Crocodiles Happen

This is my word cloud! I love it. I had no idea how interesting this blog was or howmuch I talked about love and dragons. My favorite part is the little space that just happens to say "crocodiles happen." Can you find it?

What a great sum-up of life, right. Amoung all the good and wonderful things, sometimes when you least expect it, crocodiles happen.

If you want to make your own word cloud (which I highly suggest) go to wordle.net.

So Thankful!

On Monday, I became a cousin all over again! I love it. Ivy Lena Perry was born to my cousins Nat and Steve. See? See?

I don't know how I became so blessed, but I made it to the instant text list! How fun is that.

On Tuesday, my visiting teachers came over to share messages of hope and positive attitudes. Which I needed! and then Matt and I watched a movie and ate fried chicken. (Yum, Yum, my favorite.)

Today, Matt and I are driving down to Utah to spend Thanksgiving family style! I'm oh so very excited. On the way down we're going to work on our music collections. =) We have some good ones.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am sooo very grateful for you. Whether you are family or friends, coworkers, or past roommates, you have added something to my life that I'd rather not try to do without. Thanks for your love and everything you've taught me though your examples and faith. Have a Happy Thankful Thursday!

And did I mention: Matthew Calvin Jackson!
The BIG 16
Happy Birthday!

Pumkin Carving

These are pumkins that I got from my garden this year!


Not all of them turned out good, but they all look pretty good in this picture!

This is Matt, getting ready to plunge into the job at hand.

This one is my job. I picked it because it has an extra long stem . . . and because I know I have more time and other options if this doesn't work out they way I always hope it will . . . . which means, fabulously.

And this is the final result. Happy early Halloween! Stay tuned for more thrilling pumpkin carving adventures.

Memory Lane - it's like a game, only more fun!

Leave me a comment about one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! I'm sooooo excited to remember with you.

Then, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. I can't wait to see what people remember.

Not a Hat!

I guess it could be a hat, depending on who you ask. But as you guess on this much harder crochet-guessing challenge, let me just tip you off by saying that this project was not started with head-warming in mind.


To up the ante, I'm going to say that the first person go guess correctly will get to choose who this project goes to. Any Idaho friends who have seen this project in progress are automatically disqualified this time around. Sorry guys, I'll do something special for you next time. Maybe a camel, Matt.

Go Maveriks?

Let me tell you a story about my life and Basketball:

Ever since I was about 11 and my brother got a backboard, hoop, and net for Christmas, I knew Basketball was something that cool people should like. I can't say that it was really important, but it was definitely COOL! The backboard was mounted and my cool older brother and his cool older friends would shoot around in our half court sized back yard driveway. By brother was actually a soccer player, so I didn't go to many basketball games. I only remember going to one in High School, but then I really only remember going to one soccer game, as well. But I'm jumping ahead.

In Jr. High I fell in with what I felt like was the cool crowd. "Fell in" is a strong description. I think more likely, I tagged along on the fringes and they tolerated my presence because they were taught in Baptist Summer Bible Camp to be nice to people who are different. So at lunch I would sit in the last seat at the end of the cool table and try to look interested as the girls talked about makeup and the boys talked about . . . what ever cool Jr. High boys talk about. At Midway Jr. High (a small school in Texas) in March, all of the "Channel One" TVs in the lunch room were turned on so we (and, I suspect, the teachers on lunch duty) could watch the college basketball games.

I didn't know anything about basketball teams. I didn't know anything about basketball, except that the ball is orange and you shoot it at the box and hope it falls into the hoop. I tried to ask questions and learn something, but let's face it, Jr. High boys speak in a way that Jr. High girls do not understand. Or at least these boys didn't, and there weren't any translators around . . . So I would go home every night to my non-sports family feeling uncool because I didn't know anything about basketball and there was no one I felt safe asking. I'd steal my brother's ball and for hours I would stand in the driveway alone shooting free throws under our big yellow flood light, hoping that shooting baskets would teach me something about the game and make me fluent in basketball and therefore cool.

No Luck. All my cool friends went on, as many Jr. Boys in TX do, to become members of the High School Basketball team, even the short ones. And, Like I said, I went to one High School Basketball game. I "won" a basket ball from a seminary fair in High School, but that still didn't make me feel any cooler. It just meant that I didn't have to steal my brother's to shoot the bug infested evenings away. After High School I played a few down a dirty street games with the single adults in my stake. There was one boy in particular who liked to play two on two with me because 1) I could shoot half decent shots from the free throw line, 2) if he was playing against me, I fowled a lot, and 3) he thought it was really funny to hear me try to talk trash, which I did. . . still do.

And now, I live in Idaho Falls where, for some reason, basketball is a big thing, and I still feel uncool because I know NOTHING about basketball. But I still like to hear about it and sometimes watch it, and I LOVE to shoot free throws. So I got this book:

Basketball (Or Something Like it) by Nora Raleigh Baskin

I know it won't teach me anything about basketball either, but, I'm already half way through and I can't put it down. So, I guess something about basketball still makes me feel cool.

Happy May Day!

So, Welcome to my world. I think I'm going to start calling Idaho "The World of Ice and Snow." Remember Last year? When it snowed on May 5th. Well, here it is. May 1 and white.

Could this day get any better . . . apparently it can, because when I got home from work, I found a letter from Taiwan in my mail box. Yep! My Sis. sent me lots of love. What do I need a man for when I have a little sister who sends little paper loves across the ocean for me. Look . . .

I got some close ups for you. This one made me laugh!

We can't send love long distance without saying, "mwah!" It's like some kind of unwritten rule.

I mean, come on. Compliments don't get better than this. Who else can I count on to boost my self esteem so colorfully?

And this is my all time favorite one. Especially since one of my other sisters told me she had a dream that I was dating a traffic cop. Thank you Mary, for making all Heather's dreams come true.

So, recap on this day: 1. It snowed which could have been bad, but it meant I got to wear my cute rain boots, so I'm good.
2. I had "like" 5 meetings which could have been yucky, but I was in charge, so they ended when I wanted them to.
3. Summer Reading is only one month away.
4. I got long distance Love.
5. I'm the luckiest girl!

It's the Grand ChaHee's Birthday!

My mother is wonderful. She is the type of person who never forgets your birthday. I, on the otherhand, am not my mother . . . yet! I can only aspire to be so great. In honor of the woman who taught me that everyday can be a good day and a work day all rolled together, and that time is relative, A Cake.

It's like my mom and my Fairy Godmother are the same person. I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world!

Happy Birthday Mom! I think we are the same age this year.

meedlee meedlee, deedlee deedlee, deeeeeeee

I just want to tell you all that I've been practicing my guitar. I'm basically pro! I know there are some people (like loan officers and pre-dent students and pharmacists and male kindergarten teachers) who don't think librarians can ROCK, but let me tell you. I ROCK! I ROCK in all of the following chords . . .

Just kidding. I'm not going to list the chords I ROCK in, but I will tell you that I just got brave enough to tune (or untune) by guitar to Open D, and I totally ROCK in Open D. Everyone go get out your last Goo Goo Dolls CD and listen to Black Balloon and realize that I sound like that!

Let's ROCK! Let's ROCK Today!

The 6th . . . 7th . . . what Wonder are we on?

I love patterns and connections! One of my most favorite things In The World, is when I talk to someone about something, or see something, then later I see something or hear something that connects back to the first thing. Does that make any sense at all???


Here is a rough example of the type of strange phenomena I'm sure only I find connected and exciting. Last night, I was talking to one of my friends about how, for the most part, women just wish men could read their minds. And, if I'm remembering right, (See, sometimes I make these connections because I don't always remember things the way they actually happened.) he said, if guys could figure out what ladies were thinking it would be a break-though as big as the Wonders of the World. It would be the next world wonder.

Now, I'm in Minneapolis thinking about how true that is. Why am I still thinking about it, you ask? Well, besides the fact that it is very true, I'm thinking about it because this book Wonders of the World by Francesco Boccia was sitting on the table in the hotel lounge. That to me is a connection.

There are more than 7 wonders, you know. But I like the original 7 best.

This is Pooh's grumpy face

If you couldn't tell, Pooh is not smiling this morning.

That pile of yarn under his arm is 5 extra rows of stitches I tried to add to his head. Sorry, Pooh.
Happy Easter, Baby Jack.

Happy Good Friday

Happy Easter!

For Good Friday I made some fried rice and Kung Pow Chicken and typed a paper about Shelly, ID and their Library. Exciting, Huh!



But Before I go to bed, after a long night of home made Chinese and rural Idaho statistics, I'd like to tell you my favorite Easter story.

It was the night before Easter, and Sister Cramer still hadn't decided how she would get though another primary class. The ten year old boys she taught were all so rowdy, and her lessons about the gospel fell flat each Sunday. Tomorrow was Easter Sunday and nothing she had thought to do seemed right. How could she share her feelings about the Savior and the Atonement in a way that would touch her class and help them see the importance of Easter.

She read though the story of Christ's reserection one more time, then put down her scriptures and knelt to pray. She prayed that somehow she could feel the spirit as she taught, and somehow her class could feel it too. Then, she went to bed, hoping for a miracle, that everything would come together in the morning.

Easter morning came more quickly than Sister Cramer had expected. By the time she had everything together, her family was up and ready to go. The Easter baskets she had put out the night before had obviously been found. They were dis shoveled, each plastic egg opened and emptied of its candy. Seeing the plastic eggs on her way out the door she grabbed 6 of them and pushed them hastily down into her primary bag.

As she listened to the speakers in sacrament meeting talk about Spring, Easter, and the joy of the season, Sister Cramer formed a plan in her mind. She knew what she was going to do. At least it would be fun, she thought as she smiled to herself.

As her boys bumped and snickered into class, she sat quietly in front with the eggs on the table. She counted them as each boy came in, making sure she had enough. When the last boy, came in, she closed the door and announced her plan.

"Today is very special," She said. "And so, I thought, to start off class, we could go outside for a few minutes and enjoy this wonderful Spring day." The talk of going outside got the boys attention. Sister Cramer pick up an egg from the table. "I have an Easter Egg for each of you," she said. "While we are outside, I want each of you to find something that reminds you of Easter, and put it in your egg." The boys chatted excitedly, already thinking about what they could put in their eggs. Sister Cramer smiled. As she handed an Egg to each boy, she thought to herself of the types of things they might bring back and how she could use their creativity to talk about the beauty of God's creations and perhaps the true meaning of Easter.

When they all had an egg, they made their way out. Each boy held back a sprint until they got though the church doors, then they were off. All were running and shouting, all except Sam. Sam was the youngest and the smallest member of Sister Cramer's class. He rarely spoke, and although he smiled sometimes when one of the other boys told a joke, he did everything he could to not be noticed. Today, he was the last to the door, and he stood there, looking as if he was unsure about going out at all.

"What's the matter, Sam?" asked Sister Cramer. "It's such a beautiful day, why don't you run out with the other boys?" Sam looked at his feel. He stepped out of the door and let it close behind him. Then, he shuffled a pebble on the side walk with his toe.

"I don't know," he finally said. Sister Cramer waited and listened. She knew that Sam didn't say much, and she didn't want to rush him. "I don't know what to put in my egg." He paused again and looked at a tree, and then the grass. "Sister Cramer?"

"Yes, Sam."

"What reminds you of Easter?"

Sister Cramer was a little bit startled. None of the boys had asked her a question like that. She thought for a moment, then said, "Well, when I think about Easter, I think about the beautiful garden around Jesus' tomb. I think of the beautiful flowers of spring and about all of Jesus' friends coming to visit his tomb and seeing the stone rolled away." She paused for a moment to make sure she hadn't gotten carried away in her own thoughts. She looked down at Sam, who looked thoughtful, and much older and more care worn than the other boys who were playing and laughing, some throwing grass and twigs at each other as they ran across the lawn.

"I," Sam started. Sister Cramer brought her attention back to her littlest boy. She saw a little smile creep across his lips. "I think I know what to do, now." His smile broadened as he ran to were some of the other boys were talking. Sister Cramer smiled, excited to see what the boys had chosen. She called out, and they all gathered around and made their way back into class. Sam trailing in right at the end.

Back in the room, Sister Cramer asked the boys one by one to open their eggs and share with everyone why they chose their item. There was a blade of grass, a bird's feather, a new Spring leaf, each chosen for it's beautiful Spring significance. One boy chose a nice round rock because it looked like an egg, and another a twig with a bloom on the end. Sister Cramer talked about each one and how beautiful they were. She tried to think of a way to tie them into the Reserection, but nothing came. Now, all of the boys had opened their eggs and shared except Sam, who sat quietly by the wall, smiling to himself.

"Sam, we are all very excited to see what you have in your egg," Sister Cramer said.

"Yah, Sam. Wha'd ya get," said one of the boys.

Sam looked down at his egg and smiled. Then he looked up at Sister Cramer. He looked at the boys sheepishly, then cracked open his plastic egg.

"There's nothing in there," another boy cried out. All of the boys started to snicker.

Sister Cramer put up her hand. "Boys, please. Sam, tell us about your egg. Why is it empty?"

Sam looked down at his feet and smiled. Then he looked up as Sister Cramer again and said, almost in a whisper, "Because when Jesus' friends came to visit his tomb, it was empty."

All of the boys turned from Sam to Sister Cramer. She was crying. She smiled, and one big tear rolled down her cheek. Little Sam had answered her prayer for the perfect Easter lesson. "That's right, Sam. That's right," she sniffed. "We have Easter because the tomb was empty."

A few words about my face

This post is brought to you by Pond's dry skin cream. Pond's keeps my 28 year old face looking 18. Pond's is the reason a boy who is still in High School walks over to the library during his lunch break to ask me out. Pond's skin cream is the reason this comic strip is so true and so funny to me.

Pond's is also the reason I feel okay about getting a horrible sun burn on Saturday that has turned into dry flaking skin and the whole left side of my mouth and chin (yes I said and chin) turning into one big fever blister. Mom and Lorraine, if you were wondering, it's starting to heal and feel much better now, even though it's still really gross to look at. I'm excited for the next 5 days to go by. Thanks to Pond's (and a few cold sore products) I'm going to make it.

P.S. there will be no pictures posted of my unfortunate looking face, so Don't even think about asking, Mary.

Actual Real Life

"Sam went to Bajing, in actual real life China." - Doug McDavid

I was watching a colloguia speach about 3D internet and virtual technology. McDavid was talking about the beginnings of Second Life, and what I always feared about virtual media, people getting confused about their virtual life and their real life, happened. McDavid was never confused, which is good, but I was a little confused listening to him.

How would it be to not have enough of this life, or to not like this life so much, and have to create a new life, on the side. It sounds to me like a very large juggling act. How do you remember if you talked to someone in real life or virtually, and how do you make it clear to other people that you visited China on your comunter, that you didn't actually leave home. Yicks.

Chicken Drama

I was just looking up some info on growing herbs in my kitchen window and I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJJm3fz0w9I

Cut, paste, and enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

xoxoxox

Feeling Ordinary?

This past week I have been feeling very ordinary, less than ordinary even. I've been feeling down right lacking in skills an abilities. Today, I had a little time off work, so I'm trying again to bake bread (something I've never figured out how to do), and as I was doing the dishes and thinking about how unimpressive I felt, this thought came to mind.

"The work of the world is done by ordinary people who have learned to work in an extraordinary way.”

I'm so grateful that I was one of those people who always went to the firesides in college, and that I got to hear President Hinckley say that. He must have known that lots of us feel ordinary sometimes and we need to be reminded that it's not how we feel, but what we do that really makes the difference.

I'm grateful for the Holy Ghost, too, and the power he has to help me remember things that I've heard a long time ago because I need to hear them again.


Now, back to bread-making. I found a book in the library that I hope will help me.

Clean Sponges Save Lives - especially in hostage situations!

I found this article on wikiHow, one of my new favorite sites, and remembered when my sister-in -law told me how much she doesn't like sponges. I thought if anyone ever locked her in a foreign kitchen and demanded, upon penalty of death, that she use a sponge to clean, this article might help save her life.

Clean a Sponge - wikiHow

Almost my favorite Holiday!

Friends, I'm so excited! It's almost here. One more week and Valentine's Day will come. For some unknown reason I LOVE Valentine's Day. I love making little paper hearts and writing silly little notes on them. I love wearing pink all day, and I love heart-shaped sugar cookies with sprinkles on top.

I've never had a love for Valentine's Day. Never got flowers from someone special or found some sappy love note on my car during my lunch hour. Every Valentine's dance I've ever been to has been girls' choice. And yet, there is something in me that will not succumb to the woeful state of calling Valentine's Day "single awareness day," or be sad that I don't have a valentine to cook heart-shaped waffles for. I guess it's hope that keeps me floating. I know I don't have to be sad because somewhere, there is someone who is dreaming of heart-shaped waffles as he puts on his red and white striped tie to go to work and make the best of the Holiday of Love!

P.S. - Keep an eye out for your copy of my Valentine news letter. It might be more of a St. Patrick's Day thing this year. xoxoxo

To Do: hair cut!

Friday night, I went to a dance, and, just like at every other stake dance I went to in my life, the one thing dominating my thoughts was my hair. I really didn't like it. I needed a trim. So, on my Saturday To Do List I put "hair cut," right after "shower" and right before "laundry." I was excited about this one. I jumped in the shower and got all clean and then got dressed and took out the scissors, and, for the first time since I was 5, I cut my own hair.

I'm sad to tell you that my hair-cutting skills have not improved much. What can I say, I'm a librarian, not a stylist. So, I laughed (that's the important part), got out some bobby pins, pinned up my way too short bangs, and went out to do some laundry. For the next three weeks, I'm going to have one look. I'm pretty excited about it. All my bangs are pulled up in the middle of my head with four bobby pins.

My roommate says she can even things out for me in about three weeks.

Yicks! Double yick if you count that I have no make-up on under my "only wear at home" glasses.

But I don't know. It might take two months to straighten out this mess.

Somebody Got Married!

It's my brother. Eric is married! I have pictures to prove it. I know some of you other unlucky ladies might be diluting yourselves into thinking that it's all just a dream, but it's not. My big little bro married beautiful Callie 4 days into 2008, and I love them both so much, I can't help but be happy.

Aawhh. . .