The Pixie Cut

I have secretly wanted a pixie cut for years. But a few fears have always held me back.

Like the fear that I would look like I did in third grade when my mom asked a friend to give me the same haircut she'd given her 4-year-old daughter--after said daughter had given herself a haircut....Being the flat-chested, tom-boyish, baggy-clothes-wearing 10-year-old that I was, I was not infrequently mistaken for a boy during the time it took to grow my hair out again. And, despite my flat-chest, baggy clothes and tom-boyish nature....I did not want to look like a boy. And it hurt.

I've gotten over the pain for the most part. But the fear of looking like a boy has remained...

Fear #2: What if people didn't like it? How could I face the world?

Fear #3: I don't know how to style my hair.

Over the last year, my secret desire grew stronger and stronger, partly due to the fact that I shared it with some of my sisters and sisters-in-law, who were very encouraging (with one exception--ahem--Melody). One in particular was so persuasive and optimistic that she decided she wanted one herself and went and got one!

It was like watching someone take the first plunge into the pool, resurface with a big smile and say, "It feels great!"

Then the scardie-cats like me want to jump in too.

So at the end of April, I took the plunge.

It felt good.

Really good.

And what of my fears?

Resolution #1: Wear pink. If that's not enough, you can go get your ears pierced with your 12-year-old sister. She'll even hold your hand.

Resolution #2: I finally decided that I didn't really care whether or not other people liked my haircut. As long as I was happy with it, I could face the world. If my husband liked it, even better! If some people--like those sweet, well-meaning 12-year-old sisters--didn't care for it, I'd survive.

Resolution #3: Still figuring it out.

Most of the response has been very positive. Several people have told me it makes me look like I'm 12. (But at least not like a 12-year-old boy!) There have been a few people who have expressed their disapproval, and even more, I think, who don't know quite what they think.

My favorite response so far, though, was when someone said I look like a Russian spy.

That's me. Stay-at-home mom by day. Russian spy by night.

Come see the Temple!

The Atlanta Georgia Temple is open to the public for one more week. Come see.



Click here for more details. http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/openhouse/
We'll try to go Wednesday night. Let us know and we can meet you there.

A grand evening

The LDS Temple in Atlanta has been under renovation for almost two years and is finally finished. We are so excited to have our temple open again! It will be rededicated in May. Prior to the dedication (or rededication) of temples, there is an "Open House" period during which the public is invited to come tour the temple. There's a link for more details in the previous post.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to play for a special dinner group outside the temple. I didn't see the guest list but I know the governor and some senators were in attendance, as well as ecclesiastical leaders of other faiths, and Martin Luther King III.

Pretty cool.

But to be honest, I was pretty oblivious to most of the people there. However, the guy who sat closest to my seat at the piano did catch my attention. He didn't quite seem to fit at the table. He was enormous. When he stood up after the dinner was over, I gaped like an idiot. He had to be over 7 feet tall.

And, in fact, he is. After describing him to my husband later on, he accurately guessed who it was: Dikembe Mutombo. Since I am woefully ignorant of all things in the world of professional sports, this name meant nothing to me, but I did recognize his face in the picture my husband showed me. And I have since read up a little on this man and am quite favorably impressed. Which is saying something because professional athletes do not generally interest me. (did I hint at that already? Sorry.)

Dikembe Mutombo is a graduate of Georgetown in linguistics and diplomacy. He speaks a host of languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and several African dialects. He is a former NBA shot-blocker star, but you're probably already ahead of me there. He is also a great humanitarian and has done much good with his time and money in Africa, particularly in his native country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. He started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions there and has worked hard to help fight and prevent diseases. Through his foundation and personal contributions, he built a big hospital in his hometown. He and his wife have six children, including four adopted.

Doesn't he sound like a nice guy?

Dikembe is in the gray-checkered suit at the far left. The piano was right next to him. You really can't appreciate from this photo how huge he looked at the table.

And here he is about to go into the temple. The man standing next to him is a friend of my husband's family. He is quite tall. Compared to most.

So--that is my first and likely my last tribute to an NBA star. Now enough about the VIPs. Time to introduce the musicians!

Janelle on the violin
Kristin on the flute
And yours truly on the beautiful (and slightly coveted) grand

We switched off throughout the evening with a girl on the harp who was absolutely fabulous. I could have listened to her all night! Is it too late to start harp lessons?

I can't tell you what a delightful time I had practicing with these lovely ladies. It was almost like going back in time....to a former life!

And look who I bumped into! My two favorite VIPs in all the world.

March Madness

In honor of March Madness each year, the male pediatric residents at Emory band together and grow mustaches. At the end of the month, everyone in the program gets together and watches a slideshow featuring all the participants. These guys are quite creative, and the slideshow is hilarious. Then the ballots are cast, and a winner is selected. Donations are made in the winner's name to the Joe P ralley run - a 5k race to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer in honor of Joseph, the son of one of our residents who died of brain cancer - link.

Last year Erik had a lot of fun participating. The guys actually had beards for most of the month...

...and then were supposed to shave them on the last day.

This year we had a lot of family-related events happening in March, so Erik opted out of the contest. He did refrain from shaving at the very end of the month to show a little manly spirit.

So here's Erik with a few of the guys who were on call that night. I think they were going for a family portrait pose here?

I personally think Anne tops them all with her Green Monster Smoothie mustache.

Have you tried one yet?



Anne's current favorite is the blueberry-banana green monster.

• 2-3 cups spinach
• 1-1.25 cups milk
  
• 1 tablespoon flax (optional)
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• ice

Our birthday girl

Abigail requested a family cookout for her birthday dinner on Saturday. So we went to our new park down the street (!!) in the late afternoon. We invited some new friends there too--a sweet family we met recently (at a different park) from Colombia. They have a beautiful four-year-old girl named Eva who made instant friends with Abigail. Erik and I clicked almost as quickly with her parents. (Erik served a mission for our church in Colombia, in case you didn't know.)
The weather was perfect. The food was yummy. The company was delightful. The photography was...well, an afterthought, as usual.

Anne wore her "sassy senorita" shirt for the occasion.

These adorable little girls were much more interested in playing than in eating, but no surprises there.

The next day we joined the big Weiler clan for a family dinner to celebrate all our March birthdays: Uncle Tommy, Uncle Hyrum, Cousin Jane, and Abigail. Fun times!

Abigail has shared a birthday dinner with Uncle Hyrum every year so far, which I think is pretty special.

The birthday buddies

Happy birthday to our big four-year-old!

Positive Peer Pressure

*This post is dedicated to my older brother Caleb...
This is what I had for breakfast this morning. Almost three of them.

It's called a Green Monster Smoothie! I got the recipe from my sister-in-law Brittany, who made one on St. Patrick's day. I have been trying to find more creative ways to include different vegetables in our diet. We've always been pretty good about eating vegetables, even the girls, but I've been wanting to branch out and try some new ones.

Last week, I bumped into a friend at the farmer's market who is in the same boat (well, actually her kids have been on strike lately), so we were exchanging ideas. She introduced me to kale, "a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties"--very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, (I'm assuming those are good for you...) and reasonably rich in calcium. (thank you, wiki)

So I bought some too, planning to look up recipes for it online. But as I mentioned, my sister-in-law did a Green Monster Smoothie post on St. Patrick's Day. I looked on the website, and most of the recipes use spinach but I found a yummy-sounding one that calls for kale! So this morning, while my poor sick husband was trying to sleep after working all night, I busted out the blender and made a Pumpkin-Kale-Banana Green Monster!!

Here is the recipe, if you don't feel like clicking on the link:

3 c. kale (2-3 leaves)
1 1/4 c. milk
1 banana
1/4-1/3 c. pumpkin
ice

I liked the look of it because it was so simple! And no added sugar! (all the recipes are like that)

I was a little nervous before taking my first sip....but it turned out to be SO delicious! I drank every last drop.

With a little help from my girls. Ok, Anne actually drank quite a bit.

I will definitely be making this again, and I can't wait to try some other recipes!

You should try it! (I dare you, Caleb.)

A Chance Encounter

I told Abigail earlier this week that she could choose one special thing to do for her birthday. She instantly requested going to Leapin' Lizards (a jump place for kids) with some of her cousins. Since we're going to be pretty busy on her actual birthday (Saturday), we went there this morning. Cousins Clark and Zella met us there, and they, of course, had a great time and were far too busy to pose for pictures. And since I am not the greatest picture-taker in the world even without a baby on my hip, I was not successful in getting a single picture with all three of them. And the few I managed to snap of one or two of them turned out blurry.

I did, however, manage to get several of this little cutie who is much more obliging when it comes to holding still and smiling for two seconds.
This is Jane, Clark's little sister. It was her first time (I believe) at Leapin' Lizards, and she absolutely loved it.

Now this next picture requires a little explanation. Ok, actually it could easily be summed up in a sentence or two, but you know that's not my style.....

When we arrived at Leapin' Lizards, we were the only ones there. Before too long, however, another small group came in--three adults and a little curly-haired blonde boy. His mother struck me at once for two reasons: 1) she had a British accent and 2) she looked remarkably like Minnie Driver.

After a bit, I leaned over to my sisters-in-law and asked them if this newcomer reminded them of the same person. They both agreed she had some similarities. Would it be tacky of me to approach her?? We deliberated for quite a while, but I finally decided to be bold--or tacky--and go talk to her.

Our conversation went like this:

Me: "Excuse me, you probably get this all the time. But you look a lot like Minnie Driver."
Her: (smiling) "I must look like a really tired Minnie Drive."
Me: (slight pause) "So....you are Minnie Driver?"
Her: "Yes, I am."

Unfortunately I probably reacted more like a silly teenie-bopper than a mature, refined woman and mother of two, but despite that, Minnie (can I call her Minnie now that we've met?) responded in a completely gracious and down-to-earth manner. We had a very normal conversation. She pointed out her son, Henry, who is 2 1/2 and his nanny. She was a little apologetic about her appearance (her own, not the nanny's) but didn't make a big deal of it (although she did put her sunglasses on for the pictures) and said she's been working 16-hour days. She's shooting in Atlanta right now.
So here we are, with the glamorous backdrop of the restrooms behind us. She's not doing it here, but Shannyn pointed out that in all the other pictures, Minnie is doing her "Red Carpet Pose"--legs crossed, torso turned in, and hand on her hip!

I need to work on mine. I'm looking a little too much like a giddy 10-year-old. (the funny thing is that I do not follow Hollywood people and am usually pretty clueless when it comes to names and faces of movie stars. But I do happen to know this one! At least her name and face. And a few movies that she's in...two, to be exact.)

Anyway, so that's my claim to fame for the day! It's not often we bump into Hollywood stars at our hole-in-the-wall kids' gym downtown...

Someday I'm sure Anne will appreciate my including her in this photo op, although she was a little unsure at the time!