another week of real life:

My friend shared this post (one of many of its kind over the years) about how people's social media posts aren't fooling anyone and how maybe we should go ahead and post our tough moments, too.  Even though I agree with the idea that what we post isn't everything (both good or bad), that's not going to change how people post.  For myself, I try to keep it real, but I think it's humiliating to post photos or videos your family at their worst moments.  Not only that, but can you imagine Manny and I having an argument, and then I say, "Hold on, let me get my phone to take a photo of this real moment to post on Facebook."  lol  I also don't have the time to think of how to write the posts and don't want to worry my parents.  I don't really even post the things that I'm most proud of or my favorite memories.  Facebook is not necessarily the best or the worst of people, and it's not necessarily fake either (if anything, it's too real sometimes, and you find out some things about your friends and family you almost wish you hadn't).  

But one real moment I enjoyed this week was that BBC interview where Prof. Kelly's kids came waltzing into his office during an important on-air appearance.  It opened a lot of dialogue--about the assumption that an Asian woman would be his nanny, that he and his wife abused the kids in some way, or that they should even be stricter with the kids.  All that talk is fine, but just for the moment, it was fun to enjoy seeing some reminders that behind each person is a real life, and it gets us looking at that part of the world as well.  

I think I will always reserve the blog for talking about my life more in depth.  People come here who want to; I'm not broadcasting something to my friends and family like a mass email or post.  

So this week, we celebrated Pi Day with some pie:

She tried the coconut cream pie and liked it.

I also had an opportunity to lead a study on Isaiah 49, which was really meaty, and I think it was tough to do so much when I was feeling tired (and probably everyone else was, due to the lack of sleep).  I had told the main leader I didn't want to do this one exercise because I thought it would be too much.  She insisted, so I did it, but it was exhausting.  Later she wrote me and said that part was her fault, and I appreciated it, even though I didn't blame her nor was I upset at her.  It has happened to me many times where I knew better, but gave in, because I don't think people trust my judgment, and then found out I was right in the end.  Doesn't matter--I chose a peaceful path and am fine with it.  Next time I'll just move it along faster and won't worry about pleasing the leader only.

Isaac wanted this photo of him chomping on an apple before we headed out to church.

I got in a very minor accident, bumping the car in front of me at a red light.  I was stopped, let go of brake when I turned around, then bumped them.  No scratches or dents on either car, so the man said he probably wouldn't report it, but his wife was pretty upset with me.  I don't blame her.  Not five minutes before, I had told the boys to please be quiet for a minute so I could concentrate on driving or we'd get in an accident.  I can't blame them, though.  I just have to learn how to block them out sometimes when they keep talking or asking me questions louder and louder, over each other.

Waiting to get the ultrasound done.

When my mom was about my age, she had a cancer scare and had to get a scan.  Thankfully it was not cancer.  Her mother passed away of ovarian cancer around my age (I never met her).  So, I have to get checked.  I've been having pains since having children, but more so this past year.  Thankfully once again, it was not cancer.  I have a retroverted uterus, which means it's sort of backwards, which I already knew because my pelvis and uterus don't line up, so I had to have three c-sections.  What I didn't know is that it causes intermittent pain under some circumstances.  Secondly, they found a number of benign nabothian cysts in my cervix.  Nothing of concern at the moment, so I am very thankful.

Naomi had two days off school this week due to school staff development days.  Day 1 was fine, but ended in a terrible argument between us.  I take responsibility for letting it escalate.  Day 2 was better, and she baked cookies with Isaac.  We only spoke minimally, but loving words.  Right now I'm a bit hormonal, so probably best not to talk too much.

Cutting out sugar cookies.  I miss days like this with her.

darth in disneyland:

It would have been even funnier if he'd exclaimed, "NOOOOOOOO!!!!"

phone a friend:

I got an unexpected call this week from a friend who had moved away last year.  It was really nice catching up, although I was sort of waiting for some news or question or need.  It turned she just simply wanted to say hi.  It was a real encouragement, and for a moment I thought, "Hey, I should call people more often."  But then I changed my mind--I'm just too shy usually to call people up.  When email first took off, I loved it, because I like communicating by writing.  First, because my mind is cluttered and I've been known to stutter or go off on tangents, and second because I didn't have to worry about how much time I was taking up or putting someone on the spot.  I could think before I spoke/wrote and it didn't take as long as snail mail.  A friend of mine, my best girlfriend, wouldn't answer any of my emails (and still doesn't, really).  One day she sent me an email with a graphic telling me to call her.  So now aside from family, she's the only person I call regularly, because she just doesn't communicate by email.  It helps us still be great friends across the miles.  Manny also only really communicates by phone or in person with friends and family.  One thing I noticed  about Facebook was that over time it actually made me feel a little lonelier.  Stanford recently did a study on Facebook users where the undergrad participants felt lonely and sort of let down once they saw that others didn't have much of a social life.  That's not really the case for me, maybe being older, but there is something about it that feels empty at times.  It's really awesome for reconnecting (I'm seeing a friend this weekend who found me through it), not having to keep up with everyone's email addresses, and seeing updates and announcements all at one time.  Yet it can also harbor personal drama, talk of events others weren't invited to, or friends that never say anything to each other.  Seeing updates about the funny-shaped swirl in someone's coffee juxtaposed with news of a friend who's died--I guess it's like the news but worse.  However you look at it, a friends list is not the same as friendship.  Here's a bit of comic relief mixed with sad truth:  Analysis of a typical Facebook debate.

goat yelling (or singing?):

Watch in order.  Audio necessary. 

i poo in blue:

The kids' favorite commercial. I have no idea.

funny:

Chicken Monkey Duck (via G).  Mindlessly brilliant.  I don't know why this kind of stuff makes me laugh.  Probably because I'm too serious.  And I'm a sucker for disco and funk basslines, too.

cool (mean?) trick:

Yesterday I sang, "I just can't stop loving you" (a line from the MJ song) and Manny lip-sync'd it to Lucas. We did this several times. Lucas, not seeing me, was fascinated by it. He got really close to Manny's face to examine how he was able to sound like me. He smiled, laughed, wanted to hear it again. Then he saw me. I guess he figured it out, because he was not amused. He made this terrible frown and lowered his head. He didn't fall for it today at all. I felt kind of bad. Naomi was upset with us for tricking him, too.

um...

This is so funny to me.

his smile is certainly consistent:

It's not my thing to make fun of presidents, but I saw this in the news today and it's funny, no matter who it is.

Barack Obama's amazingly consistent smile from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

On a serious note, if you want to donate to help victims of the flood in the Philippines, contact the American RC.

funny:

Got this from Alice. It's a lighter note to end my week of rattling on about motherhood. Lesson 3 was the best. I'm actually thankful we haven't experienced some of them yet.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR BECOMING A PARENT

Lesson 1
Go to the grocery store. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office. Go home. Pick up the paper. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their: Methods of discipline. Lack of patience. Appallingly low tolerance levels. Allowing their children to run wild. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior. Enjoy it, because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
To discover how the nights will feel...Walk around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. At 10PM, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM. Set the alarm for 3AM. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink. Go to bed at 2:45AM. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off. Sing songs in the dark until 4AM. Get up. Make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer. Stick your fingers in the flower bed. Then rub them on the clean walls. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and a jar of paint, turn it into an alligator. Now take the tube from a roll of toilet paper. Using only Scotch tape and a piece of aluminum foil, turn it into an attractive Christmas candle. Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty packet of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower.

Lesson 7
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car. There. Perfect.

Lesson 8
Get ready to go out. Wait outside the bathroom for half an hour. Go out the front door. Come in again. Go out. Come back in. Go out again. Walk down the front path. Walk back up it. Walk down it again. Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes. Stop, inspect minutely, and ask at least 6 questions about every cigarette butt, piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect along the way. Retrace your steps. Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbors come out and stare at you. Give up and go back into the house. You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

Lesson 9
Repeat everything at least (if not more than) five times.

Lesson 10
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full- grown goat is excellent). If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 11
Hollow out a melon. Make a small hole in the side. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air. You are now ready to feed a nine- month old baby.

Lesson 12
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street, Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on T V for at least five years.

Lesson 13
Move to the tropics. Find or make a compost pile. Dig down about halfway and stick your nose in it. Do this 3-5 times a day for at least two years.

Lesson 14
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying "mommy" repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each "mommy"; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 15
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the "mommy" tape made from Lesson 14 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

so you think he looks like...

Thought I'd do something different for a post. People almost always look familiar to me. Even though I haven't watched as much of SYTYCD as I thought I would, whenever I watch it, I get deja vu. Of the remaining contestants, here are some of their celeb look-a-likes to me. Helps that Dante and Nia were dancers as well. I promised myself not to spend more than 45 minutes on this, so here are the ones I did in that time:


Danny and Off-the-Wall-era MJ--who didn't see this one coming?


Cedric and Dante Basco (from The Debut, Take the Lead, commercials)


Dominic and John Leguizamo (Vegetable Man on Sesame Street, among other things)


Lacey and Lisa Marie (most famous as a daughter and ex-wife, I guess)


Kameron and Merry Charlie Dominic Monaghan


Sara and Nia Peeples (anyone remember her from Fame? Trouble?)


Pasha and young Val Kilmer (Top Gun, The Saint, Batman)


Shauna and Kelli Pickler from her days on American Idol

Got a feeling this post is going to attract the webcrawlers...

miss my old job? nah:

This is so funny, except at 5:10 or so, there is a slightly vulgar display. This is great for me to introduce you to my old world, where 7 years of my life went. Yeah, I don't miss it too much...and I do like Dilbert. I didn't work at Intel (well, I did for 3 weeks and the cafeteria food isn't too bad relatively), but this is exactly what the work environment was like for me minus what Conan introduced, like Hungry Hungry Hippos (which would've been cool / why didn't I think of that).

Video: Conan visits Intel

Manny and me in the cleanroom for more lolz:

dance man:

Okay, on a lighter note, here is Dance Man.