The Audacity of Pumpkin

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Originally uploaded by michaelgbenner

Check it out kids! The Benners carved their first pumpkin together and what a masterpiece it turned out to be! I just wanted to show off our pumkin carving skills....which we performed with crappy kitchen knives, not actually tools! Apparently Martha Stewart sells a pumkin carving tool set. So trick or treating will now become political...although we are just leaving a bowl outside our door since a) we don't expect a lot of trick or treating traffic and b) we are celebrating Sean's birhthday tonight. Happy Birthday Sean! We'll be joining you for port and cake soon enough.....

Benner makes it to Round 2!!!!

Yes, ladies and gents Benner has made it to round two of his interview. To be honest, I'm not surprised. I mean, he's an affable and capable guy, and those people would be crazy not to see it! Please continue to remember him in your prayers. We're hopeful for round two and Benner cannot wait to jump into what may be his new job. Woo!

Meet Our LA Friends.....

Benner, Roxanne and Aaron

Our friendship with Roxanne and Aaron seemed almost providential. We met them on our second full day in LA at Mosaic church in Pasadena. We were staying with Sarah and Steve at the time. We had heard about Mosaic and wanted to check it out. When we did, two very friendly people greeted us at the welcome table: Roxanne and Aaron. We had a nice conversation, and went home. But a few hours later, we were at Trader Joe's and ran into them again! (At the time, Aaron had a very massive beard so we remembered him.) Roxanne and Aaron were so down to earth, authentic and super nice. It was only natural that we became friends. Roxanne and Aaron were there for Rhi's birthday hike, but perhaps most importantly, they introduced us to our favorite LA taco spot: Hugo's.

Roxanne is a Women's Program Coordinator at a non profit on the west side dedicated to using art to help end domestic violence. From their website: "Through creative expression, battered women and children gain a sense of renewal and power." Aaron is a photographer. He just gave us his new business cards and they are a smaller, irregular shape and feature various photos that he has taken. Very hip business cards. You should hire him! They are both California natives and met at UC Santa Cruz at a concert. We enjoy engaging in political discourse with them and always end up laughing when we're with them which makes for a good time.

This past weekend we met up on Sunday afternoon for bocce ball at the park. We also did a little tree climbin' and and enjoyed some old school fun of the playground.

Coincidentally, we spotted another celeb to add to our list: Farrah Fawcett.

Good spot job Roxanne! We then walked around Studio City, had some pinkberry (which is soo west coast) and debated the proper way to fix nachos which we enjoyed as we witnessed the Phillies victory. WOO HOO!

Becca and Ryan Robins

As many of you know, Benner and I are obsessed with naming things. It seems that we are coming up with new nicknames for each other every day, and we spend hours talking about potential dog and baby names. King Beepers is tops for our future bulldog, and the baby names are a secret. (Except we've spilled to many of you already.) We somewhat consider ourselves experts in the field of nameology. You wonder how Becca and Ryan fit in to this? Well, this past Saturday night as we had the Robins over for dinner, they shared their future dog name: Baskin. Baskin Robins. That is awesome. Mike and Rhianwen first met Becca at small group at Ecclesia. The two hit it off right away and we later met her husband Ryan. Ryan is an actor (has a lead in an upcoming production called the White Rose-- he plays a nazi bad guy) and Becca is a chaplain at a homeless shelter for women and children called Hope Gardens. They are from Colorado and have been here for about a year.

For our next get together, we plan to hit a batting cage/put put golf place (if you're in LA and work in the industry you have to be good at softball) and we also want to try fly fishing together. I don't remember how that came up but we know there are many adventures in store.

Thanks for being our friends guys, we like you a lot!

Kath and Kim

OK, it's time for a peek into the completely mundane and boring lives we have here. We here at Benner Inc. have renamed Thursday night "Never Stop Watching TV Night." That's because, as the name suggests, we never stop watching TV on Thursday nights. Here's a rundown of a typical Thursday night:

8pm: We actually don't really watch anything during this half hour. It's usually spent eating dinner and chatting, (though tonight we watched the ninth inning of the Phillies game... they lost, boo!).

830pm: "Kath and Kim" on NBC. Anybody seen this show? We watched the pilot and weren't really that impressed, but we loved the cast so we decided to give it a shot (Molly Shannon, Selma Blair and John Michael Higgings... they're all funny). We're glad we did, because it has gotten steadily better with each episode since it premiered. Tonight's episode was the best yet, featuring Salt 'n' Pepa inspired dance routines and a hilarious speed-walking. You all should watch it.

9pm: "The Office," also on NBC. Uh, this show is amazing.

930pm: Right now, NBC is running "Saturday Night Live" specials that aren't particularly funny. Sure, they have their moments, but we're dying for "30 Rock" to start back up again.

10pm: "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," on FX. Rhianwen always starts crying during the opening credits, because there are shots of Philly. Particularly, they show a fountain that we took photos at on our wedding day.

That fountain is in the opening credits of the show! Anyways, tonight's episode was, uh, kind of weird to say the least. But it had its moments, and it even spent some extra time at our fountain! Yay!

After "Sunny," we usually brush our teeth and get sad about missing Philadelphia. Then we go to bed.

Rhi's Rhimarks: Actually it's called Thursday TV Night. I don't have anything clever or fun to say execpt that being away from all of you makes me realize how grateful and blessed I am to have you in our lives. I miss you all a lot. I am content here in LA, and it many ways prefer it to Philadelphia. But its the people that I miss. I am feeling particulary sentimental and wish that LA was closer to Phildelphia. According to google maps, if we were to drive from our apartment to the Lozano's house at Naylors Run Rd. it would take 1 day and 17 hours. It's 2,711 miles away. We would get to drive through Albuquerque and visit some dear friends and family which would be cool , and then through other states I have no real interest in like Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. We would spend over 1200 miles on I-40 E. We wouldn't spend nearly as much time on any other road. The next longest road would be I-44 E which we would take through Missouri and we would only be on that for 377 miles.

I am glad that we are in LA right now. And I don't want to leave. I just wish we had the flexibility and resources to visit easily. But this adventure is good and I am seeing fruit come from it. More on that later.

In the mean time, please call me and tell me if you miss me too! That will cheer me up. And also, could you please pray for Benner tomorrow? He has an interview at 3:00 and another potential opportunity and we are praying that by tomorrow he will have two offers. (Thanks Phil.)

I love you Philadelphia. Sleep well.

Habeus Bennerus

Hello there lovely bloggers.....
I do hope you are out there. Actually, I know you are. Apparently google makes a gadget that tracks who reads your blog and where they are located. To our surprise, someone in Alaska once read our blog...I guess looking out at Russia isn't as entertaining as it sounds.

So you may or may not know, but Benner was in a car accident last week. Kind of ironic actually. He got a ticket in September for blowing through a cross walk (who actually looks 4 lanes over to see if someone is about to cross?) and got pulled over in a sting operation. Online traffic school did him well because he went to stop at a cross walk last week after dropping me off at work and got rear ended. Yes, our car is only a year and a half old which is unfortunate. The lady was looking for an address, didn't see Benner stop, and BAM.

Thankfully her insurance company has accepted liability and they are paying to have our car fixed. We are currenly driving a Mazda rental. Their marketing must not be working because I don't recognize their emblem and I don't think of an particular lifestyle or status either. Isn't it strange driving a new, different, unrelated to you car? Finding yourself in that new context can be quite unnerving, invigorating, liberating or provocative. You think of yourself in a new way. Or, you just drive and go on with your day. Me, I feel like a totally different person in a mazda. I feel wild. You don't know what to expect with me when I'm driving a mazda. Depends on the person I guess.

The stinker is that Benner has a case of whiplash. He went to see a chiropractor for the first time last week. I think he is feeling a bit skeptical but admits he feels better after each adjustment. (0f the two he has had.) One of his reflexes is off from the accident and his neck has lost its curvature among other issues. Thankfully at this point the Dr. thinks he'll be fine with regular adjustments over the next couple months. Please pray for him if you think of it.

Yes, I know, I felt very strongly about not seeing chiropractors after I went to that conference in Georgia. I don't know what else to say except I'm a hypocrite? No, I don't know how I feel right now. I guess I know the alternative is seeing a regular medical doctor who will either numb the pain with drugs or suggest surgery and I don't like either of those options. Let's hope Benner feels great soon......

Ps. Habeus Bennerus reference has nothing to do with the post. It's just another creative anecdote that I came up with. Kind of catchy eh?

Our Newest Feature: Rhi's Rhimarks™ !

We here at Rhi & Benner Inc. wold like to introduce to our reading public a new and exciting feature which will enhance your reading experience: Rhi's Rhimarks™!

Sometimes when we cover a subject, we know that people are thinking: "What does Rhianwen think about this? What's her take? I'm hungry, what's for dinner?" Well, we can't cook you anything, but we can definitely give you Rhianwen's patented point of view on things. Want a sample?

Rhi's Rhimarks: It's a boat! It's a salami! It is I, Super Grover! So yeah, every good idea needs a gimmick. In case you were wondering, Grover was a very down to earth and friendly celebrity. We really hit it off and I look forward to working with him in the future.

Thank you for the beautiful insight, Rhianwen. So keep your eye out in the future (and in some of the posts below) for Rhi's Rhimarks™.

PHILLIES WIN!!!!!1!11!!@!! WOOOOOOO!!!!!

Take that, city we now live in! Ha! You suck! Look at Manny Ramirez, all sad and stupid with his ugly dreadlocks.

Rhi's Rhimark: Everyone says Ramirez is so great, but he poops just like everyone else. And it smells.

Well said, Rhi. That's why I love you.

Phillies lead the series 1-0. Now I just have to try and not get overly excited. I will be talking a lot of trash tomorrow, though.

State of the Benner Household Union

My fellow Bennericans, I address you at a point in our small but great nation's history in which times are good and bad. We are living in times that are warmer, sunnier and more beautiful than any other in our history.

But I also must admit that we are facing an economic crisis much like the rest of the world. Unemployment in the Benner Household is at fifty percent, an all time high. The work force is willing and able, but the opportunity has not proven widespread. The population is getting restless, tired of waiting for faint promises of employment and emplyoment that may never materialize. The Benner Household national debt is climbing, and things look to be getting more grim before they get any better.

Thoughts of relocating our small nation back to the east coast due to financial woes has begun to cross the minds of Benner leadership. But it is with great woe, as we have grown quite fond of our Los Angeles locale. The nation is beginning to extend diplomatic relations with Ecclesia, a church which has grown dear to the Bennerican population. The female population, which is ostensibly and gainfully employed, greatly enjoys their profession and would like to remain there as long as possible. And the male population though lacking in formal payment is enjoying an internship at a network sitcom, which has proven fruitful in terms of networking with other nations.

In short, the Benner Household likes where it is geographically. Financially, it's not doing so great. Your prayers for the great Benner Household nation are duly appreciated.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Rhi's Celebrity Sightings

Here are the latest celebrity sightings from Rhi and Benner (technically just Rhi, I haven't seen any of these people). They may not be up to snub with Larry David or Bill Murray, but still exciting, right?

Johnny Galecki: He stars in "The Big Bang Theory" and works out at the Warner Bros. gym, where Rhianwen spots him on a regular basis!

Rhi's Rhimarks: He comes early in the morning, works with a trainer and is cuter in real life than on the show.

Simon Helberg: Also from "Big Bang." Rhianwen has seen him around the WB lot. I would never recognize him, but looking at his IMDB profile, he's been in a lot of stuff.

Rhi's Rhimarks: OMG, this guy is tiny. Really tiny. I did a double take! He was buying something at the news stand when I was getting lunch on the lot. I successfully didn't stare but it really was quite shocking. Not that there is anything wrong with being smaller than average at all but it's baffling because he doesn't look that small on TV. I mean, really, he is so petite! (We get it, he's small--Mike)
Angus T. Jones: The little kid from "Two and a Half Men" also works out alongside Rhianwen at the WB gym.

Rhi's Rhimarks: This is what happens when a kid's weight is teased on network television for years and years of his developing young life as this poor kid has been. The poor guy is like 1o and has a trainer. He's not overweight at all now, but I imagine they still find ways to call him fat on the show. Hopefully none of you watch it though. (Rhianwen realizes this is a bit hypocritical, seeing as how she was teasing the guy above about being short, but she's a complicated person and maintains she wasn't teasing, just genuinely shocked--Mike)

Regina King: Star of "Jerry Maguire," "Ray," and about a thousand other things from voicing cartoons to sitcoms shares Rhianwen's dentist. Just tonight, she was one chair over from Rhi getting dental work done.

Rhi's Rhimarks: There's a scene in in Jerry Maguire that is so beautiful and stands out in my mind. One of my favorite moments really. The contract just came in from the team and they offered Rod Tidwell a crappy deal. Instead of defeat, Regina King (as Marcee) turns to her husband, cups his face in her hands and says: "......Baby, this is us and we determine our worth. You're a fine, proud, surviving, splendid black man." Doesn't really jump out at you on paper, but I'm sure you all saw it anyway.

The Black Eyed Peas: These rappers also share Rhianwen's dentist and--funnily enough--they all get their teeth done at the same time (Except for Fergie). Rhianwen saw them sitting in the lobby all in a row, reading Highlights or something. I can just imagine that they all share a house and sleep in a triple bunkbed and have a chore wheel or something.

Rhi's Rhimarks: Not that exciting. I wouldn't have even recognized them but heard one of the staff commenting on it. We all need to care for our gums!