Driving home last night...

Declan: Mama? What would happen if a tire broke?

Me: Well, the car would make this cu-glunk cu-glunk sound and we would pull over to the side of the road and fix it with the spare tire in the trunk.

Declan: And then we would get a new tire?

Me: Yup.

Declan: Are they expensive?

Me: Yes. They cost about $150-200 per tire. {I think?!? How should I know?!? Bryan does that stuff.}

Declan: Whoah. That's a lot. Good thing they give you back all that money.

Me: {misunderstanding, thinking we are play acting, and trying to be super! fun! play acting! mom!} I know! Wouldn't that be fun??? If people just gave you money for stuff?

Declan: No! I mean how they really give you money for stuff.

Me: Huh?

Declan: How the people at the store always give you money! You give them money, and then they give you money back!

[Insert realization that my son thinks people giving us change is people just GIVING us money. THINK ABOUT THIS. For nearly 6 years, he has been believing that clerks at stores have just been RANDOMLY handing me cash. I have a mini-crisis in the moment. Do I ruin his dream? Because, seriously, it's such. a. lovely. dream!]

Me: Oh honey. That's just the store people giving us change for the money we give them, not actually giving us free money.

*-SQUASH-*

Last week, some of you saw me tweeting from lunch with Bryan and James, which basically amounts to drunk tweeting since the two of them make me laugh so much I nearly always have Diet Coke slurping out my nose. But anyway, we were having a heated debate over whether or not Joe DiMaggio ever made an appearance on The Brady Bunch. James swore he did. Bryan and I swore he didn't. I finally took the matter to Twitter and Neilochka and many others settled the argument with two words: Don Drysdale.

Not to fear, James often gets things *close* - but not quite right. Lou Rawls. Lou Reed. Same difference. Don Juan and Don Ho? Distant cousins. The ultimate Jamesism ever? Johan Sebastian Bach (Composer) = Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) = Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull). Wow. A TRIPLE! So in regard to the Joe DiMaggio thing, odds were in our favor that he was wrong.

But here is what I learned that day. James is a huge Brady Bunch fan. (Pssst. So am I. How could I not being born in 1970???) We sat there and traded favorites like a ping pong match in China for at least 15 minutes. Basically until Bryan got sick of it and told us to shut up.

The one we agreed upon utterly and completely? The episode where the kids go on the TV show to raise money for the anniversary gift and perform as the "Silver Platters." I still remember those bitchin' moves like it was yesterday.



Other memorable episodes for me:

- The one where the kids pool their trading stamps for a big prize and duke it out with a house of cards, only to buy a TV, something *everyone* can enjoy.

- The one where Carol gets into a parking lot accident and they take down the con-man in court. Total pre-Law & Order at it's finest!

- The one where they go to Hawaii, where the spider climbs up on Jan's bed and gave me nightmares every single time I saw the episode.

- "Baby talk, baby talk, it's a wonder you can walk!"

- The one where the guys pull a prank with the fake alien ship on a string in the backyard but all you can really look at is the huge canker sore on Greg's lip.

- And OF COURSE OF COURSE OF COURSE, the one where Davy Jones takes Marcia to the prom.

OK, your turn. Which where YOUR favorite Brady Bunch episodes?

If you were following my panicked tweets over the weekend, you saw that somehow I managed to lose a photo memory card containing flower photos I suspected to be amongst the best I had ever taken.

Luckily, my best friend Jeff took pity on me (and got tired of my mewling text messages to him) and retraced our steps from 4th of July - miraculously FINDING the memory card on the roof where we watched the fireworks. YAY JEFF! And YAY MEMORY CARD for sustaining 100 degree heat on a tar roof all day, because the photos were all JUST FINE.

Here is a sampling, and the rest are in the Lost Flower Photo set. I also have some cool fireworks and cityscape shots coming from our time on said roof, but I figured I would give my Mac some time to relax after all the kissing and hugging I subjected it to last night.

You may remember the rant I spewed last year?

There is something different this year. Something in the air. Something I can feel in my bones.

Change.



Happy birthday, America.

I mean that.

I have been asked to add a massive disclaimer at the beginning of this post. Because, while very few people from my office actually read this blog, every single one of them is aware of it. And unbeknownst to them, there has been a game going on between my husband, Bryan aka BugFrog, and James, aka JaggedPen, for quite some time now. A game that doesn't take much time, a game that hurts no one, a game that is uproariously funny - and yet *could* be construed as disrespectful if taken the wrong way. My point? DON'T TAKE IT THE WRONG WAY.

Basically, the guys make every attempt (within the confines of safety and the reality of three-dimensional space) to photograph themselves with any and all repairmen that enter the office. Simple as that. Well, no, not really. If they are *seen* by said repairmen taking said photographs? Game over. So they need to be sneaky deaky.

Here is a sampling of their shots over the past 6 months. My favorite is the last one where James makes it in the photo by a nose. Get it??? BY A NOSE! I kill me.

But most of me is REALLY REALLY REALLY happy. I am looking forward to meeting some of the most amazing ladies I have had the privilege to stalk from afar for the last 3 years. Smart, funny, warm ladies who reach out and touch my heart from worlds away on a daily basis.

I can't wait.

But I really didn't think I was going to go. We have tickets for day 2 the Mile High Music Festival which is the same weekend, and seeing as we had to mortgage the house to get them, I just didn't see how I was going to fit in both events. And then I started feeling the "netcitement." And the emails started flowing in: "Are you going???" And then my husband told me I wasn't allowed in the house from Thursday on because I would be such a depressed blob anyway, so why not fly off to San Francisco and catch a flight back early Sunday to make the concert just in time? WHY NOT INDEED.

I am thrilled. Really, really thrilled.

But I have to confess something.

In the past, I sat back and watched Teh BlogHer with an odd mixture of emotions. It's hard not to watch such a group gathering and not feel a little, well, intimidated. So, at first, I didn't go because I didn't feel worthy. And then I didn't go because I wasn't sure I could handle all that estrogen in one place. It has felt a bit like I had my nose to the glass of some big, wonderful, amazing shoe store that everyone loves to shop at, but then I remembered I shop at Payless. (Um, I really do shop at Payless).

Then, in March, I attended SXSW Interactive for work and got a taste of what conferences that mix learning and social stuff can be like. And I realized that everyone posting and tweeting and gabbing about what's going on are doing it partially out of necessity - I mean, did we really go all this way to NOT meet up with people? - and partially because that's just what bloggers DO. And it's not really meant as a "Nha Nha, check out where *I* get to go, and who *I* get to see, and YOU DON'T." (OK, some people people do act that way, but let's just ignore that for the sake of this post, hmmm k's?)

So, I have come to peace with it. I bought tickets. I am flying back to Denver early Sunday to take my son to see John Mayer for his first big concert, all the while nursing a massive hangover.

And, while I am in San Francisco, I am hoping that the verbal diarrhea that comes out of my new iPhone (yes, I have decided to bite the bullet on that one, too) shows the fun and camaraderie that goes on between women who have had way just too much to drink and just too little sleep.

And if it doesn't, I will apologize in advance, 'cause I have been on that side of of the glass shoe shop too.

So. Who is coming to BlogHer this year? Who isn't? Why or why not?

Here we are! Already July. And the three winners this month for the July Greeblemixes are:

Sue from No Bad Days & eLuckyPacket
Kessligan from Amy Und Heiner
Mary Beth from Cats, Books, Life Is Good

Winners, please send me your snail mail addresses to aimee [at] greeblemonkey [dot] com.

Below is what they are getting. This month feels like I spent a few hours on Jack FM. But of course, I *had* to include the fun 80's songs we uncovered last month, John Mayer for the Mile High Music Fest this month (more on that later), and STEVIE. Oh, Stevie. He was beyond good last night, as you can see from my tweets. Tweets that I am SURE were the tipping point for getting me in the Twitterati section of Alltop. Because who doesn't like Stevie? Other than my co-worker Travis, who compared seeing Stevie Wonder with Jack Johnson. I mean, no offense to Jack Johnson, because he is fine and all - but as Angela/Fluid Pudding so aptly put it - that's like comparing Prince with Vanilla Ice. And homey don't play that.



Be Good by Tokyo Police Club
Buildings & Mountains by The Republic Tigers
Work for Love by Ministry
Burn You Up, Burn You Down by Big Blue Ball
My Stupid Mouth by John Mayer
Love And Pride by King
Tomorrow by Ladytron
I Couldn't Help Myself by Sara Hickman
Superstition (live) by Stevie Wonder
Dirty Living by Brendan James
Misfit by Curiosity Killed The Cat
I Sing I Swim by Seabear
One Shot by O.A.R.
This Is Not A Love Song by Public Image Ltd.
Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones
As Above So Below by Klaxons
Another Day by Jamie Lidell
Pleasure Songs by The Mary Onettes
Many Rivers to Cross (live) by Annie Lennox

Oh! And I am checking out Last.fm. Anyone on? Thoughts?

OK, I know it's nothing like a Wii and Wii Fit, but let's remember I *DO* do this every month, shall we?

Before we get to the Greeblemix questions though, I wanted to show off the birdfeeder that I talked about last week. The birdfeeder that Declan and I both slaved over at the pottery studio. The birdfeeder that is now hanging in the back yard. The birdfeeder with holes in the bottom for the ropes that are slightly too big so that some of the bird feed slides through when the wind blows it around. The birdfeeder that could then be aptly called a birdfeed spreader.

But who cares, right? We made it together.



This brings us to the theme of this month's Greeblemix contest.

Name other things Declan or I have made at pottery class!

Remember the rules!
1. One guess per person per comment!
2. No multiple guess in each comment, which leaves nothing for other people to guess on in later comments.
3. First three correct answers win!
4. If you won last month, take a month off.
5. No anonymous guesses.

Have fun.

P.S. And if you can't think of any guesses console yourself with this video of the Wii Boxing bout to end all Wii Boxing bouts.

P.P.S. Speaking of music, Bryan and I are seeing STEVIE WONDER tonight. Yes, THAT Stevie Wonder.

Our "crazy" faces.


Our "mad" faces.


And finally! Our "HAPPY" faces.

(large sizes in my Flickrstream)

All the while, Julie's daughter Tacy maintained an inner peace and tranquility usually impossible at blogger gatherings. She is truly wise beyond her years.

BUT WAIT! There's more! Coming soon! Photos of Kyle in his Rush concert wife-beater t-shirt, Declan stuffed with tissues to look pregnant, the aftermath of CJ peeing on my lawn... and as an awesome bonus: Heather and Bryan virtually beating the crap out of each other playing Wii boxing!

I couldn't make this shit up if I tried.

Some cute photos thus far from our eventful weekend. A million more coming.

I have so missed Heather.


But it's good that Julie is close. Cause she is damn cute.


It's also nice to have FlingItGirl nearby. She's mighty cute too.


Meeting the ladies from BWET was rad.


Listening to Tara do faux-stand-up is radder.


Aimee Oelke brings good glam. She also has a coolio spelled name.


And, finally, Laura Mayes from Kirtsy and Gwen Bell from, duh, GWEN BELL, are seriously among the nicest people on the planet.


Whew. We have something planned for every single night through next weekend. NOT COMPLAINING. Just wondering if I should rent my Sleep Number Bed out to someone who can actually take advantage of it.

Last night I got home from pottery class just in time to see Declan at bedtime. As I tweeted, the boys were doing "bedtime stories" from the Oriental Trading Company catalog, and in between reading about coconut bras and curly straws, Declan started filling me in on his day. This is the part where my eyes got as big as saucers.

The morning was encompassed with an event that I can't really go into in order to protect the privacy of the children involved, and luckily Declan was not directly affected, but let's just say that my head kept bopping back and forth between Bryan and Declan with a look on my face something akin to: HOLY SHIT!!!

And then Declan goes back to the grass skirts, and kind of casually says over his shoulder, "And oh yeah, I almost drowned at the pool."

Um, WHAT????

Bryan quickly realizes I am about to have an aneurysm and promises to explain everything after Declan is asleep.

Here is how their earlier conversation about it went:

Declan: "I almost drowned at the pool today."

Bryan: {sputter} "What happened?"

Declan: "I walked out too far into the deep end."

Bryan: "Did the lifeguard have to come in and rescue you?"

Declan: "No. They threw the thing."

Bryan: "What thing?"

Declan: {exasperated} "Remember the lifeguard from Surf's Up? Except she was holding a squid? But this thing was real. And it was blue."

So, I can't help but be impressed at his skills at 'splaining stuff to his stupid, beleaguered parents. And we figure that if they just threw the squid blue thing, he probably didn't "almost drown."

But needless to say, the kid had an eventful day. And I didn't sleep all that well.

But *I* am going to have an eventful day because little miss Heather B is coming to Denver tonight! Reunited and it feels so good! (Plus! Sunday, Julie and I are subjecting her to the GeeseMonkey kids. I have a feeling she will never want to step foot in the Centennial state again.)

And *tomorrow* is also going to be an eventful day because I am attending Gwen Bell's BWET event. All Boulder/Denver techie businessy chicks are welcome!

Whew. Who needs sleep anyway?

I have it! I have it! The video of my appearance on Good Day Colorado from yesterday. Bryan helped me do it and there was no arguing or screaming or hissy fits involved! Not even any breaking into my computer.

Seriously, have I mentioned lately how awesome my husband is? How supportive? The goofball sent this "screen capture" around work minutes after I wrapped up my interview. Damn, I love that guy.

(click image to see large version)


And there are three other people I need to thank. The ladies in my Life Management Team. Teresa, Anne and Christina were making last minute jewelry recommendations via iPhone and text. No kidding, I am not sure I could do anything anymore without consulting those ladies. I literally ripped off the necklace I had on as I was pulling in to the studio parking lot based on their comments.