hocus pocus.

Here is that Silver Apples song that I was referring to in the last post. Catchy, non? Complete with footage of Henry golfing it up, summer style. It is bizarre how he intuitively grasps all of these different sports. Mike is very athletic, but this is relegated mostly to skateboarding. We both did the usual organized sports as kids- soccer, swimming, basketball, softball, cheerleading (shhhh); but we don't watch any football and certainly don't run off to play golf on the weekends. But when Henry sees a football, basketball, or soccer ball he literally freaks out. Someone got him a little golf set at the beginning of the summer and the rest is history. If we want him to be happy at a cookout or some other outdoor event, we just bring along a club and some balls. Yep, my son loves balls!!

Henry, Golf Genius from Marissa on Vimeo.

Also, as promised: The Whispering Winds blurb we put together. Totally ridiculous.

"From the ashes of shoegaze, psychedelic, 2step, and western swing springs forth Whispering Winds.
Whispering Winds are pushing the boundaries of wizardry through the implementation of such magical
musical devices as delay, reverb, wah-wah, and phaser. They have more tricks up their sleeves than
both Siegfried and Roy AND their two wily tigers. Traveling across a musical spectrum punctuated
by both extreme repetition and simple pop, the Winds weave magical tapestries of layered sound which
may or may not bend your mind. "

Come out to the show. Saturday night at The Boot. It "may or may not bend your mind."

In the traditional sense I am by no means a very religious person.
However:
Thank

the Almighty

One,

hallelujah!!!!!! We have walls (sort of). And a roof (sort of).

Craziness abounds here as the planning of fifty billion projects (all to be carried out at once) continues. The building of a home and managing without a general contractor, which includes enough details that I'm sure my brain might soon explode; the very, very soon birth which is about to occur and includes me more than I wish to be included at this point (I wish Mike could absorb the baby from me by some marvel of osmosis and then push her out for me- he is such a dear man, I'm sure he'd do it if possible); the planning of a best friend's baby shower (whose little guy will also be arriving shortly); and last but certainly not least, the organizing of what I desperately want to be an awesome and unforgettable birthday weekend for my most favorite almost two year old, sweet Henry. There is so much more in between, but those are the main things I'm trying to focus on.
Speaking of 'focusing on', I can't get this damn Silver Apples song out of my mind called 'Hocus Pocus'. It is so catchy that if you heard it right now you'd be humming it too. I can't find a video of it on you tube, but here is a taste of some silver apples:

and there you go.
Speaking of music (and to make this post even more rambling than it already is)- my husband and brother are in a band together along with some other friends, and they happen to be playing this weekend (Saturday at The Boot). It is their first show after developing their songs and practicing for a year. I am looking forward to this. I helped Mike write the most ridiculous press release this weekend. I'll have to post it here later.

holy crap!

I have just been too busy lately to write anything of substance here. My sincere apologies to my dear three readers.
This was in my email inbox today:

Holy Crap! But at least we finally got this stuff:

All of the wood was delivered last Thursday. The windows are arriving later this week; french doors, etc. next week. I had a doctor's appointment this morning and all seems to be well with the little lady. I have my next appointment in two weeks and then after that I will have to see my doctor every week until she is born. Where did the time go?

pickle

for beth:



yummy pickles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a... chair!

Thanks for the link, Suzy!

a la plage

These days I can't get enough of this:

or this:

Living so close to the beach is something I would never take for granted.

heart attack waiting to happen.

We adore our little house. When I discovered our sweet 1938 cape cod in a quaint little neighborhood with giant trees and winding roads near our favorite Norfolk places, I knew we had found our home. We knew that it was small, but with a large backyard there was potential for expansion. And then our family began its expansion. At the point Henry arrived we began seriously contemplating a major addition. And when that second little line arrived on that pregnancy test this past late winter, we knew it was time to stop contemplating and get the ball rolling. Having an architect for a brother really came in handy at this point, as we were able to sit down with Thom and get him to flesh out the current attainable version of our 'dream home' (my actual dream home consists of secluded acres of land, lots of glass and steel, and ocean views). We simply need a larger kitchen/family room area, another full bathroom, and an extra bedroom, preferably a large master bedroom with a nice big walk-in closet. Oh yeah, and a screened-in porch that the family room and master bedroom could both open up into through nice sets of french doors.

We contemplated just moving to a larger house, but we couldn't find anything in our price range that matched our current location or the criteria by which we deem housing suitable for our family needs. With plans in hand, we were somehow able to secure funding in this god-awful market. We decided to act as the general contractors ourselves to save money. Mike's mom has run a breakfast/lunch shop for 25 years, and she has many regular customers who work in various areas of construction. Foundation guys, plumbers, electricians, etc. Through her and some of our own connections we were able to lock-down some people to help us get the addition done. People warned us of the stress this type of thing causes, and how it always runs over-budget and over-deadline. But I was so excited that we were moving forward with this thing that I didn't even allow that part to phase me.

At first the novelty of having a port-A-potty and a giant back hoe in our yard was very exciting. (Our name is even stenciled neatly on the front of the port-a-potty- hello this years christmas cards!!) Things moved pretty quickly past the environmental/preliminary building inspections we needed to obtain permits, etc.; the foundation was quickly dug, concrete filled in, sand dumped, bricks beautifully laid. Now we are just waiting on a building supplier to come up with the necessary materials from our blueprints so that we can order what we need to frame it up. This has been the most frustrating part, thus far. Which is ridiculous, because it shouldn't be. We have already dumped one supplier and are just waiting on another (anyone reading this about to build something? DON'T USE PRO BUILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Long story. Will save it for some other time. Let's just say that I'm not playing mrs. nice guy any longer. And this time around I might even take freaking prisoners, dammit.

Needless to say, the novelty of the back hoe and even the port a potty have sort of worn off. Perhaps I will feel better about everything once the materials are delivered and the framing begins. In the mean time I'll just keep my fingers crossed that this baby doesn't arrive any time before she is supposed to. And the next time we decide to build something, it won't be with a crazy two year old running around and another one on the way. Actually, the next time we realize we need to build something, we will probably just move.