Michael the Narball

It is supposed to be Michael the Marble, but Kaelan can't pronounce marble yet and always calls it 'narball'. Which I think is just adorable, because it's his last baby word that he still uses. All else has been corrected and he is on his way to speaking the King's English. Sad, isn't it?

Anyway, Michael the Narball is Kaelan's imaginary friend. He is a giant marble with arms and legs. As near as I can figure, he does all sorts of things--he tags along with us whenever he gets a whim to, and I've tucked him in bed, fastened his seatbelt, and given him hugs. I was warned, however, not to squeeze too hard because little marbles will come out if I do. Also, Kaelan told me that Michael the Narball drives a really huge monster truck that goes super-fast.

I will point out that Kaelan came up with Michael the Narball all on his own, which I find delightful because it's about time there was another one in the family with a good imagination!

To date, Michael the Narball has been helping Kameron walk and making funny faces at him to make him laugh. What a nice imaginary friend, getting along with the baby brother so well!

If I could only draw well, I know exactly how Michael the Narball would look...

Handsome Rob in an Audi Commercial

In my on-going quest to spread the awesomeness that is Handsome Rob, I must point out that he was in an Audi commercial during the SuperBowl yesterday.

Ah, Handsome Rob. I wish you were my driver. And of course we'd have to have car chases on a daily basis, because that is what Handsome Rob does best--I am of course lumping all his characters together into one category. Transporter, Italian Job, it doesn't matter. He's still Handsome Rob.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

I've been having an F. Scott Fitzgerald month. I finished Tender Is the Night a couple days ago and have started The Beautiful and Damned. I currently have no plans to stop reading his books until I'm finished--I have already read The Great Gatsby and The Other Side of Paradise.

My impression of Tender Is the Night was pretty positive, but I am really digging The Beautiful and Damned. He explains more and doesn't make me guess as much, which I am completely into. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Tender Is the Night, but that 'lyrical prose' gets old after a while.

I love how everyone in his books jaunts off to Europe and stays there for an indefinite period. He makes it sound like for Americans the world is a big sandbox--which is both a completely horrible idea and a great one, depending on how egotistical you're feeling. I almost envy that thought process, but of course I'd do it a little differently once I was there.

Listen to Grant Lee Phillip's Mona Lisa sometime. I have linked it to F. Scott Fitzgerald's work in my mind somehow, and has been my song of the month.

On a completely unrelated topic, I have begun playing Fallout 3 on my Xbox 360, which is basically what it sounds like. I am a girl wandering around the post-apocolyptic world of D.C. I always come home with the best games after I've visited Brandt.

Everything

The title of today's post comes from Michael Buble, which I am currently listening to. My favorite line? So la la la la la la la....and repeat.

Happy news for this week: Kameron is officially walking!!! Yay Kami! Kurt and Kat sent a video, and he is adorable and so proud of himself for walking. I knew he could do it, he just needed that shot of confidence. He's pretty much a little dare-devil. Maybe he'll be my partner in all things crazy. Kaelan used to be, but lately he's gotten cautious. He tells me we can't go skydiving because he's too little, we shouldn't go down the big slides, and as for 4-wheeling with Kurt, well, he's ok until we get to a huge hill and he suddenly becomes a front-seat driver. As soon as we hit a tree, he said, "Ok, I'm done, I don't like hitting trees. Let's go home, Daddy."

Christian Bale in the new Terminator movie out this summer. I am digging Christian Bale lately. He's always been a good actor--remember him in Little Women? He made Laurie come to life. I kind of worked him into my second Gallia book as one of the characters--not really him, just his smile.

Don't worry, Handsome Rob, you're still my #1.

UPdate!!!

I realized I haven't written anything on here since last October, when I got back from Germany! Yikes! So here is what has been going on!

We had an amazing Christmas break--the first time in 2 years I've been home for Christmas, so what's not amazing about that? On top of that, everyone was home for the first time in ever! Kurt and Kat came with the munchies (as in munchkins, not snacks), and Brandt and Ash were here as well because two days after Christmas they got married! The wedding was amazing. Welcome to the fam, Ashlie! I have been so lucky with my sisters-in-law. They are both fabulous.

Brandt and Ashlie


We recently went to Casper for Kameron's 1st birthday. It feels like yesterday that he was born on the couch while I hid in the back with the firefighters! And now he's trying to walk, not really trying to talk, and way too darn cute. Kaelan started pre-school and he's super-excited about that. He's a smart 4 year old. We count to ten in three languages! We did lots of playing and even went 4-wheeling with Kurt at the off-road park. It was kind of like riding an incredibly bumpy roller coaster. I sat in the back and got tossed around like a marble in a bowl!

Kameron the cake Joker
Playing at the Fishie park with Easter

Now what I've been up to. Besides baby-sitting Mom and Dad's two Jack Russel Terrors--Ziggy and Easter--I recently started doing dictations for Kamil at Precision Prosthetics and Orthotics, which is where I worked last year if you remember. I am off to Bryn Mawr in June for my 4th summer and I'm so excited about that. All my favorite people will be there, including Heather! Yay! I was offered a book deal before Christmas and I turned it down. :( I didn't feel as though they were being very fair. I think my little book is worth more than that! So now that I'm attempting to play in the big leagues, I am finding just how frustrating and discouraging it can be. I have sent queries to at least 20 agents and gotten mucho rejections but a few very good reviews as well. And two of them actually asked for my first chapter! I'm hanging in there with that.

As for the future, who knows? I have visions of sailing in Australia, working in Greece, and getting my Masters in Creative Writing.

Happy Halloween!!!

I wish I were still a kid during Halloween time. Finding the perfect costume--somehow I think I'd go as a lost sock this year--the smells in the air, getting candy, the excitement of the evening in general!
Luckily for the past 2 Halloweens I have been living with my nephew, so I got the chance to see the perfect costume and be a part of the evening with him. This Halloween, however, I am on my own. So I dressed my teddy bear up as Batman and the Sister Missionaries are coming over. I doubt we'll get any Trick-or-Treaters. We never do. Everyone hits the town these days.
Speaking of Batman, I'd date him. Some reasons why: 1. The Batcave! How cool would that place be? Just think of all the buttons to push! 2. The Batsuit! He has so many cool gadgets. Besides, he looks pretty good in the Batsuit, doesn't he? 3. The fact that he's a superhero through gadgets and willpower only--no radioactivity that causes him to turn into a spider--let's face it, who knows what else Spiderman is going to develop over the years. And he's not an illegal alien like Superman. 4. Bruce Wayne is pretty hot too.

Loooooong Time

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything!
Days go by here. Our computer died and we got a new one--one of those all-in-one jobbies with a touchscreen. We got a new puppy, one of Ziggy's sisters, actually. Her name is Easter and she's a little peanut. She looks so much smaller than Ziggy, it is hard to believe they are from the same litter! To me, Easter doesn't look much like a Jack Russell, with those short little legs, but she's still adorable. She's just settling in. I have been working on my book and am pretty happy with the development of it so far. We're going to Kurt and Kat's pretty soon for Kaelan's 4th birthday. I can't believe he's so old already!