DEAR KYM

My friend Kym is pregnant {hooray}. She will be finding out the gender soon, but in the meantime I'm going to devote a segment of the blog to things I think Kym should buy for her and her baby.

Dear Kym,
This bent-wood baby bouncer from Pottery Barn kids is so modern and sleek. It's not like those Winnie the Pooh numbers that vibrate with batteries.

A-Z: H

H: (gpronounced aytch)

House: we have been in the bungalow for almost a year and a half. Still a significant number of framed artwork sits on the floor; unhung and unsung. It has all the space we need and then some. It stays the temperature we like it to be because we control the dial and the dials respect our wishes. The landscaping is nearly complete which will result in a fabulous neighborhood party with food and games. Hip Hip Hooray for aytch!

Hybrid Friend: A hybrid friend started out being and exclusive friend to one person in the relationship. For instance, let's say Nate had a friend named Jet that he hung out with in highschool and college. Jet was a thoroughbred friend until Jet married Jana and Nate married me. Now we all share a Hybrid Freindship with each other. It's changed in ways that wouldn't have occured without all the new players. It takes all the good from each person and tries to deemphasize the bad. It's just a hybrid friendship.

Happy: Happy for me requires a few small things. 1. a clean house. 2. sleep 3. healthy friends and family 4. work that challenges me 5. work with creative people 6. staying in shape 7. getting organized with lots of executable plans!! 8. Jeans that fit 9. doing something for others. 10. waking up on a saturday morning thinking it's really friday morning...and then realizing it's indeed saturday mornng. LOVE it.

Heros, Logan's: This might be the best sub shop in the Logan, Utah area.

Hag, Old: We woke up to find this blow up doll, styled to look like a snoopy old lady was peeking into the window by our front door. Nate and I both did the quick in-take of air when we saw it for the first morning. Project old hag will be in full effect tomorrow evening as we choose just how we deliver the old hag back to her original home. It will likely involve duct tape and the hag peaking in windows she's not yet been at liberty to

Haze: Ambien Haze is mighty marvelous. Here it comes now; sliding through my head like a hurricane...look our for hallucinations.

WHAT HAVE YOU LOST LATELY?

When I was attending University of Montana studying creative writing, I wrote a poem to St. Anthony, patron saint of lost things. The poem was inspired by a set of lost keys for which I had to pay $50. They belonged to the dorm where I was living and my $50 deposit was supposed to be returned when I returned the keys. It was a lot of money for a college student to lose.
So I've decided that in my spare time {ha ha} I want to start writing a collection of short stories. I love writing; it brings me a certain level of peace and solitude. Which I desperately need right now. And even though my career is going well, I've always felt like a quitter for not pursuing it as a profession and giving it my 100%. But, for now I'll just settle for some short stories with a theme.
I'd like to focus on the idea of things lost and I'm hoping for some input. When I lose something I cover every emotion on the pendulum swing of emotions. Extreme panic. Sadness and remorse. Fear. And if I'm lucky enough to find it again...gratitude and happiness.
To ask if you've lost something would be ridiculous; of course you have. I think everyone has experienced that. But I'd like to hear some of the stories. What did you lose? Where do you think you lost it? Why was it important to you? Did it belong to someone before it was yours? Is it a happy ending; did you end up finding it again and vowing to take better care of it? If you have a story to tell I'd love to hear about it. Maybe your experience can inspire one of my stories. If they turn out well, I'll publish them here when they are done.

A-Z: G

G {pronounced JEE}

Gigantism: See elephantitis. I'm obsessed with an anomaly.

Guevara, Che: There are bits of Che's life that I truly admire; primarily the parts where we was dissatisfied with inequality and committed his life to bringing attention to the gross realities. Nate likes to think I'm a revolutionary at heart. I found a beanie in Spain with Che's face on it. I wear it when I'm in a safe, controlled environment.

Gray: I got my first gray hair when I was 23. I lived in Chicago and Curtis and I discovered it one day at work. We quickly removed it and Curtis decided to frame it in order to remind me of how quickly life was passing me by. I think he was just trying to make himself feel better because we were the same age and he was 99% bald.

Gams: Sometimes I like to refer to legs as gams. Mostly when I'm talking about chubby baby gams.

MY KIND A TOWN

I'll be headed to Chi town on July 17 for the CHA trade show. We'll be launching a lot of new stuff so it's a busy time getting everything ready for shipment. In between press meetings I really need to carve out some time for my good friend Curtis who is the art director for CB2 catalog. I knew he was talented from the moment he framed my first gray hair and presented it as artwork for my cubicle. Curti...wherever you are...can we meet out on the corner of Halsted and Armitage for a hug? I promise to sing my best rendition of our favorite Whitney Houston song.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYM

It's Kym's special day today. And since she sent out the informative email to anyone that matters, I feel okay adding it to my blog. She's pregnant. Yay! She's had a big year; marriage and a baby on the way {in that order...}.
Love you Kym. You are one of the loveliest women I know. My very own fetus en fetu.

A-Z: F

F {pronounced EFF}

Fiction: I read a lot of fiction but I always thought I'd write a lot of fiction. I still sometimes feel a good short story or novel percolate inside my brain {which I think is too big for my skull} and as soon as I feel that I punch and kick it back down into non-existence. Do you know how fulfilling and satisfying it would be to write a book? To make money writing. Money of any shape or size? And do you know how afraid I am of being satisfied? Oh yes, I'm afraid of satisfaction. Because then what? What do you do once you've done the one thing you always wanted to do? Move to Florida and fall asleep on a beach chair?

Forizzle: This is a word that gets used a lot at our house. Usually when Nate or I do something worthy of praise; like that one time Nate saved the world and I saved all the orphans in Africa. When we do such things we usually pat each other on the back and follow it up with the only thing fitting in the English language. "You're forizzle."

FJ Cruiser: I'd still like one. But I can only have it once our family exceeds a normal sedan. I cannot justify a bigger-than-life car with all the talk of saving our planet coupled with the price of gas. Plus, the SUV is so trite in Utah these days. Sometimes when I see a single person driving in a big car like that, I want wave them over to the side of the road and punch then in the face for my children and my children's children who will only know of the panda bear as a myth.

Family: I looked at Nate the other day and realized that he is my family. We don't share any of the sames genes {phew} and our childhoods were completely different. But there he was, sitting next to me in the car driving to a movie. And he was my family.

I WANT A PET, OR A BABY

I was innocently {okay, lazily} sitting on the couch with my feet thrown over the coffee table on Friday night. Usual position. Nate sat in the club chair to my left. A commercial comes on with Sara McLachlin singing "Arms of an Angel" only it's for some foundation that helps prevent animal cruelty and is trying to incent people to adopt pets. And suddenly, I'm crying and begging Nate to get a pet. He said what someone allergic to animals always says, "no". So then I told him if I couldn't have a pet, I wanted a baby. The conversation ended with us both laughing and then me trying to convince him to get a pet, again.
I want to adopt this dog. So cute.

SO SO BUSY

I have been so busy. I know it's a reoccurring theme lately but that's just my point. I'm too busy to breath let alone blog. This weekend Nate and I did a lot of yard work {as usual}, worked out a bunch {Nate ran on the treadmill and I hit the road bike}, and we've been melting for the last 24 hours since our air conditioner broke.
When the guy finally showed up this afternoon to fix it we were laying on the couch unable to do much more than change the channel on the TV. It's finally fixed and we are on our way to chilling out again. Cooking dinner nearly put me over the edge. We thought about freezing t-shirts and wearing them around the house but it sounded a little messy. So we just melted.
I kinda wish I had a lot of these!

DO YOU WEB CAM?

I don't web cam. Part of the reason I like talking on the phone is that I can keep a part of me and the conversation a secret. But if I were to web cam I'd use this retro style from Urban Outfitters.

A-Z: E

E {pronounced Eey}

Elephantitis: I've always been obsessed with the anomaly. {see also fetus in fetu}

Entertainment, For Your: I saw the Charlatans UK perform in a small club in SLC. It was a great show. Last year I went on a long ride {on my Croix de Fer} for my birthday and when I heard the Charlatans play, "For Your Entertainment" I was racing down 118th South splashing mud on my legs having the time of my life.

Eggs: I love scrambled eggs with ketchup. Although I haven't jumped on the "organic" bandwagon, I do like to reduce, reuse, recycle. And the idea of brown eggs.

Ernest Hemingway: I know it sounds cliche, but I really do like his writing style. He changed my life when it came to literature.