Travel Essentials

I don't go on a ton of trips, but I could call myself a fairly seasoned traveler. I've picked up hints here and there. I watch and read things that tell me how to do it right and what to bring along.

On this last trip I discovered some travel essentials -- some things I've used for awhile and some things I've never used before but will from now on. Because you are so good to read my blog I want to pass this wisdom on to you by sharing 6 of my favorite travel tips.

#1 Bring a brightly colored suitcase. Mine is just like the one pictured, except mine is lime green. It's awesome. I got teased for it (mostly by my mom who asked me if I was going to the Emerald City) but I didn't care. I didn't have to attach a ribbon or sticker to set it apart. I didn't have to read tags to make sure it was mine. I could spot it on the conveyor belt from across the airport baggage claim and say, "Oh, there's mine." AND, I didn't have to worry about somebody mistaking it for their own. LOVE it. $40 TJ Maxx.

#2 Tide pens. I only brought one but should have brought a couple more because not only was it incredibly useful for me, it proved useful for everyone else as well. I recommend these over shout wipes. I brought both. I think the Tide pen works better AND you don't need to dispose of it when you're done treating the stain. You just put the cap on and stick it back in your bag.

#3 Ziploc Baggies. Bring a lot. Especially if you have a lot of beauty products that expand and explode at high altitudes. My toner, moisturizer and hair gel all benefited from the baggies they were in. Well, I guess my suitcase is what benefited.

#4 Extra rechargeable battery for your digital camera. I'm really glad I bought one. It was an extra fifty bucks, but even though I brought my battery charger, a charger won't help you when you're outside and your battery dies.

#5 These shoes. I bought these Nike Mary Janes for my trip because I knew I was going to do a lot of walking and I knew I had to look kind of nice for a lot of the venues I was visiting. I brought four pairs of shoes, but I wore these about 75% of the trip. They're cute, comfortable and durable. After one hot day in Paris, I changed into flip flops so my feet could breathe. But as soon as I walked out of the hotel and down the street I realized how remarkably comfortable my Nikes were and I regretted changing into flip flops immediately.

#6 Fold up hanging Mary Kay cosmetic case. I don't know who this little girl is, but this is the best picture I could find online. I couldn't even find it on Mary Kay's site, so you may have to find something similar rather than the real thing. I noticed my friend Maria's when we went to D.C. a few years ago and thought it was the greatest thing ever and so she got one for me for Christmas or my birthday or something and I always take it with me. It's so perfect. All four plastic compartments are washable and they are velcroed on so you can take them off if you want. It folds up into this perfect cube for your suitcase and then it has a hanger on it so you just hang it on the bathroom door in your hotel room. I LOVE it. Get one.

So there you go. If you have travel tips for me, I'm still collecting for future trips.

When reality sets back in...

I was really glad but kind of sad to wash Paris off of me when I hopped in the shower this morning. The jet lag hasn't affected me yet but I think it will this afternoon.

After more than a full day of buses, planes, flight delays and layovers, I rolled into the house half past midnight fully expecting to fall in bed and fall asleep but instead I stood silently in the middle of my room not sure what to do with myself. I heard a sleepy "Laura?" coming from Carri's room. I spoke with her briefly. We both agreed it seemed like I had been gone a very long time. She said she was glad I was home. I would have said “me too” but I couldn't, so I said I was really glad to see her -- much more truthful.

I'm not ready to be home. I want to be back in Europe. I didn't want to fall asleep last night because I knew falling asleep would officially mark the end of vacation. I would wake up in the morning and it would be like I had never been gone. But sadly, the spell broke before I climbed under the bedsheets. As soon as I watched the familiar image of my hand opening my closet door, normalcy set in and the alternate reality I had reveled in for the past two weeks began to close. This started a chain of mundane movements such as closing the blinds, opening my dresser drawers and plugging my cell phone in its charger. I debated saving my phone messages for the next day but decided to listen to them. Five messages from Grandma Durham. The first asking me to call her and the next four asking me why I haven't called her back. There were others from people that I could have sworn knew I was gone. Odd.

I would go on and on about all the places I went and the great people I was with, how much fun I had, and the friends I made, but I learned awhile ago that no one really cares or wants to hear about your trips to Europe. So I'm posting some pictures you're free to look at if you wish. They all have captions, but you need to scroll over the image if you want to read them. In a day or two I'll post a clip of the choir I was with rehearsing (the reason for the trip) in Gloucester Cathedral. I think they sang in a total of 10 or 11 venues. I was lucky to be invited along.

Here is a very brief clip of the choir singing an impromptu recital in Gloucester Cathedral.

Out of town

This is so you don't worry about me.

Smelly Memories

Last week I walked into the kitchen in my building. I was thrown back to about 8 years ago when I was living in Portland and doing temp work at the Information Technology Institute. I think it was the smell of coffee. It’s not like that’s the only time I’ve smelled coffee, but it was the combination of the coffee smell and the kitchen smell that just reminded me of working there.

There are other smells that always remind me of something in particular. And they have a powerful impact on me and my mood.

I remember driving in my car several years ago and turning on the air. The smell that came out of the vent brought back memories of my first trip to London and it made me really happy. I know this is kind of gross, but I think the smell reminded me of the tube stations there.

Strawberry Shortcake (the doll – not the dessert) reminds me of my bedroom in my family’s second house in Orem.

The smell of swamp coolers reminds me of summer and wanting to run through the sprinklers.

The smell of parking garages always makes me happy because it reminds me of being on vacation.

The smell of wassail reminds me of Christmas night when my family would go to Grandma Durham’s to visit her and any other relatives that were visiting her. She always had wassail simmering on the stove.

Elmer’s rubber cement reminds me of Sunrise Elementary.

Pot roast reminds me of being little and waking up from a nap on Sunday afternoons.

Brand new tennis balls remind me of my Grandpa Christensen.

Cellars remind me of my Great Grandma’s house in Payson. And being freaked out when she'd walk down there with me because I was afraid she'd fall and break a hip.

KFC reminds me of wanting to throw up.

Salty air reminds me of family vacations to San Diego.

Journal Gem #4

Monday, June 7, 2004
9:52 AM
Salt Lake City

So I never thought I'd really see HIM again. It was so random. I guess I COULD pick him out of a crowd after all.

Yesterday morning I went to my cousin Monica's ward because their baby was being blessed. Their ward is in Sugarhouse. Right after Sacrament Meeting, the second row stands up and guess who was there? Mr. No Show -- Ben, who stood me up 3 weeks ago. We made eye contact, but he looked away like he didn't even recognize me. My mom was explaining something to me, but I didn't hear a word she said because my eyes were fixed on Ben as I tried to figure out if that was really him. I pointed at him and said, "You know what, I think that's the guy who stood me up." Lisa said, "It is!" Because I was just thinking that he went to Alta." Josh asked, "Do you want me to go smack him?" I just said, "No, let's get out of here" as I gathered everyone up and led them out the back, putting my sunglasses on in the process.

Rules I Live By

I think everyone has little rules they tend to live by. I follow some of them more religiously than others. Some of them would probably be better classified as superstitions – and I have some of those too. Here are some of my rules:

1. I wear sunscreen on my face every day.

2. I visit the dentist every six months.

3. When asked to do a musical number in Sacrament Meeting, I always say yes (unless I’m unavailable).

4. I sing in the ward choir. I never sang in the choir until I was called to be ward choir director a couple years ago. I enjoyed it, but I think it is the hardest calling in the ward.

5. I will not watch American Idol until they’ve narrowed it down to at least 12 contestants.

6. I never order soda when I go out to eat. Although I have been known to sometimes break this rule if someone else is paying for my meal.

7. When I go out to eat and I’m eating at a place that feeds me too much food, I try to order something that keeps well and then only eat half of it so I can eat the other half the next day.

8. If someone doesn’t answer a text or email invite (even with a “no, I’m sorry I can’t come) twice in a row, I usually take them off the next text guest list. No offense, I just figure they’re not interested. Unfair? Maybe. That’s just how I roll.

9. Given the above rule, as a courtesy, I try to make it a rule for myself to answer all texts and emails even if I’m unable to accept the invitation.

10. I don’t paint my fingernails anything other than a nude shade – unless I’m planning on removing it the next day. Because it will start to chip. And once it starts to chip I start to look and feel like trash.

11. If the outside temperature is below 40 degrees, I will not walk to work. If it’s above 95 I probably won’t walk to work either. Well, maybe I’ll walk TO work, but I’ll find a ride home.

12. Ever since I started working for the Utah Arts Council I’ve purchased one piece of original artwork a year. Sometimes I’ll buy more.

13. Before I get up on Sunday mornings I stay in my bed and listen to “Music for a Sunday Morning” on Classical 89 for at least 10 minutes.

14. I update my blog at least once a week.

15. I say “yes” to blind dates.

16. I don’t let my work phone ring more than three times before answering it.

17. If I'm on vacation with dad and he asks if I'm bringing my purse, I always say "no."

18. I always return Grandma Durham’s phone messages. Even if I don’t want to. And even if it's not for a couple days.

19. It’s ok to lie to Grandma Durham if it will save me 5 more minutes of unnecessary conversation. Example:

Grandma: Are you still going to the singles ward?
Me: Yes.
Grandma: Leslie goes to the singles ward too.
Me: Yeah, I think she does go to a singles ward.
Grandma: Do you see her there?
Me: No.

I won’t go into the details of the rest of the conversation, but let’s just say I should have said "yes” and let Grandma believe the Salt Lake Valley has just one big singles ward.


There are other rules I’ve tried to make for myself that just haven’t worked:

1. Don’t check email on vacations.
2. If I can’t walk to work, find other time to exercise that day.
3. AM prayers.
4. Don’t sit at the computer longer than one hour.
5. Don’t blog at work.

And that’s probably a good one to end on.

Bee Season

How would you like it if you came out of your office and found this on your car? Personally, it would freak me out.

This is the lot behind my building. We have been invaded by bees for the past couple weeks. Every day Ed, the security guard, has to call the bee keepers to come collect the honeybees and every day, Ed comes in to my office with his digital camera to show me where the new hive is. Rio Grande Street is not the lushest of areas. So they're swarming to corners of our building, little trees in the back, and vehicles, apparently.

Thanks for participating

Here we are. Our poem on blog-stalking. You'll notice I took some poetic license with some of these, modified Rhett's line to be the title and cut Cameron's line into two separate lines and cut Jane's in half. And then the first line was given to me involuntarily by Pete. It's the first thing he said to me this morning on Google Talk.

What She Said
by Rhett, Pete, Ilene, Jane, Guy, Hilda, Steph and Cameron

Your poem post made me sad
But my mind is too warped to comment
I would be here when you wanted me
I wish I had something better

But my mind is too warped to comment
Come out from behind those bushes!
I wish I had something better
I am only wearing my watch

Come out from behind those bushes!
Ah, but who is reading you?
I am only wearing my watch
You should be flattered -- not offended

Ah, but who is reading you?
I would be here when you wanted me
You should be flattered -- not offended
Your poem post made me sad

A Little Pantoum Project

I'm becoming increasingly interested in poetry the past year or two. A couple weeks ago I was introduced to the pantoum. It is written in quatrains (four-line stanzas) and each line is repeated once at some point. It makes for a very interesting poem because although the lines are repeated, they sometimes bring on a new meaning depending on the context in which they reappear.

I was in a class where the instructor had us create a group poem. He gave us a topic and then we each wrote several lines on that topic and then shouted out the lines to him and he took them together and created our own pantoum -- somewhat of a more sophisticated madlib, I suppose.

I thought it would be fun to do that via my blog, so please participate if you would. I need 8 different lines for the poem if this is going to work, so I’ll take the first 8 comments I get. Here’s hoping I get 8 comments…I have faith in you.

Once I get all the lines I need, I’ll put the poem together and post it. Now for the topic…let’s choose something we all know about: BLOG STALKING.

Examples of possible lines:

I read you but you don’t read me.
And still I say nothing
I can see right through you, but you don’t know why.
But will you know?

And…go.

Journal Gem #3

Sunday, March 31, (Easter) 2002
11:01 AM

I've had a stomach thing going on. It started yesterday morning. It worried me seeing how my dad had to go to the ER the other day for his stomach thing. So I asked Dad if his thing started out really small and then escalated slowly (that's what mine was doing). Let me try to remember his response to the best of my recollection: "I don't know about you," he said, "but mine started out very small and then blossomed within 20 minutes to an inexplicable throbbing pain where I was cursing God and hoping to die." Something like that.

I wasn't in that much pain. In fact, I was feeling OK. I didn't feel like eating though. I ate a tangerine, and then decided to go hike Lower Bells. So I started driving up there. I'm halfway up and decide maybe Buddha would want to come. So I go back and get Buddha. I'm more than halfway up when I start to smell something and realize Buddha has his infamous "butt problem" and has smeared it all over my shirt (he was moving around on my lap), my pants and my car's upholstery. So I have to turn around AGAIN and get Buddha the heck out of my car and change my clothes. I lost all motivation to go back so I read instead.

(Buddha is the dog by the way)

Super May Give Away!

I have now lived in my house longer than any of its current residents. I've remained after Kaila's move and after Maria's. Now that they have left with (most of) their belongings, I am becoming more aware of what belongs to me. My most recent roommate, Annie, came with many things that have turned out to be a duplication of my things. Some of her stuff is nicer than the stuff that is either mine, or stuff that was abandoned by previous roommates.

With that said, I am offering up the following items for the taking. I could save them for a yard sale, but I'm not feeling like going to all the work of organizing one. If any neighborhood friends want to combine forces and have a big sale, let me know. I did that a couple summers ago and I think I made like seven dollars. I got that same feeling I used to get when I sold my college textbooks back to the bookstore. I spent like $220 on books and I sold them back in exchange for $7. Somehow that seven bucks felt like a victory. I would think, "Yeah! Now I can go out to dinner!" I was super poor in college.

Our first item is a candle warmer. Kaila's maybe? Kaila if you want this back come and get it -- otherwise I'm opening it up to the masses. I believe the scent is "plum spice"...mmm...all the fragrance of a candle without the fire hazard.

The second item is an orange strainer. I have invited poseable man to model this for us. I'm thinking my mom gave this to me a couple years ago. But since then she's given me one of those pop out strainers that takes up less space and I find myself ignoring this one.

Next we have a smallish metal mixing bowl. Nuff said.

We also have this set of three plastic bowls left behind by Maria, I believe. They're good mixing bowls. But Annie has like 17 in all colors and sizes. I'm willing to separate the set if you only want one or two but I would advise against it.

Maria also left these porcelain plates. I really don't know if they're porcelain but they're heavy and they're breakable. If you live by yourself, you've got a full set right here.





For some reason when my sister was moving I told her I would take this George Foreman grill. I've used it a couple times and it was all right. I'm into the stovetop lately so I'm not interested in this anymore. But it's a good little appliance. This can be yours not for $59.95 not for $49.95. I'm not even going to make you pay $39.95 or $29.95. In fact, if you come take this from me today, I will throw in these two water bottles.

Granted, they have the recently infamous recycle number of 7 on the bottom which means they have some harmful chemical in the plastic or something. If you haven't been paying attention to the news lately, you can ignore that last warning. They're great water bottles -- just don't drink out of them.



Allow me to introduce our next model. This is Indiana Jones's latest romance apparently. I haven't seen the movie or read much about it so I'm not sure what her name is. But if she were a Lego (and she is) this is what she would look like. This is an aerial shot of a plastic potato peeler. Carri bought an awesome comfort grip one and I found this one to be utterly unacceptable since. So it's getting the boot.

This is a tiny whisk. I think I used this once to beat an egg. It worked pretty well but I felt ridiculous doing it.





Oh no! Indiana Jones's damsel is trapped inside this glass! Come save her! And take the glass while you're at it.



To the right, is a silverware tray. It's oversized for all the trendy oversized silverware out there. According to product designers, we Americans like our utensils to hold as much food as possible.

Oh, and we have all this flatware for you to take. Annie has a lot of nice utensils so Carri, rather hastily, threw these in the giveaway box. Free flatware? Not a bad deal. They'll go nicely with the white tray. I guess I could have placed them in the tray so you could have a visual of how nicely they fit in there, but please...like I have that kind of time.

Finally we have this strawberry huller. It used to have a wooden strawberry at the top to help you figure out what it is, but it broke off. It's supposed to take the stems out of strawberries. It really doesn't work very well.

Happy shopping!

Thank You Notes

Thank you FedEx Kinkos for being so on the ball.

Thank you Stef for sending photographs for the program.

Thank you magical program folding fairy for making my Sunday morning easier.

Thank you Alex, Anonymous and "Dude" for the nice notes.

Thank you Rhett for helping me restart my car.

Thank you Fletcher for the baking soda tip.

Thank you girl at Jiffy Lube for recommending the bosch windshield wipers -- I love them. And thank you for giving me 50% off.

Thank you outside car door handle for working since inside handle won't.

Thank you Harmon's for the best grocery shopping experience I've had in a long time. Thank you especially for carrying broccolini.

Thank you David Whyte for being one of the few inspiring people I've heard from lately.

Thank you to my handful of friends who are willing to have real conversations about important things. For yours are the words that move me to face my vulnerabilities and acknowledge my strengths.

Thank you Mom for coming to the conference and buying a table.

Thank you Christian for calling about mowing the lawn so I don't have to worry about bothering you with it.

Thank you Mother Nature for the first warm day in a long time.

Journal Gem #2

Saturday, October 5 2002
8:26 PM

I don't know why, but I' m not really hungry today. I had some cereal, a piece of pumpkin bread and some pasta that Mom made. It was just leftover from her little cabin sabbatical I guess. I looked at the bowl of pasta and noticed that some of the noodles were green. When I asked Mom what that was about she said an M&M fell in there.

That would also explain the blue noodles.

Here Mousy Mousy...

Mmmm...you want some peanut butter? Looks good doesn't it? You better come get it before this little guy beats you to it. You clever little miscreant, you.

Impressionable

I’m going to begin by saying I’m fully prepared to embarrass myself in this post. But when balancing funny and embarrassing, funny usually wins out.

So I would consider myself a fairly impressionable person when it comes to certain things (I’m about a 5 on the jaded scale). If I admire someone, I follow by example most of the time. I’ll even start talking like them if I’m with them enough. And I can get sucked into stories, easily placing myself in roles – even when it comes to television. Characters can become so real to me.

About a year ago I initiated a very bad habit of watching DVDs on my portable, in my bed, right before bedtime. I started with seasons 1 and 2 of House, M.D. Great show. It became so much a part of my routine, and I got to know these characters so well and so quickly that I began to miss them when I was away. I fell in love with Dr. Chase a little bit. And I was so impressed by Dr. House’s genius and diagnostic abilities that I’m afraid if I were hospitalized at that time, and my real-life doctors were unable to figure out what was wrong with me I would demand to see Dr. House because he would go to the ends of the earth to discover my mystery illness. He wouldn’t give up on me. He would be mean to me, but he would save my life.

After I finished Season 2 of House, I suffered a little bit of separation anxiety but decided it was time to move on. So I began season 3 of The West Wing. I had already watched seasons 1 and 2 a couple times a couple years ago. I loved that show. In fact, that show is what drew me to Washington, D.C. a few years ago. I wanted to visit the White House and hang with the senior staff. Not our real-life senior staff. I wanted to hobnob with Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe and Allison Janney. They were cool. Of course they weren’t there.

Next came Felicity. I wasn’t sucked into this show as much as the others. But it did take me back to my college years. Not only because they were in college, but because I was in college when this show first came out. Memories flooded back to me and I remembered what finals week was like with all the stress and anxiety. So watching Feli every night became pretty regular. I was on an emotional roller coaster, hating Ben, loving Ben. I’ve since banned my portable DVD player from my bedtime routine.

Some shows I watch and I’m so taken with the protagonist and their exciting/glamorous life that I want to be like them. Take Alias for example. I wanted to be Sydney Bristow for years. Not really, but you know what I mean. She was so cool. She could speak dozens of languages, she was quick, smart, and she could scale buildings all over the world in all sorts of disguises. Being a spy looked so cool. AND Michael Vartan would do anything for her because he was hopelessly in love. I think I’ve seen seasons 1-3 of Alias at least twice. I know, it’s a wonder I get anything done. Somehow I manage.

Most of you know Lost is my favorite show, but Lost doesn’t have the same effect on me. It makes me happy and I get really excited about it, but I don’t place myself in their stories, nor do I think of them as my friends. Maybe because they’re all so messed up.

Here’s an embarrassing story: Right after college, a couple friends and I moved to Portland, Oregon. I don’t remember all the details of the story but we were talking about different places we would want to live. We discussed how it’s easier to move someplace if you know someone there. Someone mentioned they would like to move to D.C. sometime. Fortunately, I stopped myself but I ALMOST chimed in and said, “You know who just moved to D.C.? Julia.” Yeah, I was thinking of Julia Salinger on Party of Five. Her character made that announcement on the series finale I had recently watched.

My latest show is Veronica Mars. Veronica Mars is this totally awesome teenager who solves crimes. She’s way cooler than I ever was in high school, but I would like to think she would be my friend. We’d hang out at Neptune High, do our homework together and hop from caper to caper, bringing justice to criminals and helping the meek and unfortunate.

I watched about 4 episodes of V. Mars on Saturday afternoon. That night I went to dinner with some friends. Our waiter turned out to be a guy in our ward that we hadn’t seen in a long time. After he brought us our drinks we tried to figure out who his roommates were and where he had been. Because I just returned to reality from Neptune, California my first thought was to plant a bug on him when he took our order and then maybe solve the mystery by listening in on his conversations with other people.

I really can differentiate between television and reality – even if it is in the nick of time. Fortunately I do have a lot of real friends so I’m not that pathetic.

***change of topic***

At dinner Kristi and I reminisced about last year’s “perfect summer day”. It was so great. We went swimming at Jenn’s pool. We choreographed 8 counts of 4 of a synchronized swimming routine. And then we drove to the Burger Bar in Roy and sat out in the sun eating our hamburger and fries. Then we drove home, showered, went to Arctic Circle for a shake and then came back to my house and watched Les Mis in concert. It was the perfect summer day.

We talked about this upcoming summer. A bunch of us are getting Lagoon season passes. Maybe this year’s perfect summer day will be at Lagoon. A bunch of us will arrive in the early afternoon. We’ll ride the white roller coaster, the screamer; the samurai…things will be just peachy. But then maybe we’ll get in line for the jet star 2 and it will be shut down. Everyone will groan in disappointment but I’ll investigate. I’ll go up to the guy in the purple polo and ask him what’s up. He’ll be baffled and say “I don’t know, the ride just stopped” I’ll insist, “Rides don’t just stop, something must have gone wrong.” And then he’ll be all, “Go find another ride little girl” and then we’ll continue with snide remarks for a brief period before I decide it’s time to take matters into my own hands. I’ll visit the security office (I’ll happen to have a friend who works there). He’ll help me out by following the jet star 2 guy with close camera surveillance. In the meantime, I’ll be sifting through this guy’s outgoing text messages (I swiped his phone when he wasn’t looking). I’ll find a couple cryptic exchanges between him and some guy named Rocko. I’ll send a quick text back to Rocko telling him to meet me at the Terror Ride. Other strange things will occur, but long story short, my friends will take stations outside the Terror Ride entrance, we’ll surround this Rocko character, my security buddy will frisk him and he and jet star 2 guy will get busted for drug trafficking. Now that the mystery is solved, my friends and I will hit Pioneer Village for some ice cream cones, have our ride on the jet star 2 and it will be the perfect summer day.

Choose Your Own Mayan Adventure

Saturday night I had the opportunity to go to the Mayan to watch a friend dive. I heard the food wasn't that great, so I wasn't expecting a lot. I thought it would be fun to mostly watch the diving, because how awesome is that? A diving show while you eat dinner?

Apparently it's so awesome that we had to wait an hour for our table. But not awesome enough that they fill all the tables in the restaurant. Seriously, when we were shown to our table there were about four other tables in our area without a dinner party. So when our waiter left, we got up and moved to a spot with a better view of the divers.

Do you want to:

a) see the divers dive
b) talk to the Mayan priestess
c) eat the fish tacos (scroll down)

So I wasn't expecting the food to be that great, but when we got the chips, they were nice and toasty warm, and the salsa wasn't bad, so my expectations improved. And I was told the current chef either worked at a Cafe Rio or was in charge of a Cafe Rio, and Cafe Rio ain't that bad. Because I have a thing about ordering fish when I go out, I ordered the fish tacos. I ate about one and a half of them.

I heard the burritos were good, but the guy who ordered the fajitas said there wasn't enough meat. Just as an FYI. Oh, Steph ordered the beef burrito and asked for carne asada. The waiter said they didn't have any. Steph pointed to the special which was a chimichanga or something with "carne asada." He said those come pre-made. Nice. I guess that is special. I wonder how much they inflated Costco's wholesale price.

Do you want to:

a) meet an honest to goodness diver
b) meet a stone lion
c) meet a parrot (scroll down)

I kind of felt like I was at Disneyland in the Tikki Room or something. There were fake birds everywhere, sounds of running water and island music. And people speaking to you in a strange language. It was a good time. But we all decided if we were to go back, we would bring small children.

Journal Gem #1

Sunday, May 26 2002

6:37 PM

The Cabin

Midway, UT

I went home yesterday for a little while and then realized there was nothing to eat, so I went to Chili's and got a Caribbean Pita. I was craving that and french fries all day. I've never been so excited to eat anything.

I tried to find a birthday present for Lisa, but I couldn't find anything that I thought she'd really like. So, as I was putting her clothes away that I borrowed I just kept cleaning until I took EVERYTHING off her floor, vacuumed, washed her sheets and pillowcases and even rearranged her (or some of her) pictures on the wall. She'll be happy. I hate coming home to a messy room after vacation. It wasn't until I was done that I noticed her computer's screensaver said, "Don't move anything."

Scary Mary

For those of you who read my blog regularly, you'll remember my post several weeks ago about fast forward songs. I mentioned how "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins freaked me out. What I didn't mention was how the whole movie seemed pretty dark to me. I happened upon this trailer the other night and discovered I wasn't alone.

Family Council

One of the common practices of my church is FHE (Family Home Evening). Even as single adults, we gather together every week for this tradition, calling ourselves a family. In fact, last night we gathered for games, a spiritual thought and treats – three staples of a traditional FHE.

My family never held FHE for very long when I was growing up. Although I remember one specifically: we held it in Dad’s study. He played the guitar. Maybe I remember this because it was probably one of two or three times I’ve seen my dad play the guitar.

One thing we did hold regularly from March 1986 to December 1987 was Durham Family Council. It was usually on a Sunday, after church while dinner was in the oven. We sat in the family room, reviewed the past week and discussed the upcoming week. Mom and Dad would talk about our behavior, how we were doing with our assignments and household chores. It was a staff meeting of sorts. Everyone had a turn to speak. Sometimes (a lot of times) it turned into an airing of grievances. The best thing about Durham Family Council was my dad took minutes from each meeting leaving us a detailed record of what was discussed.

Several years ago I found the handwritten minutes and after crying from uncontrollable laughter decided to type them up for everyone. I shared some of these when I taught Sunday school once – I was talking about the order of families. This is how my family attempted to keep order. I think it worked on some level. If one of us started to complain Mom and Dad would say, “Save it for Family Council!” and we would.

Here are the minutes from a few of the meetings. Keep in mind, Lisa is about 5, I’m 8 and Carter is 10. Maybe this will sound a little bit like your family.


2nd Meeting
3-24-86
3:25 PM

*DADDY:
Suggested keeping minutes and reading some at next meeting.
Lisa in the morning –Carter and Laura should help her with breakfast.
Kids NOT to knock on our bedroom door in morning for inane reasons.

MOMMY:
Laura and Lisa’s stuff all over family room. Not so much Carter’s stuff.
Sunday mornings: Today was one of those hectic Sunday mornings. Need more help with Sunday clothes, hair and rooms.
Each child to report weekly on something learned, or some new discovery, etc.
Carter needs to practice piano more. Use downstairs piano.

LISA:
Confusion over morning actions and behavior.
Promised more control over mess spilling into rest of house.

CARTER:
Daddy moves me off couch and chairs when I was there first. Kids have rights too.
Laura’s rude to me. No specifics cited.

LAURA:
I want Carter to like me, but I often get a rude response out of him.

Meeting Adjourned: 3:42 PM



4th Meeting
4-13-86
4:34 PM

Minutes from previous meeting were read and passed.

CARTER:
Laura doesn’t know what she’s talking about with paper airplanes.
Learned about Bible, B of M, scriptures, Article of Faith

LAURA:
Liked swimming yesterday
Going to learn multiplication tables in May
Carter’s been gross – so gross I can’t even mention

LISA:
Carter’s gross with brownies
Wants to go swimming –likes water wings

(Daddy reminds Carter to stop laughing uncontrollably)

MOMMY:
Allowances reduced because of misbehavior
Carter hassled Mommy over leaving to go out. This needs to be stopped.
Telephone manners need work
Too many liberties with food.

DADDY:
Toilets need flushing even in middle of night
Reviewed week’s schedule
Will continue to think about Cabin trip.
Silverware, bowls, utensils belong in drawers and cupboards –not outside

Meeting adjourned at 5:02 PM


10th Meeting
6-15-86
3:50 PM

Minutes read and passed. (At 3:53 kitty knocked down knick-knack on piano)
Daddy noted that since Lisa was out of town last week, we didn’t hold Family Council.

DADDY:
Thanks for Father’s Day presents
3 more weeks of staying off the lawn

MOMMY:
Admonished kids to make better use of time
Carter doing well on piano – Laura too.
Saturday jobs OK – more thorough straightening
Tomorrow and every Monday, trip to library and cards discussed. Reading chart. Read after lunch. Laura reads to Lisa on Tuesdays, Carter reads to her on Wednesdays.
Laura to start dancing Tuesday and Thursday
Review reading weekly at Family Council

LAURA:
Glad we have grass
Looking forward to Cedar City

CARTER:
Ditto on Grass
Happy Father’s Day

LISA:
Asleep

Meeting Adjourned at 4:06 PM

Three for Three

A couple Christmas ago I was riding in the backseat of my brother’s car on Dad’s Durham Family Christmas Lights Caravan tour. I squished between my two nieces in their car seats: 4 year-old Chloe on my right, 1 year-old Piper on my left.

My brother and his wife (six months pregnant with Sadie) sat up front. I was in charge of keeping the girls entertained so we sang a bunch of Christmas carols. But after singing “Once There was a Snowman” about 8 times in a row I got really tired. As we drove past the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon on our way to see the lights at La Caille, Chloe said,

“Laura, how about when Sadie is born you take Piper.”
“Why would you want me to take Piper?” I said (after I laughed). Chloe answered, quite practically,
“I don’t think three is OK.”

Chloe must have had a lot of faith in this unborn sister to be willing to sacrifice the one she already knew for the sake of three being too many.

Last Sunday I took on the challenge of tending all three girls for three hours at my home. Every time I agree to tend the girls a wave of relief and gratitude overcomes Carter and Kelly – you’d think I paid off their mortgage or something.

Somehow I pulled it off.

We ate lunch.

We barked at the dog next door.

We tried to watch A Bug's Life.

Piper showed me her Cheerio trick.

Showed me her puppy impression.

Chloe helped in the kitchen.

We had a jelly belly hunt.

Aunt Lisa came to visit.

Their cousin Jack tried to get away.

Then we had a screaming match. My idea. It was a bad one. For some reason I thought if everyone screamed real loud once they would stop. But they didn't. This went on for what seemed like an eternity.Although I absolutely adore them all and life would not be complete without all three, I’m beginning to wonder if Chloe makes a valid argument.

One day if I have more than two kids they’ll read this and think how horrible their mommy is and ask me which one of them I wanted to give up.