Linda B., Healthy Food, etc.

Yesterday I went out in service from 7:30 to 2:30. I worked with Ishi; her congregation is doing their invitation campaign, which always promises a good time, so I helped with that. Linda B. was in our group. Linda is in her late forties (I'm guessing), one of those women who always look impeccable - makeup done, every blonde hair in place. I swear she must have one of those photographic minds. She reads voraciously and knows more than I do about every subject under the sun. She told me, and this is pretty cool, that there is only one molecule's difference between chlorophyll and hemoglobin. Hemoglobin has iron, which makes it red, while chlorophyll has magnesium, which makes it green. So it's no wonder we're supposed to eat our veggies! It also explains all those crazy people drinking wheat grass juice. I always thought it was some bizarre fad for vegans and health nuts, so they can feel superior to the rest of us. Apparently, though, it's a "blood builder."

I've never asked, but I think maybe it's Linda who started the healthy lunch fad in the Narrows congregation. For lunch yesterday she brought: a chicken and veggie wrap, a zip-lock bag of almonds, and one of fresh blueberries. My sister brought: lettuce wraps: tomato, avocado, and bacon. I brought: a gladlock box with a mix of brown rice, cubed skinless chicken breast, and Asian vegetable medley. We ate outside at the picnic bench, in the cool breeze and blinding sun. Linda complemented Ishi and me on our healthy choices, and I felt proud of myself. Just like in elementary school when my teacher would say something nice about how I always colored inside the lines.

Josie Dunn showed up and gave me a memento she picked up in California, at America's first-ever Punjabi Special Assembly Day. The memento is a glossy photo of a woodland with bluebells, and there's a scripture on it, "Keep watching your ministry, that you fulfill it." It's kind of like a giant post card. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I thought it was nice that she gave it to me. Josie is cool. She's white and black and Mexican, a mix which means she looks ambiguous enough to totally pass for Punjabi. In the gas stations where the Punjabis work, she can joke with them and it sounds pretty cool, although I have no idea what she's saying.

Today I am home, getting ready for our trip to Spokane. We leave tomorrow, one o' clock-ish. There's mountains of laundry, and since I want to leave the house spic-and-span, there's also floors to scrub, etc.

I tried to make this post somewhat interesting. Tried and failed, I fear. Agh.

:(

So today hasn't been very interesting yet. I went out in service this morning, which was ok. Kind of a ho-hum day. I talked to one man and he said please don't ever come back (or words to that effect - I'm giving the polite version), so I added him to the Do Not Call list. Not my favorite thing to do.

Now I'm home, and making roasted veggies and brown rice for lunch. I am so on-again/off-again with the healthy living that it is kind of frustrating at times. I want to be super good about it, one of those people who know 50 different tofu recipes and think carob brownies are just as good as the real thing. I want to be the kind of girl who does exercise first thing every morning just to enjoy the kick start to the day. I would like to lose weight, have more energy, and enjoy shopping for clothes. I would really like all of those things. If I could only get there.

Well. Roasted veggies and brown rice are a start.

I am kinda down today. I try to avoid the news usually, because it is so bad and always getting worse, but you can't help hearing about things, sometimes. Last week there was a shooting at Wal-Mart. My local Wal-Mart, where I just went in for an eye exam and bought some cute new glasses. Last Tuesday night after the meeting people were talking about it - Jamie Eaton works in a bank, and they had gone on lockdown that afternoon. Two men entered the store just as a Loomis driver was leaving with a bag of cash from the store office. One of the men shot the guard in the head, the other one grabbed the cash, and they ran off. The guard was killed instantly, and the same bullet hit another man who was carrying a small child. The other man is ok.

I am always appalled when something like this happens, but the fact that it was right here in my neighborhood really distresses me. The cruelty of it, the callous disregard for someone's life. They didn't even give the guy a chance to hand over the money. They just killed him. I read in the newspaper it was $60,000 in cash. The price of someone's life.

I was praying to Jehovah that the police would catch those guys, because I really wanted them to face justice for what they did. Thankfully, it didn't take long. The police caught up with them the following afternoon. They had been eating out at Red Lobster, shopping, and staying at a Motel 6. The police also arrested the driver of the getaway car, as well as a female Wal-Mart employee, one of the store managers who had planned the whole thing. It turns out, the guy who drove the car was one of Bryson's return visits. Bryson saw his name and photo in the newspaper and couldn't believe it. He said the guy had always been friendly, and had a bunch of kids.

I am just so sick over this. The police asked the guy with the gun how he would have felt if he'd gotten away with it. He said, "Sad, but I would have gotten over it because of the money." Well, he doesn't have the money now. So does that mean he'll never get over it? I wish that were true. I wish he would spend the rest of his life feeling sorry, not just because he got caught, but because of what he did.

Anyway I will stop now. I just wanted to get all that out. It's been bothering me for a while. We need the Kingdom so badly. I can't wait for the day when Jehovah will step in and put an end to crime, an end to murder. I really look forward to that day.

Blogger Guilt

I realized today that I have been avoiding my blog out of guilt. Guilt over never having done a write-up of my New York trip. And I also realized that I sometimes hate doing write-ups of vacations. I don't know why. I just don't like to do it. And then, of course, I feel guilty because I realize that my memory of the trip will lose all it's super sharp clarity, and it will slowy fade away to just a few shapshots in my mind, and so I feel guilt for not capturing it, and putting down every detail in writing, to remember forever.

But I just don't want to do it. I don't know why. But there you go.

And so I am now officially giving myself permission to go on with this blog, business as usual, and not feel hampered by the fact that I never really wrote about my New York trip. It was great, and I have lots more photos than the few I posted here, and those will just have to be enough.

The End

NY Trip Photos!

Here they are at long last, just a few highlights of the trip. I have meant to blog these for so long! I will do a nice recap of the trip asap. I meant to do that today, since I have the day off from service. However, what with wrapping up the Memorial campaign (I finished my last 2.5 territories yesterday, and came home and went to sleep until it was time to get ready), the house is a disaster and I really need to do laundry, dishes, clean Pongo's cage, etc.

Also, I have to get ready for my MYSTERY DATE tonight! Zack is taking me out and it is going to be a surprise. I am so excited to see what it is! I can't wait!

So now, without further delay, here are a few photos of the trip:

1) Ishi and Tate on the Brooklyn Bridge

2) An old book from a display case at Watchtower Farm

3) Ishi and Me with Bill Bellows, in the Art Department at Patterson. Those are some of his paintings in the background.

4) A Gilead Grad we met working in the kitchen at Patterson. He and his wife should have left for Nigeria last Sunday. It was so cool getting to talk to him!

5) "Working" behind the lobby desk @ Patterson

6) One of my favorite pictures from Times Square

Start Spreading the News...

I'm leaving today!
I want to beeee a part of it, New York, New York
If I can maaaake it there, I'll make it annnnny-

Oh, hi. I was just doing a little celebrating. I am 30 years old today and I'm going to New York for the first time in ten years! Two major milestones.

We just woke up to snow, and a phone call informing us that our meeting has been canceled. But since it is now raining steadily, I'm pretty positive that the snow will be gone long before tonight, when I leave for the airport.

I still have a little packing to do. And I'm going to clean up the house before I go. I don't know why, since it will undoubtedly be just as bad as it is now, if not worse, when I get back. But I just can't bear to leave it like this!

I am going to miss Zack so much. Leaving him behind is the fly in the ointment. Nevertheless, I am very excited. We have someone lined up to give us lunch in Brooklyn, a tour of the art department in Patterson, and morning worship at Walkill. So it should be pretty awesome. We fly out at midnight, arrive in Connecticut around 11:00 Monday morning, drive to our hotel in NJ, then do sightseeing in the city. Tuesday morning we tour, have lunch, then do more sightseeing, and after that I can't remember what the schedule is.

But anyway, I am so excited! I have my camera and two lenses packed and I'm using my camera bag as a purse, so i will have only one carry-on. I'm bringing my yearbook to read, and I loaded up the April magazines on my iPod, along with a audio version of Bleak House that i downloaded free from Librivox. Not only that, but Zack has been taking my favorite dvd's and nano-sizing them for me! So I've got Pride and Prejudice, Napoleon Dynamite, etc. to watch on the plane, if I want. Pretty cool.

I decided not to bring my laptop with me, so this will be my last post till I get back. I'm so excited!

:*(

Don't know what's wrong with me today. I feel totally good for nothing and on the verge of tears. I don't know why. Can't stand the thought of being around anybody. I feel overwhelmed, anxious, sad, depressed.

Ishi called about the trip. We leave Sunday night for New York. The airline charges $15 for your first checked bag. Wanted to know if we all wanted to store our good clothes in her giant suitcase/garment bag, and then just take a carry-on each. Honestly, I think that sounds like a headache. I'd rather just pay the stupid $15 and take my own suitcase. I didn't feel like discussing it though, so I may have told her or seeemed to tell her yes to the sharing thing. I can't remember what I said. I was trying not to cry.

I am in the dumps.

The Wrap Up

In other news, we had a pretty good meeting tonight. Luke had a couple of parts. One of them was a demonstration during the service meeting. He played a brother being confronted unexpectedly at lunch and having to explain to his workmates why he didn't attend the office holiday parties. so they start the demo, and Luke is saying a prayer before he eats. They obviously hadn't rehearsed much, because the other two brothers kept chatting away, while Luke kept his head bowed, waiting and waiting for his cue. He prayed, and he prayed. And he prayed. After a while his shoulders started shaking, and it looked like he was laughing. Then at last, it appeared that he'd heard the line he was waiting for and he finally opened his eyes. "Hey, Luke, you're back with us!" said Bro. Rigell. Everyone in the audience cracked up. It was great.

Zack is auxiliary pioneering, and his schedule is limited, so he's getting the guys together to do some more late nights. Not only that, but tonight after meeting Chase Correa invited us bowling. Zack has broken the friend barrier! I am so proud of him!

And now it is time for a very late dinner. Let the record show that tonight, March 10, 2009 Zachary Stevens Sjoden fixed us a veggie stir fry and brown rice. And it was HIS idea.

I totally love my life.

The Fitness Test

At the gym, Elizabeth (the owner, a really really sweet person who happens to look like Barbie), asked with a big smile as soon as I walked in the door if I wanted to take the Harvard Cardiovascular Fitness Test. They were offering it free as part of the grand opening of the gym! I instantly flashed back to junior highschool P.E., when we had to do those awful standardized tests, and i would hang from the pull-up bar, kicking my feet and swaying vainly back and forth until my minute was up, unable to chin myself even once.

I blinked out of the horrible flashback and saw Elizabeth/Barbie smiling at me in her friendly way, and although I really, really wanted to say no to the test, I heard myself answering, "Sure!" like it was no big deal. With enthusiasm, even. As if I'd come into the gym for no other purpose. "OK!" she said, picking up a stopwatch and clipboard. "Follow me!"

I wished I had stayed home sick.

The test wasn't bad, though. I had to step on and off an aerobic step, elevated pretty high, for three minutes, at a quick tempo set by Elizabeth/Barbie's stopwatch thing. At the end of the three minutes, I took my pulse. And discovered that, apparently, I have been taking my pulse WRONG all these years, because both my diastolic and systolic beats are so strong that it's hard to tell between them. So for all these years I've just thought I had a really, really fast heart. When I told Elizabeth my pulse rate, she thought I might be having a cardiac event. She had me walk around the gym slowly for a while, and went to consult with her associate. She came back and had me do the treadmill, frequently testing my heartrate on the little monitor thing. Eventually, she actually took my pulse herself, and discovered my mistake. I felt kind of dumb, but was very relieved to know there's nothing wrong with me. And, once she recalculated my pulse rate on the test, I actually scored in the "Excellent" range! So I was pretty happy about that.

A Pretty Great Day

Today was surprisingly fun, considering how much I was NOT looking forward to getting out of bed and going out in service. I think it was an aftereffect of the unexpected snow day: I had spent all of Monday in sweats, eating leftover anniversary Hershey's kisses straight from the bag, watching a probably unhealthy amount of television (including this creepily intriguing new reality show called Toddlers in Tiaras. A peek at the psychotic underbelly of the kiddie pageant universe).

So this morning I didn't feel particularly tired. I was incredibly relaxed, in fact, and not at all inclined to do anything responsible. But I forced myself to go out in service anyway (because the snow had melted and I really couldn't afford to take another day off). Let me say, I am SO glad I went. It was a bitterly cold, frosty morning, and the only other people from Fircrest who showed up for service were Leslie (my neighbor), and her mom Shirley (the inner blonde). We ended up having a great time doing calls and bus stops, and visiting an elderly sister in an adult care home. Also, I met a nice old black man at a bus stop and was able to read a scripture and place a tract. I didn't even realize until halfway through the conversation that he had someone on hold on his blue tooth, but he kindly told the woman on the other end to "hold on a minute, baby," so he could follow along as I read Revelation 21:4. I hope I run into him again :).

I spent half the afternoon working with Darci, one of our hardest-working pioneers. We talked about our dream jobs (me: novelist ; Darci: playing Christine in Phantom of the Opera). Darci is cool because she's very enthusiastic and kind of kooky. She always has a million things going on in her head and is not at all embarrassed to think out loud. At one point she said, half to herself, "I tell all my Bible students not to use euphemisms, and just now I said 'darn.' I shouldn't do that." I said I'd never really thought about darn being a euphemism before, and she then listed every alternative she could think of for curse words, i.e. dang, shoot, etc.

"So what do you say, Darci?" I asked. After a second's pause, she shouted, "CRAP!"

I thought that was pretty funny.

Snow!

It's snowing! It actually started yesterday morning, during meeting. We came out to a steady downpour of very wet snow. Around one o'clock, Zack and I went for a walk with our cameras. The weather kept alternating between snow and rain, so we got a lot wetter than we had expected to. We took a route we don't usually take, down 36th street to a pedestrian overpass that gives a view of a big industrial complex. It was not that compelling. Maybe in the evening, with lots of lights, we'd get some cool shots. It was a fun walk, though, and kind of cool to explore our neighborhood a little bit.

this morning it snowed a LOT, and so i am having a snow day :). i will stay home, catch up on things, do laundry, etc. i am pretty happy about that.

Update!

So, it's been a really busy week. Zack is auxiliary pioneering this month, so we're both on hectic schedules. Zack is doing most of his hours on the weekend, but adding early morning hours before work as well. I must say, it's pretty nice starting our day together in service. I think it puts us both in better moods.

Last night we had a new friend over, a girl named Neisha who is pretty cool and fun. She and Zack were born on the same day. We played poker (Egyptian, 5-Card Draw, Texas Hold 'Em), and watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Pongo took to Neisha immediately, and entertained us throughout the evening by begging to be a part of whatever we were doing. We eventually gave in and let him have his own poker chip to chew on. He selected blue (smart little guy), gave it a few experimental bites, and then dropped it into a pile of his own poo and ignored it for the rest of the night.

Today was a stay-home-all-day day, which I look forward to like an oasis of calm. I did laundry, cleaned the fridge, etc.

Also, I have my New York trip just around the corner. This is the most exciting thing that's happened to me since my honeymoon. I can't wait! I have not been to New York in ten years, and I know a lot has changed since then.

Anyway, just wanted to write a quick post to show I've not dropped off the face of the earth. I was feeling really guilty for days, every time I stopped by my blog. It was like I was hoping that a new post might have magically materialized all on its own. At any rate, I have now experienced the soothing power of Create a Post. Thank you, Create a Post. You are almost as good as Make a Success of Life. No, better!

Guys' Night Out

It is at least 80 minutes past my bedtime and I am feeling foggy in the head, so please excuse this post. I should be asleep right now, but to be quite honest, I'm afraid of the dark (I know, I know, the big 3-0 is coming, I should be all grown up by now. Shut up). So I'm trying to wait up for Zack. I am reading strangers' blogs and feeling thirsty because I am too lazy to get up and get some water. My sofa is so cozy, so cozy you see.

And just where is Zack? Long story. It started with Bryson and Chase Correa planning a caffeine-fueled all-night service oddyssey. Yesterday Chase was calling around, trying to sign up enough guys to fill a van. There was talk of blitzing the downtown streets, pouring out of the van like government agents, cornering homeless people in their cardboard boxes. The gloves come off during all-night service.

Fyi, Chase is Bryson's younger brother, and he's auxiliary pioneering this month. He needs a load more hours, as you always do at the end, when suddenly you realize that the 28th is bearing down on you and how silly it was to sign up to auxiliary during the shortest freaking month of the year. We regulars do not have that particular worry. We let things slide for months on end, and wait till the last sweltering weeks of August to pull our all-nighters. As I type this, I can already sense it looming on the horizon, the month of coffee and desperation, when I will be staggering around like a crazed victim of the zombie apocalypse.

But I digress. Back to Chase and Bryson's all-nighter. I lost no time in telling Zack about it. This seemed a golden opportunity to win friends and influence people. A few hours in a van, and they will be all charmed by his rapier wit.

So last night, Zack texted Chase and asked if there was room for him in the car group. Chase texted back asking, "Who is this?" (Apparently he never reads to the bottom of a text because Zack's name was RIGHT THERE). So he texted back, "Zack Sjoden." We had just sat down to dinner and a movie. About half an hour later, Zack was like, "Chase never texted me back." We both felt all deflated until Zack checked his phone, and in fact, there was a text waiting! His phone had never notified him. The reply was, "All right man, for sure there's room." I read it leaning over Zack's shoulder, and then we were both like, "Yes!!!" and we proceeded to bask in a glow of happiness. He was IN.

So he came home tonight, ate macaroni with me and watched the latest person get kicked off The Biggest Loser (Shannon, I can't say I will really miss you), and then took a shower, shaved, and put on his suit. It kind of messed with my head for me to be sitting on the couch in my pajamas, watching him get ready to go out in service without me.

I think he must be enjoying himself, because he just sent me a photo of Luke wearing Becky's Slanket. (Plus also, I texted, "Having fun?" and he answered "Yeah :)."

And so, mission accomplished.

Rain, Service, Lavender Tea, etc.

I stayed home today. This morning I just could not make myself get out of bed for the life of me. It's been a very busy week. I am quite proud of myself for finally creating and sticking to a morning routine. I've been getting up at 6:30 to brush teeth, etc. and fix breakfast. At 7:00 I wake up Zack, and we have a half hour of leisure time on the couch to eat breakfast, read the daily text, snuggle and talk. After that, Zack takes his shower while I wash up and pack our lunches for the day. At 8:00 I get the bathroom. Zack leaves around 8:15 (ideally), I get ready for service and walk out the door between 8:45 and 8:50. This gets me to the Kingdom Hall just on time.

I worked out the schedule in my head over the weekend, trying to give myself plenty of time, because I'm so sick of always feeling rushed in the morning. Monday we did a trial run, and it went just as smooth as could be. On my way to the hall that morning, I couldn't believe how good I felt. Zack and I had eaten together and read the text, I had had plenty of time to get ready, I'd left the house all tidy and clean, and I wasn't running late. I didn't feel stressed, I felt really good. It was amazing. I felt like I'd made this huge discovery, and wondered why it had taken me so long to get my act together and get organized.

Anyway, so we were able to keep the routine up pretty well Monday through Wednesday. It was great coming home, too, because I'd walk in to a tidy, clean house, no clothes or towels on the bathroom floor, no dirty dishes, the bed all made and everything. It made dragging myself up at 6:30 totally worth it.

Yesterday things didn't go quite as smoothly because I woke up feeling really sick to my stomach. Zack was very good to me, though, and helped out with cleaning up after breakfast so I could lie on the couch for a little while. I forced myself to get up and go out, and I'm really glad I did, I must say. It was a day of icy wind, with the weather constantly alternating between light rain, heavy rain, and sleet. We still managed to do some door-to-door however, working a couple of apartment territories. Of course we stopped at Starbucks twice over the course of the day, and the second time I tried the London Fog. It's flavored with lavender, which sounded intriguing, and I have to say loved it. It was a hot drink and aromatherapy all in one, the perfect cozy pick-me-up on a day when you walk in chilled and damp, with cold fingers and toes, needing to warm up.

In the afternoon, Connor Orino came out with us. Connor is twelve, but looks younger because he's so short for his age. He's very outgoing and talkative, and says funny things without knowing it. Yesterday he asked Luke very seriously if he (Connor) might be considered a "teenybopper." "Ive heard the term before," he said, "but I'm not quite sure what it means." Luke kept a straight face and told him it usually applies to young girls who are swept up in pop culture. A minute later, as we were stuck in traffic, some kind of vintage Mustang drove by in the other lane, and Connor gave this huge, agonized gasp and then started going, "Oh! Oh! Oh!" We thought he had ruptured his appendix or something, but he just pointed at the disappearing car, and said, "That's the blahblahblah (some car name), worth $78,000! It has 360 horsepower!" And then he proceeded to rattle off a list of specs which I didn't understand and don't remember now. The quintessential car-crazy kid. I was quite amused.

After service, I was feeling better, so I put in a solid hour at the gym. I was very proud of myself, needless to say. Tate came over for dinner and a movie (we had rented The Astronaut Farmer at his request). Zack's brand new driver's license had finally come in the mail, and so he and Tate went to get a couple of pizzas, and then hit a liquor store on the way home, to celebrate. Zack brought home a bottle of rum, and talked about how clean, brightly-lit, and well-organized the store was, with a couple of friendly old ladies at the cash registers. "It was totally not what I expected at all," he said. "I was expecting it to be dark and confusing, with a mean, gross, scary guy behind the counter, glaring at us like we were about to steal something."

All in all, a pretty good evening. I had a mojito, light on the rum, and a bowl of chicken soup, and was very proud of myself for only having one bite of pizza.

Today, though, I just couldn't get up and do the schedule all over again. I don't know if it's because I'm still fighting off a bug or what, but after a few days of the normal routine I get really tired and hit the wall. I'm learning to listen to my body, take it easy when I need to, and not stress out as much. I will get all my hours in somehow, and everything will work out fine.

The End

I = >:(

Rawr at blogger. I just wrote a really long, awesome post, and blogger ATE IT AND THEN BLAMED IT ON ME.

There are some days when I just hate the internet. I have to go to the gym now. I will try reconstructing the post when I get back.

RAWR!!!!

Our First Anniversary

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since my last post! February has been a busy month. It's already been a week Zack and I celebrated our one-year anniversary. I wasn't able to blog about my preparations, because they were very secret, but we had a very awesome weekend. For about a month and a half beforehand, I had been making plans to surprise Zack on our three day celebration weekend. I wanted to show how much I love him, and also say thank you for my amazing anniversary gift - the trip to New York! One of the things I did was make a book with 366 reasons why I love him - one reason for each day of our first year together. (We got married in a leap year, so it was 366 days long). That was a really awesome gift to make. It took quite a while, but I enjoyed every minute, and I couldn't wait to give it to him.

I also started collecting a bunch of other little presents - a sketchbook, a package of Polaroid film (super expensive, so we rarely buy it), a Touchabubbles kit, etc. I made a set of Beartato magnets with funny moments from the comics. I also wrote my own Beartato comic, in which Beartato and Reginald help me find a perfect anniversary gift for Zack. Beartato suggests a pet, and so after traveling to the ends of the earth and bringing me a lion, an elephant, etc, they finally decide that betta fish make the best pets. Friday night, I gave him the comic along with a real betta fish that I'd just bought that day. He was really surprised and happy - he loves fish, and he absolutely loved the comic that came with it.

Saturday morning, I let Zack open his bag of presents, which was really fun. I think I was more excited about it than he was. The Touchabubbles weren't as durable as we had hoped, but they still present opportunities for some cool photo sessions, I think. We had a nice breakfast and watched a romantic movie, and afterward Zack was worn out from the work week and spent most of the day sleeping. That was ok with me, because it kept him out of the way while I went on with my plans. I had been sick for a few days and gotten behind in the chores, so I cleaned like a maniac, and then later while Zack was out at the store getting me chocolates and Martinelli's cider, I decorated the whole house with roses and candles. Roses are, unfortunately, outrageously expensive during the week of our anniversary, because of Valentine's Day. But my sister had lent me her Costco card, which was a total Godsend. (Thursday, while I was really sick with a sinus cold, I dragged myself around to a bunch of shops, collecting stuff, and lastly stopped at Costco where I saved at least ten dollars on two dozen roses. I brought them home and hid them in our shed for a few days, in a bucket of water, and Zack never knew. It was great!).

I still had a bunch of the vases and ivy bowls from our wedding, so I divided up the roses and put them all over the house. Then I floated tea lights in the ivy bowls and put those everywhere. I moved the dining table in to the living room and put a red satin tablecloth on it that my mom gave me, and then set it with roses and candles, and it looked really beautiful. When Zack got home, he could hardly believe his eyes. It was so fun to surprise him!

Monday, the day of our actual anniversary, I gave Zack the book I'd made him. He really, really loved it. He said that weekend was one of the best of his life, and I was so happy that I was able to make it special for him. I love him so much!

A Long Catch-Up Post

Well, I'm back. I got sick last Tuesday, and just ended up staying home all week, feeling lousy and not doing much of anything. No, I amend that: I watched a lot of Sherlock Holmes.

Saturday evening we went to a housewarming party at Kody and Ashley Ague's new place. We met new people, ate gluten-free snacks (Kody is allergic), and watched a lot of YouTube videos. Zack suggested "Old Guy vs. Skaters," which nobody else had ever seen, and Luke laughed so hard he almost hurt himself. He was hoarse afterward for the rest of the party.

Luke wants to make a movie, so we tossed around ideas. I mentioned this theory we heard last week, from a guy we met over at Ed and Ishi's house: the speculation that Jonah may have been a midget. It sounds strange at first, but the more we discussed the idea, the more plausible it seemed. A midget would have fit into the big fish a lot easier. Also, it would explain why Jonah had to ask the other sailors to throw him overboard: a midget might not have been able to climb over the side of the boat. Third, it makes the whole bottlegourd plant episode a lot easier to imagine. Just picture it: a little tiny guy hanging out under the vines and leaves.

I was finally able to make friends with Nisha, a girl I've never gotten to know because she's very quiet and shy, and for that reason seems standoffish. I was always a little bit intimidated by her, wondering in the back of my mind if she secretely hated me. (She doesn't). She mentioned that she has her 21st birthday coming up this month. I asked her what day, and she said the 20th! She was born on the same day as Zack! So I told her we would have her over for a little cocktail party sometime soon.

I also got to know Missy Orino, who is very sweet and closer to my age. She works at an "aesthetic surgery" clinic, and so I was able to get all sorts of interesting details about things like breast augmentations and abdominoplasties (otherwise known as boob jobs and tummy tucks). It was gross but fascinating. Apparently there are people who come in who are, like, addicted to surgery. It's very sad. I'm glad I am not that way.

Sunday, Zack and I drove out to Graham to have dinner with his parents. They wanted to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. Ron made fried chicken, and Juanita made mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing, etc. Also, there were presents! Zack got a gift card to Best Buy, so he can finally get a new tripod for his camera. I'm happy for him, but I love my presents even more:

1) a little photo album full of pictures of him growing up. He was the most adorable baby in the history of the world, I swear. His older pictures are all really cute, too. I love, love, love them, and I will scan them ASAP.

2) one of those flower blossom tea sets! I got the little glass teapot, and a whole bunch of the dried flowers that bloom in the hot water. I have wanted one of these forever, and at some point was telling Juanita about them, and she remembered! And got me one! I am so, so happy. I can't wait to use it! I plan to try one of the teas out soon, and take pictures.

We had a nice evening just spending time with Ron and Juanita, and the dogs. We really need to go out and visit them more often.

Today I did service, the gym, and then came home and made spaghetti sauce from scratch, did laundry, etc. Around 6:00 Zack called because his car battery was dead, so I drove downtown to give him a jump. We got home much later than usual, had dinner, and now I'm writing this and feeling sleepy already. I need to catch up on sleep - Saturday night we were at the Agues' till after midnight, and I never got back on track. So, more later.

I leave you with this hilarious video, which we watched at the party:

I Joined a Gym!

I am so excited about this! It's a new place that just opened in Fircrest. It's called Figures, and it's for women only. I have never joined a gym before! I actually heard about it last week, because Leslie and Darci were going to check it out after service. The gym is offering an introductory special, where if a group of people join, they only have to pay $20 a month. Initially, I told Leslie I wasn't really interested. I've never been into the idea of working out in public. I guess I've always thought of it as, like, P.E. for grown ups, and seriously, who would pay good money to go through that?

But anyway, over the week more and more sisters started signing up, and then out in service I would hear them talking about what a nice place it was, brand new and really clean, with nice showers and changing rooms, and everything provided for you, like towels, shampoo, razors, lotion, etc. I started thinking maybe I should check this place out. If nothing else, I thought it might be fun to go with some of the other pioneers. Zack and I have been lamenting our friendless state lately, so this seemed like a chance to socialize outside of service.

Well, let me say I am so glad I went! I was nervous about it, expecting it to be really intimidating. But I actually had a really fun time. There were about eight of us there, and we did the circuit and chatted, and it was not hard or scary at all. After I'd gone around twice, I did the treadmill for a few minutes. I wasn't in workout clothes (I don't have any I can wear in public), so I didn't want to get really sweaty. But it was just a fun thing to do, and I can see myself even heading over there alone some afternoons, with my iPod, and doing the treadmill. So I'm pretty excited about it.

*Sigh*

Well, the past few days have been kinda slow. Friday I cleaned house, and then my mom came over and we did each other's hair. Saturday was service, grocery shopping, and watching Sherlock Holmes. Today we were supposed to have our anniversary party, but the plans fell through. More on that in a future post. So we ended up going to Wright Park to take pictures, and then just hanging around the house. That's pretty much it.

Everybody is having Super Bowl parties today, and Zack and I didn't get invited to a single one. We pretty much feel like losers with no friends.

Ben, Becky, Slankets, etc.

Today for the first time I worked with Jamie and Ben Eaton out in service. Ben got laid off from his electric company job a couple of weeks ago, so he's making the best of his time at home until he gets more work. (Incidentally, we passed one of his company's trucks in service today. It's called Amaya Electric. Is it just me, or could that totally be the name of a novel? Think about it, Abby, if you ever want to write a book about yourself).

Anyway, I don't know Ben very well and I've always thought of him as kind of a dork, starting from that day last summer when he wore the black nylons to the softball game. But today in service I realized that I need to give him more credit. I had a pretty good time today and he was pretty funny. Somehow, as we were driving around in the van, the subject of anniversaries came up. Becky Abuan (Aurel's wife), got a Slanket this year. The Slanket is like the Snuggie, namely a very large blanket with sleeves. (Apparently there are tons of commercials on TV for the Snuggie, but since I don't have TV, I've never seen them).

So Becky was describing this thing to Jason McOmber, how it's like, 7 feet long, and drags behind her when she walks. "Yesterday I totally cleaned all my bamboo floor with it. It's like the new tool for lazy Americans. You can sweep while you're on your way to the kitchen for a snack." I thought that was pretty funny, but maybe you had to be there. You have to be able to picture skinny little Becky wrapped in a 7-foot Slanket. "For our ten year anniversary, he got me a diamond and sapphire ring," she said, and then Jason kind of jokingly commiserated with her about how much the economy has gone down.

Then Jason asked Ben what he's getting for Jamie for their one-year anniversary. (Ben and Jamie got married a week after Zack and me). Ben got this clueless look on his face, and then Jason was like, "I think Jamie should just be glad she's got a guy like you, Ben." So they did the little knuckle bump and Ben goes, "You're beating a dead horse, man. I tell her that at least once a day. 'Just enjoy the fact that you get to be with me, honey. You don't understand how lucky you are. Marriage is a crapshoot, and you hit the jackpot." It was funny to me to hear him say that, because he was so obviously kind of making fun of himself. To me, that earned him some points.

Now I'm home, cleaning house and waiting for Zack to get home. We're doing Babylon The Great Has Fallen for our Family Worship Night, and last Friday I was able to borrow The Two Babylons, a source book they cite a lot, so we'll be reading out of that tonight as well. It should be pretty intriguing, I think.

There's dinner in the crock pot, Pongo's cage is all cleany clean, and I'm listening to Pandora while I work. My main stations on Pandora are Irish music and country. I never used to listen to country music before I lived in Eatonville. I'm still not a huge country fan, but there's a certain variety I really like, and so I have a few stations built around specific songs. It's cool to listen to those songs interspersed with ones from the Gaelic Storm station, and hear the ancestry of the country music in the Irish folk songs. I was thinking today about how you could take a lot of the Irish music, throw in some banjos, a steel guitar, and a Southern accent, and basically have something sounding a lot like Sammy Kershaw or Tim McGraw. That stuff is interesting to me.

Service, Micah, and Thoughts on Weddings

Today I really could not get out of bed. I was running so late, I completely missed the service meeting, but I did get there in time to find out that Andrew got a haircut. Ishi and Ed were running late also, so while I was waiting for them to show up, Art described to me what it's like to get an angiogram. Apparently, you can feel the tiny camera tickling around inside your heart! And then they release some dye to make the pictures show up better. He said it's very warm, and lets you feel how fast your blood circulates. First there's just a pool of warmth in your heart, and then, woosh, it floods through your whole body, all in a blink. "You should ask to have an angiogram sometime," he said. "It's pretty interesting." I said I would think about it.

So I worked with Ishi and Ed out in service. The main excitement of the day was that they were babysitting Micah, the baby from next door. He's six months old, he's teething, and has tummy trouble. Those factors all add up to a lot of fussing. We did a little territory, tons of calls, and stopped at one of those Mexican food trucks for lunch. I really like working with Ishi and Ed. They are pretty laid back, and funny. I think it's cool that they are pioneering together. I hope someday Zack can pioneer with me, too!

Well Ishi is having some drama this week. She and Trixy have a client named Tenley who is quite wealthy and has a big fancy old house down by Stadium High School. She's in Australia at the moment, so they're housesitting for her. Tenley said, "Why don't you guys have a cocktail party while I'm gone!" because she's really generous like that. She loves to entertain and has everything they could need for a really awesome party. So, after mulling it over, Ishi and Trixy offered to throw an engagement party for some friends of theirs. The friends were really excited about it. Then, because they had been wanting a super small, inexpensive, romantic wedding, they thought, hey - why not turn the engagement party into a surprise wedding? Ishi and Trixy said ok. They thought it would be low-key and super cool.

Then the groom's mother got involved. And she came in with a much longer guest list and a whole bunch of requests and suggestions for food, decorating, etc. Trixy and Ishi are getting really annoyed and fed up with her, because she expects to come into Tenley's house like it's hers start rearranging things and, like, sticking the three-foot-high glass candlesticks (super expensive, apparently) in the living room fireplace, taking down art off the walls and stacking it in a bedroom, and so on. Ishi is like, "We are not touching the art, no you can not put the candlesticks in the fireplace, no Trixy and I can not mess with the landscaping..." etc. It has pretty much turned into a headache, and listening to Ishi talk about it today, I was reminded of all the drama that came with planning my wedding, and how much I wish I could have just had it small and simple. It's so hard when you feel like you have to please the parents, and they want things totally different than how you want them. *Sigh*. Anyway. I need to just let it go. It's water under the bridge, now. It's just that sometimes I look back and feel so much regret. I wish I could have had a surprise wedding at Tenley's house with only twenty guests! It would have been awesome! But who knows, if I had done that, I probably would have ended up wishing I'd had something bigger. So there you go.

Anyway, our anniversary party is going to be just right. This Sunday evening we're going to get together with Ishi and Ed (who also have their anniversary in February) and do a little fondue party at Tenley's. It will be just the four of us, hanging out, eating and maybe playing some Rock Band. The other day Zack and I bought a box of chocolates from See's, and that's pretty much it as far as preparations go. Oh, and I got a cute new top to wear. I am pretty excited about it.

Before I go, here's a video of Micah that I took out in service today. By the time I got my camera out, I had missed all his really insane shrieks and laughter, but what I got is pretty darn cute. He was so in love with his red toy!

When Bobcats Attack!

Well, I just got back from service. It was an ok morning, although everyone got split up into two groups. One group was in the van, just doing return visits, and the other group was doing actual door-to-door. I wanted to be in the door-to-door group, since I'm running low on return visits, and need to get some more. We did like two streets the last time I was out, and out of those few doors I got a lady who was really nice and might take a Bible Teach book. So I really wanted to get some calls. Plus, that group had Marisella, Luke Galloway and Bronson Kim, who are all really fun to work with. So I volunteered to go with them, but Cal put me in the van with everybody else, and I ended up riding around all morning. I got out one time, on one of Darci's calls, and they weren't home.

So yeah, that was pretty boring and frustrating. Shirley was cracking me up all morning, though. I swear, she is a ditzy blonde at heart. She was going on an on about Cal and Leslie's dogs, Riley and Phoebe. (Shirley calls them her grandpuppies). "Riley takes after you so much, Cal, it's really funny!" she said. "And Phoebe is just like Leslie!" I swear, she thinks they're people.

I was sitting in the back with Carol Galloway, Luke's mom, who is pretty nice. She said she bought a boxed set of the BBC Sherlock Holmes series at Costco, and wants to invite me and Zack over next weekend to watch part of it. It's funny because I just ordered a (different) Sherlock Holmes series from Blockbuster, and watched the first episode yesterday. I was pretty happy about the invitation, but then she mentioned that they needed Zack to take a look at their computer, and my stomach sank a little. I felt like that was the real reason she was inviting us over, and not just to be friends. But oh well, I shouldn't be so negative. Carol works nights at a hospital and is tired all the time, and probably doesn't really do much socializing with anybody outside her own family. So it's not like she's having parties all the time and inviting everybody but us. And, on the bright side, it is cool to have a husband who is handy and who can help people out. When he's able to fix someone's computer, it always makes me feel proud of him.

Cal Eaton (our service group overseer) was driving. He called his wife, Leslie, who's on vacation at a spa down in Arizona, and then turned on the speaker phone and hung his cell from the rearview mirror. Leslie has been making plans to totally remodel her kitchen, picking out all new cabinets and appliances, granite for the countertops, etc. She is just in heaven, because she's lived in the same teen-tiny little house since, like, 1980 and never done a thing to it, and now Cal is finally letting her do something nice. She really deserves this, because she's pioneered as long as I've been alive, and given up a lot of things, including having kids. But Cal is kind of a penny-pincher and getting stomach aches over the amount of money she plans to spend on this kitchen. So it was funny hearing Leslie rave over the luxurious spa, and say how she's now thinking of doing a marble floor in her kitchen. "What?!" cried Cal. "Marble? I've got a can of marbles. I'll pour them on the kitchen floor for you, and that'll be your marble floor." Meanwhile, Shirley (Leslie's mom), was sitting behind Cal saying, "I think you should have a marble floor, Leslie. You deserve it and Cal knows you do." I was in the very back, just listening and laughing to myself as they all went back and forth.

Something exciting happened to Leslie yesterday! She was sitting outside in the jacuzzi, just relaxing, late in the afternoon. Nobody else was around. Suddenly, a guy came out with a stack of towels or something and got this shocked look on his face. "Ma'am! Ma'am!" he said, pointing to something behind Leslie. She turned and looked over her shoulder, sort of puzzled, only to see a huge bobcat rushing toward her in a crouch, with its ears back and its tail whipping back and forth. It was coming straight for the edge of the jacuzzi, and while she was staring at it in shock, not sure what to do, she saw a glimpse of another bobcat out of the corner of her eye, sneaking towards her from another direction. They had spotted her all alone in the jacuzzi, "and I didn't look very big," she said. "All they could see of me was my head, bobbing around," and so they decided to have her for lunch! It was like a scene straight out of Jurassic Park, with the velociraptors! Only this was no movie, it was very real wild animals. The pool guy didn't know what to do, so he called for help from inside the spa. Just as the first bobcat got to the edge of the jacuzzi, a guy came out and scared them both away. And so Leslie was safe.

I'm Going to New York!

I can't believe it! This is a dream come true! My sister called me yesterday morning and told me that she'd gotten a super good deal on airfare to New York in March, and had bought tickets for herself and Tate. Tate has never been to Bethel, and we have always wanted to take him. Now he's in his last year of college, and has the rest of his life ahead of him, and so it seems like the ideal time. I wasn't expecting my sister to just jump on the opportunity like that, though! She called me yesterday morning to let me know about the ticket deal, and asked if Zack and I could possibly come, too. I was kind of in shock, and my first thought was that there was no way that Zack and I could possibly afford it. Going to New York with my brother and sister has been a dream of mine for years, and I started crying after I hung up, thinking that I was going to miss out on it. I knew it would be something I would always regret.

I called Zack at work and explained the situation to him. He told me that he couldn't afford to take a week off from work, but when he heard how cheap the tickets were, he told me to go ahead and buy one for myself. He understood how much it would mean to me to be able to go, and he really wanted to make it happen for me. So after some hesitation, I went ahead and bought the ticket.

And so I'm going! For a week in March, with my brother and sister. We'll visit Bethel, Patterson, and the farm, do some sightseeing around the city, etc. I cannot believe this is happening. I have wanted to do this for so long, but ever since my sister got married, I never expected just the three of us to be taking a trip together. I am so excited, I can't even express it.

I really have the best husband in the entire world.

RAWR!!!

So I'm finishing up Sense and Sensibility. I began it with an open mind, perfectly willing to like it just as much as I like Emma Thompson's version. I didn't even want to compare the two, but it's kind of inevitable given that this entire film is such a rip-off! I've just gotten to the end, where Edward finally declares his love for Elinor, and got so angry I had to turn it off. I mean, I read a review, and apparently the screenwriter also did the version of Pride & Prejudice starring Colin Firth, the one that everybody loves. He's highly acclaimed and I would expect much better things of him than to recycle somebody else's work. And to do it so obviously! I mean, what is even the point of remaking a film if you're just going to copy somebody else's version almost scene for scene, but using inferior actors and cutting out every trace of comedy? It seems to me like this guy is just so full of himself that he thinks nobody else can adapt a Jane Austen novel as well as he can. As if he decided to remake Emma Thompson's film and add in some bits here and there to show her how he would have done it. I really can't see any other reason for its existence. I personally would be way too embarrassed to ever do such a thing. And Emma Thompson's version is so much better. To me, there doesn't seem any point in bringing in such a small, background character as Mr. Palmer, unless you're going to have Hugh Laurie play him and actually bring him to life and make him funny and memorable. This whole movie is washed-out and lifeless.

Rawr. I could go on and on, but Zack will be home soon and we're going to go out, so I'd better get ready. I've been in my pajamas all day.

Art Delisle Is Dead

That was the big news this morning in service. I first heard about it from Leslie, as we were driving around in her van. Apparently it's been all over the news around here, but since I don't have TV and don't get the newspapers, I hadn't heard anything about it. Leslie found out from Cal, as they were on their way home from a shopping trip. "My heart completely sank," she said, recalling the shock she felt when she heard.

I was pretty stunned, too. Art Delisle, the ex-military spy, is Andrew's dad, and one of our early morning regulars. He's got a very bad heart, and travels down to Portland once a week for a round of special medicine as part of a clinical trial. His health problems never got him down, though. He's a funny guy, totally goofy, the kind of person who can strike up a conversation with anybody. He conducts Bible studies at laundry mats and bus stops.

I think everyone was pretty shocked by the news. But I doubt anyone was more shocked than Art himself, when he started getting emails, phone calls and text messages from anxious friends, saying, "Art!!! Please tell me you're alive!!!!" He picked up a newspaper and saw the headline, Art Delisle, 51, Dies in Argentina. He skimmed over the story, about a local mountain climber (definitely not our Art), who suffered a terrible mishap while on a solo climb in South America. And then he started having a field day with the whole thing. His face was lit up with glee this morning after the service meeting, as he told me his plans for opening a charity fund at his local bank, to cover the "funeral expenses," and aquiring a death certificate to send to all his bill collectors.

"I gotta take advantage of this," he said. "I mean, what are the odds?"

I agreed that such a golden opportunity to fake one's own death doesn't come around too often.

Crazy guy. I'm glad he's ok.

<3 Eleven Months <3

Friday was our 11 month anniversary. I am happy and sad about it. It's been so special to be in the first year. When people ask how long you've been married, you count it in months. It seems so shining new that you really feel like newlyweds. A few weeks more, and we won't be counting in months anymore. On the other hand, I absolutely look forward to celebrating the 1 year mark. Every year makes a marriage so much more valuable. Zack and I were talking about what we've learned about each other that we didn't know 11 months ago, which was both interesting and fun. It was lots of little things, like being able to read each other's expressions better, and knowing how the other person likes their eggs. Out shopping yesterday, we stopped to have some keys made, and I knew without even asking just which keychain Zack would want the most. Little things like that make me happy, because I see us growing closer.

Yesterday morning in service, we worked with Luke. Ron, his Bible student (now baptized), was having an emotional morning. He'd had a heart-to-heart with his son a few days previously, about the truth, and as a result his son decided to move out. So Saturday was not a great day for him. He kept texting Luke about how he really, really needed to be picked up for service at 12:30, but no matter what Luke replied, Ron took the message as an insult and got upset. So then he said to forget it, he wasn't coming because he was too much of a mess and crying uncontrollably. (Ron is super needy with Luke, and can be a little bit of a drama queen). We were like, "He still wants you to pick him up, Luke. He just doesn't want to say it." And Luke was like, "I know." So he texted Ron back to be ready when we got there, because we were going to be picking him up anyway. It was kind of funny because Luke was sooo frustrated at Ron. He was like, "This behavior would totally be fine if it was coming from a girl. But it's coming from a 57-year-old man, and I can't handle it!"

Last night we watched the beginning of the BBC version of Sense and Sensibility. I wanted to see how it compared to the Emma Thompson version, which is one of my favorite movies ever. I must say, I think the writer plagiarized Emma Thompson's screenplay unforgiveably. A few of the initial scenes are so nearly identical, it's like watching the same movie with different actors. If I were Emma Thompson, I totally would have sued. Once the plot gets going though, the BBC version starts to stand on its own two feet. I really like the little girl who plays Meg. She's got just the right balance of cuteness and precocity. I detest Marianne. She's completely uninteresting. Elinor is good, but she seems a little too emotionless - I can't connect with her like I can with Emma Thompson's Elinor. The really weird thing, though, is that their voices are so alike, in places it almost sounds like Emma Thompson did a voiceover. Weird.

And about my rose - disaster! I used some potting soil that had been sitting out in our shed, and apparently it had gotten infested with pests. Yesterday morning I noticed a whole bunch of teeny tiny little wormy things squiggling around. I had pruned off some of the baby rose leaves that weren't thriving, and the wormy things were eating them! It was disgusting! So I had to do an emergency uprooting of my baby rosebush. I put it in a vase of water with some lavender soap to kill any wormy things that might have been on it. Zack went and bought fresh soil, and I'm going to repot it. I hope it survives! The baby leaves look ok still, but the grown up ones are terribly droopy.

Last but not least, I bought a new workout dvd! It's by Jillian Michaels, the terminatoresque trainer from The Biggest Loser. It's called the 30 Day Shred, and it's totally killer. I did level one today, and when it was over (after only 20 minutes), I felt like I might throw up. But at least I finished it. I'm very proud of myself.

This & That

My rose is growing! We planted it in a pot on Sunday, and it's been thriving ever since. It's putting out new leaves, and the stem is slowly changing from vibrant green to a more woody brown. I was worried this morning because some of the big leaves fell off during the night, and I'm not sure why. They're the ones making most of the food, so it needs really them. But it's still got three left, and they seem to be doing fine, so hopefully it will be ok. I'm so proud of my little baby rosebush! In summer time, if it's grown enough, I'll put it outside. (I'm still going to keep it in the pot, though).

Yesterday I was sooo tired that I just stayed home. We drove out to Graham on Monday night so Zack could get his haircut. As I walked through the door, Crystal said, "Oh, poor Anande, you're always so tired when you get here! Look, you're yawning already!" (Which was true). She asked me if I'm anemic, and I said I could be - I was when I was really young. So she told me to buy some blackstrap molasses and take a big spoonful every morning stirred into a cup of hot water. That's what I'm sipping on now, as I type this. It looks like very black coffee. I kind of like it.

The first episode of the new Biggest Loser is up on Hulu. I'm so excited! My plan is to try and lose 2 pounds a week, for the whole season. I think I can do it!

Miss Callie

Long service day today. I was soooo tired. Again, I slept during the Starbucks break. Right after that I met Darci and we did calls until 4:00. We stopped at the Park Rose nursing home to see Callie Keeves. She is so cute, I am crazy about her. When we walked into the room, the other lady who shares the room had her TV on, and Callie was just lying in her bed, with her head turned to the side, watching the show. She looked tired and bored, like I probably would be if I spent all my time in a bed and couldn't read or listen to music or anything. Darci and I walked up to her bed, and instantly her face lit up in smiles. "Lord bless me, you came back!" she said.

We talked to her for a little while about the paradise. She has pretty severe dementia, and couldn't remember ever having heard about the paradise before. Her face lit up like a sunrise. "You mean I get to be there?" she asked. "I get to be in the paradise? What am I going to do there? I'm old! I can't even get out of this here bed." We told her she would be young again, and full of energy, and be able to run and climb trees just like when she was a kid. "Lord bless me, am I really going to be there?" she asked. "How long do I get to stay there?" We told her forever. I showed her the picture in the Bible Teach book of the people singing and playing music in the paradise, and she stared and stared at it, smiling. "When will it come?" she asked. "Tomorrow?" "We don't know when, but we know it will be soon," I answered. I told her to keep that picture of the paradise in her mind, and think about it until our next visit. "Will you come back?" she asked, and I promised I would. "And will you bring the book and read to me? I need to hear more about the paradise!" I promised to read her more out of the book.

Darci called her son, so that Callie could talk to him (she doesn't have a phone in her room. Also, because of her dementia, she forgets that he calls, and always thinks she hasn't spoken to him in months). She told him, "My friend came and told me all about the paradise! Oh, honey, it's going to be so beautiful, and I get to be young again and live forever. You need to be there, too!" It was so amazing to me, after having spent only a few minutes sharing good news with her, to hear her turn around and start witnessing at the first chance she got. I actually started getting tears in my eyes. It made me so sad to have to leave. I wanted to stay and keep her company. I hate the thought of her lying there day in and day out, doing nothing, and having nobody to talk to. She's afraid of the people who work there and won't take her medicine. It's too bad that she can't be taken care of by someone she knows and trusts.

The Stories

Nothing very interesting has happened today. I woke up around 5:00 and couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up and packed lunches for Zack and me. I had resolved not to spend any money at Starbucks today (mostly for the reason that I don't actually have any money to spend), so that meant taking a lunch and enough snacks to get me through the day. Zack's mom gave us a couple of really cool insulated cups, guaranteed to keep your drink hot for 4 hours - exactly what I need! I forgot to put the kettle on, though, and didn't think of it until I was running out the door. So, no tea for me :(. I could hardly stay awake in early morning service. It was gloomy and drizzly and dark, and I just wanted to be in bed. While everyone else was in Starbucks, I took a little nap and started dreaming and everything.

Zack and I both have a yucky tummy bug. He has it worse than me. Yesterday we both stayed home all day. This morning I made myself get up and go out, even though I would rather have slept. It's annoying because I feel crummy, but I don't have a fever, and I haven't actually thrown up or anything, so I'm just toughing it out. I would rather be really sick and stay home, or else be well. This in-between stuff is just dumb.

I talked to Andrew a little bit at the service meeting. We were both standing in the back, waiting for our car groups, and he looked exactly the way I felt - all droopy-eyed and sleepy, and like he wanted to be in bed. It's one of those days I guess.

Anyway, as to the stories from the pioneer party - now that I'm trying to think how to tell them, it seems like you had to just be there. The "cadaver room" stories were pretty gross. Bryson is a firefighter, and Luke is going to nursing school, so they've both taken anatomy/physiology, which includes studying actual corpses. So somehow the subject came up, and they were describing what it was like, and Bryson said that the flesh of the cadavers looks just like regular cooked meat - some of it light, some dark. I was like, "you mean, like turkey?" (we were having a turkey dinner), and he said, "yeah, just like that turkey you ate, that's sitting in your stomach right now." Which was a pretty disgusting thing to say, but funny.

I don't know if you've ever seen the old sitcom, Welcome Back, Kotter, but one of the characters is this kid named Horshack. We were talking about the show, and I said he was my favorite character. Luke goes, "Did my parents ever tell you that they met him?" Apparently years ago, right after they got married, Jeff and Carol saw him do a standup show in New York. They were there with a friend who knew him personally, so they got to go back to his dressing room and meet him. And sadly, he turned out to be really creepy and spent the whole time ignoring Jeff and hitting on Carol.

I can't remember who brought up the vanishing sandwiches. I think we started discussing obesity because Luke had eaten so much and was so full. He and Bryson started relating stories they had heard of in their classes, about morbidly obese people with lots of rolls of excess flesh. Apparently, it is not uncommon for very large people to somehow lose a sandwich in amidst their belly rolls. Both Luke and Bryson have heard about this phenomena, where doctors will be examining their patients, and lift up a roll of flab, and find a forgotten sandwich. I swear I am not making that up. We were wondering how it could be possible not to notice that your sandwich had disappeared. Luke did a reenactment of someone making a sandwich, and somehow inadvertently stuffing it into a pocket of flesh. It was so gross but so hysterical.

Service, Pioneer Meeting, After Party

Service was fun today. Zack and I met the early morning group at 7:30. Tanya Lewis brought her adorable puppy, Ebony, and later on we stopped to pick up Riley. So counting the service dogs, there were 7 of us out this morning. At 9:30, I went on in regular service, and Zack went out to visit his parents.

We went to Starbucks around 11:00, as usual. It seemed like half our congregation was there - the place was packed. It was pretty cool. Aurel was telling funny stories. One time, at Starbucks, when the barrista asked his name so she could write it on the cup, he didn't want to go through the whole ordeal of saying "Aurel" and having to re-pronounce it and tell her how to spell it. So he had decided ahead of time that when he got up to the counter, he would just call himself Tom. So the barrista asks his name, and when he says "Tom," she looks him in the eye and says, "That's not your real name, is it?" And he says, "No, it's not," and feels really ridiculous. I laughed so hard at that story because I can totally relate. Whenever barristas ask my name, I just say Anna. I can't believe she confronted him on it, though! That's just weird.

While I was in line to buy my cofee, I heard from Leslie that Brother Min woke up yesterday! He's been in a coma since December 29th. He opened his eyes and smiled, and everything. He's still paralyzed and can't speak, but this is really amazing progress and everyone is just overjoyed.

Anyway, at 1:00 was our pioneer meeting. It was all on the subject of why and how pioneers need to have insight. In the section on pioneer economics, Jason asked, "What are some ways pioneers can cut back on food and drink expenses?" Sister S said, "Well, eat less. I've lost twenty pounds." Good advice.

The meeting ran overtime, as usual. I got home around 3:15, and Zack was back from his parents'. He had brought tons of groceries from his mom, stuff we needed like pasta, fish, meat, canned goods, laundry soap, and on and on and on. There were also trinkets from Hawaii and a box of those delicious chocolate covered macadamias. I had to call Juanita right away, I was so amazed at everything she had given us. Not only that, but she gave Zack her old cell phone, which is exactly like his, except in perfect working order. He has a fully functioning 3 button again! All he had to do was go online and switch it over to his phone number. We were pretty happy about that.

Zack had an upset tummy, so we snuggled for a while and I read him the beginning of The White Mountain, which he liked. It's a pretty good book - the first time I read it, I couldn't put it down. Before we knew it, it was time to go to the pioneer dinner at the McOmbers. Zack was feeling pretty crummy, but he dragged himself out of bed to come with me. He is so sweet! I was really happy he came. We ended up having an awesome time. Abby Jolly was over there, helping Renee and Jason cook an over-the-top turkey dinner. We sat at long tables with real tablecloths, dishes and silverware, and they served us. It totally felt like a fancy version of pioneer school, and the food was awesome. All diet resolutions went out the window.

Zack and I were at the "kid's table," with Ben and Jamie, Bryson, and Luke. Many hilarious stories were told, and we laughed so much that at one point I saw Zack wiping away tears.
Besides laughing and eating a lot, I played with Ava and Elsie, drew on the chalkboard, and met the most enormous dog I have ever laid eyes on in real life. I have a ton of pictures to go through, and some to put up on Flickr. I will never forget the stories Luke and Bryson told about the "cadaver room," Horshack hitting on Luke's mom, and the vanishing sandwiches. I would tell them but this post is already long and I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow.

A Friday at Home

I found my wallet! Well, actually, I didn't, but someone else did. It was in the kingdom hall parking lot. Apparently it fell out of my purse in the dark when we came out of the meeting Tuesday night. It was there in the rain until Thursday morning when someone found it. Sadly, it got soaked in the rain and totally mildewy and ruined. But my driver's license, bank card, etc. are all safe and sound. And since I was wanting a new wallet anyway, and now have a reason to buy one, I'm calling it a very happy ending.

I stayed home all day today, which was great. I cleaned the house, did laundry, washed my hair, etc. Nothing super exciting, but it just felt good to get stuff done. When Zack came home he made us a yummy dinner of eggs, toast, and french fries. Now he's watching the last episode of Jericho: Season 2. He's very distressed that there will be no more episodes. Jericho is his new favorite show in the history of the world. We ordered season 2 from Blockbuster, and he is watching it on his laptop, using my pink earbuds. It's cute :)

We just finished our family study, out of the Babylon book. That book is so interesting, we learn something new every time.

In other news, my pink longstem rose that Zack bought me over a week ago likes its vase of water so much that it started sprouting and putting out roots. The stem is a beautiful glowy green, with brand new baby yellow leaves sprouting in four diffrent places. I decided to try potting it and see if I can get it to grow into a baby rosebush. That would be so awesome!

A Long And Pretty Awesome Service Day

My wallet is lost! I have no idea what happened to it. I've looked everywhere - all over my house, in other people's cars, at the Starbucks where I last remember using it - but to no avail. It is nowhere to be found. I've been checking my bank records online, and so far no one's used my debit card. I moved all my money to a separate account, just in case. I really hope I find my wallet tomorrow - my last hope is that it might have fallen out of my purse at the kingdom hall. I'll check there in the morning.

Anyway, so my sister picked me up at 7:30 this morning. We started out our day by driving to Spanaway and picking up the son of one of her Bible students, who recently moved. The Bible student's car broke down, so we gave her little boy, Jonathan, a ride to kindergarten. On the way we talked to him a little bit about Jehovah. He was very shy at first, but when my sister got lost and couldn't find his school, he was able to direct her right to it. Smart kid! I wouldn't have been able to do that at five years old.

Last night at the meeting we learned about how Jesus put his ministry above everything else. He walked hundreds of miles preaching the good news, and taught people about the kingdom when he was tired, when he was hungry, when he needed some alone time, even while he was dying. He gave up a life of ease and material comfort in order to invest all his energy into teaching people the truth. It's a really inspiring example to follow.

I thought about that today, out in service. The rain was still pouring down nonstop, for the second day straight. It was gusty and cold and yucky outside, and I would have felt really proud of myself for being out on such a day, if it hadn't been for the fact that I spent the morning riding around in Jack's Mercedes, doing calls, and we stopped at Starbucks twice. (The first time was to check for my wallet, but still, I didn't come out without trying the new Apple Chai Infusion. Too Spicy). I felt just a tad guilty for being so comfortable, when Jesus probably spent days like that on foot.

The afternoon more than made up for it, though. I worked with Darci, which was great. We were able to track down one of her calls, an old lady name Carolina Keeves, who had been moved to a nursing home, unbeknownst to Darci. We drove from one end of town to the other and back again, and when I finally met Carolina (or Callie, as she likes to be called), I was so glad I got to be there. She is the cutest thing ever! Flat on her back in a nursing home for two months, and still the biggest smile, and so happy to see Darci. I just kind of stood by while they talked a mile a minute catching up, and Carolina would say the funniest things, and make me laugh. She was a ray of sunshine in my dreary, rainy day.

After that we went on a Bible study. Raquel is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. She's newly baptized, and still going over the God's Love book with Darci. She has a toddler named Leo who is a handful, let me tell you! During the study he went running into the kitchen. There was the sound of a drawer opening, and him rummaging around. Raquel ran in and said, "Leo, no! You can't play with the knives!" (I am not making this up). Later he went in his room, and when Raquel went to check on him, we heard, "No, Leo! Keep your fingers out of there! You're going to get electrocuted! E-lec-tro-cut-ed!"

All I could think was, I really, really hope I am not pregnant!

It was a fun study, though, and all in all I got in 9.5 hours today! Awesome! Came home, fixed chicken and french fries for dinner, watched part of a dumb reality show, and suddenly realized how late it was, and that I hadn't even written in my blog yet.

OK, bedtime for me. I hope I find my wallet tomorrow!!!!

More Books!

OK, last post of the day. Zack had the Bible reading at meeting tonight. He did excellent! Renee McOmber came up to me after meeting and said that he has a very nice, flowing voice that's easy to listen to. I felt proud of him :)

Abby Jolly lent me books! I texted her before the meeting and asked her to bring some. I have been wanting something just light and fun to read. Here's what she gave me: Shopaholic and Sister and Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella, and three Jaine Austen Mysteries: Killer Blonde, Shoes to Die For, and Death by Pantyhose. Yay! I can't wait to read them!

Well, I'd better get to bed. I'm meeting my sister tomorrow at 7 am.

Rain, Bath, Book

It's been raining all day, but it's getting worse as it gets later. A few minutes ago it sounded like a hurricane outside! Howling wind and lashing rain. I like those sounds, when I'm snug indoors.

I just did something I haven't done in ages: I took a bath and read a book. The books is one I picked up at a used book store months ago, and then forgot about. A Gathering of Days, by Joan Blos. It was published the year I was born, and won the Newberry Medal. I like it, so far.

I Am Just So Amused

I got a text back from Darci, offering to bring me anything I might need from the store. She says: "Don't hesitate to ask. It will give us something to do on this rainy day. However, if you're pregnant, we can't do much to help you there. :-)"

My Tummy = :p

I am supposed to be meeting Darci Kirk in an hour. Darci is a very cool pioneer, very fun to work with. I called her yesterday morning when I needed someone to meet up with. She couldn't meet me, but we made plans to get together this morning at 11:00. I was pretty happy about that. Only when I woke up this morning, I felt sick. Like, super sick. Tummy sick. Yucky.

I had Zack bring me a slice of bread around 5:30. Sometimes when I'm sick to my stomach, it's just acid, and a slice of bread will take care of it. I asked for another slice of bread around 8:30. At 9:30 I got up and walked around a little, hoping the yuckiness would go away. Nope. Instead, it got worse. So I called Darci and left a message telling her I was staying home. And now I feel icky and sad.

I will drink some peppermint tea and study for meeting.

Bleh

Just a quick post, because I'm very tired and I want to go to bed.

Today was a weird day. I got up later than usual, which I figured was ok since last night Leslie told me we were meeting at 9:30 for service, due to the snow. Well, unfortunately for me, the snow all actually melted during the night. I never actually looked out of my window while wearing my contacts, and so I had no idea that the roads were completely ice-free and that the weather was windy and warm-ish, like spring. And so while I was still getting ready to go, everybody else was meeting at the kingdom hall at the regular time, 9:00.

So when I got there, everyone else was already in service. I called Shirley, and she and Tanya came back to pick me up. Unfortunately, they were planning to go on a Bible study together at 10:30, which left me nobody to work with. I called around, and managed to make plans with some people from the Narrows congregation. I met up with them in a coffee shop parking lot, and spent the rest of the morning doing calls with Christa, Lindsey, and Tracy. It was a pretty fun morning. I had never officially met Tracy before and she turned out to be really fun to work with. Christa was complaining that now that she's no longer a Catholic (she was raised in a divided household and went to Catholic school up through 8th grade), she needs a gesture to replace crossing herself. You know how in the movies, somebody will be getting ready to jump off a building or something, hoping their parachute will work, and they will cross themself just before taking the leap? Christa wants a new, nonreligious gesture to use in those kinds of situations. (Not that she's in the habit of jumping off buildings, but I'm sure you know what I mean).

In the afternoon I worked with Shirley and Tanya again, and also Luke. We did more calls, until about 3:00. It was fun, but what with waiting around for people to show up, meeting up at the hall or elsewhere, and then needing to take bathroom & coffee breaks, I only ended up with about 3.5 hours of service for the entire day. Which was very frustrating, especially since I left my house at 9:25 and didn't get home until almost 3:30. When I got home I felt really tired and sort of achey, like I was coming down with a head cold. I didn't end up doing any of the things on my to-do list, such as cleaning out my car or finishing the laundry. Instead I curled up on the couch with a blanket and pillow and watched TV. I felt guilty but I didn't want to be tired again tomorrow. I really have to do 100 hours this month.

I hope it will be easier to get up tomorrow. But I don't feel too optimistic about that.

A Party, Snow, And a Petite (But Treacherous) Daddy

Well, it's the first Sunday of January, and our meeting time changed to 10:00 am. I have to say I'm not too excited about this. Last year was sooo nice because we had the 4:00 meeting. 4:00 meeting, I miss you! We got to sleep in till 11:00 every Sunday, then have a nice leisurely brunch, study the Watchtower, and putter around the house or watch TV until 3:00, when we started getting ready for meeting.

For the next year, there will be no more sleeping in. On the other hand, we are done with meeting by 12:00 now, and have the rest of the day to do what we like. That's nice too. It's a trade-off.

Well, this evening we went to the auxiliary pioneer party at the Agues'. This was a party for all the members of our congregation who auxiliary pioneered in November. It was a coffee and hors d'oeuvres kind of thing, so Zack and I brought bagel bites. We were supposed to be there at 6:00, and when we looked out the window around 5, it was snowing! A lot! An hour later almost an inch had accumulated. We set out anyway, and pretty much slid down Center Street, which was super slippery. It's a very wet, slushy snow, and the streets are slick. It was pretty fun.

The McOmbers were at the party, with their two tiny girls, Ava and Elsie. Ava is three and a half, and Elsie is two. They have wispy, curly blonde hair and are seriously adorable. Tonight their mom was telling us how Ava is mastering the concept of opposites. "Ava, is Daddy big or little?" she asked. "Daddy is little," Ava answered. Everyone started laughing, of course, and teasing Jason, calling him petite. "Ava," he said, flexing his bicep, "is Daddy strong?" Ava shook her head,"No!" Jason tried to bribe her with treats into changing her answer, but she only laughed at him like he was the silliest person alive.

We didn't stay too late, since it was snowing the whole time. Our neighbor Valerie decided to follow us home, just to be safe, in case she got stuck. As we were brushing the snow off our cars, who should come running up but Jason McOmber. He had left his car idling in the street to come and throw snowballs at us! I was so shocked. I mean, he's our service overseer, and he totally ambushed us. It was pretty funny. I would have got him back, but he ducked at the very last second - I'm pretty sure my snowball brushed his shoulder, though.

And now we're home, and not sure whether the snow will stick around, or melt away by morning. Zack is hoping for a snow day, of course. I wouldn't mind having to stay home if he does, too. But if he goes to work then I want to be out in service. I need my time. I'm afraid to drive to our kingdom hall, though, if the roads are slippery. It's at the bottom of a pretty wicked hill, and I do not drive in snow. At all. So, we will see.

Just A Quick Post

Not much happened today. I finally got caught up on sleep, did some writing, a little laundry, and spent time with Zack. We went for a walk, up and down the hill a couple of times, which I am happy about. I also did a little workout later on while watching an episode of House. I haven't started reading my new book yet. Why is that, I wonder? I was so excited about buying it, and now I'm putting off actually opening it up and reading it. Maybe it's because I know I'm going to be brought face to face with certain aspects of my personality that I don't really like. Such as, my tendency to be lazy and procrastinate.

Anyway, not much else to report. I leave you with this:

Newsies: The Blueberry Yogurt Edition

Last night I dreamed that I was eating one of those little fruit-flavored yogurt cups, only in my dream, the yogurt was a movie, which played in my mind while I was eating. It was like renting a movie and eating at the same time. The movie was Newsies, and I was very excited in my dream because the blueberry yogurt edition had a deleted scene which I had never seen before. I really wanted my mom to see the scene, but the problem with yogurt movies is that you can't rewind. Once you've eaten through a scene, it's gone, obviously. I was extremely disappointed about that. It seemed like a complete waste of money.

In other news, we went to Borders tonight, and I got a new book. It's called People Are Idiots, And I Can Prove It. Oddly enough, this is a book written by a motivational speaker, and it's really funny and awesome. I had skimmed through it yesterday at the Borders in Southcenter, so I already knew I wanted to buy it. Now I can't wait to read it all the way through.

Devin met us at Borders, and we hung out in the cafe, catching up. That was pretty cool. Zack and Devin bought snacks - a lemon bar and an apple tart - but I was good and stuck with a few sips of Zack's soda (since I am determined to lose the weight I've gained since the wedding, post haste!!! ). We ended up talking about a whole lot of random things, like pagan symbols, the weirdness of Catholocism, time travel, and building half pipes (Devin is into skateboarding and Zack likes bmx biking). I like Devin because he's one of those people that I feel at ease with no matter how long it's been since I've seen them last. He's back in Tacoma now, so I guess we'll have to invite him over for poker sometime soon :)

2009!

Well, it's 2009. I had a pretty long day today. It was the last day of Amaya's visit, so we decided to go up to Seattle for the day and hang out before we had to get her to the airport. Her flight wasn't until 9:00 pm, so that gave us the whole day to go sightseeing. That was the plan, anyway. The problem is, we hadn't realized that on New Year's Day, everything in Seattle is closed. I mean, everything. Even Starbucks. There were a few shops open down on the waterfront, but that was it. No Pike's Place, no nothing. Pioneer Square was dark and gloomy, and overrun with very scary-looking people who asked us for money. I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. Zack wanted to take pictures of every dank and gloomy alleyway. I was seriously afraid we were going to get mugged.

Anyway, after wandering aimlessly for a while and getting very cold, we finally went back to our car and drove to the Southcenter Mall. I had never been there before. It's huge! I bought a couple of calendars on sale at the calendar booth. One Winnie the Pooh, (classic Pooh, not Disney Pooh), and one page-a-day by Thomas Kinkade, which is really pretty and has space on every page for writing notes. Amaya and I looked at lots of jewelry, scarves, and bags, Zack looked at camera equipment and electronics, we got sandwiches at Subway, and spent some time reading in the Borders Cafe. Then we took Amaya to the airport. I can't believe her visit is over already! It's been nice having her here, like having a little sister. I like having someone around to talk to, especially when Zack is at work or busy on his computer. I'm going to miss that.

Sometime in the past couple of weeks, Pongo learned to say "bye." He says it whenever we're getting ready to leave, and he sounds so sad that it makes us feel terrible for leaving him at home all alone. It's really, really cute though.

I can't believe it's 2009. This past year went by in the blink of an eye.

Haha, that rhymed.

Bye for now.