Happy Halloween!

Halloween Costumes!

Since we've already gone out for Halloween activities four times this year already, here are some pictures to get you all excited for the big day:

And you all can just go ahead and make up your own caption on this one:

Oh, and here is just another picture from when we were touring the Celestial Seasonings tea factory:

Life

The secret to life is enjoying the passage of time.

Wedding Bathrooms

Whenever I go to a wedding and they have those disposable cameras on the tables that the guests are encouraged to take pictures with, I take the camera, go to the restroom and take a picture of me squatting next to the toilet. I think this is funny, but I have yet to hear from one of the couples how hilarious they thought it was when they had their pictures developed and saw a picture of me next to a toilet. ("Oh, Allison, that was so funny. I can't believe what a great sense of humor you have. You are amazing.") And I've been doing this for eleven years or so through many, many weddings.

Note: I'm not sure why I thought about this right now. Maybe it's because I just got back from the toilet.

Fabric Stores, Babies, and Doghouses

During this time of transition that we're in, I have been talking about things that I will do when we regain our stability. Things that don't even make any sense for me.

Point 1: I was in a fabric store because I made my kids' Halloween costumes this year ("Just like a real mother," I told Ocean), and I saw all the cute fabrics and said, "I should start sewing."

Point 2: I was sitting on the couch with Vern one night and I said, "Wouldn't it be fun to have another kid." He looks at me like I'm crazy, and I said, "Not NOW! I'm just saying someday, maybe five years from now or something."

Point 3: And then there was the one day that I said, "We should get a dog."

See... doesn't make any sense, does it?

Recycling

Well, it doesn't appear that anyone is mad at me for moving back to Minnesota after having a Going Away Party, so that's a good thing.

Ocean and Ezra have been picking up cans around where we live (because we live in the type of place where people don't place stuff in the garbage), and we took them to the recycling center.

They earned $2.08.

And here are some pictures of Peace, because she's such a cute little thing, and she let me put that bandanna on her head for 10 seconds before taking it off:

The Big Announcement

Here it is. The big announcement.

First, let's start out with a picture:

This was the picture we used to tell everyone that we were pregnant with Ezra. But that doesn't really have anything to do with the announcement today because here's the deal...

We're moving back to Minnesota.

I feel like I need to explain. Last you heard, Vern was deciding between whether to work as a chiropractic associate or start his own business (after finding out that he wasn't accepted for training in the health center program in Florida). He decided to start his own business.

And he was planning on opening that business in Vermont... up until a couple weeks ago.

During the past couple of weeks, here is what happened:

1. We were planning on going back to Minnesota for the month of December before we moved on to Vermont, and I found myself looking forward to that time back in Minnesota more than to our move to Vermont.
2. I talked with someone who had lived in Vermont for four years, and she told me some things about it that I had not realized... the lack of sunny days and the fact that the library system there sucked donkeys (my words, not hers).
3. My friend Jen (from Minneapolis) said that she would miss seeing Astrid and Peace grow up together. And I realized that I would miss that (and other stuff like that) too.

I was telling all of this to Vernon and he said, "So, what is it that you're hoping to get from Vermont that you can't find in Minnesota?" And I said, "I don't know. A quaint, little crunchy town, I guess."

So, now we have decided to move back to Minnesota where Vern will open up his practice. And we are on the look out for that "quaint, little crunchy town" that I so desire (within reach of my community in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area). Something with walkable neighborhoods, a main street, a good library, a little downtown... and maybe throw a gazebo in there somewhere as well.

Here is what we have come up with:

Hopkins
Hastings
Northfield
Rosemount

We have also thrown Moorhead into the mix (which is 3-1/2 hours away from my community in Minneapolis/St. Paul), but my mom lives there, which is what makes it appealing. Plus, it has a lower cost of living, and it would have lower start-up costs for the business.

(Note: I guess the psychic was right... the rubber band has snapped us back.)  

So, when we move back to Minnesota on November 18 (a day before Vern's graduation ceremony which he will now be able to attend), we will spend some time checking out those towns and figuring out where to go next. (We'll be living with Vern's brother in Lexington during the process.)

I feel kind of funny moving back because there was a going away party involved with my moving that had hugs, nice things written about me, and even some money (I know, a pretty sweet deal, right?)... and now I am moving back after ONLY THREE FREAKING MONTHS! Who the hell has a going away party when they are only gone for three months?!? Me, that's who.

But, then again, I did sell practically everything we owned because I thought we'd be gone forever, so, ha ha... the joke's on me.

Big Announcement Tomorrow!

Just a reminder that the big announcement is coming tomorrow.

Now, a couple of things...

While I was browsing through Barnes and Noble today, I noticed some books that I wanted to read so I wrote them on my leg (through the hole in my pants that I haven't thrown away yet) to remind me. Here is how it reads: I See Your Dream Job Eating the Dinosaur Edgar Cayce.

Next thing,

I put Ezra's birthday invitation together today (even though his birthday was three weeks ago and nobody was invited). But I did it because I make really nice looking invitations every year, and I wanted to keep up that tradition. Here is what they have looked like:

If you would like me to do one of these announcements for you, send me the pictures, PayPal me $100, and tell me what you would like it to look like.

Okay. That's it. Remember... big announcement tomorrow.

Hooking Up / No Strings Attached

0.09 out of 5 stars

When Vern and I went to The Social Network, on our way out we got free tickets to a not-yet-released new Natalie Portman / Ashton Kutcher movie which will either be called Hooking Up or No Strings Attached.

Now, Vern wasn't interested in seeing this move AT ALL, but I wanted to. "Why would you want to waste your time seeing a movie like that?" he asked.

I said: "Because it's FREE! And it's in a movie theater! And those are two of my favorite things in the whole wide world."

So, I went to the movie, and it was indeed the most unenjoyable, horrible movie that I have ever seen (but, hey, at least it was FREE! and in a MOVIE THEATER! so the evening wasn't a total wash).

But seriously, the movie itself was a boatload of crapdom.

Predicable - check.
Inane - check.
Trying-too-hard - check.
Mindless drivel - check.

I expect this kind of movie from Ashton Kutcher... but Natalie Portman? What was she thinking???

You can pretty much tell from the title(s) of the movie what the premise is, so there is really no need for me to explain. And if you've ever seen a romantic-comedy before, you can pretty much imagine how it ends up. So there you go, that's the movie.

Oh, but what was really exciting was when the movie guy came out before the screening and said that we were one of the first audiences to see the movie and that it would have sound quality issues here and there because it wasn't totally finished yet. I know! SOUND QUALITY ISSUES BECAUSE IT WASN'T TOTALLY FINISHED! Isn't that exciting? I felt very privileged to be a part of this (even though it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen in the entire history of my existence... and this is saying a lot because I've seen The Room and Earth Girls Are Easy).

Sail My Vessel

I heard the song The River by Garth Brooks (tangent: hey, does anybody else remember when Garth Brooks tried to reinvent himself as Chris Gaines? Anybody? Anybody?) while flipping through the radio stations the other day, and I found myself singing along. I'm not sure how this happened, but I KNEW EVERY SINGLE WORD!

See, this is crazy because, in high school, I was the person who made fun of the people who liked country music. I was THAT person! So how the heck did I learn every word to that song... I will sail my vessel, 'Til the river runs dry, Like a bird upon the wind, These waters are my sky, I'll never reach my destination, If I never try, So I will sail my vessel. 'Til the river runs dry.

Why do I KNOW that? The song came out in 1991, so that would have put me at 14 years old, which just happened to be the age when I was at the height of my "Country music is for douche bags" mantra. Was it just that the song was sooooooo popular, I couldn't escape it? That's the only thing that I can come up with to make sense of this.

P.S. I always thought my dad kind of looked like Garth Brooks (because they both have really round heads).

Big Announcement Coming!

There will be a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT coming on Monday. Big news, I say. Big news.

(I could actually announce it today, but I'm doing it on Monday in an attempt to garner suspense and excitement for this BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.)

TV and Pants

So, I'm going to drop Parenthood, The Middle, Cougar Town, and maybe Supernatural. Getting all my shows watched just started to feel like too much work.

Also, I am going to have to throw around my pants with the holes in them pretty soon. They are starting to get holes in the butt.

The Moore Foundation on Reading

I've come across this website/homeschooling philosophy called The Moore Foundation that I find kind of interesting. Here are some excerpts from the site, about reading (to appease my constantly questioning mother):


"First, don't subject your children to formal, scheduled study before age 8 to 10 or 12, whether they can read or not. In addition to our basic research at Stanford and the University of Colorado Medical School, we analyzed over 8000 studies of children's senses, brain, cognition, socialization, etc., and are certain that no replicable evidence exists for rushing children into formal study at home or school before 8 or 10.
 

Read and sing and play with your children from birth. Read to them several times a day, and they will learn to read in their own time... as early as 3 or 4, but usually later, some as late as 14. Late readers often become the best readers of all, with undamaged vision and acute hearing, more adult-like reasoning (cognition) levels, mature brain structure and less blocking of creative interests. Yet late readers are often falsely thought to be in need of remedial help. If you have any doubts about your youngster, have specialists check vision and hearing; possibly see a neurologist. If there are no problems, relax."

Yeah, RELAX, mom!

"The 'antennae' sprouting from the brains of most students are blocked by mass-education's cookie-cutter substitutes for life that destroy creativity. Kids come out uniform-sized cookies. Let creative interests expand to other learning. As they mature, they teach themselves, learn at their own initiative, as few now do!"

Peace is Out of Diapers!

Oh, something wonderful has happened over the past month... Peace is out of diapers! (Except for at night, although many nights she stays dry anyway.)

Let me tell you how this happened at 14 months of age for Peace. Two words: Elimination Communication.

For those of you who don't know what Elimination Communication (EC) is, go ahead and google it for a longer explanation. But the gist of it is that you hold your baby (or toddler) over a receptacle (toilet, little potty, sink?) and make a cue sound (ours is "sssissss") when you think they have to go. (We've been doing this halfheartedly since Peace was born.) Then, badda-bing, badda-boom, they learn how to use the toilet at 14 months!

Hallelujah, praise the Lord!

Because washing diapers in this place is a PAIN IN THE BUTT. It involves carrying them outside, down three (small) flights of stairs, and to a tiny little room in the basement on the other side of the building. Not that I have done any of that anyway. My husband has done all of the laundry since we've been here because I don't want to deal with carrying things outside, down three (small) flights of stairs, and to a tiny little room in the basement on the other side of the building. (God bless him.)

The Social Network

4.01 out of 5 stars

The movie caters to two definite fan sets: 1) mainstream people who like and who are curious about the makings of facebook, and 2) people who like to see good quality movies. On the latter point, look at the names behind this operation: David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en) directs the thing, Aaron Sorkin (West Wing) writes it, and my personal favorite, Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale, Zombieland) stars. Oscar material all the way, baby.

The story is based on the book The Accidental Billionaires (of which I am currently reading), and is about Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and his rise to earthly domination by launching an idea that revolutionized the world. The film cuts between flashbacks and two court cases that Mark was involved in, 1) whether or not he stole the idea from the Winklevoss twins and another dude (which he kind of did), and 2) the rights of ownership to his former friend and start-up partner Eduardo Saverin (which he kind of underhandedly took away from him).

And then Justin Timberlake shows up as Sean Parker (remember Sean Parker? The dude behind Napster?), and it turns out that Justin Timberlake is a mighty fine actor. Those comedic stylings he was pulling off on SNL were not just a flash in the pan. Justin Timberlake can really act. (And the real life Sean Parker is one crazy dude, by the way.)

One thing that got me super excited when watching this movie was seeing the guy who used to be my Jesse Eisenberg in the early 90's... Joseph Mazzello! Most of you may not remember the name... but you know the kid from Jurassic Park, Simon Birch (no, not that kid, the other kid from Simon Birch), The Cure, and Radio Flyer? That was him! I LOVE him! He was in this movie too!

Oh, and most of the previews were pretty lame (The Dilemma? Seriously, Vince Vaughn?), but the movie Hereafter looked really good. It stars Matt Damon as a guy who used to be a famous psychic but now he's not working as a psychic anymore, and it's directed by Clint Eastwood. You all know how I like this paranormal stuff... plus, Clint Eastwood has a great track record for directing really good movies. I want to see it.

(That's it. How did I do? I actually told about the movie this time, didn't I?)

Lower Standards

You will probably find this post either incredibly disgusting or terribly innovative, but here goes:

I have low standards for certain things, like doing laundry and showering, which allows me more time to do the stuff that I value more, like making homemade meals, reading, and watching How I Met Your Mother.

Here are my recommendations, if you're ready to lower your standards:

1) Shower only once or twice a week. Have your kids do the same.

2) Let your kids sleep in their clothes and have them wear the same clothes over and over again until they get so dirty that you can't stand it anymore.

3) Only wash your clothes when you absolutely need to (this should account to no more than one load every 10 days for a family of five).

4) Wash your dishes with only water immediately after you use it. This will save you time from filling up the sink with soap and doing a lot of dishes. Just take the dish, turn the water on, and use a green scrubby on it, and let it air dry. Don't wash your glasses unless they really need it.

It's kind of like camping, really. Why have different standards in regular life than when you're camping? (I'll answer myself here: Because that is what normal people do, Allison.)

Hiking the Flatirons

The other week, when my mom was here, we hiked up the Flatirons in Boulder. I made it all the way up to the top (it took a little over an hour), and my mom made it almost all the way. "I am almost 60 years old," she kept saying. "Suck it up and get moving, old lady," I would think say. (Just kidding. She did great, obviously.)

The Diva Cup

Okay. After my post about the Mama Pads last month, a lot of you mentioned trying the Diva Cup. I just wanted to let you know that I looked it up, and there is no way in hell I am going to stick that thing up my vagina.

Didn't you all read my post about how I don't like to stick things up my vagina?

Plus, the Mama Pads are AWESOME and I think I might be developing a fetish toward them like some people have with cloth diapers.

Ezra's Birthday

Ezra turned five at the end of September (when our computer was in the shop).

I didn't feel like we knew anybody here in Colorado well enough to invite him to his birthday party. (Although, Ezra did invite a little girl I didn't know. He told me she was coming to his party. I said to him, "But she doesn't even know where we live." And he says, "Mom, I gave her our cell phone number.") So, we just spent his birthday celebrating hard-core without having an *official* party for him. My mom was in town, she that made it kind of special as well.

He woke up at 6:00 am and opened up his presents right away.

Then, he had spaghetti for breakfast:

And Vernon brought out the cake that he made. Ezra looks to it in amazement that we could put such a thing together:

He wanted a "mountain-themed" cake, so that is what he got:

Vernon made it, and it tasted delicious. (Those carob chips on the one mountain represents a mountain in the distance. Just thought I'd clarify that in case you couldn't figure it out. That was my idea.)

So, that was all before 8:00 am. And, let me tell you, that is a good way to spend a birthday without an *official* party because then we didn't have to spend the rest of the day whining about when the party was going to start looking forward to the party.

Then we went to a local fun center and did some of this:

And this:

And we went out to eat at a pizza place that Ezra wanted to go to called DD's Pizza:

See how Ezra is looking up in that picture? He's staring at a TV showing Spongebob Squarepants. Vernon said something about how this is what our meal times would be like if we had TV and let them watch it. I said, "This is probably how most Americans spend their meal times, watching TV. I know I did." Then I look at my mom and say, "Right mom?"

And mom says, "I wouldn't know. I was never home." (It's true... I made myself Spaghettios or Pizza Rolls every night and sat in front of the TV... all alone.)

And we all laughed. Gotta love my family and our sense of humor.

We also let Ezra pick out a movie from the library that he could watch on his birthday. He picked this completely inane live-action Thomas movie. It starred Alec Baldwin, but even he couldn't redeem that piece of cinematic crap. (Ezra, however, found it incredibly enjoyable.)

I think we do a good job of making our kids feel special on their birthday. It's probably because we deprive them the rest of the year. We don't go out to eat that often. We don't take them to fun centers. We don't make cakes. We don't let them watch movies. (Although, for some reason, I feel completely okay with letting them watch videos like this on youtube as well as Matt and Kim videos on occasion, so go figure.)

So, we try to go all-out for their birthdays, even though we can't always have an *official* party. I think we did alright.

My Date

So, when my mom was in town the other week, I went on a date with my husband. (And no, we didn't go eat that 14 pound pizza from Beau Jo's. That was a crazy idea.)

Instead, we did the best thing ever... we went to dinner AND a movie. We haven't done that in more than seven years. I mean, sure, we would go on dates... maybe to a movie. Maybe to the mirror maze at the Mall of America. Maybe out to eat. Maybe that-event-that-I-shall-never-speak-of. But it's been a loooong time since we went to both dinner AND a movie together. On. The. Same. Night.

It felt like we were back in high school.

Before we left, I had my mom take our picture. I told her, "Squat down and take a picture of us in front of our door. We're going to try to look cool."

Then, to Vernon, I said, "Sit down next to me and try to look cool."

This is what we came out with:

...and this:

We saw The Social Network and ate at BJ's Brewery.

(This was fun. Let's do stuff like this more often.)

Rocky Mountain

We went to Rocky Mountain National Park a week or so ago.

While there, I made fun of the people who got out of their cars to take pictures of nearby elk. "Why would they need pictures of elk?" I said. "They could just google pictures of elk if they wanted to see a picture of an elk. Or buy a postcard." I'm of the mindset that vacation pictures should have people in them, unless they're trying to be arty or something (like I occasionally try to be, see above).

But then I took this picture:

"And you were just making fun of the people who were taking pictures of the elk," Vernon said.

"But these were so CLOSE!" I said.

Then we took what might possibly be the best family photo we've ever taken. I would use it for our Christmas cards, if I was into having "perfect family photo" Christmas cards (more on that later). Here it is:

Interesting fact: It was 85 degrees on the ground, and 62 degrees in the alpine region of the mountains.

Here are some more interesting things that I've learned on my travels:

1) Dan Akroyd is into UFOs and was a speaker at the annual Roswell UFO Festival in 2007.

2) In Connecticut, garage sales are called tag sales.

3) People leave large appliances on the side of the roads throughout rural Texas.

We Have Renters!

Well, we finally have renters for our place in Burnsville! The way I figure, it will only cost us $60 to have them living there (since their rent payment minus the property management's fee is less than our mortgage/association fee/property tax payment).

Here are some pictures:

We Have a Mac (and Some Stuff About TV Shows)!

So, after years of updating our computer every two years or so because they kept failing on us, we finally decided to get a Mac. I guess they are supposed to better in that regards, so hopefully this will last us for a loooong time (or at least more than two years, which would be an improvement). I know, I know... I should have gotten a Mac long ago, especially given my photographic/desktop publishing background. If Vern gets some paperwork filled out in time, his school should be able to reimburse him for it and just tack it on to his student loans. So, instead of us owing $100,000 in student loans, or whatever, it will be $101,000. What's the difference there, really?

Now, so much to catch up on. Especially TV shows. (We have to watch our TV on the computer now, on sites like Hulu.com, since the real television didn't make the move with us.)

Here is what I am watching this year:

How I Met Your Mother
Glee
Parenthood
The Middle
Modern Family
Cougar Town
Friday Night Lights
Community
30 Rock
The Office
Supernatural
The Simpsons

That is 8 hours of television a week (if all the shows happen to be new). And I have to catch up on the past two weeks of everything, so that is 16 hours of television to catch up on (plus, the fact that all shows will continue to air new episodes...). Although, I don't think Friday Night Lights has started yet, and since I don't have to watch commercials, that will cut the time down a bit. So, it'll make it, like, 12 hours of TV that I have to catch up on.

So, anywho, I'm not sure how I feel about all this TV watching. I mean, I really, really enjoy watching these TV shows (as you can see, all of them are of the highest caliber of entertainment). But I have also really enjoyed NOT watching anything (except for Last Comic Standing) for the past four months. I like the quiet nights with nothing on the agenda except for a good book, a conversation with my husband, and maybe some sex. Now, with all this TV that I have to catch up on, I don't know when I'll have sex again. Instead, I'll be thinking, "Oh, I should really be watching 30 Rock right now, get off of me."

This is my life right now.

I'll update more on the rest of it later.

Computer Back in the Shop

Our computer is back in the shop. I am back at the library (without much time to write).

See... I'm out of time already.

Our Computer is Fixed!

I don't have time for a proper update now, but I am very excited to be back. Here are some things I need to blog about:

1) Rocky Mountain National Park
2) My date with Vernon
3) The Diva cup
4) Movie review of The Social Network
5) Ezra's birthday