Sherry Carpet is just another name for culchuh

because she never lets us forget National Poetry Month. And lest April get away from some of us before the occasion is duly noted, let me take this opportunity to bring you a little spring thing from e.e. cummings, which I also put into a comment on Sherry's State of Friss just last night:



Spring is like a perhaps hand
(which comes carefully
out of Nowhere) arranging
a window, into which people look(while
people stare
arranging and changing placing
carefully there a strange
thing and a known thing here) and

changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and from moving New and
Old things, while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there) and

without breaking anything.

Just Desserts

Pondering my 2-lb. weight gain of yesterweek brought me to the not-surprising realization that eating

2 white, cream-filled, frosted cupcakes and

1 chocolate frosted cupcake

(maybe two, I can't be sure),

several [large, very] chocolate-dipped strawberries,

1 orange/pineapple graham cracker crust jello dish (no photo),

3 [large,very] BYU chocolate chip cookies,

2 [large, very] BYU other kind of cookies and

2 more [large, very] still other kind of cookies,

2 [tall, very] all-fruit smoothies and

1 piece of cheesecake topped generously with raspberry sauce

may have been the reason.

No pare. Sigue, sigue!

Of those reporting...
Points, men:
Kevin: 505
Banana H: 2 (He's gainin' on you, Kev)

Weight, men:
James IP: minus 26*
Kevin: holding at minus 17
The Professor: a respectable minus 5*

Points, women:
Jaime E: 528*
Jana Brookes: 507
Annie: 437

Weight, women:
Shawnie: minus 79 !!!!! (unofficial)**
Jana Brookes: minus 25
Nicea: minus 12.5 (that's a 2-lb. gain)

No pare. Sigue, sigue!

*added or updated 4/28
**scales crushed by auto (or something like that)

Now it's time to say goodbye...

to all our company,
M-I-C, See you real soon!
K-E-Y, Why? Because we like you!
M - O - U - S - E.

I never like the night before anyone in my family goes away, but especially when the little ones take their leave. It's so final to see the suitcases filling up and the memories stowing away. Tomorrow night will have no bedtime hugs and big, wet kisses. No one will say, "Gwamma let's read it one more time. Just one more time."

So, I'm lucky they'll all be back in June.

I've Just Received a Screamer

and I deserved every word of it! My apologies to Princess Consuela who will be gravitating on May 2 with not one but TWO(2)(dos)(deux)DEGREES OF GLORY: elementary education AND deaf education. Please take a moment to conglomerate her on this most auspicious occlusion.

Pomp and Circumstance

Not to be confused with pop and circumcise. Instead, think granulation, that happy time of year when scholars everywhere commence. Conglomerations to Jeffy McIntier for his masters in the economies, Kevin Federline Escalantepoo for his marriage/dentist's license, Jenica from Texas for getting her bachelor in '08 and her degree in '09, and B-hal for doing the matriculation March for a Masters (in public administration) with style. Kudos and Props. High Fives and Wahoos.

22, 23, 24

Does anyone else think it's cool that three extraordinary people flowers in this family were born on three consecutive days in tulip lovely April? Lola Fallana, Jaime Escalante, and Miss Kitti! In that order.

You probably all realized this long before I did, but I just now put it all together. And it inspires awe in me.

This Just In

With almost all polls reporting, here are the current Loser standings as we know them:

Men Points
Kevin - 454*

Men Weight
James in Pink - minus 24
Kevin - minus 17*
B.Hammock - minus 7.5

Women Points
Jaime Escalante - 471 points
Jana Brookes - 448
Nicea - 419

Women Weight
Jana Brookes - minus 23
Nicea - minus 14.5
Shawnie - minus 4

*updated 4/24/09

I Think Hell Just Froze Over

No, it isn't hell after all. Just Orem under six inches of snow. (The weather guys are calling it three inches, but what do they know?)

It really IS beautiful, and I'm the first to say so. But who'da thought we'd wake up to this on April 16?

In truth, I wouldn't have it any other way if I were staying inside all day. But I just can't contain myself! Today's the day I'm driving to St. George to pick up these guys:

They flew in from Buffalo to escape the snow.

And they brought their mom.

She doesn't get out much.

We took her to NYC for her birthday last October. I think the birthday dinner and all the excitement were just too much.

She must have been at the dance studio the day our family covered the chapter on Table Manners in the Big City.

The Brookeses AREN'T Babbling......and the Points Are In

No siree! James in Pink and Jana Brookes are killing us in the weight loss competition. They lead the male and female packs, respectively, with a whopping minus TWENTY-ONE pounds lost.

EACH!

(Cute how they've both lost the same amount, huh? You'd think they liked doing things together or something.)

I'll post points later. Still waiting for the dentist.

I think he might be busy packing up his tiny mouth mirror and all those metal pokers that dentists stick in your mouth.

To take them to Colorado. Or maybe he's actually driving to CO as we speak. Or maybe he's already there, in which case, we know why he hasn't had time to email his weekly totals.

It's okay, newlyweds. You're excused.

For a minute.

In other news...

Never mind, there isn't any.

Unless you consider this to be news.

Love you, reunionnaires all.

P.S. Hey, Richard Dandelion, my computer go-to man. I owe you for teaching me how to insert a link. This is a debut in this blog, man!

(And I'll bet Amanda didn't even think I knew what a link was. Ha! Like she implied in her blog, though, I like to think about things for about four months before I act on them. One can never be too careful.)

Addition to Post:
POINTS AND WEIGHT STANDINGS

In the Men's Categories:

#1 points - Kevin with 402 big ones.
#2 points - Banana Hammock with 2.
#3 points - No one.

#1 weight - James in Pink, down 21 pounds!
#2 weight - Kevin, down 17 pounds!
#3 weight - Banana Hammock, down 7.5 pounds!


In the Women's Categories:

#1 points - Jaime Escalante with 416.
#2 points - Jana Brookes with 391.
#3 points - Nicea* with 365.

#1 weight - Jana Brookes with minus 21!
#2 weight - Nicea with minus 10!**
#3 weight - Shawn with minus 5!***

*I've been keeping track of my points at school and forgetting to bring them home to post. I just finally added them all up today. Surprise!

**We didn't weigh in today because we're on spring break, so this may be inaccurate.

***As of April 2.

I Have a Code Id By Doze.

It has the poe-ten-shee-al-i-tee of making me rather mizzer-buhl.

I drips and drains. I snorts and coughs. I blows and wipes. I sniffs. I clears my throat.

And I hunkers down for the duration.

All the vitamin C and healthy eating couldn't save me from little Elthon Sandoval. He coughed. Right in my face! Caught me off guard, he did.

But only once.

Being the fast learner that I am, I ducked all the rest of the times! Yup. Watched those pesky germs sail right over my head.

Yet...

I knew what was coming.

And you knew that the stats from the Stimpson Biggest Loser contest were coming, too. Didn't you.

Here they are:

MOST POINTS (of those reporting):

Men - Kevin with 347! (He's competing against himself. I hope he wins!)

Breaking news at 8 p.m.: Escalante Bumps Women Down a Notch.
Women - 1. Jana Brookes with 332Jaime Escalante with 354! 2. Nicea with 319Jana Brookes with 332!

(I think Jaime Escalante's ahead of me, but she hasn't reported yet and I SO wanted to have my name in lights for just a minute.)

MOST WEIGHT LOST (of those reporting):

Men - 1. James in Pink with minus 20! (WAHOOOOOO) 2. Kevin with minus 13!

Women - 1. Jana Brookes with minus 17! (WAHOOOO) 2. Nicea with minus 10!

(I gained 1/2 pound last week. Must have been those two white-chocolate popcorn balls with M&Ms in 'em at the bridal shower. What?! They were little. They were.)

Guess I'll Blog

It's a conditioned reflex at this point. Pavlov's dogs. The washing machine is re-washing for the third time a load I put in there a few days ago and kept forgetting about. Now I hear the spin cycle and am mysteriously led by my senses to my desk chair.

Which sits in front of my computer.

Which allows me access to the outside world. And a look at your blogs. Since no one in the world has posted or commented in the last few hours, I see that it falls to me to be obliging once again.

Okay. I'm ready. Okay.

My fingers are poised at the keyboard.

They're raring to go.

The washing machine is into the rinse cycle.

It's a race to the finish.

Ready. Set.

Type!

Come on, thoughts. Come to Mommy.

Here goes:



I really have nothing to say.

Except that I'm reading a good book right now called Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen that I bought at the University of Notre Dame bookstore.

"Read me. Read me now," it calls.

Its voice is louder than the washing machine's.

Goodbye forever.

Neesh

Melting Fat

Here are Week 6's weigh-in results. Drum roll.

Wait, wait, wait. Hey you Stimpsons who aren't participating, is that the sound of cheering I hear? Yes, indeedy! No, not because you lucky duckies can eat anything you want. Well, you CAN cheer for that, too. If you want. But mostly you're cheering for the weight-loss marathoners. In case there was a question.

I believe in communicating clear expectations.

Now, where were we? Oh, yes, drum roll. Again, please, since we were so rudely interrupted.

Geez.

Most points, men: Kevin with 294!
Second most points, men: Banana Hammock holding at 1. (Yes, that's one! Uno.)

Most points women: Jaime Escalante with 290!
Second most points, women: Jana Brookes with 268!
Third most points, women: Annie with 242!

Most weight lost, men: James in Pink at minus 17!!!
Second most weight lost, men: Kevin at minus 10!!!

Most weight lost, women: Jana Brookes at minus 13!!!
Second most weight lost, women: Nicea at minus 10.5!!!
Third most weight lost, women: Shawn at minus 5!!!

WOOOOP. WOOOOP. WOOOOP.