Little Hinges

In a General Conference talk not long ago -- and then again even more recently (in April), Pres. Monson stated, "The door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people's lives."  I've been thinking about that a lot lately.

A couple nights ago, I was emailing my friend Annie.  It just happened to occur to me, mid-email, that I am coming up on 10 years since I moved to Tuscaloosa and started working at the University of Alabama.  In a little cubicle behind Annie :). 

Did you know I never intended to live in Tuscaloosa?  That I never intended to work at the University of Alabama?  Little hinges. 

This was me, just over 10 years ago (August 31, 2006, to be exact...).

I had just wrapped up a job interview in Birmingham.  I didn't get that job. 

By this point, I had been admitted to UA's Library and Information Studies graduate degree program.  I had not, however, been admitted to the online program, which had been my first choice.  The only way for me to pursue my degree was to move to Tuscaloosa -- or thereabouts.  Which meant I needed a new job.  And so I started looking. 

I didn't get that job.  But it was only a little more than a month before things panned out a different way.  I ended up getting a job at the library at UA.  I ended up in the Cataloging Department, where my hours could be flexible, and I had only to walk up a flight of stairs to attend my classes.  I ended up getting a lot of my tuition "paid for" because I was an employee. 

Little hinges. 

My life has changed so much in 10 years.  Sometimes I look back at pictures of myself and think, "Am I still that girl, that young woman?  Is she still inside me somewhere?"  Certainly, I am recognizable (in spite of the many new gray hairs I've added... ;)).  And I guess she is inside me still.  Who I am is built upon who I was.  I am still me, but I am also different.  I have overcome challenges I didn't anticipate facing until they were right in front of me.  It reminds me of that Sunscreen song:  "The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind... The kind that blind-side you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday."  I have become a mother -- and that changes everything.  I have tried things and failed.  I have tried things and succeeded. 

That day pictured above, I didn't know what the future held.  I had hopes, for sure.  Some were realized, others were not.  But it's been a good, good life :).  And here I stand, 10 years later.  I don't know what the future holds...  But I have hopes.  And so it goes.

Right Now -- It's [My] Tomorow

A miracle!  A miracle!  A post TWO days in a row! 

Because it's nap-time, and this is too cool and fun and so Nilla that I just have to share!

Brad texted me last night to tell me Pepsi has re-released Crystal Pepsi after 23 years... 

There was only one thing to be done:  we stopped at a convenience store after our (awful) Wal-Mart shopping trip this morning and bought one.  And let me just say, there are very few reasons I ever make special trip for one item these days...  Getting two kids in and out of the car at lunch time/nap time for a single soda is not a ton of fun.  But getting the soda:  priceless. 

It reminds me of the summer of 1993 when it had been released.  We were in Dothan for vacation that summer, staying with my grandmother.  Because my grandfather had passed earlier that year, we were here for a longer time than usual:  6 weeks.  As pre-teens, we were pretty bored with staying at the house all the time, and since my mom was here to help my grandmother, we didn't always get to go anywhere (we sure couldn't drive ourselves...).  So we started walking down the road to the little convenience store and buying junk food.  A lot.  Hahaha.  Funny what you end up remembering so fondly.  That is where we bought our first Crystal Pepsi.  And possibly our last.  I can't remember.  But I know it was our first :).  23 years.  Holy cow.  That's a whole adult lifetime!  

I love the nostalgia.  Love it.  And, after all...  It was good to do it right now.  Why wait 'til tomorrow? ;).

Here's the song, which Pepsi used for their Crystal Pepsi commercials back in my younger days...

And here's proof!

In other news...  My eyes have suddenly decided they hate my contacts if I wear them more than 4 hours a day...  So I am doing a lot of glasses-wearing these days.  I'm not a fan, and I need to make an eye appointment and see what's up.  I just keep putting it on the back burner.  Blah.

Heart in a Blender

So when I first told my mom about that song (well over a decade ago now), she said "Gross." 

True, it doesn't leave such a nice mental image:  heart in a blender.  But I loved that song years ago.  And I still like it.  And I felt it was somewhat applicable to this random post.

Which is not at all about what the song really is about.  But it is, usually, what goes through my head almost anytime I think the word "blender."  It's something I do frequently:  hear song lyrics in my head for something I hear or think. 

And blenders have been a topic of much conversation in our household lately.  Because our "old" blender (pictured above) pretty much bit the dust.  A few weeks back (maybe even months now), Jeremy was pureeing up a bunch of pumpkin from our garden.  We roast it, puree it, and then freeze it and I have it for pies and pumpkin bread, etc.  Well, our little 350-watt blender just didn't have the oomph anymore to keep up with our demands.  And we started smelling the motor.  And noticing it wasn't blending or pureeing very well anymore.

Then, last week, Lynnaea and I were going to enjoy a smoothie.  And somehow the gasket seal got sucked up into the jar (I was using a mason jar instead of the actual pitcher), and torn -- and that pretty much sealed the fate of the blender. 

This blender has been in my possession for almost 15 years.  And that's why I named this post as I did:  heart in a blender.  Because the more I live, the more I see how I personally (and possibly many others) attach emotional significance to things.  And I think that's mostly for the memories they hold.

I can remember I bought this blender at the very end of June in 2000 in Dothan.  I bought it at Wal-Mart.  And I figured it was just one more thing I would add to my "hope chest" for the "one day" when I was living on my own.  And I remember all this, because it was also the night I had my very first kiss.  (I don't count the one from pre-school ;)).  Yes, go ahead and do the math.  I was 19 years old.

And so, in a way, you could say a piece of me is in that blender -- my memories.  And so, as I sit on the cusp of throwing it out (at least the bottom part -- and the top part I'd actually already replaced.... I broke the plastic pitcher that came with it a year or two ago...), I acknowledge that I have attached a sentimental value to this blender. 

And I realize I could easily become a pack-rat for this very reason.  For I attach sentimental value to most things.  I put my heart in a blender...  In a camera...  a DVD...  And even a hot chocolate carafe set.

It's true that things are just things.  But, for me at least, it's also true that they are sometimes more.  And no, I won't be hanging on to the blender motor for the sake of memories.  That is part of why I recorded these thoughts here.  But it makes me to smile to look around me and see a house full of memories.  And it makes me smile to know that I'll make new memories with my new blender -- a new one in which to put my heart...  Starting with green smoothies ;).

Golden Girl Musings

Excuse me while I wax nostalgic for a bit...  I am feeling nostalgic on this crisp Autumn day here in the Pacific Northwest.  It's beautiful outside.  And something about the chilly air, and the uncharacteristically sunny sky at this time of year, has me thinking of Alabama.  The weather reminds me of that today...

Of course, that's not all that's been turning my thoughts to Alabama and reminiscences of days gone by.  I've also been watching some old episodes of The Golden Girls, which I borrowed from the public library.  And these are the things I remember, as a result; for The Golden Girls always bring to mind memories of summers spent visiting Dothan:

...Supermarket Sweep.  You see, this was a game show we would watch every summer in Dothan when we would visit.  I'm not even sure why I liked this show so much, but I did!  And, honestly, if it was still on TV; and if we had cable, I'd probably still watch it.  Even if for no other reason than old times' sake.  I just got sucked in to watching that episode I linked on Youtube... 

...Crystal Pepsi.  It came out in 1993.  And that summer, we visited Dothan.  I remember the excitement of walking down to the little convenience store at the end of my grandmother's road.  I think it was called Lolo's or something.  And the following time we were there on vacation, my grandmother said we couldn't go there anymore as someone had been shot.  Ah well... But in the summer of 1993, it was one of the places we went to "escape" the boredom of being at the house all the time.  And we'd buy the Crystal Pepsi -- and other yummy treats :).

...Nick at Night!  Being in Dothan meant having many more cable channels than we had in Panama.  And we loved it!  Every night, we'd watch Nick at Night.  And that's how we got introduced to some awesome classics like Mary Tyler Moore.  The one rule:  we couldn't be loud and the TV couldn't be either.  Once my grandmother went to bed, we needed to be quiet.

...Strawberry Shortcake.  The dessert, not the 80s toy.  Honestly, our summer vacations spent in Dothan were full of yummy treats.  My mom would go to the grocery store and get all sorts of yummies for us to have.  One of them was the little yellow sponge-cakes, strawberries (which she'd slice and sprinkle with sugar), and cool whip in a can.  I don't know why I remember that one so fondly, but I do. 

...Unsolved Mysteries.  We loved that show too!  And watched it on a couple different channels at a couple different times every day.  Some of the episodes freaked us out.  Seriously.

...Rice.  Lots and lots of rice.  Rice with dinner every day.  My grandmother usually cooked dinner -- and the Panamanian in her made sure rice was always on the menu.  It was a good thing, though.  She made the best white rice.  And we'd have it with a variety of meat dishes:  ropa vieja was one of them I remember.  And some sort of platano (plantain) dish.  Good stuff.

Yep, so there's a little variety of the memories that float through my brain every time I watch The Golden Girls.  They are happy memories :).  I've had a good life :).

...But before I end, I should go back to the future ;).  Or the present ;).  And show you a couple pictures.  From Halloween and other stuff :).

Nice side-ways picture...  But Lynnaea and I chilled on the couch on Halloween and she took a mini nap before Trunk or Treat at the church.  (she didn't go from car to car, because she doesn't need the candy... but we gave out candy and dressed up :)).

 Here we are!  Jeremy just threw on random stuff, but ended up being like a made scientist.  I was a witch, and Lynnaea was a Care Bear :).

Our friends Lea and Chuck stopped by the church to see Lynnaea and they also gave out some candy for a bit too.

 Me and the candy stash...

And this sweet girl trying on the witch hat ;).  So stinkin' cute!

Lynnaea is getting to the age where she wants to be involved in everything we do...  So Jeremy lets her help him make bread.  So after they get it all into the bread machine, she likes to watch it mix.

Then she is ready to get back down :).  So cute.  Love this girl.

7 Years

I have no idea why I'm still awake.  Because I'm a night-owl, I suppose.  And because my husband is still at work (and probably will be until midnight -- good times!).  I should be asleep.  Because my munchkin doesn't care when I went to sleep the night before.  She'll wake up at 7 or 7:30.  And she'll be so happy.

Which is good, because it makes me happy too :).  Her happy squeals from her crib that wake me up make forcing myself out of bed a not-so-bad thing.  I actually smile as I hear her.  Who knew motherhood could do that to a not-morning-person such as myself?

But I felt like writing.  And then I felt like looking over where I was in life around this date of the last seven years.  Thank you blogger.  Can you believe I've had this blog for 7 years?  I kind of can't.  My life has changed drastically in 7 years.  It's so crazy.

Last year my baby was a baby.  Where did the time go?  I mean, I remember the days...  And it just doesn't seem possible that they are gone -- that they were a year ago.  That that baby in the pictures can now walk.  And talk some.  And actually do what we ask her to do most of the time.  She understands so much of what we say.

The year before that, I was overwhelmed, emotional, nostalgic.  And pregnant (which probably explained all of those symptoms), but we weren't telling people yet.  We were still newlyweds with no clue how our boat was about to be rocked.  Ignorance was bliss, people.  Ignorance was bliss ;).  (Don't worry...  we survived the boat rocking.  And we are much better for it!  Apparently parenthood is a shock to many...)

The year before that I had just moved into my own little house.  Finally.  After so much time waiting and hoping to be on my own.  Sometimes I don't think I gave myself the opportunity to enjoy that as much as I should have.  But that's okay.  I'm kind of crazy that way.

The year before that, I was getting ready to turn 30.  And listed a whole ton of toots and sweets.  Which made me laugh as I just sat here reading over it.  Holy cow.  Sometimes I crack myself up.  Plus, Lea and I had gone to the play Fame and took pictures with some of the cast members.  That was good times.

Then there was the year before that, when I was tripping to Florida and Alabama.  Or getting ready to at any rate.  My awesome friend April was getting married, and I was going to get to be there :).

And a year before that I was in a blogging funk.  So I was doing tag posts.  I did a one-word tag post where my answer to every question had to consist of one word.  One question was:  significant other?  And I wrote "future."  Hahaha....  Clearly I was full of hope for what would be.  And clearly my hope was founded -- and the promise fulfilled.

Which brings us to the year of my blog's birth.  This blog, at least.  When I was living it up in Tuscaloosa.  Making great memories with Virginia, Le, and Annie, Jeni, and a myriad of others.  I was in a place -- both geographically and metaphorically -- I never thought I'd be.  But I was surviving.  No... I was thriving.

7 Years is a long time.  And so much can change.  It is hard for me to believe that that 26 year old woman beginning this blog would, 7 years later, be a wife and mother.  That her dreams and hopes would come true.  Her prayers would be answered... again and again and again.

Sometimes I can't believe she and I are the same person.  And I guess, in many ways, we are not.  7 years have changed me.  Hopefully for the better.  But either way, I am different.  But grateful for the intervening years.  Grateful for the amazing and abundant life I've had.  Even when it was hard.

Our most recent selfie :)...  It was a pajama kind of day...  A warm pajama kind of day :).

You've Gotta Swim

I cannot go to bed early.  Seriously.  I tried going to sleep at 9:30.  I failed.  It's now about to be 11, so I'll try again. 

What did I do in the interim?  I got my writing fix.  As always, I have a number of writing projects going on.  Whether I'll ever do anything with this one, I cannot say.  But, if nothing else, it is a form of a journal.  It is a way to share some of the stories of my youth with my posterity. 

And because my dad loves to read anything even remotely Panama related, I figure I'll post it here for him.  The title of this blog post is a song.  It's also what I will name the "chapter" if I ever was to get this thing published.  Not because the lyrics lend meaning to what I wrote.  But because those specific words do tie in well with the topic.  And I like to take creative liberties :).  And I also love the song.

So here it is:

"Growing up as the child of two former lifeguards meant one thing was beyond certain:  I would learn how to swim.  And, honestly, that makes sense when one lives less than an hour from two major oceans.  

One of the many perks of being a U.S. Civilian dependent overseas was the swimming pools.  My family’s swimming pool of choice was Los Rios Swimming Pool, which was a mere 5 minute drive from our house.  It was free, people.  Free.  Only in recent years have I come to realize how wonderful that really was.  And the result is that I now feel slightly insulted when the YMCA wants me to actually pay to be able to swim in their pool.  But I digress…

So yeah, going to the pool was free.  When I was really young, my mom showed her PCC ID Card, and we were buzzed in.  Once I obtained my coveted B Badge (which remains in my possession to this day, attached securely to my scrapbook), I could get in by myself.  And how did I get that B-Badge (also known as the only Green Card Zonian kids cared anything about…)?  I passed my Beginner’s Swimming Test. 

I remember the event quite clearly, though I was quite young.  I am pretty sure I was still in kindergarten.  I can remember being in the “deep end” of the pool.  I was told to swim a certain number of laps free-style.  I remember a lifeguard swam beside me as I swam those laps.  Looking back now, I realize this was a safety thing.  I remember, when I completed my requisite laps, I was told to get out and go to the “Baby Pool.”  And I remember being afraid I’d failed.  Turns out that’s just where they sent you when you were done so they didn’t have to worry about you drowning or something.  Because I passed my test.  And I got my B-Badge.  And forever affixed to that card is my kindergarten picture – for identification purposes, of course.  Because even at the age of 16, that picture still screamed Hila enough that they let me in ;).

I continued on with swimming lessons for a few more years.  My parents required that I complete the Swimmer’s level course.  So I think that ended up being 4 years of swimming lessons.  I learned how to tread water.  I learned how to use my clothes as flotation devices, in the event I fell overboard fully clothed in jeans (try taking jeans off in water…  Seriously takes some effort!).  I learned how to do the back stroke, side stroke, breast stroke, and elementary back stroke.  And probably some other things I have forgotten now.

Oh yeah, did I mention that swimming lessons were free, too? 

I have many more memories from Los Rios Swimming Pool.  Birthday parties held there (also free), lifeguards flirted with there…  That pool was the scene of many great moments in my history.  And who knows?  Maybe I’ll share more of them eventually.  But for now, the swimming lessons should suffice.

Thank You For Being [My] Friend

So I hope you will tolerate a nostalgia post.  Because I have felt very nostalgic lately.  Life has felt completely consuming.  Pepper jelly, plum jam, grocery shopping, paying rent, working, going to church, thinking up meals (and hopefully getting around to cooking them)...  It doesn't seem like a lot when I write it.  But man it's felt overwhelming.  And one of my biggest regrets is that I have not been in contact with friends like I would like to be.  And it makes me sad.  Because I love my friends.  Seriously.  I have been blessed with some of the most amazing friends I think this world has to offer.  And I miss those who are thousands of miles away.  One of the things I've always said would be the coolest thing ever would be to have all my friends from all my years all in one place.  Then I could see them all!  Haha...  Okay, it's selfish.  But still.  So, this is a song-title post, and I'm sure it doesn't take much to discern what it's about...  But in case you didn't figure it out...  You can consider this a tribute to some really awesome people that I haven't forgotten.  No matter how crummy I am at keeping in touch.  Thank you for being [my] friend.  And for the beautiful memories.

Here are Tammy and Stacy.  They are a mother and daughter -- and they are both dear friends of mine.  So I have a ton of memories with both of them.  I've known Stacy longer, because we were in the same ward in Dothan for several years and we were visiting teaching companions once upon a time.  I met her mom because she started reading my blog and Stacy ratted her out :).  But I'm glad, because she and I began emailing each other and became fabulous friends as well.  The memory I have chosen to share concerning these two grand ladies is one from the night pictured above.  It was August 2008, and I was in Dothan for a few days before my dad and I went to Panama and then I moved here to Washington.  So Tammy, Stacy, and I went to a movie and then got dessert at Ruby Tuesday afterwards.  The movie?  Mama Mia.  With Pierce and all his awful singing :).  Oh how we laughed the whole way through the movie!  Being that it was an Abba-inspired movie, the discussion of Abba songs was an obvious one.  So I shared with them this time when Pres. Hinckley was visiting Panama and my mom, Brad, and I rode with some other people to attend the meeting where he spoke.  Well, the family we went with included their son Trampas -- who proceeded to sing "He is the dancing queen!"  So I was telling this story to Tammy and Stacy, laughing to myself about Trampas singing that song wrong -- and very obnoxiously, I might add.  But they laughed long before I got to that part...  His name is so unique that it caught Tammy and Stacy off-guard, and that is what made them laugh so hard.  It may not seem funny to most who read this, but I know they will laugh :).  And I do too :).

This is my cousin.  Many know her as Elka.  And this picture was taken when we were on the train back to New Jersey from a fun-filled day in NYC.  She and I became more than cousins...  We became friends.  It was pretty awesome.  I think this happened because of blogs, actually.  We shared a love of The Office (back in its heyday).  We both appreciate the greatness that is WaWa (she more than I, since I'm sure she has experienced the full spectrum of it's awesomeness).  She is sarcastic and hilarious.  I was seriously so hoping she was going to be stationed here next.  Yeah.  A lot of awesomeness.  Favorite memory with her?  Well, there are probably way too many to name, one of the tops is probably during our family reunion in 2008.  She and I slept upstairs on the pull-out bed the first couple of nights before her husband arrived.  We were having prayer with the family (to include the grandparents) and we had prayer in the living room around the pull-out bed.  My grandmother's dog thinks he needs to be front and center at all events, and usually is.  He was used to being on the bed during prayer.  Well, my opinion of such things differs.  Although, if it's not my bed, I don't really care.  However, I was going to be sleeping in that one.  So when my grandmother said, "Come on Bruiser, let's get you on the bed."  I was a little horrified as I heard the jangling of the dogs tags and knew he was going to be romping on my bedsheets in mere moments.  Not so.  Because Elka shared my feelings.  And was outspoken about it.  She was like, "Oh no."  And it didn't happen.  I still laugh at it.  She totally didn't mean it to come out.  But it did.  And we laughed about it for quite a while that night.

The is the fabulous Stefanie.  She was my roommate in Tuscaloosa.  She was a blessing in so many ways back then.  She still is now -- when she leaves sweet comments on my blog.  We had some great times -- like this one above when she woke me up exclaiming it was snowing in Alabama!!!  (It melted by about noon).  So we had to take pictures as proof, ya know.  There we were, in our jammies.  I look lovely, I know.  One of my favorite memories with Stefanie was when we had some rudely noisy neighbors upstairs.  Like creaky bed noisy.  It was disturbing on so many levels.  And one day, Stefanie heard it too and started banging on the ceiling yelling, "Stop it!!"  Pure awesomeness.  I was not getting good sleep those days...

This is Virginia.  Also a friend from Tuscaloosa.  I so miss her!  She became the person I knew was always up for hanging out -- whether it was family home evening with me, her, and Stefanie; or just hanging at her apartment; or making FHE houses (mine's still not finished...); or going to the Temple together every month.  Virginia is awesome.  This picture was taken after a Temple trip.  We decided to eat out at some place -- and we got the pu-pu platter -- which came with fire in the middle.  Haha...  We were there pretty late, as our session at the Temple had ended around 8 and it was an hour to drive back to T-town.  She and I would walk together many days.  She would cheer me up when I was freaking out about how much hair I was losing.  I don't know...  She's just a true blue friend.  Oh, and she introduced me to the most awesome frozen yogurt ever.  At Publix.  Yes.  For real.  Particularly the mint chocolate cookie.  So much flavor and half the guilt :).  Or the same amount of guilt because you eat twice the amount :). 

Ah... April.  I contemplated so many pictures I could have posted.  And then I remembered our thrift store picture.  This one is too cool to leave out.  Just like April.  She and I met in library school.  We left class during a particularly awkward presentation and ended up conversing in the hall-way.  The rest, as they say, is history.  April is so incredibly generous.  She would take me to the airport in B'ham when I was flying out -- and pick me up when I came back.  She would give up sleep to do this.  We would have awesomely awesome girlie parties -- centered around food, of course.  I am not sure which memory is my favorite -- there are so many!  Definitely in the running is when we had our The Office-themed party.  And we dressed up as characters from the show.  That was just too much fun.  I miss her.

This is the fabulous Juliebean!  I have a bazillion pictures I could have chosen.  Seriously.  We've been friends forever (or so it seems).  Almost 14 years.  That's a long time, you know.  Holy cow.  Sitting here I can't quite believe it's been that long.  That's almost half my life.  The Julie memories are classic.  In fact, we keep a friendship journal which we (sometimes) send back and forth to each other and record favorite memories.  Like the time of "ew stank."  Or the time we went to Savannah, GA and we got caught in a downpour.  Or those few months we lived together at her parents' house.  But one memory that outshines so many has to be the trailer hotel.  See, we went to Birmingham in 2006.  It was my first time there (not including the airport).  We thought, "It's Birmingham...  No problem finding a hotel" so we didn't book one.  Big. Mistake.  There were soccer tournaments and hockey tournaments (now deemed sockey by Juliebean and Nilla) and, like, zero hotel rooms.  We even stopped at one that looks like a two-story trailer.  No joke.  It was booked.  We knew these were dire circumstances at this point.  We did end up finding a place.  Not far from where April lived, in fact.  The front desk person was like, "But it's a king bed."  We could so care less.  We'd been friends for years by then.  We had no problem sleeping in the same bed.  Haha...  Especially considering there was nothing else that was remotely possible (because we were not staying in the rundown ghetto-fabulous hotel that was across the street... the only one maybe worse than the trailer hotel). 

This is Annie.  She is one of my favorite people ever.  She and I worked together at UA.  She sat in the cube in front of me.  She took me under her wing when I moved there.  It was because of her that I attended the Christmas party at the UA President mansion.  She was an integral part of our WEB team (for Strive for Five).  We discovered we washed clothes at the same laundromat (prior to me moving in with Stefanie).  And probably one of the most hilarious memories we share is the whole rat-infestation of 2008 on the Cataloging floor.  Me stamping my feet to keep the (what I thought was a) mouse from escaping all the while calling Annie or our supervisor.  Annie finally responding and coming around the corner.  And informing me that was no mouse... it was a rat.  And the rest of the story that ensued.  Hilarious.

And there are others.  Many others.  Kristin with her mint chocolate chip ice cream and all things 80s (jelly shoes).  Donna and her teaching me to make I Spy quilts at Troy.  Anne and our hours-long gab sessions (or running into her at Wal-Mart when I'm there on vacation for like 2 days).

Sometimes I miss Alabama and my friends so bad.  I know Washington is where I belong.  But Alabama has become a home to me.  It's where I long to escape to when life gets overwhelming.  I want to drag my sweet husband to Dothan and Tuscaloosa to see all these wonderful people.  To share in the joy I find there.  Maybe I'll tell him that's where we're going when we want to run away :).  Maybe we should run away tonight :)...  I'll keep ya posted ;).

So Long, Old Friend

So, over the years, I have written a few blog posts about my ghetto car.  We've been through a lot together, this car and me.

There was the month that finally came that I had to register the car in Washington and figure out how to put a plate on the front (my older brother did it for me in the end...).

There was the time I had saved up money to buy a tv and instead ended up with snow tires (which have only been used once, I might add...).

And the time the doors froze shut on me and I stood in the driveway at my grandma's house bawling my eyes out.

Which led to the time I tried to prevent that occurrence and would back the car down the driveway and tuck it in at night (literally) and ended up busting my side-view mirror.

Yes, we've been through a lot together, that car and me.  And after over 8 years in my ownership -- and almost 80 thousand miles put on it by yours truly, it finally gave up the ghost.  Not on the best of days; but in the end, even that day the car was sort of taking care of me by dying how it did.  It died in our driveway rather than at my job or at the doctor's office or at the grocery store with a bunch of cold stuff waiting to be taken home to the refrigerator.

And yes, sometimes I complained about my car.  My car with the windows that wouldn't roll down.  My car with the weird metal piece laying at the base of the windshield (inside the car) that vibrated annoyingly, constantly.

But it was still sad to see it go.  And here's why:

That car saw me through two college degrees.

It took me to Dothan, Ashford, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Birmingham, Atlanta, Pensacola, Marianna, Valdosta, Ty Ty, Silverdale, Tacoma, Bellevue, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Forks, Olympia, Tumwater, Belfair, and Bremerton.  Most of those many many times.

It kept limping along with water in its oil (probably the cause of it's demise), a radiator that leaked (and I had to fill up daily until Jeremy replaced the radiator last October), and the check engine light coming on because I refused to fix it (it ran better when the light was on, by the way).  It lived almost 2 years longer than Bob and Buck thought it would when they first discovered water in the oil.

It moved with me to 6 different addresses -- and helped move a lot of my stuff too.

It traveled through parts of Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington as it came with me out West.

It was part of fun rides with my sister, my friends, my nieces and nephews, my husband, my dad.

That car was a blessing.  A $2500 blessing that never broke when I couldn't afford it, and always started when it was most crucial that it did.

And so, even though it was time for it to go, it was sad.  And so, I took pictures with my car on that last day.  I said goodbye to the holder of many memories.  And I write them here so I can hopefully always remember them.  I'm a nostalgic kind of person anyway, and I don't think there's a thing wrong with that :).

So goodbye, old friend.  And thanks for the memories :).
 

On a lighter note...  As part of the "getting rid of the car" thing, Jeremy cleaned everything out of it.  Including the MRE (meal ready to eat) I'd had in there for a few years.  You know, just in case some catastrophe occurred while I was in my car and I needed food to survive.  Jeremy isn't one to waste food.  Don't know if you know that or not.  My dad calls him "hoover."  Anyway, so we ate the MRE.  In celebration of turning over a new leaf in the car department.  Haha...

Here I am.  Still smiling.  Because I haven't eaten any of it yet.  Although the look of it alone was pretty horrifying, let me tell you.  Jeremy plated it up and heated it up (in the microwave, since we are choosing to save the heater packets for our 72-hour kits) while I was on the couch house-hunting online, and when I went into the kitchen when he declared it ready...  All I could say was, "That's disgusting."  But it's all about the experience, you know :).  So we shared it.

And here is what we ate (and for some reason every time I load it up, it turns sideways, so I gave up...):  "grilled" "chicken breast" with smoke flavored seasoning (visible on the "chicken breast"); "chicken stuffing" that held the shape of the package nicely (Jeremy said he should have fluffed it); wheat bread/cracker thing with jalapeno cheese sauce on top; orange drink mix; and an apple cranberry ranger bar.  The ranger bar was the best part.  Followed by the wheat bread thing with cheese sauce.  As for the rest of it...  Just allow my copious use of quotation remarks to speak for itself.  YIKES.  Jeremy said it was easier if you just didn't think of it as chicken.  Haha...  Gross.  Oh, and the gum.  It tasted pretty good, but started to fall apart in your mouth after about 20 minutes of chewing.  Gross.  Oh, and there had been M&Ms, but their package busted open and they were gross.  Plus, 3 year old chocolate doesn't hold up all that well...

But I'm a person who loves to make memories.  So this was fun -- though disgusting.  And so I had to take a picture you know :).  Oh, and yes... I was still in my pj's at noon that day.  It was Saturday.  And I had probably gotten out of bed about 1.5 hours before.  Lazy, huh?  Well, my husband is on swing shift and so that's how we roll :).  August will be different when he's back on days.

We opted to go to his parents' house for dinner on Saturday rather than worry with car shopping.  And the house we were hopeful for...  Being sold :(.  Heavy sigh.  But.  We did find out we should have no problem being approved for a loan (we've been pre-approved), so I think that's a marvelous first step :).  Now we just get to have the fun of house-hunting online until the right one turns up :)!  And we'll just keep growing our down payment in the meantime :).

And that is all.

From Kitty Litter to Nose-Rings in 15 Minutes (Etcetera)

Sometimes at the end of the day of work -- especially on a Thursday when everyone else in the office has pretty much jumped ship -- you just feel like you've run out of steam and the clock has stopped ticking. Blah. Time. Stands. Still.

And so it's awesome when a co-worker is feeling similarly and so you strike up a conversation that leads to memory lane-type stories. And those are always fun to tell and laugh about! Because you might start by talking about the kitty litter cake you and April enjoyed (along with Courtney and Greg) back in the day when you had your The Office themed party. But you somehow end up talking about the library-themed feast you had also. And then you mention that you two (that being you and April) have been planning a Scrubs-themed party for about 2 years -- and you share some of those ideas. And she asks you how that show ended up, and you tell her about this Peter Gabriel song that you love, love, love that you had never heard until the final episode of that show (or what should be the final episode, because, in my book, Season 9 shouldn't have even existed...). Which, of course, makes you think of another Peter Gabriel song you love and the movie it was in -- so you comment on that. And she (the co-worker) totally agrees and talks with you about other John Cusack movies that are good. And when you mention Serendipity, she shares that she isn't a fan of the female lead, but that he really carried it for her. And that brings you to your strongly-held opinion that you never go see a movie for who is in it. And you reference movies you saw with Juliebean back in 1999 (oh those younger years...). You know, the summer of the chick flick. And your co-worker agrees that was a great summer with all those movies. But you had told that story to tell the one about the time you went with Juliebean to see a movie (just like old times) and she picked the movie, and it was Three Kings and that was a movie you couldn't understand why she picked... And when she said why, it's because of George Clooney, Ice Cube, and Marky-Mark. Uhm... Yeah. So not impressed (still!). Which leads to the story of another time Julie picked a movie: The Guardians of O'Hoole -- you know... That ridiculous owl movie you guys didn't like. Which then leads to the memory of how Julie had her broken movie card and how it was such an embarrassment to Alysha (because there was a teenage guy behind the counter helping us). Which makes the co-worker remember a time when her dad embarrassed her in front of a guy she was totally flirting with; because her dad said they were leaving soon, and maybe she should go to the bathroom. In fact, he insisted that she needed to go to the bathroom. In front of that "totally cute guy." Mortifying! (Why do parents do this ;)?!?) And then you tell the story about David the nose-ring Army guy who totally thought you were older than 15 and asked you out (and that was cool back then, but it's not so cool anymore, like when you get mistaken for a grandma...).

Yeah, this is how you alleviate some of the time that seems to be frozen in place. It's also how you laugh and remember and even make new friends. And it's also how you go from kitty litter to noserings in 15 fun-filled minutes :).

P.S... Those links will take you to various blog posts from my past that will tell these stories :).

Anyway... so on Friday Lea and I went to a play. It was Aladdin, Jr. Which is just a shortened version of Disney's Aladdin. I knew the two lead roles -- they used to be in my Sunday School class before I got called to Primary. So I wanted to go out and support them and invited Lea along. And it was so fun! They did a great job. And we even took a picture with them at the end :). I think this is going to be a tradition for me and Lea... To take a picture with cast members of whatever play we see together (if possible).

Then this weekend was Stake Conference. Oh so fabulous! I always feel so uplifted and spiritually fed. And it's seriously wonderful to get to go to church with Jeremy and hold his hand or lean against him when he puts his arm around me :). Definitely a treat.

And it seems like I had another few thoughts I was going to share, but they are gone. Must not have been important. Or maybe I'll remember it for next post :).

It's Gonna Be a Good Good Life

Yeah, I’ve really been slacking on my blog. I know, I know. Life has been busy, and I haven’t had internet access. I pretty much changed my plan of going to my mom’s to do laundry. The reason is because that is a lengthy process. And so the Laundromat is so much faster. Thus, that is my new plan. And I don’t know if they have wi-fi at the Laundromat. I guess I could find out.

And so I have a long list of catch-ups. And several pictures. Some of which are food :). And since it has been so long, I can mostly just give a brief sentence in most cases. So here goes a Nilla month in review.

I dressed up 80s for Halloween. Yes, I went to work in jelly shoes, a jean skirt and jacket, leggings and leg warmers (which was handy, since the weather here has been so cold! We’ve already had ice 3 days that I know of). And I crimped my hair right after I got to work. Two other ladies in my office also dressed up. I work pretty closely with them, since we are all at the front. It was fun to be dressed up and do something different on a work day :).

I have been steadily working on my little house. And I’ve enjoyed plenty of fun little experiences even within this first month. Feel free to peruse the pictures below which will show how much I have done so far. The bedroom remains a work in progress, but it will get there. I don’t have a real bed right now, so I don’t feel especially hurried as far as getting it squared away. Thus it is a last priority. I have quit sleeping on the couch. I did that for 3 weeks, and apparently that’s my body’s limit. I have entered the age of back aches and that was not fun. I felt like a really old lady when I’d sit at work and lean forward to answer the phone and have to cringe from the pain in my lower back. So I inflated my self-inflating air mattress, and it’s been much more tolerable ever since :). Of course, the other sad fact that comes from all this is that I know there was a time when it didn’t matter where I slept – it didn’t affect my back. Consider those kids who fall asleep with their head hanging all over the place in their car seat. They bounce back as though nothing happened. Not so for me. And I guess 31 is when things start really falling apart ;). Because somewhere in the last month, I turned 31. This past year went fast and was jam-packed with life-changing events! Like getting my own place…

…And like Jeremy. Yep, we are still dating :). And here’s a few pictures to show you the smiles :). We’ve been dating 6 months now. Somehow that doesn’t seem possible – in both ways. The fact that it’s been 6 months when it seems to have gone by so fast; and the fact that it’s only been six months when sometimes it seems like we’ve known each other for much longer. It’s been pretty amazing. He’s smart and handy (he replaced my radiator a few weeks back) and wonderful and fun and handsome… :). And I’m sure, if he ever gets around to reading this post, he’ll be most appreciative of that little list of some of his many great qualities :). I’m one blessed gal. And believe it or not, the time is quickly approaching when we will be jetting to Alabama. Let the fun begin! That’s this Friday, by the way. Yep, time flies. And so lately, he and I have enjoyed relaxing quiet evenings at my house where we study scriptures, have Family Home Evening, drink hot chocolate, he hangs my pet net (for my stuffed animals), I unpack and put stuff away, and we cook and eat dinner together. We have cooked and eaten taco salad, home-made pizza (see the mountainous pictures below), and we had our Chinese night with orange chicken, cabbage ramen salad, and Sweet and Spicy green beans. So much fun! Unless you do something dumb. See below. And on other nights, I have cooked and he has joined me. I love it. I love cooking and sharing meals together. It suits me :).

Please note we are not drinking hot chocolate in this particular picture... That's honeycrisp apple cider ;). Warmed up.


Ah, here's the food :).


Chinese food night.

Awesome Nilla moments you can laugh at:

-I learned why the recipe on the Hershey’s Cocoa container for home-made hot chocolate warns Do Not Boil! Here’s what happens if you happen to leave the milk heating on slightly too-high of heat and then walk away from it: at first, nothing. You sit there sipping your hot chocolate and feel pretty cozy and happy. And then Jeremy will look in the bottom of his jack-o-lantern mug (which for some inexplicable reason you couldn’t seem to pass up last year when they were on clearance at World Market – even though you already had a MILLION mugs…) and notice that his hot chocolate is starting to become quite pudding-like in consistency. And you say, “Well mine is okay.” But alas, that is only because you haven’t gotten to the point where yours has cooled enough to do the same thing. And now you see the texture and taste the bitterness of it, and it’s pretty grueling to finish off your mug of cocoa and it’s even worse to think about having to drink the rest of what’s still on the stove tomorrow morning on the way to work… But then you have a sweet Jeremy who “takes one for the team” and finishes off the other stuff so you won’t have to and so it’s not wasted. And you understand now why you don’t let the milk boil. Because that was easily the most disappointing hot chocolate experience of my life. And I had been seriously looking forward to that hot chocolate!

-When you put more coolant into your radiator reservoir, make sure you replace the cap. It’s just a good thing to do this. Otherwise, you’ll be driving around to the Laundromat and to pick up Jeremy and go to the store to do some shopping together and you’ll notice that your car is over-heating and you’ll think, “But I just filled it up this morning! Why is it over-heating!?!” (I used to fill it up daily because the radiator was leaking as well as wherever else along the line it is leaking into the head gasket – yes, I know what this eventually means, but I’ll drive it til it dies – but since Jeremy replaced the radiator, I only refill about once a week… And usually these aren’t the results, since I usually remember to replace the cap…). And then, the next morning, you’ll have had the thought come to your mind that maybe you hadn’t replaced the cap, so you’ll check it and sure enough… Ugh. I hate when I do stupid things. Thankfully there is a car part store a block from my new home…

-When you turn on the wrong burner to heat up the sauce for orange chicken. And the only reason it’s discovered that you turned on the wrong burner is because Jeremy is in charge of browning the chicken and he has his assembly line going with the raw chicken waiting to be floured and egg-dipped on your plastic cutting board which is sitting on the stove. On the burner you turned on. And suddenly you smell the plastic melting (or rather he does, because you’re busy making the dressing for the cabbage salad). And now you’ll always know which side is up on the cutting board, since the other side has the eye of the burner etched forever into it :). Yep, good times! Burning plastic stinks, by the way.

-Always keep the genius statements coming. A la “It’s only fun when it’s fun” (which I’m considering hanging my banner behind my door at the entrance to the house. It sets the mood ;)). My newest one was uttered to Jeremy the night we made taco salad. We had bought two cans of black olives – two different sizes. We decided to only use one can, so Jeremy said, “Do you want to keep the extra can here or do you want me to take it home?” And I said, “It doesn’t matter to me. If it stays here, it will just sit there until it gets used.” Hahahahah. Genius. You can call me Princess Obvious :).

So in all my unpacking (yes, I somehow segued back to my house stuff…), I discovered that I have a million kajillion books. I got rid of about a box full, since I am positive I won’t be reading them anytime soon – if ever. And if I decide I want to, then there’s something called a library. Go figure! I also got rid of about 6 boxes of other stuff. It’s amazing what I’ve been holding onto for so many years. I do have to share this little tidbit. I came across a thing I filled out in 4^th grade called an “interest-alyzer.” That thing was full of little gems, let me tell you! One of the questions was, “If you were involved in a play, what role would you want to have (ie scenery, actor/actress, sewing costumes, etc). My number 1 choice was actor or actress. Hahaha! So not me! I have no desire to be front and center! But that wasn’t the best part. The best part was the question about if I could have a famous person come visit my school, who would my top three choices be? I will give them to you in reverse order, because my number one is the most hysterical ever. Number 3 was Rod Stewart. Okay, laugh, because I am. And yeah, I do think that’s pretty funny. But I can actually excuse it, because during that time in my life, he had a song called Forever Young that I really loved. So, okay, I can logically understand that. My number 2 was Debbie Gibson. Also understandable for me. I still have her CD that came out around that time (her 2^nd one, not her first one – it was one of my first CDs ever). But, drum roll please… My number 1: Jane Fonda. Yes, blink and re-read and it will say what you thought you saw the first time. Jane Fonda!?!? For all my life I cannot imagine why I would list her as someone I would want to have come to my school. Not now as an adult, and especially not then as a 10 year old! That one still baffles me. Oh, I laughed so hard when I saw it. I laughed so hard. I have to share that here, because it will be worth remembering one day, I’m sure. Cracks me up. Oh yeah, so I started this paragraph to say that I bought myself a tall bookshelf. And Jeremy quite kindly put it together for me :). I told you he’s handy and nice. And what would have taken me 3 hours took him less than one. But I put together my lamp that Lea got me as a house-warming gift. It’s a lamp I wanted to buy about a year ago when it was on sale at Target, but they didn’t have the wood one, and I didn’t want the black one. So now I have my functional lamp (it has shelves :)). You can examine all these things in my pictures :). And so Lea and I hung out Tuesday night so I could get the book shelf and she could get the lamp. We went to Target and the mall and we had fun laughing about nothing. I stayed and hung out at her house for a bit afterwards and met their new dog Petie.




See the bedroom still needs the most work. But the stuffed animals are in their spot :).
Well, I’m sure there is more that has happened. But that’s the gist of it. The high-lights. I mean, it’s life. There have been some really yucky days. There have been some really awesome days. And there have been plenty of in-between days. It’s just life. And I’m just rolling with it. Because it’s gonna be a good, good life :). It already is.