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.