Needs

Saw this on Beth's blog and loved it! So I'm doing one for muah. You enter your name into google, followed by the word needs and then copy and paste the top 10 entries.

Rose needs you! (yes I do)

Rose needs a home (yes she does)

Rose needs to move to Europe (absolutely)

Rose needs anger management (hahahahaha,  rolling on the floor now)

Rose needs an oxygen mask (because of my anger?)

Rose needs a refill on Flickr (Rose needs a refill on ALL photo applications)

Rose needs the rain (not so much)

Rose needs to grow (maybe that's what I need the rain for)

Rose needs a name (pretty sure I have one)

Rose needs a drummer (who drums to the beat of my own dance=)

For Breakfast

I have had one bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar, two cups of coffee, and two M&Ms cookies from Tiff's Treats (damn Brando's business for buying them for new clients and then sending them home with him).

Breakfast of champions!

Snap My Picture

Has anybody else noticed how picture taking has become part of the event? Instead of capturing the event picture taking in itself has become an intricate part of the good times. Saturday night way past the point of drunk. All of us having a blast at one of Austin's clubs that somehow managed to be a lounge, club, and bar all in one and did it well with an open air roof, flowy white material, and wide, comfy lounges. I'm pretty sure picture taking and seeing how goofy, crazy, or sexy we could make ourselves in them was one of the highlights of the nights. Besides being with the girls, laughing, talking, and dancing the night away. : )

You so thought I'd have a picture down here didn't you? The truth is my iphoto is so overloaded with the 20,000 photographs it has in it that the minute I upload it the processing capability of my computer slows to a snails pace. Instead of spending the next hour on here doing that I'm going to bed.

Girls, girls, girls

 Last night was Li's birthday dinner. She had a bunch of girlfriends there, her boy, and my boy. It was at the most adorable restaurant ever, B0tticelli's. With the tiny space, white linen tablecloths, ladder back chairs, viewable cooks in the kitchen, lighting enhanced only by wall sconces, and a menu which described everything in great detail, i.e. fresh, organic, herbs, steamed, served, tossed and roasted with,  etc. I wanted to pinch it's cheeks. I didn't even know that cute of a restaurant existed in Austin.

Only it was insanely expensive, and while some of the plates stuck to the Texas unspoken law of having HUGE servings, some were itsy bitsy.  Pretty sure that has been the most expensive dinner I have been to in well over four years. Yikes! When it came time to split the bill the drinks others had ordered made it come to $40/person - meaning $80 on our end and we still had to pay the babysitter $40 at home for ONE freaking dinner!! Shite. Fortunately one other girl and I were like, well we didn't order THAT much. Ours ended up coming to $57, including the tip and tax split eight ways (which made our tip a whopping $12) and the six dollar person birthday shot ordered in the beginning by the girl sucking down three "specialty" drinks during the dinner. Um, yeah. We don't do dinner like that. Dang!! It's expensive to go out in a group as a couple - especially when you're both surviving off the same income!!!

All cost aside, we had a BLAST. It was actually fun going out with Brando. He was the resident photographer, which was great because when you compared the quality of his pics to the other pictures floating around they blew them out of the water. He got a cute one of us girls lined up on the spiral staircase. I'm the tallest one as I'm standing on the top stair. Awesome.

Unfortunately and why does this ALWAYS have to be?! there was one party pooper in the group who had the birthday girl stepping on eggshells around so her "feelings" don't get hurt. Apparently she grew up with Li and her sis, so she's been at every event I've been to so far. She's the one who grows real quiet and sulky and then plasters a fake smile on her face when somebody asks how she is or when it's time to go. I drove up with her and Mar and she yakked the entire time about some relationship she is in that bored the snot out of me. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind hearing about a good recent relationship, but seriously don't tell every. single. detail. of this guy you met a month ago as if people care and then capitalize the conversation the ENTIRE THIRTY MINUTE WAY there by boring every one with said details and sulking if anybody else gets a word in edge wise. Seriously?!?! Poor Li drove home with her and Mar on the way back so she didn't get her feelings hurt that she wasn't driving with her. She texted me from their car with, "Seriously? Not ONE word has been spoken." I told her we were swapping road rage stories and somehow the conversation had moved to weddings. That made her laugh. She was standing by herself on the second story breezewaywith her flowers and balloon, with Mar and her guy friend who'd just gotten there and sulky girl on the breezeway above,  waiting for us to get there. Fortunately I had good conversation on the way home this time. I told her next time we have to make sure and travel TOGETHER.

Fortunately at dinner, her girlfriend An*ie made up for it by being a clone of Li, but not in an annoying way. In a, "I can't believe there is someone out there who has as funky, goofy, and crazy antics as you do" way. When the two of them are together it's the kind of laugh that makes your tummy hurt all night long. The two of them had the rest of us in stitches by starting off the night with a birthday interview about how Li felt about her birthday night using the black lily centerpiece as a microphone. "How are you feeling about your birthday dinner tonight?" "Happy, very happy." "And?" "Thrilled." "And?" "Very excited." "And..." all in very serious announcer voices. That's pretty much how the rest of the night went. 

I'm so glad I got to share her birthday dinner with her!!

Remind me never to drink on a Thursday night

"Operation: Build Relationships with those down South" started last night with one of the girls I've known for years but have never had the opportunity to get together with her much because, well, she lives down south.

One of the companies I work for was throwing an in-house party at a bar that the bachelor from a few seasons ago, Brad Womack, owns. A guy I worked with a few weekends ago invited me so Kr*stina was my date. I was hoping upon hoping Brad would show up just so I could be a total dork and say I've met him. He didn't and I was totally disappointed. Maybe he did later but we took off once it was clear everybody was past the point of coherency. While we were there we lived it up and had a great time any way with alcohol paid for and the Miller Lite girls handing out ironically the very thing I was drinking to boot. Besides, I'd never been to THAT bar of his before.

Afterwards we took off to a September Soiree event at MayaStar, a local boutique store with designs from artists all over. They had champagne, sushi, and a local hairdresser creating and teaching hair updos. We ended up having our hair teased into total Hills hairstyles (hers, mine), drinking wine, eating edamame, and enjoying the gorgeous jewelry and dresses they had on display.

Since the sushi was all gone by the time we got to Maya and the party food back at the bar didn't look too appetizing we were still starving. We walked our wine (open container law, anyone?) and ourselves to Homeslice for margherita pizza. Mmmm.

Then once we realized it was ELEVEN THIRTY on a freakin' Thursday night, we hightailed it out of there. We had a BLAST and yapped waaaayyyy too much on wayyyyyy too many tmi subjects, but it was so much fun getting to know her that much more. I already know I love her, it's just fun to find out more of the reasons why.

Overheard while watching Star Wars

Shawners: What is Yoda?

Justinbustin: Do you remember Shrek?

Shawners: Yes.

Justinbustin: Yoda's like a mini Shrek.

Happy Wednesday

We have something planned every night this week. Strange how I don't feel overwhelmed. Probably because it's mostly fun events. Monday night was girls' night with the girls and a dinner of smoky corn and potato cheddar soup, merlot, and our girlie shows Gossip Girl, and The Hills. Tuesday night was a date with Brando and a Chipotle picnic on Mt. Bonnell at sunset, with Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake on the deck of the Cheesecake Factory afterwards. Tonight I get to see our previous babysitter that I heart!! I haven't seen her in way too long since she started school almost full-time and is working full time as well. I'm so excited to meet up with her for dinner tonight!! Tomorrow night is cub scouts for the boys and and dinner with a girlfriend for me. She's a girlfriend who lives down South that I haven't gotten to know real well as a result of living so far away from each other. Amazingly this year I have a ton of opportunities to develop relationships with those who live down south - including cub scouts and nannying, both of which are located down south. Yesterday I had lunch with another girlfriend, her baby, and Olive (the baby girl I'm nannying), who is another girl I haven't had a chance to get together with for that reason. Friday night is Li's birthday dinner at sunset at a restaurant on the lake. Saturday is Kris's graduation from acup*ncture school then dinner with Jen. Afterwards I'm meeting up with Li to finish out celebrating her birthday out on Sixth Street and then head home for a night all by lonesome because the boys will be camping with the cub scouts. Hmm, I should do a sleepover. Too bad I'll probably be so drunk I'll pass out the minute I get home.

Confidence

I have not been on here much lately. Mostly due to the fact my life is completely up in the air right now as far as housing and transportation. The only thing that seems to be steady, at least for the next nine months, is the nannying I am doing.   Speaking of nannying and confidence, this baby girl was a FUSSY baby before I came along. The woman that recommended me to her mom sent me with high recommendations that I could help her out on as an experienced mom to a first time mom. As well as help her get the baby who wasn't sleeping well thru the night or taking regular naps on a sleep schedule, which I did right away. Now she's a happy, content baby who sleeps on a regular schedule of two two hour or so naps a day, sleeps thru the night, will let whomever hold her after the day she met me, and  So when she's started to get fussy the last few days with me I've been freaking out. Ol' paranoia of not good enough kicks in.   This morning I got here and her Mom had just put her down for a nap. She woke up half an hour later, fussy as all get out, threw up a pile of wretched smelling baby spitup that made my gag reflex kick in, and continued to be fussy. So I tried to put her back to sleep because there's no way I'm dealing with a fussy baby until her mom comes back to feed her in a few hours especially when she usually sleeps for a good solid few hours in the morning. No luck.   Then I feed her, thinking she probably has an empty stomach with all that spit up. Good to go there, but she was still fussy so I tried putting her back to sleep. As she fought sleep I start to freak out that I've lost my 'touch'. Hello, four weeks and I've lost it? I don't think so. Really my touch is getting babies to sleep. That's always been my touch. Hell, I know how cranky I AM when I don't get sleep, doesn't it stand to reason that a baby who doesn't know what the heck is going on in their sleepy little heads going to be that much crankier?!   So I tell myself I can do this, and I run my hand over her forehead, gently down her nose to close her already sleepy eyes. I sway from side to side, and in circles to keep myself occupied. After fighting it for a few minutes, she is out like a light. I still have it and I'm hanging onto it, damn it. Need a baby nanny any one?   PS I apologize for turning this into a baby blog even though I don't technically have one. It brings up so many good memories for me, and a lot of memories that remind me why I don't have one right now. I love watching somebody elses baby grow up on a daily basis and getting to learn from it from the vantage point of being able to leave her with her mom and say see ya! after I'm done for the day.

Cuteisms...

Because I just realized how fast these moments are slipping away.

Shawners has been calling me 'Ms. Rosey' lately.

This morning as he's looking for the laundry for a clean sock to match the one he likes, he says "If I find some pants, I may slip them on."

Yesterday, they cleaned their room in the time Daddy set for them. When the timer went off Shawners tells Justinbustin, who was rushing to do a few last minute items, "Justinbustin, we have to finish now when the timer went off. We have to be honest."

He still says "awww, how cute!" at tiny dinosaur statues like the ones at Dinoland at Zilker Botanical Gardens we went to yesterday. And at the dachshund puppies a family brought to church yesterday that he cuddled for a good half hour.

Unbeknownst to me until Li told me last night, when she watched the boys Saturday morning while I worked Justinbustin asked if the waffles she was offering him were organic. When she said no, he said no thanks!!! What?!?! We had Eg*o's in the house the other day (I will admit, thanks to Brando) and he was chowing them down. Still, it was cute to hear.

To be, or where to be

We are in the middle of figuring out where we're going to live. I wish I had a horseshoe wedged up my b*tt like Alyssa!!

We have no idea where we are going to be in a month and a half. The rent is increasing on our apartments to a ridiculous amount where we either rent a cheaper home, or buy one for gosh's sakes. For those of you who have been reading for awhile, remember how I freaked out about being in an apartment once I realized we weren't buying a home after a year? Now I've switched and am freaked out about being in a home after being in an apartment for so long! With all the conveniences of a clubhouse, resort-style pool, indoor basketball court, minus equity who would want to leave? A year ago I asked myself with having no backyard, living in an anthill, and not having a neighborhood, who would want to stay? I'm a shaker and a mover, but when I get used to things I'm less inclined to want change. In that sense I become a creature of habit.

Did I mention I love my job?

Well, actually, I love BOTH my jobs. Nannying this little girl is SO much fun I actually missed her this weekend! I've been using her for my practice baby if I ever have another, by researching baby sign language, kindermus*k, getting her on a schedule, etc. Her face lights up when she sees me! It's a whole new experience having a baby girl. She loves shopping even at five months. She's dramatic when I change her diaper. Instead of an angry cry it's an it's the end of the world, why would you do this to me cry. Although when I have her all wrapped up in her towel after a swim in the baby pool she lays on her back and plays with my hair, just like Shawners did. It's not enough to give me baby fever. I'm gonna go with a hells no on that. But it is enough to make me want to adopt a baby girl someday! When the boys are off school and I have them here with me she absolutely adores them and is a piece of cake to entertain. All I do is make sure they are in her view! Justinbustin is so helpful with her, and big enough that I can have him keep an eye on her in the jumper or the swing while I step into the other room and use the restroom or step outside for a minute, which is much more freedom than when they are not around. I am off to volunteer at Shawner's school with her. I can't wait to see how she lights up at all the kids!