Sunday, February 28, 2010

meet molly, our cousin/niece/whatever

Last weekend, before heading down to Conway for the Ward-Barron Extravaganza, we headed north to Springfield, Missouri, to meet this little two-day-old:
This is Miss Molly Abigail Floyd, the newborn daughter of Ross's cousin, Sara, and her husband, Justin. (Whew! That sentence had a lot of commas. I apologize!)

Isn't she a cutie?
She didn't open her eyes much when we were there, but she was only about 52 hours old. I guess we can't blame her. She'd had a traumatic few days, what with being born and all.

Even Ross held Molly for a few minutes.
You can read lots more about Molly on her momma's blog. She was born on Tuesday, February 16. She's almost two weeks old already! I'm sure by now she's, oh, twice the size that she is in these pictures. Kids today. They grow like weeds.
Now, to the purpose of today's post. Technically, Molly is our first cousin once removed. Or, if you don't do that "once removed" stuff, she's our second cousin (although technically, that's incorrect, and all you people who don't do the "once removed" stuff are confusing your future generations, genealogically speaking!). But "first cousin once removed" just sounds BORING. What kid has ever said, "Mom, I want to go visit my first cousins once removed Ross and Leah!"? Answer: no kid.

So, I hereby announce and declare that henceforth we shall be known to Molly as Uncle Ross and Aunt Leah. I reason that this is only fair because I only have one sister who hasn't had kids* yet, and because Ross has no siblings, so his opportunity to be an uncle is unfairly limited.

Note: We haven't actually discussed this with Molly's family yet, so this announcement is official pending further review.

*My sister and brother-in-law haven't had human kids yet, but Ross and I were thrilled to become aunt and uncle to our favorite niece-dog, Margo!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Lent

Truth: I don't really understand Lent. I grew up Baptist. Baptists are pretty ignorant of all things liturgical. Growing up, Lent was "that thing my Catholic friends did." Here's what I know about it:

  • You give something up from Ash Wednesday to Easter
  • You probably do this to focus on God or something
That's it! Atrocious, I know. But, in an effort to focus on God (or something), I'm on a Facebook fast until Easter. Just wanted to let you guys know. I may use my extra time to learn more about Lent...

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

old friends

Lately, I've been busy filling out my character & fitness application for the Oklahoma bar exam, which I have to take in July. Before they even let you take the test, the people in charge have to check you out to be sure you have the "character and fitness" required to practice law. I've answered all kinds of questions so far. Have I ever been arrested? No. Have I ever defaulted on a student loan? No. Have I ever been cited for any moving violation? Errr...yes. Did you know it's a violation of a city ordinance in Fayetteville to start through an intersection after the light has already turned yellow? It's true. I made that $125 mistake in January of 2003. A citation for "careless driving" will forever blemish my otherwise perfect driving record.

Of course, the application asks for personal references. I've been asked to provide six references whom I've known for a minimum of five years. I can't be related to any of them by blood or marriage (there goes ALL the Recktenwalds -- thanks, Kirstie!), and I also can't list any previous employer because they get their own extensive question. The five-year minimum excludes everyone I met in law school and grad school, so I've had to go way back. I've asked people I used to know in high school and junior high and even pre-school to tell the bar examiners how great and sane and fit I am to practice law.

In the process of doing all this, I realized something. I am so, so terrible at keeping in touch with old friends. Most of my emails or phone calls to my references went like this: "Hi, long time no see! How are things? Big favor to ask!"

And you know what? I hate that.


So I've decided today that I'm going to add a resolution to my list a little late this year. Resolution #6: Get back in touch with old friends. Why? Because they're my friends, dang it! I know they're busy. I'm busy. I know we may not effortlessly cross paths anymore. I'm aware we have different walks of life.  But good friendships are worth the work.

I know this is a little deep for a Tuesday afternoon, so I apologize. I just felt the need to share.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Warning: Extreme Cuteness Ahead

(Or "Extreme Cuteness Below," as it were.)

This past weekend, Ross and I went to his parents' house to help them pack up and move to a new place. Last week, we both received an email from Ross's mom. Subject: "Get Ready." The email read:

One of the nights you are home I want you to sit down with me and go through a bunch of memorablia and walk down memory lane and then we'll throw it away. This will help me get closure. It may take a while, so be prepared. I have already thrown a ton away, just so you know I won't make you look at all of it. Love, Mom

On Thursday night, the walk through memory lane began. I found out a lot about my husband that night. The thing that was most apparent to me was that Adult Ross didn't come out of nowhere. Adult Ross and Kid Ross have a lot of the same preferences, tastes, and hobbies. (OK, so Adult Ross doesn't draw pictures anymore, but everything else is pretty similar.) Check this out and you'll see what I mean:

This is Ross with a picture he drew of Garth Brooks, his favorite music superhero of all time. Ross still listens to and loves Garth.

For Christmas one year, Ross asked for, among other things, a guitar, some guitar picks, and a Davy Crockett costume. I'm pretty sure he has grown out of the Davy Crockett phase. Guitar? Not so much.


Ross drew guitars as a kid. I love it!

This picture has nothing to do with this post. I just thought it was really cute!

Here's to walking down memory lane and remembering what it's like to be a kid. For some of us, maybe it's not so different from being an adult!

Friday, February 5, 2010

TV

Preface: We don't watch a lot of TV at our house. We only get channels 2 through 22, so I watch a lot of network stuff. And TBS -- I don't think I could live without Seinfeld reruns.

So, I may be a bit behind the times, but what in the world is a "winter finale"? Have they always had these? I'm aware of season finales, but I had no idea that an episode mid-season could be considered a finale.

Somebody explain to me when this whole winter finale phenomenon got started. Once again, I am behind the times.