Randomly Fauf

So the past few days I've talked about something random and Michael has said "You should blog about that." But honestly there have been so many random things that I'm just not sure I have the time to write a blog about each one! So I've decided to dedicate one blog to them all. Here indeed are true confessions of a Fauf:

1. I think 4:00pm or in the general vicinity of this time is the worst time to call anyone. I have called 7 people and have gotten all their voice mails! Even my grandma wasn't available! I think that would be an interesting test to conduct about the top worst times to catch people available. Apparently Saturdays at 4:00pm is one of those worst times. Now I predict that within the next 2 hours everyone will return my calls...probably when I am already busy with something new or not in the mood to talk on the phone anymore. How inconvenient...

2. Last night I was craving ice cream, but GOOD ice cream. I suddenly really wanted this amazing ice cream we had in Tahoe. This ice cream was so good, that it seduced me to eat it and risk illness to my lactose-intollerant intestines. And I really wanted it last night. Instead Michael and I went to Rite Aid to get some (Michael didn't even know that Rite Aid had an ice cream bar), and got some very inexpensive yet satisfying ice cream...

3. Today I saw this old GMC van that looked unnaturally small. I wondered if those vans have always been small, but we always thought of them as big because back then most cars were made on a smaller scale (and as children we were smaller, so hence everything else seemed bigger). But now in comparison to all our big SUVs and trucks, that little old GMC van is viewed in its proper proportion...

4. God answered my prayer today. Last night I prayed that it would be overcast and maybe even rain so that I wouldn't feel bad for sleeping in and lounging around. And indeed that is how the day has shaped out to be...

5. Starbucks was very annoying this morning. Michael and I went there to play Scrabble. Their music kept stopping, then starting again. It would play half a song, then suddenly turn off. Then it would start again half way through another song. It was a bit unnerving, which added to my frustration over a lousy Scrabble game in which I had ALL the vowels. At one point I had three Os, two Es and I and one consonant: Z! Worst letters ever! By the way, has anyone else heard that ridiculous liberal song that Starbucks plays ALL the time? It's about "shining". And it lists all these random things to shine on (even more random than these confessions). Here is a snippet of the song: "Shine on red-light runners, shine on traffic jams, shine on lousy leadership, shine on frankenstein, shine on mass destruction, shine blah-blah-blah..."

H.O.N.E.Y.

HONEY

Yes, that's right, honey. It seems to be in season and in my life. My life has been sweetened by it, but also made a little sticky. Here we go on my honey shpeel:

HONEY-butter: the best spread for your bread, compliments of Morgan.
HONEY in my ears: that little Geico gecko who talks about lower rates and English muffins. ::sigh:: his voice is like honey in my ears!
HONEY my love: Michael is my honey and I am his. How sweet!
HONEY as in hunny: did you know that's how Pooh spells honey? He must not have been strong in spelling.

Toey and the Cass

No, this is not the new title of a new sit-com. Nor is it the new name of a new rock band. It's the names of the cutest and newest brother and sister team, who (I am very proud to say) are related to me now via a marriage that took place in July. That's right, the Fauf has now become an aunt: Auntie Fauf. And it suits the Fauf well, as you can see.

Samona

So there's this song that I hear on Cruise radio station. The song I think is called "Samona" by Maroon 5. And I've really come to like the song. It's very hopeless romantic with a fun 70s type of sound. All week I've been telling Michael about the song and how it gets stuck in my head and how on the mornings I hear it my day just starts off right. It's become kind of a joke and in the morning when I'm getting ready for work, I'll just start singing in this horrible immitation of the Maroon 5 lead singer. Well, today when we got in the car to go to work, it was playing! I was so thrilled! It's a great song and if you have the opportunity to hear it anytime, you should. It will make you wonder about Samona.

Samona
You're getting olda
And your life
Is etched upon your face
Oh Samona

I would call you up
Every Sunday night
And we'd both stay out
Till the morning light
And we sang
Here we go again!
You will always be
In a club with me
in 1973

Those are the highlights of the song! Sing it, Samona!

The Heartland

This weekend I made a visit down to my roots, my homeland, my clan. It was a great weekend, but like anything in life, it had it's pro's and con's:

Visiting Redlands:
Pro- saying "hello" to well-missed individuals
Con- saying "goodbye" to my dear husband

Sleeping at the Drazin House:
Pro- a bed to myself in which I was able to hog the covers with no complaints
Con- being wakened early Sat morning by a sister who had to work

A Day With Mom:
Pro- catching up with mummy on all types of things
Con- learning from mummy all types of things I didn't know about my family (namely my brother)

Surprise Birthday Lunch for Mom:
Pro- excitement with seeing relatives and Mom's shocked expression
Con- trying to get 15 people to order their food and then recognize it when it's served

Playing Mario with little brother Andrew:
Pro- learning all types of secrets, like keys and pipes and star roads
Con- beating a level on his game, but having to try and beat it all over again on my own game

Yoshi Has Hatched

Besides the whole being obsessed with October, Halloween and all things autominal, there has been another obsession at the Shaw house. (No, it's not the cute little bundle of boy-joy. He has yet to visit the Nest...but in two weeks, watch out Santa Maria!) Anyways, it is this little obsession that was brought out of retirement a few weeks ago: Super Mario World on GameBoy! Michael and I each have our own file on the game, and we're each at different levels. Let me just say that Michael is THE master of Mario. Fauf is the Padewan learner, and boy has she been learning. On game one she could barely get Mario to jump a ledge and bop a turtle. But now she has lept multiple ledges and bopped multiple turtles and in the process improved her skills significantly. She has conquered multiple worlds, haunted house, castles, and oceans. Some credit must go to Michael who has given her tips, helped her in a few sticky situations, and has given his moral support. (Yet one time when the Fauf and Ig raced for the game, Fauf got it first, but Michael used his size and strength to steal if from her, which she thought was cheating and not a very noble thing to do.) So there you have it: another obsession. You must get the impression by now that the Shaws are an imbalanced couple who are always flitting from one obsession to the other. You're right...although they never really take these obsession to much heart! Although this obsession has left Fauf's thumbs calloused and stiff.
In the words of Mario himself, "Mama Mia!"

Tribute to the 'O'-So Grand Month

HAPPY OCTOBER!

October is here
Let us all cheer
For this month of candy and spooks
Pumpkins galore
Treats in the stores
I want to eat candy all day
The turning of leaves
And wearing long sleeves
Are signals there's change in the wind
My running nose
My freezing toes
October is all tricks and treats!