’s not a chance anyone at the park would’ve mistaken me for the twins’ mother… I anxiously followed their every move, determined to not lose one to some child-snapping maniac. Fortunately, I also got to take a few good pictures.

Final shot. This photo of Andrew, the other twin, makes me laugh. After he climbed the stairs, I quickly stuck my arm through the purple railing and haphazardly took this picture. Andrew just looks so cute, swinging his arms and smiling on his merry way through the jungle gym maze.

I never thought I could love kids as much as I love these three. I’m fairly certain it’ll only be my own children that will someday outmatch my adoration of them. Really, friends’ kids are the best, though… You play games, watch them look cute, laugh at their naughtiness — then pass them back to Mom and Dad for the hard stuff like discipline and potty-training.

7:04 Is it my imagination, or is Beyonce channeling Tina Turner tonight? Yay for the appearance by Prince, love that Purple Rain.

7:07 Don’t like Quentin Tarantino. I think I’ve been too influenced by negative reviews for “Kill Bill, Volume 1”. Ummm… hello? Soundbooth guy forgot to turn off Quentin & Gwen’s mike during the voiceover. Oopsie.

7:12 Eclectic is the name of the game tonight. Sting, Dave Matthews and Vince Gill — tribute to The Beatles. Tre bien!

[Commerical Commentary: Do you think Justin Timberlake sincerely believed Janet Jackson had a red bustier under her right bra cup? Hmmm… JJ has taken the bulk of the rap for the, ahem, wardrobe malfunction. Whatever the truth may be, the Grammy’s sure are capitalizing on Justin’s fame tonight.]

7:20 Through the fog, Christina Aguilera. This girl is naturally pretty, so I can’t help but wonder why she allows nappy hair and the enormous fake eyelashes. However, sister can sing!

7:33 Everyone, take a moment with me to be totally amazed at how something as beautiful as Liv Tyler could have come from the genes of Steve Tyler. Okay, back to the show… Was the Outkast guy in the little boy’s room when his name was called? Surely his seat isn’t that far from the stage! He gets the award for Brief Speech of the Night with a quick, but poignant, “Thank you.”

8:14 My brain craves more than just this show, so I am no longer stationed on CBS only. But I just flipped back to catch Christina winning an award, and oh, please cover up, or use double-sided tape, or something. Yikes.

[CC: I just heated up my rightovers from Buzzard Billys. By the way, “rightovers” are delicious leftovers, usually from a restaurant. “Leftovers” should be reserved for homemade casseroles and the like. For the record, I now like exactly two dishes from Buzzard Billys. Also, Gillette’s new commercial, aired first during the Super Bowl, really stinks. Re-e-eally stinks.]

8:40 I really like this Black Eyed Peas song (Where is the Love?) for some reason. I think it’s the plucky background instrumentals. The lyrics bring me to a few questions… Who doesn’t want peace? Who doesn’t want love? Yoko Ono encouraged us to love and peace — but obviously it’s just not that simple.

[My first ever Grammy report ends here. We popped “Lost in Translation” into the DVD player, cracked open another bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies, and moved on with our lives. Oscar Best Picture Nominees: four down, one to go.]

check this out to experience an odd combination of maternal concern and slight horror. oh. and consider this fair warning: you may not want to want to read the entry below on food at the same time.

i just rediscovered a comment of mine from an old blog entry. and, boy, does it make me feel like eating! late-night-snacking… a favorite since childhood.

from June 8th: “edy’s mint chocolate chip ice cream, reese’s peanut butter cups, bags and bags of bob’s sugar sticks from cracker barrel, chips and dip for breakfast-lunch-and-dinner, gallons of chocolate milk and several hamburger valentino’s pizzas.”

my cravings are so pathetic. actually, i know i’m really sick to my stomach when i want NOTHING. i joke that if i become pregnant i’ll know because i’ll have no food cravings at all. overall my food desires are extremely particular and my thought processes run something like this:

i could have vanilla bean ice cream, but it’s cold outside and inside and i’ve never been a fan of vanilla — so that’s out. pretzels? nope… too little and too bland (though FAT FREE, says my conscious. shut up, says my stomach). banana? too ripe and too healthy. mixed nuts? not satisfying enough. spice cake with buttercream frosting? nah, i made that sunday and it’s getting kind of old now. besides, if i ate it now i wouldn’t want it for breakfast tomorrow (i’ve eaten it and a glass of milk the past three mornings).

ah, the thoughts of a hungry, lazy woman. very sad.

create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide

Thanks to the Traveling Lawtons, I’ve seen about 2/3 of this nation! We road-tripped all over the place when I was a kid… Lots of camping, lots of relatives, lots of inexpensive sight-seeing. I loved hitting the open road and still feel the call of it today. I credit my joy of traveling to my parents who made the experiences fun. Mom would fill bags with activities for each day — something new and interesting to keep us from getting too antsy and frustrated. And Dad just loved the exploration aspect, seeing new places and experiencing new things. (My dad’s idea of a fun weekend is driving Andrew down to Covenant College and back. He loves to drive.) Aside from various road trips, we’ve moved all over this great country… I was born in Jacksonville, Florida and since then I’ve lived in Augusta, Georgia; Fresno, California; Klamath Falls, Oregon; Lincoln, Nebraska; Lookout Mountain, Georgia; and St. Louis, Missouri. A few trips by plane — to New York City and Washington DC — round out my state hopping. Jeremy and I have two plane tickets to burn this next year… Maybe I’ll get one or two more states under my belt before the end of 2004.

As if yellow dog pee on snow isn’t enough…

Let’s get this straight. I only watch Super Bowls for commericals and the half-time show (and the yummy snacks SB parties will inevitably produce). Right off the bat I NOT impressed by the half-time show headlined by Janet Jackson; truthfully, I think she’s kind of old and not appealing to most Americans. But after young ‘un Justin Timberlake popped her bra cup off? Well, call me shocked and grossed out.

See this CNN article if you have no idea what I’m talking about…

What cracks me up is that I totally don’t buy the line that the “wardrobe malfunction” was “unintentional”, as Timberlake’s press release states. Also bizarre is the following quote apparently taken from an MTV site: “Jaws across the country hit the carpet at exactly the same time. You know what we’re talking about … Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and a kinky finale that rocked the Super Bowl to its core.” Rocked to it’s core by the exposure of one breast? Whatever. What are we coming to with such tackiness?