Laugh So Hard You Cry

About two times a year, I have trouble sleeping badly enough that I actually get out of bed and go do something. I tossed and turned last night, sleeping intermittently. After laying awake for quite some time in the realm of 4:00 AM, I crawled out of bed and went to the computer.

About 20 minutes later, Nick emerged from the bedroom worried by the noises he heard. "Are you okay?" he asked with such concern. That concern quickly turned to annoyance when he realized the noise was not sobbing as he had thought, but an attempt to quietly execute gut busting laughter. I was laughing until I had no air left left, but was compelled to continue without another breath. It was the kind of laughter that leads you to worry about wetting you pants. Of course, at 4:00 AM, it takes less humor to get you to that frenzied laughter than at any other time of day, so of course no one else who reads what I was reading will find themselves in the same state of hysteria.

When I got on the computer in the middle of the night, I was tweaking my Google reader settings. Google reader can recommend things it (in its infinite wisdom) thinks you will like. I followed its suggestion to read Normal Mormon Husbands and that's when the laughter started. In particular, his post summarizing the accuracy of his "Breaking Dawn" satire had me in fits. I am sure that I'm late on the band-wagon of the this blog, but better late than never.
Actually, Sarah Page had sent me one of his posts a while ago, but it never occurred to me to read the rest of the blog. I've totally been missing out.

You won't find it as funny as I did, but hopefully you'll find it entertaining. Nick barely chuckled and that was at 4:00 PM.

Overdue Update

At first, I hadn't blogged because nothing was going on. Then, I was too busy with stuff going on to get around to blogging. Then, it had just been too long away from the blog and it was hard to go back to blogging. So, a brief whirlwind update of the goings on in the last couple of weeks. I went to Utah to go to my mom's party. It was a lot of fun, and I saw quite a few relatives and friends that I hadn't seen in a while which was very nice. Sarah Davies came, which legitimately made the party cool. That girl listens to Metallica.

I went to see "Anything Goes" with my Aunt Jo Ellen at the Murray Park Amphitheater. I was in a production of that show about 10 years ago, and it's my favorite of all the shows I've been in. For that reason, I don't think any community theater production will ever measure up (in my mind) to our production. Also, one of the leads couldn't sing well, and another minor character couldn't sing at all, so that brought the production quality down just a little. We had a nice time at the show.

However, just before intermission, Kate started wildly text-messaging me. The gist of which was we had to leave for California at
5:30 AM the next morning. So Liz, Kate, Harry, Lucy, and I all got up well before sunrise and boarded a plane to LAX. We had a lovely time at Disneyland, Club 33, and the next morning, Forest Lawn Cemetery. Forest Lawn houses some of the finest art work in the world and perfect replicas of other masterworks. One of the most spectacular pieces is Da Vinci's "Last Supper" recreated in stained glass. I suspect it's more beautiful than the original. What they need though is a Winged Victory of Samothrace. After Forest Lawn, we went to the airport with the other four flying back to Utah while I flew to Missouri. Kate took all the pictures of this trip, so we'll have to pester her to post them.

This is the hooter hider knock-off I made for Liz Rose, as modeled by our office chair.

Miss A, as Jeanette took me to the airport at 7:00 AM. She likes to get her Elton John on early.

Jewel frosting a delicious buttercream layer on an already delicious lemon cake. Kate made her point at the cake.

I went to a baby shower and they had these adorable, but apparently less than peak deliciousness, cupcakes on a stick. I didn't eat one, so I can't vouch for the taste, but they were about the cutest things I've every seen.

Togo Takes Bronze!

During the Olympic opening ceremonies, the commentators reflected on how the majority of participating countries have NEVER won an Olympic medal and had little or no hope of winning one this year. One of those win-less countries is Togo.
What?? You aren't familiar with Togo? The small western African nation, sandwiched between Ghana and Benin is home to six million people, but no Olympic champions . . . until today. Benjamin Boukpeti earned the Bronze medal in K1 Whitewater Kayaking. Even though he grew up and trains in France, I'm sure Togo is very proud to call him their own.

It's a 2 Door

So how ridiculous would it be for three adults and two car-seats to get into the 1992 Honda Accord DX? Answer: Pretty ridiculous, but good thing Heidi's petite. Getting the pumpkin seat in the back was in itself quite an accomplishment. She rode to and from the St. Louis Mills wedged between her newborn and Miss A in her car seat. It was near 100 degrees (though the heat index was 113), and although we wanted to leave the house, we could only leave it to a place with air conditioning. You people in Utah think you're hot, but it IT'S DRY HEAT! It is totally different.

We had a fun time at the Mills. I had my first Orange Julius in years- loved it. The catfish at Cabela's seem to watch me, which totally creeps me out. But oh how I love me some good stuffed animals.

Here Miss A is modeling the knock-off Hooter Hider I made for Heidi (Janette provided the materials.) No joke, that's the trademarked name of this kind of lactation blanket. Anyway, today Heidi left to fly to her new life as a Manhattan Mommy. Nothing gets cooler than that.

New Moms who want a knock-off lactation blanket, leave me a note. Liz Rose, I've already picked out your fabric.

What a Guy

Nick is a handy guy. What you may not know is that he's also tough. Last week he began to work on our brakes. At first it was a light rain. Then, it was raining like the peak of monsoon season. He just kept plugging away. When he was done, it was as if he had jumped into a pool in his coveralls.

We were at Brigham and Janette's place partially for their tools and expertise, but largely so Nick could work in a back yard instead of on the street. Nick's clothes were so wet we had to borrow a robe so we could spin his clothes is the washer and then put them in the dryer. Nick emerged from the basement in his robe, but as always had his cellphone clipped at the waist.

Brake Update: All the brakes now have shiny new pads and are not making any funny noises. Oh, and the car stops likes it's supposed to.