Moxie Pants is such a kick. She is at the age where she just says what she thinks -- much like her mother who never actually grew OUT of that stage -- and the stuff she says leaves me LOLing.

Maybe that's why I enjoy being around her so much. She says what she thinks, with no filter. And so do I. Sometimes.

I love the fact that whenever anything goes missing she thinks about it and then yells at the top of her lungs "It's the Binky Monster. He steals EVERYTHING!"

I am constantly left laughing at the crazy stuff she comes up with and how that crazy cute brain of hers works.

Take for instance these conversations:

Moxie: How do I climb the wall?

Me: Huh?

Moxie: This wall. How do I climb it?

Me: Umm. You can't.

Moxie: I could if I were a frog. How can I be a frog?

*****
Moxie: I want a TV in my room.

Me: {muttered under my breath} Dream On baby.

Moxie: Oh. OK. I also want a fridge for all my own soda and a baff-tub.

*****
Moxie: Mom?

Me: Yeah babe?

Moxie: Can you log me on to Kids.net.org?

Me: Wuh?

Moxie: You know. The internet? Can you log me on? 

Me: Wow.

*****

Me: Why is your face blue?

Moxie: Because I got ready for Primary all by myself.

Me: But, why is your face blue?

Moxie: Cause I wanted to wear makeup and be blue.

Me: Oh. Well that makes perfect sense.

*****
Me: Where's my lip goo?

Moxie: You mean this? {showing me my brand-new EMPTY jar of Burts Bee's Wax}

Me: Uh, yeah. What happened to it?

Moxie: I ate it.

Me: WHY?

Moxie: Cause it's good.

*****
Waitress: And what will she {pointing to Moxie} have to drink?

Moxie: {putting her hand up} I got dis Mom. I wanna have a diet coke with this much ice {showing her hands super big}

Me: {laughing} I'll have what she's having.

*****
Me: What did you learn about in Primary today?

Moxie: Umm. Lemme think. Oh yeah. I know. Go Diego Go. Or God. I can't remember really.

*****
I just can't get enough of this kid. Every time we interact she leaves me wanting more. She is so fun to be around and her silly laugh makes my day. I'll be sad when she enters the phase that all of my kids have eventually entered -- The one that I "lovingly" call the "Need to Know" phase.

And you  Mom?

You don't need to know. Anything.

And when that happens it will make me sad. 'Cause hearing her blurt out every single thought she has? It warms me to the depths of my soul.

"Think of what would happen to us in America if there were no humorists; life would be one long Congressional Record."  -- Tom Masson

Word.

me laughing, because dang. I'm funny.

One of the qualities that I value most in people is their sense of humor. If you have one, I probably heart you. If you don't we probably aren't friends.There is value in being able to bust-a-gut laugh with someone-- it bonds you and is the best anti-depressant around.

Besides, the more you laugh the younger you look. Serious. I read it on the Internet, so it must be true. 

How boring would life be without people who see the irony in life and happily point it out? Sure. Life is hard, sad and all that other depressing crap. But, it's also funny. You just have to look for it, but it's there. Pinky Swear.

*****
Moxie is trying to kill me slowly. She loves my diet coke more than I do and I feel like a mean old ogre every time I yank it out of her hands. Truthfully, I have a problem sharing with her. Not because she drinks it all (she does) but because she likes to take the lid off my McDee's cup and then PLAY WITH THE ICE. In the Diet Coke.

People. That is just plain old nasty.

Who knows where those hands have been.

Actually. I do. That's why I am a mean old ogre when it comes to my Diet Coke.

Mama Don't Share Well.

*****
I got buckets of emails and texts from people asking about "The Stalker."

Yes I had one. 

No. It was not a traffic ploy.

(although note to self: that would be a good idea. start working on a fictional series ...)

Yes I am fine.

No they haven't tried to kill me.

Yes I did send TWO cease and desist letters telling asking them to leave me alone. The last one seemed to have done the trick. It was rather forceful and held all sorts of promises of what we could and would do to them if they did not stop immediately.

It may have even included a threat about a horse-head in their bed, too. 

Or not.

Man. I'm glad Jefe is an Attorney and not a Garbage Man. That brain of his has come in handy more times than not.

*****
I have found myself reflecting on the friends that I have been blessed with in my life. A lot of them have come and gone, but there have been a core group of women that have stood by me-- through thick and thin-- and I don't know what I would do without them.

Good friends are ones who are willing to call you on your crap, and then help you stand up and be better. Those are the friends that I have surrounded myself with. They know my stuff, and still love me anyway.

It's been an interesting case study for me this past year. I would be honest in telling you that 2011 was absolutely the worst year of  my life. And, when I confided to some of my friends while I was going through it-- it was interesting to me the ones who stuck around and helped pull me through and the ones who quickly bailed. The ones I thought would be the stalwart ones were the ones who bailed, and the ones who stayed are the ones who have become my rocks... my true friends.

My blogging friends-- Caroline, Veronica, Melissa and Julie are my rocks. They would send gobs of emails-- bouncing them back so fast it was like watching a tennis match on speed-- that just kept me laughing. When you put those four women together the things they come up with never cease to amaze me-- they should write for SNL-- they are that funny. And twisted.  They see things clearly and always have my back. 

I suppose trials in your own life really define who your true friends are. To say I was surprised -- and frankly heartbroken-- at the ones who chose to leave my life would be lying. I trusted them with information and when it was no longer an "easy road", they moved on to bigger, better and brighter pastures.

That sort of hurt. A lot. 

However. What it did do was create better friendships. And it taught me that not everyone cares. Most are just curious.

*****
The other night Moxie looked at Jefe and I and said: "I really want a TV in my room." I sort of mumbled under my breath, not intending for her to hear, Dream On.

She did hear, and took that statement quite literally.

"OK. I also want a baff-tub and a fridge to put all my own sodas in."

She's a dreamer that kid.

And, I like it. A lot.

*****
Have a swell weekend peeps. It's mighty warm around these parts and I likes it. Mucho.

1. The Winner Is - Devotchka
2. Windows Are Rolled Down (Live) - Amos Lee
3. Hannah  - Ray LaMontagne
4. Iris - The Goo-Goo Dolls
5. Christmas Song (Live) - Dave Matthews Band
6. Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine
7. Rest - The Temper Trap
8. The Grid - Crystal Method
9. I'm An Animal - Neko Case
10. Medicine - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

 Bonus: Fade Into You - Mazzy Star

Click here to go sign the petition being sponsored by Google to tell congress to stop Internet Censorship.

If you want to read more about SOPA or PIPA head on over to Mashable and check out their detailed post.

Jefe and I discovered Portlandia during the holidays. It is seriously one of the weirdest yet funniest shows we have ever watched and we can't seem to get enough of it! It's full of the best one-liners since the old days on SNL. Which makes perfect sense, seeing how it's produced by Lorne Michaels and has tons of SNL actors in the skits. It's just high quality SNL -- making fun of quirky things in society.

Take for instance this skit on ordering at a restaurant. The waiter is hell-bent on telling them every single thing they can find on the menu, which we found hysterical. The facial expressions of Fred's character makes me snort every time I watch this. Which is a lot.

I think what makes this show so freaking funny is the fact that its a parody on life. Every where we go now Jefe and I find ourselves looking at each other and then busting a gut because hello! Was that a Portlandia moment?

Take, for example, my experience at the Apple Store recently. It was a culinary fest of satire.

People. All  I wanted was to buy a cover for my iPad.

That's all.

Just a simple little cover.

The Apple employee had something totally different in mind. He sat me down at the little desk and proceeded to parade in front of me all the covers available to man-kind.

"Now here we have a darling green one that has this cute little dangly-thinger. I think of all the covers we have this one says TECH GIRL the most."

Yes he did.

He totally said that.

My eyes started glazing over and I looked to Jefe for help and saw that he was mouthing "Crazy Craigs Guac Tacs" at me, which made me start to laugh.

The parade continued.

He was pulling more and more covers out, faster and faster and my head was starting to spin from the whirlwind of iPad covers flashing in front of my eyes. It was like an iPad Rave happening in front of my face. I could hardly focus my eyes.

Really. I just wanted a simple iPad cover, not the millennium falcon version of iPad covers. Is that too much to ask? Just a cover. Get in. Get out. Get on with your life. An iPad cover. Nothing more.

Finally I told him that I really liked the one my girlfriend Veronica bought so I would go call her and come back later and get the one she bought. I told him that I knew she had done all the research and I was  content with being a complete copy-cat and not screaming "Tech Girl" every time I took my iPad out.

He promptly asked me her full name, did some typing on the computer and said "Aha! I know exactly which one she bought!" And I had my magic iPad cover that was just like Veronica's.

After enduring 20 minutes of the epic iPad cover parade.

And Jefe laughing because Hello.  

That was a Portlandia moment.

“To me, it's a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, Hey, can you give me a hand? You can say, Sorry, got these sacks. - Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy (Saturday Night Live)”

This week has been a crazy whirl-wind adventure. From the kids puking to me puking to me being possessed, yet again, by James Earl Jones. I always thought it would be awesome to have him narrate my life, but now that he's taken up residence once again inside my lungs, I'm thinking that really he's just a needy little bugger.

The only thing I hate more than me puking is other people puking. See I'm a sympathy puker. I hear someone puke and immediately I'm joining the puke fest. So imagine the fun that's been my house this past week.

The kids puke. I puke. The kids puke. I puke.The kids puke. I puke.

Round and round we go, like a merry-go-round.

Which, btw makes me puke.

*****
I'm working on a post about my favorite apps from 2011. This year I increased my photography apps by two folders-- making it 4 folders that I have of apps that I can edit photos, make collages and even turn the photos into comic strips. I love photography and I love my iPhone-- so mixing the two together is nirvana for me.

*****

I am digging this song big time. It's an arrangement of Coldplay's Paradise. I have had it on continuous loop for the past couple of days. I love hearing artists remake popular songs... just hearing them take a popular tune and then remaking it into something totally new is fascinating to me.

*****
I'm doing the 365 on Instagram again this year and I'm having a blast! I love documenting my life one photo at a time. I went through a phase where I was driving over a bridge every day at the same time, so I took a picture at the top of the bridge every day-- at sunset. It's such a fun way to document your life and goes beyond the basic scrapbook stuff. Which, btw, I have outgrown.

I used to love to scrapbook and would get together with my friends in Illinois on a weekly basis to scrapbook... but once I found blogging I decided this was more my cup of tea. And then all the various other platforms of capturing your stories and photos have captured my interest.

Here is the past weeks photos:



*****
Jefe and I have a rule that when we go out to eat together we have to eat at a new restaurant. Which is super fun, but can be a pain too. Especially when you have a favorite restaurant that you like... But broadens your horizons and creates super fun memories.

Yelp is our new best friend. Wherever we are we can pull up Yelp and get suggestions on places to eat and what's good at each place. I have to say that Yelp is one of my favorite Apps-- I just wish it would list where there was free WIFI and would let you post your review straight from your phone and not have to log in via an actual computer.

This past week we tried two new restaurants Sonora Grill and Pats BBQ.

I am a Mexican Food junkie and Sonora Grill was fantastic. I absolutely LOVED the coconut rice-- I would eat there again just to have a giant heaping portion of that rice. So. Dang. Good.

Their chips were awesome! They are hand made tortillas that you can break up yourself. The tortilla lady makes over one thousand tortillas a day. We had two baskets of tortillas while tasting all the different types of salsa they offered. It was a great environment and the booths were different and cozy.

Pats BBQ was totally different than what we had expected. It was a total hole-in-the-wall and down a dark, scary alley. Which is the perfect combo for making a great eating experience.

I'm dying to go back when its warmer and eat on the patio. They have blues bands on a regular basis and it has a super cozy feeling. We had a blast listening to the band playing and trying all the flavors of BBQ Sauce. I think I would get a bigger helping of the Jambalaya next time I go. It was to die for good!

The other fun part was Pats was featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. They have a wall of photos and I was ogling over Guy when the owner came over and asked if I wanted my picture taken next to it.

Need not ask me twice to get my picture taken. We chatted the owner up for a while and decided we needed to come back when a different band is playing. And when it's warmer outside.

*****
Friday the 13th.

Are you superstitious?

Me? Not so much.

{as she throws salt over her shoulder.}

*****
That's it peeps. Have a good weekend. I see lots of sleep in my future so I can get rid of this dirty little squatter that has taken up residence in my lungs. Here's hoping he moves out faster this time around versus last time. Last time I ended up with pneumonia and a sinus infection.

Take it easy and keep your nose clean.

1. Love Gone Crazy - John Nemeth
2. Tripping Billies - Dave Matthews Band
3. Beat It (2008 Remix) - Michael Jackson & Fergie
4. Amsterdam - Coldplay
5. Beautifully - Jay Brannan
6. Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
7. One - U2
8. Born Free- Kid Rock
9. Ghosts N Stuff - Deadmau 5
10. Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap

Bonus: All For You - Janet Jackson

I was in a focus group that helped refine this idea and I am absolutely thrilled with the final outcome.

When I read this book the first time, I sat down on my couch and literally did not move until I finished it. It was griping and absolutely fantastic. It is one of those books that you think about for days afterwards. Only me? I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks after I finished it.

Collins did such a fantastic job building up the horror of the games. She gives you just enough information in the book and then lets your imagination fill in the gaps. She understands that your imagination can create something much more disturbing than what she can with words. She does it brilliantly. She handles this tough subject perfectly, and again, lets the readers imagination run amuck.

I find the book to be a fascinating comparison with today's society that is frankly shocking. I freaking loved this book and this series is one of my all time favorites -- coming in a very close second to Harry Potter. Although the last book in the series left me feeling highly unsatisfied.

I am so excited to see this movie... especially after seeing the trailer and then hearing one of the songs from the movie.

Taylor Swift has done an amazing job with this song-- Safe & Sound. Its haunting and depicts the horror of the games, and yet the innocence of the children perfectly!

The internet is all a-buzz with who they think the song is written for... Some say its Katniss singing to Primrose as she sacrifices herself as the Tribute; Others say its regarding Peeta & Katniss' realtionship during the games. My thoughts as I heard it the first time was that this song was for Katniss & Rue. It just fits. Those two girls had a beautiful friendship and the song is haunting...

I speculate that this song will be played when Katniss is holding Rue as she dies.What do you think?