Typical "love song" from guitar playing singer/songwriter.. or NOT?!!

Alrighty, hit a temporary road block in my ancestry family tree, Tim's watching golf, Elle is passed out, so now blogging about song lyrics to kill time before baby..

The below video is the song The Guy That Says Goodbye To You Is Out of His Mind by Griffin House.  I first heard this song on a mix that either Molly or Jonathan gave me.  My first take, sweet song, sweet lyrics, sweet guy.. but then I really listened to the lyrics and actual started to despise his lyrics and wonder why so many girls wish they were having this song sung to them.... Anyways the song became a topic of conversation between the three of us for a few weeks.  In the end, (and in my unpopular opinion) what seems like a typical love song, actual makes me realize insecurities of the individual singing the song and it frustrates me to think I thought this was a sweet song at first! 



Opinions on the song/lyrics from an email chain with Molly and Jonathan:

Molly's take: That they were in a relationship, they broke up, now he realizes he f-ed up and has lost her and now he see’s she was the best girlfriend ever.

My take: 

him: too cool for school.. kinda of judgmental.. kind of arrogant because he’s uncomfortable in his own skin …trying hard to be really prolific… trying too hard to be cool

her: a free spirit, beautiful in her own way.. loves people.. loves experiencing life… very happy.. makes everyone around her smile

They were in a quasi relationship…never anything "formal", because that’s not her style.. he gets frustrated because she doesn’t really want to date him in a traditional way.  Everyone loves her, she is happy and has fun and enjoys life.. and she makes him feel happy and important and loved… he realizes its probably better that she doesn’t really want to formally date him.. because he (deep down inside doesn’t feel like he deserves her) and he doesn’t want to really be tied down either.  He doesn’t want to deal with the REAL parts of being in a relationship and the gritty every day to day stuff.. he doesn’t want to catch her peeing with their bathroom door open, take out the trash, talk about bills or taxes together.. he’s likes the way she makes him feel, and that’s all he really needs. 

The songs is about her and is a story about their relationship and how HE feels.. he doesn’t want her to think that he ever really wanted to/or wants to formally date her.  But he appreciates her enough to write a song about her.

You don't need to change
A thing about you babe (babe is the word you use when you want to be able to use this song for anther girl.. way to keep it generic, plus the word babe itself… come on)
I'm telling you from where I sit  (he wants to sit far away.. not to close.. )
You're one of a kind (one of a kind, not very sweet.. not admitting to everything.. I am sure he had some nicer lyrics but changed them cause hes uncomfortable and arrogant)
Relationships I don’t know why (because you are too scared to ever be in one! They are not perfect 100% of the time)
They never work out and they make you cry
But the guy that says goodbye to you (a common clique used in modern day romantic comedies where the person who says that is usually the one in love with the girl.. but in this case he doesn’t want to actually be the one with her)
is out of his mind

I've been down and I need your help
I've been feelin' sorry for myself (that's obvious)
Don't hesitate to boost my confidence (transparency of his (uncomfortable) arrogance and lack of self confidence)

Well I've been lost and I need direction
I could use a little love protection (pig)
What you say honey come to my defense (he sets this up for him to feel bad for her, then he ropes her into a one night stand..pathetic!)

I stand up for you if it's what you need (since when does a girl need someone to punch someone out for her.. women need emotional support!!)
And I can take a punch, I don't mind to bleed (I don’t care if you bleed either, is that suppose to woo her?!)
As long as afterwards you feel bad for me (transparency of his (uncomfortable) arrogance and lack of self confidence)

You give me all of your attention
I've got deep desire and it needs quenching (again! he sets this up for him to feel bad for her, then he ropes her into a one night stand..pathetic!)
I that's pretty lame for you to see (arrogant)

well enough about me and more about you
Because that'd be the gentlemanly thing to do (only going to talk about you cause it’s the “gentlemanly” thing to do?  Action speak louder then words, why doesn’t he get that?)
I hope you like your men sweet and nice (ironic)

I thought I was done with telling you
But I ain't nearly halfway through
I've got a few more things Id like to say to you (you won't tell her one new thing below except that she drove you crazy #1 and that #2 you want to have a one night stand the one night he’s in town.. this song is mean to act all artsy and poetic.)

You dont need to change
A thing about you babe
I'm telling you from where I sit
You're one of a kind

Relationships I dont know why
They never work out and they make you cry
But the guy that says goodbye to you
is out of his mind, his mind

You always did kinda drive me crazy (#1 new fact she pissed him off)
And it pissed me off cuz I let it phase me
But I never wanted my time with you to end

Now I'm back in town for a day or two
Mostly I came back just to see you (#2 new fact, one night stand )
And even now, I dont want to go (you don’t have to that is your choice, again actions speak louder then words)

You dont need to change
A thing about you babe
I'm telling you from where I sit
You're one of a kind

Relationships I dont know why
They never work out and they make you cry
But the guy that says goodbye to you

is out of his mind (fake love song)

ancestry.com addiction while I wait for baby

Well, I am officially on maternity leave from Amgen and have started what feels like a new job.. ancestry.com researcher (Senior Associate).  I told Tim that when I go into labor, he is going to literally rip my hands off the keyboard and drag me to the hospital.  What started as a simple project to look at family names, possible inspiration for baby names, has turned into a full on research project, going beyond documents found on the websites, to DVRing 3 hour long documentaries on US history in the 30's to fill in blanks in my research.. to say I am obsessed is an understatement!  One huge highlight has been getting in touch with one of my mom's long lost cousins in Canada! She has pictures of her mom and my grandfather and their parents!  Its really incredible.. and my mom's side has really been quite a mystery and fully of family treasures that are slowing being reveled.  As of right now, I know our little girl has lots of Irish blood from both sides of the family, Italian blood, French blood, and close roots to Canada and America's Midwest farm lands in Iowa and Indiana.  I am also getting quite the history lesson trying to piece together bits of information I am finding.  Who knew maternity leave would fly by so fast by my new obsession.. now I just need to pack my hospital bag (has been on the "baby to do list" for well over a month now) ....I just need to bring myself to part from my ancestry workstation here!

Aside from little kick, jabs and various baby body rolls of sorts, my body is still feeling pretty "normal" (for being pregnant, that is).  I was wondering what it was going to feel like days before my due date, but really, not much has changed.  In fact, now that I have stopped working (my paid day job that is) the Braxton Hicks "practice" contractions have stopped and I am feeling much more "normal" no real signs or indications that labor is impending anytime soon.  Miss Elle is loving having me home and we are both enjoying our daily walks, playing at the park, and many many daytime naps.  All in all, I am trying to relax, breathe, contain my overwhelming excitement and enjoy this quiet time before our little girl arrives.

Papier- Mache Hot Air Balloon Project

Thanks to a charming Martha Stewart craft project baby's nursery is now complete with flying hot air balloons!

31 Weeks UltraSound

34 week update

Originally I was thinking it would be fun to blog every few weeks about the pregnancy, but in reality, been fun to just enjoy it, and forgot blogging.  I have a few pregnancy journals that I have been keeping up on, and its crazy to read all the changes since the beginning!

I have to say that my employer, Amgen has been amazing during my pregnancy!  The fitness director put a prenatal yoga class on the group fitness calender a few weeks after I requested it, and really supported the idea!  It feels so great to work for a company that truly cares about the well being of its employees. The class ended  few weeks ago, and the yoga teacher was also Tim and my childbirth class instructor (those classes also offered on Amgen's campus).

My tennis league ended a few weeks ago, and (ironically) I had been playing the best tennis the further and further my pregnancy got!  I think the extra belly weight got my momentum going fast to get short shots I typically wouldn't have gotten to.  Since tennis is done, I am thinking about finding the biggest bathing suit ever and swimming a bit with Tim... hopefully the other "serious" swimmers don't mind the slow moving, kick board using, bright purple swim cap and goggle wearing, prego lady in the lanes next to them.

But, enough about me, here's what we know so far about HER, courteous of our favorite ultrasound tech, Paula (P.S. strike one for mother's intuition on the gender).

• 26 percentile for size, Dr. is estimating weight at delivery: 6lbs 12 oz (on the petite side, which is A-okay with me)
• My nose
• Tim's long second toe (passed down from a long line of Malone's with the same) 
• Tim's long legs (well, this one hasn't actually been confirmed.. or even suggested for that matter, but I'd like to think so)
• Large patch of hair at back of head,  a.k.a peach fuzz mullet
• In the "ready position" (head down, chin down)
• Favorite yoga moves: blissful baby and double pigeon

... but enough about HER, back to ME. Fun facts about this stage of the pregnancy:

• Swollen feet
• Cankles like I have never seen before
• Running into things with belly
• Washing dishes standing at an angle
• Feel like a rotisserie chicken at night, turning from side to side
• Pregnancy shirts are starting to look like crop tops
• Oompa Loompa, doom-pa-dee-do days, quite frequently
• Loving that perfect strangers smile at me constantly and wishing their heartfelt congratulations
• She thinks its hilarious to start kicking while I am practically asleep in savasana
• She will follow my iphone light with kicks and punches when I move around my belly 

Before Tim's work holiday party

Santa came early! Lucky to have my own speedy Elf

Aloe Blacc

 Thank you Tanya for introducing me to Aloe Blacc - I can't get enough!

Jalama Summer Love

Posting a picture montage of our fun Jalama Beach camping trip this summer!

Setting up tents in high wind makes for crazy set up

Go Cal!

The surfers!

Yahtzee

Shady spot

Team Jalama

Bumbershoot 2010, Seattle, and D&K&E&E

Tim's 11th year in a row to Bumbershoot (and my 5th year or so) has come and gone, and it was another great year! I managed to go (rain and shine) for all 3 days, however midway through the 3rd day, I had to let my poor feet rest and get a ride outta there! There wasn't anyone in particular that I was dying to see this year, aside from Jenny Lewis, but it ended up being one of my favorite years for music. I also got a treat when I noticed Anita Robinson and Kevin Robinson playing in the background with Bobby Bare! Tim and I had just created the ultrasound video with Viva Voce's song Alive with Pleasure, so it was ironic to catch them on stage unexpectedly.. if only it was a Viva Voce performance!!

Playing with the nieces adds a special dimension to the week as well. This year the top games were hula hooping in the backyard, backyard odd ball dance move interpretations soccer practice for Emily's new league, and of course, as I lovingly call it: BASEMENT JAIL games. This year consisted of mostly "farm yard" and "babies." I call it "jail" because once those girls pull you down there, there's no escape. Playing upstairs in the common areas is completely unacceptable to them because their auntie Kaitlin may take the focus of them for a moment to talk to Tim, laugh with Kirsten or, gasp, their mom might need them to brush their teeth.

It is so fun to play with those girls though, they are so creative with their toys and the intricate story lines they think up. I was glad I avoided being the horsie each time we played farm though, because it involved crawling around on all fours, having a fidgety 3 year sit on your back (not to mention the said 3 year old is in control of the beaded "leash" that the horsie wears). I got to be the head farmer, feeding the animals, cleaning the pins, preparing cupcakes and ice cream for horsie's birthday celebration, and occasionally chasing down an escaped horsed or two.  I also got to build a new horse pin for when there just wasn't enough space in one pin for both horses (aka saved fun playtime from meltdown central).  Undoubtedly playing with those two sweeties, gets me very excited for meeting my little sweetie to be.  If she is anything like her sweet, creative, funny cousins, Emily and Elena we will be blessed!  Elena even promised when the "baby comes out your belly" that the baby could borrow one of her dress up dresses, but NOT the pink and purple one.  Too funny!

We got to experience the night before school starting again, and go to see Emily off for her first day of 1st grade!  Its fun to watch the girls grow up and to watch "seasoned" parents raise such beautiful girls!

17 week update

forgot to "publish" this at 17 weeks...

I entered my second trimester a few weeks ago and as of today, I started my 17th week. The baby is now 5 in. from head to toe and weighs 5 oz. Time has flown by and I still hardly believe I'm pregnant...I think mostly because I've been pretty lucky as far as symptoms go. With only a few weeks of real fatigue and occasional headaches, I've been able to keep up with my regular tennis league, yoga, hiking and my daily walks with Tim and Elle. My doubles partner last week said I was carrying my baby and her on the court, so I had to laugh about that. I'm trying to get Amgen to offer a prenatal yoga class and the fitness director said she would try to get it on the schedule. Despite all the exercise I'm gradually gaining weight and my little baby bump is growing - my wardrobe has had to be very "creative" lately.  Tim has been taking great care of me, dealing with the occasional (well, occasional in my mind) mood swings, doing extra chores and whipping up some delicious smoothies!

As of today the baby can hear, so I told Tim we have to be extra careful with what we say and I really hope it doesn't mind my singing in the car. Despite the recommendation to expose the baby to "relaxing and calming" tunes, I couldn’t help but to blast Daft Punk in the car to work this morning.. nothing like getting this tiny dancer moving in the AM and exposing it to electronica early on.  This new milestone is also just in time for our annual trip to Seattle for Bumbershoot, where the baby will be hearing lots of great music.

As far as cravings, the baby cannot get enough smoothies...I wish there was a Jamba Juice attached to our house!! Baby has no food aversions...so I'm taking this as a sign that they will be a good eater (fingers crossed). Things are going to get really exciting in the week or so because we'll be finding out the gender - and hopefully the little one will be making enough movements for flutters in my belly (if Daft Punk doesn’t do it, I’m not sure what will). Tim and I both think it's a boy...well, Tim is praying it's a boy and I just have a “feeling.”

We decided that the nursery will be in the "fish tank" room and we've started to slowly envision it transformed. I'm hoping the fish tank will be a nice white noise maker and nice visual with the "nemos" swimming around. Elle is looking forward to having a little one around....more toys, more crumbs, more cuddles.

Alive With Pleasure!

Cancun, Mexico

Oh Mexico, I am glad I gave you a second shot.

(First shot: college girls road trip to Rosartio, Papas & Beers mechanical bull riding type of trip, gross hotel, gross nightlife style of trip that led us to leave on day 2 days into our prepaid 5 day trip.)

This trip was so much different, thank goodness.  The hotel was all ocean view rooms, and the view from our patio was breathtaking!   The food was great and they even had amazing vegetarian options!  Tim and I tried to work off all the food by playing tennis ever day at the resorts rooftop grass court, swimming in the Caribbean Sea, and a Spanish led yoga class at the resort Spa (Tim's first introduction to yoga),.... a tough daily regiment.

The highlights of the trip were two snorkeling day trips we took, first to Cozumel Island and the next day to Isla Mujeres.  In Cozumel I am glad it wasn't my first time snorkeling because our small boat consisted of a local Spanish speaking family on vacation and our guide was only speaking Spanish for them.  It was Tim's first time snorkeling and since he is really into tropical fish, so I was glad he could understand (some of) what our guide was talking about.  We went to about five varied snorkeling spots off Cozumel and it was incredibly beautiful!

The second day trip to Isla Mujeres (Spanish for Island of the Women) was also a trip that I will never forget (and this is where I want to stay on our next trip to Mexico).  This little white sand island in the Caribbean has very shallow waters surrounding it, therefore no tourist cruise ships can dock here, which makes it uncrowded, sleepy, naturally beautiful and very authentic.  Its was refreshing to to visit a place where the guacamole, pico de glallo, and margaritas are made using fresh local ingredients from passed down family recipes.

We travel around the entire island via rented golf cart and we stopped to visit the Mayan ruins on the south end of the island.  The remaining ruins are of a temple dedicated to Ixchel, who is the Mayan goddess of fertility (which is very ironic knowing now what my status was at the time of visiting) in the middle of a beautiful garden with walking paths right along the water.  There is also a beautiful sculpture garden along the walk with brightly colored steel structures commissioned by artists all over the world, the bight colors against the green of the plants and blue of the ocean was just spectacular.

The snorkeling was a bit more "thrilling" then Cozumel.. mostly because of the number of barracudas that we ran into.  Tim and I ended up taking a private snorkeling tour on Isla Mujeres, and our guide would drop us off and have us make our way to his boat down the coast.. so Tim and me were pretty much alone following the underground coral reefs and fish (and a few times I may or may not have have jumped on Tim's back when I could see a barracuda's sharp fang teeth).