The Many Faces of Silas

I know, I know, it has been a long time. It's just...blogging takes time. I like to think out my stories...to try and be creative. I like to work on the look of my blog - I want it to be bad ace! But, like I said, it takes time....and I don't have a lot of it. :) That's ok! I have to settle for basic and easy if I am going to continue being a blogger. So, here is the scoop, as of late, with the Staleys!

The past two months have been busy for Albert, Silas and I. Silas got to go to Texas and Missouri to visit his grandparents. When we finished traveling, Albert and I started remodeling our kitchen. We are still in the beginning stages. I say "we", I mean Albert. Albert is doing most of the work and I am getting Silas out of the house. I don't even have pictures to show you! I will get on that.

I am cleaning up my photos! So, I decided to post some close-ups of Silas for the grandparents! Here is your grandbaby!

"Kitty cat." ~ Silas Staley

There was another witness to this event.

Two weeks ago, I went to San Diego for training. I stayed overnight in San Diego and did not get back to Salt Lake City until 10 p.m. the next night! Needless to say, I was ready to see my baby! So, when I got home, I went into my baby's room and woke him up. Albert came into the room and hung out with us, as well. While we were playing, Hallie, our cat, mewed at the door of Silas's room. (Hallie is not allowed to in the room, so she sits outside the doorway.) Well, when he heard the meow, Silas immediatley turned to Hallie and smiled, laughed and then cooed. But, then, AS CLEAR AS A BELL, Silas said, "Kitty cat,". Albert and I were dumbfounded. But, then we were like, why are we in shock? Of course, we have a genius baby! He is a product of us. Derrrrrr!

Yeah, he hasn't said it since...

"Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone." ~ Anthony Burgess

Today, Albert said, "this is my favorite Father's Day!". That made me laugh, being that it is his first. Silas did give him the best gift ever - he snuggled and took a nap with him.

We have all needed naps this weekend because we had a garage sale yesterday. Our friends, the Fischers, came and helped us. ( Thanks again, guys!) This was my first one to do by myself. I didn't put an ad in the Salt Lake Tribune because it was $60. (What a rip!) With the help of Kate, Todd and Albert, I had fabulous signage and we had a great turn out. One of my favorite customers was a little, rotund, Hispanic girl with white cowboy boots. (Please see picture to the left.) I was watching her shop and she was picking out all of my favorite clothes! With the clothes still on the hanger, she would hold them up to herself and go to her mom to get approval. If this little girl would have been 30 - I know we would have been good friends. She had fabulous taste.

Another favorite customer was a little boy who did not have a quiet voice. He endlessly chattered to his mom throughout their visit about different items for sale. He finally came up to the table where we were taking money with a 50 cent Chucky Cheese bank clutched in one hand and two quarters in the other. He held out the 2 quarters to Kate and I. I took one quarter and said, "thank you!". I wish I could remember exactly what he said, but he ran to his mother and yelled something to the extent of - she only took one, she only took one! I love garage sales.

I also learned a couple of lessons from this sale. Number one, don't go to the trouble of ironing nice clothes and hanging them up in an effort to make a bigger profit. I saw that the customers were much more willing to rummage through the pile of folded clothes rather than sift through the clothes that were hanging up. Number two lesson, Albert is a diplomat and I am hard-nosed. (We already knew this, though.)To make a long story short, two men wanted a Yamaha Snow Blower. The man with glasses began asking all of these questions about it and asked for an electric cord to try and start it. He tried for 20 minutes and probably within the first five minutes another man with a beekeeper hat came up and said that he would take it. He also said that the man with glasses should not keep on trying to start it because it would burn out the starter motor. I yelled this to Albert across the yard and Albert nods to me patiently and tells me this guy is just testing it out. At minute 10, the beekeeper hat man comes to me again, I will pay what you are asking for both snow blowers. I yell, "ALBERT, THIS MAN WILL BUY BOTH SNOW BLOWERS AS IS. HE WILL PAY FOR THEM NOW!". Albert turns and gives me the Death Look. I am like - what. Minute 15 rolls around and four-eyes is still trying to start the snow blower. The beekeeper, again, comes to me and says, I will take both of them. I yell again, "ALBERT, TELL THAT GUY THAT THIS GUY IS GOING TO BUY BOTH OF THEM!". Albert turns and gives me the Super Death Look and reluctantly goes to the man with glasses, who is trying to start the snow blower and tells him that there is somebody else interested. The man with glasses hems and haws, calls his friend on his cell phone and finally says he will take it, but has to go get cash. The beekeeper was gracious and told us that the man with glasses got a good deal. I apologized to Albert and he said he knew where I was coming from. We chalked up our differences to - hey - that is what makes us a great team.

There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." ~ Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes

This will be a short blog! Albert and I went to Cabo San Lucas last week. It was a great trip. We went kayaking, got massages and read our books on the beach. My parents flew in and took care of Silas to spend some QT with their grandson. We have lots of fun stories, but I am feeling rushed to go and get things done. So, I will have to tell them on another day! However, the picture above is the image that I forever wanted to remember.

"...you like me, right now, you like me!" ~ Sally Fields

Christa and Jenny tagged me for a meme. I feel so special that ya'll want to get to know me better! Here it goes!

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

1. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

2. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

The Questions and My Answers. . .

What I was doing 10 years ago?

I was 19 and working as a live-in nanny in Corpus Christi, TX. I was going to college at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, but not really attending classes. Hee, hee. I was volunteering for Calallen Young Life - which Albert was in charge of. I often hung out with Albert, Kris Korkowski and Curtis at the Young Life building. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life!

Five Snacks I enjoy:

In a perfect, non weight-gaining world. . .

1. Tablespoon of natural peanut butter (this grosses Albert out) (this is also what Silas is made out of)

2. Hummus

3. Double Stuffed Oreos and milk

4. Some squares of a Hershey's Chocolate Bar

5. Blueberries - but, I rarely have them in the house.

In the real world...

1. Ummmmm, same as above. Maybe that is why I am having difficulty losing these last 10 lbs of pregnancy weight.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Buy a Jeep Wrangler and not care that it was probably going to break down in a year.

2. Go to Italy with my sister Kerensa.

3. Go to Africa on a mission trip.

4. Do fun, anonymous, acts of giving with Albert.

5. Buy a vacation home and let anyone use it!

Five jobs that I have had:

1. Nanny

2. Flight Attendant

3. Assistant Manager, Pier One Imports

4. Sales Rep., Pharmaceutical

5. Mom to Silas

Three of my habits:

1. Washing my face with Noxema every morning and night.

2. Getting a pedicure when it is summer time. Lame, I know.

3. Surfing the Internet

Five places I have lived:

1. Pineville, Louisiana

2. Corpus Christi, Texas

3. Winthrop, Massachusetts

4. Greenville, Texas

5. Salt Lake City, UT

Five People I Want to Get to Know Better: (A nice way of saying TAG!)

1. Jody

2. Shelly

3. Amy Anderson

4. Rachael

5. Kate

“Whoever teaches his son teaches not alone his son, but also his son's son, and so on to the end of generations.” ~ Hebrew Proverb

Here is a picture of 3 Staley generations! It's funny - I have to see a picture in order to understand/feel the nostalgia of it all. These 3 are Staley men. These 3 are the firstborn sons within their respective families. These 3 will fart in front of me with no shame. I am eager to see what other attributes these boys will share with one another. :)

We went to Ft. Worth last weekend! It was a heck of a trip. Highlights include, getting bumped off of our flight. Getting to ride first class - thank you Pete and Jenny! Dropping Silas off with Papa and Gigi Wilson to hang out for the weekend - thanks again, Richard and Patty! Hanging out with the Tsakopulous' - Amy when did you get so funny? Being apart of an awesome (black-tie) wedding - congrats Clif and Schuyler! Eating lunch at Freebirds with my sister, Charee and my nieces - Gracie and Sadie are spoiled, but they are not brats! (Gracie said this.) Hung out with Big Al and Sandy at the Southfork Hotel in Plano - Silas was quick to fall asleep in Sandy's arms. Got back to Salt Lake City on Monday afternoon - Delta lost our new Britax car seat. On Tuesday, at 3 a.m. - Delta returns our car seat to our house - what?!? It was a great trip!

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one." ~ Leo J. Burke

Silas has been sleeping through the night for awhile now. However, I am now waking up to him babbling in his crib. It is a great sound!

I don't have much time to write. Right now, Albert and I are in Ft. Worth attending Clif and Schuyler's wedding. I had some down time, so I thought I would finally update the blog. I will tell you more about our Ft. Worth trip on my next post. Until then, enjoy the pictures from the last couple of weeks!