...and influencing people

Lately I've been a little preoccupied with having friends. Or maybe just more aware that I haven't been as friendly or socially involved as I might like to be.

I say "might" because on one hand, maintaining friendships requires a certain time commitment, and the idea of adopting another time commitment gives me premature stress. But it also feels really good to have someone who you mutually like and can call to do stuff.

...

I'm having a hard time articulating what I want to say here, so I'm going to put in some bullets. These are not in any good order. If I were going to be a better writer I would use adjust their order and turn them into an essay, but right now if I planned on doing that then I would never post (my baby-free time is limited), and you'd have less blog to be entertained by.

• Thank you all for reading my blog, and occasionally commenting. It makes me feel good, and I like staying in touch.
• It seems like a good formula for couple-friends for us, using Couples A and B, is that AM and BF were previously platonic friends.
• I would like to be friends with anyone who wants to be friends with me.
• Lately I feel like I've been in a stage of insecurity. I think it has something to do with my feeling unattractive and needing a haircut, having a stuttering problem, and generally needing to improve my conversation skills.
• I also need to clean my house, but that's neither here nor there.
• I am lucky to have at least three best friends: a brilliant and handsome man who is better for me than anyone I could have hoped for, the cutest and yakkingest toddler alive, and a fat, funny baby who gurgles and coos and makes me feel loved.
  

Wake up!

I keep having horrible recurring nightmares about not having finished college - usually there's a class I just stopped attending about a week into the semester and forgot about, or sometimes there are just a couple more I need to graduate, but I have a hard time dedicating myself to them. Last night I actually attended all my classes - I just failed some of them.

This, if for no other reason, is why people should get their diplomas framed and displayed somewhere: to assure them that they really did graduate.

(Note: In last night's episode I was also a social loser who ran around tennis courts wrapped in a blanket, which was a bummer. However, at some point I started climbing on the chain link and was able to jump/swing around the walls like a monkey, which was pretty neat, although it did nothing for my social problems.)

Lookalikes

This is something I've been meaning to post for a while:

A couple of characters in some of Olivia's (and my) favorite books remind me quite a bit of some people I know.

First up:



This character from Hop on Pop totally reminds me of Hannah (yes, Hannah, I am talking about you.) Smart, curly blonde hair, two younger brothers, well-traveled (her dad reads "Constantinople" and "Timbuktu") - Hannah, it's you.

Then, in Go, Dog. Go!:


Blunt, hat-hating dog reminds me a lot of my father-in-law. Not because he hates hats or offends poodles; he just kind of looks like the dog to me. In a good way.

Pants on Fire

Okay, so I've been lying. Unintentionally, of course.

I keep telling people that Carmen looks nothing like Olivia. And until recently I really thought that was true. But we now have picture evidence that proves me wrong.

It happened the other day while Carmen and I were having a smile-a-thon...




This morning when I was uploading the pictures to send to family, I realized that they reminded me quite a lot of another little face I used to know:






Life's good.

Tutu Kachoo

As promised, here are some pictures of my fun venture as a tutu saleswoman. Thanks to all of you for your input!

My logo:


With a word like "kachoo," more exciting fonts were, unfortunately, less readable.

My cute little models:


(Olivia tried on every single tutu, and kept wanting Carmen to wear a tutu as well. Carmen was less enthusiastic.)

The booth: a bunch of foofiness.


The night itself wasn't super profitable, but I did make some good contacts and get all my girl birthday presents made for the next year (also: those who won my Craft-off - guess what you're getting? Send in your color requests now.)

While I don't think I really want to do more booths, my days as a tutu guru are not over yet. But more on that later.

And here, just because she's looking so earnest in this picture, is Carmen. Who is, as my parents put it, unexpectedly fat. I'm so pleased.

Baby blues

This is so, so true.

Hold Everything!

Eeek! I hate it when this happens: last night over dinner Steven and I came up with two more names that I like at least as much as Et Tu Tutu (which was winning enormously):

Tutu Kachoo
Ruffle Buns

So, my poll has been changed. Please come back and vote again!

On my end, I'll get busy getting my two little models ready for a photo shootu.

Tutupreneur

In a twist of fate, I will be selling homemade tutus at an upcoming Vendor Night for a friend's nonprofit. More details and pictures to come, but first I need your help:

What should I name my tutu store?

The two names I'm thinking of are Tutu 22 and Et Tu Tutus. Cast your vote on the left!