there's one in every family

you know what i mean...the wild one.  the spontaneous one.  the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-throw-caution-to-the-wind-and-go-nuts one.  this is my aunt kim, my dad's youngest sister.  she is crazy ~ in a good way. how in the world she and my father came from the same parents is a complete mystery.  my dad is uptight in a very structured, OCD, and worrisome way.  kim is none of those things.  absolutely none of them. julie, jill, and i inherited our infectious giggling from her.  the same giggling that sends my father into a tizzy.  kim also took julie and me to our first college party at OU.  of course, we were eleven at the time.  and kim had to explain that the funny smell we noticed was something called "pot".  and that excessive drinking was probably the reason why there was vomit in the elevator.

so yesterday, kim and my cousin jenna came down from columbus to visit, and we went sledding because you know, it's just what we do here in southern ohio now because it snows every stinkin' day, and what the heck, there's another winter storm warning out now that's calling for 50 feet of snow and i'll be remembering y'all in july while i'm still teaching and you are enjoying your vacations at the beach...arghhh!!!!

but i digress...

i took some funny videos of kim yesterday as she was...just being kim.  for some reason, she could only sled down the hill with her legs sticking straight out in front of her.  it was the darndest thing.  you can click here to see more.



and here she is with my beautiful boy, ian.

you all should also know that kim has been a neo-natal icu nurse for 25 years at columbus children's hospital, loving babies and their families as they face disability and uncertainty and often-times, death. so perhaps, kim's personality is actually rather balanced out. perhaps it is her choice to grab life by the horns and enjoy every moment that allows her to be the voice of compassion and calm in dire circumstances. perhaps...she's not that crazy after all.

for my uncle jake

...who is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.  just ask his adoring nephews...

for my aunt vickie

fiddle - farting around

this post title refers to one of my dad's favorite expressions when we were growing up. he would tell us to quit fiddle-farting around when we were goofing off, stalling to get out of work, or simply not doing what he wanted us to do. using it now as an adult, and thinking about it...it really is a WEIRD thing to say, eh?

but alas, i am indeed fiddle-farting. i should be working on an IEP, but instead, i am posting stuff on my blog. so, here we go...

okay, these pics are just WRONG in so many ways, but they are also HILARIOUS. (and in case you can't tell, those are ian's little chicken legs poking out from underneath juj and taylor.)

here is a photo of my little miss thang (kate). and yes, the title "little miss thang" is wildly appropriate for her.

kate took these dizzying photos of ian shooting nerf basketball in our living room.

and lastly, i took this picture this morning by cranking open my bathroom window and leaning outside...

"did they turn the oxygen off in here?"

actual question posed by a student to my dear co-workers (suzanne and melinda) during a reading class last thursday. apparently, he was feeling a bit drowsy...

music picks from the past few weeks

lots of great performances at the grammy's last night. my favorite was this one by the dave matthews band. simple. not a flashy production number. no ridiculously costumed dancers. just dave. and musicians. and back-up singers. it made me happy. (i love the lyrics too.)



jules texted me when this performance by mary j. blige was taking place at the "hope for haiti" telethon. she was blown away and insisted i listen to it. i'm just now getting around to it. and yep. mary's got THE pipes.



i love, love, love jennifer hudson. her performance at the haiti telethon was exquisite.



okay, and now for some fun...here is will ferrell singing lead on lynard skynard's "freebird". with conan o'brien on the ax, ben harper, beck, and billy gibbons from zz top. this closed out conan's last episode.


Conan's 'Freebird' Farewell - These bloopers are hilarious