I recently learned that an acquaintance is getting divorced. Don't worry people, the "acquaintance" is not me. Having twin babies is a strong deterrent to divorce. Be a single parent? No way in heck. Anyway, because my mind wanders in strange directions, I started thinking about all the break up songs I've heard. I was trying to think of the best break up song ever and have narrowed it down to two: "Jude Law and the Semester Abroad" by Brand New and "One More Minute" by Weird Al.
Here's the case for "Jude Law..." It has this totally awesome line:
"I hope the next boy that you kiss has something terribly contagious on his lips."
Then there's this very very tender thought:
"And even if her plane crashes tonight she'll find some way to disappoint me,
by not burning in the wreckage or drowning at the bottom of the sea."
Here's the case for "One More Minute." First, it's by Weird Al. That's just funny. It also has this jem:
"I burned down the malt shop where we used to go
Just because it reminds me of you"
As the daughter of a germaphobe mother, this line hit me particularly hard when I first heard the song in the sixth grade:
"I'd rather clean all the bathroom in Grand Central Station with my tongue
Than spend one more minute with you"
There are also lines about eating glass and going down a razor slide and landing in a pool of acid. Nice. Can you see why this is such a tough choice? I guess I'll have to think about it some more while Jared is out of town, and I'm stuck changing all the diapers. Actually, I was going to post some pictures of the girls for him to see in Atlanta, but Jared's not here to take the pictures off the camera and so there they stay. See? Yet another reason why I wouldn't get a divorce. If Jared weren't around, all my pictures would be trapped on the camera. Just kidding. I love my husband. I swear.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Happy Birthday Haley
Today is my sister Haley's birthday. She passed away shortly after her thirteenth birthday, but she would have been 21 today. Haley had Down's Syndrome and was born with three holes in her heart. She had heart issues all her life and died while waiting for a heart/lung transplant in the Tucson heart hospital. This is a picture of us just over ten years ago.
Since Haley loved her birthday, I decided to do a post about her today on her most favorite of days. Haley liked her birthday so much that she would talk about it all year long. When she first met my sister-in-law, she told Amy that her birthday was coming up soon. Amy asked her when it was, expecting her to say June or July since it was the early summer. She was a little surprised when Haley said, "After Christmas." (Amy, I just found that story written down on a pad of paper I used to write down stories people told me about Haley just after her death.)
Haley loved just about everyone and everything, except bread and chores and, for some odd reason, her achievement day leader. I swear the lady was one of the nicest women in the ward, but Haley just detested her. When I would go pick her up, Haley would meet me at the door and say something like, "Oh good, you're here. Let's get out of here." She didn't even want to stay and eat dessert. Other than that, though, she tended to love everyone, and everyone loved her. When she was in the hospital, she had no less than three birthday parties arranged by different people wanting to celebrate with her. A couple of the girls in her school came down to have a party when I was there. The mom told me that her daughter had talked about Haley, this funny girl in her p.e. class, the whole year. However, she didn't mention that Haley had Down's Syndrome until she got sick and the daughter wanted to go down to Tucson to wish her a happy birthday. Haley was just another kid in her class at school.
Shortly before Haley got sick, I took her with me to Target. We tried on hats, and I bought her a cheese pizza and a rootbeer at the snack bar. As we were leaving the store, she grabbed my hand and told me I was the best sister ever. I have to say that whenever she was happy with me, I was the best. Whenever she was unhappy, I was her step-sister. But even knowing that we have three other sisters and that each one had been the best sister ever at one point or another, I still felt like I was the best. Haley was like that. I remember one of my uncles coming up to me at the funeral and telling me pretty much the same thing- that his family liked visiting us because Haley always made them feel like they were her favorite people. She made everyone feel like that.
When Haley was in the hospital, she spent a lot of time entertaining her doctors and nurses. One time she was getting her nails painted when the surgeon came in. She insisted that he couldn't leave until he got his nails done too, so he agreed to get his pinky painted. Even the big-shot doctors did what Haley wanted. Because she had such an open and loving personality, she opened doors for other kids like her. One of the nurses told my sister-in-law that they hadn't admitted any kids with Down's Syndrome into the transplant program before Haley because they thought the quality of life just wasn't there. However, after they experienced Haley and all her hilarious quirks, they changed their minds about what kind of life a person with Down's Syndrome can have.
As you can tell, Haley brought a lot of joy into my life and I miss her. I love you Haley!
Since Haley loved her birthday, I decided to do a post about her today on her most favorite of days. Haley liked her birthday so much that she would talk about it all year long. When she first met my sister-in-law, she told Amy that her birthday was coming up soon. Amy asked her when it was, expecting her to say June or July since it was the early summer. She was a little surprised when Haley said, "After Christmas." (Amy, I just found that story written down on a pad of paper I used to write down stories people told me about Haley just after her death.)Haley loved just about everyone and everything, except bread and chores and, for some odd reason, her achievement day leader. I swear the lady was one of the nicest women in the ward, but Haley just detested her. When I would go pick her up, Haley would meet me at the door and say something like, "Oh good, you're here. Let's get out of here." She didn't even want to stay and eat dessert. Other than that, though, she tended to love everyone, and everyone loved her. When she was in the hospital, she had no less than three birthday parties arranged by different people wanting to celebrate with her. A couple of the girls in her school came down to have a party when I was there. The mom told me that her daughter had talked about Haley, this funny girl in her p.e. class, the whole year. However, she didn't mention that Haley had Down's Syndrome until she got sick and the daughter wanted to go down to Tucson to wish her a happy birthday. Haley was just another kid in her class at school.
Shortly before Haley got sick, I took her with me to Target. We tried on hats, and I bought her a cheese pizza and a rootbeer at the snack bar. As we were leaving the store, she grabbed my hand and told me I was the best sister ever. I have to say that whenever she was happy with me, I was the best. Whenever she was unhappy, I was her step-sister. But even knowing that we have three other sisters and that each one had been the best sister ever at one point or another, I still felt like I was the best. Haley was like that. I remember one of my uncles coming up to me at the funeral and telling me pretty much the same thing- that his family liked visiting us because Haley always made them feel like they were her favorite people. She made everyone feel like that.
When Haley was in the hospital, she spent a lot of time entertaining her doctors and nurses. One time she was getting her nails painted when the surgeon came in. She insisted that he couldn't leave until he got his nails done too, so he agreed to get his pinky painted. Even the big-shot doctors did what Haley wanted. Because she had such an open and loving personality, she opened doors for other kids like her. One of the nurses told my sister-in-law that they hadn't admitted any kids with Down's Syndrome into the transplant program before Haley because they thought the quality of life just wasn't there. However, after they experienced Haley and all her hilarious quirks, they changed their minds about what kind of life a person with Down's Syndrome can have.
As you can tell, Haley brought a lot of joy into my life and I miss her. I love you Haley!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Avoiding Work
So no big surprise, but I'm avoiding work. I have tons to do that I know about and probably tons more that I don't know about. That's what stinks about being new to a job and having a deadline and working part time from home about 2000 miles away from everyone else. You're not quite sure what is expected of you and aren't right there to ask questions and are only working 20 hours and haven't quite figured everything out yet. So what did I decide to do instead of trying to figure out what I need to do and then doing it? That's right. I was reading the blogs of friends of friends of friends. Because I'm a total blog stalker. But then I decided to go on my own blog and do a book review because I love book reviews. I'm not sure anyone else does, but I do!
I also love mysteries. I love trying to figure out who did it. Sometimes I can't wait and have actually ruined quite a few by reading the end before I should. I have to admit, I read the end of this one first but it didn't ruin it for me. Mostly because I was totally surprised and
wanted to see how it came about. The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin is a mystery set in 19th-century Russia. The main character is a young man who comes from a wealthy family but is now an orphan and has to make his way in the world. He gets a job with the police and starts by investigating a couple student suicides and ends up, well actually I can't say. What he ends up doing might ruin the story if I told. I will say, though, that the last few paragraphs were almost shocking. I wasn't expecting that at all.
I looked the author up on the internet after I read the book, and Boris Akunin is actually a pen name. Apparently he is a linguistics professor at a Russian university. One day his wife complained that all the books published were about the Russian mafia, drugs, and prostitutes and that she felt stupid reading them on the subway where other people could see the covers. So he set out to write a book she wouldn't be ashamed to read in public and came up with The Winter Queen. It is the first in a series, but only about five of them have been translated into English. The first three are really good- the last few are ok. He also wrote another series about a mystery-solving Greek Orthodox nun. Ha! Pretty awesome. The first book is just ok. I really liked the second one though. With that I'll go back to work. Have a great night everybody.
I also love mysteries. I love trying to figure out who did it. Sometimes I can't wait and have actually ruined quite a few by reading the end before I should. I have to admit, I read the end of this one first but it didn't ruin it for me. Mostly because I was totally surprised and
wanted to see how it came about. The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin is a mystery set in 19th-century Russia. The main character is a young man who comes from a wealthy family but is now an orphan and has to make his way in the world. He gets a job with the police and starts by investigating a couple student suicides and ends up, well actually I can't say. What he ends up doing might ruin the story if I told. I will say, though, that the last few paragraphs were almost shocking. I wasn't expecting that at all.I looked the author up on the internet after I read the book, and Boris Akunin is actually a pen name. Apparently he is a linguistics professor at a Russian university. One day his wife complained that all the books published were about the Russian mafia, drugs, and prostitutes and that she felt stupid reading them on the subway where other people could see the covers. So he set out to write a book she wouldn't be ashamed to read in public and came up with The Winter Queen. It is the first in a series, but only about five of them have been translated into English. The first three are really good- the last few are ok. He also wrote another series about a mystery-solving Greek Orthodox nun. Ha! Pretty awesome. The first book is just ok. I really liked the second one though. With that I'll go back to work. Have a great night everybody.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
I'm happy. Aren't I? Oh maybe not.
You have probably noticed that Katie smiles a lot in pictures. While she doesn't smile in every one, she does more so than not. It's funny because she sees me get the camera, waits until she sees the red light and hears the beep of the flash, and then starts grinning. Anyway, here is a sequence of her being happy and feeling that being a twin truly rocks...
but now she's questioning whether she's really happy...
and has finally decided that perhaps she isn't as happy as she first thought, but she certainly is as cute.
but now she's questioning whether she's really happy...
and has finally decided that perhaps she isn't as happy as she first thought, but she certainly is as cute.
I'm Standing Up!
Charlotte has started pulling herself up to a standing position. She first did this in the baby cage...
and I think it was so that she could eat the fence more easily.
I was noticing the other day that I don't have very many pictures of Charlotte smiling on here. She does normally smile a lot- just not for the cameras. In fact, she's usually the more sociable twin and will happily go to people other than her mom and dad. Anyway, I finally got a good picture of her smiling.
I'm not sure why she finally decided to smile for the cameras. I think it was probably because she is happy to have two teeth coming in and has stopped slobbering so much that her shirt gets soaked every day. Yay!
and I think it was so that she could eat the fence more easily. 
I was noticing the other day that I don't have very many pictures of Charlotte smiling on here. She does normally smile a lot- just not for the cameras. In fact, she's usually the more sociable twin and will happily go to people other than her mom and dad. Anyway, I finally got a good picture of her smiling.
I'm not sure why she finally decided to smile for the cameras. I think it was probably because she is happy to have two teeth coming in and has stopped slobbering so much that her shirt gets soaked every day. Yay!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Oldie But Goodie
I haven't been reading much lately. Instead I have been going to sleep at a decent hour. It's a new thing I'm trying. Since I don't have any new books, I decided to post a review of an oldie but goodie. I have discovered goodreads.com (thanks Bryan!), a website that lets you post your books and reviews. I like to go there and get ideas for books, but I'm a little too lazy to post reviews on that site, do blog posts, and do everything else. So for now, I'm going to keep posting book reviews here. You guys are so lucky!
This book is for my niece Emily, who was happy to see a YA book in my last book revie
w. Beauty, by Robin McKinley, was one of my favorite books growing up. I don't remember when I first read it. I just remember checking it out over and over again from the library. It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and the basic plot follows the fairy tale pretty closely. The main character is actually named Beauty, but she feels like she is is not so much beautiful as she is smart and bookwormish. Her dad is a rich merchant, and her two sisters are beautiful and, as an added bonus, kind. When her dad's ships sink and he goes bankrupt, the family leaves the city for a rural town. After living there a while, her dad is brought word that one of his ships may have actually survived. It is through his trip to the city that he comes across the Beast and his castle. Of course, Beauty's father tries to steal a rose while at the castle, is caught by the Beast, and so on. Since Beauty feels she is the most expendable of the sisters, she goes to the castle in her father's place.
Like I said, the book follows the fairy tale pretty closely, but there are also differences. I love the description of the different rooms in the castle and how the servants are changed by the spell set over the castle. Just as a note, Robin McKinley also wrote another version of Beauty and the Beast called Rose's Daughter. I guess she really must like that fairy tale. Now this book I do not recommend. It is, in my opinion, stupid. I hate to say that about a book, but it is warranted in this case.
This book is for my niece Emily, who was happy to see a YA book in my last book revie
w. Beauty, by Robin McKinley, was one of my favorite books growing up. I don't remember when I first read it. I just remember checking it out over and over again from the library. It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and the basic plot follows the fairy tale pretty closely. The main character is actually named Beauty, but she feels like she is is not so much beautiful as she is smart and bookwormish. Her dad is a rich merchant, and her two sisters are beautiful and, as an added bonus, kind. When her dad's ships sink and he goes bankrupt, the family leaves the city for a rural town. After living there a while, her dad is brought word that one of his ships may have actually survived. It is through his trip to the city that he comes across the Beast and his castle. Of course, Beauty's father tries to steal a rose while at the castle, is caught by the Beast, and so on. Since Beauty feels she is the most expendable of the sisters, she goes to the castle in her father's place.Like I said, the book follows the fairy tale pretty closely, but there are also differences. I love the description of the different rooms in the castle and how the servants are changed by the spell set over the castle. Just as a note, Robin McKinley also wrote another version of Beauty and the Beast called Rose's Daughter. I guess she really must like that fairy tale. Now this book I do not recommend. It is, in my opinion, stupid. I hate to say that about a book, but it is warranted in this case.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Four Things Tag
I don't usually do this many posts in a week, but I've been taking a vacation from work and have had more time. Also, since I have been teasing Jared lately on my blog, I decided to do this tag from my friend Karen to show that yes, I do like him. I might even love him. Gasp! Don't tell anyone. It's our secret.
Four Things I like about my Hubby:
He has a good heart
He adores our twin girls
He is funny
He is ok with me thinking I'm funny even though it mostly means I tease him all the time
Four Jobs I have had:
Worked at a party store
Copy room girl
Relayed calls for the deaf, hard of hearing, and speech impaired
Technical writer
Four Movies watched more than once
The Fugitive
Bourne Identity
Chocolat
Roman Holiday
Four Places I have visited:
New York City
Edinburgh
London
Paris
Four Places I have lived:
San Diego, CA
Vienna, VA
Gilbert, AZ
Provo, UT (For 2 months before I came to my senses and dropped out of BYU Law School)
Four foods that I like:
Pumpkin pie
Spaghetti
Strawberries
Molasses cookies
Four Places I would like to visit:
Normandy, France
Germany
Machu Picchu, Peru
Washington D.C.
Four People I tag:
Whoever wants to be tagged
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