Congratulations, Ricky Ticky Timbo

As you can see I am still working on a new nickname for my little brother as I just haven't really found one that has stuck. This evening, at 7 p.m., Ricky and Lucy are graduationing from high school. I can't believe that my little brother doesn't ever have to go to school anymore, or that I will never have to give him lunch money or a ride to school anymore. We're kicking him out, pronto.

I do not intend to get all sappy, but I can remember my mom being pregnant with the little booger and then coming home from school and him being asleep in a laundry basket because my dad had gone out to get a bassinet for him. They didn't want to count their chickens before they hatched and that same mentality was present in me for the first few months of my pregnancy last year before I went buck wild buying everything baby in sight. I remember begging to have him sleep in my room so my parents set his bassinet up in my room so that I could be awoken in the middle of the night when he was crying, back then I didn't mind it, I still don't mind it (much). I wrote my first poem for him, which was later published in a young author's compilation. My first and last successful attempt at poetry.

I remember the terrible bowl cut I gave him when he was three, I may have been the first one ever to cut his hair. I remember persuading him to buy with his birthday money things I would like to play with.

I remember being really sad when he left with my mother, he was just getting fun and then they left and for the next few years we weren't very close. Over the last few years though Ward and I have tried to be a present force in his life and just the other day, when I was freaking out, he was very nice and told me, that he, my younger brother would take care of it and everything would be well. I told Ward, we've raised him pretty well.

In the fall he is going on to study for at least a semester at my alma mater, Lynchburg College and I look forward to watching him mature more and more and telling people at parties about my younger brother, you know that lad whom solved the fuel problem by designing an alternate fuel vehicle.

Until then, congratulations and here's to great things in your future, T-Y (another nickname).

My little brother, kindergarten circa 1994.

-june

I Am Going To Need A Vacation AFTER Vacation

Is there anywhere you can send teething children?

Like Grandma's house?

Poor little Coop is becoming more and more irritated and clingy. I have thrown any hope of a clean house for my guests out of the window and have taken to holding him and rubbing his gums, which he loves. So maybe a few more blogs today (as I type one handed).

-june

It's Simple: I love to Complain

There are things I love, many many things, but with these things come many things I rather dislike. Let's take a look at this time of year.

I love spring and summer but I am not Shirley Manson and the rain makes me unhappy and grumpy. I love the sun, I am happy when it shines.

I love cookouts. I love making food and having people over and then sitting on the deck socializing and over filling myself. But I rather dislike the flys that seem to have flown in over the weekend and are taking up shop. I have always disliked flys but now that we have children I am even more annoyed and I can't really even explain it. I love to make foods for cookouts but I have never been a big fan of leftovers and the ten pounds of potato salad on the top shelf taunts me every time I open our fridge.

I love fruit, especially bananas, strawberries and grapes. But I hate that as soon as I get home with a pint of strawberries and get ready to rinse them, they have mold on them. The grocery store should invest in some high tech fruit saving methods. In the past two weeks I have thrown away countless strawberries and grapes because they have gone bad before consumption, making bananas my favorite fruit. I mean they are pretty tasty, go well with peanut butter and can be mashed and thrown in a 9x5 pan with a few other pantry essentials to make great tasting bread. And bananas are quite cheaper than strawberries and grapes and can be frozen with out altering their future use in breads and other fine desserts.

I love going on vacation. I love road trips. I love visiting with family. I hate packing and unpacking, trying to decide what is essential and what can be left behind and trying to load the car like I am playing tetris. I hate that gas is rising, but I seriosly doubt I am alone there. And I hate that our family lives so far away.

I love going to the beach, I love early morning and late night walks on the ocean, visiting the piers, reading a good book while listening to the waves crash on the shore, and spending time playing oodles and oodles of games with our family. BUT, I hate sand. I hate how it gets everywhere, in your car, your cooler, your hair, your swimsuit. For weeks after we return I continue to clean sand out of bags and cars but I still love the beach.

It is raining, my strawberries are molding, and I have to leave in two days on a family road trip.

-june

I Just Wanna Have Fun

I visited amazon today. Because I love amazon.

A lot.

I was looking into cd recommendations for my trip, I know that I am running out of time. Anyways, I looked at their new release page and saw that there wasn't much new being released that I am interested in, but that Cyndi Lauper released a new album today, 'Bring Ya To The Brink'. It already has 11 reviews, all 5 stars, no negative reviews, but of course the only people who have probably bought the cd are those who love her.

I like her, a lot. I especially like 'She's So Unusual'. It was one of my first cds I ever owned and I had several of her records including 'True Colors' (my parents owned a record store and my sister and I both had our own 'True Colors' LP when they came out, I still have mine). My sister and I loved listening to Girls Just Want to Have Fun, IKO IKO (you should have heard me and my sister murder the lyrics to this song), Change of Heart, Time after Time, and Money Changes Everything. We were small fans. I sat through Vibes more than once because of her, I have never cared much for Goldblum.

I am not sure I am going to buy this album because I have not been a small fan of her more recent stuff but after reading the reviews I may at least check it out on Rhapsody. Here are some of my ole time favs however.








Oh, and I seriously loved the way she dressed when I was growing up, she was my idol.

-june

Life and Whatnot.

Having twins. That is the easy part. Trying to do anything else, that is the hard part. Anytime I manage to do anything other than care for the twins and write a post, I am ecstatic.



This weekend, I was in ecstasy.



I managed to do housecleaning on Friday. And attend a ball game. I slept several hours.



Saturday I woke up early, took the twins for a walk with my siblings and nephew and went to Panera for breakfast. Then I went to Sam's, Target, Kohl's back to Target, Goody's and the grocery store. I was in desperate need of Groceries and on a wild goose hunt to find my sister a birthday gift, a particularly cute frame for which I cannot remember where I first saw it and have since to find it.



I then went home, ate unhealthily for lunch and unpacked the car. We straightened the house, the main floor had so much clutter I contemplated going back to Sam's and purchasing an 'OPEN' sign and opening shop. I decided instead to move the mass amount of clutter to my bedroom and shut the door. I waited all afternoon for our guests to arrive promptly at 'noonish' as per their email. At 4p.m. they called and said they were running a little late. I love how people can be so thoughtful. But anyways, I made potato salad and waited.



In the evening we went to my sister's where we celebrated her birthday (presentless I am afraid) and my brother called to tell me that he and Lucy's plans for prom had been slightly delayed (fortnately they were able to show up very fashionably, yet late). Our friends, Fawn and Jason, whom were staying the weekend at our house with their boys MJ, Doc and Mr. T. finally showed up at about 7:30, about the time we had to leave to get our children home and in bed. My sister's friend from high school was in town to see my sister and she had made her a birthday cake. Turns out, I don't really care much for Milk cake.



We came home and put the twins down and went back downstairs to wait for the family to show up. We made deviled eggs (how does anyone accomplish peeling a hard boiled egg successfully I would love to know). We made brownies for a chocolate trifle and brownies with marshmallows. At around 11 p.m. their family showed up. We showed them were they would be staying and talked for a while. At 1 a.m. Ward and I decided to have a banana bread cookoff. We would make banana bread using whatever ingredients we had and see whose tasted better. I used bananas and heavy whipping cream and vanilla and pecans along withother normal ingredients and he used cinnamon and walnuts and chocolate chips and brown sugar and well we cooked them and tasted them and you know what? It turns out you can put just about anything you want into banana bread, it tastes the same. The chocolate chips were truly the only noticably difference. We stayed up baking and talking with Jason and Fawn until 3:30.



At 3:40 Coop woke up hungry. At 6:30 Coop woke up hungry. At 7 Bailey woke up hungry.



We didn't sleep much. By 8 am Sunday Ward was out mowing the grass. At 10 when Jason and Fawn came up they made fun of us for being up so early, as if we had a choice. They have a baby, Mr. T, who was born February 2nd and I don't know how they got anymore sleep than we did, except I guess we have two.



Sunday morning we made a trifle, baked beans, mac and cheese, and pound cake. At 2 p.m. we had a cookout, for which almost everyone invited came and came on time. I was running the taddest bit behind. Showers always seem last minute and extremely rushed for me. I had a great time at the cookout, as I hope all who attended did. I love having all of the kids here and there were so many babies here as well. Our neighbor brought one of those blow up bouncy things and the kids had a great time.



Most people left pretty early, by 8 or so and we cleaned up. Then we sat around reading Robert Munsch books and talking about children. At 1 am I excused myself and went to bed, I don't know how some people can stay up all night and function well the next day.



Monday our guests stayed until 3 pm and then in the afternoon I had my family over for a 'leftovers cookout' for which I made more beans and mac and cheese and now I have more food than I did before the 'leftovers cookout'. The babies went to bed rather early, out by 7 p.m. so Ward and I went out and cleaned our garage up, entirely. Folks, I am proud to say that our garage, for the first time in over a year, has two cars parked in it again. Those of you here for the cookouts this weekend probably wouldn't even recognize it. You would walk in and think you had entered someone elses house, except for the dogs barking at you.



We then watched a movie and wrote a review.



This morning I have moved a treadmill, but not walked on one. I have recleaned almost everything cleaned on Friday and feel that with a little bit of pressure I can get almost anything done.



The twins had a pretty good weekend, someone was holding them constantly (our friends like babies way more than my extended family does). They have been a little unhappy this morning that I can't hold them both all morning. They are napping and where as I should be folding and sorting back up laundry, I came to journalize the weekend and explain to you that I had a very busy weekend but nothing really happened.



Wow, you must be thinking, all this to tell us nothing really happened.



I know, I know.



Today I begin packing for our upcoming busy weekend.



-june

Disaster Averted!

But Just Barely.

Saturday night was Lucy's and Ricky's Senior Prom. They went together. They had a good time, but getting there was an adventure.

To start with, last Monday Ricky went to pick up his Tux, and was informed that it had been there for almost a month, and had just been sent back. The error, fortunately, was with the Tux rental place, and he was able to get it sent back in time for the big dance.

Saturday's pre-dance preperations included diving all over town to find the proper floral ingredients, a hair-cut for Ricky, and a styling for Lucy which turned into a three hour ordeal.

But the worst part was the waredrobe malfunction.

You see Lucy had to get her dress specially tailored because she is a little on the chunky side (5'1" - 78 lbs). Anyway, when she went to get dressed for the ball, the dress was too tight. So tight in fact that the zipper burst and got stuck. This was an hour before the dance was going to start. Ricky was waiting outside in his Tux, Lucy's hair was done up just right, and the dress was too small. That's right too small for the girl who would be considered dainty by elves.

So they jump in the car, Lucy stuck in the broken dress, and hurry over for some emergency alterations. You know, one of those 24 hour tailors. They had come up with a back up plan by this point. If they dress was unsalvageable, she would wear another dress (presumably from an old Barbie Doll she had in her closet) and Ricky would scrap his vest which matched her dress just so perfectly.

Good News.

They were able to save the dress, install a new zipper, and let it out a little. Phew! So then it was off to the dance.

The Prom started at 7 PM, but only the losers show up that early anyway. They were planning on being there at 8 PM, after most of the losers had left because it was boring without the cool kids. They made it by 9 PM, cementing their status as the COOLEST couple at the dance. Late is fashionable after all. Come to think of it, I have a couple of really fashionable employees.

They had fun at the dance and everybody lived happily ever after.

THE END.

-Ward

The Great Procrastinator

I shouldn't be here.

I should be cleaning, folding laundry, and vacuuming. Making grocery lists and Sam's lists. I have a lot to do and the twins nap more and more briefly all the time ( I am NOT complaining, they sleep 10-12 hours at night and that ROCKS!).

But I am a procrastinator. I make lists. I know things need to be done. But I put them off and put them off until the last possible minute.

It finally dawned on me today, that I have a lot to do this week. Packing, cleaning, making graduation invitations, sending said invitations, bill paying, filing, an exercise regimin to begin, parties to attend, parties to throw, clean up, blah, blah, blah.

I spent three hours this morning listening to two children cry while I attempted to make the guest bedroom presentable and clean the bathroom. We have about 12 rooms in our house, at that rate (1.5) hours per room I am never going to get it all done today. And the guest bedroom and bath are usually the fastest cleaned.

So I had finally cleaned those two rooms and I checked my email to see if I had any new album recommendations and I had an email from a friend wanting to come and stay this weekend at our house with his girlfriend and their three kids. I had extended the invitation a month ago and emailed them two weeks ago and had heard no confirmation so I assumed it wasn't going to happen. This afternoon I get an email that all five of them are coming tomorrow morning and staying until Monday, if that's OK still? Well, I extended the offer and I am not going to rescind it so I went down to Ricky's room (still working on names for my brother) and had to clean sheets, and pick up trash and laundry and clean his bathroom. I did accomplish that in about an hour but now I have three more loads of laundry backed up in the laundry room and less time to get everything else done.

And I have a tee-ball game at 6 p.m. and we need to go to Sam's now instead of tomorrow and we need to buy sod to put around the deck so that the people here on Sunday for the BBQ don't have to trapse through dirt. And I have children whom at only 4 months have already caught seperation anxiety, is that even possible? (Coop is in my lap as I type this, he has had to accompnay me all over the house this morning and if I leave him for even a moment he breaks down).

I know half glass empty, we'll here's the filler. I have friends who want to come and stay with us. I have children whom want me to hold them and hate when they can't see me. I have a bunch of people coming over Sunday because they want to hang out. I have to put sod down because Ward added on a nice deck addition. I have rooms to clean because I live in a house. I have a tee ball game to go to because I want to be involved in my God child's life. I have a party to go to tomorrow because I have a sister whom just moved and got old this week and I am going to help her celebrate. I have guest bedrooms to clean because my brother and sister-in-law are coming to stay with us. I have packing to do because we are going out of town. I have graduation invitations to make because I have a brother who is graduating from high school. I am lucky. Really, really, lucky.

But lazy.

I am such a procrastinator.

-june

More Suggestions! Everyone, Everyone!

In a little over a week we are headed to Pennsylvania to meet up with my brother and sister in-law and their four children. I am looking forward to seeing them and introducing the twins. We have a busy week planned that includes Hershey Park, Gettysburg, Our Nations Capitol and possibly a visit to where our Nation Reunited that is only down the road from here. You all do know where we 'reunited' right? Bonus points and a kiss if you can tell me who received the surrender and what he did when he received the surrender and how that same person was significant in Gettysburg (this person if my favorite historical individual from the Civil War and I don't feel that enough people know about him).

But I digress, that is not at all what this post is really about. My point is that I am looking forward to the trip even though it may be a little stress inducing and costly. One thing I am looking forward to is the driving.

I LOVE to drive. I really do and with the exception of gas getting so gosh darn expensive I would love to go on more road trips. I love driving and encountering new places, I love listening to music that I haven't gotten to listen to in a while on long drives and I love the conversations that Ward and I get to have when we have hours alone in the car. I know the dynamics of conversation will change over the next few years but I still look forward to future car trips.

I tend to be the 'captain' on our car trips because I really enjoy the driving and I think that the time goes by faster in the drivers seat.

So I am beginning to think about what music to bring along on our trip and I thought I would ask you, my four (or is it five?) loyal readers to tell me your favorite albums. Now you must tell me at least one, but more would be great. You must tell me your favorite album no matter what you think I might think of the artist. If you think it is a really good album I want to give it a shot and road trips are the best for this sort of thing. I need to know soon so I can search good used or sale prices and talk Ward into lifting the moratorium a few days early.

You can leave your favorite album anonymously without signing up with blogger, so let me know. And if I hate it, I won't make fun of you, I promise. I just want to have some new things to listen to.

I expect to hear from all of you. Wesley's mom, James, Chris AND Erin, People who live in Indiana, and Falcon_81 as well as anyone else who want to contribute.

I am excited. Don't let me down by not suggesting something.

Here I will go first.

I absolutely love Simon's 'Graceland', GBV 'Bee Thousand', The Smiths 'The Queen is Dead' and R.E.M. 'Green' just to name a few but I could go on forever and ever.

-june

Not having internet access until June is no excuse by the way to not answer.

GEEK LOVE

A novel.

I just finished reading this book, at the recommendation of half of the women in my life. I remember thinking to myself, "Hmm, Geek Love. I was a geek."

Well, no I wasn't. Nor have I ever known anyone who was. A Geek you see, is the person in a Carnival Freak show who bites the heads off of live chickens (and sometimes Geese). I must have just been a dork.

Geek Love is a fictional book by Katherine Dunn about a certain Carnival Family who decides to "engineer" their own freak show through a twisted process of drug filled pregnancies. So if drinking insecticide only gives you an albino dwarf baby, then next time add some LSD to the mix. I'm serious, this is what the book is about. The totally dysfunctional lives of a family of freaks.

How was it? It was good. If you read a lot I would recommend it. If you don't read a lot, then I would recommend you spend your time reading something better. It wasn't great, but once I was about half-way through I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next. I was let down with the ending though.

So there you go. Another five minutes of your life wasted finding out what I think about something.

-Ward

Suggestions? Anyone, Anyone.

We love to read. I am into fiction mostly though I will occasionally read something else and Ward is into physics, history, and myth.

We are currently reading this to Cooper and Bailey before bedtime. It is the easiest Don Quixote to read I have come across and other than the long boring songs at Chrysostom's funeral it is going along rather well and the children seem to be enjoying it. I have to replace all the 'asses' with 'mules', and we are only on Chapter 20, but so far so good. I had a literature professor in college whom absolutely loved this book, said he read it every year. He was one of my favorite professors at LC and he convinced me into changing my major to literature for exactly two weeks. I have tried every year since to read Don Quixote, I may actually succeed this year.

My sister-in-law recommended this book and I bought it used for $2 on amazon. (Oh, how I miss you dear sweet amazon.com). I enjoyed this book which is strange to admit, it was like a car wreck. I just wanted to get closer and closer and I couldn't look away. Our ranting on about it spurred Ward's curiosity and he is about to finish it. I highly recommend you read this book if you are into weird, fascinating fiction.
I just finished this book. I think we bought it because Ward wanted to read it but I got around to it first. I have always thought Steve Martin was hit or miss, but overall I would say that I enjoy him. My father saw Steve Martin open for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (whom are mentioned often in this book) at the Cellar Door in Washington, DC in the early 70s, drugs have clouded his memory as to exactly when. He told me this story often about Martin wearing an arrow on his head and holding onto a Banjo that he always started to play, then stopped to tell a joke and never actually played the Banjo during his act though he later played with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for a song or two. This book was a quick read and I found it enjoyable to think that a comedian would struggle so much to be funny and well liked. The book isn't amazing but it was worth a read and a recommendation.

I love to read. Now that the twins are getting older and my moratorium on spending money at amazon is soon to be lifted (May 31st), I am looking forward to reading more. We are headed to DC and Pennsylvania next week and I am going to research used book stores in the areas we will be travelling through. If you have any recommendations I would love to hear 'em. I am into mostly fiction, but I will read about anything.

-june

Vegetarian F, No Hongos, Side of Rice

If we decide to go out to eat no one who knows me has to ask me where it is I want to go to dinner. They all know before asking, mexican. I love mexican, A LOT. And I have never been to a mexican restaurant that didn't have something vegetarian to offer. My favorite of all the mexican restaurants is La Carreta.

Before I became pregnant and before the twins were born I would frequent La Carreta at least once a week but often more times than that, once or twice I ate their four times in one week.

La Carreta is the only restaurant in my ole hometown other than fast food, chinese or Pizza Hutt and we frequented the place often as teenagers. When I was in the hospital after the twins were born our friends brought us La Carreta to go which I had never had before but was very good.

Last night we ran to Target and came across my brother and his girlfriend, we sat in the cafe for a few minutes talking and trying to decide how many small popcorns and drinks for a $1 to purchase when I suggested that we get something more substantial to eat. La Carreta here I come. We went to the La Carreta closest to our home which only opened a few months ago, making it their fourth location. There are now two in my hometown (#2 and #5), where my brother and Lucy reside. A smoking and nonsmoking one across the street from one another. Folks, I am not the only one crazy about this restaurant. If you can have two of the same restaurant across the street from one another (and the only other food chain I have seen do that is McDonald's) than you have something. Or than again you are dealing with a town where the folks have some difficulty crossing the street. Lucy told me they are now adding a 6th location in Amherst, where we went to high school. I can only imagine the teenagers like myself, skipping their last class to dine on free chips and salsa after La Carreta's siesta.

I love La Carreta and over the years we have become such regulars that they don't bring us menus anymore and they know what I am going to order. Ward and I both have our choices that we stick to. I have tried other things but I always come back to the Fajitas.

We don't go out to eat as much anymore but whenever we do, it is usually mexican.

-june

The News and Advance Just Got Better

I get the paper on Sundays. Besides the weekly Target circular and Dear Abby I didn't actually do much reading of the paper until...I found this article recently in the News And Advance.



His name is Scott Hollifield. I think he is the best thing the News and Advance has had to offer besides Ken West's column and I don't get the Wednesday paper so I can't read that one anymore. Hollifield is funny and his writing is good. I highly recommend him if you are interested in knowing how to protect yourself from Panda Attacks, Stephen Hawking's take on only 'weirdos' being alien abducted and the latest in rodent Robot Squirrels.

If those things don't interest you, you may find his articles a little weird.

-june

Did Trolls Do This?

When Ward and I were first married we lived in a townhouse in the city. The backyard was the cities largest park. We walked there, we drank illegally there, we almost got arrested there, we played paintball there. When I got my Nikon N60, it was there that I took my first photos with it (of this very bridge). When we moved into our first house and got Max and Jake we took them walking there. My sister and I used to go bike riding there. It holds a lot of memories for me. Some positive, some not so.

But two years ago we moved into the county and we are a good trek from that old park. We would occasionally go there to play tennis (not very well) or to play Frisbee Golf (no not really, though it is a very popular sport there). When we had Cooper and Bailey I was excited about taking them to the park for walks, to play chase, to play ball, to climb on the new rock wall. So we have gone to the park a few times since their birth.

On our first trip I noticed something really sad.

This beautiful bridge in the cities 'nicest' park,

is rotting away.

I mean you can feel how rotten it is when you walk across it and you can even see through the wood floor joists. That to me, doesn't seem like a good thing.
I can just imagine someone making a false move and the bridge collapsing. That does occasionally happen you know.
I am saddened by the fact that our cities finest park is deteriorating and no one seems to care. Not the Frisbee Golf players, not the other parents, not the cities Parks and Recreation division, not the Tennis players. I wonder what will be the state of this park when our kids are finally old enough to use the rock climbing wall and did trolls do this?

-june

Because Sometimes She Can't Appreciate Genius

Jane's Addiction was a great band. As a matter of fact, one of my favorites.
Here is one of my favorite Jane's Addiction songs Mountain Song:



When Jane's Addiction broke up Perry Farrell went on to form a band called Porno For Pyros. This is Tahitian Moon:



This is Perry Farrell solo with Song Yet To Be Sung:



This is Satellite Party with Wish Upon A Dogstar:



Sometimes my wife just doesn't understand. So I beat her.

-Ward

Parenting With Fear: Holding Onto Worries

So Cooper is rolling over now. All the time. If you put him down he immediately rolls over to his tummy. Good thing right?

Maybe if you aren't a nervous Nancy like myself.

So I awake out of a deep sleep tonight and it is 4 am. Just about the time (or even a little later) than Coop usually wakes up. Only probably is, jee wiz, no one is crying. I could go back to sleep, I feel pretty tired, but no instead I go to investigate and he is asleep on his tummy.

And what runs through my body? Not pride but absolute terror.

Is he breathing? Should I wake him? Should I turn him over?

So I go and lay down but now I am wide awake and am strickened with fear.

I should be happy or proud right? But I am terrified of SIDS and supposedly it is just as bad at 4-6 months as it is in infancy. I've read that you shouldn't worry after babies are rolling over, but I can't seem to help it.

I laid in bed waiting for him to wake just worrying away. And then Bailey woke up and before she even really got to crying I was up and checking on them. I decided to feed her but in retrospect I should have left her to cry and wake her brother up first.

(2 minutes later) So I have put Bailey back to sleep and I mean 'back' to sleep. Coop is still alive and sleeping on his tummy. He now has his little tush in the air. It is rather cute but I feel like I need to go in and wake him or at least remove those murderous bumpers or something.

I could be sleeping. But I seriously doubt that I will fall asleep now.

*Update*
I am crazy but at least I am not alone. I woke Ward up at a little before 5 am and asked him to come look at Coop and tell me if he thought it was OK to let him sleep like that. He picked him up and put him on his back and within minutes he was up and crying. I fed him and put him back to sleep. I know it sounds crazy. I wonder what the name of that fear is.

-june

So I Mowed The Lawn

And I learned a few things while I was out there for two hours mowing the lawn.

1.) Our yard sucks. Not because it is big and takes forever to mow but because it is so uneven and bumpy that you ache all over when you are done.

2.) Despite the fact that our yard sucks, I really like to mow. Keep in mind that we have a riding lawn mower that does 90% of the work and what I really enjoy is the fresh air, the time to think and the chance to listen to my iPod.

3.) I like all of our neighbors less and less. I am becoming less of a people person or our neighbors are just becoming increasingly annoying in all directions.

4.) I love this song. Not the band so much, but I love this song.

#200, For Bailey and Cooper

If you want to run, mom will chase.
If you want to catch, mom will throw.
If you want to swing, mom will push.
If you want to know, mom will tell.
If you want to cross, mom will hold your hand.
If you want to sing, mom will listen.
If you want to laugh, mom will make a funny face.
If you want to compete, mom will cheer you on.
If you are hungry, mom will feed you.
If you are dirty, mom will run a bath.
If you are sad, mom will wipe your tears.
If you get hurt, mom will bandage.
If you are afraid, mom will leave the light on.
If you tired, mom will tuck you in.
If you need a hand, mom will help.
If you tell a lie, mom will know.
If you need a ride, mom will drive.
If you are around, mom will smile.
If you stay out late, mom will wait.
If you move away, mom will visit.
If you fall in love, mom will share you.
No matter what, mom will love you.

"I just want a small piece of you, somethin to put in a locket.
And I will look at it daily and it will make me happy."

Best Buy Is Probably Open

Death Cab For Cutie releases 'Narrow Stairs' today. I recommend listening to it first but if you want to jump the gun and go buy it immediately Best Buy is probably already open.

Here are a few of my favorites from the past.

'I Will Follow You Into The Dark'



The Sound of Settling






I also highly recommend 'The Death of an Interior Decorator' off Transatlanticism, I just couldn't find one worthy on You Tube.

-june

My Americana

Beautiful Disaster - Roger Clyne



Aftermath - Drive By Truckers



Redemtion Song - Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros





-Ward

The Best Thing To Come Out Of Canada Since Neil Young

Tragically Hip is one of our favorite bands. Ward got the chance to see them when he resided in Mesa, AZ and I am still jealous. If you have never heard them I recommend Day for Night and Phantom Power.

Ahead By A Century

Poets

Something On

Lynchburg Has A Lot To Offer

We were online looking for some local attractions to visit when our out of town family comes to visit in a few weeks. We stumbled across this fascinating website. If you've got time to peruse the whole site that would be great, if not we recommend you check out some of the highlights:

"Mags" the Headless Cat

Evington's Lost Locomotive (wreck site of the "Gorilla Train")

The Dreaming Creek "Troll" (The Mysterious Dark Vortex of Windsor Hills)

Pinehurst Mulleted Naturists Retreat

The Hiccup Man (He's Had Hiccups For Sixty-Four Years. Find Him A Cure And Win $500!)

Now we know that not all of you are from towns so cool as this. Try not to be toooo jealous. Before we found all of this great stuff we were just planning on doing some hiking on the Blue Ridge Trail and visiting the National D-Day Memorial. Do you think that the Mulleted Nudists will be appropriate for children?

Happy Mother's Day

I know that a good portion of our Readership are mothers. We just want to say that we hope you have a happy, peaceful day with your families.

Nebraska

A few years ago Ward got the Bruce Springsteen album 'Nebraska' for his birthday. I grew up listening to a lot of Springsteen as my mom was a big fan but I had never heard this album (or at least don't recall ever hearing it). It has now become my favorite Springsteen album and one of my favorite albums overall. The songs are mostly sad, and you know I like sad. I believe the best cut is 'Highway Patrolman' but I couldn't find it on you tube so my runner up will have to do.

This is 'Atlantic City'.




My Father's House, Nebraska, and well, the whole album is good and if you have never heard it I stongly suggest logging into iTunes and giving it a listen.

-june

Is this the beginning of a bad habit?

I grew up listening to The Marvelous Toy and Puff the Magic Dragon so I got it out for the kids and I to listen to today. They seemed to enjoy it except that Bailey fell asleep before we got to Puff.

Bailey is not really interested in pacifiers. Which is a good thing. Bailey is interested instead in sucking her thumb and holding onto dish towels. Which I don't think is a good thing.

They spit up so much that I started using dishtowels (clean ones, don't worry) to clean up spit up. Then I started putting them under the twins. The burp clothes and even cloth diapers were just not absorbent enough during the burping phase of feeding. I even went and bought new super soft and absorbent dish towels from Target to use. And now Bailey has started to hold onto these dish towels when she is eating and she doesn't want to let go (don't worry she doesn't sleep with them in her crib and I check on her incessantly when she is sleeping anyways because we may just be the most worried parents about SIDS ever). But this afternoon she fell asleep holding one and she reminded me of Linus from the Peanuts, so I had to get a few shots of her.

She no longer has the dish towel, she has moved onto seeking revenge on her big brother. They fell asleep closer than they have slept since they were in utero, he is still asleep and lying rather still. Earlier he kicked her in the head during 'Boa Constrictor'. She is shreeking at him and kicking in his direction. (Ward was trying to teach her how to kick yesterday and she may be concerned about SIDS too). She doesn't seem to like him being so close to her and not moving or making any noise.

-june

Maybe? Baby?

A year ago today our suspicions were confirmed, our hopes verified, and our worries just beginning.

I awoke at 3 am on May 9, 2007 in pain, nervous and unable to return to slumber. I watched Scrubs on DVD and tried to keep my mind off of my 8 am test. The test we had been waiting weeks for, anxious for results. But at 3 am I wanted the time to go by slowly. Because at 8 am it could all be over, for good.

At 6 am Ward gave me my shot on the side that was less bruised and brought me my routine breakfast of oatmeal, toast and Pomegranate juice. He filled the cooler for the day. He told me he loved me.

I got up and showered. Maybe I would take a really hot bath later. I dressed in something other than pajamas. I walked downstairs slowly. Having not been on stairs for two weeks the motion seemed awkward and uncomfortable. I drove into the city.

I made it to the office right at 8 am. The nurse took my blood. I'll work my mojo on it, she said. It was nice of her to offer, I had no mojo of my own to offer.

They'll call you later. Call Ward instead, I said.

I came straight home. I had been saving a test for home use but I decided against it. I wanted to hold on to the thought that I might be at long as I could. Ward called. Asked how I was, told me he loved me. We will be alright, he said. If my voice wasn't on the verge of cracking I would have replied.

I ate my lunch early. Maybe I would go on a diet. I called my step father and wished him a happy birthday. I called my sister to chat. She didn't know my test was that day. No one did. My brother-in-law called to ask me about a song.

I tried to take a nap. I couldn't fall asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about it for even a moment.

Ward called. 1:15. My brother called. They're having another girl. They just found out. The nurse she called too. What would be a good number?

Anything over 60.

I sit up from my lying down position. I lean over the bed. I feel dizzy and nervous. It could all end here.

What about 640? We're pregnant.

I break down. I am relieved and happy. Ward tells me that he loves me and I must stop crying. There is nothing to cry about.

But I can't seem to help it. It's virtually sobbing. You're going to make me cry. Stop, june. I'm at work.

I have to call the pharmacy for progesterone refills and the nurse to schedule a follow up test. The lady who takes my refill congratulates me on my pregnancy. She is the first. I feel giddy. Like a middle schooler up late drinking soda pop.

I call the nurse. She says they usually see numbers in the 100-200s. It's still time to be cautious. I don't let her take anything away from me, but I am a little nervous.

Ward comes home and hugs me for what seems like forever. I ask if we can go by my sisters house. He agrees.

I call and tell her that we have to go and look at light fixtures even though I am supposed to be in bed. I want to come and see my 3 week old nephew whom I haven't seen since he was a few days old. She doesn't seem to catch me in this little white lie and besides I do want to see the X-man.

We stop in and I hold my nephew. I lied. We don't have to look at fixtures.

A pregnant pause.

We're pregnant.

She hugs me and we both begin to cry. The relief in her eyes matches the way my body feels.

We head home. We eat and watch a movie. I go to sleep with a happiness I haven't know for a while, maybe ever. I sleep through the night for the first time in weeks and the last time since.

-june

You Should Be Gaurded By Monkeys!

You Really Should Be.

-Ward

He Must Not Read My Blog

So my dad called me this morning. He is going out of town next weekend and wanted some new c.d.s. He had choosen two and wanted to know if I had ever heard of them. The first was a band called Paramour. Nope, never heard of them. The second. Some band called Vampire Weekend. Had I ever heard them?

Only like, a lot. And I only mentioned them to him maybe twice and played them for him once or twice. And he obviously doesn't read my blog.

But then again, that may be a good thing.

In case you are new to our blog. I really like Vampire Weekend.



If they sound like they are ripping off Paul Simon, know that I don't really care. I can like them both, you know.

-june

Dub-ya

Is it strange that I am kinda interested in this?

I mean Oliver Stone has given us (directed) many great things:

Platoon, Wall Street, Born On The Fourth Of July, The Doors, JFK, Natural Born Killers.

Her Name Is BAILEY

NOT:

Bayley

Baily

Bayly

Bailie

Baileah

Bailly

Baylie

Baileigh

Baeli


And her results were Normal!

-june

Maybe Hillary Wasn't Very Good At Math

This morning I read this.



Go ahead and read it too. Go ahead, I'll wait for you to come back.



I can understand why Clinton would want to keep fighting for the democratic nomination, I mean she has 'lent' herself quite a bit of money in her ernest attempt to secure her parties nomination and Barack has yet to offer her the Vice Presidency but when is enough going to be enough. Why can't she realize that she is trailing behind, more and more each primary and ultimately she is helping divide, not unite, her party by continuing to campaign. I could say the same about Obama but I like him and he is at least winning in the number of (not so super?) delegates so why should he be the one to back down.



I have heard others say (and think myself) that Obama is the more electable candidate and that if Clinton pinches the democratic nomination in some way there may be a good deal of people who vote for another candidate just as to not vote for her. The republicans seem to know it, they seem to think that Clinton is the way to go to sinch McCain's presidential nomination. I have heard lots of comments, ridiculous comments about Clinton being the first woman president and that being important. Supposedly a great deal of white women are behind her just to see a woman president. The same goes for African American support of Obama. Sometimes I wonder why they let citizens vote, I mean, you have a responsibility to vote for the person you think is going to do a good job or at least the candidate whom addresses the issues in the campaign period that you like them to, not the person whom resembles you the most.



At this point I think that Hillary Clinton is just being selfish and her unwillingness to drop out is becoming detrimental to the democratic party. I agree with McGovern that mathematically Obama has all but won and it IS time to unite and get ready for the election in the fall. McGovern's decision to back Obama despite his long relationship with the Clinton's would say to me if I was Hillary Clinton, you ran a good race, now gracefully back out while Obama still has a chance.

-june

Listen Here

In October 1996 we went to see a band called The Lemonheads, maybe you've heard of them? Maybe you've read a blog about them if you've never heard of them? Anyways the opening band was called Fountains of Wayne and they rocked. I remember thinking they were really good for an opening band. I remember thinking they were just really good. Then in Febrauary 1997 we went to see the Smashing Pumpkins (whom used to rock a lot), maybe you've heard of them? Anyways, the opening band was none other than the Fountains of Wayne. And they rocked even more.

Interesting (lengthy) sidenote, my husband to be and I both attended (though not together) a show at Randolp Macon-Women's College when They Might Be Giants came to town in 1994 or 1995. Anyways the opening band was called Ivy, co-formed by none other than bassist Adam Schlesinger whom would go on to be half of the real talent that goes into Fountains of Wayne (the other half, Chris Collingwood). Schlesinger also produced several They Might Be Giants songs. Ivy's album 'I Hate December' was put out by Scratchie Records which is owned by James Iha and Darcy of the Smashing Pumpkins as well as Schlesinger himself. Maybe that's how FOW got the gig playing for the Pumpkins, I don't know.

So anyways, Ward and I saw them at Tremont Music Hall where they played with the Lemonheads and we bought the album. By the time we saw them with the Pumpkins we knew all the songs and we're really digging them. To this day that album is my favorite but they have continued to put out some great stuff. Unfortunately, we haven't seen them since they were the opening band.

Ward says listen to:



I say listen to because this is my ALL time FAVORITE Fountains of Wayne song:



-june

Schlesinger also wrote the title track to the movie "That Thing You Do".

Quiet and Not Quite Qualified

So I had to take the twins to the doctor yesterday for their four month check-up. Bailey is still under 11 lbs!!! The doctor isn't concerned because she put on almost three pounds since two months but I still worry, even after he showed me the growth chart and that she is following 'a line' (even if it is the bottom line on the chart). Coop is doing fine though, other than his oozing eyeball.

From birth they have been telling me that Bailey would need X-rays of her hips at four months because she was breech (albeit for less than two hours), she is a girl and she was born via c-section. So they scheduled the appointment for this morning. Little girl was up half the night not feeling well thanks to the immunizations and then we had to be there this morning at 9 for her X-Rays.

Standing behind a lead window while the lady doing the X-ray is wearing a body suit and your daughter is completely exposed was NERVE WRECKING! She didn't seem to mind. I am sure it was far more stressful and worrisome for me than it was for her. That is probably going to be par for the course for some time. I am a worrier. My pediatrician thinks I am and I don't want to let him down. I asked when the results would be in (I mean, if we are going to submit our daughter to X-rays we want to know ASAP the results). She said they would send them over to the doctor this afternoon. If he doesn't call me by this afternoon I am calling there first thing in the morning. I mean I am not overly worried because she wasn't breech the entire time but my doctor has reminded me about this over and over for four months and I would like it to be over.

So then I go by the mall. I have a coupon for Macy's and it is the first Tuesday of the month (Gap 10% off day). So I am minding my own business and this lady comes up to me, and of course I am expecting her to gawk at the little ones but no, instead she needs my help choosing clothes for a baby shower. What sizes, what is good quality, how big are babies? I am a quiet person, a little shy if I don't know you. And I do not feel qualified at all to answer these questions. I mean I have only had children for four months, that doesn't make me any sort of expert. I only know what I like, I don't know what is better quality, how big or smal other babies are, and besides I just don't feel confident giving advice (unless you are related to me or read my blog). I tried, I mean really tried to overcome my shyness and be as helpful as possible but when she asked me to lunch I figured I needed to get out of there as I am always prepared for someone to overpower me and kidnap my children when I am out shopping alone (maybe I should learn Tae Kwon Do). So I bugged out of there, and FAST!

So I went into the Gap, just very quickly because you know it's the first Tuesday of the month and all. And the lady who works there (and maybe feels sorry for me or likes me or something) has .97 cent hats she is holding for me. Folks, I don't shop at the Gap that often. I wonder how long she has been holding onto these hats for me (and maybe they had just marked them down and she was just saying that). So I try to be nice but the hats were not the right size (our children's weight may be in the 10th percentile but both of their heads are in the 75th). So I head to the clearance rack, because that is my target destination whenever I shop at the Gap and the lady keeps coming asking questions about the twins and some other shoppers were asking question and I was cursing myself and my introverted ways.

I mean how can I come here and say anything and everything and way too much and yet I am always feeling like my personal space is being invaded when I go out in public?

I did get some more nifty thermal long sleeve t's from the men's section for a couple of bucks. I bought a burnt sienna one for $3 back in February and it is now my favorite shirt. I wish I could shop in the men's department all the time. I look in the women's sections at department stores but the clothes are cut funny or too low or too tight and I just leave feeling frustrated and empty handed.

So I was leaving the mall and going out of a door that doesn't have automatic doors and there is this guy standing right behind me, still invading my personal space and yet not holding the door for me and my Duo Glider. I made it to the car and loaded the Canyoneer and left feeling slightly misanthropic.

-june

I Am Concurrently Listening And Reminiscing

When I was in high school I knew few people who loved music quite the way that I do. Most of the people I hung out with were no longer in high school and in bands and then my best friend moved away and I was left alone in my ole hometown, heartbroken and lonely. Fortunately, I found some people who could put up with me for the duration of high school but we didn't have a lot of similar tastes in music, with one exception. The four of us were all big fans of The Lemonheads 'It's a Shame About Ray'.

So whenever we were hanging out or driving around (when gas was much, much cheaper) we would listen to this album. I like the Lemonheads in general but this is by far my favorite ablum. Maybe because I listened to it 3,502 times in one year or maybe because it is good, or perhaps a little of both.




-june

Ward took me to see The Lemonheads in Charlotte, NC. They were pretty awesome. Circa, 1996 Car Button Cloth had just been released.

I Do Believe

So I'm a geek. No news there, right? Anyway, my favorite-all-time TV show was the X-Files. I know, it got kind of annoying at the end, but you have to admit that the first three or four seasons were as good as it gets.

Mind you, I've never been a huge fan of television, but I do appreciate good television. I'm just a little dimscriminating thats all. Most of the stuff on TV is garbage, obviously that is just my opinion, but this whole thing is just my opinion, so deal with it.

My point is this, I just heard about the new X-Files movie, I Want To Believe, and I am very excited. It comes out July 25, 2008. I know, the last time they made a movie it wasn't that great. It fell victim to the weight of the convoluted alien conspiracy story arc that had taken over the show and was holding us all hostage.

They say that this time it's going to be different. They say that this time Chris Carter is writing it himself. They say that this time they're dropping the whole alien-ice pick-black oil-bee colony crap and getting back to the old X-Files. They say that this time we'll be able to keep up with what is happening. They say that this time it's going to be good.

I Want To Belive.

-Ward

My Turn to Bore You

Here's a couple songs I really enjoy because I figure my wife shouldn't have all the fun.

Tom Waits 'Hold On'




The Decemberists 'Sons and Daughters'



-Ward

Hey, That's My Nephew On TV

Check him out here. (He's the little one clapping.)

The People Who Reside Here

Truly Enjoy Elvis Costello!


So much so, that Cooper was almost named Elvis or Costello. Really. I'm not kidding.

His new album was re-released on CD today (released April 22 on vinyl).

Here are a few of our favs.

She says watch:




He says:

I Am A Blue Box Connoisseur

When I was little we didn't eat together much as a family, unless of course you count those Sunday night 'dinners' that turned into 'very early Monday morning dinners' because my mom wouldn't stop drinking long enough to cook the roast and mash the potatoes, and I really don't.

So my sister and I ate a lot of .19 cents a box Macaroni and Cheese which explains the malnourished look that we had for years (and has been erased forever with such Delicacies as Strawberry Milkshake Creme Oreos). I never even tasted Kraft Mac and Cheese until I met Ward and never ate 'real' Mac and Cheese until I married him and his mom started making it for us.

I now make Macaroni and Cheese, the real stuff, homemade, whatever you want to call it, several times a month, but I still, to Ward's chagrin, purchase, cook and consume good ole faithful, or as we whom love the stuff like to call it, Blue Box.

Even at .89 cents a box and made with a 'powder' they like to call 'real' cheese, this stuff is still a staple in our house. The closest Ward will come to consuming alternative Mac and Cheese is Velveeta and he will not share in a the delights of a serving of Blue Box, even if it is all I make for dinner.

But anyways, back to my point. You have to be very, very careful when making Blue Box. The simplest mistake will turn what could be a wonderful comfort meal into mush worthy only of the nearest garbage disposal.

To start with, let the water come to a boil, go ahead. It won't take long. And throw just a little, like 1/12 of a teaspoon of salt into the pot, you know you want to. Once your water is boiling, throw in those noodles that they must produce only for boxes of Kraft and store brand Mac and Cheese.

And then cook these abnormal noodles for 6:13. I am not kidding folks. You want your pasta a little al dente, but not too al dente. Your mac and cheese shouldn't have 'crunch' to it unless you add bacon bits.

Then you will want to drain your noodles, but be careful. When I was pregnant I tried to give my belly third degree burns when draining a pot of noodles. The water touched my belly and I immediately dropped the entire pot of pasta in the sink and on the floor and well my lunch was gone and I stopped cooking until the twins were about 3 weeks old and I could reach the sink again. So be careful is all I am saying.

Then put some butter in your pot before you give the noodles back to that pot. But be careful what you add to the mac and cheese. The box makes it sound so simple but it takes much care and consideration for pasta perfection. For example, you must use salted butter. I wouldn't make it with margarine or unsalted butter. And do not use the four tablespoons suggested on the traditional box, it is just excessive really to put that much butter in there, really much less, like 2.345 tablespoons is enough. And only the finest Fat Free Horizon Organic Milk touches my fine powder cheese therefore setting off a reaction that results in the cheesiest macs around. OK, not really. So then you will want to mix for 837 strokes, this many strokes is required to make sure all of that powder is adequately mixed. A biteful of that powder stuff (stuff being the closest descriptive word I can grasp to describe the powder cheese at the moment) is absolutely disgusting, truly. Now, grab a bowl. Fill it. Enjoy!

You probably never knew so much went into making a box of that stuff. I realize I am a blue box connoisseur. I have probably ingested somewhere around 491 boxes of this stuff.

-june

It's About A Demonic Bunny Rabbit Named Frank

No, Not Really.


OK, maybe slightly.


You Should Really See This.








It brings troubled adolescent, Dukakis election, child pornography, chicken little complex, parallel time, cellar door, and smurf talk in a movie to a whole new level.


And if that isn't enough, it has some awesome music to boot.

Here, take a listen and see what you think.












I know, that's a lot. But who doesn't love Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, The Church and Tears for Fears?

-june

I Am Here To Help

In Case You Want to Gain a Few Pounds

May I Recommend:

That you try Strawberry Milkshake Creme Oreos (available at Target 2/$5 this week).

You know all that weight that I said I lost after I had the twins, well, I am doing all that I can to put it back on and these things are helping. Though odd sounding they are surprisingly very tasty. Very nice to enjoy with a film, very frustrating for the waistline.

-june

I HEART Many Things I Realize

And Among these things, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.

Listen and then do tell.

One of my favorites songs, EVER.


OK, and this one is pretty good too.





Now, Do you not feel the same?

If you didn't enjoy, I just want you to know I am feeling for you right now.

-june

Guess Who Just Turned 20?

So what do Red House Painters, Afghan Whigs, Iron and Wine, Rogue Wave, Saint Etienne, Mudhoney, Sunny Day Real Estate, Band Of Horses, Flight of the Conchords (Chris, Have you guessed where I'm going here?), Postal Service, Galaxie 500, Modest Mouse, Sebadoh, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Shins, Death Cab For Cutie and Nirvana have in common. Other than the fact that they are some pretty decent artists (as well as quite a few not mentioned) they have all been at some point, past or present, on the Sub Pop Label. Sub Pop just turned 20 last month (depending on when you truly count their beginning, if you go back to the 1979 fanzine Subterranean Pop where it all began then they are a tad bit older). This summer they are throwing a 20th anniversary Festival, so if you are going to be in the area at the beginning of July, you should check it out.

Anyways, I thought I would throw a few Sub Pop You Tube Vids in for the day.




I heard this song on the radio a few years back and went out and bought the album immediately, which I NEVER do. I love the songs Clark Gable and Nothing Better and blah, blah, blah. I dig this album the most. And I also dig Death Cab For Cutie, whom have an ablum being released May 13 called Narrow Stairs in case some how you missed that news bit and you want to be the first to own it.



Ah, I just love his voice! This is Iron and Wine, or Sam Beam.




I like the Shins, 'nough said.

Don't you just want to move to Seattle and join a band or join a band and then move to Seattle or don't you just not. Wanna do that I mean.

ENJOY!!!

-june

Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe

Last year when we bought our Sequioa, I was finally able to listen to the radio in the car again. For some reason, every other vehicle we own does not get any radio stations. One hot August day I heard this song and I just loved it. The entire album is pretty good and it made my list of favorite 2007 releases. Unfortuntely, it wasn't long until the radio began to disappoint with all their repetition and so I went back to the old Ipod and CDs.





Hope as always, that you enjoy!

-june

I Appreciate You and You and You

So there is this slightly offensive Blog that I read occasionally and I must admit some days I even find it kind of funny. But why shouldn't I, it is after all making fun of me and others like me. This blog has lots and lots of readers. It has been mentioned in the New York Times and Target just recently supposedly bought the blog spot. So a lot of people know about it and read it as well and then leave comments.

Silly. Juvenile. Uneducated. Ridiculous. Comments.

Hundreds every single day.

I imagine actually that many of them don't even read the posts, but comment so that they can be a part of it. Many just leave their blog addresses as their only comment.

Now I would like to know that I am not writing a blog that no one is going to read but I have decided that I far more appreciate my readers, however small in number, because they come to see just how crazy we are today and they don't leave hateful, stupid, insensitive, derogatory comments. Not by the dozens anyway.

So I just wanted to tell you that, you know I appreciate you and stuff.

Sorry that's it. I am not getting any more mushy.

I may push some of you away.

-june

Update!

My friend's son has come home as of Tuesday evening! She says she isn't getting much sleep and she couldn't be more happy about that.

-june

Oh, and Happy 5th Anniversary ST &HT!!!!

Casual Disregard At First Sight

I Do Not Know How We Ended Up Together
But This Is How I Remember It

So I mentioned the other day that Ward introduced me to The Smiths. But upon reading my post again I felt that I may have given the impression that when Ward and I met it was sort of love at first sight so I thought I would share the story of how me met, for those of you who may not already know.

A long time ago, in what now seems like a galaxy far far away, my sister and I threw a party. Our father was away on business, we were young and much too wild for our own good. The party lasted three days. I was 14 or 15 at the time, I don’t remember. I was pretty young and so was my sister, not even 18 and we had a party at our house that would give many parents a heart attack. It was just that bad. The first night we had high school friends come over as well as the heavy metalites from our hometown show up. It was pretty scary, actually. One of the guys kept brandishing a weapon that he later stored in my sister’s wicker hamper for safe keeping. I think he was only trying to scare us, but he succeeded. And he stayed the whole three days. We just couldn’t get the guy to leave.

I think it is important to note that we were wild and naïve but my sister and I escaped the teens years virtually unharmed (though maybe a little cynical)and we never did heavy drugs or slept around. We were raised by people who told us like it was and the unintended result was to scare the dickens out of us so we smoked nothing and slept with no one. Drinking though, drinking was another story. I am just being honest. Again, my sister pretty much escaped that one too but I didn’t. I drank more before I could drive than I have since I turned 16. But I have NEVER EVER EVER driven drunk. I have a mother who taught me a lesson about drunk driving before I was old enough to drive. When I was 13 my mother got her license for the first time in her life and six months later got a DUI and then another one while on restriction with the first. So again unintended result was a lesson about drunk driving. Thanks, Mom!

So my sister was in a band at the time. You know one of those garage bands that is really a basement band because no one in the band has a home with a garage? Anyways, she decided on the second night to invite her band mates over. They came. They didn’t really seem to mesh well with the metalites.

One of her band mates I instantly found attractive and did my best all evening to flirt with. He was older than me and had long hair, two things that I was drawn to at the time. He was wearing a t-shirt for a band I had heard of and I made a mental note to go back and listen to the album again (I just don’t like Dinosaur, Jr. even though ‘Feel the Pain’ isn’t all that bad a cut). He was, I suppose, what they called ‘grunge’ at the time. He was in a rock and roll band. I thought it was love at first sight. He had come along with a friend. I didn’t think much of his friend at the time, though he too was older and had long hair.

So I spent all evening flirting with this long haired Mascis’ fan, he was quiet and had a beautiful nose (I am ridiculous and there is no rhyme or reason for whom I find attractive, but long hair and noses are a weakness of mine, I HEART Adrien Brody). Anyways, he turned out to be one of the biggest jerks I have ever known in my life and I had the luxury of knowing him for another decade or so. The other guy was pretty rude, slightly annoying and reminded me of Gavin Rossdale of Bush, they had just put their first album out(I was the first but nowhere near the last person to make that comparison by the way). I thought he was a jerk. He thought I was a brat. We’ve been married now for almost 7 years.

A lot has happened between that first night and today but the story is perhaps a lot more long winded then I remembered when I began this post. I should probably stop there for now. The funny thing is, it was definitely NOT love at first sight for either of us. It wasn’t even casual acceptance. And he definitely didn't lend me any Smiths albums for quite some time.

When Cooper and Bailey get older they are probably going to ask how we met. I am thinking of telling them the story of Rapunzel. That just seems easier and I mean, I did have long hair back then.

-june


How I Met Your Mother.

Alright, so I was in a band, on this much we can agree. I had joined a band a few months before because the drummer and I were friends from another band, and for some reason which I can't remember they needed me for something. There was a singer in this band, a girl who never came to practices, and is now my wife's sister.

Anyway, one time, after she had finally come to practice and I had met her, she was telling the whole band that she was having a HUGE party on the upcoming weekend and that we should all come. It was going to be so awesome, their parents were gone and her and her sister were throwing a massive three day bash. Well, there wasn't anything much to do so that drummer friend of mine and I decided to go to this party. We weren't very excited, you see she lived in a place where we didn't like to go, a very backward place were the local inhabitants reminded us slightly of the Deliverance cast. I can't remember exactly, but it must have been a very dead weekend.

But we went. We got there and the place looked like Lollapalooza had just left. I think that one of the couches was still on fire. We sat on the other one. There weren't many people there, but the ones that were... Oh, the ones that were. We sat down, and I could tell that my drummer friend felt a little uneasy, so I tried to break the ice with some of my time-tested award-winning wit and charm.

So as it turns out Rednecks can't really understand sarcasm, and are completely unable to laugh at themselves. I could have been killed I suppose (I didn't know that the big maniacal metal head really had a gun), but I couldn't help but notice (and point out) the similarities between this crowd and Beavis and Butthead.

So we stayed awhile, made no new friends, and left the same way we came. Which is not sure that we should have been there. The End.

Oh, you wanted to know about how I met my wife? Well, she was the singer's little sister. I think that she was 15. I know that she was unfriendly. At the time I thought that she wanted to kill us, but I've learned since then that that's just the way she likes to look at me. She had long straight died black hair and wore a black shirt and basically fit in well with the metal-heads. She mostly paced around or sat on the arm of some smouldering furniture, trying to top my sarcastic remarks with rude comments and evil stares. You could even say that she gave me the 'stink eye' all night long. I think she had the hots for my drummer friend. Everybody else did.

I don't think that we exchanged a single kind word that evening, but as fate would have it, we ended up together for the long haul. Now that I think about it, maybe it's because no one else could stand either of us.

-Ward


June's Rebuttal

I really have no idea how we ended up together!

That band mate of your's has always been my sister, that didn't just happen.

First off, my parents were gone because my mom had abandoned us and my dad went out of town unexpectedly and it was Frbruary and we had snow and school was closed from Tueday on the rest of that week. She called you and you guys came running on short notice that Wednesday night.

That drummer friend of your was pretty hot, if only his good looks were matched with his treatment of other people, something could have evolved there, but alas, he is and has always been more pompous than you.

I didn't have my hair dyed. That was later. And if I looked at you funny it was because you were insulting an armed maniac. I was trying to tell you to shut up, I may have even saved your life.

I don't think that we exchanged kind words for quite some time.

We are together for the long haul because Ward pays me very well to be his nice and obedient wife. He docks my pay if I give him the stink eye.

Ward's Rebuttal

So it was a Wednseday night, that's why there was nothing better to do. Makes more sense to me now, but I can assure everyone that no one comes running to a party in HogTown. Unless maybe their from there.

Thanks for saving my life, but if you knew that that idiot had a gun why didn't you call someone? Like maybe 911.

"Hello 911, what's your emergency?"

"Beavis is in my house, and he's got a gun!"

I'm sure they would have sent someone to investigate. I've seen those movies about teen parties.

And, your sister was not my wife's sister until I married you. And as everyone can tell, we still don't say kind words to each other. We try not to even use them around each other. By the way, you've violated our non-disclosure agreement so you owe me everything I've ever paid you.

-The Cleavers

I Heart They Might Be Giants, Part 1, Vol. 1

Since I was very little I have loved these two Johns and even though I haven't been in love with their most recent albums these guys still hold a place in my heart. I was going to post some of my all time favorite cuts but there were truly just to many so I decided to part one this post and post my 2 of my favorite songs from their 1986 album, They Might Be Giants. If you aren't interested, I understand. You can skip this post entirely.



These guys are totally underrated in my opinion. There songs are brilliant and because they are a little goofy I feel they have been overlooked forever. Though they usually have other musicians with them on tour it is mostly just two guys, John Linnell and John Flansburgh, who call themselves They Might Be Giants (us fans, we refer to them as TMBG) after a 1971 movie about a millionaire widower that thinks he is Sherlock Holmes (look for the review sometime in the future on Cinemaphiles at Work!). They have been together since 1982, but they have just never really been huge, despite their name. They wrote the theme song for Malcolm in the Middle and some cartoons, they record a lot of children's music and they are the only band (with the exception of Carbon Leaf and the Dave Mathews Band who are from this area) who have ever played in our fine city. I saw them for the first time when I was 11 (at Randolph College, before that Tom Petty show I mentioned yesterday). I have seen them 4 times live and they are just so much fun to watch and listen to. They have silly puppets and other things that just sound silly if you aren't there watching it.





The fans have put alot of this stuff on you tube, I thank them for that. They aren't the best videos but they are out there.

I realized today that I am not and have never been cool. I am a geek. And I am completely contented with that knowledge.


-june