Someone (thanks, Mom) pointed out to me today that I have not updated my blog in a while. I KNOW. Despite my new year’s resolution to write a post at least weekly, I get busy and tired and just don’t take the time to write. At some point, I am going to have to admit that I am a working mom, not just a stay-at-home mom, because my part-time job takes up all my free time during the day (my messy house is proof). I used to spend Falco’s nap time doing things like cleaning and blogging, but now I spend every scrap of time I have trying to cram several hours’ worth of work into two or three hours. I’m not complaining: I’m making money, don’t have to find childcare, and learning a ton of new stuff. I’m just giving my excuse for letting “Andi’s Exciting Life” fall through the cracks.

ANYWAY, since I last wrote, we have had Valentine’s Day, my birthday, and our twelfth anniversary. Falco talks like crazy, goes in and out of hitting phases, and is ridiculously cute and funny and tiring. The pets are driving me nuts, and I’m on pins and needles waiting to get acceptance/rejection letters from the two preschools we’ve applied for this fall. Matt is good. I’m good. Life is good.

Pictures will follow to document all of the above.

I still haven’t figured out Christmas giving. I love giving gifts, but it’s never as easy as just giving someone what I think they would like. If I give a bigger gift than the recipient gives me, then they feel awkward, and I feel guilty for giving them too much. If I am in the reverse position, I feel guilty for not doing enough. Friends, if I give you a gift, it’s because I want to and not because I expect anything in return. If you give me a present and I only have something small or nonexistent for you, I hope you feel the same way. It is very hard to anticipate if someone else has a gift for me and how big or small it will be so that I can perfectly reciprocate. Plus, that kind of takes the fun out of it. Let’s all just give and accept gifts because we love each other and not feel a pang of guilt one way or the other, m’kay?

Love,

Andi

Let’s just say I still had readers even though my blogging frequency has dwindled to every couple of weeks at best. Then, let’s imagine that said readers wanted to comment on my thought-provoking posts. I would then tell those commenters that they should avoid using brand names of drugs in their comments to avoid having their much-wanted input deleted immediately. You see, I’m facing a serious problem with comment spam, and the only way I have figured out how to get rid of it is blacklist drug names. Oh, and “rolex,” which is apparently also very spam worthy. So, I’m just warning you now, try to avoid writing about pharmaceutical agents or ridiculously expensive watches in your comments, but please DO comment. I love to know that I’m writing to someone besides myself.

I have had the pleasure of buying new personal electronics lately. First up is my new, tiny, adorable MP3 player: The iRiver S10.

I usually don’t pay much attention to packaging, but this asymmetrical box was very eye catching.

“Please connect and charge S10 with a computer prior to use it.” Gotta love imports.

So cute and easy to carry in my pocket. The only real buttons are the volume and power on the sides, and the rest of the controls work by pressing the edges of the screen (where the white arrows are pointing). I have a Nano but hate the wheel, and I like these controls much better. So far it sounds great, is very portable, and has a very pretty display.

Next is my third Nintendo DS. I had a light pink import of the original DS, but Matt convinced me that I needed a new one when the Lite came out (he was so right). So, I had my trusty Coral Pink DS Lite (seen below) until it met its demise this weekend. I put it on the charger Friday night when the low battery light came on, and it wouldn’t charge or boot after that. Matt took it apart to see if he could fix it, but he said it was dead and that the battery was wet. There must have been a spilling incident that I didn’t know about.

R.I.P. Pinky.

So, obviously I needed a replacement. The question was, which color? I didn’t want to just replace it with another coral pink (bo-ring), so I had a decision to make. Matt assumed that I would get metallic rose because, since my raspberry Gameboy Color, I have always gotten the girliest color possible. I think the rose is too mauve and ugly though. So, unless I wanted to import and pay an extra $50+ for ice blue, I was deciding between crimson/black and cobalt/black, my two favorites of the current US colors. Despite my concerns that I was going to have a “boy’s DS,” I chose cobalt. It just came today, and OMG, look at this thing!

Is that a sharp-looking game system or what? The blue is dark and shiny, and the black is matte so it won’t show fingerprints. I love it. Maybe I can put a unicorn sticker on it or something to girl it up. As for the DS itself, no review is needed, right? I mean, if you don’t have one, get one (or three). No one should live a life without Meteos or Professor Layton.

Yesterday evening, I walked to the grocery store and encountered multiple elderly, Asian folks carrying humongous bags over their shoulders and checking curbside recycling bins. This is a normal occurrence in our neighborhood Sunday evening, the day before trash day. I thought to myself how resourceful it is that they are picking up what other people throw away and turning it in for money. They are working very hard for surely very little, but it must be enough money to help them make ends meet. I always greet these clever hard workers with a smile and wonder if there is some way I could help them by leaving what they need in plain sight so they don’t have to search for it.

Tonight, I happened to find out that Sunset Scavenger, our local waste service, encourages you to report recycling theft. Now I’m supposed to believe that they should be reported as thieves? The city says that it’s OK for me to turn in my recycling for cash, but once I put it in the bin it’s their property and revenue. When I throw something in a trash can, I consider it public property. If someone in need can benefit from my garbage, fantastic!

It’s not enough that dude is wearing a shirt and tie with shorts (please note tucked in tie), but what’s with that pattern ON the shorts? I didn’t get a close look, but I’m pretty sure that print is pretty ponies, possibly unicorns. The kid is probably clinging to the dad, begging him not to take him to school in that outfit. I have to hope that Matt never becomes this fashionable.

I just got a 10% off coupon from Toys R Us, and I’m pretty flattered. It says “Exclusively for Our Best Guest.” I had no idea I was their best, especially since I have only made about five purchases there ever. I guess I really stand out from the crowd.

I realize that I have a tiny audience here, but I still want to mention this to get the word out as much as I can. I just read that there are US Soldiers accepting toys and winter clothes (new or used) for children in Iraq. If you are interested in sending anything over, you can read more about it here:

http://www.rookiemoms.com/send-your-used-stuffed-animals-to-iraq/
http://www.parenthacks.com/2006/09/spread_the_word.html

For Christmas, my mom gave me this basil “garden in a bag.” You can see below it’s humble beginnings, and now it’s monstrous. I usually let all plants that I come into contact with die, but I’m way into this one. Matt was so impressed with my ability to grow this basil in a sack, that he got me this awesome sunflower in a can for my birthday. It’s from Korea. I started it on my birthday, so a week ago today, and look at it thriving already! I plan to grow many more things in cans and sacks. I just got dill in a sack started, so it will germinate in “7 to 21 days.”

Today is my final birthday of my 20s. To celebrate, we’re going on a whale watching trip, which we are very excited about. Also, check out this fantastic cake that Matt got for me.