Things I learned from HSM3

For those of you who aren't familiar with the acronym HSM3, have you been living under a rock? It's only the biggest teenie-bopper musical of all time!

That's right, I went to see High School Musical 3: Senior Year today. And yes, I liked it.

I'm not gonna lie, I watched the previous two when they came onto the Disney channel. I'm a sucker for musicals, so naturally, I saw the third. I needed to know what happened to all of my favorite characters: Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, etc...

And because Chris is on call today, (Happy New Year to me!) I went alone. Not that I could have convinced him to go with me. But, it was at the $2 theater...I couldn't resist.

Here are the things that I learned from watching the movie:

1. I didn't wear nearly enough dresses and/or heels in high school. Scratch that, I didn't wear any. But I was convinced that one of the reasons that Disney decided to release this to the big screen was so that Vanessa Hudgens could get away with some really short skirts (Really? You got up to shave your legs every morning in high school? I don't know about you, but my high school started way to early for that).

2. I didn't drink nearly enough tea from a tea cup while rehearsing the big duet for the school musical. Enough said.

3. I didn't spend enough time on the roof of the school (in the garden club's rooftop hideaway). Who knew that you could have so many romantic moments there (i.e. waltzing in the rain before school).

4. I didn't wander the halls of the high school after dark when I was conflicted about which direction I should take my life. Apparently some of life's most important answers come while on the stage of the auditorium (i.e. basketball or theater?).

5. Apparently Albuquerque is green and verdant like the valley of Salt Lake. Ya, right. There is no place on earth I dislike more than Albuquerque (no offense if you are from there). But, I didn't fall for their lie. You can't fool me Disney.

There are so many important lessons to learn from this film. I suggest you all go and see it so that you can realize your dreams. Also? You might be privileged (like I was) to hear the little girls in the audience singing along to all of the songs.

I'm sure Chris will hate me for this

This is a really weird post; be ye warned. Chris and I were sitting on the couch this evening--Chris had his feet next to me--and I noticed that his feet smelled a little. I didn't say anything because it was the end of the day, and I'm the first to recognize when my own feet smell. It's a natural thing. I just continued to sit there, but put the corner of my sweatshirt over my nose (ever so slightly).

There was no problem until he started to move his feet around as we were talking. Every time his toes touched me, I leaned away. I don't think this was very slight because he looked at me funny. So I told him that his feet smell.

Naturally, he tried to rub his feet all over me. I think he was trying to prove that they didn't smell. He also tried to convince me that if he took his socks off, the feet wouldn't smell. As if the socks were the ones making the stink, not the sweaty feet inside of them. I tried to explain this to him, but he wasn't having it.

Naturally, to prove his point, he proceeded to put the socks in his mouth. I think all that it proved was that my husband is a strange, strange creature.

And yes, he is an MD.

And yes, we have the debt to prove it.

Check out Chris's new blog

It's finally here.

Disclaimer: he will rant and rave. Do not read if you are faint of heart.

Enjoy!

http://chris-soapboxes.blogspot.com/

What's wrong with this picture?

We decorated our tree about a week and a half ago, and I promise there were more ornaments when we put it up. But if you'll notice, there are few (if any) on the bottom half of the tree now.

Yesterday I came home to one broken ornament and about six others on the floor. This morning I got out of bed because I heard one crash to the floor. Today when I came home from work, there were three broken and about four others on the floor.

The kitten is definitely a kitten.

I'm not too upset though; the ornaments came from Walmart. And can you blame him? They are shiny balls that roll around on the floor.

We are working on his resistance to temptations.

It involves a squirt bottle.

P.S. I couldn't get a good picture with the lights on. So I'm sorry that there isn't an appropriate ambiance.

Here's why Chris will be a great father someday

The yet-to-be-named cat has found a way to crawl inside our bed. He made himself some holes in the netting/fabric/slash weird stuff that is on the underside of our box spring and he likes to crawl around in there. The problem for us is that it makes a lot of noise; and, for some reason he meows a lot when he's in there--it's like he gets lost.

He did this this morning while Chris and I were trying to sleep. Chris can sometimes be irrationally mad when he gets woken up by the cats (which sometimes worries me--what will he do when it's a baby crying?). He will throw the covers off, stamp out of the bed, mumble incoherently about the "stupid cat," and then take the cat downstairs and lock him in the bathroom until we wake up.

Even with all that, here's why I think he will make a great father. This morning when I went to let the cat out of the bathroom, he was lying on a blanket that Chris had put on the floor for him.

How cute is that?

Help me name "Temp"

So I think this kitten is officially mine (don't tell Chris), and I'm thinking that it's time we stop calling him Temp--as in temporary. The problem is thinking of name that will match Richard Parker.

If you have no idea where Richard Parker came from, allow me to regale you with a tale. When Chris and I were engaged, we drove my car down to Houston from Provo after graduation. After a week or two there, I had to get home to Colorado to plan the wedding--I'm pretty sure my mom didn't want to do it on her own. Since the drive is about 16 hours, I went to Barnes and Noble and picked out an audio book, Life of Pi.

This book is awesome! I found myself making fewer stops along the way; and, when I did stop, I made them quick so that I could listen to the book. I mailed the book back to Houston so that Chris could listen on his drive up for the wedding. We both loved it.

While the book has large religious, spiritual, and philosophical motifs, the most fascinating part was when Pi Patel (the narrator) is trapped on a life boat with a variety of animals: an orangutan, a hyena, a zebra, and an adult male Bengal tiger named Richard Parker (name taken from the zookeeper in charge of his purchase). The book really is spectacular, even if my description is not.

I'll just say the the name for our cat is very fitting.

But now we need a name for this new cat that rivals that of Richard Parker.

Here's the criteria:

• A name from a piece of literature


• First and last name (Johnson not included)


• Maybe a character with some kind of blindness (the kitten has a film over his left eye)


• And, not lame

I was thinking Captain Ahab. Didn't he have one eye...or was that one leg? Captain Hook. Oh wait, that was one hand.

Help!

A life in the water

Chris turns the big 3-0 today. For those of you who don't know, Chris was a swimmer his whole life, so I thought it would be fun to post some of my favorite pictures of him in the water.

Enjoy.

An adorable beach baby. I'll be happy if our babies look like this.

Chris with his signature stroke at BYU.

On our honeymoon in Jamaica. Hot stuff! I sure do miss that... swimsuit.

Someone stole it from the hotel.

Fly fishing at the butt-crack-of-dawn (official time) in Colorado.

Pure determination...tube wars are a lot of work, you know.

Happy Birthday, honey! I love you lots!!!

You know it's bad when even your sweat pants make you feel fat

And other such musings...

Since we moved here to North Carolina (and perhaps before), I have shifted away from my normal "healthy" lifestyle towards a more "relaxed" lifestyle. What this translates to is about 5-7 pounds of stuff I didn't have six months ago...okay, maybe seven months ago. I attribute this to the craziness of graduation, packing, and moving. Lets be reasonable, it's really hard to eat-in when you sell all of your furniture on Craig's List three weeks before you actually move--thanks for the low price point, honey.

But all of that can only be blamed for any weight gain in maybe April-June. Beyond that, I think I just got lazy. I worked out a lot all summer. There was nothing else to do. I was at the gym for 1-2 hours about six days a week. But I didn't see any weight loss--I must have been building muscle, right? Then, when I started working (even though it was part time), it got harder to work-out and less likely that I would be cooking at home.

All of this would be a non-issue if it didn't mean shopping for new jeans. I hate shopping for jeans. I have bought two pairs in the last three years (one of which cost...oh lets just say "a lot" of money), the other was a great pair of stretchy, wide leg from H&M ($30). My expensive pair are still fabulous and I would still wear them everyday if I didn't have a serious case of muffin top going on when I sit down.

I think part of the reason it is so frustrating is that when you need a bigger size, it means you go up two numbers in the size scale. Chris had to buy new jeans this week (because of a hole in the knee) and his sizes move in ones (i.e. 32-33-34). I could handle that. One number is more manageable. But two? I once watched a show about how sizing is changing in the fashion world to make women think they are smaller than they are. A size 4 in a discount store is really an 8 in a high end store. It's all one big conspiracy.

I'll show them...from now on, I will wear sweats. Take that fashion world. You just lost my business.

At least until I save the money to buy another pair of jeans priced way too high (its because the denim is imported, they say). Well so are the pants from Old Navy, but you don't see those going for $180.

Now you know why I promised my husband that I would never buy a pair of jeans again.

I'm in a fight with google maps

How many times do I have to get lost before I finally get a GPS for the car?

Tonight I had to drive to a party for the cheerleaders at the high school I will be teaching in this year. Yes, I am indeed a cheerleading coach again. Please keep your snickers to yourself. I made the mistake of mentioning to one of the science teachers (who was also the Varsity coach during basketball season) that I had been the cheerleading coach at my last school. I thought I was safe because they were fully staffed. I didn't know that she was retiring. So I'll be coaching the JV girls during the winter season.

Anyhow, I needed to be at the party by 7:30 so that the head coach and I could figure some things out. And because I am still new to the area, I printed a map from google. I always print a map from google.

But google led me astray. It gave me a road that didn't exist. Sadly, I couldn't just call the coach to get directions because my cell phone was sitting on the couch.

So I drove home to get my phone and a new map. I got the party 45 minutes after I was supposed to be there.

This fight might last a while. I have trust issues.

Butter

My plan after church was to bake my Amish Friendship bread that I have been mushing in a bag for ten days (sounds gross, looks gross, but it will taste great). However, I realized that I needed two large loaf pans--I only have one smaller one. However, a friend (the same friend that gave me dough to mush in a bag) said I could borrow her pans. Then I realized that I didn't have the pudding that I would need to mix into the mush. So I decided to scratch that idea and do it tomorrow after a trip to the store.

The next logical thing to do was to make the cookies that I have been promising Chris for the past week. You see, I have a large quantity of plain M&Ms from a project involving only the wrappers, not the candy. Chris and I have done a pretty good job at eating the candy, but I thought it best to use them in some cookies instead.

But I realized that I didn't have butter. Chris was a little bummed out. Especially since this isn't the first time that I have gone to bake something and realized that I didn't have a necessary item.

What do you do to keep track of your inventory?

Because I'm pretty sure Chris might divorce me if I keep making promises that I can't keep.

We're going steady

Here's the finished product! It only took three trips to Hobby Lobby, many phone calls home, a wonderful friend from church to sew a zipper and waistband, and a lot of anger.

Let's just say that I need a lot more practice on my sewing machine before next Halloween.

But I think we deserve the cutest couple award for our costume. I know you can't tell from the picture, but I am also wearing bobby socks with poodles on them and Chris's class ring around my neck. And Chris is wearing Chuck Taylors to polish off his look.

Chris actually had to wear his costume to work on Friday (he was working in Pediatrics), but it didn't make sense without his arm candy (me).

Cats and poodles

This past week has been spent doing two things:

1. Keep the cats from killing each other.

2. Sew a simple poodle skirt for a Halloween party with Chris's co-workers.

So far, the cats are alive. They are actually starting to like each other. There is lots of chasing. Still some hissing and growling. Yesterday they both took naps on our bed at the same time. Chris keeps telling me to find a home for this kitten, but I haven't found anyone yet.

Do you know someone in Charlotte who wants a kitten?

About the poodle skirt....I'm leaving that for the entry that can include a picture of the completed project. Lets just say that I have called my mom (and her wonderful co-worker) to talk me through this.

Who knew it could be so hard for a college educated woman to sew a skirt?

The other cat

Early this evening, one of our neighbors came over to ask if our cat was at home. She said there was a cat in her garage and just wanted to make sure it wasn't ours (Richard Parker did make his way into their garage once this summer when he was supposed to be helping me water the plants). I told her that if it was a dark cat with a bushy tail, that its a local cat that I see outside all the time.

About ten minutes later I was sitting at the computer when I heard loud meowing from outside. I looked out the window to see a small cat (not the dark one with the bushy tail). I went downstairs, stepped outside, and called the cat to me. He came running over meowing at me (obviously not a stray cat), and I saw right away that this cat is actually a kitten. I picked him up and he immediately started purring and rubbing his face against mine (no worries, he appears to be very clean).

I brought him inside and started explaining to Chris that this is not a cat that should be wandering around in the rain; he must be lost. Meanwhile, it took Richard Parker about three minutes to even notice that I was holding his new frenemy.

I decided that I couldn't just let this cat be lost forever, so I decided to take him in for the time being. We started knocking on some doors, but it was raining and a Friday night when most people are not at home in our neighborhood.

So for now, I have another cat. He lives in the bathroom downstairs for his own protection. Richard Parker is not sure what to make of the situation--lots of hissing, sniffing, growling, etc.

Chris already told me that if no one claims him tomorrow when we post some signs, I cannot keep him. I'm not sure he realizes how much I don't like animal shelters (too many cats, not enough homes).

Is it winter in your church building?

As I stood there looking in my mirror before leaving for church, I thought to myself: "Self, maybe you should wear something warmer in case it gets cold in church." But then I realized I was already wearing a long sleeve shirt, and that adding a winter coat or thick tights might look bizarre when it is perfect fall weather outside.

I regret that I didn't trust my first instinct because I'm pretty sure it was below freezing in there today. It made me re-think something.

I used to keep my classroom really cold on test days for two reasons.

#1 Lots of teenage bodies in one room all day can get smelly.
#2 I thought it would keep them more alert.

But I realized today that when I'm cold, I can't even concentrate. I asked a stupid question that had already been answered because I was too cold to hear it the first time.

These are the times when I need to be pregnant. I hear that keeps you warm.

Washington DC--Day Two

There were so many things in Day Two of the trip, but I couldn't possibly post all pictures! We did a lot of walking on this day; in fact, by the end of the day, Chris was limping from blisters.

We officially started our day in the Holocaust museum and naturally don't have pictures from there. However, I highly recommend visiting there if you ever get a chance. It was absolutely amazing. A truly unforgettable experience.

We then made our way over to the Natural History Museum where Chris got to spend time with his childhood ambitions of being a paleontologist--that is, after spending way too much money on "locally grown organic" lunch in the museum cafe. I was still hungry.


Then we walked to the front of the White House, which actually takes much longer than it should because about half of the roads are blocked off.

Then we walked to all of the monuments and memorials. Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean, WWII, Washington, and Jefferson-- I'll just say this for all: awesome.

The new WWII memorial.

Outside the Lincoln.

Someone else figuring out how to take cool pictures with our camera. No joke. He actually fiddled with settings to make sure the light was captured perfectly. We have no idea what he was talking about.

Washington DC--Day One

I have decided to post our DC trip in sections. Each post will be a different day of our trip. I figure no one will read a really long post anyway. I look out know my audience (however small it may be).

One of my friends recently went to DC and told me about a Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian. So naturally, I made that our first stop out of the metro station. It was really cool because there were lots of original sketches from all of Henson's creations.

But what was even cooler was that there were some actual puppets. There were lots of signs saying "No photography," but we couldn't resist. The pictures aren't as focused as we would like them to be, but it's the best we could do while trying to hide the camera in our bag.

Me with Bert and Ernie. You can't tell from the picture, but I am really happy here!

Chris with the original Kermit the Frog.

Our next stop was the Air and Space Museum. Not really my cup of tea, but you have to go while in DC. I was really saddened when we got to this exhibit only to see that they had taken down Pluto's sign.

So I made my own.

Next, we toured the Capitol Building. Chris took lots of pictures inside, but I didn't want to post too many online. Perhaps he will.

That might be it for tonight. My bed is calling me. Slowly but surely I will get everything from our trip on here.

DC Post: One

Chris had his first week of vacation last week so we went to DC for four days. I'll post tomorrow. I need to make sure I don't steal any of the pictures or stories from Chris for his blog. Until then, here's one teaser....

We just really thought those two guys in the background gave the picture some local flare. Right? Mostly, it gets really hard to take a great picture when you have to set the timer on top of pillar (hoping nobody runs by and swipes the camera). Sometimes I want to hire someone to carry my purse and take pictures of us while on vacation.

Chris's Corner (Under Construction)

Yes, the blog title includes both of our names. Yes, Chris needs a space to get up on his soap box every once in a while. And yes, people have been asking for posts from Chris.

Here's the problem: he gets a little carried away. And, I want to be able to make it clear who exactly is posting (just in case someone wouldn't be able to tell by the extreme differences in our stylistic approach, or the topic of the ranting and raving).

So for all of you that have been hassling me to let my better half contribute to the blog, I say: just hold your horses. While he is formulating the "things that I need to write letters about" list, I will find a space for him to write them for your reading pleasure. Stay tuned for things like the extreme incorrectness of Alanis Morisette's version of Irony.

By the way, I think it might have been his surprise gift for me on Monday that tipped the scales and got him invited to the blog. He came home with a new dress for me. In the right size. In a great color, too. What a great husband.

Now if I could just get him to buy shoes to go with the dress next time, I'll have it made. Is that ungrateful?

I can teach Oceanography

Due to some unforeseen medical issues of a teacher at the high school I'll be teaching in next semester, they had to shuffle some teachers (or their long-term substitutes) around. The teacher of Oceanography is out on maternity leave and her sub was pulled to teach the Drafting class for the time being.

So naturally they called me, the experience Oceanographist (is that a word?) to teach the course.

I started Monday.

I feel really bad for the students.

Why I hate kids

Chris spent four nights in a row in the pediatric ER. Chris got sick from working so many nights with so many sick children. I got sick from living in close quarters with the sick doctor.

I should have quarantined him for three days.

Lesson learned.

Crowder Mountain (our own little Everest)

Chris had a few days off in a row last week, and we decided to spend them getting to know the Charlotte area. On Monday of last week we went hiking at Crowder Mountain State Park. I love to hike and was really excited to get to go again (Houston didn't have much by way of mountains). We thought it was going to be a really hot day, but it got cloudy and breezy as soon as we got there.

About half way through the hike, it started to rain...hard. We made it to the ranger station and had to stay there an hour before the skies cleared up enough to keep going. You have to understand that one of the things that Chris hates most in life (even though he was a swimmer), is being cold and wet. So we had no other alternative than to hang out in the station. Chris ended up taking a nap in their theater.

Soon after we continued our hike, Chris noticed some new wildlife. He was walking in front of me and suddenly stopped to pick up a little frog. He told me to get the camera, which was in the pocket of the the bag he was carrying. Unfortunately, I hate frogs...all amphibians really...and reptiles for that matter. So he had to put his friend down so I could get the camera ready. Sadly, he couldn't find the frog again. Hence, the picture of him searching in the leaves.

I know...I'm a terrible wife.

Overall we really enjoyed our hike and saw some amazing views. Mostly it was nice to spend time together that wasn't on our couch.

It's all about doing stuff that I can put on the blog.

If you feed them, they will come...right?

We often watch a wide variety of birds hanging out in the trees behind our house. We thought it would be fun to get a bird feeder to bring them closer to the house. This will serve two purposes: 1. we get to enjoy some of God's creations up close, 2. it will drive our cat crazy! So yesterday we went to a store recommended by a friend and bought our first bird feeder.

However, we noticed that none of the birds were coming to eat our seeds. The man at the store recommended that we move the feeder closer to the trees for a while and then bring it back to the house once the birds were hooked. So that's what we did this morning before church.

But then we watched a large amount of birds flying in to what looked like one of our neighbor's back patio. This is what we saw:

How do we compete with that? Five feeders!!!! We're thinking sabotage.

Be gentle, it's my first time

I finally started a blog. I don't know why. I have nothing to say. Allow me to fill you in on my life right now:

I wake up whenever I can't stand the cat meowing at me anymore. I go to a group class at the gym...maybe two if I'm feeling adventurous. I come home, eat lunch, and then go straight to the pool. After an hour or so, I come home and shower (most of the time). I then watch tv, read, or otherwise lounge until Chris gets home from work. I try to vacuum, light a candle, start the dryer...something that makes it look like I was really busy before he gets home.

Exciting, eh?

So why start blogging?

I'm looking for something to fill that slot from 4-5...I'm sick of Oprah.

P.S. I may need some tutorials...I know nothing of this blogging world...leave comments.