Sleeping baby

Remember how everyone sleeps on the bus? Well this doesn't exactlyy show up, but it's a brand new looking baby asleep on mom. Soooo precious! I couldn't resist the secret photo.

age

i got this link from a co-worker. after doing it i found out i'm only 25 and will live to be 81 - how about that??!! good news i say! my granny right now is 83 so it could be right. she was the least healthy (over weight and was a smoker much of her life) but has lived the longest out of all of them. she's always laughed the most freely out of all of them. i think that's her secret. that and eating m&m's like they were going out of business. wait, i mean she eats a lot of them.

This is your real age test.
http://www.poodwaddle.com/realage.swf

Mr rogers moment

I just got to school - my first day with kids! Going along with my new goal of walking to the bus stop to save gas and get exercise, here are my shoes I just changed out of. I have to admit i'm a bit excited, in a good way, finally.

avett brothers sum up

so... it was a good night in many ways. first of all i was terribly happy to see they'd requested the show be non-smoking. it's the first time i came home from a bar smelling as good as i did when i went in (basically). there were no stinging eyes and headache afterward. in fact it was pure joy afterward. they played hard and solid the entire hour plus. very little talking. i think before their last song they managed to say who they were. we got three songs for encore. there was much head banging and jumping around by all. i even got to dance a bit with vanya, despite the lack of space to turn and bounce - we made space. i think the very coolest part of it all was that i got home and was in bed with lights off by 12:05 - that's my kind of partying - late but not too late. trouble is, i drank two full glasses of water that kept me going to the facilities all night. as for the performers (sorry i nearly forgot to mention the very very best part - the music) well they did an amazing job despite a squealing microphone that kept going off. the singers just kept on giving. the lead guy even said that they planned to give to us but our love for them made them want to give even more. the crowd really was terribly enthusiastic and i think the performers responded well - it made for an intimate feeling event - like we're all good friends jamming together. i liked the part where they taught us to to sing lalas with them. some songs i'd heard before - so i really loved them - most songs were new to me, though, and all i can say is that i really loved them. it's impossible to choose a favorite, but there was a friend one that probably tied with my love for the shame song. i must buy. now.

Thank you dainon

I owe it all to you for introducing me to the avett brothers. mark lynn vanya and I are here having fun. Sadly sammy couldn't make it. Liveliest crowd I believe i've ever been a part of. Not the biggest, but for sure liveliest.

I'm in love

More! I wish you could hear this!

Gym

this summer, like many, I haven't been to the gym much. With nice weather and no early school, I often opt to just walk at the park and call it exercise. Last night, though, I resolved to do some weights after fhe. As soon as I got there I remembered why I don't go often. I get really bored within the first 10 minutes. During the last 10 minutes I get anxious to be done. And I can't say the middle 10 minutes go much faster. Yes, you added right, I generally keep all visits to about 1/2 an hour. I tell you, I don't love exercising the way I should. But I did it and i'm glad I did and I hope to do it again real soon. Today I made myself walk 20 minutes downtown to catch the bus to bountiful, rather than taking the bus to downtown and making a connection. Yeah, I missed my bus to bountiful so now i'm blogging. At least I gave myself extra time, knowing the later bus would also work. Also, no kids till tomorrow. Today was a practice run and I learned my lesson - leave the house at 5:55, not 6.

Moon

So it doesn't exactly show in this photo, but the bottom right bit is eclipsed. I meant to check out the eclipse, but never heard what time it would happen, and like a responsible person often does, I put sleep first and opted to miss it. I'm glad I didn't totally miss it.

deliciousness

yesterday i was exploring emails and links and things and came across a blog that has the most delicious recipe for beans and corn bread. and it's easy and simple to make!!!! i served it to two guys after church and there were many ravings about its deliciousness. you should try it! go to the link i have on the side about good food.

Decor

So I had this vision of creating windows in my room. Then I figured i'd put "people" out there of stories we read. Here's gilgamesh. I think it looks kinda lame. Design is soooo not my talent. This took me a few hours too! There are three windows total. I did a close up of two. The pictures came from a kid's website about mesopatamia.

single adult conference

Last night I hooked up with two girl friends in my ward to attend a Single Adult Conference at This is the Place Heritage Park. The conference was exceptionally painful. Sometimes I can go to those things and feel free and confident and just enjoy myself, but last night I kept feeling trapped. One guy I'm friends with found us during dinner and wouldn’t leave my side. Then some new guy in our ward who is deaf joined us and wouldn’t leave us. At one point during the evening in an attempt to escape, I went into a little pioneer home to learn about weaving, and some stranger, who must have been at least 50, cornered me to tell me he thinks I’d be great for his brother. He proceeded to ask questions and volunteer information on behalf of his brother. Finally my girl friends rescued me from that extremely awkward conversation. During a singing/comedy show I escaped again because I got a phone call from a friend who wanted me to go with him to visit a crazy friend of his - hoping I'd be useful as an excuse to escape quickly. He was a bit nervous to go alone. We commiserated and wished each other luck. Finally, after trying to dance to two songs (during the dancing portion of the evening) my girlfriends and I quit the place all together. These conferences sound like good ideas, but there is no age limit, so the crowds are massive and attract all kinds of people that you can’t even imagine. Being on the lower age range is awkward, as I’m sure being on the upper age range is too. It really is one of the most depressing things I’ve ever done as a single person. It is events like this that make me think singles conferences/dances/activities vs. singles wards are a bad idea. Singles wards at least have people in a common age range and we get to know each other in a natural, normal setting. Anyway, after escaping, we went to Hire’s for root beer floats. That may have been the best part of the night

big news

i can't believe i'm so tardy in blogging some of the best news of this year. yep - you guessed it (okay maybe you didn't) - i finally have dsl. i know, it's an unbelievable miracle, especially considering i had to work with qwest to get it. i think i was on the phone with them for a total of 3 hours and made 3 separate orders trying to get things right. at least i got a free advanced networking modem out of it. (a 90 dollar value i'd like to point out.) maybe i'll blog more now. i can't even come close to describing for you how it improves my use and appreciation of blogger.

Happy bday plewe!

I just remembered your bday request - sorry it's so dark. Today in utah it's overcast. I'm sitting at a stop light on my way to ward temple. It's amazing how fast time passes between temple visits and visiting teaching visits.

very important update

i have air conditioning!

if i could take a photo of it i would. believe me - the air is cool and refreshing. it's a miracle. the true miracle is that i don't HEAR all kinds of rumblings from random generator air blowing type machines. last year at this time, my classroom was drippingly hot and by the end of the year i had gaping holes in my ceiling where the duct work threatened to come through as it rattled endlessly. now there is a pure white ceiling above me. which i'm happy to say matches the pure white of my brand new white boards! the miracles in my classroom are endless. now if i can only get my parking space back. construction continues in other parts of the school and my parking space happens to be in the prime area for staging all their work. maybe by the end of this school year things will be completely perfect. for now i will cherish the air conditioning.

copycat

as usual i must copy cindy with my own latest profile summaries:

Which Hogwarts House Would You Be In?
	The Sorting Hat would put you in Hufflepuff. You are reserved, rational, and down-to-earth. You work well with others, are a great team player, and you always take a stand against injustice.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Sesame Street Character Are You?
	You are Big Bird. You are something of an eccentric, and not everyone always gives you credit for your inventiveness and intelligence. You may not always know everything, but people turn to you for your sound, unique logic. Plus, you have a big heart. Really big.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

What Kind of Guy Will You Fall For?
	You would fall for the sensitive guy. You'll find your future man wherever turtlenecks are sold. He will have depth, introspection, and a disturbing knowledge of musical theatre. And he may be a little weird. But hey, while your girlfriends cry over broken hearts, you'll be having Shakespeare read to you every night.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Friends Character Are You?
	You are Ross. You're intelligent and adored by your parents. However, your lack of social skills causes you to talk too much and try too hard. While your friends pick on you for your nerdiness, they better watch our for your rage.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

The waltons

Using my last day of summer wisely, I caught the end of an episode of the waltons. I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. Warm, corny, family oriented, education friendly, and just a bit inspiring and fun. I think I watched it regularly enough as a child, but I don't remember much more than "goodnight john boy" and I was disappointed that the episode I saw was missing that bit.

Slippage

Have you ever noticed how quickly your last day of holiday slips by? My teaching contract begins tomorrow so I let myself "sleep in" today. Now it's 7 and i'm lucky to be dressed. I spent all of yesterday at lagoon with my brother and two nephews. It was really kind of nice, but i'm thinking I may not be up for parenthood any time soon. I did enjoy being totally detached from my world of concerns and the cell phone/email. I just let the wind whip me as we flew up and down and through the air on ride after ride. The weather couldn't have been better. Just don't get the chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich - too messy for any sort of real enjoyment.

Friday night

Guess where I went tonight! Not disneyland, although the long drive to the parking lot reminded me of it. So did this talking manequin and all the stuffed animals in various action poses. I went to cabella's - the world's foremost outfitter. I've heard of this place the way I used to hear about ikea. It's now my very own reality. I even got to shoot a rifle at some targets. I got 40 points. The guy I was with got 200 - he's had more practice. He asked if I was even aiming. Anyway, it was a kick in the pants and I learned a new word - distaff. I think that's the spelling. Apparently the second floor had the distaff items. Or is it distaph? I'll have to look it up sometime. Just like ikea, they have a food area. I recommend a visit and maybe one longer than the 8 minutes we had. Did you know guns come in camoflage print? Now I do. And so do you. There were many picture worthy things, but it was this talking camper that pushed me to pull out the camera.

Hood sweet hood

There aree certain things that I just love about my neighborhood. Today, I love that I can stick an old, semi-decent vacuume cleaner on my curb with the confidence that someone will come along to take it off my hands. It was gone within 4 hours. easy peasy. Speaking of curb side trash pick-up, there is a woman wearing an asian triangular straw hat that digs through everyone's trash every trash day. She pushes along a loaded up grocery cart in which she stashes her treasures. I think she's collecting alluminum cans, but i'm not sure. She reminds me of my days living in the philippines. I wonder what she does with it all and if she makes decent money off it. I also love that my roommate can leave her expensive croquet bag on the front porch for weeks and it doesn't disappear. It's like everyone knows the limits. Of course, I wish less smokers saw my curb as a trash area. I get sick of cleaning up their butts from my yard and park strip.

Good times with a kid

Today I spent lunch with al and ed and al's kid. to distract him the kid from wanting to run into the street, I snuck his ball into my lunch box. The distraction didn't last long but at least I had time to snap a picture of the cutie. We were eating outside and listening to cozy sheridan - very nice.

Bday at the movies

From this picture you may think I celebrated my bday with the simpsons. But I didn't. I saw stardust. The simpsons were just in the lobby looking warm and welcoming. Homer even held my hand. I do want to see the simpsons, but i'm glad I saw stardust. Good flick!

Funeral

Here I am in the new tabernacle waiting for president faust's funeral to begin. The church is so big on punctuality that you have to be seated 1/2 an hour before it starts and if you want a seat in the tabernacle itself you pretty much need to be here an hour before it starts. the pews may have legroom and may be better formed for sitting, but it still makes for a lot of stiff sitting. Maybe I should use the time for peaceful reflection. At least the choir is entertaining us with their practice time. This will be my first funeral since dad's passing. Not like I ever really attend such services, but i'm hoping it will help with the healing process that seems to continue forward.

Bday present

So tomorrow I celebrate! But really i've been celebrating all weekend. Here is an example of the gifts I received from friends at my big friday party. Mostly I got bath and body products. This gift is unique. It opens. I don't know what to put inside it. Any suggestions?

today my brother gave me a lagoon ticket - we're going next week. His wife is "with child" so i'm going in her place. It was fun to get phone calls from siblings. It was also fun to eat carrot cake. Now i'm sleepy and will get ready for bed.

Tomorrow the guys are taking me to dinner and the gang is heading to the movies and then cake at dan's to make it an official party. I like having friends I can call family.

Pepper

Straight out of my garden and into my belly. Okay, I did wash it first. I've seen the slugs in my garden. Yum! I love bell peppers! Vegetables with zing!

Souvenir

Well it looks like I got an unwanted souvenir from my boston trip. I never felt it, but I discovered it during yoga tonight. Try not to be grossed out by a foot photo - think of it as a souvenir photo. :)

The end

Here I am - hanging out in san fran airport. Just one more bit of flying and the holiday is officially over. Life will begin again. Part of the holiday included a final purchase of treats - trail mix - since jet blue only offers juice and cookies. It's all good - I love cookies. No vegetables in my diet, though, unless you count the pickle slices on my sandwich I made for lunch this morning. My trail mix contains pumpkin seeds - would they count? Maybe i'll have a dish of peas when I get home.

simpsons

i'm a sucker for theses things - so here's another. i hate being a split personality but it's probably necessary in this case.

Which Springfield Resident Are You?
	You are part Ned Flanders. You see yourself as morally superior to most everyone else, and the absurdity of others can drive you nuts! Despite your kindness and honesty, though, your do-good attitude can reach an annoying degree.
	You are part Apu. On the outside you are kind and a hard worker, but you lead a deceptively simple life. Though your cleverness might be underappreciated, you never miss an opportunity to sneak ahead in life.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

princess

good cindy has inspired another "who am i" blog post. this time it's based on disney princesses. i think i like how my results came out....

Which Disney Princess Are You?
	You are Ariel. You are beautiful but impaired. At times you are naïve. Still, your innocence and good heart make you sought after and loved.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Quincy

Plewe and I took the train out to quincy and loved it. Delicious ice cream, a haircut, and a dream library. Seriously, I may be in love. The adams presidents are so my new heroes! john and john quincy, not to mention their great wives. By the way, a national park isn't always a park. Don't be looking for lots of trees or amazing landforms - sometimes they're just buildings.

The church is where they're buried. The street sign is an example of what we saw in the "national park" much of the time. The buildings and flowers are the library and home of john adams.

#1 sandwiches

The best pickles to boot! We were only sad it wasn't tuesday. This at least allowed us to have something other than french dip, so that was okay.

Jfk - wow!

Plewe says it was designed by some famous architect. It was rainy outside - perfect.

Public gardens

Here are ducklings - a bit off center, oops.

Brutalism on the sabbath

Plewe and I took an evening walk along the charles river. So very nice! Today was the first nonhumid day of my holiday and it felt like heaven. On the walk I was pleased to see many brutalist buildings - the one architecture style i'm capable of recognizing. We also passed an amazing piece of art that shows all kinds of faces that seem engaged in some sort of emotion. It was a bit disturbing but hard to walk away from.

Hard partying

It may not show in the photo, but plewe is in some serious pain. Inserting dvd's of the o.c. can really strain the leg muscles. Well, it hurts if you're still recovering from 294 bunker hill stairs and miles of city tromping. Truthfully, all of us cry in pain every time we see a stair or need to bend down to reach the eject button on the dvd player.

Buildings

Boston is full of amazing buildings. I couldn't stop looking every which way. This morning began with a walk to the grocery. I passed the home in my picture and nearly laughed aloud. It reminded me of some of the many fixer uppers i've helped friends with. I think there were pieces of fake brick asphalt type strips in places. I identified at least 3 different types of wall coverings. I wonder if it houses anyone. the next adventure took us to the brownstone district. So so cool - just like in the movies. I was amazed at all the statues and memorials this city contains - they pop up every few feet. Then we walked over to trinity church. I loved the super huge modern glass building right next to it. I liked the reflection.

Delicious!

We were so utterly content after the best italian dinner ever that even as we were walking the last leg of our journey home, plewe was sayingm "ah, I loved that shrimp." here's a photo of plewe and kristin smiling over our empty desert plates. We got the idea to eat there from the super affordable souvenir shirt vendor at the wharf. We passed the recommendation on to a little foreign family who stopped us for directions just a couple blocks after we dined.

Pizza trip

I know it's not obvious from the photo, but after the long hard adventures of today we decided to spend the night with pizza and a movie. Here is a shot of plewe and kristin on our way home with the pizza. Being a friday night, there were lots of people out having a good time. We especially enjoyed the lightening on our way over to the pizza shop. All the metal plaque things in the sidewalk that said gas were also fun for me. But discovering this piece of art prompted me to whip out the phone to capture a shot for the blog.

plymouth

We saw the rock - I tried to take a photo of me with it - I have a big head. instead of making plewe and kristin squat I opted to just photograph their feet by the rock. Plewe wanted to see the pilgrim mother monument - she was lucky - it was on our way back to the car. As you can imagine, it was an exciting time in plymouth.

Clem & Ursie's

We recommend it. So did the travel book I borrowed from my brother. They had great decor! Kristin's seat wasn't the most comfortable but it was the most entertaining. There were many hanging plant holders like this one. So if you go to provincetown (p-town) on cape cod, be sure to dine at clem and ursie's.

on the drive into town we saw this huge tower that seemed like a light house but was more turret style than anything. Wish I knew what it was. I also snapped a photo of a pilgrim monument as we drove by.

by the way, i've never seen a town so full of homosexual couples and gay themed stores as provincetown.

Cake!

Green deliciousness! Pistachio flavored because the waiter recommended it. I was glad he did. So was plewe.