Rob and Emily Raleigh

Our household is caught up in the Olympics craze. Every night we turn on the TV to watch the variety of games, and we've found ourselves cheering for the US athletes, and watching events I never even realized were sports. A few nights ago Rob watched synchronized diving and was surprised at how technical and difficult it is. Last night I was up way past my bedtime to see Nastia Liukin take the gold and Shawn Johnson win silver in the gymnastics individual all-around competition.

Watching the Olympics really makes one think about what the human body is capable of (Michael Phelps, for example). Or in my case, makes me feel guilty for struggling to find the motivation to walk the dog every day! But, I've also realized that it's about personal best, striving to improve yourself and beat your own record, and also knowing the things you are good at. So what if I can hardly move with any fluidity on a sandy beach let alone play beach volleyball with any amount of skill. If they handed out medals for Raleigh Home Economics, I'd win gold every time.

The week so far has been an enjoyable one, to say the very least.

We had perfect weather over the weekend with low humidity and comfortable temperatures.

My uncle Todd and aunt Marylou took us out to lunch on Sunday on their way through town after visiting my cousin Meridith. Marylou got to see our house for the first time, and Dallas took a particular liking to Todd. When Rob was showing off all the tricks Dallas knows, every time she successfully did one Todd would give her such a spirited congratulation that she would run over and sit down in front of him to receive the reward of affection. It was nice to catch up with them, and to hear about my cousin Eric's recent wedding on a 10,000 foot mountain in Telluride, Colorado, the crazy windstorm that declared their Illinois county a disaster zone, and the progress Todd and Dad are making on the house. We had lunch at Granite City in Eagan. It was a meal that Todd had been craving for quite some time and in case there was any doubt at all, TODD LOVED HIS BLEU PEPPERCORN BURGER.

After seeing Dad's family on Sunday, we had a nice dinner last night with my mom's family at my aunt Diane and uncle Roger's house. It was a chance to see my parents, aunts and uncles, and even two grandmothers! Though the grandmothers aren't my real grandparents, it sort of felt like they were and it was nice to see both of them. Diane had quite the array of food, complete with berries and veggies, delicious grilled salmon, and fruit-garnished iced tea. I love spending time with my family; watching uncle Dean laugh, and hearing about aunt Kristen's stories, seeing Diane's happy summer glow, and hearing Dad and Roger chuckling away about something only they understand. And I love watching how my mom and her sister Diane are so alike. Last night they began talking about one of their shared traits when they suddenly, and in unison, broke into the song "Sisters" by Irving Berlin (from the movie White Christmas).

It really has been a lovely week! I can only hope for more days like these soon.

Angie and Cal dropped Claire (almost four months old now) off last night for a couple hours while they went biking at Lebanon Hills. They did this a few weeks ago and Rob did most of the care that day, so this time it was my turn.

At first Claire was fine, especially since Mommy and Daddy were still there. Then once they left she was inconsolable.

When I put her down in her playpen she cried like the world had left her alone to fend for herself. She shook her little fists and and did the deep-heave cry. When I picked her up and she squirmed so much that she ended up sitting with her face leaning against my forearm and her butt sticking out. This looked uncomfortable, and for me it was awkward but if I tried moving her she screamed to make sure that even the neighbors knew she didn't like it.

Plan B. I sat her facing forward on my left hip, turned some music on in the kitchen and danced and sang. She seemed fine with this, but eventually that left side of my body was getting hot and tired. I thought, if she's fine with this side, why not just switch to the right side. 'No! NO NO NO!' she seemed to say. Alright, back to the left hip. After a while she started whining which turned to more of a cooing sound and I took this as an invitation to sit down (finally!). I snuggled into the chair and propped her up on my knees and we played a game of tickle, and I made funny noises while kissing her and we played peekaboo with her dress. She loved it! Smiles and giggles ensued.

Soon after all of my progress she became crabby again, so I gave her a bottle and it did the trick. Mommy and Daddy were home soon after.

One notable quote of the evening was when Cal was asked if he's been practicing his guitar lately, he quipped, "uh, no, it's been about three and half months since the last time I did that."

Ok first I must address the issue of my last post. I realize I may have overreacted about my recent hair cut. The stylist did do a good job, she just styled it all wrong that night. And it is shorter than I usually wear, so that was a shock as well. Generally, the new cut has received rave reviews, and the photos of me that Rob's mom sent me from this weekend made me realize that it does, in fact, look good.

I've been working in a small garden space by our playset and attempting to restore it to its former glory. In that corner were two Bleeding Heart plants trying not to die as they toppled over each other onto a couple of sickly hostas. I loved the Bleeding Hearts but thanks to Dallas and our rampant bunny population, the roots had been dug up and nearly destroyed. I couldn't salvage either of them. The hosta plants had yellowing leaves and I don't even think they were going to bloom anything other than ugliness, so I pulled them right out and didn't feel a twinge of guilt. After uprooting most of the things in that garden, what was left was a single evergreen shrub of some sort. I didn't dig it up because a) it has a tree-like root system that I didn't want to mess with, and b) I kind of felt sorry for it. It has a perfectly pruned round head resting atop a tall skinny trunk. I guess it's kind of cute.

My next step was to find plants that prefer shade since the house and the fence don't let much sunlight into that corner. Rob thought I should get a few more bushes or shrubs but that's all we have around here! Bush, shrub, bush shrub, the same as everyone else on my street. I'm so sick of them! And the hostas too! I wanted something different. I found a few cheap perennials that I can't even remember the names of except the one called a Bell Flower. I figured if they die, I only paid $7 for them. My really exciting purchase was of the two hydrangea bushes. They're so pretty!

I planted everything last night and covered the ground with a layer of mulch. It's a small garden, and while it's not as amazing as some, it's still mine and I love it!

Ok, I'm just going to come right out and say it: I've got a backwards mullet. The party's in the front, ya'll!!

A stylist too convincing. A need for change that transcended all logic. The end result, a haircut gone wrong.

Here's how it all went down...

I had some money left on a salon gift card that Rob gave me for Valentine's Day, and I was hurtin' for a new 'do, so I made an appointment to make it happen.

So there I was relaxing in the salon waiting for the stylist to seat me in her chair of possibilities, thinking, "I'm just going to let her do whatever she wants because she is the artiste and I am her blank canvas of hair!" I had complete trust in her. After she introduced herself and explained a few options we could try, I was convinced that she knew what was best for me.

Every suggestion she threw at me I agreed with.
"Chin length?" Sure.
"Length in front to accentuate your cheek bones?" Yes.
"Lengthy bangs???" I beg you to tell me why not!

And away she went. It wasn't until she cut the bangs that I thought there might be a problem, but I was convinced she would style it just right. After a quick blow dry and few more snips I realized the bangs were ALL WRONG, and the way the hair in front fell around my face didn't seem quite right. My exact thoughts were, and I quote: 'Oh no. Oh No! OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!' The stylist fussed, and then fussed a bit more and was about to send me on my way when she nervously asked, "is there anything you'd like me to change quickly before you go...?" I know that she was secretly in her head completing her statement, '...like the way your bangs make you look like you should be driving a minivan full of 8 year old soccer players?' I ignorantly said, "No it's fine! I love it!" though secretly I was having a small cow. As I walked up to the front desk to pay I was thinking PLEASE NO ONE LOOK AT ME OR MY SUPERMOM HAIR.

When I got home I tried playing with it a little bit, but I still can't shake the images my hair conjures up. Think Victoria Beckham meets Helen Hunt and a soccer mom, and they make a baby called lazy backwards mullet.

I may be exaggerating. It's certainly not like the haircut my friend Jane* got a few years ago. She didn't even make it through the entire appointment before having a complete meltdown in front of the whole salon. It was for that cut I had coined the term backwards mullet. She probably still hates me for that.

Brad and Brandy's four-year-old could probably have done a better job, but in a few weeks my Helen Hunt/supermom bangs will grow out enough to lie flat against my face in a stringy exhausted mess, the Victoria Beckham "style" in the back will side more with my hair's natural kink than with hollywood, and the rest will be habitually tucked behind my ears so that there is no evidence of the party in the front.

*Some names have been changed

My brother Tim proposed to his girlfriend Lisa on Friday night! To prepare for it, he took the day off work and set up a picnic to surprise her when she came home from work. After telling her the picnic basket was hers to keep, he said, "there's something else in there for you" which prompted a flurry of squeals from Lisa. She found the ring in the basket and put it on, still squealing, and finally said, "well aren't you going to ask?" There really wasn't a need to because I think Tim had already received the answer, but he did anyway and she said yes.

They stopped by today so we could give them an engagement present, and so we could see the ring. It is beautiful, Tim did a very good job! The wedding date has already been set for April of 2009. Hearing Lisa talk about planning, and all of the exciting ideas and thoughts going through her mind right now reminds me of the feelings I had when Rob and I got engaged. I'm absolutely thrilled for Tim who found a lovely woman to marry, and I'm very excited to have her as a sister-in-law!

I had an unexpected and lovely chat with my cousin Kyle today. Growing up with him, I've known that he's always marched to the beat of his own drummer. While most of my younger relatives are athletes, Kyle has always sided more on the artistic side. He even painted his grandpa Charlie so well that there's no mistaking who the painting is of.

I haven't seen Kyle since Easter, and aside from holidays I don't get to see him much. But today he surprised me by sending me a message. He moved to New Orleans and loves it. He works at an art gallery (he even gets to post his own art), is subleasing a home near the French Quarter, is enthralled with the history and architecture of the area, and spends his evenings socializing with neighbors and their families on their front porches. It sounds amazing, and I'm happy for him.