Upping my cool points

My hilariously wonderful friend Martha flew down to visit us this weekend. Let me just say that it was so fun to be with her, so refreshing, and so informative. Martha is about 12 years younger than I am, so she is always keeping me in the know about things that I would not have a clue about otherwise. She definitely increases my cool points considerably. Here are a couple things I learned from her:

1. If you want to text someone faster, then you do this deal on your phone so that the phone actually guesses what word you're typing and you ok it. That's a terrible description, but I don't know how else to put it. She called it t-9 or something like that. Try to figure it out, though. It could change your texting life considerably.

2. When you see a pair of tennis shoes thrown up over an electric wire, what do you think? I think, "Man, why would someone throw their shoes up there? I guess you just con your friend into taking off their shoes and then you try to throw them up there for a prank?". But oh no, my friends. Martha tells me that when someone gets murdered (like gang stuff), then the person's shoes are thrown over the wire. I don't know if the muderer does it or if the friends do it in honor of the person (like "I tip my 40 to your memory" or something like that). Either way, pretty disturbing.

See, I told you...she's very informative.

We got a babysitter on Friday and went to see "Baby Mama", which was hilarious. Martha basically is Amy Poehler from SNL, so it was funny to see that with her. You should check it out. After the movie we went to the mall to walk around. Martha got so excited to see we have an Urban Outfitters at our mall. I have no clue what this is since I've only been out there two times in the past 11 months. I go in there with her, though, and I can barely contain my laughter. It's like a warehouse with all these "indie" clothes and stuff. It's total 70's and it's outrageously priced. They have stuff like really thin t-shirts, huge sunglasses in bright colors, journals for sale, and lots of polyester blends. I tried to feign interest, but I just couldn't. I looked so out of place in my Gap outlet pants and shirt (thankfully neither of which had any throw up on them). So I went up to Martha and said, "OK, will you meet me in Pottery Barn when you're done?". She cracked up, said of course, and off I went. It was so fun. Even though we are a generation apart, she and I connect in so many ways that are way more important than cool points, and I am so thankful for her friendship.

Also, here are just a couple things that have cracked me up lately:

1. Ian got home from Texas on Saturday and he brought Maggie this cowgirl outfit. It's too adorable and she's totally into it. Just thought you should see it.

2. I'm on craigslist looking around for living room furniture. I just love the way everyone uses the word "retro" - retro couch, retro chair, retro lamp. Please read "retro" as total crap. Just try it sometime. Go on your local craigslist and type in retro. Hilarious.

3. Today I put Zoe and Tori down for a nap and heard Zoe gagging, so I ran back to see what was up. I opened the door and there was Zoe chewing on the side of her crib. I got a little closer and looked in her mouth to find a shard of wood that she had bitten off and was chewing. Awesome. So now Zoe is sleeping in the pack n play in the middle of the room. For those of you at home counting, that's now THREE cribs in their room.