I am my mother

I made salsa deviled eggs for a library program. They were great, and surprisingly festive looking with the green and red chunks.

The reason that I am my mother... the recipe I used for these devil eggs was actually for relish devil eggs. Yes, after years of complaining how Mom changed the recipe without trying the original, I did the exact same thing.

Laura's Visit

Laura came to visit and I had a blast spending time with her.

I drove Laura out to visit Richard.

We spent time exploring the local museums.

We stopped for a stagecoach photo shoot.

See ya later, partner!

New Moon

I was one many who rushed to see New Moon on opening night.  I went with girls from the stake and we had a blast.  We watched Twilight while in line waiting for the theater.

There was even matching shirts for the event.  (Reason #35 that I'm glad to be a girl.  Matching shirts & outfits = okay)
Teaching Seminary and going to work on 1 hour of sleep was rough... but worth it.

My work here is done...

I really enjoy the webcomic Unshelved. All about the joy and humor of working in a public library.

What are you trying to say?

Yesterday a patron asked my co-worker if I was pregnant. Kate said no, and his response was to ask if she was sure. She told me that she wanted to say that there was a greater chance of our other co-worker Ed being pregnant... but she was a little more polite to the patron.

We've been laughing about it all day.

Visiting Family: Part 2

The true story in which our heroine swears up and down that she does not know where the hero's phone is and then finds it one state later in her jacket pocket.

Went to visit my brother this past weekend.  We had a great time and the only hiccup was that he couldn't find his phone at the end of the weekend.  I had left it in his car, when we were unloading it from our successful Ikea run.  He didn't believe me, and went as far as to double check the bag that I had already searched.  I indignant, forcefully told him that it must be somewhere in that large, overflowing pile by the couch.  I found it on the way to early morning seminary when I put on my jacket.  Great trip and I promise that the phone is in the mail!

Visiting Family: Part 1

The great thing about having family close is that you can drive up and spend the day with them.

Sharing your talents, supplies and indoctrinating their young.  Yes, that is a punch that he is holding.
You also have someone willing to take your picture.

New Calling

I am the new Freshman early morning Seminary teacher for my ward and the ward that we share the building with. I start on Monday. Wish me luck!

Chocolate Debate

I just received an email to join a chocolate co-op to buy chocolate at a discounted rate. However, they need to buy alot of chocolate... How many cookies can I make in a year?

Indiana's Children's Museum

Caught ya! Here are some random photos of last Saturday with my dad.
Posing in front of the Star Wars props.

Playing dress-ups is a family affair.

I love the back light in this photo... and we'll all pretend that I did that on purpose.

Serious respect for the Star Wars display.

A Day with Dad

After Dad's business trip, all the midwestern family members converged on Indy.

We had a picnic by the Canal.
Look Mom, orange cheese all over our hands.  Yum!  Dad swears that it's not his fault.  
After walking to the war memorials, we toured the Indiana State Museum.
While there day showed off his great fishing skills.   Very impressive!

77 Dozen in One Day

A couple from my ward invited several families over for a corn party.  We husked and husked.

And husked some more...
Just to get to the good part.
I'm grateful for the generosity of this family...  I will think of them often this winter as I enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Hi! My name is...

Sometimes I feel like an alcoholic working at a bar...

Commuting

My daily drive to work has two major components:

My car cd player and the Indiana cornfields.

Wordle

This is a fun new website to play around on... http://www.wordle.net/

I'm excited about the possiblity of making my own scrapbook paper. Check it out!

Namesakes

My family, like others, recycles names every couple of generations.  Recently we had the namesakes for my grandma (pictured below) and her husband (who incidentally, is my grandpa and not pictured below) together.

These two are first-cousins once removed who meet for the first time in a graveyard in Indiana. Family reunions can be strange... not to mention the people who you meet there. (I love you all!) We couldn't resist taking pictures of them.

Baby I* is particular about his personal space.  No one gets in unless he wants them in.  Baby B* is almost a year older than I* despite the fact that they are the same size.
It was great to have cousins and siblings to search for Garr graves with!

Unfriendly Neighbors

I came home from Brazil last month to some new neighbors.
We've spent the past month scaring each other as I walk in and out of my front door. Unfortunately, my front door also doubles as my only door.
Every morning the screen door swings and wings flutter frantically. Both of us mutter under our breath about the other. I'm sure that the robins have been complaining about my arrival... from their perspective they were there first.
This week's variation has included the parents dive bombing me as I try to unlock and lock my door. And the mutter has turned into angry yelled insults. Robins are vocal and protective birds.

Not to mention messy... my porch is gross! Bless the mailman's heart for putting my package right under their nest.

Greetings from Minneapolis!

Claes Oldenburg & Coosje Van Bruggen's Spoonbridge and Cherry

JCPL New Website

Our library recently, as in today, updated our website and yours truely was involved. In fact I took 3 of the 4 photos that are on the home page.

Cuidado Lambado

For all those computer travelers here are some of the big differences between Brazil and home:

Lombado: Speed bumps are bigger and more common in Sao Paulo. They are also common on the highways out of town because they are cheaper to install and maintain than a traffic light. Sometimes they are well marked but sometimes the paint has worn off. Just before you hit a hidden speed bump the driver usually yells "cuidado lambado!" which means "Careful of the speed bump!" This phrase is the one that I used the most and heard the most... Lombados are not to be confused with the potholes that are also very common in Brazil.

Toilet paper: Brazilians are convinced that their sewer pipes cannot handle toilet paper without clogging. This means that in all public restrooms they have the thinnest ply paper and a huge garbage can next to the throne for you to throw away your used toilet paper. Gross!

Fruit: They have the best fruit in Brazil. My favorite was the Cawki (spelling made up by me). It looks like a tomato, has the texture of an apple and tastes kind of like a nectarine. Fabulous! Not to mention all the limes, pineapples, starfruit and passion fruit.

Parking: When ever you enter a parking lot, there is a guard waiting to give you a token. Hang on to the token! Without it you can't prove that it is your car, and that you haven't just snuck onto the lot to steal it.

Pizza: It is always eaten with a fork and knife. And don't even think about snagging a second piece for yourself. The waiter will serve you the second piece just like he served the first.

Wild Animals

On our last day, Katie and I, spent the day with the family at the Sao Paulo Zoo. Perhaps some of the scariest animals were not in cages, but just hanging out in the trees.
Or at the cafe.

We had fun making faces back at the poor animals.

I'm going to be practicing this face in the mirror, before I add it to my regular repertoire.

Favorite picture: This is the new turtle hat, all the coolest alligators have them. We watched this brave (or foolish) turtle crawl right up the alligator's head. And then crawl back up again when the alligator brushed him off after more than 5 minutes.

It was when I was screaming back at the parrots and toucans that we had a couple come up to us and ask if we spoke English. Turns out that they're from Utah. I spent the entire conversation pretending it was perfectly normal to egg zoo animals on to screaming matches.

This is one of the many reasons why I love my sisters!

Parent Free Weekend

Mom and Dad flew home to support Richard at his graduation. Congrats Richard! Those left behind had a peaceful weekend, where we all sat around and held hands singing...Wait! You didn't see that picture! I promise that everyone is fine.
Andrea stole the show in her role as maid in the school play of Blythe Spirit.
Between Katie, Christa and I we attended every performance to let her know that she is loved. Even if her parents left the country.
McDonald's in Brazil is a different experience. This was the first time that I've ever been to one with a guard in a business suit protecting the parking lot. Notice how excited Matthew was to have his picture taken.
Not to mention one that had artwork on the walls.
McColoso is one of the kids favorite treats. The chocolate sauce is better here and Mom's theory is the lack of corn syrup.
Playing in the freezing pool. It's autumn here and the temperatures are dropping... well as much as they do in Sao Paulo.