Now I get why my dad left an engineering job to be a trucker.  As Desiree asked, “Is she the bonus?”

Don’t make us tell ya again or thar be a plank to walk.

What if this were my last post? Would this post be worthy?

I stumbled across a Seth Godin post recently that focuses on our obsession with reaching perfection in our actions.  It echoed a bluishorange post I had bookmarked some time ago, which in itself reflected on a MeFi comment.  In that hall of mirrors is the message that at some point we need to drop the chase for perfection and realize that we do the best we do.  Maybe we stumble.  Maybe we fail.

I’ve abandoned countless posts and redesigns because they never seemed quite right.  I felt I was being to grouchy.  Too verbose or self-reflective.  Too this, not enough that.  Simple truth is, I’m never going to produce anything if I never hit the publish button, never hit upload.  I’m never going to hone the craft or strengthen the muscle, if I don’t do something.  And not even in the conscious act of practice, just the doing.  My daughter didn’t fall out of the womb walking and talking and I wouldn’t expect her to pick up reading and climbing trees tomorrow.

So tomorrow, I try to post again.  Maybe it’s two sentences.  Maybe it’s twenty paragraphs.  Maybe it’s nothing.  Doesn’t mean I’ve failed.

Not a bad way to go, really, but given that I’ve given up cigarettes, you don’t really need me pissy and buzzed. It’s a nasty combination akin to Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone going at it in “Casino”.

The double punch of an early Easter and my birthday brought forth a rain of jelly beans, birthday cake, chocolate bunnies and more. Grandpa hinted that he needed more chocolate chip cookies brought out to the egg hunt so Desiree and her little kitchen helper made a batch. That little girl can tell you everything that goes into cookies. The most important ingredient is love. That’s why their cookies taste so much better than anything you buy in a store. And why half the batch stays at home.

Then, they had their delayed cupcake date.

I blame Jessica. She introduced our munchkin to “Pinkalicious“, which sounds like another skanky entry in VH1’s Celebreality, but really is a sweet book about a girl who turns pink after one too many cupcakes. We had to take a break from the book for a week after too many night-after-night readings. Lily had started to petition her mom to make blue frosting cupcakes and her mom had a realization. Little girl was hoping that if she ate enough of her cakes in her favorite color, she too would turn blue. She had a meltdown when Des’ tried to explain that, no, sweetie, no matter how many you eat, you still won’t turn blue.

Now that she’d had time to accept the fact that cupcakes are not the Manic Panic of the culinary world, it was safe to make them.  Des’ put together some cream cheese frosting and they mixed the colors together.  Little diplomat that she is, she wanted to make them in all of our favorite colors.

Lily was in charge of sprinkles.

Update: Okay, I’ve fixed all the missing images. Took a bit of searching for two of them. Lesson learned for the next time I upgrade WP, which may be soon as version 2.5 looks tasty!

So, today, The Owl. The Owl is a little game Desiree taught the munchkin and I. You face each other with nose and forehead touching and then open your eyes quickly so all you see is the other person’s eyes. You kind of wiggle your head, like an owl. Lily loves it. It’s, well, a hoot!

We were in Bend for Sara’s baby shower. Well, Des’ attended the baby shower, which went on for hours, at Sara’s sisters house next door. There were no husbands or boyfriends in two, so it was just David and I. We filled the time with XBox and chatter. When Lily wasn’t there, we played inappropriately violent first-person shooters. When Desiree brought Lily over to give her a break from the “baby party”, we played the guitars. Lily ate grapes and picked our characters and instruments (”You be red girl, David”).

By the end of the weekend, Lily had a bit of a crush on David. She liked Sara and really took to David’s mother. At one point, while pretending to be a doggy, she even licked Judy’s face. Des’ says I have to stop playing that game with Lily. But how are you supposed to tell the puppy not to lick your face, especially when she thinks you’re a rock god?

Lily charms Desiree’s co-workers, as usual. She takes one by the hand and has her help sneak up on Des’ assistant, Paul. Lily seems to have a bit of a crush on Paul, playing a shy peek-a-boo from behind Jasmine’s legs.

We have lunch at a local deli where I pay far too much for a far too little. Lily eats all the cheese and turkey from her sandwhich. She’s discovered a love for the inside of pickles, mostly the seeds. What’s left on her plate is the outside parts of her meal.

After dropping mom back off at her office and scoring some Red Vines and M&Ms, she falls asleep shortly after waving bye-bye to the security guard.

We drive up to the Midland library branch to pick up some new books and choose Lily’s second prize as part of the Summer Reading program. She recently fell in love with the Library Lion, a lovely book our friend Jessica had sent. So Lily just had to have the little foam lion when we chose her first reading reward.

We sit down at one of the miniature tables and Lily starts flipping through the books laying there. I grab a mix of board books and bigger, paper-paged books. Most of the board books are too simple, focusing on animals and shapes and colors, all of which we have down pat. These days it’s a matter of finding a balance: a story that isn’t so long that it will loose her attention and that is an enjoyable enough story that mom and dad will want to read it over and over. I think I do better this time than our last visit.

Lily gives a dandelion to some girl sitting at the same table.

After we pick out some books and read a few, putting one back after Lily looses interest in it half way through, we check out our books. I love the library’s self-check kiosks.

Then it’s time to pick out her second prize. There isn’t much in the bucket for the 0-3 set: some sippy cups, some little Clifford the Big Red Dog books in Spanish and more foam animals. She ends up picking an elephant to go with her lion. I notice that there is also a gorilla and a bear. Lily gets two more prizes before finishing up her game board. I think we’re going to end up with the full animal set unless I can convince someone to let us pick a prize from the next age group’s prize bucket.

I’m at home today with Lily since her aunt is sick today. I’m Googling up opening times of places while she watches a DVR’ed “Go, Diego, Go!” Diego has to save his friend Baby Jaguar and smack in the middle of the episode is a strange and forced sounding musical number.

Me? I’m folding towels.

Oh, I forgot about the second musical number at the end of the episode. (shudder)