a few recently discovered truths

marlo has really taken quite well to sign language. we find it hugely beneficial, too, since she can't really use her words and we would still like to know what she's thinking. this is her doing the 'all done' sign. it's the cutest thing ever. i mean, those little hands. edible.

FACT: nothing bonds women more than impending motherhood. FACT: nothing makes women more competitive with each other than being a mother. why, ladies, why? just stop it already.

there is nothing better than a thunderstorm. what is it about them? they're just really sexy.

sure, i tolerate the heat of summer quite well and can even suffer through high humidity seemingly unscathed. but the reason that i love summer? tomato season! is there anything more delicious than a perfectly ripe, grown-on-the-vine tomato? i eat an embarrassing amount of tomatoes in the summer. there's no shame in my taste bud's game.

red lipstick has secret powers and i'm officially a believer. one of the only things that i actually remember from this economics class that i dropped in college was the professor's explanation of how one of the only things to have a rise in sales during recessions or times of war is lipstick. just think about that...

there is nothing sweeter than a baby holding onto your hand. absolutely nothing.

wine bottles with a screw top. while i'm aware that some wine snobs turn their nose up at screw tops because of whatever reason- i mean, does smelling the cork get those snobs off or something?- i think it's the second coming of christ. blasphemous, i know. but, when you have a screaming and teething toddler who refuses to be put down for even twenty-two seconds (that's my record for opening with a corkscrew and pouring myself a glass of wine), the ability to open a bottle of wine with your teeth and one hand is probably the i'll ever get to meeting jesus.

wine in a box, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. that stuff is just tacky. *unless we're talking about the four pack of white wine sangria that they sell at target. those things are just plain genius on an albert einstein level. who doesn't love an age-appropriate juice box? WARNING: they are dangerous. and delicious. they truly taste just like juice. so, when you accidentally drink all four of them because you're convinced that there's no alcohol in them, while on the beach in ninety degree heat, with a fierce sun shining down on you, you may not be able to pronounce words, let alone make a coherent sentence. or stand on your own. true story.

vin diesel has to be the worst actor on the planet. followed closely by dwayne 'the rock' johnson. followed even more closely by paul walker. and they're in a movie together? i'd rather have my fingernails ripped off one by one than be forced to pay money to sit through that shitty excuse for a movie. hell, i wouldn't watch it even if YOU paid ME money and promised to leave my fingernails alone.