Sunday, December 14, 2008

New Odd Name

Remember when I told you about the couple I met on the train who's neighbor named their daughter Purdy Skerry, pronounced, Perty Scarey? Well, we have a Bacon family in our ward and tonight, while looking through the ward directory, I found out his name is Crispy. That's right, Crispy Bacon. He and his wife are friends of ours. He's always just referred to himself as Chris. And now I find out his parents were awful people who named their pride and joy Crispy. It's one of those things we joke about, like my brother naming his daughter Tammy so he and his wife can have a Tam Bourine for a daughter. But who actually goes through with joke names like these? Now, of course, Matt and I are dying to call him on it and find out the story that goes along with it. Did his parents also want a name that would make their child unforgettable, or were they really just mean spirited and figured he was going to get teased anyway so they might as well go all the way?

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Adventures in the Winter Wonderland

A few months ago I was told that it snows in Wenatchee every Halloween. No luck this year, in fact it's been mild and rainy. I was so disappointed. Well, my concern was laid to rest yesterday when it started snowing. It's been snowing all weekend and next week the only time it will be above 20 degrees will be when it's time to dump more snow.

Everything inside me says to stay indoors, make warm bread and drink hot chocolate. But I again live in an area where you're still expected to continue life as normal when it snows. This morning we had our ward Christmas party and much to my surprise everyone still came out for it. Again, I really just wanted to stay inside but the guilt inside of me attached to my party-assigned task forced me out.

The roads actually weren't that bad, and once I saw that life continues despite the snow Matt and I decided it was time to once again visit Ye Olde Leavenworth. We've been told its gorgeous this time of year and, with all the recent snow, we figured it would be deserted since it's so treacherous coming over the pass on I-90. Not only was it not deserted, it was so crowded the tour buses had to start using school buses to pack in the masses. Egads! Matt and I aren't exactly crowd people. The thought of spending 20 minutes finding parking, walking another 20 minutes to the city center and waiting another 45 minutes for a table were enough to completely kill any Christmas good cheer we were then experiencing.

So with the snow still falling along with the temperature, we decided to drag main street, see the lights of town and head back to the Wenatch. Good decision, the lanes on our local highway were getting pretty fuzzy and who knows how long it would have taken to get home had we actually tried to brave the masses.

We drove home and walked through the blizzard-esque conditions to one of our new favorite restaurants. It was touch and go there for a while but we made it there and back without falling on our faces. A skill I am proud to say I learned in college.

Anyway, my concerns turn to tomorrow and getting to church now that all the snow is starting to freeze. I'm still kind of hoping they'll cancel it but I don't think they do that sort of thing here. Wish me luck.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

MWF Seeking Forgiveness and Advice

Okay, I think I see some recurring themes to my blog and my journal. My poor husband has gotten the brunt of it, but you have too and for that I am sorry. I promise that after today I won't mention pregnancy until I have far better news to share.

You may remember a few months ago when I said if I wasn't pregnant come November that would be okay . . . "Because right now I have so much faith that I know that if I don't get pregnant in November (like I really, really want) than the Lord has an even better plan in store for me!!"

Well I'm not pregnant and after a lot of praying I've come to know that I'm just going to have to wait for beautiful babies. I've also come to realize that looking at this time as a "trial" is a big fat waste of time. Remember when I said I quit being sad about not being pregnant? Well I'm reiterating it. Blegh. That's what I say to trials and sadness.

So a little more background information. When I moved to Boston a few years ago I had my roommates make me up a little list of everything I needed to do in New England before I moved. Things like, visit Amish country, do the freedom trail, visit Montreal, etc. It was a great list and definitely made my time in Massachusetts vastly more enjoyable.

So that, dear friend, is what I'm asking for you to help me do now. I need to make a list of everything I want to accomplish before parenthood finally finds me. If you only worked part time and had no children to nurture what would you want to accomplish? What hobbies do you have that I can poach? There are no wrong answers. I might not train for that marathon like I know my brother-in-law would want to do, but go ahead and suggest it anyway. Anything and everything will be taken into consideration. Thanks everyone for supporting me in this. I really really do appreciate your prayers, love and concern.

Claudia's Quilt

My dear friend Claudia is someday having a baby (she was due on Friday). And I made her a quilt for her baby girl. This post is for my mother and for Claudia to see the result. And for me to look at later.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Old Friends

Sunday is my day for checking friends' blogs. I love how it has given me a chance to reconnect with old friends, especially those I never thought I'd find. Today I happened across my freshman roommate's blog. We'll see if she wants to reconnect with me.

I realize everyone has already found each other on facebook, but since I can't seem to commit the time to that resource, I'm thankful for blogs. And I'm thankful for everyone who finds mine and let's me know they've stopped by! I love you all!

Pros and Cons to living in a small town

I drove into Seattle yesterday and on my way home I started thinking of the good and bad that comes with small town living.

Driving
Pro - you don't have to deal with tons of traffic. I used to have the local news' traffic web page bookmarked so I could quickly see what highways and byways to avoid on my way home. Now all I have to remember is to not try making a left off of Miller when I go home past 4:30. So simple.

Con - for most true small towns, you have to take some country two-lane highway to get in or out. Which means your chances of getting stuck behind some slow driver increase. Yesterday, I was clipping along until I got about 2/3 of the way home and got stuck in a ten-car pileup behind one driver going at least 10 miles below the posted speed limit sign. This time, thankfully, my bladder was doing just fine.

Shopping
Con - choices are limited and some large-town basics are nowhere to be seen. This means the local stores have the opportunity to hike prices in the competition vacuum.

Pro - the reasonably-priced locally owned stores have really nice owners who are so excited to meet their customers and create relationships that will encourage local shopping. I.e. our local florist and music store.

Materialism
Con - associated with the above, there's not a lot of options for buying quality items, such as furniture, nice clothing or fancy cars.

Pro - this means that everyone is more or less in the same boat and there's not the same competitive feeling that you need to keep up with what everyone else has. Because chances are, you're already there.

Okay, that's all I can come up with for now. I hope you are all doing well.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Compliments, I think?

So I think I have mentioned that I teach Gospel Doctrine in our ward here in the Wenatch. I've never really taught before and was really humbled by the calling considering all the men and women my age are in primary, so I'm left with all the older couples who have so much more experience then I do. You will understand, then, how grateful I am to everyone who smiles at me and gives good comments. I honestly feel like it's more of a collaborative class than anything else. There is one older gentleman (really old) from Holland, I think, who speaks in an accent I can't make out no matter how hard I listen, but even he smiles and shows me his love.

So I love my class. That's the gist of all that. And what's fun sometimes is when I get people who ask if I'm a teacher by trade. What a compliment. Yesterday I had one such person give me that compliment. But she went a step further to say that I should quit my accounting job to pursue teaching. Because, after all, who wants to be stuck in a career they dislike when they could be doing something more fulfilling. In truth, I would love to be a tutor. I really do enjoy helping someone one on one. And in high school, I had wanted to be a teacher. But how do I explain to this woman that I am not really interested in any career right now but the one of getting me pregnified. And that accounting is going to help pay off my husband's student loans a WHOLE lot faster than teaching ever would. I might have said something to help her understand my plight but I don't think she was having any of it. So I guess I'm stuck. Do I follow what this woman feels is my true path to teaching or do I forever squander my happiness and talents by choosing the path that will pay off those student loans and potentially one very expensive baby?

By the way, just in case you're wondering, even after the fasting and prayers of so many loved ones, I guess November wasn't my month. Don't worry, I'm doing fine.