Inquiring Minds Want to Know

It's 10:30 Sunday night, Murray is out of town keeping our nation safe for democracy. Emma, my 13 year old, just walked out of her bedroom and asked if she could sleep with me tonight. My reply was, "sure". I know this means that not only will I have her in bed with me but I will also have Rusty, the family daschshund. Remember this? An opportunity to interview Emma presented itself and I jumped on it. I'm following Stie's format, so here goes:

Name: Emma

Nickname: Emmy

Favorite Color: Hot Pink and Lime Green

Favorite Animal: Koalas and Pandas

What do you want to be when you grow up? A professional cheerleader and get a PhD in Mathematics

What do you think I was like as a little girl? A geek with an afro she says with a cheesy grin. I look at her and ask "seriously?", she giggles and replies yes Mom.

What does that mean sweetie? You're smart and you have crazy hair.

What kind of mom do you think you will be? I don't want kids.

Am I a nice mom? In a way.

What way: In a good way. (pretty noncommittal, remember that she's 13 years old)

What's your favorite food that I make? Au Gratin Potatoes, even though I could probably make them myself.

What do you think Dad does for work? "Well....., ummm..., he helps the military make weapons. That's all, I think."

Who is your best friend? "Kayla"

What's you favorite thing about me? "I don't know.'

Think of something!! "I said I don't know... your cooking."

What are you afraid of? "Dying before I'm finished living"

Why? Because I want to live my life to the fullest without it being stopped short.

Why are you still awake right now? giggles, Because I took a nap today.

Who is your boyfriend? "no one"

That's my girl, there's plenty of time for boys, like when you are in your 20's

Looking for Someplace to Eat Tonight

Murray and I are always looking for someplace unique and delicious to eat. Low and behold, we found this place but don't have the guts to give it a try.

4 Things About Utard

Last week I flew into Salt Lake City and was reminded why I love Utard.

1. The Child's Play Area in Concourse B at the SLC airport. It's the only airport I know of that has a play area for kids.

2. The Y Mountain. Go Cougars!

3. Zions Bank. Why isn't it Zion's Bank?

5. The Posh Spice angled bob haircut. 50% of adult females in Utah Valley have this haircut. Seriously.

4. The desecration of the English language and it's attendant grammar. Consider the following:
The moun-unns are beautiful.

"These ones" as opposed to "these".

Please order some saltsa. Don't you mean salsa?

Flip

Fetch

Damage

Patriarticle

I could go on and on. Those Utards give me so much to laugh about every time I visit.

Blue Emergency Telephones

I remember when blue emergency telephones were installed on campus at Brigham Young University. They are located all over campus to provide a quick call to the campus police should the guy, who is walking you home, turn out to be an octopus who just had a dream that "you are the one I'm supposed to marry".

Last week I spotted this blue telephone with an "Out of Order" sticker pasted across the front. Just too funny! Luckily for the BYU coeds, this particular blue phone is located in a populated and well lit area of campus.

I Did Not Want a Dog

I finally caved after 25 years of marriage and many "discussions"; we now have a puppy. Murray and Emma promised they would do all the work, so we brought home a very cute miniature dachshund and named him Rusty. After 2 years he has begun to warm my heart. Until I vacuumed today. As I was down on my belly vacuuming under our king size bed, there was a pair of my shoes.

I recently purchased a new pair of very comfortable shoes. They were expensive but I told myself my feet are worth it. I only have to work 20 hours to earn enough to pay for these. No big deal. Seems Rusty likes them as much as I do. When we are gone from the house and he is here alone he gets into alot of mischief. Today he ventured into my closet looking around for something to interest him. One by one he carried each shoe to his "safe place" under our king size bed and proceeded to chew each shoe until the comfortable strap that goes across the top of my foot was destroyed.

The shoe reapirman, a small Korean man, told me "How much you pay for deese?, I no fix for you, buy anoder pair." I almost cried, now I have to work 20 more hours to be able to buy another pair. And just when I thought I might really love this dog I find his handiwork.

I did not want a dog. I don't like how they smell, I don't like the responsibility that comes with owning a dog AND now I have something else to add to my list of reasons why I don't want a dog. Anybody interested in a cute dachshund? Just lock up your shoes, and purses (that's another story for another day).

A Whole Day With My Husband

During Sunday dinner two days ago we discussed our family schedule for the coming week. I was happy to hear Murray say that his Monday is pretty free. When he isn't traveling for work, he works from his office in our home. So.. having a day that is pretty free means that he doesn't have too many conference calls or meetings to attend. He suggested that we go to the commissary. We began to formulate our schedule for Monday. We planned our day to look something like this, get up and hop on the treadmill, then take Rusty, our dachshund, for a walk around the neighborhood. Shower and head to the Commissary, a 45 minute drive from our home. Once we get to the base a visit to the PX before the commissary is a must. Rush through the PX and Commissary and hurry to the dentist for my cleaning at 1:50. Maybe there will be time for an afternoon movie before we head home for dinner and FHE.

In reality it turned out like this. Wake up, Murray is drawn to his office like a magnet. "Just to check my email, something important might have come in over the night" And then just 3 conference calls with co-workers and he's calling out to me are you ready to go? By this time I knew there was no way we were going to stay on "our schedule". So, I called the dentist's office and asked if they had an available opening later in the afternoon, lucky for me they did, a 4:00 PM appointment. "I'll take it".

Needless to say, we did not hop on the treadmill or walk Rusty or make it to the accountant's office. We did make it to the PX and I went inside while Murray stayed in the car and participated in another conference call from his cell phone. 30 minutes later I called his cell phone and told him there was a nice pair of pants, please come in and try them on. Well the pants did not fit well but he found a nice shirt that he liked. So after we paid for our stuff he went back to the car, for "just a short conference call" and I went to the commissary. When I finally made it to my assigned check-out lane, my cell phone rang. It was Murray, "where are you in here". "I'm at check-out lane 13". "Okay, I'll wait outside for you". I stepped up to the cashier and she asked for my ID card. I told her mine expired and my husband has his with him, I will call him and tell him to come inside. She would not begin to ring up my purchases until she saw the ID. AND, he had to be the one to pay. New rules for the commissary?

Heading back towards town and the dentist's office was a quiet drive, me reading a newly purchased magazine and Murray on two more business calls. One to a co-worker who is taking a leave of absence for 12 months and another to someone else important. We arrived at the dentist's office at 3:00 PM. Oh well, I'll go on inside, maybe they will be able to see me early. No problem, Murray had more calls to take and after my appointment, I found him in the lobby of the building just outside the elevator sitting on the floor with his laptop plugged into the wall. "Just going through my 428 emails" he said.

So we went home and made some awesome grilled club sandwiches and spent our FHE helping Emma plan her service project. She wants to visit the old folks home and provide entertainment for the residents. I'll keep you posted.

It really was fun to spend the day with Murray, he is fun and comes with some great fringe benefits.