Random 10 - The Sequel

1. In The Mood - Glenn Miller
2. I Can't Wait - The White Stripes
3. Darts of Pleasure - Franz Ferdinand
4. I've Got It All(most) - Modest Mouse
5. Madame George - Van Morrison
6. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
7. Here Comes Your Man - The Pixies
8. Dope Man - NWA
9. Amie - Damien Rice
10. How To Fight Lonliness - Wilco

(random indeed)

Random 10

So, I have seen this in a few places. I'm going to see what happens. I promise to provide accurate information, no matter how embarrassing. Please keep in mind that I currently have like 3000 songs on the thing...

From your Ipod (or whatever) library, select Shuffle Songs and list the first ten songs. Here's mine:

• Kodachrome - Paul Simon
• Sabotage - Beastie Boys
• Somewhere Else - Travis
• Hell is Chrome - Wilco
• Darling Nikki - Prince
• Everything in its Right Place - Radiohead
• Peace Frogs - The Doors
• Like Spinning Plates - Radiohead
• Amity - Elliot Smith
• You Can Do It - Ice Cube

What's Yours?

50 Things
(in no particular order)

1. Neil rarely snores
2. I have never thrown up due to alcohol consumption and I haven't thrown up at all in like thirteen years
3. Hayden and I have a secret handshake
4. "Carnivale" on HBO makes me happy
5. My Ipod makes me happy too
6. 50 is a big number
7. Hayden told me that 7 is his favorite number and he loves the letter "n"
8. My Mom and sister both have blogs
9. Neil has never even read this blog
10. I don't know who reads this besides a few friends and my family
11. I like to pretend that other people are reading it
12. When I run at the gym I pretend I'm a bad ass track star in the Olympics
13. I usually listen to rap music with offensive lyrics when I run
14. I love Diet Dr. Pepper, but I force myself to drink a lot of water
15. Taking a shower is one of my favorite parts of my day
16. I have a huge shower and a lot of scented products
17. I like to buy stuff
18. I like to buy stuff for other people
19. I like to buy stuff for myself
20. When I was in high school and the show "Cheers" was on, a couple of people told me I looked like Kirstie Alley. As a compliment. If anyone said that now, I would punch them in the face.
21. Important - When she was thin
22. Important - And young
23. Neil and I have been together since we were in high school
24. I really like my neighborhood
25. 50 is a really, really big number
26. We are going to try to get pregnant this June
27. I hope I don't have any miscarriages this time
28. I can't imagine life without TiVo, the internet, a digital camera, or the gym. I can't believe how many other Moms feel the same way.
29. I don't know what I am going to wear tonight
30. We're going to a concert
31. We're seeing Rogue Wave. Anyone else heard of them? They're good. Trust me.
32. Neil and I have been vegetarians for ten years
33. Hayden is a life-long vegetarian!
34. I don't expect either of us will ever eat meat again
35. Unless we're tricked
36. Which happens sometimes
37. My middle name is Roberta
38. Thanks Mom
39. Just kidding
40. Only ten more things to think of
41. I'm not very good at skiing
42. If Neil would have been a girl, his Mom was planning on naming him LaDonna
43. Phew
44. That would have been tragic
45. I gag if I smell onion from dinner in the trash the next morning
46 I also hate the smell of eggs cooking
47 Hayden hasn't taken a nap in like ten days
48 He's been in his crib for an hour and a half - not sleeping, just playing
49 He has never climbed out
50 We're not going to mess with a good thing - which may mean he'll sleep in that crib until he graduates from high school

Letdown

Yesterday, we were mere moments away from buying the car of my dreams. I have wanted a Volvo XC90 since I was pregnant with Hayden. Neil got a small, but unexpected increase in pay, and when he told me about it, he said we should buy the Volvo. For once, we decided, we should reward ourselves a little and buy something luxurious, even if it isn't the best use of the money. We went to the dealership and they had the exact one we wanted- dark gray metallic with the taupe leather interior and all the options. Back home, we agreed on a price over the phone with the dealer, and had worked out all the finance details and everything. Just as Neil was getting ready to call them back and arrange to come get the car, I said, "Or, we could just keep our car and use the money for the remodel." Neil thought for a split second, recognized the potential tax savings, and that was the end of our journey to the dark side. We just couldn't do it. $37,000 is a lot of car, but it will really go a long way to finish our home improvements. Blah Blah Blah.

My cable hasn't been working right for the past week. We're not getting channels between 30 and 100. This means I am not getting Bravo and I have now missed Project Runway two weeks in a row. Heads will roll!

We have had some ups and downs with our dog, Haley. We got her from a rescue shelter almost four years ago. We don't know a lot about the first 12 weeks of her life, or her breed. Early on, we realized she was very afraid of certain people, especially tall men with glasses. She never acted outwardly aggressive, but she would growl and walk or run away. We took her to puppy training school and did everything we could to socialize her. She isn't the kind of dog you would let roam around without a leash, but she fit in well with our family. She's well behaved, and if we were having a big group of people over, we'd just put her in another room. We've always just kind of dealt with her personality.

When I was pregnant, we worried about how she would act with the baby. Before we came home from the hospital, we sent home Hayden's little cap and blanket so she could get used to the scent. We were amazed at how good she was with Hayden when he was a baby. As he got bigger, he would pull up on her and poke her in the face. She never even reacted to it. Now that Hayden is bigger, she has growled at him a few times, and walked away. At first, I didn't read too much into it. I figured she was just letting him know she had had enough, and that was it. I made sure, as soon as I noticed her doing this, that he didn't pull her tail or get in her face. Lately, the growling has gotten a little more frequent. And, over the past two weeks, she will just run away from him, with her fur standing up at her neck. Hayden has never done anything serious to her, or given her a reason to have this type of reaction.

Today, I put Hayden down for a nap, let Haley out in the yard, and went to the laundry room to put some clothes in the dryer. All of a sudden, I could hear her barking. When she barks, it is loud and it sounds serious. I ran outside and saw her at the bottom of our driveway barking her head off at a kid walking home from school. It was a boy of about 12, wearing a big jacket with a hood on. I don't know if that matters or not. She sounded ferocious. She didn't leave our property, and she came right away when I called her. I don't know if that matters either. I think I may be making excuses for her. I really do love her.

We've almost lost her twice. Once to a rattlesnake bite, and last summer to a mysterious sickness/possible poisoning. I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I have to do something and I don't know what to do. Do I hire a dog behaviorist? Do I ask my vet to medicate her? Do we just continue as we are, and just only let her outside on leash?

Do I have to find her a new home?

I love my dog, but if she ever did bite Hayden, I would hate myself for allowing the risk. At the same time, I can't imagine her biting anyone. I don't know what to do.

Yesterday, we went up to Laguna for Hayden's second snow experience and Haley the Dog's first.

Happy New Year!

Neil's Mom watched Hayden for us. For the whole night!! This is how we spent the last night of 2004 at our friends Aaron and Maureen's house. For some reason, everyone was in the garage for the ball drop.


some guy with pepperoni nipples



neil and reid



me and joanna



joanna, me, and maureen right before midnight


right, right before midnight



midnight



cheers