Look kids! It's the Ridiculous Runner!

I haven't got myself into a gym here in Irvine yet. I didn't bring my cycling stuff but need to stay somewhat in shape for when I get back to teach my spin classes in PA. So I've been running, which is something I don't enjoy and never have. I look ridiculous when I run, my legs were made for cycling, not running. I just can't seem to pick my feet up, so I just kind of shuffle along. I've been told I need to pick my knees up higher but whenever I do, I feel like a Clydesdale or an extra in the Music Man. I just don't like it. It's bad for my self esteem. I can feel my bottom jiggle with every step which you'd think would make me want to run more but it really just makes me want to sit down in the grass and cry. And if I was eating a brownie while sitting and crying in that grass, that would be even better. Also my legs always start to itch, I get side cramps early on, my knees and ankles ache but most of all I hate coming home afterwards thinking I've been gone for like 35-40 minutes and when I ask how long I've been gone, I hear "Oh, like 15 minutes." Everything about it is discouraging. The only thing I've found that makes these runs tolerable is air drumming to my tunes.

Duck Pond

May was hungrier than the ducks.

Grandma Love-It

This is where you could most likely find my girls during the reunion, on the lap of my Grandma. These three took to each other instantly. Even though May looks like she's reeling back in horror in this picture, whenever I would come to get her, May would say "NO!" and bury herself into my Grandmother's cleavage. I'm quite sure after doing so, she retreived a couple bucks, a shoe, a toothbrush and Eli Whitney's first cotton gin from out of those depths. As my cousin put it so perfectly "It's like Mary Poppin's Bag in there." I hadn't seen my Grandma in 4 years. What a strong, smart and fun woman.

I Really Really Heart Cameron Crowe

Another thing I like about being home: I watch a lot of movies on tv. Two of my all-time faves:

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

I always like to go back to Irvine, which I've been lucky enough to do at least twice a year since I've moved away. I didn't, however, enjoy coming back and being here when our family's dog Bobby died which happened yesterday morning. For those of you who grew up with me/my fam, you know what an intregal part he is to the Garlock family. This isn't a picture of him but this is what he looked like about 13 years ago. Yesterday was a sad, sad day. Fortunately for my Dad, my girls were here when Bobby's time came. I believe that they are two of only a few things that he loves as much as he does Bobby. He was a good Boo.

I do like being home. I like seeing my old crusty fruit stickers still stuck on my window sill, my growth chart in my closet, which includes not only mine, but my brothers', my girls', my husband and two of my friends from high school. I like playing on my old piano, which isn't fancy but has that same familiar sound. I like seeing the peach tree that I planted myself in my front yard, which is now big, creates a good bit of shade and produces fruit, which are two of my favorite things. I like walking around my neighborhood, it hasn't changed much which is rare for Irvine. There are so many new parts of this city and new neighborhoods and shopping centers, I miss the small feel of it, I miss feeling like I was always seeing the same people over and over, so that bugs. What also bugs is my parents' PC. If I were a rich man, ya ha deedle deedle bubba bubba deedle deedle dum, I'd buy my parents a Mac.

Rub a Dub Dub Reunion

I took these pictures of my brothers on the first day of the 2007 Garlock Reunion that was held this past week. Then my camera died, but I'd say it's a pretty good representation of the trip. We spent 5 days in Lincoln City on the Oregon coast with my Grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. and it was wonderful. There's just something glorious about getting a bunch of people with the same genetic make-up into one room together. Into a tub ain't bad, either.

Cheek Kisses and One-Armed Hugs

How does one pack for an entire month, each week spent in a different climate?

To Dos and Not To Dos:

Things I Should Be Doing Right Now:
-packing
-cleaning
-laundry
-showering

Things I Shouldn't Be Doing Right Now:
-blogging
-emailing
-still be in my work out clothes
-eating my weight in pistachios

Rainy reunion

Yesterday was the long awaited half-way meet with one of my very best friends, Alisa.

It has been over a year since we've seen each other, with our last hurrahs spent in Hawaii. During this past year while I was pining away for my IA friends, it's seemed like for-ev-er, but being together yesterday it seemed like just days ago we had said goodbye at the Maui airport, which wasn't pretty. But do you want to know what IS pretty? Little Eva. What a beauty with her sweet little face. She is darling and sweet, like the rest of her family. I have been waiting for this baby for a long, long time. For a couple of years, actually. So yesterday, Alisa and I with kids in tow, met at a gorgeous park and it was a beautiful first half of the day. The second half was very, very wet, though still beautiful and fun. I had such a great time. It's been a long time for me to be with a gal pal and be totally comfortable. Alisa just gets me and I love her for that, among lots of other reasons. So they've finally moved to PA and though we are on the opposite sides of the state, this will not stop us from spending a day together. Do you want to know what else won't stop us? Pouring rain.


The boys and our favorite red heads were the only thing that were missing...I'll have to wait until Thanksgiving for that. Sigh.

Random Thoughts

-Go and I just finished our DVR'd season 6 of 24. I love the show and I have a big fat fictional crush on Jack Bauer. But, they have GOT to get some new terms to use. Here are some of the more overdone phrases they use in the show: "We'll send in a tactical team!", "I'm patching you through now.", "Hey, we've all had a rough day, but you need to stay on task.", "We're setting up a perimeter!", "That's an order!", "Reconfigure the satellites!", "Thank you, Mr. President." and the fact that the only cell phones used by every character in the show is a Sprint phone whether you work at CTU or if you're a terrorist, and oh yeah, the constant suspicious looks everyone gives each other across their desks at CTU. Everyone should just mind their own beeswax next season.


-And you know who else should mind their own beeswax? My neighbor who tells me to pull the Black Eyed Susans out of my yard. Yah, they're totally ugly and I've been meaning to do it but Ruby loves them for some reason so they'll stay around for awhile. Especially now since he told me that I should pull them out.


-Ruby's new obsession is gluing foam heart shapes onto both ends of popsicle sticks. She calls them "Bone Hearts."


-I get to see one of my most favorite buddies ever, Alisa, on Tuesday. I am pysched. In fact, you could say that I am once again:


-May has become one of those kids who wants to carry their blanket around all the time. Ick.

Daffodils cover

According to Ruby's story, I'm never given the oppurtunity to draw these cows in swim garb, so I did it for the cover! My ancient scanner cut off my funny pointy cow hooves. But you get the idea.

More to come! And not necessarily in the correct order. But maybe.

Annie's a nerd and she don't care.

Note: The title of this post is to be sung to the tune of "Jimmy Crack Corn."


Theory: Ikea and J.K. are in cahoots. The width of a complete hardback HP series fits perfectly into the "cubes" of my poorly made but aesthetically pleasing geometric bookcase. The closet OCD within me can now rest easy, knowing that my series will not be divided, nor will the presentation be mared due to a foreign book placed beside it. Thank you, J.K., for taking this all into consideration when writing your books, deciding the length, etc. I really appreciate it.

Swappy McSwappykins

Thanks for the fabulous package, Katri! This picture features 4 items from the awesome randomness of the package I got from my swap buddy, Katri. I sent yours off today...I hope you enjoy receiving your stuff as much as I did. I love getting mail, especially when it comes in a box!

Daffodils

Brandon's mom started a great tradition in their family. Around the time each of her kids turned 4, she would have them tell her a story, she would illustrate it and bind it into a book. His was about a little guy named Mr. Nose Pose (she drew a nose with a face on it, arms and legs. It was awesome.) and some dancing wolves that came from Outer Space.

This morning I had Ruby tell me a story and I'm so excited to illustrate it. Four years old is the perfect age for this. They are young enough to be imaginative and old enough to weave a tale. She gave me some great images to work with--I'm going to keep it simple; black ink lines, just a couple of colors, simple backgrounds.
Here is the story I get to draw pictures of:

"Daffodils"

Once upon a time there were two cows that got married, named Bella and Karate. They liked to stand in meadows and eat daffodils.
Then they got a cow child named Shrella. She liked to eat daffodils, too.
One day they decided to leave the farm and go to the beach. They went to the beach with all kinds of socks on their heads.
When they got to the ocean, they threw their socks into the water. Sharks came and ate all of the socks.
The cows were hungry, too, so they picked some fruit off some trees and ate it for breakfast.
The beach was cold, so they found some people's clothes on the sand, put them on and left.
They decided to sneak into a grocery store and pretended they were people. They bought a bunch of stuff.
Then they took all of their groceries home to the farm and gave the food to the other animals. They passed around valentines and had a big party on the farm.
The cows just ate daffodils.

I'll post some illustrations when I get some done.

While you were sleeping, I was watching While You Were Sleeping

Every summer starting when I was about 10 until after I had Ruby, my Mom, my brothers, my Mom's siblings and all of my cousins would meet in Seattle. Part of the time there, we would stay at my Grandparent's lake house which is one of my favorite places on earth. But not the lakehouse in the present, really. More like the lakehouse 10 years ago. Now I have my own kids and it would be ME running out onto the dock, screaming "YOU BETTER BE WEARING YOUR LIFE VEST!", and not my Aunt Colleen. Life was so carefree there back then. Our biggest worries were whether we were concocting the proper lemon juice to water ratio for our hair and if the boys' stash of fireworks had been unearthed by our mothers. We'd swim, lay out, play cards, eat tons of food, play pool, drink Fresca, catch salamanders, ride on paddleboats, whatever we wanted, really. It was just non-stop fun. Being one of the older cousins, I was one of the lucky few that got to sleep in the coveted sleeping spot -- the tent trailer outside. One of the best things about the tent trailer was the little TV we had in there. My cousins and I would pile in and watch these three movies non-stop: The Sandlot, Liar Liar and While You Were Sleeping. I'm not a huge fan of your typical Chick Flick, so believe me when I tell you that contrary to popular belief, While You Were Sleeping is not one of them. I don't really like Sandra Bullock or Bill Pullman. But that's besides the point. Anyway, my cousins and I would usually quote Joe Junior lines like "I love black unda-wez" and "I know kah-rah-dee." But it really wasn't until I watched this movie recently that I fully appreciated the great dialouge. The dinner table conversation scene is genius. I googled it and someone had it typed out. It's so good:

Mother: Have you and Peter decided where you want to go on your honeymoon?
Saul: I went to Cuba on my honeymoon.
Grandma: Ricky Ricardo was Cuban.
Mother: Didn't Peter look great today?
Saul: Oh, that kid. He should have been an actor.
Grandma: He's tall.
Father: All the great ones were tall.
Mother: Lucy, you think you could find me a nice girl for Jack?
Jack: Oh, Mom. Come on.
Lucy: Well, I really don't know Jack's type.
Jack: I like blondes. Chubby ones.
Long uncomfortable pause
Saul: Alan Ladd wasn't tall.
Father: Marshall Dillon was six foot five.
Mother: Well, we all know who Lucy's type is! These mashes potatoes are so creamy.
Sister: You like brunettes.
Long uncomfortable pause
Grandma: I could never make a good pot roast.
Saul: You need good beef. Argentina has great beef. Beef and Nazis.
Father: John Wayne was tall.
Saul: Dustin Hoffman was 5'6".
Father: Would you want to see Dustin Hoffman save the Alamo?
Mother: These mashed potatoes are so creamy.
Saul: Spain has good beef.
Mother: Mary mashed them.
Saul: Cesar Romero was tall.
Grandma: Cesar Romero was not Spanish!
Saul: I didn't say Cesar Romero was Spanish.
Grandma: Well, what did you say?
Saul: I said, Cesar Romero was tall.
Grandma: We all know he's tall.
Saul: Well, that's what I said. Cesar Romero was tall. That's all I said.

A Conversation After Today's Spin Class

Me: Oh shoot, I'm late. I have to get my kids and go!
Man: Did I hear you say "kids?"
Me: Yah.
Man: You mean to tell me you've got kids?!!
Me: Yah! ( I totally thought this guy had seen me with them before, walking into the gym. How dare he not remember my every move!)
Man: How many?
Me: Two.
Man: Are you serious?!!
Me: Yah, totally! I have a 4 yr old and a 1 and a half year old.
Man: How old are you?!!
Me: 27.
Man: (starts laughing) I thought you were 17!

Awesome? Not awesome? I can't decide.

Beside Myself

In 2 weeks, I go on a month-long trip to:

1. The long awaited Garlock Family Reunion on the Oregon Coast. (Pics of this year's famous Garlock Fam T-shirt to come.)

2. Home to O.C.

3. Ah-ha, fooled you there for a second, didn't I? No, not Paris. Vegas to see the Reynolds.

4. Reynolds cabin.


Three of the four weeks I will be gone from PA, I will be without Brandon. He has already started pouting and moping, not that I blame him. I could start pouting and moping about my cross country flight alone with two squirrelly children, one of whom you can't shut up with snacks, really. And I don't want to give May stuff in front of Ruby that Ruby can't eat. Please be good to us, oh gods of the FUNCTIONING portable DVD player. And I'm already crossing my fingers that we'll get a nice airline checker-inner (seriously, what is the official job title of that person? I cannot for the life of me come up with the name.) who will give me an entire row.
I haven't seen my family since Christmas. It will have been a long 8 months. As for seeing my extended family at the reunion, it will be 4 years for most, even longer than that for others. Garlock Family Reunions...they're just a good time. I am:
BESIDE MYSELF with excitement.

*Sidenote: as you can see this is the Summer of No Make Up and Not Doing My Hair. Love it. I can't get away with that during the winter. That doesn't mean much, though.

Just look, don't touch.

For years, when my brother was little, he had a flat top, a perfectly buzzed plane of blonde goodness. Admit it, you totally want this sweet sweater cardigan I'm wearing. But focus. See that flattop? Would you be tempted to run your palm across it if you were standing next to him on an escalator at the mall? Even if you never laid eyes on him? Would you be so tempted to the point of reaching over and rubbing this kid's head? If you answered "yes, most definitely", than you are not alone. I remember observing this happen on several occasions and not being super comfortable with it. I just don't think people should touch other people they don't know. This opinion is reaffirmed every time I am pregnant and a stranger touches my big belly. Now that I have children, I'm even more protective.


Behold the softest, squishiest face in the world. But if you're a stranger, say standing in line at Hershey Park, or passing us in a grocery cart at the store, or coming out of a bathroom stall at a public restroom--ESPECIALLY before washing your hands--please refrain from feeling or pinching or squeezing my May-May's cheeks. I know it's tempting, I can hardly keep my lips off her for 5 minutes, but I'm her mother. You, stranger who just crossed my child's rather large personal space circumference, need to show a little more restraint.

You may call me Tyra

Wanted: A third look for this model:

Look #1: "I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10"

Look #2: "These are my bedroom eyes"

Apparently, she was trained by this man:

Hitting the bottle

I celebrate my own birthday inside my head more than I do outwardly or prefer anyone else to, really. It usually starts a whole week before my real birthday, which is today. If anything good comes up in said week, I think "Oh, how fun to have this happen on my birthday." On the flip side of that, if anything negative happens, I think "But it's my birthday! No fair!" I have had both positive and negative things happen during this, my birthday week.
I'll start with the positives but gloss over them because the negatives are much more interesting:
-Got some new people in my spin classes - gung ho, stick-with-it kind of people
-A little shopping trip
-Went to really good yoga class
-Went to a figure drawing class
-Went to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night at midnight with some girlfriends. Just for fun. I didn't draw a lightening bolt on my face or anything, it was just something fun to do...which it was because I got to sit around and talk to my friends for a couple of hours without our kids bugging us.
Which leads me into the negatives:
-The movie reel broke 40 minutes into the movie. Then 30 minutes later, it started again, only to break 10 seconds later. An hour a half later, they were still telling us "It will only be 15 more minutes!" Imagine the chaos: Hundreds of die-hard Harry Potter fans (most of whom dressed up in HP garb), all sugared up, crammed into a theatre until the wee hours of the morning. I did start a "U.S.A.! U.S.A!" chant, though which totally threw off the people who were already chanting "Har-ry! Har-ry!", so it wasn't a total bust. My brother would be very proud. So after many empty promises and 2 AM came and went, I left in a huff after being told by a lone pimply faced kid at the concession stand to just bring my ticket stub back and I'll be able to get in for free.
Me: "But I want an extra ticket on top of that."
Pubescent adolescent:"Sorry, maam, you'll have to wait to talk to my manager. She's trying to fix the movie reel."
Me: "Ma'am? Do I look like a ma'am to you? I'm 27 as of two hours ago, I hardly think that warrants such words as "ma'am" to be thrown around."
Exit stage left. Hopefully I will be seeing the rest of it sometime soon. And I hope Sir Brace-Face will be working because I'm going to demand free JuJuBees.
-So I rounded up my birthday money and was positively gleeful at the prospect of owning the Canon Rebel XTi, the SLR camera that I have been drooling over for quite some time now, as I found it for dirt cheap (read: finally somewhat affordable) on a couple of websites. After mentioning this in an email to my camera guru Julie, she wrote back and put very nicely that surely I had researched the company and made sure it wasn't a scam. To my utmost dismay, it was indeed a scam, as were the several other internet companies that I could have afforded to buy the camera from. CURSES! LOTS OF THEM. I know I sound so spoiled but I was just so excited for this. sigh. Maybe this Christmas.
-I spent the morning dragging myself out of bed (stayed up too late because of a fruitless Harry Potter experience), teaching a spin class that I in no way had the energy to teach, dropped my car off at the Honda dealership to get the dumb backityback seat belt fixed, sat around waiting for their courtesty shuttle to pick the girls and me up while I unsucessfully tried to keep the stinkers away from the water cooler, finally an hour later being drove home while making small talk (oh, the horrors) with my shuttle driver, Charlie. He's very into sky diving.
So now I get to sit at home today and try not to be mad about this camera thing. Discovering this page out of Ruby's coloring book has helped:

Suggestion

My brothers have given us some pretty cool gifts. DVDs and books, mostly. Otis Redding Live on DVD, Beatles movies, books about how to make, adjust, or enhance anything in your wardrobe, books that show you how to make virtually anything out of recycled objects, Found! magazine annual (compiled of things/letters/lists that people have found various places - truly compelling) and this book: Suggestion.

It's a thick little book compiled from an art project that some guys conducted in NYC. They went around to different parts of the city, approached people on the street and asked people to make suggestions - write them down and put them in this big box that they carried around. The book is fascinating - what people came up with on the spot, the possibilities of the back stories that went along with these suggestions, and to see the original, with the person's own unique handwriting makes it all the more interesting. " These suggestions might shock you, inspire you, crack you up, or break your heart. But as you turn the pages, consider it a way to connect with others, a glimpse into what everyday people are thinking, feeling, and seeing in our world. You might not be the only one who has that idea, and you might be surprised by the originality of others."

Here are some of my favorites:

-"I suggest all white guys with dreads cut their hair and donate it to stuffed animal factories."

-"That the world be covered in linoleum so we could tap dance all day!"

-"Take breath mints when offered."

-"I suggest anyone that pays the additional 30 cents to dial the phone # after calling information seriously re-evaluate their life."

-"It shouldn't be called "BLUE." It should be called "RONK."

-"Strong laws limiting who can wear cut off tops."

-"My friend, Jonathon, should kiss me."

-"Beware of new enterprises requiring new clothes."

-"Women shouldn't wear stockings with open toed shoes." (Just as a side-note, I whole-heartedly agree with that one.)

-"People should not have dogs that look like themselves."

-"Kill Barney."

-"Next time someone says "Good to see you", say "It's good to be seen."

-"No labels on fruit."

-"A girlfriend who isn't a brainless, subservient cow for my friend Gustavo."

What would your suggestion be?

You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you.

A friend called me recently to report she had bumped into a guy we had both lusted after way back when. She called to tell me that he was in no way the dreamboat he was back then, now he was dirty and grungy and not in the good dirty and grungy way. Oh yes, there is definitely good grunge and bad grunge.

Quick lessons on the intricate dynamics of grunginess in two words or less:

No brainer. Good Grungy:


Total destruction. Bad Grungy:


Puppy scruff. Good Grungy:


British teeth. Bad Grungy:


Mystique. Good Grungy:


Drug addiction. Bad Grungy:


Bed head. Good Grungy:


Belly button. Bad Grungy: