introducing...emilisq's bloggin' bookies!!!

i couldn't wait another second!!!

ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, i give you...

emilisq's bloggin' bookies!

(em-el-esk's)

...

do you read?

do you love the smell of books?

do you want to learn to love to read?

can you NOT stop yourself from buying books?

...

here it is:

1. one book every OTHER month will be posted.

2. during the last week of the OTHER month i will post questions and such i had while reading.

3. in the comments section you will be able to list your questions, answers to other people's questions, things you found interesting, humorous, tacky, downright weird, etc.

4. then i'll post our next selection. i will take recommendations on which books YOU want to read, but have many up my sleeves for you shy people out there;-)

(imagine: YOU in a bloggin' book club, anyone watch dr. oz on oprah?)

...

i've been holding onto this little post for a month now,

twiddling my little typing fingers until feb 1st, and i caved. i had to sneak you a peak the night before my planned launch. i just got too excited,

so are you in?!

good, me too.

...

our first book for FEB/MARCH will be...

the secret life of bees

by sue monk kidd

happy reading!

get excited!!!

not guilty

there are many things i feel guilty buying: clothes, fancy food, guitar hero legends of rock (but i did get the game WITH the guitar on amazon for $59.99, normally $89.99, and it is obvious that we needed a second guitar so we could battle. it has come into great use very often), shoes (i haven't bought a pair in almost a year), clothes (did i say that already? well, they are the main thing i feel guilty buying).

there are 2 things i feel absolutely and positively NOT guilty buying (and i'm not talking "OJ Simpson 'not guilty'" i'm talking the real kind of "not guilty"): books and things for brennan.

let's talk about books today.

i love the smell of barnes and noble, borders, and the thought of the smell of books when i'm buying them on Amazon (because i've learned that in order to buy as many books as i want on a teeny tiny budget, i must buy them on Amazon b/c it saves me boat loads of money. seriously, you don't even want to see my checking account balance today...good thing it's the first of the month on sunday, and hallelujah for feb. being only 28 days, most years...).
note to sean: i bought some books today on Amazon! i made sure to throw in some for brennan too b/c again this is one of the 2 things i mentioned earlier.

do you have a book beside you? i do. it's the book thief. i finished it last night. broke my heart with every chapter, but mended it back together again...kind of. nonetheless, i am attached. i just picked it up and took two deep breaths as i flipped the pages in front of my nose. it smells glorious. intoxicating. did i mention i love to read? what books did i buy today? you'll have to wait and see...for now, i'm basking in my "betterness" for learning from the book thief.

bet you can't wait to see what i'm reading next...

notes from yesterday

p-diddy ryan is visiting this week.

well, he's really here to skii.

truth be told, the man is a skii-aholic.

he gets one week long trip a year. he used to go heli-skiing

(where they drop you from a helicopter onto the top of a mountain, and you skii down untouched snow),

but sandma made him promise he would stick to groomed and patrolled inbound skiing now that he is in his "silver fox" years.

silver fox brought his long time friend larry as a skii buddy, awwww, how cute!

(old time friend larry on the left, B in the middle, silver fox/p-diddy ryan on the right)

there's something about babies that turns grown men into little boys. it's like,

"grab a video camera, this is so stinkin' adorable!!!"
fortunately for them, my video camera ran out of batteries about two minutes into filming.

aren't they so adorable together!?
next order of business:

i love that i have built in toys for brennan to play with...

now how can i keep him from slamming his fingers into the drawers?
he was already short three fingers by this picture!

third order of business:

the pork loin has less junk in his trunk as of this morning's bath.

i attribute this to his recently found mobility.

i can't wait to show you what we now refer to as,

"the gimper crawl."

it freaking rocks!!!

...

super bowl menu:

artichoke dip w/scoops chips

home made whole wheat pepperoni pizza

mini wieners, caramelized with rum

(it burns off people!!!)

buffalo wings

blooming onion w/dipping sauce

root beer

(to wash it all down)

a letter to dad from brennan

dear dad,
i think it's time to child proof the kitchen.
and all other cabinets and drawers that open. please hurry and do it soon. mom already has the door hook-ey things.

with love,

brennan

mommy comics

this was sooooooo me on sunday.

i wanted to make muddy buddies,

(i love these chocolate-y, sugar-y, peanut butter-y treats)

it was snowing outside,

and a movie just sounded so cozy.

i rarely have the tv on during the day, so tv is still an anomaly to brennan. lucky first child!

i put "lady and the tramp" on b/c brennan loves puppies.

well, it last for 5 glorious minutes,

and he loved each and every minute!

baby alive, not the doll

"mom, seriously? i'm just fine."

(and very well hydrated!)

and i only checked on him once!

look how far i've come!!!

back in the saddle again

back at

this

and

this

again.

additional paranoia today:

used draino in the tub yesterday to unclog this.

three hot showers have been taken since then, and the smell is completely gone, but my urge to never let him bathe in the tub ever again is still there. what if there were traces left of the draino? i attempted to keep all of the bath water out of said baby's mouth. failed. he took three plunges into the bath water, three big gulps, and one face plant. good job mom. way to keep the water out of the baby's mouth.

i need someone to talk some sense into me! help me feel better about this morning's bath 'cause ya' know i'll be checking on him twenty times during his morning nap. help me fight the urge!

kung het fat choy!

translation?

wishing you prosperity

happy chinese new year!

and happy 200th post to my blog:-)

i am old and wise in blog years,

or something.

the snow came down in big fluffy flakes
mom's house was decked out in chinese new year decor
this was my favorite picture of the night.
aren't the colors so pretty?
it was delicious too:-)
the soy sauce had a LOT of red hot pepper flakes.

i was sucking in air to cool off the fire in my mouth!
this was my 2nd favorite picture.
will someone please buy me a fancy digital camera to excel my career in photography. i like it a lot. too bad there's 11 more months to christmas.
the feast:
duck
gingered cod fish
shrimp
eggplant
tofu
fried rice
chinese chocolates

my favorite fancy drink
good luck in the new year
money in the red envelopes
for good luck in the new year

the baby got a gold dollar from uncle richard
lots of good luck for the new year
it's the year of the ox:
people born in the year of the ox are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. they tend, however, to be eccentric, and bigoted, and they anger easily. they have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. ox people are mentally and physically alert. generally easy-going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people.

tickling photography

i love this picture of us.

i was tickling his stomach, trying to get him to look at the camera smiling,

but i think this shot was even better than planned.

there's the smile that intoxicates me!

i just want to kiss those cheeks...

and i did right after taking this shot.

cousin jaren below:

i took this picture two inches from his head.

he had no idea i was even there.

heaven bless creamies.

go ahead, have another;-)

again, i wasn't even in the room, as far as they were concerned,

baby pork loin included.
why?
mulan,
that's why.
by the way, don't you love this disney movie?
i love that the pretty chic goes off to fight.
you know the part where she climbs up the wooden pole 50 feet in the air with two heavy weights?
gotta love that.
it's like,
what strength do i have deep inside of me that i don't even know exists?
(you know, like having a 9.4lb baby and baking bread, stuff like that)

btw,

happy chinese new year!

are you wearing red today?

it brings good luck for the new year, so the chinese say. see my red shirt? christmas gift, so cute. chinese new year is actually tomorrow, but on chinese new year's eve you

feast and feast and feast.

but no cutting of anything, it brings bad luck. so that's why there's a whole fish on our table tonight,

yup, head and all.

if you're joining my red lips revolution,

it's good luck

a lot.