Strange Dream from 2006

I was digging through some old files and I found a document from 2006 in which I had started to record my dreams. Alas, I am lazy....and I only wrote down two of them. One of them involved me milking dogs. (!!!)

This was the other dream:


The dream began simple enough. I was at home and had to go to the bathroom. I walked into the bathroom but when I walked in, something was amiss. It sounded like someone was behind the curtain. Surprisingly, I was undaunted and I quickly pulled back the curtain and....there was a little boy standing in my bathtub. I asked him why he was there and as we chat he transforms into a cat and it slowly dawns on me that he is actually a talking cat. I am thrilled. I quickly go out to tell someone about this amazing event (suddenly, my home bathroom is now in a public space). I see my colleague Terry from work and tell him I have just talked with a cat. I go back to get the cat and now he is a blot. Yes, a blot. I pick "him" up and hold "him" in my pocket. I show Terry the blot and Terry tells me he has seen this happen before and that he can help me. Very strange...

Strange indeed.

How Weezer Never Ruled the 90's But Totally Should Have or: Oh, How Much I Love the Blue Album

Rivers Cuomo's songwriting between the years of 1991-1998 is only bested by the output of the Beatles from 1965-1970.

There, I said it.

Music critics and well, normal people might think I am under the influence, stupid and/or ignorant. Maybe they're half right.  Yes, I know you all love Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, radiohead, the Beach Boys, blah, blah, blah....but one day, not too long ago, the question dawned on me: why didn't Weezer rule the 90's? 

Their singles were crazy catchy, their first two videos were smash hits and their first two albums are near pop perfection. Is it because they were too cute or that they were viewed  as "sell-outs"?  Was Rivers too weird and reclusive? Were they marketed wrong or not enough? Were people's minds warped from the grunge scene to listen to Weezer with an open set of ears?

I know there are people that hate Weezer and maybe you're one of them. Don't let the current incarnation of Weezer ruin old Weezer for you. Some people think Weezer is like a bad joke but I think they basically prove the cliché that "the truth is stranger than fiction".  Besides, in all the years since 1994, I have never met anyone in person, no, not a one that didn't like The Blue Album. That has to mean something....right?

I know we all have our subjective opinions.  The best we can hope for is peace, love and understanding. So, "if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further."
  

Anytime you can add a Shawshank Redemption reference, you do it. That's in my blog's bylaws.

Besides, I started to write about the Red Album and it just depressed me, I ended up riffing on how great early Weezer was and it just kinda morphed into this crazy post. 

There were cultural reasons why Weezer would never take over the world in 1994 like they should have. If you're like Brian Greene, and believe in infinite multiple universes, and parallel earths, then there is a universe where Rivers and Co. ruled the 90's and never looked back. On one of those alternate earths, the Blue Album sold 12 million copies, Pinkerton was a critical smash, Rivers released a sweet "country" solo album (Homie) followed by two more classic albums by the time the mid-00's were around. After that, they probably start churning out crap in that universe too.

Hey, I am a realist after all. 

Let's get back to the universe we do inhabit though....

If you were old enough, you might forget just how different Weezer was back in early 1994.  "Alternative Rock" in the mid-90's was serious, serious stuff. Kurt had just committed suicide and  bands that had even a scent of contrivance was going to be seen as "sell outs". Authenticity, real or imagined was a huge factor in what was deemed worthy of critical acclaim or "respect".  Yes, there were exceptions: Mellow Gold had been released just two months prior to Blue and the RHCP always had that "wacky" sense of humor.  At my high school at least, all everyone cared about were "serious" bands: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against the Machine, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden...all bands with zero sense of humor and little "fun" presented in the music itself.




I thought about putting a screen shot of Eddie Vedder earnestly screaming but you know, Billy Corgan is such a prick.  I like the Smashing Pumpkins alright but Billy is a guy who probably stays up late at night thinking about how deep and meaningful  his music is.

The first time most of the public was introduced to Weezer was the video for "Undone - The Sweater Song" or at least the incessant MTV commercial for it as a "Buzz Worthy" video. From the start, you could tell these guys are different.  I remember thinking they looked a little "too nerdy" to be real. I figured maybe they were trying a little too hard to work the "alternative" scene. In fact, I was a bit humorless myself to "get" Weezer or artists like Beck at the time.  All I knew is that as much as I felt they were contrived, that damn song was stuck in my head...It took awhile for me to admit it, but once properly introduced to the album, I loved it.



Pat was bringing it on the "Undone" video. Probably the most memorable part of the video for me is this section of the video. When I was showing my kids Weezer's Video Capture Device DVD videos, not surprisingly, they loved Pat for his silliness the most of all.

The album isn't a revolutionary album, it's one of those albums that accomplishes what it sets to be and that's actually, a pretty rare feat. There's not a bad song on the album; they all rock and you are guaranteed to be humming these songs later in the day.

The truth be told, The Blue Album is a pop masterpiece. When I think back to my peer group (class of 1995) I can't think of another album that had such universal likeability. It might make more sense if you know I'm a white guy, who hung out with mainly white males.  I also didn't hang out with many music snobs. In my groups of friends, I was the one with "indie" taste, and I wasn't even knowledgeable enough or cool enough to qualify as any group's music snob.



This band is called "The Blue Album Group" that's all they play...well, technically they haven't had a show since 2010 but the fact that they just played the album from front to finish and  that they actually existed at all is a testament to the lasting power of this album. I guess the whole "Memories" tour ended their thang.

While the album "sounds" like a 90's album - it's got an innocence and vibe that is timeless. The Blue Album songs are like vignettes from young American adulthood: the jealously, alienation, disappointment, anger, and even joy (especially heard in the guitar solos). If the album is about any one "thing", it's about growing up (as much as the Red Album is about growing old). When I first heard this album I was a senior in high school, so I could relate to the lyrics. As much as I loved Nirvana, I had no clue what Kurt was singing about most of the time. It felt like rock stars lived on the moon, but it felt like the guys in Weezer lived down the street. Some critics think simplistic lyrics indicate poor songwriting, but I've always felt the TBA (along side Pinkerton) are authentic because they aren't trying to be something they're not.

Some where down the line we got the idea that if we don't understand the lyrics (re: Dylan, Beatles, Nirvana) they are somehow "deep".  Cobain would be the first to admit his lyrics were made up on the spot. According to the great rock bio, Come As You Are, Cobain stated he wrote the Bleach lyrics in the car on the way to the studio. Later, on Nevermind, some lyrics were made up right before they recorded ("On a Plain" being the example that comes to mind).

The fact that critics thought the TBA was a joke or novelty album frustrated Rivers to no end. Critics thought the band was ironic or goofy but Rivers was earnestly writing from his heart. Much like my own attempts at art, the results are child-like, awkward and a little goofy (I mean that in the best possible of ways).

The album isn't perfect though. One problem might be that the album is a little too  uniform....it's all so....relentlessly crunchy.  I can understand how some might think it all blends together a little too well.  I get it....if you are listening to the album from start to finish, that first minute and a half of "Say it Ain't So" is a relief on the ears. Although the acoustic picking and the occasional harmonica help, the songs don't deviate too far from the formula.  The other weakness is the above-mentioned lyrical missteps. I think this is a little over-stated and compared to later Weezer lyrics, TBA at times can seem down-right sophisticated.


I'm not a music critic and I don't have the knowledge or vocabulary to discuss the music properly. So, in fragment-like form, this is what the album got right:

the drum sound, the crunch of the geetars, HARMONICA, the acoustic picking (thanks Cropper!!), the amazing harmonies (see the end of "The World Has Turned And Left Me Here" and "Holiday" as my favorite examples), guitar solos that go somewhere and act not as technical know-how but as musical narrative, wonderful bridges and the creative endings to many songs. Finally, it's just good solid pop writing.


By my count there are 8 songs I would rate from great to excellent songs (including what might be the best rock song of all time, "Say it Ain't So") and 2 great to good songs. No fillers here. The album is so economic, the only song that could be called indulgent is "Only in Dreams" but again, the music serves the song, not the other way around. The weakest of the bunch has to be "Surfwax America"  so it's likely to get skipped, but that's usually because I want to get to "Say it Ain't So" and/or "In the Garage". Finally, the album flows well. It's not a concept album but there's a story in there if you're an imaginative listener. 

So if the album is so great, why didn't it "rule the world"?

Besides sounding different from other bands, I think people thought Weezer made it look a little too easy. They weren't an underground band that built a fan base over many years as they struggled to make it. They came out of no where, landed a major label deal and suddenly "Undone" was a MTV "Buzz Worthy" video and moderate "alternative rock" hit and then the next thing everyone knows....

Whatever one thinks of Weezer, Spike Jonze is a genius. Sounds corny but once when the video was on, I ran downstairs and had my parents turn on the video so they could check it out. 

Any hope of being an "indie cred" band died with the "Buddy Holly" video. Mainstream success did come but only at the expense of underground and critical acceptance. Maybe that's a little too neat but it sure seemed that way at the time. If you weren't considered a serious "artist" (and Weezer was too quirky to be considered "rock art") then you were deemed inconsequential.

This was before the internet had hit it big, so reviews and articles in Rolling Stone mattered.  I remember in the late 90's when bands like The Vines (or The Hives) were on magazine covers - they were sold as "authentic" up-and-coming talents. The truth was most of the bands (especially The Vines) sucked and were utterly redundant in the marketplace of ideas.  Compare that with the music press' treatment of Weezer. It was dismissive or even worse....Critics reactions to the Blue Album was generally fair to lukewarm while the special level of scorn was reserved for Pinkerton. Both deserved better. Had Rolling Stone and the Alternative Press selected Weezer as their "break-out" band, I have no doubt, this would have allowed many college-aged consumers to deem them as "acceptable" and enter the world of "bands that I am supposed to like because someone said their album was meaningful and deep". 

Today it seems more acceptable to be a "fun" pop band. Layer distorted guitars over songs and have a "rock" band perform them and suddenly it's supposed to be "art". Meanwhile music classified as "pop" is graded on a curve. I mean, let's be honest, it's a criminal act that most people don't know who Fountains of Wayne are. That's pop music at it's best.

Even  DJ's at radio stations mattered (wow, remember that?). Weezer was a 'tweener. The music was in- between the formats of "Rock Stations" and "Alternative Stations" (whatever "Alternative" meant). Nirvana, Pearl Jam, STP, Rage, etc.  were all able to were able to "double dip" at the wells of both kind of formats. The "rock" station in my city simply didn't play Weezer. Any Weezer, except on their "Alternative Show" on Sunday nights from 10:00-12:00...and actually, I only remember hearing them once on that show. Surprisingly, in 2001 Hash Pipe" broke into the station's rotation.  Then a few years later I would occasionally hear "Say it Ain't So" and "Undone" late at night. The band was not held in high esteem by the "shock jock"/macho rock DJ's and this hurt the band's sales and impact. The "geek shtick" helped market the band as different but it ultimately hurt them.

Take for example the video treatment for "Say it Ain't So". A normal band, rocking out in the garage. It didn't work (not a bad performance video, but not a great concept either). It didn't help that the band (other than Matt) looked like a totally different band from either of their previous two videos as well).  As amazing as the song is, the band was already "pegged" and the video and single were only moderate hits.



Exhibit A in my evidence that many albums in the 90's now feel and sound dated. I loved the first five songs off this album at the time but about five years ago I realized I hadn't listened to "Core" in years, so I popped it in my stereo and well....it just sucked.  I couldn't even get two songs through it.  Many radio stations treated this as "serious rock music" when in reality, it was just stupid, testosterone-driven schlock. The lyrics were stupid and it droned on and on and on. Yes, it did rock, but it was a thoroughly un-enjoyable slog.

Furthermore, with the smash hit of the video of "Buddy Holly" people viewed Weezer as sell-outs as the video was put on the Windows 95 disc.  The video seemed to have all the markings of a one-hit wonder and a novelty. Many thought the video carried the song and band further than they deserved.   It was hard to take a band seriously if all the videos were so slick and seemed a little silly. Yes, I do think they were punished for making cool videos. I read numerous times that Weezer were a 90's alt-rock version of the Monkees. Cute and packaged rock music for the kiddies. After all, the guys on the cover of The Blue Album looked like fresh-faced, clean-cut kids. Not the sad-sack, disgruntled, ugly, unshaven, rebellious rock-stars they could have been. The Weezer backlash had begun before Weezer knew what hit them.  



 I would have hated them at the time and I know they didn't write their hits but WOAH some of their stuff is severely underrated.

The band's success even got into the band's head. Were they successful because of the videos or because the music was good?  This question fueled the most ambitious song-writing era for Rivers as he wanted to be taken seriously as a song writer. When Pinkerton flopped two years later (critically and commercially) it seemed like Weezer was destined to be one of those "one-album wonders". They were supposed to know their place and go away quietly into the oblivion of pop history.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the bargain bin. The fans stuck around. Notably, with myself and others on the Weezer newsgroup.  People cared about the music because it resonated in their lives. We salivated over any scrap of music or information we could get our hands on.  Weezer was this huge mystery after the Pinkerton tour was over. There was a hunger for more....and in that time, there was a new appreciation for the albums by the public at large.  Other artists openly praised Weezer and many noted how influential the albums were. A new narrative was appearing about Weezer and their 90's legacy continues to grow to this day. Today, most people think the Blue Album is one of the 90's best albums. It's seen as a genuinely influential album and has been re-reviewed over the years to show that it is a great album. I know, I know....



Yeah, my whole post can kinda be summed up that way.

It's likely I have over-stated my case. Maybe Weezer could have never ruled the 90's under any circumstances.  Maybe the truth is, I am just a fan-boy. Maybe there is just a limited number of people who would like Weezer's music. It might be that Weezer was never as good as I thought. They over-achieved and were lucky because the "Buddy Holly" video was so awesome. Or maybe not....

One could argue that Pinkerton and Rivers' released and unreleased demos in the 90's disproves the idea that Weezer didn't create great music.  If rock stations would have pushed Weezer a little more, if music critics would have reviewed the music instead of how the band looked, if the public would have allowed a band to have a sense of humor and not pegged them as "that silly band"...maybe, just maybe....Weezer could have ruled the 90's. Then again, it's all for the better that it never happened....

Quote of the Day: Duchamp on Tools

This week was my annual book shelf cleaning week. I dust the shelf, dust off each book, re-organize as needed and decide whether to keep or sell any books. While I was thumbing through an old book, I found an old note in my handwriting on a folded, beat-up Post-It note:  

"Tools that are no good require more skill" - Duchamp

Life is like....

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle, except you never can tell what the picture will be.

Life is like pizza, you can never have enough.

Life is like the pool, the further you walk, the deeper it gets.

Life is like a flower, precious and delicate.

Life is like cheese, sometimes, it stinks.

Life is like a gray cloud, you never know if it's going to bring rain or just get in the way of the sunshine.

Life is like a dirty diaper, you don't like changing it but you know you have to.

Life is like candy, sweet, but dangerous.

Life is like a day at an amusement park, just when you're having fun, you realize it's time to go.

Life is like a book, it can gather dust on a shelf or it can cultivate your mind.

Edit: In 2015 I wrote a follow up called "Death is like..."

Saturday Night Special: Wild Flower

I am a child of the 80's. I wasn't into music all that much as a young adolescent. However, the staples were there. Micheal Jackson's Thriller, listening to the Beastie Boys, watching MTV when my parents weren't home, typical 80's memories.  I would record rap and pop music off the radio during the "Top Five at Nine" countdown but my first "real" foray into rock music was Electric by The Cult. My sister had brought the tape home from a friend.

I was around 12 when I first heard "Wild Flower" and I had never liked anything like this before.  I ate up the silly lyrics, the driving drum beat, and the guitar solo. It made me feel rebellious but it wasn't so dangerous that I would get in trouble over listening to it. I would play it on my Walkman (along with "Love Removal Machine") over and over and over though the ages of 12-14. I would sing (quietly) and work my air guitar like a master. I am still surprised my sister or parents never caught me prancing around with my Walkman on to these songs. (I did get caught screaming along with STP my senior year when my parents came home early from something).

Now, The Cult feels like a guilty pleasure. It sounds nothing like what my taste eventually settled on, but it helped introduce rock music to me and it's still a nice little diddy. Enjoy, my people. 

Fragments from Ethiopia: Trip # 2

So last year we went to Ethiopia for the second time to pick up our son.  I was going to post about this last year but when we got back we were lost in the haze of coming back with a baby, then I lost my journal that I had written while on the trip...so I waited....and waited...and then I found it (in the bathroom!!).  It's likely my memories are corrupted beyond the point of recognition but then again, we all filter reality as it's happening anyway. So, without further adieu....

Our first trip was back in July to meet our son and make our appearance in court. This time, we were back to take care of the US Embassy side of things and take our son home.

On the long plane ride over I started reading more adoption parenting books and generally freaking out.  I hadn't really worried about things up until this point.  Please don't misunderstand, it's not that I didn't consider them, it's just I didn't worry about it. Now, reality was setting in. 



This is me. With the largest jar of nutella  you have likely ever seen. This was on our layover in Frankfurt..

We arrived at night and quickly got to our hotel and straight to bed.

The next morning when we got to see our son, he was asleep, which mirrored our first trip. So, we chatted with some of the other couples who were staying on-site for their first trip, emailed family, etc. Then, we finally got to see H. It was (of course) clear that he didn't remember us one bit. Maybe he knew something was up, maybe it was that he had just gotten up from his nap but he was not the happy-go-lucky little guy the last time we saw him.  I wanted to stay and visit on site as much as possible (as it felt safe) but the agency prefers you to start that bonding right away.  We said some quick good-byes to his caretakers and we were rushed out back to the hotel.

Well, it turns out just K got shipped back to the hotel as the other fathers were going shopping and it seemed this would be a good time for me to get free transportation to go shopping. We went to a local tourist market, a coffee shop (Tomoca) and Kaldi's (the "Ethiopian Starbucks").  I had a good time visiting with the other fathers but in the back of my head I was thinking about K and H. I was wondering what was going on and wishing I had a working cell phone. I said a few quiet prayers, hoping for the best.



We loved the sambusa (with the lentils not meat).

When I got back to the hotel, I found out K was having a tough time with H after all. I felt terrible but what can you do?  We just hung out in the room the rest of the day, getting to know our H all over again. He is naturally a very pleasant kiddo, so that made everything a little easier than I would have imagined. What can I say? He's a sweet boy.

We snacked for dinner as I had brought up Kaldi's during the late afternoon and went to bed early, expecting a long night. To our surprise, H woke 3-4 times, ate, and actually went right back down. Felt like a Boss when it was my turn. Our little guy was up early at 5:25 but it was all good because we had gone to bed early and our body's clocks were still adjusting. We played in bed for a good while. Those few months where you can actually play in bed with your baby are so sweet and fleeting!



H looks so crazy tiny here.
"They grow up fast" is the most true cliché EVER.

We were off to our US Embassy appointment. The traffic was, as expected, crazy. It took about an hour to get to the embassy and at times involved cutting through bumpy back alleys and dodging people, animals, and cars.

Our appointment was ridiculously easy and very fast. We had a celebration lunch back at the hotel (pizza) and some cokes. In the afternoon we just hung out and later we snacked for dinner as we were both full from lunch and very tired. We were still hunkering down, as we had all been on an emotional and physical roller-coaster. This is despite the fact that everything up until this point had gone as excellent as could be imagined. We hit the sack at 8:00 PM!

 


The Coffee. Oh, the coffee. It was so good everywhere you went. Even though by most standards I am, indeed a "foofy" coffee drinker here at home, not so in Ethiopia.  One little cup like this and you're done. Two of them and you might get the shakes.

 The next morning we were enjoying our breakfast when a guy walked into the hotel, talked with the front desk and started walking right for our table. The thought occurred that this might be the owner but it turns out he was with Children's Hope Chest. We had arranged to meet with our sponsor child but the details had been sketchy and we thought that we had never received final confirmation before we left....so apparently, we had confirmed. It was agreed I would go and K would stay with H. I felt bad because, I was leaving again, but off I went.

The CHC rep was named Alex and he made me feel comfortable as he was a genuinely nice guy. We talked other about life, fatherhood, adoption and Addis traffic. We headed to the Merkato section of town. It's an extremely busy area of town that supposedly includes Africa's largest open-air market.  It's not the scariest part of town but it's not the nicest either. Once our taxi parked we walked literally off-the-beaten trail where the "real" Addis is teeming with real life. Basically the buildings were shacks built ingeniously with whatever scrap that could be procured.  We passed a shack that was packed to the brim full of men and it was so dark it was hard to tell what was going on.  I later found out this was a crowded bar (keep in mind this was 9:00 AM local time). We finally made our way after a few blocks to a church where we would meet our sponsor child and her father.

Our sponsor child was extremely shy as she is a 7-year-old and has nothing in common with this white American. Luckily, I had gifts from our two daughters (two shirts, a scarf, stickers and home-made cards) that I think she really liked. It was a bit awkward but you know, it was great to meet a real person that our family is helping! If I had had any sense, I would have asked if he had the time to hang out a little more and take me into the market, but I was eager to get back to K and H.

Trying to sneak a picture of the alleyway without getting people's attention.

When I got back to the hotel I spent some time with H but as our time in Ethiopia was dwindling, I decided to leave around nap time for one more excursion.

Our hotel was near the Hamlin Fistula Hospital. We had heard the hospital sells craft items from the women being served, so off I went seeking some souvenirs and adventure. It was literally down the street so my "adventure" wasn't too interesting.

Tours were only held on particular days and this was not my day. I asked him if I could still purchase some of the goods and after a phone call I was granted permission to enter. Turns out there were a group of Australian medical professionals who were touring the facility and I was welcomed to join them. The Australians were exceptionally nice to me as well although I ended up repeating my answers to the same questions to four different people.

We had seen a PBS special about this very hospital, so it was pretty cool to see the same places I remembered from the film. The questions the doctors and nurses had were a little more in-depth than I would have liked but I couldn't complain as I felt pretty lucky I was in on the tour. The grounds were beautiful but there were signs everywhere that reminded you photography was not allowed.

As we entered the back end of the facility I pointed my camera off campus to get a few pictures. Of course, a member of the tour told me photography was not allowed. I ignored him but really lost my nerve after that point...I didn't want the shame!  Of course, I wasn't going to take photos of the patients but you know a few rotten eggs have to ruin it for the rest of us!

We had begun the tour with a lecture and a Q & A, and the guided tour was starting to drag on and on...the thing was I had no way of contacting Kathryn about where I was or what was going on. As far as she knew, I was just going to buy some stuff and get back to the hotel. I quickly bought my stuff on walked back to the hotel as soon as I could.

That night we had dinner with the other family adopting that was staying at our hotel. They were adopting older twins (age 5-6). The hotel food was pretty good, everything took forever but that's just Ethiopia for you.  We talked with them for a good while as all the kids were being good and entertaining themselves. The staff at the hotel were pretty great. Supportive, kind, helpful, you name it....I didn't know if this was because they are nice or they wanted our money. Either way, it worked for me.

This night I had trouble going back to sleep after the first feeding again. I think I managed a little under 5 hours of sleep. Not what I wanted heading into a 23-hour travel ordeal starting the following evening....besides the sleep issues the whole experience with H was going extremely well. H was pretty delightfully charming most of the time. He was adjusted to us and had only a few crying spells the entire time.  We were (and are) so blessed to have a happy little guy - I almost felt like we somehow were getting away with something because it wasn't a nightmare. This isn't to say it was a piece of cake because babies never are, just that my "bad expectations" paid off!

The next day we took it easy, so easy I barely remember anything from the morning. That afternoon I walked to a Kaldi's about a half a mile away to get some lunch. It was a nice, uneventful walk. The only white person I saw was at Kaldi's but no one even turned an eye at me. I bought some "muze" (bananas) on the way back and rain threatened me on the way back but all I got was some light rain.

K enjoyed a traditional coffee ceremony as I went upstairs with H so he could nap. After a nap, I experienced a strange experience of the hotel not wanting us to pay in Ethiopian birr (they flat out refused at first, wanting US dollars, which I only had about 10-20 bucks on me). They eventually relented as I explained I didn't have the money to pay them anyway. 

It seemed like the last two hours in the hotel flew by, and off we were to the airport. It was crazy traffic and it took about an hour to get there. The stress of being in the crazy airport having to go through customs, etc. with a new baby was a little overwhelming.  

It was crazy but not too crazy. It was a long trip home (and a long boring story that I'm not going to repeat here). Suffice to say, H was incredible. He basically was so freaked out he slept most of the time for the first 12-14 hours. It felt like we won the gold medal in adoptive flight homes....so not what I was expecting.  Once we arrived in DC the little guy was winning smiles left and right. We missed our flight from DC to Houston as our flight left Addis a little behind schedule and the line at customs in DC was insanely, frustratingly slow. 

When we got home the new chapter of our lives finally started. We could work on finding our new "normal". I am happy to report that this year with H home has been amazing. Life is hard sometimes, there is no doubt but right now in our lives when we aren't cleaning up vomit, having children scream at us, and feeling exhausted, we are very, very happy and blessed.  We wouldn't have it any other way.

Blog Redesign BLOWOUT CELEBRATION Pic Dump

I redesigned the blog tonight - I think the old one looked a little too much like 2002.

I know all my long-time readers (all two of you) might be really shocked.  Here is the list of things I changed:

New Logo: I  took 5 minutes to make the logo go from terrible to not as terrible.

New Colors: Wow, thanks google.

New Banner/Description quote: Pretty much sums it up right there.

Here is a mini-pic dump to celebrate the festivities. Free cookies for everyone!!!