Like Taking a Camera From a Baby...

I love the cinematography. You get stunning views of our floors and Liesel's feet. Fabulous!

Too Cute Not to Post

Liesel likes to sit on our laps while Whitney and I do our makeup. She watches...

And then tries a look of her own...
It's SO cute! This morning she was honest to goodness putting blush on her cheeks while I primped for work.

Of course, she doesn't need any makeup. She's adorable just as she is. Welllllll, maybe she could use some eyebrow definition.

Just kidding!

LOL

My very wise brother-in-law Matthew once told me there are layers of humor. The highest form manifests itself in wit which requires a wide range of knowledge on different subjects, the talent for subtlety and an almost esoteric mindset. This is the humor of the educated, the elite, the Mensa-type people. It's caviar-type humor.

The next layer comes with the ability for stories, one-liners, and the more obvious commentary on ironic situations. The humor of the people if you will. Most people like, tell and subscribe to this type of humor. Kind of like Applebees or Olive Garden.

The lowest layer consists of slap-stick comedy, corny knock-knock jokes, blonde jokes, "There's a Jewish rabbi, Catholic priest and Mormon bishop on a..." jokes, etc. This is the Burger King of humor. It doesn't take much intelligence or insight. Anyone can get it although it may garner rolled eyes rather than belly laughs. Why don't blind people go skydiving? Because it scares the dog. Get it? Get it? I think you know what I mean.



While Matthew is of course very witty, I have to confess that I'm among the Neanderthals which falls in that last group. After a looooong week, I love nothing more than to heat up a cheesy pizza, turn on the TV/DVR and watch the latest episode of Wipeout. No matter how frustrating, tiring or irritating the events of my day have been I find myself laughing so hard I can barely talk. Oh how I love those big, red, rubbery balls! I cannot get enough of watching people gingerly jump on to them only to bounce off into the water. The best ones involve "The Motivator" which pushes them from behind. Not that I'm entirely sadistic, I've cheered the 3 times I've seen someone manage to bounce on top of them and make it to the platform on the other side.

A Little Anime

My sister Whitney recently posed this question to me: Who is your animation crush? Initially I was really thrown... how can you have a crush on a cartoon? But then she went on to describe her crush on Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid. She went on and on about his dark hair, rippling muscles and the Old English Sheepdog sidekick. So I thought about it and thought about it. My anime-man would likely be a Disney prince - classy yet timeless.

I have to hand it to Prince Charming. Any guy who understands the connection between shoes and true love is definitely a keeper. The only problem is that all he ever did was dance with Cinderella and then send his lackeys to work overtime to find her. I'm a girl who wants someone to FIGHT for me and Prince Charming isn't it. (Side note: have you ever noticed that he's never actually called Prince "Charming" in the movie?) Come to think of it though, Cinderella doesn't do much either. Her fairy godmother, the mice and the birds do the grunt work. She just kind of cries and acts helpless. So I guess they're a pretty good pair and I wouldn't want to break that up. Man oh man does my father in law typify Cinderella's father in law though! I swear he does nothing but dream of grandchildren.

I'm leaning a little more towards Aladdin. I love traveling and that magic carpet ride date was pretty dang sweet. He's kind of a social climber which bugs me a little but I guess that means he's ambitious which is important. I love that he had street smarts and was kind to animals. Plus Jasmine had hips and he seemed to go for that. Aladdin also had a sense of humor which is so very important in a relationship. So yeah, I definitely like Aladdin but that's based more on personality than looks. To be honest though, I haven't really found my animation crush yet. I still haven't found what I'm looking for. I'm sure he's out there... somewhere... probably in Asia hanging out with the totally wrong cartoon girl... like Hello Kitty or someone like that. Perhaps someday our paths will cross and then I'll just know he's the one.

Interestingly enough, when Whitney posed the same question to Brent he didn't even hesitate: Minmei from Robotech. No wonder he was all for me getting bangs. Living the fantasy?

Okay 3 people who read my blog, who's your animation crush? If it's a secret shame feel free to leave your comment anonymous... I won't judge.

My Fellow Americans

On our first 4th of July together, Brent and I announced our engagement to our parents and then snuggled under a sky of fireworks on the Cambridge side of the Charles River. We were in NYC on vacation for our second 4th and elected to avoid the crowds by skipping the fireworks. It was incredibly eerie walking the quiet and empty streets of Manhattan while hearing loud booms in the distance. The following 4th we took our then 3-month old girl to New Jersey to visit my parents. We watched the fireworks at Liberty Park close to the Statue of Liberty. So it feels like we're coming full circle by being back in Boston for this 4th.

Brent and I had work off yesterday so we were able to take care of all our Saturday items. This morning I ran some final errands and Brent mowed the lawn. We thought about going to some batting cages (what could be more American than baseball?) but they were all closed. Once Liesel woke up from her nap, we packed up the stroller and headed downtown. Don't ask me why, but I had a feeling I'd get a good parking spot and we did! We crossed the street to the Boston Commons and stopped at the Frog Pond so Liesel could get her feet wet. She was so funny, she'd walk towards the water and then run away when the fountains came on.

Then we headed to the Freedom Trail. I work kitty-corner to the State House so it's not far for me. When I'm able to get away for lunch every now and again I'll do what I can that's close. Brent, on the other hand, had never officially done it. One place I'd never made it to was the Granary Burial Ground. There were lots of people dressed in period costume giving tours but Liesel and I wandered on our own to see the graves of Sam Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and the victims of the Boston Massacre. Very cool. There was a wedding at the next-door Park Street Church and the newly married couple was taking photos IN the graveyard. Weird?

We headed home to barbeque like good Americans. Brent and I found a recipe for a Dr. Pepper marinade that's SO good! We've slowly been refining our technique and the result is a juicy, tangy, VERY tender meat. While Brent fired up the grill I put on some Aaron Copeland. Somehow we had a plethora of lemons so I made lemonade Stonewall Jackson style which is more on the tart side. Surprisingly, Liesel was the biggest fan. We also had corn on the cob (in honor of America's heartland, IOWA!). Again, Liesel was a surprisingly huge fan. She was begging for it before we'd even said the blessing and then she went to town. We rounded it out with some rice pilaf (uhmmmm, in honor of the Chinese who gave us fireworks? and because it goes well with the meat). Using pound cake, Cool Whip, strawberries and blueberries I made an image of a flag that was nice and light after the barbecue.

Liesel's been having nightmares lately and generally having trouble sleeping at night. Because of that we decided to skip the jarring loud noises that accompany fireworks. Before putting her down for the night I read her Longfellow's The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Right now we're winding down by watching the Boston Pops and just waiting for Neil Diamond (the featured performer this year) to sing Sweet Caroline.

Happy 4th of July everyone!