A series of unordinary events...

I've been 24 for just over a month now... and maybe there's something crazy that happens when you turn 24 because the past few weeks have been quite humorous.  The stories that follow are just a few of many out-of-the-ordinary happenings of the past month.

The Dryer.

Aside from explaining that I was obviously fixing the dryer, the only thing left to be said is this:  one of these days I might have to come to grips with the fact that I'm the crazy rooomate.

Jenny starting snapping these shots before I realized what was happening... not that I was in any position to do anything about it.

(I did successfully fix the dryer, by the way)

The Girl and the Towels.

While my roommate Jenny and I were buying a wedding present for a friend, a girl about my age who looked to be from India held up two towels, one bright orange and the other vivid yellow.  In heavily accented English, she asked me (not the sales lady standing in front of us at the register) what the difference was between the two towels and which one was better to buy.

The sales lady did and said nothing, didn't even acknowledge her.  So, I, knowing decidedly little about towels in general, went over to the bright towels she held up and rubbed both between my fingers.  I tried to give her the pros and cons of both... this one is thicker... this one will air-dry faster... both are 100% cotton... this one will feel softer...  and, ultimately, asked, "which one do you like better?"  She said some form of thanks and rattled off in another language on her cell phone.

I walk back over to Jenny who is still trying to check out (the sales lady was apparently having trouble... as we were the only two people checking out and it was taking longer than it probably should have).  A minute later, the Indian girl is back.  "Which color should I buy?"  I smiled and looked at Jenny.  Surely the girl wasn't serious.  I looked back at her.  No... she was serious.  "Whichever one you like the best!" I told her.  "I don't know.  Please help."

So... I leave Jenny to figure out whatever was going on at the register and meet up with the girl at the towels.  Again... I try to ask practical questions...  "what color is your bathroom?"  Uhmmm... white? or tan?  "What color do you like?"  I don't know.  I've never bought towels before.  My mom always buys these kinds of things.  "Well... I don't recommend this shade of green because it wouldn't look good with tan walls."  No, no... I don't like that one.   And etc...  finally we narrowed it down to 3.  And because it became evident that she really did want me to pick out a color for her, I suggested the bright orange since it was one she had grabbed in the first place.

I return to the register, surprised that Jenny still wasn't waiting for me.  No, in fact, the sales lady was still trying to ring up the few items we had set on the counter.  (She explained that she normally worked "downstairs in cosmetics, but had to come upstairs because they were so short staffed tonight."  This struck me as amusing since Jenny and I and the Indian girl were the only ones up there and I had already spotted more than 3 store employees... but I digress.

Again the Indian girl comes up and asks me what else she needs and where to buy a bed and other furniture.  At some point earlier (I think while trying to decide on towel colors), she had introduced herself and explained she had just moved to Hillsboro to start a job at Intel.  She had an empty apartment and needed to buy everything she needed.

I recommended sheets and several other items... and at one point she was asking where to by shower curtains.  Because we were at an expensive store (gotta love where wedding registries take you, eh?), I suggested Target or even Dollar Tree for some things... not that money seemed to be an issue for her.  I just can't imagine fully furnishing even an apartment for the kinds of prices she would be paying there.  It was pretty amazing.  That definitely doesn't happen every day.

On the plane - Part 1.

Sunday en route to St Louis, shortly after receiving my little plastic cup of sparkling water from the flight attendant, I managed to dump its contents on the tray and my lap.  The guy sitting next to me across the aisle gave me his napkin.  After I mopped up my mess and recomposed myself a bit, I struck up a conversation with him.

Turns out this 30-something guy was from Canada  (great accent!).  He asked about my work and had an interesting expression when I said Luis Palau is an evangelist.  We continued chatting about a number of things...  then... he brought up Luis again.  "So, an evangelist?  What religion is that?"  I answered him, "Christian." "Oh, what does he do?  Go around tellign people about Jesus Christ."  "Yes."  And the conversation dropped for a second.

Meanwhile... inside me... I kept feeling prompted to ask the guy about religion.  And I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself for shutting down such an obvious open door.  I would always wonder what would have happened...

As soon as I asked, his expression and body language told me that he had quite a lot of thoughts and feelings on the subject, and what ensued was an intense discussion.  What had once been a chit-chatty discussion with plenty of silence between small talk turned into a full out dialogue for at least half the flight.

He had been raised Catholic.  His mom died 6 years ago and he hadn't been back to church since.  He's tired of hypocrites and tired of religions that create a list of don'ts.  He doesn't believe in ghosts and isn't sure what or who God is -- but he's not an atheist.  I told him what came to mind and I only pray it was the Holy Spirit speaking through me.

After things fell quiet for a few minutes, I picked up the conversation about his travels and work and family and other interests of his again.  As we deplaned, I told him I hoped his work in St Louis would go well.  "Thanks, dear," he said.  "Yours too."

Work Training.

Traveling to St Louis as often as I do with my boss lends itself to getting to know each other better.  John is old enough to be my dad.  And the consultant we work with in St Louis could be my grandfather.  This particular time, there must have been something in the water or the air because both men were completely kooky all afternoon.  Though discussing development issues and strategies (and really managing somehow to still cover quite a bit), both kept dropping corny jokes and spent a good amount of time laughing like school boys.  It was actually pretty funny to watch.  I would never have imagined either of them like that when I first started my job.  I guess stress gets to all of us in different ways...

On the plane - Part 2.

Returning to Portland, I had a layover in Salt Lake City.  I ended up sitting next to a 34 yr old Mormon mother of 4 who was currently studying sociology at Brigham Young University.  Within the first 2 minutes of the flight, she had asked where I worked and what religion "evangelist" was from.  Here we go again, I thought to myself.

She was taking a religion class where she had to interview people of other religions.  She started telling me the kinds of things the Church of Christ pastor she interviewed had told her, as well as questioning what he meant by a lot of it.  (She had asked him what beliefs they followed, and when he answered "The Bible" she was annoyed.  "But what beliefs in the Bible?" she probed, quite unsatisfied with the answers he tried to give.)

In talking to her, I was surprised how many fears and misunderstandings she had about Christians.  She was a pretty hard-core Morman... clearly had grown up in it and it was all she knew.  She wanted to know which religion of Christianity I was from.  I told her I grew up in a Baptist denomination but was currently attending a non-denominational church.  She wanted to know if we were always fighting in church since it was non-denominational.  She didn't realize that Christians (should) hold to certain core beliefs.  She didn't know how the canon was decided or why there were so many translations of the Bible and which one I "followed".  And... so many more things...

We talked about other things too like travel and family and random things.  We had a lot in common as far as modesty, family values, and other such things go -- which may have come as a surprise to her.

Anyways, two for two on the flights this time.  It was kind of intense.

Wedding dress shopping.

Sarah has asked me to be in her wedding this summer! So, for the first time in my life, I have gone wedding dress shopping -- at least 3 times in January -- not only to find her gown but what I'll be wearing too.  We're still looking.. but at least we're closer.  All I can say is this (for those of you who have never been):  it's much more exhausting than you can imagine.

Other news of the New Year.

• My sister visited me over the MLK Jr weekend.  (YAY!  We had fun!)  Unfortunately, my computer freaked out and scrambled the memory card with the pictures... so... visual documenation of her visit is forever lost.  (sigh.  sniff.)
  
• I bought a new mattress set -- and am sleeping much better now!
  
• I had one of the best lattes I've had in a long time at a new coffee shop I tried when a friend was visiting town.  What was really fun is that they served us in glass mugs instead of the standard paper cup.  And the latte itself was sooooooo smooth and delicious!
• I totally ruined a batch of chocolate chip cookies... and this time I was pretty much following the recipe (I promise -- no strange ingredients or substitutions or anything!).  A friend was over and Jenny was home, so my shame was witnessed by 2 others.  They tasted delicious ... they just looked horrible.

As long as this post is, this only scratches the surface.  This has been an interesting year so far... I think I'm going to like being 24!

Christmas and Birthday photo fun

Here's catch up from Christmas...  in photos.

Surprise birthday party for my near-twin cousin Madi (age 3) and me at this awesome pizza place -- Angelo's -- in downtown Denver.

My Mom, sister, and me

The Civic Center in downtown Denver.  I have fond memories of coming to see the Civic Center Christmas lights with my grandparents when I was a little girl.

Christmas with my Dad's side of the family.

My cousin Michelle made my grandparents a family photo album -- with black and white pictures back from my great-great grandparents to the present day.  Always cool to see where you come from.  

This is my Grandpa, my cousin Josh, and me.

Young cousins helping open presents -- even though Jackson is on my lap, he's opening Jana's presents (which is why she looks so excited about it).

April, my cousin's daughter on my lap while Jana "steals her sugar"

Family Christmas

Francesca's new stuffed goose squeaky chew toy.

Jana's pet mouse.  (well, she's a middle school science teacher, and it's really the class pet.  Why is it science teachers always have class pets?)  Ironically, she also has a cat.

Christmas with my Mom's side.

The game boys.  hehe..

Organized chaos.

My Gramma usually writes me every week -- and she sends me select comics she clips from the newspaper.  So, in lieu of sending me a letter while I was in CO for Christmas, she put the comics in my stocking.

Wiley's new toy.

Celebrating 79 years -- Grandpa (Dad's dad)'s birthday breakfast December 26.  It's tradition!

The median age at this table is 12 -- and I'm the oldest!  It was a very.... busy... table.  Jana kept saying it looked like my cousins Nic and Michelle were married with 3 kids.

Grandpa always has great expressions and famous phrases -- which we cousins fondly call "Grandpa-isms"

My birthday celebration with Sarah, Anna, and Stephen

I love white twinkle lights.

They're falling.  And... I'm not :)

Stoaking embers

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "money burning a hole in your pocket"... well, my passport is burning a hole in my pocket.

I want to go.  Far away.  Abroad.  Across an ocean.  On an adventure.

The British Isles.  Italy again, but south this time.  Tripoli perhaps... or the Great Pyramids in Egypt.  Chile.  Or what about down under to Australia or New Zealand?  Or what of the vast and seemingly endless possibilities of places to see across Asia?  I'd be open to pretty much anything at the moment.

Too long has my passport been unused.  I've had this itch for well over a year now -- or has it been 2 years?  In any case, too long.  I often carry my passport with me even though I technically don't need to.  Maps and globes are increasingly mesmerizing.

Soon.  Somewhere.  I want to go soon.

Elementary, my dear Watson

Another story from the December 18 trip to Colorado...
(though, this isn't one I forgot about -- just took me awhile to get around to posting it)

On the airplane, I sat next to a guy who works for Nike.

By the time we landed in foggy Denver, I had his first and last name and email address.

I knew that he was fluent in English and French.

I learned that he was developing the marketing plan for a new product line (though I won't say what since this isn't a very private location).

He was negotiating charitable donations of goods to several nonprofit groups in Europe -- Paris, actually.

He's an avid fan of winter sports, especially snowboarding.

He has two young daughters.

The only thing is, he didn't tell me (or anyone else) any of this.

Beware of the powers of observation...

They say the memory goes first...

Although it feels pretty routine now (after my relatively busy travel schedule this year), going through the airport still provides much creative stimulus... people-watching opportunities... different lights, sounds, smells... many things to look at and take in -- and, of course, literally hundreds of places to go.

While I was traveling to Colorado for Christmas, I was in a particular mood to take in all I was seeing and then share about it on my blog.  Needless to say, I observed a whole bunch of GREAT entertaining things that you, I'm sure, would be amused by as I myself was.

I arrived in Denver and, surprisingly, couldn't remember a single one...

Two days later, in the middle of the night (really, it was the middle of the night), this one came back to me:

Standing in line to go through security, I heard one of those dog squeaky toys squeaking -- and we're not talking one or two squeaks. I mean a constant stream of squeakiness.

I surreptitiously glanced around to locate the source of the slight commotion.

It turned out to be none other than an adorable young boy of Asian descent -- or, more specifically, what he was wearing on his feet.

The child was dressed in red plaid flannel pajamas with teddy bear slippers. When he walked slower, the squeaks came more slowly. When he sped up, so did the squeaks. Of course. Squeaky teddy bear slippers.

Trailing behind the boy was who I assumed to be his mother. Though talking on her cell phone, she still managed to keep on eye -- or perhaps an ear? -- on her son and directed him with hand gestures when he was nearby or a word or two if he got too far ahead.

Both squeaky boy and cell phone mom meandered toward the baggage claim area.

Meanwhile I, still in the security line, could hear the squeaks continue even after the child disappeared from view.  And it's not as though the airport was quiet that day...

Also amusing were the comments of the people ahead of and behind me in line who had also witnessed the squeaky-slippered boy.

Is that noise from his slippers?

Oh my.. where is that coming from?

What a smart mom.

Sure makes it easy to keep track of him...

Anyways, I was amused.  If only I had had my camera or a voice recorder handy...

Sigh.  And if only I could remember all the other funny things I observed that day.

Townhouse Christmas

Last night was Townhouse Christmas with my roommates.

Last year, I began the Townhouse Christmas "tradition" because I felt strongly that we needed to celebrate Christmas together early before we all went our separate ways to celebrate the real day with our families.  I wanted us to have "Christmas dinner" and that special togetherness you get during the holiday season.

Last year, I'd say the roommates humored me because they knew it was important to me.  This year, they looked forward to it.  And it turned out being such a special time.  Even though it was 10 days early, it really felt like Christmas.

I had fun creating a menu that highlighted a favorite for each person...

Chicken breasts stuffed with fresh basil and havarti

Mashed potatoes with green onions and creamy chicken gravy

Steamed broccoli with pine nuts

Italian bread with roasted garlic

(Jenny - potatoes, onions; Sarah - broccoli; Me - havarti)

Jenny was sweet to supply the sparkling apple-marionberry juice -- which made the table setting that much more festive.  I think stemware makes anything look festive.

Oh... and for dessert ...  Last year I made a fancy dessert, but we were too full to eat it.  This year, I decided to buy fancy pints of ice cream.  Then if we were to full, I didn't put out any effort.  And if we weren't, we would still get one of our favorite desserts.

Here we are posing before dinner.  

The little tree is real.  Everyone thinks it fake.  But it's really real.  It's about 2 feet tall and still potted (which means I'll probably plant it in January rather than waste a good tree).  It ended up on the table because it's too small to sit on the floor in the living room.

In this picture, I'm being an imp... I'm actually tickling both of the roommates who are trying their best not to show it.  But I'm laughing and enjoying myself immensely.  You would never know it, but right before the picture snapped they were both laughing and squealing "STOP!!  JAMIE!!  AHH!  What are you doing?!?  STOP!!" :)

The mantle, stockings, fireplace, and pile of presents

Jenny is known for giving unique gifts.  Sarah got a kick out of the note on this one: "A warning - this one is weird!"  (And it was, but in a fun way -- and perfect for Sarah)

All in all, we had a wonderful Townhouse Christmas.  These are important times to share together.

This is probably the last one for just the three of us... at least for now.  Sarah is getting married, and Jenny is moving to the next festival city.

But, I hope that the three of us will have a chance to get together again some day and catch up and share another Townhouse Christmas.  I doubt it will happen every year... or even every 5-10 years.  Maybe spouses and children will be at the next one.  Or maybe we'll all be grandmas.  Who knows? But I'll be watching for that opportunity.

Some day.

Winter Wonderland

Blustery and cold. And, get this - snowing! It's been snowing since early this morning, and unlike most Portland snow it's actually sticking. The high for today was 31, and it's only supposed to get colder from here on out until next week. Crazy!

As beautiful as it is to have snow, I'm bummed it couldn't hold off for just one day. There's a wedding reception I wish I was attending in Newberg right now. And Sarah and I were heading there when we found out that the Oregon department of transportation is requiring chains on all highways.

So, since I don't have chains (and by the way I wouldn't have used them anyways since there is neither ice nor enough accumulated snow on the roads and it would have ruined my tires), and since we can't drive into Newberg without using a highway, Sarah and I went back home. (Well, techincally, we could have taken one of the back roads over a huge hill... but that just wouldn't have been smart since it's often slick when there isn't snow).

Anyways, I suppose I'm still venting about the seemingly over-paranoid weather measures around here. And really, even though I'm used to driving on snowy roads after years of it in Colorado, I am concerned about sharing roads with all the other people who really can't handle driving it or who think their 4-wheel drive makes them invincible. Scary thought.

Now that I'm home wrapping presents and writing Christmas cards as I sit in front of the cozy fire in the living room with the roommates, I'm sort of secretly hoping work is cancelled tomorrow. I'm still recovering from a cold, and tomorrow night is our Townhouse Christmas (since the three of us are going to be out-of-town with our families on Christmas Day). It would be nice to have all the time I want to leisurely cook the gourmet Christmas dinner I have planned... sigh. I guess we'll see what happens through the night and tomorrow morning...

Fog

I really love fog. It's so beautiful.
You wouldn't necessarily think so at first, but fog undeniable holds the fingerprint of its Creator.

Fog brings depth into stark relief. And this so simply by its very nature.

Fog diffuses light, making the presense of it more obvious. And uninterrupted darkness becomes a seemingly empty void.

It blankets.
It shelters.
It surrounds.

And yet, it can't be gathered into a box, bottle, or container. As you reach out to grasp it, somehow it escapes, eludes, evades confinement. But, I know it's there. I cannot doubt its true existence because I can see it all around me, next to me, in front of and behind me. I can feel it in my lungs when I draw breath.

Fog unveils the path only as you approach -- right before your very eyes, one step at a time. Sometimes you must start traveling a direction before you know where exactly it leads. And bends, turns, obstacles are not revealed until the very moment of decision.

Isn't fog a beautiful thing?

The year of surprises, apparently...

...as I was in Colorado the weekend before last for yet another surprise birthday party.

This one was my Grampa's 80th, boy was he surprised! (And, since I'm the only one on that side of the family who lives out-of-state, it was especially good that I was there. The first thing my Grampa said was, "You're here?!?")

But I'm getting ahead of myself. That was Sunday - more to come...

I flew in early Saturday morning, and my Dad and cousin Michelle picked me up at the airport. We went to my sister's house and hung out -- which included making caramel-apples.

Forget the apple... I'm eating the caramel!

Ok... now, back to Sunday and the party.

We surprised my Grampa first at church by having a cake reception during the break time between services.

Mom and me cutting the HUGE cakes.

Then we (meaning my parents, my mom's 3 siblings and their spouses, my sister, and all the cousins) whisked my grandparents to a fancy restaurant for Sunday brunch.

All the grandkids with Gramma and Grampa.

(PS. I'm 10 years older than the next oldest cousin. She's sitting at the far left. On her lap is my "twin" -- well... 21 years and a day younger. But close enough!)

At the restaurant, all 20-25 of us sat at one LONG table. I called it the Viking table. I like Viking tables.

The giant card... and it plays the Star Wars theme music when you open it.

I think Grampa felt honored -- and I'm so glad I got to be a part of the celebration!

Black Thursday

This has got to be the hardest week at work I've had so far in my relatively short professional life.

With the downturn in the economy, many people are struggling to make money - and businesses are looking for ways to cut costs. Churches and ministries are simply not getting the cashflow they need to operate at normal capacity.

And this week, the leadership at work made some very difficult decisions -- hard decisions now to avoid drastic ones later.

Yesterday, 10 team members -- friends -- found out that their positions had to be eliminated.(That's between 10-15% of our team.) Many others are getting pay or hour cuts. But we're all affected.

There is such an overwhelming combination of emotions inside of me... it's hard to know what do and how to feel. Intense sorrow for my friends. Sheer gratitude that I still have a job.

We've all known for a while that finances are tight. We knew they were going to be implementing changes - including postponing one of the festivals in Latin America for a year. And cutting back staff is not an unusual process for ministries (especially) -- and any company really -- to have to undergo during economic recessions... but that doesn't make it any easier to have to experience it.

The team I work with is like a family, and it's hard to describe to people who haven't been a part of it. And because of the depth of the relationships, we are all hurting immensely from the loss of these friends. Those of us remaining are picking up lots of additional responsibilities. The ministry is still moving forward, but now with fewer staff. This is a stretching time. If I were to describe it in terms of pizza crusts, this would be the extra-thin, extra-crispy.

I have to keep reminding myself that God is not forgetting about these friends who no longer work with the team. He's still faithful. He's still going to provide. And He's still working His plans and purposes in all of us.

Please pray for the team as you think of it. These are very difficult times.

A Timely Discovery

I had my suspicions, but the events of last night confirmed it.
My roommate Jenny can play the piano and read music -- quite well, I might add (...though she says she doesn't).
This hidden talent was unveiled when I was playing half of a 4-hand duet. Jenny hesitantly offered to pick up the other half (all the while saying it wouldn't be very good... but that she would try).
Not only did she pick up the other half, but she was sight-reading it and doing a very good job!
I'm so excited! I LOVE playing piano duets!
Who would have thought? She certainly didn't intend to let on... : )

I finally bought a piano!

I did it. I finally bought a piano. It's an 88-key (weighted) portable keyboard that sounds and feels like a real piano. Oh my goodness. I'm so excited. : ) And I just spent the past hour playing it. But I made myself stop because I must get some sleep -- though I could probably play all night (and because it has a headphone jack, I don't have to worry about waking my sleeping roommates).

I have a piano.

And it's downstairs just waiting to be played.

Weekend with Mom and Dad

My parents came from Colorado to visit me this past weekend.

Friday after I picked them up from the airport, we toured IKEA before the decadent 4-course dinner downtown at the Oregon Culinary Institute.

Saturday we headed northwest to Astoria, stopping first at the Astoria Column. Although the Column itself was closed, the view of the mouth of the Columbia meeting the Pacific from the highest hill in Astoria was still quite a sight. (My Dad took these pictures)

We decided to walk around the town.
And we came across the "Windsor House of Tea" just in time for a pre-lunch pick-me-up of scones, lemon curd, clotted cream, and tea (and we each got our own tea pot!).
We continued west to Ft Stevens State Park to see the northern most point of Oregon, the jetty, and the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale.

To my surprise, the Peter Iredale was smaller than when I saw it the first time last February. I think the sand was 7 feet higher... I wonder if it will come back down during the winter months?

After Ft Stevens, we ventured down the coast to Ecola State Park for a late afternoon picnic lunch and view of Cannon Beach and the famous haystack rock.


Saturday night we returned to my townhouse for games.
Sunday was church, the new movie Fireproof, and Pittock Mansion.
Monday, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at my place and a tour of the office before I dropped them off for the airport.
Overall, a very fun weekend indeed. : )

(I'm glad you were able to visit Oregon, Mom and Dad!!)

A series of unusual events

Saturday, September 6, I flew into Denver for about 24 hours to surprise my Mom for her 50th birthday (just a few weeks late -- I'm still bummed I had to miss the party!). We enjoyed dinner, a movie, a birthday shopping spree, playing the piano, and etc.
The timing worked out well because my Dad had just had surgery the Wednesday before -- so it was good to see him in person and see that he was recovering (rather than just hearing about it over the phone). I had no idea he was going to have surgery when I booked the ticket back in July.

Sunday night I flew to St Louis for work and met up with 2 co-workers. (I really should learn the song "Meet Me in St Louis") The meetings all day Monday went well. And, for the first time in 6 trips to St Louis the past 10 months, my return flights were pretty much on time -- only 10 minutes late. Normally it's more like 40+ minutes late, which is a big deal when you're scheduled to land close to midnight anyways. Later feels exponentially later that time of night.

Coming back to work Tuesday morning after being in St Louis on Monday always feels a bit like syllabi shock in the first few days back to school after the break. There is so much to process -- and tons of items to add to pile onto the never-ending to do list.

Of all weekends, everyone decided to plan things on this past weekend. I had about 7 conflicting things going on... but, alas, I don't have 7 clones.

So, I ended up going north because 2 sets of aunts and uncles were flying into Seattle on Saturday where they would catch a cruise heading to Alaska on Sunday.

I stayed with the Bruce's Friday night, celebrating Timothy's 10th birthday and then winning a game of Risk with the help of Mr B and Nathan.

Saturday I drove to downtown Seattle where I met up with my aunts and uncles. We walked to the Pike Place Market (which I had never been to, but had heard much about), and enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells, and colors. Well... some of the smells.

That night I made it back to the Bruce's just in time to ride with them to the car races -- part 2 of Tim's birthday celebration. Mrs B issued a challenge that I wouldn't be winning a 3rd time in a row at the races. And up until lap 96 of 100, I would have come away victor. Unfortunately, my car's tire got sliced and knocked him out of the race. So, I lost to Mr B by 1 point. It was tight competition -- Nathan was just 1 point behind me.

Sunday was a chill day. After church we played pinochle and ate delicious spicy grilled chicken alla Mr B. The pinochle game was going very strangely with lots of square hands (which we blamed on me shuffling the cards too many times at the very beginning). But then, Nathan -- who happened to be my parter -- got the double run, an instant 1500 points (an instant win)! According to Mrs B, that unlikely hand only comes up once every 3 or 4 years (depending, of course, on how often one plays).

I drove home Sunday night in time to make cupcakes for a baby shower at work the next day. I had fun decorating them with dirt (oreo crumbs) and army figures and animals. They turned out really well.

Then... Tuesday and Wednesday... I was sick and had to take off work -- some flu/cold bug. "Go home," my boss said Tuesday morning. Thursday and today, I worked, but was totally wiped out by the end of the work day.

So, tomorrow, for the first time in 5 weekends, I'm going to have a quiet weekend at home. Some good R&R should get me right as rain for the next round.

What happened?!?

What do YOU think happened here?

Possible explanations:

A. Fickle fancy of a flighty female.
B. Fell asleep chewing gum and had to cut it out.
C. Turned pirate and couldn’t fit the long hair under the cool hat.
D. Gave a renewable resource for charitable causes.
E. Disguise to protect the innocent.


If you chose C, you are… well… incorrect. But that would be an adventure! Or perhaps becoming a spy. But neither of those would be completely accurate. The correct answer is D. (Big surprise, I know.)

The required length for Locks of Love didn’t leave much extra. But I still have more than many – namely the child who will be getting a new red-auburn wig. And beyond that, my hair grows quickly enough that it will be a length I like better within the space of 6-8 months. (Thanks, Mrs B for doing the honors! Thanks Anna for photo-documenting it!)

As you may have guessed, I was in Olympia with the Bruce's this weekend. (We missed you, Sarah!)

Other long weekend exploits:

Cars races at a dirt track. Most of the cars I "bet on" won... so I ended up with the most points again.

Hike to the top of Mount Beljica…which has an up-close and personal look at Mount Rainier – except for the giant cloud enveloping us. Still beautiful though – even with the fog (especially), hail, rain, and cool (40 degrees) temps. YAY for polypros!

There was a hole in the cloud for a few minutes -- but not enough to see Rainier, just some moments of sunshine. (The base of Mt Rainier is centered behind me where the valley floor begins to rise again.)

Pinochle. I played for the first time this weekend. It’s complicated, but so fun. I can't wait to play more so I can get better and learn more strategies. Mr. and Mrs. B were great teachers, and Nathan was a very patient and helpful partner!

Wii!!! Anna, Nathan, and I stayed up WAY too late playing the Wii. Anna and I got a bit silly the later it got... but we sure had fun. : )

Playing the piano.
Making cards with fancy stamps, papers, and emboss powders.
Kicking around the soccer ball with Timothy.
Good chats.
Yummy ice cream.

YAY for long weekends. The alarm sounded too early this morning. Work went well, but I was tired.

Jenny and I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End tonight. I didn't really like it. There were a few funny parts, but really, I'd rather just repress the whole 169 minutes (plus Pirates 2) and think of Pirates of the Caribbean only as the first movie they came out with.

And now? To bed.