Random and overly reflective

(This was written on Friday, but I couldn't get it to post for some reason. Better late than never!)

1) "Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

- Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold on "The Wonder Years"

I get these emails from the magazine Real Simple and that was the quote sent in an email today. LOVE IT. I sometimes wish there was a constant log that automatically holds onto the really good memories so that you could go back and look at them when you feel down. I think that's why I write this blog. Except, I guess I do a lot of venting instead of logging really great memories. However, some of that venting and storytelling ends up in a good laugh which is just as good I suppose.

2) So Oprah is calling it quits. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I mean I guess there had to be an end in sight, but I just don't feel like it's time. I don't even get to watch it every day and sometimes she does irritate the snot out of me. But I like the option you know? Ellen is my hero though so she will just have to step up and take over as talk show queen. I mean, "I love Jesus but a I drink a little" is truly GREAT TV.

3) I had a student come up to me this morning and say the following:

"Guess what Mrs. Burrow? I am going to Athens this weekend for a football game. Well, I'm not really going to the football game. I'm going to the big party before the football game where the campers and cheerleaders are to party with them." A second grader is officially cooler than me (not that that is a difficult accomplishment).

4) Last, but not least, let's get a little interactive here shall we? Finish this line: "In the end, it all comes down to....." (also ripped this from Real Simple - such genius over there at the magazine).

Have a great Thanksgiving week!

Carried away

It's official...I missed the Tuesday mommy blog because I have gotten carried away. The new plan is, this blog will remain under the realm of random and chaotic nonsense about life and the link below will be the new mommy blog. I couldn't figure out how to mesh the two without it feeling like one was confused by the other. I know what you're thinking....I barely blog enough on this one. Well, have some faith. I am determined. The link for the mommy blog will be on the right side of this screen for future reference. That way, if you are nowhere near having a baby or you just don't care, you can keep reading this blog as is without the hassle. If you are more interested in the mommy info you can begin reading that one and steer clear of this one. If you are obsessed with me and love to read my writing, I suggest reading both. But that's just me ;-)

http://mommyblog.shutterfly.com

(Please understand that I am backtracking and starting from pregnancy so things are under construction as of now.)

Blogging extension?

I know what you're thinking....two posts in one week! I know, I am really proud of myself. Ok so a while ago my friend Leigh and I threw around the idea of starting a mommy blog. You know, one of those blogs where you could go and learn about all sorts of fun things having to do with being a mom from two brand new moms who kind of muddled their way through it? Yea so, there are MILLION of these types of blogs with moms telling you their side of the "story" and they can be incredibly helpful. So why did we want to throw ourselves into the mix? Why not? I think the problem we had was trying to get our acts together and get it done, together, and it just never happened. SO, I have decided to sort of toss in my two cents about all things mommy on this blog. I am one of the first of most of my girlfriends to have a baby and you guys are the only ones reading this anyway (besides my family). There are a few veteran moms that read this I think, so they can weigh in at any point with even more info to boggle the weary minds of newbies. I have said in the past that I really didn't want this to become a mommy blog. I wanted to stay true to the overall random and chaotic nature of "this is our lives" storytelling. I still want that. Therefore, I have devised the following plan and I need any and all readers to tell me if this is a horrible, fantastic, or just irritating idea. No worries. I can take it.

I REALLY want to be an avid blogger like I was in the beginning. My plan is to really, really make that happen. So throughout the week I will do just that. However, let's say every Tuesday I will post a mommy post. It may be long, but I will label it "mommy" along with any other labels that coincide so that if you get pregnant, are about to have a baby, or just had one you can just click the mommy label and check out whatever it is you would be interested in reading. Deal?

Here is my dilemma. I am also doing this on a very selfish level. Getting pregnant/having a baby turns you into a complete moron. Not in the book smarts area, but just in daily life. I want to recount every step so that the next go round I have my very own reference guide for things I am SURE I will forget (if I haven't already). I am just not entirely sure how to backtrack. I mean, I can try to remember most things and would love to write about them, but that would be a lot of blogging about things that are over a year old now. I would somehow need to play catch up to now. I may just have to write a slew of really long blogs that you can just skip if you aren't interested in or save for a rainy day or something. Thoughts? Well, tomorrow is Tuesday so I am going to stew over it tonight and see how I feel. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Can't commit

As I sit here at my kitchen table listening to the washing machine, the crying baby, the fighting dogs, and the TV in the background while shopping online for Christmas gifts, I have begun to think, how did I let this blog go? I have gotten hours of enjoyment and stress relief out of it and I don't even utilize it anymore. How do I keep letting that happen? I keep telling myself that tomorrow I will do better. It's like losing weight. For some people it's a day of the week (for me it's Monday), or a season, or even an event. I always say, on Monday I am going to start eating WAY better. Well damn if Monday isn't JAM PACKED now with CRAP I plan to do. I mean, the day doesn't stand a chance. There's so much pressure on it. The list is endless!

1. Lose weight/eat better.

2. Blog like it's my job because, let's be honest, I kind of wish it was.

3. Plan a vacation with my girlfriends because Seth seems to have one every other day (not really, but when I never go anywhere or do anything, it sure does seem that way).

4. Play tennis with someone as much as possible so I don't have a repeat episode of my HORRENDOUS tennis match on Saturday where I wanted to burn my racket and crawl in a hole far away from the likes of any ALTA or USTA member.

5. Try new recipes and possibly make something other than chicken and broccoli for dinner.

I could go on and on. At any rate, here I am Sunday night writing a post. That counts for something right?

So what's new in my life? I mean, again let's be honest when saying "my life" because we are really talking about the wee life Lila Jeanne Burrow. I do have ONE event (aside from the disheartening tennis match) that was mine and mine alone and then I will get to the events in the life of LJ. Last week (or maybe it was the week before, I can't be sure) I think I was hit on...I don't drink coffee, but I have a mild obsession with a certain latte at Starbucks. If I plan to go to Starbucks I have to get up about 10-15 minutes earlier because my job is a stone's throw from my house. Therefore, Starbucks is not on the way. That being said, I have to make an extra effort to go. This happens about once a week. So I am in the drive-through line intently listening to the Bert show. If you do not know what that is, it's a radio show in Atlanta. They are great for catching you up on the latest trash in Hollywood and since it takes me minutes to get to work, I never really get to listen to them. You can imagine then how I could be entranced in the story about Lindsay Lohan and her dad right? Well I was. So much so apparently that I was completely unaware of my surroundings. I placed my order and when I got to the window and handed her my money, she said that the guy in front of me paid for my beverage. I suddenly realized I had no clue what this person's car even looked like because I was zombied out by the Bert show. I asked the girl and she said it was an Asian guy in a mustang. I decided I did not know this person and didn't see the car anymore so I drove off. As I was leaving the parking lot and entering a fairly major road in Tucker, I saw him! He was sitting in his car in the Starbuck's parking lot with his window down. I was already committed to pulling out onto the road so I just kept going. I didn't wave or smile. I just drove off! I immediately felt like a jerk. I mean, it was a nice gesture so I could have at least gone over and thanked the guy. It then dawned on me that I actually just had a drink bought for me from a stranger. That NEVER happened to me when I was single. Of course it was going to catch me of guard right? Needless to say, whatever his intentions were, I am telling myself that I was looking smoking hot with my wet hair pulled back, half my makeup on, and bags under my eyes. Wherever you are Starbucks guy, you rock.

In the world of Lila, we are moving into the next phase of babyhood. She turned SIX MONTHS on Friday. Before I know it she will be 16. Sorry, I had to be that cliche because I really feel like that's what is going to happen. We went to the new pediatrician which was a much better experience overall (thank you Marc and Sarah!). She had to wear a pirate patch for the lazy eye exam that I am desperately upset we did not get a picture of. There are times where laughing out loud at your child is so necessary and this was one of them! She doesn't know we are laughing at her yet so for once I do not feel mommy guilt about something. She passed the test and is basically the most normal child on the planet. She falls in the 75th percentile for weight at close to 17 pounds and I told Seth we need to fatten her up. He said, "we don't want her to be in the 100th percent for weight Jana....then she would be fat". Oh right. We then decided she fits right in with us. She is "upper middle class" fat like we are (Seth's words). She is attempting to sit on her own and is doing really well. She is eating rice cereal and as of yesterday sweet potatoes! I am making the baby food which is shockingly easy. At least it is right now. We will see when it comes to things like chicken.

Anyway, that's where we are right now. Seth leaves tomorrow for the annual Sweetwater "work" trip to Vegas. I am going to think about doing the things on my Monday list and probably not do them. However, I am hopefully going to get a video (or at least some pictures) up of Lila sometime this week. Have a great week everyone!