An Unexpected Adventure

Over the weekend we went on a spontaneous trip to Disney World without kids. 

Typing that sentence makes me feel like a spoiled brat. Spontaneous trip. Disney World. No kids. Dare I even mention the part where we got to go with some of our best friends in the whole wide world?

It sounds too good to be true! But it happened!

Carlie, Chad, Scotty, and me at Magic Kingdom last Friday

Carlie's brother-in-law is a pilot, and he offered the four of us some buddy passes to fly to Orlando. Carlie asked me if I wanted to go (with nine days notice), and at first, I was like, "Oh man, I wish we could, but bla bla bla..." but then the more I thought about it, the more possible it started to feel. As I started looking at our calendar and getting info from Carlie, everything just fell into place. Within a few hours, we were set, and there was no reason to say no!

It was a quick trip. We flew to Orlando on Thursday evening. Then we hit Magic Kingdom all day Friday and Hollywood Studios all day Saturday. 

Scotty and Chad had both been to Disney World before as teenagers, but it was the first time for Carlie and me. It was so fun to get to see it in real life (more on that in a future post). 

We were able to do everything we hoped to do. We used the new Genie Pass (which just launched in Disney World October 18th).

Do I think Genie Pass is a horrible, dirty scheme? Yes. Do I sort of hate Disney for it? Yes, I do. But am I still willing to pay for it? Begrudgingly, yes. 

Jerks.

We also paid to ride Rise of the Resistance. 

Jerks.

Florida was warm and humid, and I had horrible hair the whole time. My saving grace was a neck fan that my friend Lynsie bought me this summer. I took it with me and had it running constantly (except during rides when I would charge it in my bag). 

The neck fan was everything! Highly recommend! 

Some of the highlights were:

Riding the ferry across the lake to and from Magic Kingdom (I didn't know this, but you have to take a ferry, a monorail, or a shuttle from the parking area to the park, so we opted for the ferry because it seemed the most fun).

Seeing this elderly couple dressed as Donald and Daisy. They were the center of attention! Everyone loved it!

Watching a squirrel dig for treats while waiting in line for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train.

Getting to go on Tower of Terror again (the one in DCA is now Guardians of the Galaxy, which I love, too, but it was so great to go on Tower again - Scotty and I went three times).

Seeing an entirely different side of Chad - who is scared to death of Tower of Terror.

Getting to eat in a nearly empty restaurant in Galaxy's Edge because they weren't letting people in unless they used mobile ordering and had confirmation that their food was ready.

The employee in the restaurant telling Scotty she's never left the planet of Batuu, and Scotty thinking that meant that as a Disney employee, she wasn't allowed to go anywhere else in the park. She had to explain to him that she was just being "in character." 

Seeing an old man in a jazzy chair with ziploc bags full of candy clipped all over the front basket (hopefully he just really loved candy and wasn't trying to lure children). 

Waiting in line behind a man with one leg who, when prompted to move up to make room for more people said, "There's extra room right here!" and pointed under his stump. 

Walking straight on to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (a ride we waited 90 minutes for earlier that day) during a time when even the cast members were confused about the lack of crowds. 

Grinning at Carlie every time a ride announced, "And parents, please watch your children!"

-----

Everything went really well during our travels other than we had to do some shuffling to get home on Sunday because the flight we originally booked ended up not having room for us. We rented a car at 4:00 a.m. and drove three hours to Fort Lauderdale for a flight. 

We had a great time on the trip. It was quite the surprise to get to go, and such a cool thing to get to go with Chad and Carlie. With 34 years of marriage between us without any anniversary trips, the four of us felt justified in ditching our kids for a weekend of fun. 

Weird, right?

I’m no stranger to weird days, but today was blog-worthy kind of weird.

Early this morning, my debit card was declined for “suspicious activity.” The activity in question? Buying fuel from a gas station I go to all the time! 

Weird, right?

While I was on hold waiting for the bank employee to see if he could resolve the issue, I kind of forgot what I was doing, and I started singing, “Trust in me,” like Kaa in the Jungle Book. 

Weird, right?

Right when I decided to take my creepy snake voice to the next level, the guy came back on and said, “Hello? Is this Brittany?” I had this moment of “Oh my gosh! What am I doing?” Singing like a snake into my phone while sitting alone in a parking lot probably isn’t normal.

My kids were out of school today. After running errands for a few hours, they hadn’t texted me at all.

Weird, right?

So I used Siri to text Nicky and see if he was awake (Zoe was the only one awake when I left home). A few minutes later, something felt a little off, so I looked at my phone and found that Siri had texted my neighbor down the street instead of Nicky. That’s the 3rd time in a week that I’ve texted the wrong person via Siri, and I rarely even use Siri! 

Speaking of annoying phone things, at one point today, my phone refused to acknowledge “van” as a word. It autocorrected to “can” three times. 

Weird, right?

At the grocery store today, I found a good deal on some flank steak. I bought two packages and sliced it up before freezing it so it’s ready to make Korean Beef Tacos (yum!) 

Now, we all know that there can be some disturbing things to behold when dealing with meat… cartilage, fat, grit, and whatnot. But this cut of flank steak had a big, old blood vessel in it, and when I sliced it, the blood vessel burst and shot blood all over me. There was some legit splatter up my arm.

Weird, right? 

After I cleaned up the scene of the crime, I started making lunch. I whipped up the meal of champions for my kids (Ramen) and then started making a Thai Crunch Salad for myself. I was trying to eat something healthy and wanted to give the recipe a go (one of my September goals was to try ten new recipes before the end of the year). 

When I made the dressing, it didn’t look quite how I expected. In the back of my mind, I thought the dressing had called for peanut butter, but I read through the ingredients, and didn’t see peanut butter. I coated the salad with dressing and then started eating it. It tasted very “healthy,” and was a little on the spicy side, and just… not what I hoped for. I don’t know why I looked back over the recipe, but I did, only to discover that the dressing did call for peanut butter! Half a cup, in fact! 

Weird, right?

I dumped the salad in a colander and let as much of the dressing run off it as I could. Then I put a scoop of peanut butter in it and blended it together and put it back on the salad. Unfortunately, I’d already forced a good portion of the salad down and didn’t really want any more. Plus, no matter what peanut butter solutions I attempted, the salad was already botched. So I tried a few bites and then fed the rest to the chickens. 

On that note, I have something to say about cabbage (one of the key ingredients of the Thai Crunch Salad). I feel like cabbage never-ending. Like when you chop cabbage… it just keeps going and going. You just chop and chop and chop and think, “How is it that I’m still chopping cabbage?” And you get the 2 cups you need for the salad and then you still have 8 cups of cabbage to figure out what to do with!

Weird, right?

This afternoon I got a text from Scotty asking me about a charm I’ve been trying to get for a necklace I earned two years ago for my Young Womanhood Recognition. I’ve been trying to find a gold Honor Bee for a year and a half (my bishop gave me the wrong color and the emblems are now discontinued). I’ve asked people on Facebook, and I’ve checked with several Young Women leaders and bishops in other wards as well as on eBay, but I haven’t been able to find one.

Scotty started his new job two weeks ago, but the guy he replaced just barely moved out of his office, so today Scotty was moving in and found a gold Honor Bee - still in its package - in his desk drawer. 

Weird, right?

That one actually makes me weepy. I've been hoping for that bee for a long time. 

Things the Kids Say: Episode 13

 "When I grow up, I'm going to be a scientist or an anesthesiologist. Or I'll work at Subway."

-Zoe

----------

Nicky: I'm going to save up my money to buy a Lambourghini.

Daisy: I'm going to save up my money to buy a Toyota.

Eva: I'm going to save up my money to buy a toy Baby Yoda, too!

----------

Eva: Why are there police everywhere?

Me: There was an accident.

Eva: Someone peed their pants?

----------

"Mom, we're going to invite Tyler over later to get some romance on. I know all about romance because I've kissed Quinn."

-Zoe

----------

"Mom, which side of the family does being a pervert come from?"

-Nicky

----------

"When I grow up I want to be the mayor so I can turn smiles into money, and everyone can be rich!"

-Zoe

----------

Eva: I can smell McDonald's.

Me: Wow, you must have a really good sniffer!

Eva: That's because I just picked three boogers.

----------

"Dad, at the zoo I saw a monkey's private part, and it looked like a Nerf bullet."

-Zoe

----------

"Mom, if I ever have an emergency and need some rope, I'll just make some out of yucca fibers. No big deal."

-Zoe

Back to School Book 6: Anne Frank

 

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to read ten "school" books (meaning books that I either did read in school, could have read in school, or should have read in school). I got a good start, and then I completely forgot I was doing this. Then I remembered and got back on track with my latest book, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. 

I originally read Anne Frank in junior high, when I was Anne's age (Anne kept her diary between ages 13-15). I don't remember much about the book from that first reading other than Anne's curiosity about sexual things. When you read anything about sex surrounded by classmates and your ancient teacher (because when you're young, all adults are a hundred years old), you definitely remember! 

I listened to the audiobook this time, narrated by Selma Blair. I didn't care for the narration in the beginning. I thought Selma's voice was too old for Anne, and I felt like the narrator should have a German accent. But as Anne matured through the diary, Selma's voice became more appropriate for her. 

One thing I really love about Anne Frank's diary is that you really can see her growth over those three years. She was ever learning from her life's experiences. 

Even though Anne was in very traumatic circumstances as a Jew hiding in the annex, she was also a very normal teenage girl. In so many ways, she was every girl. She fought with her mom. She crushed on a boy. She felt picked on. She wanted to figure out her body. She wanted to be treated like an adult. She had big dreams. 

One of her dreams was to write a book. She expressed many times in her diary how much she loved writing and how it was therapeutic for her. It became her wish to have her diary published someday. Unfortunately, the diary ended quite abruptly when the annex was raided, and Anne was taken from her refuge - never to return. She and her sister Margot are believed to have died from typhus in a concentration camp. 

Since I was listening to the audiobook and didn't have a visual cue to see when the book would end, I was taken aback. It was actually quite emotional to hear the last line of Anne's writing and have the narrator indicate that's where her diary ended. 

Anne's father, Otto, was the only member of her family who survived. Anne's diary was found and kept safe by his secretary, and it was Otto who saw to it that Anne's wish was fulfilled, and her diary was published.

Anne was quite a good writer and used far more articulate words than I ever would have used at her age. Of course, children of that era had a very different vocabulary than children of today, so I don't know if her wording is common for that time period or if she was just especially gifted in her use of language. I suspect a combination of the two. 

It was great to go back and read Anne Frank's diary from an adult perspective. I understand so much more about history now, but I also have a greater perspective on adolescent development. I see so much of my teen self in Anne (and even my adult self). 

I will definitely be adding Anne Frank to my dinner party guest list. We have much to discuss. 

Weird Things We Say During Game Night

"I can't feed my family!"

"Where's the sheep port?"

"Oh, Ratigan!”

"THIS. Is a one."

"Don't forget to take out the coffee."

"Chad, are you the Handmaid?"

"I'm taking my pigs to the market."

"Ah man! I hate Abu Simbel!"

"Turkey vultures can projectile vomit to defend themselves."

"I'm going to breed."

"Anybody got any stink beans?"

"I'm renovating to stone."

"We built this city... We built this city..."

“Where are all the fish?”

"Who's tucking all the green cards?"

"I'm a duke."

"Flipping for yellow."

“Yo, ho, ho!”

"We've got another breakout in Beijing."

"I'm slaughtering my sheep."

"Everybody gets a worm!"

"She's going after North America."

"I'm going to build fences."

"I'm keeping a boar in my house."

"Anybody got any ore?"

"I'll give you a blue bean for a wax bean."

"We know how much you love Brest."

"I'm laying eggs."

"Choose your leaders."

"I've got Manneken Pis."

"Where the heck is Budapest?"

"I'll pay 200 florin for a jester."

“I’m going to use the wet nurse and have a baby.”

We Scare Because We Care

Lately Scotty has been intrigued with the story of Joseph Henry Loveless, a criminal from Utah whose body (or parts of it) were found in a cave in Dubois, Idaho in the 70’s.

You should definitely click the link and read the story, but if you need the quick version, here it is:

Known as “the Bootlegger,” Joseph killed his wife with an axe in 1916, then he went missing. In the 70's someone found his torso wrapped in burlap in the cave in Dubois. In the 90's, an 11-year-old girl found a hand sticking out of the ground while exploring the same cave (poor girl). After some excavating (by professionals), both arms and legs were recovered. The identity of the body was only confirmed early last year through a DNA sample from Joseph's grandson. 

His head is yet to be found... and the Bootlegger is said to haunt the cave. 

[insert ghoulish music here]

Anyway, the cave is now a haunted attraction, and Scotty really wants to go sometime due to his enthusiasm for caves and scary stories. I'm not big on ghost stories, but I'm always intrigued by murder stories. I'm one of those weirdos - it taps into my fascination with human behavior. So I don’t care much about the haunted part of the story, but I definitely want to know who killed the Bootlegger and what they did with his head!

Over the weekend, Scotty told the story of Joseph Henry Loveless to his mom (another ghost story enthusiast)... in front of our three daughters... who are scared of everything. I was thinking, "Oh dear, this could be bad." Then Scotty found a YouTube clip where a lady talks about how they haven't found the Bootlegger's head, and it must be found and returned to the body so the Bootlegger will stop haunting the cave. Of course, he loaded the video on the big screen and watched it in front of the kids.

Shortly after this, Eva asked me, "Mom, is the Bootlegger real?" and I said, "No, that's just a silly Halloween story that Grandma and Daddy like to tell." 

[Lies].

Then Scotty's mom started telling ghost stories. My mother-in-law has had a lot of "experiences" in her life and is, I guess, what you would call, "sensitive to spirits." She has always claimed that her own house is haunted, as did the previous owner. Her house is really old. In fact, it was originally an underground house, and everything above ground was added later (though the above-ground portion of the house is very old too). 

Here's a not-great photo of her basement from the year we had to have our Easter hunt down there in a snow storm. It's hard to see the details, but if you look closely, you can see that the floor is stone. It's the perfect setting for a haunting... or a murder... not so much an Easter hunt, but we made it work. 

With her home being so old, there are some interesting stories about her property. Supposedly there are at least two babies buried in her back yard, and someone wearing boots died back there. Scotty's mom says she hears someone walking up the stairs in boots. There are also stories of laughing children and water turning on and off. My mother-in-law claims that they are "good" spirits and not menacing, so they are not scary, but that wasn’t a very convincing fact for my kids whom I’ve told for years that ghosts aren’t real. 

After all this scary talk, I knew we were in for it. I knew that Zoe and Daisy would be a wreck that night, and we would find ourselves dealing with all sorts of new fears and anxieties. 

But it didn't stop there...

Eva is apparently the next generation to be fascinated by ghosts. My mother-in-law ended up breaking out a book of scary stories, and Eva asked her to read story after story. 

Eva became obsessed with this illustration of "the wolf girl:"

She kept asking to see it over and over again. Then she ended up bringing the book home from Grandma's house so she could look at the wolf girl some more. We gathered around to watch Wheel of Fortune on Sunday night (Donny Osmond was on - he did terrible), and Eva brought her scary book and flipped through it the whole time. Then she asked Scotty to take her upstairs and read her more scary stories 

The photo in this post was taken by Eva on my phone. She said, "Mom, I took a picture of the wolf girl on your phone so we can always remember her."

My kid is weird. 

Anyway, that night, all three girls (even wolf-girl-obsessed Eva) refused to go in any rooms alone. We had to escort them everywhere they went. The three of them insisted on sleeping in the same bedroom, and we had to sit nearby until they fell asleep. Would it be just a one-night thing? Oh, heck no. I'm anticipating months of this. Years, even. 

Since Sunday, Zoe has been asking in her prayers that someone will find the Bootlegger's head and return it to the Bootlegger's body so he will stop haunting the cave. I guess we'll see if it turns up sometime. I think Scotty would love to be the one to find it. He just needs to get himself to Clark County, Idaho. 

Baby's First Homecoming

Nicky went to Homecoming over the weekend.

School dances have certainly changed since I went to high school, and I have a lot to learn. I’m aware that kids don’t necessarily “date” anymore (that’s been going on for a while now), and that has infiltrated the school dance culture. Some go to dances paired off, but a lot go stag (is that a term still?) Some go in groups of just girls. Some go in groups with boys and girls. Basically, anyone who wants to go to Homecoming gets to go to Homecoming in whatever way they choose, which is good, I guess since I was never asked to a dance at my high school, so I spent every boys' choice event hoping that at least one of my friends also wouldn't get asked so I would have someone to watch movies and eat fast food with. 

As far as dressing goes, they wear… well… whatever. Nicky’s friends all looked like they were going to church - they were dressier that the average Tuesday, but not quite what I would consider “semi-formal.” Then I saw photos with kids in suits, kids in sparkles, and kids lacking in clothing altogether (ain’t none a ya gonna be doing the electric slide in that get up!) (oh shoot… I’m old!) Then there were people in sweaters and converse, people in denim jackets, and Nicky said there were even people in t-shirts. This probably isn't the case for more affluent areas, but where we live, it's the current way of things. 

Since Nicky was going to (what I thought was) a “semi-formal” dance, I wanted to get him something nice to wear - something a little more formal than the short-sleeved, white dress shirt he passes the Sacrament in. Plus, he needed new slacks anyway because his legs have grown 18” since COVID hit (I’m pretty sure he’s over 6’ tall now, but I haven’t measured him. He has a well-child appointment later this month where we can get the official details without me having to scour my house for a tape measure) (tape measures are definitely one of those things I can never find when I need one). 

Anyway, the dance was on Saturday, and I started thinking about Homecoming clothes on Thursday, so I cut it too close for online shopping. While Nicky was at school that day, I went to three stores looking for dress clothes only to find that none of the three even carry dress clothes! For the past several years, I've purchased all of Nicky and Scotty's dress shirts and slacks online. In that time, apparently, dress clothes in-store have become a non-thing. After school, I ended up taking Nicky to Kohl's. I felt very defeated in having to shop at Kohl's - I kind of hate Kohl's, but that's a rant for another day. I knew that Kohl's would have some dress clothes, though, and it's right by my house, so I could pop in during the 45 minutes between picking Nicky up from school and picking the girls up from school. Kohl's won for convenience, the dirty devil. 

While Kohl's did have dress clothes, the inventory was pretty sparse. I remembered that's why I shop online for dress clothes... because I can never find my boys' sizes in stock. Nicky and I sifted through all the dress pants and found a single pair in his size. It was a fabric I don't prefer (due to lint attraction), but it was all we could find. And they were "on sale" for buy one get one 1/2 off (one of many reasons I hate Kohl's) so that did us absolutely no good. Same with the dress shirt we found. Ugh. My saving grace was a 30% off coupon. 

My goal for the shirt was something sweat-friendly and not short-sleeved. Mission accomplished, but only barely since it was such slim pickings. There was just one shirt that met the sweat-friendly color scheme, and they had a small and a medium. I had Nicky try on the medium, but we both thought the sleeves might be too short. To our surprise, it actually fit him!

Close up of our sweat-friendly selection

After overspending (much to my tight-wad son's dismay), I felt like we pulled together a pretty good-looking ensemble. I couldn't tell Nicky how cute he was, though. I had to play it cool. But inside, I was like, "Oh my gosh! My son is soooo cuuuuuuute!"

Kid is getting too tall for porch photos. I have to stand down on the sidewalk and hold my phone up over my head to get him in the frame.

Nicky said he had a good time. He went to a friend's house for dinner. They had Zupa's, to which he commented, "You only have so many years to eat. Why would you waste them on tiny paninis?" They went to the dance (and upon my request, he did ask one girl to dance rather than running away with friends to hide during slow songs - as he has done at all previous dances). Afterward, they hung out at a friend's house. 

When I asked him how his "outfit" worked out, he said, "Good. I looked like a Bishop at a Wednesday night activity."

That Kind of Week

Oops! There went my crock pot!

Oops! There went the watermelon!

Oops! There went Grandma’s trampoline!

Currently {October 2021 Edition}

Reading:

Craving: a capastrami sandwich from Capriotti's.

Needing: some big bowls. I had a bunch of big, plastic bowls I bought from Walmart for a party 13 years ago. They were $1, and they lasted forever! I'm down to my last one, and it's cracking. I went to Walmart today to buy some more, but they were out of stock, so I need to check out another location. Like my red bucket-y thing (also from Walmart), I use the bowls for everything. 

Daydreaming about: recipes. I spend way too much time thinking about all the things I want to cook. There just aren't enough meals in a day to do all the cooking I would like to do. 

Watching:

I just finished watching The Starling on Netflix the other day. It took me about four days. I don't know why, but I can't sit through a movie. I can watch the equivalent in TV episodes, but I rarely watch a movie in one sitting.

Dreading: some upcoming social obligations that require me to be in awkward company. 

Wearing: my usual uniform of stretchy pants and a t-shirt. 

Listening to: a Mat and Savanna Shaw playlist (currently transitioning from "Somewhere Out There" to "You Are the Reason" - which is one of my favorites. Other favorite - "Come What May").

I'm also working my way through the audiobook of Anne Frank as part of my goal to read ten "school" books this year. 

Singing: "You Are the Reason." Obviously. 

Buying: costume components for Nicky for the school musical. 

Annoyed by: the ever increasing amount of red light running. It's getting so bad around here. I easily see 5-10 cars running red lights every day, and not just in the "oops, I misjudged the yellow light" way. It's the "holy crap you almost killed someone" way, and it infuriates me. 

Playing: Wingspan on my phone - all day every day. 

(Okay, not all day but many times a day).

Procrastinating: calling a credit card company to ask them to remove a late fee. My payment got there the day after it was due, and they're usually good to remove it. I just don't want to do the work of calling. 

I'm also procrastinating getting my kids' flu shots. 

Loving: cool mornings and evenings. 

Laughing about: treating myself to a facial mask. 

I slathered the clay substance on my face and then went to visit each of my children in their beds to say prayers and tell them goodnight.

Every single one of them startled when they saw my face. Then in their prayers, they said, “Please bless that Mom won’t give me nightmares.”

Worried about: all the parenting things. Where does one begin?

Eating: leftover food from our trip to Saint George. That sounds gross, but I assure you, anything we are eating is safe. Like the syrup we had on our pancakes this morning. 

Struggling with: lack of ambition. Sometimes I wonder if I'm supposed to be pursuing something greater, but I don't feel a pull toward anything. My dreams consist of, "Yeah, that would be nice, but nah." 

Regretting: pulling the basil out of my garden last week because now I'm craving pesto pasta, and I feel like I shouldn't have to buy basil.

Feeling: a little burned out. Yesterday was a marathon day, and today started off with a marathon morning, but now everything is settled for a few hours, and I need to just... recover.

At the end of the day yesterday, when Eva finally stopped her nightly screaming routine and fell asleep, I just wanted to cry. Not necessarily out of sadness, but relief. I just needed to release. 

Grateful for: goodness.

I feel like I have to look harder for goodness right now than I have in the past, so I'm more grateful than ever when I find it. It's out there. It's just difficult to see it sometimes in our current circumstances. I have made drastic changes to my social media habits since the beginning of September, and it has made a huge difference. 

It's Autumntime! It's Autumntime!* (and ten other random facts)

Fact #1: I’m currently laying in my bed with the sound of a rooster repeatedly crowing in the background. I’m stressed about the rooster because I feel like it’s my job to make it be quiet, and yet… I don’t have a rooster! 

Fact #2: Last night I had stressful dreams. First, I dreamt that I yelled at my sister-in-law. I told her off big time - doing all sorts of irreparable damage. Then I was at church, and someone sang a Broadway song in sacrament meeting, and I was like, "No, no, no! We can't sing Broadway in sacrament meeting!" and after she finished the song, her husband went up on the stand and kissed her passionately in front of the whole ward. Then someone got up to speak and started passing around visual aids while the Broadway singer rode around the chapel on a vacuum.

I couldn't deal. 

Fact #3: Scotty is starting a new job next week. This change came quickly and out of the blue. He came home from work one day and told me that he felt very strongly that he needed to pursue a certain job opening. A few days later, he was giving his two week's notice. Wednesday is his last day at the Church Office Building. 

Fact #4: It's kind of sad to think that any temples announced in General Conference will no longer be a preview into the next few years of Scotty's work life. People always ask if he knows about temples before they are announced in Conference. The answer to that is, "Very rarely." His temple assignments have changed frequently over the years, but currently (for the next few days, at least), he works with temples in Central and South America. 

Fact #5: Last week, we were *this close* to booking a trip to Disneyland for next year. We ran the figures, counted our sky miles and Marriott points, chose some dates... and decided to talk more in depth about it over Thai food on a date Thursday night. Then Wednesday night, we discovered that our van was leaking oil. 

Ain't it funny how that happens?

Fact #6: For our date night, we ended up played Wingspan on our phones instead of talking Disney to each other. That conversation is on hold until our van is fixed. We got our van into the shop to have it looked at on Friday. We'll be taking it back next week for the repairs. 

Fact #7: Earlier this year we had some problems with the van and we had to decide if we wanted to fix it or buy a new (used) one. We shopped around a bit and found that the inventory for what we wanted was horrible. What did we want? A van just like the one we already have! I love my van! It has everything I want. The only thing I'd look for in a different van is fewer miles. 

When it came down to it, I really didn't want a different van. I just wanted my van. So we decided to fix it. 

I still just want my van! So I hope all goes well with this repair so the Brittish Mobile can ride again!

Fact #8: In other "large expenditures" news, every major appliance in my kitchen is on the brink of failure. Our dish washer doesn't wash. Our oven and stove don't properly regulate their temperatures (I had a baking fail the other day, and checked the temp of my oven and it was 50 degrees below the temp it was supposed to be), and our fridge is slowly falling apart but still keeping things cold for now. 

Fact #9: I've cooked bacon three times this weekend. I feel like that's a lot of bacon. First we had turkey bacon and cinnamon rolls for breakfast yesterday. Then I tried this recipe for dinner last night on a whim. It was delicious. Probably because bacon (real bacon, not turkey bacon). Then this morning, I made bacon again because I'm making baked beans for lunch (we're getting together with family to watch General Conference, so of course that includes breakfast and lunch)! 

I promise I don't usually consume bacon at this level. But my house will smell like bacon for a week. 

Fact #10: It's very exciting to see the Tabernacle Choir back in action this weekend at General Conference. It's wild to think they've had to sit out for three General Conferences. The time we've spent in a pandemic is continuing to pile up, and it's strange to think about how much has passed. 

*I've been working on learning this song for primary this month. I've never sang it before. It's really hard to type and/or write the word "autumntime." It never looks right. 

I Found My Spirit Animal

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #17:

Animal

September got away from me! When I wrote my last post, I thought it was the 29th and that I had one more day of September. I kept thinking about which prompt I would use for my last post. I didn’t realize, until this morning, October 2, that it was October. I mean, I knew… but I didn’t know. That is all to say that even though it’s now October, I’m going to do one last prompt for the September Writing Challenge.

Yesterday my kids didn’t have school, so we decided to go to the zoo. I forgot about one thing… charter school field trips. Ugh. We pulled in the parking lot and discovered we were not alone. There were children. Everywhere. At the zoo! Can you imagine?

(Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but I still found myself running away from name-tagged school children in matching polos at every corner).

Animals are great. They’re kind of like relatives. I don’t need any of them living in my house, but I enjoy spending time with them once in a while.

If I were to have an animal in my house again, I would want it to be a cat. In fact, I really want a cat. I miss the Colonel fiercely. But any time I start daydreaming about having a cat, I repeat the phrase, “Cat hair and kitty litter! Cat hair and kitty litter!” and it fixes me right up. 

At the zoo, one of the cutest animals, in my opinion, is the Arabian Sand Cat.

Scotty rarely goes to the zoo with us, so pretty much any time I go to the zoo, I send him a picture of the Sand Cat and say “I want one!”

The other day my friend Lynsie sent me a picture of a buck-toothed hyrax and said she found her spirit animal. I found the hyraxes and sent her a photo, pointing out that they have lovely double chins. Lynsie and I? We feel it. We do. 

I may have found my spirit animal yesterday. This gorilla was just laying there, munching on snacks, living his best life. And I was like, “Yes, friend!” 

Then I saw the meerkats, and even though they are one of my favorite animals of all time, I know they are not my spirit animals. They are overly active and busy for no reason. They are up and down and up and down… burrowing with no purpose other than that’s what they think they need to do. I look at them and think, “I know people like you! Y’all make me tired.”

Then there were the Titi Monkeys. Look how the four of them intertwined their tails. 

I wondered if that was something that just the monkeys at Hogle Zoo do, or if it’s a behavior of their species as a whole, so I looked it up and found that it is the species. They intertwine their tails for social purposes and to regulate their body temperatures. I thought that was pretty cool.

For many of the animals, it was a day for lounging about. Even the zebras were ready for the weekend. 

This morning we woke up and decided to go to the zoo again. Being a Saturday, we were free from field trip crowds. We got there just after 9:30 while the weather was cool and the crowds were small. It was delightful! And I was happy to find my spirit animal in the same place as yesterday, still going strong. He just… gets me.