Happy Happy Joy Joy! June 15, 2009

     I got a phone call early this afternoon.

 

     It was Kristi, and I could hear her grin through the phone.

 

     “Guess what?!?!”  she (practically) shrieked.  “They found my backpack!  They have my backpack!  It’s at the police station and I can go get it!”

 

     I instantly broke into my version of the happy dance, which, if you saw it would remind you more of the potty dance, but whatever.  There was dancing.  There was celebrating.  There were even tears.

 

     Someone found it next to the canal that runs behind the elementary school that is across the street from our neighborhood.  Everything inside was wet (most things were soaked, thanks to the solid week of rain we’ve gotten), but most of it is salvageable. They had gone through everything and dumped it into one huge (extremely soggy) pile, but aside from a few credit cards, three DVDs, some cash and a little change (okay, about 2 pounds of change) and her laptop, it was all there… plus some snails.  Being the heroic sister that I am, I picked them off and threw them into the street.  (Okay, one.  I picked one off.)  I know that there weren’t snails in her bag when it was stolen, so wasn’t it nice of Mother Nature to leave her a little something to make up for what was taken?

 

     Even the zip drive was there, completely dry and unaffected.

 

     A lot of people prayed for her during the last week, and just the other day I told her that if you went by  my kids’ prayers alone, her backpack should sprout wings and fly through her bedroom window. 

 

     Of course, this way was good, too.  It was a happy, happy day.

And the heavens opened, and we were sore afraid. (Mostly irreverent.) June 14, 2009

     We were sitting in Sacrament Meeting this afternoon when the clouds rolled in and it started to pour.  Anthony was sleepily cradled in my arms, and at the quietest part of the meeting, we saw a flash of light through the windows and heard a loud clap of thunder.

 

     Because we’re idiots  Because it’s a habit we started ten years ago, we sit on the very front row in the chapel.  Imagine the delight of the rest of the ward sitting behind us when Alex and Kendra heard the thunder, giggled gleefully and Alex jumped to his feet and pumped his fist in victory.  Hannah shrieked in mock terror, and Anthony opened his eyes wide for a minute, before smiling a drowsy grin and saying, “Awesome.”  Loudly.

 

     That was pretty much how my kids spent the remainder of the meeting– listening for thunder, watching for lightning (or “strips of bacon”) (yeah, don’t ask), giving the occasional high-five when the rumbling was particularly noisy, and giggling –loudly– about how cool it was. 

 

     It was cool, even I have to admit.  (I don’t remember ever being in church during a thunderstorm, so it was a new experience for all of us.)

 

     It was also embarrassing. 

 

     My kids are heathens. 

 

 

I’ve gone geek. June 13, 2009

     We just got back from our anniversary dinner date (Goodwood BBQ and Star Trek).

 

     Yum and yuh-huh-huh-huh-mmm.

  

     Never having been much of a fan of ANY of the Star Trek realms (except for Generations…  for some reason, I LOVED that movie!), I have to admit that my interest was peaked way back in January when I saw him in a Star Trek commercial:

(Oh, Sylar, you bad, bad man.)(Also, the casting director was PURE GENIUS.)

 

     Then I saw the trailer in April, and I told Kenny that I actually might consider seeing it.  Maybe even for our anniversary.

 

     I have seen a lot of really unpleasant movies in the name of our anniversary.  (Gladiator, anyone?)  Thank you, J.J. Abrams, for giving me a movie I could enjoy, even if my reasons were completely different from my husband’s.

 

(You’re welcome.)

 

 

     I have jumped into the cult of Trek with both feet. 

 

     Live long and prosper.       l\/l

Rejected. Buh-bye. June 12, 2009

I love this video.  I think I’ve watched it ten times, and I am still giggling about it.

 

Hers is the sort of experience that would happen to me.  I am famous for getting excited about something and having it blow up in my face.  (Or fold…  hee.)

 

Enjoy.

 

When You Burn a Girl a CD (Or, Why I Have a Slight Crush on Jason Mraz) June 11, 2009

When you burn a girl a CD, she will listen to it every single moment she is awake.

After she has listened to it approximately 25 times, she will ask you to print off the lyrics for each song.

After you print off the lyrics, she will sing along.

As she sings along, you begin to pick up the lyrics as well.

After you can sing every song on the CD, some phrases begin to stick out.

As you ponder those phrases, you begin to apply them to certain life experiences.

Those life experiences remind you of other songs, which makes you go to i-Tunes and download them.

After you’ve downloaded those other songs, your daughter hears them and asks you to burn her a new CD.

And, when you burn a girl a CD, she will listen to it every single moment she is awake.

 

 

 

Fourteen June 10, 2009

     Fourteen. 

 

     You may think it’s the age of my emotional maturity, or the number of times I start a sentence- and a paragraph!- with the word “and” in my posts.  (I DO know better.  However, in my opinion, technical writing and blog writing don’t really belong in the same space, unless you’re writing a technical blog.)  Perhaps you’re counting my parenthetical asides, but you’d be mistaken.

 

     Today is my

Give me one more day. June 9, 2009

     So, that funny post you were waiting for is not going to happen tonight.

 

     I have four fun guests from Ohio in my house overnight, and while three of them are asleep, the best one of all and I are going to chatter well into the night.

 

     Catch you tomorrow! 

“Steal from Wal-Mart. Not from people.” June 8, 2009

(Lest you flog me verbally for suggesting such a thing, I want to defend my title choice by saying it was a comment response to my sister’s Facebook status, and it was one of the only things that made me giggle today.  I don’t actually think people should steal from ANYBODY, or anything.  Fair enough?

Carry on.)

 

     I had hoped to write something funny and/or charming for today’s post, but the morning got off to a rough start, and instead of cute, you get scary, gritty and sad.

 

     (You  may be asking yourself why you continue to read my blog, and I assure you that very soon, I will be back to my usual witty and hilarious self.  Perhaps even by tomorrow.)

 

     This morning started off the way Mondays usually do– my alarm went off at 4:30 AM, I staggered to the front door to unlock it, rubbed my eyes, got a drink and waited for Kristi to walk in with Abbie.  Right on cue, at 4:35 the door opened, Kristi carried Abbie inside, took off her sweater, kissed her, put her in the playpen and said goodbye, then walked out the door.  Abbie fussed for a minute, and I told her it would be okay, that Mommy was going to work and would be back soon, and I reached behind me to dim the lamp.

 

     All of this took three minutes.  Five, tops, but that’s stretching it.

 

     Suddenly, the front door flew open, swinging so hard it slammed into the door stop.  Kristi yelled, “Call 911!  I’ve just been robbed!”

 

Can every day be Sunday? June 7, 2009

     You know what I love?  Cloudy, overcast days.

 

     You know what else I love?  Long naps after church.

 

     You know what makes a rainy, overcast day of church and lengthy naps even better?  Watching a family-friendly movie* together on a new couch in a dark basement.

 

     Aaaaah, Sunday.

 

 

*Igor.  Funny for children AND parents.

 

 

Skirt, squared June 6, 2009

     I wanted to post pictures of the twirly skirts I made for Kendra and Hannah.  They were really easy, even for a novice like me, and my girls love them!  Kendra wore hers for Friday’s talent show, and Hannah can’t wait to wear hers to church tomorrow.

 

     I printed off step-by-step directions (with pictures!) from this website.  When I make these in the future (I’m even considering one for me!), I will make them just a few inches longer to compensate for the “twirl” factor and inevitable underwear flash, but other than that, the pattern was perfect.