Sweet Home Mississippi

This week so far has been fun-filled.  Monday night after picking me up from the airport, the family and I went to Corky's Barbecue for dinner.  So GOOD!  Of course, right when I got home I got into my swimsuit and jumped in the pool. 

Tuesday was filled with shopping, mainly.  Old Navy, how I have missed thee.  We also went to the Nursery to get some plants for the wedding and reception.  After watching Reina get hyped up and dancing to the Michael Jackson video, we went to Liz's to set up for Tracy's bridal shower.  The house was packed full of ladies, young and old.  We had good food, fun games, and good food. 

At 11:00 p.m. we arrived at the movie theater to wait around for the long-anticipated Eclipse.  Surprisingly I liked it a lot better than the previous one.  I spent those hours asking Liz lots of questions about the plot and making fun of corny lines and goofy looks of hunger and lust.

After sleeping in until 10:00 this morning, I'm ready for another day of fun-filled family activity.  I'm planning on having lunch with Dad and practicing some music with Patti and Alex.  Tomorrow we'll be setting up the church and deck for the wedding and reception.  So far, a good week.

pooka, wheat, water, meat

This weekend in preparation to leave my husband for a whole week was actually quite eventful.  Friday night we joined Matt Nelson and his date, Kim, on the lawn of the dorms on campus to watch Harvey starring James Stewart.  It was funny and insightful.  Very enjoyable.  With ten minutes left of the movie, the clouds rolled in bringing lots of thunder and lightning and a little bit of moisture.  So they cleaned up, and the four of us went to Derek's office in the MC to watch the last online.  I love 6'3" rabbits.

Saturday morning I made these really good wheat pancakes.  I got the recipe (and wheat berries) from a Preparedness Fair the stake held on Tuesday.  They were yummy.

Saturday afternoon we joined the rest of Rexburg at Porter Park for the Epic Waterfight.  It was awesome.  We have lots of pictures and video.  It was an event to remember.  East side (red) versus West side (blue).  We even bought t-shirts to prove it.  Afterwards Derek, Matt, and I went to Jamba Juice and Ricky Ray's BBQ.  The bbq place was recently opened by two students (one from NC, the other from FL) with some really good barbecue sauce.  We'd go again.

Saturday night after having burgers with Jackie and Adam, we enjoyed a James Bond movie (Die Another Day).  I know this post is just listing the events, but the awesomeness of the speak for themselves.

Sunday was filled with home teaching, church, Egg McMuffins (made by Derek...Mmm), lemon poppyseed muffins, and a new recipe...garlic shrimp and pasta (with homemade sauce).  All in all it was a delightsome weekend filled with good food, good friends, and fun activities.  Now I'm just waiting for morning to come.  I can't sleep.  I don't want to miss a moment with Derek AND I'm excited to leave at the same time.

I plan to post often this week so all (especially Leigh-Ann and Derek) will know what I'm up to back home for Tracy's wedding week.

Memoirs of a Wannabe Geisha

Every night this week we have had dress rehearsal for Opera Workshop.  I am in the Madam Butterfly scene as one of her attendants for her wedding preview.  The nine of us girls get to wear sorry excuses for kimonos, but our makeup is pretty fun.  white faces, pink eye shadow 9more like FACE shadow), lots of eye liner, a widow's peak, and small red lips.  I'm trying to wait until necessary for Derek to see because I know he's not a fan of that look.  Friday night it will be inevitable though.  I took a picture of my face last night, and well, it's pretty ugly. As odd as it looks up close, but eyes DO look a bit more Japanese from farther away.

Mary, Jon, Miss Melanie, and Mr Roy are coming up this weekend.  I'm so excited to have guests. I feel like I haven't seen them in FOREVER!  The hard part is that I now have to prepare the spare room/storage room.  There are heavy boxes to be moved, and I'm not home when Derek is until we're tired from a long day.  I'm sure I'll figure something out.

I have been able to make our room look more fun.  Derek really wants a Disney-themed room full of our adventures to Disneyland last April for our 'honeymoon.'  So I began to make that a reality for him.

He was pretty dang excited... and impressed with the sign I made.

Next semester the music department is putting on a full opera instead of opera scenes, so my chances of getting a lead went from 40% back down to 0%.  It kind of sucks.  I've been working super hard to get a lead, and I know I'm good enough. But it hasn't happened, and now it never will.  Story of my life.  Always in the choir in the school musicals.  They are doing Marriage of Figaro which only has about 4 girl parts anyway.  So all the divas will get there roles, and I'll get nothing again.  Oh to be a diva... I'd be able to get priceless experience that would help me tremendously in my musical career (whether I'm a performer or educator).

On a more exciting note, I'm going home in 11 days!

thoughts... hot off the press!

               laundry... 

As a college student I have had the opportunity to use laundry facilities at the many apartment complexes I have lived... both single/student and married/community.  Through this time I have realized that there are many types of laundry people. There are two types that I would like to mention now.

There are laundry people who are exact and particular with the way things are done.  They set alarms so they can get their clothes out of the washer and then the dryer at the perfect time.  They have the opportunity of folding their clothes while they're still hot and have no wrinkles.  The one I encountered today was bald.

The second type of laundry person is ME.  It took me about two years to really figure out what kind of laundry person I was, but I have developed into this type.  The forgetful launderer.  It takes a few days of mentioning the need to do laundry before I actually do it.  It takes a few hours of distracting myself before I switch the laundry to the dryer.  And it takes a few hours (and at times a whole day) to finally get my wrinkled clothes back to my house to be folded and hung up.  

The popular thing to do in the laundry facility is take others' laundry out of the washer or dryer (more often), set it on top of the counter, and continue to finish what you started.  As I was developing my system of doing laundry, I felt kind of uneasy about handling another person's laundry.  There are many things you wear and clean that you don't want others to see, let alone touch.  BUT 'everyone else was doing it' so I joined in.  I mean I actually came to the facility... if I waited for another opportunity I might have had a couple more loads to include.  So I opened the door to the dryer and a wall of warmth swept over me.  (No it wasn't inspiration.)  I saw to situations before me.  1- This fellow launderer is just like me and won't be back for a couple hours.  2-  This person likes the feel of warm, wrinkle-free laundry more than they like hulu.  I took the chance.  I was quick.  I watched my back to make sure no one was coming, and I switched their laundry with mine.  

As I turned around to leave I heard someone walk in the door, and when I looked up the bald man was glaring at me and heading to the same dryer I was leaving!  Now he knows that I know that he wears blue underwear.  

...I think I should turn into a Type 1 launderer.

it's just Mineral Water

This Memorial Day weekend we joined the family on a trek to different cemeteries throughout Idaho and Utah, giving flowers to those who have gone before us. We made one stop at Hooper Springs which has a natural mineral-rich spring. Old people like my father-in-law love this part of the journey. He fills his bottle full of water and enjoys the cool, refreshing taste of the natural mineral water. Others are convinced to try the infamous water and suffer the consequences. It may just look like tasty H2O, but don't let the transparency of the liquid fool you. I think the faces of our family members will convince you that there is more to this water than meets the eye. Enjoy.

eat, drink, and practice etiquette

Tonight Derek took me to an Etiquette Dinner on campus. A lady came and taught everyone how to sit down, greet people, eat your soup, and place you fork. It was actually pretty fun. I felt pretty good about my manners because my mom taught me very well.

The lady encouraged us to make conversation with the others at the table, and it was then that Derek decided that good conversation was better than the truth. Here are some of the LIES he shared with everyone at the table:

~He has seen the new Alice in Wonderland movie 5 times.
~I told him that he wouldn't get a home-cooked meal until he came to the Etiquette Dinner and learned some manners.

Here are the TRUTHS:

~He has never seen Alice in Wonderland, the new one OR the Disney version.
~He remembered that I mentioned that the Etiquette Dinner would be fun, so he bought the tickets about 2 weeks ahead of time without me asking.

There was one other lie he told about me which was a reflection on my character which is why I started this blog in the first place. But alas, I cannot remember. Anyway, aside from the conversation, the food, lessons, and company were great.

On a more celebratory note, today was my last day working for the Census Bureau!! Tomorrow I have one more meeting to turn in my things, and I will be done. I plan on having better days filled with positive encouragement from all around me and confidence in myself and all tasks at hand. They (whoever 'they' is) always say, "It's a hard job, but someone's gotta do it!" Well, ten years from now, no matter the situation, that 'someone' will NOT be me!

come downstairs and say hello

I just realized that I never told you what I got for my birthday from Derek (over a month ago). But first a story...

Sophomore year of college I had a beloved CD case full of my favorite CDs. Since I only bought CDs of my favorite bands, the case was priceless and worth a lot... at the same time. One night as my roommates, some boys, and I were galavanting around Rexburg, my roommate just so happen to lose my case of CDs. I had asked to hold on to them, and an hour later she didn't have them and didn't know where they were. Only possible outcome: She threw them out the window.

I was lucky enough to have some backed up on my computer, but not all. I'm poor, so I just did without. SO for my birthday my kick-butt husband gave me all 5 CDs of my favorite band Guster. Surprised! Thrilled! How awesome is that! I had mentioned it to him, and 4 years later he remembered. The real kicker is that I didn't suspect a thing. He's typically bad at hiding surprises like that from me. He's improving, and I'm impressed.