Why do You Tease Me, Delta??

I flew Delta a couple of weeks ago, and I've come to the conclusion that their "Zone Seating" is a big fat crock. I get that first class and preferred members are in the first couple of zones...but after that, shouldn't you seat those in the back of the plane first, starting with those who have window seats, then middle seats, then aisles? But it doesn't work like that. No matter which zone you're in, there will be a random smattering of people already seated, and you're probably going to have to either:

1) stop and wait while someone* in the middle of the plane tries to stuff their oversize bag into the overhead container; or

2) climb over someone on your row who has already been seated.

*probably an old person

It's inevitable. Delta has no doubt paid very smart people lots of money to design algorithms to assign zone seating. Or have they? More and more I am convinced that the zone seating system is just a random collection of seat numbers designed to stop us all from rushing the gates when they start to board.

What do you think - is there ANY logic to the zone seating system?

Burn the Witch!

This weekend I joined all of the high schoolers and BYU students (with a few old people who were probably tricked into coming) down at the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fark for the Festival of Colors. For those of you unfamiliar with the festival, it involves tens of thousands of people converging on a small Utah farming town, buying mass quantities of colored cornstarch...and throwing it at each other. When you get done, you look like this:

Also, they burn a witch. Not a real witch...a wooden witch. But still! They only do it once during the festival - "because it takes a long time to make her" - and I was lucky enough that it was while I was there. Imagine if you will, a crowd of say 10,000 people - many of whom are Mormons - chanting "Burn the witch!" over and over again. It's mob mentality in its most basic form. All we needed were some pitchforks and the scene would've been complete.

Do you think any in the crowd woke up Sunday morning and asked themselves, "did I really chant 'burn the witch'" yesterday?

Eh, probably not. See you next year!

Birthday Celebration in honor of Mom

Our sweet Mom would have been 70 years old yesterday. We didn't think that Dad should be the only one with a celebratory shindig for the big 7-0, so we planned a family get together in honor of Mom. Mom loved nothing more than being together with her family. Brent and Lilli were nice enough to host and we enjoyed a fantastic dinner of delectable delights. We capped off the meal with the traditional Mrs. Backer's cake that Dad would get for Mom's birthday every single year since they were married . . . a chocolate cake filled with raspberry goodness between the layers and topped with chocolate frosting and frosting flowers. Mom always loved the frosting flowers - and so did the little girls. We made sure that everyone got a part of a frosting flower . . . so good!

Aiden . . . "Some things just require cake"

Mom also loved to dance. She and Dad even had a routine that was well known at ward dances and parties. Celebrating in our own way, we played, Just Dance 1 & 2 on the Wii, and had some serious dance challenges happening. As Brent said, you have to commit! Everyone worked up quite a sweat . . . especially the Bird boys. I am still recovering from a bout of bronchitis and had a little setback as I attempted a little Holiday by Madonna. I will have to go for redemption another time.

This picture of Kristen is great because it's exactly what Mom would do when she was hot . . . cruise around the house with her rolled up pant legs. As Kristen was battling in the dances, she ended up doing the same thing. Funny.

We sure do love that Mom of ours!

All the Single Ladies...

Oh, what a delight my family ward is. We had our Enrichment/Extra Meeting this week, and it was a doozy. It was the annual Relief Society birthday party, which means that in addition to having enough cake to feed 212 people, there was also going to be some crazy socializing! So, there were 6 different colored tables, and when you walked in, you got a packet of jelly beans telling you which table to sit at. Fair enough. I like meeting new people, and thought I would have a nice time chatting with the older lady sitting next to me.

As soon as I sat down, she started to pepper me with questions: Where had I gone to school, what had I majored in, how long had I lived here, where did I get my top, etc. And then she hit the jackpot--she found out that I was single. Wouldn't you know it, she is single too! She immediately asked me what singles clubs I belonged to (?), and if I was a member of any of the online dating sites. When I said that I wasn't, she perked right up and started to regale me with tales of her experience on LDS Planet. Up until recently, she had a gorgeous portrait of herself as her profile picture, but then she decided that she just needed to update that picture, but had such a hard time finding a picture without the grandkids. Tell me about it, Anita! That is the worst! After 15 minutes of this, she was very flustered that she had not convinced me to become a member of LDS Planet. I finally bought some time by telling her that the portrait that I wanted to use for my profile picture was still in the shop.

Mercifully, we had dinner shortly afterward, so I was able to talk to some of the other women at my table. After dinner, our Relief Society President said a few words, and talked about how great it was that we got to meet some new people. She then asked us to share some things that we had learned about our new neighbors. My new friend immediately raised her hand, and said the following about me: "This is Michelle. (Wrong). She got her Master's degree in Mass Public Health Marketing (Wrong and wrong), and works for an insurance company (Correct!) selling insurance (wrong), and she is SINGLE! I am going to help her get her online dating profile set up so that she can get married." Really Anita? I thought we were friends. And to add insult to injury, when I was leaving, a single woman who is around 50, and whom I have never met, cornered me and asked if I wanted to go with her to the Singles conference in California next month because she can't wait to see what California men are like. And scene! I could not have made this up if I tried. Anybody know a talented portrait artist? I have to submit it to Anita for my profile picture by tomorrow.

Deseret Book Delights

After dinner downtown this weekend, we stopped in the Deseret Book across from Temple Square. We were ready for a little treat and to our surprise, we found the refrigerated Lion House pantry section was the place to go. Among other things, we picked up a phenomenal chocolate cream cake and the best BYU ice cream. What a find!

I Left My Heart

I went on a veryquick trip to San Francisco this weekend with two fun friends. I didn't get a ton of pictures, mostly because it rained the entire trip, but here are seven things I did, in chronological order:

1. Rejected the advances of a man named Raheem on the plane ride there. Not only did he have a very strong Indian accent, but the roar of the plane made it so that half our conversation involved me saying "WHAT?" and "I still didn't understand you!" He decided to take matters into his own hands and move from the aisle seat to the middle seat right next to me, and tell me things like "You are so beautiful" and "You are so white. Are you wearing eye makeup?" He also asked me if I am single, where I live, and how much I pay for my mortgage. Even after making up a fake boyfriend and picking up the SkyMall catalog (Skymall!) to read, he continued to pepper me with questions. With communication like this, I think it is a true love match, you guys.

2. Saw this:

3. Drove down Lombard Street.

4. Visited 3 H&Ms.

5. Ate lots of good food. Mostly pizza. We also made a stop at Trader Joe's, which I kept calling Pirate O's.

6. Saw this monstrosity:
Yep, it's really a house shaped like a shell.

7. Took a 6:00 am flight on Sunday so I could speak in church. Except the speaking engagement was moved to next Sunday. File that under "things that would've been nice to know before I booked my flight."

All in all, I had a super fun time and it was so nice to get away for the weekend!

Top O' the Mornin' to Ya

In honor of this magical holiday in which we risk getting pinched if we don't wear green, and we honor tiny men who wear buckled shoes, I give you one of my favorite clips from Friends:



I love me a good fake accent, and I have always wanted to go to this University! If anyone is aware of a scholarship program, I would like to apply so I can one day teach at this fine institution!

Fascinating!

Is anyone else watching "Our America with Lisa Ling" on OWN? I just caught the episode on Online Brides this week and it. was. fascinating. These American men - who are no prizes - fly down to Columbia to meet "the love of their life." Nevermind that all their conversations have to be run through a translator! They go to socials were there are 10 women for every 1 man, and they have 15 minutes at every table to see if there's anyone they want to pursue something with. Sounds kinda like the ward dinners in my singles ward (kidding!). And the women - they're not portrayed as gold-diggers, but as women who are fed up with their country's playboy men and who want a better life for themselves. And they're beautiful! And because they don't have a lot of options in their own country, they're willing to consider almost anyone. It's simple supply and demand.

My favorite part is at 1:44 where she throws her bouquet...to three people, including an old lady. Is there anyone at this wedding?

Goodbye, My Sweet(s)

So if you recall...from last week, one of the items on my 30 before 30 list is to give something up for Lent. Which starts today, I might add.

I had two ideas in mind of "vices" I could give up:
1. Sweets
2. TV

I'm telling you, it was like Sophie's Choice! Which one of those things could I possibly give up when they both mean so much to me??

This afternoon at work, and with the help of a few coworkers, I made my decision:

Neither.

Well, sort of neither. I've decided to give up - not all sweets, but candy.



40ish days without eating any candy. Baked goods and other desserts are still on the table. Totally do-able.

Or at least, I think it is.

See you on Easter...with a big fat Cadbury Egg in my hand!

It's a Miracle...

This has never happened before, and I had to take a picture, because it will never happen again. Under $100--I win, Costco!

Best Money Ever Spent

Besides the best $100 I ever spent on floor tickets to the sweet Ricky Martin Livin' La Vida Loca Tour in 1999 (we were close enough to touch him, it was a-mazing!), the best money I have ever spent is on my rain slicker. Several years ago, we took a "vacation" to Portland. It was the rainiest week of our lives. After a few days of realizing that the rain was not ever going to let up, we ventured out to WalMart and snagged these little gems and they have come in handy ever since. There is not a picture from that trip after that point without Melinda and I in our rain slickers. They are lightweight, have a hood for the wet weather, and I can even ball it up in my purse for later use. Through the years, as I pull out this little trip saver during inclement weather, I am forever grateful for it.

Dear Kristen,

Blue shirt, black skirt:

Fun New Cookbook

We are pretty excited about the new cookbook, Our Best Bites by two moms that live in Idaho and Louisiana but work together on great recipes. We have been fans of their website for a while. They have detailed instructions and tons of pictures so that you know if you are making the food correctly. Around Christmas time I made the peppermint brownies several times to rave reviews. And, recently, the buttermilk pancake syrup was a hit as well. I was so excited to get the cookbook when it first came out, of course, that I splurged and got it at Deseret Book. But, now, it's at Costco for a fraction of the cost. You should run and get it.