oprah and i have something in common after all

Once, I heard about an author who spurned Oprah's invitation to include his book in her book club and so of course I had to go right out and read it. Notwithstanding it was a terribly pretentious pick (The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen), I have nothing but respect for someone with such principles.

I just finished reading (well, technically, listening to) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, which I learned halfway through was a pet book of Oprah's.

And yet I was unmoved.

If you've talked to me within the last three weeks, I've undoubtedly already recommended this book to you. For everyone else, I'm recommending it now. It was fantastic.

for the love of craigslist

Peeps has been launching herself in and out of her crib, so we found a used toddler bed online. This is her on her first night--completely thrilled. So far, there have been no issues with her staying in when she should be sleeping. Of course, this may be linked to the fact that she can't open her door.

Little Lucy Bug is sprouting two teeth on the bottom.
So, we bought her this exersaucer. Another craigslist special.
She doesn't quite love it yet, but I think she will once her grabbing skills improve.

Peeps started swimming again. This time she's in the water without mom. Pretty much the only one in her class who doesn't cry. Here she is with Miss Karen.

Shannon & Andrew came down for a few days from their new home in L.A. They left this morning :(
Thanks for the visit!

home

So, we went to Utah last week. Mostly because I can never stand to go a summer without experiencing my parents' backyard.

We blessed Lucy
(in what I thought was my old blessing dress, but actually turned out to be Miley's...)

had a cookout

and a picnic in the canyon (in spite of my dad's great objection to both activities).
The girls saw a horse poop in the parking lot and couldn't stop talking about it for days.

This picture pretty much tells the story of the Peeps/Canyon dynamic. Penelope inadvertently smothered her cousin most of the time, which was really funny to everyone but Canyon.

Anyway, for all my youthful determination to leave my hometown, I'm finding now that I sort of wish I lived there...

my own personal women's lib movement

I cut my hair. And though it may not be my most flattering style to date, it has certainly been the most liberating--an outward manifestation of some brewing inner rebelliousness.

A lot of people have termed the haircut "brave" or "fun," which mostly I take to be code for "yikes!" Still, I absolutely love it. And, let's be serious, as a girl who pulls her hair back 99 days in 100, from the front it looks pretty much the same as it always has.