Chip Craving

From time to time I get sandwiches from Subway. And you know what else I always get there . . . Lay's Salt and Vinegar chips. I don't know what it is, but it tastes so good with my sandwich. I love the puckering salty and sour taste. At no other time does getting these chips ever even cross my mind. It's kind of like how I only get tomato and V-8 juice on a plane, but don't drink it at any other time. Is it just me or does anyone else have any quirky food habits?

Disco Inferno

We had our big youth fundraiser this weekend . . . a spaghetti dinner and auction. I got to the church early to start working on the pasta. Knowing church kitchens, we thought it would be best to have all the pasta cooked and then just re-heat it all in hot water when we got there. I started the water boiling and noticed that something was starting to smoke from the burner underneath the pot. Not a moment later, ALL of the fire alarms in the building were going off . . . flashing lights, screaching sounds, and a message that blared all through the building and through the outside speakers as well (who knew?!?! . . . does every church have outside fire alarm speakers?) informing everyone to evacuate the building immediately and that the fire department would be on its way. I panicked! I quickly took the pot off of the stove, tried to prop open all the doors and windows and called 911 to let them know it wasn't an emergency, just some food apparently baked on the coil burners, but that the fire alarm needed to be turned off. When I'm at home and this happened once, I could just remove the batteries to get the screaching to start, not so at the church. Pretty soon, here came some neighbor kids on their bikes to see what was happening since the blaring message was on a continuous loop, then the High Council rep who had been on the job a week and didn't know where the shut-off keys were . . . I kept looking and hoping for the fire department.

Some of our girls got to the church early and helped me open windows and shared my panic with me. Luckily, the baptism that was supposed to be happening at this same time didn't . . . now that would have been the ultimate embarrassment. And, because I live in the sticks . . . a literal half hour went by before the fire department and several police vehicles made it to the church. (Now I know why they stress emergency preparedness so much out here . . . it really will be days before we get some response when something really happens). The firemen jokingly asked what was for dinner, got the fire alarm turned off, made our report with the police department and we started airing out the building of smoke. Needless to say, I wasn't touching the stove burners again and we tried using the ovens instead to warm the noodles. My heart rate was going a mile a minute by the time everyone started coming. But, the church didn't burn down, we got everyone fed and then some, and ended up having a successful evening.

Happy Birthday Melinda!

It's Earth Day today which also means it's Melinda's Big Day. In honor of her special day, we always like to do a virtual balloon with different qualities that match the letters in her name.

Mah-velous . . . As Billy Crystal would say, you are simply "Mah-velous". In going through different M words to see what would fit her best, we rejected the following: She is not . . male, married, mammoth, mechanical, miniature, messy, Morroccan, Mexican or Mediterranean (although she does tan suspiciously well), so we decided being marvelous suited her best.

Efficient . . . Melinda is very efficient with everything that she does. Mom used to like it when Melinda would run errands for her instead of me. When I go to the store (or anywhere really), I like to look at everything, see what's new and end up buying things that may or may not be on the list. I would be gone a while and spend more than my allotted funds. Melinda goes with a list, sticks to the list, and doesn't deviate. I must also say that she is a great e-mailer. We both love it when we e-mail a list of questions and the responder replies to every one of our items. Melinda is great at that.

Loves Lunch . . . and really going out for any meal. This is why we like to vacation with Melinda. She is always up for going out to eat and trying new places. She especially likes to break away from work to get out and enjoy lunch.
Ice cream . . . she likes it. Especially any kind of chocolate ice cream and it can include chocolate chips and/or peanut butter.

Nice . . . A quote I have always liked, "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice". Melinda is both important and nice . . . what a great combination.

Dancer . . . Melinda and Kristen have kept up with their tap dance lessons every Saturday morning. I am still waiting for the next performance with the fishnets and feather boas.
Adventure . . . Melinda is always up for a trip or a new adventure somewhere . . . especially if it's warm and tropical . . . she's a good travel buddy.

Melinda is a great sister and blogging buddy . . . we hope the upcoming year is a great one!

I Smell Fantastic!

For my Easter gift this year, Kristen bequeathed this little gem to me:

If you can't see the label, it is Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange lotion. I don't normally like lotions with "blood" in the title, but Julie had stumbled upon this during our last visit to Sephora, and we all fell in love with it. Now that I have it in my possession, I am obsessed! It smells delicious, and I have been slathering it on multiple times a day. For anyone lucky enough to see me in the next few days, I'll let you sidle up to me and take a whiff. You're welcome!

After the Race . . .

After Kristen's race on Saturday, we had dinner at the Dodo restaurant in Sugarhouse. The meal was yummy and the best part is always a slice of Tollhouse Pie, which our server noticed we quickly devoured. A new twist we tried this time was having it heated so the ooey gooey, doughy center just oozed out. We highly recommend it!

See the Resemblance, I Do

You know how when couples get older they start to look alike?

Luke Skywalker is all of a sudden old! Anyone else notice the resemblance?

I Owe it all to Frank and Bonnie

Whenever I run a race, the most important part of my preparation the night before is creating a playlist for my iPod! I like to put the fastest, most upbeat songs towards the end when I need a final push.

The playlist I created for the Salt Lake half marathon today was no exception. I lovingly crafted it yesterday on my day off. And then - I realized I had left my iPod at work! Of all the weekends to forget my little buddy!

Of course I had to drive out to work to get it. I couldn't run a race without it.

And I'm so glad I did. I was struggling up the final hill along State Street (so mean to put a hill at mile 12!) when like manna from heaven my go-to motivational song came on: Frank Stallone's "Far from Over."
Some of you kids may know it from a little movie called Stayin' Alive (that apostrophe is in the original title - that's how great the movie is). This song is pure, 80s-tastic and it was just what I needed. And then what song came on next? Only Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero," which I have crowned the Best Song Ever? on a previous post.

Frank and Bonnie, when I was about to slow down, you pulled me through. I owe it all to you. Look how happy I am: