Confession

1. I am an Olympic junkie. I missed a lot of the opening ceremonies last night and now that I've seen highlights, I'm bummed that I did. I did see the torch lighting, which was awesome. To make sure I don't miss anything else (and because I love it) I have spent all day in front of the TV watching random sports in which there was no American in contention. I think one of my favorites was the women's weightlifting this morning. Weird, I know. The only reason I've broken away now it because beach volleyball is the only event currently being broadcast and I have a hard time getting in to that one. Additionally, I had to get online to check the schedule for tomorrow. I haven't told Troy yet, but the men's basketball game again China starts just as sacrament meeting begins. He'll miss all of it. I may have to peek into the Sunday school classroom as I make my primary to make sure he doesn't slip out. Just kidding. He's a good boy. There will be plenty more basketball action (unless the "redeem team" falls flat on their faces, in which case I wouldn't want Troy watching that anyway).

2. I am a fan of the Twilight series. I don't remember if I've mentioned this, but you'll get to hear it again. Don't read the rest of this paragraph if you haven't read the last book (I won't give that much away anyway). I liked the fourth book, but not as much as the others. I didn't really "get" Renesmee (partly because of that awful name!) and the story wasn't as intense for me once Bella became a vampire, but it was a decent ending to the story and I didn't walk away too disappointed.

3. I don't think there is a three. At least not that I want to share. :)

So Beachy!

Last weekend Troy and I went camping on the beach in San Clemente with his sisters and their families. Let me start by saying I love the beach, so I was very exciting to go. Troy was a little less enthused, but is always up for getting out of the house. I won't go into zillions of details, but on the way we saw a giant dinosaur and Troy was kind of nervous.

After setting up camp, we went to the beach to catch some late afternoon fun. I wish I had taken pictures of the path we had to follow to get there. It was so steep. Your knees hurt going down and your calves and thighs burned coming up. I found this pic on the web. Basically we park on top of the bluff and walk down to the beach. It was no picnic, but I think I'm spoiled because at my usual beach I park, walk 100 yards and there I am.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun. There were many highlights to the trip, but I thought it was funny that our nephew Kyler, who’s 7, would gather up the seaweed that washed on shore and collect it in a big pile. When a big wave would come up and take some back down the beach, he would rush to save it. Then he took over a big hole some other kids had dug and kept his treasure safe there. Not that I didn’t mind having less of the crap floating around to wrap around my legs.

Troy tried boogie boarding and body surfing, but didn’t get so attached that he wanted to spend all day in the water. I pretty much played with the kids in the shallow stuff because the salt water stung my eyes (I know, for a beach lover I don’t participate in many beach activities).

While we were hanging out at the campground some activists (I mean that in the nicest way, but I don’t know anything else to call them) offered us free t-shirts if they could take our picture and have us write a letter protesting a toll road that would go right through the campground and a nearby beach (both of which are currently state parks), so of course we did it. Then we went out to dinner and we were celebrities. Fourteen people in matching shirts are hard to miss. Apparently this is a hot topic in San Clemente and most agree the parks should be left alone. I guess if you wear the right t-shirt in the right crowd, you can become instantly famous. All in all, it was a great weekend.

There was one major downside, however. (Warning for the squeamish and those with feet issues--pictures are coming) We were careful to cover ourselves in clothing and sunscreen because we didn’t want to be miserable, but we forgot to lather one important part of Troy. Now don’t get nasty. Troy is a golfer and his calves are dark, but he always wears shoes, so even when he’s barefoot, it looks like he’s wearing socks. Yeah, totally forgot to put sunscreen on his feet. Halfway through the first day, my brother-in-law (who was in bed for three days after his beach trip last year because of his sunburns and all the seawater he swallowed) noticed Troy’s feet were getting burned. We lathered them then, but it was too late. By that night his feet were crimson and swelling. He literally hobbled around camp. But he was a trooper. Other than lots of aloe and no more sun, there wasn’t much we could do. When we stopped for gas on the way home, a lady in the gas station was doing massages and told him he should get one because it was clear his feet were hurting (she couldn’t see the cause). He told her she was not going to touch his feet. Anyway, at the peak of the swelling, I couldn’t see his ankles. Sunday night the blisters started and have gotten bigger. It’s really sad. At least now he can walk without wincing (barefoot of course). He says they’re getting better, but I don’t know if I should take him to a doctor. Is there anything they can do? Any tips are appreciated!!

So that’s our trip to the beach: cool, wet, and painful. What more could you ask for?

A not so welcome surprise

Look what one of my little darlings left in his algebra book.

Yeah. I get a lot of tagging, but this one probably took the cake. Actually I almost didn't want to erase it, it's so colorful (I don't usually get multi-colored drawings), but then I just got bugged at this crazy kid. Then I thought that perhaps I should simply remove the page, but decided I could probably take care of the problem with wite-out.

After two coats (and one on the back of the page), I got it presentable.

Gotta love bored kids in a math class (and the teachers who apparenly aren't paying attention).

Childish fun

The other day I was playing on my computer and discovered I could get additional gadgets for my Vista sidebar. I was bored of the date and notepad, so I decided to check out what other people had invented for my entertainment. I found some handy things and some time wasting things (always the best). I must say the greatest find has been a little program called "say it." It's just a little bubble where you type something and your computer will say it. Of course there is absolutely no purpose for using this program, but simple things entertain simple minds and Troy and I are happy to do the work others may be too ashamed to do.

Anyway, first we made it say things like "Troy is cute," "I like cheese," etc. Then Troy, my 14-year-old trapped in a 26-year-old's body, typed (beware those with tender eyes or like to think Troy and I are more mature than we really are) "Poop tastes delicious." Although the funny part was that the computer wouldn't say poop. It pronounced it like food with a p: pood. Very strange. Then we tried to substitute it with poo, but the computer just spelled the word out. I guess the author of the program tried to adolescent proof it. But really, who does s/he expect to use this pointless program besides those with time to waste and nothing to say?

New Layout

Hooray! I finally changed my layout. Although now that it's done I have to say that I may hang out with my mother-in-law too much. She loves these colors (doesn't she have great taste?) and may be slightly offended that I stole then. But I'm not worried because I don't think she has ever ventured onto the internet, so the chances of her seeing this a quite slim.

Memories

1. As a comment on our blog, leave one memory that you have had with Troy or me. It doesn't matter if you knew us a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, 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.

Back to the grind

I certainly have not been a good blogger, but lately I've "rediscovered" my computer, so I'll really try to do better. The problem is that I never have much to say. Let's see. I had a churro and strawberry shake from Del Taco for dinner. That's an example of healthy eating for you. :)

I returned to work Monday after my month-long vacation. Frankly, I wasn't looking forward to it, but it's been a good week. I like it when I can keep the library doors locked and work on projects. When I started two years ago (it's crazy we've been in Blythe that long), the place was a mess, and I look forward to summers when I can pull all the crap out and organize things. I get a little more done each summer, so in a year or two, maybe I'll have the place just how I want it. But then I'll have to find more projects so I don't go crazy for the 6 to 8 weeks I work alone. Anyway, to sum things up, I love my job in the summer, even though I get a little jealous of Troy as he watches Lost and plays Guitar Hero all day while I slave away.

Speaking of Guitar Hero, I must say that I was making considerable progress on the game while we were in Utah, but since our return home, I've only played once. Our TV is at a difficult angle for the performer to see the notes and rock out at the same time (which is totally my style). Troy's solution is get a new TV stand and why not throw in a new TV while we're at it, but I think we're all talk. Stay posted.