She Likes Purple

Eleven

This day marks the eleventh anniversary of the day Mike first invited me over to his house, to watch a movie. Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, if memory serves. It marks the first day he ever poured me a glass of wine and held my hand and asked me a dozen questions about myself, trying to get to know me better, this strange girl sitting on his couch. This day marks the eleventh anniversary of the day I truly found him. 

January 10, 2004.  

I was wearing a black t-shirt and nervous as all hell. He had accidentally given me the wrong directions, so I drove around for a half hour before finding the courage to call and figure out where I was. (Eleven years ago was before smart phones! I just drove in circles, hoping "Mike's House" would flash in neon lights in front of my car.) I remember the walk to his front door, when I FINALLY got there, Molly eying me suspiciously as I stepped inside. I instantly loved his roommate, something I found out later truly mattered to Mike. 

Mike and I went out of town last weekend, just shy of eleven years together, to celebrate my birthday. As we drove out of Oklahoma, heading toward home, talking about work trips and Kyle and 2015 plans and budgeting and life, I began to ache. It's a feeling I know all too well. The feeling of having to share Mike with the world, with the rest of our ordinary lives. It's the feeling of missing him when he's right beside me. 

Mike makes fun of me for what I insist on celebrating. I'm a party-thrower at heart. I would invite people over and serve cocktails for Handwriting Day, if I thought people would come. (That's a legit thing, my Paper Source calendar tells me.) I like celebrating. I like tossing confetti in the air. Just give me a reason to celebrate, and I'll grasp at it. But when it comes to this day, January 10th, it's a no-brainer. 

The day Mike and I became Mike and I? It's the very best days of all the days to celebrate. 

My goodness, do I wish I could tell that girl driving in circles eleven years ago that she'd make it there. And she'd never leave.

My 2015 To-Do List

Each year I make a (rather lengthy) to-do list with tangible, cross-offable goals. I usually finish about half my list, which is both impressive and disappointing, depending on the day you ask me. I'm aiming to finish a little more than usual this year, and I kept that in mind as I wrote out these to-dos. It'll live in the site's sidebar, where I'll enjoy the immense pleasure of crossing things off as I go:

1. Launch a professional website
2. Read 52 books 
3. Print canvases for the downstairs bathroom
4. Buy and frame a Central American map
5. Leave the country
6. Go the entire year without buying a single book 
7. Take a boudoir shoot
8. Try out Jen's fancy-pants yoga studio
9. Run in Central Park
10. Read all the books on Elizabeth's best of lists (2012, 2013, 2014). I'm 16 total books away; eek.
11. Buy a bed frame and figure out what to put on the wall above our bed
12. Figure out an organizational solution for my insane, too-small, jam-packed closet
13. Make a new friend
14. Finally try: Reata, Velvet Taco, Nonna
15. Visit my step-mom & brother
16. Donate all my unwanted books to my local library 
17. Find a regular volunteer opportunity that matters to me
18. Create a 2014 family yearbook
19. Buy a hammock 
20. Hike in a new place 
21. Host our third annual July Fourth Extravaganza 
22. Escape for a night with Natalie
23. Hang living room shelves 
24. Go back to Tyler State Park
25. Hang curtains! Come on, Jennie, this isn't a hard one.
26. Embroider my new tree skirt
27. Re-hang California picture in living room
28. Hang Kyle's soccer picture in living room 
29. Buy a tree topper
30. Read a classic
31. Get Kyle a passport
32. Give The Wire another chance
33. Paint our front door
34. Read The Goldfinch
35. Take surf lessons
36. Go back to a conversational Spanish meet-up
37. Pay off a credit card
38. Pay off my student loans
39. Volunteer at least 3x at Kyle's school
40. Buy new comforters for both Kyle and us
41. Make it down to San Antonio, for the first time in years
42. Finally make a blanket out of Kyle's keepsake baby clothes
43. Buy a pair of Tieks
44. Call a contractor, to get a quote on the work we want done on the house
45. Go to a city council meeting
46. Clean up our side porch 
47. Clean out our spare bathroom
48. Run a local Turkey Trot race
49. Create and hang a jewelry block in my bathroom
50. Buy/Create/Commission a "Work Hard & Be Nice to People" print for my office
51. Host Easter brunch, and send paper invitations for it
52. Go out of town for the night, all by myself
53. Go to the: Dallas Zoo, Dallas Arboretum, Perot Museum 
54. Finish a new vacation box
55. Cross-stitch something
56. Wear a bathing suit, on the beach
57. Make 25 new cookbook recipes 
58. Organize a reunion dinner with some much-loved h.s. friends
59. Go horseback riding 
60. Try 10 new local restaurants 
61. Go to my general doctor, for a check-up, blood work, etc.
62. Drink coffee in Seattle
63. Put a new map pin in our U.S. wall map
64. Bring cookies or treats to our local fire station
65. Attend a local marketing/professional organization event
66. Visit the Redwoods
67. Take Kyle to a football game (any football game)
68. Finally, finally, finally go to our local water park
69. Put my feet in the ocean 
70. Give up meat, alcohol, soda for at least 60 days each
71. Make a wreath for the front door
72. Put together a care package for someone who's been on my mind a lot
73. Get back to Tulsa, at least once
74. Finish at least 50 items on this list! 
75. Take violin lessons
76. Be (mostly) happy

My 11 favorite books of 2014

it was just a little too hard to cut the list by one to make it a top ten. (And eleven look better in the collage I made, anyway.)

Warning: if YA contemporary fiction isn't for you, then, well, this may not be the list for you. I read a lot of YA this year. But, there's also a classic, a book about baseball, and a book about books. 

And a note: So many of these weren't published in 2014, but hey! That just means your local library might have copies in stock.

11. To All the Boys I've Loved Before. I love finding a book I can recommend to just about anyone (if they enjoy the genre). And this book is that book. It was just good and fun and sweet without any caveats. I happy sighed at the end. (And there's a sequel!) 

10. On the Jellicoe Road. I read the first 50 pages thinking, "I am going to hate this book; what is even going on?" and then by page 100, I thought, "Please never ever ever end, book." It started strangely and ended magically, and it was unlike anything I've ever read before. How often can you say that about a book? (I've since read Saving Francesca, another of Marchetta's, which I also enjoyed.)

9. Please Ignore Vera Dietz. This book uplifted and gutted me, all at once. It was dark yet hopeful, and I was Vera's cheerleader the entire time. But, boy, do we do impossibly cruel things to the people we love the most, don't we? I wish I had read this with a book club because I just wanted to talk about it for hours after I finished.

8. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. I kind of hate the title because every time I recommend this book to someone, their eyes glaze over before I finish saying it. Please ignore your instinct to ignore this book because it's amazing. I actually think if you love books, it should be required reading. When I become president, I'm making that an official law. (Pretty sure that's how laws work.) I also finished it in something like two hours, which always warms my heart a bit.

7. We Were Liars. This is one of those love-it-or-hate-it books, I've learned since finishing it (and loving it). Some thought the twist was contrived or something something, but it was the first book of the year I paused while reading just to savor the words. I loved it, twist and all.

6. How to Love. Do you have a TV show or movie that you revisit all the time because it just hits a particular note for you? It's not necessarily great or award-winning but it's what you seek out on rainy days when you just need to warm up? For me, that movie is Catch & Release, and it's also this book. I just loved it, start to finish, despite knowing it was basically a guilty pleasure. I loved it so much that after my library's loan expired, I bought the book to have in my house forever. 

5. I'll Give You the Sun. For those of you who don't think you enjoy reading young adult books, I suggest starting with this one. It's not great young adult fiction, it's just great fiction. It's a beautiful story, despite how old the characters are. It's poetry, really. I never wanted this book to end. (Honorable mention to The Sky is Everywhere for being almost as good. Jandy Nelson, get to writing a dozen more books, please!)

4. Althea & Oliver. I understood so well the love between these characters regardless where it went or how messy and complicated it became along the way. I could see this book as a movie or, even better, a CW show that further explored Althea's time in New York. And the writing was top-notch. I practically shivered as she wrote about the cold New York weather. Different and quirky and sad and lovely, and I thought the ending was just perfect. 

3. What Alice Forgot. What an unexpectedly wonderful book. It was funny and sad, with so much perspective along the way. I wanted to have coffee with Alice by the end. (Having emotional feelings for fictional characters should be a resume skill of mine.) Another I wish I'd read with a book club. 

2. To Kill a Mockingbird. I always say this is my favorite book, but a few pages in, I realized how silly that's been to say all these years since I remembered next to nothing about it. Thankfully, I loved it even more than I thought I did and hoped I would. After re-reading, I wanted to have another baby (or maybe just adopt another puppy) to name him Atticus. I wanted to tattoo "and only the children weep" on my arm (or maybe just frame the words in my living room). Another book that every single person should be required to read in their lifetime, and though I'm usually very much "to each their reading own" when it comes to books, if you didn't love this book, you're wrong.

1. The Art of Fielding. I read this Vanity Fair piece, about the book's writing and publishing process, and I'd almost recommend you read that first (though, heads-up, it's long), so you can enjoy the book that much more. This book is a masterpiece. It's long and maybe a little slow to start, and the characters all do terrible things at some point, but it's my favorite book of the year. And that wasn't even a hard decision to come by. It'll probably stay in my top-five favorite books of the decade. Whenever I hear about a book and I think, "Oh, that premise isn't for me," I'm going to remind myself that my favorite book of 2014 was about a small college's baseball team. It doesn't really matter what a book's about. All that matters is how a book makes you feel.

Now, I'd genuinely love to know what books you loved this year. 

My 2014

(2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Inspired all these years by Linda) 

1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before? 

Visited Central America, watched Kyle splash in the Atlantic Ocean, read 47 (!!) books in a single year, walked my son into his Kindergarten class, drove solo from Los Angeles to San Diego (boy, did that take longer than expected, California traffic), took a bicycle wine tour in Canada's Niagara wine country, slept in a tree house, drank beer in the oldest "Irish tavern" in New York City, enjoyed a massage on the beach, visited Venice Beach (and saw Muscle Beach), rode in an inter-tube through a cave, saw a MotoGP race in person, had professional family photos taken, watched my sister get a tattoo, toured the New York Times, sat in the same room as Lauren Graham, ate at Tavern on the Green in Central Park, stayed at an AirBnb place by myself, spent Christmas with both my parents (as an adult, since they divorced), celebrated my birthday on Bourbon Street, and probably a dozen other things my old, fuzzy brain can't think of.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 

Like last year, I counted up how much I accomplished this past year, based off my annual to-do list, and finished about 50%. Not quite what I was aiming for (obviously) but I'm still pretty proud of myself. Have to be.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

It was a good year for beautiful babies. Kristie, Natalie, a close friend Jen, Miriel, and many other lovely people. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, so very thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?

I rarely get to answer this question, but this year I was fortunate enough to travel to both Belize and Canada. I also visited a handful of states, though none for the first time: Oklahoma (2x), Louisiana, California, New York, Florida, Nevada, and all over Texas (Austin 3x, New Braunfels, Tyler, Gruene).

6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you didn't have in 2014? 

Time with my brother.

7. What dates from 2014 will be etched upon your memory, and why? 

The usual suspects: birthdays of those I love most, anniversaries of special days, and also July 3rd, when we hosted a wonderful, family- and fun-filled early July Fourth celebration. (Friends from DC were here, my dad was here, a neighbor came over for the first time. Such a full house and heart.)

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

I went to therapy for the first time in a very long time, to sort out some not-so-healthy thought patterns and stress reactors. After years of wanting to take that step, I'm pretty proud of myself for taking it this year.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I'm hard on myself, so the (mental) list is long. Giving those failures a voice is toxic.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing out of the ordinary, thankfully.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Our family photo shoot with Natalie.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My sweet mother. She had a hard year, with a lot of ups and downs, and she's doing her best to welcome what will hopefully be a much healthier, happier year.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

About 90% of the people in the comments section of any given online, news-related article.

14. Where did most your money go?

Scattered far and wide! Taxes, debt, travel, but as of late August, NO LONGER DAY CARE, THANK EVERYTHING, DRINKS ON ME. 

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Belize, our MotoGP trip, my work trip to LA & San Diego, Kyle starting Kindergarten, my trip to Canada to visit my sister, Christmas.

16. What song will always remind you of 2014?

If Taylor Swift didn't sing it, I'm probably not going to think of 2014 when I hear it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier: Yes.
Thinner: Eh.
Richer: Always, with every passing year, with nothing to do with money.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Texted, called, emailed, or sent a note to someone when I thought of them. There's no time like the present to reconnect or stay connected with someone you care about. It's the thought that counts is actually ridiculous, when you think of it, because no. It's the time you spend putting that thought into action that actually counts.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Kicked myself around. Kindness is key, to everyone you meet, but never more important than toward yourself.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

My dad came to Texas for Christmas for the first time, and we hosted Christmas Eve dinner with my little family, my parents (whose ability to be warmly together without drama is something I'm deeply grateful for), and Mike's parents. It was perfect. Then, we got up Christmas morning to open gifts before I cooked the morning away. Naps followed, and then we enjoyed another delicious dinner with those same loved ones over at my in-laws' house. One of my favorite Christmases ever.

21. Did you fall in love in 2014?

Yes! With my local library. 

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I've watched a lot of TV in my day, but I didn't really discover a new show this year--except maybe Peaky Blinders, but I'm just one episode in--so I'll just say The Good Wife. Consistently good TV right there. Oh, and I really loved live-texting The Vampire Diaries with Elizabeth. So much fun.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Hate isn't actually productive at all.

24. What was the best book you read?

Post to come with my 10 favorites from 2014, but I'll spoil that post by saying my favorite of the year was probably The Art of Fielding.

From it: "You told me once that a soul isn't something a person is born with but something that must be built, by effort and error, study and love. And you did that with more dedication than most, that work of building a soul -- not for your own benefit but for the benefit of those that knew you."

For a book (not really) about a small college's baseball team, I sure did get punched in the gut in the best possible way.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

1989, friends. 

26. What did you want and get?

Time in hammocks, so many good books read, an international vacation (I got two!), a warm and family-filled Christmas, a new car for Mike. A little more peace at work than in 2013.

27. What did you want and not get?

Same answer as last year: there will always be something.

28. What was your favorite film of 2014?

I didn't see many movies this year, but I did really enjoy Begin Again.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 32 on January 3rd and Mike and I celebrated in New Orleans. It was actually the perfect birthday, and it inspired me to plan another getaway for this upcoming birthday as well. Where will we go in 2016?

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Winning lottery ticket? Yeah, I probably wouldn't pass on one of those. 

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2014?

"Thank you, Stitch Fix."

32. What kept you sane?

Mike, Kyle, laughter, Natalie, adventures, the Serial podcast, reading, my mother, my mother-in-law, animal GIFs, cheese, wine, cheese and wine at the same time, sitting in my work best friend's office, fresh air, deep breaths, Molly snuggling in my lap, naps, therapy, perspective, cooking, and a million other tiny, beautiful things. 

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

Lack of humanity, is that a political issue? Sure felt like one this year, and it gutted me, often.

34. Who did you miss?

My brother. It's been since 2011. Too long.

35. Who was the best new person you met?

Kyle's Kindergarten teacher.  

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014.

Choose to be kind as often as you possibly can. And don't keep the kind thoughts you have to yourself. Speak them out loud, often, and with sincerity. 

Here's to a wonderful 2015, for us all.

Seven Quick Takes: Books, Halloween, Gift Guides, (Belated) Belize

Wow, I've been neglectful. Let's catch up.

1. I've been on a reading kick lately, in hopes I would beat last year's record of reading 28 books. And I did! So I'm now pushing for 35. (I realize 35 books is a drop in the literary bucket for most, but it's such a big deal for me.) And, hey! If you want to see what I've been reading (so much YA), I keep my Goodreads page and Facebook page updated. 

Any books you've loved this year? 

2. Mike's been traveling a lot this year--so much I've lost count of how many actual trips he's taken and this is after basically taking five total work trips the entire eight years before--so I told him during his last two weeks away, "Dude, I love you, and I know you have to be gone as much as you're gone, and we're fine at home, really, but you have got to take me away soon, just us." 

So, for my birthday, we're going to Broken Bow, Oklahoma, to hang out in a cabin for a couple days and do nothing but sleep and drink and read and then take a few naps. (Kyle's staying with his Nana because he doesn't value sleep as much as we do. It's his only character flaw.)

You may think Oklahoma is a strange mini-vacation destination, but loooooook:

We're staying here.

I can't wait.

3. Kyle was a dragon for Halloween, and in case you want to be absolutely terrified*, here are a few photos. 

*He had been practicing roaring all week, and was totally proud of how loud and scary his roars were. I told him to go ahead and roar at one of the houses, and he looked at me in shock and said, "No, no, mom, I don't want to scare them!" Like, lord woman, where's your soul at?

4. Podcasts! I'm sure you've heard of Serial, the podcast that's made my Thursday morning commutes, strangely, one of my favorite times of the week. I've tried to find other podcasts that can keep me as engaged and distracted from the traffic jams I routinely sit in, but nothing comes quite close. 

Any podcasts you love and can recommend? (And I'm up for all kinds--business, finance, true crime, travel, whatever.)

5. I don't know if you remember Style Lush and Food Lush, two sites I co-managed for a few years. One thing I always looked forward to during the life of those sites was our annual gift guide.

The uniquely wonderful and lovely Caitlin has carried on the gift guide tradition on her newly launched blog, and it made me endlessly happy to peruse so many gifts. I'm probably buying this, this, and these for myself.

Check out her 2014 gift guide!

6. This is very old news, but I was honored to write a guest post a few months ago for a favorite local Belize blog, San Pedro Scoop. (I devoured this site during time researching our trip earlier this year.) I wrote about why we chose Belize, especially when there are so many other tropical destinations to choose from these days.

7. This is another old reading recommendation, but oh how I loved Leighton Meester's op-ed titled I'm Not A Tart, about her experience in the Broadway role of Curley's wife in Of Mice and Men. I always did like Blair best.

Five is...

(Four is...)

Five is argumentative. If you say the sky is blue, five says somewhat matter-of-factly, "Actually, I think the sky is light blue." You may gnash your teeth and pull out your hair and attempt to define blue for age five, but age five doesn't care, sorry five's not sorry, it's definitely light blue.

Five knows everything, no really all of it. You may ask five a question it doesn't know the answer to, but that's simply because something is obviously wrong with the question. 

Five has lost the ability to process any information that isn't information about football or Beyblades or Legos or dessert. If you ask five to feed the dog, five will say, "Sure!" and then you will remind five to feed the dog, and five will say, "Yes, mommy!" and the dog will not be fed until 15 minutes later when you yell, "SERIOUSLY, FEED MOLLY OR SHE GETS YOUR DINNER."

"Don't YELL Mommy!"

Five is just starting to really define its actual independence and where age two or three proudly declared, "I CAN DO IT" when age two or three most definitely could not do it, age five is willing to try a ton of new things that age five can actually do. Maybe not well or tidy but age five sort of thinks it can take on the world, and age five is sort of right.

Age five's manners are starting to click, and you hear "thank you" sweetly shouted at waitresses and teachers and grandparents after years of reminding it to say thank you. Age five speaks loudly enough for others to hear, and answers questions in complete sentences, not shy one-word whispers. When someone asks five how school is, five says, "We went on a field trip and I played with Alejandro at recess and we have dance parties!" animatedly, with confidence.

While age five literally never stops talking it's still an age of few words when I'm the one asking the questions. (I have to get ridiculously creative when I'm peppering him with questions at the end of the school day.) Age five has ironically  said, "I AM DONE WITH THESE QUESTIONS" because oh really, age five? I had to answer 74 questions the other day about where babies come from, I promise asking who you sat next to at lunch is less uncomfortable. 

Age five is better at math than I am. 

Age five is honest and can sometimes deeply hurt a fragile mom's feelings. Age five doesn't mean to, but age five speaks the truth. Oh yes.

Age five turns to wave when it gets out of the car, in the school pick-up line in the morning, drowning beneath its big-kid backpack. Age five grins with its whole self and laughs even deeper. Age five is so, so, so big but when you put it up against all those other grades in elementary school, age five is so, so, so tiny. Too tiny. Are we sure its legal, to let age five walk into that school building each day, all on its own?

Age five is resilient. When a kid says "I don't like you" on the playground, while our hearts fracture into one million pieces, age five says, "I walked away and played with Jack instead." Oh age five. I think I'm learning from you more than I'm teaching you.

Age five still runs to hug you at the end of the day, and while its harder than ever before to pick up five and hug it close to you, you still can. Not for much longer. But for now. You hug and hug and hug. Age five hugs better than anyone you know.

Age five holds the door open for you, and says, "You go first mommy." 

Age five still has the tiniest, smallest hint of baby in its cheeks and elbows and belly when age five is fast asleep. 

Age five says "Seriously?" when it witnesses an injustice, like a car not using its turn signal or a motorcyclist not wearing his/her helmet. 

Age five is probably arguing RIGHT THIS SECOND.

Sometimes when you glance at age five from across the soccer field or parking lot or backyard or dinner table, your breath catches because you can see what age ten or age fifteen will look like. Age five feels closer to that than it feels to those early ages. Weren't you just looking at age one or two? Time feels so strange most days. I remember willing time to speed up, so I could sleep more, be alone more, read more. Age five is at a starting line and the gun's gone off, and you've been waiting five entire years for it to do exactly that but now that it has...wait. Don't turn that corner quite so quickly. Alright, if you must, look back just once, would you?

Age five looks back, but far too quickly.

Age five is hard and beautiful and hilarious (seriously, hilarious) and cool and smart and running away from you a little more each and every day. 

Age five runs a lot. (And trips a lot too.) 

When we were trying, hoping, praying to get pregnant, I used to drive around and talk to my future baby. I'd say things like "I don't care what books you like or even if you like books at all. I don't care what you look like or sound like. I don't care if you like boys or girls or baseball or badminton or want to live with us forever or away from us for most of your days. I don't care about any of that. I just care about you."

Age five reminds me of those weepy promises. Because age five is starting to fill in those blanks. Age five is beginning to draw its place in this world, forming hobbies, making real friends, dealing with its first disappointments and obstacles and talents and victories. And I realize that what I meant then and what I mean now, each and every day, is that as five's place gets drawn, all I really know is that I want a front-row seat in its corner. 

Age five is something else. 

I'm cheering for it every single day.

 

Kyle Quotes: Three

(Kyle Quotes One and Two)

Kyle calls my mom (whose name is Peggy), Nana.
Me: I need to text Nana, and ask her a question.
Kyle: You should really call her Peggy.

Kyle, showing me his artwork: This is a spider monkey, this is a sea lion, and this is a macaroni cheese penguin.

We spotted a bug on the floor. I scooped it up and dropped it into the toilet. 
Kyle: Why are you doing that?
Me: Oh, well, I'm letting the bug go for a swim.
Kyle: Does it like to swim?
Me: Sure. 
Kyle: Maybe we should put Molly in there sometime.

At dinner, all three of us, when I ask Mike about our upcoming date night.
Me: What should we do? We could go camping. Or we could go to that bar we tried to go to a few months ago.
Kyle: Don't go camping without me!
Me: So should we go to a bar instead, buds?
Kyle: What's a bar?
Mike: It's where you listen to music and drink beer. 
Kyle: Go to a bar. I don't like beer.

A couple months ago Kyle and I drove to Tulsa for the night, and we drove through the worst thunderstorm I've ever experienced. It was terrifying, for us both. Later that night, once we arrived safe and sound, we were talking about it.
Kyle: How did you get us through that bad storm, mommy?
Me: I don't know, buds. Maybe angels helped us.
Kyle: No, angels aren't real! I can't even see them.
Me: Sure they are! There are lots of things that are real that you can't see. Like love. You can feel love but can't see it. What else is real that you can't see?
Kyle: Pirate ships.

That same roadtrip to Tulsa.
Me: We're crossing the border! We're officially in Oklahoma now, buds.
Kyle: Oklahoma looks a lot like Texas.

At dinner, Mike said he was going to finish his entire baked potato. 
Kyle: Once, I ate all my dinner.
Mike: Oh yeah, what was it?
Kyle: I really don't know.

I sing this ridiculous state song from time to time, that I learend in the fifth grade, mostly to annoy Mike but also because it's kind of a fun song. (Or so I think.) I sang it to Kyle for the first time recently. When I finished...
Me: Did you like that?
Kyle: You did great Mommy!
Me: Want me to sing it again?
Kyle: No thank you.

I tried to explain to Kyle about the cafeteria at his new school, and how he could eat there once a week (whatever day he wants) and the rest of the time, I'd make him a lunch. After I finished explaining...
Kyle: Mommy, I didn't understand any of that.

Kindergarten

Kyle starts Kindergarten on Tuesday.

I'm kind of a wreck about Kyle starting Kindergarten on Tuesday.

I know, this is the biggest parenting cliche there is. The weepy mom saying goodbye to her baby on his/her first day of Kindergarten. Forget that he's been in daycare since he was nine weeks old. Forget that we're absolutely privileged for the education he'll be getting, at a great school close to home. Forget that this is a universal parenting milestone. Kindergarten! I'm certainly not the first parent. (See all those Facebook photos of kids holding up adorable signs for proof.) (Of course Kyle will be holding up his own adorable sign on Tuesday.) (Even if they stopped being adorable years ago.) Even forget all that daycare tuition we'll be saving. 

Forget all that because I'm a mess. How are we here? How is he old enough? How can I be sure he'll enjoy school or that his teacher will turn out to be the best person who has ever existed in the history of the entire world? 

I've been obsessively searching for awesome lunch ideas and first day outfits and weekend activities for our very last pre-Kindergarten weekend because these are the things I can control. I'm even having the house cleaned on Monday--the day before school starts--so we can start the year, his first year, on a fresh, new foot. 

Made even fresher by all those tears I'll have cried.

I cried at his Kindergarten Round-up this past April, crying on his first day of school is the surest thing that's ever been. 

The other day Kyle said to me in the car that he was a little nervous because he didn't know any of the other kids' names (he's not going to school with a ton of kids he knows because his daycare--and most of his other friends--are in neighboring towns), and I told him that he'd definitely learn their names and that there was actually a time he didn't know any of his current best buddies' names.

He wasn't convinced.

So I told him the story of how I met Natalie, on the first day of school (even though it was the first day of sixth grade, and even though it might have been the second or third day of sixth grade, no one tell Kyle I stretched some details, alright?), and how I didn't know her name when I first met her.

"You didn't know Natty's name?!"

"I didn't! I rode the bus home and I asked if I could sit next to her, and then I asked her name."

"And she told you?"

"She did! And we've been friends ever since."

"Oh good, because now you know her name."

"I do, I do know her name, buds. All because of school."

He seemed a little better after that.

(I'm still a mess.)

(Wine on Monday night, yes?)

(And then again on Tuesday, 'round lunch?)

Sponsored Post: Radisson Two-Night Stay Giveaway (Updated with Winner)

I love to travel--you likely know this about me--and I also really love encouraging travel. Whether it be traveling far or just heading down the road for a quick escape close to home. Actually, those kinds of escapes can be some of my favorites. They don't break the bank, they allow you a little downtime, and you can justify sleeping until noon because you're away.

When Mike and I traveled to DC last year, I laid in our hotel bed one night at 7:30pm, reading a book and drinking a glass of wine and exhaled, saying, "This is my favorite thing to do." Mike tried to point out that I could easily read and drink a glass of wine in bed at home, and I shushed him immediately. It's never the same at home as it is in a hotel. At home there is a laundry pile and a sink full of dishes and floors to sweep and, also, Molly is pretty terrible at bringing me room service meals. Hotel relaxing just trumps home relaxing for me. 

Anyway, nearly two years ago, I hosted a Radisson giveaway, and it remains one of my favorite giveaways to date. I was pretty thrilled when I was recently contacted again about hosting another giveaway for Radisson, for a two-night stay at any Radisson property in North America. In exchange for hosting this giveaway, I'm also getting a two-night stay in any North American Radisson, which is why I'm now plotting how the family can escape to Mexico City or Vancouver or right to this pool.

Radisson is trying to spread the word of their very cool contest offering a lucky winner free Radisson hotel stays for life (you can learn more and enter that contest here). Free stays for life! I'd basically just move right into a hotel each and every weekend if I won.

To enter my two-night stay giveaway, just comment below (perhaps say in your comment what Radisson location you'd like to stay at and you can see that full list here), and I'll randomly pick and announce a winner by August 15th. 

Good luck and happy travels! 

***

Updated: The randomly selected winner is bessie.viola, #65. Emailing you shortly! Hope you get to enjoy Chicago.

Some Great New York Eats

Weeks and weeks ago, I went to New York for a work trip, and it was one of my favorite trips there to date for all the professional networking I accomplished, yes, but also all the delicious food I ate. Seriously, an A+ food trip. (Which all trips should really strive to be, am I right?)

Here are the highlights. 

1. Roberta's

Adrienne, my friend and colleague, had heard good things about this Brooklyn pizza joint, so we took the subway to Bushwick our first night in town. We were told it'd be at least an hour wait, so we had drinks in the outdoor tiki bar. A table opened up no more than a half-hour later, which is my favorite kind of wait. One that's half as long as expected.

We decided to split the bee sting pizza, and I've wanted a slice of this amazing pizza approximately one million times since then.

(And look! The restaurant has a cookbook that I have now added to my Christmas list.) 

2. Frank

I haven't eaten a meal in Italy yet, but I like to think I know a thing or two about delicious food, especially delicious pasta. I have tried my fair share of delightful hole-in-the-wall gems and also pricey places with a ton of awards and this place had the best Italian food I've ever eaten. 

I feel confident saying that because I was with two colleagues and we each ordered a different pasta (the gnocchi, the pappardelle, and the ravioli) and each was absolutely delicious. We also split the burrata and that was also the best burrata I've ever had.

The extra teeny-tiny restaurant and the kind of aloof service couldn't keep this meal from being seriously perfect.

3. Ruby's 

We had burgers here one night, and it was another teeny place with a wait, but wow so worth it. One of the best burgers I've ever had. And, truly, a good burger is one of the reasons I stopped being a vegetarian. I LOVE A GOOD BURGER.

4. McSorley's Old Ale House

This is obviously not a great eat, but it was such a fun bar! You order just light or dark (and you get two small pints for something like $5) and you also get a dose of history as you sip because it's one of the oldest bars in NYC. 

5. The Wayfarer

We wanted breakfast our last morning and basically walked in circles until we found something slightly well-rated on Yelp. This was such a surprising find. The pancakes were incredible, and the Mediterranean scramble I had was really delicious too. 

(I've been to New York a dozen times. Here are a few favorites from previous trips: Sugar Sweet Sunshine, Locanda Verde, and a few more suggestions.)

Hello, Goodbye

The break-neck speed that time seems to tumble by the first few years of having a child can fool us (certainly fooled me) into forgetting there's also so much routine to our crazy lives. 

Kyle's been at the same daycare since he was five months old. We've been in the same house since about then, as well. We take the same drive to school, and we take the same drive home. He's had the same best buddy since around then, and we see him at soccer practice and swim lessons and at parks when it's not a million degrees outside. 

He's hit so many milestones--crawling, walking, talking, sleeping through the night, moving out of his crib, writing his full name, riding a bike, and way back in the day my personal favorite, putting his pacifier back in his mouth himself--that life feels like it's always changing. Yet he's up at 7am every morning, still napping all these years later. He has loved Legos for years. He has loved motorcycles forever. 

He watches sports and plays soccer and though my memory is stellar, it gets fuzzy when I try to reach back into it to remember a time when he didn't watch sports or play soccer. 

We say goodbye to his daycare teachers and 7am wakeups and naps next month. He starts Kindergarten and, not to sound too dramatic, he starts his entire life. I remember my first day of Kindergarten. What I wore, where I sat, how long I wanted my parents to stay in the room with me (longer than they were able to). I bet he remembers all that too.

I'm thrilled for this new chapter, and I'm so thrilled for him. Kindergarten! School! He's going to have a blast, even when he doesn't. Even when days suck, he's going to be starting his beautiful life. I can't wait to witness it. I can't wait to watch him read and learn and add and subtract and throw Kindergarten-level fits when he's too exhausted to speak clearly at the end of the day. To make friendships and break friendships. To eventually fall in love, with people and hobbies and moments.

But it's a new chapter and with it the end of, truly, a five-year-long one that came before. That came first. His first chapter, closing.

Hello and goodbye. 

Hello.

Goodbye.

Wishes

We had a July Fourth (on the third) get-together, to watch our town's fireworks from our backyard (since we can see them from our backyard, thank everything) and, alright, so we could also enjoy this delicious sparkling grapefruit sangria.

After the fireworks, we pulled out some paper lanterns*, like we did last year, and had everyone write down their personal wishes for the rest of the year. We wrote down things like travel and happiness and babies (not me, promise) and health and more gratitude and also lots of winning lottery tickets. 

Then we lit them and let them go. 

It was a wonderful moment--well, once we got over the fear of burning our town down--to see more than a dozen lanterns, covered in wishes, floating away. Now, if anyone at our party actually does win the lottery, I sure hope their memory serves them well, and they toss a few bucks our way. 

And we'll do it again in 2015.

*We bought a multi-colored pack, and you can buy a similar set on Amazon here. 

Sponsored Post: Mondavi Wines and Summer Meals

I know there are Strong Internet Feelings about sponsored posts, and I understand them, truly, but I have a few strong feelings of my own and most of them involve wine. (And, alright, CW shows.) So when I was recently given the opportunity to try out a few bottles of Mondavi wine in return for a post about my favorite summer recipes (and how Mondavi wine pairs well with those summer dishes), it sounded like a fun project right up my alley. And, hey, I live in Texas. I usually only manage through a Texas summer with the help of a lot of wine and ignoring our oven almost entirely for dinners on the grill instead.  

(The grill that I should have probably cleaned before taking pictures of it.)

Anyway, we have so many dinners that we outsource to our grill during summertime, and a few of those favorites include veggie fajitas (we have no official recipe, other than throwing all the vegetables we've got onto the grill, though peppers and mushrooms are almost always a staple) and burgers (my particular summer favorite is a turkey burger with Swiss cheese, on a sourdough English muffin).

(Veggie fajitas!)

But, as I tasted the Mondavi wines, I realized that each of them--the Chardonnay, Scarlet Five, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Blonde Five--would all compliment my absolute favorite summer meal. Kebabs. The great thing about kebabs is that you can use almost any protein and almost any veggie and it becomes an easy, delicious, perfect-for-summer meal, made on the grill. And we always seem to make a ton of food when we opt for this dinner, so it's perfect when we have friends over. 

We usually use the same marinade for our kebabs, regardless of what we're actually grilling.

Kebab Marinade

• 1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• a few dashes of liquid smoke
• 2 T of olive oil
• cracked black pepper
• a little Old Bay seasoning 

We marinate our protein--usually shrimp, chicken, beef, or salmon, cut into bite-sized pieces--and our veggies--mushrooms, peppers, potatoes, asparagus, onions, whatever else is on hand--in a bag for a few hours in the fridge and then place all the protein on their own kebab sticks and all the vegetables on their own. The protein (especially shrimp, of course) takes a lot less time than the veggies, so time accordingly! 

I serve with a salad or garlic bread or on top of rice. Whatever is easy and on hand. The thing about summer dining is that you're already suffering through insane heat (at least I am), so why not make dinner as easy as possible. Also, Mike prefers to manage the grill, so by "easy" I mean that I get to sit on the porch drinking wine and then I get to continue sitting on the porch when dinner is served. Easy indeed.

Depending on your meat, you can pair these kebabs with any of the Mondavi wines I tried--chicken with the Blonde Five; beef with the Cabernet Sauvignon--and it just makes all that work and lawn care and SUMMER HEAT more bearable. And, honestly, I have to give a special shout-out to the Mondavi Chardonnay because I don't particularly care for that kind of wine, so I put off trying it when my samples came, but when I did, I was SO pleasantly surprised. I'd seriously buy it for myself in a heartbeat, and it's a totally reasonable price point ($7/bottle). Seriously, I was in no way asked to say this specific thing about this specific bottle, but I genuinely wanted to. (And the bottle has since been fully consumed, ahem, so I need to go out and re-purchase.)

I'd love to hear what you're grilling this summer, so I can try out some new dishes. I've even got wine left over, if you want to meet me on my porch.

Oh, a couple things of notes about Mondavi: Mondavi wine is sold nationwide in every US state, and a percentage of each bottle sold between May - August is donated to Intrepid Fallen Heroes (up to $50,000).

***

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

My Personality Summed Up in One Conversation

Mike: I don't think our fig tree made it through the winter.
Me: Ahhhhhh, that sucks.
Mike: I know, I'll probably need to get rid of it. Maybe we can plant something else in its place.
Me: No! Don't cut it down. I love that tree.
Mike: You don't like figs, you never ate a single fig from the tree, and you never gave a single fig to anyone else.
Me: But I liked telling people we had a fig tree. 

 

ATX Festival: Take Two

Last year, I went to the ATX Television Festival--a festival created, you guessed it, to celebrate all things TV--and when I told people that's where I was headed for the weekend, I heard this a lot: A TV festival? I take it these people don't watch fan videos of their favorite TV couples on YouTube in their spare time and that's cool, takes all kinds, but perhaps these people shouldn't get a hold of my internet search history. 

It was an amazing weekend, so much fun that I snatched up my ticket for this year while I was still there last year. (Helped that I was practically a stone's throw from Chris Lowell while purchasing. Sure, I'll come back and gaze at the likes of you for a few days.)

This year, I took my mom with me because apparently being passionate about fictional characters is an inherited trait. We booked our tickets ages ago but we waited to book our hotel because we didn't realize that the DAMN X-GAMES were going to be the same weekend. In the same city. As soon as we realized this, our choice of lodging became a stupidly epxensive (but awesomely located) hotel or a slightly less stupidly expensive (but still awesomely located) AirBnB condo. We opted for the latter. 

We arrived in Austin around 5:30pm on a Thursday afternoon a few weeks ago, and had to pull our suitcases blocks to our place because so many of the roads were closed because of those X-Games. In Texas. In June. It was hot. 

When we finally pulled our suitcases to the front door of the condo we rented, the owner was waiting for us. A 32-year-old and her 65-year-old mother, sweating profusely. He said, "You're not here for the X-Games, are you?"

I don't know what about ME says "not in town for the X-Games" but it apparently says it very loudly. 

After we relaxed at our condo for a bit, we walked to dinner at Bess, a place I'd been dying to try for ages (despite the music on the restaurant's website, WHY DOES THIS STILL HAPPEN?) because I heard the food was good and also because befriending Sandra Bullock, who owns the place, through witty dinner banter is on my life list. 

Sandy was unfortunately not there, but we did split a bottle of wine, the burger, and then the beignets. All were amazing, just outstanding from start to finish. It was one of those delightful meals where the food and company and service were all effortless and enjoyable. And it was in walking distance from where we stayed. 

Let's back up a bit, though, because when I say the X-Games were in town, I don't think you quite understand just how close we were to the actual X-Games. 

So, good news, bad news. Good news! That ramp was only there Thursday, clearing up the traffic and road closures for most of our time in town. Bad news! The ramp was gone by Friday morning because they spent all Thursday night taking it apart with hammers and other tools that are not found on a white noise machine. 

We woke up Friday morning exhausted. 

Thankfully Austin has coffee. And Diet Coke. And more coffee.

We stayed just a few blocks from the festival's central hotel (the Intercontinental), where registration and a handful of the panels were held. In fact, everything is a quick, easy walk from the next place (all the panels, screenings, and other events were held either at that hotel, the State Theater, or the Alamo Drafthouse). It's one of the things I love most about the festival. Both years have felt small and cozy, almost exclusive, and that's half because I still don't think people realize just how awesome this festival is and half because the organizers are simply amazing and have figured out how to maintain that feeling.

Our first panel was Orange is the New Black.

We got to screen the season two premiere before the panel. I haven't watched the rest of the season yet but only because I've become a bit obsessed with MTV's Catfish. I can't stop watching when there's a new episode on my DVR, no matter the episode's premise, though I do want to shake each and every person on the show and ask, "HAVE YOU HEARD OF GOOGLE."

Anyway, sorry to get sidetracked, from there we basically camped out at the Alamo for the Bates Motel, Revenge, and Justified panels. My ticket to the festival was $99 and I think I would have paid that to watch that many awesome TV shows on a big, movie theater screen with beer and queso, but I also got to listen to writers, producers, and actors talk about their shows. Basically, the festival became worth it two hours into it, no exaggeration.

After the Friday panels, my mom and I drove to the San Jose Hotel (a favorite!), to watch an outdoor screening of Friday Night Lights.

It was such a cool experience, watching my absolute favorite show on a big screen with dozens of other fans (and some of the cast, including Tyra and Grandma Saracen!), but we got there at 6pm in order to get a parking spot and a place to put our folding chairs and the screening didn't start until 9:30pm. We were so tired, and though, again, it was really cool once the show started, I'll likely skip the screening next year if they have it. 

My mom and I slept in the next morning, thank everything, and then had breakfast at the Intercontinental before one of my favorite panels of the weekend: An Assistant's Tale. Such an impressive group of ladies, talking about their start as writers and casting directors and producers. I could have listened to them talk for hours.

From there, we nabbed a front-row spot at the Everwood reunion panel, and it was another of my favorites. The cast oozed appreciation and love for the show, and they showed clips and cast messages and behind-the-scenes video.

Chris Pratt FaceTimed in the middle of the panel. I mean, TICKET PRICE WORTH IT, SERIOUSLY.

After that, we headed to the Parenthood panel. We had heard rumors all weekend about so-and-so showing up here or Tim Riggins showing up there, so when there was a Lauren Graham and Peter Krause rumor swirling around, I kind of ignored it. BURNED ME TWICE ALREADY, TV FESTIVAL RUMOR SPREADERS. 

But then:

I'm going to put an unpopular opinion out there: I love Sarah Braverman more than Lorelai Gilmore. She's my favorite part of Parenthood. She's a far more realistic, relatable character (for me), and it was a treat to be in the same room as her. 

After that, I don't think I could have handled much more excitement (and I wasn't feeling great that evening), so we turned in early.

Sunday, our main goal was the Roswell reunion panel, and that was so much fun. 

Honestly, the weekend just flew by, it was relaxing and so much fun. I got to spend some quality time with my mom, while watching a lot of TV in Austin. All such wonderful things.

One last thing I love about this festival is the people who attend it. I felt like I became friends with strangers, in such a short amount of time, by just standing in lines and talking TV with them. No one shoved to the front or was rude or was anything other than cool, TV-loving people. I bought my ticket for next year while still there because it's now a place I just want to be every year. 

(And, hey! Tickets are already on sale for next year. You should be there too.) 

Family Photo Shoot: Check!

I've had "take family photos" on my to-do list every year for all the years since we've been a family of three and I've always talked myself out of it. I don't love the way I look, we don't have the money, can't figure out a good time, and on and annoyingly on. 

I'm very good at a few things, including travel planning, becoming invested in fictional characters, and also making excuses.

Anyway, we planned a trip to Austin in early April, to take Kyle to a MotoGP race. I decided I'd send Natalie--one of my favorite people on the entire planet, and also an insanely talented photographer--an email to see if she might be free sometime that weekend to squeeze in a family photo shoot. I figured, hell, if she couldn't, she couldn't. If she could, no excuses.

She could.

We had just driven three-plus hours to Austin, and I was sweaty and gross, and I basically threw on some makeup and hoped for the best. And, you know, I was one million times happier with the pictures than I even hoped I'd be. Natalie is an absolute natural--no, really, she's found her real calling and what an incredible vibe to be around--and she had Kyle posing and smiling and acting like his charming self in minutes. She put us all at ease.

I make it a rule not to give unsolicited advice with just a few select exceptions. Those exceptions are: 1) No matter what kind of wedding you have, take a honeymoon; 2) For the first two months of having a new baby, don't talk to your partner in the middle of the night unless the house is on fire (no good conversations happen the first two months of having a new baby between the hours of 12-7am); and 3) HAVE A FAMILY PHOTO SHOOT.

Amending that advice to include: if you're in Austin, hire Natalie to shoot it.

I'm so glad we did this. Thank you, Natalie.

Seven Quick Takes: Travel, Budgets, Happy Birthdays

1. May has been officially re-named (well, in my house anyway) The Month of Collecting a Lot of Rewards Miles. Mike was gone for 20 days this month on six separate flights, and I'll be gone for 6 days starting today, though on just two measly flights. I'm bad at math, but that doesn't leave a whole lot of days together, does it? We didn't spend Mother's Day or our anniversary or THE NFL DRAFT together, but such is life sometimes. You occasionally have to text one another during the NFL draft instead of watching it on the couch together. Push through and make the best of it, right? I do keep not-so-subtly suggesting that Mike use some of those miles on a quick trip to Mexico. JUST WAITING OVER HERE. NO BIGS.

2. A picture taken over the long weekend, before I had to go. We took the training wheels off Kyle's bike and Mike took him in the backyard so falling wouldn't be so scary.

I don't deserve this much sunshine.

3. As I mentioned, I'll be traveling today and I'm heading to New York for Book Expo. This will be my eighth BEA--I had to count up those years three times to make sure that was right!--and I love it each and every year. I love what I do, but I always love it just a little more after returning from BEA, re-inspired by so many smart, interesting, ambitious people. And there's also New York. Not too shabby a place to be. (And I'm on the prowl for a new favorite cupcake place--always am--if you have one to share.)

4. Totally unrelated to travel, a couple months ago (inspired by Natalie) I splurged on a Madewell tote. I'm trying to splurge on more things I'll love for the rest of my life and fewer things I'll hate in a month. Honestly, this is the most I've ever spent on any purse I've ever owned (like 98% of all the purses I buy are from Target, not a percentage exaggeration), but I haven't regretted it for a second. I love it. If you ever decide to buy the same for yourself, trust me, get it monogrammed. 

5. Despite that Madewell tote (don't let it fool you!), Mike and I are acutally hardcore budgeting right now. I'm pretty proud of us, though let's not shoot confetti in the air in our honor just yet. It's been like a month. Anyway, one of the areas I've become a bit of a hardass about is our food budget. (I may have recently said without irony, "We can make it until next week without milk, BABE.") No more fancy-pants dinner recipes that require 27 ingredients. I'm now building menus based on what we have and what is cheap, easy, semi-healthy, and delicious. I should start a food blog called Cheap, Easy, Semi-Healthy, and Delicious, but it'd be like four total posts because this is not an easy formula, my friends. Still, I've lucked out on a few recipes lately, let me share them with you: Chicken & Pesto Orzo Skillet, Chicken & Vegetable Curry, Crock Pot Tacos. If you also have Cheap, Easy, Semi-Healthy, and Delicious recipes, let me have 'em.

(Chicken & Pesto Orzo Skillet.)

6. I'm hosting another round of Biggest Blogging Loser. Let me know in the comments if you want the details! Short of it is: $20 but you get $10 of it back if you make it the whole 12 weeks. (You get two "skip" weeks.) We start June 2nd.

7. Today is my little brother's 21st birthday. I've loved him since the day he was born, and that's an awfully long time to love someone. He's grown into such a special man, but he's always been special to me. I loved him so much as an adorable little toddling kid, and I loved him so much at age eight, as we went to Disneyland together, and I loved him so much at our wedding, as a 14-year-old teenager who still had no problem dancing with his sister. I hate that we're so far apart, though, and that it's been three years since I've gotten to hug him. I doubt he'll ever quite understand just how much I love him, but it's so much. Happy 21st birthday, Adam! I wish I could be there, but you probably don't want your thirty-something sister there anyway. I'll be there to buy you a drink soon.  

One of my favorite pictures ever taken, hugging my brother at a wedding.  

Wedding Day Highlights

Since our wedding anniversary was this week, I thought it might be nice to throw together some highlights of that super special seven-years-ago day.

1. My mom and I had breakfast together that morning, just us. We ate bagels and grinned at each other the entire time. 

2. My dad and little brother delivered champagne to my room as me and my ladies got ready. 

3. I gave my mother-in-law a letter right before I got into my dress, thanking her for the man she raised. It was a special moment.

4. Natalie, my maid-of-honor, was so wonderful the entire day. She ran around talking to vendors before the wedding and helped clean up after the wedding. There will never be the right words for how grateful I feel to know and have that lady. (And then she danced with me all night! She's tops.)

5. We splurged on a violinist, playing as I walked down the aisle, but neither Mike nor I actually remember the violinist except for the one picture we have of her. I'm sure she was wonderful!

6. I don't remember Mike's vows. I just remember he said over and over, "You look beautiful, I love you, you look beautiful." Those may have actually been his entire vows, for all I know. Which is more than okay by me.

7. We played Journey more than once. 

8. The next day, Mike and my brother-in-law talked about this "dance off" they had on the dance floor. I whined, "Ahhhh, I missed the dance off?" Then we got our pictures back. 

Turns out I didn't miss the dance off. I was standing a foot away from the dance off. There was just an open bar, you see. (And who gave me a baby to hold!?)

9. My mom has a brother and sister and they each have two kids, and I have a sister. So, on my mom's side of the family, there are six cousins. I don't think we'd all been together, ever, and we haven't been all together since. I'm so glad they were all there. What a special memory.

10. This.

It's too bad I can't throw a wedding every year on our anniversary. I'd really prefer that to our fridge breaking this year on our anniversary. That seems like a stupid alternative to an open bar and dance offs.

Kyle Quotes, Two

(Previous Kyle Quotes)

I'm sure you've got some Johnny Manziel opinions, but my boy thinks he's the most awesome football player there is. After finding out the Cleveland Browns drafted Johnny Manziel, Kyle kept saying: I can't wait to root for the Cleaning Browns!

Mike was taking Kyle to dinner, and he asked if Kyle wanted to eat at the restaurant or take it home. When they were nearly there, Mike said, "I can't remember, Kyle, did you want to eat there or take it home?
Kyle: Seriosuly, daddy? Did you forget to put it in your head?

Upon spotting a vintage Mustang pulling out of the gas station: Look at that fancy car! I wonder if it's Fancy Car Day.

Kyle, catching a glimpse of a boxing match on TV: Those best friends look like they may be arguing. 

Kyle was finishing watching a Curious George episode before bed.
Me: Bedtime after this.
Kyle: Do you think you might change your mind?
Me: No, sorry, buds.
Kyle: I had to try.

Our fridge went on the outs right about the time Mike left town. As I put Kyle to bed, I told him the ice maker wasn't working (he usually gets a glass of ice water at bedtime), but that we'd fix it soon.
Kyle: How will we fix it without Daddy?
Me: Hey, I could fix it.
Kyle: I don't think that's true, Mommy.

I took Kyle to Panera for dinner, and he held the door open for me. 
Me: Buds, you're the sweetest!
(After dinner)
Kyle: Can I stay up late and watch George tonight?
Me: No, not tonight.
Kyle: But I held the door open for you.

Mike and I spent our anniversary apart. I told Kyle I was sad about it.
Kyle: Mommy, you can just kiss Daddy when he gets home.

(Photo credit: Natalie Seeboth Photography) 

Eleven Questions

I began blogging about a million years ago on MySpace before eventually moving over to Typepad, and probably 75% of my early MySpace posts were simply those internet surveys/"memes"/questionnaires/whatever they were called that were all the rage in 2004. So this is kind of a nostalgic jaunt down blogging memory lane, thanks to Janet's recent post that tagged me at the end of it. 

(I love Janet's blog and always have.)

1. What is your favorite type of cheese? I like to think of myself as an equal cheese opportunist. I love all kinds, equally, but I've been on a cheddar kick lately. 

2. What are you excited about? My work trip to New York next week, the ATX Festival, our family's long weekend in Hollywood (Florida), our July Fourth party, meeting Natalie's baby girl in August, Kyle starting Kindergarten (!!), a girl's weekend in September, and a trip to Vegas in December. Then the holidays, my birthday, lather rinse repeat. Happiness is having something to look forward to or, as I translate the saying, a full calendar.  

3. How did you celebrate your last birthday? I said "To hell with finances and and nine-hour roadtrips, take me to New Orleans, Mike." He said "okay," which is why I like him so much. 

4. What is on your bedside table? Clutter. Change. My glasses. Rogue earrings. It's not the Instagram-worthy nightstand I'd like it to be.

5. What do you order from the movie theater concession stand? A Diet Coke. I used to half-love the movies for movie nachos alone, but adulthood introduces both taxes and wondering what's in that neon-orange cheese. In other news, adulthood is overrated. 

(And don't even start about what's in Diet Coke. I know, I know.)

6. Do you have a garden? What’s growing? Closest I have to a garden is a shoe garden, and wedges are growing.

7. Any summer plans? A trip to Florida, a big July Fourth party, swim lessons, more hikes, bitching about the weather. I really want to find a way to make it to California, to visit my brother. 

8. Which TV couple(s) are you rooting for? Damon and Elena, and Stefan and Caroline, and both are from the same CW show. I am who I am.

9. What’s the last thing you bought? Plane tickets to Vegas. 

10. What’s one thing you are passionate about? Just one? Impossible. But I just read/heard about the Qatar World Cup migrant worker issue and it absolutely disgusted me, so I'm passionate about spreading the word about it. Let's all boycott the 2022 World Cup, okay?

11. What are you grateful for this week? I'm grateful for both my mom and Mike's mom this week (and always, but I was asked about this week). They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I agree, but for us it also takes two incredible grandmothers. We're so lucky to have both our moms for all the obvious "they make it possible for me to go to a work dinner when Mike's out of town" ways but also for the "my son has a relationship with these amazing women" ways that are bigger than we even realize right now. Also, they do it with grace. My mother-in-law has never made me feel anything but loved and valued, and my mom and I cried and laughed just two days ago over The Good Wife and our own dumb luck for having each other. I'm so grateful for them both.

The rules say I must now tag eleven bloggers: Elizabeth, Christina, Hillary, Jess, Janssen, Maggie, Jen, Sarah, Jonna (hoping this will bring her out of blogging retirement!), Meredith, and Kyra.

I think I'm supposed to come up with eleven original questions but, nah, go ahead and answer the above! I'm most curious what TV couples you're rooting for.