Pippi Longstocking Meets Coolio

Mitchell never ceases to amaze me. Due to my weirdo work hours, it makes sense to shower and get ready at night. Nocturnal showers do not top my list of favorite things to do. I showered last night and was not feeling up to doing my hair. So, Mitchell being the sweet husband that he is, offered to do it for me. He convinced me that this would look amazing in the morning.

Which one of these is not like the other?
What is up with the random auburn?

Gangsta' Paradise anyone?
I felt like I could connect with Coolio on a whole new level

Unwrapping each braid was like unwrapping a present on Christmas morning. It just kept getting better and better ... not to mention bigger and bigger.

uh ... thanks Mitchell?

The Blue Beauty

We sold it! Hallelujah! Dave Ramsey would be proud. While everyone else was playing the "Cash for Clunkers" game .... we decided to play a different game. We wanted to play the "Have no Monthly Car Payment" game, it sounded a lot more fun. We love this game and highly recommend it.

Heaven sent. 1988 was a good year. We were really excited to get this car but there was only one tiny problem ... manual transmission. The last encounter I had with a stick shift was UGLY. My little brother had previously tried to teach me .... he pronounced me unfit to ever drive such a machine.

The Blue Beauty

No a/c = the bed head look

We got the car Thursday night and I had to work early the next morning. This was a conundrum indeed. I woke poor Mitchell up at 3:45 am to take me to work that morning. I knew I had to face my fear head on ... so later that morning the driving lessons began, along with the anxiety.

Things are going well. Mitchell is extremely patient. I have only stalled it once. I haven't caused any accidents. I have not stripped the gears. Thankfully, we do not live in San Fransisco. Life is good.

Withdrawals

As some of you know, Mitchell headed up to Portland this weekend for his brother's wedding. I thought I could handle being all alone for 3.5 days, but to be honest, it got LONELY. I was shaky, irritable, anxious, had a loss of appetite, dilated pupils, rapid heart rate and was depressed .... I was having Mitchell withdrawals. I had to do something, and fast....

Make shift Mitchell

Conversations just weren't the same ....

His jumping even seemed a little stiff ...

And to top it all off, my mother had no one to barb

Will the real Mitchell Fillmore please stand up?
Come home Mitchell. Come home.

Oregon Trail

I used to travel weekly when Erin and I were dating, but I was able to switch to a more at home position. So it was fun to be on the road again, and even more fun that it wasn't a business trip. My brother got married up in Portland, Oregon this weekend. The majority of my family made the trek up to the northwest a day early and we spent the day exploring the Oregon coast and ended up in seafood restaurant on a random boardwalk. It was great fun being with my family and seeing a new place, but I really missed Erin back home. I hope next time we will be able to go together.

After being at the beach a while, the tide finally went down and there were some amazing tide-pools with hundreds of starfish and sea anemones.

I found one that was nice enough to pose with me in a picture.

I wasn't exactly dressed for the beach.... that is called Haystack Rock in the background, does it look familiar?

He was having fun until he realized he couldn't get out.

The newest addition to the Fillmore family....

We miss Marliese

And the Bronze Goes to ..... Ogden

I don't get it. I just don't get it. Generous Ogdenites give back to the city by doing what? By donating lovely bronze children of course. These bronze bundles of joy can be found scattered around the city for all to enjoy. You might have thought that I was exaggerating a little bit on our last post when I said, "Ogden has a plethora of bronze children." Mitchell and I spent part of our Friday night hunting children....bronze children. Just try and guess how many we sited in just one hours time.

knickerbockers

Respect your elders

Erin is not a ballerina

She was taking too long

Bronze bobsled team

Strange. I never got my turn

We want a pitcher not a belly itcher

tandem

big brother

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse .... Ogden had to throw in these horses, painted by local artists. There are some real doozies. Trust me.

Side saddle

Lowrider
We have some pranksters in Ogden .....

Then we came across this beauty to behold ..... Union Station: an old train station from the 1890s

No bronze children were harmed in the making of this post

Labor Day Challenge

Labor day is coming up (September 7th) and I'm going celebrate it right this year. I present to you, the first ever that i know of, Labor Day Cake Off. And if you're reading this then you are officially invited to join in on the fun.

Rules:
1. Create a Labor Day themed cake
2. Everything on the cake must be edible, no toys or buttons etc...
3. You must submit pictures of this creation to me at mitchellfillmore@gmail.com after the 8th of September and before the 13th.
4. Be creative
5. If you get so creative that it isn't immediately apparent it has anything to do with labor day, please send the explanation with your cake picture submission and it will be included as a caption.

I will post the results on the 14th with pictures of every entry i get and not say whose is whose and I will put a poll on the page where people can come and vote. Erin and I will have made our cake before the 7th so don't worry about us stealing your ideas. Then you can all put links on your blogs encouraging your friends to come and vote too. This should be a lot of fun, if any of you want to submit more than one or tell your friends to join in on the fun .... feel free.

So start planning now and i'm thinking there will be prizes. If anyone wants to donate something as a prize that would be awesome.

When Nature Calls

Mitchell and I like to explore. We are not native Ogdenites and so this provides us with many an opportunity to meander about, discovering what Ogden has to offer. We live pretty close to McKay Dee Hospital and Mitchell heard there was a walking trail around it. We considered it a worthy adventure.

Call me a nerd but I always enjoy a good sun burst

child of light

We plan on turning this into our very own Swiss family Robinson house.

Ogden has a plethora of bronze children

spy cam

This Relationship is Over

I broke up with my hair stylist. It was hard to do, we have been together now for about 3 years and have been through a lot. I have come to grips with the fact that I won't be able to afford my ex- hair stylist for quite a while ... probably never, which is completely fine. So I take what I can afford ..... and price usually = quality. Hair isn't everything right?

Before

I have a small celebrity crush on Rhianna. I'm slightly obsessed with her hair and I was sure this was what I wanted. I even took this picture to the salon.

When I showed the stylist the picture..... Quote: " I don't think this will look good on you." - hair stylist. What the heck?! So I ended up with this boring bob. Where are the jagged angles and the adventurous asymmetrical lines? My request was denied. Oh well. Better luck next time.

Creepy Smile

Mitchell trimmed his ethnic mane a while back.

This hair style is such a toss up: the fro style screams party animal while the side part adds a bit of refined gentleman to it all.

shear time

the end product.

Frolicking at 56

Once there was a woman who was quite the foxy dame.
She thought celebrating her birthday on just one day was lame.
So she proclaimed, "My birthday will last an entire week!
And if you've got a problem with that, too bad ya' freak."

Yesterday was my mom's real birthday, so we thought we would sneak over and stick these cool jello jiggler thingys to her window. The best part about it, those letters only cost $.50 at Carl's Supersaver. Cha-ching.

My dad happened to be out of town this week for business, but he made sure he had his bases covered with some flowers. Mitchell and I love the arm shelf pose she has going.

Wearing Granny Janny's glasses.

The celebration was getting a little stale, so we thought we would have a birthday photo shoot.

still frolicking at the age of 56
This picture sums up the kind of relationship my mom and Mitchell have together
Samurai warrior princess

You lost something there Mitchell