hopefully this ended my streak

I am a crappy gift giver.

I can never think of good presents for people, or the "perfect gift" is also three thousand dollars, so then I sulk around until the day before whatever gift-giving day approaches and grab the suckiest thing off the shelf and pass it off like, Yeah, I TOTALLY planned this crappy gift. YOU'RE WELCOME.

(I should amend this to say that the above paragraph only applies half the time. The other half I just don't get anything. About a third of the past ten Valentine's and Father's Days have seen me explaining to Fred what went wrong with the present and heresorryhaveabeerloveyou!)

This Father's Day, I was determined to get a present that was awesome and unexpected and not socks. So I bought us tickets to go see Demetri Martin at the Chicago Theater last night. And not only tickets, but fourth row pit tickets. Close enough to see the stubble on the comedians cheeks, not close enough to be covered with spittle from their shouting. This close:

We got drinks that cost more than a week of Emma's school tuition and felt very old until we saw one gentleman that we were pretty sure was older than us. The cane was the clue. Then the lights went down and the music was loud and Fred called me old AGAIN and then Demetri Martin came out and we laughed for nearly two hours straight.

There were six performers in all, and while I can't recommend you run right out and catch them all, I will say that David O'Doherty was my favorite (after Demetri, natch) and Kristen Schaal had one of the bluest sets I've heard.

My face hurt so much from laughing, and I'm pretty sure Fred had a good time. You know, since it was for him and all.

my addiction to caffeine may be problematic

Yesterday's plans for a morning post were thwarted when, while I was still in bed, there was a flash and a pop outside, a swear from the kitchen, and that unmistakeable silence of no electricity. It was storming and we weren't sure if that's what had caused the power outage or if a transformer had blown down the street. It didn't matter -- the coffee pot was in the middle of the brew process when everything went kaput and the morning went downhill from there. The power came on eventually, after we'd left for camp and work, and thankfully, our ice cream was fine. 

This has been a rainy spring/early summer, and while our tomato plants our going bizonkers, I would really like some sun, thankyouverymuch. The storms have risen to a level of annoyance such that, upon hearing an annoying sound outside, I simply turned up the music inside. Only when we determined that the disembodied voice from the sky wasn't an announcement at the pool across the street but a man basically saying, "Get in the basement now, dumb ass," that we paid a bit more attention. 

I'm happy to announce that our trip to the basement lasted only five minutes, at which point the sirens stopped and we determined it was safe to emerge from underground. As luck would have it, a friend bearing wine showed up ten minutes later and the sun came out for a last glimpse before setting.

look out, webster's

I made up a new word last week.

Hoozybobbered.

It's more than flustered. More than distracted. More than overwhelmed. It's hoozybobbered.

It's my current state of being.

Can we talk about five year olds for a second? No, never mind. Scratch that. I don't want to go into all of the WHINING and the CALLING and the MAHMEEEEEEEE and the constant disregard for her father's feelings. And the talking. OHMYEVERLOVINGGOD, the talking.

{When the incessant chattering gets to be too much, I take a moment to be thankful that I have a child healthy enough to talk, and then I go back to plugging my ears.}

So, right. Not going to talk about five year olds.

I haven't been here much but my schedule at work is settling down. My goal is to try to write more regularly. I know. I know. But I'm going to try.

And hopefully the hoozybobberedness will subside. Or at least make room for the rest of life.

Here's to a sunny, word-filled summer.

i'm still here!

Hello, friends!

I just wanted to pop in and say that I've missed you and I have lots to tell you and show you and I'm hoping to find some time to make your dreams come true. Wait, what?

Life has been very lifelike lately, what with its BREATHING and its EATING. There's also been more working than before (new job!) and less driving (shortest commute ever!) and our Summer! of! Travel! kicked off with trips to Japan (Fred) and Arizona (me & Emma).

I haven't been taking as many pictures as I'd hoped, but things seem to be settling into a more predictable rhythm. Which means something. Maybe more pictures? Probably just more naps.

How's your summer so far?