Music

So I figured this would be a good place to put my music, because usually when I record a song, it doesn't make it any further than my ipod. I figured if I put them here, at least someone would listen them. So these are the songs that I've made that I'm the least embarrassed of, all named after a number, that doesn't necessarily represent the order they were made:

Song 5: Just piano and strings. Recorded it one day when Maegan and Slim were down at the senior games for one of her classes. Kind of slow, but I think this one turned out ok. Probably one of my favorites, so it's on top.

Song 6: I thought that this one was pretty good, but the drums didn't sound that good. I will probably end up re-recording this one with a real cello and hopefully put words to it, because I think it has some potential.

Song 23: This one I never quite finished because I can't sing. Aside from not being able to sing, my melodies always come out lame anyways, so I left this song wordless, which makes it feel long, but you can get the idea of what I intended to do.

Showcase Song: I wrote this song for my songwriting class. It had lyrics at one point, but the melody was pretty lame, so they're gone now. It was one of my better arrangements though, so here it is.

Song 25: I kept this song short knowing that I wasn't going to put any lyrics to it. It makes it more bearable. I should probably re-record this one because the guitars are a bit cheesy sounding, and I over compressed the dynamics a bit.

Song 1: This song is kind of generic, and might be ok with a good melody, but of course, I'm no good at that, so this one is what it is. I thought the mix was pretty good though, so I'm putting it up.

Song 2: This one was never intended to have lyrics. It would have been ok, but I mixed the rhythm guitar a little too loud, and the lead a little too quite. I've heard it too many times, so I can't bring myself to remix it.

That should probably be enough songs for now. I'll try to make new ones, but it looks like they come about once a year now. I'll be getting a guitar tomorrow, so maybe I'll be excited to make a new song.

Its Official!

So everyone knows when you move you need to get a new license and registered your car. Since Boz already is a Californian and our car is already registered here, I figured this would be a piece of cake...hahaha...things never are...

Well, first of all, the tabs on our car were expired because we had to have a smog test before getting the new tabs and since they only do the necessary certified smog tests in CA, and we lived in Utah, you can see our dilemma. So we got a fix it ticket when we first got here. I went to the DMV for that and for my new license. Since I still hadn't gotten my name changed after getting married :), I needed a birth cert and marriage cert. At this time I learned that apparently we did not have a county certified marriage certificate. I had no idea since the temple one worked for me to change my name on my social security card. So after some wondering if we were actually legally married (just kidding) I mailed a request to King County for a copy.

It was just on Valentine's Day that got into the DMV for a second attempt. I'm sure I was quite the site with Jack and Elyette in tow. They both behaved themselves very well considering I had to stand in 5 different lines. Our only fiasco was when I was taking the written test(also required for new residents). About halfway through the test Elyette started nervously yelling "poop!". I didn't know what to do, I was terrified they'd make me come back another time to take the test or think I was cheating or something, but when a 2 year old yells poop, you've got to go. So I left all my stuff scooped up Jack, grabbed Elyette's hand and ran across the DMV. To my horror the restroom was fully occupied. After praying Elyette could handle the wait, we finally got our turn only to find that she didn't really have to go. She wouldn't let us leave though until she went pee. For sometime I paced nervously asking "all done", everytime she'd get mad at me and say "NO! Pee..." After what seemed like an eternity she went and we ran back to the test area. Thankfully it all worked out and I was able to finish the whole process.

So its official, I'm a Californian! My license came in the mail today and after 3 years of marriage, I finally have my name changed... No more showing of 2 or 3 ID's at the airport anymore...
hmm, you people are lucky, you get to see my oh so beautiful license pic :)

Our Modest Valentine's

So, if you know us at all, you probably know we are pretty cheap, I prefer to call it thrifty and resourceful :)... so naturally Valentine's day is low key around our house. Since flowers are ridiculously priced, we skip out on that tradition (though if you know Boz, I'm not sure I have much choice in the matter anyway... he has more creative ways of expressing himself that is). When is comes to candy, we get some the day after, when its just as good, but half the price. Boz also got me a cookbook at half price that I wanted. As far as eating out goes, if you don't have reservations it can be a nightmare. So we started the tradition of making a yummy dinner at home. For gifts, Elyette and I were busy making Vday treats for Boz, that we put in a box we decorated.

Treats include:
-Strawberry rice crispy treats with messages on them
-White chocolate dipped pretzels with red sprinkles
-Chocolate chip cookies with pink, white, and red chips

For our dinner we made:
- Focaccia bread with oil and vinegar,
- A fresh tomato and basil pasta dish we like to make,
- spinach salad
- Martinelli's
- Oh and, even Jack got in on the fun... mmmm, rice cereal



We made valentines for each other and put them at our place settings, and later we had vanilla pudding and strawberries for dessert (which Elyette called frosting).


Elyette had fun putting hearts on the wall that we made for FHE earlier in the week. So, as you can see, we had a modest, a but totally fun Valentine's Day!

You Don't Know Jack?

Here's a little bit (ok, a lot) about our little dude, Jack.

1- He may look Smith, but he is ALL Millar. Jack is almost a copy cat of Boz. He has the same torso, feet and hands (will likely be duck footed too), that big Millar head :), and of course, the "GM" butt (thanks grandpa). He did not, however, get the crazy eyebrows, his sister got those instead, nor the bald baby head and he has my eye color.

2-Not as big as you think. We finally got Jack to the Dr. for his 4 month appt. a few weeks ago, (he is now 5 months). He was 25th percentile for weight, 36th for height, and 63rd for head (yep, the Millar head). So actually, he's kinda small, not as small as Elyette, but petite. Though he may measure small, he's still a squishy baby. I've never experienced the joy of chubby wrists and that pad of chub on top of babies' feet until now :).

3- A Social Butterfly. Or whatever the masculine alternative may be. Jack loves people! He wants to be held and talked to all the time and he'll smile at everyone. He began smiling very early on. He's not the observer type like the rest of his family, he likes to be right there in the action and loves the center of attention.

4- Speaking of love... Jack loves his family. From day one, he knew exactly who his mamma was and is totally a mamma's boy. He has this whimpery little cry when he's with someone else and sees me (most often when he's hungry of course). When daddy comes home at night, Jack starts beaming and wiggles like crazy cause he knows its time to play. And then there's Elyette. He can't get enough of her. He smiles so big when she's around and he closely watches her every move. He loves to play with her hair and give her kisses. They are great buddies. We tuck them in together at night and often hear serious giggling and cooing coming from their room.

5- This drama king knows what he wants. Everything is life or death with this kid (as with many babies, I imagine). He has this throaty painful cry he whips out when he wants to lay it on thick. Like "it took you 3 seconds to long to feed me", or "Elyette touched me!" (he way over reacts when he knows Elyette is involved). If you've ever heard his hacking, gagging cough, don't worry, he's fine. That sound freaked us out so bad when he was a newborn, but we soon learned its his harmless way of "clearing his throat" (also a Millar trait).

6- He likes to talk. Oh and growl... yes people, he growls. We playfully growl each other names sometimes to get Elyette to do it back and even Jack picked up on it. Thats one of his ways of talking to you. Its definitely one of a kind, but very cute. I'll hear him cooing and growling in his bed over the monitor just about every morning. Great way to wake up.

7- New tricks! Jack is anxious to learn new things (his sister was always very cautious). He's been mastering a lot of skills this past week actually. He rolls like crazy (still working on back to tummy, but very close) and now can sit for several minutes on his own without balancing on his hands even. He's getting good at catching himself when he gets off balance too. He's always gets really excited and starts grabbing our hands andfood when we eat, so we finally started him on rice cereal this week.

8- A few of his favorite things. Aside from people, Jack loves diving for toys, eating his feet, eating his sister, being tickled, curling up into a ball then forcefully sprawling out, spitting up all the time to keep everyone on their toes, and, sadly, TV. Yup, if the TV is on, he does everything in his power to crank his head towards it. Thankfully we don't have it on much (antenna can only offer so much).

9-A few of my favorite things. I think most all mommies enjoy midnight feedings in one way or another. I love it in the middle of the night when he's whimpering to be fed, and the moment he sees me he makes the cutest sighs of relief. When I'm feeding him, the room is so quite that every now and then if I sniff or something, Jack startles and looks up at me, grin huge as if saying "oh mom, when did you get here?", growls to say hi, then goes back to eating. Man, I love that little guy. He definitely melts his mommy's heart.

So that just skims the surface of our Jack for those of you that have not yet had the joy of knowing this sweet little spirit. We pretty much have the coolest little wads ever (as Boz would put it).

Playing House!

Ok, so its been 2 months. Sorry bout that, but as you can imagine things have been a little crazy around here. I can say now that I feel quite settled. All boxes are unpacked. We have a stand for our TV, a shelf for our books and a couch to sit on finally.

We orginally ordered a couch that was a small sectional from JCPenney.com and when we got it, it was about 6 inches shorter that it had said on the website. It was ridiculous how short the back of it was, actaully. When sitting on it, it came to Elyette's shoulders. Thats right, Elyette's! As you can imagine, I was freaking out about how to get rid of this expensive mistake. Thankfully, JCPenney was awesome about the whole thing and since it was not as it had been described, they refunded us completely (including the $200 for shipping) before they even picked it up, which was also free of charge. The day after that couch was picked up our new couch that we found at Costco for even cheaper was delivered! LOVE that one!

So we're like real people now. We also got a portable washer and dryer (yes, they exist) that work great and fit nicely on our patio right under the kitchen window (so I can easily hook the washer up to the sink). After the $20 per week we were spending for the coin-op (OUCH), they are easily paying for themselves. Especially with a potty training toddler and a puking and pooping baby!


Though it will take a while, I'm also having a blast going room to room decorating (or at least planning to) and creating custom innovations for our little, but cozy place. I like playing house!

Post Script (2/20/2008): We got our new kitchen table from Boz's parents over the holiday weekend (THANKS AGAIN). Its one of those counter high tables I've wanted and it has a butterfly leaf the folds down into the table. So it seats up to 6 people, but since there is only the 3 of us around the table daily, we have it up against the wall (for space purposes). I love, love, love it! Good bye to folding chairs and piano stools for seating :).