Jeff B. somehow found the original recordings we made a few years ago. Okay, a few decades ago. He somehow digitized them and put them on some website called MediaFire.

You can download them here if you want: [CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO AWESOMENESS].

I'm just kidding about the awesomeness. But it was amazing how many memories came back instantly upon hearing these songs. And it was beyond the novelty of being in a real recording studio. It was the nights playing shows in the dorms and selling beer for a quarter to make money. And the times amplifiers fell off tables in mid-song. Or the time the drunk guy fell off the bar stool after tipping back and forth for what seemed like an eternity.

Technically Jeff's song, "Fun" is not the original version that my sisters loved to sing around the house. This one is much more updated and has a different cadence to the chorus. Still, it's a lot of fun to have complete recordings of the songs back. The old cassette tapes were a wreck and even the CDs I made years ago didn't have the complete songs since they were recorded off the wrecked cassettes.

The whole thing makes me want to run out and buy another '65 Mustang, install a hot stereo, 6"x9" Tri-axle speakers and a power booster, slap in, "Into The Night" and rock out to the repeated drum rolls.

Or I could take a nap.

Hmmm. Yeah. A nap does sound good.

So far...

We're still at Reen's beautiful house. This is the view of activities so far. The aquarium was a zoo. Well, I guess technically every aquarium is a zoo. Just with fish and whales instead of rhinos and tigers.

But their aquarium is so well designed, even on the most crowded of days the place feels pretty comfortable.

So, so far... So good.




Oh, plus I totally got to see whale sharks. That was truly incredible. And I guess Jona's college visit was important, too. The city-campus was not like my idea of college, but it was amazing. The art these kids are doing is impressive. And the facilities are super fancy. I'm not sure if it measures up to NYC in Jona's mind, but it doesn't really matter to me. Either way, I'm going to be very, very poor.



What do I mean by fancy? How about these sleeping pods in the cafeteria. They're right next to the Starbucks coffee bar.

Seriously.

Aunt Cyn turns 55

What? Aunt Cyndi is nowhere near 55? That's just crazy. I mean look at this picture. The woman is clearly over the hill.

Of course it is possible that in fact Cyndi told me not to put her picture on the blog on her birthday. And that given my state of deep and troubling neurosis, I can't help but exacerbate the neuroses of others'.

Therefore, there really are only two things left to say:

1. You really should use reverse psychology when you're talking to me.
2. Happy birthday!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It's big. It's yellow. It must be...

...Yes, it must be new floaty garbage. Some (weird) people think a pool is only happy when it's full of floaty toys (sorry Beth). Introducing the new kind of floaty garbage: The giant floaty see-saw.

For some reason it doesn't work when 60 lb. Jeff is on one side and I'm on the other. He's just suspended high in the air as I sink into the deep end.

Clearly this thing is defective.

I can only blame myself though since I bought it.

If you're visiting us this summer... don't look!

OMG! Our gas grill was apparently turned into a mouse nest over the winter. Luckily, Jona's friends were the first to use the grill. (After we scrubbed it, doused it with cooking oil and burned it at blistering temperatures for a very smoky half hour or so.)

In fact, when we moved the patio umbrella we found two live mice. They were so shocked to see us, they hardly moved. Eventually they ran off -- I hope far away.

This all happened right under the dog's nose. I kept yelling, "Ella! Mice! Get the mice!" Ella just yawned. She never saw the mice. But moments later, the wind shifted and Ella's nose suddenly perked up. It was fascinating to see her jump down and follow the exact path one of the mice has taken a few minutes before. She didn't hesitate for even a second once she got the scent and made a bee line for the spot under the tree where we last saw the mouse.

Throughout the day, Ella kept making the rounds by the back fence where the mice escaped.

Later in the evening, we noticed that Ella had a clump of grey fur in her mouth.

I'm sure it was just a coincidence and the mice have happily moved on to safer pastures.

(Funny how Ella wasn't that hungry for dinner though.)

Umpiring is serious

Well, umpiring looks serious. It's not really. I try to make it look serious, but actually I'm just trying to survive the heat.

In this game, I had to lend my clicker to the other team's umpire (the really sweaty guy who had to do behind the plate). So, most of the time I had no idea how many strikes, balls or even outs there were.

At one point, the fans/parents on our sideline challenged me to do my next "SAFE" call with added "Jazz" hands. I told them they would have to do the "WAVE" if I actually did it.

Let's just say, the fans did the wave.

I'm not saying this is the sweetest person ever...

Oh, wait. Actually, I am saying this is the sweetest person ever. Look at that face!

And Jeff looks cute, too.

(Oh stop groaning. We all know the guy in the lavender shirt is not the real subject of this photo. But let's face it, no one pulls off lavender and tight, girly jeans like me!)