The key that is the letter of the alphabet between w and y is not working on my laptop. I hit it and hit it and nothing happens. E ample (oh, case and point right there, see?) –> My son is named Ma . See? Trevor takes full blame for naming our son a name that includes the missing letter. This severely cuts into blogging unless I do lots of copying and pasting.

Sadly, it is not yet my turn for a new laptop. Trevor gets to be first, and he’s waiting until he can get a solid-state hard drive.

Things I now cannot fully write about until this comes to pass:

• My son Ma
• My e tremely se y husband
• Snacking on che  mi
• E citing e periments in the kitchen
• This e cessively large state of Te as
• E ercising for the first time in two years
• The invitations I need to  ero  for church
• Not rela ing until our food storage is perfect

You get the point. Until it gets fi ed, my blog posts might be e tinct. Not that they aren’t already.

The key that is the letter of the alphabet between w and y is not working on my laptop. I hit it and hit it and nothing happens. E ample (oh, case and point right there, see?) –> My son is named Ma . See? Trevor takes full blame for naming our son a name that includes the missing letter. This severely cuts into blogging unless I do lots of copying and pasting.

Sadly, it is not yet my turn for a new laptop. Trevor gets to be first, and he’s waiting until he can get a solid-state hard drive.

Things I now cannot fully write about until this comes to pass:

• My son Ma
• My e tremely se y husband
• Snacking on che  mi
• E citing e periments in the kitchen
• This e cessively large state of Te as
• E ercising for the first time in two years
• The invitations I need to  ero  for church
• Not rela ing until our food storage is perfect

You get the point. Until it gets fi ed, my blog posts might be e tinct. Not that they aren’t already.

It must be really really amazing to see yourself for the first time. I wish I remembered.

I bought these today. They’re fun and fabulously comfortable, and I don’t have to wear a belt. Yay. After reading the online reviews I expect they will fall apart after the first washing… which is disappointing… but I’m not letting that ruin my enjoyment of them this evening.

But I have to stop going to Target. Every time I set foot in the door I spend at least 4X the money I’d planned, and I’m talking benjamins here. They get our whole paycheck. It’s always for stuff we “need” (planned purchases, I guess) but I go there at least three times a week, because it’s one of very few places I feel comfortable going by myself in this city, and what else is a one-baby-mom supposed to do to stay sane during the day? It’s the cheapest of the pleasant shopping experiences, but that mindset means I just buy and buy, and when I go with Trevor he lets me get a treat which means it’s one of my favorite things to do with him (I am so three years old), and there exists in my mind a perpetual list of things to buy for grand project ideas I get while I’m there, which means there’s always a reason to go back again. And I think he should ban us from ever shopping again because somebody needs to ban us and it certainly can’t be me.

I can learn the names and properties of foods I don’t currently know exist, and I can make a habit of cooking myself fresh tasty foods for every meal, and I can try things out of my comfort zone, and I can watch Iron Chef (I love how this show turns cooking literally into a sport) with bated breath until I’m blue in the face, but I have realized I can never be a real foodie.

Real foodies have to do the seafood thing. I don’t think you are allowed to omit such a large percentage of edibles and still qualify.

I guess it’s a matter of how badly I want it, but… not gonna happen.

I can learn the names and properties of foods I don’t currently know exist, and I can make a habit of cooking myself fresh tasty foods for every meal, and I can try things out of my comfort zone, and I can watch Iron Chef (I love how this show turns cooking literally into a sport) with bated breath until I’m blue in the face, but I have realized I can never be a real foodie.

Real foodies have to do the seafood thing. I don’t think you are allowed to omit such a large percentage of edibles and still qualify.

I guess it’s a matter of how badly I want it, but… not gonna happen.

Yesterday we went swimming and had lunch at a friend’s house! It was beautiful weather and so much fun! Here is Max just chillin on the couch, all ready for the water:

I love how Maggie is just like, "Thanks for letting us use your pool Gretel. Meet my boyfriend Max."

Max should have been more gentlemanly and friendly but he was too busy chowing down on his letter Z.

Max did not like the splashing. At all. What a face!

Maggie was born to be a sun bather!!

Kaihli is still too young for the pool but she’s certainly not a speck behind the others in the cute factor!

We loved getting out of the house and have determined to maybe get our own pool!

Amanda found this and I think it is fun!

200 things I have and have not done:

1. Touched an iceberg

2. Slept under the stars

3. Been a part of a hockey fight

4. Changed a baby’s diaper

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Swam with wild dolphins

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a tarantula

10. Said "I love you" and meant it

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise

15. Seen the Northern Lights

16. Gone to a huge sports game

17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Bet on a winning horse

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Taken an ice cold bath (does shower count? plenty of those)

28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Ridden a roller coaster

31. Hit a home run

32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

33. Adopted an accent for fun (in public?)

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment

36. Loved your job 90% of the time

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Watched wild whales

39. Gone rock climbing (but it’s on the list…)

40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach (what about really late evening?)

41. Gone sky diving (never, unless I’m 107, all my relatives and posterity are already dead and Trevor really really wants to.)

42. Visited Ireland

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (okay it was just a drink at a store)

44. Visited India

45. Bench-pressed your own weight

46. Milked a cow

47. Alphabetized your personal files

48. Worn a superhero costume

49. Sung karaoke

50. Lounged around in bed all day

51. Gone scuba diving

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Done something you should regret, but don’t

56. Visited the Great Wall of China (but apparently I will in the near future)

57. Started a business (it made it as far as the drawing board)

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Been in a movie

60. Gone without food for 3 days

61. Made cookies from scratch

62. Won first prize in a costume contest

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Been in a combat zone

65. Spoken more than one language fluently

66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone

67. Bounced a check

68. Read - and understood - your credit report

69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy

70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did

71. Called or written your Congress person

72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (but wished many times…)

73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

74. Helped an animal give birth

75. Been fired or laid off from a job

76. Won money

77. Broken a bone

78. Ridden a motorcycle

79. Driven (in) any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph

80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing (if only!)

82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

83. Eaten sushi (took me 30 minutes to swallow it!)

84. Had your picture in the newspaper (maybe but I can’t recall. Mom?)

85. Read The Bible cover to cover (read quite a chunk though)

86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about (tried, but my tactics were always too aggressive… I’ve had lots of learning to do on that front)

87. Gotten someone fired for their actions

88. Gone back to school (but my friend just got her Masters and I am surprised how jealous I feel)

89. Changed your name

90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands (this is my father’s/husband’s job!)

91. Eaten fried green tomatoes

92. Read The Iliad (if I did, it was for school, and I obviously didn’t learn much)

93. Taught yourself an art from scratch

94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Fish. Ick. Or maybe Grandpa did all the work?! Anyhow, I don’t eat fish anymore.)

95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt (I think I have apologized to my parents for having to raise me though. If not, I probably should!)

96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

97. Been elected to public office

98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream

99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you (if that includes through someone who knows me…)

101. Had a booth at a street fair

102. Dyed your hair (and proud of it)

103. Been a DJ (been with the DJ!)

104. Rocked a baby to sleep

105. Dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours

106. Raked your carpet (hello?)

107. Brought out the best in people (hopefully)

108. Brought out the worst in people (I think it’d be presumptuous to assume in front of my own mother that I’ve never been an instigator for trouble?)

109. Worn a mood ring

110. Ridden a horse

111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap (what about my husband’s head from cheese? haha)

112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe

113. Buried a child (Please. not. ever.)

114. Gone to a Broadway play

115. Been inside the pyramids

116. Shot a basketball into a basket

117. Danced at a disco

118. Played in a band

119. Shot a bird (Was this me or Brian? Either way it was an accident)

120. Gone to an arboretum (but we pass the sign on the way to church)

121. Tutored someone

122. Ridden a train

123. Brought an old fad back into style

124. Eaten caviar

125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need (I pride myself on staying one step ahead of all salesmen. Thank you, my major.)

126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant

127. Published a book (also on the list…)

128. Pieced a quilt

129. Lived in an historic place (what about for only 2 days? I stayed with my great aunt and uncle in an old house in Nauvoo once)

130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage

131. Asked for a raise

132. Made a hole-in-one (I assume this is mini-golf?)

133. Gone deep-sea fishing

134. Gone roller skating

135. Run a marathon

136. Learned to surf

137. Invented something

138. Flown first class (I wish!)

139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite (we stayed in a 4-star on the Boston Commons… that was pretty darn good enough!)

140. Flown in a helicopter

141. Visited Africa

142. Sang a solo

143. Gone spelunking

144. Learned how to take a compliment (I generally do okay at this now. Took a while.)

145. Written a love story (Katie?)

146. Seen Michelangelo’s David

147. Had your portrait painted (I painted my own for school once. It came out pretty good.)

148. Written a fan letter

149. Spent the night in something haunted

150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dance

151. Ran away (with my faithful pink blanket!)

152. Learned to juggle (only the basics)

153. Been a boss

154. Sat on a jury (I am afraid to put this in writing for fear it will happen!)

155. Lied about your weight (Not blatantly, but I have just provided guesses. Low ones. I don’t keep a scale so I really don’t even know what I weigh.)

156. Gone on a diet (I did Weight Watchers once for a whopping 2 days.)

157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget. (We found a rock that looked pretty darn close once!)

158. Written a poem

159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox

160. Gotten food poisoning

161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission (I tried, with full sincerity, to get Trevor to go on one of those 4-month volunteer things with me right after we got married. But he wanted to graduate on time or something frivolous like that…)

162. Hiked the Grand Canyon

163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks

164. Gone to the opera

165. Gotten a letter from someone famous (what about a personalized autograph?)

166. Worn knickers

167. Ridden in a limousine

168. Attended the Olympics (missed them in Salt Lake by 6 months)

169. Can hula or waltz

170. Read a half-dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books (Hardy boys are better!)

171. Been stuck in an elevator (It is scary enough when your husband gets stuck in one haha)

172. Had a revelatory dream (I do worry some of the scary ones will happen someday)

173. Thought you might crash in an airplane

174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert (Um, but a boy serenaded me outside my balcony once.)

175. Saved someone’s life

176. Eaten raw whale

177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint (does crochet = needlepoint? cross-stitch? i’m not up on my sewing terms)

178. Laughed ’til your side hurt

179. Straddled the equator

180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing

181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival

182. Sent a message in a bottle

183. Spent the night in a hostel (So close… I picked Max instead… Italy I am still coming someday)

184. Been a cashier

185. Seen a geyser erupt

186. Joined a union

187. Donated blood or plasma

188. Built a campfire

189. Kept a blog

190. Had hives

191. Worn custom-made shoes or boots

192. Made a PowerPoint presentation

193. Taken a hunter’s safety course

194. Served at a soup kitchen

195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube

196. Known CPR

197. Ridden in or owned a convertible

198. Found a long lost friend

199. Helped solve a crime

200. Responded to an NJP newsletter (apparently where this list originated)

Strategic spending for eating better, cheaper.