My friend, Melissa, tagged me. Now, I’m fairly new to blogging, and I’ve never been “tagged” before, but I think that I’m supposed to post answers to the questions and then “tag” someone else?

A- Attached or Single? Attached
B- Best Friend? BT
C- Cake or Pie? Both
D- Day of Choice? Friday
E- Essential Item? Laptop & Camera
F- Favorite Color? Red
G- Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms? Bears
H- Hometown? San Dimas, CA
I- Favorite Indulgence? Setting aside all the housework & working on a quilt, reading a book, or watching a chick flick.
J- January or July? July
K- Kids? Ariana (7) Vivi (2) Bryan (39)
L- Life isn’t complete without? My family, my faith, a craft room full of projects, photoshop, my camera, my laptop
M- Marriage date? April 18, 2005
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 2 sisters, 2 brothers–I’m the oldest
O- Oranges or Apples? Oranges (oh, how I miss our CA orange tree!)
P- Phobias and Fears? Something happening to my kids
Q- Quality or Quantity? Quality
R- Reason to smile? My kids are healthy, I have a husband who loves me, I finished Row B of my Dear Jane quilt.  (Now, if I had a fully functioning laptop, life would be just about perfect–hint for BT, just in case he reads this and wants to know what he could do to make me smile even more.)
S- Season of choice? Spring
T- Tag three people? Judy C., Stacy A., Jody D.
U- Unknown fact about me? I have to sleep w/ my blankie
V- Vegetable? Asparagus
W- Worst Habit? Oooh, where to start? Not playing with my kids enough . . .
X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound (can’t wait for my next one–boy? girl?)
Y- Your favorite food? Vegetables (and dark chocolate)
Z- Zodiac Sign? Pisces

As Bryan and I sat down to play a game of Quiddler together this evening (a VERY rare occurrence these days), Ariana wanted to join in. We explained that we needed some mommy/daddy game time–moms and dads that play together stay together–but that she was welcome to watch. In the 2nd round, the game got “heated” as Bryan tried to cheat me out of 14 points. As we both energetically argued our cases, Ariana interrupted to ask, “Are you sure that this is how moms and dads stay together?”

Chuckling about the irony of the situation, Bryan quietly wrote down my well-deserved points, and I went on to win. (And because Bryan will conveniently “forget” the outcome of the game, I’ve preserved the evidence for posterity).

(In reality, BT wins most games, so I have to savor the sweetness of victory knowing that it may be a while before I taste it again).

LOST:

One 2-inch, 512 mb jump drive containing sensitive and irreplaceable data–our bank account #’s, tax returns (including social security #’s), a file of all BT’s passwords, the only copy of family history work, and all sorts of other sensitive information.

Last known whereabouts–Bryan’s pocket at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, a 200-acre park in Plano.

To say that we were sick about the missing drive would be an understatement. To say that I was bewildered as to why Bryan would keep all that information on a device so prone to failure and so easily misplaced would also be an understatement, but why rub salt into the wound. (Ok, so maybe just a little salt).

After tearing the house apart last night, we knew that the ONLY place the precious little drive could be was back at the park. But it could be ANYWHERE at the park. We had covered a lot of ground–through a mile of mud, weeds, trees, dog poop, and play ground wood chips!

When I suggested that we go back to Arbor Hills, the phrases “needle in a haystack” and “diamond ring in the ocean” slipped from Bryan’s somber lips. And he was right. Finding the drive there would be nothing short of a miracle.

After a fitful sleep, I knew that we just couldn’t give up. So, as the morning sun crested over the horizon, I uttered another simple plea for help, loaded Vivi in the car, and headed back to retrace our many, many steps.

As I pulled into the parking lot and arrived at the spot near where we had parked the night before, my heart leapt. Was that our memory stick on the ground between two parked cars? I stopped the car, ran over and couldn’t believe my eyes!

What parent wouldn’t be at least a little AFRAID if their 2nd grader came home from school and announced that she was authoring a book on “Love and Marriage” . . . a book revealing her views of her parents’ relationship and her notions of romance . . . a book that could be put on public display. YIKES!!!

Would she perpetuate the fable that Bryan loves to tell–that I proposed to him on our 2nd date!?! (Yeah, RIGHT!)

How much might she share of the “conversations” I have with Bryan, pleading with him to NOT wear his clothes from high school out in public any more. (Yes, he still fits in his high school clothes and proudly owns some of them 20+ years later).

Would she reveal to the world that I flat out FORGOT my wedding anniversary last year?

Or how about the fact that her parents’ idea of a romantic evening is to wander around Half Price Books. (It’s true, Bryan and I can’t seem to go on a date without ending up at our favorite bookstore)!

What might she say about my Valentine’s present from Bryan this year–an ugly pair of warm, brown, fuzzy men’s socks? (In reality, a very thoughtful gift–they keep my feet toasty warm on cold nights).

Thankfully, the only thing that the release of her book revealed was the sweet innocence of her tender nature and hard evidence that our well-intended “brain conditioning” is working like a charm.

[audio:http://tolberts.org/lori/Audio/green.mp3]

Poor little Vivi’s nose and lungs were “bein’ green”–NEVER fun, but especially NOT EASY when it’s your 2nd birthday.

She wouldn’t touch the heart pancakes I made for her birthday breakfast.

But she did perk a bit when one of her special friends, Sally O, stopped by with a birthday surprise.

She put up a fight when I got her dressed in her special “birthday girl” shirt, so I wouldn’t be surprised if these are gang signs that she’s flashing at me in this picture. “I’m 2,” she’ll tell you as she holds up the dainty little digits that just don’t cooperate like they should quite yet.

There was no birthday cake or even birthday dinner for Miss Vivi on her special day. No stack of presents to open. At her insistence, she opted for an early bedtime and a promise that we’d celebrate on a day when she wasn’t bein’ so green.

p.s. As (bad) luck would have it, 5 days later, I was singin’ the green song on my birthday. So, Vivs and I both have birthday rainchecks to redeem at a later date.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think that we were back in Utah–it snowed most of the day! The girls played outside a bit this afternoon, but without gloves (we don’t own any) it was a brief adventure.

Chapter 1

And Farmer John said unto Adam and Eve,

“because thou hast eaten of the forbidden fruit of my garden, thou shalt be cast out forever.”

And the Farmer and his posterity did chase Adam and Eve out and constructed a barrier around the Garden of Eatin’ to prevent further intrusion.

And Farmer John’s wise wife counseled him saying, “thou hast not seen the last of Adam and Eve.”

Adam and Eve did multiply and replenish the earth, and they and their posterity did wax strong and did gain access once again to the garden, eating the Farmer’s tender vegetables which were most pleasing to the taste.

And the Farmer did again usher Adam, Eve and their posterity from the garden. He further fortified the fence and proclaimed victory over the rodents that plagued him.

Yet, Farmer John’s visionary wife warned, “Thy efforts to block entrance are in vain. Thine enemies will gain entrance once again to feast upon the fruits of thy labors.”

And on the morrow, Adam and Eve had returned . . .

Just Wait Five Minutes!”

When I first moved to Texas, I read that saying on a bulletin board at Ariana’s preschool.  Over my last five years of residency in this great state, I’ve developed a greater appreciation for just how accurate those words are.

Several days ago, it was 87 degrees. Two days ago, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch. Last night, it snowed.