2009 in review

Pounds lost: 5 (I think my parents scale is just very forgiving-or my invisalign diet is working!)

Countries visited: 5

Guatemala

 

Belize

 

Germany

Austria 

 Japan

Sewing projects completed: 1 (a "sleeping bag" for my trips-hotel sheets gross me out)

Marriage proposals: 3 (from patients at the hospital-I know, I'm a lucky girl)

New roommates: 2


I'm sure there's more, but I really only remember my trips. 


Plans for 2010: Learning to sew, Brazil and Argentina (so far).

My blonde moment of the year

My car is having issues and it is getting fixed up near my parent's house. I had to work today so last night I borrowed my mom's car to drive back to Columbus and was just going to drive back after work. I also had to bring back a large bookcase so it worked out that I took my mom's car as it would not have fit in my small car. And I had some Christmas presents to unload. I didn't bring much in terms or clothes, personal items etc with me, as I had stuff at my apartment, and I was going back to my parents in less than 24 hours. Anyway, so I left last night and drove through a small blizzard on the way down to Columbus. I unloaded the bookcase, dropped off some mail and headed home. It was around 10:30pm. I got out of the car and it was then that I realized...

I had no key to my apartment.

I had switched keys with my mom and never taken my apartment key off my key chain. I have given copies of my keys to friends, but unfortunately for me, they were all out of town. I was technically homeless for the night. I had brought a pair or clean scrubs with me, but that was about it. I hadn't even brought pajamas. I thought about calling into work, saying I was sick, and then just driving back to my parents. I then remembered one friend who might be in town. Luckily she answered her phone and was at her apartment. So I didn't have to sleep in my car. Hooray!

p.s. Thanks Milkadoll! You're a lifesaver!

To Whom It May Concern

Dear Fellow Airline Passengers,

I know that since the airlines have been charging to check bags, you've been trying to limit yourself to carry on bags only. Me too. Perhaps you've even learned how to pack less. Good for you. However, the airlines say one small piece of luggage and a "purse size" bag (aka one that fits under your feet). That doesn't mean two pieces of luggage, both of which you put in the overhead bins. If you're carrying two bags, put one under your seat. I'm sorry that you don't have any more leg room-it's coach, get used to it. Or don't bring the second bag. And don't put your heavy coat in the overhead bin so I can't even fit my small suitcase up there. Sit on your coat or use it as a Snuggie.

Sincerely,
Me

p.s. This experience makes me want to stick with international flights.

Brace Face OR An Expensive Diet

I got "braces" the other day. Invisalign to be exact. And because people have been asking, here's the reason: I have a gap between my two front teeth that was getting worse and putting weird angles between the other teeth (I'm a nurse, not a dentist, so I don't know the technical terms). I was always getting food stuck in them too, which is embarrassing. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my teeth is the only thing keeping me in the singles ward.
Anyway, I got Invisalign. On the top teeth only. The first couple days my teeth hurt quite a bit. Especially when I had to put it back in. You have to take the trays out and brush your teeth everytime you eat. And the more you take them in and out, the more it weakens the trays. Did I mention how much it hurts to put them back in? Who likes to brush their teeth more than 4 times a day? I don't. So now I only eat three meals a day. They have to be small, so I don't get too hungry too soon. No more snacking. The past two days at work I've had to turn down free food. Do you know how hard that is for me? I've never been on a diet before, but it feels like one now. And I had to pay a lot of money to be on it. Only 11.5 weeks to go...

And then there was heat.

I finally turned on the heat for good yesterday. That's right. I made it to December 5th.
How? I'm not sure. My apartment just hasn't been that cold. I've turned it on briefly when I've had friends over, but have always turned it off as soon as they left. And I had blankets that kept me warm. And I haven't been trying to save money for traveling, in case you were wondering.
Why did I finally decide to turn it on? Candace (my roommate) moved back from North Carolina and it seemed like the right thing to do.
So, welcome back, Candace. Thanks for preventing me from shivering for the next 3.5 months.

God Bless America

Where else could you get all of this:

3 printers
1 Play Station 3
2 BluRay players
3 PS3 games
15 DVDs
1 iPod speaker system
1 router
1 Paula Dean pots & pans set
2 Pyrex 20 piece sets
2 Crock Pots
2 hand mixers
1 mini chopper
4 towels
3 pairs of Express jeans
15 Wallflowers
1 cardigan

...for about $1000 in one day (in 8 hours, to be exact)?

5AM
Black Friday 2009
Walmart
Medina, OH

Our end haul

Because I enjoy anything that makes fun of it. And Chupacabras.

Thank you, Jimmy, for making me laugh.

Twilight in Spanish?

Another thing checked off on my bucket list

Every year on the Thursday night in November prior to the Ohio State-Michigan football game is an event known as the Mirror Lake jump. Basically it is people jumping into a "lake" (pond) on campus in the middle of November. Last year when we went to watch it was about 20 degrees out and even though I told myself that one day I would jump in, I figured I probably never would if it was this cold outside. Well, this year it was 45 degrees out (practically tropical). There was a ward activity that night and plans were made for a few to jump in. I had just come from work and did not have extra clothes but was able to borrow some. A group of 15 walked over to Mirror Lake. I made the first jump-it was cold, but not as bad as I thought. More of our friends showed up. I jumped in a second time. Then a friend said she would take pictures of the actual jump and another said he would record it. So I jumped a third time. Then about 5 of the guys in our group, who had previously said they wouldn't jump in, took the plunge. By this time I was smart enough not to jump in.

Taking the plunge for the 3rd time
(I'm second from the left)

Some of the jumpers

Jumpers and spectators

2008

2009

What a waste of money or At least my friends won't shun me

Last Wednesday I woke up with two bumps on my left cheek (and it wasn't acne). On Thursday I woke up with three more bumps on my right cheek. I was perplexed. Friday there were some bumps underneath my chin. They started itching too. I started thinking I had bugs. I'd gotten fleas once when camping, but it had never been on my face. When I woke up Saturday with even more bumps, I started freaking out. After reading about it online, I was convinced I had bed bugs. Gross. I clean my apt at least once a week so I had no idea where they had come from. The bumps/bites started showing up on my upper arm too.
So I did the following:
I bug-bombed the entire apartment.
After the bombing, I sprayed my mattress and box spring and everything around them.
I washed all my bedding...three times
I washed my curtains
I washed most of the clothes in my room.
I spent 4 hours at the laundromat cleaning my comforter.
Slept in the living room (probably spreading the bugs)

I'm still waking up with a few more bumps each day. When I went into work the following Tuesday the first thing this girl tells me is how much worse it's gotten since last week. Great. Now I'm convinced I need to stay home so I don't spread my disease. I talked to a Dr at work and she asked me if I had tried anything new in the last week. And then it dawned on me what could be causing all of this:

Hairspray

I didn't think of it in the beginning as I had used it a few days before the bumps appeared. And my scalp never itched. I had never used this brand before. But it makes sense why the bumps were only on my face, neck, and upper arm that I spray my hair with. So there you go. I'm sad because this stuff worked great. And I paid more than $5 for it. More like $40 if you count all the money I wasted on bug killing equipment.

I've made a tiny huge mistake

I got my hair cut a few days ago. I cut off several inches in certain parts. You know that feeling when you take your first shower after cutting off several inches of hair and you realize how short your hair is? I've been reliving that moment since the haircut-I've been freaking out the past few days in the shower. Especially when I realize I can't fit it into a ponytail. And I think, "what have I done?"
The end.

Too soon

I heard Christmas songs on the radio for the first time (this time) yesterday. I actually thought they would have started playing them on November 1st. I guess 6 days isn't that late, but still way too early. Maybe because it is 65 degrees out. I like Christmas songs but I'm not ready for them yet. Thankfully I have yet to hear "Christmas Shoes." It's a horrible song. I don't care if it has some sweet message, it's awful. It makes my ears bleed. Seriously. Also, what does the Peanuts theme song have to do with Christmas? Is it because they play it during A Charlie Brown Christmas? That seems like a silly reason.

I know it is early for Christmas decorations and I don't put mine up till after Thanksgiving, but I want to put one of mine up early. I bought one of these in Germany in March:

You put candles at the bottom and when they are lit, the heat causes the blades at the top to spin, and the nativity scenes rotate. Anyway, it is very beautiful, but because I only bought it in March, I haven't had a chance to admire it. So I want to put it up in order to enjoy it for more than a month. I must resist the urge and not become on of "those people" that decorate too early.

It's the little things that make me smile

You may have seen this, but I rediscovered this the other day and it makes me laugh every time.
It is both disturbing and hilarious at the same time.

Not too bad, if I say so myself or Happy Halloween

I love Halloween. I love seeing everyone's costumes. I love planning my costume. I usually start thinking about it in September (ok, sometimes in August). I've usually come up with some good costumes. Past winners:

2007

Flight of the Conchords robots

2008

Smurfette

This year it took me a little longer to find one. I keep coming up with ideas at work, but when I'd ask the 21 year olds at work what they thought, they'd give me blank stares (Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Bright, She-Ra to name a few). It isn't that fun to dress up if no one will recognize your costume. And then I had a moment of inspiration:

2009

Homer & Marge Simpson

I was going to go as Marge alone, but my friend Jacob decided he'd like an awesome costume and came as Homer. Yes, my wig is homemade. A little posterboard, batting and spray paint. The rest of the costume is homemade too. Ok, well I bought the turtleneck, but dyed it yellow. A special thanks to my neighbor, Laurie, who helped me with the costume. All I wanted was to win. And we did-People's choice.

Remind me not to come to you for advice

I was talking with some coworkers about student loans the other day. One was a nurse, married, in her 30's, no kids. The other was a PCA (nurse's aid), 22, in her last year of nursing school. We were discussing how much we love having student loans and how we wish we made enough to pay them back in 2-3 years. The younger girl was saying how she heard about how you could go live on an Indian Reservation or in some rural Appalachian town for two years and get it paid off, but she wasn't ready to do that.

The older lady said, "You should totally do that while you're young and single."

I had to bite my tongue before saying something I'd regret. Sure, it would be nice to have those loans paid off, but why would someone in their 20's want to go and spend 2 years without a social life? In your 20's and 30's you should be out having fun and enjoying life (especially if you are single). Not sitting in the middle of nowhere on a Friday night for two years. I'm not saying it is any easier once you're married, but at least you'd have someone to talk to on Friday nights. I don't think I could convince any of my single friends to go with me.

My mom told me the other day that the Cleveland Clinic offers to pay your student loans if you go work in Dubai for two years and that I should look into it because I'm "young and single." I asked her if she ever wanted grandchildren, and ended that discussion. Dubai would be fun to visit, but I can only imagine how much fun I'd have there for two years. What if I met and married some guy who was a wife beater (sorry to judge but I just read what happened to Mary Murphy from SYTYCD-sad).

So to further prevent you from sounding like an idiot around a singe person, I've made some lists.

Fun things to do while you're young and single:
Travel
Start new hobbies
Learn a new skill
Travel
Semester abroad
Humanitarian projects
Humanitarian projects in foreign countries
Make [funny] movies for ward talent shows
Stay up late
Grad school in most of Western Europe

Anti social things to do while you're young and single
Work in a rural village for two years
Work in the Middle East for two years
Sit at home alone every Friday night

Next time you hear about a "great" opportunity for a singleton, ask yourself how much fun it would be to do said opportunity by yourself. If you wouldn't want to do it alone, the singleton probably wouldn't want to do it either. Even if they are young.

Birds of a feather

I called my parent's today and, as usual, talked to my mom first. I don't always talk to my dad when I call home but I wanted to discuss some things with him that my mom couldn't help me with. So after I was done talking to my mom I asked her to tell my dad to pick up.
(As a side note my dad is an old man. Very old compared to your parents. And before he retired he was a physician so my family discusses medical conditions like people would discuss the weather.)

Dad: "Hello?"
Me: "Hey Dad, I was having some issues I wanted to talk with you about."
Dad: "Well, usually when I have itching I..."
Me: "What? No, Dad, issues, not itching. I don't have that problem."

I guess my parents are similar. And make me laugh.

Please turn your personal pop-up blocker to ON

The past three days of work I've been taking care of this 40-something year old. His dad comes to visit him daily. He's a nice man (at least in his 60's, with a cane and white goatee), but by today his filter was clearly broken. He'd say that he'd like to take me home (yikes!). It started out innocent enough today when he came in in the afternoon and I was in his son's rooms passing out meds:

Old man: "You are by far the best looking nurse I've ever seen."
Me: "Well you must not know very many nurses."
Old man: "Oh no, I was in the hospital last year for 6 weeks..."(and proceeds to tell me that story-not gross, thankfully.)

I'm sure he says that to most of the young female nurses he encounters. His son is sitting in bed trying to get him to come and sit back down in the room. The conversation with the old man and me is repeated at least twice that afternoon. Another example:

Old man: "There you are, the cutest nurse ever."
Me: "Don't say that too loud or Jim will be jealous." (a male nurse had just left the room).
Old man: "You are just the prettiest nurse ever."
Me: "Thanks."
Old man: "You don't need to thank me. I'm just stating a fact."

Later that afternoon I was across the hall from said room sorting out meds for a patient. I was facing their room and the old man was near his son's door facing me. I could seem him staring at me. And then I heard this:

Old man: "She just has the most amazing body."
(I pretended I hadn't heard anything.)
Old man: "And she has a nice tight butt."
(The son, my patient, mumbles something I can't hear)
Old man: "I may be old, but I'm not blind. I can look. And I like what I see."

I wanted to crawl under a rock. Please old man, think before you speak. And saying things when you're across the hallway is not that far away from someone if you're talking about them. Your personal pop up blocker prevents whatever is going through your mind from spewing out of your mouth unfiltered. Old man, please turn your pop-up blocker back to on so no one feels violated like I did today.

It's not you, it's me.

It has come to my attention that I may have a problem with crying during movies. And books. And tv shows. I cry when there are happy endings (and horrifically sad ones too). Latest example:

The Office. Pam and Jim's wedding.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep after working the past 3 days and knowing I had to be up in 6 hours to work another day. Maybe it was the memories of watching the show when it first came on with my roommates in Utah and hoping they'd end up together. Or the fact that Jim was so cute. Ahh, Jim. The first time I watched this episode I laughed, the second time I laughed and teared up (ok, I cried, but they were happy tears). Now I just laugh.

Yes, I realize this is a fictional tv show and that characters like these don't exist in real life (although NBC went to the trouble of making this for the obsessed fans-I only found it when I was looking for photos online-stop judging me even more). Still, I don't care. I get attached to characters. I have a problem.

In the words of Gob Bluth: "Taste the happy [tears], Michael. Taste it."

Lessons from Japan, or Things you should know about the Japanese

(taken from an ad we saw in Tokyo-no idea what he was selling)

• Japan is fairly clean (no trash on the streets, metro etc) despite the fact that it is a treasure hunt to find a trash can. And sometimes all you can find is a recycle bin.
• The Japanese are not all short (I had several people tell me that I would "tower" over them-I'm 5'6" not 6'5"). Most seemed to be of average height.
• The Japanese love cell phone bangles. Lots of them. Even adults in their 50's.
• They do not favor a specific hair color. We did a scientific study with a blonde, brunette and a redhead. All were treated fairly.
• While restaurants give you hot towels or wet wipes before meals, napkins are hard to come by during the meals. Unless you count the small square of waxy paper at the table.
• Cashiers, waiters, clerks etc will continue to speak to you in Japanese even after your gesturing, clueless expression and the fact that you're Caucasian.
• If you stand there looking clueless at a map long enough, someone will help you. They might insult your group by calling one of you the mother of everyone else (thankfully not me), but they mean well.
• The Japanese Rail pass is the best thing to happen to tourists and the worst thing to happen to natives.
• Japan is not that expensive to travel in.
• The Japanese love dogs and love to dress them up. Sometimes they even push them around in strollers.
• Beware of food that you don't know the filling. It may smell good, but it could be filled with squid parts.

You can't teach and old dog new tricks

A few weeks ago, I bought an iTouch (it's amazing). I was talking to my mom and told her about my recent purchase. She asked me what it was and I described it to her:

Mom: "I want one."
Me: "No, you don't need one."
Mom: "Yes I do. Then I can always be on YouFace."
Me (after I burst out laughing): "YouFace?"
Mom: "Fine, FaceYou. Whatever it's called these days."
Me: "Yeah, you're not ready for an iTouch."

I love my mom, but her desire to be hip and technologically savy is hilarious.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment OR Paybacks a B*$#%!

When I was 8 years old (in the 2nd grade), my dad took me to see Arachnophobia. I'm convinced he thought it was a nature show (why else would he take an 8 year old). It wasn't. It was a horrible, terrifying movie. I've been scared of spiders ever since. That phobia has blossomed into a fear of all crawling insects. Last month this spider took up residence on my back porch:
I made a pact a few months prior (following Kristin's lead) that I wouldn't kill bugs in their natural environment (their home), but as soon as they entered my home all bets were off. So I let the spider stay. I kept hoping he'd get sick of the place and leave. But he didn't. And he only came out at night. One time his web got destroyed in the wind. I hoped he would relocate. Nope. Two hours later he had a huge new web. And I swear he kept getting bigger. By this time Candace has moved in and she's a little freaked out by him too. We named him Volemort. It seemed appropriate for such a horrid creature. We stopped using the back door. Sarah moved in and was also freaked out. After consulting with Kristin it was determined that Voldy had 'intent to enter' and 'intent to harm,' and could be killed. So Candace bought the bug spray. The bottle said "kills on contact," but Candace went a little trigger happy.



That night Candace said she would pack all our lunches for the next day as she was packing food for her drive to NC. I thought it was a nice gesture. The next day at work I opened up the tupperware with my sandwich and noticed something sticking out underneath.
I turned it over and saw this on the underside of the sandwich:


A huge, fake spider that made me jump in my seat.
Thanks, Candace. Just wait till you return in December...

Many are called, but few are chosen

When I was 21 and attending school in Utah I was called to jury duty (I was still an Ohio resident). My mom wasn't happy as at that point she had lived in Medina 20 years and I wasn't even living in the state. Two years later my brother got called to jury duty while he was attending school in another county (he had to decline). Again, my mother wasn't happy that she still hadn't been called. I eventually became a Utah resident, and two years ago when I moved back to Ohio I changed my permanent address back to my parent's in Medina even though I was living in Columbus. Last week my mom called and told me I had been called to jury duty AGAIN. I asked her if she had been called yet. She bitterly told me "no," and stated how she has now lived in Medina 24 years, voted in every election, and has had her children been called 3 times even though they weren't living in Medina any of those 3 times. She's not upset with me, but with the Medina County Courts. I will be declining the invitation again as I can't afford all the days without decent compensation.

A dream is a wish your heart makes...

Last night I dreamt that I was on vacation (it might have been Japan) and there were these animatronic dragons that breathed fire and moved around with no appearance of mechanics. One of them could fly. They were awesome. I'm assuming they were animatronic as I kept trying to get close to them to see them in their glory and because dragons aren't real. I'm pretty sure I had this dream because I saw this on my way home last night:




This is about a half mile from my house in someone's yard. It's been there for the past few weeks. I can't even begin to understand what it is about. It appears to be made out of recycled materials. So these people are apparently pro-recycling and pro-dragons.

Thank you strange people for inspiring dreams.

Oh, and everytime I see the dragon I think of Trogdor. And sing his song.

And my life has reached an all time low...

Last week in church this older couple stood up and said they had just gotten a flier for a "Mid-Singles" conference sometime this fall in Chicago. I thought, "yeah, but that only applies to people who are at least over 33."

Wrong.

This new "Mid-Singles" group is for singles ages 27-45! Yikes! As the website put it, the Mid-Singles group was created "to better serve the needs of singles in the Church who are no longer young enough to fit in with the "Young Single Adult" group but who do not yet feel comfortable attending the all-inclusive social activities for singles between 31 and 100."

Are they trying to slow phase us out of the young single adults group? I didn't think 27 was that old. I can still party with the "young" people. My coworkers think I'm 22 or 23 because I'm so awesome. Anyway, so now I feel really old. And they want us to go to some mid-singles group to hang out with scary older people (I'm referring to the people over 40). I don't want some 45 year old trying to hit on me. I'm pretty sure the guys there aren't going to look like this:

Age 44

or this:

Also 44

But probably more like this:

Maybe I'm stereotyping, but I don't care. This guy would scare me if he came up to me and told me I looked nice or something. What would I even have in common with someone in their 40's? I like being single, but knowing that this is what is out there for me scares me. A lot. Good thing I'm only 24 and don't have to worry about this for a few years.

What did a Ginger ever do to you?

I went to a friend's birthday party last week and on her cake was written,

"You're White, Mormon and not a Ginger. Happy Birthday."

What the heck? I found out she hates gingers. Here is the conversation that followed (the general idea):

Me: "So you hate gingers. Do you hate me too?"
Her: "No, I like you. I just don't like red hair."
Me: "Yeah, I have red hair."
Her: "Yours is different. I don't like redhead children. They're gross."
Me: "I had red hair as a child."
Her: "Well, I never want to have any redhead children. I won't marry anyone who has any red hair in his family. No offense."

This is one of the worst arguments I've ever had. I started talking to friends about it and a friend of mine who lived in England for a few years said that gingers get made fun of over there. Not for being stupid or lazy, but just for being a ginger. Luckily this never happened to me over there. I was never really made fun of as a child. Maybe because I was so cute (below and above):


Anyway, I did a little research and came across some interesting stuff, like this ad (click on to enlarge):

Additional info:

"Gingervitis is a serious disease affecting millions of people. Every day 1337 children are born with gingervitis in the United States alone. Not only do these special people have to struggle with a life long disease in which there is no known cure, they are often the target of ridicule and jokes. The only way we will ever find a cure is if we work together."

What is "Gingervitis?" Here is its description, according to the website:

"Gingervitis is a serious hereditary disease caused by a recessive gene. It can lay dormant for years and two perfectly healthy parents can have Ginger Babies. Gingervitis affects millions of people worldwide. The symptoms of gingervitis include: Red hair, pale skin, and freckles, a “Soulless” feeling. Some Ginger Kids may show symptoms such as violence and depression. Although Gingervitis is not a life threatening disease it can be very serious. There is currently no known cure and very little treatment for Gingervitis."

They had some "fun" facts too:

324904 kids are born with Gingervitis a year.
30% of those infected with Gingervitis live healthy, productive, long lives.
80% of Ginger Kids are totally unaware they are soulless.
An estimated 40% of Scots carry the red gene and 13% actually have red hair.
If the gingers really want to save themselves they should move to Scotland (with pleasure).

Don't worry, there is a pro-redhead website too. They even have t-shirts. I think I'll join the online redhead community.

I think this picture settles it:

In conclusion, my friend may have offended me a little at first (more because I was surprised by her hatred), but the rest of the stuff I included here I find hilarious. Continue to mock, I love my red hair.

Bored and blogging

I got up today to go running and it was raining outside and the time I spent running in the rain in high school equals a lifetime of experience so I decided against it. I had planned on going to the pool after I ran but that is out now too. I cleaned my apt on my last day off and have barely been home in the last few days to do any major damage. I was going to go sailing after the pool but that might be out too. There is nothing good on TV right now, so I'll update this.
*A special thanks to Kristin for the idea. Seeing as how we only have 90 mutual friends on facebook, I felt I needed so share this idea with the friends we don't have in common.

The fifth Harry Potter film came out last week. I saw it at midnight, as usual. I liked it for the most part (the ending was a little disappointing). It's not as good as the books, obviously, so I just have to separate the two from each other. But it made me remember how much I loved the books.

Anyway, the whole movie experience was almost ruined by a stupid Twilight movie preview. As you may recall, I'm not a fan of the Twilight series. I only saw the first Twilight movie a few weeks ago (I rented it from the library so I didn't have to pay for it). It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I had low expectations. Anyway, I was reading Kristin's blog today about the claim that Twilight is the new Harry Potter. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE (Kristin agrees too). It is a lie spread by those who want their teen romance to be adored by the young and old, like Harry Potter. It won't be. Ever. Have you ever met a guy who enjoys Twilight? A fantasy teen romance can't be compared to a fantasy adventure. There is no real plot in Twilight. No death (except a bad guy or two). No surprises, no heartbreak, no betrayal, no real fight between good an evil. There is nothing to discuss with other readers about Twilight like you can with Harry Potter. I could go on and on, but I'll stop for now.

In conclusion, enjoy this clip about Harry Potter vs Twilight. Very funny. There is some swearing, so be advised.

And enjoy some posters I came across

I've waited all this time...for this?

When I was in elementary school we learned about Ohio history. They talked about interesting places, most of which I didn't find interesting. However, there was one I found fascinating: the Serpent Mound. It is the "largest serpent effigy mound ever discovered." Basically it is a mound of dirt shaped like a snake. Ok, that doesn't sound that cool. Here are some pics and info:

"Representing an unwinding serpent, the mound is sheathed in mystery and controversy. The serpent is thought by most to be about to swallow an egg. However many theories abound suggesting various interpretations. For instance, some think it may represent an eclipse. The eastward curves of the body point to sunrise locations at solstices and equinoxes, and the head to sunset on the summer solstice.

The mysteries don’t stop there. The very ground where the mound rests is also of interest to archeology. Seemingly full of cave-like or hollow structures, it is thought that perhaps there may be more to this serpent resting underground."

When you learn about that in elementary school, it sounds awesome. We lived in northeast Ohio, so southwest Ohio was a bit too far for a school field trip. I knew I had to go someday. A few weekends ago I decided to go on a day trip. I wanted to take a fellow Ohioan who also knew about it and surprisingly the Utahn that came along with us had also heard about growing up (if they are teaching about it in Utah, it must be awesome, right?).

Well, I was a little disappointed. Apparently I never retained the information that it was only 3 feet high. It wasn't that impressive in real life. Here is a picture I took from the watch tower:

That isn't to say the trip wasn't fun. We drove through rural Ohio (always interesting), met some local people (again, always interesting), bought some cameras (in Columbus) and I checked off another place in 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before you Die book.

For some crazy ideas about the mound from the locals down there, read this (spoiler: crop circles and ufo's).

Overcoming fears, sort of

Last weekend I came home from church and when I walked from the bedroom to the front room I saw what I thought was a leaf on the ground and thought it was odd as I had swept the day before. I almost touched it with my foot until I realized it wasn't a leaf. It was a COCKROACH. Ugghhh! Did I ever mention that I'm deathly afraid of crawling bugs/spiders? It was on its back and I thought it was dead. I got my heaviest shoe and got ready to smash it and then I saw it move! I ran to the other side of the room and debated what to do. I decided to put a cup over it and make my neighbor come dispose of the body. I had to call my mom and make her coax me into it as I was on the verge of tears. I finally put the cup over it and put my 3,000 page nursing book over it as I figured there was no way it could move the cup with that over it. Later my neighbors Clint and Laurie came over and I made Clint get rid of it outside. However, it was already dead by the time we took it outside. I think I suffocated it and that made me happy.













This picture doesn't show how huge and gross it was. It makes me shudder when I think about it.

Good riddance you vile creature. I'm going to call an exterminator in case you moved your family in too.

Oops she did it again

I got a call Saturday night (the 4th) at 11:30pm: it was my mom. Apparently she didn't understand when I told her not to call late at night.
Me: "What's wrong?"
Mom: "Nothing, I just got back from the neighbors party! Can you believe I stayed so late?"
Me: "Mom, I told you not to call me so late. It scares me."
Mom: "You called me earlier. I was returning your call."
Me: "I called at 5pm. It wasn't an emergency. I didn't even leave a message. I appreciate you calling me back, but you could have waited till tomorrow"
Mom: "Oh, well I had so much fun at the neighbors and I wanted to tell you. We were out by their new fire pit. We had so much fun I lost track of time. Look how late it is!"
Maybe I should call her some morning at 5am when she is getting ready for work and see if she gets scared. I'm pretty sure I'll be struck down for trying to get back at my mother, though. And my mom isn't as spacey as I make her seem. She just has senior moments.

Goodbye and goodnight

I have discovered that I spend too much time online. Which is actually too much wasted time. I've been known to spend an hour (or more) on facebook before. And do I ever find anything interesting? Not that often. It's mostly status updates which really aren't that interesting (no offense to those who write them a lot-of course I find yours interesting). I hardly get any good gossip off of it either. The same picture albums keep showing up in the "highlights" section, and I only look at some of them. I just realized I could spend a lot more time doing productive things. This morning I logged off of facebook, logged off of gmail (another time waster-stupid chat) and set about doing productive things. I paid all my bills, mananged my investments, read a book and cleaned my apartment-including the floors and rugs. I even made myself a healthy lunch and dinner. So I'm going to see if I can stay off of the time wasters for a week. Hopefully I will have accomplished enough in that week that I can make this a more permanent thing.
In the meantime, if there is any good gossip on facebook, would you please let me know?

I've been in this country too long or Keeping up appearances

Last year before I started my new job, I went on a trip to Europe. When I started work a few of my new coworkers knew I had just gone on a trip. Six months later I went to Costa Rica. A week after I got back from Costa Rica, I bought a ticket to Belize. And shortly before going to Belize, I bought a ticket to Germany. I've never traveled so much in such a short time before. Because of the four trips in one year, my coworkers think this is all that I do. Every day I work at least one person asks me where I'm going next. It's almost as annoying as the "are your married/why are you still single" question (almost, but not quite). I have to keep going on trips because they expect me to go. Or I'm unpatriotic. Or I love to travel. After 3 months of deciding, here is the next destination:

Japan

My friend Kristin came up with the idea to go to Japan. Today we bought our plane tickets. There are 4 of us going from Columbus (plus a Utahn) and we're working on our other friend who speaks Japanese.
Totemo ureshii da. Matemasen. (I am so happy. I cannot wait)

At least I have a heart

I'll write about Nauvoo in my next post. First I have to discuss the worst tear inducing movie I've ever seen (which they showed on the bus ride back):

Charly
(the person, not the unicorn)

This is seriously the worst movie I've ever cried in (with the exception of any movie involving a pet dying). The movie (based on a book) is a Mormon love story where the girl dies in the end. Except she doesn't die over a few minutes in the movie. It takes at least 30 minutes. And it is terribly heart wrenching. I read the book, I knew the ending, I didn't think it would be that bad. It was. The first time I watched it I started having those hyperventilating sobs. You know, where your body is shaking you're crying so bad (Katie, did you watch it with me?). I vowed to never watch it again. For some reason on the bus ride back this was one of the top picks of movies to watch (with strong support from guys, odd enough). I knew this would be a train wreck for me: I'd try and not look but knew I would just be too curious to look away. I was doing ok until that ferris wheel scene. And then it started again. Like Geroge Sr says, "every dang time!" I started to hyperventilate but convinced myself not to make an even bigger fool of myself in front of my friends. Too late. They were still making fun of me tonight. Some guy tried to convince me it is a happy movie, "They had a good life. They'll be together again." Bite me. I told him he was heartless. At least there was some comic relief when our friend Fernando passed out kleenex to everyone on the bus. Twice.
So, if you ever need a really good cry, watch this. Here is the last part, which isn't that sad without seeing the first 3/4 of the movie:
Still dying

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

What do I love best about summer?

Fireflies!
(or Lightning Bugs)
One of the things I missed most about living in Utah was the summers without these.

I am freaked out with bugs, but this is one awesome bug. Seriously amazing.

I loved collecting them as a child. Don't worry, we let them go.
After we realized they need more to live on than grass (difficult pets).

And here is some strange drawing I found.
So if you live in the East, go out some night and catch (and release) a few.