Happy Valentine's Day... Want Some Bling?

I was talking to my mom today, and she actually used the word "bling" in the right context. Yeah, that was weird. I laughed at her.

So anyway... about the bling... I'm a simple girl. I don't wear jewelry. When I was in college, I wore earrings (only studs) EVERY day. I also wore a necklace EVERY day, but mostly just because I had a boyfriend, who gave me a very nice heart necklace, and I loved it.

When I *do* wear jewelry, I'm VERY picky. It took me seven months *after* we were married to even find a wedding ring set I liked. :) Now, I don't even wear the set (except when I go out to restaurants or to visit family); I only wear the engagement one, which is a small gold band with five small diamonds. :) And technically, I wouldn't even call it an engagement ring because, like I said, I got it seven months after we were married. So... it's more like just half my wedding set... the half that doesn't catch on things or scratch people. :)

Anyway... I keep getting off track here, but I needed to provide you with some background for my bling story...

So... my mom was telling me how her first Valentine's Day with my dad, they both got each other cross necklaces without knowing what the other was getting (aww... how sweet... yada yada yada). And I announced, "I want jewelry now, Mom!" To which she replied, "You finally want some bling, huh?! Well, it's about time!" See why I laughed at her? Tee hee.

Bummer thing is... Jeremy isn't really into the Valentine's Day present thing. He likes to make my gifts, which is sweet, but once... one time while we're married... I'd like jewelry or flowers. :)

Not A LOT of jewelry. Actually, while I'm married to him for the rest of our lives, I will only ask for two jewelry things: a set of 1/4 carat, princess cut diamond earrings (from... wherever) and the sterling silver starfish necklace from Tiffany&Co. :) That's all I ask. Nothing more, really. And he knows these things. I figure we've only been married for (a little over) two years. He has time... plenty of time. :) Just thought I'd let you all know.

*emmett* ~ who is excited for her present this year because he stayed home from my high school girls' state championship gymnastics meet to work on it :)

Samara Has Nothing on Matthew...

Last night on American Idol, there was this dude named Matthew. His voice sounded EXACTLY like a woman. And as I was sitting there watching this very womanly voice come out of this tall man, I cried. I cried because that was the creepiest thing I think I've ever witnessed.

I'M.DEAD.SERIOUS. I was, honest to God, scared. I liked his voice though. Really, I did. It was just... you know... scary.

*emmett* ~ who wasn't even scared during "Hide and Seek"

Watch Out For That... uhhh... Deer.

Well, at least one deer (yes, deer) wasn't happy about George W's continuation as President...

Last night while in the bus coming home from our high school gymnastics meet (yeah, we're 8 and 1 now... we rock!), a huge deer thought he'd (or she'd) attempt suicide by jumping eight feet high (no, I'm *not* exaggerating) in front of the bus.

In the process, the whole right-side of the bus's windshied shattered. The silly deer also bent the 12-inch mirror around the side of the bus and broke all the glass (no more glass now). Also... another mirror completely got torn from the bus. The bus driver lost control for a second, and we ran over all kinds of crap (who knows what, really), and yeah, it was just scary. But it's okay, children! I'm okay. I was a little shaken up, but no biggie.

Oh, yeah, and the deer? Yeah, he got up and hobbled back into the forest. I'm only guessing though because when we looked back, there was not a deer (or deer head) in sight. Weird stuff happens on Inauguration Day, I tell ya.

*emmett* ~ who hopes the little deer is safe... and a little wiser...

p.s. Edited to say: The bus driver *said* it was a deer. (There was NO way a deer could have survived that!) We think she did this to save herself the embarrassment. She actually ran into a stop sign. She must have been tired. That was SCARY!

Happy Birthday, Mairen!

Happy Birthday today to my new niece, Mairen Elizabeth Rinaldi. :)

And kudos to my sister, Shaina. She went to the hospital at 11:00 last night. And then at 1:34 a.m., she had this 20-inch, almost-nine-pound-chub (8 lbs. 13.5 oz actually) *naturally*... no drugs! Go, Shaina! You're the woman!

Mairen joins her two older twin sisters, Alaura Dawn and Brenna Rey (aka "The Twinkies"). And I get to see her this weekend! AND my best friend, Hanna, is flying 3,000 miles to see *me* on Saturday. Woohoo! A new niece *and* my best friend... all in the same week. Yay me!

*emmett* ~ who is *very* excited

Awww... Memories.

I love the super-good feeling I get inside me when I see things from my childhood. This is happening more and more recently now that the old 1980s toys are coming back. Like when I see My Little Ponies or Holly Hobbie or Full House. *sigh* I love the feeling. It's like deep in my soul... a warm, feel-good feeling. I love it. Memories are nice. :)

*emmett* ~ who now wants to collect Holly Hobbie stuff...

Christmas and Stuff.

Happy New Year... and stuff.

I hate New Year's resolutions. I never make them. Okay, that's not true. I made one once... several years ago. And I became very obsessive-compulsive about it because everybody knows that people never keep resolutions.

So yeah, I kept that one. It was to wash my hands more. And I do... obsessively... like I said. I even wash my hands after I go pee, and I'm about to get in the shower and be all soapy. So yeah, obsessed. But on the other hand (as I'm just this second realizing), I've been sick a lot less. :-) I did have one hell of a case of bronchitis (complete with a fever) all through the holidays though. Yeah, that sucked.

So Christmas was good. I got almost everything I asked for... but then again, I only had about six things on my list. :) So I now just need to get myself a soup cookbook (Book of Soups) and some cloth grocery bags with the Christmas money I got. :)

I have more to say, but I don't feel like making this a long entry. I'll try to talk about "why I think New Year's Day as a holiday is stupid" another day. :)

*emmett* ~ who thinks that New Year's Day as a holiday is stupid

O Christmas... WHOA! That Tree is HUGE!

I don't like name-calling. I mean, even though I'm terrible at times, and in my mind I'm thinking, "Gosh, that is so white-trash." Or "What a redneck!" I would never say those things out loud, and I would never let people know that I *think* those things... *ahem*

Anyway, I have a story to tell you. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with what I just said. Nothing. At all. Nope. Nada. Mm-hmm... yeah.

So my next door neighbors... They let their 4-year-old daughter pick out their Christmas tree. Yeah, she picked out one that was over TWELVE feet high. Kid you not. (I know that I tend to exaggerate, but really this story is so crazy, I don't even have to! *That's* how crazy it is! *I*, me, Emmett. I *don't* have to exaggerate this story.)

Anyway... And our ceilings? Yeah, they're 7.5 feet tall.

So they actually brought that tree home. Yes, and it was sitting outside on their back-porch. And I swear to God, you could climb up that tree and then climb into their 2nd story window if you wanted to. I mean, if you *wanted* to. I'm just sayin'.

I asked them what possessed them to buy a tree that large. Their answer? "It didn't look *that* big at the lot." How could it not look that big? It's almost three times the height of the wife! And it was *in* the ground at the tree farm, meaning it was *taller* there than it was when they brought it home.

So yeah, the story gets worse. "But Emmett..." You ask "... what could *possibly* be more stupid than buying a twelve foot Christmas tree for 7-foot ceilings." Yeah, they actually tried to move it into the house. Mm-hmm. I'm being serious. Nope, not joking. Needless to say, it didn't fit. Pfff.

They ended up sawing off part of the tree so they could fit it in the house. No, they didn't saw off the *bottom* half to bring that part into the house. That would have been funny though, wouldn't it? Tee hee.

*emmett* ~ who is smart enough to *ask* the height of the tree before she purchases one...

He Could Be Famous!

I really want Jeremy to be a voice-over artist. He'd be SO good at it. He was an announcer in high school and college, and he became SO popular.

Problem is... that business is pretty hard to get into. He'd probably have to be a radio DJ first, and he doesn't want to do that. Dork. Or maybe you have to sleep with somebody to get a big job like that. I don't know. But I wouldn't want him sleeping with any CEOs. Some of those guys are nasty. Tee hee.

*emmett* ~ who would love it if her husband could just find something he'd enjoy...

The Cutest Twins in the World.

My nieces are so cute. My sister told me this story the other day:

My sister: Brenna, would you like some whipped cream on your Jell-O?

Brenna: Well, that stuff *is* fabulous, but no thank you.

And another story:

My sister walks into their bedroom one morning, and Alaura is twirling.

My sister: Alaura, what are you doing?

Alaura: I'm pretending that I'm Princess Fiona from Shrek... the motion picture.

LOL! I kid you not. She said those exact words.

Tee hee. Did I mention that Brenna and Alaura are not even three-years-old yet? Those twinkies crack me up.

*emmett* ~ who can't wait to meet her sister's new daughter... when she's born in two months

Ken Jennings... is... *sniff* ... gone... *sniff*...

Dear Ken Jennings,

I miss you already.

Love,
*emmett* ~ who is sad to see Ken go...

My Letter to Julia Roberts.

Dear Julia Roberts,

Thank you so much for naming your twins Phinnaeus and Hazel and not Jacob, Jaden, Tyler, Emma, Madison or Katelin (et al spellings). (Not that those are bad names, they're perfectly good, pretty names!)

It's just that... In five years (heck we have millions of them already), we will have so many of those kids, you won't ever find any other names on personalized stationary or refrigerator magnets. You'll only be able to find those six names. Okay, maybe Ava and Ella and Aidan and Braden and Caden will be in there too, but that's about it. Oh, look... I'm getting off on a tangent here. Just... thanks. Good names and congrats to you!

*emmett* ~ who thinks that unusual, unique and creative names are cool.

Missing the Pumpkin Pie.

I just remembered that I didn't put any sugar in my pumpkin pie. I used Splenda instead... so it probably would have been okay for breakfast. I'm such a cotton-headed ninny muggins. Oh well.

*emmett* ~ who will probably make another pumpkin pie. Hers is gone...

My Very Own Thanksgiving!

The morning after Thanksgiving, I always want to have pumpkin pie for breakfast. Today is no exception. However, I am much wiser this year than I have been in years past. I remember that sugary desserts and I do not go well together... especially in the morning. So I had two slices of toast instead. :)

Yesterday, I cooked for four hours. No, I didn't have family over. It was just Jeremy and me. But I liked it. I LOVE cooking, and yesterday was fun. I've never cooked that much food, and I've never made any of the stuff I made, and I've definitely never cooked for four hours without stopping. *laugh* But it was still fun. So... for the first time, I made:

an 11.5-pound turkey (which looks beautiful, if I do say so myself...)
yummy stuffing (that turned out fantabulous, if I do say so... tee hee)
pumpkin pie
mashed potatoes w/gravy (okay, I've made that before yesterday)
a loaf of bread

ALL.BY.MYSELF. I'm so cool.

*emmett* ~ who gives her mom most the credit since she used her mom's cookbook for the entire meal... except for the seasoning in the stuffing... that was my own concoction...

p.s. And now we have TONS of leftovers. But I'm bringing some to my family today. Tonight is the opening of my parents' new restaurant! And we will be surprising them... Yay. :)

My Bra Has Instructions For Use!

My favorite sports bra was made by Calvin Klein. I got it when I was around 15, and I STILL had it until a week ago. Hubby washed it. It was hand-wash only.

Anyway, I was quite bummed, but then I realized that it's not really that big of a deal. I'll just go get another one. Cool thing was: the store I went to had almost the EXACT same one I bought eight years ago. Woohoo!

So... I'm checking out my new bra this morning, and I decide that I should glance at the washing instructions. BUT... they're aren't any. AND it's made in Israel. I've never seen anything that has said, "Made in Israel," but it's irrelevant in this story.

So... there's only one tag, and no instructions. I'm like... "Okay, what the heck do I do?" So after staring at the tag for a while, I notice that there are little pictures on it. But these pictures... DO.NOT.HELP.

Am I stupid? I didn't *think* I was stupid. But they are very silly pictures. There is a small set of waves with a "30" under it, a triangle, a circle, another circle with a dot in it (surrounded by a square), and a mouse with an "X" over it.

Okay, it's probably not *supposed* to be a mouse, but it looks like one so we'll say it is for the sake of argument. And there are two sets of pictures... one for US/Canada and one for Europe because washing instructions (or instructions for use, maybe?!) for this bra apparently differ by country.

I came to the conclusion that if companies are going to change from the universal standard, "Machine wash cold. Tumble dry low. No iron." or "Hand wash. Line dry." to silly little pictures... then companies (or at least Calvin Klein) really need to include a key. :-)

Since they didn't, I'm just going to use my best judgment. Since these pictures apparently don't show any signs of being related to anything made by Maytag, I'm guessing that they're simply "Instructions for Use." So here's the key for Calvin Klein sports bras (just in case you decide to purchase one):

Picture: small set of waves with #30
Meaning: You can wear this bra to the beach if you are over the age of 30. If you're 29, you'll just have to wear a bathing suit like everybody else.

Picture: a circle
Meaning: You can use this bra even if you don't have nipples.

Picture: a circle with a dot in the middle (inside a square)
Meaning: You can wear this bra even if you like to draw squares around your breasts.

Picture: triangle
Meaning: You can wear this bra in a teepee if you'd like.

Picture: a mouse with an "X" over it
Meaning: Don't let a mouse eat your bra.

I'm SURE that's what Calvin Klein meant by those pictures. I mean, what else could they mean?

*emmett* ~ who will just hand wash and line dry the bra... just to be safe. She'll also be sure to keep it away from mice...

VOTE... But Not For Bush or Kerry...

I'm going to join the masses today and say...

VOTE!

However... I will not join the masses in saying, "Will you vote for Bush or Kerry?" Yes, there *are* more than two candidates. And yes, I *will* vote for one of them. Okay, I already voted. I voted for Cobb. He's cool. :)

Next time, research ALL the candidates and THEN vote. It's much more fun. And you're "so much more cooler" when somebody asks you who you voted for, and you can say a name that person has never heard of. Makes you feel very smart and political. So go ahead next time and do that... even if it's only to make you look smart. ;-)

*emmett* ~ who is celebrating her 4-year anniversary today... for *being* with her husband Jeremy. (He's the best!) Only 52 shopping days left until our 2nd wedding anniversary, oh yeah... and Christmas Day. :-)