Name::Abq MomFrom::Albuquerque, New Mexico
View my complete profile
Archives
Links
Spare
Credits
Name::Abq MomArchives
Links
Spare
Credits
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Controlled Destruction Equals
...Demolition.
I think its funny how if you're destroying things just for the heck of it; its called being destructive. But if its controlled its called Demolition. We did a little controlled destruction this weekend. Check it out here.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/25/2006 10:11:00 AM :: 3 Comments: 
---------------------------------------
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Personality Test
I saw this on Karen's Blog. It intrigued me. Her answer sounded like me so I wanted to know what the test thought. The Quick and Painless Enneagram Test.
the Helper
you chose CX - your Enneagram type is TWO.
"I must help others"
Helpers are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.
How to Get Along with Me
*Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.
*Share fun times with me.
*Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.
*Let me know that I am important and special to you.
*Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.
*In Intimate Relationships reassure me that I am interesting to you.
*Reassure me often that you love me.
*Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.
What I Like About Being a Two
*being able to relate easily to people and to make friends
*knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better
*being generous, caring, and warm
*being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings
*being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor
What's Hard About Being a Two
*not being able to say no
*having low self-esteem
*feeling drained from overdoing for others
*not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish
*criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should
*being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tune in to them
*working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings
Twos as Children Often
*are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism
*try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding
*are outwardly compliant
*are popular or try to be popular with other children
*act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention
*are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Twos), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Twos)
Twos as Parents
*are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)
*are often playful with their children*wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"
*can become fiercely protective
Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele
The Enneagram Made Easy
Discover the 9 Types of People
HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/23/2006 08:45:00 PM :: 9 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Random Facts about Albuquerque
I did a blog search for Albuquerque and came across this blog. What she found was Googlism for: Albuquerque. I thought it would be fun just to google Albuquerque and see what comes up. Oh, and she likes the word 'WOOT!' How cool is that?
~ALBUQUERQUE (SSN 706) is the second United States Warship to be named after Albuquerque, New Mexico
~Albuquerque is just really growing and shifting
~Albuquerque is celebrating its tricentennial on April 23
~Albuquerque is 187 square miles
~Albuquerque is one of only thirty U.S. cities which is able to claim a tricentennial mark
~Albuquerque is the industrial powerhouse of New Mexico
~Albuquerque is more like a geode than any other major city in america
~Albuquerque is woodsmoke whispering and farolito mazes.
~Albuquerque is Mexican Hot Chocolate and dry rustling sounds outside the window.
~Albuquerque is well served by air, rail, and highway connections
~Albuquerque is located at the cross of Interstate 25 and Interstate 40
~Albuquerque is one of those developing cities that is trying hard to shake off its "rustic" reputation
~Albuquerque is home to the largest hot-air balloon rally in the country, which attracts more than 100000 visitors annually.
~Albuquerque is named "healthy sleep capital"
~Albuquerque is close to three ski areas - Santa Fe, Sandia Peak, and Taos Ski Valley
~Albuquerque is trying to maintain a good track record in dealing with mental illness
~Albuquerque is poised to be one of the next great cities in America
~Albuquerque is sold out
~Albuquerque is one of the sunniest cities in the US
~Albuquerque is known for its incredible sunsets
~Albuquerque is still often called "Duke City" because it was originally named after the Duke of Albuquerque, the viceroy of New Spain.
~Albuquerque is a turkey And he's feathered and he's fine And he wobbles and he gobbles and he's absolutely mine
~Albuquerque is uphill
~Albuquerque is described as being "a mile nearer to heaven"
~Albuquerque is criss-crossed with bike paths
~Albuquerque is home to the largest semiconductor manufacturing plant in the world
~Albuquerque is fast approaching
~Albuquerque is like Atlanta with sand.
~Albuquerque is a nature lover's dream
~Albuquerque is one of those rare metropolitan areas where bald-eagle sightings are common
~Albuquerque is bordered by the Sandia and Manzano Mountains to the east, by the Petroglyph National Monument to the west, by Sandia Pueblo to the north and by Isleta Pueblo to the south ~Albuquerque is like discovering a jewel within coal
~Albuquerque is surrounded on three sides by Native American reservations
~Albuquerque is located in the rio grande valley in the center of the state
~Albuquerque is the hot air balloon capital of the us
~Albuquerque is truly a city at the crossroads
~Albuquerque is the gateway to New Mexico, the land of enchantment.
~Albuquerque is the home of the university of new mexico
~Albuquerque is a delightful place to live
~Albuquerque is very eclectic
~Albuquerque is a dynamic urban center filled with the magic of living history
~Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of new mexico
~Albuquerque is a favorite tourist destination, with a wealth of historic sites
~Albuquerque is almost centrally located within the state
~Albuquerque is a place where the views go on forever
~Albuquerque is still very much an undiscovered
~Albuquerque is considering legislation requiring all landlords and owners for four or more apartment units to be part of the crime
~Albuquerque is a very economical city to live in also
~Albuquerque is one of the country's oldest towns
~Albuquerque is calling you
~Albuquerque is also home to the jane butel school of southwestern cooking
~Albuquerque is a medium sized city
~Albuquerque is New Mexico's largest city, with nearly 700000 residents
~Albuquerque is the highest metropolitan city on the American mainland
~Albuquerque is at an elevation of 5285 feet feet and has a high desert climate
~Albuquerque is one of the oldest kiwanis clubs in the nation
~Albuquerque is unlike any other city.
~Albuquerque is a breeze
~Albuquerque is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism
~Albuquerque is Old Town
~Albuquerque is also host to historic old town
~Albuquerque is a city of diversity
~Albuquerque is so sprawled out
~Albuquerque is a must visit to a place where centuries of history and modern life merge to blend 18th century architecture with narrow brick paths
~Albuquerque is a city of contrasts
~Albuquerque is situated between the banks of the rio grande river and the foothills of the sandia mountains
~Albuquerque is surrounded by interesting historic and archeological sites
~Albuquerque is renowned for its pleasant year-round climate
~Albuquerque is 322 miles from flagstaff
~Albuquerque is an excellent place to create
~Albuquerque is recruiting and expanding
~Albuquerque is not a city?
~Albuquerque is truly a gem in the dessert waiting for you to explore all that it has
~Albuquerque is on mountain time
~Albuquerque is the gateway to northern new mexico
~Albuquerque is its magic wand
~Albuquerque is a fascinating town and one everyone should visit at least once!
~Albuquerque is generally the launch pad for visitors en route to santa fe
~Albuquerque is known among balloonists as the "ballooning capital of the world" and each year draws over 750 balloons
~Albuquerque is interested in the history of the road
~Albuquerque is an historic city with splendid scenery
~Albuquerque is a growing multicultural city of approximately 650
~Albuquerque is home to many fine artists and art teachers willing to share their knowledge
~Albuquerque is known as a high desert community with spectacular views
~Albuquerque is divided into four quadrants: Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest
~Albuquerque is the transportation hub for new mexico
~Albuquerque is the richest museum for the study of american indians in the southwest
~Albuquerque is located in the heart of downtown albuquerque
~Albuquerque is uniquely situated among varied geologic formations
~Albuquerque is a provider of quality temporary industrial labor
~Albuquerque is known for its popular New Mexico State Fair in September
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/22/2006 05:36:00 PM :: 2 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
A trip down the Columbia
I grew up in Washington State. In Southeastern Washington. Where three rivers converge. The Yakima River from the West and The Snake River from the East flow into the The Columbia River going south from Canada.
The place where they meet there is a small town called the Tri-Cities. Its actually three smaller towns. (You could have gotten that from the name huh?) Kennewick, Richland and Pasco. I lived in Finley. Its big enough to have its own school district (although a small one), but small enough that it didn't have its own zip code. Finley is considered part of Kennewick.
Finley is a little farther down river from downtown Kennewick. It is directly across the river from the mouth of The Snake River.
Our house was less than a mile away from The Columbia River. During the summer we'd ride our bikes to Two Rivers Park to go swimming. We'd walk the "Nature Trail" that went through the undisturbed natural shore between the Park and the Boat Docks. I could tell stories of trips to the park, or walking through the "Nature Trail", but this post is dedicated to the river.
Living in Kennewick it could be considered prerequisite to own a boat. I mean come on if you're gonna live that close to a river you better darn well own a boat. Our family followed the norm. We had a boat. Seriously, we could walk to the boat docks, why shouldn't we have a boat? One summer my aunt came to visit us from Utah. We took her for a ride on the boat going upriver. My aunt couldn't believe that what we were on was a river. She was SURE it was a Lake. When you're out there on the boat, the river is so wide, it feels like its a Lake.
This picture is taken from Sacajewea State Park in Pasco at the mouth of the Snake River. You're looking out over the Columbia River downstream. I put a purple star on the picture to show you were the Boat Docks a walking distance from my house is in relation to the river.
On calm days the river would be as smooth as glass. Absolutely perfect for water-skiing, especially slaloming. The smoother the water the better the ride! This picture is taken standing on the banks of the Columbia River at Two Rivers Park looking downstream as well.
This was my playground. This was my backyard. This was my love and my passion. Every summer we'd take the boat out on the river, what seemed like, every day. We'd go boating just for the fun of feeling the wind in our air. We'd take turns water-skiing. We'd go out to Wallula Gap (the picture below) where we'd be surrounded by cliffs on both sides of the river. The current was much calmer there, and not as many boats would go that far downstream. We'd turn off the motor and our whole family would jump off the boat for a little swim. We had close friends that had a house right on the bank of the river. They had their own boat docks. Most times we'd launch our boat from the main boat docks and go over and spend the entire afternoon on their boat docks.
For many summers all we'd do was go water-skiing. One summer my parents bought an inner-tube that you tow behind the boat. We got it filled with air and headed down to the docks to test it out. Written on the side of the tube was warning instructions. Maximum speeds, air pressure for the tube, amount of weight the tube could handle, things like that. We got the boat launched and went down to the Lindsey's docks. My dad read over the warning instructions and decided that we needed to take it on a test run. He needed to get the feeling of how to drive the boat when towing someone on the tube. I was probably 12-13 years old. I was the oldest. My brothers were chickens. Just call me "'D'- The Test Dummy". I volunteered to be the first to ride the tube.
I got my lifevest on and nervously boarded the inner-tube. Once I was secure in my placement, thats when all security left me! I was in for the ride of my young life! (I must mention that my dad didn't believe the warning instructions for the maximum speed. Reading it, he thought it was too slow. You go much faster for water-skiers, so thought it must be a mistake.) I was literally flying over the water. Following directly behind the boat, my dad thought my ride must be pretty boring. We started pulling donuts. A donut in a boat, is just like a donut in a car. You crank the wheel as hard as you can in one direction and with the boat in high speed you start going in circles. In the boat its not a big deal. Out on the tube, its a HUGE deal! The velocity and force being put on the tube is incredible. You lean with all your weight in the opposite direction just so the tube doesn't flip over and you end up barrelling across the water like a log being rolled down a hill. Being a first time rider, I was scared for my life!
An experienced driver towing someone on a tube KNOWS, that if the donut doesn't throw the person off the tube, that theres a good chance the next trick WILL! As your going in circles, making donuts, the boat is creating some pretty big waves outside the circle of the tube. The secret is to suddenly straighten out the wheel and cut across the waves, then turn and cut across the waves just created by cutting across the waves. What happens are some HUGE waves! So big, that a boat has to slow down to go across them. What happens when the boat slows down, is that the tube is still going across the water, faster than the boat is, and the roap goes slack. Once the boat is over the waves, the driver guns the motor again, and all of a sudden the roap is taunt. So suddenly, and so tightly, that often the tube will be pulled right out from under the rider!
Holding on for dear life, knuckles as white as a ghost I once again foiled the master tower. I could hear the motors turning in my dad's head planning his next feat to throw me off. He went back to the donuts, and the half donuts, and the straight lines with a sudden turn when there it was! The mammoth wave jet-skiers love, but tubers fear! A tug and barge! My dad saw it. He slowed down the boat thinking over the possibilities. I saw it and started to cry inside. I knew what was coming even while my dad was debating risking the life of his only daughter! It wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of WHEN!!!!
===================================
I would like to stop this perilous adventure to further educate you on a tug and barge. Growing up in the Tri-Cities, we had become accustomed to seeing barges. Going upriver empty, downriver full. A barge was used to ship grain from the farmlands of Eastern Washington to the Port of Portland at the Mouth of the Columbia River to be shipped around the world. There are Dams spread throughout the Columbia and Snake Rivers. There are locks on the dams that are big enough for a barge to pull into. Then in about an hours time the water in the lock is raised to the level of the water upstream of the dam. Going downstream the opposite happens. On a quiet day, playing in the backyard, even from our house we could hear when a barge was going up or down the river. Oh, and to be on a boat or a dock, or even standing on the shore when one of these ginormous boats went by. Watch out. These puppies put out some HUGE waves. I remember as a kid being at Two Rivers Park. A barge went by. My brothers and I ran to the river side of the peninsula and waited for the waves. Its like wave jumping at the ocean.
Here are a few pictures of some barges. The first is full and headed downstream.
This one is empty and headed upstream.
This is a picture of a wake behind a regular size boat. Imagine this behind a loaded tugboat and barge.
===========================================
Now back to the story. Dad had idled the boat. We're just sitting their drifting with the current. We're on the Kennewick side of the river giving the barge plenty of room to pass, along with protecting us from the huge waves. I was stuck on the tube, holding on white-knuckled. I knew the only way of escape was to abandon ship. But if I did that I would be giving my dad the satisfaction of knowing he had scared me off the tube.
The barge had passed, and thats when my dad gunned the engine once again. He headed for the waves. Now, he didn't act like a jet-skier, where they're seriously right behind the barge, he at least gave me a chance by aiming for the swells, rather than the wake. I remember we were in the mouth of the Snake River. We were pretty close the bridge that goes over the Snake River between Pasco and Burbank. We turned and headed back towards the waves. My dad cut across the swells, it was fun, it was like going down a hill with little hills on a snow tube hill.
My dad wasn't pleased. He was determined to throw me off the tube. He cut the wheel hard and cut across his wake from just going across the barge swell. What happened were some waves between 5-7 feet high. My dad went across them, and with me being towed behind was following mercilessly. This time, my dad didn't really slow down. He just plowed on through.
All I remember is hitting those huge waves, and then looking straight down on the tube, which was also about 4 feet above the water. The next thing I remember was gasping for breath as I came out of the water. Once I was above the surface, I felt myself being tossed to and fro by the waves and seeing the boat turning and coming around back towards me. The boat slowed and pulled up along side me. My dad, mom and my brothers were all leaning over the side looking down at me floating like a cork in the water.
Once I was in the boat, and wrapped in a towel did I hear how that fantastic crash had a occurred. From what I gathered from my mom and my brothers; I had hit a wave about 5 feet high. I was launched into the air, the tube still about 4 feet above the water, and I was perpendicular to the tube. My feet were pointing to the sky. The tube went down, I came down on it, bounced and then flipped over backwards off the tube.
I was able to find this picture on the internet. Its a picture of a boy that looks to have been put in the same predicament I had. But I would like you to remember that my feet were straight up over my head! ( I blurred the face, since I don't actually KNOW this person)
I also found this picture. Just to give you an idea of what can really happen while out on an inner-tube being towed by a mad man!
I have always loved the water. And even after that horrific ordeal I would still go out on the tube, even if my dad was driving. The good thing from this event is my dad learned to follow the maximum speed guidelines put on watercraft toys. No longer did he think he knew better. I would still go out on the tube, but any time after that, if I saw a barge coming, and it looked like my dad was attempting to go over the barge swells, I wasn't so proud that I couldn't bail ship. I'd look up at my dad, wink, and ditch off the side.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/21/2006 07:41:00 AM :: 6 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Under the Rainbow
This week I had planned on making sugar cookies for Valentine's Day. I don't have kids in school, I didn't have a reason for doing it. I just wanted to. But I can't make a mess on top of a mess. Meaning my kitchen, I just couldn't get my kitchen clean enough this week to start on a sugar cookie project.
Yesterday I finally got all the dishes cleaned and put away, and the kitchen cleaned up so I can counter space to make cookies. But then I decided I didn't want to make the regular heart shaped cookies. Valentine's Day had passed. I instead turned to the ones my mom would make for us as kids all the time. I was so excited to start the project I didn't realize I didn't have enough sugar. "Sy" was napping and I couldn't run to the store, so I just had to wait for "S" to pick some up on the way home from work.
My mom would often make these rainbow cookies. As kids we loved them. They were the coolest cookie ever. It was so much better than the plan white round sugar cookies. I don't remember my mom often making frosting for the regular round cookies. Those to us were plain and boring, and besides didn't taste very good. These Rainbow cookies didn't need frosting. They tasted great all by themselves. The color made up for the lack of frosting, and we were okay with that. I bet my mom was okay with it too! :-)
As I started to make these last night I realized there was no difference between these and regular sugar cookies. They're just shaped differently and they have colors. But for us as kids, and even now for my own kids that doesn't matter. They're still the best cookies ever!
Now as a mom, I can appreciate these cookies on a different level. You don't have to roll out the dough and make a floury mess of your entire kitchen, and then use cookie cutters to cut them out. Plus there's no chance of the dough getting stuck inside the cookie cutter. I don't know if it took less time, but it definitely left my kitchen with less of a mess to clean up aftwards.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/18/2006 11:08:00 AM :: 9 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Rose and the Sword
I was going through a bit of a rough patch. I thought it was post-pardom depression. My doctor did blood work, I was told it was just sleep deprivation. Somehow, that didn't help to make me feel better.
During my rough patch I would have a few good days in a row, and a few bad days in a row. During my bad days, I would call "S" at work and ask him to come home early if he could (which he couldn't), in tears. I didn't want to do anything, and the house was a mess. "Sy" was 7 months old, I didn't feel I had a reason to be feeling that way.
I had been having another period of bad days. Constantly in tears, not knowing what to do, calling "S" in frustration while at work. One of those nights after one of those days, he had come home with a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses. Just because! just for me! It wasn't for Valentines Day, or our Anniversary. Just because. It was so sweet!
I put my new roses in a vase and then placed them on the kitchen table, so they could be prominantly seen. "S" went in the bedroom with "Sy", and I started doing dishes, and began on dinner. I could hear "W" behind me playing with Jack (our dog). No big deal, he's always playing with Jack. After about 10 minutes of the same sounding play I turned around to see what "W" and Jack were doing. I gasped, and immediately started to cry. "W" had crawled up on the table, pulled out a rose and used it as a sword to attack Jack. When the stem would break, he would crawl up and get another. He went through 4 roses before I realized what he was doing. With broken rose in his hand, I walked him into the bedroom to show "S" what he had done. With tears streaming down my face I told him the tail of the knight and the dragon, and showed the rose in "W"'s hand as evidence.
The flowers on those four poor stems, were all still in good condition. Not a single petal had fallen. I collected the four broken "swords" and tied them with a rubber band and hung them in a closet so they could dry. The other weapons of choice for my little knight in training were put up out of reach.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/16/2006 09:02:00 AM :: 4 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
1st Valentine's Day
Our first Valentine's Day occurred during our engagement, February 14th, 2000. We were engaged on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, 1999. I moved to Phoenix Thanksgiving weekend, 1999. I lived in my apartment, and he lived in his. I went to work, he went to school. In the evenings we'd spend time together. One cold night in December I was over at his apartment and we were watching tv. I was a little chilly and had forgotten to bring my coat, so he had lent me a sweater. This oversized, bright orange sweater. His sisters had given it to him for Christmas a few years before. It was oversized, it was comfy, and it smelled like him. I loved it! I wore it as I drove myself home, and I planned on keeping it. We were getting married in a few months anyway, it would be back in the same closet soon enough I thought. I loved wearing it at nighttime.
A few weeks later, I believe it was in January, he was over at my apartment. There was no television in my apartment, so we just hung out and talked. One point during the evening he went into my bedroom and got his sweater out of my closet, and then later had taken it home. I was shocked. Why did he do that? It would be back in his closet soon enough.
Valentine's Day was approaching. But so was our wedding day. 2 1/2 weeks after Valentine's Day in fact. We decided we wouldn't do anything big and special for Valentine's Day, and that we would save our money for traveling up to Washington for the wedding. When asked at work if we had any big plans, our answer was, "no, our wedding is in two weeks, thats big enough right now." Just because we weren't planning on buying anything for each other didn't mean we still couldn't give each other anything. I spent the whole day at work making a homemade card. So later that night when I went over to his apartment, I was surprised that there was a wrapped Valentine's Day gift for me. I looked at him in shock. I thought we weren't buying anything.
He had me open the gift. Inside the beautifully wrapped box was the oversized, orange sweater he had reclaimed from my closet. I looked at it, then at him with a questioning look. He said "isn't it so much more special when I give it to you?"
Every year since then, people ask us what we have planned for Valentine's Day. Its become normal for us to just say, "our anniversary is in 2 weeks, we don't do anything big for Valentine's day and just save it for our anniversary." We don't let the day go by unnoticed though, its just we're not ones for a huge celebration. We give each other cards, sometimes I will get flowers. One year we both gave each other a DVD.
So here's to another Valentine's Day to remind us our anniversary is only two and a half weeks away.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/14/2006 06:55:00 AM :: 3 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Monday, February 13, 2006
Heart-Attacked
Valentines Day was quickly approaching. I had a small crush on him. Okay a big crush. Okay, okay I was madly in love with him, but couldn't allow myself to let that be seen or known. (Well at least not by him anyway). I wanted to do something fun, sweet, quirky for him, but without freaking him out. I had had a bad experience with doing something that freaked him out only a month before.
What to do, what to do. I wanted to do something in a way that it was anonymous but yet that he still knew it was me, but again without him getting freaked out thinking I was in love with him. He was my study partner, he was my friend; to me at the time; that was more important then ever having a boyfriend.
It was the day before Valentines Day. I was still stumped and quickly running out of time. I went to the local Wal-mart with my roommate. She had a boyfriend, and wanted to get him something for the lover's holiday the next day. I went looking for inspiration. I had no clue what I was going to do. I wondered the store, hoping an idea would jump out from the shelves and give me an idea. I looked at cards; no, too mushy. I looked at candy, that could work, but I couldn't just give him a box of chocolates, too cliche'. I saw stuffed animals, no those are for guys to give girls. (though I did buy myself the cutest little valentine's day ladybug). My roommate was almost done with her shopping. I still didn't know what to do. In desperation I walked down the greeting card isle again. And there it was, sitting in the long tube waiting to be pulled out, like King Arthurs sword. I swear there even could have been lights, and a chorus singing in the background. It gave me the perfect idea. I pulled it out, and looked it over. Wrapping paper covered in cool different colored and shaped hearts. I would "heart-attack" him! Friends do that to friends all the time, it was simple enough to do for him, but it wasn't over the top enough that he would think I was in love with him.
I quickly ran around the store throwing things into my cart that would bring the whole plan together. Stencils-because I don't like my handwriting, markers-to add color, scissors-to cut out the hearts, streamers-to create chaos and color, and candy-the special treat for being heart-attacked.
That night I sat in the middle of my living room floor back at my apartment slowly cutting out hundreds of hearts from the wrapping paper. I drew up a sign that read "You've just been Heart-Attacked!!" and then got everything together to take to the Snow Building the next morning.
The next phase of my plan was to get the combination for his instrument locker. We music majors depended upon our instrument lockers. Luckily my good friend "B" worked in the equipment office. She was cool enough to give me his combination but also could keep a secret. Next I had to figure out the perfect time of day in order to "attack" him. I knew he was shy, so it probably wouldn't be best for him to discover it right after orchestra rehearsal when the locker room would be full of other musicians. I planned for late afternoon, he hadn't practiced yet, so I knew he'd have reason to go to his locker. He'd had to get his violin.
Afternoon came, he was in a class in a different building on campus. I instilled the help of my dear friend Proud Mum to help me decorate the inside of his locker as quickly as possible in case he or anyone else showed up while we were committing the crime. We sprinkled candy throughout his locker, inside his backpack, and in his coat pockets. We hung streamers so thickly you couldn't see the back of the locker. Hanging prominantly at the front of the locker was the sign to announce he had just been "Heart-Attacked", and inside his practice folder was a small note from me wishing him a Happy Valentine's Day and a nice weekend. I think he was going home for the weekend.
The rest of the afternoon and evening I was on pins and needles waiting to see how he reacted and WHEN he'd find out. I was working in the piano lab that night. He walked in and sat down at a piano to work on his music compositions. Being it was Friday night, it was Valentine's Day, and I think there was a dance the piano lab was pretty much empty. I was sitting at the front of the classroom with my stomach in knots, and he was sitting at the back of the classroom with headphones on.
When the last student finally left the classroom he took his headphones off, and unplugged them from the piano. He always liked to work on Finale with the headphones off, it gave him a better idea of how the piece sounded.
I casually asked him if he had practiced yet tonight.
"No, I haven't", he replied.
"Oh, okay". I answered nonchalantly. Inside my stomach was doing belly flops. I had been in the locker room between the time of the "attack" beginning my shift in the piano lab. There were streamers all over the floor. I knew he had opened his locker and discovered the "heart-attack", but unless he went to practice his violin and open his practice folder he wouldn't know it was me. What was I to do? I couldn't bring it up.
Deep in thought, I jumped in my chair when he said "why?"
"Oh, I was just curious, that's all", I said, still trying to sound casual.
"Did you hear I got Heart-Attacked today?" he asked.
"No, I didn't, you did?!? Who do you think did it?" I replied in mock disbelief.
"Oh, I think it was "L.F." he answered.
"Why would you think it was her? Does she have a crush on you too? I thought she liked Christian?" I asked.
"She works in the equipment room. She would have access to my locker combination. She's just friendly and nice that way." he answered.
"Oh, I see." I said, as I sighed a little.
He then picked up his books and his bag and left the room. I was left alone in the classroom with 14 pianos, and my thoughts. What was I to do? He would be out of town for the weekend, he wouldn't find out it was me till Monday morning. I didn't want him to find out surrounded by our fellow classmates. I was lost in thought when he surprised me for the second time that night. He had been gone maybe 10-15 minutes when he walked into the classroom and asked me if I would like a ride home. It was February in Rexburg, that equaled a cold walk home.
"Sure!" I replied. I leapt from my chair, there was only 15 minutes till closing anyway, I knew noone else would show up that night. I grabbed my coat and my backpack, turned off the lights, locked the door and walked out with him. On the way out to his truck I asked him if he was interested in having root-beer floats. He answered yes, and we drove to Broulim's Grocery. He waited in the truck as I ran into the store to get some root-beer and ice cream. I came back out to the truck and opened the door to discover the passenger seat littered with the candies I had put in his locker. He gave me this funny smirk. I said "No, no, no! These are for you!" I argued. I knew he knew it was me when he said "Just thought I'd share them with my attacker."
We arrived at my apartment, only my roommate "K" was home. The three of us had root-beer floats, talked and laughed. "K" had said something about "You're the Breast!" He laughed and then told us a story of this black woman from his mission, and her "shelf". We were rolling on the floor. He collected all our glasses, took them to the sink, rinsed them out, and put the ice cream and root-beer away for me. While his back was to us, "K" was pointing out to me the fact that he was voluntarily cleaning up. He was a find! He came back and sat down, and we continued talking, just the three of us. Then just totally random, he jumped up from the couch and announced he had to go. And just like that he walked out the door. "K" and I looked at each other in confusion, what had just happened?
He may have ripped out the streamers, and the sign, but the hearts remained plastered all over the inside of his locker till a week before the semester ended. He took the hearts out and restuck them all over the outsides of all the other lockers. The last day of the semester I took a few of the hearts and taped them to the inside of my clarinet case. 7 years later, they're still there.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/13/2006 12:48:00 PM :: 5 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Pictures That Make Me Feel Happy
I like to switch the picture on my computer desktop out a lot. I'm not one that can keep one picture up for very long. These are pictures that I keep close at hand for those moments I need a picture to make me feel happy. Currently I have the Yellow Tulips picture up. I need something bright and cheery right now.Mt. Rainier, Washington
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Columbia River Gorge
Columbia River Gorge
Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
A barn near the Grand Tetons, Wyoming
Yellow Tulips
The only picture on this blog post that I actually took.
This was on the front of a thank you card. I bought the set of cards just for the pictures.This one is also from the front of a thank you card.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/09/2006 02:10:00 PM :: 8 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Feel Better
"Someone thinks about you when they hear THAT song."Feel Better.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/09/2006 01:55:00 PM :: 11 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Monday, February 06, 2006
Lock Out
Part of the renovation(please refer to the previous post titled "Weekend Warriors" )we did this weekend involved changing out the locks on all of our doors. Instead of buying three new doorknobs so they could all be opened using the same key, "S" bought this kit that allows you to change out just the pins inside of the locks.
He had done the deadbolt and lock for the new backdoor we had installed on Saturday night. Sunday afternoon he set out to do the deadbolt and lock for the front door and the lock on the door that leads out to the garage.
This time he learned from the mistakes he had made Saturday night and rather than spending 2 frustrating hours playing with tiny little springs and pins, he changed all three locks out without any problem.
Jump forward to dinnertime. We're all done eating, and "S" takes the kids off to the bathroom to start baths. I began to clean off the table and put things away. I went to take something out to the garage to put it away. The door closed behind me, no big deal. I turn around to open the door to return back to the house when I discover the doorknob won't turn. The door is locked! With all his genious "S" checked to make sure the new key would work in the lock, but then left the door locked!
I started knocking on the door. I know "S" was down the hall in the bathroom with the kids and the water was still running. I was sure he could hear me. I could hear the water splashing, the kids laughing, and "S" talking. I started to knock harder on the door. Its cold in the garage, I had no shoes on and I'm standing on cold concrete. I started to bang even harder on the door. I could hear the water stop running, so think he should be able to hear me again. My hand was starting to hurt so I looked for something I could use to bang on the door. My eyes landed on a flashlight. I used the end of the flashlight to bang on the door. He still doesn't come to rescue me. I figured, okay he's always worried we're gonna get robbed, I'll push the button for the automatic garage door opener. If he doesn't hear me knocking he's sure to hear that and come running. Nope. That didn't work either. I go back to banging on the door. He still doesn't come.
By this point I didn't care if the whole neighborhood heard me. I put my face up to the door and started yelling. Then I began banging on the door again. Nothing. I look around the garage, starting to get desparate. I see the car. I know the car horn is pretty loud. "W" would play with our keys in the house and would accidentally press the car alarm button. The car would start honking its horn and you could hear it anywhere in the house. I jump into the car and began honking the horn, over and over again. It sounded like the car alarm, I thought, surely "S" will come checkout all the racket. Again I was left trapped in the garage! I went back to banging on the door, thinking desparately for a way to get him to realize I was locked out of the house.
I was starting to get angry, and panic a little. I opened the garage door again and ran to the front door. I pulled "W"'s little prank and began ringing the door bell over and over. Ding-Dong, Ding-Dong, Ding, Ding, Ding-Dong, Ding-Dong!
I could hear "S" walking to the door.
He gets to the door and says "'D'?"
"YEESAH! Its ME! Open the door!" I yelled through the door.
He looks at me standing outside in the cold and says "What are you doing out here?"
"I went out in the garage! You left the door locked! I've been standing out in the garage for 10 minutes banging on the door to try to get your attention!" I yelled.
"I banged with a flashlight, I opened and closed the garage door, I even got in the car and started honking the horn!" I continued.
He started laughing as he walked back into the bathroom to check on the kids.
About an hour later, as we were putting the kids to bed he started laughing again.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"I could hear banging, and I thought 'What is 'D' doing?' Now it all makes sense! Were you seriously out there for 10 minutes?" He answered.
"YES I was!" I replied
He started laughing again and said "Not only am I a heavy sleeper, I'm a heavy kid bather too. You should blog about this!"
Isn't he considerate, helping me come up with topics to blog about...
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/06/2006 11:42:00 AM :: 7 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Weekend Warriors
This weekend we did a little renovation project. If you're interested in checking out what we did click here.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/06/2006 10:11:00 AM :: 1 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Friday, February 03, 2006
Quote
"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration; most jobs are more dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time railway journey... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." (Jenkins Lloyd Jones -Big Rock Candy Mountains," Deseret News, 12 June 1973, A4).~A Conversation with Single Adults
By President Gordon B. Hinckley
From an address delivered on 22 September 1996 at the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
Gordon B. Hinckley, "A Conversation with Single Adults," Ensign, Mar. 1997, 58
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/03/2006 12:39:00 PM :: 7 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Happy Anniversary
Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad.
February 3 my parents were married in the Ogden, Utah Temple. 28 years ago today. My dad was 19 and my mom was 18.
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/03/2006 10:47:00 AM :: 3 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Inside Jokes
We met my freshman year at Ricks. She was roommates with a close friend of mine from High School. Her apartment was referred to as the "Kennewick Girls", my close high school friend was from Kennewick, she was from Nevada. Neither of them referred to themselves as "Kennewick Girls". I was a Girl from Kennewick, but also wasn't a "Kennewick Girl", that term had started to become a derogatory statement...
I would go over to their apartment for a little quiet sanity time when it was just the two of them. We got to know each other a little.
Sophomore year, I was supposed to be roommates with my friend from High School. She decided to get married over the summer instead and didn't come back. Instead she sold her contract to her old roommate from Nevada. Thus began OUR friendship immediately.
Its so funny, we became such good friends, and had so much in common that we didn't realize the year before.
Inside Jokes We Share:
~a stack of pictures with us doing funny poses that no one is allowed to see except us!
~"Hello, Stranger of the World!"
~our half-birthdays
~"You're Fired!"
~chiropractor appointment trips to Idaho Falls
~"ya wackum" (you're welcome)
~the inside of the windshield frosting over while driving back from I.F.
~Sleepwalking
~Indigo Girls
~getting up at 3am
~"looking up at the stars, ...Moo"
~crying buckets over stupid boys
~"ya, you gotta laugh at yourself. Cuz you'd cry your eyes out if you didn't"
~Preference Dance. Eating pizza in the mirrored room of the Snow Building by candlelight.
~"its not a chicken, its a turkey." "No, its a chikin!"
~envelopes made out of magazine ads
~Bullfrog, Utah-Lake Powell
~Badger Creek
~Ghost Beads
~emails quoting Indigo Girls songs
~"that is NOT appropriate!"
~Belching at Wendy's
~visiting Logan during spring break
~" I don't know what happened...it just stopped ringing..."
~"Put that away!"
~visit to Logan and going to wake up fiance' super early for breakfast
~"You're an Idiot! Go to your Room!"
~whispering to her on her wedding day I was pregnant
~gold fish(plural) named Stew
~staying over and my kids chasing the ducks around
~meeting at Macaroni Grill for dinner. Will fell asleep at the table, Syd had a cold, and she was prego but couldn't say yet. (Though I suspected)
~ "IMpressive!" (emphasis on IM)
~dogs, and cats, and fish, and ducks, and chickens... and babies!
~"RANdom!"
~"It's NOT a Contest!"
~"Watch it or you're gonna get one of these in the head!" (Me pounding my elbow into my hand)
~ "You're the Breast!"
Funny Words:
~Nova Scotia
Words we declared "Not Appropriate":
~Purse
~Pantyhose
~Moist
"I love Stew." (I love you...)
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/01/2006 11:22:00 AM :: 4 Comments: ---------------------------------------
He fell Asleep
His daddy had only been home for 30 minutes. But then he had to leave again. He was going to teach his very first violin lesson.
The little boy was not happy his daddy had left, and mommy was in the kitchen cooking dinner. He sat on the kitchen floor and cried for nearly 30 minutes, it didn't matter what mommy said. He cried for daddy to come home, he cried for a cheese sandwich, he cried because he thought his nose was running. It didn't matter. He just cried. Mommy had even set the kitchen timer so he could see when daddy would be home.
He walked out of the kitchen, still crying. His mommy was almost done making dinner, and she got something out for him to eat for dinner. She called to him in the living room if he wanted it. He didn't answer. She put it in the microwave to warm it up and called out to him that she was making his dinner. He still didn't answer. She put his dinner on a plate, and called to him to come to the table so he could he. He STILL didn't answer. She walked out to the living room to discover the sad little boy was also a tired little boy.
She picked him up and transferred him to his bed. There he slept the entire night.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 2/01/2006 10:47:00 AM :: 3 Comments: ---------------------------------------
