There are still cakes to be made...

In honor of the birth and departure of one W. Matthew Critchley. Rise and Shout!!!

If you look at the pictures backwards, you can see the cougar leap around the cake.






My mom was responsible for the genius that was melting chocolate to make the cougars. I thank Bing image search for the cougar pictures in various stages of jumping. I was only disapointed with this cake inasmuch as Matt didn't know what it meant to "Rise and Shout" or that BYU is the Cougars.

On a side note, the cake was four layers of two blue and two "white" funfetti cakes.

Local walkers nearly mauled by pack of dogs

Well, okay, mauled is a bit strong. Though, the little jerk did bite a hole in the roo pocket of my Tahoma sweatshirt. I love that sweatshirt. It has my name on the back!

Set the scene:
Renae and I are walking three miles round trip to the river and back to our parents' house. We take Zu since she is a small dog that rarely goes on big walks. We are dressed in regular clothes and grouchy attitudes. We are traveling at a nice clip and admiring the swans in the field to our left on our return route. We perhaps just shared a witty bit of banter (that happens to us a lot, as you can imagine).


The action:
Suddenly, I look to the right to see four smallish dogs CHARGING us! Yeah, two were long haired chihuahua freaky guys, but still. The two JR terrier mix looking fellows were clearly the leaders and most aggressive. I turn back to Zuzu, who is now cowering behind us at the end of her leash (because I am a responsible pet owner and keep my smallette on a leash!). The dogs have come around Renae and myself to surround Zu and are growling and gnashing their teeth, not unlike unhappy spirits in the Book of Mormon. I reached down and scooped Zu up to hold her between Renae and myself. Since they can't get at her form the back, the bravest of the bunch comes around the front to try again. We, of course, have started walking again because we are first: serious walkers, and second: not interested in being harassed by many mini canines. This little jerk, however, is determined to get at Zu, so he jumps up teeth bared and gets a nip of me instead. He didn't make it past my pocket, luckily for both of us. Unluckily for him, my foot was waiting for his face when he landed. Renae kept yelling at his cohorts "No! No! No!" I turned to see one coming towards me again and yelled "Are you kidding me!?!" I then proceeded to shake my foot at him until I noticed a lady on the far side of the yard we were walking past.

The resolution:
She started calling her mutt pack back to her yard in very stern tones. They reluctantly went. Renae and I kept walking. Zuzu held very still and kept a very nervous demeanor tucked away under my arm.

Misadventure indeed.

Don't watch t.v. in the dark

This picture makes me glad I've never watched that show. Though, I do have to admit that I watched maybe three episodes of Jersey Floor, which is a spoof on the Late Late Late Late, come on Jimmy Falon, really? Show. It was hillarious, and stupid...much like I imagine the real Jersey Shore to be. The show, not the coastline.



Seriously though, I have not read a good book lately. Mostly because I have not read a book lately. I spend all of my spare time playing Free Cell and watching television online. I watch a lot of television. I play a lot of Free Cell.

Today, my colleugue asked me what I was doing for class. I said "I don't know. I haven't really decided yet." That was at 8:07 and class starts at 8:25. I could have told her all about the episode of Castle I watched, no problem. Blah. Don't worry though, I stole a great idea from her that worked well with what I wanted my kiddos to do, and it is fun! That is a novel idea, huh?

Patty's old, like a skeleton.

I made the bottom one from just a pan of brownies. Patty's was actually a cupcake cake that pulled apart. I didn't like the result as much, that's why I did a solid base the next time. That also allowed me to move the bones around to look more like they were crawling out. I used crushed up no bake cookies for the grave dirt the second time rather than just frosting. I thought the red eyes were a nice touch (winky face!). When I do this again, I'll make the graves longer too!

Day of Service

I told Renae, "We better take a picture of this...it is bound to be a misadventure!"



In honor of President Obama's Day of Service on September 11th, my ward, in conjunction with the City of Renton, glued little plaques next to storm drains. That's right people, Puget Sound starts HERE! It didn't actually seem like a very needed service, but perhaps some fish somewhere is better off since I stuck a sticker on the sidewalk. Who knows?

Plus, I got a free hot dog and a sunny morning with Renae out of the deal!

Renae went to the fair

She ate fries, curly fries.
Saw a tiny little horse.
Mooed at a cow or two...or twelve.
Drank lemonade.
And found a boyfriend in the true Seattle fashion. Hairy.

Tooth Hurty

My last dentist appointment for the summer! This actualy wore off fairly quickly and feels fine now. Which is good, since the other side is still a bit sore. No more ten plus years between visits for me!

I went all the way to Utah and all I got was...

a bite of some Macey's soft serve.

my picture taken with two lovely sisters outside of the MOA.

Kendall to smile.


a lame cheese tour!

Eleven Reasons I hate Renae and Randi

For their birthday, Renae wrote the 22 reasons she loves her twin, Randi. I am stealing that idea, as I do most cool ideas, and making my own post in honor of their joint twenty second birthday. Though, I have decided since there are two of them in my post, I will only do eleven reasons and I will use reasons I HATE them. Here we go!

1. They stole my face. It is true, they both look like me. But these thieving rascals didn’t even have the decency to stay ugly like me. No, instead they have smaller, prettier versions of my face. (Well, maybe not Randi when she sneers). Rude I say. At least I got the curves, so take that!

2. They hit really hard. Everyone will be just playing around giving little punches, love taps really, and out of nowhere…WHAM! And then they say “Oh, I didn’t hit you that hard!” But that is not true. They are mean, mean hitting machines. Watch out.

3. They are all the time dancing around when you are trying to do something. Just walking along minding your own business does not prevent you from being dragged in to a spontaneous dance party. Here I am in the kitchen trying to cook, walking down the hallway, reading a book in a quiet, secluded location when they burst in dancing around like Keisha crazed pre-teens hopped up on who knows what! Do their moves cut just like a knife? Yes of course they does, but that is not the point.

4. They have bigger hair than I do. Really, most of my young and teen life I wanted to have that straight or kind of wavy hair the popular girls had. They could always run their fingers through it and toss it around. I am a fuzz head. When I finally embraced my fuzzedness, all I wanted was volume. I can get great curls, but they hang limp along side my giant face. Renae has the most amazing volume. Randi can do a shake and stick a clip in yesterday’s hair for an instant on the town look. I hate you, my hair hates you, I hate you.

5. They look cute in almost anything they wear. I’m not talking about the 15 different colors and patterns they blend together into their twisted little tacky chic collection. I still maintain that those shoes cannot be worn with that tank top, that shirt, that headband, or that scarf separately, and so should definetly NOT be worn with all of those pieces together. Seriously, what happened, did your closet throw up on you or are you a spokesperson for the DI maybe? Also, can you get any bigger earrings? I don’t think the people in china can see those…Though I think they did see the flower stuck to the side of your head. Turn down the volume, your accessories are TOO loud. And yet, they are in a constant state of adoration and compliment whereas I wore a black outfit to church again this week.

6. They have too many friends.

7. They make/decorate/create amazing cakes. That was my thing, jerks.

8. They always speak their minds, even when what they are saying is really mean and not something I wanted to hear, thank you very much. I have one little complaint and they’re all “Maybe you should think about why you feel that way.” Or “What have you been doing to help yourself, hmmm?” If I wanted that, I’d talk to mom!

9. They make the best cookies. Why does that make me hate them you might ask? Because they took their bking skills and went away! I crave twinner made chocolate chip cookies, but no, they have to grow up and live in different places and get experience and be people blah blah blah I want a cookie!

10. They cheat. Well, Renae may not cheat on her own, but she is a willing participant to Miranda’s devious actions whenever they’re together. They have their own twin code, which makes them specially equipped to play games and be cheaters together. I’m not paranoid, this is fact.

11. Finally, the last one! I’m so sick of thinking about these little barfs that I’m nearly going to…well, barf. They are the source of constant interest and discussion. “How’s Randi? How’s Renae? How are Randi and Renae?” “What’s Renae doing with her life?” “Is Randi enjoying her summer?” “Do they still have the same haircut?” WHO CARES!!!???!!! There are a lot more important things in the world to discuss than boring old Bin and Bugs. For instance, think of all the good you could have been doing in the time it took you to read these eleven reasons I hate these two. They have swindled us all again! Hats off to you, you tricksy hobbits you. And happiest of birthdays as well!

Seattle Mid Singles Conference 2011

Lately I've been...

Playing Scrabble with mom.



Though she is a sore winner and asked me if Zuzu had been playing since I did so poorly in the last game. Rude, right?

Patriotism

One thing about being single is that noone is around to tell you things like:

"That outfit really does not match."
"Your hair is worse than bad today."
"No, you shouldn't eat that second bowl of ice cream...it's goning to make you sick."
"You know you'll burn today, put on some sun block."

And that last one, eventhough I was at my parents' house, and there were three other people to tell me that, it still didn't happen. Instead, the response there is:

"You're thirty years old! Take care of yourself."

Clearly, I can't. Help me, please, somebody!

Whether the Weather is Better...

Looking at my neat little Weather Bug Widgets, I see that today is sunny in all four states I am currently tracking. Though, it is practically July, so it should be!

Shishmaref, AK: 52 and sunny
Renton, WA: 69 and sunny
Provo, UT: 81 and sunny
Surfside Beach, SC: 88 and sunny

They almost always fall in that order, too.

3 hours, 2 gallons of gas, 1 failed outing

Some people have useful talents and gifts. Some people can sing, or paint, or figure out just where that piece of furniture needs to go... I can get lost. It is a talent that I practice nearly every time I go some place I've never been, and sometimes when I go places I have been before!

I was trying to go to the regional YSA conference opening event at Chaney Stadium in Tacoma. I printed directions, I kept track of the mileage, I read the signs, I got totally lost. And of course, since I was driving from Renton to Tacoma, it took me an hour and a half to travel 22 miles. After getting off the freeway and driving towards where I thought I should be going, I called Colleen just on the verge of hysterics. Luckily, Colleen and her handy iPad got me where I needed to be. Even if I was now an hour behind schedule!

I tried to get into the parking lot, but guess what? All full. The local stores around the stadium all had "No Event Parking" signs, and I decided I wasn't going to walk a mile to see a baseball game I didn't care about with people I didn't know (see how I didn't say "people I didn't care about"? That's called diplomacy). In the end, I cried and went home to bake a German chocolate cake for my awesome secretaries at school.

What made it worse was that I didn't even want to go, I felt like I ought to since I don't have any friends and haven't been on a real date since I was at BYU, and those were all non-romantic dates anyway. How am I supposed to meet a nice LDS guy if I don't go to stupid YSA stuff and sit by myself being lame? The Internet says you? Yes, that is my conclusion as well. So, I am officially paying for LDS Singles so my future husband can read my bio and fall in virtual love with me. Hopefully it will progress to literal love, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, okay?

The night may have been a disaster, but the cake was wundervoll! (That's wonderful in German...according to some website. I believe everything I read online.).

Dear Last Day of School,

First of all, thank you for being sunny and nice. What a perfect way to start summer, with actual sunshine! I know the kids were glad for it. Especially those three girls I ran into wearing loaner P.E. shorts because their own carefully chosen last day outfits were too short for school. I love having the "you are more than your body" conversations with 12 year-olds...they almost get it. It was nice to not worry about rain as we waved goodbye to the raucous buses full of our departing students.

I also wanted to thank you for not being quite as bittersweet as other years have been. I finally realized how my mother could be so excited to see her children grow up and go away. I am so excited for my little sixth graders to move on to the next grade and their new adventures and experiences. There was only one girl that made me almost cry...and she and her sister will forever have a place in my heart! I loved being able to hug those little terrors and then push them out the door with a broad smile and a loud "Good Bye!"

I am very grateful for each day that added up to you, Last Day. What a good year we had! I learned something everyday. I really did! I learned more about the content, the craft of teaching, the delicate balance of teacher and "friend" that always seems to be tipping one way or the other, the ins and outs of this particular cohort, the sometimes subtle but more often glaring process of maturity mental, emotional, and physical. I learned to love them all, even the ones I wanted to throw things at... I learned to let their love touch my heart too. I learned that everyday ended. That was maybe the greatest lesson, and I try to keep that in mind every day. Every moment.

Oh, Last Day, I am always so excited to see you! We all look forward to you, but I have to say, I'm a little sad now that you're gone. I know you will come back sooner than it feels, but I wish you could just last a little longer. I wouldn't mind pausing for just a moment longer to give one more hug, to fight back one more tear, to laugh at one more stupid and juvenile joke. Just one more moment.

See you next year! Love,

Miss Deighton
Team Extreme Language Arts
CRMS

The Lunch Bunch: Week 5 (The end...for now)

Sandgoons...I mean, sandwiches

Lunch Bunch: Week 4

Wacky Wednesday

All foods were a surprise. Some were more wacky than others, but all were revealed at lunch today. We had so much food, so I will try to list as many dishes as possible...

-A yellow cake with chocolate frosting (for Chris since she likes it that way)
-A yellow cake and chocolate pudding trifle (again with Chris in mind!)
-Pistachio pudding salad with Cool Whip, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, coconut, maraschino cherries, pineapple, and that's enough!)
-Curry chicken and rice
-A banana shaped banana cake! It was really cute.
-Molasses cookies
-French Silk pie
-Chocolate coated cookies
-Bleu cheese cheese ball with homemade crackers
-Assorted Humus and crackers
-Chips and layered bean dip


That was maybe my favorite one because people were so excited about what they brought and the big reveal!

The Lunch Bunch: Week 3

Thumb and Finger Food Thursday

That's right people, there's an app. for that! It was so good. We had a ton ton ton of great finger foods including but not limited to:

* Individual Cesar salads...a giant crouton, a leaf of lettuce, a little cup of dressing
* Jell-o jiggler squares with raspberries inside from Jim's garden
* Honey BBQ wings and legs (Costco's finest!)
* Pie crust cups filled with crab/shrimp salad with a guacomole garnish
* Crackers and cheese (sharp cheddar)
* Egg rolls (Costco again)
* Bacon wrapped stuffed green peppers (which were so good, so good)
* Rolled tortilla dessert (also delish)
And much, much more!

A list a la Colleen

Colleen is always making lists of things, so I thought I would try my hand at it as well. It is very possible that you will have no interest at all in this list, and that's okay.

As a perpetually boring person, I spend an inordinate amount of my time watching television. I pride myself at being able to say "Oh, I don't own a t.v." in conversations to make me sound more hoity toity and to shock my students. The truth is, almost anything on television is now online as well.

Here are my top ten reasons I shouldn't watch as much television (programming) as I do:

10. There are far too many books I should be reading instead.
9. My dishes still aren't done.
8. Grey's Anatomy gives me an unrealistic view of Seattle, adult relationships, apropriate workplace decorum, and it makes me cry like every episode!
7. My eyesight has decreased significantly since I got an internet connection (the correlation is still not proven, but...).
6. I make bizzare references to shows noone else watches in real life conversations. What I thought was so interesting and totaly applied on House last night...didn't.
5. I have no time left to read/watch the news. So, I am left commenting about global issues by what I saw on NCIS/NCIS: LA.
4. Most of my shows fall into the "Guilty Pleasure" category of veiwing: HIMYM, Desperate Housewives, Cougar Town, 30 Rock, Glee...
3. Castle, Bones, and Fringe have taught me that I will only find true love in a crime fighting partner, but that we will never truly be able to be together! That sucks.
2. I find myself wanting to document my life with snide comments about other people like on The Office or Modern Family.
And the number one reason I should cut down on my t.v. obsession:
1. I don't think I can make it all summer without new episodes!

Blah...but wait!

And so, nothing is going on to excite me or the three of you reading this blog. Sorry. This blog was supposed to encourage me to do cool things so I would have something to talk about...

Oh! I did go to two concerts a couple weeks ago. They were awesome. They really were. My friend Amy invited me, and since she was so very right about Jack's Mannequin, I decided to trust her about Green River Ordinance.

We got to El Corazon an hour before the doors opened because Amy was nervous we wouldn't get a good place right up front. I'm new to the whole concert scene, and the standing right in front didn't really appeal to me, but she had my ticket and we rode together, so... We had some adventure driving around east Seattle looking for parking which included Amy standing on the street in a prime spot and waving an angry lady off while I ran back to bring the car closer. It was one of those awesome t.v. but not in real life moments. We also jay walked through slow traffic at least three times. One time I ran screaming and yelled "I win!" as I reached the other side and Amy was still in the middle of the street eyeing the on coming traffic.

As we got up to the club, we became a little nervous/suspicious/disgusted. If you ever get the chance to go to El Corazon, you should. Just make sure you're current on your shots. More on that later. There was one person waiting in line, which shocked Amy but didn't bother me. Amy is a FAN, so she immediately recognised their van and tour trailer. We got pictures with both, natuarally. Since we went there as fast as we could from work, we were both starving. So we decided to check out REI. I mean, sounded like a good idea.

REI is one of those places you see from the freeway and think "Wow, if I was outdoorsy and sporty and at all cool I'd shop there." Since I am none of those things, I'd never been inside before. Long story short, it was more impressive from the freeway. Though, Amy did make me sit in a camp chair next to a tent so she could tell people I was camping. She later forgot why we staged and even took that picture. The gleaming. redeeming point of REI was the weird and expensive wrap place on the top floor just past the indoor tree house and kids' play place. The food was good, and one table over we saw a yoga dad and his two yuppy kids.

The Lunch Bunch: Week 2

Tuscany Tuesday!



We were so thrilled with ourselves after Tuna Tuesday, we kept going with a pasta bar cleverly named by Craig "Tuscany Tuesday" so we could keep our alliteration.

Once again, it was bring your assigned dish and the menu was as follows:

Pasta: bow tie and penne
Red sauce (which was forgotten, but so were the meatballs, so Jim went and bought sauce to make up for it)
Cream sauce (very good, of course, since Amy made it)
Caprese (slice of tomato, slice of mozzarella, basil leaf, balsamic vinegar drizzle)
Mediterranean salad
Caesar salad (left over bag from the week before)
Variety of olives (including black because I love those guys and can't stand the green ones, though we had two different kinds of those too)
Almonds
Garlic bread
Stuffed Ravioli (Costco's finest)
Pomegranate juice

We didn't end up with a dessert because the tiramisu fell through. Amy and I both thought about making one, and both felt too lazy to do so! It was an awesome lunch none the less, and we all ate until we were sick. The next day, Justin brought in a pasta casserole made from the red, meat sauce he'd left home the day before, so the fun continued!!!

We have such a great group of people at my school, and I feel so blessed to be a member of such an incredible staff!


*An interesting sidebar, Chris cooked her burrito in the microwave for almost ten minutes one day and we had black smoke rolling out of the microwave! It was really something. We all smelled smoky for the rest of the day.

The Lunch Bunch

I eat lunch in our staff lounge every school day. I have ventured into the MPR (multi-purpose room...I know, we add a stage and all of a sudden the lunch room has multiple purposes!) once each year to have lunch among my constituents. These are fun days because I am basically a rock star in the cafeteria. I'm not going to lie, it makes me feel great to have 130 sixth graders screaming my name. I just smile and wave as I glide past...

Anyways, I eat lunch with the other sixth grade teachers, well, most of them. A few from the other team don't come in with us. In December, Amy and I decided we should have a taco bar during our lunch. I know, cool! We all just really enjoy each other, and we wanted to celebrate our unity by eating the same food on the same day. Plus we like tacos.

As the year is drawing to a close, I reinstituted our potluck idea after Kevin got a little nostalgic over tuna boats served at PLU while he was a freshman there. Maybe I am taking more credit than I deserve, but this is my boring blog, and I can do that!

The point is, we had Tuna Tuesday. The menu included the following items:

Tuna Boats (hot dog buns with prepared tuna and yellow cheese broiled in the oven, add pickles).
Tuna casserole with potato chip flakes atop
Tuna casserole with an oriental feel and cashews atop
Cesar salad (which has anchovies in the dressing and is easy for Chris to make)
Mixed fresh greens salad with avocado (because Amy eats that every day and it was delicious so it should be a big part of any meal, that's why!)
A cake in the shape of a tuna fish compliments of The Cake Queen of Sixth Grade Lunch (I maybe just gave myself that title, but again, my blog!)




It was a magical and smelly lunch for all!

"If I were a bell..."

My, Oh My!

Yay for baseball, and something new on this boring blog!

Spring Break: A week of disappointments that didn’t disappoint

I was so psyched to go to Provo for four days, on to Denver for two more, and then finally spend the last two days in Sedro-Woolley with my parents. I had it all planned out and set in my mind. It was going to be wonderful and I was going to have such a good time! I would get to play with Kendall, hang out with Matt and Heather in their super cute new “house”, see Renae one last time before she graduates and spends the summer in South Carolina and then who knows where, try to convince Randi to come home this summer so I don’t feel like such a total loser slouch, and of course, spend some much longed for time Reich. Plus, I’d still get in my mooch off mom and dad time. What is that about the best laid plans? Well, I’m not a mouse or a man, so I think that saying shouldn’t apply to me!

Regardless, Southwest Airlines and their broken airplanes put a huge damper on my plans. My flight was cancelled on Saturday, leaving me really upset and frustrated. In an attempt to make the best of it, I made a dentist appointment. I had a tooth that had been sore for a couple of days (which I realized thanks to some delish jelly beans and Swedish Fish Eggs…I love Easter, I love candy, I love that celebrating the Savior includes candy).

On Monday, we went out to my grandparents’ house on Whidbey Island. I love going to visit with them. We watched some old movie footage recently converted to DVD from Super 8 film. Amazing how far technology has come! It’s interesting to see what they thought was important enough to video record, compared with today when we record EVERYTHING.

Anyways, fast forward to Tuesday at my dentist appointment (for which I was made to wait an extra like 20 minutes past my appointment time). After x-rays and examination, it was determined that I had a few cavities and a fractured tooth. The later needing a crown. And a root canal. Did I have time right then, because the dentist did. With my mom’s gracious willingness to sit in the waiting room for another hour and a half, I conceded. It didn’t really hurt as much as I thought it would, and even today it is barely as sore as it was when I ate the fish eggs. The steady taking of ibuprofen has helped.

The rest of that day was filled with shopping for baby clothes, Red Robin, and Costco pizza/muffins, so I can’t really complain. The baby clothes shopping continued on the next day as well, which I loved then too. There was also quite a bit of television watching, including an amazing show called “Four of a Kind” about a set of identical 17 year old quadruplet girls. Fascinating stuff.

I wasn’t a total waste of skin last week though. I did go to help an elderly man from church move. Saying that his house was a mess would be the understatement of maybe, ever. I didn’t do much in the grand scheme of things, but I did something. The next day was spent riding along in the chase car as my dad drove the U-Haul truck to Spokane. Although it took the whole day to go and come back, I spent most of it playing with my dog, singing to Matt Hires (I love you, Matt Hires!), harassing my mom (which thing I also love!), and even snoozing a little. We drove through some beautiful countryside northwest of Spokane on our way to deer Park via the “short cut” that took an hour and a half longer than the long way. We even encountered all sorts of weather along the way, culminating in the horizontal snow storm as we approached Snoqualmie Pass. That was special. As my grandma recently said, “There’s another star in heaven for you!” to my dad for his unfailing selfless service.

Friday my mom made lasagna and I made a cake to celebrate John’s 32nd birthday. Man is he old. It sort of became and all day event, but turned out really well. We had a nice dinner and visit all together, which was very cool. I miss having my siblings around. Down side of growing up in a big family: when everyone’s grown, they all go away.

Saturday I did some stamping as well as postering in preparation for the “Show Us Your Stuff” night at the Sedro-Woolley ward activity. Dad took some of his more transportable wood working, mom took her writing, I made a poster of decorated cakes I’ve done, and the piece de resistance: fresh spun cotton candy. Oh, that fluffy pink magic! It was a fun night full of really interesting displays.

Sunday had me back in Renton to go to church, teach my lesson, and get geared up for life again today. Which was fine. I hadn’t realized how much I missed my students until my first period class walked in. I was just grinning to see them. Of course, they did bring darling projects to present today, so that helped. What I forgot to mention about Sunday in my first posting was that I got pulled over for running a red light (left hand turn in an empty intersection). Also, that officer was very attractive. I still can't believe I did it, and my incredulousness helped in my just getting a warning.


All in all, what could have been a disastrous week, turned out pretty well. I did pretty much zero work related to work, so Spring Break 2011 was a success in my book.

What's in a name?

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and a bug by any other name would be as gross. And yet, when I saw the GIANT black spider in the garage, the first thing I did (after I got done screaming, jumping around, and trying not to hyperventilate) was give it a name. Nasty Ned. I feel like it is very fitting.

The very next day, by friend Cortney said that she and her husband had just purchased a family pet for their girls. They got a wonderfully cow-licked guinea pig. As she was describing his funny face and spiky hair, all I could think was “What’d you name him?” So I started to wonder, is it just me, or do all people have an obsession with naming things? Here’s what I came up with:

People name things to understand them. When we find a new species of plant, animal, even germ, we name it. Classify that guy before someone else does! Why though? Does it somehow change the fungus to be named? It doesn’t, except in our minds. As thinking creatures, we don’t like what we can’t understand. How do get to an understanding of something? We name it. You’re sick…what do you have? An infection. Yeah, but what do you have?

I think it’s the same basic instinct that drives us to name cars and toys and even body parts. My car is The Grey Glob. My dearest stuffed animal is Gilly. I haven’t named any body parts. The point is though, by personifying these objects, I come to understand them. It’s weird to talk to my car, but talking to The Grey Glob isn’t weird. Okay, as weird. When I name a stuffed animal, a whole personality and background form in my mind. Now they aren’t just objects…they have names!

I don’t think it’s just me being crazy. People are serious about names. They give identity, they give meaning, they make us who we are. A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but it wouldn’t be a rose!

Here is a poem about names that I simply love!

The Naming Of Cats by T. S. Eliot

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

A Couple More Cakes

My friend at work and I tend to go overboard baking for each others' birthdays. A couple weeks before her big anniversary, she sent me a link to a "S'mores Pie" and "Almond Joy Hearts." I took the link seriously! The pie didn't look quite s'moresy enough since it was mostly brownie.

I did a layered All Fools Cake for the base with chocolate buttercream frosting. In the middle, I spread melted chocolate, sprinkled graham cracker crumbles, and added slightly microwaved marshmallows. Garnished with s'mores on top! It was a big hit, and tasted great too!

The hearts also turned out really well.
Check out http://www.seriouseats.com
homemade almondjoy chocolate hearts recipes

My most recent service auction donation is below:
I made it for a little girl named Lydia (as you can tell by the cloud...). Her mom found the sheep pattern online, and I modified it a little. The directions called for chocolate chips for all the brown places, but I used crushed chips instead. I also did frosting for the face rather than candy pieces. The little hill is covered in green coconut to look like grass. It was a lot of fun to do, and Lydia and her mom loved it.

Happy Annie Very Sorry!

My parents just celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary. It's pretty amazing that two people can spend that many years together while raising six children and still overcome differences to find strength and comfort from each other.

Which got me thinking...

So, I joined a dating site. Two, actually. I've always thought dating websites were stupid and for desperate people who don't want to leave their houses (which is a wonder I've not gotten on board with this before). I have to say, my opinion hasn't changed much since joining.

I immediately started getting "ScreenName wants to meet you!" e-mails. I thought it would be fun to maybe chat with some people, go on a date, whatever... Truth is, having a dating profile has totaly freaked me out. I am not interested in it, though I can't bring myself to cancel my account.

It's hard beign such a weirdo!

The big 1-0...0,000

When I was a kid, I had a dream of owning a compact car so I could park in any spot I wanted. My magnanimous parents helped me start to realize that dream as my graduation/be grown up already present. I love my little Grey Glob. We've been together almost 6 years (in the end of May). That's a really long commitment for me. We've had some great times together driving up and down the road of life. Let's take a look back over the last hundred thousand miles...

At least 7 trips to Utah

One awesome trip to San Diego by way of Disneyland (midnight taco!)

200+ trips between Renton and Sedro-Woolley

9 months of up, down, and all over Utah Valley

A few burger or ice cream/cookie runs

1 speeding ticket from a cop who looked like a grandpa and should have felt bad because I was so pathetic

Countless turtle and rumble strip reminders, not to mention a few close calls with a few orange safety cones

This last year's sweet trunk or treat set up with battery operated votive candles and fabric leaves galore

2 lock outs, equally traumatic, in very different ways

A great RS campout wherein I employed my trunk as a bunk

1 stupid "fender bender"

A few scratches and bangs

2 trips to the Blue Fox Drive-In...one where I ended up in a lawn chair in the rain while the twins and Ariel sprawled in the trunk

1 small dog with a propensity to find, spread, and shred any scrap of paper product

Way too many hours of sitting and building courage to do something like: go to an interview (more than once), talk to that stupid boy (sadly, more than once, and more than one boy), see a new apartment, return the shoes I really didn't need but were so totally cute, cry out whatever made me so angry/sad/confused/hurt that I couldn't go home quite yet, tell a friend I was going to disappoint her...again, go into the party even though I could pretend like I just forgot it was that night, or even eat lunch/dinner/snack in the building by myself (I maintain that food tastes better alone in the car)

Slightly less hours of: waiting for someone or something because I didn't want to drive home in between or I had to be freakishly early, reading a few more pages of a great book, talking to one of said stupid boys, listening to the end of an epic song, listening to the end of a stupid song, giving the phone just one more chance to ring

And so many more things!

When I looked down and saw that the odometer was at 100,016 miles, I was happy for all the great memories I've had with the Glob, bummed I missed the change by 16 miles, wistful over all the wasted hours I've spent in that car, and generally grateful for having a reliable, fun, little car!

Strangers in the Night

So, I live in a secure building, which means we have interior hallways and locked exterior doors. I like it because I feel really safe. We have other safety measures in our individual apartments as well. For example, we have these awesome, loud, super annoying fire alarms.

I have had several opportunities to be assured of the usefulness of these detectors and alarms in the three and a half years I've lived here. One night, I was yanked from bed to the shrill siren only to find that some "idiot teenagers down the hall" thought it was funny to pull the alarm, as my neighbor said.

The good thing about these late night drills is that I get to meet my neighbors. No, I have not been interested in knocking on doors and making friends...though, that would be less jarring I think! Pretty much the only time I talk with the three neighbors I recognize as living in my building (which has something like 42 apartments) is when we are standing bewildered in the parking lot looking for smoke and flames.

About a week ago, I was in my living room (luckily wearing shorts and a t-shirt, not just my bed clothes like last time!). I had just finished Skyping with my dad when the alarm sounded. As with all things like that, my heart started pumping and I went into panic mode. I grabbed Zuzu and a sweatshirt and took off for the door. I figured it wouldn't be anything, but when I opened my door to step out, the hallway was filled with white smoke. I gasped out loud, locked my door, and hauled it down the stairs and outside.

Imagine my shock when I ran into the parking lot to find myself alone. Really? Our building was on fire! Though, when I walked around to the other entrance someone asked me if it smelled like smoke inside. As I thought about it, I realized that it had not in fact had any smokey scent. My next thought was "If this was a movie, that white cloud in the hallway would be COCAINE!" Of course, I knew it wasn't a movie and couldn't possibly be thousands of dollars worth of drugs floating around in there. Though, that would have made this story infinitely cooler.

After 20 minutes and three calls to the fire department, a truck finally arrived. Here's the best part... Remember those key required exterior doors? Yeah, fireman don't have keys. They had to ask one of the displaced evacuees to let them in. We were finally cleared to back in to find the powdery "smoke" all over the carpeted hallway. Zu was very interested in it, but some very opinionated neighbors informed me (and anyone in a two block radius) that the "smoke" had been residue from the employment of a fire extinguisher. Who knew?

I realized after this traumatic(ish) event that I am not good in high stress life or death situations. I mean, I was wearing shorts and flip flops! Also, I totaly missed taking my 72 hour kit sitting inside the doorway, my car keys, or...my cell phone. So, aside from the very delayed reaction time of the fire department and my own scatter-brainedness, I am back to feeling safe and drug free in my apartment.

Groceries Gone Wrong

There are several reasons why I shop at my local Associated Grocer store. I will now list a few.

1. I was standing in line waiting to pay for my groceries when a man in his late fifties in a big, puffy coat and a stocking cap sort of hobbled quickly out the door. Another customer rushed up to the register and said "Hey, that guy just went out with a bunch of meat under his coat!" The bagger, who is an older, nervous but nice man, who doesn't speak a lot of English. He jetted out the door to follow the man as the cashier called for the manager.

Sadly, I did not see the confrontation. The manager came back in a minute later carrying five BIG packages of meat. I'm not talking fatty ground beef, these were big, nice cuts of meat. We're talking probably, like, $100 plus. Yeah, that isn't super impressive...but it was the most exciting thing to happen at the grocery store in a long time.

2. Another time I was waiting to pay (yes, the lines are long and the checkers few) when I saw a little girl chewing on a sucker. She was maybe like 3 or 4. Anyways, she had this wrapped sucker she was chewing on as she went down the isle touching things. Then, she pulled the slimy sucker out of the mouth and put it on the shelf. Yeah, gross. She then put her all licked up fingers on a bunch of other candy as she toddled along. I wanted to tell her dad to control her, but then I just decided to never buy candy, or anything on the bottom shelf, there again.

3. It is cheaper than Safeway or QFC.