I survived 3D!

Yesterday was pretty exciting.  I spent the entire day in the car.

First, I drove to Salem to get re-fingerprinted.  Fortunately, the regular fingerprint guy was at work and was super friendly and nice.  He profusely apologized for the idiot lady who had done my fingerprints the first time.  He told me that he almost hates taking days off because he has to come back to hear stories about how poorly people have been treated in his absence.  Apparently the women who have to get off their butts and do fingerprints while he is gone absolutely hate doing it.  Yes, it is part of their job description, but they take it out on the public when they have to do it, and then they take it out on this nice guy when he gets back from a day off.  This guy pointed out the irony of my situation.  The same idiot lady who did my fingerprints wrong is also the one who rejected them because they were wrong when they came for analysis...

Anyway, I dropped off my fingerprint card at the state teacher licensing place and drove 80 miles back home.  And then began the usual Thursday marathon of picking kids up, taking some to piano, going to pick up another kid and drop him off at piano while picking up the 2 kids, taking the 2 kids to the church for scouts and activity days, then to pick up Abram from high school because he had stayed after, then back to get the piano kid, then to the church to pick up 2 kids.

And then the fun began.  The Acura dealership had given me 9 tickets to see The Avengers at an early screening yesterday.  Not the midnight show, but a 7pm show.  So I drove the kids across town to see The Avengers.  When we arrived, I realized it was in 3D.  I nearly ran for the car.  I was very afraid.

I have a sensitive head.  I get motion-sick easily.  Amusement parks are not amusing to me, and anything 3D just really hurts my brain.  When I was 15 my family took a trip to Orlando.  While at Epcot Center, we had the privilege of watching Captain E.O. in 3D.

I have never recovered.  25 years later and I am still scarred from Captain E.O.  Perhaps it was the whole story in the first place, but I know it was really the stupid 3D.  I wanted to like it.  It was all the rage, and everyone said how cool it was.  But it wasn't cool.  It was nauseating.  Like ruin-the-rest-of-your-day-at-Epcot kind of nauseating.

And I swore off 3D for the rest of my life.  But then The Avengers came to town.

As the movie started, I placed the glasses on the tip of my nose so I could look through them if I wanted to, or just watch a blurry-ish version of the movie without them if necessary.  Within 5 minutes I was watching full-time through the glasses.  It was cool!  I didn't get sick at all.

When we stood up to leave, I was a little dizzy for about 5 minutes, but then I was fine.

I don't know if I will ever voluntarily go to a Real 3D again.  It was cool and all, but I think the movie would have been just as enjoyable without it.

I never dreamed that I would watch a 3D movie without barfing.  Will miracles never cease?

FBI Reject

I am an FBI reject.

A few weeks ago in anticipation of a teacher strike, I busted out my expired Nebraska teaching license and drove to the state capital to get things in the works for obtaining a current teaching license in my state.  Part of this process was going to the state police and getting fingerprinted.

Let's just say that the woman who took my fingerprints was the epitome of a state employee.  Lazy, rude, put-out that I had actually shown up and made her get her butt off of her chair.  She didn't talk to me.  She rolled her eyes.  She went through the motions of putting my fingers on the scanner.

Now, I'm not a trained fingerprinter, but I am bright enough to see that when the screen is saying to scan the person's index right index finger, you probably should be scanning the index finger and NOT the thumb.  What do I know?

At least three times during this process (only 10 fingers, right?) the woman was scanning a finger other than what the screen said she should be scanning.  After the third time she told me to shut up and not tell her how to do her job.  Against all evidence, I tried to tell myself that this person did indeed know what she was doing and would switch the images around as necessary before printing them.

I was wrong.

In the mail yesterday I received a new fingerprint card and instructions to go get fingerprinted again.  Stamped in big letters over a copy of my original fingerprints were the words FBI REJECT.

That always makes your day, right?

In the notes on the paper it says that they had scanned TWO right thumbprints and NO right index fingerprint.  Shocker, I know.

So now I am driving back today to make them take my fingerprints again--at no charge.  What do you think the odds are that they will admit their mistake and do it for free?

Running....a rant and a life lesson

Every morning somebody tries to kill me.

I run on the side of the road facing traffic.  I stop at red lights.  I watch out for cars.  I wear very, very bright clothing.  I do not run in "ninja mode."  You know, black tights, black shirt, black cap like a lot of runners.  I wear a super bright shirt.  I wear shoes that light up the daytime.  Like shirts and shoes so bright that it almost hurts your eyes to look at them.  And if it is dark, I wear lights.  I am careful and aware.

But many drivers are not.

I'm not talking about the drivers who are already on the road where I am running.  They are generally considerate and  pull over to give me extra space.  The people who try to kill me are the ones who are turning right onto the road where I am running.

It happens EVERY morning.  This morning it happened 3 times.  Someone pulls up to a red light or a stop sign, intending to turn right onto the main road.  But that driver does not stop.  I am pretty sure that everyone knows you are supposed to stop for red lights and stop signs.  But most people turning right do NOT stop at red lights or stop signs.  They pull up enough to glance to the left and see if a car is coming.  If there is no car coming from the left, the drivers zip around the corner without even looking to their right.  Not even a slight glance.  They just plow on around without stopping.  They run the red light or roll on through the stop sign and nearly hit me, even though I have the right-of-way AND am running on the side of the street going into traffic.  They WOULD hit me if I had not learned by now that these people are not going to stop and that I need to stop to avoid getting hit.

When the driver finally notices me I get one of two reactions:  either the driver gives me a dirty look, the finger, and yells at me for being on the road, or the driver grimaces and mouths "sorry" as he or she realizes what would have just happened if I had not stopped--even though I had the right of way.  If I get the first reaction, I hit their car as they drive by.  If I get the latter, then I smile and wave and hope that the next time that driver comes to that stop sign, he or she will stop and look both ways.

So next time you need to turn right onto a road, go ahead and look to the left to make sure you can pull out safely. But also, STOP at the red light or stop sign and please turn your head and glance to your right to see if some crazy mom is out there running and doing her best to make it home alive to feed her kids breakfast and drive them to school.

And now the life lesson I used in a talk to the Young Women at church:
Running in ninja mode is not safe.  Wearing all black on a dark morning run is just asking for trouble.   When you run like Mark, with 4 red bike lights around your waist, reflective tape sewn all over your clothes and a headlamp lighting up the night, that is safe.  Sure, there are some idiot drivers who will still not see you, but they would not see you no matter what.  And there will be sometimes an idiot bus driver who does see you and purposely tries to hit you and then yells at you because you are running in the bike lane and you have no right to be in the bike lane....  But for the most part, being bright and shining out in the darkness keeps you safe while running.  Light keeps you safe.  Running in the dark dressed like a ninja, trying to go unnoticed, is a recipe for disaster.  Sure, running like a Christmas tree can be embarrassing--especially to your kids.  Sometimes middle school kids at the bus stop might laugh at you when you run by in all your blinking brightness.  But being alive and a little embarrassed is better than looking like a cool ninja and being dead.

If we go through life, school, work, etc., brightly shining with who we are, what we believe, what our standards are, and making it clear what we do and will not do, then that keeps us safe.  People will notice us.  People will notice we are different.  People will notice what we believe and that we are true to it, and that will keep us safe.  You will light up the world around you.

The apostle Paul said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ."  We, likewise, cannot be ashamed of it, either.  We are told to "Arise and shine forth."

If you are the only girl at the prom who is NOT wearing a dress that resembles a bath towel, you will stand out.  People will notice.  They will know you are different, and they will respect you.  It might feel a little embarrassing to be the one who says, "No, I'm not going to that party," or, "I cannot watch that movie."  But people will see you light up, and they will back off and leave you alone because they respect you.  If you are the only kid at school who doesn't cheat, drink, or smoke pot, people will notice.  You might get laughed at or teased a bit, but you will stay safe.  However, when you "arise and shine forth" by standing up for what you believe, others will respect you and stay out of your way just as drivers who notice a runner's flashy lights let him run in safety.  Sure, there will be a crazy person now and then who purposely tries to get the Mormon kid to drop his or her standards.  But those people will more likely go after an easy target--they will pick on a kid going to school in ninja-mode.  These are the kids who try to not let anyone know who they really are or what they believe.  They are afraid to stand up for what they know is right.  That is just as dangerous as running in the dark wearing  all black.

Even if it is a little embarrassing to stand out like a Christmas tree in a school or office full of ninjas, it is much safer and you will bring light into the lives of others as they look to you for an example.

In the book of Matthew it says, "Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Our fourth teenager!

It sure is amazing that it has been 13 years since Joel was born.  Every day since then has been full of fun and adventure.  Joel makes every day a little brighter.  I love my Joel buddy.

Yardwork and running and a scholarship

I spent most of the week outside working in the back yard.  I have no idea how many dozens of gallons of Roundup I sprayed on the shrub beds and the trails.  I also weeded like crazy and planted and moved a few trees.  I was sad to see that one of my beautiful Vulcan Magnolia trees had died and did not produce a bunch of bright pink blossoms like its 2 brothers did.  Of course I had to find a replacement for that beautiful tree to fill the spot in the yard where the bright blossoms were sorely missed this year.  It looks like everything else survived our insane winter very well, though.  I also had to plant a couple of magnolia trees near our bridge. It just had to happen.  Maybe right now it doesn't look like much, but in 5 years, it is going to be amazing.

In springtime I love the blossoms.  The ones that make me super happy are first the forsythia in late February, telling me to not give up hope that spring is on its way.  Second, it is the magnolias with their huge cup-and-saucer blossoms and bright colors.  Last summer we planed 3 Butterflies magnolias behind our neighbor's house.  Butterflies has a super bright-yellow blossom.  And our neighbor just kicked stage 4 colon cancer's butt, so we planted those trees during his cancer battle to show off bright yellow LIVESTRONG blossoms every spring.  Those trees are just now starting to bloom, and it makes me happy.  The third type of blossom that makes me happy in spring is the dogwood.  Maybe this is my favorite.  Only 4 petals, but seriously it is such a beautiful flower.  I told Mark if we ever get married again it has to be while the dogwood trees are in bloom so I can have dogwood blossoms.  My wedding flowers were...hideous.  I didn't really care at the time.  I was just a kid.  I just cared about having real roses in my headpiece and didn't really stop to think that perhaps I should have matching flowers in my bouquet.   Whatever.  Really, my sleeves were so puffy that I am sure nobody even noticed my bouquet anyway.

I have finished my jobs for the week, and now the wheelbarrow, sprayer backpack and shovel are put away for the weekend, but there is still much weeding to be done.  And spraying.  And then bark dust.  The kids are so happy that we have a giant yard to work in.....

After running 10 miles last Saturday, I took this week as an easy week and had planned to run only 6 miles today.  I found out about a 10k that was going on this morning, and decided to register for it to test my 10k speed.  I was so happy to see when I got there that 2 of my sisters-in-law had also registered.  I ran the race with Ellen, but in the last 1/2 mile she pulled out an 8 minute-per-mile pace and beat me by a few seconds.  We placed 1st and 2nd in our age group, though!  Overall I ran a 57:42, which made me pretty happy considering everything my knees have been through in the past year.  Ogden 1/2 marathon is 5 weeks away, and then Seattle 1/2 is 10 weeks away. I am hoping that by the time Seattle rolls around I can run a 9:00 pace and come in under 2 hours.  Ogden I am just hoping to survive with a 10:00 pace.  I hope that my legs and knee continue to be pain-free, and hopefully I can keep getting my butt out the door to run every morning.

The big news this week is that Abram heard back from BYU about scholarships.  He will be at BYU in the fall, and was able to get a bed in the one brand-new dorm building he wanted.  If that wasn't great enough, we found out this week that BYU is paying Abram's tuition!!!  Hooray for Abram and his big brain.

Great Expectations

Sunday night was the premiere of the new PBS Masterpiece Theater version of Great Expectations.  It did not disappoint.  If you didn't catch it, you can watch the first installment by clicking the link above, and then make sure that you catch the conclusion this Sunday night on PBS.


I eagerly awaited this version of Dickens's great story.  I was at first surprised by the casting of Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham, because she is so young and I had always pictured Miss Havisham as an old woman.  I absolutely loved Gillian as Lady Dedlock in Bleak House, though, so I knew she would be perfect in another Dickens role of a woman tormented by her past.  I loved that Miss Havisham was younger-ish in this version.  It makes what she has allowed her life to become to be even more tragic, because she is still young enough to have a life full of joy and she has thrown that all away over a past disappointment.

All of the casting is perfect.  I cannot wait to see how the story plays out this weekend.  My sister texted me Sunday night that "grown-up Pip is a dreamboat."  I had to wait a whole day to find out that she was absolutely right, because I crashed early Sunday after our wild day in the car coming home from Utah.

After the basketball game was over last night, I grabbed the remote from Jacob and told him it was time to watch Great Expectations.  I expected the teenage boys to leave me alone.  But they stuck around, and they were captivated from the very first moment Magwitch came up out of the marshes.  They watched the entire episode, and didn't want me to tell them anything about how it is going to end next week.  Teenagers hooked on Dickens.  It makes a mom proud.

What happened in March

So March was a little bit crazy around here.... So crazy that I didn't even write one blog post.  I spent the month trying to get our tax information all finalized and to our accountant, cleaning and organizing the house, and working on the backyard in the few moments that it was NOT raining.  And then we left for 9 days in Salt Lake City for spring break, which always means lots of work getting things organized, clean and packed for 9 people.  To top that off, I re-strung all 47 strings on Aubrey's harp to prepare it for getting regulated.  That was an entire day's project all by itself.

We also had a bunch of days with morning snow in March, and when that happens, I am just all crazy watching the weather (not the TV weather, I mean my weather station and online satellite images) to try to figure out what is going to happen.  That distracts me from doing other things I should be doing.

Another great thing I got hooked on last month was online genealogy indexing with Familysearch.org.  I discovered I have a gift for reading really old cursive.  I have loved deciphering ship manifests of passengers landing in Boston during the 1800s.  I also did many, many pages of the England 1871 Census.  It really is a fun thing to read the documents and enter names and ages of people who lived so long ago.  My mind goes crazy thinking about all of the Irish who landed in Boston expecting a new and wonderful life, hoping that many of them actually did find that rather than the hate and scorn that so many Irish were greeted with.  I also love learning about all of the interesting careers that people in England had in the 1870s.  Things such as: cordwainer, carter, brass polisher, pen maker, candlemaker, etc. I love picturing these little villages where tradespeople of all kinds worked together trying to survive.  My sister got me hooked on indexing.  She sticks to the typed records because the handwritten ones make her crazy, but I LOVE reading the old cursive.  It's like a puzzle trying to figure out some of the names and places, but for some reason my brain can almost aways pick out what the writer intended to say.  Maybe it comes from being a student in the days before computers were around, or from being a teacher from the same era that makes it easy for my brain to read the cursive.  I tried my hand at some Venezuelan birth certificates from the 1800's as well.  It was fun to add the challenge of reading Spanish AND cursive at the same time.  But then I went back to the ship manifests.

To get to Utah, we drove 2 cars, with 4 drivers, so that was pretty great.  Lots of space and lots of help driving.  The way there we drove through a snow storm in the Blue Mountains, and that was pretty stressful because it was very dark and impossible to see where the road was curving.  But we made it to Ontario for the night.  I ran over the Snake River to Idaho in the morning, which was a fun thing to do, right?

In Salt Lake City we had fun with my family and also loved meeting up with some old friends.  The weather was so incredibly nice while we were there that the kids came home a bit sunburned.  We spent a day at BYU and went to a volleyball game, a day at the new Utah Museum of Natural History where Abram took this picture of me admiring their incredible weather station.  Also spent a day downtown at temple square and the new City Creek shopping center, went skating at the Olympic Oval, swimming at the community rec center, visited great grandparents, and just had a lot of fun.  The kids loved being with their cousins.  We did not make it bowling or to Hires for my Big H fix, and so next time we go those will be on the top of my list.

We drove home in one long day, which was a fun adventure.  I love the mountains of Salt Lake City, but every time I drive back home from being in Utah I am struck by the green beauty of the Gorge.  And the waterfalls were all very powerful on Sunday because Oregon had so much rain during the week we were gone.  It was a very beautiful drive.  When we got home and I walked into the house and saw the beautiful river out the back and the waterfall out the kitchen window I remembered that I really do live in the most beautiful place.