Messy Merrymaking

Dad's Birthday: An illustrated Account

On May 1st, dad got even older than he already was. Unfortunately, on that particular day I was busy getting married and everyone else was busy celebrating my marriage, so we had to celebrate on the 30th. It was a joyous occasion--we laughed, we cried, we laughed so hard our bellies hurt . . .

Mom organized a family talent show of sorts, all dedicated to dad. First, Layla and MJ sang an adorable song just for grandpa (somehow this picture got deleted, sorry).

Next, Zachary treated us with a rousing PowerPoint presentation proving dad's superhuman ability to carry cities, companies, and even nations to success. There were graphs, it was all very legit.

Weston found this segment particularly enthralling.

Later, Angelica showcased her outstanding oratory delivering a well-crafted address detailing dad's influence on her life.

Julie and Liam co-authored a book all about dad (grandpa). I believe the creative rights to the illustrations are the sole property of Liam.

Then Courtney showed a book of Photoshop illustrations she had created of the poem Jabberwocky. Then dad showed his interpretation of the poem with his face.

Next I presented an excellent re-writing of one of dad's favorite poems, "If." It was really very touching.

Finally, we all gathered for what we assumed was the grand finale. Merritt recomposed the lyrics to "Piano Man" and Sam accompanied on the guitar. Everyone sang along and things were getting pretty emotional (a rarity among the Aho clan). Just as everyone started really getting into it there was a disturbance in the corner. Half of us continued singing while the rest watched in horror as MJ began uncontrollably spewing the contents of his stomach onto his mother. At first the song continued--no one really sure of the protocol for this kind of situation--and a few still blissfully unaware of the events unfolding at the other end of the couch. Eventually the musical number broke down into stifled laughter from some of the more irreverent Ahos (myself included), rushing of aid to Stacie who had made an unsuccessful attempt at catching MJ's contribution with her shirt and then her hands, and some delayed crying from MJ once he realized what was happening. Grand Finale: check.

Home Remedies

Ok, I know that I should probably blog about marriage/graduation/wedding etc. but that will all come later. Because what I really want to blog about today are the wonders of the Internet! I've been sick the last few days (bleh) and today I woke up with horrible ear pain. Somewhere in between clutching my head and stumbling from my dose of Nyquil last night I got online desperately seeking some relief. Within a couple of minutes I had dozens of solutions at my fingertips, complete with discussions and commentary. I found it all on this great website:

www.myhomeremedies.com

It's great and I highly recommend it. In no time I was pouring warm olive oil into my ear canal and holding steaming bowls over the side of my head. Perfect if it's late at night and you can't get to the doctor, you don't want to pay a million dollars for urgent care, or if you're just into household experimentation.

Good Old Romans

I've come across a couple of good quotes from ancient Rome recently, thought I'd share a few.

"Carpe diem, quam

minimum credula

postero.

(Sieze the day,

put no trust in tomorrow.)"

-Horace

"A home without books is a body without soul."

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

"Outward looks are not enough,

Beauty is not common stuff-

Of merriment it is compact,

Playful grace in every act,

Witty laughter, laughing wit:

These are things that go with it."

-Petronius

Dreaming of a Happily Ever After

I have been having very vivid wedding nightmares. Like, my subconscious pounding on the sides of my head at night yelling: "hey CRAZY, this is all going to be a disaster!" Anyway. One night about a month ago I dreamed that on my wedding day my dress was delivered and it looked something like this:

I think it had something to do with the fact that one of my wedding colors was goldenrod yellow. How it got to be a jumpsuit I have no idea. If it helps, Christian was wearing old pajama pants with holes in the crotch, so at least we still went together.

NEWSFLASH: Weddings make people crazy. I'm not saying we shouldn't do them, I'm just saying that if you seem me running around the streets in tattered clothes yelling something about flower arrangements and tulle, blame Martha Stewart.

Good Gracious and Holy Heavens

Well folks, I did it! I just turned my thesis and honors portfolio in. IN. Just like that. Bing bong boom. All 45 blasted pages of it and that massive 3 inch binder are out of my hands and into those of the three fates. I have spent the last year slaving over the blasted thing and now it is done done done.

And now I am going to Phoenix where I will revel in the sunshine and in the babies and in Angelica (and maybe even a little bit in Ryan). And on Sunday I will be 21 years old. Which is old enough to do a lot of things I'm not supposed to do anyway.

I feel strangely at peace with the world.

The cosmos and I have reconciled. In fact, minutes after I turned my honors stuff in I walked past a man wearing a brown shirt, brown pants, and carrying three bottles of chocolate milk. I somehow feel that this is evidence of cosmic harmony. Thank you world, and thank you chocolate milk man.

Story Time

Greetings readers, it certainly has been awhile. Not that anyone is waiting anxiously by their computers trembling in anticipation for my next post, but I nevertheless feel the need to apologize for my lack of regularity. Finals, etc. I guess.

So, the real reason for this post is to officially leak my engagement into the blogosphere--in case you don't have facebook or haven't talked to me in awhile. So it's out there, I'M ENGAGED. To be married. . . in case that wasn't clear. I suppose you'd all like to hear the story now? No? Well, the title of this blog is story time so you'll just have to hear it anyway; it's fairly simple so don't go getting too excited.

First, we went to a very fancy restaurant in Salt Lake called Faustina's--me and my fiance that is (Christian if you haven't already gathered). It was just fancy enough to serve a dessert with lavender in it, and yes, I ordered dessert. After that we went to see the Utah Symphony perform Haydn's Creation at Abravanel Hall, which, by the way, was fantastic. Once our taste buds and ears had been sufficiently entertained, we decided to walk around down town and treat our eyes to some Christmas lights. We walked first around the outside of temple square (the square itself was closed), and then around the downtown streets.

By this time I was freezing cold and getting a little sick of all the drunk folks hanging out downtown. Luckily for Christian I have no sense of direction so I thought we were headed back to the car when he wanted to sit down on a bench at the Gallivan Center. Really? A bench? I'm freezing my toosh off. But I sat down anyway and cuddled up to him only to turn and find him giving a little speech and holding out a ring. After gawking for a good fifteen seconds I managed to say yes and then quickly yanked my gloves off and squealed at him to put the ring on. I have to gush for a moment and tell you how beautiful and sparkly it looked with all of the Christmas lights reflecting off of it. We reveled in our love for a moment (not a very long one, it was still cold), solicited a couple of slightly tipsy people to take a picture, and headed home. When I arrived home I found a dozen white roses on my bed (good thing I had made it that day) and a very sweet note. Nice move on Christian's part in case I had started to doubt myself already ;) .

So there you have it. The story of our engagement. No definite date yet, though it's a tentative May 1st. I will know for sure by tomorrow so hold on to your boots.

10 Reasons to Love November

1. Pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies

2. Pumpkin pancakes

3. Pumpkin bagels

4. Pumpkin cream cheese

5. Pumpkin cheesecake

6. Pumpkin pie

7. Pumpkin casserole

8. Pumpkin soup

9. Pumpkin seeds

10. Pumpkin cheesecake Ice Cream

I may or may not have consumed all of these things within the same two week period.