La la la la la la la la TJ Max

So, we have one by my house. I knew it was in the league of like Marshalls, and Ross, and maybe Kohls--although I've never been there either. Anyway, I always have this memory of this store in Factoria (across from the movie theater) is it Goldsomething-or-other? A store that is in the same class of those I just listed. You know the one giant store next to Starbucks???? I don't know, but my mom told me of this horror story about a shopping trip she took there once. They didn't have any dressing rooms, you just walked into a big women-only changing room with bunch of mirrors. I've had nightmares about it and avoided all stores in that genre ever since. I can't think of anything worse than a bunch of bargain shoppers in South Bellevue in their old, baggy skivvies trying on marked down discount Amy Byer clothing. Literally, the idea gives me the shivers.

Anyway, I finally womaned up and went. I was on the hunt for nice, albeit inexpensive, throw pillows. In a house with a toddler there's no reason to purchase nice accessories when we all know it'll just end up with cheese or animal cracker mashed into it. What I found was a mecca! I just took Angie there tonight so she could purchase two books from the Twilight series for $6 each!! That's a smokin' deal! They had awesome kid's toys and books, super cute clothes for me, Pierre Cardin (Ry's favorite type of dress shirts) for cheap, and GREAT home accessories. I got two really cool and unique throw pillows that would have cost me 2-3 times as much at Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn. I know you're thinking that I probably got a kickback for this post, but I could only hope for some in-store credit to come my way.

I'm turning into a bargain shopper.

I'm turning into...ugh...my mom.

Here's a cute photo of Maize this morning for you to contemplate...

BTW, just saw District 9 tonight and it was incredible. Probably one of the coolest and most interesting movies I've ever seen! I'd definitely recommend it.

Totes McGotes

The title of this post probably seems weird to you, unless you've seen I Love You, Man. Which is such a funny movie. Totes McGotes is one of the things that we quote everyday from that movie. If you haven't seen it, you should!

Anyway, I'm just burning time. Ryan had his wisdom teeth out this afternoon. He's in the bedroom watching crazy, awful movies (like Crank 2:High Voltage). Maizey is with my mother in law, and I'm left with a bunch of free time. I've already caught up on my Rachel Zoe and Flipping Out, so there's no TV left to watch. Anyway, Ryan is doing pretty well. He only had 2 wisdom teeth--apparently he's more evolved than the rest of us (but probably less wise), so hopefully that will make recovery slightly easier. Poor dude, they couldn't sedate him. It's supposed to be a light general anesthesia (since they can't intubate you in that setting--or just don't), you're not supposed to be awake, luckily I wasn't. Well, for whatever reason, they couldn't put him out. So he was awake, but his memory is spotty. He was also on nitrous, so he was in good spirits and telling all the ladies how much I liked the Twilight saga. Funny boy. Because he has such a high tolerance for medication they gave him a really strong prescription for pain meds. I've been really worried about it. I left briefly (to run an errand) and asked him to stay in bed--just to avoid catastrophe. When I walked in the house, I found him face-down on the floor! I screamed his name, it was just what I feared most! Well, he started to laugh, he was fine. He was fooling me. I guess this means he's feeling okay...

What else? Nothing really. Here are lots of fun photos of the last couple of weeks...

My mom, sis, and darling daughter

Bill Cosby style... This pair is inseparable, except for when they're separated. They're in auntie-niecey love!
Same with these two!

Aww, so sad. Those are stamps on her hands--she gets them after Little Gym.

Cheesy smile!

Looks like a catalog shot, the house and the baby!

Sissys, not sissies. Yes, I know I'm cute!

"Interesting, but terribly overrated..."

Happy girl.

"mmma" and "pahhhhh"

Great grammy's 80th birthday!Looking 80s radical this morning. The top is courtesy of auntie and the shoes were hand-me-downs from cousin Ari.

Lou's collar as a belt. Tres chic!

I've spent my whole life trying to avoid engineers (my friend Jill is the engineer exception--she's very well socialized). I've managed to surround myself with them--my dad, my husband, and now, my daughter. I was in denial about Maizey for most of her life, but I've come to accept it. If there is a buckle, clasp, snap, drawer, zipper, she's all about it! She spends hours (well tens of minutes), just fiddling around with the same buckle, and she endlessly stacks blocks and canned foods. Please tell me this is normal toddler behavior. Please let Maizey be a prima ballerina and medical doctor when she grows up. Or, even a receptionist...We had some torrential downpours last weekend. Maizey loves puddles, so we geared up and took to the street in search of some gigantic puzzles. We ended just having a really great time playing at the school by our house.

This felt so much more impressive than it looks, it felt like I was 10 feet off the ground, not 4!

Puddles!

I think it's time for our whitening...

Cute tush...Daddy's favorite trick!

Playing at the school with daddy. Yes, we're there almost every day.

LOVE that toothy gap!

We had a playdate with cousin Jackson last week!

Playing with their great grammy!

Everything that is wrong with the world...

This matter is horrifying. This poor, young woman. This is the most invasive, mean, awful thing I've ever seen in my life. It reminds me of the type of probing that was done around race and religion in the middle 1900s. I can't imagine what she must be feeling. I'm embarrassed to be human. Luckily this woman seems to be impenetrable and to come from a very strong family. Good for her. I heard about it this morning on the Today show, where it was, at the very least, handled sensitively. Then I saw this article and I can't believe the verbiage. I may just write my very first letter to the editor!

"Hermaphrodite" really? What is this? 1955? Come on...




Caster Semenya, forced to take gender test, is a woman ... and a man!
BY Oren Yaniv
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Updated Thursday, September 10th 2009, 1:50 PM


The 18-year-old South African champ has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are more than three times higher than those of a normal female, according to reports.

The tests, ordered by The International Association of Athletics Federations after Semenya's 800-meter victory in the World Championships, determined she's a hermaphrodite - having both male and female organs.

Semenya could be stripped of the gold medal she won in Berlin last month and her competitive future is in limbo, according to Australia's Daily Telegraph.

The athletics governing body is also expected to advise her to have surgery to fix the potentially deadly condition, the paper reported. The IAAF would not comment on the results that have yet to be released.

According to a source with knowledge of the IAAF tests, Semenya has internal testes - the male sexual organs that produce testosterone.

Testosterone is a hormone responsible for building muscles and for producing body hair and a deep voice.

Confirmation of the test results is sure to stoke the controversy that erupted after the university student's sensational track triumph.

She has been embraced in her home country - where she was declared "our girl" - and appeared on a magazine cover after a feminine makeover.

"God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself," she told You Magazine, which ran a photo spread.

"I don't want to talk about the tests. I'm not even thinking about them."



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/09/10/2009-09-10_caster_semenya_.html#ixzz0QoCCO08K

Old friends

Those 2 photos, above, are probably my 2 favorite photos from growing up with my friends. They also happen to include the 4 most important people (outside of my family) to me in the world while I was growing up. They were my best friends, the kind of best friends very few adults ever get to have. They each played the role that as adults is never fully filled, but adequately compensated for, usually by an assortment of people. Now I have my husband who, I believe, is probably one of the best out there. I have my sister and my mom, and then there are your adult friends. Adult friends are amazing. Don't get me wrong. But there is a passion that isn't there with the people you meet as an adult. As an adult, I've made some amazing friends, and I in no way take that for granted, it's just different. You know what I mean. Maybe it's because I've been with Ryan since I was 17, so as an adult I've never had to rely on my friends for the kind of enduring support that you require of your friends when you don't have a live-in best friend. Whatever. The point is that the friends that you have growing up are wound into the fabric of the person that you become. They shape you. The friends that you make as an adult embrace you, but they don't have nearly the impact on you because you've already become who you are--with a few changes here and there. At least, that is my experience.

So why, then, do I never see these people? What changes? When I do sit down with any of these women, I am blown away by what amazing and fun people they are. I feel lucky to know them in any capacity. Did I just wind up with the most unbelievable childhood friends, or do I love them so much because they are a part of me? It's true that in 2 of the cases these girls live far away from me, but I don't know if that actually makes a difference, because I barely see the 2 that live near me. I had a hard time with my high school reunion. I felt so much love at my reunion, I felt like a lot of these people were like family to me. I'd known them and been close to them for so long, that when I was around them I felt at home. Home in a way I hadn't been in a long time, since I lived in my parent's house on the plateau. It was exciting. I wanted to know these people again. But, it's been a year since my reunion and everything is the same as it was. I don't think that the social networking sites help this situation, because you're kind of in contact, but not really. You know what's going on with everyone and you're constantly being reminded of people who, before Facebook, you were destined to forget.

Getting back to my 4 girls. I want to make the time. I had the pleasure of spending 6 hours over lunch and coffee with Angie tonight--just talking. I miss that conversation, and I was really glad to have had it. Now, I want more. I think that childhood friends know how to bring out the people we are at the core. Because they were there. They saw it. Before all the drama and the injury and affectation that comes in adulthood and changes you forever.

So I want to take a few minutes to remember my very favorite moments with these girls:

My Plateau Girls-Care to Dance every year, the "Dancing Teaus"; Safeway Select and Goldfish at Angie's; the Moody Blues and singing "Again" in the media room; the teary goodbye at DeeDee Abodeely's house when Jessica moved away; late night trips to Minnie's; Summer of 1995--best ever, Jess made that picture board with all our memories (I've lost mine do any of you girls still have it?) and all we listened to was Sarah Mclachlan at Jessi's dad's house; Kirkland in the Samurai; Markus and Forrest; the Devine Boys; Pookela and Jeff--the hair model; making coffee cool; getting ready for football games and dances listening to Alanis Morisette; Seattle the day after Thanksgiving; senior boys; all of you in my wedding; all of us in Jessi's wedding; my trip to the Mojave with Angie; the best friend contest from some teen magazine that we were determined to win (see photo below); Aliya taking such good care of me before my wedding when I was so sick; seeing Jessica pregnant; seeing Aliya and Maizey dance to live music; 10/10/10; I could go on and on

Sarah-our radio stations; summers in your pool and playing on the power pad; me moving away; Anne moving away and then surprising her in her empty mansion when she came to visit; you moving sososo far away; you surprising me at my door and then our trip to Ojai; Encino Man; the Viper; our long walk to Crossroads to see a movie; the houseboat trip to Lake Trinity; weekend sleepovers; the weird guy I met on the internet that I made you sit next to; making up dances; you were my bridesmaid and my real estate agent; lunches in Bellevue; seeing you in labor--you looked so uncomfortable I was worried you were going to break in half; baby Kyra and those curls; visits at the tanning salon; my bachelorette party; I miss you, I want to see you more than twice a year, which is totally my fault. Let's get together asap.

I guess this is how it goes. We grow up, we get busy, we move away, we get married, we change. But, it doesn't mean I can't feel sad about it. It doesn't mean that I can't work harder to see these people. It doesn't mean that I can't totally hope that one day all of us will be in the room together again. Laughing and eating goldfish crackers and drinking pop, reading magazines together...

Obsessed

with this cracker. I got it on my way over to Georgia's yesterday and I haven't thought about anything else since. Good for so many different reasons...

F this S!

Yes, this is totally effed up s---! Getting your wisdom teeth removed at practically 30 is a mistake. It hurts. I've had 3 surgeries now, including a c-section, and this is by far the roughest. I have 2 choices right now, I can either be in pain or not in pain but feeling weird and nauseated on pain pills. It's lose lose. So, do me a favor, if you are told at 17 and then every year after that you need your wisdom teeth out, do it! Don't wait until your immune system is old and decrepit.

We did manage to make it to auntie Georgia's for a playdate today. Here are some cute photos from that and from yesterday's usual antics...

Here's a video of Darren being cute...
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