A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and Fynn the Upright

Ugh, the last time I had a real, decent post was back in the first week of January. That's one long case of the blahs if ever I've seen one. I've had week-long blahs before, and it doesn't usually bother me, but now I'm going on a month! This past week was particularly "blah-ish," as they amount of take-out and Coke I consume, the amount of cusswords I spew out, and the amount of time spent on useless Internet sites are in direct proportion to how high or low my spirits are. I knew I was in dire straits when on the way home from church today, I saw someone driving out of the Jack-in-the-Box drive-through and was way too envious that they could have some take-out and I could not. So, I'm trying to read good books, spend time with the boys, pray more and write something. I have now become a little bothered and concerned, because I feel like I'm neglecting my blog, and therefore any writing at all. So, here I am, determined to write something, anything, worthwhile. I'm going with stream of consciousness to see if anything valuable tumbles out. (Plus I actually have a decent idea for a book, so that's a new project I'll be working on.)

One of the new fish, Pop, lets me pet it. Seriously. I read on the Internet on a betta care page that they will become accustomed to you and recognize you and let you pet them. So I tried it, I stuck my finger in the water, approached him, and sure enough, he was still as I ran my finger along his body. He then started to kind of circle through around my finger, much like a cat when it weaves around your legs. It's very cool, and I can't believe I'm not squeamish about it. I never, ever, in a million years thought I could become attached to a fish. But I am. Fizzle, however, has a little attitude problem, and spends much of his time grounded to his bedroom playing video games and sulking.

Ewan is such a cool kid, and getting so tall and is just a boy. Shannon and I talked about how when they turn three, they are still kind of babies. But once they turn four, which he will in March, the baby is completely gone and before you stands this little man. He has such a funny sense of humor, and now he's figured out how he cracks us up when he imagines or makes stuff up, so now he does it just to make us laugh. And he'll do it over and over again, demanding each time that we laugh. But after twelve times of the same gag, it's hard to laugh, and when we fake laugh, he totally calls us on it. I actually had to have a little talk with him explaining that we couldn't laugh every single time just the way he wants us to, but that it is still funny. Every Sunday we ask him what he talked about in Primary, and he never remembers. Same thing today, but twenty minutes later after "not remembering," he started talking in great detail about the M&Ms his teacher let him pick out. I talked to her later, and she explained her lesson was about making choices. Ahhh, the joys of candy-coated chocolate greatly overshadow the eternal lesson of free agency.

Fynn officially walks now. He'd do it off and on for a while, two or three steps at a time, and I thought he would hold off for a month or so. But then, one day, it's like he literally woke up and said, "Yeah, I think I'll just walk from now on." It's very cute, he still walks like a drunkard, and seems too small to be upright, but he loves it. He's so proud of himself, as you can see in the video below. (Please pardon his "Dumb and Dumber" haircut, that darn hair-cutter lady!)

And now I think it's time for another baby.

Just kidding. But seriously, he will be 18 months old in June, and I totally want to try to have another baby after that. I just want to be prepared, mentally and physically. So now I'm on this huge campaign to add balance to my life, and discipline myself in my daily, hourly choices. It's so hard to make myself commit to anything long-term, no matter how important it may be. Last year was my 30th birthday, and it seemed like such a good kicking-off point to living healthily, better, happier. Well, I'm still in the same boat one year later. I turn 31 on Tuesday, and I just think it's time to grow up, already. Easier said than done.

Other projects coming up in my future: painting the living room, arranging pictures and knick-knacks more attractively, spending more time outside with the kids, journaling, reading worthwhile things, learning, getting closer to God, writing a book and children's stories, spending less time on the computer (unless writing) and just trying to improve my home, my family, myself. It's not a total, instant overhaul, because those are next to impossible, but baby steps and small changes are all I'm looking for right now.

Speaking of painting and arranging my house, check out these badboys:
Those are prints from The Black Apple that Bryce got me for Christmas. I found some really cheap frames ($4.98 and $6.98) and I think they look really nice. The color I want to paint the living room is a very slightly lighter version of the blue in the background of the top picture. I need to redo a lot of the way my pictures are arranged and other stuff, so this is their temporary home.

On another note, I heard the writer's strike may very well end this week. Do you know what that means? More Michaelisms from The Office, and a full season of Lost, rather than a cheated half season. My fingers are crossed, as should yours. Anyway, that's it for now. Hopefully this week will be a little better and I'll have some interesting stories to tell and insights to share.