humpday happiness

A small list of things making me happy these days...

...S sits up on his own now! It's adorable because sometimes he's just so darn proud of himself.
...friends that have rolled up their sleeves and worked hard to help me and K
...friends who will just listen to me sometimes
...meeting a bunch of K's family that I had never met before!
...Five Guys cheeseburger. I would happily spend an entire week's worth of bonus Weight Watcher points on one meal there.
...doing things I've never done before, and doing them fairly well!
...Dr. Pepper. This is making me way too happy actually. I need to cut waaaaay back. Sigh. :)
...thinking about things to do when a very good CA friend comes to visit at some point or another!
...how happily S will watch Wonderpets even if the show does annoy me quite a bit
...Mary Kay sales! (www.marykay.com/melissacalo-oy --hint hint)
...having plans for a hair cut this weekend!
...TWO DAYS UNTIL OUR ONE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!
...returning things I don't need in order to get things I DO need and feeling like I somehow just got a bunch of stuff for free!
...it's actually cooling down a bit! Now if the humidity will kindly calm itself down...
...strong fingernails
...my husband, just in general

newsletter: month 6

Dear Samson,

Time is really flying by, because you are six months old! That means in six months we'll be having a party to celebrate your first birthday! I better start writing down plans now so it doesn't completely sneak up on me.

You, my friend, are completely adorable. I get stopped every single time I go out in public. At least one stranger will tell me how cute you are. You've gotten a little stingy with the smiles for strangers, but I think that's actually really reasonable. People tell me that you should be a little model. Honestly, I don't even know how to go about seeing if that's a possibility. I'm fine if the only pictures we have of you are the ones Daddy and I take. And you can be as stingy with your smiles as you want as long as I still get those little grins.

Six months ago I was terrified I was going to mess something up and you would get taken away or I would get in trouble. Who or under what authority this was going to happen was a moot point. I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything right. You were so new and fragile and I was so tired and sore that somehow I felt immense pressure to make sure everything was just right. Sometimes people would offer to do things and I felt like I couldn't accept it because I had to be able to do everything myself first. I tried to be polite when I declined but now I would like to go and explain that I've relaxed and if anyone ever wants to take the carrier, me and my back will gratefully take the break. But you know, I have to say I'm glad that I was determined to get everything down. I got to practice changing diapers on you when you were newborn and you'd scream your head off but basically stay still. Now, you're much happier but also much wigglier. I promise you, there's nothing to explore on the changing table. You don't have to roll over and reach every single time.

We've got a pretty good groove going. Daddy is working two jobs and you and I hang out at home or run errands. Daddy and I are working on getting the three of us into our own place and that should happen very soon. You're such a little trooper, hanging out with me while I clean or prep for painting or whatever at the new house. And car rides have gotten much better. You can entertain yourself by moving the canopy on your car seat but sometimes you'll cry when the sun gets in your eyes. I feel like this is the first of many many things I set up for you in a specific way on purpose and you stubbornly change only to "get the sun in your eyes" again. We'll see. It's just sometimes I see so much of myself in you I want to apologize profusely. I hope I can teach you how to handle yourself sooner than I figured out how to handle myself.

You sit up by yourself now, you can get up on all fours and then accidentally push yourself backwards when you're reaching for something in front of you, you eat baby food like gangbusters, you can reach for a bottle and kind of guide it to your mouth, you know how books "work" (you look to the right for the next page to appear), you LOVE your Grover doll, and you are the sweetest snuggler I know.

September is an important month for us. It's your half birthday and it's also me and Daddy's wedding anniversary month! We will have been married for one year this Saturday! We didn't get married only because we found out I was pregnant. We loved each other very much and tried to make our wedding as separate of an event from my pregnancy as we could. We decided we wanted all three of us to have the same last name when you were born and September was kind of a cool month to have our anniversary. August is my birth month. September is our wedding anniversary. October is Daddy's birth month. November is Thanksgiving. December is Christmas. January is New Year's. February is Valentine's Day and March is your birth month. When we decided to get married, we had a few goals for ourselves. One near the top was to make sure there was always enough love in our house that you would never feel like you forced us to get married. That wasn't the case at all. I don't know how many other people understand that and it doesn't even matter much. What matters is that you, Daddy, and I all know how it really happened. You have been the best surprise I could have ever thought of and I had no idea I had all of this love in my heart. Even more unexpectedly, I love Daddy more than I ever have and I love him in all kinds of new ways because of you being in our lives.

You burst onto the scene six months ago, Samson, and there's not a day that I am not ridiculously thankful for the pure joy you have brought into my life.

I love you.

Love, Mama

humpday happiness

A list of things making me happy lately!

...the ridiculous amount of rain making the skies gorgeous
...my son practicing facial expressions at very random times
...losing a little bit of weight every single week since I started Weight Watchers
...the new muscle definition in my arms, even if I'm basically the only one who can see it
...watching movies in bed with my husband
...thinking about this time last year
...my baby said "mama" the other day!
...talking to my sister on the phone and hearing a chorus of "Hi Auntie!" in the background
...the fact I basically celebrated my birthday for a month
...eating at The Cove
...planning the next trip to The Cove
...working on the house we're going to be renting

movie review monday: the book of eli

The Book of Eli

Rated: R

Violence, sexual situations suggested, general unhappiness, and no one has any soap

I have this friend who told me that Denzel Washington is a good actor, but he plays the same part in every movie. He's a guy on a mission who is misunderstood and ultimately triumphs. The only movie we could think of that this is not the case is Training Day. And I have to say, The Book of Eli basically follows the Denzel Washington format.

It's post-apocalyptic America and it's miserable and communicated clearly through a monochromatic set up. Eli is on a journey westward and doing his best to survive without knowing where he can get water from, when hijackers will attempt to rob or kill him, or exactly what he will find once he gets as far west as he can get.

Gary Oldman once again plays a villainous sort who is sending out bikers in search of a Bible even though they don't know how to read. He wants to have a Bible so he can have greater control over more people. Of course, Eli has one in his possession and they meet up and it gets tricky, ugly, and a little bloody.

Overall, I would say the movie was decent. I'm glad I watched it at home rather than having seen it in a theater. The concept was interesting and I'm curious to see if there will be a sequel.

I'm surprised I haven't heard more about this movie from Christian circles because it has a pretty powerful theme and conclusion that I would think could be considered tailor made for sermons. At one point Eli says he spent so much time protecting the Bible and just reading it that he forgot to live what it said.

Five stars being I must own this movie because I NEED to watch it multiple times and one star being this movie essentially wasted my time, I give The Book of Eli three stars.

I'd be interested to hear your opinion on this one. Feel free to include spoilers in the comments as they won't be spoilers to me!

the world ends without a tragedy

I miss writing.

I really do.

I miss reading too.

I, for the most part, really enjoy my life these days. There's a lot of challenges and there are a few things that make me want to bang my head on the wall because they are basically stupid situations that I am not in control of that will change for the better EVENTUALLY but nowhere near what I would make the time line be if I was in charge. But really, overall, things are good.

I am uncomfortable with the idea of people using this blog and what I post on Facebook to feel that they are caught up on my life. It's a fraction. And usually, it's not the actual big stuff.

Big stuff is messy and involves other people and is generally not appropriate for general consumption.

I had a good balance of writing regularly and sharing appropriately for awhile.

Let's see if I can get it back.