can we all just agree that flat tires are no fun?

this morning, mamacita and i were all set to ride bicycles to church...but then it turned out that i had a flat tire. and i mean a totally and completely flat tire. like no air whatsoever. and i don't understand, because i filled my tires on thursday night, and because they're really tough tires (that i put on myself.)

and we didn't have time to fix it (and it was the back tire, which always seems more complicated anyway) and we had to drive and that was lame.

can we all just agree that it must be really nice to be one of those old men who ride their bikes all the time?

you know the type i mean. old dudes, definitely retired, with top-of-the-line bicycles, supernice cycling clothes and shoes, and fancy helmets. and they look like they're on hour four of a six hour ride.

that's what i'd like to be when i grow up. an old retired dude* on a bike. (although i doubt i'll be outfitted the way they are.)

*okay, okay, it is much more likely that i will be an old lady on a bike someday. but i never see old ladies who look like they're on serious long rides alone. i'll make such a good role model, once i get there!

can we all just agree that people coming home (or at least getting closer to home) means a lot?

can we all just agree that two year olds are rad?

i was taking pictures of nephew #1 while he was eating a muffin. he said something i couldn't understand, and held the muffin right up to his forehead, then smiled for the picture. his mom, who is more or less fluent in his very own variety of weird alien little kidspeak, cracked up, and when she was finally able to translate for me, i learned that he was saying, "smile, muffin!"

oh dude, and the picture came out super cute too.

can we all just agree that childrens' radio is generally pretty awful, but that it occasionally provides bizarre listening experiences as well?

like "disarm," by the smashing pumpkins, lovingly rendered in pretty, cheery, xylophonic splendor? weird.

can we all just agree that dogs going down waterslides is an enjoyable thing to watch?

seriously, i laughed every time the dog hit the water.



thanks to lesley from this comment thread at the always-excellent sadly, no!

can we all just agree that nephew #1 is hilarious?

nephew #1 is very committed to saying, "excuse me" when he burps or farts. since he's two, it sounds more like "me me" (also, remember that two year olds have really high voices. adorable.) he also excuses other people by name ("me me, [nephew #1's rendering of nephew #2's name]!" "me me, mommy!")

his commitment to excusing himself and others also extends to sneezing, and hiccups. yes, hiccups. this leads to him saying things like:

"hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me.
hic! me me."

and i miss him already.

can we all just agree that life with little dudes is totally exhausting?

today i got to hang out with the nephews almost all day! and boy howdy, am i tired. the visit has been great so far, though. some highlights include:

•the fact that nephew #1 now says my name.*

•the leafy dance party that nephew #1 and i enjoyed, which involved both of us (but more frequently just me) raking up a big pile of leaves, and then the two of us taking turns dancing all around in the leaves and copying each other's moves. and if you have never had a copycat leaf pile dance party with a two year old, you should really look into doing that as soon as possible.

•the walk that nephew #1 and i took around (and around and around) the house, holding hands the whole time.

•nephew #2 smiling and laughing and laughing and smiling.

•a joint nephew #1-auntie SEE-wah photo session that produced some of the cutest pictures to never hit the internet.

*oh p.s.: my name is now pronounced "SEE-wah."

and now i must go pass out immediately. i hope you also got to have some good times today. goodnight.

can we all just agree that going to visit the nephews is really exciting?

so very soon! nephew #1 is very excited too; he knows that he gets to go to the airport and see the airplanes and the baggage claim, and that auntie sarah is coming to visit too. i'm totally fine with taking second place behind the first ever trip to the airport. oh man i can't wait!

can we all just agree that it is exciting to learn that c.w.a.j.a.?. is the first search result for "unlikely food combinations"?

woo! and now i'm off to eat breakfast. what am i eating, you ask? it is a mystery!

can we all just agree that "CRYSH" is a particularly unfortunate letter sequence to include in a flight confirmation code?

don't worry, we didn't.

can we all just agree that, in addition to giving good advice, brother bear regularly gives strangely poetic advice?

today's:

just remember
for the disco ball
cram the flashlight
in the chimney.

important update!: with a little bit of effort, this haikus pretty well. (yeah, i did make "haiku" into a verb.)

just remember for
the disco ball cram the flash-
light in the chimney.

can we all just agree that, oh man, what a day.

read what i wrote last year. i still mean it.

can we all just agree that it is very exciting (and somewhat confusing) to realize that c.w.a.j.a.?. is the tenth search result out of 63,700 for

"potted meat spotted dick"? huh.

can we all just agree that firefox is kind of pessimistic sometimes?

"firefox has detected that the server is redirecting the request for this address in a way that will never complete."

well, it sure will never complete with that kind of attitude!

hint: sometimes you really do have to enter www.

can we all just agree that b.f.h. is awesome?

because she is.

can we all just agree that ovens with windows are a great idea?

when i was a kid, i always wanted to look at the things that were baking in the oven. unfortunately, we didn't have a window in our oven door, so i would sometimes open it up and check things out. and sometimes i would accidentally let the heavy door slam shut. and between those two habits, i collapsed more than one baked good. bummer.

but then science managed to make a windowed oven! and i have one in my current house! and it is great!

can we all just agree that facebook should use stronger language?

i want something more than "ignore." i need a "hell no" button.

can we all just agree that it is really satisfying to be home for the weekend?

i got to do it last weekend too, but before that it had been more than two months. lame!

can we all just agree that it's kind of funny to be mistaken for a middle schooler?

i've been volunteering at a middle school recently, and today i was out playing four square with a bunch of kids who hadn't been formally introduced to me. and four times kids asked me if i was a new student. nope.

can we all just agree that fainting goats are rad?

so i know it's been a little movietastic around here lately...and that's because i'd really rather write about fun videos than things that suck.

and you'd rather read about (and watch) fun videos than reading about things that suck.

so, my friends...

fainting goats.

can we all just agree that the nephews' mama gives good advice?

"you know, sarah, there are times when you reach not a fork but an octopus in the road."

can we all just agree that having an itchy finger is a total bummer?

the middle joint of my middle finger on my left hand is super itchy and i don't know why. there aren't any bumps or anything. it looks normal, but it is so itchy. so itchy, dudes. i really don't know what to do about it.

that is all.

can we all just agree that the hipster olympics is, like, whatever...kind of lame, you know? at first i kind of liked it, you know, but then i was

reading this dave eggers novel...i have totally loved him since i read "here come the orphans," you know, the excerpt of a heartbreaking work of staggering genius that was published in the times in like 2000? you've heard of it, right? but now i think he's like kind of played out...i saw somebody reading eggers in STARBUCKS the other day. god, can you imagine? i know. disgusting. anyway, so whatever. anyone who thinks this video is funny is like a total idiot. i'm kind of over videos anyway. i have this great collection of laserdiscs, and i really think that digital video is totally overrated. anyway, whatever. what was i saying? do you have a cigarette?

can we all just agree that rusty, the narcoleptic daschund is ridiculously cute?

i know that not everyone appreciates daschunds, but i would like to think that even the most hardened weiner-hater could appreciate the following adorable/amusing video:



as jesse explains, "why is rusty narcoleptic? it's because of science."