The Saga of the Baritone Guitar

Since I play the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and bass guitar I already own for maybe a half hour to 45 minutes a week tops, I decided that for my 30th birthday I wanted another instrument (?)

Way back in the days of One Cent Spent - my band in college, I used to play bass. I used to use a pick, which among bass players is considered very un-kosher, but I didn't care because it was "punk rock"... which I think sounds better with a pick. When using a pick, I used to experiment with playing melody on the upper strings, rather than just a boring bassline. Of course, using just the top two strings was kind of limiting, and they're kind of thick, so while it sounded cool, there was only so much to do with it.

Low and behold, I found out a couple of years ago about an instrument that is designed specifically for the range that my ears were trying to get. The Baritone guitar.

You may have heard it in music like Interpol, The Cranberries, Pinback, The Cure, and also was used a lot in 60s surf music and spaghetti westerns. Its that instrument that you can't tell whether its a bass or a guitar (because it isn't either one).

Anyway, I've wanted to try one out since I heard about them, but they are pretty impossible to find anywhere, and they are also usually pretty expensive (and I only buy cheap instruments - being that I'm cheap). However, I found out that Sam Ash online has/had a nice knockoff that was only $250 (less than half the price of any other), the OLP MM5. So I ordered it for my birthday... in July... Its a little "metal" looking, but it supposedly sounds good.


Its now the end of September and I still have no baritone... Right after clicking, I noticed that it said it was on "back order". I've called regularly since the end of July and keep getting told it is about to ship... I've been pretty patient, because its really not the end of the world if a guitar takes a few extra weeks to ship, its not like its a new kidney or something. But its starting to get a little rediculous.

Anyway, I think I finally got through to someone who actually intends to do something about the situation, so hopefully I'll be rocking out in the basement (quietly - baby's sleeping) pretty soon.

I'll keep you guys posted, as I'm sure you're riveted. And if I happen to write the second greatest song in the world, I'll post it... (FYI, Tenacious D wrote the first greatest song in the world, but tragically forgot it)

Perspective

I noticed on my Outlook calendar at work a reminder that thankfully no longer applies. It did, however, remind me yet again how blessed we've been lately... It said:

Put house back on market

I wrote it just a few days before we got the offer that sold our house. It was about a week or so after we got our first extremely low-ball offer (after 8 months of nothing) and actually met them halfway, then they disappeared, and we were completely discouraged.

We had finally come to terms that the house wasn't going to sell no matter what we did, and had started preparing plan B: to take the house off the market, rent it out at a monthly loss, long distance, and hope to not go broke waiting for the market to "improve". Everyone's obviously aware how much better the housing market has gotten since February...

Our situation could have very easily been a lot different for the past 7 months.

Oh, and here's another cute picture of Laina, because every post has to have one.

feeling so domestic..

First things first, let's start with a cute picture of Laina...


OK, now on to the post. I have been feeling very domestic lately. The sewing machine that I picked up at Goodwill several months ago has finally been put to use. First I had to take it in for the timing to be adjusted, but other than that it is in perfect condition, and the guy at the sew shop even said if it weren't for the "Brother" label on the machine he would swear it was a Viking, which is a very expensive sewing machine. Good deal for $12 plus $35 for the adjustment.


Anyways, I've made several burp cloths (a couple of which I've even sold on a diapering bulletin board I've been addicted to lately) and a couple throw pillows for the couch. I have some fabric to make 2 more pillows and then I want to try making some little "lovey" blankies for babies and also some baby leggings (which yes are very eighties but oh so cute!)

Laina modeling the new pillows
A close up of the model and the pillow (oh, and what's that you see in Laina's ear? That's right, an earring. We got her ears pierced on Saturday)
Here's the fabric I'm going to make the other pillows out of
This wasn't mentiond but here is Laina eating her rice cereal
And so Jay doesn't feel left out, here he is reading her the baby Bible

100 Posts!

It took us a little longer to get there than some of our blogging bretheren, but this is our 100th Post!

There is apparently a rule that on your 100th post you have to list 100 rarely known things about yourself. Since that's really hard, we're splitting it up into categories: 25 things about Jay, 25 things about Jenna, 25 things about us, 15 things about Laina, and 10 about Ella.



Ella:

1. Has several heart-shaped spots, and her birthday (though we don't know the exact date) is February 14th

2. Was hit by a van a few years ago, cracking the bumper with her head and flying about 60 feet down the road, yet walked away with only a minor scrape on her leg.

3. Dreams of one day catching one of the wild rabbits that taunt her daily.

4. Lays frog-style.

5. Doesn't much care for water (other than to drink). Possibly related to early attempts to punish her with a squirt bottle (ala Dr Evil with Mini Me)

6. We haven't taken a single picture of Ella since Laina was born! (aside from the picture of one of her heart shaped spots above)

7. Is not allowed on furniture, aside from one junky dusty rose colored upholstered chair I got at a garage sale for $5, which is now her throne

8. Once dug up and killed a groundhog

9. Likes to sleep under our bed. We call it the "wolf den", because it makes her seem like less of a wuss.

10. Licks Laina when she's crying and gets a concerned look on her face

Laina:

11. Has a gap between her big toe and next toe. We call it the Hoskinson Gap. She also has a curved pinky-toe, which is both a Hoskinson and Ali trait (she had no chance)

12. Has brown eyes, and at the moment, what almost appears to be red hair (it is possible, my grandfather on my mom's side went by the name "Red", but it might just be light brown).

13. Loves books about ponies and horses. She actually tries to touch the horses on the texture-book.

14. Ate her first food Friday - baby cereal. She dug it bigtime. Didn't spit it out or anything.

15. Loves her feet. She just figured out how to get them in her mouth.

16. Has a little mark on the back of her neck called a "Stork Bite". Its supposedly a temporary birthmark.

17. Is intrigued by fish. She stared at them and reached for them at Great-Grandma's house. A trip to the aquarium is in order I think.

18. Has "tweety bird" cheeks, just like her mom did.

19. Has never been sick in her whole life

20. Talks a lot, only nobody knows what shes saying

21. Has three cousins (Kylie, Conner, and Kaity)

22. Was pronounced "The cutest baby I've ever seen" by a woman on the plane last weekend.

23. Plays the ukelele (well, she stares at it and occaisonally grabs the strings and accidentally makes noise)

24. Is over a year old by Japanese standards (they measure age by conception, or used to until recently, according to Jenna's brother)

25. Sleeps about 12 hours every night, and 5 hours during the day

Jay and Jenna (aka Jayenna):

26. We met via bumpersticker (long story)

27. We grew up within a half hour of each other, but didn't meet until college

28. I proposed on the slopes in Telluride

29. With a fake plastic ring

30. Jenna's dad married us (pastor)

31. I taught Jenna to surf, snowboard, and snorkel

32. She taught me how to ride a horse

33. Our nickname in college was Jayenna (hence the title of this section).

34. We've been together 8 years, married for 5

35. We have the exact same taste in movies

36. We also have the same taste in music

37. We both play video games. We hadn't in over a year, but we pulled out "Super Bust-A-Move" a few days ago and had a good hour or so of competitive puzzle solving... Jenna won

38. Our first meal together was at Chili Peppers in SLO.

39. Our address adds up to the number 23 (if you've seen the movie, you'd know how creepy that was to realize during the middle of the movie)

40. Are fans of Ikea, Trader Joes, and In 'N' Out Burger, none of which are in Colorado (yet)

41. Have never tipped a cow

42. Aren't into watching football, basketball, baseball, etc.

43. Are 58 years old combined

44. Are only about 10'-10" tall combined

45. Think Coloradans are wusses for thinking mid 90's with low humidity is "too hot".

46. Prefer small groups to big crowds

47. Are closet environmentalists

48. Weren't all that fond of kids until Laina was born

49. Are usually late to everything

50. Can never remember the rules for card games

Jenna:

51. Hates Ranch dressing with a passion

52. Collected breyer horses from a young age, even entering and organizing "horse shows" for them

53. Never learned to swim correctly (I'm working on that)

54. Was a vegetarian for the first couple years of her life

55. Likes super long RPG type video games with hit points and magic potions and whatnot...

56. Will watch any movie involving horses, no matter how bad

57. Had goats and chickens as a kid

58. Has ridden probably 30-40 different horses, and could probably name every one of them

59. Had braces, etc. for 8 years

60. Has never broken a bone

61. Was bitten pretty badly by a pit bull, but still defends the breed, since she's an animal lover.

62. Has bruised a kidney and broken her nose riding horses

63. Used to work at a rental shop for 3 years, and learned all kinds of stuff most girls don't know, about various equipment and power tools.

64. Has one cousin (oops, I was with Jay when he wrote this but somehow didn't catch that one! He thought I had none)

65. Is currently obsessed with the art and science of diapering (and making/buying all kinds of cloth diapering accessories)

66. Claimed growing up that she would never get married or have kids

67. Loves being a stay-at-home-mom much more than she ever thought she would

68. Has never had a cavity

69. Squeaks out of the back of her mouth when she yawns

70. Made her little brother eat a mud pie made from actual dirt

71. Had spiky bleached blonde hair when we first met

72. Has found a new hobby in sewing after buying what turned out to be a pretty nice sewing machine at the goodwill for $12 (while we were furnishing our condo)

73. Is apparently very tasty for mosquitos

74. Has 8 piercings in her ears, and three tattoos

75. Laughs at anything even remotely funny, so she's a good person to watch any comedy movie with, or tell jokes to.

Jay:

75. My picture was seen on the side of a bus in Ohio a few years ago (from an ad for my dad's whirlpool bathtubs when I was a kid)

76. I have the proven ability (if you can call it that) to sniff a pasta noodle up my nose and out my mouth.

77. My thumbs are double jointed, so I can make a serious hitchhikers thumb

78. I had the tip of my left middle finger severed when I was 3 in an unfortunate tricycle accident.

79. I chipped my front teeth three times in my lifetime, the last taking out the four top front ones, so they are all veneers.

80. I had Lasik surgery about 7 years ago.

81. I'm allergic to cats, dust, mold, etc., etc.

82. I have a food intolerance for bananas, avocados, and some red wines

83. My band in college (One Cent Spent) got played on two major radio stations, Sly 96.1 in San Luis Obispo, and Live 105 in San Francisco. Apparently the guy who managed the Local Artists CD section at the local record store in San Luis was also a DJ for Sly 96 where he had a show that highlighted local bands. I think he eventually moved to San Francisco and brought along his "unknown local bands".

84. We also had three songs featured on a surf video called LC-1 through a similarly lucky coincidence. Strangely enough, when we were looking to add another guitar player, the guy who joined had seen the surf video and thought we were way bigger than we were.

85. I'm short (okay that one wasn't little known)

86. My nickname my freshman year of high school was "Baby Yahoo Deiter Seriously Hosk". "Baby Hosk" because my older brother was also on the swim team, and at the first meet the scorekeeper didn't know my name so just wrote "Baby Hosk". "Yahoo Seriously" because that's how my hair looked after swimming, and Deiter because of my mean impression of Mike Myers' character from SNL.

87. I was nicknamed "One Ball" in college from my snowboarding friends, because I had some snowboard wax called "One Ball Jay". It was kind of fun to leave people guessing on that one...

88. I used to ride around on a 50cc scooter with racing stickers all over it and an enormous red helmet in college, until I totalled it (and myself) when hit by a car in downtown SLO.

89. Then my nickname changed to "Scooter"

90. A dolphin stole my wave once in Morro Bay.

91. I also once collided with a clumsy sea otter while surfing (it was okay)

92. My brother and I put messages in a bottle on a cruise when we were little and threw them overboard. We both got letters back, mine from the Phillipines and my brother's from the Marshal Islands.

93. I've never had a cavity

94. I've eaten raw sea slug

95. I never had braces

96. I've broken or sprained my right wrist 4 times.

97. I've worked at 5 different firms in the last 7 years.

98. Used to be a lifeguard and assistant swim coach

99. I had no idea how long this was going to take

100. I'm ready for a nap

Laina's first flight

We got to visit my relatives in Sacramento for a few days this last weekend, and we were so blessed to have a happy baby on the flight and the trip! It was really awesome that Laina got to meet her great grandparents, great aunt, great uncle (all on my dad's side), her uncle Jesse (yes she has a real life uncle Jesse, my brother) all for the first time on this trip! We also got to visit with my parents who drove up from southern CA. It was really neat that Laina got to meet her great grandparents as not everyone has that opportunity. My grandpa is not in great health, so it was a real blessing that we made it out there so they could meet. Grandpa was so happy to see her and kept asking for her - it was really sweet.

Laina and Jay on the plane ride there

Laina with her Uncle Jesse who came all the way from Japan to meet her

The happy great-grandparents, Sally and Nick

The whole gang: Great Aunt Nancy, Great Grandparents, Laina me and Jay,
and in the back, Uncle Jesse and Grandpa and Grandma Ali

I knew there was a reason I dislike HOAs

I don't know if this is really blog-worthy or not, but I'm going to post for those who like frequent updates and since it's bugging me right now.

We got a notice from our HOA that we owe a late fee for our dues. Excuse me? We're on direct debit, and we have the funds in the account, how can we be late? I called them and they explain to me that this is a late fee from back in April! And I'm just now being notified of it? So the whole story goes that back in March when we moved in, I called to see when we needed to send our first payment and how to get onto direct debit. They said April was covered from escrow, and to mail May and then direct debit would be set up for June and beyond. So when I called about the late notice they said yes, the April dues were taken out of escrow, but were subsequently refunded to the old owners! And they never notified us! Now to get all this straightened out and get the late fee taken off, first I was told I had to talk to the supervisor and she would have to talk to "the board" about it. I never heard back from the supervisor so I called again today and she said I need to write a letter to the board explaining the issue. I can't believe it. This is really a waste of my time for a stupid $25 late fee. But $25 is $25 and I would rather have the money. Plus, it's an issue of principle here.

OK, end of rant.

Visitors from CA and Laina's new tricks

I had my first non-family visitors the beginning of this month! My horsey friends from CA, Heather and Lauren, came out partially for business and partially to visit. I had a great time showing them around town and I even got to go out one night after Laina went to bed for a girls' night out! The pics below are from hiking at Roxborough State Park.



Laina's new favorite thing to do is grab her toes anytime she is on her back. It's pretty stinkin' cute and she almost can get them in her mouth! Jay and I were working really hard to get her to smile for this picture, but everytime she cracked one the camera was too slow to catch it.


And this is Laina's other new trick - drinking from a cup! Lately when I'm holding her and drink something, she watches so intently as I bring the cup to my mouth and drink. So, I thought, why not let her try? She was super into it! I had water in my cup here, and I know you're not supposed to give itsy babies water, but she barely got a dribble, so I think she'll be fine. She was trying to lap it up like a dog and it was super cute.