odds and ends

i haven't blogged in awhile. and i don't really have a particular topic in mind for this entry, so here are some odds and ends (and men, beware, i'm gonna talk about boobs here in a few seconds.)

*ian is doing well. a few days ago, he had stainless steel caps placed on the two teeth that were broken in the fall. his chin is looking pretty good. i've come to believe, over the past couple of weeks, that stitches in the chin are standard practice for all men. it seems as if every guy that ian has shown his battle scar to has had stitches in the same place. seriously. it's been rather sweet to hear all of their stories.

*i won a cricut! those of you who scrapbook know these are the coolest machines ever!!! unfortunately, the closer we get to heading back to school, the less time i have to be crafty. so, i sent my cricut home with dear jenn, who is certain to give it a good workout! (go jenn!)

*we have a "renegade" pumpkin growing at our house. last fall, after halloween, i placed the kids' pumpkins in the landscaping beds along the side of our house. they rotted there over the course of the winter and by late spring, had deposited a ton of seeds on the ground. in early may, i sat in the beds and meticulously picked up every pumpkin seed (or so i thought) and placed them in a ziploc bag ~ all with the intent of planting them, which of course i never did. i obviously missed one, because there among my daylilies, is a huge pumpkin plant. and this morning, low and behold, i found a "baby" pumpkin under the foliage. just a tiny green nubbin'. i'm hoping it stays healthy and grows into a happy adult.

*my boobs remain an enigma. even for victoria's secret. (men, you've already been warned. you can skip ahead if you want.) yesterday, i worked up enough courage and humility to be "officially" measured and fitted for a bra at victoria's secret. all the way to columbus i was praying, "dear god, don't let the girl who fits me be blond and skinny and pretty." worthless prayer. EVERY girl working at VS is gorgeous. and i'm ~ well ~ 40 years old with uneven boobs and pregnancy fat still hanging on my middle. (i mean, why couldn't someone sweet like pauline copeland get a job at VS? wouldn't she make you feel right at ease?) so anyways, i tell barbie that i want to get fitted for a bra and that i'm incredibly small-chested (which she could see anyways) and that my right boob is even smaller than my left boob. no problem, she says, what size bra are you wearing? 38A. she measured me, and sure enough, i was right. i take a 38A. the problem is, VS didn't have a 38A. they don't go that small. i had to take a 38B. so now, i look like i have boobs. which i don't. in reality, i have a very expensive VS bra with spectacular padding and a nice firm cup that makes me look more busty than i am. i am now guilty of perpetuating a fraud.

*youtube continues to remove my beloved bob ross's videos. i have, however, found this great site, which many of you may already know about: veoh. at veoh, i can continue to take my daily dose of bob along with my lexapro and remain completely mellow ~ at least for 30 minutes.

*to my fellow office fans out there ~ have you checked out "creed thoughts" on nbc.com? if you love the show, and you love creed, you will find these hysterical. (if you don't watch the office, and don't know who creed is, the humor will be lost on you.) a couple of his random "thoughts": "You say diabetes, I say diabetos." and "They should rename the Virgin Islands. That was an expensive mistake."

*i've decided that this is the most romantic scene in any movie i've ever seen. (and i've seen a lot of movies.) darcy walking across that field in the early morning light ~ ahhhhh!



*and finally, i was going to end this blog by complaining about some stuff. instead, i am going to leave you with this quote from the amazing henri nouwen, whom i love for a number of reasons, the chief of which are his humility and vulnerability. henri seemed to have me in mind when he spoke these words:

“For as long as you can remember, you have been a pleaser, depending on others to give you an identity. You need not look at that only in a negative way. You wanted to give your heart to others, and you did so quickly and easily. But now you are being asked to let go of all these self-made props and trust that God is enough for you. You must stop being a pleaser and reclaim your identity as a free self.”