First things first: some of you are, like, total pussies about dead people in closets. I’m sorry, but someone had to say it. It’s almost like the grisly visage of a human who has clearly died while in the grip of mortal terror ooks you out, or something. BUK BUK BUK BU-GAWK.

(If it makes you feel better, you should go back and take another look at that Ring image and notice, like I did, the little barely-visible chalk line drawn around her on the floor, which I assume was put there so she knew exactly where she needed to curl up and pretend to be dead, since apparently “sit in the corner and be creepy as all fuck” wasn’t specific enough.)

Second: thank you SO much for the song recommendations! I added a whole boatload of new music to my Shuffle last night and they made a big difference in my 4-mile run this morning, at least before I ran directly over the flattened body of a dead squirrel, which I would like to point out is much more disgusting than a makeup-covered girl in a closet and THAT’S why I released a high-pitched shriek and ran the rest of the way home wildly flapping my hands in the air.

(EEEEEEEEEEK DEAD SQUIRREL OMFG.)

Anyway! Here are a few of the songs I’ve been enjoying:

Hanuman, Rodrigo Y Gabriela
When I Grow Up, Pussycat Dolls
Bring the Noise Remix, Public Enemy VS Benny Benassi
Run This Town, Jay-Z
Waiting, Taxi Doll
You Haven’t Done Nothin‘, Stevie Wonder
I Can Transform Ya, Chris Brown
Mary, Mary, Run-DMC
Lazy Eye, Silversun Pickups

In other news, Riley drew this picture this morning:

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It’s a horse, because Dylan is always asking for someone to draw him a horse on that thing, and that’s a cowboy on top.

Now, I know this isn’t what you might call a perfect rendition. The face is pleasing enough in its jolly expression, but I’m not completely sure about the perspective. It isn’t clear where the cowboy’s lasso ends and his arm begins; a classic Life Drawing mistake. The horse’s tail is either missing or bobbed much too short. And of course there’s the issue of those extra legs, which might be forgivable if there was a backstory involving a nuclear power plant or perhaps a drug trial gone terribly wrong, but he made mention of no such thing.

But O! What can I say, this drawing kills me. It just absolutely kills me in some hard-to-explain way, that he’s old enough to draw something more than a scribble. That he can take a picture in his head and re-create it on a well-worn MagnaDoodle. He’s such a big kid these days, getting so tall and lanky and full of hilarity and obnoxious sass, and my god, now he can draw a horseapillar. When he was a baby he stretched my heart beyond what I thought it could hold—his star-hands, his tiny furrowed brow—and now he and his brother teach me every day about one of the most beautiful truths in life, that your heart is infinite. Your children are infinite. They never stop being amazing.

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Melissa
Melissa
14 years ago

Total pussy raising her hand – so happy to see Riley’s art instead of the freaky Ring dead body. I was eating when I first saw that thing and at first was just staring at it….then it dawned on me what it was. OOoof!
Beautiful post about Riley.

Amy
Amy
14 years ago

So, I just discovered your blog, and the first post I saw was this beautiful family on a Christmas card, and all I could think was “Great, another blog by a skinny pretty blond lady with cutely obnoxious kids who bitches about just how *complicated* life can be.”

Then the next post had the creepy dead chick from The Ring so I decided to keep reading. Then the behind-the-scenes of the Christmas card.. (and Mom is tattooed and uses language that, while my Nana would be horrified, I completely relate to) and then you pointed out the chalk line around the creepy dead chick from The Ring.

So, I guess this is just an introductory comment, ’cause I’m pretty sure I’ll be sticking around now.

Amy
Amy
14 years ago

(And also, now that I read the rest of this post, I wanted to say that it’s really beautifiul.)