Some people listen to Enya to unwind

I listen to John Mayer. I am completely mesmerized and in love with his music. He is such a talented musician. There is simply no disputing that. Well you could try disputing it, but you would look rather silly. That's like saying Van Gogh or Monet is a terrible artist simply because you don't appreciate or favor their artwork. You can say you are not a fan of John Mayer, but you there is no getting around that he is exceptional with a guitar. OK sorry, I digress.

ANYWAY...bottom line, his music is my escape. I have really come to relish running errands by myself with the bluesy sounds of John Mayer serenading me all the way to the bank. Those little excursions have become my saving grace when I just need a few minutes away from "Elmo's World."

Probably my favorite chillaxin song is his cover of Free Falling. There is just something so soothing and intoxicating about his voice.

Hope you enjoy it too...

He's the man

Sometimes I feel like I send out a bad vibe for Nick on my blog and recently I have felt the need to set the record straight. And when I say "bad vibe" I mean I feel like I kind of pick on him a lot and I don't praise or recognize all the AMAZINGLY AWESOME traits he does have. So I hereby dedicate this post to my hubby, Nicholas Ryan Sibert.

Isn't that a great pic? :)

10 things you may or may not know about my incredibly-handsome-quirky-hard-working-Alaskan man:

Did YOU know?



1 - Nick is extremely interested in and fascinated with weather. And I don't mean he just checks the daily forecast - on occasion he will measure the snow with a ruler and proudly announce how many inches we have accumulated for that day. In Alaska we had a little temperature gauge outside our window and he would always check it first thing in the morning.

2- Nick is very observant. He notices small details about people and often still shocks me with how well he knows me. Toby definitely gets his curiosity and observation skills from his daddy.



3 - Nick is very candid - a trait that I am extremely envious of. I love how he has no qualms with telling people it like it is.

4 - The "Under Pressure" song on the playlist is 100% Nick's song for the year. He literally is super dad and husband. Don't get me wrong, we definitely have our frustrations and little annoyances with each other (what marriage doesn't?) but you seriously need to get a feel for how hard this guy works: Nick works 40-50 hours a week at his job, AND carries a full load of classes (14 credits), AND any spare time he does have between work and school is spent at the library studying. He's basically gone 10 - 15 hours a day. AND when does finally make it home he puts in a load of laundry or washes the dishes for me, or gives me a break from the T-man. Seriously, the man just needs a cape.


5 - Nick is very generous and kind hearted. He loves to spoil people.

6- Nick puts up with a lot with me. He listens to all of my really long stories where I won't leave one single detail out (this is usually at around 10:30 pm when I have been cooped up in the house all day and haven't had spoken to anyone other than the checker at Wal-Mart). Also, I am such a worry wort and he has patiently suffered through all my little anxiety's. I always say things like, "Do you think I offended so-and-so when I said that? Do you think people at church think we are anti-social? What if I died, would you marry again? " You get the picture. :)



7 - This is kind of a random thing to throw in here but Nick is extremely efficient at moving (to another house, not in general). He could probably pack up all of our stuff on his own and have us completely moved in one day.

8 - Nick is a die-hard Oregon Ducks fan because he grew up in Portland the first 15 years of his life. He moved to Kodiak, Alaska his sophomore year in High School.



9 - Nick went to Singapore, Malaysia, and Sri-Lanka on his mission. English speaking too.

10 - Nick dreams of having a SUMMER home in Alaska someday. I promise Nick, one day we will make that dream a reality. :)




Love you with all my heart.

Deb

My Little Monk

No, not the monastery type monk. I am talking about the television series Monk on USA. If you are not familiar with it, I implore you to check it out. It's clean, interesting, funny, and the highlight of my Friday nights. Basically its about a brilliant detective named Adrian Monk who has many extreme phobias and compulsions. For example, he will spend hours setting a table to make sure all the dishes and napkins are in perfect alignment, he is obsessed with touching every street lamp he walks by, and he won't shake someones hand unless he has an anti-bacterial wipe close by - and that's seriously just the tip of the ice berg. But despite his hang-ups with being able to cope in society, he is extremely observant as well as intelligent in solving crime investigations.

So the reason I felt so compelled to blog about this show is because lately I have been noticing Toby's "Monkish" tendencies:

• When I cut-up a hot dog for Toby, it has to be a clean cut. Meaning none of the top layer skin can be dangling from the hot dog slice or he will absolutely refuse to eat it.
• When I make Toby pancakes they have to be perfectly round little silver dollar pancakes. If I make them "normal" size or cut them up into small pieces he will just look at me with this "Are you kidding me?" stare.
• Toby also has this weird tendency to touch the top point of a lamp shade or light fixture. We have a light right above our sink that comes to a point and anytime he is in my arms he strains to touch it. He's also done this at my parents house several times. I can't figure out who he gets this stuff from!
  
• Toby does not like his sippy cups to be tipped over on his high chair tray or on the floor. He will very carefully set them down.
• Most recently Toby has developed a fetish for opening and closing things with lids not just once or twice, but over and over and over again. ("I can't be opening and closing all kinds of jars!" -Brian Regan....Sorry, I had to throw that random quote in there) But seriously anything from sippy cups to bottled water to empty milk cartons will keep him fascinated for a solid 20 minutes (and that's a long time for him, trust me).

So some of these other traits are not so OCD as they are just cute or quirky:

• Toby loves to grab my head, pull it close to his stomach, hold it there, and not let go. Most kids have a lovey or comfort toy - his is my head. I know, so strange but cute too.
  
• Toby is obsessed with my hair. He will take big chunks of it and caress his face with it while we are sitting in church.
• Raspberries are the only fruit Toby will actually chew up and swallow. All the other fruit he will try to suck the juice out of it, take it out of his mouth, and hand it back to me. Mmmm, thanks bud. :)
  
• Toby is instantly affectionate with most kids that he meets. Last week in Nursery he was going around trying to hug and kiss all of the kids in there (whether they liked it or not).
• Toby is a creature of habit. When I go for walks with my mom in the mornings, we are usually forced to end it at my mom's house. Toby has the route to Grandmas house down cold and I've made the mistake more than once of trying to mix things up and explore other areas in our neighborhood. Not a good idea. Stick to the path that leads to Grandma's house.
  
• Toby gets easily irritated if you ask him too many questions. His limit is usually 2 or sometimes 3 if you catch him in a good mood. For example, I will ask him: "Toby, where is your nose?" He points to his nose. "Where are your ears, Toby?" He points to them. Usually by the third question he interrupts you with this shrill, high pitched scream like an angry short-tempered old man. As if to say, "Enough! I have had it with you and all of your irritating questions!" It cracks me up.
• Toby sniffs all of his food before trying it.

I will admit, in the moment some of these traits can be quite frustrating and/or irritating. But someday when he is older it will be fun to read these to him and have a good laugh together.

Oh how I love my Monkish, quirky, little Tobeman.

Climb every mountain...

...or just Mount Timpanogos. Nick attempted to do his yearly hike with his dad. I say "attempted" because they made it half-way up the mountain and then suddenly became blasted with rain and strong gusts of wind. When he called and told me they were going to call it quits because of the weather, I just shook my and head, smiled, and said "I told you so." I had warned Nick repeatedly through out the week that the weather did not look good for the weekend and that maybe he should postpone. But once Nick gets an idea in his head, there is no turning back I tell ya. "We'll be fine. I don't think the storm will hit until Sunday."

Next time Nick, you would be wise to listen to your wife. :)

But despite the inclement weather, Nick said they had a great time and got some beautiful pictures. And although he loved spending time with his dad, I think he really misses his old hiking buddy Kurt (they did the entire hike together last year).

Take a gander at some of these gorgeous pics...

Isn't Nick the most handsome mountain man ever?

Back of Timp, by Sundance Resort.

The only glacier in Utah.

The ominous storm approaches...dun, dun, dun!