All sorts of random

Today I was seriously thinking to myself, "wow self, it has been a long time since you have blogged."  And then I realized that the "last time I blogged" was a week and a day ago, which isn't so long ago after all.  So then I felt kind of silly and self-centered until I received an email from a friend tonight saying she missed my blog posts, thus confirming that people (or at least Carrie) really DO care and it is not super lame of me to post multiple times a week like I normally do.  :) 

I've mostly been lazy and that is why I haven't posted on the blog lately.  Clara went through a crazy growth-spurt period where she slept non-stop and I scrapbooked to my little heart's content.  I took Clara to the beach for the first time ever a week ago with a friend and her kids and Clara slept pretty much the entire time. 

She does this hilarious thing with her hands all the time, but especially when she is feeding.  We call them her Tyrannosaurus Rex arms (we had to confirm that is how to spell Tyrannosaurus - is that embarassing or what?  Also, Paul just told me that Rex means "King" and I had no idea about that.  Wikipedia is kind of cool.)  Incidentally, doesn't it seem weird to say that a baby is "feeding"? I think that makes them sound like animals.

Last Saturday Paul and I tried again taking Clara to the coast to see if she would wake up this time and soak in some of our California sunshine and surf.  In the four hours it took to drive there, walk around, watch the surfers, watch the sailboats, get ice cream, and drive back home, she didn't wake up once. 

I seriously could watch surfers all day long.  I think it is amazing.  I have been twice and I want to go again so bad.  The biggest deterrent is how awful it is trying to shimmy into a wetsuit. 

 

As far as day-to-day stuff goes, I have been trying out the YMCA the past couple of days because a friend of mine told me that they have daycare for kids that are at least 6 weeks old.  Since Clara is 8 weeks old today (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!!), I figured she would be just fine.  I always thought YMCA's were ghetto, having never been to one before, but the one I am going to is seriously posh with individual TV screens on each treadmill, stairstepper, and elliptical machine.  I had forgotten how amazing it feels to go for a run.  I actually did 2.5 miles today and it felt great.  (I am taking a short break from "Ripped in 30" because it was killing my knees, btw.  Did anybody else have this problem with Jillian Michael's workouts?)

The worst part about working out every day is that I lack motivation to straighten my hair that often.  So I cave and let my hair go with its natural waviness every now and then, which I pretty much can't stand.  I don't really have "curly" hair, and some sections of my hair are wavier than others so I always feel like I just have a frizzy mess on my head.  These photos actually make it look better than it really is in person.

Our neighbor Joe is a widower (his wife just passed in January) and he has brought us a number of these flats of plums from his plum tree.  They are AMAZING - the best plums I have ever had. 

And once Clara got over her four-day growth spurt induced snooze-fest, she woke up happy as can be.  Oh my goodness, I die each time she dazzles us with her open mouth smiles and toothless grins.  She has the cutest mug I've ever seen.  We love her SO MUCH. 

This little outfit was a gift.  Our adoption friends sent the sweet bloomers (they are size 3-6 months and they are fitting her already which made me a little sad today when I realized this) and the top was a gift from our friends here from church who brought it back from their trip to Mexico.  Nuestra Clara es muy linda, no?

So that pretty much brings things up to speed for the House of Nash.