bieber fever

oh man. so lily, at the ripe old age of two, is just as obsessed with justin bieber as the rest of the tweens in the world. his tunes are catchy, i admit that, and we've been showing her youtube videos of him since she was a year old. and every time his face popped up on the screen, her eyes got wide and she smiled from ear to ear. hysterical. love the fact he could soothe my fussy baby with his good looks and smooooth vocals, lol. one of these days i will have to catch her singing "baby, baby, baby, OHHHHHHHHHH!" on film, that is my current goal. and, yesterday while taking a bath, she told me quite matter-of-factly, "i have dinner with justin bieber." a date, already?!?! not so fast little girl, we have plenty of time left before that happens...i hope ;)

yay, i found my blog!

literally, years have passed since i've blogged, but i have to say that i'm a little bit excited i found this old blog-site associated with a uw-bothell course i took (like the title says, bis318: performance, identity, community and everyday life, with a focus on technology! longest title in the world for a class, haha).

my daughter lilian (hannah jean long) turned two years old just over a month ago, specifically on april 1, 2011, and i just posted some silly sayings of hers on facebook when i thought i should try and look-up (and successfully log-into) this old blog. user id? email...check. password? ohhhh dear. well i took a lucky guess and it worked...check. now i'm in :)

so the facebook post was a list of funny phrases lily has been repeating lately and they include: "i can't believe it!," "it's my favorite!," "i'm so excited!," "you're my best friend...in the whole world," "kids (insert any word here really, water, bubbles, toys, etc.) everywhere!"," "look at me, i'm not holding on tight!," "i like kids/i like my friends..." she is so funny, i could listen to her talk for hours! can't wait to hear what she comes up with next...

on another note, yesterday was mother's day and it was really great! greg and lily got me the sweetest supermom card (and a starbucks gift card, win!) and my other gift that i unabashedly asked greg for isn't here yet, but it's like a present for both of us: a sonicare toothbrush with two spinbrushes! so excited, we'll both have sparkling clean teeth! haha. anyway, lily had an amazing (and often rare) 2-hour nap, then we took a few pictures in the front yard, got in the car, made a stop at subway (famished!), then walgreens, then dropped off some flowers for my bff and new mama nicole (with her darling baby madison), then went to nana debi's house, THEN our final stop was at justin and teresa's house for dinner and dessert. phew and yum! i must say it was nice spending the morning with my two loves just sitting at home. hanging around the house getting prepped for a fun evening out is something that i treasure...i don't know why, but maybe it's because all too soon these moments will be gone. lily will be grown up and i won't have to get her dressed or changed or fed or anything at all. WAH! want my little girl to stay little forever...

well it's late, i better hit the sack (does anyone really talk like that?), but i'm pretty happy i have rediscovered this outlet to get all of my expressions (and lilian's!) out. goodnight!

the times they are a-changin'

In the collection of prose poems Backscatter: New and Selected Poems, John Olson transcribes his words in a style similar to that of a person having a conversation, a conversation rich in vocabulary and vivid language. Olson writes with enthusiasm and delight, about subjects few individuals would suppose to touch on like Mercury and My Favorite Gland where he writes, “It tastes like sunlight.” His technique does remind me a little of the great pop culturist Andy Warhol and is reminiscent of the writer Kenny Goldsmith. Backscatter is an odd assemblage of poetry, or rather eclectic collection; John Olson is a talented poet who, with great ease and creativity, transforms everyday life into works of art, and here is my attempt at shadowing him:

Color Wheel: After John Olson
Unlocking doors with a wand is freedom as brilliant hues fly through your hands bursting silhouettes as passages welcome you to heaven shy but a bit curious. Is releasing passion nervous and inexperienced away from scrutiny and criticism is retouching delicate outlines on your loves body songs brushing her to sway her head arms and legs her eyes blue and dreamy as you layer more color in, deep rich shades of paint. Is laughter brushing you to dance blended on carpet and rugs brushing the mood to blend through your body stirring with songs and harmony. Your breath stained in the air.

Evaporation: After John Olson
Drip like a faucet; plop, wash, sing, swim. An aimless rhythm or a concert from my sink? Raindrops, flips, pitter-pattering against rooftops; a pulsing dance conducted by Mother Nature. Dripping wet with sweat. Salty skin, saltine crackers soaking into my chicken noodle soup. Seeping, weeping blood flowing down my finger as Sleeping Beauty flashes in my brain. Cold water dripping from my hair or warm droplets running down my cheeks. Trickles of hot candle wax making a gummy puddle, red, like the color of fire, like the heat of my soul. Blistering saturation of oil splattering on my skin, popping off like evil in my head – angry, burning thoughts of him. A little time is all it takes. Drip, drip, drip and he’s gone.

video game*

oh my gosh...getting this video to upload was SO complicated. i'm exasperated...right there, yes, there, that is my face*

follow this link por favor: http://nicole8236.neptune.com?selectedalbum=nicole8236384108

baby sounds*

kids are cute. babies are even cuter. all the gurgly sounds, the coos and squeals...i can't help but try and get them to make noise because frankly, it's funny. i wondered what i should do for the audio prompt, and then realized that recording 30 seconds of sounds the baby i watch makes would be perfect. it wasn't as easy as i thought it would be, mainly because every time i pressed record, he was quiet, then when the recording was off, he would start the baby-talk; it was bad timing, we just weren't on the same page! frustrating, yes, but i knew if i kept at it, i was bound to catch something on my recorder. finally i got it, a little clip of him playing his xylophone...a classic toy eliciting classic sounds. i should have video taped him, it was pretty cute to watch. he hits that thing so dang hard, it's like he can hardly contain the excitement of holding a little wooden wand and slamming it down on the pretty and colorful keys. sometimes, when he's really excited, he shakes. silly baby :)
here is the link to my audio clip:
http://www.supload.com/sound_confirm.php?get=91761043.wav

just three days after i took this sound clip, my girlfriend sent me a sound clip of her daughter laughing, which is probably the cutest thing i've ever heard: kai is cracking up over the grinch's butt and big belly...she's watching the jim carey version, which is pretty funny if you haven't seen it. enjoy*
http://www.supload.com/sound_confirm.php?get=94047906.wav

Sugar and Spice

…And everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of. On November 7, 2008, the gender of my baby was revealed and yes, it’s a girl! My boyfriend and I are so happy. I have to say that I was a bit shocked because I was absolutely certain that I was carrying a little boy. It was just this feeling, something I couldn’t really put my finger on, but whatever, I was wrong. Maybe others influenced my opinion; roughly 48 out of 50 people were convinced I was having a boy. I guess I was "carrying low" and since my morning sickness (which should really be called all-day sickness) was extremely mild, supposedly that also meant I was incubating a boy.

When I first found out I was pregnant at 7 ½ weeks, I was considerably stunned, but didn’t feel "pregnant." A week later, things were noticeably different. Nausea, among an assortment of other pregnancy symptoms, settled in. I started eating crackers to curb the nausea and it worked like a charm. Then another thing happened: I began to crave fruit. I hate to use the word crave, but I just desperately, and rather urgently, wanted fruit. Watermelon, nectarines, peaches, plums, and grapes, that was it. It varied day-to-day, and once, I made a trip to the grocery store around 11pm because I downright HAD to have a nectarine. The very next night, I was back at the grocery store and required the ingestion of red grapes. I walked past the nectarines, stopped for one moment to observe them, and shuddered; they looked positively disgusting to me. Blah. The thought of a nectarine was sickening, but it was only the night before that I absolutely, positively had to have one. What the hell?! It was during these two weeks of seeking out fruit that I thought I might be carrying a girl; apparently, girls stimulate fruit cravings, whereas boys induce strong meat and/or protein desires.

My 20-week ultrasound clearly reveals that I’m having a baby girl. Well, it was clear to the ultrasound technician, not to me. My boyfriend Greg is over the moon; he got his little girl. I know it is going to be exhausting and require endless days and sleepless nights of patience, dedication, and hard work. Although I have no idea what it’s like to bear and raise a child, I have worked as a nanny for 12 years and believe I have a very good indication of the commitment and energy it takes to nurture one. The work will be worth the outcome. This baby girl will be loved and loved and loved for all her life.

I cannot wait to meet her.