Monkey see, Monkey do

For months I have been talking about getting an iphone. Oh, it was just talk when the phone cost $400 . . . absolutely out of the question! However, when I heard the price was going to be cut in half, I started to seriously consider it. All three of my sons have been less than enthuastic about this . . . I think they were thinking that it is too much phone for me. Trent & Adam called it to my attention the other day that I had begun to say "when" I get an iphone instead of "if" I get an iphone. Wednesday night was the clincher though when my friend pulled her new iphone out of her purse. I was so envious that I'm sure I turned a zillion shades of green!

Yesterday it became a fait accompli as I purchased the phone & signed a two year contract. Yippee!! My initial task was to text my sons that I had a new phone. After a couple of unsuccessful tries I was able to do this. Trent's response, "Good Lord! I'll be over in a hour." Well, he was right . . . I did need his help . . . which was probably confirmed by my text message which was supposed to say "I need help," but instead said "I need hello." Trent came by my office & showed me a few things to do when I got home & could sync to my computer. It all seemed relatively easy. When I got home I plugged my phone into the computer & got no response . . . this could be a problem! After several tries I needed to leave it & go exercise. Upon my return I tried again with no luck so, of course, I called Trent. He patiently took me through all kinds of things from figuring out an USB port that would work to syncing all my music & photos so I'm practically ready to go. My only remaining problem was embarrassingly stupid though--I did not know how to make a call or answer the phone! Trent explains this as well, & I think I am good to go. After playing with my phone for a few minutes I decided to call it a night. But first I needed to make one more call to Trent . . . I had no idea how to turn the phone off!

Tyler Nicholas

Welcome to the world, Tyler Nicholas!

You are beautiful, of course, & we are so blessed to have you as a wonderful addition to our family. You have some terrific parents as well as a big brother who will be both your best friend & your partner in crime! You will be amazed at how many people there are to love you . . . grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and much more extended family. You are indeed a little miracle to be cherished & nurtured. I look forward to cuddles & kisses along with all the very special things we can do together as you grow.
Your arrival has made this world a much better place for all of us! I hope you always know how very special you are & the joy your birth has brought to our family.

I love you,
Nina

A very brief pause in my Olympic watching. . .

While we're waiting for BZ#2, the Olympics is a good diversion. I am totally invested in the swimming, especially Michael Phelps! The whole Olympic thing is actually wearing me out though as I stay up until at least 1:00; then get up at 6:00 . . . I hate to miss any of it! I'm not a fan of tattoos, but I think the Olympic rings do look pretty cool on the competitors.

Who knew people would be almost giddy at gasoline at $2.72 tonight! There were actually lines at the Exxon in my neighborhood which seemed to be at least 3 cents cheaper than any other place in town.

Unfortunately, before I could even cut the tags off my two new chairs, Tigger & Trevor have staked their claim. They have both decided that this is the best napping place in the house now.

In case anyone was worried, after an exhaustive two day search I have located my new bra.

Happy birthday to my brother, Jack (13th) & niece, Megan (15th)!

Braless

This summer I have changed my exercise routine & have become very enamored with zumba. I have noticed recently that although my weight pretty much stays the same, I have gone down a size in clothes.

I went to Victoria's Secret a couple weeks ago to talk to someone about my bras riding up in the back (which causes the "girls" to droop in the front). I approached a sales clerk & explained my problem assuming it was the style of the bra. She asked my what size I was wearing & thought perhaps she should measure me. When she did I was amazed to find that I needed a size smaller around & as well as a smaller cup size. Who knew how far reaching the zumba effect had become!

Well, the clerk was right on the money as I did try on some bras & found that the smaller size was a much better fit. My only problem--the bras are at $38 apiece so I only bought one. When I got home, I rummaged through my drawer to discover one other bra that was the smaller size. Ok, now I have two bras--I just to rotate wearing & washing--no biggie. So I packed up my old, but still in great condition, bras & took them to a women's shelter. Today, however, when I went to get my new freshly washed bra, it was not in the drawer. I checked the bathrooms to see if it was still hanging where I placed it to dry. I checked the washing machine, other drawers, my closet, my gym bag & every other place I could think of. The bra is nowhere to be found. Now this creates a real dilemma of having to wash my one existing bra nightly since my only other bras are sports bras. It has to be somewhere here in the house (the chief suspects are two pesky cats), but for now I'm practically braless.

Back to the Land of the Living

I have never been prone to headaches, but I had one Friday night & most of the day Saturday that pretty much brought me to my knees. Stress . . . allergies . . . sinus . . . who knows? I have only had one migraine in my life, & this wasn't quite that bad, but it was a very close second. I am grateful that it finally became just a dull ache last night so that I could watch some of the Olympics both live & what I had recorded earlier. It was a real waste of a beautiful Saturday, however!

Recently I have taken some time off from the WVU message boards (ever since RR finally agreed to pay the $4 million). Instead of my sports talk radio I am listening to music CDs. And I have now turned on my tv since I LOVE the Olympics, but for the summer I have pretty much only watched the Today show while getting ready for work & nothing in the evenings. Not so fast though, I am recording "Project Runway" & will probably watch it at some point. I guess it's just nice to do some other things for awhile & take a radio/tv break.

Olympics observations . . .
1) Michael Phelps is just amazing! There are really not enough superlatives to describe him. My hat's off to Debbie Phelps, his mom. I know on a much smaller scale just what it's like to spend your week days transporting to & from practice & your weekends in either the blazing sun or a hot, humid indoor venue watching swim meets. It is not only time consuming, but also very expensive. I can only imagine how much of her life she has devoted to giving her son every opportunity to succeed. She has every reason to be proud!
2) I like the "redeem team" much more than the basketball teams from the past few years. They seem dedicated to team play &, unlike some of their predecessors, seem to also be soaking up the Olympic experience.
3) USA men's gymnastics may ultimately become a train wreck without the twins, but it was nice to see these newcomers have some early success.
4) Dara Torres--What a phenomenal woman . . . Really beyond awesome & quite an inspiration to women everywhere!!!
5) Volleyball/Beach Volleyball--great fun to watch.
6) Men's Road Race (Biking)--Grueling, I know, but also really boring for the viewers until the final few yards. I'm sure the women's race will be equally ho-hum for me.
7) Although I know the opening/closing ceremonies of the games are spectacular in person, it also gets pretty boring when televised. It is difficult to appreciate this show without actually being there.

HB OMZ!

Owen,

8-8-08 . . . what a cool day to become 5 years old! Happy Birthday, Owen. Somehow it seems like just yesterday when you were born (when I heard your first cry, I cried too!) At the same time, it seems like you have been in our lives & hearts forever. You were the CBE (cutest baby ever), a title you relinquished to Drew when you moved up to CTE (cutest toddler ever). At any rate I remember taking 20-30 pictures of you every time I saw you, & then paying extra for the 1 hour processing so that I could show them off to my friends . . . all before I got my digital camera, of course. You have kept me entertained with playing trains, making stuffed animals come to life, reading books, and lots of other activities as your imagination is boundless! I am constantly awed & amazed at just how much you know about the things that interest you . . . I'm sure it's exasperating for you to have to explain the nuances of different kinds of trains to me over & over!

You are energy & enthusiasm . . . light & love. What a joy & a blessing to have you in our lives! Have a great birthday party . . . wish I could be there to watch you break the pinata!!!

I love you,
Nina

Ah . . . the good old days

For lack of anything better to do last night, I got into some housecleaning & found something interesting from my teenage years. When my group of friends hit high school as sophomores we could scarcely contain our enthusiasm for the older boys . . . yes, the ones who could drive & were beyond cool. As luck would have it, within a few weeks we were all dating seniors & totally smitten. How better to memorialize this than by writing a song? So, one day when we were pretending to take gym class (the class was doing archery outside . . . we were clustered in the bushes), we came up with the following:
"Dave, Ron, Lindy, & Steve
they are so tough (which at that time meant "hot")
If you want to go with them
just consult us
One of these days they're going to break our hearts
but we don't care
'Cause we really love them & follow them everywhere . . ."
It goes on with a verse to describe each guy which becomes increasingly lame. Now, I can remember vividly doing this & how excited we were at fifteen to finally get to go out on real dates with guys in cars. I can remember which friends did this with me & how we sang it over & over for weeks. But I can't for the life of me remember which of the four guys was the one I liked at the time!