update

The last couple weeks I've felt a little like I'm in an emotional rabbit hole. Nothing seems to be going right. It happens. I have a really hard time updating this site when I get into a mood like this because I can't think of anything to say that isn't either overly personal or might be potentially hurtful to someone else. So that's why there has been the big lag between updates. I'm just super grumpy and I've been biting my tongue.

A handful of years ago, I was working at a company where morale was particularly low and people were leaving left and right. They didn't have money to give raises, and there wasn't a whole lot they could do to improve things. One morning, when we arrived at work, we each found an empty can at our desks along with a letter from one of the likeable bigwigs at the company. On the can, there was a label that said "You Can." The letter explained the concept of "You Can," which, in a nutshell, is just that you can make things how you want them. We can't necessarily expect outside factors to all be easy and great, so when the going gets tough, you get a can full of nothin' on your desk so you can panhandling after work to be able to afford diapers...or something like that. Anyway, everyone thought it was ridiculous, and the likeable bigwig and yours truly both jumped ship not long after the "You Can" surfaced. The fact of the matter, though, is that sometimes you gotta just suck it up and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

In the spirit of the You Can, here are some things that I've done or seen in the last few weeks that haven't completely sucked:

Our old college friend Sarah came into town for a night with her boyfriend Dennis. Sarah is one of the nicest people I know, and it was great to see her. (It was the first time we'd seen her since our wedding.) She showered us with gifts, which was completely unnecessary but really nice. My favorite is a Pez dispenser she got for Pat from the Norman Rockwell Museum. How cool is this?

Days after, a different old college friend named Sara came into town for a night. I met up with her at LUX and got to meet her husband, Brian, who is one of those people you immediately like and feel comfortable with, like you feel like you could tell him about the time the gang of senior girl bullies picked on you in the ninth grade and how you still fear wearing hats because of it, and how he would actually care and be able to say something to make you think maybe you could wear a hat again someday. (I resisted spilling my guts to him, though.) They're good people, and I only wish I had gotten to see them more. Plus, there was free popcorn at LUX that night. Yeah, that was a good night.

This week, another old college friend named Amanda came into town for a night. I met up with her and our friend Sue and we went to Flight, which is a pretty cool wine bar. We laughed A LOT. Those people you can go without seeing for 12 years and then laugh with as hard as you used to laugh when you lived next door to them are GOOD people.

And as if that weren't enough...

I heard about this. I love that peer pressure even works on people who are old and filthy rich. Whatever works.

I also heard about this. Who knew mannequin arms could be so hilarious?

I also heard about this. I love that even NPR thought it was newsworthy.

Finally, I am very proud to report that my dad won a prestigious award in his field. My dad is one of those people who consistently works hard and is smart and humble and is good for the sake of being good. If I needed to write an essay for a college application about the person I admire most, I would write about my dad (with Ira Glass as a back-up subject). He is great, and I'm really glad when other people notice. Hopefully he won't be too embarrassed by my posting this video about it.

So there you go. Fran CAN get out of a funk.

Fran

After months of stress and uncertainty, finally some relief!

+ The buyers of our city house closed today. Yay for not having to worry about that anymore! In my mom's quirky, flamingo-loving, way she congratulated us by coming by our one and only house putting two pink flamingos in are yard. Ahhh, we're home. No more back and forth! I'm not sure how our Brighton neighbors will feel about the flamingos, but we'll keep them out for a couple days and store them for posterity. Maybe we'll start a trend! They got rained on a lot today. Here they are.

+ Since we moved to the new house, we haven't had laundry...until today. We ended up including our old crappy washer and dryer into the deal during a counter offer, which is all fine and good, but we are indecisive and have been very busy, so it took us about a month to figure out which set to buy. This past weekend we did some laundry at Pat's grandparents' house, and having my in-laws see my unmentionables shamed me enough to make a decision, and Pat and I ordered a set the next day. They arrived today, and while I am very excited I have never experience such a learning curve with a household appliance! Seriously, I would love to do a load of laundry; I just don't know how to. I'm looking forward to figuring that out.

+ Pat is one project and one day away from being done with this quarter's class. This one has particularly awful, and I am so, so, so glad he'll be done with it soon. (I can only imagine how happy Pat must feel.) He'll be taking another class during winter quarter, but at least we get a little break, which happens to coincide with the greatest holiday ever: Thanksgiving. Ahhh.

+ Christmas is coming. I am not as in love with Christmas as I am with Thanksgiving because of the silly commercialism and whatnot, but I love decorating for Christmas. My mom got Greta a little Christmas tree (complete with a fuzzy, pink tree skirt of course), and she's been giving Greta ornaments from her mom (Greta's Great Grandma Lucretia from Ohio). Greta's excitement about the whole thing is priceless. Here is Mothra Greta and the tree.

+ We keep winnin' stuff! Pat and Greta went to a customer-appreciation night that our realtor Mary had, and there was a drawing for a flat-screen TV and other fabulous door prizes. Mary had Greta draw the tickets, and I think the two things are unrelated, but we won a $75 gift card to Black & Blue! We haven't been there before, but I've heard it's great. SO excited.

++ I saved the best for last: I saw Ira Glass give a lecture at SU on Tuesday. Wait, what? You heard me. I saw Mr. Ira Glass, public radio god, speak...live...in the same building I was in...and it was awesome (and free). I really, really like Ira Glass. I consider him one of the people I most admire, and I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to see him in person. There is a big journalism program at SU, and the talk had a focus on his formula for delivering a story, the state of US news, and the greatness that is This American Life and Ira Glass. Interspersed in his advice were the clips and music we're used to hearing on TAL and Ira's funny commentary on everything - even challenging God to cool the building down (the lecture was in Hendricks Chapel). The mood of the crowd can be summed up as giddy. At the end Ira took questions, and a young boy got up, introduced himself, announced he was 9, and then asked if he could shake Ira's hand. I think that pretty much captured what we we all wanted to ask - except for the people who just wanted to hear themselves talk of course. (The urge to ask Ira to sign my boob was overwhelming, but I managed to keep my feelings to myself.) So it was great, and totally worth the drive and the late Tuesday night bedtime. I <3 Ira! And here's a nice review of the event.

Fran

 
...we fall into a wormhole. Watch and speculate about what it's like. How strange! How bizarre!
 
Also, I went to the live broadcast of This American Life tonight. It was great! Never have I felt a greater urge to clap in a movie theater! (And I did in the end.)
 
(This post brought to you by the leftover wine in my house.)
 

For days I've been thinking about what to write and staring at the site and coming up with nothing. I don't know if it's the weather or the fact that we've all been some degree of sick for the last few weeks or being super extra busy at work, but I am feeling so, so blah.
 
Perhaps a list is in order:

• I decided I would really like Lasik, but I'm too cheep to get it. Yeah, I know I was very dramatic after Pat's Lasik experience, but I'm sick of glasses.
• I've been on a cleaning/purging/organizing bender since January 1st and I love it. My closet has been organized for an entire month. It's a record!
• I'm craving steak. 
• I want to get out and take some pictures, but it's too cold and I'm too lazy.
• Greta finally brought home a craft from school I can sign on for: a big, colorful necklace that contains no messy, glittery parts. If it were big enough to fit over my head, I would wear it to work. Alas, it is too small for me...and Greta didn't give it to me.
• Greta is hilarious. The girl still is a crappy sleeper, though.
• Our cats have started ganging up on us, and they both now feel the need to eat every two hours at night.
• I'm tired all of the time.
• My mojo is still at large.
• Happy birthday, Taryn!

Weak, I know. Discuss.
 
Fran

I'm not really one to make bold statements. When I was vegetarian for those six years, I was never one to tell other people they shouldn't eat meat. (Actually, I sometimes encouraged people around me to eat meat so I could sniff it. Yeah, I wasn't a very good vegetarian.) And when I was straight edge for those, oh, 21 years of my life, I never really subscribed to the whole lifetime commitment "if you're not straight edge now you never were" thing, knowing I'd at least want a sip of champagne on my wedding day, for example. Anyway, what I'm saying is that I don't like to say things that I'll have to take back or somehow regret.
 
Even so, it hasn't stopped me from making the occasional bold statement. I would say that the majority of these were things I said about parenting or kids before I actually had a child. One such statement was, "My kid will never have snot running down her face." Okay, okay. It seems innocent enough. Why, as a parent, would I allow mucus to run down my child's face?? That is crazy talk. Wipe the damn nose, for Pete's sake.
 
So I didn't take into account a few things: Children have weak immune systems. Children in day care (and those not in day care) are surrounded by germs. Germs + weak immune system = sick kid, chronically between the months of October through April. That equals a lot of tissues and one sore little toddler nose. That and I would basically have to hold the tissue under her nose at all times.
 
Yup, my kid has a perma runny nose. I would like to make a retraction. Sometimes snot runs out of her nose without it promptly being wiped. And sometimes this even occurs *gasp* in public. There, I said it.
 
This was basically a long preface to say that Greta is dandy after her bout of croup. She has a very runny nose and a cough, but otherwise she seems fine. I also have a cold and have been using my fair share of tissues. Otherwise, things are good!
 
That is all.
 
Fran