My List

You know how some people have a celebrity cheat list?  Like, they are completely faithful to their spouses at all times unless they run into one of the 5 celebrities on their list and then they are permitted to have a torrid one night stand?

I don't have one of those.

As evidence, remember how I DIDN'T tackle Rupert Everett when I totally had the chance??


What I do have is a list of people that I would love to have as great friends.  Several years ago, I decided that I really wanted to have Daniel and Jill Pinkwater over for dinner.  I thought they would make for excellent dinner company.  Our whole family were huge fans at the time.  How can you not love a guy who writes a story called "The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death"?  Really.  And his wonderful artist wife Jill, who illustrates most of his childrens' books??  We KNOW Irving and Muktuk the polar bears because of her!  (Although, I was very disappointed to learn that there is no zoo in Bayonne, NJ.  I mean, I was pretty sure, but the polar bear books gave me such hope.)  Anyway, I never invited them because I kept thinking that surely we had to know someone in common and eventually I'd make the connection and we could begin our life of bumping into one another at dinner parties and exchanging some witty repartee.  Alas, it never happened, and now we are too far from their Hudson Valley home and NYC to really ever have a shot.

You and your children should read everything ever written and drawn by these people.  They are delightful and wacky.

Which brings us to John Green.  I love the things that John Green writes.  (Paper Towns the very least, but everyone has an off day.)  John Green is a very smart writer, and all around funny guy.  Clever funny.  I wish that I could have hung out with him in high school or college.  (Partly because so many of his characters remind me of guys I hung out with in high school and college.)  I wish that I could drop him a pithy, yet nostalgic line at holidays.  Or a warm email of congratulations at each new literary accomplishment.  But, I did not know him then.  I do not know him now.  However, he lives just a few hours away from me now...

I will not stalk the nice author, though.  However tempted I may be.

I started this conversation about lists last night and Todd looked a little alarmed until I explained my type of list and told him not to worry because John Green is a little too blondish for me anyway.  Maybe he'd already done the math to figure out how NOT far away John Green lives from us...

Speaking of temptation.  Todd gave me John Green's latest book "The Fault in Our Stars" which everyone should read, btw.  My husband is indulgent of my love of John Green.  He gave me the book on my birthday, which was on a Saturday night.  I try really hard to leave Sunday for reading and listening to more spiritual things, so when he came up to bed Saturday night, he found me caressing the cover of the book, but not reading it.  He laughed and I explained that I knew myself well enough to know that if I started it that night, there was no way I'd be able to put it down for a day before picking it back up.  He told me he admired my self-control.  (My self-control was great then, but yesterday instead of doing all the chores I needed to, I sat and read the whole thing.  It helped that Lilyanna was fevered and wanting to be held...)

What about you?  Do you have a list of any sort?

Long John Run 2012

I made a goal last month of trying to run 36 miles before my 36th birthday.  To work towards that goal my friend Beth found the Long John race in Highbanks park.  Two miles in our long johns!  First of all, yea for races that are only 2 miles and secondly, I own tie dyed long johns!  Behold:

 My goal for running was very modest, because it meant I could just run between 1 and 3 miles no more than 6 days a week to achieve it.  (My birthday's Saturday and I still have 11.5 miles to go.)  Anyway, Benjamin and Nathaniel caught on to the idea of going out to jog and joined with me during my runs most evenings.  When I saw that the race was free for those 12 and under, I signed them up, too!

 Nathaniel is wearing my old pjs there, btw.  They are a terry cloth like material and have a little lace along the top of the zipper there.  And the elastic on the back flap doesn't have any elasticity anymore.  So, it's wide open.

 This is what happens when leaving Caleb alone in the car with the camera while the rest of us raced.  It was quite chilly that morning, so he opted for the warmth of the inside.

 Here are a few race shots taken by the officials:

 And here's the trap door that doesn't stay closed.  Nathaniel wore contrasting underwear on purpose to highlight the fact and won a $25 gift certificate for best long johns because of it!

 Hooray!  They finished ahead of me, too!

Beth sprained her ankle and wasn't able to join us, but we thought of her and how much she hates running anyway.  But I think even she would have enjoyed this one.  ;)

Baby in a Tree

That was the title Lilyanna gave these pictures as I was going through them today.  These are just a few teaser shots of our recent trip to California.  Much fun was had despite the rain and chill!