"Butterfingers"

I was browsing the internet at the coffee table while eating my lunch. Borrowing Nate's computer because, as you know, mine is a pest. As I grabbed my water glass i bumped the side of the laptop and SPILLED A HALF A GLASS OF WATER ON THE COMPUTER--KEYBOARD AND SPEAKERS. As I screamed out "LORD JESUS HELP ME (partially out of fear of ruining the computer and partially out of fear of having to tell Nate I had ruined the computer....the one he does all of his artwork on, the one with his beats and the one that has not been backed up for a while...) I grabbed the computer and flipped it upside down hoping to stop the flow into the computer, and water poured out onto the floor. I then screamed out to Luxie "Grab a towel! Mommy had a big accident! Hurry! Hurry!"

When things had cooled down I had to call nate and break the news to him over the phone. He was out to lunch with Sev and Greg, and I just hated calling him with them around. I mean, who wants to call and share a story like this when your husband is with his buddies? But he was near the house and i thought i better get him home quickly in case there was some way to salvage things. So i explained the situation and begged for his forgiveness, and he raced home to survey the damage. That's when the computer started to sizzle. Yes, sizzle. No smoke, but lots of odd pops and sizzles. Nate rushed to link it to the heavy duty studio computer and back up what he could before we lost it all. And all the while it sizzled and popped. And then the noise stopped.

Five hours later the back up was complete and the computer was still working. And is still working. I am typing this on it right now.

Who says God doesnt answer prayers? Who says miracles cant happen? I give you this....the tale of the waterlogged computer.

Sesame Street

Such a great show and so many wonderful memories watching it. I think it should qualify as my missed "Things I LOVE Thursday." Anyhoo, we were watching this past week and it was a rerun, (ya know, the one where Elmo turns into a bird and Big Bird tries to help him become a monster again...) and one of my favorite guest stars sang her soulful rendition of the A-B-C's.

"Patti The Bell?" asked Luxie, head cocked to the side. "No, Patti La Belle" I clarified, as we joined in with the choir of monsters soul clapping to Patti's song. It is the best ABC's version I have ever heard. Wish I could sing it for you, because it has played in my head for days now and I have it memorized, but I could never do it justice. Too bad she doesnt do a children's album because I would happily forfeit oodles of children singing the classics to pop in a disc with songs by woman like her!

meme me

Glamorous Jo had this fabulous little meme posted and i thought i might participate...



Accent: It was a non accent until i moved south. although nate always said i would say things like "bayg" instead of "bag" and "rayg" instead of "rag." I dont think this is a regional accent, but maybe just some weird thing i used to do.

Booze: I drank for the last time at the age of 20. Probably drank enough prior to that to last me a life time. I quit drinking because it wasnt for the taste but for the feeling, and I usually regreted most everything I did while drinking. Sometimes I miss it, oddly enough, but I certainly dont need it in my life. I do enough stuff I regret already!

Chore I Hate: Just one? I suppose I'd have to say WASHING DISHES BY HAND SEVERAL TIMES A DAY.

Dogs/Cats: make me sneeze.

Essential electronics: TIVO (thus including TV in the mix) and a computer.

Favorite perfume/cologne: these make me sneeze too.

Gold/Silver: ya know, i have gone back and forth between the two since the 80's, and really, it doesnt matter. at this point i only wear my wedding band anyway.

Hometown: Walla Walla, Washington. Born and raised til the age of 18.

Insomnia: I have it once in a while, but usually I am so exhausted by the end of the day that I pass out and wake up at the first sound of a child.

Job Title: I am the ....oh why try something witty when it all comes down to M.O.M. The hardest job I have ever had, and the best job Ive ever had. I love my job....but I just wish it came with some vacation days or a few weekends off here and there!

Kids: Are sooo great. And so exhausting. And sooo amazing! And such stinkers. And sooo special! And sooo needy. And sooo very dear to me. And so three years old. And so 5 months old. And sooooo much the light of my life!

Living Arrangements: Married with children

Most Admired Trait: does this mean a trait of mine that people admire? I have absolutely no idea.

(I have removed this question because...well...its a bit too personal to me!)

Overnight Hospital Stays: Besides two c-sections, Ive been in a few times as a kid (adnoids removed, tubes in ears, etc.)

Phobias: It should say "What phobias DONT you have?" Im basically a big fear ball.

Quote:

Religion: I am a Believer in Christ.

Siblings: I have had in the course of my life, including today, 5 step siblings, and one adopted brother. But I am an only child and neither of my parents have had any other kids biologically.

Time I usually wake up: WWAAAYYY to early for me. Or as my husband says, "A quarter past 'WHAAAAA!'"

Unusual talent: I can curl my toes under my feet and walk on the "toe knuckles". My daughter does the same thing--I guess it is genetic.

Vegetable: I have to say I like most of them. Except some of the crazy beans in the bean family.

Worst habit: No idea. I grind my teeth, but Nate jumped in and said that's not the worst...(thanks honey) I suppose I leave the cabinets open and I also leave piles of things around the house to remind me I need to organize them.

X-rays: too many to count.

Yummy foods I make: A great roast, and a great crispy chicken recipe, and soups.

Zodiac Sign: Saggitarius. No idea what it means or whether or not I have spelled it correctly.

...

5:00pm Family heads to park to visit with sister-in-law, her visiting friend, and cousins.

6:00pm Drive to popular Atlanta pizzeria, Fellini's for some dinner.

6:15pm Sun is shining brightly as tables are arranged and our family ends up on the sunny side of the table. (note: the temp was about 80 degrees.)

6:30pm Waiting patiently for the pizza to arrive. Baby who is supposed to be asleep in stroller is wide awake wanting to be part of the action. Big girl is under the table playing....something.

6:40pm Waiting less patiently in the blazing sun for the orders to arrive. Baby is still ready for action, Big Girl is now complaining about the sun, asking regularly "Where's my pizza? Where's my pizza?"

6:45pm Pizza arrives...for the four of us, anyway. I am now sitting in sweaty jeans watching beads of sweat roll down Nate's face as he tries to visit with the rest of the table (sitting comfortably in the shade : ) Big Girl digs into her meal, so I figure I better dig in to before Im on kid duty. Decide to stand to eat to avoid what I call "sweat bottom."

7:00pm Big Girl is on the verge of a break down. We head home quick.

7:30pm Begin feeding Baby who is frantic due to lack of sleep. When I try to burp her between sides, she gets hysterical and I must bypass the burp and head to the next round quickly.

8:00pm Baby is done eating, but nowhere near sleep. Too many burps because we didnt burp between sides (she's a burping kinda baby.) Spend thirty minutes in a cycle of bed, up, burp, bed, up, burp.

9:00pm and Baby and Big Girl are sound asleep.

9:15pm Decide to sit and watch some tv rather than clean house. Husband and I decide to actually turn the tv off and chat.

10:45pm Head to bed with the knowlege "you never know what the night holds so it's good to sleep when you can."

10:46pm Neighbor decides to throw a party. Lights come on, cars show up. People are laughing and having a good time with no regard for sleepy mommy in the window above them.

2:45am Party winds down and last car leaves. Hubby is still working in the studio. Say to self "well, at least there are 5 hours left to sleep."

4:15am Baby is awake and cooing.

4:45am Baby is still awake. Not crying, but definitely wanting some attention.

5:00am Realize sleep is for whimps (of which I am the biggest) and sneak into baby's room to try to put pacifier into baby's mouth without being seen.

5:15am Baby is still talking, but with pacifier in her mouth. Lie awake wondering what to do next. Hubby is passed out assuming Ive already had several hours of sleep.

5:30am Baby has lost pacifier and is getting very frantic. Run thru the list "Dirty diaper?" "Burp?" "Desperately sleepy?" Decide to try pacifier once more. Hide beside side of crib, reach arm over, feel for pacifier, find mouth hole, insert the piece. Baby calms and I collapse to the floor. Find baby towel from bath time and cover my legs with it. Wait to see if baby sleeps.

5:45am All is quiet, decide to sneak back to my own bed. Sigh deeply as I lay my head on the pillow.

5:46am Birds begin chirping.

5:47am Someone at noisy neighbor house decides to start of the car.

7:25am Hear Big Girl door open. Mommy springs into action.

8:00am Get Baby and Big Girl fed, go tell Hubby he's on deck for duty.

9:00am Burp Baby til I cant burp her anymore and put her down for nap. Call Hubby in for Daddy duty.

9:30am Decide to take a shower to wash away the sleep. Big Girl wants to join me (she loves showers but is too little to shower alone yet.) Realize time alone is for whimps, besides I thrive on constantly entertaining others.

9:45am Hubby is back asleep on the bed. Shower is over and I realize somewhere under Hubby is my retainer. (side note: yes, i still wear my retainer. The sleep deprived me had taken it off while feeding the baby and set it on my pillow. Gross? Maybe. But on with the story.)

9:46am Begin desperate search for retainer. Hubby half looks then says "well, im going out here." Demand that Hubby stays to look with me. Hubby says, "I JUST want to have a good day." (Here insert animated photo of dragon with smoke billowing from his nostrils). Errupt into a flaming, spewing, venomous "Why in the WORLD did you have to say something like that?" bit and become the freak he was assuming I was when I first flipped out over losing the retainer. (Note: I wasnt in a bad mood to begin with....but yes, I was after the comment.)

9:50am Hubby begins ripping sheets and pillows off the bed while I rant about how ineffective that is in finding a small retainer. Big Girl stands at end of the bed saying "Im helping!!" Continue searching while reminding everyone to "SSHHHHH!" because the baby is sleeping.

9:52am Hubby decides this is the perfect time to quiz me on the reasons why I still wear "the stinkin thing." Begin wondering to self how Hubby became such an expert on orthodontics considering he has never had braces, or a retainer, for that matter.

10:00am Retainer is found. Bed is remade. Hot and sweaty after searching for retainer. Day is off and running.....

more stuff

1. as i was just looking at the photo i posted for mother's day i realized my mom is 29 in that photo....with an 8 year old. And i am 33 with a 3 year old and a baby. weird.

2. tvguide.com posted the Fall Preview for the networks and links to read about the new shows that will be coming out. you can go to http://online.tvguide.com/special/fallpreview2006/ to see the schedule and learn what made the cut. (sorry, it's been so long since i have posted a link properly that i have forgotten how to do it...)

3. i am really busy these days but cant figure out with what! life just seems to be moving by at a rapid pace! maybe due to all of the tv i have been watching with season finales and such. DONT FORGET! the LOST finale is this week!

4. Well, Nate has requested his computer back again....so until I can snatch it away again, that's all i got. He's busy working on his project with Sev. Sev is coming out next weekend to put the vocals down and then nate will mix the album.

Sorry this is such a lame post!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY/Self Portrait Tuesday 5.16

Grandma Mavis, mom, and me, age 8

I wanted to get this up by Mother's Day, but my computer is still struggling and i am typing this with a black screen that comes in once every few seconds. So I have to be brief. This is one of my all time favorite photos, the three generations together on Mother's Day in 1981. I would have loved to have had my Grandma meet my girls, but unfortunately she passed away in 1997 just two weeks after her husband, my Grandpa Bert. So as I type this on my black screen, I am thinking about my mom, and her mom, and all that these two ladies did to help make me the woman I am today. And I am grateful. Happy belated Mother's Day to all my favorite gals, and to those of you I dont know, a Happy Mother's Day too. And especially to you, mom. I love you.

Self Portrait Tuesday 5.10

"Introduce Yourself" is this month's theme. So here I am on my wedding, 9 years ago today on May 10, 1997. That guy is my college sweetheart, Nate, whom I dated 4.5 years before marrying (first date was Valentine's Day 1993....awwwww!) We met at Cincinnati Bible College (now called Cincinnati Christian University) when he was 19 and I was 20. Broke up twice during those 4 and a half years, listened to Phantom of the Opera from horrible "obstructed view" seats. Made several trips to Atlanta, including one during the imfamous "Blizzard of 1993". Worked summer basketball camps together for his dad (the CBC head basketball coach at the time) and even coached a team together one summer (not something i recommend : ). Flew to Alaska together for Nate to meet my dad and ask for my hand in marriage in one big trip. Spent countless hours/afternoons down at "The Wall"/Sawyer Point and the best Gap Outlet in the US. Bought Nate's first keyboard together, the ASR 10, for producing beats, and waited patiently for him while he traveled South Africa an entire month with only one phone call home. This is me, with the love of my life, on our Wedding Day.

"You be Kendra..."

Yes, I have now become "Kendra" (my real name) to my three year old. She's really into the pretending thing and especially loves to be older--specifically 5 years old (this, of course, has nothing to do with the fact that her cousin Ava whom she adores is also 5 years old.) So I have spent the day answering to "Kendra" rather than "mommy" as a part of her pretending world. "Hi Kendra, would you like to play?" Or "Hi Kendra, Im Ava, let's play the matching game!" "No Kendra, that's not how we do it." What's funny is that i remember doing the exact same thing around the same age.

Things I LOVE Thursday: LOST

WHHAAAATT??????? Now that was crazy....just CRAZY!!! Im talking about last night's episode. And if you are a fan as I am then you were very impressed with how quiet the secret has been kept. And i am a spoiler reader. I try to know these things ahead of time! What I did know was that Michael would return and "would be a much different person that he was when he left" and i did know that time had most likely expired for Ana Lucia. And I did know that Libby had been cast in a new series next fall so she would probably be making an exit too at some point. But what i DIDNT know was just how great the going would be. Every Wednesday I read tvguide.com for Michael Ausiello's "Ask Ausiello" column and his "Ausiello Report" blog. Here's what he had to say late last night:


AUSIELLO REPORT

by Michael Ausiello


Why Did Lost Kill Ana Lucia? Lindelof/Cuse Tell All!


Before we get to the shocking events of last night's Lost, I have a confession to make: I've known for weeks that Michelle Rodriguez was leaving the show and I said nothing about it in Ask Ausiello. No hints. No spoilers. Not even an asterisk quiz. And you're probably wondering why. Well, it's simple: I knew Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse wanted Ana Lucia's death to be a big surprise to viewers and I wasn't going to be the one to ruin that for them — or you. Plus, I knew if I kept my big trap shut, I'd stand a better chance of getting them to spill the beans about the shocking plot twist before it happened, and then be able to post it to my blog the moment the episode was over. All in all, I think it was a pretty fair trade-off. Oh, and you're probably wondering about the fate of Cynthia Watros' Libby since she too was gunned down by Michael last night. I'll have the full story on that next week. But first, let's get to the bottom of M.Ro's ouster.

Ausiello: Was it always your intention to use Ana Lucia as a one-season character?
Damon Lindelof: A lot of this is going to sound like spin, so all we can give you is our word that this is exactly what happened. Around late February of last year, we started throwing our respective lines in the water to find the leader of the tail section, who we knew was going to be a Latina woman and who would be conceived as a romantic foil for Jack. We wanted her to be in her mid-thirties and be a detective from the LAPD. So we started putting out feelers unofficially because we wanted her to show up in the penultimate episode of last year. That way, when we started our plan for Season 2, it wouldn't feel like we had pulled her out of our asses. So, right around that time...
Carlton Cuse: I got a call from Michelle's agent saying, "Would you guys be interested in Michelle Rodriguez? But she's really only interested in being on the show for a year."
Damon: So we basically said, "A year is not necessarily ideal for us, but let's bring in Michelle and have the meeting." And she came in and met with Carlton and I and then, in the last 15 minutes, J.J. [Abrams] happened to be across the way doing some Alias stuff and he came over and sat down with her and we just hung out with her and chatted. It turned out that she worked in Hawaii on Blue Crushand knew a lot of people down there. But she made it very clear in that meeting that she's sort of a nomadic spirit and she did not want to commit to doing any more than [one season]. She wanted to do one kickass arc, as she described it, and we basically started to wrap our brains around her energy and say, "Yeah, we'll bring you on the show and then we'll kill you off at the end of the year." And she was totally cool with it and we were totally cool with it, and we parted ways and talked amongst ourselves. Obviously, the network and the studio normally don't want to get into a situation where they're not making multiyear deals, but we assured them that this was in fact the plan, and that even if Michelle was a rocking sensation on the show, we were going to stick to the plan. So they signed off on it and made the deal accordingly.

Ausiello: And then the DUI...
Carlton: Then she got this DUI and Damon and I looked at each other and we were like, "Oh, great. Everybody is going to think we're killing her off because she got a DUI." But there really wasn't anything we could do about that. I mean, the story was set. We had made plans. With Lost, we think it out well ahead of when we actually shoot it. We thought about altering our plan, but [this] was in fact what was best for the show. The fact that she got a DUI would come and go and what would live on would be the show, and our plan was still the best plan for the character. Ironically, we actually thought about changing it the other way around once [the DUI] happened, but it really was the best story. We wanted to tell the best story.
Damon: And obviously that decision was further mitigated by the fact that Libby is shot at the same time as Ana Lucia. Basically then we said, "Oh, s--t. Both Michelle and Cynthia were busted the same night for DUI and we've got this story point coming up where they essentially both get shot at the same time, so it's going to look like this is the Lost producers attempt to say, 'Don't drive drunk!'" But as Carlton says, all it created in us was [the thought that], "Maybe we shouldn't do the plan now, 'cause people are going to think this is a reaction to [the DUIs], as opposed to this [plan] existing prior to that event."
Carlton: As you'll see, everything that happens for the rest of the season all sort of falls from this event. And we're not doing ourselves or the fans of the show or the show itself any service by altering those plans because of Michelle's extracurricular activities.
Damon: Not to mention that we didn't even know if that option would be available to us. We were still functioning under the auspices of that meeting, which was Michelle saying, "I want to do a year and then move on."

Ausiello: Did you meet with Michelle to make sure everyone was still on the same page?
Damon: Michelle happened to be [in Los Angeles] and she came by to see us. We basically said to her, "So we’re going to stay on course." And at that point, Michelle was kinda like, "Hey, I'm living in Hawaii...." She might have been able to wrap her brain around [staying] a little bit longer on the show, but she did not say, "I want to stay on the show!" She was basically like, "Yeah. That's a good plan."
Carlton: And once we told her what was happening, she was incredibly supportive. She thought it was sort of a kickass way to go, and she got very on board with the idea of how she was going to be exiting the show.

Ausiello: Rumor has it she was a hard-ass on the set and everyone hated her. Care to set the record straight?
Damon: We're not in Hawaii on the set so all we can speak to is our working relationship with Michelle and what we have heard from the other actors and directors on the show, and we never heard anything remotely resembling that she was a hard-ass. You know, she's Michelle. She's got a very playful spirit. But she's totally professional and got along well with all the other actors. We get calls over the course of our career about difficult actors. We did not get those calls about Michelle.



So there you have it. Straight from the horse's mouth. And with all of the developments that occured last night I have one regret. Why spend an entire episode developing how AL knew Jack's dad only to kill her off and have the information die with her? And what about Libby and the Hurley connection?


So here's what I learned/noticed:

-Jack and Claire are half brother/sister? (the woman at the house that Jack's dad was arguing with... "she's my daughter!")
-Michael is either doing this all in hopes of getting Walt back (made a deal with the others?) or he is brainwashed now too?
-He obviously made up his story about the group of others that he saw--he is working with them now so there is nothing we can trust about what he said. I think there are groups like the one he described, but that is not all that he saw during his time on the run. Notice he said he didnt see the boat, there were only two guns, there were no kids. These things dont make sense unless he is either lying or there are different groups. We know he wasnt telling the truth or he wouldnt have killed his own people!
-Locke is feeling very unwanted by the survivors, and Henry is playing on that to draw him to their side for some reason. Why didnt Henry want to kill him when he was stuck under the wall? Because he is easily brainwashed, while Ana Lucia, Jack, and Sayid are not?
-Did you catch the commercial for the Hanso Organization towards the end of the episode? Very interesting.

I CANT WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK!

PROPAIN

"ProPain" Mars ILL's third album releases May 2nd across the nation.

Tomorrow, the long awaited and highly anticipated, sometimes unlikely but finally come true release of his baby, PROPAIN. What can i say about this two and a half year journey? The beats were being created when Luxie was just 6 months old. The first release date was set for October 2004. Then just two weeks before all systems were a go, we got the call. Gotee had asked if we had any recognizable samples and based on our obscurity and the relativity of who would ever hear the album, the guys agreed that there wasnt anything major to report. Past albums had sold 15,000 copies, and based on the numbers it seemed logical. Then EMI heard the album and from what we understand, they thought it might be big. Big enough that they started wanting to license the album for different useages (commercials, television music, etc) and began researching certain songs. By some strange fluke the chorus of "Wicked Ways" came up on a google search when the lawyer for licensing happened to recognize it. Nate had chosen the chorus from an old album from the 60's but it just so happened that that one song had been on a "Greatest Hits of the 60's" album that came out in early 2000. So rather than be an obscure little sample, it was considered very recognizable.

With that the album was pulled immediately from the shelves (or was supposed to have been. Many fans have found it for sale in certain stores that disregarded the notice.) We were emotionally punched in the gut. So much hope for a larger audience, for the fulfillment of a highly anticipated project, for God's truth to reach the airwaves once again. And we were stunned. We didnt know if we would be dropped from the label, if we would be forced to pay back all the $ that was put into this, if we would ever see ProPain again. But Gotee stood behind us, they went forward and we were told that once the lawyers worked out a deal with the "The Vibrations" (the group with the Wicked Ways chorus) to use the sample, things would move forward. So a new release date was tenatively place--Feb 2005. It came and went with no news of a release. Then a third date was set, July 19th.

As new publicity brewed on the long awaited album, and as we prepared for the July release date, we got another punch in the gut. Lawyers for EMI could not reach a comfortable agreement on whether or not the album should be released. And as the date grew closer they still could not finalize the details amongst themselves and that was how it was left. We continued to hear from Gotee that the album was still going to come out, that things were moving forward, and we had reached the point of finally releasing it from our grasp and trusting that God's will would be done. It's funny, when we first heard the news, we immediately had to force ourselves to trust God. But until we truly did let go and began to move away from concern over it's release, that God completed the plan.

May 2nd was finally chosen, basically because of the label's yearly schedule. With other albums coming out last fall and early this year, it was the first good spot available. And here we are, with the cd's in hand, shipping them out to fans who have waited as long as we have to get a copy, watching this dream become a reality. It is bittersweet, I should say, because so much has happened in the past two years. So much I wish I could write about but cant, for now. But I am so glad to know that the work was not in vain, that God is faithful to see his plans thru regardless of man's involvement, and that the world will hear what Mars ILL has to say.