An ordinary trip to the zoo...

So today we decided to take advantage of a rare afternoon off and go to the zoo. It started off a pretty normal family outing... we saw stingrays, we climbed the giraffe tower, Emily was scared during both of these experiences... and we also discovered the prophetically named (by Emily) "ninja birds". They are the ordinary smallish crow-looking birds with extraordinary powers to stealthily swoop in and steal your sandwich scraps.

And then the fun started. While playing on the playground Caitie stepped on a toothpick-sized splinter. "Mom, it's going to hurt when you pull that out," she said to me (duh). I pulled it out...she totally fainted.

I had no idea that real-life people actually passed out over minor injuries. The family drama-queen gene has apparently not skipped over Cait, as we had previously imagined. Another not-so-typical-typical day for the Buhanans.

And I was worried I'd have nothing to write about....

My Soundtrack

For years I've joked that precious memory space in my brain has been taken up with song lyrics...many of these songs are inextricably (I would never actually speak that word in real life; it's funny how it just pops out like nothing else while I'm typing...) linked to memories of important events/times in my life. So in place of a journal (which I have been shamefully bad at keeping) I decided to compile the "soundtrack" of my life. It's a slightly self-indulgent and rather cryptic way to be self-revealing, but I've gotta start somewhere, right?

If you haven't heard some of these songs, give them a listen. I think they're great. And if you were a part of any of these memories, thanks.



Johnny--Jacek Zakrzewski
We are the World--Various
So Long, Farewell--Sound of Music
Love Can Build a Bridge--The Judds
Forever Young--Rod Stewart
The Wind Beneath My Wings--Bette Midler
I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston
In the Still of the Night--Boyz II Men
Mr. Jones--Counting Crows
Glorified G--Pearl Jam
Across the Universe--The Beatles
On Bended Knee--Boyz II Men
Love, Me--Colin Raye
Heartreak Hotel--Elvis Presley
Foolish Games--Jewel
Kiss Off--Violent Femmes
Elsewhere--Sarah McLachlan
Independence Day--Ani DiFranco
Daddy--Jewel
Do What You Have to Do--Sarah McLachlan
Kissing You--Des'ree
Sunday Morning--No Doubt
20,000 Seconds--K's Choice
Blood and Fire--Indigo Girls
Semi-Charmed Life--Third Eye Blind
Let's Hear it for the Boy--Denise Williams
Swan Dive--Ani DiFranco
Two Sparrows in a Hurricane--Tanya Tucker
Glory Box--Portishead
Angry Anymore--Ani Di Franco
The River--Garth Brooks
It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday--Boyz II Men
Hour Follows Hour--Ani DiFranco
Answer--Sarah McLachlan
Sympathize--Amos Lee
Anyway--Martina McBride

Here I go....

I have been on the fence about blogging for a while now, and about a week ago I decided to start. It has taken me this long to come up with this title for my blog. It was well worth the effort.... (How do I convey sarcasm in print?) I can only hope that the actual posting will turn out better--with less time.

I came up with a lot of titles that were already taken, and realized something. I considered using some self-effacing "I'm doing this but I'm not taking it seriously" kind of titles, but all of my other choices ended up being used by people who stopped blogging sometime during the years of 2001-2004. Am I that outside the realm of current culture? (Not-so-coincidentally, the birth of my first child was in 2002, so that is probably, in fact, the case. Ouch).

I am still feeling ambivalent about doing this. I wonder if there is anything SOO interesting about my life that people are wanting to read about it. And I have a terrible habit of opening my mouth and inserting my foot. Statements made in writing are way harder to fix than things that just pop out of your mouth. But I LOVE reading my friends' and family's blogs, so here I go...I hope that it's a good way to keep everyone posted on what's going on in my day-to-day life.

And I apologize in advance for any untintentionally insensitive remarks. (Insert sheepish grin here).