Music

I love music. It makes me happy. When I was younger I learned to play the piano, clarinet, and violin. (Note to ward members: unfortunately, I haven't kept up on those instruments, so please do not ask me to play in church. I will politely decline.) I would love to learn more instruments, but now find it hard to make time.

I also love going to concerts. I have probably spent too much money on concert tickets. I have seen Tim McGraw (at least 10 times), Dixie Chics, Brooks and Dunn, Keith Urban, Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Carrie Underwood, George Strait (don't ever pay to see him, not worth it!), Toby Keith, Martina McBride, Coldplay, Shania Twain, The Eagles, Garth Brooks, and I think that's all. (Coldplay was the best by far. And not just because they're my all-time favorite band. They put on an amazing show.) I know that's a lot of concerts, but I love music and what's better than live music?

As much as I love music, I have resisted the temptation to put a playlist on our blog because I realize that other people might not like the same music I do. (Like Mitch for example. He likes that horrible screaming-hate-the-world-kill-myself music, which totally doesn't fit his personality, but whatever. He also likes oldies music, so that's what we listen to when we're together.) But, because our Ipod player upstairs no longer works, I figured a playlist on our blog is a good way for me to listen to the music I like while I cook dinner, clean, etc. If you don't like it, push mute on your computer. If you do like it and you want to check it out, the playlist is at the bottom of the blog.

Now I'm going to turn it up and rock out with Layla. She's in an extra, extra good mood after her two and a half hour nap! She thinks it's funny when I sing and dance. I don't blame her. Anything to make her laugh, right?

Too Lazy To Think Of A Title

Everyday I think of something I should blog about. Rarely do I get the time/make the effort to actually do it. I guess there's just other ways I'd rather spend my very limited free time now. Like sleeping. Or reading.

But, we have been fairly busy lately. Layla is still her hilarious little self. I think she's finally over her people hating phase. She doesn't cry when people look at her anymore, so that's a relief.

I took her to the doctor last week. I thought she had an ear infection because she was a little fussy and very congested. No ear infection, just tons of mucous in the back of her throat. Gross. She's on an antibiotic for 10 days. She's doing much better. She's still a tiny bit congested, but she's much happier now.

I finally got a picture of Bug's huge, cheesy grin. I decided to take her pic in this cute outfit my mom bought her. I think it makes her look like a tiny receptionist. I kept calling her "little secretary" all day while she was wearing it. Ha,ha. (I love baby clothes that look like adult clothes; they make me laugh.) I had to hide the camera and make her laugh in order to get the picture. It is slightly blurry, but at least you can see that goofy grin of hers.

I love it!

She's really good at standing. If you prop her up against something, like the couch, she can stand by herself for several seconds. I took some pictures of her standing by herself.

She loves this frog that her Great Grandpa Kermit gave her. It fascinates her. And don't you love the way her belly pokes out of this shirt? Too funny.

Here's her bald spot on the back of her head. She actually has lots of blonde hairs coming in to cover up the baldness.

We got a DVR and we're loving it. Now we'll never miss an episode of Glee or the Office again! I don't know why we didn't get the DVR sooner, it's pretty much awesome. We also went and saw Inception, which was so cool, and The Other Guys, which was really funny.

Layla and I went to the Greek Festival with Katie yesterday. It was fun. I really liked the chicken and the rice. The desserts looked amazing, but I must say, I was terribly disappointed. I didn't like the texture of them after they were soaked in syrup or honey. Mitch likes them though, so they won't go to waste. Thanks for inviting us, Katie!

Have you seen these GIANT camping chairs at Sam's club? It has 6 cupholders! I laugh every time I see them. Too bad they're 80 bucks! Doesn't Layla look soooo tiny in the huge chair?

I've been working on Bug's Halloween costume. It's coming along nicely. I'll be so proud of myself when it's done! I took sewing class in high school, but I've never made anything like this before. I really want to learn how to sew well, so my grandma, who is an amazing seamstress, is answering my questions and giving me advice, but I'm doing the actual sewing, cutting, etc. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Harvey got in a fight with another cat. The other cat bit him and it turned into a huge abscess on his side. I took him to the vet, they shaved his side and lanced the sore. Now he looks funny with a huge patch of hair missing. He's okay though; he didn't skip a beat.

PONI

Did you know there's more than one kind of pony? Until last year, I was only aware of the kind of pony that I want Layla to learn to ride some day. The kind I had as a kid, like my horse Sassy. (Only nicer ... Sassy was evil.)

Yes, I am wearing a belt buckle and my dad is sporting a feather in his hat ...

But I digress.

There's another kind of pony. This PONI stands for Project On Nuclear Issues. Mitch told me about it when his work started asking him to attend the PONI conferences. PONI's official statement says that PONI, "brings some of the best and brightest young analysts together with high-level senior experts for monthly workshops." (Translation: nerds who can't match their clothes, but can design a nuclear weapon. Ha,ha. Just kidding, in all fairness, Mitch is one of the smartest, yet most well-rounded people I know.) Anyways, PONI members discuss nuclear issues and possible solutions. Mitch goes to many of their conferences, which are held in various places around the globe.

So, yes, this PONI is quite different than the kind of pony I'm used to, but it's equally as exciting (in a nerdy sort of way).

Mitch recently wrote an article that was published in a journal for the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He also presented the article at a PONI Conference last year. I was lucky enough to hear him present. He did an awesome job.

You can read his article by clicking here. (Scroll down to find him listed in the Table of Contents.)

I am very proud of Mitch and his abilities. He is a hard worker and a very talented engineer.

And just because a post is no longer complete without a pic of Bug, here's a few we took when she turned 5 months old and a video of her hilarious laugh:

How I feel about facebook

I don't like South Park, but I think this video shows how I feel about Facebook. This is why I don't have a Facebook page.

Vote For Layla

Let's face it, every new parent thinks their kid is the cutest. Mitch and I are just like every other new parent - we think Layla is beautiful. So, we entered her in the Fox 13 Beautiful Baby Contest.

This is where we need your help. The winner is determined by the number of votes. I'm assuming most of our votes will be from Layla's devoted GrandSmothers. Ha,ha. Keep in mind that there are almost 2,000 entries in the contest, which is why we're just doing this for fun.

Here is the website where you go to vote

http://fox13now.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=20074

You can vote once per day from each email address you have. You do have to sign in to vote, so you probably have to create a free account for each email address you have. You can click on the "Vote" tab and then click on the "View Gallery" button. There you will find a search box where you can type "Layla" and find this picture:

Then you can click on the picture and vote.

Voting ends October 3rd. Best of luck to our Little Bug!

Weekend in Pictures

My parents took us boating on Saturday. Layla was a super-happy-talking-up-a-storm-smiling baby the first half of the day, and a screaming-crying-mad baby the second half of the day. I think she was way overstimulated. We left earlier than planned. I was pretty bummed, I really wanted to ski, but that's okay. The water was really choppy anyways. Next year will be better.

She did look ridiculously cute in her life jacket though!

Thanks again for taking us, Mom and Dad!

Since Mitch got an I-phone, I got his old phone. There are these funny applications you can add to pictures. So we changed this picture:

To this:

Snoop Dogg Layla

and this:

Capt'n Layla

So completely hilarious.

Katie had this little hair piece that gives her bangs. It actually looks really good on her and matches her hair perfectly. We decided to see what Layla would look like as a brunette. It was great entertainment.

She might look like Mitch, but she has my hairdo! I think she'd make a cute brunette!

And I don't have a picture of it, but I should say that Mitch spent several hours replacing the radiator in my car. He is such a good mechanic! I am so glad he knows how to do that stuff, it saves us a lot of money. Thanks, Hubby! I love you!!!

Just Like Christmas

Q: How do you make an almost 30 year old feel like a 5 year old kid on Christmas morning?

A:You give him a free I-phone!!!

Can I just give a shout out to my mom and remind her how rad and nice she is??? (I really do have a cool mom.)

Her work recently gave employees the updated version of the I-phone, so she no longer needed her old one. It was super nice of her to give it to Mitch! He's been wanting one for a while now.

Thanks, Mom! You totally made Mitch's day! He was so happy you would have thought it was Christmas morning.