the simple life

Autumn

Parkour!

Do you watch the Office?  It's one of the best things about my week.  :) 

Dad's songs.

There is music from my childhood that will always remind me of my Dad.  

He introduced me to Elton John through a couple of greatest hits tapes.  When Dad picked the cassette up, I thought he was joking.  There was an odd looking man on the cover, wild glasses, pink sneakers and possibly golf pants?  The second cassette's cover wasn't much better, but when the music started filling our car, I was instantly hooked.  "Crocodile Rock", "Tiny Dancer", "Rocket Man",(quick fast forwarding through "The Bitch is Back", because that is exactly the last thing my father, a pastor, needed his kids to be heard singing).   My Mom always worked up a sweat singing "Bennie and the Jets".  Good clean fun for everyone.

My Dad and Uncle Kent spent a lot of time setting up Kent's "pool house" as a weight room.  For hours we kids would swim in the pool, then dry off by sprinting through my Aunt and Uncle's freezing house to use the bathroom and find the sugary treats.  I ate my first white chocolate covered pretzel in that house.  One night on the way to work out, Dad stopped by Wal-Mart and picked up a Michael Jackson CD, "Man in the Mirror".   I remember rewinding that song over and over and over before the iron pumping session was over, and in the process grew to love Michael Jackson for more than just "Bad" or a token spooky song to play during Girl Scout camp outs.  "Thriller", anyone? 

My parents went through a rough time in their marriage, and separated for a few months before divorcing, only to remarry a short time later.  During that time, my Dad discovered Garth Brooks.  I enthusiastically  sang along with "Friends in Low Places", and "The Rodeo", but the most significant song was "Shameless".  I remember watching the videos on CMT with my brother and sister.  Garth Brooks sang that song with such passion, tearing up that lone yellow rose and then beating on his chest, and declaring that he was "SHAMELESS!  SHAMELESS AS A MAN CAN BE!"  Some nights when Dad was at the house, we would watch videos and everytime that song came on, my Dad would try to get Mom to dance with him through the living room, always  mock pounding his chest during the passionate parts. I will forever owe a tiny part of my parents reconciliation to Garth Brooks, whether he deserves it or not.  

But one of my truest favorites that Dad introduced us to, was a woman named Nanci Griffith.  
She had the sweetest little wholesome voice, and every song she sang invoked memories of a time that I was obviously much too young to remember, but I loved it just the same.  One of my favorites was "Love at the Five and Dime" and thanks to the beauty that is YouTube, I can listen to my favorite songs without having to dig through my parents old shoeboxes of cassette tapes.  

domo arigato mr. roboto

I am not normally obsessed with the Oscar's, but tonight I abandoned all responsibilities after dinner, had Dustin handle the bedtime routine for the monsters,  and sat perfectly still for nearly 3 hours just to watch.

Some of my highlights:

*Kate Winslet! WOOHOO!!

*Robert Deniro's comment to Sean Penn about how he was able to play straight men all these years!

*John Legend...oh yes.

*Kunio Kato's speech: "Sank you bery much, sank you all my stuff, sank you Academy, "Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto !" LOVED THAT.

*Shirley Mcclain's sweet words for Anne Hathaway, and Anne tearing up, saying "I LOVE YOU SHIRLEY! SO MUCH!"

*Ben Stiller! HA!

*Meryl Streep arriving in her silver Prius with her cutie pie daughter.

*Tina Fey and Steve Martin are genius together.

*Seth Rogen and James Franco watching Milk together and cuddling.

Do you watch the Oscar's? 
I thought of all of you musical loving nuts during Hugh Jackman's "Musicals are BACK!" piece.
**********************************************
While watching I was reminded of a few other musicals that I actually loved:

West Side Story
Moulin Rouge
Grease
The King and I

I have a feeling that there are a few more.  I was shocked to remember so many that I really liked!

the longest 20 minutes of his life

I almost never watch musicals.  I know I'm probably missing out on a lot of classics, but my parents both hated musicals and they instilled in me the fine art of the super quick fast forward reflex when a character bursts into song.

So chatting with my Mom the other night, she casually mentions,
"We watched Mamma Mia last night."

"Seriously?"

"Well, yes, sort of.  We didn't realize that it was a musical. "

"Well, yeah.  And an ABBA musical at that!"

"Well we love ABBA!  We just didn't expect the whole movie to be one long song.  Every time somebody started singing Dad would say "FAST FORWARD!", and every time that song ended, a new one was starting!"

"Mom, it's  a musical.  I think that's how it's supposed to be."

"I guess.  We watched it in about 20 minutes."

*laughing*

"Your Dad said it was the longest 20 minutes of his life."

I love my parents. :)

 I haven't seen Mamma Mia but I love Colin Firth so much, I know I'll have to try to watch it eventually.  Do you watch musicals?  I remember watching a few when I would baby-sit for my Aunt, whose children only watched classics, musicals and John Wayne flicks.  My favorite was probably "Meet Me in St. Louis" with Judy Garland.  I haven't seen it in YEARS, and I still get songs from that movie stuck in my head ALL.THE.TIME.

you have four eyes

Missing again! Sorry.  We all got REALLY sick.  I was consoling myself this afternoon with some mindless internet browsing, and came across this video that I thought you all would like.

It's of a little boy who had a tooth removed, and his laughing gas hadn't quite worn off yet...

It's eerily similar to how I behaved during my delivery of Annabelle, right after they gave me some pain meds.  :)

Charlie Brown

this made me smile today :) enjoy!

Flashback Friday** Mississippi Squirrel Revival

It's my birthday!

Boy Scouts Offer To Give Breast Exams @ Yahoo! Video

My Mom shared this on her blog today, and it made me laugh and laugh. 
I couldn't understand if it was a joke or not, until toward the end, and I noticed that it's from The Onion.  :)

This is the best I have today, it's my birthday!  I'm off to take a bath with my freebie birthday bubble bath from Sephora! 

goodnight :)

Andy, Opie and the Fonz!!! Can you get more American than that?? :D

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

this made me smile :)

HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAA.

this video KILLS me every time.  Watch her face at the end, it cracks. me. up.

this weather makes me so very happy

the weather is so lovely.  we've had thunderstorms in Arkansas, and i think rain is in the forecast for the entire week, but the 110+ temps have dropped to the 60's and 70's. 

today was grey and cloudy, cool and perfect.  on the drive to my grandma's house, i opened the sunroof and the windows and enjoyed the cool air.  going up the mountain, i spotted a few campers and the loveliest campfire smell filled my car, as i listened to sweet songs on my ipod.  (The Magic Numbers is getting extra play time this week)

i visited a bit with my Mimi and Pa Bob, while the kids made Mimi rub coconut lotion all over their hands and arms and even their little chubby feet.   i ran to Wal-Mart to pick up some special treats and other food for Dustin's care package (he's working out of town right now and is having a very lonely day).

 i consider it a successful Wal-Mart trip when i manage to avoid those awkward acquaintances that I know just enough that it's awkward if I don't say hello, but equally as awkward if I stop to talk and realize that we have nothing to talk about.  

have i mentioned that i am a bit socially awkward sometimes?  that's probably something that you should know about me, should we ever meet in the future.

anyways, i ran into a few people at Wal-Mart that I was actually glad to see, so that made the trip better.

back into the car, rolled the windows down again, despite the sprinkling rain, and listened to a favorite song as loud as possible

how was your day?

good night sweetheart

cranford, youtube, iowa floods

i've been wanting to see Cranford for some time, but haven't been able to find it on my TV.  Last week I found it on YouTube!  Yahoo for YouTube!  so i've been catching up on that this week and really really enjoying it.

speaking of YouTube...

You may have heard that Iowa's been having some terrible, terrible flooding.  So many businesses and homes filled with water, and I sat in fear that the same would happen to us.  Fortunately, we live in one of the highest parts of Des Moines, so flooding was never a real concern for us.

My parents called every day with a variation of the same question, "Are ya'll swimming yet?" or "Are ya'll floating away?" 

My Dad called on Sunday and asked about the floods.  I told him we were fine, the weather had been perfectly breezy and sunny and warm.  I told him that you wouldn't even know anything was going on, had it not been for the constant buzz of news helicopters that I could see and hear from my yard.

He asked if I had gone out to see any of the flooding or damage downtown.

"Are you crazy?  Not with these gas prices!  I can't afford to drive around.  I've just been watching coverage online, and looking at pictures and videos on Flickr and YouTube".

He got such a laugh out of me getting all my "news" from YouTube.  My Dad was always the first one out after a tornado, or other severe weather, to survey all the damage. 

I guess it is silly, in a few years when we talk about the "Flooding of 08", I'll be able to say, "I was there!  I saw the pictures on YouTube!" 

a "hand up", not a "hand out"

I read this amazing article in a local paper last week, and tonight I was looking online to see if I could find more information about this project to share with everybody.

Here's a little information that I've copied from the website, One World Everybody Eats, and a brief interview from YouTube. 

The One World Everybody Eats foundation is an outgrowth of One World Cafe in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The concept began when owner Denise Cerreta in mid 2003 had an ephiphany to serve organic food, let people choose their own portions and let them price those portions themselves.  Since then, she's gained local, national and world-wide notoriety for her pay as you go prices, seasonal no menu organic cuisine, living wages, minimal food waste and healthy meals that are within everyone's reach.
 

By encouraging people to savor the meal, Ms. Cerreta is attempting to help people see the value of food as more than a mere consumable but rather, as a glue and a catalyst for healthy people, relationships and communities.  Customers are able to seat themselves in a relaxed atmosphere that is condusive to conversation; opposite to the usual public dining experience of isolation.  Because our customers choose their own prices, their portions tend to be more mindful and reflect that they will actually want to eat, with the result being little or no food waste.  We've realized that this makes more food available and we expect this will make the concept exportable and adoptable worldwide.  

Philosophy meets business through her desire to pay her workers a living wage, as well provide volunteer options for those who would prefer a "hand up" rather than a hand out.  For every hour someone gives to our foundation, they can receive a voucher for a full meal, and children under 8 can eat with a parent on the same vouncher.  Plus, there is always a complimentary staple dish that everyone can eat regardless of means.  Denise and the staff knew the model was successful on the day that there were several people eating, all of whom had volunteered earlier in the week and had redeemed their vouchers.  But all were eating anonymously and with dignity. 

I absolutely love every single thing about this concept, and love the ideas that Denise shares for the future of this organization. 

If you've got a few minutes, check it out.  It really is something worth talking about.  :)

added to the list:

add this girl to the list of children that i would like to gobble up

almost a cat person

cupcake mafia...what's your alias?

any tips for removing green trident gum from a little boys neck?  like, his WHOLE neck?    he's wearing it like a necklace right now, and despite the scrubbing and scrubbing and applying lotion and scrubbing, it's not budging.

i forced myself (still SICK) into HEB tonight with all three kids to buy baby oil.  i thought that may help in the removal of gum. 

the cashier in the lane next to ours chuckled at Julian's green neck.

i walked out with 2 bags of chocolate chips, waffles, bananas, grapefruit,  soy milk, a promise to return with homemade cookies for our other cashier....and no baby oil. 

***

this cuppy cake song is so cute!  my mom and sister have this on their cell phones and the kids just go crazy over it.  not very gangsta, but cute nonetheless.  ;)

i'm surprised everybody wants to join a cupcake mafia!  what would we do?   i've been thinking about this all day, in my Robitussin induced stupor.

for your first mission into the cupcake mafia, you must name yourself.  come up with a sweet cupcake mafia alias, and post it here in comments. 

i am leaning toward "Foxy Brown Shuga"...although "Butta Cream" has a nice ring to it...

your turn!

currently:

got this from Joy.  feel free to play if you want :)

Yourself:  congested
Your partner:  frozen and frustrated
Your hair:  messy piggy tails
Your mother:   giving
Your father:  hilarious
Your favorite item:  Robitussin cough/cold/flu Nighttime
Your dream last night:  i made a music video with justin timberlake.  pretty hilarious.
Your favorite drink:  ice water
Your dream car:  anything comfortable, dependable, and capable of fitting my large tribe and lots of cargo.   if VW would make a new bus (like they did with the new beetles)  that would probably be my "dream" car.  :-)
Your dream home:   in San Miguel de Allende.   or just any home that is clean and not an apartment.
The room you are in now:   dining/office
Your fear:  losing family
Where you want to be in 10 yrs:   successful, happy, with sanity intact.
Who you hung out with last night:  my kids, obviously.
You’re not:  watching American Idol anymore.  it's no fun without Dustin.
Wish list item: crumpler bag, '7 million dollar home', in red
Last thing you did:  fell off the "fast food free February" bandwagon.  ordered Chick-Fil A  for kids dinner, out of desperation
What are you wearing:  charcoal grey yoga pants, with a large navy ATARI t-shirt.  aka p.j.'s
Favorite weather:  crispy Autumn....although i could go for some seaside sunshine
Favorite book:  Pride and Prejudice
Last thing you ate:  brownie a la mode (from chick-fil A)
Your life:  rollercoaster
Your mood:  lethargic
Your best friend:  always smells nice
What are you thinking about right now:  medicine
Your car:  mostly a blessing
What are you are doing at this moment:  this.  duh.
Relationship status:  married
What’s on TV:  stupid game show, waiting for Jon and Kate plus 8.  man i love that show.  Kate makes me feel so normal.
Last time you laughed:  a few minutes ago.  Annabelle was changing into p.j.'s and her undies started to slip down.   she covered herself and yelled, "Ahh!  Don't look at my penith!"
because of this video...you will smile if you watch it:

finger biters

frozen

ick

i feel like i'm getting sick, and all i want to do is go lie down and watch Supernanny, but in my attempt to blog every day,  i feel it is my duty to make sure you have all seen the craziness that is Tom Cruise.

click here

i watched it 3  1/2 times today, trying to understand something, anything, that he was saying.  i got nothin.

why couldn't he just keep dancing around in his undies and being cute? 

enjoy the dance

ezra saving elmo from...

julian driving really fast to catch...

annabelle the crazy eyed dancing queen...

and for those of you that were thinking it...YES, julian is always in undies only.  ezra, however, is usually in clothes.  he just demolished a big piece of BIRTHDAY CAKE and was stripped down and waiting for p.j.'s

yes, ezra turned one last week.  more on that later.  for now, enjoy the dance :)

if you knew about this, why didn't you tell me?

this made me laugh so hard last night. 
search for "Flight of the Conchords" on YouTube for more hilarious videos :)

new daily quote

New quote in the Bartell household,
"USE YOUR TOOLS!!!!"

it's starting to sink in, i think.

and thanks to Mi'chelle, i listened to this song approximately 87 times today.  LOVE it.

dirty dancing

i seriously cried big happy tears watching this.  love it.

sigur ros "hoppipolla"

i think cj showed me this video last year, but i've never tried to share videos on my blog.  i've been glued to youtube for the past couple of days, and decided it was time to learn how to upload videos.  this is one of the most beautiful, emotional music videos i've ever seen.  i seriously tear up everytime i see it. 

it's called "hoppipolla" by sigur ros.  they really create the most amazing videos, but this one is my favorite. 

happy wednesday :-)