The More Things Change

A few things are different since the last time I blogged. First of all, this one kid came to my house to watch a movie and fell asleep on my floor.

Reader, I married him.

(I have used

the famous line

that I got from Jane Eyre

and that you

were probably saving

for breakfast.

Forgive me - it was delicious

So sweet

though so old)

Second, I moved to our new apartment, and I have a new last name.

Side note: So I'm not sure what to do about this blog. Options are as follows:

• Ditch it and make a new one, probably with both our names in the address, and talk about our new life. Downside - I doubt Husband will be writing on it much.
• Keep it and make it a Work-Only blog. If I take out all personal references I could use it for my classes, to check homework, etc. As you can see, I haven't been updating it regularly for personal reasons anyway.
• Keep it and repent of my non-writing ways. I may be married but I still have thoughts to share!

Speaking of thoughts to share....

Getting a new last name is a hassle and a half. I'll get there in a second. Because now that I think of it, pretty much everything about getting married is a hassle and a half. The easiest part is being in love. (Just being. Because falling in love is a hassle, too. As we all know.)

I've been married for two weeks. Half the time has been in Hawaii, half here. I will not attempt to euphemize: Hawaii was way better. It came at the perfect time---stress had been building up as the school year came to a close, I had one week after school ended to plan my reception (AND wedding AND luncheon AND vacation AND new house AND....), I was packing for a trip and putting together new house, and as I was getting an ulcer from the anxiety of it all, all I wanted to do was be with Boy Who Fell Asleep On My Floor, all the time.

So the weekend smacked into us, and we collapsed into the arms of Hawaii.

These pictures are already on the Book of the Face, of course. I know my posting priorities! But the whole beach-sunset proves my point - It was a haven of escape. We woke up each morning thousands of miles from home, literally an ocean away from our troubles. No stress, no problems, no worries. For a whole week. It was bliss.

Now, back at the ranch, we have to deal with Life again. A couple of examples:

• Boy-who-fell-asleep, now Husband-who-goes-to-work-everyday, ditched his old bank to sign onto mine, but they won't give him a debit card until both our names match.
• I've been to the Social Security office to get a card with my new name, but it's going to take 1-2 weeks for it to arrive.
• Then I'll still have to go to the DMV, of which I'll admit I'm quite frightened, and get a new license.
• Not to mention my church records!
• After that I need to talk to my school district so they'll change their paperwork - my paycheck, work email address, etc.
• Which brings me back to this blog. Yesterday I set up a new Gmail address with my new last name. But with any kind of moving, I have to wonder what to keep and what to throw out. Old archived emails, mailing lists, contacts??

My intention is not to burden you with my burdens, nor am I attempting to solicit pity or offers of help. I simply want to re-enter the Blogosphere without apologies but with lots of details about my life.

Because that's what I enjoy about reading YOUR blog. : )

Books!

I've been reading a lot lately. I think it's got something to do with the "15 minutes of silent reading" time at the beginning of each of my classes. (I like to model good reading behavior so they know what it looks like, so I'm usually sitting at the front of the room with a book in my hand. Rather than puttering around at my desk.) And since I've had the time to get started on a book, I come home and would much rather be reading instead of working.

So I've gotten through a few. And now I have to talk about them.

River Secrets, by Shannon Hale

I'm a huge Shannon Hale fan. She has a way of writing stories, novels that are more folktales than books. They usually have some kind of magical element, but the characters are real and memorable enough that you close the book with a smile and satisfied sigh. And they're funny. This is the 3rd in a series of 4 (the others, I believe, are The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and a new one coming out soon...).

Hole In My Life, by Jack Gantos

This is a real-life memoir about a few years of Jack Gantos' teenage and early-20s life, when he was involved in doing drugs, selling drugs, giving up drugs, and serving prison time. But how could someone who has messed up his life so much go on to write and publish a book? He made some terrible choices, yes, but he wasn't dumb. In fact, while in prison he wasn't allowed a notebook to write in, so he used a jail-copy of "The Brothers Karamazov" and wrote in the margins and in-between the lines. His manuscript was his ticket out of there. It was a tough subject and not really the escapist reading I'm used to, but I couldn't put this down, even though I was reading it on my cruise!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

I'm sure you've heard a lot about this one, but I sure liked it. Now that I look back on it, I realize that you have to be able to appreciate Jane Austen before you can read this. It's 85% Austen and 15% zombies. So, as awesome as the zombie/ninja fighting parts are, if you're not in the patient mood required by the majority of the language, this book isn't for you. Wait for the movie. ;)

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

Wow, even thinking about this book still gives me goosebumps. I tend to read in the oddest places considering the subject matter: prison and drug dealing in the Bahamas, and post-apocolyptic, ashen-gray American wasteland on a family trip to Moab and Arches National Park. But, you know, Jack Gantos did take a boatload of drugs from Florida to the Northeast, and I connected with his sea-legs and yearning for land as I read on the cruise liner. And just as we drove through miles of southern Utah, "the man" and "the boy" in this novel traveled onward down any road they could find in search of food and safety and survival. Arches is gorgeous beyond any poetic description I could imagine; McCarthy uses the most gorgeous language to describe the least attractive world imaginable. In short, it was a beautiful book about horrible things. If you can handle that, read it!

Impossible, by Nancy Werthin

This is a YA lit novel that I would recommend to a much wider audience as well. It's a modern-day story of a girl named Lucy, a senior in high school, just turning 18...but it's based on the idea behind the Simon and Garfunkle song "Scarborough Fair." I kinda didn't want to say that because I think it gives a bit of a wrong idea... Basically, I loved the book more for the "true love of mine" aspect than the fantasy element. Their relationship was very...worthy. Not even a Mormon novel, but a great emphasis on family and commitment.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows

My friend Jenny recommended this to me - actually, she loaned me her copy - which is the only reason I read it, because I certainly would not have picked it up judging by the title. What the...!? I mean, what *is* Potato Peel Pie? It's only a fringe idea, but I think they wanted to make the title memorable. Ok, it worked: I haven't forgotten. And I am so glad I read it. It's set in 1946, in a small British island in the English Channel working to heal itself from being occupied by Nazi Germany. But it's told all in letters, people writing back and forth to the main character Juliet living in London. I'm not kidding - I felt like I got to know these characters so well that in the week or so it's been since I finished the book, I've missed them! I want to know how they are now. I wish I could stop by for tea and just chat. It was lovely and poignant (nice buzzword) and darling and thoroughly enjoyable.

Now I'm reading "Bleachers" by John Grisham, and it's...fine. But mostly I'm desperately searching for my next favorite. What have you read lately? Any recommendations?

"Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card." ---Arthur

A Picture Is Worth A Long, Convoluted Story That I Don't Really Feel Like Telling

So I went on this cruise.


Ok, I knew Emily was there, "butt" I had no idea about this photo. Sneaky, Lisa.


One day we went snorkeling.


I look like this ALL the time.

I took this picture, and almost took the fish too, but they said not to disturb the creatures, something about an "ecosystem" or whatever, I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention.


Another day, at the fancy onboard restaurant, I ate escargots. For those of you who don't "hablo espanol," escargots is Spanish for THE NINO. I mean, snails.


Aye aye, Captain Me. Worry not: I steered us in the right direction.

Another time, we went to the beach. White sand, clear warm water... delish. The cruise line actually owns this private island in the Bahamas, called Cococay. Ok, so maybe it was artificial, but so is Tang and we still love that!

This is me and a coconut tree. Rhyme!!


Here's me and Lisa. Then there was this time I bought us all virgin strawberry daiquiris, and the waitress couldn't stop being amazed that we didn't drink alcohol. And then we won 2nd place in the "Name that Tune" contest, and everyone couldn't stop being amazed.


In a word, the sunsets on the boat were truly spectacularly colorful Caribbean sunsets. Oops, that was four words.

When I got home I had sea legs for about three days...but I'm still glad I went! Snark aside, it was truly unforgettable.

Elaeagnus angustifolia

For the past month, as I drive around with my windows rolled down inhaling the warmer air, I've been searching for the source of my favorite summer scent. I knew it was some kind of blossom or flower that bloomed in late May/early June because it's the smell of school ending, the smell of relief and burdens lifted, the smell...of freedom. (Bear with me here.)

Finally, on my way home from a late WalMart run the last week of school, I turned a corner and a gust of well-timed wind breezed the delicious odor right into my face. So I pulled over, walked back, and thought of Gandalf: "When in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose." And there it was!


Of course I had no idea what it was called, but I've since learned that its common name is Russian Olive (an ornamental tree famous for hardy roots that can grow in dry soil). I also learned that it's now classified as an invasive weed.

Gee, thanks.


It's not just the shiny green-grey leaves and tiny aromatic flowers that make me love this tree, though. It's the history. Let me explain: You've seen The Mask of Zorro, right? Catherine Zeta-Jones' character Elena comes back to California after being raised in Spain (with no knowledge that she was born on this continent) and is given a flower by a native woman. When she smells it, she recognizes the scent. Later she finds out they used to hang it over her crib.

So I mentioned to my mom how much I loved the smell of this tree (not calling it a weed) and she explained, "Remember the field? There used to be a whole line of Russian Olives next door."

Of course! Growing up there used to be an large empty tract of land between my house and the church on the corner. We used to play for hours in the overgrown grasses and untamed shrubbery. It only makes sense that the aroma of the trees was implanted into my memory, indelibly connected with the ideas of freedom, summer, and play.

*Sigh* I'm so cool, I don't even know I'm cool.

Seriously, I'm not even looking forward to the already-fading blossoms to be replaced by some yellow, olive-looking fruit. One man's weed is another man's pleasant childhood memory.

I Can Has Chevy Malibu?

So.....I bought a car this week. Trust me, it was a really good deal, and I got a loan with a solid interest rate, and it's basically legendary.

I had to take a picture with me driving. Pretend the car is moving.

It's already been broken in: my good froommate Lisa and I drove up the canyon to enjoy a nighttime view of the valley listening to Kerli's "The Creationist" which is a great bass tester song, if you ever wondered.

But...you car is never really broken in until a 2 year old drives it. Cue Mckay! Thanks, next-door neighbor kids.

Getting the keys ready...

Putting it in gear...
Adjusting the radio....
Turning on the A/C...
And we're off!




Pay no attention to the crazed smile on my face. I assure you, it was a very safe ride.

Not that there's anything wrong with that

So really quickly, I just wanted to share a story...

Last week one day was "Day of Silence" where students who are members of the GLBTQ club at school went all day without speaking, wearing pins that explained they were representing the unrepresented.

After first period I picked up a sheet of paper from the floor. One girl had stuck a pin to it and wrote to the boy sitting behind her, "Do me a favor and wear this today to give voice to people who don't normally get a chance. Pleaz!"

Underneath, in scrawly handwriting, he wrote back, "I only support hot lesbians."

I laughed so hard I couldn't even throw the note away.

Spring break? Spring fix!

Shout out to you non-graduated folks! This is the weirdest April for me. Usually this is the craziest, busiest, stressfullest time of year. You're finishing the semester, cramming for finals, writing papers, finishing projects. You're also stricken with cabin fever, spring fever, and senioritis. And usually a cold or two brought on by sheer exhaustion. Plus you have to worry about moving home, summer plans, packing, getting a job...and leaving all your school friends.

Not this year. This is the first April I've had in a good seven years where it's not like that. School's been normal - I still have work to do, but just your usual amount. But there's still this whole May thing to deal with before I even think about getting out of school (June 5th, in case you're wondering). I even had a spring break last week! It's been strangely and seriously chill. (And I wasn't meaning to talk about the weather, but that's been chill, too.)

"Oh, you had spring break?" you ask. "How was it?" Great! I went to Las Vegas with my former roommate Lisa and stayed with her family. Enough? Ok, I'll put up a picture or two:

We went model home browsing...it was delicious. This was the cleverest little niche directly to the left after the entryway of one home. I love the stairs setting it apart from the rest of the room! But the best was the three-part hot tub in the backyard of one home, complete with heated waterfall over decorative rocks. Do people really live like this?!?

While in beautiful Las Vegas be sure to visit historic Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip). I could watch those Bellagio fountains all...night.

Some gorgeous flowers from the grounds at the Las Vegas LDS temple. We didn't make it there until Monday, which is when it's closed, but I did get to appreciate the landscaping.

Please appreciate my obvious photography skills by comparing the slope of the roof of the temple to the parallel line of cloud made by a passing jet. Thank you.

And then, I drove all the way home. We left at 11 AM and I got home at 7:30 last night. Mmmm...good spring break. How was yours?

Cheers,
Beckie