mourning, but thankful

So many loving tributes to President Gordon B. Hinckley floating around the blog world today. I have loved reading them, so thanks for writing them. He has served as the prophet of my church for half my life.

Thanks, President Hinckley, for the years of tireless service. Thanks for the wit, the optimism, the Perpetual Education Fund, the many new temples, the media smarts, the consistent messages about always trying to be a little bit better and little bit kinder.

His passing is sad news for the millions of us who love him and revere him as a prophet. But it makes me happy to know that he is reunited with the "girl of his dreams."

just me posting about me again

Catlin passed along a google image tag and I wanted to play, too. Now I am finally getting around to it. You are supposed to type your answer to each of the questions below into google image, and post a photo from the first results page. Here's what I ended up with:

age you will be on your next birthday:

your favorite food:

your middle name:

your college major:
your favorite color:

a place you would like to visit:

where you live:

name of a past pet:

one of your favorite places:

your favorite holiday:

a bad habit:

your favorite animal:

Do you want to play too? If so, consider yourself tagged.

good beginnings and great people

I had a tiny moment of panic when the sun woke me up this morning. Did my alarm fail me today? If the sun is already up, why am I not up? Then, I had one of those blissful moments, where I realize it's a holiday, and I have absolutely no plans, and I can sleep as long as I please and then stay in bed reading until noon if I feel like it. I fell back asleep in a matter of seconds, and I'm sure I fell asleep smiling. That is a very good way to start a day.

Today is a nice holiday, for reasons besides the obvious perk of extra sleep . I watched a video clip this morning from the 1963 civil rights march on Washington, and I felt proud of all the people across time who have had the courage to stand up against the status quo when they knew it was wrong. Today makes me grateful for people who do things, as opposed to people like me who generally just grumble or feel sad about what is not right with the world. I'm trying to be better. The world is lucky that lots of people already are better.

my new favorite team: the flying whatevers

Forget about the undefeated KU basketball team. The real action this season is sure to be found at Holcom Sports Complex, where Shay's city league basketball team had its debut this week. There are some pretty bad team names on the roster (Dynamite Chickens? Not Applicable? Cutthroat Connection?) but Shay's team is probably worst of all. They are to be known as the Flying Mazzagattis. or Mazarattis. or Manicottis. or something. (Honestly, boys lack creativity in the worst way.) I can only assume the name has to do with professional wrestling, judging by who organized the team. Does anyone know? Both Shay and I are at a loss. Shay is mostly just happy to be playing organized basketball again, and I like spectating.

The Flying M-words pulled off a win this week and I was, of course, so proud. As much as I wanted to snap a quick picture of everyone looking precious and matchy in their t-shirts, I didn't want to come off looking like Shay's mommy or anything. So, I refrained. But stay tuned - I'll get that picture yet. Someone has to document for posterity that once, Shay played basketball for the illustrious Flying Mazzagattis.

raindrops on roses

I've been saving Holly's "favorite things" tag for a rainy day. Today it probably won't rain. But it rained yesterday. Plus, I feel like blogging but have nothing to write about. Here are eight of my favorite things, in no particular order:

1: public libraries. I love them. Have loved them for a very long time. At our current public library I probably check out a good 20 items in a month, everything from CDs to magazines to software to DVDs. Also sometimes books. I love finding things I had no idea I was looking for.

2. fluffy pillows. Mmmmm.

3: crockpots. Magical! Throw stuff in pot. Plug in. Leave house for several hours. Come home at night and eat a real meal the minute you walk in the door. I commend whoever was behind this invention.

4: calla lilies. I've mentioned my affection for them before on this blog, I just realized. But the shape of a calla is just crazy beautiful. It can't be a crime to mention it twice.

5: pepper jack cheese. I dare you to find anything that tastes better on a cracker. You will fail.

6: travel. There is rarely anything I would rather do with my money than use it to get somewhere that I've never been before.

7: ballet flats. I grew up in a relatively warm climate and mostly wore flip-flops every day of my life. Now that I am not afforded the luxury of 65-degree Januarys (that word looks so wrong), ballet flats are the new flip-flops for me. Easy. Casual. Cheap. Available in an astounding variety. I can avoid re-learning how to tie a shoe. Perfect.

8: blogs. Who knew they were so much fun? I am constantly glad that I finally hopped on the train. I can't think of a better way to keep up on the big and small happenings in friends' lives now that we don't live as close to "home", and it's fun to keep friends and family updated on our news or lack thereof. Given some time I can also squander an hour or two reading random blogs about photography, design, politics, and everyday life, written by perfect strangers.

schrute bucks for screenwriters

What is with this writer's strike? I am not a huge TV watcher but I miss coming home to "The Office" on Thursdays. They have (or had) such a great writing staff. Come on, greedy studio folks. Just give them their share of the cash, for the love of all that is good and funny.

Some "Office" wisdom to hold me over:

Michael Scott: Abraham Lincoln once said that "If you're a racist, I will attack you with the North." And these are the principles I carry with me in the workplace.

Dwight Schrute: In the wild, there is no health care. In the wild, health care is, 'Ow, I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me. I'm dead.' Well, I'm not dead. I'm the lion. You're dead.

Dwight Schrute: Security in this office park is a joke. Last year I came to work with my spud-gun in a duffle bag. I sat at my desk all day with a rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged?

Michael Scott: A lot of the people here don't get trophies very often, like Meridith or Kevin. I mean who's gonna give Kevin an award? Dunkin' Donuts?

Dwight : This is a Schrute buck. When you have done something good, you will receive one Schrute buck. One thousand Schrute bucks equals an extra five minutes for lunch.
Pam : [raises hand] What is the cash value of a Schrute buck?
Dwight : Excellent question, Pam. 1/100th of a cent.
Oscar : So 10,000 of your dollars is worth one real dollar?
Dwight : Just zip your lid.

Dwight : Very good. You have earned one Schrute buck.
Stanley : I don’t want it.
Dwight : Then you have been deducted fifty Schrute bucks.
Stanley : Make it a hundred.
Dwight : Don’t you want to earn Schrute bucks?
Stanley : No. In fact, I’ll give you a billion Stanley nickels if you never talk to me again.
Dwight : What’s the ratio of Stanley nickels to Schrute bucks?
Stanley : The same as the ratio of unicorns to leprechauns.

lex and shay's holiday stats

The visit to the Homeland was highly enjoyable and, all things considered, the holiday vacation was a huge success. And here are the cold, hard numbers to prove it:

number of days with warmer temperatures than we would have enjoyed in Lawrence: at least 9

meals eaten at much-missed fresh-mex establishments: 3

pounds gained by trying to attend every family and social event over the holidays, all of which seemed to involve large amounts of food: tbd (still afraid to find out)

number of movies watched in theaters: 2 (nearly as many as in last six months combined)

number of movies watched in theater paid for by us: 0

number of marshmallows gleefully shot at small chidren during family marshmallow war: 100+

pairs of jeans tried on before finally buying a pair, then promptly returning them: at least 20 (has anyone read The Paradox of Choice? shopping for jeans is out of control. now I remember why I haven't done it in 5 years.)

number of full minutes we sat at this intersection












because out-of-town driver two cars ahead of us (apparently not wearing necessary corrective lenses) thought this holiday decor was a red stoplight: 2

books started: 6

books finished: 2

number of times I got teary-eyed at good friend Jen's wedding: 2

number of times someone started doing the Electric Slide at Jen's reception: lost count

days that a gracious little brother let us borrow his car: 7

hours shay spent cleaning said car before it was safe to get inside: 2

duet renditions of auld lang syne we played loudly and obnoxiously with kazoos on new year's eve: 3

number of times friends regretted opening package of kazoos on new year's eve: 3 or more

number of times I even came close to winning "cover your assets": 0

final score in exciting KU win over Virginia Tech in Orange Bowl: 24-21

number of times we laughed out loud at our favorite year-in-review (Dave Barry, of course): a good 10 or 15

pounds of luggage over airline limit due to addition of christmas presents: 15

items we realized we had forgotten/left behind when we came home and unpacked: 0 (truly a Christmas miracle)

warm fuzzy holiday memories brought home: plenty to last until next year