Snake Anecdotes

The fun and opportunities for embarrassment never stop when I'm around. Truly.

Take, for example, this past Saturday: Christmas Day. I was at Holly's house, unpacking a box of new clothes that my sister-in-law had very generously sent to Holly's kids for Christmas. In the box was a t-shirt with a snake drawn on it (similar to the one in this picture). Jeff, who knows about these things, proclaimed that the cartoon snake wasn't a poisonous variety. He then went on to say that snake venom by itself is harmless--you can drink it even; it's the chemical snakes inject in your blood with the venom when they bite you that's deadly. (Or something like that.)

Holly: That makes sense. They milk snakes for their venom.

Me: Yeah, to make anecdotes for snake bites.

Holly & Jeff: [Hysterical laughter]

Holly: Uh, you mean antidotes?

Me: [Covers face in embarrassment with children's clothes as raucous laughter continues]

See what I mean?

I Am Grateful

I love Thanksgiving. It's a non-denominational, non-sectarian, non-race-specific, unifying holiday for all Americans. I love the food, the cooking, the anticipation & planning, the tradition, the warmth, the spirit, the chance to reflect on our blessings, and of course the long weekend.

I had a few friends over for dinner this year. I cooked a turkey for the first time (thanks to Holly for all the instructions that resulted in a moist and delicious bird!), made mashed potatoes and stuffing, cooked up some asparagus, and--the best part--I made a couple of pumpkin pies. Mmmmm! Michelle and Rachel rounded out the meal with rolls, roasted cauliflower, and some sort of cool Brussels-sprouts-with-bacon combo. All kinds of yummy!!

We shared our bounty with Jenny and her mom in the hospital (where Jenny is being treated for leukemia and is making tremendous progress). They were so tickled to get a homemade Thanksgiving dinner, it was delightful to watch them eat it!

The table and guests

Close-ups of the bountiful spread

I have so much to be grateful for this year (as I do every year). At the top of the list are: excellent heath and safety for self and family; stable & steady employment; a cozy home; beautiful surroundings inside and out; gorgeous, mild weather this Fall; wonderful friends who genuinely care about me and my life; a supportive and kind family; my testimony of the Savior and His Gospel; living very close to my sister and her kids who jump up and down with excitement whenever they see me; the means to take a vacation now and then and to be able to help those I love from time to time (and buy them presents); a car that runs just fine; good music; a body that works in every way and enables me to do what I need to do; full use of my faculties; uplifting books; a Democrat in the White House; Thanksgiving leftovers (especially pumpkin pie!); hot running water; indoor plumbing; electricity; the Internet; a new, efficient heating system; plenty of fresh food to eat every day; and the new Harry Potter movie, which I saw for the second time today.

I hope your Thanksgiving was just as warm, cozy, and wonderful as mine was!

My Future Husband

I'd like to introduce you all to my (future) husband, Bob. Isn't he handsome? I love his "rainbow face" and blue hair, that prominent belly button, and the way he's opening his arms wide to give me a hug. He's decidedly dreamy. I met him last week when I visited my friend Olivia and her family. Her daughter Sydney, age 4, and I were painting in the kitchen when she announced she was going to draw a picture of my husband. I was eager to see what she knew about the man I will marry. Fifteen minutes later, my years of searching and wondering were over, as I saw my future husband materialize on the paper. It's about time!

Sydney originally said that my husband's name was Mimby. Right. I told her I couldn't marry a man named Mimby; I needed someone with a more masculine (and normal) name. After I made a few suggestions, Syd settled on Bob. When I asked her what Bob did for a living, what his job was, she replied, "To make money." Works for me!

Here's the picture Syd painted of me (with a bright sun in the sky). I think Bob and I will make a lovely couple, don't you?

Fun with Knives!

Yes, Halloween is over, but is that any reason not to share photos of people having fun with knives? No sirree!

A couple of weeks before All Hallows Eve I had some friends over for a little pumpkin-carving party. We ate my homemade "Crazy Cantina" chili and Sonia treated us with heavenly pumpkin bread for dessert. Naturally, everyone whipped out a knife or two and sawed out little pumpkin faces with gusto.

Patti and I show our pumpkin progress

Here, Sharyn and Patti show off their gourdy masterpiece: a crying baby pumpkin

James's pumpkin was having a rough night and couldn't keep anything down

Sonia, Nikki, and James compare carving techniques

The spooky results of our handiwork, all a-glow

Cheese Love

This pretty much sums up my feelings about cheese.


(Pearls Before Swine, courtesy of comics.com)

Millcreek Canyon

Last week I spent some time in Utah visiting my family. One of the highlights of the trip was spending time with my niece Megan and my nephew James. Like most kids their age in America, they are very tech-savvy and up on the latest music, video games, and kid movies. My mom thought it would be a great idea to force them to unplug with a trip to Millcreek with my Aunt Janice.

When we first arrived in the parking lot next to the picnic area, Megan said, "This sucks!" Within a few minutes, however, she and James were both excitedly exploring the trails, eagerly gathering firewood, and exclaiming how much they loved it.

Here's Megan holding a bunch of firewood she gathered. There were plenty of sticks and fallen branches in the area to use for our fire.


James wanted to wade across the stream but the water was too cold.

Here's the little bridge over the stream that led to some hiking trails. It was a beautiful area, nestled next to the mountain. A few of the leaves higher up were starting to turn, though you can't see them in this picture.

We went for a little hike before building our fire. Janice gave us a group assignment: We had to find one red leaf, one interesting rock, something man-made, and a wild flower before we could go back to the picnic area.

Along our hike, we stumbled on a little shrine built by previous visitors. We decided to put all the treasures we'd collected into the shrine.

Both kids loved building the fire and watching it grow. James pointed out that it was his first bonfire ever. Ever! He enjoyed some relaxation time staring into the dancing flames. All he needs is a corn pipe between his teeth and a straw hat!

Megan and Grandma

For dinner, we grilled hot dogs and Bratwurst. While we waited for them to cook, we played a cut-throat game of "Mother, May I?" and tried to trick one another in "Simon Says." Along with the meat, we had watermelon, homemade potato salad, and of course Cheetos.

The camp fire apparently brought out James's primal, savage side--check out how he's tearing into that Brat!

Good times and good memories in Millcreek Canyon. And we all came home smelling like camp fire.

LIVESTRONG Challenge 2010!

Last weekend I had the honor of participating for the fourth time in the LIVESTRONG Challenge. This annual fundraising event benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation, supporting and empowering people who are affected by cancer. Thanks to the generosity of everyone who donated, I raised over $1,300, and together the 5,000+ participants at the Philadelphia Challenge raised $3.1 million. Million!!



Sporting my trademark Hello Kitty jersey, I got to test out my new bike in the hilly countryside northwest of Philadelphia. The bike didn't make me go any faster but it did make the hills much easier and kept my legs from getting as tired. Yay for new bikes! (And for one-of-a-kind Hello Kitty jerseys--mine got lots of compliments!)

The one downside to the event was the rain that fell off-and-on throughout the morning, making the participants wet and the roads slick. It didn't dampen out spirits, though, and I experienced the same rejuvenating feeling of camaraderie and inspiration that's present every year at LIVESTRONG.

Thank you to everyone who donated and offered expressions of encouragement and support. Here's to living strong every day!

Things I Know For Sure

Every month in her magazine, Oprah writes a column called "What I Know For Sure," where she discusses some truth or nugget of wisdom or insight into herself that she's discovered recently. When she interviews celebrities for the magazine, she always asks them at the end to name one thing they know for sure. I'm taking a page from her magazine for this post to list a few things I know for sure--the insight of all my 30-something years.

1. Your daily choices and activities indicate what your life priorities really are.

2. Linked to #1: no matter how much you say you want something--a better job, thinner thighs, a higher credit score, an Olympic gold medal--if you don't do anything to make it happen, you don't really want it.

3. Pizza still tops my list of best inventions of all time.

4. Kindness is never wasted. You might regret being mean but you will never regret being kind. And there is rarely, if ever, a reason to be mean.

5. Practicing forgiveness helps you sleep better at night.

6. I would give up cookies, cold cereal, and my subscription to Oprah's magazine before I'd give up my monthly pedicure. (Between pizza and the pedicure, however, it's a draw.)

7. Target just might rival Disneyland as the happiest place on earth.

8. My nieces and nephews really ARE the cutest children on the planet! (See pictures of them here and here.)

9. Getting up in the morning is always hard, no matter what time it is or how much sleep I've gotten. I don't feel more rested after hitting the snooze button three times and yet I do it anyway. In spite of being a night owl, I feel better when I go to bed early and get up early.

10. I love comments on my blog!

What do you know for sure?

Things I Wonder About

There are some things that I continue to wonder about and be baffled by, no matter how old I get. In no particular order:

1. Why are root beer floats so yummy? Put vanilla ice cream into a big mug of Sprite, Coke/Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Ginger Ale, or Mountain Dew and it doesn't taste nearly as yummy. (Actually, I've never tried it in those last three but I can't imagine it would be a good combination.) Why is this? What is it about root beer that makes it so special?

2. What does fun-loving mean? It's a very unhelpful word to use to describe someone.

3. Why did Magnum, PI, wear such tight pants? Seriously people, they were way too tight, even for the '80s!

4. Nicholas Cage continues to get cast in romantic leading man roles. Do women really find him that attractive? I just don't get it.

5. How many licks DOES it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?

6. Why do I turn on the TV and then mute the sound so I can concentrate on something else instead of just turning it off?

What mystifies you?

Why I'm Sometimes Unproductive

Ever experience this? I know I do. (Click on the comic to make it bigger.)

Cherry Blossoms!

This blog post falls in the "better late than never" category.

Every year, Spring is, for me, a revelation. I marvel at the new life, new growth, bright colors, leaves, blossoms, and buds, emerging from previously-frozen soil and barren branches. That feeling was especially salient for me this year, after the long, long, very snowy winter we had, which left me a little scarred and traumatized.

When the cherry blossoms emerged on the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, sometime in April this year, I relished the chance to wind my way among their pink-and-white brightness.

Here, some photos of the blossoms in their glory, a day or so after they hit their real peak. (As a side note, I arrived downtown at around 7:30am on a weekend and the area was already teeming with people.)

Looking across the water towards the Jefferson Memorial.



The iconic Washington Monument.



A couple more with the Jefferson Memorial in the background.






In this photo, you can see that the blossoms were past their peak and were already starting to fade. They were completely gone within a few days after these photos were taken.


Blossoms waving over the top of the entrance to the FDR Memorial.






Blissful blossoms!

Ice Cream

While my family members were visiting for graduation, we all went to Mount Vernon for a day. Mount Vernon is the former home of George Washington and encompasses not only his house but extensive gardens and grounds as well as a learning center and museum. There is of course the obligatory gift shop and food court too. It was a warm day so we decided to get some ice cream after lunch.

Eden really enjoyed her cone, which I had to help her eat b/c it melted faster than she could lick it.


At a certain point, she gave up on licking the top part and started nibbling at the very bottom of the cone, then decided to simply bite into the cone as if it were a cob of corn.



Jonas thoroughly enjoyed his ice cream, which he ate by smashing it against his mouth more than precisely licking it, resulting in this awesome ice cream goatee.


Ever the ham, Elijah shows off his ice cream face, only slightly tidier than his younger brother's.

The Big Day: Graduation!

This past Friday, May 21st, I graduated from Georgetown University with a Master of Arts in Sociolinguistics. I'm not going to lie: It was a great day. My mom, my dad, my aunt Janice, and of course my sister and brother-in-law were all there to witness the Big Event and celebrate the achievement with me. (Warning: LOTS of photos to follow!)

The Linguistics Department held a little reception before Commencement to honor all those from the department who were graduating. Dr. Deborah Tannen, a well-known linguist and one of my professors, was kind enough to pose for a photo. She also read my name as I walked across the stage later.



The graduation was held on the "quad" of the historic Georgetown campus. Here's Healy Hall all decked out for the ceremonies.



The day was quite warm and shade on the lawn was in short supply. Uncomfortable, yes, but better than my undergraduate graduation, which was also held outdoors--in the pouring rain. My ever-inventive family came up with a creative way to make some shade of their own while they waited for the festivities to begin.



At long last, all the graduates filed onto the quad in our caps and gowns: first the Masters candidates followed by the PhD students, accompanied by "Pomp and Circumstance."




The festivities were both too long (sitting in the afternoon sun on the lawn wearing a black polyester muumuu made me feel more annoyed than inspired when the college President gave his "rah rah go team" remarks) and too short, with my moment of glory lasting barely 60 seconds from the moment Dr. Tannen read my name, I walked across the stage, shook hands with the dean and the college president, then was "hooded" by a faculty member and walked back to my seat.



Afterwards there was much posing for photos, including this one with my mom and dad.



And here you get a glimpse of the hood, in Hoya blue and gray.


The diploma means I'm bonafide! (Too bad it's written entirely in Latin so no one else will know where it's from!)



At the celebratory dinner that evening (thanks, Janice!), we happened to mention to our server that I had just graduated. She arranged for a special garnish for the dessert plate.



The last three years have been busy and exhausting and stimulating and wonderful. I feel so grateful to have studied at such a magnificent university with such accomplished professors who really brought to life my interest in language. The whole excellent day was a fine way to end this phase of my academic life. Once again I must say: WAHOO!!!!