School House Rock

I hate it when people mess up their and there, your and you're, its and it's. We learned these in like 4th grade people, it's not that hard! Guess who has realized they are totally guilty of doing this lately? Me! So next time I make these mistakes, please call me out on it so I can a) fix this problem b) not hate others who do so as much, and realize that they, like I, are just human.



(Not totally the same concept, but it's grammatical, and entertaining)

The More I Know, The Less I Understand

I majored in Political Science in college, and whenever I tell people this they are interested to hear what my positions are on today's issues. They (and I) are always surprised at how little of an opinion I have on most of these topics. It's not so much that I don't have ideas or thoughts, but I think I see so much of what's going on as being entirely gray, while both sides are trying to make it seem like it's black or white.



I like to read Greg Mankiw's blog, he's an economics professor at Harvard, and he recently wrote an article about health care in the NYT that I thought was interesting and spells out some of the same thoughts that I have. I think both sides are more on each other's side than they realize or are willing to admit.

Radiohead said it best...

I went to Utah this weekend for one niece's birthday party and the others' blessing. While there, I learned something about myself... I'm a creep. I spent practically all weekend trying to get my 1 nephew and 3 nieces to cuddle with me.

Case Study #1: Andrew was showing me a video on his dad's phone and I kept scooping him up on my lap only to have him say "no Jess!" and crawl right back off again and again. Here we've captured that moment on film.

Case Study #2: I convinced Madeline and her other cousins/friends to play hide and go seek. Every time I was hiding I would convince Maddie to hide with me. At one point I started tickling her and in her tiny little 2 year old voice in the dark I heard her say "quiet Jess!"

Case Study #3: I barely participated in any of the Little Gym activities because I was stalking a sleeping baby Olivia waiting for her to wake up. Here we are once I managed to convince everyone she was awake and ready for me to hold her.

Case Study #4: That's it. Baby Caitlin is a gem and willingly let's me cuddle her all I want (despite my creep face in this picture).

Two Rants and A Rave

Time for a really deep blog post... Psych.
1) I am angry about Costco's lack of Honey Crisp apples for the last... I don't know how many months! How dare you dangle something so great in front of me just take take it away. I was perfectly happy with my pink ladies and royal galas until those babies came along, now everything else tastes terrible.

2) Oral-B Satin Floss is the worst. It breaks into string little piece and is just terrible. Anyone have good floss and floss pick recommendations? The last 4 I've tried have failed. I'm someone who flosses 3-4 times a day, at minimum, so this is a big deal.

3) Chobani Greek yogurt. I've been purchasing and eating this stuff for a long time but still love it a lot. Thank you Costco for at least doing this right. Although I think your pack should include Vanilla and Mango for me to try too... maybe replace peach? It's my least favorite. Strawberry is my most favorite. Peach is still a favorite too.

Pepper Pots

Happy Birthday to my favorite niece named Madeline :)! Aka Maddie, Mads, Maddles, Pepper, Pepperoni, Pepperdine, Dr. Pepper, Pepper Pots, Peppermint Pattie, seriously? You're two and you already have more nicknames than I've accumulated over 23 years. That must mean you're pretty great, I think so at least!

This little girl was born while I was backpacking Europe two summers ago. I remember checking my email at random internet cafes like 5 times a day while we were in Greece and finally she was born one morning when we were staying in Athens (ghetto) and although I did not get to be with her that first day... I sang songs about her all day throughout the Acropolis in tribute. Can't wait to celebrate with you Little Gym style Maddie! When you're a little older, tell your mom to send you out here for a fun girls weekend with your "cool" Aunt Jess :)

Awesome People Hanging Out

Ummm... so...yeah. I just stumbled upon this site... I wish I could give my thoughts on every single one of these pictures (call me, I'll give them to you) but I'll leave you with just a few for now...
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like and the Most Interesting Man in the World

- The Beatles and Mohammed Ali seem like they were pretty tight back in the day, wish Ali had been there to punch Mark David Chapman out
- Mother Teresa was a freaking midget, am I going to shrink in my old age too? Or do they just breed hobbits in India?
- Nancy Reagan and Mr. T? I wonder if Ronald knew about this love affair... "I pity the fool who doesn't 'Just Say No'"
- I could tell from his art that I wanted to be Salvador Dali's friend, but now that feeling is stronger than ever. "The Persistence of Memory"? More like the persistence of drug abuse.
- I bet Ludcaris and Bill Gates had a lot to talk about. Pimpin' hoes, Windows CE, you know, guy stuff...

Mostly just because I'm obsessed with the Beatles and Paul Rudd is hilarious.