Kisses, Coasters & Cuddling

Had some fun stuff going on lately. I won't bore you with a lot of up-front banter, let's just get right into it.

I went to see my boyfriend, Jake, and as you'll see, he made a move on me. This was the first time he tried to kiss me and obviously I was taken off guard a bit, but all in all, I'd say our first kiss was a success.
Then we went to the playroom in Jake's house and I got to ride a roller coaster. For any of you who have been to Six Flags, it was kind of like being on the American Eagle.

And this is my new friend, we're cuddling buddies.

Making A Mess Hall

So I like to fake my Dad out and act like I can't eat by myself, that way he has to sit there and feed me.

Well, one night he was doing this silly airplane thing with the spoon and I just got tired of the whole deal and I was like, "Dad, you do know I can eat by myself, don't you?" He didn't buy it, thought I was joshing him, so I reminded him that I had been over in 'Nam and had my fair share of grub in the mess hall.

Dad got a good laugh when I told him about Louis Spaccarelli, from Jersey - every night at dinner Spaccs would snort whatever was on his plate up his nose and it'd come out of his mouth - green beans, carrots, pork chops, you name it. He's since settled down, moved to Salt Lake City and apparently he just does popcorn kernels now, makes his kids giggle. Just thinkin about old Spaccs makes me smile.

Thought I'd show Dad how me and the Boys used to do it back in '68 in Hai Phong; we'd get so hungry we'd eat the bowl. Oh, and for those of you that live in a cave: Hai Phong is a city with a population of about 825,000 people that lies in the northeastern part of Vietnam, along the water about 100 miles north of Thai Binh.
Is my mouth stuffed in this next photo? Yes, if this bothers you apparently you've never eaten in a mess hall and heard the pre-dinner prayer "Amen, Holy Ghost, eat the fastest and get the most." Well, you have now.

Dad's Elementary Library

So I get done reading "The World Is Flat" by Thomas Friedman and I'm rolling around the house and I come upon Dad's book collection.

What the... ?

I mean, "Where's Spot?" and then this monkey who looks like he's had 14 beers comes out from behind the door and screams, "Not in here!" while he's laughing and scruffing down a banana? Dad, I know this reminds you of a Saturday night at Marquette, circa 1998, but trying to relive your college years through this is a bit much.
Oh, not sure if you guys are aware of my mad baseball skills... this one went for a triple.

The Birthday Heisman

Okay, so it was my first birthday, and I had a huge party that was a lot of fun and now I can finally be measured in years instead of months. My next post will be filled with all my birthday pics, but this one is going in a little different direction.

I'm a big college football fan and a lot of people might not know that. So while I was at the table with my first birthday cake someone asked me if they could have a piece and I gave them The Heisman. The Heisman is a pose that you strike when someone asks you something or tries to make some sort of move towards you and you want no part of it. They call it The Heisman because you telling someone to back off resembles the dude from The Heisman Trophy giving a defender a stiff arm.

You may or may not have seen the trophy that is given each year to college football's best player, so here it is.

And here's a shot of Desmond Howard, yee of Michigan fame, who used to score touchdowns and then pose in the Heisman trophy pose.

And here's me... notice the resemblance. The difference between Desmond and me is that I will never play tackle football at the university level, but that doesn't mean I can't strike the pose when someone's going for my frosting.

Eli's Plastic Lid Trick

Oh man, my cousin Eli is so funny. He does this trick where he puts a plastic lid to a bowl on his head and then just drops it off the back, and man does it crack me up. Check it out, and somebody call Letterman.

While You Weren't Looking

So there have been some great moments over the past couple months that you might've missed because, well, I didn't post them.

Here's Dad reading me stories at the end of the night. This book is about Cordorouy's Birthday. His friends get all crazy and surprise him with a birthday party, it's pretty radical. I, however, will never have a surprise birthday party thrown for me because my Dad is a Ninja and I have obtained some of his Ninja ways, and Ninjas don't get surprised by anything.

Here, Eli, you put on my sock and I'll put on your shoe. Let's hit the road.

This is a game we play, Dad thinks of a song and then I play it... he's having a rough time coming up with one in this photo. You know what he chose after finishing this thought? Josh Groban! Josh Groban! I mean, seriously, Dad, you can't rock out on this piano with Josh freakin Groban! If you see an L at any point in the next 30 seconds it stands for Lame, and it belongs to my Dad; please return it to him.

Man, this whole walkin thing is gonna be soooooo cool.

I'll tell ya what else I really love, it's a snack before bed. I mean, bananas, yogurt, deep dish pizza with crushed red peppers, cordon bleu. You name it - I'll eat it, and I'll have a good time doing it.
Wait, did you hear Marquette is ranked in the Top 8 in the nation and they look like Final Four material? Sombeody cue the Marquette fight song and get the car started. I've got my hat on and we're headin for Milwaukee!

We are family - I got all my sisters and... well, I don't really have any sisters but you get the point.

To Lower Wacker And Beyond!

Many years ago when I was a little tike I had a group of toys that I just loved. They kept me company during the day and calmed me down those nights when Dad wouldn't sleep and was up crying all the time... oh wait, that was me, nevermind.

Anyway, these toys were like living creatures, like in Toy Story, only instead of Woody's "Somebody poisoned the watering hole!" or Buzz's "To Infinity and Beyond!" I had Oliver the Octopus who recited the colors of the rainbow... in three languages - English, Spanish and French. "Red, Vert, Amarillo," Oliver would say, and I was content.

Well, when we moved we put my box of toys behind Nana's couch because 1) she had a million toys to play with and 2) we didn't want to get any confused with hers and lost in the shuffle. The other morning Nana was looking for me when she came in the Great Room... and I had found my friends.

I spent hours in the box. I enjoyed it so much that I figure if I ever go homeless I don't think I'll even mind. I'll have my hair to keep me warm and my box to live in. In fact, if anyone's looking for me I'll be down on Lower Wacker Drive. Take that, Buzz Lightyear!