OH JOY! Rapture! Splendid! LOVELY!

Those are the words I have decided to teach ZuLady in place of normal happy/exciting words like...yay! or....Great! or....Fantastic!

But, I cannot take all the credit for this idea. I was inspired.

Awhile back we were spending the day in Santa Monica while Mr. Christensen worked. On his break we went to eat in this amazing outdoor food court.

We took the puppy this particular day, and the amount of attention he draws in is crazy...I've, truthfully, thought about setting up a stand and charging a dollar. I'd probably match what Brons is bringing home easily. JK, babe.

But anyways, so we're eating and this darling, tiny redhead girl comes over. She's smaller than ZuZu but speaks like a Harvard grad with an ah-mazing English accent.

After playing for a bit I ask her, "How old are you?"

She replies in the tiniest most proper English fairy voice you can imagine and says,

"I am two and a half...you have quite a lovely pet."

We start cracking up...then I ask her what her name is and she replies...

"Fennel....like the herb."

Fennel like the herb?!?! BAh! Dying.

It was honestly too much. I wanted to gobble her up. Poor Zu was soo outdone by this other 2.5 year old that I bought her new flashcards the next day.

So, Fennel, if you ever come across this, you have inspired me to teach my daughter funny words, that hopefully she will use in public one day soon. Thanks!

AND NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN!

Happy birthday to my gorgeous mama-in-law, Tammy today!

We LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

some things about her we love:

*she's never died her hair

*She's scared of bugs and creepy things

*shes one the most genuinely happy/excited people I have ever known

*shes the best cook in the World...(real hard to live up to, thanks Tam)

*Sometimes we watch sad things on the Internet together just so we can cry.

*OH! she LOVES Bon Jovi!

*Shes "low-maintenance"...my kinda gal

*She's calls it how she sees it and doesn't take crap.

*She's the sweetest nicest lady around and all our friends and the rest of the Christensen's boys friends think of her like a second mom.....she kinda is, cause she definitely feeds 'em enough to be.

*And finally, she the best mama-in-law and Grandma we could ever dream for.

Love you Tam

Today I hid in a 3x3 laundry closet for 20 minutes.

Just to escape.
To escape my tiny house that seems to be swallowing me whole.

Let me explain....between the barking, the 2 year old whining, the Care Bears theme song blaring, and my favorite HGTV about to start the noise seemed too much. And the constant mess. I feel like all I do is clean....literally all I do is pick up stuff. I cant escape it in this micro studio, and for a brief moment it all became too much.

I thought about locking myself in the bathroom but I've tried that before it doesn't work.....So i hoped in the closet and crammed my body between our stacked washer and dryer and a folded up stroller, on top of some shoes and just sat.

In there, I thought about how ridiculous the whole situation was.....I thought about the reasons I really wanted to put myself in the closet. Its not because of the noise or the mess....although, those are incredibly annoying. I'm realizing how trapped and out of control I feel.

There are so many things I want to do...and really , right now would be the perfect time. But I cant. I don't have a car. I cant go to places I want to go to. Or buy the things I need...I can never even leave this city. Today is Sunday and I couldn't go to church because Bronson works Sundays. That's it. I hate it so much. I feel completely imprisoned because I don't have the freedom of a car. I feel so imprisoned that I imprison my self in a closet.

-And husband is working from 10am to 10pm making me into a single parent 5 days a week.
-And now animals aren't allowed on the roof so we cant go to the pool without a major meltdown
-And were saving all our pennies just to pay for parking....freaking parking.
-And husbands 2 days off/week consist of annoying errands instead of a relaxing work free day.
-And I'm sick of being lonely.
-And theres a supposed "superstorm" hitting CA, where its predicted to rain for 40+days.
-And I really miss grass.
-And children.

So, those are all the things I thought about in the closet. Everything I don't have, and can't do. Which is stupid because I am beyond blessed. I really have so much to be grateful for...and I am grateful. I think I just have bad days like everyone else. I know that in time everything will work itself out and r ight now were just putting in our dues.....sacrificing now in the hopes that we can have an even greater future.

Here's where my day turns around:

Just about an hour ago Zuri was asking me to fill up her baba with cocoa for probably 5 minutes....I was ignoring her the whole time making dinner. Finally she yells,
"Mom, how many timez i gotcha tell ya?! I need a cocoa baba! Right now! You rascal! Stinky ol' RASCAL! ...baybay!"

I was laughing so hard I peed. I kept asking her where she heard "rascal" and "stinky ol'" from, because those are things we certainly don't say,
and she would just say, "I don't know! you...you.... dewey, rascal!"
and then "mama baybay,...LOOK AT ME! you got my stinky ol' baba NOW?"

This all made me laugh even harder. I really have nothing to complain about, especially because of this crazy kid I have to entertain me, but since I came into this blog with the "for better, or for worse mentality", of course I had to share about my closet trip today.

The Perfection Disease

I was reading someones blog and she had linked this post. Its about the Perfection Disease and I think its something everyone should be reminded of and read.

Click HERE!

Happy 100th post and my brother is so cool.

Meet Rory. He is my brother and this is us when we were just weee little munchkins. He totally looks like Yoda.

So, I get a call from Rory today saying he's driving to Boise to open for one of his favorite bands of all time! Theyre called Three drops of Blood...or Three days of Blood...or something totally creepy like that, anyways theyre HUGE in the metal world. I am sooo excited and happy for him and cant even tell you all enough.

He's an amazing guitarist and completely self taught, and even though I dont think he likes to be labeled a singer-he is one. A dang good one. His band is called Threshold and they're kinda blowing up....so watch out world! And remember you heard of him from me first =)

p.s....im hungry.

p.s.s.....10 days is a really long time

p.s.s.s....(if theyre were such a thing) HAPPY 100th POST TO ME! YAY!

p.s.s.s.s.....It probably wouldnt be weird to say "and" a couple more hundred times in this short post.

Ease-in day of The Master Cleanse

So we decided to do the Master Cleanse....this is Bronson's first time and my second. Well I should say my first time too. I attempted it last year but only lasted 3 days, although I remember feeling better than ever with no headaches at all for those three days- I don't remember why I quit. This time were planning to do the full 10.

Wish us luck!

This journey started last week when Bronson was continually complaining about back pain, headaches, and low energy. He's on his feet for 10+ hours a day and never gets to sit down, so his back has taken a brutal beating in the last 2 months. On top of that our diets have gone completely down hill. Probably worse than they have ever been.

We've gotten into the habit of eating the best buttery popcorn while watching our shows late at night. And then we started adding M&Ms to it.... And then we would would be thirsty and have a coke-all around 11pm/midnight.

eeww I'm embarrassed writing that. But, its true. And it gets worse..

Brons eating Chipotle or greasy pizza everyday for lunch, and me finishing off everything Zu lady wouldn't eat so there would be no waste. So all this added up, plus the husbands misery and pain, called for a serious and drastic change. After a trip to the chiropractor and a ton of research we decided this cleanse was whats best way to kick off the change and feel healthy for the both of us.

Today were consuming only Superfood, nuts, and oranges. Me... 1300 calories worth and Bronson 1800 calories worth, so our bodies don't go into starvation mode. Then from here, only fresh organic lemons, organic grade b maple syrup, and Cayenne pepper...all worth 1300 and 1800 cals for 10 days. After that theres an ease-out period of at least three days where you can only eat fresh live foods, and organic soups. You slowly introduce new foods in small increments after that.

I'm letting you all in on our Master Cleanse so maybe we have some accountability...? I don't want to screw this up and although I know its going to be extremely difficult and not fun maybe writing down the process will keep me motivated!

I would love to read any thoughts or experiences any of you might have had with this!

Lately...

Ive become pro at making Costa Vida's Pork Salads. Really, I am the master.

And found old pictures of the fam at LA Live.

Zuri still continues to refuse to wear clothes. She also has started saying even odder things than normal and throwing bigger fits.
example: I put her in time out 2 days ago and instead of her just sitting there and pouting like normal, she full on tried to fist fight me...all the while screaming "this is sooooo WEIRD! time out is soooo WEIRD!"
And she has also decided going peepee is scary this week. ...? ummmm ok zuzu.

And I burnt the crizapp out of my hand on an oven rack. it hurts worse than it looks.

We been going to the pool everyday which I l.o.v.e.

Zuri still wont put Mr. Baloo Bear down..ever.

...and he's starting to nip at her because of it.

Did I mention I had a meltdown and put puppyface up for sale on Craigslist...oops. Well I did. Then we got a hit and almost cried and took him off immediately.

We love you baby Baloo....even if you do pee on my bed spread and whine for us at night.

And finally! I started making this book paper wreath. Its not near finished yet, but I think it will look pretty cool when its done. and oh ya! I started a new book called Unwind. I read somewhere that if your having Huger Games withdrawals its a good substitute. ...and it really is. I like it so far!

Here's what I know for sure right now.

1. I hate how money dictates life.

2. I want to have lots and lots of babies.

3. Reading books is essential.

4. You are not who you used to be.

5. A disorganized house makes my mind and body disorganized.

6. Having your bedroom and family room in your kitchen makes eating food entirely too accessible and easy. (hello extra poundage..and "i swear these pants used to fit")

7. Waking up to a spic and span house makes me 100% more effective throughout the day.

8. What you wear doesnt make you who you are. What you do, does.

9. Education and growth should never stop-constant change is a necessity.

10. The minute you feel comfortable and content is the minute you need to work to make it even better.