brem bloggy blog

Petrified Poo

2012-02-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

Let me preface this post with two things:
1. If you have a weak stomach, you may want to pass on reading this one.
2. I like having a clean house. A LOT. I clean every day and I am one of those ridiculous people that enjoys it.

Glad I got that off of my chest.

We live in a really great neighborhood, with fantastic neighbors, a quiet street and where I feel mostly comfortable with my kids playing in the front yard and riding their bikes on the road. We do not live in an awesome house right now. It is MUY expensive-o to live in California, folks. Even if you live in a city surrounded by lettuce.

It's not that the house we are renting is crappy, it's just that our landlords (and probably all previous renters) haven't spent a whole lotta time and effort to properly care for a home. Our landlords are very nice and aren't psycho like our previous landlord was, so that's a plus. And our rent is amazing for the area that we live in - which I guess are fair trade-offs for the weird and sometimes disgusting quirks that we've encountered while living here.

By the way, I can't wait for the day that we are no longer living here.

Remember this?

They now match.

We've also installed light fixtures in both of the kids' rooms to replace the bare bulbs that graced their ceilings, painted a couple of doors, planted the flower beds, cleaned the carpets and fixed many other little odds and ends around this place. If it were my own house, there are a million other things I would do to it, but since it is just a rental, it is difficult to justify the money and effort for something we don't own, right?

And it's mostly not gross.

Except for the tiny master bathroom.

When we first moved in, the toilet in our tiny bathroom donned a pink seashell toilet seat. Ever seen one of those? You haven't lived if you haven't. The thing is, the toilet itself is beige, but the seashell seat was pastel pink. If the lid was closed, the seashell shined in all of it's glory. If the lid was opened...well, you would pray that the lid was closed. On the actual seat part, there was a mark (or painchip?) that EVERY SINGLE TIME that I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye I would think that someone got poop on the seat. Every. Single. Time. And then I would gasp and remind myself to close the lid - except for that short time when there was no lid because the plumber who came to unclog the drain in the shower broke it. Then we went to Wal-mart and bought a new, beautiful, not fake poop marked, not pink toilet seat and lid for 9 dollars. Now, THAT was a great day.

If you dared to peer into the depths of this particular throne, you would encounter what you would possibly think was what someone had accidentally forgotten to flush. No matter what I would do, for the last 1.5 years, it has always looked as if someone had gone #1 and forgotten to flush.

I scrubbed.

I Comet-ed.

I bleached.

I CLR'd.

I Magic Erasered.

I Clorox deep stain removered. 6 times in a 48 hour period AND left it to soak overnight.

I desperately paid WAY too much money to a door to door salesman who wooed me with an environmentally safe cleaner and promises of a clean toilet.

I poured a 2 liter of coca-cola into my toilet after reading an email forwarded from Gavin's grandma, let it sit for an hour and prayed for the email fairy-tale to be true.

I even roped my mom into helping me and we spent a glorious afternoon on my bathroom floor.

My husband told me to throw in the towel.

But the petrified poo that clung to the insides of the bowl that I'm renting and I had an imminent war brewing - and I wasn't gonna go down without a fight.

Today, I became the victor.

Armed with my holster of cleaning products, rubber gloves and a butter knife, I slowly chipped away at what I can only imagine is the DNA of every person who has ever lived in this house since 1974.

I may have dry heaved a few times.

I will no longer be horrified in the middle of the night by the sight (and smells) that would greet me when I would arise to pee and there are now scratch marks in my gloriously clean toilet, but I will regard them as battle wounds and pray that the landlords won't deduct from our deposit because of them when we move someday.

Forever and ever, amen.

Butter knife in hand a half-way through the battle...

Desperation makes you do ridiculous things.

Or, just me.

SO freaking disgusting with the Coke in it.

And without the Coke in it.

Hallelujah.

Gut Check: Empanadas & Buns

2012-01-18T21:16:00.000-08:00

My wife has been asking me to blog on a weekly basis ever since this blog began. She finally convinced me that it would be fun, especially if I write "food blogs". So, without further ado, brem bloggy blog brings you "Gut Check".

I travel for work about one night per week in which I find myself in Sacramento, Reno, or Santa Rosa. If I'm really going for it, I will make it to Portland, OR and the Seattle/Tacoma area. I really do not like being away from my family. I just like them too much to find ways to avoid them. But work-related trips are unavoidable so I try to make the most of it. Since my mind doesn't immediately race to going on a solo adventures like hiking or base jumping, I tend to channel all of my maverick energies into eating. I'm not talking about competitive eating - I'd rather live to see 40. No, the eating adventures I pursue are more of the "what can I eat that I've never had before?" persuasion. Or, to be really honest, "what sounds good to me that my wife and kids would put the kibosh on instantly"? Going with this conventional wisdom, I frequently visit www.yelp.com, which usually lands me in a strip mall where I get sucked into the Asian food tractor beam. Tonight was different, though. Tonight I'm in Roseville, which should be called "Wewantyoutostayhereforeverville" because it literally has every kind of store and restaurant. If I lived here I may only leave to go see a SF Giants game. And tonight's culinary adventure is another reason to keep me here...if I did actually live here.

I went to "Empanadas & Buns". The name alone should spike your curiosity, as it did mine. I read a few yelp reviews in my hotel room and said, out loud, "I'm goin' for it." You see, that's really the only fun thing about traveling alone is that I have all the freedom in the world to declare aloud that I'm going to eat dinner at a place called "Empanadas & Buns" and no one can stop me. Before I take you on a wordsmithed voyage to my gastro-destination, I should mention that in order to be successful and efficient at eating adventures, one needs a few necessary tools:
1. yelp.com - it will uncover food empires of untold riches for you in a fraction of the time it would take you to drive all over town looking for something
2. GPS - taking the address found on said "yelp", letting the Garmin guide you is the next best thing to having a chauffeur drive you around
3. car - that's because you don't have a chauffeur

I took the elevator down three flights, said "peace out" to the dude working the front desk, and jumped into my car, Dave. Trekking through the hustle and bustle of folks making their way home, who never realized the gem laid just off their beaten paths, I found "Empanadas and Buns". I walked in and was one of two patrons. The other was a woman named Alicia who, without knowing, really showed me the ropes on the casual and friendly atmosphere of E&B. The owner, Joe, was in mid-conversation with Alicia when he welcomed me to his establishment. I said loudly (probably because I was still in my "declaring aloud stuff" mindset), "I hear this is the place to eat! I read about it on yelp." Joe was glad to have, yet another, piece of business led to him by the internet. I stood in front of the cash register like a stumped spelling bee contestant staring at the chalkboard of choices while muttering things like "Uh..." and "Hmm..." and finally asking Joe, "What do you recommend?" (As a word of advice, when you are researching restaurants on yelp, try to have an idea what you want to order before you get there in order to avoid looking like an idiot.)

Joe, a Spanish man, knows English, Spanish, Italian, and Filipino. Apparently, working for Pan-Am back in the day had some residual benefits. His menu has a little Filipino, a little Spanish, and a little Italian sprinkled around. But what they really are known for are their empanadas. They had quite a few to pick from. Joe recommended the beef and chicken. I said, "Whatever you say, Joe." As I sat down waiting for my food, Joe proceeded to introduce me to Alicia. Then Thor came in (not the comic book guy, an actual guy named Thor). Joe introduced me to him. Then Vanessa came in to pick up her to go order and Joe introduced me to her. I have never had that happen before. It was like the fried pastry version of Cheers and I was the out-of-towner being made to feel right at home. You can't help but learn everyone's name in a place like that. The restaurant was not heated well but the warmth coming from this kind man who took pride in his food and welcomed everyone he met heated up the place. In the back was Norma. She is a little Filipino woman who loves cooking and co-creates all the menu items with Joe. Alicia, Thor, and Vanessa left and it was just me, Joe, and Norma. Joe brought out my order which didn't look like much. However, I decided right then, to savor every bite. It wasn't because the food was delicious. It was because of the company of my new friends. They stood behind their counter talking to me as I nibbled away at my food. Oh, right...the food. Well, the empanada dough was flaky and buttery and awesome. The chicken inside was shredded and tossed with mole sauce that Norma made from scratch. I know, she's Filipino making mole. Who cares, it was amazing. But even better than that was the beef empanada. It had ground beef seasoned with Argentinian spices, green olives, and raisins. Sound weird? Not even. It was incredible and the Thai chili sauce it was served with took it over the edge. I kept wondering if my wife and kids would like it. I'm not sure, but I loved it. And I savored it. And I savored the company and conversation. And I'm really full right now. And happy.

After E&B, I think I might seek out restaurants with a different goal in mind. From now on, rather than trying to find a vacation for my taste buds, I might also try to find a place where everyone, who if they don't know your name at first, will know your name by the time you leave, and you'll be sure to know theirs too.

Bed-Head Revenge

2012-01-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

It has taken me years and years to come to grips with my hair. My hair and I used to be enemies and I do believe that at some point, we loathed each other. I would do things to punish my hair, like "rat" it up to high-heaven or douse it in a chemical perm. My hair would retaliate and turn bizarre yellowy colors and crinkle and frizz as payback. We've come into a mutual understanding over the past handful of years and I would even dare say that most days, we even like each other.

In days past, my hair would sometimes cause me grief and frustration and on occasion, tears. But these days, we have many good laughs together. Especially in the mornings.

Upon waking, as I head into the bathroom to brush my teeth and neti-pot, I'm often disturbed and overcome with the hilarity my hair has become during my sleep. It really does have a great sense of humor. Of course, I have to take a photo and text it to my closest loved ones to help them start their day with joy and delight. And I am certain to send the best ones to Gavin while he is away on work trips, just to make sure he knows what he's missin' at home. I'm fairly certain none of my morning hair photos have caused much pain, sorrow or car accidents, but one can't be sure of everything...

I recently noticed my stockpile of amazing bed-head shots was quite substantial and I knew that the world would probably benefit greatly from seeing them and that keeping them all to myself would be pure selfishness.

I kinda think that my hair is still trying to pay me back for that time when I chopped it all off after a bad break-up with a boy.

Also, I would love to know if anyone can compete with the morning bed-head of a Brem...

(I honestly can't believe that I'm posting these.)

Taken April 25, 2011

Taken November 3, 2011

Taken November 4, 2011

Even Jude's bed-head is spectacular.

Taken December 5, 2011

Taken January 5, 2012

Taken December 21, 2011

Merry Christmas to you!

Taken this morning.

Hubba, hubba.

One more good one of the boy.

Yikes.

7th grade hair with my BFF, Maria.

I think I can see why my hair is on a mission for payback...

2012-01-08T21:08:00.000-08:00

You know what sucks/stinks? Church shopping. Seriously. Uggh.

Churches, just FYI - If you want ME to like your church/become a member/begin tithing to you, I would love the following things:

*I want to know where my children are going and who they will be with and I will not be sending them off with strangers who don't give me any information about the whereabouts of my children EVER. Background checks to work in kid's rooms are "duh" in my book.

*I would love to be able to see how to get to my seat and not wait for my eyes to adjust to "pitched blackness" just to find a place to sit down.

*NO FOG MACHINES, whatsoever. No matter what. You know what I have NEVER, ever thought? "You know what would make this worship set better? FOG." Nope, never thought that.

Forever and ever, amen.

Hiya

2011-10-25T21:59:00.001-07:00

Well, haven't we taken a nice little break? The truth is, I've been a bit distracted lately. I know you're all just DYING to be all caught up on life with the Brem fam, aren'tcha? I know, I know. I'll do my best.
Bear with me, there will be a story about poop at the end of this...

DISTRACTION #1 (And the very best one, of course!)

This little munchkin decided to make an early appearance, so all other plans and schedules for our lives were immediately thrown out the window and we hopped on planes and in cars and made our way to Tacoma for some cuddle time. I want to put my face on those cheeks this very second.

Hi Owen!!

I can't believe Mochie is a Mama...

Sigh...

You can read about Moch, Jon and Owen here.

And their amazing photography website is here.

DISTRACTION #2

Tacoma and all things Tacoma-ish and Tacoma food related.

I seriously think I forgot what a real Fall looks like. Super pretty - even with all of those cars lining the streets. When you live in Tacoma, it is a luxury if to have a driveway and many houses do not. Tacoma is still way rad. :-)

DISTRACTION #3

Friends!!!

While in Tacoma we got to hang-out with and mooch-off of some of our bestest friends in the whole wide world.

We even got to visit the pumpkin patch with the cute Gentile girls, cute Noelle and freaky looking Jude...

And Jude got a new girlfriend...

And I came to grips with the sad reality that fall is way funner in the Pacific Northwest than it is in California. Sorry, California. You lose...

And this is my new favorite photo of my kids.

Jude may be cute, but he sure can be a stinker sometimes...

Look how pretty my friends are! On the left is my sweet friend, Nikki. She and her family are moving TO AFRICA this January to work with an organization called Serving In Mission (SIM) and I was SO freaking happy that I got to spend a teensy bit of time with her before she left. Plus, it was Kerri's (hottie on the right) birthday! Can't believe that I got to celebrate it with her. (Missed you, Kari!)

This might be in my top 5 favorite photos ever.

My friend, Carina (far right with the always awesome hair) and her husband, Nick (with half a head) are in the process of adopting a little girl (EEEEE!!). They had a fundraiser pancake breakfast thing to help offset some adoption costs. Thanks to the perfect timing of Owen's early arrival, we got to be there! Also, it was Gavin's bff, Brice's (the laughing praying man in the middle) birthday, so we got to celebrate with him and his wife, Julie (hot & sassy standing the middle). We attempted to rally our SIX children to take a decent photo. I'm sure there's a more posed one floating around somewhere,

but I am in love with this one.

And finally, a poop story...

Today, while at Noelle's soccer practice, Jude and I were having a grand ol' time. We kicked the soccer ball around the field, invented a game on the playground equipment and finally went for a little walk to collect leaves for an art project we are going to attempt tomorrow. First of all, I told him to pick "pretty" leaves and he picked up a pile of brown leaf parts in a desperate attempt to end quickly and head back to the playground. I was on to him though. He threw the pile down and begrudgingly began to look for intact leaves. I was searching for my own leaves when I heard Jude say, "Mommy, what's this?". He was holding up a semi-hardened dog log. I couldn't yell quickly enough, but finally irked out, "POOOOP" and as he dropped it, it splattered on the ground. We then made a beeline for the hand-sanitizer. The end.

He's lucky I like him so much...

And now, you're all caught-up on the Brem's! You're welcome!

*Apologies to all of our favorite people that we hung-out with and didn't take pictures of. We stink. You deserve to be blogged about too. Your time will come...

The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-10-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

In early September, we surprised our munchkins with a trip to Disneyland! We LOVE Disneyland. It is kinda embarrassing how much we love Disney.

We love it so much that we sometimes tear-up when we walk onto Main Street.

We love it so much that we make some Disneyland recipes for our holiday meals.

We love it so much that we spent our honeymoon at Disneyworld.

We love it so much that we have been there three times in the last 12 months.

We love it so much that we are writing a comprehensive blogpost citing all of our favorite Disney "do's and do not's" so we don't end up having to rewrite the same email to all of our friends that ask our advice before they head out on their own Disney adventures.

I think you get the point.

This last trip wasn't entirely just because we love Disney, but also because we love our dear friends, The Barker's and we planned this latest trip solely intending to hang-out with them as much as possible since they share our Disney addiction and we hadn't seen them in 2.5 years. The Barker's are missionaries with YWAM and have been traveling the globe for the past couple of years sharing about Jesus and eating weird foods and digging worms out of their feet. Don't worry, we made sure that they were "worm free" before we hung-out with them.

We surprised our kids with the announcement that we were going to Disneyland the morning of our trip. That was the hardest secret I've ever had to keep. I am very bad a secret keeping, so please don't tell me your secrets. I had kinda been prepping the kids for the surprise knowing that Jude had a bit of anxiety regarding ever going near Space Mountain since that time a couple of years ago when we tossed him on the ride and he pretty much curled-up into fetal position for the duration of it. He still hasn't recovered, so I knew I had to do a little bit of leg work before the big surprise announcement. I thought I had done a pretty good job, but still thought that there was a slight chance that Jude may have a strange reaction to the news.

He had a complete meltdown. And luckily, I caught it on video. I have watched this video no less than 37 times. It is amazing.

Don't worry, he recovered fairly quickly after a bazillion promises that we would never make him go back on Space Mountain (even though we did try to bribe him and manipulate him while we were there and he started bawling his eyes out IN LINE for the ride and I had to make a quick getaway through a side exit door). Anywho, besides that, Jude had a darn good time at Disneyland.

(Forgive the iphone pics, por favor! I didn't wanna haul my camera around Disneyland, okay?)

SEE??? He's SMILING!! (And squinting? What is that face he's doing?)

This was right before we hopped in the car and headed South.

He looks happy to me!

Okay, he may look a bit freaky here, but it was short lived...

Princess lunch with the Barker girls!
And Noelle is a giant.

Me and Ronda

Noelle is officially a Jedi!!!

(I googled how to get your child picked for Jedi training school and got some great tips, PLUS I prayed no less than 7 times she would be picked. It worked!)

Check out Noelle...

Not too shabby of a shot from an iphone, eh?

I'm embarrassed that this is the only group photo we have of us and the Barker clan, but it'll have to do!

And Jude lost his very first tooth while on Main Street waiting for the parade.

Jude likes Disneyland now. I'm thankful that I didn't go through all the effort of blood work and DNA testing to make sure he wasn't switched at birth.
I'm convinced he's ours now. :-)

Someone Thinks I'm Cool.

2011-10-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

It's my lucky day! My laundry is COMPLETELY done AND my friend Carina featured me on her blog, a punk, a pumpkin and a peanut!

Plus, it's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday. Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend.

That song has been in my head all day. AND it has been stuck in my head every single Friday since that one day that I saw it on youtube many, many months ago.

And now, it is probably stuck in your head too.

Hooray for Friday and clean laundry and my friend Carina!

Now, go see Carina's blog and see how funny I am or Jude might beat you up.

;-)

I'm bald???!!!!

2011-10-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

Our whole family was cracking-up last night at Noelle's first attempt at being a comic book author. She's got talent, I tell you!

Let me translate this for you...

Square #1: "My sir, what a big hand you've got there."

Square #2: "ME???!! YOU are bald!!"

Square #3: "Ahhhhh!!!"

We have the same sense of humor. Let's just say that Noelle's sense of humor is mature rather than my sense of humor being immature, okay? Thanks for that.

The tooth-fairy

2011-10-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Jude lost his 2nd tooth tonight. At bedtime I asked him to pray. His prayer was this;

"Jesus, please help me go to sleep. Please help the Tooth-Fairy to bring me a dollar. Please help Mommy and Daddy feel all better. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Oh, man. Jude is never allowed to grow-up. EVER.

The Best Banana Bread Ever - Unless You Go to SunBreak Cafe' in Auburn, WA

2011-10-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

This is seriously our family's favorite banana bread. The real "secret" is in the brown sugar crust.
Trust me, it is the BEST. The only banana bread that I've ever had that I like better is from SunBreak Cafe' in Auburn, Washington. If you have a chance to go there or live nearby - run there this very minute. Order anything (it is all good) and get banana bread as your side. Oh. My. Goodness. I'm considering hopping on a plane this morning solely for the purpose of stuffing my face with SunBreak's goodness.

Anyways, if you'd like to settle for the 2nd best banana bread in the world, go ahead and try this one. ;-)
I love, love, love, love, love this banana bread. Just sayin'. Plus, it only takes about 6 or 7 minutes to throw together - which I also love.

Tip:
*I experimented with using the Trader Joe's organic sugar instead of regular white sugar. It turned out good, but not great. I'm sticking with the regular sugar for this recipe from now on.

1 1/2 cups flour (sometimes I use 50% white 50% wheat and it turns out fine)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2-3 large bananas
1 egg
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup(ish) brown sugar
Butter

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Grease a loaf pan with butter and lightly sprinkle brown sugar in the bottom of the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon and make a well in the center of the mixture.

In another bowl, combine bananas, egg, sugar and cooking oil. When mixed, add "wet mixture" to "dry mixture" and stir just until it is all moistened.

Pour into loaf pan and sprinkle brown sugar on top of the batter.

*This is optional, but we've grown to love it.
Before putting the pan in the oven, top the center of the batter from end to end with a few pats of butter. You probably won't regret it...hopefully.
It should look like this...

Bake for 50 minutes or until cooked through.

Eat it while it's hot - but not so hot that it burns the roof of your mouth!

Jude Is A Genius?

2011-10-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we posted some good Jude quotes and stories. These past few days have provided ample material.

A few days ago, while homeschooing/begging Jude to finish his phonics worksheet he kept tipping the bench he was sitting on.
Me: "Please, stop tipping the bench."
Jude: "What happens when I do?"
Me: "You'll fall down."
Jude: "And hurt my buns?"
Me: "Yep."
Jude: "And my whole body?"
Me: "Yep."
Jude: "And I'll die?"
Me: "Um...no."

Also, while homeschooling/begging Jude to hurry up and finish:
Me: "If you finish your Spelling, Phonics and Journal then we can make some cookies!"
Jude: "Mommy, when I finish my Spelling, Phonics and Journal YOU can make me some cookies while I play the Wii."

That afternoon we went to the grocery store. While standing in line to check-out, there was a man in front of us that had a couple of little holes in his t-shirt. Jude reached up and stuck his finger right into one of the holes in the back of his shirt and then proceeded to ask the man why he had a hole in his shirt. Gav and I scrambled, apologized and quickly and loudly pointed out that Jude had a hole in his jeans. We are smooth like that.

On Saturday as we were driving to Noelle's soccer game, Jude asked me what the THX stood for that shows before a lot of movies. He HATES the THX. I told him I didn't know what it stood for. He paused, then thoughtfully replied, "Tree house x-ray?" Sure, buddy.

At church on Sunday morning both kids stayed with me and Gavin while we were in the high school service. Right on schedule, Jude burped OUT LOUD during the message. Then, during small group time he was asked who Jesus was and he replied, "A big strong guy." We may have some work to do.

Last week during small group time, Jude was asked what he wanted to be when he grew-up. At first, he said he wanted to be a missionary pilot. Sa-weet. Then he changed his mind and said, "Woody." Dang-it, I was feeling so holy. Well, at least it has improved from when he was 4 and when I asked him that same question, he replied, "A peanut butter and jelly sandwich." We are moving up in the world, people!

Today, he asked me about a time when I was a little boy. Err...

Noelle has recently taught Jude the fine art of naming every single toy that he owns. He may not be the most creative, but he sure is consistent. We now have a stuffed soccer ball name "Socky", a stuffed fish named "Fishy", another stuffed fish named "Blue Fishy" and (my favorite) a ball named "Ballsy". Jude's real ballsy like that. ;-)

Jude

a.k.a.

Mr. Buns, Bunsy, Stinker, Stinkaroo, Buddy, Bud, Dude, Mister,

Jude the Dude Who Likes His Food

How my husband lost 5 lbs without even trying

2011-09-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

We Brem's love food. As I've probably stated before, eating truly is our hobby. We like other stuff too, don't get me wrong. We like watching baseball (while eating), going to the beach (with a picnic), hanging with friends (eating with them) and I like to run (to fend of the results of my eating habit).

In recent months, our eating hobby has really turned into more of an "eating-out hobby" and our home-cooked meals dwindled and became less than inspiring. I know, Dave Ramsey would be ticked at us for this development. It didn't help that we had discovered some really amazing places to eat around here AND we'd had numerous guests from out of town that we were wanting to show a good time and good food...I blame them and take no responsibility for those extra couple of lbs that mysteriously popped onto my scale over the summertime. Thanks a lot "friends".

A few weeks ago, we decided that we'd had enough of eating out. Well, not really. We just knew that we probably shouldn't be doing it so much and maybe our budget and waistlines could really use a break. Some of you are amazing and never eat out and I applaud you. I am even slightly jealous of your discipline. But that all is pushed out of my mind when I think of the chicken fajitas at La Casa Del Sazon or the pasta bolognese at Dametra Cafe or even a mustard-fried cheeseburger from In-N-Out. I like food. I also like leftovers and not cleaning the dishes.

Some friends of ours who suffer from this same weakness/lack of discipline/love for eating-out/growing waistlines challenged us to a "not eating out" competition a couple of weeks ago to help us all break our evil restaurant habit. No Starbucks, no restaurants (not even if someone else was buying!) and all food had to be cooked at home for two weeks. In the event that one family did choose to succumb to the siren song of restaurant food, they would be forced to buy the other family a very nice dinner AND be known as the big, fat losers. Brem's are not big, fat losers...just fyi.

I'm happy to announce that we survived! AND we have been inspired! AND Gavin magically lost FIVE pounds. AND we saved a billion dollars! Well, not really on that last one, but I'm sure it's somewhere in that ballpark.

I was seriously in a major cooking rut before this competition. The thrill of it all matched with pinterest recipes and a desire to use everything we already have in our fridge and cupboards (even the stuff hiding in the back of the pantry) mixed with the inspiration that comes from watching the Food Network has really turned the Brem fam into new (skinnier, richer) people. We are changed people, people!

Here are a few things that we've used these past couple of weeks that have been the inspiration to change...

*Rosemary Olive Oil Bread found on Pinterest, which led me to the recipe here. This was AMAZING!

(I didn't take this pic, it's the one from the site where I found the recipe)

*The BEST Marinara sauce we've ever made in the Brem household. Oh my. Found here. Easy peasey.

*We tried those squeeze tubes of fresh herbs that I always see in the produce section, but never give a second thought. They are awesome! They stay good in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

*Finally, we discovered our new favorite cooking show on the Cooking Channel. I didn't name it, so please don't think I did. It is HILARIOUS. It is called "Bitchin' Kitchen" and it is a must-see and has definitely inspired us to venture more into our kitchen.

We went grocery shopping before the competition started and besides a couple of trips to the store to grab 1 or 2 items, we did use almost everything we had. I love using everything we have! Things that have been hiding in the pantry are gone! And nothing goes to waste!

Here's a pic of our nearly empty fridge the day our competition ended...

Can't wait to go to Trader Joe's and fill er' up!

The competition ended this morning and I have no desire to eat out. Well, almost no desire. I am getting tired of those dishes.

Anybody have any tried and true "must-try" recipes for us recovering restaurant addicts?

I think I might just be a real baseball fan

2011-09-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

Welp, Fantasy Baseball ended for me yesterday with a lovely punch in my face. I lost. In the finals. TO MY FRIEND WHO NEVER CHECKS ON HER TEAM. I might be slightly disappointed.

Although I won't claim to know everything about baseball, I learned A TON this year and I am so grateful that I got to experience this addiction that my husband has suffered from for the past few years for myself.

AND, I confess, it was really pretty darn fun.

AND I can hold my own in conversations about baseball now and not feel like an idiot.

AND I actually paid attention while watching games with my husband rather than flipping through magazines or checking facebook. All right, I still did those things, but WAY less than I used to.

AND my husband thinks I am amazing.

I caught myself checking in on my fantasy baseball team (and sometimes praying for them) a couple of times a day and even found myself listening to sports talk radio when Gav wasn't in the car. I have the fantasy baseball app on my iphone alongside the MLB.com app. Oh boy, this may be the real deal.

I've always enjoyed going to baseball games (and eating my way through them), but this year I actually watched the games that we went to and even watched the games on TV when Gavin wasn't even home! Oh man. I've become someone that I never imagined I would be. A baseball fan.

At least I can no longer be accused of being a poser when I wear my Giants or Mariners gear. Because being accused of being a poser is the worst.

Also, does anyone besides me actually use the word "poser" anymore? I think I learned it in 7th grade and it was quite possibly one of worst things to be called back then. On that note, please also never call me a "scrounge". Thank you very much.

Go Giants and Mariners in 2012!

My Week Is Locked In My Cell Phone

2011-09-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

Another week of my life documented by my glorious iphone...

:-)

Last Saturday night, my sister entrusted me

FOR THE FIRST TIME

to have both of her boys over for a sleepover...

Sorry buddy...I hope you still love me...

Jude spent this morning at Art class. I'm not sure what he did was actually "art", but he sure had fun making blobs of paint and swishing around the brown paint water...

I think all good Daddy's play with doll houses...

The boy is beginning to eat us out of house and home. Yesterday, he had 2 eggs, lots of bacon, 1/2 of a bagel and then proceeded to ask for cereal. I'm already dreading the grocery bill for when he is a teenager...

I'm feeling really proud of my plants. I planted them last year when they were babies...

Okay, seriously? I have NEVER used a cauldron. And I'm really sad that Noelle thinks that I look like this...

Saw this at a store yesterday. My mind is still spinning...

My Friend, Karen

2011-09-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

Howdy there friends!

In another effort to use our blog for good and not evil, I'd love to introduce you to my friend, Karen. We've been friends with Karen for many, many years now and just think that she is fantastic. Many of you may know Karen too and I'd love to hear anything you have to say about her, since I know that nobody has anything bad to say about her!

Karen works in the high school ministry with us and is unbelievably committed to her group of sophomore girls at our church. I'm inspired by her love, commitment and the influence that she has had on hundreds and hundreds of students throughout the years. She also works full-time as a teacher for autistic students in one of our local elementary schools. I honestly can't tell you how much respect and admiration Gavin and I both have for her. Karen has been a huge advocate for Ovarian Cancer research, has been featured in a handful of newspaper articles and has even traveled to Washington DC recently to share her story and petition for funding and research. She's just plain ol' amazing.

Plus, she's hilarious. I mean, really, really funny.

This January, I'm running a half-marathon with a group of ladies called "Team Karen" in an effort to raise some extra cash for our friend during this difficult time. If any of you feel led to donate to her cause, please let me know and I'll get you all of the info. Any little bit helps!

There is a brand spankin' new facebook page just created for Team Karen 2012 if you'd like to stop by and check it out.

Also, Karen has a blog if you'd like to hear more from her.

Here's a note one of our friends wrote about Karen and "Team Karen" -

A little bit about Karen Adams:

In December of 2008 Karen was having pain in her lower right side. The pain continued for at least 2 weeks so she decided to go to the doctor to get things checked out. Doctors ruled out appendicitis but decided to send her for a CT scan. 45 minutes after the scan she got a call that changed everything. She was told she had masses on both her ovaries. The next day,December 31, 2008, she saw a doctor who told her she was pretty sure these masses and the other small tumors found on the scan were the result of ovarian cancer.

Karen was 34 years old and was told she needed to have a radical hyterectomy and would never have the chance to have children of her own. The doctors also told her that the survival rate for this cancer was around 30% over 5 years. On January 12, 2009 Karen had a 5 1/2 hour surgery to remove all of her reproductive organs and cancerous tumors that had spread throughout her abdomen, colon, and into her diaphragm. She spent 2 weeks recovering in the hospital, including 5 days in ICU where the doctors kept her sedated because the surgery they performed was so intense she needed the sedation to heal properly. Karen was told she had stage 4 ovarian cancer and even with chemo she had a 25% chance of making it to age 40.

That was not a good day.

Karen has continued to fight. She went through 19 rounds of initial chemotherapy and praises God her body handled the drugs so well. She was in remission for about 9 months, when in April of 2011 she began to have more symptoms and a CT scan showed a few small tumors. Karen is currently back on a different chemotherapy drug and will be getting her 5th dose of Doxil next week.

She has continued to work because it has been the best way for her to keep some normalcy in her life.

In January 2012, a group of Karen supporters (Team Karen 2012) will be participating in a half marathon as a way to support and raise funds for Karen’s cause.

While the event is not a fundraiser and donations are not tax deductible, we are asking family, friends and all other Karen supporters to prayerfully consider assisting her with financial support.

A savings account has been opened in Karen’s name. Should she need to exceed her allotted ten days of sick leave this school year, we hope to assist with resources that will allow her to pay necessary bills and allow her the financial freedom to stay home if feeling ill and recovering from treatments.

On behalf of Karen, thank you for checking out this page, and thank you for your support! Please contact any of the team members if you are interested in donating.

Team Karen 2012 is...
Bridget Dimaggio Luke
Courtney Creel
Crystal Vasquez
Deana Parkins
Dora McKean
Kate Steinbarger
Kerry Harvey
Kim Cross
Kim Milward
Michele Turner
Patty Brem
Ryane Parkins
Tami Creel
Terri Hawkins

Here is a link to another article featuring Karen:
http://www.ovariancancer.org/2010/09/27/advocate-karen-adams-meets-with-her-representative-in-california/

I swiped all of these photos off of her facebook!

Thank you! Go Team Karen!

That One Mama I Might Know

2011-09-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a Mama who got ahead of her to-do list.

That Mama actually got a workout AND shower before noon. It was a Christmas miracle happening in September.

That Mama grabbed a towel out of her freshly filled linen closet before she got into the shower (all of the laundry was done - another Christmas miracle!).

Expecting a hot, relaxing shower, the Mama was a bit surprised when the hot water ran out quicker than expected. This Mama that I'm talking about lives in a rental house that maybe hasn't been taken super good care of by the owners...and maybe the hot water tank has multiple personalities that maybe sometimes burns the skin off your hands by how hot the water runs and then the next day only offers you 4 minutes of lukewarm water for your shower.

Anyways, this particular Mama wasn't going to allow a lukewarm shower ruin the productivity high that she was feeling that day.

That Mama that I'm talking about finished her shower and grabbed the freshly laundered towel and proceeded to dry off her face with vigor. And then she smelled it. The towel smelled like barf. It didn't smell like "left in the dryer too long", it actually smelled like barf.

This Mama tried not to gag as she flew through the catalog of her memory searching for the last time someone in her household had barfed, and lo and behold, she remembered that this particular towel had been the one used to catch that particular hurl.

Apparently, that Mama's washing machine isn't workin' so well, either.

And that Mama got to spend a bit more time showering in lukewarm water and doing laundry that day.

The End

Uh-oh, I'm obsessed.

2011-09-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. I've found a new obsession. I know, I'm late to the game...again. At least I showed-up though, right? One word: Pinterest. Holy cow. I've spent WAY too much time on this site already today, BUT I've already recycled an old running t-shirt that had a couple of holes in it and turned it into a headband, so...worth it? YES.

I've also planned the fall decor for our house and decided on our next 85,000 recipes we will be trying.

I found this cute and SUPER easy headband tutorial on pinterest and it sent me here: http://youseriouslymadethat.blogspot.com/2011/02/knotted-headband.html

It took me about 10 minutes, but I didn't glue the headband (note to self: buy a hot glue gun). Instead, I stitched it up with a needle and thread real fast (also, not pretty, so don't look at the part of the headband that is under my hair).

I can't wait to try to put some cute beads or jewels on it.

Also, I think I cheated by using an old t-shirt (hopefully, it doesn't smell like B.O. and hopefully, I'm not immune to my own B.O. smell). I just cut strips off of the bottom of the shirt and used 2 strips to tie the knots and make the headband. Yay for being resourceful!

Even Gavin liked it!

Look how cute my girl is...

I look really tan...

Thanks iphone, for my very tan looking skin. Oh, and thanks California...

I'll leave you with reason number 842,796 that I LOVE Disneyland...

They give Tapatio away in packets like ketchup! Yahoo! We have 8 in our fridge right now...

Yay for Tapatio! Anyone know how to make that awesome accent that goes on the "i"???

In Defense Of My Baby

2011-09-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

My little boy is autistic. And I love it. And I love him.

For those of you who have been around us for any length of time, we've made it known that Jude is high-functioning autistic. A psychologist who sat down and watched him for 20 minutes came to that conclusion. Neat. Thanks for your thorough diagnosis.

Anyways, having a boy like Jude is amazing. I wouldn't have it any other way and I think he is the greatest little boy in the world. And he's my baby.

Jude is in 1st grade right now and is reading, writing and doing math WELL beyond his grade level. He has been playing the piano for about 2 months now and has memorized how to play "Happy Birthday", "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and the first half of "The Star Spangled Banner". He taught himself to read. He has memorized the numbers, positions and names of every player on the San Francisco Giants and can tell you the scores of the last many games they've played. He knows how many home-runs his favorite players have hit and nearly every name on the roster that has been on the DL this season. He LOVES his big sister. He is VERY affectionate. He is hilarious and LOVES to make anyone laugh. He will always offer to share his water or snack with you. He goes to bed without a fight. He dresses himself, goes potty by himself, hasn't wet the bed since he was 2 1/2 and can make his own breakfast, lunch or snack. He is obsessed with video games, like most 7 year old boys. He rarely throw fits. He only argues a little bit. He loves Star Wars and Legos. He makes quirky noises. He's super easy to babysit. He is a fabulous child. And he's my sweet little baby.

Sometimes, professionals (and some non-professionals) forget that they are talking to me about my baby. They start talking to me about some autistic child with "primal behaviors" (she saw him stick his hand down his pants while he was sitting in a chair - boy, maybe?). They use words like "services" and ask things like "Don't you think he needs help?" and "Are you socializing him?" and "What kind of therapies are you doing?" and "Make sure you consider his needs in your future plans."

Um, I'm his mom and I think he's amazing. Also, I spend my entire life considering his needs. Thanks, though.

It's just that I probably wouldn't talk about your baby like that. Especially if it was even half as cute as Jude.

I appreciate that people care, I do.

I LOVE his homeschool advisor and how she thinks he is just fantastic. I LOVE his old speech therapist who thought Jude was just the greatest thing around and cheered him on with me. I am SO thankful for his preschool teacher, Lisa Southard, who I know probably knew in her heart that Jude was on the autism spectrum, but held her tongue and loved him and cuddled him and only spoke words of great blessing over him. I LOVE my friend Carrie Jones, who celebrated Jude's milestones with me and never saw his quirks and issues and problems. I LOVE my nephew Jonas, who protects Jude and is rarely annoyed with him. I LOVE my friends Joel and Deana Parkins, who go out of their way to make Jude feel special and cool and talk about him like he is the greatest kid around. I am SO thankful for my friends Aaron and Kerri Gentile who have embraced Jude as if there's never been a thing wrong with him from the beginning. And that's the truth. I TRULY believe in my heart of hearts that God allowed Jude to be this way and I wouldn't want him any other way. And I think he is just plain fantastic.

Sure, Jude will never play professional baseball. But he may own his own professional baseball team someday...

When Jude was little, I am so thankful for those that held their tongue and didn't point out what was "wrong" with Jude and spoke words of life over him. I needed that. I needed to grieve and believe that things were fine back then. Because they really, truly are. Even if no one had said anything, I would've figured it out. I knew already anyway, because I am a good mom. And good mom's know what is best for their babies. And it was best for Jude to have a mommy at that time who believed that everything was hunky-dory. Eventually, I was ready (it didn't take that long) and we are where we are today.

We had Jude officially diagnosed about 2 years ago and it has changed nothing in our family. Thankfully, "high-functioning" allows us to do most things that "normal" families get to do. Although, I wouldn't necessarily say that we are a "normal" family...haha. I'm not worried about Jude's future. He's a genius. He's probably going to go to college and make millions of dollars doing some geniusy thing. Who know's if he'll get married? Who knows if Noelle (who's not autisitic) will get married? I'm not worried.

For future reference, if you are a well-meaning person, I encourage you to embrace these little people as people. They are all somebody's baby. And everyone wants to hear how great/fantastic/cute/smart/funny that their baby is. I also want to know how to help my baby, but please, talk about them like they are a human, a child, my love, my baby. Not a weird, retarded, outcast with problems. Thanks again.

PS (for anyone who is concerned)-
*Jude is getting weekly speech therapy. He has a problem with the "L" sound. I'm sure it would eventually resolve itself if left alone, but we are being "responsible" parents and getting him speech therapy.
*Jude is socialized daily by playing with his sister and neighborhood friends. He also does Awanas through our church and LOVES it. He attends Sunday school and spends quite a bit of time hanging around and being wrestled with by high school students.
*He's doing 4th grade level math and 3rd grade level reading.
*He ran 1.67 miles with me this morning. I think he might be a cross-country runner.
*He LOVES to annoy his big sister and takes great joy in his role of "little brother".

Right Up My Alley

2011-09-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Carina recently started doing this on Fridays and I LOVE it.

I am constantly forgetting my "real" camera and end up taking millions of photos with my iphone. Here is my week in cell phone pics...

My house was all clean.
I turned my back for 2 minutes and went into the kitchen.

The girl struck again.
Apparently, the "pets" wanted to watch a show...

This is what happens when the girl plays with the firefighter from the Hero Squad.

I hope he's enjoying his cocktail!

The FAIR is here!

Jammie bought Noelle a giant ice cream followed by a giant lemonade

and then let her go on a bunch of rides.

An 8 year old's dream come true...

See that little dolphin Jude is holding?

Yeah, that cost TEN bucks and had a hole in it before we even got home.

Worth every penny because Jude believes he won it by popping a few balloons with darts...

I'm in this "use everything we have in the fridge and cupboards before I go grocery shopping again kick" and this is what I made on Wednesday and it was AMAZING.

Red beans and rice made with leftover turkey taco meat.

I'm drooling just thinking about it...

(Here's the recipe - I substituted yellow pepper for green and ground leftover turkey for kielbasa - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/easy-red-beans-and-rice/detail.aspx)

I love this SO much.
It looks like he's going 40mph, but he's really going 2mph...

Back 2 School night for Noelle was last night.
I had to guess which of these little people was her.
I guessed right.
The tie-dye shirt gave it away...

Happy Weekend! Woe is me, I'll be in Disneyland come Sunday...

I HATE Third Grade

2011-08-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

I took Noelle out on a little "date" last Tuesday as a celebration of her last day of summer / first day of school starting. Gavin took Jude up to the Giants game in San Francisco for a little "Man Time", so I had to take advantage of time alone for a little "girl time". I have many mixed emotions about last Tuesday.

We started off the morning with a bit of exercise and I ran along the coast as Noelle pedaled her pink bike next to me. I couldn't help but think about what a fabulous moment we were having, cruising through the beautiful scenery and stopping to look at the otters playing in the water. I almost cried because, a) I'm cheesy like that about my kids, b) I had dreamed of the day my kids were fast enough on their bikes to run with them and c) She still has streamers attached to her handlebars and I LOVE it and hope she never grows out of it, but I'm SO afraid she's gonna cut them off in my sleep.

After our jaunt along the coast, we had lunch at Chipotle and she ORDERED AN ADULT BURRITO...ALL BY HERSELF...NO HELP FROM ME...NOT OFF OF THE KIDS MENU...
She didn't eat it all, but still. I think I hate that she is not a baby.

We then headed to a movie. If you haven't seen Spy Kids 4Dsomethin' or other, you are missin' out! If you have the sense of humor of a 10 year-old, like I do, then you'll love it. If you don't, you probably shouldn't go, or plan on napping. My girl was laughing hysterically at every poop and fart joke, which made me laugh hysterically too, of course. She gets it from her father, though.

After the movie, Noelle wanted to browse the mall. I think she's 15 about now. While perusing the jewelry at Claire's, Noelle saw a rack of "Best Friend" necklaces. Ya know, those necklaces that look like a broken heart, but each friend in the best friend couple gets half? My bff Maria and I had a set in 7th grade and my half said, "Be Fri" and hers said "st ends". Rad, huh?

At Claire's, amongst the BF rack was a Mother/Daughter set and Noelle asked if we could get it. MELT ME. A bunch of rational thoughts briefly ran through my head like, "Should I really spend 12 bucks on a piece of silver plastic?" and "Is that cheesy?" and "Will I ever really wear this again?" And then I had to restrain myself from yelling, "YES!" with great enthusiasm while holding back sobs of delight. Yes, my sweet girl who I consider locking in your bedroom until you are 30, I will buy you and I best friend mother/daughter necklaces and I shall wear it proudly showing what a great mom I am and how much you love me that you want to declare it to the world!!!!

I quietly purchased the necklaces and we put them on as soon as we walked out of the store. We meandered around the mall, holding hands, smelling candles at Bath and Body Works, drinking Starbucks and just looking around. I asked her if she was having fun on our date. Then she informed me that it's weird that I called it a "date" and could I just say that we were "hanging-out"? Uh...ok. I may have sulked a tiny bit, but then I saw my Mother Of The Year necklace and it perked me right back up.

We went home and I was filled with pride and joy as we got changed to go meet some friends of ours that evening, and I proudly kept my necklace on. We drove to the park where we were meeting our friends and just before we got of the car, Noelle took off her necklace and handed it to me. She said she didn't want it to get lost, but I know that it was because she was a little worried that her friends might say something about it. They probably wouldn't have even noticed it.

I kept mine on.

Proof that she wore it...

Here's my silvery, plastic prized possession...

3rd grader

I'm already dreading when she turns 9.

Hot Mom School

2011-08-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Noelle started school a few days ago at a new elementary school this year. It's a long story...and I'm still homeschooling Jude and Noelle loves her new school which is about a 10 minute drive from our house. We are on day #3.

I am going to call Noelle's new school, "Hot Mom School" from here on out because I think 99% of the mom's that I see at drop-off and pick-up time are hot. I have friends who have kids that attend "Hot Mom School" and I had previously just thought that I happened to have pretty friends. It must have something to do with the water out there or something because I am telling you, there are a lot of hot mom's at that school.

Yesterday, I dropped Noelle off at school while wearing my running clothes, hoping to get a run in sometime after homeschooling Jude and before Noelle's pick-up time. "Running clothes" for me consisted of a pair of 9 year old stretchy yoga pants that have a "bell-bottom" look to them and have lasted me through both pregnancies (remember, my kids are 7 and 8), a 5 year old t-shirt that is bright green that I got from a high school mission trip to Mexico, a messed-up sports bra that makes a couple of things look slightly crooked/off-kilter (trust me) and my dirty running shoes that have lasted me through 4 half-marathons and all of the training for those. Not necessarily "hot mom" material.

I wasn't terribly worried about my outfit and felt no insecurity about it at morning drop-off. In fact, I barely paid attention to what anyone else was wearing anyway as I distractedly walked Noelle to class, guzzling coffee from my travel tumbler all while attempting to keep Jude out of the landscaping.

However, I did notice the "hot mom phenomenon" at pick-up time while I was still in my frumpy running clothes and hadn't actually made it on my run yet. (I did get one in later though!)

I wasn't the only one in running/exercise gear at pick-up time, but I was pretty sure that I was the ONLY one who didn't look like they had stepped out of a magazine ad for Nike. I saw MANY mom's in tiny, cute, tight workout outfits, brightly colored, some even sweaty from their recent workout and all looking very beautiful. I looked sweaty and I hadn't even worked-out yet, it was just hot out and I looked like I had been for a run already. One "hot mom" was even stretching outside of the school in her tiny, pink, spandexy tank-top and cute, tight capri running pants.

It made me rethink that one time I dropped Noelle off at school in my bathrobe when she was in 1st grade.

Mostly, it made me realize that it might be time for some new running pants.

Mama Is Slow Sometimes

2011-08-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

Last night, I was 2.56 miles into my 3 mile run on my treadmill when Noelle gleefully burst into the garage and calmly explained that Jude had been injured. I quickly hopped off of the treadmill and made my way into the house where Jude was making noises sounding like a mixture of wailing cats and a fire engine siren. Also, he paused between cat wails/siren screams to look into the sky, raise his hands in the air and yell, "My toys have flown to Maaaaaaaars!"

I was baffled.

In between shouting at Jude, "Are you okay? What happened?" and giving stern/angry/confused looks at Noelle, I was trying to piece together what in the freaking world was happening?

I examined Jude and found no blood, so that was good.

As Jude continued blubbering about his toys being gone and wailing over the mystery injury, I desperately snapped at Noelle "Where are his toys?" knowing fully that she'd done something to them. Noelle covered her mouth and with a giant grin whispered, "They're in my room!"

Of course. I quipped to Jude, "Your toys are in Noelle's room!" thinking that I had just solved the greatest mystery of all time and turned to head back to finish my .44 miles remaining on my run.

I was so very, very wrong.

Instantly, Noelle turned into a heap of sobs and began saying things like, "Noooooo!" and "You ruined the surpriiiiiiise!!!" and "Jude's toys are rescuing Crockyyyyyy!" and fell on the floor in a heap of messy tears.

I was stunned/confused/wishing I had locked the garage door before I had started my run.

Finally, I figured it out...I think.

So...
Jude has recently fallen in love with a rubber crocodile toy that he has adorned with the most creative name in the universe, Crocky. I know, right?
Yesterday, we went to visit my sister and nephews and niece and Jude accidentally left Crocky at their house. I called my sister on the way home and made vague arrangements for us to be reunited with Crocky and told the kids we would get him back in the next couple of days.
In an elaborate set-up (seriously, it took at least an hour) Noelle had taken a bunch of Jude's action figures,firetrucks and stuffed animals on a journey through the front yard, backyard, trampoline and house on a mission to rescue Crocky. She then hid all of the toys in her closet, told Jude they were flying to Auntie's house on the rescue mission and would return with Crocky the next day (when she planned to reunite Jude with all of his toys as if they actually had gone and rescued Crocky from my sister's house).

This was kind of a big deal and I had really screwed it up.

And it was pretty darn sweet, if you ask me.

Mama is slow sometimes.

Thankfully(?), Jude never found the toys in Noelle's room and is still under the impression that they are going to soon return with Crocky. I joined in with the shenanigans and said something like, "Oh yeah, I forgot that they went to save Crocky!" I'm real smooth like that.

Auntie, you better get Crocky here, stat - Or you're dealing with the sobbing sirens/wailing cats next time...

Running 3 miles still counts even if it's broken up into multiple parts with many minutes in between, right?

The Boy

2011-08-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

My baby boy just turned SEVEN. Yikes. SEVEN is a big number. It also means that I. Am. Old.

I REALLY love this kid.

I also REALLY love this photo, taken with my iphone on the morning of his birthday. I REALLY love it. There are so many things going on here.

Here are all of the things that I love about this photo, that you may not have noticed...

*His face - I told him to say "cheese" and this is what I got. He was just too excited about those blueberry pancakes.
*Those blueberry pancakes look disgusting and unrecognizable as blueberry pancakes.
*Did ya notice the bacon? It's where his fork should be. Where's his fork? I don't know...
*The blurry arm. Do 7 year old boys EVER STOP MOVING? Nope.
*The Giants balloons. He is obsessed with the Giants. I caught him watching the MLB network a couple of days ago before I was even awake instead of cartoons. Obsessed.
*His t-shirt. That's the logo for Jude's Uncle Meat's band, The Wild Turkeys. (Did you follow that?) Jude's never seen them, nor heard them play. He loves that shirt though!
*The fancy bunny cup. We use that on special occasions. We're real fancy like that.

Oh, how I love my boy. This photo cracks me up, fills my heart and makes my cry at the same time.
I can't imagine life without Jude and all of the joy, laughter and confusion he brings to my life.

I'm An Old White Lady

2011-08-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

This post may make me sound like a jerk, or just really naive and dumb...forgive me.

I live in a town that has a lot of Hispanic influence and a lot of Hispanic people. I actually love it. And I REALLY love the food that comes along with living here. But me, the "old white lady" can sometimes have embarrassing experiences from having not grown-up with such diversity.

For example...
I sell lots of stuff on craigslist. If it has been around too long and I haven't used it, I sell it on craigslist. If it makes my garage look too cluttery, I sell it on craigslist. If I don't like it anymore, I sell it on craigslist. My kids often say, "Please, don't sell it!" in regards to many of their favorite things. Don't worry, I don't sell (much) of their stuff.
Anyways, I'm also very careful about who I deal with during craigslist transactions. I don't usually let male buyers come to pick-up or purchase things at our house unless Gavin is home. I'm a little more lenient when dealing with ladies though, and often meet-up with them while Gavin is at work.
So, a couple of days ago I received an email and made arrangements for someone to come and pick-up a patio set that we no longer needed. Of course, "old white lady" (ME) assumed that I was dealing with a lady and when a man showed-up I dumbly said, "Oh, you must be Jamie's husband!" and he replied, "No, I'm Jaime." (pronounced "Hi-may" for all of the rest of you dumb people like me). Whoops. I forgot where I lived for a moment. Thankfully, Jaime was super nice and loved the patio set that he was picking up for him and his wife's new house.

Also...
When Jude was still in public school, he had a classmate named Jesus (pronounced "Hay-soos" for all of you dumb people like me). I volunteered in Jude's class a lot and became familiar with Jesus and all of his cuteness. One day, I was reading my Bible and automatically read "Hay-soos" when I saw the name "Jesus". I had a good giggle and confidently felt like a true resident of Salinas after that.

Adios amigos!

That One Time When I Was In A Rap Video

2011-07-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Yeah, no bigs. I got to be in a rap video.

Me. A 33 year-old, mother.

When a 33 year-old mom gets asked to be in a rap video, the answer should ALWAYS be an emphatic, screaming, shouting "YES!"...just FYI.

My friend Sarah, from Dreaming In Color works for an AMAZING video production company here in California called MasterWerks and they were filming a music video for a guy named Michael Pompeo these last couple of days and I was lucky enough to get to play a minor role in the video! I threw on my most boring/therapisty looking outfit, tossed on my glasses and headed to the shoot yesterday!

This was WAY out of my comfort zone and I worked VERY hard not to burst out laughing at myself and follow the directions for the 1.5 hours of time I spent with the MasterWerks crew. Not laughing at yourself is hard work. When the final video is out, you'll probably notice that I'm real shiny, as in "I'm REAL sweaty". Those lights are HOT to work under. Woe is me.

I was supposed to play the role of a therapist to Michael and was pretending to write things down as he talked to me and most of what I wrote was, "I'm hot. I'm so hot. HOT. Wow. I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm SO hot." Real stuff, people. Real stuff.

When the guys offered to show me the footage they shot of me nodding, writing and pretending to be confused and listening, I couldn't bring myself to watch it. I'll just wait for the final product. I'm sure I'll look drab, therapisty and shiny in the final-cut and I'm sure lookin' forward to it.

All in all, it was such a fun experience and I'm so glad to check "be in a rap video" off of my bucket list.
Definitely, living a better story. :-)

Here's me and Michael, the rapper dude.

This is where my "scene" took place...

My best "therapisty" look...taken by Gavin before I left home...

If you have a chance, check-out some of Masterwerks' videos. I was SERIOUSLY impressed and wishing they were around WAY back in the olden days when I got married. They're AMAZING!

Here's a link to a video they did that I LOVED: http://vimeo.com/21452235

This is serious stuff, yo. I'm legit now, right? Wassup?!

Sorry, got away from myself for a second...

Bad Mama

2011-07-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I threw on a thin, fitted t-shirt and my running pants (the usual mom uniform) to "get my clean on" and run a couple of errands. I was hunched over my bathroom sink brushing my teeth when I heard Noelle walk up behind me. She stood there for a moment and then in all seriousness asked me, "Mommy, are you a robot?"

Of course, I immediately said yes.

I had no idea why that thought would cross her mind, but I had to let it play out for a few moments and try to figure it out.

I kept a straight face (as straight as you can while brushing your teeth with a Sonicare) while Noelle began to interrogate me.

"Mommy, are you really a robot?"

"Yes."

"Mommy, you're a robot?"

"Yep."

"Are you lying?"

I didn't answer that one, I just stared blankly at her in amazement that I was actually having this conversation in my lifetime.

After finishing my toothbrushing, I walked out of the bathroom and saw that there were tears welling-up in her eyes.

Oops. Mama's gone too far.

"Oh honey, I'm not a robot. What made you think that?"

Apparently, my thin t-shirt along with me bending over the sink allowed the little metal pieces on my bra-strap to be outlined under the back of my shirt and gave the appearance of a JET-PACK in the mind of an 8.5 year old. A sweet, innocent 8.5 year old that trusts her mommy and who may never believe her mommy ever, ever again and who made it very clear that robot mom's are not okay.

I think a jet-pack would make errands and cleaning way cooler.

A Baby Raised By Dogs

2011-07-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

I know that I post frequently about Jude's, well...quirks. He just gives me such dang good material, what's a mama gonna do?

My darling girl gives me plenty of "blog-worthy" material, but since she's 8.5 going on 15, she often shouts at me, "Don't put that on facebook!" or "Mommy, I beg of you, please do not blog about this!" and I grit my teeth and vow to not tell the entire world about her cuteness that may slightly embarrass her somewhere in the future. (Gavin and I often have that same conversation...)

Today, I couldn't resist saving for posterity something that may embarrass her slightly when she's 13, but will make her proud when she is 25 and thank me someday that I took a bajillion photos and wrote about it for all to see and the memory to be saved (let's all hope and pray that's how it all works out). Also, I begged her to let me blog about it and after my 2nd attempt at persuading her, she said "Sure." Victory for mommy!

I walked into her room and found Noelle in an elaborate set-up and asked her what exactly was going on with the storyline...

This will forever be known as "The Greatest Dollhouse In The Entire World" and will give you a glimpse into the sweet and hilarious mind of my girl.

(Please, forgive the iphone pics - I was desperate to capture this quickly - before she changed her mind!)

See that herd of animals out in front of the house? The Dalmatian is the boss, the Lion is chatting and they are at war and plotting their next move...

Against these guys! It's mammals vs. bugs and lizards! Yikes!

Notice anything strange about this house? Hmm...where are those people I bought her that are supposed to live here?

Oh! There you are! Tossed in the corner like...something you toss in the corner because you don't want to play with it anymore. (At this point I heard my kids yelling back and forth "This house is for humans!" -Jude "No, it's for animals!" - Noelle. Repeat that about 25 times and you'll get the idea.)

Well, I did find one human involved. See that little baby there amongst the doggies? I asked her what that was all about and Noelle told me that the baby was being raised by the dogs...phew.

This is my favorite room in the house. Who knows what's goin' on in here?

Let's all pause and watch the monkey go #2.

The "Party room" - although it looks like that leopard may have partied a little too hard...

The "Nursery" for all of the tiny/baby animals...no human babies allowed! You must be raised by dogs!

All of the flowers that used to decorate the outside front of the house are now used to feed the "Horse room"...

And don't forget the dinosaur landing...

Don't be fooled by that Army guy, he's no human - he's been shot and is now just a toy for that elephant.

The pigs lounge on the couch and watch tv with the doggy...probably real housewives, I'm guessing.

The giraffe was holding that dog up so he could see because he was in the back and too small to see the lion talking in the front. Ahh, sweet giraffey.

All in all, I think my kid has too many animal figurines.

Poor, poor human figurines. Rest in peace.

The Curry Experiment

2011-07-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

As I've said before, my husband is a FANTASTIC cook. Everything he makes turns out amazing and delicious. I love it when he cooks for me. The thing is though, he is very slow and very messy in all things kitchen. But again, it all turns out very delicious.

I may have also shared my love for Trader Joe's before, eh? It's the kind of magical love affair/obsession that you read about in...well, blogs. Well, one of our favorite, favorite, favorite items from TJ's is their curry simmer sauce. We use it often, buy it often and I do believe I could eat it everyday and never, ever in a billion years grow tired of it. I love it so much because it is that darn yummy.

There are two different ways we cook our frequent "curry dinner" here at the Brem home. "The Mommy Way" and "The Daddy Way" end up with similar results (one slightly tastier and one way quicker and less messy). I decided this evening to try "The Daddy Way" and see what all the hubbub was about. I now understand why it takes so much longer and requires more clean-up, but I still managed to keep the dishes to a minimum and don't understand the need to mess up an entire kitchen for this delectableness.

Here are the two versions:

The "Mommy Way"
*Throw some frozen chicken breasts in a saute' pan that has a lid
*Dump entire contents of jar of curry sauce on frozen chicken and turn on medium heat
*Put lid on and walk away/clean house/scold children/hang-out for 10 minutes
*After 10 minutes, dig through fridge/freezer and toss whatever vegetables you find (frozen or fresh!) into the pan with the chicken, put the lid back on and return to activities.
*After about 10-15 minutes or whenever you feel like it return to kitchen and microwave the awesome Trader Joe's organic brown rice for 3 minutes
*During the 3 minutes that the rice is cooking, throw some paper plates on the table and cut-up the chicken that was in the pan.
*Put the chicken back in the pan and tell family it is time to eat.
*Wait 5 minutes for everyone to meander to the table and eat up! Yum-yum!

Stats:
Prep/cook time 30 minutes
3 dishes used in prep (bowl for rice, pan for deliciousness, spatula to stir) + misc silverware to eat with

The "Daddy Way"
*Saute' chicken in olive oil in pan until mostly cooked through and browned, set aside (10-15 min)
*Chop up every vegetable you can find into tiny pieces (At least 5 or 6 different veggies PLUS potatoes) 10-15 min
*Saute' vegetables in olive oil, salt and pepper until potatoes are cooked through (15ish min)
*When you think veggies are cooked enough take them out of the pan and put them in a bowl
*Cut up the mostly cooked chicken and return it to the pan and add a little bit of sauce to the pan to finish cooking the chicken in
*When you think the chicken has cooked enough, return all veggies to the pan and add more sauce, mixing thoroughly.
*Cook the brown rice
*Forget to set the table and tell the starving family that dinner is ready. Have wife set the table while kids lay on the floor hallucinating from hunger.
*Eat delicious dinner.
*Have wife clean up 9432983298 dishes

Stats:
Prep/cook time: 60ish minutes
Dishes used: too many to count

*Gavin's dish does end up tasting better and is probably lower calories since he uses only about 1/2 bottle of curry sauce and he puts all of the love and care into the process. But mine still tastes yummy (although some of the veggies may be mushy) and is 1/4 of the effort. Win?

Either way, it's yummy and you should buy the curry sauce and fall in love with it like I have.

Welcome to "Big Week"

2011-07-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today kicks off "Big Week" here in Salinas which leads into the big Salinas Rodeo (pronounced ro-day-o - and you WILL get corrected if you pronounce it ro-dee-oh, I guarantee it). The first big event of Big Week is the Kiddie Kapers parade and we have participated the last couple of years. The kids from all over town dress-up in their cowboy/cowgirl gear or costumes and decorate their bikes/wagons/electric cars and make their way along the parade route through Old Town while thousands of people clap and cheer and make them feel like rock stars. It's one of the times that I appreciate living in a small town and we have a had rootin' tootin' time the last couple of years during the Ro-day-o festivities.

This year, Noelle has decided to decorate her own scooter all by herself and will wear her normal ranch gear (boots, jeans, cowboy hat, western shirt) and go as her normal cowgirl self through the parade. Jude, Gavin and I (parents are encouraged to dress up if they are walking the route with their kiddos) are throwing on our Giants gear in honor of the World Series champs - and in honor of Jude's obsession with the Giants. We've definitely put more effort into the decorating of the bikes than previous years (last year, I just tied Jude's "Woody" doll to the front of his bike and called it "good") and I'm feeling kinda proud of my uncraftiness today.

No joke, I turned a Toy Story bike helmet into a "Brian Wilson" faux-hawk look-alike (for those of you who aren't Giants fans, he's one of the pitchers. And I think he may be a little crazy. Or a lot, who knows?). I think I did, at least. A little bit of duct tape, a needle and thread, an old sock, some black fabric from an old apron and some cardboard and VOILA - helmet turned faux-hawk! (The kids are required to wear helmets on the parade route and Toy Story didn't match the Brian Wilson outfit, duh.)

Also, we will be painting a black beard on Jude this evening. Good times folks, good times.

Brian Wilson look-alike...

Looks just like him, huh?

Spittin' image, by golly!

Bike all decorated and ready to go...

Noelle's scooter is ready to go!

See you at the Ro-day-0!

P.S. - This is how Gavin spent his afternoon...torturing the children.

Dave

2011-07-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce you to our newest family member: Dave!

We love Dave.

Dave is named "Dave" in honor of Dave Ramsey. Both Dave's have really helped us a lot in our conquest to become completely debt free and now we are just a handful of months away from that dream becoming reality! Wahoo!

Well, thanks to Dave the car joining the fam, I now get the privilege of driving "Rocket" who is our beloved red Subaru. Rocket is also now affectionately referred to as the "Patty Wagon" and cannot sustain speeds over 72 mph or he starts to have a bit of a seizure. He's kinda sensitive, so I'm real careful with Rocket and love him dearly. He's such a champ and has been a part of the Brem fam since 2001!

Doesn't Rocket look all spiffy with his new hubcaps?

Rocket even got christened this week! Yay!

We did say goodbye to our old friend, "Lady" and goodbye to her horrendous car payment. We miss her, but know we're in a better place now without her. I'm sure she's just fine without us and appreciates not being driven 98437592348 miles each week for Gavin's job. Dave is up for that challenge now!

And look, Rocket and Dave are BFF's already. Cuties.

Cheers!

Bindaroo

2011-07-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Bindi,

I'm glad your attempts at dislocating my shoulder while I hold your leash on walks are getting fewer.

I don't love it when you dig holes in the yard.

I do not enjoy the dog hair tumbleweeds that blow through the backyard in the breeze.

I think you smell.

I'm not excited about how frequently I have to wash your snot off the sliding glass door.

I don't love finding your hair in my food.

I like how you lick everyone.

I don't think it's cool that you've given up on "fetch".

Thank you for allowing Jude to ride you and pull your tail.

Thank you for making my kids giggle.

I think it is funny when you swim around aimlessly in the pond and jump into water troughs. Even though they make you smell really bad. Really. Bad.

Thanks for making me feel a little bit safer when my hubby is away for the night on business.

Do you think you could poop less?

I think it is gross when you roll around on dead animals.

I like to pretend that the black spot on your tongue is a tatoo.

In Jude's words, "You are my black dog."

I don't hate you anymore, so happy birthday.

Regards,

The Return Of The Slam

2011-07-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Giants

Our family has become obsessed,

With the baseball team that is the best.

"Fear the Beard" and "Pat the Bat",

Are common phrases where we live at.

Buster, Aubrey, Panda and Tim,

We shout their names and pray they win.

Our home is filled with orange and black,

and sunflower seeds are a common snack.

Rowand's wiggly batting stance,

Makes us giggle with every glance.

When Wilson steps onto to the mound,

In awe we watch him throw his rounds.

Vogelsong and Cain we love to see,

and lots of K's and Win's from Madison B.

With Miguel Tejada and Cody Ross,

You'd think they'd never get a loss.

We sit in tension and watch and pray,

As walk-offs happen nearly every day.

I now have come to understand,

The torture it is to be a fan.

Cutest fans ever...

Will Clark Jersey for Father's Day...

Fear the Beard...

The night the Giants won the World Series!

Made it to the game last night with our amazing friends Joel and Deana and this is the best photo we could get...

and I LOVE it...

An Explanation

2011-07-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

So, I read this book recently called "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years" (I know that book titles are supposed to be underlined, but I'm not really smart enough to figure out how to do that in blogger). This is the book that led me to take a break from blogging, drive out to the beach 20 minutes before sunset to watch the sun come down over the water with my kids, order a burger made with donuts for buns, not allow my children to watch morning cartoons and read more books in one month than I've read in the last couple of years combined. We've been trying to "live a better story" since reading that book and I highly recommend it (both the book and the life living).

Here are a few random notes from this past month that I know you are dying to hear:

*Bindi is almost 3 and is slightly less of a pain of a doggie.

*If you feed children chinese food for dinner, they will in fact, be hungry 1 hour later. Its not a myth.

*Bacon on S'mores is delicious.

*Cold Pinot Grigio is the perfect beverage on a hot evening.

*My children have become a great disappointment to me due to their lack of enthusiasm for roller coasters.

*I absolutely have the power to manipulate my children to ride things that they are deathly afraid of, but I choose to wield that power wisely.

*It is SO much fun to have friends visit.

*Restaurants featured on Food Network shows may not necessarily be awesome.

*Cute things sold at boutique stores in tourist towns for big bucks can sometimes be found at Marshalls for small bucks.

*Keeping a surprise trip to Disneyland a secret from my kids is extremely difficult for me.

*All amusement park food is not created equally.

*Jude is the funnest person in the history of the world to watch a baseball game with.

*When the camera company says that its going to take 5 to 7 days to repair a camera, what they really mean is that it is going to take 3 weeks.

*Twitter is really fun, but would be way funner if more of my friends were on there (get on there!)

Here are a smattering of photos from the past month (all on my iphone since my dumb camera took so dang long to get fixed at the dumb factory) .

Bacon cheeseburger with Donut Buns

Heavenly Bruschetta (Recipe is coming!)

Noelle tightrope walking in the park

Beautiful Veggie Tacos

Giving me a heart attack at Lover's Point

Jude "helping" with selling cattle

Saw my sister on TV!!!

Tormenting me with their disdain for the coasters

A fun visit from the Fletcher's

Bacon S'mores...drool

Giraffe spots = freckels?

Apparently, whales like Jello

S'mores on the beach and on the forehead

Jude's grill at the Giants game

U2 concert with the Zippo app

1st attempt at fishing

Chili cook-off = Best.Decision.Ever.

Failed attempt to catch a crawdad

Goodbye to the Pilot!

Happy Father's Day to YOU!

1st Cavity

Gav WINNING the 4th of July "Bucket Brigade" contest

A restaurant in my hometown caught on fire and I was there to not lend a hand, but to take cell phone photos!

Lots of cows waving goodbye to the ranch

The STATS for last month

3 Giants games attended

2 amusement parks visited

1 stand-up comedy show attended

9 out of town guests

1 chili cook-off

1 car sold

1 car purchased

1 cavity filled

1 incredible U2 concert attended

1 hometown restaurant seen burning down

1 last minute trip to the Northwest for a family funeral

1 weekend trip to Tahoe

1 overnight trip to Sonoma/Napa

Hundreds of hours saved from watching TV

Dozens of hours spent watching/listening to Giants games

25 baby frogs held in one hand by Noelle

0 frogs held in hands of Jude

1 time being spotted on TV

1 time spotting my sister and nephew on TV

A billion calories consumed

A couple of spats/disagreements with family members

Many beautiful days of sunshine

Many, many adventures

Lots of books read

Lots of Vitamin D absorbed

=1 family living a better, less boring story!

Now, you're all caught up!

This Morning's Screenplay

2011-05-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Jude is notorious for waking-up at ungodly hours early in the morning and ready to begin his day. The rest of us in the Brem family do not possess this skill. In fact, Noelle is currently asleep as I write this. Now, we aren't bums and we get up early - just not ungodly early and sleeping in would probably be classified somewhere between 7:45 and 8 AM these days.

This morning at "ungodly early o'clock" Jude walked into my room and asked if he could watch a tv show. Usually, I would probably say yes and drag myself out of bed in the next few minutes, or so. But, the Brem family has been inspired and is taking a break from the tv - which I am loving and so pleased with - except for at the moment at the break of dawn that Jude is asking to watch a show and I am thinking, "What the crap was I thinking giving-up the tv?"

I gently ask Jude to please go back to his room and read a book quietly or play quietly with his toys just for 10 minutes.

Jude loudly shouts, "But I'm hungry!"

I gently (and probably with my eyes still closed) say, "Then you can go get a banana and then go play quietly in your room."

Jude runs out of my room and returns 17 seconds later and loudly explains, "But those bananas are (extra loudly on this part) DIS-GUST-ING!"

I desperately plead/whine, "Please honey, just go play for a few minutes and then I will make you breakfast."

Jude runs off to his bedroom and I sleepily give a sigh of relief, pray for two more peaceful moments of sleep and naively start to drift off.

I begin to hear loud sounds of crashing and banging coming from Jude's room.

A plea of desperation is all I can muster and I yell out to Jude, "Honey, what are you doing? You are supposed to be playing quietly so you don't wake up your sister."

Jude promptly and confidently replies, "But I'm playing with my light saber."

Of course he is.

I groggily remind him, "You need to play with something else or read a book."

I hear the light saber drop to the ground and I am momentarily relieved. That was premature relief, of course.

Jude grabbed his "Bop-It" game and for the next few minutes I lay in bed plotting and thinking of my next move to the rhythm of "Pass it! Pull it! Bop it! Shout it! Da-da-duh!"

When all hope within me for a few last moments of shut-eye is crushed, I drag myself out of bed, throw my robe on and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I realize about a minute later that Jude has finally become quiet and is contently reading a book. I take my time and neti-pot and remove the leftover makeup from under my eyes. Jude is still quiet. I check my email and read some news. Still quiet.

He is a genius. And I'm thankful for an early start. Also, Noelle is still asleep.

Christmas 2009

2011-05-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

2009 was a rough year for the Brem's. We had recently moved to another state, went without work for a couple of months, landed a new (awesome) job, left all of our friends and began renting a house in California from an insane landlady. Christmas in 2009 was planned very carefully.

Fast-forward to 2011. It is nearly June of 2011 and I am finally about to reap the benefits of the 2009 Christmas gift given to each other between Gavin and me - tickets to see U2. You see, Bono (the front man of U2) went into back surgery just weeks before our chance to originally see him. Thankfully, I am a girl with a great sense of humor and can see the hilarity of this. But I am also a girl who prays diligently and am praying that nothing happens to Bono (or any other band member at this point) between now and June 6thish. It has taken nearly two years to realize the only gift we gave each other for Christmas in 2009. Don't mess it up U2, por favor?

I may be feeling a little cynical/uninspired this last week...

Maybe it was the time this week when I went to help my sister carry the baby and the pizza to Noelle's softball game and turned my back for a second and discovered Jude peeing on a tree for all to see and I embarrassedly tried to brush off Gavin shouting at me from the field to look at Jude along with the looks of all of the parents pretending not to notice?

Maybe it was the time this week when I went to kiss my kids goodnight - individually- and they both ripped a big toot when I kissed them?

OR, maybe it was the time when Jude politely asked me if I wanted one of the ice cream treats stored in the freezer while I was gardening and when I said "no" he proceeded to eat the remaining treats without permission?

I love my kids.

Oh, The Glamorous City...

2011-05-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

In case you were wondering, this is how our anniversary night away in the glamorous city of San Francisco went...

Kalamata olives, roasted red pepper hummus, whole wheat pitas, regular hummus, diet coke, chicken sate', gyros, kebabs, falafel, strawberry salad with candied pecans and roasted chicken, chicago hot dogs with jalapenos and mustard and pickles, sweet potato fries, flatbread with tons of chopped basil and pesto and tomatoes and mozzarella and pesto, vanilla Haagen-Daaz, grilled veggies and eggs on a croissant, fresh fruit salad, a veggie-filled crepe, coffee, coke zero, carnitas and a big salad with barbacoa. And maybe an extra "celebration pound" or two were gained. So, there may be need for extra "celebration workouts" this week.

Also, the Giants won.

It was a great anniversary celebration. :-)

(All of these pics are from my iphone in an effort to look less like a tourist by not dragging my big ol' camera around)

We stayed there...

I saw this in the CANDY SECTION of Walgreens...

I ate this...

And a few of these...

And some of that...

And a bunch of that...

And my husband was filled with great joy on the day that I donned a Giant's hat...

Now, onto those "celebration workouts" I go.

My Amazing Bathrobe - The Slam

2011-05-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

My Amazing Bathrobe

My bathrobe is so warm and fluffy,

Who cares if it makes me look puffy?

It used to be white, but now sorta gray,

I wish I could wear it all day, every day.

It keeps me warm as I drag out of bed,

It's not terribly cute, my husband has said.

"Kinda gross" his actual words may be,

I don't really think it's that ugly.

If I wear it too long, I do start to sweat,

A blanket with sleeves makes my armpits wet.

On a cold morning it's the perfect thing,

It's cozy softness makes my heart sing.

I throw it in the washer every now and then,

Praying the white will return and the softness stays within.

Once, I wore it drop the kids of at school,

I knew as a Mom that it wasn't cool.

It might soon be time for us to part,

When that day comes it will break my heart.

To think of waking up without my blanket with sleeves,

I already begin to dread that day when my heart grieves.

Cozy, dingy, gray, warm, sweaty and old,

Soft, fuzzy, ugly, puffy and keeps me from being cold.

I care that my husband looks and thinks, "yucky",

I'll find a cute robe replacement someday if I'm lucky.

Unsolved Mysteries

2011-05-18T22:34:00.001-07:00

The mysteries of Jude continue to unfold. I don't know if it's just boys or if it's just my boy, but I'm often left scratching my head.

Here are some of the questions I currently have for Jude...

What happened in the bathroom that led to water dripping down all over the mirror?

How did toothpaste get on the wall?

How did your shoe mysteriously vanish in between driving from Papa Murphy's to pulling into the parking lot at the library?

Why do you poop 85 times a day?

Who taught you multiplication?

What inspired you to cuddle-up with a Star Wars light saber at bedtime tonight?

Why do you like all cheese except for melted cheese?

When are you going to start sleeping in?

Obviously, there's never a dull moment in the Brem household.

"Literally"

2011-05-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

We have a friend who's "pet-peeve" is when people use the word "literally" inappropriately. For example, "I'm so hungry I could literally eat a an entire horse" or "I literally almost died laughing" which of course, no one could really eat an entire horse and I'm not aware of anyone on record dying of laughing (although, I could be wrong). The one our friend especially hated had something to do with a pastor friend saying something along the lines of "liquid fire literally falling from the sky". Ever since we had that "pet-peeve" conversation, I've been much more aware of how I use the word "literally". Sometimes though, I still say that I'm so hungry that I'm literally starving or that I literally almost peed my pants from laughing, so his pleas for people to stop using the word inappropriately apparently didn't completely work on me.

Jude tends to take things literally and it is often hilarious when he does. Yesterday, Gavin was leading worship for our high school service at church and Noelle and Jude ended up joining us rather than being in their normal Sunday school class. The words to the songs were projected onto the wall so everyone could read them (remember how Jude is a genius and reads amazingly well for a 6 year old?) and Jude and Noelle were singing along. On one of the songs that Gavin was singing, the lyrics said;

"Oh, oh, oh,

Oh, oh, oh,

Oh, oh, I can't forget about it (Repeat)"

And as everyone sang along, Jude sang along loudly and yelled out "Repeat" every single time we sang that particular line...which was about 6 or 7 times. I would fully expect a freshman boy to do that and find it funny, but my 6-year old truly and hilariously thought that we were all forgetting to say "repeat" along with the song. I was "literally" dying laughing while we were singing.

This afternoon, after much anticipation, Gavin, Noelle and Jude completed some impossible feat on the Wii game "Star Wars Legos" (which I hate and would rather torture myself in a million ways than be forced to play). As soon as they had completed their task, there was much joy/dancing/jumping/yelling in our household that I heard from a room away. I heard Jude yell, "We defeated the bad guy Daddy!" and then I heard him repeatedly yell, "High stomach Daddy! High stomach Daddy!" of which I had no idea of what he was talking about. Then it hit me: high-five = slapping hands, high-stomach = chest bump. Jude wanted to chest bump Gavin. Thankfully, Gavin was clued-in pretty quick and gave Jude the high-stomach he was looking for. I "literally" teared-up as I giggled.

My heart "literally" melts when I look at this face.

(Okay, maybe the joke isn't funny anymore, sue me...)

Gavin Slam

2011-05-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

I tried posting this yesterday, but they were doing maintenance on blogger for what seemed like eternity and I couldn't get on. Boo.

Again, in light of our looming 11th anniversary, I thought I would post about my husband. I wrote this silly poem for him long, long ago, in a land far, far away...back when we were dating in college. I dug this out of the garage last night...

My poetry/humor/art skills sure have come a long way in the past 11 years...

Sleep Twitcher

2011-05-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

So....Gavin punched me in the face...again. I still haven't come to grips with the fact that I married a "sleep twitcher". In the eleven years that we've been married, Gav has "sleep-punched" me four times. Twice it's been in my nose and twice it's been in my eye (I think the nose is worse) and I didn't even cry this time like I did with the other 3 times. Yay for me! (Still, BOO for punching your wife while you sleep!)

Imagine being deep in REM, peacefully snoozing away when "POW!!!" - you are suddenly awakened by a hit in the face...welcome to my world. Gavin is a sleep-twitcher gone awry and it sometimes manifests in a punch to my face. And Gavin wonders why I have a hard time falling asleep without tuning-out to a TV show on hulu.com...

When we were first married, I had a really difficult time sleeping in the same bed as Gavin. In fact, I would lay awake stirring in anger as he peacefully twitched every single part of his body in succession approximately every 15.5 seconds. Then I would wake him up and snark at him to stop twitching. This totally worked, obviously.

The first time he sleep-punched me, we were staying the night at his sweet Aunt Chris's house on a trip to be on the Price Is Right and a visit to Magic Mountain in our first year of marriage. Being newly married AND on vacation, I bawled my eyes out in complete shock (and pain!) at 4 in the morning. The two other times are kind of a blur (is that a coincidence?), and then the recent punch in the eye forced me to wake Gavin up, annoyingly tell him that he punched me AGAIN and then I promptly fell back asleep for a couple more hours. I think I may be (finally) getting used to being married to him. :-)

It takes a strong woman to survive sleeping next to this dude...

Love you babe! Maybe you're just paying me back for that one time when I was trying to toss the remote control and hit you in the butt and accidentally whacked you in the head? I have bad aim...

Inspired By Reality TV

2011-05-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

Gav is traveling for work in the Pacific Northwest right now and comes home today! Yippee!

Sometimes when he's gone, I get bored and do things that I wouldn't normally do. Once, I shampooed the carpets and one time he came home to a freshly painted dining room. I usually take the time that he's gone to tackle projects and things that I probably wouldn't do while he was home. Often, I'll take that time to rearrange, organize and purge things. Poor Gavin comes home and has to repeatedly ask me where things are (sometimes they've already been donated to the Goodwill - oops!). He's a lucky guy!

Last night I was inspired by watching a little too much "reality" tv on Bravo (my weakness). I noticed how nicely groomed all of the eyebrows were on that network. The kind of nicely groomed eyebrows that I've only had once or twice when I've actually taken the time to have them professionally waxed. I have pretty thin eyebrows with lots of little "strays" that I groom with tweezers when I'm annoyed enough by the "strays" to care. I really hate tweezing because it takes to long and I get bored. Last night, I was inspired by the Bravo eyebrows, and wondered if Target would have some kind of self-waxing kit. Hey, I was bored and avoiding dishes and laundry - no judging. Sure enough, they make such a thing!

So, I embarked on my adventure for the evening. Like I said, I've had my eyebrows waxed a couple of times, so I knew it wasn't going to feel good, but I wasn't confident that I would have the nerve to rip hair out of my own face, rather than let a cute little lady do it for me like the previous times. It wasn't so bad! Or maybe I'm tougher than I thought? Or maybe I'm an idiot? Either way, it wasn't awful. And I think my eyebrows look great - not that anyone else would notice, since they are almost nonexistent anyway. But I notice, and I like 'em!

See, reality TV isn't totally worthless. I successfully avoided housework, embarked on a little adventure AND waxed my eyebrows all thanks to reality TV. Now, let's see if I can get all of that avoided housework done before Gav gets home from his trip this evening...

For those who might care, this was the kit I used and it was only $6.50 AND I'll probably get two full uses out of it. Bought it at Target!

The End. :-)

The Booger On The Wall

2011-05-06T13:35:00.001-07:00

As I was in the shower yesterday, I spotted something on the bathroom wall. Yup, it was a booger and I was not the one who had put it there. Also, I was pretty sure that the kids hadn't placed it there, since they usually bathe in their own bathroom and don't have a habit of blowing there noses while bathing. Hmm...that left only one person. I used to get upset after finding boogers on the shower wall - taking it personally, as disrespect for the one who actually cleans the bathroom...me. But then, Gavin and I came to an agreement about the boogers on the wall: If I find a booger in the shower, Gavin gets to clean the shower and I'm released from the shower cleaning duty. So, having spotted the booger on the wall yesterday, I was actually happy and caught myself smiling while staring at the nasty booger and simultaneously rinsing the shampoo out of my hair. Picturing Gavin scrubbing the shower down and wiping boogers off of the wall was a gift and brightened my day. It's things like these that make our marriage happy and successful!

This month, we will be celebrating 11 years of marriage! This may sound braggy, but we really do have a great marriage. We definitely have our moments, but overall we are blissfully happy and it gets better with every year.

There is lots of good advice about marriage that we follow and that you've probably heard before, like; Keep short accounts, keep Christ in the center, don't go to bed angry, be affectionate, etc. I thought I would share a few of the "Brem" things that make our marriage work...like the rule about the boogers.

If you want to be like The Brem's then you should:

*Have a vacation/celebration dance. The moment our vacation starts we dance around whatever room we are in and sing a little ditty that goes, "We're on vacay-shon, We're on vacay-shon, We're on vacay-shon" over and over until we feel satisfied. Those words can be substituted with "We got a ray-aise, We got a ray-aise, We got a ray-aise" or "No more crazy land-lady, No more crazy land-lady, No more crazy land-lady". Do this to celebrate anything and make sure your kids join in too!

*Celebrate A LOT. We celebrate everything possible. Birthdays, lost teeth, 1st day of school, last day of school, report cards, paying off debts, moving away from crazy landlords, cars miraculously getting healed of transmission issues, friends coming to visit, three day weekends, having all of the laundry done at the same time...

*Marry someone funny. We laugh a lot. And we really enjoy trying to make the other person laugh. And we laugh a lot at ourselves, at our kids, at TV shows and with friends. Sometimes, I even make myself laugh. I'm still laughing at that one time when Gavin forgot my birthday! Boy, he's hilarious! He's still laughing at that time when I sobbed while watching Steve Carrel's last episode on The Office. See, we are F-U-N-N-Y!

*Don't have designated sides of the bed. I don't know why, but we just don't. Sleep on whatever side you want. Works for us!

*Have a mutual distaste for having a dog, but do it anyway for the love of your children.

*Dream and talk a lot about the future and all of the places you want to go and food you want to eat. And eat a lot of good food. And dream about eating a lot of good food. And watch TV shows about good food. And eat a lot of good food when you go to baseball games. And fairs. And restaurants. And theme parks. And go to a lot of theme parks.

*Feel free to pee with the door open, but for heaven's sake, always poop in private!

Works for us! Happy 11th anniversary Gavin! Can't wait for the next 11 years and that clean shower! :-)

Look at us...just BABIES!!! Sigh...

P.S. - When Gavin forgot my birthday, it was ONLY in the morning for like 30 minutes. He felt horrible because I had gotten up and gotten the kids ready, made breakfast etc. And he spent the rest of the day making up for it. He is an amazing husband with a great sense of humor - obviously, since he's letting me tell these stories about him! The most compassionate, kind, patient and generous man I've ever met. After 13 years of being together, I'm happy to report that I haven't met a man yet that even compares to him. His integrity and character are unmatchable. Can't believe he picked me. :-)

Haiku Slam

2011-05-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I put out an A.P.B. looking for ideas for the Poetry Slam and I got lots of great ideas. Feeling a rush of inspiration, I couldn't wait to bust out the Poetry Slam this week. I even added a few of my own ideas to the list.

I'm so daring and adventurous that I waded into the world of Haiku this morning. I know, I know - We really walk on the wild side here in the Brem household! Don't worry, I'll reel it back in for next week...unless the adrenaline rush from all of these Haiku's is still running...

Salinas

(Thanks for the idea Amy C!)

Lettuce fields galore

Tacos on every corner

Mild temps all year long

My iphone

Apps for everything

I don't want life without you

Apple stole my heart

Dave Ramsey

(Thanks for the idea Erin!)

Live like no one else

Debt snowball saving our buns

Credit cards paid off!

Costco

(Thanks Maria!)

Hot dog scent wafting

Too many rolls of T.P.

Where do I store it?

Jillian Michaels

(Thanks again, Erin!)

Rock hard abs and glutes

30 day shred makes me sweat

Puddles on the floor

The Sandwich I Made For Lunch Yesterday

Peppers and mushrooms

Turkey and Havarti cheese

Making mouth water

Our Subaru

Little Red Rocket

Gavin looks like a giant

Driving forever

Fantasy Baseball

Last place in my league

Husband thinks I'm the greatest

Pitching really sucks

Wow! I'm so energized from all of that crazy Haiku writing. Maybe I'll try something really daring and attempt to weed the garden! Happy Poetry Slam Thursday!

200,000

2011-05-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't had Gavin blogging since that whole Triaminic poisoning fiasco, but finally, here he is again!

Pride

Pride is a funny thing that can easily be misunderstood. Sometimes pride is bad. When one thinks of himself more highly than he ought to, that kind of pride is bad. When one cannot be convinced of his folly, that kind of pride is bad. When one cannot admit he is wrong, that kind of pride is bad. But sometimes pride is good.

A father who beams with pride over his son's teeball performance has good pride. A mother who sheds a tear over her daughter growing into a beautiful young woman has good pride. A blue-collar worker who sweats and gets dirty in order to bring home an honest paycheck has good pride. AND A DUDE WHO'S CAR ENDURED RAIN, HEAT, AND SNOW WITHOUT AIR-CONDITIONING WHILE AVOIDING MAJOR REPAIRS GETTING TO SEE THE ODOMETER FLIP TO 200,000 MILES HAS BIG-TIME PRIDE!!!

That's right. My 1995 Subaru turned 200,000 today and I couldn't be prouder. This tough little car has been with me for 11 years. It has accumulated multiple dents, dings, and scratches, rust, rattles, and squeaks yet has never given up. Even recently it was miraculously healed when the transmission locked up only to pop free a week later (after I put gear oil in it). After 200,000 miles it has only needed a new boot and some kind of rubber ring to stop the said gear oil from leaking. Sure, the air-conditioning broke about a month after I got it, but other than that, this little go-getter has been a reliable champ. Even a spider has decided to take up residence in the door mirror finding solace and safe-haven in the Subaru. I am a proud Subaru owner and I don't care who knows it!

By the way, I'm selling a 1995 red Subaru with 200,013 miles (mostly highway). Runs great. Minor blemishes.

See how it glows?

Right before the fateful moment...

Yahoo!

My spider-tenant's web...

Fun Facts

2011-05-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that David Letterman used to do a segment on his show called "Fun Facts" where he rattled off a bunch of stuff that may or may not be true. It was pretty funny, except that sometimes I didn't really know whether the fact he was sharing was real or not, so I often was left feeling more confused (dumb) than actually laughing. Once, I went to New York and actually got to see a Late Show taping - I think its funnier on television, just so ya know. He didn't do the "Fun Facts" segment when I was there though...and Dave was kind of a jerk.

Today, I'm introducing some Fun Facts from the recent days in the Brem household!

I know, you are dying to learn them...

Fun Fact #1: Dumping the correct amount of salt into a neti-pot is a delicate balance. Too much = a feeling of a fire burning the insides of your sinuses up. Too little = a feeling of drowning yourself while standing over your sink in the bathroom. I suppose I could actually measure the salt before dumping it in, but where's the fun in that?

Fun Fact #2: While in a silent moment of prayer during a meeting, Jude WILL walk into a room and burp out loud. It's inevitable.

Fun Fact #3: Bindi has magical powers. She was locked in her kennel in the garage at bedtime last night, and was discovered this morning inside of the house waiting to be let outside by the back door. Somehow, she opened her kennel AND the door leading from the garage into the house. It's just magic, I guess.

Fun Fact #4: I really, really stink at Fantasy Baseball. And I'm actually trying to be good at it. I'm in 10th place in our league (out of 10) and am getting beat by people who don't even log-in to check on their team. Good thing baseball lasts until October...I may need that long to figure this crap out.

Fun Fact #5: It is really fun to talk baseball and actually know something. Plus, Gavin thinks I'm the best wife ever.

Fun Fact #6: When someone says, "Those are interesting shoes you're wearing." what they really mean is "Those shoes are dang ugly and I just wanted to point that out to you." Yep, I had that happen this week. I still LOVE my shoes. (Plus, I got WAY more compliments on them than "interesting" comments - of which, I only had one.)

Fun Fact #7: My kid is OBSESSED with the Queen of Diamonds. You know, from a deck of cards? He saw something about it on a movie called "Looney Toons Back In Action" and now wants to sleep with the Queen of Diamonds from his deck of cards lying next to him. I don't get it. Anyone?

Fun Fact #8: Sometimes, my treadmill gets stuck on an incline and I don't know it. I was running today thinking, "I must be SO out of shape. It feels like I'm running up a hill and I'm running on a flat treadmill. Oh my goodness! What has happened to me? Am I old? My legs feel like they weigh a ton!" And then I realized it was on an incline. I'm real quick like that.

Fun Fact #9: The day I announced that I was giving up sweets for my non-Lent, Lent Gavin forgot and went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of ice cream. We roll like that. (I haven't had any!)

Fun Fact #10: Watching the Royal wedding AND watching "The King's Speech" in the same day make you feel like an expert in all things English for about 24 hours. Then you realize how much time you spent in front of a TV in one day and feel embarrassed and dumb.

Aren't you all so glad you have me to teach you all of these Fun Facts? I know you are...

Here's an iphone pic of Jude sleeping with the Queen of Diamonds...I don't know if I should be mad/confused/happy/laughing contently...

And here is a photo from 2008 from my trip to New York with my college roommates waiting to get into the Late Show. (Rachel - thanks for taking the photo, but dangit, I wish you were in it!)

Using Blogging For Good, Not Evil

2011-04-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend/former college housemate/fellow blogger/member of the jelly-bracelet posse, Carina posed a challenge on her blog to do something simple and help out our fellow-man by baking and giving out the goods to someone in need. Easy, huh? I thought this would be a fun and great way for my kids and I to step outside of ourselves, gain some perspective on how good we have it, honor Jesus and have a little fun baking at the same time.

This morning we cooked up our first "Bakin' It To The Streets" batch of cookies (Peanut-Butter, Chocolate-Chunk) and bagged them up and are heading out this evening when Gavin comes home to pass them out to a handful of homeless in our city. I'm excited! Noelle is nervous. We'll see how it goes! Thanks to Carina for the fun idea! We'll be doing this every month if you ever care to join us... :-)

Also, Carina's husband is participating in a hunger-walk this weekend. He's SUPER close to his fundraising goal. If you wanna donate $5 to the cause, click here. It is easy and fast, I promise. I did it!

Look at this cute little baker...

I'm 65% sure that he washed his hands...

This was when he looked directly at me, snot running out of his nose and burped...what a lovely boy...

I kinda like her...

I promise, I didn't eat any. Day 3 of non-Lent, Lent for me! :-)

Poetry Slam Thursday

2011-04-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

*April 28, 2011 - I'm reposting this because it feels appropriate for today...and I'm bawling after Michael's exit...

I've decided that Thursdays are going to be "Poetry Day"! Yahoo! I'll write a wordy, rhyme-y poem about whatever my little heart desires. For many years now, Thursdays in my mind have been "The Office is on TV Tonight" day. So, on my first official Poetry Thursday, I'm inspired by my favorite show in the whole wide world...

The Office...

Paper is the office biz,

They all try to sell it.

Michael often interferes,

trying a new improv bit.

World's Best Boss on Michael's mug,

Dwight's the A(t)R M,

Toby is the hated one,

And love ol' Pam and Jim

Woof dot com is Ryan's gig

And Kelly isn't pregnant.

Dwight owns the building now,

with Dunder Mifflin as the tenant.

Kevin loves his M&M's,

And Oscar is so gay.

Angela throws cats into the ceiling,

and Sprinkles is not okay.

Darryl got promoted now,

He got another raise.

Andy pines for Erin though

Giving birds that cause a haze.

Creed's the man in quality

who never does his job.

Gabe is very nerdy,

And Phyllis loves her Bob

Stanley does his crosswords,

Holly moved away.

She's stolen Michael's heart

and Garbage is a stray.

Angela dates a senator,

He is from the state.

Threat Level Midnight's an epic movie

and Michael sure can skate.

Dinner Parties are my fave

When Jan is in the house.

Who know's what will happen next?

Will Meredith get bit by a mouse?

Finer Things Club is a clique',

Fun Runs are a blast,

Benihana is Asian Hooters

And David Wallace is in the past.

Pretzel day is the greatest,

It comes only once a year.

Mose lives on the beet farm,

and wears shirts that say, "FEAR".

The Office is the greatest

It's not a show that's typical.

Dunder Mifflin holds a warm spot in my heart,

As they're the people person's paper people.

My Current Obsessions

2011-04-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think it would be really fun to go into Sales as a profession. But only if I really liked what I was selling. Like Subarus. I'm pretty sure I could sell a Subaru. They are awesome cars and our current 1995 Subaru has 198,000 miles on it and his name is "Rocket" and he is awesome. I love Subarus. I get really excited talking about them and telling people how great they are, but only because I love them...obviously, I'm not getting paid to. Maybe I should rethink this...

My friend Carol could sell Vita-mixes. You know, those awesome blenders they sell at Costco and can pulverize anything? She LOVES her Vita-mix and I'm sure she would make millions if she sold them. I've almost rushed myself to Costco 84,579,345 times after getting off of the phone with her to buy one. I haven't yet. She gets excited about Vita-mixes like I get excited about Subarus.

When I find something I love or feel strongly about, I feel this desperate need to shout it from the rooftops...

"DON'T BUY A KIA! BUY A SUBARU! THEY ARE AWESOME AND YOU WON'T BE WASTING YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY!"

"TRADER JOE'S HAS THE BEST CURRY! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING TO WHIP ONE UP FROM SCRATCH! SAVE YOUR MONEY AND TIME AND BUY IT FROM TRADER JOE'S!"

"DON'T GET A DOG! THEY'LL EAT ALL OF YOUR PLANTS AND STARE SADLY AT YOU THROUGH THE WINDOW AND MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY FOR NOT SPENDING EVERY WAKING MINUTE WITH THEM! AND YOUR CHILDREN MAY GROW TO LOVE THEM MORE THAN THEY LOVE YOU! LISTEN TO ME!"

Ya know, stuff like that.

So, I thought I would share my current obsessions. I could probably write a long blog post about each and every one of these, but that would probably be boring for everyone but me (and maybe Carol).

Obsession #1: This book. It was amazing. I read it in 2 days. I hate war movies and war books, but this was incredible. I even learned a TON about WWII - and I ain't no history buff. The dude survived at sea for FORTY-SEVEN days! Read it. You'll love it (but if you don't love it, blame someone else).

Obesession #2: Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products. They. Are. Amazing. Seriously, I HAND WASH my dishes now because I love to smell them and soak my hands in them. They are aromatherapeutic and they smell unbelievable. Lavender is my favorite scent, then Geranium, then Basil, then Lemon Verbana. I will buy every product Mrs. Meyers makes and hug her and squeeze her if I ever meet her. Unless she's not a real person.

Obsession #3: Not eating our Easter candy.

Obesssion #4: Our newly reorganized home/homeschool office. It's clean and pretty. Let's keep it that way - Okay, Noelle and Jude? Maybe I should make them read my blog as part of their homeschool routine...hmm...

Isn't it pretty?

Obsession #5: Leggings. I don't have a photo because I didn't want to steal one of the internet and I didn't actually think it would be a great idea to try and take a picture of myself wearing leggings. I guess I could have asked Gavin to do that, but he's at work now and it would really be weird to do a self-portrait of my legs in leggings. Anyways, they are my new favorite. It's like wearing PJ's all day. AND I just discovered that if you scrunch em' up a bit...they magically turn into carpris! I am in L-O-V-E.

Obesession 6: These shoes. I saw this post on The Pioneer Woman blog and boy, oh boy was she right about these shoes. I wear them every second of my life right now. In fact, I'm wearing the coral ones right this minute (they look lovely with my bathrobe). They've solved my Mom Uniform shoe dilemma and I will eternally be grateful.

I bought TWO pairs! I need them in every color...if only that were possible and not weird...

The End.

The Opposite of Lent

2011-04-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty good at sticking to New Year's resolutions, but I have never successfully observed Lent. So there.

Well, I had never even heard of Lent until high school and at that point I just thought it was dumb and unnecessary. At this point in my life though, it seems like a really great, honorable idea and I am just really bad at most great, honorable things.

For the past few years, I've thought of a few things that I could give up for Lent and just never stuck with them. My college roommate gave up shaving her legs for Lent our sophomore year. I think I could probably do that one too, but just haven't quite committed. This year, I considered giving up candy, but then I saw those black jelly beans for a buck a bag. And I ate two bags. I never struggle with craving candy like I do during the Easter season. When I see those Starburst jelly beans or Cadbury mini-eggs or Robin Eggs or Jolly Rancher jelly beans or black jelly beans there is this internal panic that goes off inside of me shouting, "BUT THOSE WILL ONLY BE AROUND UNTIL EASTER! YOU BETTER EAT EM' NOW!"...While everyone else is living a season of self-control and sacrifice, I live in a season of chocolate indulgence and jelly bean gluttony.

So, now that the Easter candy is overflowing in the Brem household and Lent is over, I feel challenged to begin my own personal non-Lent, Lent. Besides candy, anybody have any ideas? I'd love to earn back a little self-respect in the discipline category. That left when I purchased the bag Starburst Sour jelly beans - which were disappointingly not sour. 40 days begins today!

*If anyone wants to know what happens to your body after eating an entire bag of black jelly beans, I'd love to share...privately. :-)

1 Million Dollars

2011-04-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my sweet 8 year old, I’ve learned a few things about myself recently. I’ve had the opportunity for some self-evaluation and have come to a few conclusions that I had never expected. Somewhat like Noelle’s previous game, the new questions that have arisen in our household have given me the chance to decide what I would or would not do given the chance to win money.

Recent conclusions:

*I would try to eat 100 cheeseburgers for 1 million dollars.

*I would not drink 5 gallons of soda for 1 dollar.

*I would eat a giant sandwich for 1 million dollars.

*I would drink a giant soda for 1 million dollars.

*I would not pretend that someone was dead and tell their loved ones they were dead as a joke for 1 million dollars.

*I would sell Bindi for 1 million dollars. (This was met with threats from Noelle to cry and cry and never forgive me if I did that one)

*I would pick up a stray dog and help find it’s owners for 1 million dollars.

*Gavin would tell someone he had a crush on them for 1 million dollars.

And thanks to the reminders from my childhood friends, I do remember actually eating an entire paper plate while sitting in a Dairy Queen for THREE WHOLE DOLLARS. Totally worth it.

Tacoma Minus The Aroma

2011-04-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

The City of Destiny

From Infinite Soups to MSM Deli,

I dream of these foods gettin' in my belly.

Jefferson Park in the summer is bomb,

Point Defiance Zoo I love all year long.

Pac Ave offers lots of strange things to see,

At night its not necessarily where you want to be.

West End Pub on Proctor and 6th,

Their Onions rings and buffalo sauce are a lovely mix.

Mandolin, Metronome, Starbucks and Forza,

Make Tacoma Caffienation easy and simple for ya.

Tacoma Boys' chips and salsa (the samples are free),

Pho Than Brothers in Parkland is where Gavin likes to be.

Teriyaki is endless, but "A Top" is the best,

Thai on every corner, Wild Orchid I'll ingest.

Ruston Way is lovely and great to people watch,

Katie Downs, The Ram or Dukes take summer dining up a notch.

East Side, Hilltop, Parkland, and U.P.

Fircrest, North End and Stadium are lovely.

We eat our way through the city, growing as we do,

Chambers Bay is good for burning calories, we need to go there too.

Though cloudy far too long and gray for many days,

A sunny day in Tacoma can't be beat in any ways.

A very fitting name, it's called the City of Destiny,

The aroma no longer lingers, and that always blesses me.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving...

2011-04-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Every Christmas Eve our family exchanges one gift and it is ALWAYS a new pair of pajamas. My sweet mother-in-law usually takes on the task of getting my PJ gift most years and she always picks out the cutest jammies for me. This past Christmas, I received a really cute pair of PJ's from Victoria's Secret and I have been wearing them frequently for the past 4 months and loving how cute, cozy and comfy they are.

Currently, we are on a trip visiting our friends and family in Tacoma, Washington and we have been staying with different friends and family members while we are here. Being the conscious and minimalist suitcase packer that I am, I only brought one pair of pajamas with me on this trip and have been traipsing around in our various friends' houses wearing my new V.S. PJ's. The last couple of nights we stayed at our dear friends Brice and Julie's house. The house they live in has many mirrors, which gave me ample opportunities to check myself out while wearing my V.S. PJ's. What I saw was not what I expected. In fact, I couldn't help but double over with laughter when I looked in the mirror and realized what I had been parading around in all over God's green Earth. I'm sorry to everyone who's had to look at me wearing these in the past four months. And to my neighbors who may have seen me moving trash cans while wearing these with giant Ugg boots, please forgive me. And I may be a little sorry to Victoria's Secret too.

This is what the P.J's are supposed to look like:

And this is what I saw when I woke up this morning:

(I literally took this right after I woke up...the reason for the smudged makeup under my eyes and beautifully groomed hair...)

Go ahead and giggle. I am.

Spring Break Check-in

2011-04-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me just say that there is nothing more beautiful than a sunny day in the Pacific Northwest.

Secondly, I have seen more mom uniforms in our visit to the ol' P.N.W. than I have seen in our entire two years time living in California. It's good to be home.

Finally, you never realize how tan you are until you see yourself next to those who've been living under cloud cover for months and months. I'm thankful for my current golden hue.

Coffee, My Love

2011-04-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

(Forgive my tardy posting. We've been in the car for what seems like 38729732 hours. I feel puffy and bloated.)

My friend Carina recently asked the question, "How much can one write about their love for coffee and chocolate?"

Well, I thought we might need one more "ode to coffee", so here is this weeks topic for the Poetry Slam...

Coffee, My Love

Coffee, how I love you so,

How one lives without you, I do not know.

You warm my hands in times of cold,

A big cozy mug, I love to hold.

As I lay in bed and stir to wake,

I pray that you yourself would make.

I drag myself up from my bed,

As thoughts of coffee beans dance in my head.

Until I get that magical first sip,

I am forced to try to get a grip.

I sip and gulp throughout the day,

Caffeine jitters kick-in eventually.

I'll finally force myself to stop,

When my heart I feel is about to pop.

Your flavor and warmth with none can compare,

Without you in the morning, I feel so bare.

Lattes and mochas used to the job finely,

These days, I'd rather have it black with an I.V.

Of you coffee, I'll always dream,

My precious little magic bean.

I pray I'm never forced to give you up,

Oh, how I'd miss my "hug in a cup".

I do not care how much I pay,

I will gladly fork over the money every day.

Grossest Parenting Moment Yet.

2011-04-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

This was originally posted in 2009:

Last week, I had THE SICKEST moment of my parenting career. I'll try to paint the disgusting picture for you...
For some reason, our dog, Bindi was inside for the afternoon. I have no idea why. Bindi is an outside dog and only comes in once in a blue moon or if we hear nearby gunshots (that happened last night and we called 911) or during a big, blustery storm. None of these scenarios were taking place. Noelle was in school and Jude was home with me. It was late morning, I guess around 11AM. I had noticed earlier that Bindi had gone into the bathroom and drank nearly all of the water from the toilet. I'll confess, we haven't trained her not to because she is usually outside. I wasn't terribly worried about her drinking the toilet water because I had recently cleaned the toilet. I did notice that Bindi was really thirsty. That was probably around 10AM. Now, around 11AM I heard Bindi and Jude playing in the living room. Jude was giggling and chatting it up with Bindi and goofing around on the floor with her. I had to use the bathroom and when I walked in I noticed a piece of used toilet paper on the bathroom floor. This isn't a usual thing in the Brem household, but I wasn't alarmed and thought that Jude had possibly dropped it after wiping his cute little buns. One thing you must know about Jude; The kid poops about 5 times a day. I'm not joking. And often, he doesn't flush. Well, here we are in the bathroom noticing the used toilet paper on the floor and I pick it up and go to toss it in the toilet when I notice that Jude had once again committed a "poop and run". Except this time I notice that the water in the toilet is looking VERY low and the poop looks like it has been destroyed by some strange phenomenon. At that moment, I remember that Bindi had been repeatedly licking Jude's face while they were playing. I ran out of the bathroom (I flushed before I left) and find a VERY stinky 5 year old happily playing with his dog. Now, he didn't slightly reek of poop. I nearly gagged when I smelled his face and the only thing I could think was, "My son's face is covered in his own poop." Needless to say, Jude got a late morning scrub-down in the bath.

Changin' It Up A Bit!

2011-04-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today is our first Guest Post!!! Yahoo!

My dear friend Carina is one of my favorite people in the world! She juggles 3 little boys, a career as a sylist, a great marriage, PLUS a fun blog while winning the affection of everyone that comes in contact with her - She's that funny, folks! We met our freshman year of college and some of my favorite college/adult memories include Carina. Not only is she hilarious, but her story of adoption is one of the best I've ever heard. Check it out here...

Also, Carina and I often refer to ourselves as "personality twins"...just FYI.

Without further ado...

(You can find Carina by clicking on one of the links above or here at "a punk, a pumpkin and a peanut:")

I was pretty excited when Patty asked me to do a guest post for her today - it made me feel very official in the bloggy world. She gave me free reign topically, so I started to go over the millions of thoughts swirling in my brain today. Should I write about my hate of raisins smashed into my kitchen floor? Maybe the perplexity of finding toddler pajamas heaped in my shower this morning, only after I’d turned it on and stepped inside. Or my love for Sesame Street, not only for the educational value, but for the time it allows for said shower? No, I am going to veer away from parenting topics today for everyone’s sake.

Maybe I could stick with Patty’s theme of craftiness and tell you about my many projects. Like the bin of yarn I have that I dare not even think of how much I spent with grand ideas of gorgeous hats, scarves, booties and even a blanket. I have a plan for how to use it - I really do. Or the BOX of empty frames I have for my “gallery” wall that I have yet to put together. Maybe I should mention that I finally scanned all my wedding photos after six years because I am totally going to put our album together... within the year. Really.

I could do a post on beauty, because I do hair and makeup when I am not chasing rugrats. But then true to my share-too-much-need-to-confess nature, I would have to tell you that it’s been six months since my last haircut and I feel like that makes me a fraudulent stylist and why would you listen to such a phony? While we’re talking about a need to confess, though, I ate a rice crispy treat for breakfast. Okay, I ate two. And a half.

I could do a post about things I really love. But how much can one person write about coffee and chocolate? Apparently a lot, if you ever read my blog. Or my newest love, Tina Fey. I am about six years late to the party, but my new addiction is 30 Rock. I am pretty convinced that Liz Lemon and I could be besties.

But what I really want to write about, the most important thing of all, the thing everybody should know...

Patty is awesome.

And I would not be sad if she and her awesome family ever decided to move back up north.

Just sayin’.

I'm Cheap and Uncrafty

2011-04-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there were some boring, blah-looking, sage green pillows that sat on my couch...

For many years, the pillows sadly sat there, getting spilled-on, barfed-on and napped-on while people drooled on them.

Poor, sad, boring pillows...

One day, in an effort to liven things up (or just clean them up) I threw the pillows into the washing machine. That was a poor decision.

And the poor, sad, pillows were even sadder...but less boring?

I tried to mend them, but that wasn't very successful.

Alas, the pillows stayed that way for a few, sad years.

(Remember, I'm cheap and uncrafty...)

Then, one day the clouds parted! I stumbled across this blog and was inspired!

I found these napkins at Cost Plus World Market (the best store in the world!) on clearance for $1.48 each. I purchased four of them and borrowed my sister's sewing machine.

(Straight lines are not hard to sew, and that is the only reason I even attempted)

And now, my sad, boring pillows are happy! And pretty!

And they are the nicest pillows I've ever owned.

And no one shall ever barf-on, spill-on or drool-on them again.

The End.

How To Ruin Your Child

2011-04-10T13:54:00.001-07:00

I blame everything that happened yesterday on the movie "Hop". I don't recommend seeing this movie unless you like cringing in your seat at incredibly over the top cheesiness. You've been warned.

We had a ridiculously busy day yesterday which included an early morning softball game, a trip to the movies with the cousins, a 6 year-old birthday party and dinner with old friends. All the makings of a fabulous, but busy Saturday.

Let me just say: I think we're usually pretty good parents. I mean, we're not perfect, but our kids are usually well-behaved (except for Jude's incessant public burping lately), obedient, kind and sweet. They are compassionate and friendly and we just think they are the cutest things alive. We try really hard to be good parents...but yesterday made me question any parenting skills that I may have thought we had.

After seeing "Hop" yesterday, I was a bit annoyed at the emphasis on the Easter Bunny (I don't know what I was expecting) and the fact that there wasn't even the tiniest mention of Jesus being the real reason for Easter. I know, it wasn't the point of the movie, but we've worked very hard with our kids to make sure they know the real story behind Easter, but still allowing a bit of the "Easter Bunny fun" to be around. We do the same thing with Christmas and the kids know that we are celebrating the birth of Christ, but Santa is still a part of the fun - although he is downplayed a lot. The thing is, we've worked really hard to keep the Easter Bunny and Santa alive - even had Santa write a thank-you note to Noelle for her thoughtful cookies and apologizing for the mess his boots made outside of the fireplace. We roll like that.

In my annoyance at the Easter Bunny movie, I may have let it slip at an inappropriate moment that the Easter Bunny wasn't real...I was annoyed and only half paying attention...AND it was about the 10938398th time that Noelle had asked if the Easter Bunny was real in the past couple of months. I took that as a sign that she was having her doubts and I may as well just set her straight, after all she is EIGHT and that might as well make her an adult, right? I WAS SO VERY, VERY, VERY WRONG. More wrong than I could have ever imagined.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had made a mistake. I wished with every ounce of my being that I could suck those words right back into my mouth. Gavin just sat there in awe and/or shock. Dumbfounded, maybe? I don't know, he mostly sat in silence letting me deal alone with the mess I was making.

I think the sequence of events went something like this:

*Noelle stares at me blankly in shock.

*Tears well-up in her eyes.

*She loudly says, "YOU LIED TO ME! WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?" in the saddest, most dramatic voice ever.

*Holding back tears, I try to convince her that I am sorry for lying AND Easter is about Jesus AND the Easter bunny is just for fun AND we'll still give her candy and hide eggs and pretend there's an Easter bunny AND what would she do if she was a parent?

*This does not go over well.

*Noelle asks if Santa is real.

*Starting to panic I inform her that of course, Santa is real. We would only lie to her about a bunny who brings eggs, but never about Santa.

*I start to wonder what the heck I'm talking about.

*Noelle refuses to talk to us as tears flow freely down her face.

*I am a horrible mother.

*Gavin is still mostly silent.

(Did I mention this is all happening in the car?)

*Upon arriving home, Gavin and I have a short conference and Gavin believes we should "rip the entire bandaid off" and tell her that Santa isn't real either just to get it all over with. Why not?

*We both lay down with Noelle and Gavin gently starts to explain the story of St. Nicholas and how he was a great man, but Santa is not real.

*SOBBING begins.

*While sobbing, Noelle says, "I wish you never told me!" "Why did you lie to me?" and tells us that she always asks if Santa and the Easter Bunny are real because she loves to hear us tell her that they are.

*I begin questioning every decision that I've ever made as a parent.

*Noelle informs us that she believes that we are the crazy ones who don't believe anymore and that we are just imposing our lack of faith on her.

*Noelle cries more.

*Trying to figure out a way to travel back in time to take it all back, I desperately and silently mouth the words to Gavin, "Can we tell her we were joking?"

*Gavin pauses for a few seconds and then sheepishly blurts out, "April Fools?"

*Noelle stops crying.

*In awe that this desperate ploy might actually work, I awkwardly say, "We were just joking!" and explain how we had forgotten to play an April Fool's joke on her and this was it.

*Noelle bursts out laughing like I have never heard before in my entire life.

*Gav and I stare at each other in disbelief.

*Noelle tells us what a bad joke that was and she is so relieved that it was just a joke and to never, ever do that to her again.

*Don't worry, we won't. EVER.

*Gav and I head to our bedroom and close the door contemplating whether we've just ruined our child or not.

*Still not sure.

Jude's Obsession

2011-04-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

My sweet, quirky little man is known to get "hooked" on things...like Macaroni and Cheese, for instance. The kid has seriously eaten an entire box in one sitting. He asks for it for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and dessert. I'm not exaggerating - he asked for it this morning for breakfast. For his 5th birthday, while the rest of us happily ate pizza, Jude polished off close to two boxes of Mac-N-Cheese served up in a giant mixing bowl. Hey, it was his birthday...AND he's "skin & bones" skinny...AND at least it was the Trader Joe's kind with REAL Wisconsin cheese and Smart Balance instead of butter...I'll just keep convincing myself that it's somehow better for him that way.

He's also been hooked on the Wii. He doesn't really care what game he plays, but as long as the carrot of getting to play is dangled in front of him, I can pretty much get him to do anything I want. I am pretty sure that I'm going to hate life when that doesn't work anymore.

There was also a season where he was attached to Angry Birds on the Iphone and would swipe my phone or Gav's Ipod touch any time we set them down for even a second. He's real quick like that. One time, while sitting in a Dr.'s office I was letting him play Angry Birds and I heard him quietly singing a tune I didn't recognize. Yep, he had even composed his own little ditty to sing along with the game. I don't remember all of the words, but I believe it went like this:

(Sing this in your highest pitched voice as humanly possible and you'll pretty much get the jist)

"I'm just coming at the sun."

"It's a beautiful day to get three sta-ars."

"And don't forget to kill the pi-igs."

"And don't forget to use the white bi-irds."

"It's a beautiful to get three sta-ars."

(I may have just bribed him to sing that to me so he could have a cupcake. Gotta do, what I gotta do, right?)

Jude's latest and my new favorite obsession of his is Hawaii. We went to Hawaii the week after Christmas and he cannot stop talking about it. It is very sweet...but mostly hilarious. Here are some ways he displays his obsession:

Me leaving Target: Well, we're all done with Target!

Jude: Now, can we go to a Hawaii?

Me in the car: Jude, want to go on a trip with Daddy? (To Reno for work)

Jude: To a Hawaii?

Me to the kids: What should we do after we go to the aquarium?

Jude: Can we go to a Hawaii?

Me leaving the grocery store: What should we do tonight guys?

Jude: Let's go to a Hawaii.

Me in the car: Daddy is going to the airport for a trip.

Jude: I need to pack my suitcase for a Hawaii.

Me on a hot, sunny day last week: Do you guys want to go swimming at the pool?

Jude: In a Hawaii?

I keep promising him that we will go again someday. It may have to be sooner than later. I'm pretty sure that I'm okay with that. He's only saying out loud what I'm thinking every second of my life...

This was the suitcase he attempted to pack for our actual trip to Hawaii in December...

Oh my goodness, I love this quirky boy...

Chip-oat-lay

2011-04-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

It may seem like I write about food a lot. It's true. Eating is my hobby...

Chip-oat-lay

(A.K.A. - Chipotle)

Food With Integrity,

That is your motto.

My own integrity is lost,

When I count my calories, though.

Your Barbacoa is always,

calling out my name.

My mouth instantly waters,

I may feel a bit of shame.

Your chips are so very tasty,

With that hint of lime.

I had some of them today,

And they made me want to rhyme.

I drive nearly 20 minutes,

To indulge in my favorite food.

You have Coke Zero in the fountain,

It puts me in a good mood.

When I step up to the counter,

I hate to have to choose.

Tacos, Burritos or salad?

I don't know which to refuse.

The kids adore the carnitas,

And the cilantro-lime touched rice.

For me I'll never change,

Barbacoa will always suffice.

When I've finished off my lunch,

I could really use a sleep.

Once again, I'm stuffed,

The walk to the car, it feels so steep.

A breath mint is in order,

To cover up my stink.

I hope no one tries to talk to me,

They'll pass out, I surely think.

At dinner time I'm still burping,

that salad from my lunch.

This happens every time,

You'd think I'd have a hunch.

You have the best ingredients,

I'll happily pay for that.

My food comes with integrity,

Even though it can still make you fat.

When I wake up tomorrow morning,

And start to plan my day,

I'm sure I will think of Chipotle,

And again, my mouth will water right away.

I'm thankful for self-control,

Or I might be there right now.

Eating another burrito,

and Barbacoa made from cow.

(Seriously, I'm totally full right not, but my mouth is still watering while I'm thinking about it...I may have a problem.)

Missing In Action

2011-04-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

Guess where I've been:

A. Mourning over our latest pet debacle

B. Avoiding the piles of laundry that have been strategically placed all around my house

C. Finally dealing with the piles of poo, overgrown grass and chewed-up dog toys covering what was once a backyard

D. I got sucked into a book and have been neglecting everything else

E. Professional baseball season started, and even though I don't play, it makes my life a lot busier for some reason

F. B, C, D and E

Guess what things I've eaten as meals this past week:

A. Chicken

B. Soup

C. Candy

D. All of the above

Guess what blogpost I'm working on writing, but am getting stuck on it all making sense and being funny like it is in my mind:

A. A bear pooping in the back of my mom's truck

B. The mulch pile

C. Both

Guess what Jude's latest weird noise/tick is:

A. A constant clearing of his throat that sounds like a pig

B. Yep, the answer is A

Guess how many times I've been running this week:

A. 7

B. 5

C. 85

D. 3

E. I've worn running clothes on multiple occasions, but only made it on 1 actual run

Guess how many dreams about me being pregnant have occurred this week:

A. 0

B. 2

C. Yep, 2. But I wish it was 0. Now I'm scared - Even though it would be nearly impossible. Dreams make me nervous.

Guess what book I'm reading and love, but would never in a bajillion years watch it as a movie:

A. Ramona the Pest

B. Unbroken

C. The Princess and the Pea

D. Its B

Guess how many Giants games have been watched by our family this week:

A. 2

B. 3

C. 4

D. This is going to be a loooong baseball season

Guess how happy I am that the sun is out and I'm not in front of the computer/not folding laundry/not doing dishes/wearing shorts and having to shave my legs:

A. Really happy

B. Really, super extra happy

C. So happy that I could cry

D. Meh, who needs sun?

Check out these hooligans...

Answer Key:

1:F

2:D

3:C

4:B

5:E

6:C

7: B or D

8: C and D

9: A, B or C are all acceptable answers

Does a Bear Poop in the Woods?

2011-04-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Throwback:

This is a new section on the blog where I get to tell you an amazing or unbelievable or sad or hilarious or strange story from when I was a wee little one. And you're gonna like it, okay?

My childhood best friend, Maria, recently said something that reminded me about this and I am still a little in awe that it actually happened in real life.

I grew up living at the bottom of a dirt hill. Yup, it is just as glamorous as it sounds. Our house was the last of 4 houses on this long dirt driveway and it sat overlooking a bunch of woods, which overlooked a canyon that had a creek at the bottom. I spent lots of summer days staining my clothes with mud in that creek. As you could probably guess, there were lots of wild animals in those woods. Even bears. I know there were bears because occasionally they would come up to our porch and eat our dog's food and we would stare at them out our front window.

My Mom and Step-Dad are crafty folks. And resourceful. And sometimes cheap (sorry Mom, you know its true). Instead of paying for garbage service to come pick-up our trash weekly, my parents decided to own their own garbage truck, wait till it was full of trash and then drive it themselves to the dump. Crafty, huh? Looks REALLY nice parked in the driveway too! Their garbage truck of choice was a pea soup green 1978 Datsun pickup. It was awesome. It would just sit at the bottom of our hill and wait to be filled with Costo sized garbage bags until it was time to be taken to the dump. This may have had something to do with the bears coming to visit. I also know that the bears liked the garbage because of the discovery of the "bear sized" poop on the roof of the Datsun. I'll never forget that poo and checked it out at least a dozen times because I couldn't believe my eyes.

My Step-Dad has LOVED saying this at least 8,247 times since then:

"Does a bear poop in the woods? Nope, he poops in a Datsun pickup."

Of course...

Here begins the saga of the "Mulch Pile"...

Recently, there's been a large push for people to have "worm bins" or "compost bins", but my folks were WEEEELLLL ahead of the game with the infamous mulch pile. It was a place out in our yard that was fenced off to throw our compostable food and gross stuff that went bad in the fridge. Sounds great, huh? Good for the environment, less garbage to throw in the Datsun, sounds like a win-win, right? Except that the mulch pile was closer to the woods and farther from the house which means that I could be eaten by a bear at any second on my way to deliver the food to the mulch pile. And no one ever thought to take the mulch out during the day. AND, it was just a coffee can or bowl that sat on the counter collecting waste and attracting flies until someone was finally forced to take it out. I'll never forget hearing, "Patty! Take the Mulch out!"...at which point we would often stand as close to the house as possible and try and heave the food as close to the mulch pile as we could, then turn and run as fast as we could back into the house. It was really attractive having a pile of rotting food just sitting there on our counter feeding the flies, but at the risk of being eaten by a bear I would always choose to leave it there. Also, "mulch" just might be the grossest word I've ever heard.

As an adult, I've NEVER regretted having garbage service or a garbage disposal. I LOVE them with all of my heart and will forever be grateful.

Yep, that's the lady who risked my life getting eaten by a bear...

(love you mom!)

The Joke Is On Me...

2011-04-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Happy April Fool's Day! It really feels like Spring now!

First of all, it is H-O-T today, so I am in H-E-A-V-E-N. We are heading to the pool in just a few minutes to bake ourselves and we'll call it "P.E." for the kids today.

I'm happy to report that our lizard finally "kicked the bucket"! Er, I mean...um...Our precious pet, Yoda sadly passed away last week. I was just so excited...er, upset...that I forgot to tell everyone. Not one human in the Brem household was really all that sad. Leopard geckos aren't the funnest pets to have in the world and he had been going downhill for a while - despite my great efforts to keep him alive by pulverizing meal worms in my blender with olive oil and dropping them one drop at a time on his nose. AND Gavin did massage his belly until he pooped. See? We tried! We're not horrible pet owners, despite what the numbers of pet deaths we've racked up this past couple of years may say. I did ask Gavin if we should take Yoda to the local exotic pet veterinarian and he just looked at me like I was insane. I took that as a firm "no". So, we all just watched as Yoda withered away and hoped and prayed his misery would soon end. Too bad he died while we were out of town...our house reeked like a dead lizard when we got home.

No funeral for poor Yoda either. Gavin just tossed him over the fence like Bindi's poo...

At least he fared better than our last lizard, Spike - who just got tossed into the garbage can. We move on quickly here in the Brem home...

So, thanks to Yoda no longer being in need of the hope chest that his cage sat upon...I've been working on a new project!

I love, love, love it. I received this hope chest as a Christmas gift when I was 13 - which means I've been hauling it around for 20 years now! Yikes.

The thing is, I was under the impression for all of these 20 years that it was real wood. As I started working on it, I sadly found out that it was pressed-wood with cherry veneers! Boo.

Oh well, at least it looks pretty now. And instead of housing a lizard aquarium, it will further beautify my bedroom and hold cozy blankets. And I won't feel as bad hauling it around move to inevitable move. Remember how we've moved 9 times in 10 years? We've gotten pretty good at dumping stuff we don't love and/or need.

I feel like I'm winning more than Charlie Sheen right now.

Here it is before...a bit rugged after 20 years...

See that rectangle of dust on the top? That's where Yoda's tank lived...

And VOILA! Here it is all prettied-up...

No more icky gold hardware thanks to metallic spray paint...

Gav brought home some pretty flowers, so I had to try them out...

R.I.P. Yoda

2010-2011

(I know, they're supposed to live longer than that...)