-we heart az

forecast for the weekend:
sunny and warm enough to play with the hose and an occasional cool breeze that'll keep you from going completely naked.
but a high chance you'll flirt with the idea.

-besty

i love still being best friends with the girl i pushed off a bench because she had her arms and knees tucked up into her cheer sweater, in front of a couple hundred people, during the football half time show, 16 years ago.
there was nothing to break her fall.
except for her right shoulder.
and maybe her face.
it was the greatest thing i've ever witnessed/played part in.
and worth getting in our one and only fight.
she didn't stay mad for long.
who could?
i was the happiest mustached, hefty 5'9, fellow cheerleader that gave her rides to lunch daily in my 1986 red chrysler laser (with T tops). that's the kinda friend you'll have for life.

love you mariah. thanks for the fun times in ktown. even if i was always toting around a ziploc bag full of skittles and rebelling against my 3D glasses.

-great gobs of goose shpoop!

every time i plan a trip home with the boys, i do it with the idea that brandon will stay home and work on all the projects he has that he complains he can never get to with all of us around.

and every time i plan a trip home with the boys, he ends up inviting himself and coming anyways.
he says it because he can't stand being without us for that long.
i think it's because he loves feeding the geese, ducks and seagulls at the duck pond.

my dad's a pro poultry feeder.
he makes sure everyone gets their fill and yells at the ones that don't play nice.
it's kinda my favorite thing to watch.

ps- although TOTALLY worth it- anyone got any suggestions for getting poop off my lamby boots?

-katniss and sticky buns.

i am an emotional reader eater.

notice the forming double chin.
it happened with angela's ashes, grapes of wrath, pillars of the earth and the road.
when i read stories where the characters are starving, i feed them. kind of.
i feed me- which makes me feel as though i'm feeding them.
and i feed them well.
katniss and peeta had a daily feast while i was reading the hunger games in kennewick.

enter the greatest pastry shop on the planet:

understated location.
the most incredibly decadent creations from the pastry planet gods.
the treats taste almost as sweet as this boy looks:

i want this little place to succeed.
so here's my glowing stamp of approval- as the unofficial sweets aficionado .
i'm giving it my highest rating on the scale of amazeballs.
ooooo
that's 5 amazeballs.

congrats.

1. sweet and tangy berry fruit bar.
2. my pecan sticky bun
3. my mom's pecan sticky bun
4. my dad's pecan sticky bun
(these are really hard to share)
5. a crusty/chewy/buttertastic croissant
6. a coconut macadamia nut bar on....shortbread

and

7. a warm peach turnover sprinkled with rock sugar

(so warm that the butter between the layers was still melty)

click here for directions

-suck my diabetes

diabetes blows.

since i've been home in kennewick with PLENTY of spare time, i've logged quite a few hours with my naughty Mac doing research on diabetes.

the disease that runs our home.

brandon's had so many "episodes" this past year and i'm needing some answers.

or support.

or maybe both.

ok- here's the deal.

on top of all the obvious medical stresses, i've been frustrated with brandon for what i thought were all undiabetic reasons:

-super crankiness

-constant lack of energy

-impossible to get out of bed in the morning

-rarely in a good mood in the morning

-lack of excitement

-refusal to grow his hair out

these, for the most part, are all symptoms that fellow Type 1 users experience.

so does this mean my cute little boyfriend that i met in a sociology class at UVSC 12 years ago that use to jump out of bed with a "cease the day" attitude is still in that body bound by the relentless disease?

yes!! i think so!! and i'm going to get to the bottom of it.

first thing to research: The Guardian Real Time Glucose Monitoring System.

will his insurance cover it?

will it actually help level out his highs and lows (unlike the pump)?

will he see how thick and amazing his dark hair is and try a longer style for a change?

all things to look into starting monday.

wish us luck.

i'm ready to scissor kick this thing in the knee cap.

ps- i'm dying to get to know ANYONE married to a diabetic.

if you are one, or know of someone, please let me know.

pps- don't you think 25 years with the same haircut is way too long?

-forgive me. i have sinned.

yep.

hometown food is the best.

one- because of the fact that i have to pay hundreds of dollars in air travel and can only get it at most 2 times a year and

two- because it tastes like home and takes me back to high school lunch breaks and prom dates.

every time i come home, i try to double up on the work outs to compensate for the shameless gorging but after a couple of days of that bull crap, i give up and enjoy the food comma that follows the guilt-ridden yumfest.

so if my pants are obscenely too tight when i return to phoenix, i have taco johns, burger ranch, hubby's pizza, casa mia, granny's buffet, yoke's bakery, great grandma's candy dish and the neighbor's tamales to thank.

muchos gracias. snort snort.

ps- i don't care where you're from, i'd love to hear about some of your home town favs, so that i don't feel so alone in my growing muffin topness.

-super busy

kennewick is not boring.

not at all.

this morning my mom and i took the boys on a walk to see if the big black cow had it's baby yet.

nope.

not yet.

on our way home we picked up writhing waterlogged worms and tossed them back into the grass.

we yelled at big black ravens- telling them exactly where the worms were. just in case they were hungry.

we balanced on the yellow dividing lines in the road, being careful not to fall into the hot lava.

we shopped around target for new duplos and a pair of tights.

we ran into my childhood best friend and indiscreetly checked out her tall beautiful children.

we got corn dogs and big "pops" from the new sonic.

we drove around the hills scoping out tomorrow's morning run.

we drove around some more until the boys fell asleep.

we laid around the living room talking about what i should obsess about next in life.

we played with previously mentioned duplos.

we watched great grandma eat sweet soup.

and we haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet.

tonight we're going to granny's buffet and then to chuck e cheese's to play.

how will we ever manage to fit it all in?

:)

i love it here.

-dear arizona

dear arizona,

you know i'm in love with you as a state, right?

well you also know i've never gotten over my first love, washington.

eastern washington, to be specific.

i went running this morning along a dry canal bank, through bare orchards and up and around slightly frosted roads. the scenery was dull, dark and simply beautiful.

i haven't taken off my uggs in over 48 hours and i've had my mom's warm barley soup for dinner and then lunch again. the boys have been trying out this new "socks and gloves" thing and i think they're finally getting the concept.

i miss your glorious blue skies and generously sunny january days but i'm reallllly enjoying the feeling of flannel sheets and a hot mug full of cinnamon apple tea. (enough to stay up and watch julie/julia AND post a blog afterwards- from bed).

please take care of my lonesome lew while i'm being loved and spoiled by my warmblooded parents.

sincerely,

heather

-all my bags are packed.....

i love to pack.
ha ha ha ha.
so long and loud and clear.
i love to pack.
ha ha ha ha.
so everybody can hear. (ever see mary poppins?)

this song has been in my head alllll day and for a good reason.
we're going home to see my mom and dad tomorrow.
packing is hard.
a) babies and toddlers require a ton of crap.
b) heathers with lots of shoes and cardigans require a ton of room.

but it's done and all that's left is tomorrow's breakfast, a mad case of the "what did we forgets", a 3.5 hour plane ride and a speedy dash over 50 yards of thin airport carpet until we're finally in my parents' loving arms.

but guess who's getting left behind.......

what will lew do with all of the extra time without his babies and woman?
probably continue to surf the web for another pair of onitsuka asics
(which he's been doing on his computer the ENTIRE time i've been editing photos, blogging, watching american idol and checking my facebook 9 times)

see ya later alligators!

-n b dizzle

some things are just exciting.
i received this flier in the mail last week:
it's a promotion for my faaaavorite arizona salon.
cute right?
i was a little bummed that they didn't use my brother as a model UNTIL i realized something...... that's my photo of the male model!!
remember this shoot?

that's right.
i made it to print.
i squealed like an idiot in the middle of the kitchen.
it's the weirdest feeling of accomplishment which, to most, i'm sure seems insignificant.
but to me, the fact that thousands of people throughout the greater phoenix area looked at my work before they pitch it into the recycling bin is exciting.
EXCITING!!
(doesn't the capitalization get you pumped?)

that's all.

-welcome two oh ten

i love the beginning of a new year.
it's probably my favorite time of the year.
i think it's mostly because i get a running start at some of those goals i've had weighing on me.
and although most resolutions may seem cheesy or cliche- i take them pretty seriously.
so here's a few of mine. for reals.
1. run less- swim and bike more. this is the year that my nonpregnant body needs to start doing tri's.
2. hose down this sty. having 2 kids isn't getting any easier and the house sure isn't getting any cleaner. i step over the same dried splat of milkshake every day. this is the year it's getting scrubbed.
3. punch diabetes in the face. that freaking disease has ruled our household for way too long. i'm going learn more, find support, and become more active in the monitored sugar, needley world. and maybe blog about my findings and revelations. we'll see.
4. fine tune the photography. i feel like last year was all about "sure i have a camera!! sure i'll take your pictures!! sure i'll edit them and send them back in way too short of time!!" and now i'm all about "sure i'll maybe probably possibly do your pictures if have free time in a couple days, weeks or seasons". i need to be more organized. get my website up. come up with some set prices. and then feel focused and concentrated on one shoot at a time.
5. love my babies and my husbands as much as they can handle me. (sometimes i'm overbearing).
aaaaand-
6. always smell good.

and if i could spend most of 2010 with dirty pants from playing with my boys, that would be great too.

ho. ho. ho. hiccup.

merry merry merry.

yes- we were without blood relatives this christmas season.

no- we were not without an abundance of love, parties with friends and a really drunk santa.

jo and dean had us over to celebrate a little bit of the birth of our savior and a lotta dean's italian cooking skills. good heavens, that man's linguine and clam sauce is so good, baby jesus didn't mind the averted attention.

the kids played and ate and got to stay up extra late because scheduled santa forgot to make his stop and by the time we got a hold of him, he was already back at the north pole with his boots off, sipping a hard eggnog and from what it smelled like, mowing through a pack of dirty cigarettes.

good thing he's motivated by dean's dangling cash carrot and has the ability to drink and guide the sleigh because he made it to the party just before the babies called it quits and gave into their drooping eyelids.

"is santa really caressing my waistline and pulling me in a little too close?"

"yep. he is. and jonelle's getting the same st nick action on her side too"

dean, breana, jonelle and brody

as the mother of 2 boys, i REALLY need to figure out how to work a transformer

really santa? your arms are on our shoulders now? like we're drinking buddies?

this picture is so amazing. i'm going to have to blow it up.

"mom? if santa gives me a present, can i give him some minty fresh gum?"

brea figured him out long before the rest of us. she kept a good 20 feet away at all times

which i'm sure was part of his probation anyway.

it was a great year-

thanks jo and dean.

you've made us feel so at home with you.

we love you and can't wait to do it again next year- wasted santa and all!!

-sMac down

i'm trying to learn how to use the new mac brandon got me 3 months ago.
it's not going well.
i created a pretty crappy christmas video montage and would post it if i could figure out that damn computer.
he got me free tech support for the rest of my life from some mac expert that lives in phoenix.
i met with the man for 20 minutes and knew that i would never be able to sit in the same room ever again with: him, his 12 cats, his weird dyed sideburns, his everlast work out pants, his disgusting nervous laugh and his sappy love voice with his big dumb creepy boyfriend.
the search is over.
i have found my nemesis.

so here i am with a gorgeous laptop and no idea how to use it (the online mac tutorials don't allow me to ask heather questions- "so, how do i save crap and stuff?")

i'm all about bill gates right now.