A work in progress

I forgot to take "before" pictures, so here's a "during" shot of our new living and dining rooms. "After" pictures still to come....

Atticus has been watching a Curious George DVD practically nonstop (or he would, if we'd let him), and it's raised a couple questions.

I mean, has anyone done a psychological profile on The Man with the Yellow Hat? Single dude, lives with a monkey, dresses entirely in yellow all the time, and has an unhealthy obsession with his hat.

Childhood trauma, maybe?

Update

It has been brought to my attention that my blogging habits have declined of late. So I thought it would be a good time to update you on the big and small events going on in the Bennett household.

Big Stuff

• We moved! Or, more accurately, are in the process of moving. We're living in the new place now but still have an apartment full of odds and ends. I sometimes have fantasies about the old apartment burning down (without damaging my sister's apartment downstairs, of course) so we don't have to decide what to do with that stuff. I'll post pictures and give you a tour later. After I take some pictures.
• We moved because I'm now managing the 5-plex we live in and two other properties around the corner. It's been a busy month, with plenty of maintenance issues and showing an apartment only to have the current resident decide to stay after all. James has become well acquainted with the lawn mower, and even climbed on the roof today.
• I just got back from a fantastic family history vacation with my mom and two of my sisters. Susan summarized it well on her blog (she's a much better blogger than I am--she even posts pictures and video): click here. Added bonus: I discovered I love fried okra. Mmm....
• James finished his first year of teaching French at Kearns High and got an awesome new job at Hunter High. At Kearns he taught half French, half ESL, but at Hunter it's full-time French. He did his student teaching there, so he knows the program well and even knows some of the kids. This is a fantastic opportunity for him, and we're really excited.
• We were going to go to Seattle for a friend's wedding this weekend, but there's just too much going on with moving and managing. We're planning a trip to Arizona next month to visit James's family. It will be good to go down there, because Atticus hasn't met any of his Bennett cousins or aunts and uncles. I was just barely pregnant last time we were in town. I'm just not all that thrilled about going in the middle of July. Of course, last time I visited Arizona in July, James and I pretty much decided to get married. He knew I was serious about him if I was willing to brave 107 degree days just to be with him. So Nana, you know we love you!
• My family is having our first-ever reunion in August. I grew up without much extended family, but as the fifth of nine children I have plenty of extended family now. We had a reunion of sorts when the first grandchild got married last month, and it was a good time. I'm looking forward to seeing more out-of-towners, but sad that my LA brothers are tied up with work and won't make it. Maybe we need to take a trip to LA... (Atticus does keep talking about having a picnic at the beach ever since he saw one on a "Thomas" video.)

Smaller Stuff (the "Random" in "Random Musings")

• I've started running again with a friend who keeps a similar pace. After not running for months, we were able to get 3/4 of the way around Liberty Park (over a mile!) without stopping. Woo hoo!
• I'm not pregnant, but I've been bloated and moody enough that I've wondered whether I might be one of those rare cases where I go to the doctor only to learn that I'm really 4 months pregnant without having a clue.
• The first half of Doctor Who season 6 is over, and I TOTALLY CALLED the shocking revelation in the finale. Excellent season, BTW. Yes, I'm a nerd.
• With the move we weren't able to put in a garden. Does anyone know what I might be able to plant now? We have a great south-facing plot, but is it too late for summer crops? Should I just wait for fall plantings?

I think that's all my news for now. I will try to post more frequently from now on. And Mom, I'm totally holding you to your offer to help clean the old apartment... :)