Say, "Ahh."
Whenever someone chokes or gags (usually the baby) they have to let everyone know that they're OK by demonstrating that their windpipe is clear. Josh started this with our oldest and it never went away.

Love you miss you
When our oldest was a baby, she would say goodbye like this: "Bye, Mommy! Love you miss you." It stuck. Our extended family and some friends know and use "LYMY" as a closing in their emails and letters.

Only I wasn't yelling on purpose. I was just talking loud enough for me to hear myself. Kind of like when you try to talk to someone with your headphones on. They shush you. My mom shushed me a lot. Sometimes with a slap. Even if my brother was the first to start a fight or to throw a punch, I would get busted because I was the loudest. Just doesn't seem fair, does it? It's OK, I got my brother back when I spilled the bubbles I promised my mom I wouldn't spill if she would just please buy it for me. I spilled the bubbles right in front of the front door to our house and panicked. I pulled out all the jackets from the coat closet to cover it up. I figured out that it would still be found out when inspiration struck. I told my mom that my brother did it and he got a spanking. I was five years old. I didn't confess my lie to my mom until the day I graduated high school and we three were out for a celebratory dinner. Guess what I got? A slap.

I can twist my tongue upside down. I can also make a taco shape with my tongue. I've passed this gene to my daughter. She can do these tongue twisters and some other weird thing that I can't do.

But my true gift is listening. Funny coming from me who wears hearing aids and makes her husband repeat himself five times before she'll put the dang things in. I can listen to a friend or friend-in-the-making for a long time. I would much rather hear about you than talk about myself. It's a hidden talent because you don't know it until we're friends.

Confidence
Confidence is not the same as arrogance. Confidence is having talents, spectacular or not, and sharing them without apology. Having different talents than I have makes getting to know a friend even more fun.

Humility
Humility in a friend is the ability to let me serve you. It doesn't have to be the dirtiest job like cleaning a toilet bowl. It could be that when there is a crisis... large or small... you call me. It's nice to be needed.

Hulk Hogan
Let's see... I also saw Hulk Hogan shooting a commercial on Malibu Beach. My best friend was living there at the time and I was visiting her. When I saw the commercial on TV it was deja vu. My friend wasn't moved... she used to collect credit card slips (remember when you had to use that slider gadget and carbon paper slips to get a rub of the card? yeah. old school.) from all the celebrities she waited on... she probably still has them. She told the funniest story about Kirstie Alley and a smoothie... back in the days when KA was thin.

B.B. King
I once shook B.B. King's hand--which was enormous. Someone gave my husband (and other UH marching band members) free tickets to see B.B. King play at the Sheraton Waikiki. It was basically a dinner and show for Japanese tourists. A few tourists started bringing their little children/babies up to him in between songs and he would reach into his jacket pocket and pull out something to give them. We were sitting in the very back of the room and I couldn't tell what he was giving them. As the show continued, more and more tourists were going up. After a bit of excited heart thumping, I jumped up and ran (a very long way actually) up to the stage. I reached up and said, "Hi." He took my hand and smiled. He had run out of the little plastic guitar pieces he was handing out (I found one on the floor later), but I walked away feeling energized. When I got back to the table, my husband and his friends were laughing and the wife of one of them who was also my friend said, "She doesn't get enough attention at home."

The Kings of the Beach
My most favorite celebs aren't Hollywood celebs, but hail from very nearby... I watched Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos play in the championship game of one of the earliest AVP beach volleyball tournaments. They played on the beach in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. There were no bleachers... no sponsor banners everywhere, no sponsor tatts on the players, no admission fees... nothing but the net, the ball, the Kings of the Beach, and our butts sitting in the sand or in our own beach chairs surrounding the court. And if you were cool, you were wearing a pair of neon pink shorts by Mossimo with an M in a box on the butt. And it goes without saying that they won. Afterwards, Sinjin was standing around talking and he said he hoped that Beach Volleyball would one day be an Olympic Sport. Without a doubt, one of my favorite memories.

After we were married and still going to school, Josh and I used to have a default meal of cut up chicken with onions and cream of mushroom soup over white rice.

I remember learning to read with Dr. Seuss books and this one became my favorite. I was really worried for the baby bird and the Snort seemed way more scary when I was five.

My dad was so worried that I wouldn't learn how to read. I remember him ranting and raving that they didn't give homework in kindergarten. He sat me down for what seemed like forever to try to teach me to read the name on his cigarette box. He kept saying, "What does it say?" When I couldn't make the connection that the letters stood for sounds and that they all strung together to make words, he threw up his arms and yelled, "Winston! It says Winston!" I'll never forget the brand he smoked when I was five.

Just to give you a happy ending, I eventually did learn to read and I used to get $5 for every A on my report card. I milked dad for all he was worth. :)

Somebody by Depeche Mode

Just a lovely, hopeful, heart-rendering song to sing.

Personal Accountability is what this country needs.

This is one of my most favorite places. The ice cream is amazing. Keith Robbins (no relation to Baskin etal) got his dietician degree from the University of Hawaii and then proceeded to open a shop that pumps people with the yummiest of fat, sugar and cholesterol. The names of his desserts will boost conversation if needed.

When my brother, who is two years older than me, got the chicken pox our mother made him kiss me. "Kiss your baby sister!" In that way, she only had to deal with the illness once. My brother has a chicken pox scar under his chin that looks like a water droplet about to fall. Mine is a shiny, white and very smooth dot just above my right breast.

We made the trek from Northern CA to the Gulf Coast because we decided to move to Houston. The job hunting didn't line up in time (we had already given our notice on our rental house), so my in-laws wanted us to come live with them until a job came through. Josh drove a big yellow Penske truck packed with our belongings. I followed in our fairly new family van.

We had bought the van because it had built-in baby seats. You just flip down the cushion and you can strap your child into a five-point harness. We thought these built-in seats were the best thing since sliced bread.

It was clear that we would make the trek with an almost two-year-old infected with the flu. I tried to give the five-year-old sitting next to him some preventative measures. I asked him if the baby started to puke could he please pull out the ziploc bag under his seat and hold it up to catch the puke.

Before we even left the state of California, the baby started puking and I yelled at Zack to get the bag, but he was not understanding me as I yelled more excitedly for him to get the bag. Get the bag. Get the bag! I actually growled out my frustration and began pounding the steering wheel when the five-year-old did not act in time. While Seth cried at my freakish behavior and Zack held a perfectly clean bag in his hands, I radioed to Josh that he needed to pull over. We went a few more feet before I radioed again yelling at Josh to pullover NOW.

Even though we couldn't spare the expense (we had planned to drive non-stop), Josh did one of the sweetest things for his raving rabid wife. He got a motel room so that I could wash all the smelly clothes and vomit rags we had acquired thus far on the trip. We were able to rest and regroup among other things.

The built-in car seats are great until someone pukes on them. You can't take them out to wash them. So you have to labor intensely before the smell of vomit recedes.

Vomit smell = longest road trip ever.

This book changed my mind about debt. I appreciate the content and style of the book (debunking the myths) and the stories scattered throughout of people having gone into debt and the changes they made to get out of it. It was inspiring and relevant to American culture today.

My favorite room is in my brain. If it's in my brain I can change the paint on a whim and the couch to a desk. I can have ever flowing hot chocolate or ice cold water depending on my needs. This room is like a really great waitress who knows when to come to the table, anticipates needs, and knows when NOT to speak (like when my mouth is full or in deep conversation). This room knows what I need when I need it and gets a big tip when I emerge satisfied.