where to start?

do you ever just have so much to say and no good place to start? thats me. not that there has been anything super exciting going on lately... although LH and i did just get back from two weeks of wonderful vacation! we spent some time with both of our families, went hiking and fishing, relaxed a bit and then came back home to go kayaking and do some much needed yard work. its always difficult to get back in gear after vacation. why is that? we have some great pictures that i'll post on here once i get to download them... the absent minded lucky wifey accidentally left the camera at my parents' house!

my brother has also been in town visiting us. this morning, he and i went kayaking for a whole twenty minutes. as we were putting the kayaks on top of the truck, we heard thunder and saw some serious clouds rolling in. rather than abandon our plans, we just decided to put the kayaks in further east and try to beat the storm. it kind of worked, in that we were able to at least get the 'yaks in the water and paddle a little ways out before seeing some lightning and paddling back to the boat ramp with incredible speed. we also weren't well prepared for the trip, so it was probably a good thing that we cut it short. whenever LH and i go kayaking, LH is very meticulous about strapping the kayaks to the truck and making sure we have all of our gear. during that time, i'm usually getting our water bottles, sunscreen, towels and hats all ready to go. this morning, however, my brother and i knew that we were in a time crunch because he had to head back home. so, we went for a quick - and when i say quick, i mean quick... i had forgotten how fast he runs - run around the neighborhood, then came back, strapped the kayaks to the truck and took off for our adventure. never mind the fact that i forgot sunscreen or water; we were feeling tough =)

oh, and thank you all for your concern a couple of weeks ago. i did finally get out of my predicament with the dress, although i had to use scissors. i didn't have to cut the dress itself, but the little strappy thing that is supposed to keep it on the hangar suffered a little. once i cut the strap from both sides of the zipper, i was able to work really hard to pull it through the zipper teeth and then free myself before LH came home from work. whew! who knew trying on clothes could be so difficult? one of the commenters, amanda, reminded me of the barbies. that is a whole week's worth of posting all in itself. i'll have to expound later.

and one last thought: i love the USO. we visited them in the airport during our travels and were served free pizza, soda, ice cream and water, all while watching the movie, ironman, in reclining theater seating. they are a wonderful organization. thank you!

it's not easy being blonde

so, as a blonde, i'm able to attribute all of the silly and stupid things that i do to the color of my hair. not that i truly believe the color of my hair affects the function of my brain, but i use the stereotype to my advantage. recently, however, i've been having more and more "blonde" moments and i'm starting to get a little worried. at least i have plenty of opportunities to laugh at myself, right?

just last week, i decided to roast a whole chicken. believe it or not, i've never actually roasted a whole anything. not turkey or chicken or a pig or anything. shocking, i know. i thoroughly read the instructions and studied the pictures in my test kitchen cookbook all prior to even preheating the oven. i was determined to do it right. when i started trying to stuff the herbed butter compound between the skin and the chicken breasts, i decided that i was having so much trouble because my chicken was different. no worries, i just used a knife to help me along a little bit and was able to get the butter in there just like the picture. i expertly basted the top of the chicken with melted butter and even remembered to take out the packets of all that disgusting stuff inside. once it was all cooked and looked really tasty, i let it cool before carving it, just like the cookbook said to do. once i set the bird on my carving board and started carving just like the pictures in the cookbook, i realized something was really different about my bird. there were bones where there should have been thick, meaty chicken meat! bones! i was really concerned for a moment, but then the realization hit me. i had roasted my chicken upside down. quick to remedy the situation before LH noticed, i just flipped the bird over and carved like nothing had happened. of course, i had to tell him the truth because i thought it was so darn funny.

and then there was today. well, more like fifteen minutes ago. for some reason, i was going through the closet in our office and found the dress that i wore to LH's homecoming last year. i thought it might be a good dress to wear to a friend's upcoming engagement party, so i pulled it out and decided to try it on. never mind the fact that i had just finished a nice, sweaty run about thirty minutes ago and was desperately in need of a shower. i was just going to try it on real quick, look in the mirror and then hang it back up in the closet. i zipped up the side zipper, but realized that it wouldn't go up all the way. not because it doesn't fit, but because one of the little tabs that helps it stay on the hangar had gotten zipped up into the zipper in my haste. no problem, i figured i would just pull the zipper back down and get it unstuck. well, it didn't work. i'm stuck in this dress right now and have no idea how to get it off. LH is at work and i can't exactly go marching over to my sweet next door neighbor and ask her to unzip me out of this dress. i don't know what to do and i really don't want to keep wearing this dress all day until LH gets home from work. that will be fun to explain. "uh, yeah, well, i wanted to look nice for you, honey! don't mind the fact that i haven't showered yet and my hair has dried sweat all in it. at least i look cute, right?" yeah...

anyone have any advice? i am so stuck and feeling very blonde right now.

not so little brother

when i was about two or three years old, my mom asked what i wanted for christmas that year. without a doubt, i told her that i wanted a little brother or sister, and i continued to ask for one in the years that followed. by the time that i was nine years old, i had stopped asking but still wanted a younger sibling, so i was thrilled when i found out that my mom was pregnant. and the whole deal with not telling anyone until she was far enough along in the pregnancy? that was torture because i was so excited and wanted everyone to know about it!

when my brother arrived, i was almost ten years old and more than ready to help my parents with him in any way possible. he became my best buddy and i never had any of those "i really hate my annoying brother" moments. when i was a rebellious teenager, i'd like to think that he learned from my mistakes. in college, i would even call my brother for advice with guys (although he is ten years younger than me, he has always been very wise). when i met LH, i was most concerned about what my brother thought of him. thankfully, they really get along great.

a couple of weeks ago, my brother graduated from high school and will soon be heading off to college. i'm so proud of the man that he has become and can't wait to see what is in store for him in the future. i know god has big plans for this kid. congratulations, little brother!