Poop Corn

Wow... I finally took the SAT today. I can't wait to see how I scored! I was surprised that the only three questions I didn't have time to answer were in the math sections. I guess that only figures since I have been out of practicing math for at least four and half years. I did major cram-studying on grammar which I hope paid off, but at least I felt more confident with it. I really have little else to say about it except that I am lucky I didn't freeze to death because it was -40* today and I wasn't allowed to leave the test building to start the car until after the test was over. That meant that the car was off for almost five hours! I am lucky it started at all! And it is no wonder that it was a very chilly ride home!
Thursday, I was home for lunch, as I was working at Rika's and had no food, and witnessed the funniest exchange between Jessica and Meghan. Jessie went to the bathroom and after a while invited Megs to come "see her poop". This was funny enough but when Meghan went and looked, she came squeeling from the bathroom laughing in a hilarious high-pitched giggle and exclaming that their was corn in Jessie's poop. Later she invented the term "poop corn" and it has stuck as the primary name for such a thing. This gave rise to a dissertation on how what we eat comes out the other end and why some things were more recognizeable than others. Oh, the conversations we have with 2 and 4 year olds!
During convention, our chest freezer began to smell. We discovered that it had stopped working some time earlier and that most of the food had rotted. SAD! We could do nothing about it then so it sat until this last Thursday night. We then taped it shut and hauled the thing outside (it was -50*F), emptied the now putrid contents into trash bags, and rinsed it out with hot bleach water. On the whole, the situation was a very sad because we lost soooo much food and are now down a freezer too!
Guess that is it for news and comment from my life right now. I'll try to keep you posted about my scores and college plans. As a parting word of wisdom, DON'T watch the movie Sideways, it is very boring and long and at times naughty. Okay that is it. Goodnight and goodbye for now.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Well, the big convention rush is over! And today is a day of "rest". I am sitting in my office having a wonderful time pretending to work and wishing I had just stayed home. I must wait for Pete to finish slicing meat and cheese before I can get a ride back home.
It has been nice having the Ireland crew here. Andrew and Cathy are great and Sarah Hall is here too. I've been just function hopping with them so I have had quite a bit of time to visit with them. It is reminding me how much I want to go back to Ireland someday. I get a little frustrated that there is never a good time or an excuse to travel from Whitestone. It seems like it takes an act of God to get you anywhere for a visit. But I guess that just demonstrates how active God is because I have been a good many places in my time. I just love to travel and would love to go more places. Maybe someday.
Well, Rebekah and Jonathan are going to have another baby which is exciting and in a way kinda sad. It means that they will almost for sure have to move out of our house, but it will be fun to see their next child!
Hmmm.... I'm already running out of unique and original thoughts. Guess I'm too tired to write today. I'll go check on Peter and see if he is ready to go home yet. Maybe I can get some more sleep.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I have to move back into my room today. We moved to the basement to make room for Anthony's parents to stay in our room. They left yesterday so I can now take up my bed and climb the stairs again! That will be nice since it is terribly hot and loud in the basement.
Well, not a real exciting post on the whole, but at least it is one and it has been a while. Just remember to keep breathing and life will continue to be good.

Blah, Blah and a Visit

Well... today was interesting. I spent the early morning working on a waiver of liability (which we will mail to our neighbors who drive on our roads and have them sign so that they cannot sue us in the event that they have an accident on our roads) and icing my still-swollen face. Then my guests arrived from Anchorage (at 10:30 [they flew]) and Steve and I took them on a tour. We ended up at the Tab basement in my office amidst the dry good storage where we sat until nearly 2 pm. It was a unique experience where I got to explain bits of life at Whitestone to total strangers based on the noises they could hear seeping through the floor. We finished what they came to show me in about an hour and drug it out for another hour or so and then spent at least a half hour looking at Nan's pictures of Whitestone. On the whole I think they enjoyed themselves and I shocked myself by really not being that embarrassed by how weird and unofficial and unbusinesslike the whole event must have seemed to them.
The school is now in full-swing, last-minute prep for the convention dinner production. I think it really has gone over the top this time! They have rigged the entire sanctuary with professional stage lighting, two backdrops, scrim and curtains and of course microphones. They have three modular and portable stages and four video cameras (I'm running one) and it is really just amazing. The practices are going all day every day and after dinner and it really is intense. We shall see if the final product is worth while, but my personal opinion: nothing is worth this much work if it is only temporary. So there you have it, cat's out of the bag. They perform it Thursday and Friday nights. I'll keep you posted on what this camera man gets from it!
Okay, guess that is it. Except for (I almost forgot) I will tell you the key to life, the thing that, if you do, you will continue to exist and if you don't do, you will expire. This is of paramount importance! Are you ready? Okay: ALWAYS BREATHE! That's it, that is the key. In and out. Well, I'm tired, so goodnight and keep breathing!

Saying Goodbye to Wisdom

Well, had my wisdom teeth out on Thursday morning. I am still recovering! I can't believe how long it has taken. I have never been down for this long of a count! I hardly know what to do with myself. Think I will go to work tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to chew and eat most normal things by then! When I was 18 they told me I didn't have any wisdom teeth. This summer I suddenly had them and they needed to come out. Anyway, finally went under the drill (so to speak). It was a terrible experience no just because of the pain and agony from recovering but because the dental assistant was new to her job so while they were digging in my mouth for almost 2 hours she was unable to keep up with the suction and I kept gagging on and swallowing blood and gristle and bits of tooth etc! It was sooooo sick! The smell alone was enough to nauseate me, thankfully I didn't throw up! Anyway, they pulled all four, so the good news is that I won't ever have to do that again! What a vulgar experience!

Me Swollen & Recuperating

Apart from being very sick and tired of all foods mushy, life is good. We had a nice dinner here last night. I don't know if the food was good because I had mashed potatoes again and then needed to lay down because my face hurt like the dickens. Anyway, it seemed like most people had a pleasant time and the rest were quiet so I think it went well. The guests stayed really late again which is always fun.
Anyway, that is about it. Hoping for world peace, lots of money, success on eBay "the world's online marketplace", and no more pain in my jaw! Talk with you soon.

Me in 2006

Well, things have really speeded up this week. My life is once again as crazy and rapid as a twister. I hope I am not destroying too many things :). Let's see, since I posted last, a lot has happened. I won't be able to recount them all, but here goes. First, I tried to post early on New Year's (like at 2 a.m.) but my senile computer lost my whole post for me twice and then it was 3 so I gave up and went to sleep.
So, I spent a great deal of New Year's asleep. I woke at 11 a.m. and had a latte. That is how every year should begin! I then had a nice low-key day and prepared for an early dinner party at the Tabernacle. Diane and Nannette organized a New Year's bash with quite a few married couples and some single people. I got invited and had a total blast! It was kinda a like a pot luck... everyone made something. Evan G and I made egg nog. The food was soooo good and there was sooo much of it. Then we had a chinese auction which was really fun.
But, alas, I have gone out of order. We had a nice dinner at our house the night before. It was the first Saturday night service in a long time which was sad enough as it was because we had a bunch of people coming to dinner after it. But to make it worse, we professied for the seventh graders and it took 4 hours to prophesy to the six of them. So, we got home at 10:30 to start cooking dinner. We were gonna have steak, but the grill wouldn't work, and so we had 14 steaks to cook on the stove top as fast as possible. The two that were supposed to be well done cooked the whole time and they managed to still be fairly rare. Otherwise the meal was a success, even if it was rushed, and was very good. It was very Spanish to eat so late, but fitting since we would have stayed up for the new year anyway. 2006 came around while we did dishes... which is kinda depressing, really - to frame the new year with a cleanup saga. But then we had a lovely time just hanging out until like 2 a.m. Then the guests went home.
Let's see, Monday, I was on compost and bookkeeping. We had an eight o'clock breakfast, which was nice, but set the whole day back. By the time I finished compost and the accompanying errands you get just for having a truck and some muscles (some people do think I have those), it was eleven. So I really got fairly little done Monday. Then, Tuesday I was on Delta Trip and books. I was training Anthony on Delta Trip, which was a laugh because the trip was tiny and we were like tripping over each other at the Post Office (the only place we went for any length of time). We were done by 12:30 so we went to Rika's and did a little work for me. Then we went back to the farm and I employed Ant the rest of the afternoon on inventory stuff for Rika's (which is a total mess and my next big project).
Hmmm... Wednesday, we had a great service. Bro. David talked about having a lively hope and what that means. It was encouraging. He read something in the beginning of Romans 8 and I saw verse 24 which talks about how hope is only for things that are not seen. Stating that if you can see it there is no longer any need to hope for it. I totally agree with this, and it got me thinking about what I do when something I have hoped for is suddenly realized. It can be so easy to loose your sense of purpose when your hopes come to pass. I began thinking about what it means to be a prisoner of hope (another topic from the service). If you are a prisoner to something you are constantly subject to it. I was thinking that when something you hoped for comes to pass it can leave you empty. Like the stories of prisoners whose only hope is to get out, and when they actually succeed, they have nothing else to live for and their life looses its meaning. This is frightening because it would be a sad legacy to hold on to a living hope that God will move in your life and then when He does loose your sense of purpose and your reason for living. Sorry... guess that is a little rough still... it is still going over in my mind and I haven't worked out all the implications. It is something I am studying still. Whatever.
Well, let's see, work has been quite challenging of late but some of the year end projects are wrapping up... there are still many more to tackle (UGH!) but at least some progress has been made.
My aunt Andrea is having a stress test in Anchorage tomorrow because she has been having some chest pains and there is a history of heart disease in our family. So, while she and Richard are gone, I am staying with Garrett. I am staying in their room at the shop. Tonight is the first of several and so far it has been a pile of fun. I hung out with Garrett for the early part of the night and then read to him for a while before he went to sleep. Then I hung out with Matt, Yvonne, Audge and Natalie for a while with intermittent visits from David. We had a great time! Watched some of an Evanescence concert and Natalie showed us some dancing. Tonight was definitely fun.
It is now late again, so I am off to bed. Till next time, goodbye.