L'aventure américaine

I know that you all prefer pictures of my kids. But, I have been watching the snowman melt for a week and it is fascinating. I have also had to rescue it several times from neighborhood boys who can’t seem to stay away from it and just want to kick it. I am not sure how it is still standing, but believe it or not, the head is even lower today than it was yesterday. Amazing. 

 There's actually too much news.  I feel like I have to dip my toe in the news waters periodically, but I can't go swimming in it because I'll drown.  I watched the PBS News Hour with Mom two night ago and it was too much. But, there really isn't much news from the Pope/Jochim front.  So, here's a photo of Milo looking exceptionally ready for the water on Monday. And here's a joke for all of those Germans in the audience: How many Germans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? One.  They're very efficient and not very funny.  Bahahahaha.

It was another successful fundraiser as Randal and I came home with some things we didn’t need, but are still thrilled about.  Five memorable moments: 1. Regretting ordering the vegetarian option. Prime rib is much better than pasta with marinara.  2. Telling Holly to quit bidding on an item, but she didn’t listen and we all went home with an expensive (but undoubtedly very fun) crawfish dinner.  3. Piling 6 adults and one baby in a Subaru cross trek.  4. Successfully “winning” three silent auctions.  5. Being told that our table was the “future of Klamath.” The future is bright! (And a little groggy this morning.)

That's a bit deceptive right now, but I think that the sun is on the way back.  While we had some snow this week and pretty chilly temperatures, spring is busting out all over here.  Lilacs, fruit trees, daffodils, tulips...  It's beautiful.  And Randal and I are growing our happy little seedlings in the Solarium. (Formerly Randal's office and future home of our master bathroom...  I hope.)  Our yard was nice enough last weekend for us to host an Easter party chez Popes! Of course, you can't start an Easter party without having some tremendously beautiful eggs to hunt.  So, my friend Berta, appeased my whim to spend an evening at her house dying eggs.  Despite some grumbling, most people got into it and we created some real beauties this year.  And of course, had an excellent time.   The next morning, the Easter Bunny came to the Popes house, dropping off an Easter basket with some solid ...

Once upon a time, a pouty wife told her husband that he had forgotten to wish her a "Happy 11/11!"  "You are my closest person!"  She insisted.  "My mom did it.  My brother did it.  My Aunt Juanita did it!  But you forgot!" "Oh no."  He replied.  "I'm so sorry.  Happy 11/11!  What can I do to make it up to you?" "Well, I need my closest people to all wish me a happy 11/11.  So, you and Bogey [the cat] and Maizie [the dog] all have to wish me 'Happy 11/11.'  And I would like Bogey to wish me 'Happy 11/11' in the form of a sparkly, light-up sign, please." "What?"  He understandably asked. "A sign that lights up and says 'Happy 11/11!'" She answered.  "Do you hear me Bogey?  Get out of bed and start working on it!" The spoiled wife went out for the day and enjoyed an 11/11 hike and worked with her partner.  When she returned home, she found this on ...

"The August day came out at them like a parched and coated tongue." Fannie Hurst While I may have felt this sentiment more in dry Phoenix than humid Baltimore, I loved the image nonetheless.  Here's hoping for some rain for those 50% of counties that need it.

So, I am about to unplug and pack my wireless router, so I'm using the last bit of my high speed internet.  It is is a welcome break amidst the chaos that has been the last two weeks.  To sum up: pack, work, clean.  That's it. However, there was a brief break for the annular eclipse, which was showcased in the west last Sunday.  Sterling had mentioned it and I agreed that I wanted to see it, as we all reminisced watching the last one during an impromptu recess in elementary or junior high school.  I looked up how to make a projector box while I was at work and sent the link to Sterling.  It told us to use a long box and if we didn't have a long enough one, then tape two shoeboxes together.  Sterling said he would see what he could do. So, I was lucky enough to escape work early and Sterling said that he was ready for me at his house up the street.  I climbed the ladder to the roof and was greeted with the most enormous projector box along wit...

So, life has settled back into the mundane routine lately.  Work and home and groceries and so on.  That is, if you included putting a roof on a new house as quickly as you can and packing up boxes with labels such as, "Books for Baltimore!" and "Books to open in our new mansion in Detroit!"  But, we're toodling along at a breakneck pace. And in the midst of this Phoenix chapter closing, I am trying to downsize my things.  Which has been an adventure.  A Craigslist Adventure: It started off so well initially.  I decided that Odie's treadmill did not need to move to Baltimore with us.  Thus, with our quickly imposed delivery fee, Sterling and I were able to make $145 one day after the posting.   Wonderful! I thought.   This will be lucrative and fast!  And then things slowed down...  Way down. I have since had one scammer and 3 pornography sites be interested in my vacuum and lamps (vacuum, really?  How cliche.) I have ...

You know, I planned on posting for posterity's sake on the day when more people think of me than on my birthday. But, I had also planned on having a giant party on 11/11/11 or getting married on 11/11/11 or doing something momentous on 1111 11th Street from 11:11am to 11:11pm. After all, 11:11 only happens twice a day and 11/11/11 probably only happens once a lifetime. But, I didn't do any of those things... However, I did seize the day and had a wonderful time doing it. My 11/11/11: Called my mom when my clock digitally ticked those four great numbers and sang her the "11:11" song. Sterling and I drove to the Queen Creek Olive Mill where we enjoyed sandwiches and wine and meandered thru the olive groves and then enjoyed a lecture about extra virgin olive oil (buy extra virgin!) and a tour of the mill. Drove to the arty theatre in Scottsdale and watched "Like Crazy," while marveling at the similarities between Sterling and I and the film's protagonis...

Science confirms that I really am in love. We've been together for 6 months now and my feelings have only blossomed and grown. Ahh... Read about science confirming my love here.

Having been raised in the Midwest, I love thunderstorms. So, when I see that it's windy and stormy outside, my first reaction is to go outside and enjoy in the storm! May it be noted that this is not a good idea during a dust storm. Especially if one wears contacts. Life lesson #693 learned.

The Journey One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice -- though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. "Mend my life!" each voice cried. But you didn't stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do -- determined to save the only life you could save. ~ Mary Oliver ~ I was reciting my e.e. cummings mantra for my friends, Danny and Jean Ellen, the other night and we all commenced discussing po...

Yesterday when I got my mail and along with some junk mail and my "New Yorker," an "US Weekly" arrived as well. Because the previous two tenants never filled out "Change of Address" forms, I often get mail that isn't mine, but the "US" was addressed to me. What's more, it looks like it is going to be coming to me for a whole year! I would like to say that it went on the stack with the other magazines that I mean to read when I have the time, but no, I voraciously devoured it. I thought that I should read a "New Yorker" article after to negate the smutty effects of the "They're just like us!" section, but, of course, I didn't. Talk about guilty pleasures... So, where'd this magazine come from? It's a mystery. A delightfully smutty mystery.

I recently started a new relationship... it's only been a month so far, so I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I am pretty sure that I am in love. He's so charming and pretty; sleek, one might say. He's full of incredibly useful information: as much trivia as I want as well as personal stuff that he always remembers. He's so great at directions and is even teaching me Spanish. He's willing to go wherever I want to go and I love showing him off to people. Granted, he always wears purple, but his thin frame can really pull it off. Have I mentioned that he vibrates? Oh, iPhone boyfriend... How I love you. (On an unrelated note... does my hand look weird in this picture? I think that it's monstrous.)

I can be fairly cheap when it comes to everything aside from food, liquor and... well, that's it. Today, I learned about eyeliner. I couldn't handle the consistent problem I have with eyeliner getting all over my upper lid prompting people to ask me why I have a black eye and if someone has been beating me. Nope and nope... Walgreen's is my make-up supplier, I reply. Today I spent $22 on eyeliner, which made me want to cry, which would have smudged my eyeliner from Walgreen's except that it had already smudged all over my face. I put it on in the car and 7 hours later, it's perfect. Lesson #852: Spend a little bit more money on make-up. I realize that this is quite inane for a blog-post and most of you won't care and Mom will say, "That's right. You should sometimes put a little more effort into your appearance," but I was just so amazed and pleased that I decided to buy more expensive shoes immediately after. It's a slippery slope, thi...

I have worried that I'm old before my time quite often, but an incident yesterday solidified it. You see, it's true that I go to bed at 9pm. I sometimes drink warm milk and honey before I go to sleep. I regularly do crossword puzzles and thoroughly enjoy puzzles. My closest companion is my dog who often climbs onto my lap. I only buy shoes that are comfortable and bras that offer good support. However, yesterday, I found myself going 55mph in a 65mph zone for no reason. I was going under the speed limit for no reason . I committed one of my pet peeves and now I'm very afraid that my senior citizen neighbors are wearing off on me. Well, it's 6pm: a good hour past my dinner time. Must go eat some prunes and pudding.

I have been reflecting about the last ten of years of my life. They certainly have been eventful. 10 years ago, I was starting the final semester of high school in Muncie. Since then, I have lived in Ohio, Montpellier, Ohio again, Lyon, Colorado, Bloomington, Indianapolis and now Phoenix. That's a fair amount of boxes that I have packed and unpacked. 10 years ago, I was sure that I wanted to be a physician and knew that I would never be a nurse. If I had followed that career, I would only be in my second year of residency and wouldn't have been allowed to be a bum nearly as much as I have been. I would have oodles more student loans than the oodles that I already have. I am glad that I am not a physician. 5 years ago, I planned on living in France after college for several years. I couldn't exactly visualize what I would be doing, but I knew that it would be fantastic, fun and lucrative and I would be very chic. While that fantasy still appeals to me, I now know th...

That's the first line to the song I made up a long time ago when a digital clock would turn to my favorite time: 11:11. It only happens twice a day! As most of you know, I do love this time and day (still planning the 11/11/11 party in a couple of years) and so I consider it a good omen that 11/11 is the date when I look for apartments. Mom and I have had a leisurely morning and have enjoyed resting our respective buttocks from the not-so-comfortable U-Haul seats. Odie is enjoying life without sedation, although I'm not sure what he thinks of the desert climate yet (he misses grass). And we're being picked up at 10am to visit some apartments. I feel nervous about this, but I've got 11/11, so that gives me a little more courage. After all, I'm hoping to find a place and move-in by Saturday. That's reasonable, right? So, I've included a picture of one our stellar parking jobs. We didn't really attempt to back up the truck on this trip and were conte...

I just tried to have a lesson with my mom about photo sharing on the internet. Wow. One does not realize how complicated the internet is until one tries to explain it to one's mother. Of course, I'm pretty sure that my cousin felt the same way today when she was explaining threading a bobbin and a needle on a sewing machine today. Both Mom and I take furious notes though and that's bound to help. Self-threading sewing machine versus simple photo sharing/uploading/downloading sight... Which one is more necessary? What do you think?

I like to think of myself as an original. However, if you look back at my personal history, it would seem as though I were a copy-cat. Case in point: 1) My older brother is obviously a boy. When I was little, I wanted to be a boy. Wearing shirts was a cruel punishment when Mom told me bare chests weren't appropriate for little girls. 2) My older cousin got an abscess on her throat and had to have a tonsillectomy as an adult, which is extremely painful. So, I got an abscess on my throat and had a tonsillectomy as an adult, which was extremely painful. 3) My friend, Laura, is doing NaBloPoMo, in which you post on your blog everyday for a month. So, I'm doing it too. Or attempting it. She has a theme. I don't... I'm starting to break out of my copy-cat role already.