1. I was five and leading up to the birth, my Dad made a bassinet out of wood as a surprise for my mom. He told me not to tell her. I told her. In the drive through at Del Taco. I thought that because the baby was almost here that the ‘secret’ had expired. When the time came, I was awoken in the middle of the night and taken to my Grandma’s house. My Grandma didn’t make me immediately go to bed, she gave me Cocoa Puffs (which were off limits at home) and we sat at the table for awhile. At some point, I remember being in a hospital waiting room, but not seeing my mom or sister. I probably did see them, but the first memory I have of my sister is being “officially” introduced to her in our living room. She was in a car seat and my parents said she had a present for me. It was a fake plastic makeup set and I figured that the baby couldn’t be all that bad if she gave me presents.

2. I was in 7^th grade. My mom went to the hospital to give birth and when she was done, we all went to visit her. They were still trying to pick out a name and my Mom wanted something with “Sue” because that was my Aunt’s middle name, but she didn’t like Susan. I suggested Suzanne. For her middle name, I chose Erin. The boy I liked at church camp that summer was named Aaron. This is what happens when you let a 12 year old name a baby. Still, though, I like the name Erin. The hospital always sent home new babies/moms in a limousine and my mom had told me this in advance. I had never been in a limousine so I was excited for weeks beforehand. Riding home in the limousine totally rocked.

3. Freshman year in high school. My Dad had started a new job in Southern California a month or so prior while we stayed in Las Vegas until the baby was born. I came home from school and my Mom was in the kitchen making dinner (!) and told me that her contractions were 5 minutes apart and that my Dad had left Orange County 2 hours prior in order to be there for the birth. He later said that he drove 100 the whole way to make it in time. Given that he was driving a 1977 Chevy Station Wagon this was either an exaggeration or that car’s finest hour. The baby was born at home with a midwife – my Mom asked in advance if I wanted to be in the room which question provoked an intense panic in my brain. I politely declined. While my Mom and Dad were in the bedroom with the midwife, Kristie and I played board games in the living room while watching Suzanne. Kristie and I studiously avoided discussing the fact that our Mom was screaming “OH SHIT I CAN’T DO THIS! AAAHAHAHA” in the next room. I could tell by the manic look in Kristie’s eyes that she was just as freaked out as me. Luckily, my Mom gave birth quickly. Later, we all sat around the coffee table (Am I remembering this right? Did my mom really get up and come into the living room?) discussing what her name should be. I don’t remember this, but my Mom says I was hugely pissed at their choice of name and kept saying “I can’t believe you’re going to name MY little sister after the Little Mermaid.” As a concession, I got to choose the middle name and I thought Renee flowed nicely with Arielle.

4. My parents moved to Oklahoma the summer before my senior year. I stayed in California to finish high school and lived with my friend and her family. I had made what I thought were several awesome name suggestions (Hannah Jane, Gretchen) and was disappointed to learn they named the baby Breanna. The only person I’d ever met named Breanna was a girl at school who was incredibly large and seemed to be missing a few marbles. Less than a month later, my family drove out from Oklahoma for my high school graduation. Apparently Breanna would not stop crying during the ceremony (it was pouring rain even though it was June in SoCal) and my Dad is still bitter that he missed seeing me cross the stage because he was in the car with the baby.

5. My Dad is a fan of trying to fool you. Three months before my Mom got pregnant with my final sister, he called me at my college dorm to float the story that my Mom was pregnant. I didn’t believe him but played along until he gleefully delivered the zinger that he was just kidding! When he called 3 months later and told me she was pregnant, I could tell he wasn’t kidding because he sounded shell shocked. I was all like, “Congratulations?” and he said, "Thanks, you're the only one who has congratulated us." Rebecca was born while I was a junior in college studying abroad in France. Around 8am in the morning, my Host Mother came to get me saying I had a phone call, “Elisabeth! Telephone! Ta pere! Le bebe est arrive!” My Dad told me the relevant details and said, “I was really thinking this one would be a boy.”

New words I learned last week:

Gimlet-eyed
Charier

What I've been listening to:

69 Love Songs, Magnetic Fields

What I've been watching:

30 Rock, Season 1 on DVD

Smells I like:

Lemon
Lavender
Mark's neck
Annick Goutal Scents
Baking cookies
Cinnamon
Gasoline
Star Gazer Lillies
Movie popcorn
Pot
Bumble and Bumble Brillantine

Has anyone else ever noticed how if you want to add a new "module" to a spaces page, it's messed up? In my experience, if I go to customize and click "add module" and then "show" next to the module in question, the module does not actually SHOW. But if I then go back in and select HIDE, the module will show up. WTF?! This makes absolutely no sense.

Another thing that pisses me off is that I can't add an audio file to the blog. We had a mean telemarketer leave us a funny voicemail and I wanted to blog about it and yet, NO CAN DO.

God, I hate Windows Live Spaces. It's been said before, I know, but sheesh. If I'm serious about bloggin' I should move off of Spaces. I'm so sick of it.

Somehow, I've gotten on The List. The List that wedding vendors everywhere use in an effort to part you from your money all in the pursuit of "your special day." The expression "your special day" grosses me out. It sounds so euphemistic like it has something to do with getting your period or getting placed in a new foster home. To me, "special" is an adjective often used to spice up something unpleasant, so I am always wary of it.

On Monday, I got a phone call (not the first time) from a wedding related business that must have gotten my phone number from...somewhere. You fill out a lot of forms when you start wedding shopping, so the source is untraceable. This particular vendor is called First Class Brides. I googled the term to see if I could find the business, and I'm not sure if the site I found is the same company that called me. Anyway, First Class Brides informed me that my name had been entered into a drawing for 3 free nights at a hotel ("redeemable in a variety of cities, including Mexico!") and that I had in fact won said drawing. There was also some talk of an all-inclusive resort package, but I wasn't clear if I "won" that in addition to the 3 free hotel nights or if that was just being pimped as one of my 3-nights-free options. In any case, to redeem this prize, I am supposed to show up at the Sheraton Bellevue on Sunday (I was given several appointment times to choose from and just picked one to go with the flow). She preemptively told me that this was NOT a time share or vacation house pitch. It was also imperative that I bring the claim number she gave me or I would not get the prize. I imagine the claim number is a tracking source to see which of their mailing lists really pay off. Also, I can't go alone - I must bring my fiance. I assume this is so that I don't use the "I'll need to discuss this with my fiance" excuse at the presentation - with both parties present we can be more effectively railroaded into purchasing whatever it is that they sell. That website I found had to do with hair and makeup professionals, so I don't think it's the same company. I don't think a wedding hair/makeup operation would require the presence of my fiance to close the deal. Mark's only input thus far on makeup is the adamant request that I not get "tranny makeup." Damone has forever tainted his idea of what makeup artists do. Also, that web site I found was super low budget. I don't know if you could be running this type of elaborate operation when you have such a janky web site.

I'm left wondering what this whole thing is about. What is this company trying to sell? Would I actually get 3 free nights hotel if I just sat through some 45 minute presentation or would there be additional strings attached? I'm guessing they will withhold the prize for as long as possible while they give you the hard sell. I've never been to a  time share pitch or anything like it before, so I'm not sure how it works. I probably won't go, but I think the ploy is effective - I sat through the whole call and didn't hang up. Other vendors have called and I'm just like, "No Thanks!" and get off before they can even get going.

Apropos of nothing - I have this song stuck in my head. It's pretty funny.

It feels like I am maybe the only one in the whole world who did not think Juno was the best movie ever. I liked it well enough. It was cute; it was very watchable. But I had several beefs with the movie that made it feel really imperfect for me. Possible spoilers follow. 

1. The actual relationship between Juno and Michael Cera is kinda glossed over. I just didn’t feel the chemistry/realness of them being in love. It was totally shallow for most of the movie until the big declaration aet the end which seemed really forced given the lack of sufficient build up to it.
2. A LOT of the dialogue in this movie seemed overly stylized. Very pop-culture reference/wise beyond your years style (like Gilmore Girls meets Dawson’s Creek). When dialogue is that clever, it seems insincere to me.
3. Why did they not ever really explain what brought Jennifer Garner and Justin Bateman together in the first place? They seemed so ill-suited from the get go that it would have been nice to maybe have a little background on how maybe they used to be more alike but then they ended up growing apart.
4. Mark pointed this one out to me – the movie is very much into displaying all kinds of kitsch in the décor – hamburger phones, runner’s wristbands, old toys, etc. That’s such a movie short cut to trying to add cool to your movie.
5. The entire Rainn Wilson opening scene grated and I hated every minute of his dialogue.
6. All in all, the movie felt really try-hard in a lot of ways that made it difficult for me to just give in to the story; I kept getting pulled outside of the narrative by all these false notes.

The thing I liked best about the movie was Juno’s parents, especially the Dad. They seemed warm and well-written and genuine. I also really liked Ellen Page and her facial expressions – I found just watching her face captivating. Ultimately, I felt like this movie had a lot of potential and was fun. But it was a few good script edits away from being really awesome - I felt like it didn’t fully deliver emotionally (although I did tear up at the end a little bit when they showed the framed note in the nursery and Jennifer Garner with the baby). I’m surprised that no one else seems to have a bad thing to say about this movie because I don’t really consider myself a very picky movie viewer.

1. Babies
2. Financial Planner (Shout out to Dana!)
3. TV Potluck Nights - FNL, SYTYCD, etc. Plus, HD becomes standard in all homes!
   
4. Continuous Shot/Burst Photography
5. Fun fueled by Rat Ballz (aka 5 hour energy drink)
6. New Jobs
7. Tim and Eric Awesome Show
8. Whiskey n' soda
9. Blog Neglect