Moose tracks or vanilla?

Currently listening to: Toad the Wet Sprocket's "In Light Syrup" album

We have ice cream in the freezer. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy this makes me. In celebration of the ice cream, here is a list of things that never fail to make me feel happy.

Sunny days
Muscle cars
MXC on Spike TV
Hearing Payasa say "Num num num" while she drinks from the faucet (seriously)
Being married to a chiropractor
Hearing Judah say "Ooooohhhh" (especially if he ends it with a raspberry)
Chocolate cereal
Fanny Flagg books
Monterey
My charm bracelet
My family
A warm bed on a cold night
Toe socks
The Duck Mafia at East Lake Village
Tomato soup with cheese in it
Family slide shows
Hanging out with Nathan
A hot bath and a good book
Red wine
Driving with the top down
Music
The feeling between awake and asleep
The Basil and Josephine stories
Bare feet and hot concrete
Seeing my old cat Corduroy's smooshy face and owl eyes
Planting my new garden
Swimming in the ocean
Smells that have good memories attached to them
Constellations
Dinner at Roy's or Trastavere
Planning our 4th anniversary getaway (England! Ireland!)
Dreaming up impossible schemes

And speaking of.... do any of you know where I can find fireflies to import to Southern California? I haven't been able to find a site online where I can order them. I could get some giant African rhinoceros beetles if I wanted, but no fireflies! My brother and I are working on Project Gatsby and trying to get some for his backyard. If you know where we can order some, or if you live where there are some and you can send them to us, let me know! Because I think if I could go to my brother's house and hang out with the fireflies on summer nights I'd probably be happy forever......

Blue Genes

Currently listening to: The Album Leaf's "Seal Beach" album
Reminds me of: Summer nights in Irvine, even though I just heard it for the first time tonight

The other day Nathan and I were talking about character traits that are innate versus learned, the whole "nature vs. nurture" debate. So I started thinking about where I picked up the things that make me who I am. Here are some of the things I inherited and where they came from:

My tendency to be melancholy, and to be overcome by sadness in the face of beauty (Mom)

My love of organizing and categorizing (Dad)

My infinite patience for working jigsaw puzzles and my ability to pick up a piece and know exactly where it goes (Dad)

My self-appointed job in the family of making sure everyone's happy and having a good time (Mom)

My food accidents, where I end up dropping food on myself at almost every meal (Dad) (Nathan TOTALLY makes fun of me when this happens, but I swear it's genetic)

My love of taking the prettiest road even if it's not the most direct way to get somewhere (Mom)

My habit of packing too much into a day and trying to make it work, to the exasperation of other more realistic family members (Mom)

My inability to throw out anything, including greeting cards and fortune cookie fortunes, that has sentimental value or a memory attached to it (Mom)

And then there are some things that are all my own:

My laziness (though my mom claims to be lazy, too)

My avoidance of tomatoes

My preference for being out all the time rather than at home

The bizarre part of my sense of humor

My love of going to places that aren't necessarily "safe" or "accepted" by our conservative crowd

My somewhat white trash habit of eating Little Smokies cold

And on and on.... I still haven't answered the question really. I don't know if these things are things I picked up from watching my parents or if they're really part of my personality. I think a lot can be attributed to birth order as well. Alright, enough for tonight. It's been a big day. My mom and I hosted a tea party this morning for Morgan, Zoe, and Lindsay and all their Cabbage Patch Kids. We ate at a table on my parents' patio, and the dolls hung out on the patio swing. Judah hung out with the dolls, fitting right into the lineup. He's about the same size as the dolls and looked hysterical sitting there with them. Then tonight we all went down to Corona del Mar for the first beach party of the season. So I feel contentedly tired. And I smell like beach fire smoke, which is always a good thing.

The end of our history-making status

For a little while Nathan and I were the first and only white trash family in Yorba Linda.

We moved into this apartment just about four months ago now. I was 8 months pregnant and unable to do any heavy lifting or fast moving, so I spent the day mostly directing traffic and providing food and drinks. I was dreading having to unpack and put everything away and I was wondering how to handle it all, so of course something else happened. About two days before the move our refrigerator broke. And it was the best fridge ever. Nathan bought it eight years ago for $50 and it was awesome. It kept things at just about a perfect 33 degrees. So it broke and we weren't sure what to do with it at the moment, so we moved it to our new place. But since it was leaking water all over the place from the freezer we didn't want to keep it inside. So, yes, I hate to admit it, but we put it in our backyard.

So for four months now we've looked out our sliding glass door straight at the back of the fridge. Because we've been too preoccupied and tired to do anything about it. It became a joke. Several weeks ago I brought home a plant I'd won at a church event, and Nathan put it on top of the fridge. And then, then we had the birthday party last Sunday and we were left with an ice chest full of drinks at the end. So we put the ice chest in the backyard next to the fridge, and went outside periodically to get drinks from it. I'm sure at that point someone started circulating a petition to have us evicted. I really wanted to get a goat to keep back there as well, and Nathan wanted to tip the fridge over and use it as a planter. We also wanted to tip it over and fill it with water and get our nieces over here to play in it.

But we didn't. Today Nathan borrowed his dad's stake bed truck and a dolly and carted the fridge out. As our last act of white trash-ness we drove up to the dump and ditched it there. We noticed that in one part of the dump they'd planted a pumpkin vine that had hundreds of pumpkins on it. Nathan called them dumpkins. I wanted to pick one, but Nathan wouldn't let me. I guess we're not THAT white trash.

Because I couldn't think of anything to write about tonight

Stole this from Graf Spee's blog. Thanks Dan! It's entertaining.

3 THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND
1. Free will and predestination
2. Our contry's legal system
3. WWE

3 THINGS MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME
1. I have a very bad temper
2. I have a fear of being unoriginal
3. I'm afraid of the dark

LAST...
1. Movie you rented: Hitch. But we haven't had time to watch it
2. Movie you bought: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Song you listened to: "Turn" by New Order
4. CD you bought: I think it was New Order's new one, Waiting for the Sirens' Call
5. TV show you've watched: No idea. Probably MXC (yes, I love Spike TV)
6. Person you kissed: Either Nathan or Judah
7. Person you were thinking of: Nathan

DO...
1. You have a crush on someone: Yes. But is it a crush if it's requited?
2. You wish you could live somewhere else: Yes and no. I love California, but some other places might be nice for a change.
3. You think about suicide: Nope. I think it's selfish.
4. You believe in online dating: I don't think I'd do it, but I am a believer. I have lots of friends who met online and are very happily married.
5. Others find you attractive: Probably some others do, and some others don't
6. You want more piercings: Nope. I used to have more, and it just became too time consuming to pick out a jewelry wardrobe every morning
7. You drink: To the dismay of my mother, yes. But not heavily at all.
8. You do drugs: No. And if I did, would I want it published?
9. You smoke: Haven't in a long time. Used to occasionally. Cloves.
10. You like cleaning: No! But I like having things clean...
11. You like roller coasters: Yes
12. You write in cursive or print: Depends on what I'm writing. I usuallly write in a kind of hybrid
13. You like soap operas: No

HAVE YOU...
1. Ever cried over a girl: Yes
2. Ever cried over a boy: Oh yes
3. Ever lied to someone: Yes
4. Ever been in a fist fight: No
5. Ever been arrested: No, but almost. For hanging out on the beach after it closed

WHAT...
1. Shampoo do you use: Herbal Essences
2. Shoes do you wear: Any of my many many pairs, but usually flip flops
3. Is your desktop background: The Cure symbol from the Wish album

NUMBER...
1. Of times you have been in love: 2
2. Of times you have had your heart broken: Once
3. Of girls/guys you have kissed: Too many
4. Of drugs taken illegally: None
5. Of people you would classify as true, could-trust-with-your-life type friends: Many. I am very blessed
6. Of people you consider your enemies: None
7. Of scars on your body: Two major ones, and tons of minor ones
8. Of things in your past that you regret: Way too many

Yorba Linda: Land of Gracious Living (and insufferable yuppies)

A conversation heard in the express line at the grocery store tonight:

Woman 1: Did you see my husband's new toy?
Woman 2: Yeah, he drove it by the other night.
Woman 1: Pretty nice, huh? He loves it.
Woman 2: Yeah. Where are you keeping it? Outside?
Woman 1: No, we have the five classics in the garage, and my Mercedes and his truck stay outside.
Woman 2: Oh. I finally got rid of my beemer.
Woman 1: Really? What are you driving now?
Woman 2: I got an XJ8.
Woman 1: That's a Jag, right? Do you like it?
Woman 2: Yeah, I love it.
Woman 1: That's great!
Kristy: (And this is where I live....)

I watched a show on the Mafia tonight....

Currently listening to: A mix CD I made that includes the song Iambic 5 Poetry by Squarepusher
Reminds me of: The time I made a similar mix for a friend of mine at Biola, and one night I was walking to his room in Sigma and he had this song BLASTING on his stereo. If you've never heard this song, find it somewhere and listen. I felt like I was walking into a dream.

Nathan came home tonight and repeated to me something one of his patients said, and my head almost imploded. Some people should have their mouths permanently duct taped shut. And I just happen to have a list of who those people are!

1. Nathan's patient. Let's just call her Gertrude to protect the stupid. Nathan was telling her about Judah and mentioned that he wakes up usually once a night to eat. Her response: "Oh, you need to break him of that." Excuse me? How do you break a baby of waking up hungry in the night?!? Nathan asked her and she said, "Oh, there are ways." So he said, "How? I'm interested!" And she said, "Um, well....my son was sleeping through the night earlier than that." Yeah, ON HIS OWN. So she didn't actually BREAK HIM of the habit, did she? Moron.

2. Tom Cruise. Anyone else hear of his criticism of Brooke Shields? Yeah, apparently he doesn't approve of her using medication to help her get over post partum depression. According to him, it's not the right way to go about it, and she should have been able to lift herself out of it, presumably with the help of scientology. Because he's the authority on these things. Please. Has he ever given his body over to the completely irrational rule of a developing human being for nine plus months, had his hormone levels increase 7000 percent, undergone hours of the most intense pain known to human kind, had his body ripped apart in very personal and sensitive places, and then been handed a person who has no regard for his opinions, needs, and wants and that has to be tended to 24 hours a day every day without a break at the same time as his body is trying to recover from all this trauma? No? Well, until he has, he can just SHUT THE HELL UP.

3. The entire jury on the Michael Jackson case. How do they sleep at night?

4. Barbra Streisand. Every time I read a comment from her I'm amazed at her stupidity. Here's the latest: "The idea of a liberal media bias is simply a myth. If only it were true, we might have a more humane, open-minded, and ultimately effective public debate on the issues facing the country. We may actually embrace the principles of liberalism..." She thinks the media's not liberal? What country does she live in? And speaking of, she promised she'd leave the US if we elected George W. Bush. So why isn't she gone? She promised!!

That's enough for tonight. I feel better now, don't you?

A Good Old-Fashioned Family Barbecue

Today Nathan and I threw a mutual birthday party for each other, since his birthday was on the 8th and mine was yesterday. Both of our families came, and as they all get along well, it was a good thing. We did the usual: hamburgers and hot dogs and chips and potato salad and watermelon and lemonade and all. I love summer barbecues. Some day we'll live in a big craftsman house with a huge back lawn with lots of oak trees and jacarandas and some kind of a pond, and I'll throw parties where everyone will be required to wear white. Seriously. Anyway, today was fun. The little girls swam, and Steve ended up having to go in for a while too, to retrieve the diving rings that none of them could get from the deep end. Not that Zoe didn't try her best. Steve even picked her up and threw her in head first once, in hopes that she'd be able to get to the bottom. No use.

Today's party reminded me of the barbecues we had at my grandparents' house in the Heights when I was little. We'd get there some time in the afternoon, parking in the long driveway however the car would fit. The grown-ups would get everything set up out on the patio, making trip after trip from the kitchen. I can remember the exact sound of the back porch door opening and closing as people went in and out; the squeak of the spring and the rickety slam. My grandpa would do the grilling and then we'd all sit down at the long ancient picnic table to eat. If you sat on the north side of the table you could look out over the valley as you ate, and on clear days you could see the ocean and Catalina Island. The food was always good (my grandma was maybe the best cook ever), and we always drank out of short, fat green glasses. After dinner we'd sit around on the patio swings, listening to the crickets and enjoying the evening breeze through the pepper tree. At 9:30 Disneyland would set off their fireworks, and we would all watch the show, seeing the explosions and then hearing the boom several seconds later. We would drive home late, and sometimes I'd fall asleep in the back seat.

Of course, these dinners had elements of the ridiculous sometimes. At some point my grandma would always stand up and say, "Anyone want some more weiners?" And us kids would try not to laugh. The lights that were hooked to the swings had extension cords that ran into the house through a window and were probably the biggest fire hazard around. My grandpa had a habit of throwing things like rolls and slices of bread down the table to the person that asked for them, instead of just passing them like a normal person. He'd also tap your arm with the tines of his (already used) fork to get your attention. And then there were the rats that occasionally ran overhead on the branches of the pepper tree. Those nights are among my best childhood memories, all of the family together and all the time in the world. I loved sitting for hours and hearing the old family stories. And I loved the moment before we ate when we'd all bow our heads in unison, without anyone saying we were going to pray, and we'd all participate silently together in a Quaker prayer.

My grandparents have both been gone for years now, and the old house was torn down several summers ago. Before it was torn down, while it was vacant, my brothers and I took trips up the hill once in a while and wandered through it, taking out various things we'd left when my grandma moved out years before. We found a mailbox, old bottles, lightswitch plates, a reflector from the front gate. But I think I get the prize. Because I carted the patio out, piece by piece, in the trunk of my Mustang.

Road Rage and Other Things That Annoy Me

Currently listening to: The Cure's Bloodflowers album
Reminds me of: The two Cure concerts I went to during the Dream Tour, summer of 2000. The shows were at the Greek Theater, and there was no opening band. Instead, they played a recording of Barber's Adagio for Strings, so ethereal under the summer evening sky. Magical.

Here, for your reading pleasure, a selection of things that are seriously irritating me tonight. It's been a very long, very bad day.

Today has been a nightmare with Judah. He SCREAMED from 9:45 to 11:00 this morning and would not be comforted. I finally put him in his crib so I could take a shower because I figured he was going to scream no matter what I did. And he did. When I picked him up he wouldn't look at me, and then he wouldn't smile at me for half the day. And then tonight, when I went to choir practice, he decided that he WOULD NOT drink from a bottle, so Nathan had to call me and I had to come home to feed the monster. Do you know what this means?!? It means that I CAN NEVER LEAVE JUDAH AGAIN FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS. My life is over.

People on the road tonight were driving like absolute idiots. GET OFF THE CELL PHONE! You obviously cannot drive and talk at the same time without threatening the lives of people in ALL THREE LANES. Oh, and that space between the double yellow lines and the island, that's not a lane. So GET OUT OF THERE! And you better not change lanes to get in front of me unless you plan on beating the 65 mph I'm doing. And then, THEN there's the guy that has to turn into MY LANE even though there are two other lanes that are perfectly clear. Who are these people and why are they allowed on the road?

Oh, and the man in Starbucks. Already he's loud and obnoxious and hyper, and he goes and orders EIGHT SHOTS OF ESPRESSO. Are you kidding me? Why doesn't he just mainline speed? It would be faster, and probably cheaper. And then he goes and sits down by this kid he doesn't know and proceeds to start a conversation when the guy's obviously trying to study. It's a good thing he wasn't trying to talk to me, because I would have withered all the hair on his head with my evil new-mother-with-raging-hormones-and-a-crabby-baby glare.

If Judah knows what's good for him he'll sleep for ten hours tonight and do nothing but smile tomorrow. And he should probably rub my feet, too. And change his own diapers.