From the Mountains...

Testing

2009-12-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

LA Marathon

2009-11-17T07:02:00.000-08:00

Guys, check out this awesome race!

Test3

2009-04-22T07:09:00.001-07:00

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid19544614001?bctid=20448330001

Testing2

2009-04-17T06:03:00.001-07:00

Testing

2009-04-11T11:09:00.001-07:00

The Perfect Day

2009-04-06T02:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday had it all:

Beautiful weather, including a trip to the park where folks were flying kites. Meg loved watching the kites while Stella chased a friend around in a wide expanse of dark green grass think as shag carpet.

Healthy and happy aforementioned kids.

Eric and Marian not stressed about money for the first time in nearly 5 years.

A Highland Brewing Company medley of beers. Marian had the Black Mocha Stout. Eric had a St. Theresa's Pale Ale (I can't drink a pale ale often, but every now and then it's very fine).

Time on our porch, the best reason for owning this house.

An "everything" bagel at Breuggher's, toasted, with honey-walnut cream cheese.

No war. No deranged shooters along our day's journey. No terminal disease that we know of ruining our day.

It really was our little bit of heaven on Earth. And it makes me want to help others achieve this kind of life - if only for a day!

Madagascar

2009-04-04T01:40:00.000-07:00

Long before Disney popularized the place, I'd wanted to visit Madagascar. A tour of the Lemur Center at Duke University only strengthened that desire.

I learned a bit more about the place from two Presbyterian Missionaries from Raleigh named Dan and Elizabeth Turk. They are truly down-to-earth - quite literally in Dan's case, as he's a soil scientist. Elizabeth works with village women to improve their health outcomes. They do not match the stereotype of "converting the natives" and telling them to wear more clothes.

The country had a coup recently, and the old president had to flee the country. Hate that sort of thing, but it's pretty standard stuff the world over.

I bring it up because our friends the Schmerkers are traveling the world and talking about going there. I'm really jealous, but I hope they can do it. They take really good photos and blog well at http://parisbaconpesto.blogspot.com.

A bit of Larson trivia: Marian's birthstone is sapphire, and the blue sapphire for her engagement ring likely came from Madagascar.

Here is a good blog about the country.

Beautiful Day at Biltmore

2009-03-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

It was a little chilly at moments when the wind blew. But mostly it was a magical day - thanks to sunshine and a couple of free passes from our friend Christine.

Stella said that next time she's going to paint her fingernails when she tours the house.

I wish the batteries on our camera hadn't died. I'd have taken a photo of the "tree that snowed" white/pinkish petals.

We're thinking of getting year-round passes. Biltmore is great!

Marian's On a Mission

2009-03-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

Marian is determined for us to go through every room of this house and declutter. It's a great idea, actually. Yesterday we went through the kitchen and found dry-goods we had forgotten we had.

She really wanted me to throw away the microwave popcorn. Are you kidding? That stuff is great. I promised I'd eat it, and soon.

There's Gatorade, some dried beans that are perfectly okay to eat, and even some wild rice that Tracy Phillips left behind when she moved about a year ago.

But today she's moving toward the dining and living room area, and I'm a little concerned.

"You think we can move that credit card machine?" she asked.

The credit card machine for our business has found a space next to our family telephone. I really don't know what else to do with it, honestly. But I suppose today will find me testing out phone lines in the basement - just because I'm an understanding husband who believes world peace begins right here.

Raleigh and Back

2009-03-26T17:55:00.001-07:00

Today we returned from a couple nights in Raleigh with Susan and Randy, Marian's aunt and uncle. We love hanging out there. It's where we tied the knot and where Marian spent a lot of her childhood.

There were a lot of funny things that happened, but one in particular is worth mentioning:

After finishing a wonderful Outback take-out steak dinner to celebrate our new company, Marian shared something she'd heard from her brother, Arendall, concerning his time as an Outback Steakhouse manager.

Apparently there are a number of tricks that employees play on unsuspecting newbies:

1. They tell them that, after running a credit card through the machine, they have to speak into the machine the name of the card. For several days the new employee can be observed running a card and whispering to the machine, "Discover," "VISA," "Mastercard."

2. Employees are allowed to eat desserts that, for whatever reason, don't get served to diners. Veteran employees have been known to substitute whipped cream with lard - something that feels greasy-weird for days in a person's throat.

3. The thing that really sticks out, though, is a little trick played with the pumpernickel bread which comes free with every meal. When water is added to pieces of the bread, it is able to be shaped into something that looks a lot like - you guessed it. New employees will enter the staff bathroom to find something that looks pretty alarming on the walls, the ceiling, the toilet seat - and so on.

Marian's uncle tested this story, and found it absolutely accurate. The untrained eye simply cannot tell the difference. So, with the housekeeper on her way to their house today, Marian's uncle ...

We're waiting for a full report.

Exhaling

2009-03-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

After four years of working really hard and developing a fairly sophisticated video product, our investment has paid off: Yesterday, along with an investor/partner, we signed the papers for a new company called Zoom Factor, Inc., which will market video solutions to communities and industries across the country.

Zoom Factor has purchased rights to intellectual property developed by Stellar Media, putting that company in the black.

And for the first year at least, Zoom Factor has the capital in the bank to operate and show progress.

The last half of 2008 was tough, full of moments of extreme doubt, anxiety, and worry. At Thanksgiving I vowed to cover my bases and apply for full-time jobs, just in case. I applied for between 50 and 60 jobs over the next four months. Number of interviews granted: Zero. It's a similar story I've heard from friends at least as qualified as me.

We've got a lot of work ahead of us to make this new company successful. And I'm struggling to line up the people I need to run the old one. But, looking around, I'd say I have it really good.

With a little of the stress relieved, we might even have time to blog again!

Is Anybody Out There Still?

2009-03-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

If anyone is still looking at our blog, please let us know - and we'll start posting again.

Paradise Lost

2008-12-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

Some have asked us where we served in the Peace Corps and what it was like. It is possible that the country will be lost forever due to global warming.

This is a well-done video about Kiribati and the crisis it faces, produced by PBS:

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/449/index.html

Ten on Tuesday - ok, Wednesday

2008-12-16T17:39:00.001-08:00

OK, due to mounting pressure from my devoted followers, I'm posting something new. A miracle, I know.

1) Life for the Larsons is exciting and unpredictable right now. 2009 is going to be interesting. We're not sure where these next steps are taking us but we're going to embrace it. Enough said.

2) The kids are a hoot. Meg is 16 months and took her first steps last week. She loves her dada more than anyone else and is a very strong-willed, loud, demanding, but precious baby. She wakes every morning at 5:30 and is saying all kinds of things - bath, book, baby, more, dog, neigh, sock, and of course, Stella.

3) Stella loves preschool and playing with her baby sister. She is very much a little mama and tells her what to do constantly. "Don't throw food on the floor, Meggie." "No Meggie, don't play in the toilet." "Stop drawing on the walls, Meggies!" You get the drift.

4) Best friend Brittain and I took the girls to the Grove Park Inn for the Annual Gingerbread House competition. Actually, the competition was held a few weeks ago but the houses are still up for viewing. These things are works of art! I couldn't believe how beautiful they were.

5)We're headed to Alabama next week for the Christmas holidays. Looking very forward to some R & R and having family spend time with (ahem, take care of while I do nothing) my children.

6) I've been swimming laps a few times a week and am really really enjoying it. I've worked up to 30 lengths, which is almost a half mile swim. My goal is to be able to swim a mile without stopping.

7) This is why I don't post on the blog often, people. I have nothing interesting to say.

8) Except this, I just realized that today marks 2 years to the day that we found out we were pregnant with Meg. I remember we had checked out a church that Sunday morning and were on our way home when I told Eric to stop at the store and let me get a pregnancy test...and we rushed home, took it, and there on that Sunday afternoon I got final confirmation (I was pretty sure what it would say) that little bit was on her way.

9) What is your favorite junk food? I mean, no holds barred, nasty trans-fat out the wazoo junk food? I think mine are Ruffles Sour Cream and Cheddar potato chips.

10) Eric and I are off to bed. It's 8:01 pm. Such is our life.

Now stop hassling me, friends. I'll post again sometime in 2010.

9)

Food Works - Video

2008-11-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

The Salt Lake Experience

2008-11-06T02:19:00.000-08:00

In short, we had a really good time in Salt Lake. Some of it had little to do with Salt Lake, like...

1. Seeing our niece, Lily, for the first time. Michelle brought this cutie pie from California and we ate her up.

2. Spending time with Stella without the distraction of her little sis. As Stella liked to tell people, "Meg is staying with my mother-in-law." (Marian's mother-in-law, that is!)

3. Macaroni Grill. I'll mention all the unique places we ate later, but we happened across my mom's favorite chain at the end of a long afternoon of walking and it was just what the doctor ordered. Chains are successful usually because they get something right. Of course, because we had already ordered food, we were allowed to order a beer (that's one of the quirky Mormon-inspired rules.)

4. Speaking Gilbertese with Nei Tofinga - a Mormon guide from Kiribati. It has been so long since we spent time with someone from our Peace Corps country. We heard that someone from Kiribati was giving tours at Temple Square and we left one of our business cards hoping she would call, and she did, so we visited her on-the-job and had a blast.

Here are the things we really liked about Salt Lake that we think just about anyone would enjoy:

1. Temple Square. Think what you want about the Mormon religion, Mormons have always been very kind and generous toward me AND they have some amazing architecture on 35 acres on the north side of Salt Lake's Downtown. You can take the cool little Trax train right to it. The walled portion has a couple of visitor's centers where they give you an abbreviated version of their history and sing to you at the end. These are inevitably very cute ladies from all over the world who, as you might have guessed, travel in pairs. Outside the walled portion is the conference center where the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics were held. The center has like 1.5 million square feet in the whole complex. The auditorium has seating for 21,000. It's a football field in length from the top balcony to the stage. Yet it feels quite intimate. (Technogeeks will marvel at the 1,400 computer-controlled stage lights!)

There are also former homes of Bringham Young that one can explore, though we didn't take the time to do that.

Another cool thing is, in another part of the city, they actually have a cheese factory that is part of their charity mission.

2. The Red Iquana. A very popular Mexican restaurant just past the western edge of downtown. At least 3 friends recommended it, and they steered us the right way. Of course, they might have told us about the Buffalo Burrs along the way. These are part of the plant kingdom and when they get lodged into a baby stroller tire, only go deeper as you roll. Yes, we left the restaurant to discover that we had 3 flat tires. Fortunately, the cab ride was not far to our hotel, and there is a bike shop in downtown Salt Lake.

Red Iquana: four webbed thumbs up!

3. The Beehive Tea Room. I don't usually get into tea rooms, but Scott Osondu has gotten me to appreciate tea, and this place has a very welcome vibe. Stella liked it, too.

4. Sugar House. Marian can blog more about this cute neighborhood, as I was attending a conference on the day they visited here.

5. The Library. It has the best view of the town and the surrounding mountains. I'll look for a photo and post it. The library itself is a marvel in architecture, and Stella loved reading books in one of the numerous nooks there.

There were some other nice things, like the Gateway Mall, the Discovery Center kids museum, and the IMAX. But I'd say that just being in such an unusual FEELING place is what made it for me. The West is just plain different from the East, and Salt Lake is a step removed from much of the West. It does one good for a change of scene.

Pumpkin experience - backwards in photos

2008-10-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Not a Doofus, But...

2008-10-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

Next time I'll go in with fewer pre-conceived notions about what an audience is looking for. (And I'll try not to wake 2:45 a.m. and not be able to get back to sleep --- and I'll Mapquest the correct address in Charlotte. Yikes!) I don't think I hit the mark with this one, though the jury is still out -- there might be some agreement to be reached.

I appreciate all the well wishes. It really makes me feel good.

Random thing, but let me direct you to the story of Galen Rowell, a photographer for National Geographic who died about 6 years ago in a plane crash. I bought a poster from his studio in Berkeley in 1997-ish. I thought of him because some friends are headed for Machu Piccu -- and that was my poster: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/0814_020814_rowell2_2.html

And here is that awesome poster:
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Sunset-over-Machu-Picchu-Posters_i1252429_.htm

Think of Us at 10 a.m. Monday (10/20)

2008-10-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

All the hard work of the year kind of culminates tomorrow (Monday) when I make the biggest presentation of our company's four-year history. No pressure - just please pray I don't trip over my words, or throw up, or look like a doofus.

Long overdue photos

2008-10-13T17:34:00.001-07:00

Here some recent shots from Stella's birthday and other Larson life stuff.

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

At her little preschool party, with her cupcake and new do

The cake she picked out. T-A-C-K-Y. But she loved it.

We can't forget brown-eyes over here

Looking smug

Life is good. We're enjoying the weather SO much this October, outside a lot and trying to soak it all in before the winter. Hope all is well with you!

Four.

2008-09-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Age: T minus 3 days. No wonder my ass was so big, look at me putting those Kettle chips in a bowl!

Age: 6 hours old

Age: 2 years old (can't get my hands on the first bday shot. Feel like a horrible mom)

Age: 3 years old, and sick

Today she is: 4 years old

I feel like my life began the day hers did.

Stella, you have made me and daddy happier than we could've ever imagined. You are indeed our sweet peach (and baby sister, though sweet, is often referred to as the sour peach)!

Here's to many more happy, healthy years for our beautiful big girl.

Party pics coming soon!

Smile! You're on...

2008-09-25T11:27:00.001-07:00

Katy Cook's photo shoot of our kids:

"The Island is Out of Benzene"

2008-09-24T02:29:00.000-07:00

When you live in the middle of the Pacific, you expect that your island might run out of things occasionally. Marakei (our Peace Corps post in the country of Kiribati) would run out of foodstuffs all the time. Rice, sugar, salt, flour. There were stretches where everyone went back to totally living off the land and sea: fish, taro root (babai), coconut, bananas, papayas (one can get very tired of papaya), and breadfruit were about it.

And sometimes we'd have a program planned somewhere on the island and it would be postponed because the island was out of gas, or "benzene" as it was called. The two or three flatbed trucks stopped running, and motorcycles stayed put. It was a bummer, but you got used to it. (We never, ever got used to the planes not running. That meant mail being delayed for weeks, and that really sucked.)

When something similar happens in the United States, like the current gas shortage, you take stock. You realize just how fragile civilization as we know it can be.

Now, in Kiribati, if there is no benzene, you just hang out with your neighbors or, if it's raining, you lie in your hammock and read and nap. These days I cannot imagine just chilling like that. But we may have to.

Asheville is out of benzene.

The Most Important Thing for a Young Marriage

2008-09-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

We're in Wilmington for the wedding of two very good friends, and I'm just meditating on how Marian and I have made it this far - and this well.

I think it mainly boils down to believing that our marriage is strong enough...

...to survive bringing up issues that might rock the boat. We're not afraid to voice them, because we know it's not going to snowball into divorce.

...to survive the things that happen to us that we can't control, like deaths in the family, insanity in the family, rough financial times, kids....

...to survive the ups and downs of emotion and sentiment. I'm not only unattractive much of the time - I'm often downright disgusting. If I had to look good for my wife on a continual basis, I'd be in big trouble. Unconditional love is a godsend for marriage.

Many couples break-up because they are afraid they are going to break-up. Approach with fearlessness the things that get in the way of your love, and the two of you will prevail. And every time you are successful at it, you will find yourselves ever stronger.

Steve Martin is Stalking Me

2008-09-15T04:16:00.001-07:00

Okay, I flatter myself. I just think it's a little weird that I ran into Steve Martin in a Sante Fe art gallery 10 years ago, and this weekend he's less than an hour away from here (in Brevard) playing banjo with a local band.

Here's video of the performance. Apparently he's got a CD coming out called "The Crow." The guy is multi-talented and good at pretty much anything he sets his mind to.

Those Crazy Tomatoes (Again)

2008-09-12T07:18:00.001-07:00

I've had a couple requests for this video again. Here it is!

Thirteen on Thursday, By Eric

2008-09-11T03:05:00.000-07:00

1. I swear, if Meg wasn't so cute, we'd let a nice Chinese family adopt her. She refuses bottle, pacifier (and thumb), crawling forward (only backward) and any food that she can't place in her mouth herself. She is loud in restaurants and has learned to punch and kick when she is upset, which is far too often. Heeeeellllllppppp Uuuuuuuuussssss!

2. More and more we're seeing nonprofits as our primary customers for Stellar Media. That's pretty cool.

3. We found a place that does $2.99 margaritas on Wednesdays. So you'll find us at Los Amigos at 5:30 p.m. most Wednesdays. Usually we each have a car - so we just split one drink. Yep, we are pretty loco!

4. My brother is having another girl in January. That makes Next Generation Larson Girls: 4, Next Generation Larson Boys: 0. Girls are better people anyway, right? (That's for all my readers out there!)

5. No movement on the big deal that will triple the size of our company. I'll shut my big mouth until something actually get signed on the dotted line.

6. A friend of mine is buying the web company he's been working for for about 10 years. It's a huge company. I think that's amazing. He'll do really well. And he's been giving me great advice as we build our web division.

7. Stella and I did our weekly morning out the other day. We went to the library and checked out some books. Then she read them while we drove up to the Parkway in the rain and found an overlook that wasn't too foggy. She is so much more pleasant when her sister is far away and there's not that competition thing going on. Though I must say she is not nearly as jealous of Meg as she could be. She still thinks being a big sister is great - just "a lot of work" sometimes.

8. Marian is working with our company again, two mornings a week (hooray!). Meg is getting more used to the baby-sitter. She only screams about 25 percent of the time. (The babysitter, that is. Meg screams MOST of the time.)

9. I watched bits of a program on the megarich last night. Not impressed, not envious. I'm more interested in the lifestyles of the "kind-of" rich. Then Marian and I looked around our house and at our family and felt like billionaires. Cue the country music: "I'm already there...'ere...'ERE!"

10. I played Ultimate Frisbee on Sunday and my legs have only now recovered. 1st and 3rd Sundays at 9:30 a.m. at the Waynesville Rec Center. Calling all 7th Day Adventists to come play with us -- you know who you are! (Time will switch to afternoons soon).

11. Met a woman yesterday who tore her ACL doing professional dance. Marian tore hers in college. Hope not to tear mine playing Ultimate.

12. Check out Abigail Washburn. She does bluegrass, but sings some of her songs in Chinese - a language made for the banjo. I heard samplings of her work on The Story. Amazing.

13. After doing a lot of reading, listening, and thinking, I'm persuaded that the death penalty should be abandoned. Not that some people don't deserve it (that's where I'm fairly conservative -- I actually do believe that some people deserve to be put to death). It's just that human fallibility is such that we can't guarantee that innocent people aren't put to death, too, in the process. (We can deduce that we have killed innocents, because several on death row of late have been exonerated only through DNA testing - a method of truth-finding that wasn't available years ago.) Even if it's 1 in a thousand; even if it's one in a million - that is a mistake that betrays the core of our nation's individual rights system. (Read also: "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," a short story by Ursula K. Leguin. Read it here for free, then buy it in "The Wind's Twelve Quarters." It's all about how we shouldn't settle for a society, no matter how seemingly safe and perfect OVERALL, if it literally depends on even just one innocent person suffering. In essence, it's a sharp criticism of hedonistic utilitarianism.) What do you think?

One of the Best Sayings, Ever

2008-09-09T03:15:00.000-07:00

"Our friends owe us what we think they owe us. We must forgive them this debt."
- a variation on Simone Weil's statement: "Our friends owe us what we think they will give us. We must forgive them this debt."

Phantom Vibrations

2008-09-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not the only one who answers my vibrating cell phone several times a day only to find it never buzzed:

Here's a USA Today article about it:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-06-12-cellphones_N.htm

Reading

2008-09-07T03:24:00.001-07:00

The home where I grew up in Florence, Alabama, had two great rooms for reading. The couches were not particularly comfortable for sitting a long time but when you are young you adapt and don't think about it so much.

My first novels were Hardy Boy mysteries. I probably owned a majority of the titles by then. I wanted badly to own Chet Morton's jalopy, which turned color depending on which installment you were reading.

In junior high I read a good deal of science fiction and fantasy (especially works by Ray Bradbury), but by the ninth grade I was raiding our high school library's shelves for novels by Hemingway. The novels were gritty and outdoorsy and I liked that, even if his characters were a little too "hard" for my taste. I eventually moved on to other classics and particularly enjoyed Dickens, though I would read a Stephen King novel on occasion, too (Pet Cemetery is one of the freakiest books ever; but his best to me is Misery, probably because it does not employ the supernatural.)

I also picked up a lot of cheap books at Books-a-Million, which at the time was just a former Kmart with stacks of surplus books that were rarely best-sellers. It actually was founded by the Anderson family of Florence, which had run downtown's Bookland for decades. As the Books-A-Million website states:

Founded in 1917 as a street corner newsstand in Florence, Alabama, Books-A-Million, Inc. has grown to become the premier book retailing chain in the Southeastern United States, and the third largest book retailer in the nation.

The Books-A-Million of 1983 was nothing like it is now. For some reason it had lots of hardback and quality softback novels by Vladimir Nabokov, who quickly became my favorite author. His plots and characters were quirky and his writing style was witty and unpredictable. Today I picked up "King, Queen, Knave" and got hooked again on his ability to poke fun more precisely at people than any writer, ever, without overwhelming the reader with attitude.

Reading in college got me to know Garcia Marquez ("100 Years of Solitude" - one of the best books ever), but I can't say I met any new American or British authors to get me very excited. In college I focused on my own writing and took a lot of philosophy courses. My reading was more varied in college, and I believe I became better for it.

Since college I've read a good deal overall, but less and less on a consistent basis. I'm not as quick to pick up a novel, though I did read a flock of Graham Greene novels a few years ago (he is terrific - an American Nabokov, though a little more conventional).

We read to Stella and Meg every night, and I think Stella will grow to love books. It's one of the best romances one can have, because you can keep it all your life, even after you become married.

For the CEOs Out There...

2008-09-06T03:07:00.001-07:00

... or anyone else who wants to read about what it's like to run a company. Check out Eric's new blog at:

http://www.stellarmediaonline.com/blog/morningcoffee.html

Eric's Random 10 on Tuesday

2008-09-02T03:23:00.000-07:00

1. Stella woke crying at 6 a.m. saying she "didn't dream good." Sometimes I don't dream good either, my daughter. May your dreams improve with your next snooze.

2. The Thornburgs and the Reynolds' both visited over the weekend. We felt extremely popular and had a great time eating Marian's homemade pulled pork, sushi, and Joey's Pancake House. Oh, the beers at the Thirsty Monk in Asheville were very nice, too.

3. I'm pursuing a huge deal with my company that could quickly triple our annual revenue. That's all I'll say about that, but please think good thoughts while I attempt to turn good dreams into actual gold.

4. Chris and Katy "My Sis" Reynolds left some Higher Ground coffee here. It's really nice stuff.

5. Marian hates it when I blog over her and folks miss her posts. So I'm blogging first today, dear. You have all day to trump me.

6. Meg woke up the past 2 nights around 11 p.m. That's really strange for her. I think her brain is changing.

7. There she goes crying. She's awake at 6:30 -- not a bad sleep for her. She won't let me lift her out of her crib, of course. She'll want to stand and grab the railing for a while as she dances. Please don't tell me she's going to be a pole dancer some day?

8. I'm a member of Kiwanis and received an American flag that was getting a little worn. I hung it off our deck for Labor Day. Stella wanted to see it so we walked to the end of the driveway and took a look. Go America!

9. McCain spent as much time choosing his VP as I sometimes decide on what I'm going to wear in the morning. My wife says I often dress myself funny. 'Nough said.

10. Watching tennis on a Monday is a glorious thing. There are not NEAR enough opportunities.

What I Sprayed on the Carpet

2008-08-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

More than one of you has asked, so....

Sigh. I was supposed to spray something for fleas. (Thanks a lot, Kope!) Instead, I sprayed something for FLYING insects. Don't ask me why I thought this made sense. I even took entomology in college.

The silver lining is that the formula consists entirely of plant oils. And the combination of the "wrong" stuff and the right stuff resulted in a very toxic mix that killed every living thing in our house smaller than a golf ball - including the fleas. So what if it results in mutant children down the road? They won't be scratching.

Marian called to tell me what I had done. She had a tone of voice I've never heard. Imagine if you were accused by your spouse of dismembering your child. That was the tone of voice. Then she read the ingredients. Then she fished her wedding ring out of the toilet.

I'm really stupid sometimes. But I'm lovable, right, hon?

Life, the Universe, and Everything

2008-08-29T03:03:00.001-07:00

Blogs are great because they are a mixture of the mundane, trivial, poignant and tragic. They are eavesdropping on diaries and scrapbooks, but also include things you would never include in either. I'm sure graduate students everywhere are creating dissertations on blogs. (Do they have a companion blog?)

I do think everyone needs to blog at some point their own metaphysics. At least, that's something I'm interested in reading more about from others. So I'll get it started:

I listened to a podcast yesterday that was a reading of Shopenhauer's "Emptiness of Existence." It's the best explanation you'll ever hear about the apparent meaninglessness of life. The worst possible fate, he says, is to be born. And the second worst fate is to live long. Oddly enough, it's not pessimism, per se. It's just matter-of-fact rationalism: We are awakened from a deep sleep, get very excited and dreamy in our youth, then experience years of unrealized and unsatisfied expectations before dying again. It's like coming up for air, only to sink again and drown.

It's sort of like Ecclesiastes, but without the joy of eating, drinking, and being merry. And without someone tacking on the existence of God at the end.

I can't argue rationally with Shopenhauer's assessment. On the face of it, space is very deep and people are very small. But I don't think people are, at heart, merely rational creatures, so I don't see why I need to pretend to be one and get sucked into the Shopenhauer abyss.

Here's where I think meaning comes from: Because all we have in front of us is the present fleeting moment, life satisfaction really can only come from building a story. Creating a story means feeding our memory and, like all stories, having something we are driving toward: a plot. We give our life plot when we aim for things, wish for things, hope for things - do things. And along the way our story picks up characters, themes, settings - all the things about story you learned about in English class that T.S. Eliot categorized.

If we don't do any the above, we're really just ... there. And that accounts for Shopenhauer's view. He's very specific that there is no there, because as soon as we name the present, it is gone.

We have to be more than just ... there. We have to be a character who builds a story. There lies the meaning.

Everyone who decides to build a story is going to have a different story (those who are simply "there" have remarkably similar stories). When we learn about others' stories, we open up the possibility of making our own story richer, because we can see life more keenly. And when we intertwine our story with those of friends and family, our story becomes that much more essential.

To round out my own "big picture" metaphysics, let me say that it includes a belief in God. It comes from experiencing one, maybe two, difficult moments in my life in which I truly believed I was meeting a healing, supernatural God. It also comes from the intellectual realization that I am a happier, more peaceful and complete person when I choose to believe in God. (The best example of how this can be possible comes from an audio book I heard in which the biographies of C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud are compared in detailed. Both were brilliant, admirable men. But of the two, only Lewis appears to have been - in addition to fulfilled in his career - downright happy - despite a level of tragedy and deprivation at least equal to Freud's own.)

Bottom line: There are really no intellectual arguments that necessitate the existence of God - and, boy, I looked at most all of them in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (two semesters of the latter) as well as Christian apologetics and teaching. It really is curious to ponder why a God might not want to place any direct evidence of his/her own existence in plain sight of ALL human beings. We can debate the miraculous matters in the Bible and even the import of the Bible itself. But when one is talking rationality, one must consider the God-given wisdom of: "Don't believe everything you read in a book." Remember, I'm not talking about impressionistic or revelatory experiences of God, which may be found in stories written down or experienced by those who read scripture (or even those who don't). I'm talking about rational proof here, and I just don't see it. But I believe!

Just because something doesn't have a Newtonian or Einsteinian law to support it, doesn't mean we shouldn't believe in it or do it. There's more to my metaphysics than rational argument. What about yours?

Cheering Oneself Up

2008-08-27T02:57:00.000-07:00

What do you do to cheer yourself up? If I can get sunshine with regularity and a good run, I usually don't even need artificial cheering. But every now and then...

The problem is that I'm not a true businessman. Someone who really likes business has to be drawn, in some way, to war. Being in business and building your business aggressively means pushing the envelope and pissing people off -- and getting pissed off -- at times. I don't like conflict and I would surely not like war.

And business is also like a roller-coaster, the ups and downs of cash-flow and what-not.

I despise roller-coasters.

So what the hell am I doing? I don't know. It's not ALWAYS terrible - in fact, a large part of the time it is immensely gratifying and fun. I meet the neatest people doing the coolest things. But sometimes...

I get cheered up by looking at our work and dwelling - not on our shortcomings - but on what we are capable of and can accomplish. And, of course, spending time with family.

Sometimes, both things can happen at once, as with this video we produced. Prepare for Larson Girl Cuteness!

Hope it cheers up YOUR rainy day.

Ten on Tuesday

2008-08-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

1. This is my best friend, Brittain, who is getting hitched in just 3 short weeks! We had a bachelorette party for her Saturday night that was so fun. Complete with stripper, penis-shaped straws, too many shots, and some hysterical photos. This 30 year old mama can't party like I once did (has anyone had a hangover in the last year or so? I mean, I feel like I'm gonna die if I have 2 glasses of wine the night before. Such a lightweight!) - so I was the designated driver, and the official "sleep in the bed with the bachelorette " friend. Wouldn't trade it for anything, B!
2. Meg has a babysitter! I'm back at work for the business two mornings a week, while our babysitter stays home with Meg and Stella goes to preschool. No, Meg doesn't like it, but I have confidence that she'll get used to it and fall in love with Danielle like we have. It's still a bad feeling to drive away from your house at 8:15 am with your baby screaming and return at 12:30 to the same sound. Don't worry, she reassured me that she didn't cry the WHOLE time.

3. Here is our big girl on her first day of 4-year old preschool. I think she's the youngest in her class since she won't be four until late September, but they let her start anyway. We love her teacher and all the people that work there too. There's one little girl in her class and 7 boys.

4. It's still raining here. We're in a major drought so this rain for the last 36 or so hours has been awesome. It's cool, steady and makes you just wanna stay in your PJs. We had a little pancake/PJ party at my friend Christine's this morning with her twins Bo and Chris. So cozy.

5. Salt Lake City, here we come. We've officially booked our flights, reserved our hotel, and started planning. Meg's staying with the inlaws and we're taking Stella on a big girl trip all by herself. It's really a work/play trip - Eric mainly working and us playing - but the highlight is that my sister in law and baby niece are coming to meet us. I cannot wait to get my hands on baby Lily!

6. We're gonna have another niece or nephew in January. Eric's brother Wade and his wife Beth are expecting baby number two. Word!

7. Did anyone see Michelle Obama speak at the DNC on TV last night? She brought me to tears, something I don't think any politician or politician's spouse for that matter has ever done. It was just so real, so unassuming, just like I was hearing a friend talk. Really.

8. Ask my husband what he sprayed all over our home today - carpet, upholstery, etc. - INSTEAD of the flea killer spray that was supposed to kill the bastards that are making us all itch.

9. I've never been a huge cereal fan, probably because it doesn't fill me up. But lately I've been loving some Smart Start. What's your favorite cereal? For me, its more of a yummy snack than actual meal.

10. I'm getting my butt in the bed. But my butt isn't nearly as cute as this one.

Good night!

Why We're a Little Giddy: Rain!

2008-08-26T03:53:00.000-07:00

The streams in our neighborhood had become mere trickles. The local trout farm was having to conduct CPR on most of its aquatic herd. Local cattle wondered why they were being left out of the "eat organic" movement.

There just wasn't any rain.

Until yesterday. And last night. And it's supposed to keep raining for the next several days.

I don't know if we'll get caught up, but the drone of rain on our roof is the best sound ever.

Someone Stole Our Rocks

2008-08-21T03:24:00.000-07:00

These are not the rocks that were stolen, but you get the idea of the

size we are talking about. You have to really want them!

You know the economy is bad, I guess, when folks are stealing rocks from each other.

Marian and Stella liked to play "house" on these two huge flat rocks on the corner of our property. Granted, that part of our lot looks woodsy and undeveloped (which it is). But wouldn't you think to ask anyway before you used your bulldozer (the tracks are still there) to take our 200-lb. rocks?

I mean, the state is carrying dump-trucks FULL of rocks from up the mountain where they are widening and paving the roads. There are plenty of rocks to be had. Our neighbor, Bob, got 9 truckloads of dirt and rocks -- FREE! He thinks I think he took my rocks, because I asked him about the coincidence of hundreds of rocks arriving at his house on the same day that mine were found missing. I'm sure he didn't tell anyone to grab them - though it's plausible they are on his property. But we didn't write our names on the rocks, and I didn't take any good photos of my rocks for insurance purposes.

He did say I can have a couple of his rocks. But how will I move them? I'll wiki Archimedes...

Someone stole my daughter's house. And she's only 3. How cruel is that? I have a daughter who now has to enter her imaginary world as a homeless person. I'm putting my foot down: I will not allow her to trade imaginary sex for imaginary food!

At least she can't fall on them and get boo-boos. Those rocks probably have her blood all over them. Aha! I can use a DNA test to establish which of Bob's rocks are mine!

It's possible the state moved them because they plan to widen and repave our street -- which would suck. OR someone just wants to clear a space so they can park on our property - which has sort of happened before. I need to get a sign that says: "Don't even THINK about it! This sorry dirt corner is mine!"

Please pray that our rocks come rolling home in one piece.

Getting My Life Back

2008-08-19T03:10:00.000-07:00

There was a point during our beach vacation this year when I realized I really needed the vacation. "Really needed" as in: "If I did not have this vacation, I was going to implode." When I returned, I began the process of getting my life back.

Mainly it's meant drawing boundaries between me and work and being a little quicker to say "the heck with it - I'm going to bed/relax/exercise/drink a beer." It's meant hiring part-time help and delegating. And it's meant shrugging when I might have, in the past, gotten tight between the shoulders at the weight of things.

Last night it meant going to be before 8 p.m. and sleeping 9 blessed hours. When I consider the amount of sleep I've lost over the past 4 years due to kids and work, I'd say it's something close to 2,100 hours - perhaps a lot more. Well, last night I took a couple of those hours back.

I honestly don't think our business is going to fail. But if it did, at this point, I would consider the experience extremely educational and worth every difficult minute. Everyone should start a business, just to see what they learn about themselves. I've been humbled tremendously as I've been challenged like never before.

Challenging, exhillerating ... but sometimes you just have to say, "the heck with it ... I'm going to bed!"

A Cool Day in the Tropics

2008-08-16T17:11:00.001-07:00

Today it rained - praise God! Possibly just 1/8th of an inch - but something. And it was cool and reminded me of a rainy day in Kiribati.

When we went to live at 3-degrees N-Lat; 0 degrees longitude, we took a lot of shorts and short-sleeves. We packed flip-flops (went through about 4 pairs of those) and sunglasses. But I'm glad we each brought a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, too, because even though the sun every day was much the same (as in "magnifying glass") whenever the sun gave us a break and it rained, our tropical hotspot actually felt chilly. The ocean would get foggy, pigs would lie in puddles in the middle of the road, and school would be canceled (pretty much everything stopped).

That usually meant reading a book in our hammock.

One time the weather was bad for maybe two weeks straight but seemed to be calming down. So we got on the boat with the Catholic Youth that was traveling to the capital. I had worked with Marian's counterpart, Merea, to write and direct a play about teenage suicide. Suicide was definitely a good description of getting on this boat. Dude, did you ever see Perfect Storm? It is no fun looking out and seeing a wall of water so high you cannot spot sky. Even the captain of the ship turned around - and we all know Kiribati seamen are fearless and a little insane. While the captain waited for a chance to head out again for Tarawa, we took our chance to return to shore. (Thanks, Biroun!) With us were two girls who had been so seasick they had to be peeled off the deck of the ship.

Occasionally when it rained we found ourselves walking into town to buy food. Besides, you couldn't stay in your hut all day without going a little nuts, and one got used to the puddles after a while (even if the pigs did pee in a good many of them). Kiribati families would be sitting on their bouias (BOO-yuhs) playing cards (such as Uno, Crazy Eights, and Sorry - yes, a card version of the board game - or Canasta). A very few would play chess. I was a card snob and refused to play because THEY NEVER SHUFFLED THEIR CARDS! It was like playing the same game over and over again. The I-Kiribati don't mind repitition much; I do.

Our first week on Marakei we got the bright idea to go looking for te manai -- crabs. We insisted on going in the afternoon, even though NO ONE went looking for crabs except at night. But we were told Marakei was known for crabs, and, by God, we were going to get us some. Some local women joined us in turning rocks over.

Then it started to rain. Now, that was back when I wore glasses. Here I was slipping in my wet flip-flops and trying not to fall on these very sharp coral rocks. Half-blind, I was not much worse a crab-catcher than I would have been had I been able to see. Our guides found us several small crabs and did what so many Kiribati do -- ripped off their limbs while they were alive. We were halfway home when Marian remembered we didn't have any kerosene for our stove - so we stopped at the largest store on the island (a one-room shack a little bigger than a walk-in closet) and got a bottle of kerosene, threw it in the "rice bag" with the dismembered crabs. We had brought some lentils from the capital and remembered we had some red pepper flakes to spice up the normally bland side. We were golden!

Too bad some kerosene had spilled on the crabs, the lentils were too dry and WAY too spicy, and we ended up burning the breadfruit we had borrowed from our neighbor. THAT was one true rainy day meal.

What had me thinking of Kiribati during our rainy day today was none of the above. It was our wet pup, Kope (Co-pay), who was getting a flea bath. His shaking reminded me of the day we adopted him, when he was truly a pup being played with by a group of boys in the surf. He was scrawny and mangy. And he had just won the lottery, because soon he was eating canned corned beef - a delicacy in those parts.

During rainy days in Kiribati, Kope would take long naps on our floor. Some things don't change. And I've got my long-sleeve shirt on, in August.

birthday photos and what not

2008-08-13T18:32:00.001-07:00

We had a great birthday party for Meg last Sunday. Very chill, just a casual meal and beer on our porch, followed of course by cake for the big girl. Here she is waiting patiently.

In the thick of it:

And the aftermath:

Stella is officially bored with summer. She is SO ready for preschool to start. We're looking for a babysitter to keep Meg two of the three mornings that Stells is in school so I can start back working for the business a little bit.

Weird thing happened yesterday as I was coming into our neighborhood. There's a pretty nice restaurant just down the hill from our house and I have to pass it whenever I come home. Well, yesterday around noon I noticed a pickup truck just parked in the restaurant's lot, with a guy totally passed out in the drivers seat. His door was wide open, body turned like he was getting ready to just step out of the car, head slumped forward.

Well, of course my first thought was, Oh Dear Lord I am looking at a dead body and so is my 3 year old, and I'm gonna have to be on Dateline. I rolled down my window and yelled at him, nothing. So I circled back around the restaurant, knocked on the office door, and told the nice lady what I saw. She sent the chef to check out the scene.

Chef comes back and says that the guy had changed positions. He's alive! His guess was that he drank too much at the bar across the street and the steakhouse parking lot was as far as he made it.

That's the excitement around these mountain parts.

Oops, gotta go, Olympics are on. I'll end with my new favorite photo. The twins, born just 36 years apart.

BBC Calls Lezak's Win in 4x100m Freestyle

2008-08-13T03:46:00.000-07:00

I missed this when it happened, but I'm so glad someone put the UK broadcast on YouTube. It's an amazing come-back, whether you care about swimming or not.

The commentators got one thing wrong: they attribute Phelps' jubilation to the fact he was able to rack up another gold in his chase of Spitz. But all I saw was team pride. He got more excited at this than any of his individual golds.

It's just way more fun when you succeed with a team.

I thought this was kind of cool:

"Everyone wanted to get a look at history, including the U.S. men's basketball team. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were among those cheering on Phelps from poolside seats. James posed for pictures with Phelps' mom."

It seems the NBA stars have come a long way in the past 12 years or so when they first began competing for the United States. One was interviewed and said that being in the Olympics was the highlight of his career, way better than having won an NBA final.

The John Edwards Thing

2008-08-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Many people are shocked by the knowledge that John Edwards had an affair with a videographer while campaigning for President.

My wife isn't. She knows that if SHE were running for President it would be near impossible for her to resist the advances of THIS videographer.

But that's not the point of this post. My point is to talk about the shock I experienced when I heard the news. Shock, that is, that Edwards campaign was paying $100K for 4 YouTube videos!

I'm obviously in the wrong genre of filmmaking OR I am a pretty terrible salesperson. I'm delighted when I sell a $2,500 video to a nonprofit. When they want to do a larger project that costs $5,000, I'm so excited I could jump over cars while they are moving, like that guy from That's Incredible. (I'm even more excited when they raise $25K or more with one of those videos - it happens!)

I suppose it's possible that, when she was hired, the candidate figured he'd be getting a little EXTRA for his investment. That's hard to say.

In any case, the videos didn't work. And the affair didn't help either. If she were really hot, like Marilyn Monroe, folks might still be comparing him to John F. Kennedy. But, alas, she is just a party girl who had about 10,000 too many cocktails. And one too many presidential candidates.

Can I digress just a little bit here? I haven't read a great many presidential biographies, but the the sense I get is that the job is incredibly stressful AND frustrating. If that much power still results in frustration that you can't control outcomes, then what hope is there for me? And why would there be those who pursue it? The American Presidency to me is a fine example of how the world is truly a chaotic system, and doing something on the macro level may have the OPPOSITE effect that you expect.

So, the only way to lead a Good Life (with mostly good outcomes) is truly to act locally, specifically, and carefully. You can start by being true to your spouse. I want to be able to say to Marian decades from now that I loved no other, and let our children see that faithfulness is one of the few ways to grab a piece of eternity in THIS life.

"But where's my YouTube videos?!" Marian might ask. I'm working on those!

Frickin' Cold!

2008-08-11T03:12:00.000-07:00

It's 54 degrees right now. We are NOT turning on the heat in our house in frickin' August. Tonight it's supposed to get down to 45. No, I'm not wearing a burka. That's a fleece blanket, though.

Frosted Hair

2008-08-11T02:53:00.000-07:00

We'll get some shots up soon of Meg with smeared frosting face and hair. She had a really good time, and so did we. B and Pat were there, as were Jonathan, Becky, and their daughter, Josie. It was the perfect sized party. Stella loved popping the balloons we worked so hard to fill. I think she had as much fun at her sister's party as the rest of us.

I'm really psyched because today I (Eric) get to train my part-time marketing and sales assistant! We don't have the money to hire her, but if I didn't hire her, I was going to go completely insane. So, we might go broke, but at least we'll have our mental health. But I think Whitney is going to do a great job and earn her keep, I really do.

I'll soon be posting some videos we've produced. Stay tuned!

The eve of your first birthday

2008-08-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my sweet Meg,

Has anyone ever been kissed as much as you are? Between me, your dad, your big sister, and even the dog, I would estimate that you receive upwards of 200 kisses each day. Each day! Multiply that by the 364 days you've been on this earth, and that's a lot. I don't have a calculator handy, but it's a lot, trust me.

This has been by far the fastest year of my life. It cannot be possible that exactly one year ago, I was packing and repacking my hospital bag, sweating and huge in the August heat, anxiously awaiting the next morning. I so hoped you were okay and of course I wondered what you would come out to be, both in gender and in personality.

The morning came early, and Dad and I got to the hospital around 5am. It was still dark outside. We walked in the hospital, Dad carrying my stuff, and we made one last bet. I bet you were a girl, Dad sure you were a boy. Yes! I won the bet!

As you were about to come out, at 8:35 am, the doctor told Daddy to announce to the room what gender you were. Some of the medical staff had never witnessed a birth where the sex was the surprise, so everyone was on edge. Dr. Matthews held you up - And then those beautiful words, "It's a girl!" I immediately started to weep. It was truly one of the two most spectacular moments of my life. Dad brought you over to me for us to meet, and I couldn't believe how beautiful you were, AND how much you looked like Stella! As they were taking you up to the nursery, the nurse started to laugh because you peed all over her.

And here you are, asleep right now in your crib, with your pink blanket (your bumpy, as it's called in the Larson house), your little music pillow, your nightlight and sleep machine on. It's cliche but it really feels like you've been here forever. You have brought even more joy into this family, making Stella a big sister and us the proud parents of two beautiful daughters.

So what are you like at age one? You make some of the craziest noises I've ever heard come out of a human being, seriously. You can clap, wave, say a few words like mama, dada, and uh-oh. Your favorite food is fruit, preferably blueberries. You love to hand toys to us, only for us to hand them back. You love walks in your stroller, baths, pictures of other babies, and rough play with your Dad. You give us really sloppy kisses before bed. And you really love me and Dad - other people, not so much. We won't get into that small personality trait that drives us crazy.

The first year is over, Meg, I just cannot wrap my mind around the fact that you will be one year old tomorrow. It has been challenging to say the least, but it has been filled with more joy than I ever imagined. I cannot wait to enjoy many more years with you, my brown eyed girl.

Love,
Mom

8.8.08

2008-08-08T02:15:00.000-07:00

Anyone getting married at 8 p.m. tonight?

Our company is filming a wedding today, some friends are getting married literally a mile from our house at a country wedding chapel, and an old acquaintance who dumped her first husband on a whim is trying to get us excited about her second wedding today in Vegas. I'm sure many of you have received word or invitations about a wedding today - a Friday, no less. 8.8.08. We only have 4 more of these oddities (9.9.09, 10.10.10, 11.11.11, and 12.12.12) until we have to wait another 100 years to do it all again.

Take it from someone in the wedding business - it would be a great thing if weddings were always spread out over the week. They'd be a lot less expensive that way (try creating a business that can only make money one day a week and you'll understand). And a lot of the pressure would be taken off the event, for the good of marriages everywhere. I'm convinced a lot of people have doubts about their impending marriage but, because the steam engine of the THE BIG DAY is on the move, they feel powerless to put on the brakes. (The brakes on those things are PAINFULLY LOUD.)

For example, weddings could become lunchtime affairs. The ceremony essentially happens at the reception, while everyone is chowing down, including your co-workers. Some might say this takes away from the religiosity of the occasion, and they would be right. But if the couple wants to commemorate their marriage in the church, they could do that on Sunday.

Most of the time, if someone calls off a wedding, there is lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth. "So much money down the drain! But your cousins already bought their plane tickets! What will people say?!" But in the above scheme, if someone calls off the wedding, all folks might say is: "Okay. Want to do Mexican instead?"

I'm not trying to trivialize marriage - because I don't have to. Divorce has already trivialized it. When we attend a wedding and all the "forever" language is used, everyone is taking part in one large suspension of disbelief.

Imagine if half of the rockets and shuttles that NASA sent up into space blew up. We'd re-examine our space program, wouldn't we? And we wouldn't go to lift-offs with rose-colored glasses. Maybe we should take a good, long look at marriage - as a church and as a society as well - and decide if it's really all it's cut out to be.

I haven't given this much thought, really, but I suspect having different levels of commitment would be a good thing. Someone might have a "forever marriage" in which they agree only to divorce in the case of abuse or cheating. It would resemble what we have now, only you'd have to get a lot of signatures from your friends and family in the way a politician needs signatures to get on a ballot. As forever marriages involve kids - and, therefore, lots of tax write-offs and other legal advantages - there's a lot at stake. Why should any bozo be able to qualify just by saying "I do"?

Some might have a "good-times marriage," which would be valid so long as both are having a good time. This is sort of a step up from dating, in that it involves vows of exclusivity. This marriage level would include a vow not to have children until the couple decided to take their marriage to the next level - and received enough signatures.

Of course, there would always be a Justice of the Peace option which, essentially, is a legal arrangement only and doesn't raise any expectations in the couple or anyone else.

Here's the inherent problem with vows these days: we recognize that people change, and that, even with the best of intentions, things don't turn out the way we'd always like. We hold marriage up on a pedestal until things fall apart, then we realize that our happiness, our souls, our selves, deserve more TLC than some nebulous virtue. And we realize that as half the relationship our happiness carries as much as weight as our partner's, even if it is tremendously selfish on our part to pull the rug out from under them.

I could have married any one of the really great women I dated before meeting Marian. But I held off until I found the really great woman who was just perfect for ME. I want to argue it was not random luck. By age 28 I feel I knew myself quite well - far better than many people who get married will EVER know themselves. That's an unprovable and somewhat arrogant assertion, but I'll say it anyway. I knew a good many of my faults in addition to strengths. And Marian had a self-knowledge that was in many ways much more profound and natural (especially to have that ability at age 20, when I met her. Dang, that was 10 years ago!) We both knew what we were getting into, and we've built on what we started. Life with her today is even better than it was 10 years ago. What a lady!

Knowing yourself. Meeting someone who also knows herself. Being attracted to that person. Having that person return the favor. Wanting a lot of the same things out of life. Sharing most of the same values. Making each other laugh. Doing the right things so that your relationship does not get stale. Not having an addiction or other destructive baggage. Can anyone else add a helpful requirement for a happy marriage?

A happy marriage depends on so many things that make marriage more than a gimmick, a party, a little girl's archetypal princess fantasy. Arranged marriages (tyrannical though they are) tend to work better than "love marriages" precisely because there is some THOUGHT put into them. Most relationships are based merely on romance, and romance (fun as it is, necessary as it is) is nothing but evolution in disguise. Evolution never relies on thought - only primeval urges and instinct - and its goal, to propagate the species - really doesn't take long-term happiness as we define it today into consideration. There have been studies that show that divorce in the Bible Belt is higher because people get married younger - and they get married younger because pre-marital sex is such a taboo. Evolution says our bodies are ready for sex at 11, 12, or 13 - it doesn't care about the Bible, or the law, or what constitutes healthy emotional growth. Evolution wants babies! And one day a woman wakes up at 2 a.m. with her third kid and thinks: "My husband is a lazy slob. I'm tired and miserable. How did this happen?" EVOLUTION happened, Sister, and you are its latest victim.

Until the church creates a narrative that incorporates this reality of evolution (in which our bodies are ready to reproduce in our early teens) and makes that narrative something a little more savvy than simply saying: "That's Sin!" we're going to have this weird mess on our hands that a friend of mine referred to as The Great American Disaster: Marriage.

I love a good wedding. When the couple seems so in love, so earnest, I actually tear up, whether I'm behind the camera or simply a guest. I know that THIS couple can beat the odds -- and many of them will. It's a beautiful story when it works, and when it doesn't - ouch. But it's wrong to be skeptical or cynical. A couple deserves the benefit of the doubt. But they also need a reality check. I can't give them that in a video -- but I can provide that here. This is my conscience talking. If you think this column would work on our wedding video website, let me know - but I suspect it would float like a lead balloon. It doesn't fit with the fantasy we all have when we're initially caught up - and enjoying - the train ride.

Salt Lake, Here We Come!

2008-08-07T03:51:00.000-07:00

One of the blogs we like to read is parisbaconpesto. It's written by our friend Jeff Schmerker who is traveling the world with our other friend (yes, our ONLY other friend) Laura (his wife). They are currently in Argentina skiing. Jeff used to write for the Mountaineer here in Haywood County, N.C. I'd highly recommend it. They only recently started their year-long journey.

Jeff is from Utah. I've never REALLY been to Utah. Oh, I've been to Monument Valley and Four Corners -- where 4 states join which is desert and, thus, in Utah by accident, if you trip. It was great, but it looked a lot like the other three nearby states.

But now we're going to Salt Lake City! It's a job that we're turning into a vacation, too. I'll be recording audio for 30 workshops or so at the Association of Personal Historians, of which I am a member.

It's going to mean dropping Meg off at my mom's in Alabama, but that will give them a chance to bond.

This won't happen till the end of October, so we have plenty of time to read about the Church of Latter Day Saints and what-not. I made friends with a Mormon missionary in the Peace Corps. Look forward to meeting some of his peeps. One day I'll also tell you the story of how a Mormon commune (well, really just a group of friends) put me up in their house in London for the night when I missed my flight back to the States.

When You Are Insulted By Another's Birthday

2008-08-06T03:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I heard Stella in another part of the house hyperventilating with sobs. I asked Marian later what that was all about.

"She was mad because I told her my birthday was coming first. First mine, then three days later, hers. She didn't like that one bit! She wanted hers to be first."

So, Stella, you don't like when you were born? I recall Bill Cosby's line to his son: "Son, I brought you into this world -- and I can take you OUT!" But I won't say that to her.

I will say that I'm grateful she was born on the last day of September. That's the only way I can remember there are 30 days in that month.

I'll let Marian find a recent photo of her to post here.

Southern Novelists Claim Their Property

2008-08-05T02:56:00.000-07:00

Our friend Angela has had a time with an immoral and devious former owner breaking into her cottage. (She removed those posts in which she wrote about the experience.) Anyway, the culprit sounds like someone Scott Peck would call a "Person of the Lie." These are people who are so wrapped up in maintaining their own illusion of themselves - and so good at lying to themselves - that they are capable of doing or saying anything to others.

What I really wanted to blog about is the reaction of two Southern novelists when faced with thieves on their property.

The first instance happened to A llan Gurganus, who wrote "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All" and several other notable works. He told me this story when I was working for Reynolds Price. Apologies to Allan if I get a few of the details wrong.

One day Allan returned to his home in Hillsborough to find a gentleman trespassing. The man had backed his pick-up truck next to an old family cemetery on Allan's property and was - one stone at a time - dismantling the old wall around the cemetery, simple as someone might take down a wall of sand-bags after a flood.

Allan introduced himself as one the owner of the property and - indeed - the cemetery itself. It was pretty brave, considering he was speaking to a thief who held a large rock in his hands.

The man didn't say anything, but Allan wasn't through. He said to the man: "Your mother is ashamed of you."

(Dramatic pause, before the man returns the stones and drives away.)

The other great story comes from Reynolds. It was December, perhaps 40 years ago, when he noticed a pickup parked along his property and a family hiking into his woods. Reynolds watched awhile, and when he saw the family re-emerge from the woods, he stepped out onto his porch to contront the man, wife, and their children. The man saw Reynolds and asked, cheerfully: "Got yours?"

Reynolds answered in that deep, stentorian voice: "They're all mine."

The man shrugged and kept on going, his stolen Christmas tree cutting a shallow path in the leaves.

I guess the lesson is that when you are a novelist, you don't have to stoop low and say things like, "That's mine! How dare you! Give that back!" The power of words to convey irony, humor, and cosmic blame is plenty enough - whether or not you end up getting your stuff back or not.

Another Great Organization: Hospice

2008-07-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

American Cancer Society

2008-07-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to embed a video about the American Cancer Society. What a great organization!

Affected

2008-07-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

So I found this blog that I feel I must share with the world, or at least the small world reading this. Some of you may already know this guy's story, but if not, check out his blog here.

His name is Matt, a 30 year old computer guy living in LA, originally from the Twin Cities. His life has been turned upside down in both amazing and horrific ways. In March, his beautiful wife delivered their baby girl prematurely - though small, baby was and still is fine. The tragedy occurred the next day, as his wife was preparing to be wheeled down to the NICU to touch her baby for the first time. She felt lightheaded and collapsed, dying of a pulmonary embolism.

It's hard to even type that small synopsis of his story without feeling like I'm going to lose it. I don't know what it is about these people that have affected me so much. The mom was born in September 1977, just like me. They were both from Minnesota where Eric has family and has spent much of his time. They welcomed a baby daughter that they wanted so desperately. And the blood clot to her lung could've been a result of the five weeks of bedrest she had, followed by a C-section - and I've had two of those.

I don't know, it just seems so close to home for me. Then I get pissed at myself for not having this sympathy for other horrors happening around the world. I mean, if some dad were having to do it alone because his wife got shot in drive-by, for example, would I feel this pain for him? Or if a mother died in some suicide bombing somewhere across the globe, leaving behind her young daughter for someone else to raise? I mean it happens all the time. Is it possible to feel so deeply for something happening so out of your own world?

To watch the love of my life die in front of my eyes, oh Lord I can't even process it. And the thought of my little girls not knowing me, or so much worse, me not knowing them? Not ever touching their skin or seeing their smiles?

Please don't avoid his blog because it's a tear-fest. It is that, but so much more. He's a beautiful photographer and writer, open and emotional, raw but funny too. And the kid is the spitting image of her mom, which makes it even sweeter and more dear to see photos of them together. I just know in my heart that this little girl is going to have a happy and wonderful life, thanks to her sweet and doting dad.

Do yourself a favor (with Kleenex close by) and please check it out. I promise you will be glad you did. It has truly changed the way I look at my family.

on a lighter note, I despise the colors of my blog but can't figure out how to make it better. I may change the template all together. ugh. where's angela when you need her?

The Glass is Half Full Again

2008-07-15T03:55:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what stepping out of the whirlwind of work can do. It took over two weeks for me (Eric) to decompress from my trip to the surface and not get the bends.

There were some therapeutic moments that helped make everything better:

- Walking on the beach with Meg and Stella.

- Cooking dinner with Marian.

- Playing a round of bridge with the ladies at Figure 8.

- Just "bumming" around downtown Wilmington.

- Eating crabcakes, shrimp, Indochine (a Wilmington Thai restaurant), and other great stuff.

- Amstel Light and Sarinac Variety Pack. Nice blend!

- Reading back issues of Inc. Magazine. This is a lot more fun than you'd think.

- Sunrises and good coffee (yes, I'm drinking -some- coffee again, for anyone who has followed that bit of saga).

- Driving through Huntsville at midnight. Oddly satisfying.

- Samuel Smith Oatmeal Porter with my brother, Wade.

- A walk around the old neighborhood with my sister, Katy, and her husband, Chris.

- Going to church with my dad and seeing an old friend.

Through it all was the woman of my dreams. I think I would enjoy a vacation to Hades so long as Marian could be with me.

It was quite warm on this trip, but not THAT bad.

Traveling with the Kids

2008-07-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

What's up strangers! This post is perfect for us because we have been traveling a lot the last month - one of my many excuses as to why I haven't blogged. This idea stems from my girl Erin's Mama Monday blog series. And if you go to her site, scroll down to the post that precedes her Mama Monday post to check out two beautiful pics of our girls. OK, traveling...

1) The last two trips we've taken (Wilmington and Alabama) we've put the girls to bed in the car and driven at night. Why didn't we think of this before? I think I feared the worst - getting them all off their schedule, them not going to bed when we finally arrived, etc. Let me tell you, it's the way to go. The worst part is US getting tired, but they both zonked out pretty well considering they're not in their comfy beds. And for this heat-hating mama, it was a lot cooler too.

2) I let Stella pack a toy box (canvas storage thing) full of stuff for she and Meg and it goes between them in the backseat. Tons of books, flash cards, her favorite stuffed animals, whatever will fit in there she can take. She can reach it and she's content with everything in there b/c she packed it herself.

3) Snacks. Granola bars, raisins, yogurt pretzels, fruit, juice boxes, water bottles, etc. The usual with maybe a few treats tossed in.

4) Tons of stops. If you do have to go during the day, you just have to be flexible. When we came back from Wilmington to the mountains, we stopped at a mall with a huge play area and food court where she could move. We stayed for two freaking hours. Of course I was ready to pull my hair out but it did make for a better second leg. That said, our nightime trip to the beach took about 7 hours. When we returned in the daytime, it took about 10. Somebody shoot me.

5) DVD player. We take it but don't bring it out unless we really need it. Out of the 30 plus hours we've spent in the car in the last few weeks, Stella watched one movie the whole time. The Aristocats - her favorite - and I must say I love it too. Anyway, she usually does pretty well but we certainly are not above using it when it will really make the trip more bearable.

Really, Stella for the most part is a kid who just loves to go places. We've had some great times over the past month together as a family just road trippin it. But I'm glad to be home.

Soon, pics from our beach trip and more updates...tired but happy around here.

Bye!

Ten Months Old!

2008-06-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Meggles turned 10 months old on Tuesday. And here she is!

Also, go check out my friend Angela's blog. She's got a great contest going on, so go see what it's all about.

Life is good here...Eric's off to Chicago tomorrow to attend his friend Jason's wedding. Jason was a groomsman in our wedding, and he and his partner Ed are having a commitment ceremony on Saturday. So Eric's gonna head up there to film and be a part of such a special occasion.

The girls and I will just hang around this weekend and prepare for Daddy's return on Father's Day. His gift - a requested dinner of beer, shrimp po boys, and strawberry pie. Seriously, yum.

I'm tired, it's late but I did want to post a few new photos of our little love, Miss Meg.

Have a great Father's Day weekend!

Ten on Wednesday

2008-06-04T18:03:00.001-07:00

Hi long lost readers of this lame blog. Life's been busy and I've been lazy, hence no posts for a while. But I'm back, people, I'm back. At least for tonight.

1. We've realized that Stella is allergic to sunscreen, or at least every kind that we've tried. For the longest time we thought she had fifth's disease (also known as slapped-cheek disease), a viral infection in which the face literally looks like it's had the crap slapped out of it. Basically, say 4-5 hours after we apply sunscreen, her cheeks, nose and forehead, and sometimes chest and arms, turn very red, almost purple, and they are hot and itchy. It's totally gone within 24 hours. Weird, huh? Any suggestions out there for sunscreens that may not do this to my kid?

2. We had to cancel our trip to Eric's folks house, which also meant cancelling our photo shoot with Erin, b/c aforementioned child had a nasty cold that lasted way too long. Don't even get me started on how disappointed I was, I mean still am.

3. Business is up a little around here which means family morale is too. Check out this link to learn about what Eric's been swamped with lately.

4. I am so stoked about my new diaper bag. I have had the same one since Stella was born and that ratty thing was filthy, had holes in it and other repulsive substances floating throughout its interior. And this one looks a lot cooler too.

5. I cannot seem to get motivated to knock things off my long-standing list. Things like backing up my photos onto disks. Getting a Goodwill pile together. Etc, etc, etc. There's so much other things have to happen in a given day that those things get put to the wayside. I need a pep talk.

6. Meg has two teeth now. She loves to eat, clap, squeal, give slobbery kisses, reach for everything she shouldn't, and of course play with her big sis. Oh, and she's still needy as hell and doesn't like me to walk away from her for a second.

7. Our CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) program started up a few weeks ago. This is the 3rd year we've done it and are loving it just as much this year. Basic idea is in exchange for us purchasing a share of the farm, we get a box of fresh produce, grown locally, once a week at the local market. Our farmers are from Hot Springs, NC - they left their corporate America computer programming jobs to buy a farm in the mountains and have never looked back. Read about them here. I love stuff like this.

8. I'm back on Weight Watchers hard core after taking a break for a good month. Why Lord did I do that? Now five pounds heavier than I was 3 weeks ago, I'm re-committing myself to it. My goal was to be at my highschool weight by Meg's first birthday, August 10th. I think I can come close. I know that I can, actually, it just takes discipline. I know this program works for me b/c I've done it before...

9. I found a freaking 12 pack of Saranac Pale Ale for $5.99 today at our local nasty discount mart. Why did I find that on the day I re-committed myself to my diet? I didn't drink any today, though Eric drank two, that jerk.

10. Here are some new photos of our baby girl. Almost 10 months old. She is so loved around here.

Look, she's reaching out for you to hold her. I told you she wants to be held all the time. She's even reaching out to cyberspace for some lovin.

OK, I'm getting delirious and less funny as I type. Goodnight everyone!

Jessica Alba Stares at Me

2008-05-24T05:32:00.000-07:00

Every now and then there's a SPAM subject line that cracks me up. Is it possible that someone can be a stalker while being simultaneously paranoid that the stalkee is stalking right back? "Jessica, stop staring at me! Go get your own star obsession!"

What if stars hired paparazzi to photograph the paparazzi, following them in their personal lives and making them living hells? Why not?

Marian, it's okay to blog about how crummy you feel.

Fortunately, while Marian was blogging I was at Eaglenest Entertainment about a mile away filming Percy Sledge. Percy is from Leighton, Alabama, about 12 miles from where I grew up in Florence. He gave a great concert, and I highly recommend you take the leap and hear him tonight (Saturday). He's great! We were able to talk a little bit after the show and he told me that his boyhood home (and his grandmother's) burned down recently, stymieing his plans to create a museum to his music.

He also reminded me that when a man loves a woman, he lets her sleep in on a Saturday!

Fri. night blues

2008-05-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

Am I Debbie Downer or what?

I'm feeling low for two, no three, reasons right now. The first is simply me being a baby because I don't feel so well. Scratchy throat, achy, and just so freaking exhausted. I mean, why am I so tired, seriously. Do I have chronic fatigue syndrome? Any hour of the day I could go lie down and just pass out. It may have to do with my 5:15 am waking baby, even though Eric usually gets up with her and distracts her until the first number on the clock is a six so he can bring her to me to nurse. Opening your eyes before six am is pure torture, isn't it?

It also has to do with the fact that I'm still nursing Meg, and I'm quite frankly kind of over it. I know that sounds so horrible mom, but the fact is at this point it's more of a routine than a real nutritional benefit for her. She loves people food and can drink from a cup pretty well. And for me, until I'm completely done with nursing, I don't truly feel back to myself again. I guess I'm just ready to feel normal again.

Second reason I'm down is that two of our best friends are moving. First are Jeff and Laura, who sold their house for CASH in two weeks and are leaving in a month to travel the world. I know, poor guys. We are so excited for them, maybe envious is more like it, but they've become good friends here, and we really hate to see them go.

Also, Tracy and Ben and their kids Noa and Eli are leaving in a month, and this one sucks too. We hang out with them a lot - our kids play together so well and the adults do too - so it's going to be very strange to not have them to call. I don't even want to think about it.

And then, the third and most significant reason that I'm feeling sad tonight is because we lost a friend a few days ago. He was 35 and our dentist, and he died in a motorcycle accident. We went to his funeral yesterday - he leaves behind a wife and four year old son...he was an awesome dentist and just so full of life, funny and fun too. I remember him having to leave quickly after cleaning Eric's teeth once b/c he had to get to a Beastie Boys concert. Of course that made me love him.

So there, what a great way to start off your weekend...seriously, I do hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! That's it from here...oh, go give a shout out to my best friend at her new blog site here.

Bye!

No excuses

2008-05-14T06:03:00.001-07:00

I mean, I could think of some excuses for not blogging, but they wouldn't sound very believable...but somebody give me props for doing it now.

Life around here has been stressful lately, because our life and our business are really one in the same. Gosh there are so many great things about being your own boss - flexibility, not having to answer to anyone, satisfaction that all this hard work is a good investment. I believe that there are more plusses than minuses to this whole thing, for sure. The highs are really high.

Which in turns means the lows are really low. The economy is having a negative effect on every business out there. People just aren't spending money like they have been - us included - but that means that we're not doing as much work as we'd like. We have tons of prospects, just not too many that have actually signed on the dotted line.

This has been such a roller coaster for us. Since we came back from Peace Corps five years ago, we've yet to feel truly secure in our professions, and adding two kids to the mix doesn't exactly make things easier. That said, we're still surviving, and I am thankful for a husband that wants this to work so badly so we can have the quality of life that we want. Which is time together and with the girls, with a little money for the occasional Chick Fil-A sandwich that we crave on road trips.

Now kid updates: Stella is really asserting her independence lately, and she's become sort of sassy. This is not cute, people. Like when I say, "Stella, don't talk to me like that," she'll say, "Don't talk to ME like that." What do I do with this? Part of me wants to laugh and part of me wants to slap her. Of course I try not to do either.

Meg is 9 months old and screaming in her crib as I type this. Oh well. She has one tooth, smiles a lot, and has no interest whatsoever in crawling. She still likes to be held ALOT but has warmed up to strangers talking to her now.

We're headed to Eric's parents house in a few weeks for a visit and to have our family photographed by Erin. So excited about that!

OK, must tend to the needy hussy now. Hope all of you are well.

Just following orders

2008-04-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

OK, this post is a shout out to our two dear friends. James has been giving me a hard time about not sticking to my Ten on Tuesday ritual - and he's right. I've been super lazy about blogging. Funny thing is I hold such a double standard with the whole blogging thing. I get mad at everyone else who doesn't update their blogs regularly, but it's fine to let mine go.

And our girl Angela pegged me to do this list thingy, so here's a combo deal for you guys - and anyone else who may be reading.

So Here's Ten on Tuesday, with the first six points being the "Six Uninteresting Things About Me" that Angela requested. These should be good.

1. I hate peas. This stems from the repulsive casserole my mom used to force me to eat when I was a kid. I can't even call it a casserole. It was canned Le Seuer peas stirred up with some undiluted mushroom soup, baked. That's it, people. I would cry, literally, when I saw mom take those silver cans out of the cabinet. Ugh. It still makes my stomach turn.

2. I have broken two bones in my life, and both injuries happened right before dance recitals. Once in preschool - an ankle bone, and once in middle school - a foot bone. I was the kid in the audience wearing the cast. Twice.

3. My middle name is Fuller. I was named after a Dr. Fuller, who had a son named Lyndon Fuller. Dr. Fuller named his son Lyndon after President Lyndon Johnson. Story was that Dr. Fuller and Lyndon Johnson were college roommates in TX. Now as I type that, I'm not sure if I believe it. But it's what I've been told my whole life.

4. I minored in African American studies at UNC. And majored in journalism. Now I wipe butts and cook macaroni and cheese for a living. I wouldn't have it any other way.

5. I have an extra bone on the back of my head. I think I had a cyst on top of the extra bone, and a plastic surgeon removed that when I was little, but of course the bone remained. I remember having to get x-rays and other tests run when I was a kid to make sure it was nothing. Was this one too much information?

6. I can't believe it's true, but I want another baby. Truly.

And now, four other just as uninteresting things going on with us:

7. We're taking two trips this month to visit family. One to Eastern NC to visit my family, and one to Ala. to visit Eric's family. I don't even want to think about what we'll spend on gas.

8. Stella's first end of year preschool performance is Thursday night. She's been practicing her songs for us, and one of them is about a paw paw patch. We didn't even know what paw paws were. We looked them up on Wikipedia.

9. It's supposed to frost tonight in these mountains. Thanks, it's the end of April.

10. Our lovable, but off-color neighbor, came over for dinner tonight. It's always an experience hanging out with him.

And here are a few photos of our growing girls, by far the most interesting thing on this post tonight!

Buy Haywood Tomatoes

2008-04-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Our company just won First Place in Multimedia from the Public Relations Association of Western North Carolina for this humorous cartoon we produced. The video was created in Flash and Adobe AfterEffects. After the group publicized the video, they saw a 500 percent increase in traffic to their website. Even more exciting, they landed a meeting with a large natural foods grocery chain whose name you would probably recognize.

We want to do more animation, so please send folks to our animation webpage.

Our Meg, the EIGHT month old!

2008-04-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

Eight whole months since Meggles came - so cliche, but I swear I cannot believe it. I mean, an eight month old baby is a bonafide, sitting-up, laughing, TV commercial-esque baby. Let me see if I can describe Meg for all of you who haven't met her yet:

*We thought early on that she would be a chill, laid back child. Wrong we were. This baby makes her presence known, not only with her teradactyl squeals and sounds, but now she wants to be looked at and engaged constantly. Let's just say I think she's a bit on the high maintenance side.

*There is nothing she loves more than being outside, and she loves riding in the stroller. Which is great for this mama who needs the exercise anyway.

*She doesn't like her booster seat at all and sometimes will sit in her Bumbo seat to eat. She prefers to sit on our laps while we feed her table food. It is so inefficient, messy and annoying. And she swats her arms so hard that she slaps the food right out of the spoon and onto everything. I hate feeding time.

*She has this bald spot on the back of her head that is SO bald that it looks like we shave it every night. Nary a hair is on that spot of her precious scalp.

*She doesn't like peaches or potatoes.

*She also doesn't like other people very much. If we're out somewhere and someone talks to her, there's a good 60% chance that she'll burst into tears. It makes it worse when I laugh at how absurd that is.

*She can sit up by herself and seems so much happier. Just to be able to reach for toys, play with her sister a little more, and get lots of applause for doing so.

*She also has more nicknames than any other baby on earth. Some include Meggle, Meggles, Meggie Sneggie, Meggie Bells, Meggies Bellsies, Schnookum, Bean Sprout, Beanie, and Boo Boo.

I can't imagine our family without that little lamb chop. To us, she is just about the most adorable thing on the planet. We love you more every day, little Meggie Sneggie.

Here she is with her look-alike pop:

And here she's sporting that intense brown-eyed Larson glare with added smirk. I think the smirk might be from my side of the family.

Happy Eight months, little bit! (oh yeah, that's another one)

Ten on Tuesday

2008-04-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful day in the NC mountains so this post should be, for the most part, uplifting and positive...

1. We are part of a program here called Parents as Teachers, or PAT. It's a free service through a local child abuse prevention agency that sends someone into your home monthly to essentially help and support you as a parent. Our assigned coordinator, Kim, brings homemade games and toys, hand-outs on child development, books, etc. that are age appropriate for Stella and Meg. Needless to say, she's become a favorite around here. And she's coming in just a few hours.

2. We had a picnic today at a beautiful field with some friends. Stella ran what seemed like miles through the grass. And Meg just sat on the blanket with us playing with toys. Is there anything cuter than a baby sitting on a quilt in the sunshine? Surprise Surprise, I forgot my camera.

3. I've slacked off on my Weight Watchers but am still proud to say I've lost 23 pounds. I now have motivation to lose the extra 15 b/c our dear friend Erin is photographing our family at the end of May. And you know I want to look back at those and think that I looked like a hot mom.

4. Eric is working hard as usual for the business. He's frustrated b/c he's quoted a lot of jobs but many haven't come through yet. The state of the economy is hurting everyone, small businesses like ours too. I am so proud of what he has built in just 3 1/2 years, literally from scratch and with no business experience. If anybody can make it succeed, he can.

5. Ugh, I just lost all interest in finishing this list. Why do I have adult onset ADD? I'm not even kidding.

6. I will leave you with a photo of our new niece, Lily Therese Jones. Thanks, Melissa, for taking these precious photos. Hope you don't mind if I posted them!

Have a good week people!

Family addition

2008-04-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

Our new niece has arrived! Lily Therese Jones was born today, April 5, at 1:51 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz. Check out her blog for photos and to leave her a congratulations message. What a beautiful baby girl! We love you already, baby Lily. And of course your big bro too!

A New Blog on Our List

2008-03-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

Check out our friend Gracie's blog on our list of favorites. Gracie unicycled from coast-to-coast a couple years ago and became the youngest woman ever to do so (she had just graduated from Duke). She stayed overnight at our place and we thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the buffest woman on Planet Earth! A record of her trip is at onewheelforlife.blogspot.com. On both blogs she has some amazing photos of Out West - some of the best I've ever seen.

Something you might not know about unicycling -- there are no brakes and you can't let off the pedals to coast. That means to slow on a downhill you have to apply to the speeding-up pedals firm resistance with your knees. Try this on a bicycle. It's not easy!

Easter in the mountains

2008-03-24T16:44:00.001-07:00

Our Easter weekend was great! Took the girls to an Easter Egg Hunt last week, in 48 degree drizzle. Stella of course only wanted pink and purple eggs (gag me! where did I get this girly child?), and Meg was pissed that she didn't get any. See?

Here's me and the gals. Sometimes I still can't believe I'm a mom. It's a combined feeling of, "I cannot be grown up and mature enough to be doing this," with "Did Eric and I actually create these little people that happen to be adorable too?"

Speaking of Eric, this month marks 10 years that we had our blind date. I would've never in a million years guessed that I would marry that guy. Especially since HE came to take ME out to lunch, but his ghetto-mobile was having problems, so he asked if we could take my car. Well, I had to run up ahead and chuck my pack of Camel Lights under the seat b/c I didn't want him to know I smoked. Then he ragged on my UNC sticker and I abruptly gave him an F*** you. So it wasn't exactly love at first sight. But he is the love of my life, of that I'm sure.

Here's one last photo of Meg and Stells in the bath. Meg has realized that her big sister is the end all be all in her life. She absolutely adores her, and she has one squeal that she reserves only for Stella. It is hysterical.

That's it from here, people. Oh, one last funny thing. We visited a church on Easter and it was the first time Stella had sat through a church service. She was good as three year olds go, quiet and fairly still. But in the middle of the service, she whispers to me, "Why did Aunt B and Uncle Pat's dog poop in the house?" I fell out. One, because here we are learning about Jesus rising from the grave and she says that. Two, that poop incident happened literally 1 1/2 years ago. My whole body was shaking I was laughing so hard.

Hope you got a giggle out of that. Peace out!

Weekend Wrap-up

2008-03-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Aunt Katy and Uncle Chris came from Birmingham this weekend, and we had so much fun! Stella was totally attached to both of them, to the point that even when Katy needed to pee, she would cry and want to talk to her through the closed door. I know growing up I had close relationships with some of my aunts and uncles and am so thankful for that now. I can already tell these are two of her favorite people on earth.

And here is our muffin chop button nose love muffin, Meg. Can you tell by those names that I love her just a little bit? Seven months old already. She has FINALLY decided to stop being a needy hussy and has now turned into a squealing, laughing precious baby girl. We have to post a video of her making her noises. She is the noisiest baby I've ever been around, truly. Unless she is sleeping, she is grunting, squealing, or sounding like some other barnyard animal.

This one makes me die laughing. This is Stella playing hide and seek with me. Some hiding place, huh?

Happy St. Paddy's Day tomorrow!

This Tuesday's Five

2008-03-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Don't be haters, I'm busy AND too lazy to blog by the end of the day. But I'm here now, so all 7 of you who read this blog can now read about our exciting lives.

1. My almost-here niece Lily is doing just fine - still in utero, thank goodness. Her mom is past the 36 week mark, so all looks good. Now that I know she's fine, I want to see her so badly! And I miss her big brother too.

2. Simon Cowell is sexy. I don't care how hateful he is, he is still sexy. I know American Idol comes up every time I do this list, but it comes on on Tuesday.

3. Has anyone heard of this airline Skybus? They operate through mostly smaller airports, and one of their hubs is in Greensboro, NC. Their fares are cheap in general, but they also have this special offer where they have 10 seats on every flight that are only $10 a piece. No kidding. From Greensboro to California, $10 one way.

4. Eric's sister and her husband are coming on Thursday. I love when they come because it doesn't feel like guests are here. They're washing dishes, bathing the kids, giving me time to nap, and Chris has even been known to go on runs with me and Eric. Separately of course, because Eric and I can't run together, because HE's made it clear that he doesn't want to have to wait up for me.

5. I just changed the title of this post to Five instead of Ten because I can't think of anything else to tell you. Other than Meggle turned 7 months old yesterday.

Have a good week, everyone!

Once was blind, now she can...

2008-03-02T17:23:00.001-08:00

See.

Well, she wasn't blind, but she IS very far-sighted. So here she is, at her four-eyed best.

She has been such an amazing sport about it. Her glasses case is a little pink purse that she carries around - good work marketing folks - and she even has a little cloth that she cleans the glasses with when they're dirty. Doc said she has to wear them all the time for now, but she may grow out of it in a few years.

Moments like this in parenthood make me realize how lucky we are. Of course when I saw her with those glasses on I started to cry, but it wasn't out of sadness. It was a combination of "she looks so grown up" with thankfulness that we have access to and are able to provide her with the help she needs to be able to see. You know there are kids all over the world who have this same problem that just have to live with it.

And here is Eric and his mini-me. Stella and I came back from a walk today and found them just hangin on the couch watching NCAA basketball. Meg has finally warmed up to her dad and is now totally in love with him.

We had an awesome weekend. Weather was beautiful, we spent tons of time outside. We found a trail at the local community college that was perfect length for Stella to walk and Meg to ride in the backpack. We also rented March of the Penguins (is it just me, or was it sweet and weird at the same time?) and just had a great family weekend.

I have tears rolling down my cheeks right now watching freaking Extreme Home Makeover Edition. Gotta go wipe my nose now.

Have a great week!

p.s. please say a little prayer for my soon-to-arrive niece, Lily. Looks like she may come in the next two weeks, which will still put her born about a month before her due date. My sister in law goes back to the doctor on Tuesday to check on things. Love you little Lily!

Give Me A Break

2008-02-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, everyone loves to "hate" the stars, and its silly to take this stuff seriously for more than 35 seconds - but can we please dispense with the come-on pouts while holding newborns? There is something uniquely exploitive about the photos in this issue. And the kid is only how many days old? Just when you think a starlet can't be any more vain, she blows the lid off your expectations. "My child - the newest prop for my glamor shots!" Wow.

Ten on this Tuesday

2008-02-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

Hey! I just realized it was Tuesday. Here's what's going on with us right now:

1. My dear friend Kristen has a new blog! Check it out, it is a trip. I am sure it will consistently be funny, as she and her friend Julie are. And she's Stella's godmother, which makes her even more special to us.

2. Our Stella needs glasses. She has been squinting for a while now, and lately we've noticed that one of her eye was kind of lazy. So Eric took her to the doctor yesterday, and sure enough she is farsighted. I haven't seen the frames she picked out yet, but all I know is that they are pink. Lord help me with this girly-girl daughter of mine. I'll be sure to post photos when she gets them.

3. Eric is just getting over the flu. I haven't seen him this sick since Peace Corps. So sick that he was calling me on his cell phone - from downstairs. I feel like I neglected him because my mission quickly turned to keeping myself and these girls as far away from him as possible!

4. Today I have felt like Cinderella. Mindless tasks around the house that have to get done, but feel SO unfulfilling. I know the little things matter, but today I'm craving more!

5. It's supposed to snow tonight, around 4 inches I think. It was 60 degrees around noon today. The weather here is so unpredictable.

6. I went for a run around our local lake today, 2.2 miles. It was the second time I've actually made it the whole way since Meg arrived. Now, that WAS by myself, not pushing that jogging stroller. I'm still working up to that.

7. We're participating in a big yard sale this Saturday. Surprisingly, we don't have that much to sell, but we're still going through stuff. And I am the anti-pack rat. I hate clutter, but it's been hard to find stuff to get rid of.

8. Has anyone ever seen the Moosewood Cafe cookbooks? I checked some out from the library and have found so many things I want to try. Check them out.

9. When we tuck Stella in, she wants us to tell her what to dream about. Tonight it was baby turtles.

10. I am TIRED, really really tired. Not to complain, just a fact. I'm outta here.

Leave comments!

A new do, and a bathroom surprise

2008-02-22T06:42:00.001-08:00

No, the bathroom surprise isn't something grotesque - get your minds out of the gutter, people - but it is funny. Have you ever stumbled upon this in your own bathroom?

It reminds me of the story of my father having a pig pickin at his house in Tick Bite, NC (seriously the town's name) with some heavy drinking going on. Well, somehow they got a hold of the poor pig's head and put makeup all over its face - THEN they put the head of the pig in the toilet. I am not kidding. When their friend Faye went in to use the bathroom, she lifted up the lid, and lo and behold that pig was sitting there! I saw photos of the pig in the toilet, with eye shadow and everything. Is this a testament to how red-necky my family is?

OK, on to the new do in our house. Is she getting ready to enter kindergarten or what? Look at our big girl and her bob:

The Best Photojournalist I Know

2008-02-22T02:41:00.000-08:00

If you are into photography or if you are not (together that encompasses most of you) you will be astounded by the photos taken by Ross Taylor. Ross was an intern at the Anniston (Alabama) Star when I was a staff writer there in the early 1990s. He had just graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and was above and beyond most of the long-time photographers there. Ross went on to bigger and better things, and we lost touch until I bumped into him more than 10 years later at a party hosted by our dear friend Kristen Wall, a talented graphic designer. Ross' blog is good, but go to his website first. His stuff is raw, real, and emotional, without seeming staged or intentionally "in your face." You just get this impression that he's got the power of invisibility while he finds just the right moment and angle. He has won some tremendous awards and rightly so. I'm especially amazed by his Gary, Indiana, series and India series. Interesting to note they are not radically different in subject matter.

Advice

2008-02-20T18:14:00.000-08:00

Seeking help on turning this boob-a-holic baby into a bottle-holic baby in the next few weeks - she's dropped several percentiles in growth (from 25th at birth to 8th now), and my gut tells me my body isn't keeping up with her hunger... so any advice on weaning from breast to bottle would be welcome here!

She HATES bottles, really anything else in her mouth at all.

Oh, and make that 18 pounds.

Ten on Tuesday!

2008-02-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

The Larson family 10 on this Tuesday:

1. Meg has her 6-month appointment tomorrow. I'm nervous about her weight gain, b/c Stella had some weight issues at this point, and we ended up in the hospital. Meggie also has to get shots, bummer. Wish us luck!

2. We were all kind of stir-crazy today. It was windy and cold, snowy but not sticking snow - an inside day. It was one of those days that I was counting down to bedtime. A little guilt there, but I'm over it.

3. Tomorrow's my personal weigh-in day - I've lost 17 pounds so far - and I'm nervous that I'm not gonna see those numbers go down any more this week, because...

4. Eric and I had a very indulgent date last Friday. We celebrated 8 years since he proposed to me. Complete with dark beers, appetizers, very rich entrees, etc. Worth every bite. And every moment out with my honey, sans kids.

5. We're gonna put our house back on the market after Easter. Anyone wanna move to Maggie Valley?

6. Stella currently loves the Olivia book series.

7. I'm totally crushing on the Aussie on American Idol. Have I mentioned that I love that show?

8. There's nothing I love more than leftovers for lunch, b/c I hate figuring out what to eat for lunch. So today I had some leftover chicken with mushroom sauce, rice, and asparagus.

9. I'm in the process of setting up online banking for us. I'm so tired of dealing with paper bills, writing checks, etc. It's a bit more cumbersome than I imagined but I know it'll be worth it.

10. Time to wake Meg for her last feeding before I hit the hay. Have a good week, everyone!

Six months old, and cloth diapering, finally

2008-02-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

First, let me apologize to my friend Erin for not posting about my cloth diapering system like I promised. She has a cult following on her blog and put out in cyberspace that I helped introduce her to cloth, but I've yet to find the time or energy to sit down and explain my system.

But before I get to that, let me introduce you to our SIX MONTH OLD baby girl. I think the internet gods played a trick on me, and I learned my lesson - never blog about your baby sleeping through the night. It only backfires, and they begin waking you at ridiculous hours once again. In her defense, our Meg is dealing with new foods in her belly, a runny nose, and us trying desperately to get her to take a bottle to give this mama a break. No luck so far on that one.

Without further adieu:

The one word to describe this baby is "alive." She is so alert, taking everything in, not wanting to miss anything. The other day I met my dear friend Toni for coffee in Asheville b/c we hadn't seen each other's babies yet. Her daughter Abby is about 2 weeks younger than Meg, and that peaceful, chubby kid just sat in her stroller smiling at everyone. Then there's Meg. She only wants to stand on my lap, practically bouncing out of my arms. She squeals like a teradactyl at random intervals, much to the dismay of some of the patrons. She claws at my face, mouth, hair, clothes, whatever she can get her hands on. She is very much a mama's girl, perfectly peaceful with Eric UNTIL she sees me out of those big old eyes, and then it's like he is physically abusing her simply by holding her. Drama.

Don't take this description as a negative one, though. Yes, she wears us out, but she is such a joy too. She is sweet and cuddly, loves her big sister, loves being outside and loves real food. It is surreal that six full months (and a few days) have passed since she came into our lives. It feels like she's been here all the while.

Now, onto cloth diapering. We used cloth with Stella for the typical reasons - wanted to be more environmentally friendly, also wanted to save money, and liked the idea of natural material close to her bum. It worked out great for her. I would say with Stella we used cloth 75% of the time, and disposables at night or when we were on longer outings. With Meg, we are using a bit more disposables, I think b/c Meg of course is dragged along whenever we do things with Stella out of the house.

We use two kinds of cloth, the prefolds and the fitted. I love the fitted ones. They function just like disposables, with velcro tabs for fastening. I have no link (for one reason, I forget the brand we have and they are all dirty in the pail right now, so I'm not digging one out!) but if you do any search on google for cloth fitted diapers, you'll find tons of choices. Then we just use the plastic covers, again can't remember the brand. (This is the lamest description ever, sorry.) Most of those were hand-me-downs from a friend whose kid was a year older than Stella. They are still working just fine, four years later.

Prefolds are also fine, just a little more work. With those we use snappis to fasten them, which are basically Y-shaped rubber things with Ace bandage teeth on the three ends. They just hook into the cloth and keep the diaper in place.

Now for washing - We have a big rubbermaid tub that sits next to the changing table. We pour a little baking soda in there every now and then to counteract the odor. When we take a wet or poopy diaper off of her, we just toss it in the pail. Then when we're down to 5 or 6 diapers, I just dump the diapers into the washer and do a rinse cycle on cold, then wash hot with detergent, then dry really well. I wash the covers but don't dry them.

I wish we were the family that used strictly cloth, but after one repulsive cloth diaper that I ended up throwing away in public b/c I couldn't bear to put it in my bag, I decided that was that. That was way more expense, and possibly worse for the environment, than just tossing a disposable. So we're more of a half and half family.

That's it from here, baby's crying...sorry this seemed rushed but hopefully got the job done. bye!

Ten on Tuesday - becoming a tradition!

2008-02-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

Hey! First, photos of the kiddos:

Here are Stells and her best friend Noa lounging on our floor.

Meg has the most intense stare. We think that in 13 years or so, Stella will be the back-talker and Meg will just glare at us.

Getting ready for her first bite of real food. She felt like such a big girl in her booster seat.

The child wailed when we took it away. Even better, she's been sleeping much better with a little more food in her belly. Maybe it's coincidence, but I'm not taking any chances. Eat on, little sis!

And she does love her big sis. Which leads me into my ten random thoughts:

1. Stella said the funniest thing the other day. We were taking a walk with my friend Brittain around our neighborhood when she said, "Meg loves her some big sister." Where does she get this slang verbage? I'm afraid it's from me, not her intellectual father.

2. The night prior to this walk, Brittain spent the night with me. We proceeded to drink 2 bottles of wine, and then one beer each b/c the wine obviously wasn't enough. Keep in mind, I haven't drank anywhere near that much since before getting pregnant - with Stella! I thought I was literally going to die the whole next day. Take it from me, it's not worth it.

3. I have to hurry now b/c I just realized only 8 more minutes until American Idol, my favorite show ever.

4. Meg slept through the night for the first time a few nights ago - 11 hours worth without a peep. She is changing so much, turning into such a bonafide grabbing at everything, squealing happy baby.

5. It was almost 70 degrees here today, in the mountains of NC in February. The weather in these mountains is so weird and unpredictable. I think the worst snowstorm in history here - the storm of 1993 as the locals call it - was late March.

6. Sometimes I dream of going back to school for nutrition. Then I remember that there's science I'd have to take. Maybe I just want to study food. But then I don't want the pressure of someone screaming at me for cutting my carrots wrong. Oh well.

7. Someone asked me today if we thought we'd have any more kids. When I said yes, she acted like I was insane. Reassure me that it's not insane to want three kids.

8. Stella fed a horse today straight from her hand.

9. We're going to participate in a huge street-wide yard sale on March 1st. We're hoping it motivates us to clean out some of our junk, I mean treasures.

10. Only 3 more minutes until AI! Gotta go!

A Real Ten on Tuesday post

2008-01-29T18:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, I got 6 comments on that last post - I think that may be a record for us. Am I that interesting? I guess so.

Here's the real thing, a true 10 on Tuesday post:

1. When Stella has a runny nose, she wipes her nose with both sleeves so often and so hard that it looks like she has a bright red smile going from cheek to cheek and under her nose. It looks terrible.

2. Eric is headed to Durham this weekend to attend a weekend of events honoring Reynolds Price, the author he worked for and lived with back in 1998. Fine food and drink, interesting people to meet and reunite with, and best of all (what I'm most jealous about) - Toni Morrison is doing a reading in Duke Chapel. I will be at home, breastfeeding.

3. We're considering putting our house back on the market in the spring. The real estate market sucks so badly right now that we don't know if we're getting our hopes up, but we may give it another shot.

4. I bought a jogging stroller and am loving it. I'm trying to get back into running, and Eric and I want to do a 10K together in July. Really, I want to do it with him, but to be honest, he is way faster than me so he probably doesn't want to do it with me. I pushed Meg first in it - no sweat. Then the other day Stella wanted to come, and all I did was walk and it about killed me. That child is about 35 pounds.

5. I got an invitation to join a book club and am not sure if I want to do it. I mean, I want to, but I seriously doubt I'll read the books, and I don't want to be lame. But I think the group of people are pretty chill, more just looking for an excuse to get together once a month. If it's like that, I'll probably give it a shot.

6. I'll probably be starting Meg on solid food here shortly.

7. I cannot belive how boring this list is.

Let me end there, but include a few photos of the girls instead. They're way more exciting to look at, at least to me!

My first "Ten On" anyday

2008-01-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

So let's admit it, we all read our friends' friends blogs. I know I do. And I've noticed this trend, "Ten on Tuesday," where people will reflect about 10 things going on with them. I'm so unconventional that I'm doing it on Thursday. So here goes:

1. Our Kindermusik class started back after a long holiday break today. We had a blast. Hands down, that's been the best money spent on any kids' activity for this family. It is both great quality time with Stells and great social time for her too. And I've made some of my best friends here through it as well.

2. After trying for 3 long, harried, horrific nights to have Stella and Meg share a room, we decided it just wasn't working. We've spent the last several days re-arranging the house so that Meg has our old room, and we moved into the guest room. So far, it's been MUCH better for us all.

3. I joined Weight Watchers online on Jan 1st and have lost 13 pounds. And Eric has lost 8 just by eating my cooking. We are gonna be the DILF and MILF of the world! Email me if you need an explanation of those acronyms.

4. I'm getting more excited about the upcoming addition to the Jones side of the family - we've got another niece coming in April! Lily Therese Jones will be here before we know it. I cannot wait to hold her. I wish she didn't live in California.

5. It's a good thing Meg is cute, because she sure is needy. But I do think she's teething, so I can't be too mad at her.

6. Eric joined the local Kiwanis club and spearheaded a big fundraiser for them last month. It was an auction where people bid on services instead of items, things such as "pet sitting for a week" or "help around the house for 5 hours" etc. Well, we bid on a few things, and one that we won was vegetable soup for eight, brought to your house ready to eat! So this Sunday, friends Sheila and Max are coming over and we're gonna have the soup.

7. We're both reading a book called "The Nature-Deficit Disorder" about the lack of fresh air and unstructured outdoor play that kids have today. I tell Eric sometimes that I just want to pack up these kids and move to some cliffside town in freaking New Zealand or Portugal or somewhere that I imagine life being much simpler and more romantic. Of course those places have their problems too, I know. What I mean is that I want Meg and Stella to be able to explore freely, be able to play outside safely and just to be kids.

8. I don't think #7 made much sense but I'm too lazy to re-word it right now. You get my drift.

9. Our businesses are keeping us incredibly busy, and it's not even the end of January yet. It's a good problem to have!

10. My favorite food in the world is cheese. Why is it also one of the most fattening?

No, look at me!

2008-01-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

Got one to look at us...

Then the other...

And finally, a good shot of both!

We've gotten lots of snow over the past few days, and it has been BITTERLY cold, like 5-7 degrees in the mornings when we've woken up. Needless to say, we're all a little stir crazy around here, but today it warmed up to mid-40s so we got out for a while.

Did anyone hear that Heath Ledger the actor died today? That upsets me, I really liked him.

Gotta run, only 8 more minutes until American Idol comes on, one of my secret addictions. I can't reveal the others or else they wouldn't be secret now, would they?

Hettie

2008-01-11T17:51:00.000-08:00

stella & great grandma
another stella & great grandma
meg with her great-grandma
hettie mae andrews parrott 1920-2008

I've been bad about blogging lately, especially since Saturday the 5th, when we got the news that my beloved grandma Hettie had passed away. She hadn't been well for years, but the past few months had been especially rough. When I saw her at Christmas, I just knew she wasn't long for this world. And ten days later, she lost her life to complications from pneumonia.

I almost feel guilty at how little I seem to be grieving. I can only believe that her not suffering any longer, unable to breathe, walk, or do much for herself, is a blessing. The grandma that I miss isn't the one that's been for the past few years, but the one that I had when I was growing up.

My parents separated when I was 11, and my mom and I moved into a house right across the street from Hettie. We spent a good deal of time together even before that, but when we moved there, I was at her house every day. As any good Southern grandma should, she was constantly pressuring me to eat, eat, eat. There was no calorie counting in that house, let me tell you - some things I remember VERY FONDLY include chocolate pie, homemade cheese biscuits, and this dish that now sounds so nasty to me, but at the time it was sooooo good - it was basically a chicken baked in a sour cream sauce wrapped in bacon. Yuck - and yum.

She was about 5 feet tall in heels but still somehow played basketball on her highschool team. I think she also won some yodeling award - don't ask - and at age 16, she left the family farm in Eastern NC for nursing school. Before that, she had never even seen a telephone! She worked as a nurse, primarily an ER nurse, for something like 45 or 50 years. The hospital in my hometown honored her on several occasions for her service to the community.

She had four kids (in 5 years, can you imagine?) and 5 grandkids, and now she has 5 great-grandkids. Out of all the grandkids, I was definitely the closest to her. We spent countless hours just hanging out, sitting on her porch or around the island in her kitchen (in which I so tackily carved "marian wuz here" when I was old enough to know better) eating Werther's Originals candies. Sometimes we'd just get in the car and ride around. She'd even meet me and my friends for lunch when I was in highschool and treat us all to the meal.

I remember once going out to dinner with her at the local pizza place, and as we were backing out of the parking space, she bumped into the car parked beside her. She decided to just drive away, quickly, all the while telling me I should never do that. Of course she didn't even leave a mark, but that still makes me laugh, because it was so out of character for her.

She was just a great lady, and I will miss her dearly. love you grandma.

And if this wasn't downer enough, today is 4 years since my dad died. Lord, get me out of January!

Fun Winter Activity

2008-01-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

Whether it's playing inside or outside, or helping to cook, there's always reason to take a break from one's Sunlight Deficit Disorder clinical depression to love the mountains in the winter!

When Stella kisses, it always makes a loud "smack."

One word: "Framable!"

"Hello, are you guys coming or what?"

Just call Stella, "Child Julia." (Get it?)

eBay, and Why Coke Makes Me Want to Pee - "It's Hydrating!"

2008-01-02T03:03:00.000-08:00

Judging by a lack of response to my initial blog about eBaying Original Snow Village collectibles (come-on, doesn't this excite you?!) few will care to hear my final report, but here it is: I sold all nine pieces and, even after paying eBay those "nickle-and-dime fees that really add up" I cleared about $75. Now, was $75 worth the time I spent taking all those photos and packaging the pieces so they wouldn't break in the mail? Uh, no. But it was fun to an extent, and I learned how to use eBay.

I was delighted to see the Starbucks piece go for $152. The Coca-Cola piece only went for $50 -- I was a bit surprised, because some people spent more than that for Coke sweatshirts in the 1980s. Incidentally, Coke really gets on my nerves. 1. They have language on their cartons that "hydration" is provided by their sodas -- they even have a webpage dedication to touting the hydration virtues of their drinks. Talk about spin. It reminded me of ... 2. ...when I actually paid to spend time in the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta years ago. Now, we all know that Coke was called Coke because in 1900 or so cocaine was one of the minute ingredients. Ah, but that's not mentioned at all in the museum. Instead, the man who founded the company "just liked the look and sound of 'Coca-cola.' " (Perhaps this is why we should not have private companies owning and managing public libraries - the newest rage?) Please join me for a boycott of Coca-Cola, the unapologetic Evil Ministers of Disinformation.

Reflections on 2007

2007-12-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

Just a few photos here - I had typed a poignant post but accidentally lost it, and now I'm pissed. So just enjoy the pics!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

"Jesus, Make the Wheeel!"

2007-12-17T03:04:00.000-08:00

I am notorious for getting words wrong in popular songs. For a long time, I though that Eagles song was "You can't hide those lion (lyin') eyes." I could name twenty more instances.

Our daughter Stella may prove to be just as bad. Her favorite song is "Jesus, Take the Wheel." Make the wheel, that is. Not only was Jesus a carpenter, he may have had a degree in mechanical engineering. Roll over, Archimedes!

Help Me Prove I'm Not an Idiot - Buy My ----!

2007-12-09T20:34:00.001-08:00

So my buddy at the charity auction says, "You really need to bid on some of these collectibles. I mean, they are going for a fraction of what they are selling for on eBay!" So I talked to Marian and she said, "Go for it." We went a little over our budget: I ended up buying 9 of the things.

What are these things? ORIGINAL SNOW VILLAGE COLLECTIBLES!

Here's one:

This is the Starbucks Cafe. It's pretty neat. But I don't drink coffee anymore. This is a stinging reminder of that fact. Do I really want it lighting up my holidays?

So I put them all on eBay - all 9. No one has bid on them (though a few are watching the bidding and might just jump in at the last minute...?)

Please prove I was not an idiot. Go on eBay and buy these things. They are in great shape, with original slip covers. They will light up the lives of all your collecting friends and family this holiday season. I promise!

Giving Up "Koobe"

2007-12-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

Koobe (sounds like "co-pay") is the Gilbertese word for "coffee." When we found our dog on our island, we named him Koobe (spelling it Kope) because of his coffee-colored coat. Kope is a terrific dog and most people who like dogs and meet him agree. He has his moments, but all-in-all he's very obedient and loving - and clean. He's had, oh, one accident in his 6-year life.

When my uncle died in the States unexpectedly, he was there for me to hug on. He's a great running companion and stellar watchdog. He's tolerant of our girls, though he does snap at Stella when she pulls his tail (I don't blame him!)

Perfect dog. And as recently as three weeks ago, we were looking to give him away.

I've always been allergic to dogs - Kope included. So I naturally looked to him as part of the cause for me coughing and choking through much of 2007. Dusty buildings, yes. Mold in the basement. Certainly. An area of the country known for the largest diversity of flora in North America. Of course. But the only thing I could change easily was to find a new home for the dog.

And I did feel terrible. Choking on your own phlegm a few dozen times a day is a terrible way to exist. It wears you out - and it sounds really gross. I was reminded of my grandfather, a chain smoker most of his life. I've never smoked, ever.

It was strange that this should happen NOW. I mean, we've lived here over 4 years. Why now? I chalked it up to cumulative allergies. My body just couldn't take it anymore. My doctor prescribed a nasal spray - expensive, and not very effective. My worst coughing happened in the morning, right after using the spray.

So we identified several potential homes for Kope within our circle of family and friends. None panned out. We were having to consider strangers. Terrible.

And then something happened. I did one thing, and everything immediately got better.

I stopped drinking coffee. Not just regular, but decaf, too. I did it on a whim after a road trip in which I drank a lot of coffee and felt really terrible.

The coughing and choking stopped. After a couple of weeks, I thought I'd try to drink decaf -- big mistake. And on my birthday I tried half a cup of the real stuff - to almost immediate disasterous reaction.

It's too bad, because I really love coffee. I only started drinking it with any regularily about two years ago - which might account for that delayed reaction.

But I'd rather give up coffee than the dog named for coffee. I'll live without it. But Kope is here to stay.

20 (boring) tidbits about me

2007-12-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

So I secretly read all of my friends' friends' blogs, and one that I checked recently had this post. Even though I don't know this person, it was still fun to read, so I thought I'd do one too - and I've been having major blog writer's block lately. Or maybe just major sleep deprivation.

So here goes:

1. I always thought I would get married when I was 29 and not have kids until mid-thirties or so. I've been married 7 years now, have 2 kids, and just turned 30 this year.

2. When we were Peace Corps volunteers in the Gilbert Islands, we listened to various animals (chickens and pigs, primarily) being killed daily. It quickly became just part of our lives there.

3. I have had salmonella and dengue fever, and when I came home from overseas, I had five parasites living in my gut.

4. My dad died of cancer just four years ago. I found out I was pregnant with Stella 2 weeks after he died.

5. I love cloudy, rainy days in the mountains.

6. I don't think either of my daughters look like me.

7. I hate birds.

8. I also hate animals like guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets especially - anything vermin-y like that.

9. I am a complete OCD neat freak - everything must have its place, which doesn't happen much with two little kids in the house. I've really had to dig deep to embrace the chaos.

10. Some of my best friends are from elementary school.

11. I dream of building a green-built home with environmentally friendly features - solar panels, radiant floor heating, bamboo floors, etc. etc.

12. If I could go anywhere in the world, it would be New Zealand.

13. I love country music. I also love hip-hop. Stella and I have our own rendition of SexyBack by Justin Timberlake - I've GOT to get that on videotape.

14. I love to cook.

15. I look forward to working for our company when these kids start school.

16. I want another baby. Yes, Meg's not even 4 months old.

17. My favorite clothing store is Old Navy.

18. I HATE hot weather. I wouldn't want to live anywhere warmer than here. Summer temps around here hover around 80 degrees.

19. Swimming laps is my favorite exercise. Not that I've done it in a while, but I love to do it.

20. I don't really like holiday decorating.

So there. Send me yours too!

Best of Stells Bells

2007-11-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

I felt guilty that I put my favorite recent photo of Meg up but hadn't done the same for Stella. So here it is:

Is she so grown up or what? I have to give a shout out to Stella's godmother, our dear friend Kristen, for taking this and many other great fall shots of the girls a few weeks ago.

I think my friend Erin's latest blog post (see Princess Pigbear link on the right side) has made me emotional today. She is having her 2nd baby tonight, and the post was a letter to her daughter that made me weep! Literally weep. You should go read it, it is really a beautiful piece of writing.

Not much else - time is flying around here. I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. Just to get through a day, have the kids in bed - I breathe a sigh of relief. But then I feel a twinge of sadness, because the day flew by, like most days, and these little girls aren't going to be little forever...so I'm trying to not take it for granted.

So what am I thankful for?

Stella and her Daddy

Meg and her Daddy

Just Daddy

Out of touch

2007-11-14T17:29:00.001-08:00

I think about blogging all the time - does that count?

It's the sick bay around here. Stella's fighting another, or more likely, the same ear infection from a month ago, and now I've got it too - so we're both on antibiotics. Eric is swamped with work, along with caring for us, and Meg, well, thank God she's a peaceful and pretty easy baby. We're on the mend, so hopefully more frequent blog posts will resume. But no promises.

Last week Meg and I did take an overnight trip to Charlotte to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew who were in town for a night. We had a blast. I hadn't seen Jay since April, and he's such a little man now. I love him so much! Check him out:

And here are the cousins, taking a bath together:

My big brother with Jay and Meggles:

We're gearing up for Eric's 37th (DAMN! He really robbed the cradle when he got me!) on the 24th. I can't believe that when I met him, he was 27. November is a big month for his family. His mom, dad, and brother were also born in November, and his parents anniversary is on Thanksgiving this year. Then his sister had to go screw things up by arriving in June. I know she reads this blog, so it's not like I'm talking about her behind her back or anything.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

meg's best

2007-11-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

I can't stop looking at this picture. This is our smiley baby girl at her best!

Over the hump

2007-11-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

Hope I'm not speaking too soon, but I think we are finally over the hellatious newborn hump with Meg. It seems like overnight she has turned into a bubbly, kicking, smiling, squealing little baby. She's sleeping much better, 4 or 5 hour stretches at night, and we are all feeling SO much better. More back to normal every day.

As many of you well know, when you're in the thick of that new baby chaos, you feel like it's never going to end. You're never going to sleep again. You'll never have another moment to yourself. You'll never have energy to exercise, or cook a decent meal again, much less pay bills or do any semblance of work.

And then, it all begins to come together, and you can't believe your tiny baby is already figuring out this world.

Business is good too. We're getting more custom video jobs all the time with Stellar Media, and Wedding Bell Videos is set to film 70 plus weddings in 2007. We've moved out of our Waynesville office and now only have office space in Candler, at the local community college small business center. We've got about 18 more months there, and then we're hoping to relocate our headquarters to Asheville, finances permitting.

It's really hard to put into words, but we're just so happy right now. I don't think I'm putting words in Eric's mouth when I say that this feels like the best our lives could get. I try so hard to remember that when things are nuts around here. We did a video life story of an elderly couple in our neighborhood, and the 80 something year old husband said that the happiest time in their lives was when their kids were little. I think he was probably right.

So if you wondered if Meg and Stella look much alike, check these out. My friend Kristen emailed this to me, with the subject line "all your kids look exactly the same!" See for yourself. Meg is the first photo.

Great Minds Think Alike

2007-10-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

So neither Eric nor I blog for three weeks, and we both decide to post something today!

So like he said below, we are slowly coming out of our fog and adjusting to the two kids thing. We just got back from a week in Alabama so Meg could meet her namesake, Eric's grandmother Margie (who was born Marjorie, like our Meg). Here they are, assuming the finger-as-a-pacifier position that Meg loves so much:

She also had good time with other family members. Here she is with Eric's sister Katy and his dad Keith:

Poor Stella, on the other hand, spent the week at her grandparents house sick as a dog. She had a cold, which turned into a nasty cough, fever, and eventual ear infection. But she's on the mend now, back to her JAR (acronym for Just Ain't Right, thanks to my sister in law Katy) self.

Fall is FINALLY here in the mountains, and it's beautiful. Weather still isn't that cold yet, but the leaves are beginning to change. Here are a few shots from our neighborhood:

We also had our 7th anniversary on Sunday. We decided to pretend like it wasn't that day, though, as we were driving two kids back from Alabama to NC that day, which quite possibly is the least romantic event on earth. Hopefully we'll be able to do something together this weekend.

Here are a few final shots of our girls and their tummy time. As you can tell, Meg despises it.

That's it for tonight - gotta grab sleep when I can. Love!

A Country Long Heard From

2007-10-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

We've had some decent sleep of late, but not so decent that we're finding the time to blog that we'd like.

Stella is saying some funny things - "you had to be there" kinds of things, so they are hard to write about. I'm just glad I'm "there."

Meg is about as cute a baby as one will ever find. And she has a smile that is exaggerated on the right side of her face, a lot like her late grandpa Carl. If she's anything like him, she is going to be a fun-loving person, to be sure!

Marian is such a trooper when it comes to breast-feeding. I admire her more every day.

Me? Who cares! I'm working hard but having fun, too. That's all one can ask, right?

WNBA, here we come

2007-10-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

Stella had her 3 year old well-kid doc visit today, and he predicts that this child will be 5'11'' when she's grown! She is in the 96th percentile in height, taller than most 4 year olds.

Now I know what Eric and I will live off of in our old age. Her professional basketball salary.

Happy Birthday, Stella!

2007-09-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Could it have been three whole years since I held her for the first time? I'm already crying, and I've only typed that one line. Sheesh.

Her birthday spirit is dampened this year, a little, by a cold that started about three hours before her party yesterday. Needless to say, the pool portion of her party was cancelled, but we still had a little picnic with four of her friends, complete with Happy Meals and cupcakes. The kids were happy to be outside in this beautiful fall weather, and Stella seemed to enjoy herself too, despite the raucous amounts of snot pouring from her nose at all times, like this:

Here are a few other photos from her party too. Look at this little cutie:

And the whole gang eating cupcakes:

Today we opened a few presents just as a family. You can tell by her watery eyes and overall expression she doesn't feel so good, but we had to record this birthday like the others!

And one of her favorite presents, play makeup:

There are so many things I love about Stella. She is curious, interested, entertaining, and entertained by most anything. She is adventurous without being too reckless, compassionate and empathetic, and really, she's just fun. I couldn't have asked for a better child to break me in to this parenting thing. I can't wait to see what she becomes in this next year and more years to come.

I love you, Stella.

The Big 3-0

2007-09-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right. I'm no longer in my 20s...today is my 30th birthday!

And what a great one I had. It began with a little bit of sleeping in, followed by a hot breakfast cooked by my husband and daughters. A big sign hung in the living room that says "happy birthday mommy! we love you!" And tonight, our first night out since Meg was born, dinner at a great little restaurant in downtown Waynesville.

I never imagined that by the time I turned 30 I would have so much to love. I can't believe my life is this full! I feel like the luckiest person on earth.

Three more days, and my baby turns three. That one is killing me way more than me turning 30!

Pics from her b-day party Saturday to follow. Good night!

too tired to think of a title

2007-09-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

here are a few photos from the last few weeks - we are great, surviving life as a family of four. more news later, but for now, a few pics:

stella at botanical gardens - unc-asheville campus

meg not too impressed with those gardens

picnic at waterrock knob - highest point on blue ridge parkway

pretty stairs at waterrock knob

meg with crazy wet hair

will write more later!

She Said What?

2007-09-17T02:23:00.000-07:00

Stella has really been making us laugh lately with the things that come out of her mouth. And I'm not talking about the food she chews for 10 minutes before deciding, "Don't like it!" and spits it out. (That actually isn't very funny.)

It was a gorgeous day. The birds were singing, and Stella was playing in her sandbox in the backyard when she paused and screamed: "Stop tweeting, Birds! Or you're going on the Naughty Towel!" The Naughty Towel is our version of the time-out corner. She laughed; she was just kidding. But darned if those birds didn't stop. (Buoyed by this, she may one day attempt to steal Christmas.)

It was bath-time, not exactly my favorite time of day anyway. And it's become even more loathed as Stella screams and hollers worried she's going to get water and soap in her eyes. Never mind she's received a hair rinsing every day of her 1000-plus-day life. All of a sudden these days she can't deal with it, and it's wailing and gnashing of teeth every night at 6:30. So after about 10 minutes of tears and sobbing I say: "Fine, we won't wash your hair again. Ever. It will get dirty and greasy and smelly and stinky and sticky and yucky."

Stella actually listens to me as I tell her this. Then her scowl reappears: "THAT DOESN'T SOUND GOOD!" And continues to sob.

Finally, the other day Marian asked Stella, "You want to go downstairs with me and help me with the laundry?"

Stella responds: "No, you can do it, Mommy." Even more encouraging, she adds: "I know you can do it, Mommy! You can do it all by yourself!"

And it's true. Marian really CAN do it all by herself.

Using cuteness to get out of chores. That's our daughter!