Life in Spades

Can you tell it is a holiday?

I have finally posted all the blog entries I had in "draft" that cover my activities, more or less, for the last month.
I also finally uploaded the 200 pictures I had between my old and new cameras, so now I can officially only use the new camera. It takes great photos, but I am still getting used to charging it. Unfortunately that means I have no pictures of Mom and Dad's Turkey Trot.

Other miscellaneous notes:
1. I took the GRE and got above 1200 (yes, GRE is still like the old SAT, a perfect score is 1600). Since this is a nice average score, I am pleased.
2. My release has finally started. Now the real stress can begin. Can I keep everything moving forward, juggling new requirements, not enough people, and shorter amounts of time without any motivational tools at my disposal?
3. For the first time in a long time, I am not done with my christmas shopping before christmas. I know, this is probably a sign of the end of the world.

Finally, I missed the thankful part of November. My sister usually emails me to keep up with my thankfulness, and without her prompting, the month has passed me by without any remarks. So in no particular order, here are a few of the little things I am thankful for:

1. Tivo and it's ability to make me the favorite sister, I hope
2. Cupcakes and their ability to make me the favorite fake aunt, I hope
3. Good colleagues
4. A sister to have dinner with
5. A sister to hang out with
6. A sister to call and talk on the phone with
7. A sister to text
8. Parents who run races
9. The challenge of an exam
10. Learning to work with someone new
11. Movie FHE nights
12. Swing dancing
13. 1.50 movie nights
14. Friends to be social with
15. Vacation days
16. A car that can drive long distances
17. A job that pays the bills and lets me do fun things
18. Apples
19. Bertolli
20. Finding the perfect pair of brown boots at DSW on sale with a coupon
21. Orchestra
22. Home teachers
23. Long, leisurely dinners and the conversations that go with them
24. Realizing that I have many BFFs, and am fortunate to continue to find good friends
25. Face to face is still a better connection than facebook
26. Asking someone to help out at work, and knowing that will be taken care of because they are reliable
27. Sunday dinners
28. Clean kitchen
29. Guacamole
30. An extra day off for Thanksgiving

I get by with a little help from my friends

The summer of 1987 we moved from Scotland back to Maryland. We landed in Gaithersburg, in a cute little neighborhood with duplexes and single family homes called Pheasant Run. We lived at the top of the court, and a family who lived on the corner at the bottom of the court brought over dinner. They had three kids the same age as me, my brother and my sister, and they were also Mormon. My best friend is now married with two children, and owns a home in Pennsylvania. I know, reading that sentence, who knew we had grown up this much? I remember sleeping over at her house as a kid.... and now, when I go to visit, I sleep in her daughters room instead :)

I got to visit my best friend and her brand new baby, and see the new house a couple of weekends ago. It was really cool to help out, and to relax. We got to see some cool craft stores in town, I raked some leaves, we watched movies, went to a park, and I took her daughter to a class and picked up cupcakes..... Yes, I am trying for "favorite fake aunt" :)
Sometimes the best vacations are ones where you just get to visit, and enjoy other people. My friend has a beautiful family, and I am glad I am a part of their lives.

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

When I was a senior I lived with my best friend. We decided to go out with a bang, and hit Franklin St for Halloween. But first, we needed costumes. We headed down to Crabtree Valley Mall to look for something suitable. We found some cheap pleather black pants and a pair of vests. So we decided to be biker babes, and got some bandanas. We walked Franklin Street, and then decided we were cold, so we headed home. (I wish I could have found the picture of us, and a scanner.... )

This year, I was Elfaba from Wicked, and my friends and I are heading out to some parties and then onto Franklin Street. Since my friends haven't lived here, they haven't ever been to a Franklin Street party. I got a couple of people to break into songs from Wicked, we saw Beyonce do the Single Ladies, and we heard Thriller. It was a good halloween.

High Adventure in the Mountains

My friends have not been to the mountains of North Carolina, so we thought it would be fun to go when the leaves were changing. It would also be a nice contrast to the beach camping trip we took over Labor Day. Since my sister lived in Boone, I wanted to go back there because I was familiar with some fun things to do, and I also hadn't gotten to do some other things yet.
We headed out Friday Oct 25, and drove straight into a rain storm. At least we got cook-out shakes on the road.

Setting up tents in the rain is not fun. And it meant the tents were pretty wet inside..... ok, there was a river on one side of the tent! So we went out to buy more tarps and towels to try to make it bearable. It did stop raining in the morning, but the ground was very soggy. Lucky for us, the campground had a laundry so we could dry out the sleeping bags and clothes that were wet. We enjoyed some pancakes for breakfast, and then got on the road. First stop: Linville Caverns. It was really cool to walk through the caverns, and we got to see a bat. Then we went to Grandfather Mountain and had a picnic. It was gorgeous and sunny. We saw the bears and eagles.



Then we hiked up to the Mile High Swinging Bridge. As we were hiking, clouds started flowing down the mountain. It was a really cool effect, but when we got to the top, it was covered in clouds, so we couldn't see the view. But we did walk across the swinging bridge, and it really does swing! As we walked down the mountain, we realized that the clouds were the rainy dreary kind, and they were there to stay. This dropped the temperature, and meant we spent 4 hours trying to get a fire going to cook our foil dinners. Once the fire was going, it was warm, but we were damp and hungry. That night was pretty cold, so I slept in the car to try to avoid freezing. When I bought my sleeping bag, I was thinking of hot girls camp camping, so it is only good at 40 F, not in the 30's :) Sunday we went to church, and as we were walking out, someone said, whoa, I smell campfire! Apparently showering didn't help our coats, which were still smokey. As we took down camp, we realized how much water was in the tents.... yuck! Then we went to the Moses Cone Manor on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and hiked around the lake. It was a pretty sunny afternoon, and the leaves were crunchy under our feet. Then we drove to see the Viaduct, and headed home.

We stopped at my friends house in Greensboro for dinner. It was fun to see her, and her cute little girl.

Bottom Line: Boone is awesome, Cook-out shakes are awesome, my friends are awesome, and camping in the cold and rain is not something I want to do again.

Goodbye, 20-something

In the series about Ender by Orson Scott Card there is a book called Speaker for the Dead. The point of the Speaker for the Dead is to speak the truth about someone's life. To reveal the good, and the bad. Often we gloss over the bad spots, the trials, and just say we had a great life. Well, my 20's were good and bad, high and low. So here is my Speaker for the Dead.

20: Raleigh Temple open house, moved into an apartment, got robbed, moved again, had the biggest snow storm ever, lived with Iguana girl and had the Iguana jump on me, started as a co-op at IBM.


21: Saw BNL with my sibs and BFF, lived with my BFF, had the best halloween ever, went on job interviews to exotic locations like NYC and Austin, got engaged, graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill (Go TarHeels!), got a full-time job at IBM, the project got cut after two weeks, and switched to another job at IBM, got married, moved into MSH (before the nice remodel), and worked in the nursery.


22: Got promoted at IBM, moved to the ghetto at NCSU, got called as the YW Camp Director and had a great time working in YW with my mom and sister, went to Utah for christmas, visited my BFF in honduras where she was working in the peace corps, and got robbed at machete point.


23: Got robbed, again. Rode the bus to work. Changed jobs at IBM because the project went away. Escorted another BFF through the temple, and went with my sister to the temple before she left on her mission to Italy. Went to another BFF's wedding. Finally went to an official girls camp as the director, and was very glad my mom and sister were there. Joined an orchestra.


24: Finally bought a second car, but it has no automatic anything. Bought a house in what was essentially the ghetto. Saw Les Mis, went to my BFF's wedding, and took a train to visit Charlotte.


25: Changed jobs at IBM because the project went away. Went to Boston for work, and flew home in time to see Transiberian Orchestra. Went to Mexico after christmas and climbed the pyramids. Separated from my husband. Moved into an apartment that was not in the ghetto. Saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Taught 5 year olds in Primary.



26: Got divorced. Took my sisters to see Transiberian Orchestra, and some plays (South Pacific and Wizard of Oz and Grease run in my mind, but I may be mixing up years). Taught 11 year old girls in Primary (much easier than the 5 year olds).

27: Bought a lovely townhouse. Changed jobs again at IBM because I was tired of being a tester. First time I ever proactively changed jobs. Took my sisters to see Stomp. Went to Anaheim California for work, and added a vacation to see the whales and SoCal. Helped my sister move out to Boone for grad school, and then went to visit several times over the next few years. It is a great town.



28: Promoted at IBM. Took my family to see Wicked. It was totally awesome. Drove to visit my grandparents in Nauvoo and got to see the Temple. Drove to Chicago for Labor Day with my sisters. Did a report on slavery in Charleston for a class, and got to spend Spring Break there doing research. Went skiing for the first time in Boone.



29: Spent my birthday in St Louis for work, but also on the weekends got to see my sister in her new job in Missouri. My BFF moved in, and we did the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Drove to NYC and Boston for Spring Break, and saw A Blithe Spirit, Phantom and Mama Mia on Broadway. Also got to visit with another BFF and her family in PA which is where they got new jobs. Worked the 2-day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Chief Programmer at IBM. Saw Coldplay and U2 in concert with friends. Visited my sister in Missouri, and saw Legally Blonde, and her brand new house. Had a totally awesome time eating my way through Provo with my sister. Did a triathlon with my mom and sister. Went to San Jose Cali with my two BFFs for a girls single weekend (yea, imagine that "All the Single Ladies" song). Wrapped it up with a camping trip to the mountains with friends.



If I missed anything you remember, post comments :)

What I can say was great about my 20s was my family, my friends, the ones that were there in the beginning, and the ones I met along the way, and the fantastic trips that were made possible by my job.

A few weeks ago, I asked for ideas on what to do for 30. I decided I would take the GRE. Wish me luck, I take it on Nov 6. Hello, 30!

Gravity

Today was a very full meeting day, from 10:30 - 5:30 straight. But my noon meeting ended early, so I quickly went to the break room to warm up my lunch. I had a microwave pot pie, where you open one end and leave it in the box with a crisping top. Ding. I lifted the pot pie out of the microwave, with the open end facing me..... and watched the pot pie slide out of the other end and splatter all over the floor. Typical Monday.

Don't you know how to drive this thing

It feels like yesterday that I went to the DMV to renew my license because I was turning 25 years old and it was going to expire. It was a terrible picture because it ended up being a really big head shot. And I looked at the license, and thought, geez, the next time I renew it will be 2009 and I will be 30! That is SOOOOO OOOLLLLLDDDDDD. (Said the way Lindsey Lohan says it in Freaky Friday)

Fast forward 5 years, and here I am, once again needing to renew my license. I guess this means that I think I am old.
The state has changed the laws. Now you go in and get a piece of paper for 20 days while they mail you your license. Apparently mailing a license reduces fraud? I know drivers license pictures are not the end of the world, but........ I really wanted something that was at least a more normal proportioned head. So I did my hair and went to the DMV expecting to be waiting forever. Amazingly on a Friday they were completely empty. I didn't even have time to review the signs they quiz you on. Whew! I only got one wrong. At least I still know how to drive. And then I realized I had forgotten to put on lipstick. No time! They were ready for me to take my picture. And then I wanted to see it, to make sure it wasn't another big head.... Nope! That might cause fraud.
So I had to sit and wait and wait for the license to come in the mail. It has arrived, and I can say with a sigh of relief I do not have a huge big head on my license. Apparently the DMV has taken pity on me for being old and gave me a half-decent picture. As an aside, the next time I need to renew my license will be in 2017....... yikes!