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Thursday, July 23, 2009

The "Baby Whisperer"

My bestie has told me numerous times that I should have a TLC show called the "Baby Whisperer".
For whatever reason I have a knack for rocking babies to sleep. Call it skill, call it luck, call it a super tired baby and a patient auntie, call it whatever you like. Regardless of the reaosn, it happens more often than not. Set a baby in my arms and they will most likely be asleep within 10 minutes max. Check it out.. there's even proof:
Auntie and Jack
Peyton..Had to put her down! She's a heater!
Jordan
Lucy
Lucy again.. she may be able to resist others but NEVER can she resist the powers of auntie shannon. Truth is, I love these kids and I could hold them all day long!

Skills..

Normally I am a good cook. However, where Jared is concerned I have left a lot a little to be desired. The first time I made lasagna it was slightly runny.. ok ALOT runny. Last night I made pizza. PIZZA people... it's not that hard! I worked at Pizza Hut for how long? Then Pizza Guys for a little while. I should be able to make pizza in my sleep! But last night was not my best pizza night. I probably left it in the oven about 10-15 minutes too long. The crust was dark brown, not the crispy golden brown like every.other.pizza I have ever made. When you tap on the crust and it kind of sounds like a rock.. it is probably going to taste like a rock. The cheese wasn't quite the gooey bubbly goodness it should have been. And the bacon? Well, we just won't go there.

Then there's the garlic bread. Garlic bread and I have had a love-hate relationship since I was a kid: I was once in charge of watching the garlic bread in the broiler while my mom was in a different room. I remembered the garlic bread when I noticed smoke pouring out of the oven.
Fortunately there was no smoke involved this time around. There was ,however, black edges. Dark black, crumbly, non-perfect edges. Atleast the inside bread part was still edible. :)

Finally the salad.. I know! One would think "how can you possibly mess up a salad?!". Think of who you are dealing with though.. ME! Lettuce went well, radishes cooperated. Cucumbers? Not so much. I dropped one little piece which got a chuckle out of the boy standing next to me. Then I dropped an entire half on the floor. Nice! Then dressing was basically ranch dressing soup.. How does that happen when you follow the directions exactly?Its not hard. Powder from the packet, milk, mayo. That's what I get for not just buying a bottle of already made dressing!

With all that said, he ate it. Every bite he had on his plate (including the rock hard crust of the pizza).

I guess my bestie, Jessica, was right when she told me to just let the inner "Martha" go. I'm trying!

** Just a side note.. Here's a little shout out to Summer and Sarah to say HI. Thanks for making a Jess and Shannon Blog fan club! (just kidding)**

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Promises

Jared and I went to The Flood church on sunday and I have to say.. wow. Great sermon. Talking about God's promises. The speaker read the scripture that says "Behold, I am doing a new thing. Do you not see it?"

It got me. The fear, anxiety, the doubt, the past, the struggling.. got a big ole slap in the face when I read that verse. Talk about bullseye to the heart.

Not only did this make me think of what has been happening in my life but in the life of my dear friends Tom and Desiree. After years of struggling with infertility,numerous procedures, heartache, tears.. they are pregnant! Desiree' underwent the IVF procedure a few weeks ago and it took! She had 2 embryos implanted in her. On July 28th she will have the first ultrasound and they will find out how many babies there are.

Where her struggle has been infertility and mine has been singleness, they paralleled eachother and it all seems to be changing for the better. Promises God had given both of us years and years ago are being fulfilled. Promises we used to talk about for hours.

Desiree and I were roommates quite a few years back. I had so much fun with her! I could go on and on with stories from that time but I will simply say this.. she is an amazing and strong woman, A dymanic and intelligent teacher, beautiful, courageous, kind, down-to-earth and funny person. She is going to be one incredible mom. Please join me in praying for my friends and their little baby (or babies..so i think). For strength, the morning sickness that she is dealing with, for continued peace and overwhelming joy!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

"Track 5"

Jared and I went to see Ice Age 3 tonight.. super cute and funny movie. We were standing by my car in the parking lot talking when some random guy starts talking to us. On the inside I felt like Sid from the movie when he went running and screaming "stranger danger! stranger danger!". The following conversation ensued:
Stranger: "Hey are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?"
(followed by an awkward silence from both of us because we haven't talk about that yet. Plus we didn't know this person)
Stranger: How about I sing you guys a song.
Me: Umm No thank you
Stranger: Do you guys like love songs?
Me: No thats ok
Stranger: Do you guys like hip hop/rap?
Jared: No not really
Stranger: Come on just give me 30 seconds. Just Track 5.
(again silence from us since this guy was persistent)
Stranger: (starts rapping ..words that I cant remember except a few) blah blah blah, whining and bitching, blah blah blah breaking my heart, blah blah blah all your games"
Me (to jared): Yeah nice love song.
Stranger: blah blah.. continues rapping
Me: Um I think it's been more than 30 seconds
Stranger: (starts to stomp away) What ever, you guys don't appreciate art.. blah blah blah

He left and I started cracking up. Jared and I both laughed SO hard. The jokes rolled on and on.. especially when we saw the guy walk up to some teenage girls. We decided after he had a bad run with Track 5 with us, he was probably going to try track 6 or 7 on them. :) We thought about making the guy a myspace page. His title being "Random Parking Lot Rapper" and of course the featured track on the page would be "Track 5". I even offered to take a picture with my phone and upload it to the page.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Summer

Lord have mercy Summertime has arrived! Can we go back to last week when things were in the 80s? Please?
Summer and I have a love-hate relationship. I love the longer days, the cooling down of the evening where you can finally open the windows, feel the breeze and take a breath without feeling like you are going to suffocate. I love the BBQs, the smell of charcoal (yes, I'm weird), the watermelon and strawberries, watching my nieces and nephews play in sprinklers or in the pool, bonfires and roasting marshmallows. All that said, I hate the constant sweating, hot steering wheels and blazing hot sun that seems to beat down on you even when you think you are in the shade. I'm pasty white. I burn easily.
Have some mercy Mr. Sun! I work at NIGHT for crying out loud. These legs and arms don't see you very often. I hear people saying how they were "kissed" by the sun. I have never been kissed by you Mr. Sun. I usually get a strong "twap" across the face, arms, legs, feet, neck, back.. ease up a bit will you?

Friday, July 10, 2009

Dating?What's that?

This dating thing is a foreign concept to me. I've barely been on one date with a guy let alone 4.. But I have to say I am having a great time.
Last night Jared took me to his favorite place in downtown San Diego.. The Mandarin House. Now, when people have a favorite place they like to eat they generally hype up the food. This was certainly the case w/ Jared. He couldn't stop talking about it. Honestly, I assumed it would just be ok or pretty good food. Well I must say.. it was hands down the best chinese food I have ever had! EVER!

The chopstick lessons weren't too bad. Well..they weren't too good either. I only flung a little bit of rice on the table. Poor Jared tried and tried to show me where to place my fingers on the chopsticks but my fingers just don't move that way. I even tried to follow the direction that are on the wrapper but it was no use. Just when I thought I had it he would say "they aren't supposed to criss-cross like that" or "umm you have to bend your finger so the stick moves and you can pick up the food" or "no you can't just scoop it like using a spoon". He was chowing down and I was still trying to get just one piece of chicken to my mouth. Finally he said I could use my fork. THANKS! Every now and then I would pick up the chopsticks and try again. Apparently I was concentrating pretty hard because I would hear chuckling coming from the other side of the table. Clearly I am chopstick retarded.

We went to mission beach after dinner and walked around. I haven't laughed so much in a while. He already knows that I sometimes lack grace and coordination. So when I suggested walking towards the jetty he looked at me like "right.. take YOU, of all people, out on sharp rocks that jet out into a large body of water while you are wearing flip flops?!" So he opted for the safer version of sitting on rocks near the lagoon type area.. a safe distance from the water.

Did you know that the speed limit along the sidewalk at mission beach is 8mph? Good to know for all those people the speedometers on their bicycles and skateboards... Who knew dating could be fun AND educational!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

My "Pooh Bear"


MY nephew, Justen, is 9 today. Where has the time gone? I remember standing in the delivery room awaiting his arrival. Secretly praying I wouldn't pass out from seeing all blood and goop when the baby came out. I know everyone says childbirth is gross but when Justen was born I was in awe. I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't believe I had a little nephew. He was a precious little guy. I used to hold him for hours. Justen had the greatest 'belly laugh" as a baby. he was a chunky little one and his laugh came from deep inside.

He is the sweetest little man. Every time I see him he says "tee tee you're beautiful". How could you possibly have a low self esteem around this kid? He will always be your number one fan. He is full of energy and full of life. He always has a new joke he wants to share. he will be the first to give you a hug, even if you have just met him.

The past year has been a rough health year for Justen. We have had a few too many scares but everything has turned out ok. Even when he is being poked and prodded at the hospital he is happy. He just thinks it is cool he can stay up all night watching the Disney channel or some other kids tv channel. He is an easy going, fun loving kid.

I simply can't believe he is 9 years old. Happy Birthday my little man.. I love you more than words can say! You give the best hugs and kisses. You are precious and I thank God for you.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Scoop

I know some people feel completely out of the loop on what is going on with my life.. for that I must apologize. I've worked almost 2 weeks straight so as time went on the less sleep I got. I feel like so much has happened. I know all anyone really cares about at this moment is the new Guy in my life. :)


Here's a re-cap. An Engineer w/ Cal Fire got married in April. Him and his new bride asked me to do the cake for the party they were throwing in June. The engineer told me he wanted me to meet his step son. Between the months of april and june I had a guy say some not-so-nice things to me and it hurt a lot. Eventually I just became what I like to call "boy bitter". I basically felt every man (yes even you dad) was scum and I seriously disliked all of them. At that point I had no desire to meet any of the guys that people had mentioned to me.

I was briefly introduced to Jared at the party then promptly avoided him like the plague the rest of the day. Although.. I did think he was really cute.. BUT he was a guy, therefore he was a jerk. He emailed me on facebook that night. He told me he was sorry he didn't get the chance to talk to me at the party but he definitely wanted to get to know me.

We started talking more and he asked me to coffee for the following wednesday. It was a long wait til wednesday and the nerves almost got the best of me on wednesday morning. All nerves were gone once I got there. Well , maybe not ALL of them. I did knock my tea off the arm of my chair and it landed in my lap. Thankfully it was upright when it landed..

Thursday we went on a picnic at a park near my work. It was a relaxing few hours under a big shade tree. We talked, laughed, joked. It felt very comfortable and like I have known him forever.

We have talked every day since and I made him dinner last night. It was my first attempt at a homemade lasagna. I think it turned out pretty good. Only a few minor mishaps along the way.
Before he got here I was doing stuff in the kitchen and smacked my forehead on the corner of the cupboard. I had a nice little bump by the time he got here. While opening the salad dressing I squeezed the bottle a little too hard and a glob fell on the counter... To which he laughed and said "way to go". After cleaning up that small mess I attempted to get the tongs out of the utensil holder on the counter. Apparently they were burried under every other utensil in the container because I had to take all of them out just to get the tongs. Of course the stack of utensils on the counter didn't go unnoticed so I got a "everything ok over there?" and a chuckle. As if that hadn't been enough I started tossing the salad w/ the said tongs and flung salad across the counter. He had no words that time. Just lots of laughter. What a way to make an impression..
Just after that he said "just dont drop the lasagna". It was at that point I decided to leave the lasagna on the counter instead of taking it to the table.

It was a relaxing evening chatting and watching a movie. Tonight he is taking me to his favorite place to eat downtown, The Mandarin House. Yes folks.. a chinese food place..where he INSISTS I use chopsticks. aww man! Look how big salad tongs are and I can't even do that gracefully.. chopsticks + rice + shannon= disaster

more stories to come..