it’s not about you

Things she’s saying these days:

“Salutations.” (she’s been watching Charlotte’s Web a lot these days)

“Thank you so much.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“You are kidding me.”

“Just a minute.”

“Two seconds, mommy.”

“Where’s the sun?” She asks this every night, holding her arms up in confusion and a deep look of horrified worry on her face.

“I can’t do it.” This is usually followed by a roll of the eyes, a wrinkle up of the face, and her throwing herself down onto the floor in utter helplessness. I never thought I would despise a phrase more than “no.” But, oh, it has happened. She can no longer go potty by herself, throw anything away, put on her shoes, pick up her toys, use silverware, or pretty much do anything, anymore.

“Lemonade” and “Computer” are two of our favorite words — she can’t do her l’s yet, so it sounds like “yemmmonayde” and she leaves out the “mp” in “computer.”

I tried to teach her the word “magic” last week. Her repeat? “Mackshit.” Nice. Kid can’t get that word down.

i’m sure there’s more, but that’s all I can think of for now.

We’ll miss you.

Read the Dallas Morning News article here.

See Hal’s pictures here.

Wow. This place was a landmark and a staple. So many good places in Dallas are gone or have moved. It’s kinda sad.

Joshua and I used to live about three blocks away from this place, twice. I bet you anything they build another retail/condo development on it, the way they are bastardizing the rest of the city and neighborhood.

Sucks, doesn’t it?

Cool.

Ride BART and MUNI for FREE.

One thing I’ve learned about the weather in San Francisco, is that it varies greatly depending on what part of the city you live in. There can easily be a 20-degree variation, all at the same time, across the city.

Living in the Mission, one of the warmer, sunnier spots, is nice. It’s good for the mental health. It will be sunny while the rest of the city is shrouded in fog. I remember from the stint here as a summer missionary in 1998 that the summertime here can be chilly. I didn’t wear shorts the entire time.

But, oh, dear readers. not today. Today, my SFGate.com e-mail forecast predicted highs in the city ranging from the 60’s to the mid-90’s. A 20-or-so degree range for a forecast is typical here. Guess what part of the city is going to get the mid-90’s? You get one guess. So much for Mark Twain’s coldest winter ever spent…

I know all you Texans back home are laughing your heat-stroke-induced heads off at me, but remember two - no, three - things: (1) I’m greatly pregnant. (2) I don’t have air-conditioning. (3) We have huge windows that suck in all the light reflected off the next-door-white-building-6-feet-away-from-said-windows and we live on the top (4th) floor of our building (heat rises).

I’m going to have to leave the house all afternoon today with the munchkin. Please, a little sympathy.

Growing meat in petri dishes for mass consumption.

EW.

In other disgusting food news, Joshua, who by the way, needs to BLOG, and I watched Supersize Me last night. This movie makes me want to either (a) never eat fast food again while simultaneously (b) eat a Big Mac. Oh, the dilemma. We were talking and realized that we haven’t eaten a single fast food meal since we’ve moved to San Francisco, unless you count that one In-and-Out Burger stop on the way to the airport, but they actually MAKE their meat patties and cut their fries from whole potatoes in the restaurant, so does that really count?

Getting the DVD was worth it - to watch it again, but even just for the “Smoking Fry” extra footage. He puts a Big Mac, a Chicken McGrill, a Filet o Fish, a Quarter pounder, a Supersize Fry, and a burger and order of fries from a real place, all in glass jars with lids. The sandwiches all start developing their own personal ecosystems, but he McDonald’s fries don’t mold at change AT ALL for ten weeks, when they get thrown out by the intern accidentally. Apparently, his office stank really bad.

Priceless.

We got to video chat with both Nana and Papa and Granddad yesterday. It’s good to get all those Father’s Day vibes. Video chat is an amazing thing. It’s made being away from family that much easier — we gave them tours of the new apartment and Judah, as always, put on quite a show. So did the baby.

I also realized that, with everything that’s going on, yesterday was the first day I had shot any pictures in two weeks. THAT’S what been missing.

p.s. - how do you like our fancy-shmancy carpet, eh?

ay, matey. arrrrgg.

I just found out from Nicole Aurora that this store is closing. It’s a very sad story.

When Joshua and I were here two years ago and stayed with Jill, we stopped in at Clean Well-Lighted Place, since it was in her building, and I bought a book on the Tenderloin. Many local and famous authors do signings and readings there, including Anne Lamott, who apparently did one recently, only I didn’t find out about it in time, ahem, *Nicole*.

So I’m proud to say that I’ve been there and that I’ve bought a book there. It truly is going to be the end of an era. Ms. Bender and I are planning to go tomorrow. I hope the sales are good.

Restraint, Kristen, restraint.

If you haven’t been following this news story, then you need to be.