Lookin' Good

In honor of my obsession with the giant Buddy Holly glasses in Lubbock (see, e.g, my prior posts here, here, and here), Chris and I now proudly sport our own Buddy Holly glasses. I think they accentuate our noses too much.

But Ryan and Amber look so natural...

Otilia

The last time I saw Otilia, less than one week ago, she joyfully embraced me and said, "Oh, I love you Kim." I do not want this memory to fade, so I am recording it here.

Sometimes your life is going so well that you forget how sad this world can be.

Sextuplets

It's official! This evening Chris and I decided that we will have sextuplets someday, five girls and one boy named as follows: Christina, Kristen, Kristi, Chrissy, Chrissa, and Christian. I asked if we could name one after me. Chris said, "Yes," followed by a short, contemplative pause and my namesake, "Butt Face."

Hmph . . . because of that comment I refuse to birth six babies for him. I suppose he should start looking for a surrogate.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve in the Sias house.

I'm Happy

Today is my wedding anniversary. My "life as a Sias" began two years ago today. There are two things I will remember about this anniversary.

1. Cotton. Cotton is the traditional second wedding anniversary gift. Chris gave me an assortment of things made out of cotton, some obvious (socks), others not so obvious (a fresh cotton scented candle). Then we ate at The Cotton Patch.

2. Key. When we tried to leave The CottonPatch, the car key broke off in the door. Chris' co-worker Brandon was kind enough to give us a ride home to retrieve the spare. He was our kind helper/awkward third wheel.

I could conclude with a soliloquy about how much I love my husband, but I think I'll decline. Not because I don't love him, but because those words are (1) terribly insufficient and (2) meaningful to my husband and myself but too mushy for everyone else. I will say only this: I am happy. Very happy.

But does it turn on the TV?

Below is a picture of my father-in-law's oversized-remote sitting on top of my super-sleek MacBook. Upon pointing out the relative size of his remote to my laptop, my father-in-law asked, "but, does it turn on the TV?" I guess there are some things a MacBook just can't do...yet.

A White Christmas

At first we were so confused by a white Christmas in Texas that we got lost in the blizzard...


...but then we made our way to this idyllic setting (note that we lost some clothing-coast, gloves, and shoes-during the blizzard).

Duck, Duck, Goose...Goose, Goose, Goose, Goose, Goose

Every fall Lubbock is invaded by thousands of geese flying south for the winter. The pictures below were taken at a pond a few blocks from our apartment. Hundreds of geese were resting in the playa lake, incessantly honking. Every two or three minutes 40 of 50 birds would take flight at once and resume their journey.





Geese are not inherently beautiful birds. It is amazing, however, to see them in such large numbers. I enjoy hearing their muted honk as they fly high above me, onward to a warmer place.

Crazy Weather Day

This morning the roads were covered in ice. The sun came out and melted the ice, but soon the sun was gone. Next came rain, hail, and sleet, followed by brief sun and a double rainbow. Not to be outdone, the wind kicked up and soon a full blown wind and dust storm was upon us. The hazy, reddish-brown sky caused water dripping from the rooftops to look like mud. It was a crazy weather day!

Funny Dream

Two nights ago I had a very funny dream about teaching Sabbath school at church. One of the kids in the Sabbath school class did something very funny. Then the dream began to fade as I woke up. But the dream was so funny that I woke up in the middle of the night laughing. I thought to myself, that was a very funny dream. I will have to blog about that. And so here I am, blogging about my very funny dream, only I can't remember what was so very funny.

Black Friday

This year I participated in Black Friday for the first time. I was awake and driving to Kohl's before the sun came up. I then stood in line for 30 minutes so that I could spend $12.98. This was exhausting and required an unhealthy breakfast from McDonald's. According to the old man I met at McDonald's, the breakfast crowd was larger than usual. He then showed my shopping buddies and I pictures of his new horse trailer. I have no idea how to judge a trailer, especially when displayed on a small cell phone screen, but I tried to act genuinely impressed. Upon leaving McDonald's, my friend Ryan made a comment Chris often makes about how I talk to random people.

Next stop: the mall. I tried on a white sweater at Gap only to find that it left a million little pieces of white lint on my black shirt. As we were leaving Gap, an annoying kiosk salesman approached us. I quickly asked for a lint brush. Surprisingly, he led me to a kiosk drawer that contained nothing but two lint brushes. I used his lint brush but then had to endure his lengthy and irritating sales pitch, even though I told him I was only using him for his lint brush. He asked for my name. I replied, "Marsha." After refusing to pay $80 for his cuticle cream and buffer, we moved on, lint free.

After flying through the mall, we headed to Best Buy. I do not like Best Buy on a normal day. I really do not like Best Buy on Black Friday.

Finally, we get to DSW. Oh shoe heaven, I would have enjoyed you more if Mike wasn't calling me. To make a long story short, "Mike" found a friend's "lost" cell phone at K-Mart, changed the ringer, and then turned it off. Later on, once he was at the mall, he decided the cell phone owner might want the phone back. That's when Mike called me and I became the negotiator for the return of a cell phone that was either lost or was stolen by someone with a conscience.

I left DSW at noon and retired from Black Friday, at least for the day and possibly for life.

Toilet Trouble

First, please do not conjure up images of a bowl overflowing with tainted water. Quite the contrary: our toilet is functioning on a perfectly acceptable level. The problem is that our toilet has been attracting objects that do not belong in the toilet. The occasional make-up brush, hair band, or hand mirror may accidentally fall in the toilet without causing many problems. Chris' wedding ring, however, was a bit scarier. But when my hair dryer, which was plugged into the wall, fell into the toilet bowl and made an array of sizzling sounds, I could barely move. I instantly squealed, tensed my shoulders, and elevated my heels, as if to prepare myself for the ensuing shock. I could only envision the large tag routinely affixed to bathroom appliances containing the crossed-out picture of children playing with an appliance in the bath tub. I later learned that the appliance and the person must be in the water together to cause a truly dangerous situation. I guess it's a good thing I wasn't standing the toilet when the hair dryer fell. Otherwise, our toilet trouble would be of a whole different nature.

Based on a prior incident involving the hose of a running vaccuum cleaner and a tiolet, I suspected that my hair dryer may still work despite the unsanitary baptism. After four days of "drying," the hair dryer is working perfectly again. (Chris heroically tested it for me, although I insisted that he wear a rubber glove for added protection).

I think we need to start closing the lid...

Butler & Mistress

Sometimes Chris and I dream about life after law school. I dream of traveling. Chris dreams of stuff. Specifically, Chris wants a townhouse with a three car garage and a butler. The butler is not a passing whim, mind you, as his (of course the butler is male) potential usefulness comes up often.

More recently, In response to the rumor that Tiger Woods has been involved in an extramarital affair, Chris sarcastically stated that "a man can't even have a mistress anymore." I couldn't help but respond to his statement in an equally sarcastic and accusatory manner. "So," I said, "You want a townhouse with a three car garage, a butler, and a mistress?"

Geography Lesson

Q: What's the difference between England, Britain, and the United Kingdom?

A: As far as I can tell...

Great Britain: The Island comprised of Wales, England and Scotland.
United Kingdom: Northern Ireland and the island of Great Britain.

If You Have Gas, Don't Come to Class

Yep, that pretty much sums up my evidence class this week. To my silent but deadly neighbor, please stop...please?

Pumpkin Carving

Gina had never carved a pumpkin. She is trying to figure out how to clean out the pumpkin without getting dirty.

I wasn't afraid of getting dirty.

Amber likes pumpkins so much that she eats them.

The finished products.

Posing with our pumpkins.

Thirty-Six Hours, Three Thousand Miles

It's 10:00 p.m. on Sunday night. Exactly one week ago, at this very time, I had just checked into a hotel room in Washington D.C. Less than 24 hours later, I was back on a plane headed home. Given obvious time restraints, my sight seeing was limited to a view of Arlington National Cemetery from the highway, a view of the capitol building from a high-rise in Virginia, and a trip to the Smithsonian store in the airport.

Needless to say, one week ago I was experiencing an agonizing temptation, for I was sitting in a hotel room three miles from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., knowing this was my only opportunity to hop on a train headed downtown and catch a glimpse of something, anything. But my mature, responsible, adult side prevailed. As I got ready for bed instead, I was a little bit heart-broken and a little bit proud.

Michael and I Were Tight

This summer I went to the Experience the Music Project in Seattle. I stumbled upon an impromptu memorial to Michael Jackson, who had died only a couple of weeks earlier. It inspired me to add my own impromptu moment to this video.

Brought to You by MacBook Pro

My laptop died a couple of weeks into the semester. For the next month I used a loaner from the law library, an oversized, bulky Dell. Then, two weeks ago I came home and found a beautiful surprise from Chris quietly sitting on the table.



(Insert lots of excited exclamations here!!!!!)

The box opened to reveal a computer nestled in a perfectly designed package, with clean compartments and tabs for the few extras included. Inside the box I discovered one sexy piece of technology. The slim body opens and closes like a glove, the solid casing is made from one piece of aluminum, the key board is backlit, and the power cord is pure genius. Most importantly, the computer operates as well as it looks. Aside from the geeky specifications that make the machine run smoothly, I love that it powers up and powers down in a matter of seconds. And the battery life is awesome.

Given my disdain for the loaner laptop I was using, one may wonder why I hadn't already purchased a replacement. After my HP Pavillion DV2000 died, I was shocked to discover that there was absolutely no laptop on the market that would fulfill two of my laptop requirements. I wanted a laptop with a 14 inch screen size and no shiny or matte black casing. The MacBook Pro, coming in at 13 inches, was the closest thing I could find, but I was deterred by the price. I was not deterred by the price, however, when accepting it as a gift from my husband, thus ignoring all concepts of community property learned in law school.

Not only is my MacBook Pro sexy, sturdy, and functional, but it also makes me look sexier. Here are a couple of pictures I took using Photo Booth.





Well, the last one isn't so sexy, but it is ferocious.

What else can I say except that my husband is the best, and this blog proves it.

Just a Few Balloons

Chris and I went to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta earlier this month.


The balloons come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.


Just a few balloons and a few spectators...


Stand clear of the flame shooter.


I was excited to see the Target balloon calling me home.


Chris was excited to see this balloon, perhaps calling him home too.


Thanks to my aunt, uncle, and cousins who shared their home with us over the weekend. We enjoyed being your guests.