one lining please. color? silver!

i am happy to give you all this quick update on my truck meets van incident.  the insurance claims lady called and said that the damages were very little and that they were probably under 500 bucks.  but here comes the best part:  when we asked about the claim G told the lady that the people were just so nice and that we're just happy to get it fixed for them.  the lady said that that was the same thing they said about us!  and, they are now big fans of missouri! sometimes when you do the right thing you find yourself wondering what the point is.  it's nice to have an answer sometimes.  perhaps... could it be that the sever family is changing the world?  one car accident at a time!

ding. dong.

gareth got a new truck on friday.  it is just about the dopest, raddest truck i've seen.  it is a black decked out honda ridgeline.  so saturday i went to dixie to pick it up and drive around town with lilli.  and then i went to park it back at dixie and.... well.... rubbed the brand new van parked next to me.  yeah.  and dinged up the side of the truck a bit.  i could give you the billion excuses for this.  here are a few: * the honda truck is actually pretty chunky but when you drive it, it feels like a tiny car.  (so, it's hard to judge the pure fatness of the truck when pulling into a space)  * i was parking at the same time as the guy next to me was and he was over in my spot... he evidently knew that because when i got out to handle my "rub" he and his family decided to return to their car and leave.  * i am a pregnant lady.  does that count for anything?  well, that is the reason why i was sobbing.  turns out that they were nice people.  gareth went out there to wait for them to return to their van after the show.  our insurance wont go up since we've had em for awhile and it'll probably be less than 500 bucks to fix since it is a thin strip of paint removed from the bumper.  it is about the same as if you opened your car door and hit the person next to you.  this is something i could have easily just left without doing anything.  esp. since that has happened to me.  someone dented my bumper in and took off.  i just sort of shrugged it off, but had it been my brand new car i'd been... very upset.  as for the dent in G's truck, it has to go into the honda dealer anyway to have a couple other dents removed so we'll just throw that one in.  it's not big so we'll see.  i am so happy everything worked out surprisingly perfect.  i was just so sad yesterday.  i felt worse because gareth was so sweet about it.  (really, could anyone imagine him not being so kind about something like that?) so then i kept crying because i have such a sweet hub.  lilli kept hugging me, so i kept crying.  a hannah montana concert was on last night and i cried when she sang "nobody's perfect" i'm a freak, dudes. 

but on a happier note, lilli turns 3 soon!  aug. 4th.  we have no plans this year except that i want to take her shopping all day and then to dixie.  i'll make her a cake but this month flew by and i just ran out of time to get a party set up.  i was going to invite a couple of her pals and moms to go with us to dixie but i believe i will save that up for next year.  i can't believe how sweet and girlie she is.  she loves all jewelry that sparkles and pink and getting her nails done and the jonas brothers.  i am also making her a dance bag.  bright pink and sparkly.  

above are some pictures:  lilli took the one of me and G.  please try not to notice my chubby face.

hey girlie!

we found out last week that we are having a girl again!  at first i was shocked because, much like last time, i thought we were having a boy.  after a few hours of shock, i am totally TOTALLY excited to have another teeny girl!  i just can't wait to meet her.  i think it's so cute that it'll be gareth and a house of girls.  lilli calls her Noey because her name will probably be Sanoey.  or Sanoii.  i love the way our friend Kodii Moriuchi spells her name, so i'm leaning more towards sanoii.  why not have a rad spelling since most people will think her name is snowy.  i just love lilli so much and to add another person to love like this... sheesh, i must have done something right in my past to be so lucky.  

lilli is all better from the whole strep throat situation.  hot doggies.  she sort of turned into someone i didn't recognize.  cranky.  poor tiny girl.  but the real lilli has returned and i am sooooo happy.  she's chowing down on a quesadilla  (much like her daddio) and being silly right now.  the other night she decided to give me a massage as i was falling asleep.  a real massage.  how did we end up with such a sweet little monkey?  we took her to the springfield mall and she hit the jackpot with a bunch of very girlie things.  the best thing is that she loves to brush her hair now thanks to breanna who is staying with us and is the girliest of all girlies!  we just love her.  she works a lot so we look forward to her getting off work or waking up in the morning.  i'm glad her parents let her stay!

let's see, what else... oh i went to the new ben n jerry's at the landing 3 times last week.  so?  i also got a pair of chaco sandals.  bomb diggity.  they are completely adjustable which is good since my feet have been swelling.  google them.  they'll change your world!

i started planning our off season trip to the west coast.  january will be good to travel since the new baby will be tiny and sleep a lot.  i'll get to see my big sister and her family in the san francisco area and also to oregon to see gareth's family.  i'd like to be gone for the whole month.  if anyone has any ideas for an adventure let me know!  if anyone wants to join us, let me know!  perhaps we could rent an RV!  if anyone has an RV, let me know!

the people have spoken.

... and they want to hear the "my best friend broke both wrists" story!  sorry becca, here goes!

it was a beautiful summer saturday.  garage sales aplenty.  we were young and free.  we each had garage sale cash in our pockets and a set of perfectly functioning wrists.  becca and i had never roller bladed, so when we each found a pair of roller blades for the low price of 5 american dollars we could barely get home fast enough.  with visions of skating along gareth while he skateboarded and our new ripped bodies we would have from our new way of exercising we eagerly put on our new  skates.  

roller blading is hard.  we were trying to skate around our kitchen and we could never let go of the counter.  in the midst of the falling we decided we were ready to take this outside.  this is where the story gets blurry for me.  it seems like the smart thing to do would have been to skate on the driveway until we became pros or at least until we stopped falling.  but somehow we both decided that we were ready to go down a hill.  a hill that gareth and i would regularly street luge on our skateboards.  but would never do it standing on a skateboard.  but the summer wind was calling me and becca.  i followed becca up the hill.  i looked ridiculous.  i was pretty far behind her taking baby steps up this hill, then rolling back a little.  i remember thinking about taking my roller blades off until i reached the top.   and then...  

a blond flash streaked down the hill past me.  i immediately thought "woah... uh oh".  she was pretty much going down the middle of the street.  and bless her heart, she was reaching out for every mail box she passed.   i started giggling about that since obviously there was no way she'd be able to grab one.  and then it happened.  she landed in our front yard.  she tried to catch herself and put her arms back straight behind her.  my giggling turned to laughter because i am a major jerk and didn't realize she was hurt.  i made my way down the hill which wasn't very far for me because i couldn't really get up the hill in the first place.  poor becca.  we went in the house and got all of the rocks out of her hands.  and basically after a visit to the ER and then a follow up check she was in 2 bright green casts.  poor becca.  strangers were always walking by her saying "did you break BOTH of your arms?"  "why?" "how?"  poor becca.  but on a lighter note, whenever i think about her speeding down that hill.... i giggle.  a lot.  

she and i have a bunch of stories like that.  not bone breaking ones, but the mere reminder of these moments have me laughing.  like when our friend Eddy was over and singing something like henry the eighth i am i am and becca thought for no reason at all that he was singing the chili's theme song and chimed in with " bar b que sauce "  the lesson learned from that is to never give eddy something to make fun of you about.... okay, and me.  

or how mad she'd get at me when she'd be driving and i would sneakily put a boogie on her gear shift so when she'd put it in park, well, she'd get a boogie on her hand.  and i'd get a bruise leaving punch in the arm.  

isn't it great having a best friend?  or 2 or 3.  these people in your life are the cherry on top.  a funny hilarious cherry on top.

falling asleep with a cheesy grin on my face.

these past few days little Lilli has been under the weather.  it is double unfortunate because her buddies are in town!  the highlight of her ickies was last night.  she got to feeling "just great mom"  and put on an outfit and brought me my  sandals and announced that we needed to go to the store.  it was 10pm.  in our family that is not late at all.  so, we hopped in the car and headed to the only place open at 10pm.... the brand spanking new supercenter.  i actually dread going to that place but it is the only place that i can get cake decor stuff until michaels opens.

i turned the radio on and flipped through the stations and my heart skipped a beat.  John Secada was on.  he was pretty big in the 90s and used to be part of miami sound machine.  the best thing about his music is that it is very easy to belt out.  lilli was in such a great mood that she didn't "ask"  me to stop singing!  a song from the good ol' days of early high school is just the best.  which brings me to the point of this blog entry.  here lately i have been falling asleep giggling.  ya know, thinking of stories that are just hilarious in my mind.  and i'd like to share a few with you.  and they have to do with some of you as well.

Lunch With John Secada... well...

on my last trip to new york city, my close friend kim and i kept running (following and sneakily taking pictures)  into "stars".  we had just sat down to eat our glamourous lunch of wendys at the airport when a family sat right next to us.  like at the end of our table.  the lady had a huge rock on her finger and seemed wealthy but down to earth.  her 2 kids were cute.  they were eating wendys too.  (it was a food court)  the dad showed up eating sushi.  i smiled at him and he smiled back.  kim and i finished our salads, just kidding our enormous fried chicken sandwiches and biggie fries, and were sitting there chatting when it hit me that i was sitting next to john secada.  i tried to whisper to kim what i had just discovered but i am sure i was obvious.  the next dumb thing i did was even more obvious.... she didn't know who he was (which many of you might not know who he is as well)  so i started whispering/humming one of his songs............ while sitting next to him.  like a freak.  and then we began to be like-is that him? yes. wait, no.  stop, he's looking at you.  so are his kids. so i got my phone out to try to take a picture of myself with him in the background but he was too close.  then it became quite obvious that he was indeed the real john secada when people came up asking for his autograph and getting pictures with him.  when we got up to leave i gave one quick glance and he gave one last head nod.  looking back i know that he heard me the whole time humming his songs and telling kim that i'll just sneakily take a picture of him!!!  if you're reading this john:  i'm a huge fan and i just bought a bunch of your songs off itunes.  and i'm a weirdo!

up next:  when your best friend breaks both wrists.  and its hilarious!

i love this cake!

i had the opportunity to do this sculpted cake for a birthday party.  i must say that i am extremely happy with the result.  there are a lot of tricks to the trade to learn.  the best advice that one cake lady said was that this is a fun art form to do.  a cake.  that will be eaten.

and fun it was.  gareth was off from work and our other family is in town and watched the cake being made.  i actually work better with an audience.  i tend to over think stuff when i'm working on some things alone.  and gareth is the best of course, at speaking up with ideas and helping.  i guess i'll have to start charging enough for him to quit dixie stampede so he'll be around for every cake!  i feel like this is something that i really want to do.  no fancy serious wedding cakes, but celebration cakes for people  with a sense of humor.  which is who this birthday cake is for.  she had reconstructive surgery on her ankle and can't play sports next year.  i hope she likes it as much as i liked making it!  (the picture with the dr. pepper is to show how big it is)

also, a new spaghetti cupcake.  one of my favorites so far!