Ode to Flip

This past Tuesday, one of my favorite older cousins, Flip Harris, passed away. She was a cousin of my grandma's, so I'm not sure exactly what our relationship was (you know, first cousin, twice removed, or third cousin once removed - however that works) but I know that she was one cool old lady and that she will be dearly missed. (And for those who are wondering - yes, Flip IS her name, although it's short for something that I can't remember at the moment - she's just always been Cousin Flip to us.) Although I didn't live close to her, one of my earliest memories is of visiting Flip and her sister Jules at their house, I think in Arizona, and where they had their very own horses. And, like almost every other girl in the world, I was absolutely fascinated with horses for awhile, so in my young eyes, I thought these ladies were the luckiest EVER.

My most recent memory of Flip was from my road trip across country ten years ago with my best friend, Holley. We were working for Disney Cruise Lines then, but since the ship we were supposed to be working on wasn't finished being built on time, all of the crew got sent home for an eight week paid leave - which was basically an eight week PAID VACATION. How often does THAT happen? So Holley and I jumped into my old red Pontiac Sunbird and took several weeks driving across the country - it was very Thelma and Louise-ish of us and probably one of the best trips I've ever gone on. (Ah, the good old days!)

Anyway, we kept our costs down by staying with friends and relatives along the way, so we ended up stopping to see Flip while we were passing through Arizona. Being the computer geek that I am, I took my trusty laptop with me on this amazing trip (which was no easy feat ten years ago - they weighed a TON!), and I started what I guess would be considered my very first blog, "Adventures in Red." Below is the entry from the day that we visited her:

April 20, 1998
Hello again! Here we are in beautiful Leisure World (Mesa, Arizona), where the sun is shining and the seniors are hoppin'! We finished off our visit with Jer by driving out to see our frisky cousin Flip (yes - that IS her name) at her beautiful home outside of Tucson. She entertained us with stories of our family scandals and her two tiny, yippy dogs, Butch and Casey. She definitely reminded us of the spunky old lady in the movie "Titanic" with her jokes and her forward way of speaking. Needless to say, we were all VERY entertained.

I only saw Flip one more time after that visit, when she had to uproot herself from her beloved house in Tucson and move to Florida to be closer to family because she couldn't take care of herself as well anymore. But she still managed to keep her amazing sense of humor, even though I'm sure it broke her heart to leave Arizona...

Flip, you were one amazing lady. You will be missed...

Top Five Things That Annoy Your Coffee Barista: Part 3

Once again, back by popular demand:

5) Customers who finally get to the register after being in line for awhile and then don't know what to order. You just waited in line for ten minutes, what the heck were you doing all that time? And then some of you actually have the nerve to complain about how slow the line is moving. Hmmm, wonder why?

4) People who spill their drinks in the lobby and then don't tell anyone about it. People, this is a major safety hazard - we could get our asses sued if someone slipped on that mess. It's not like we're asking YOU to clean it up, we're just asking you to TELL us that it happened so we can take care of it. It's called common decency. Maybe you've heard of it? Actually, maybe you haven't...

3) Regulars who are rude to our baristas in training. Yes, I know that you are used to having your drink waiting for you before you even order it, but we've all gotta learn sometime. Have a little patience! Trust me, being an ass to our newbies isn't going to earn you points with anyone behind the counter, and it may actually end up earning you DECAF without you knowing it. So BE NICE!

2) Customers who complain when we run out of something. Yes, it sucks when you've had your heart set on your favorite drink and we've run out of white mocha (or vanilla or sugar free hazelnut - whatever, you get the idea). But take a second before you lash out at the person behind the register and realize that we are JUST THE MESSANGER. We didn't purposely run into the back when we saw you coming and chug down the last bottle of your favorite syrup just to spite you. We simply ran out. We have at least TWENTY other flavors for you to choose from - and remember, it's JUST COFFEE. It's not the end of the world.

And the number one thing that is annoying your neighborhood barista these days...

1) Yup , it's that damn cell phone problem again, but with a different twist. People actually get to register, but instead of ordering, they tell me to wait a minute and then use their cell phone to call and get their friends' drink orders. Out of respect for your fellow customer waiting behind you, don't come up to the register if you don't know what you're going to order. And for God's sake, people, for the last time - hang up your phone!

Yeah, it's just been one of those weeks...

(For more of my ranting and raving, my previous top five lists can be found here and here.)

We're All In This Together...

High School Musical is the new favorite movie in our house (it's even surpassed Polar Express, if you can believe it!). Rory watches it at least three times a day at the moment, and listens to the sound track even more. Who would have a thought that a two and a half year old would get so entranced by a musical! But as you can see from the video below, he LOVES it, and we love watching HIM.



Guess we better think about getting him a real microphone stand, eh?:

Rock on, Ro.

The New Big Boy Bed

This picture speaks for itself...he LOVES his new bed!



Hoby took apart the crib tonight and we stored it away (at least until another one comes along that needs it!).

Sighhhh, I guess my baby is a baby no longer...

A Banner Week

This week has been amazing in terms of milestones for Rory. First of all, he has been doing a great job sleeping on his "big boy" mattress on the floor, since we've been trying to transition him out of his crib. The first night he slept on his mattress, he woke up and called for me, not realizing that he could actually get out of bed on his own. It only took a few times though before he realized, hey, I don't actually HAVE to stay here! I can get OUT of my bed! Do these people KNOW what they've done? Ha!



He scared Hoby half to death one night when he silently snuck into our room after we thought he was asleep. We kept having to put him back in his bed, only to hear him giggling as he tip-toed back out of his room again. Another night, he was quiet for about 20 minutes after we put him down, and we were impressed (with him and with ourselves!) that he had fallen asleep so quickly. But when Hoby went upstairs to change his clothes, he found that Rory had quietly snuck into our bed, and it was obvious that he was hoping we wouldn't notice. (You're kinda hard to miss, big guy!)

But after a few nights of getting the hang of things, he has now made it through THREE full nights of uninterrupted sleep and he's even managed to take his naps on his mattress. So I guess that means that my baby is officially ready for a "big boy bed." I think the first time I walk into his room and see a bed instead of a crib it's going to break my mommy heart just a little...



Milestone number two: Rory finally went potty on the toilet! He's been great with the peeing part of things, but it's been quite a struggle to get him to, um, sit down, if you know what I mean. We know that he's aware of when he has to go because he always heads over to the same spot behind a chair to do his business. And if he's wearing a pull-up, he'll actually come over and ask us to put him in a diaper. So on Saturday, when he asked me to put him in a diaper, I suddenly got this crazy idea and I told him that we were out of diapers. I even took him over to the diaper basket (which I hadn't restocked yet for the day) and showed him that it was empty. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he processed this information, so I took advantage of the situation and said, "Guess you'll have to use the toilet to go potty!" I held my breath and waited for the loud "Nooooo!" that usually accompanies any suggestion to poop on the pot. But instead he said, "Okay!".

Okay? OKAY?! Was it really that simple? And yes, it really was! Why didn't I try this AGES ago? Sheesh... so we FINALLY had what I like to call "poop lift off" and Rory was beyond excited that he heard the "plop plop" sound in the toilet. Who knew pooping could be so much fun!

I don't know why it's happening all at once, but my little boy is growing up...

Way to go, Ro!

Happy Birthday, Marin!

Rory was really looking forward to celebrating his cousin Marin's 5th birthday with her tonight(and I'm sure Marin was too!) but unfortunately, she has come down with a fever so the family get-together has to be postponed. So in honor of you, Marin, Rory decided to sing you a song to make you feel better:



We love you!

Tickling the Ivory Keys

Now available for booking at your next party or event!

Mariposa Christmas 2007

I think these pictures pretty much speak for themselves, but just in case you need a run down, Christmas included a lot of the following: food, family, Wii, BB guns, bon fires, a little snow, a little Santa, a mountain of SUGAR (of course!), and then, unfortunately, the flu. But all in all, it was just a lot of fun!