Yay!

It's Friday. That's a good reason to smile.

Yesterday it was a year ago we moved into our house. Man that was a rough day. But hey we got a story out of it. I find I experience a lot of things and most of the time I just walk away with a story. Sometimes a lesson learned.

I'm officially at the halfway mark of the pregnancy. There is a misconception that pregnancy is 9 months. It's actually 10. A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks. I'm at week 20.

I was surprised that news of the tragedy in Bailey, CO made the news in Canada (while it was happening). It's a very upsetting thing, and I don't have any explanation for why sick people do these things. I have a lot of friends who are teachers, I have friends who have kids in school. All I can do is pray that all schools can be safe places.

On a lighter note, I've had I Don't Feel Like Dancin' by the Scissor Sisters playing over and over and over in my head. For two days straight. It's really catchy, and I don't even like the Scissor Sisters.

I'm very excited at the idea that Lexi might come to visit. The plan (before we got pregnant) was for the 3 honorary Kroliks to meet up with some number of Kroliks in NYC, March '07 to help Lexi get settled at school. Obviously not as easy to do with a newborn in tow. But now I may just get time with Lexi after all. Nothing is in stone yet, so we'll see. I hope, I hope.

I guess I'll close with a quote from Gattaca.
Vincent: I'll never understand what possessed my mother to put her faith in God's hands, rather than her local geneticist.

Race For The Cure

Our friends in CA participated in the Breast Cancer walk, and in 10 days, Geoff & Elijah will do the Denver run. Geoff has already reached his goal, but if you'd like to donate, you can do so here.

My mom is participating in the walk being held in Edmonton on Sunday. I am so proud of everyone who has gotten involved on some level, be it participant or supporter.

Oh, Then I'm Not So Bad Off

I read some of Dante's Divine Comedy a while back, but ran out of time to finish it. Roland posted this quiz, so I took it for fun.

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Moderate
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Low
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Purgatory
You have escaped damnation and made it to Purgatory, a place where the dew of repentance washes off the stain of sin and girds the spirit with humility. Through contrition, confession, and satisfaction by works of righteousness, you must make your way up the mountain. As the sins are cleansed from your soul, you will be illuminated by the Sun of Divine Grace, and you will join other souls, smiling and happy, upon the summit of this mountain. Before long you will know the joys of Paradise as you ascend to the ethereal realm of Heaven.

It's Not The Weekend?

You know it's going to be a long week, when it's only Tuesday and I just want it to be Saturday.

Elijah is going through a frustrating phase. The doctor has been warning me since 15 months that the terrible twos could start anytime. He's definitely in them. I know it's not as bad as it could be. We have boundaries and limits that we've set in place early, so I hope we'll survive this.

Saturday night we did UFC and it was pretty cool. The fights were better this time. The next UFC is October 14, and Athena is cool with us having people over for it. :) It is more fun to watch in a group.

Sunday, worship was excellent at church. Geoff did some much needed chores, and I got to have a nap in almost complete silence. It made for a very nice weekend.

I don't have a lot else going on. Just keeping it low key, saving my energy for Athena's visit (two weeks!). I am borrowing a double stroller from Myrna and Amy is lending me her playpen for Stephanie to sleep in. So I think we'll be set.

On the tv front, Studio 60 was really good last night, better than the pilot. House airs tonight (and the episode looks awesome), then it's off until Oct. 31 so Fox can show baseball. The Contender ends tonight, I'd put my money on Forbes. Y'know if I had money to gamble. G4 is showing reruns of Arrested Development, which cracks me up. And next year, they'll be showing the animated Spaceballs show. Cool!

I'll close with a quote from Arrested Development.

Lucille: You tricked me.
Michael: I *deceived* you. "Tricked" makes it sound like we have a playful relationship.

Not My Cat, She's Great

Tasty

Oh man, we are so eating at Jim 'N Nick's all the time! The food was excellent. Geoff said he could go there and just smell the air. When we left we smelled like we'd be sitting by the campfire.

Since it was free and we wanted to get a good feel for the food, we ordered the half dozen cheese biscuits to start. I had the chicken fried chicken (which is essentially, fried chicken) with baked beans and fries. Brown gravy too! Geoff ordered the half rack of baby back ribs, with baked beans and collard greens. He would have liked to have the creamed spinach, but as I'm sure you've heard, you can't eat spinach anywhere right now. Our meals also came with cheese biscuits. Elijah just shared our food, and it was a fine place to bring kids. He got two purple balloons (asked for purple himself). For dessert, they brought us chocolate pie (they were out of pecan). They gave us a fake bill at the end so we could see what that meal would cost.

I told Geoff I want to go for my birthday. It was just a really neat place, and boy oh boy, I could have gone there for dinner that night. It officially opens on Tuesday. They are going to be popular I'm sure.

Now that the weather is definitely Fall, we'll start making those yummy comfort foods. Like baked macaroni, and stew. I love Fall.

Friday's Random Ten

Fell On Black Days - Soundgarden
It's My Life - No Doubt
Anything, Anything - Dramarama
I Love Rocky Road - Weird Al Yankovic
Float On - Modest Mouse
Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand
Canadian Skye - Spirit Of The West
The Humpty Dance -- Digital Underground
Under My Thumb - Rolling Stones
Got Your News - Easily Amused

In The Event Of An Actual Emergency...

Don't rely on the police.

What?

Sigh. (shaking my head) I left the house for 5 minutes, and the alarm went off. The alarm company called Geoff, who had no idea I wasn't home, and said yes, send the police. So he called me and told me go home, the police are coming. What happened? It's a frustrating story I don't want to divulge. Needless to say, I spent 45 MINUTES waiting for the police to show, in the cold. I couldn't wait in the car, Elijah was crying and it was starting to drive me batty. He hates being in the car, strapped in if we aren't moving. So the police finally show up, and I explain to them what happened, and I show them my ID to prove this is my house, and I am able to go get Geoff and have to push my errand until after I get him. It made for a later than scheduled evening, so we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner.

This is why Geoff wants a gun. Because if we get a burglar in the middle of the night, and the alarm doesn't scare him away, Geoff wants the security of being able to defend his family. You know, rather than wait 45 minutes for the cops to show up and do something.

In my experience the fire dept is much faster. We live down the road from a fire station, so I know they are our firefighters. Where we live we sort of border two cities, so we're not sure the correct police dept is being sent.

I can't totally agree with Flavor Flav. But 911 is a joke, sometimes.

Free Food Tastes Best

quote from Tennille

Amy & I were at caribou (shock!) and as we were leaving I noticed the parking lot at Jim 'N Nick's BBQ was packed. So we swung by and a guy in an apron was in the parking lot. I asked, when do you guys open? He said the 26th, but hey wanna come by for a free meal on Friday? Uh, yeah! So I got a coupon for a free meal, up to 6 guests. Amy got one too, and we got menus to look over. A free southern bbq lunch? Does life get any better?

Hopefully Geoff will be able to get some time off to join us. I'm pretty excited. I don't think I've ever had a southern bbq before.

Sorry to make you all hungry and drooling.

TV Land

So I watched the Studio 60 premiere on Monday night. It was pretty good (I loved that Felicity Huffman was on). I had some problems keeping track of who did what job, but perhaps it'll be more clear next week. I don't know if I can say I'm committing it to "must see tv".

The Contender was good, I'm glad K-9 is gone, and I had hoped Bravo would have beat Brewer. But it will be Forbes (my pick to win) vs. Brewer.

House was awesome, as usual. I am very interested in seeing where this plot with the underaged girl will go. Also, when is Cuddy's search for a donor going to pick up again?

Zach Braff has said he's leaving Scrubs after this season. Will the show go on without him? Who knows, but I'd tune in to see how it fairs without J.D.

Saturday night is UFC fight night (again). We're having anyone over who wants to watch, so if you're interested and will be in town, email us. :)

I'll close with a quote from Scrubs.

Elliot: J.D., I really don't wanna do this. Can't we just go home, and put on our PJ's, and watch "Grey's Anatomy"?
J.D.: Oh, I do love that show. It's like they've been watching our lives and then just put it on TV.

On The Spiritual Front

I've been having a lot of convicting the last two weeks. While it sucks feeling so guilty, I know this will purify me and make me stronger. I feel like God is constantly pressing me to take the steps to maturity, and I want to pout like a child, feet firmly planted.

It was helpful to have Cate here holding me accountable to my words (thanks). I know the words Jesus wants me to say, and my sinful human nature wants to add the words, "but you've hurt me" to each sentence.

Just continue to pray for me. Because I know when I do take those steps, they will eventually be followed with an attack. The devil sucks.

Get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy.
--1 Peter 2:1

Baby News

In case you didn't know there is a blog for the new baby. We got a new ultrasound. So for baby news, go here.

And an apology to my friends... I'm keeping secrets now. Thanks for understanding.

Papa's Birthday

My dad would have been 56 today. I miss him.

Free Ice Cream?

Mark your calendars, Coldstone is giving away free ice cream on Thursday, Sept. 28, from 5-8pm. Yumm-o!

To Make You Laugh

Pouty Face

I'm sad Cate & Kaisara are gone. It was a wonderful, lovely visit, and too short. Left us wanting more. We never made it down to Garden Of The Gods, but we did go to Castle Rock and Boulder. Pictures from their visit are up on shutterfly, and I'm sure Cate will get pictures up soon too. I miss them, but we'll see them again in a few months. Now I have a small reprieve before Athena & Stephanie come.

Have a few things going on this week. Thursday I have my doctor appt, Saturday Geoff has a men's group meeting and then I am going stampin'. We'll be making Christmas cards. Probably not enough for all the cards I send out, so I may have to find time to make some on my own.

House was fantastic last night, I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud that much watching it. I need to get seasons one & two on DVD.

I read that Jim Carrey & Steve Carell are (sort of) reuniting in an animated version of Horton Hears A Who. It'll be interesting to see. I don't think I've read that book. Isn't that odd?

Well, I'm going to sign off. I'll close with a quote from last night's House.

House: "Why don't I have high-def in my office? I'm a department head."

Little Purple Petticoat

I was inspired by Cate's look, to be daring, but subtle.

It's Chilled Plum. I love it! Next time, I'm going more bold.

Thanks Cate!

Godfather Bonding

Kaisara & Elijah

Quickie Post

I'm having the best time with Cate & Kaisara (no surprises there). Last night for dinner Kaisara made enchiladas for us. I've never had that before, and it was a different flavor for me. We've gone to Cherry Creek, Peet's, Le Peep, and played cribbage and blackjack. We're gonna take a trip out to Garden Of The Gods before the visit ends. But mostly we're just hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

Thursday, But It Feels Like Friday

I just can't a grip on the days of the week.

I'm feeling much better, just feeling typical pregnancy aches. I'm anxiously awaiting our visitors (less than 7 hours), and I have some stuff to do before they come. I'm taking Cate up on her offer to not make a big deal about the state of the house. :) I am watching Caley for a little bit this afternoon so Amy can get a haircut. Later we'll go pick Geoff up from work and have dinner at Fatburger before we go to the airport.

Tuesday night's babysitting session went swimmingly (piece of pie). Caley went to bed as soon as I got there, so all I had to do was watch tv. I watched the season premiere of House (sooo happy it's back, if only for a month), and I watched Contender (don't get me started on that).

I got Jeeves & Wooster out of the library to watch, and we got through two episodes. It's entertaining, but I didn't think I'd have time to go through the whole series.

I have to get back to my day. I'll close with a quote from The Whole Ten Yards.

Lazlo: Now you go in and you grab him. You go in and you grab him. Now what do you do?
Strabo: I go in and...
Lazlo: And grab him. Now what do you do?
Strabo: I go in and I grab him.
Lazlo: Piece of pie.
Strabo: No. It's cake.
Lazlo: What did I say?
Strabo: Pie.
Lazlo: And what did you say?
Strabo: Cake. No, pie.
Lazlo: Piece of pie.

Tuesday, But It Feels Like Monday

Last night I finally got a good night's sleep, the two nights before that I don't know what was going on. I dreamt last night it was Christmas time, and I woke up with some song I was writing in my head. It's gone now, the melody. But I was working on it with Harry Connick Jr. Perhaps he'll remember it and record another Christmas album (if you don't have his two Christmas albums, you're missing out). Just to make everyone groan... it's 112 days until Christmas!

I've been nursing a sore throat on and off for about 3 or 4 days. My allergies are also really bad right now, September is the worst for me. So I figure the sore throat is probably due to that.

Tonight I may end up playing babysitter to Caley. That's if she & Shaun are feeling better. Then Amy & Shaun will babysit Elijah one night and Geoff and I can go out. Little Caley loves Elijah, she gets so excited when she sees him, or if Amy says they are going to come see us. Sunday night they came over for dinner, and she was crying, until Elijah walked over to her. She instantly stopped crying, and he tried to rock her in her car seat. But he moved out of her vision, and she starting crying until he looked back at her. It was the sweetest thing.

We got a lot of chores done this weekend, now we can relax and wait for Cate & Kaisara to get here Thursday night. I caught up with my family on the phone, and everyone is well. Mom had a good time in Vegas, and thanked me for the tip I gave her about the mermaid. She won some money too.

I'm starting to panic about crafty projects I've put off for too long. I wonder if I will have time to complete them post-baby, so I feel like I better tackle some of them now. But then I feel overwhelmed. Does anyone else feel like that?

Because bad drivers is my pet peeve, I'm closing with this quote from Liar Liar.

Cop: You know why I pulled you over?
Fletcher: Depends on how long you were following me!

Emotional Rollercoaster

Yesterday was a weird day. Elijah was sick, so he was up a total of maybe 3 or 4 hours yesterday, and slept the rest of the day. I went out to get groceries, and I almost cried just because the expiration date on the milk was the same date as my dad's birthday. Later in the evening (and while I was trying to sleep) I was angry/annoyed over something I had no control over (don't feel bad friend, it wasn't your fault). I just feel so scattered. I keep forgetting to put soap in the dishwasher, and then I end up with dirty dishes after I've "washed" them. I'm blaming my pregnancy hormones.

I saw the coolest video, it was Ok Go's Here It Goes Again. Yeah, I'm a little slow catching on to what's new, but at least I know it. Thanks to You Tube, you can check it too.

I got some of my stuff done I wanted to accomplish. We have people coming over, the house is half vacuumed, and oh yeah, Geoff painted for me. :) We just need to do a few touch ups, but I am so happy with it. But it makes the nursery look sad, so we may end up painting that too at some point. Now I get to find things to bring the whole room together.

Didn't make it to church due to Elijah's runny nose, but Geoff went. Last night we watched the Pink Panther (Steve Martin version), so I'll close with a quote from that. Is it worth watching? I dunno, we got it out of the library, so it was worth being free. It had some funny moments though.

Nigel Boswell/Agent 006: Boswell. Nigel Boswell. 006. You know what that means?
Inspector Jacques Clouseau: Yes! You are just one shot away from the big time.