Quack, quack

Weird Things

So, I've been inspired by another blogger listing a few weird things about herself, and I've decided to do the same.

1. I can control my eardrums. Yes. The actual ear drum muscle. I can cause my eardrum to lose tension, so I can't hear things. I'd say I can cancel out about 75% of sound when I do this, so it comes in handy at loud concerts and when I am asked questions I don't want to answer.

2. I have funny pinky toes. The other 8 toes are unusually long, but I have very short pinky toes that kind of curl under the others. Very weird. When I wear certain sandals, it looks like I am missing my little toes. Aaron thinks this is very funny, but he has claw feet and can't pass judgement on my toes.

3. I am obsessed with making sure doors are locked at night. This goes beyond personal safety, somewhere in the realm of a complete door unlockedness phobia. Aaron made the mistake of telling me he checked all the doors one night, and I happened to go back downstairs later and found one unlocked. So, I can never trust my husband about the doors again. Even if I hear him locking them, I still have to do the nightly door rounds. Sometimes two or three times. And it's not enough to see that the door is locked - I physically have to make sure that the lock is engaged. I should probably see a shrink about this one.

4. I'm not sure this one is weird, but I really, really still want a hedgehog. I'm waiting til Ceci is old enough so that I can pull the old "she found it on her way home, and I don't want to break her heart" trick.

5. I like to put 10 or so maraschino cherries in a bowl and fill the bowl the rest of the way up with whipped cream. No-ice-cream-sundaes are the best.

6. I like my diet cokes warm. I mean, they're not bad cold either, but why waste all that fridge real estate?

7. I enjoy occasionally having a bowl of cooked spinach for lunch.

8. I have a LOT of recurring dreams about the following:

• Not being able to swim in a coordinated manner. I'll jump into the pool, swim two strokes, and then not be able to move my arms or kick my legs. Kind of like the kind of dream where you're trying to run away and can't run.
• My contacts lenses. Losing them, breaking them, mixing them up - you name it, I dream about my contacts.
• Getting in a vehicle and completely forgetting how to drive. While sitting on phonebooks. Which is completely unreasonable, because it's not like I got any shorter in the dream.
• Walking into a classroom, and having nothing prepared to teach. Interesting twist on the going to class as a student unprepared dream, eh?

9. In addition to wanting a hedgehog, I really want an alpaca. Interestingly enough, I think I have better luck at one day getting an alpaca than I do a hedgehog. Unless I forget to tell Aaron about the hedgehog and keep it in the basement. I'm guessing he might notice an alpaca hanging out between the utility tub and the dryer, though.

10. I love watching Judge Judy.

Ceci was baptized this weekend at St. John's, and we had lots of people out here for the weekend. Dad, Jerry, Nora, Rachael, Mitch, and Dave all came out for the baptism, and Rachael and David are now Ceci's godparents!

Mobiles and Dead Batteries

Aaron made a mobile for Ceci before she was born, and it's pretty neat. He made it so all these little sticks with decorative ends are balanced when hung from the ceiling. It's pretty mesmerizing when you twirl it, because it sets all the individual sticks spinning independently. I laid Ceci down in her crib last night and started the mobile twirling, and she just laid there and grinned and grinned and grinned at the mobile. Same thing this morning. So cute.
The rest of the day went downhill. the truck battery was dead this afternoon. I found that out after I had already loaded Ceci in and was headed out to run a few errands. Instead, I waited for AAA to come out and jumpstart the truck, and then Cecilia and I drove to get a new battery. Not very much fun at all.

I've gotta say, having vehicles that work all the time definitely will spoil you pretty quickly. It was not long ago that I still had the '87 Integra, which was quite the trooper, but certainly had its issues near the end of its valiant life. And then Aaron and I had the old Audi for a while, which had a 50/50 chance of firing up when you turned the ignition. And IF it decided to play along, there was an 80% chance that the radio would not work, and would instead display "SAFE" across the radio screen. Safe from what, exactly??? It certainly never made me feel especially safe when it did that. So, I guess what I'm saying is that a dead battery is pretty small dues to pay.

By the way, if anyone out there knows of an '87 Integra for cheap in good shape, let me know - I miss that car.

Splish, Splash, the girl loves her baths...

Time is flying by. Aaron's 30th birthday is this Friday, and Ceci's about to roll over to 3 months. Incredible. Things are going well, even if fast. Cecilia has starting making little talky noises, and that's been pretty cute. Unfortunately, she also seems to be starting to teeth, so that sucks. The poor kid eats her fist all day long. We've been taking her to daycare on Fridays so that I can go into the office and try to stay afloat; so far, so good on that front.

Dad, Nora, Jerry, Rachael, and Dave are coming out to Lawrence in two weeks for Ceci's baptism. I can't wait! It's going to be fun to have a full house.

So, it's already been three years since Mom passed. It's taken me a really long time to be able to remember her pre-ALS as well as I remember when she was sick. It's weird how that works, since she was only sick with ALS for a couple of years. More and more, though, I think of her when she was super healthy, and it makes me so happy. So along those lines... some pictures of Mom, the way I remember her best. :-)

Summer, 2000 - suppertime (Sue looks soooo young, and now I feel sooooo old...)

September, 2000 - Mom and Dave tearing out the swimming pool!

December, 2000 - Mom, and Lou with tulip ears!

Fall, 2000 - Backyard pics

Fall, 2000 - Backyard pics

November, 2002 - Aunt Rita, Mom, Aunt Vivian, and Grandma Kluesener at home.

Easter, 2002 - Mom at Uncle Phil & Aunt Kathy's

Easter, 2002 - Aunt Rita, Mom, and Aunt Vivian

Easter, 2002 - Me, Mom, and Aunt Rita

Christmas, 2003 - Me, Mom, and Susie Q

February, 2004 - Grandma Kayser's 80th birthday, Mom and Sue

Christmastime, 2003 - Mom and Dad

Winesap Season - Pics from the Apple Orchard this Weekend