I would appreciate everyone’s prayers and positive thoughts for my grandma. Last week we found out she likely has cancer (again), and today it appears she had a stroke. She’s not doing very well. I could use some good vibes too, as I try to figure out the logistics of getting to California.

Blogging might be sparse for a little while – I’ll try to keep you all posted. Thanks, in advance.

My super-fantastic photographer cousin came to visit, and here are a few of the first proofs:

And my personal favorite so far:

Said cousin is Kelly Bennett of Holden, UT. She’ll be back in Idaho this summer, and she also makes semi-regular trips to northern California. If you’re interested in working with her, I can hook you up with more info.

I’d like to wish a very happy 1st birthday to the Girl Child, aka the Minconvenience, aka Miss Abigail Wyoming.

All y’all who said “It goes by so fast!” – yeah, you were right. It’s crazy.

She’s a walking, talking (a little, anyway), eight-toothed whirlwind, who looks mighty cute in MARPAT:

And, while I’m at it, I’m going to go ahead and post my one-year-post-baby picture that I’ve been showing off everywhere like the vain little trollop I am. But you know what? I deserve to be a vain little trollop, because I’ve done a pretty doggone good job, I think:

(That’s technically 51 weeks post-partum, not a year, since it’s from my birthday a week ago. Thanks for the happy birthdays, by the way!)

I never really had any baby weight hanging around, but I’ve lost nearly 10lbs off my pre-baby weight… and I did that before the holidays. And kept it off. I’d still like to lose a few more, and a lot of work to do when it comes to actually getting in shape, but I’m more than a little proud of my progress, and have a good feeling about where I’ll be in another year.

So: Yay Girl Child, yay me, yay for being 1 and 24, and yay for 2010! I’m feeling downright optimistic these days.

106 BC – Born: Cicero, Roman statesman and philosopher (d. 43 BC)
1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
1777 – American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
1793 – Born: Lucretia Mott, American women’s rights activist (d. 1880)
1892 – Born: J. R. R. Tolkien, British writer (d. 1973)
1924 – British explorer Howard Carter discovers the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt.
1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first female elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first female to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
1945 – Born: Stephen Stills, American musician
1946 – Born: John Paul Jones, British musician (Led Zeppelin)
1956 – Born: Mel Gibson, Australian actor and director
1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
1967 – Died: Jack Ruby, American killer of Lee Harvey Oswald (b. 1911)
1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
1981 – Born: Eli Manning, American football player
1986 – Born: Me. Kicking ass and taking names ever since.

Merry Christmas, y’all.

The Inconvenience won Christmas AND the Internet with his gift to me.

Me: “I wonder what would happen if we could get our hands on the DNA of like, Washington or Jefferson, and clone them.”
The Inconvenience: “I already know what would happen.”
Me: …?
The Inconvenience: “They totally did this on GI Joe. Dr. Mindbender made a clone of like Ghengis Khan, Alexander, Atilla, and a bunch of other asskickers.”
Me: “Oh. Did it turn out well?”
The Inconvenience: “Um, yeah, Serpentor totally made Cobra Commander his bitch.”

Now he’s talking about some other guy named Nemesis Enforcer. I think I’d need to be about five years older to really get this.

I just finished my last final, and unless I did impossibly horrible on it (which I did not),* I can say with confidence that I made this semester my bitch.

As in: straight-A’s, 4.0, hello dean’s list, etc. etc. etc.

I have been horrible at college prior to this semester. Floundering seems like an appropriate word.

So, yeah. Gloating. Reveling, even. I think I shall go enjoy a celebratory brew.

Also: All those people who were like “Oh, yeah, ‘taking time off school to have a kid,’ enjoy being barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen for the rest of your life, yada yada…” – HA. Told you so. Neener.

*Grade on said final: 94/100. BOOYAH!

Our friends just got back from Dubai, and look what they sent our way:

He bobbles. He is so going on the dash.

I’m thankful for a lot of things and a lot of folks, but to pick just one this year:

Eugene Stoner.

Hope you’re all satiated and, um, not Giants fans. Muahaha. Go Denver!

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served and still serve.

Two things:

1. I reccomend celebrating by joining the VFW, VMW, or – even better – Oathkeepers.

2. If you go out for your free dinner (thanks, Applebee’s!) remember to tip your server as if you paid full price. They have to do the same amount of work no matter how much of a discount you get.