5 questions

Hey! Have you heard about this fun game? My lovely internet friend and fellow lip gloss aficianado, Whoorl, interviewed me by asking the five questions listed below. Want to play? Just leave a comment and I will return the favor. Then, you tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on. OK, I made up that last part. But anyway! Here goes.

1) What is the last thing you do before getting into bed at night?
That would have to be slather on lip balm, then pick up a book. Every night, I have to read before I fall asleep. Have to. I am a huge book hound and am happiest when I have a stack of unread books on my nightstand. (So, any recommendations?)

2) What is the most endearing thing Evan is doing right now?
Are you kidding me right now? Pretty much everything he does right now is endearing... well, except the occasional tantrum. Those are definitely the opposite of endearing. However, if I had to pick a current favorite Evan thing, I'd have to go with the bastardized version of the ABC's that he's fond of singing. We call it the 18-letter alphabet and it goes a little something like this:

"ABCs
EFG
HIP
QRS (pronounced "koo are ess")
TV
WXYZ (pronounced "dubba eks why zee")
No more ABCs
Next time won't you sing me."

OK, so I think a little something is lost in the translation here. I will keep trying to get it on video so I can show you because IT IS HILARIOUS. Trust me. The problem is that every time we turn the video camera on nowadays, he freezes up. But let's just say I am particularly proud that he is only two years old and he can sing (most of) the alphabet. Can you say genius?

3) If you had to move to Europe, what country would you live in and why?
Hmmm. I've only been to Germany and England. Of those, I definitely wouldn't pick Germany (don't love the food) and I *might* pick England because I DO love their accents. However, I may just need to make the executive decision to choose Italy sight unseen. Good wine, good food and doesn't George Clooney have a house there? Done.

4) Doughnuts or pancakes?
Both please! Oh, delicious breakfast bready treats, how do I love thee. Although I do have a passionate lust for doughnuts, I think I'll rule in favor of pancakes because they've become a big-time family tradition at our house. My husband makes amazing pancakes from scratch and we have them almost every weekend. They are delicious. But let it be noted that I can't remember ever refusing a doughnut.

5) Who is your favorite artist and/or musician? Why?
That is truly a stumper. I don't know if I could think up a favorite musician but right now I am currently loving the mellow acoustic stylings of Iron and Wine, the Weepies and the like. I also am a big sucker for music that reminds me of fun times past... so I've never been able to get past my love of Toad the Wet Sprocket that originated in college. Oh, and the Indigo Girls. And Guster. Because those are two awesome picks for road trip music. And who doesn't love road trip music? Oh who are we kidding. Like I said, can't pick a favorite.

Allrighty! That concludes today's interviewpalooza. If you would like to join the fun, follow these directions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions of my choosing.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

disjointed

So have I spent the last few days improving my blog? Clearly, the answer is no. I may embrace my vanilla flavor for now, at least until a fancy new banner falls out of the sky and lands here at Chez Bearca. Hey, it could happen.

Have I mentioned that my son is turning 2 on Monday? And the fact that we are having a blowout birthday party for him this coming Saturday? And that I’m totally stressed about it because what if I don’t order enough pizza and get enough juice boxes or what if one of the kids falls and gets hurt and I am somehow liable? And did I buy enough paper plates and are the goody bags I am putting together completely lame? These are the thoughts currently running through my head right now. I’m sure once all is said and done, it will be great and fun and whatnot, but right now even obsessive spreadsheet-creating and list-making in true Bearca fashion is not reducing my stress.

Also: I’ve become a Starbucks junkie and my caffeine intake is say, a tad higher than it has been in the past, and it’s just now occurring to me that the caffeine is probably not HELPING my stress level.

And another also: I just made a haircut appointment with a new guy, which I’m very excited about, but it’s not for three and a half weeks and I’m not sure I can stand it. Hello ponytail, nice to see you again. Get comfy, because you’re going to be with me daily for a while.

blogging for dummies

I really want to “re-invent” my blog somehow. Maybe I just need some sort of fancy banner at the top that looks cool. But how do I do that? I have always relied completely on the Blogger templates and they are fine, if a bit vanilla. Not that there is anything wrong with vanilla, but a little dollop of hot fudge always improves things, don’t you think? Also, I think I should add some sort of features like other people have on their blogs. Like an About Me, so people can get to know the real Bearca. Just off the top of my head, here’s how I would characterize myself:

“I am a 33 year old gal living the good life in Southern California. I have a husband, a two-year old son, and a job that sucks up a lot of my time and energy. I love reading, guacamole, Fox TV dramas, cheese and lip gloss, and have recently developed a disturbing fondness for Blue’s Clues and pretzel-flavored Goldfish. I don’t like eating scallops, writing with pencils or dressing up on Halloween.”

Yep, that’s pretty much me in a nutshell. So that’s done. Ha.

But anyway, help me! How do I make my blog less boring?

sick day, the sequel

Home again today! The little guy can't seem to shake this fever, so we're going to have another relaxing day at home together. However, instead of watching the same Baby Einstein video over and over (Baby Noah: oh how I love you and loathe you all at the same time!), I have DVR'd two episodes of Blue's Clues and one episode of Teletubbies. What? Was that me expressing a feeling that watching Teletubbies is an upgrade over Baby Einstein? Desperate times, people. Desperate times.

sick day

I’m home with Evan today. He has a fever and couldn’t go to daycare. He seems okay, definitely a little warm, but he’s in a pretty good mood and still has his traditional ravenous appetite. So I’m not too worried.

It’s just after 8:00 am. We’re in our pajamas watching Blue’s Clues together on the couch, it’s gray and overcast outside, and I’m sipping a hot cup of coffee. And you know? I can’t complain. We could do without the fever, but it’s a pretty good day.

I can’t help but look at him and think that his days wearing these fleecy footed sleepers are limited. I’m going to hold onto them as long as I can.