Sammie the Smelly

In my last post, I complained about the low temperatures in Central PA and mentioned that we were anticipating some "low highs." Last Friday, we reached a whopping high of 8. During this mini ice age, Sammie and I were driving in the car when a rather indiscreet noise came from his side of the car. This was soon followed by an even less discreet smell. I followed standard procedure for this situation which is to quickly roll down my window, stick my head out of the car as far as it will go, and breathe deeply until I feel the air in the car might once again be safe for respiration. As I did this, Sammie complained that I was letting cold air into the car. I complained that HE was letting BAD air into the car. When I finally deemed the atmosphere in the car once again non-toxic, I pressed on the button to raise the car window and protect us from the bitter January afternoon. What an unlucky time to discover that our car windows weren't working properly. I sat with my finger on the button for what seemed like hours as the window slowly crept up and the cold air rapidly rushed in. Sammie's usually pretty proud of his indiscretions, but his embarassment rose higher and higher as the window rose more and more slowly.
Oh. And did I mention we were sitting at the drive through window at the bank?

New Year's Resolutions

My sister Martha is frustrated with me for not blogging more. She "suggested" I set a New Year's resolution to blog each week. I think it's a pretty good idea, even though I've already failed by missing the first week. Oh well. I have three random thoughts to post.
1 - The weather. 10-day forecast for State College includes 8 days of snow showers. Most daily highs are in the teens or twenties. Friday's high is 8. We actually had a discussion in Relief Society about not wearing earrings out in that kind of weather cuz they'll freeze to your ears. But it's not that bad. The next week, we'll have two days where we actually get "up" to 32 degrees! I better stock up on sunscreen. (I know, I know Cath. I'm thinking about you up there in Alberta...) On the other hand, 10-day forecast for Austin, where we're moving in May, is 3 days of partly cloudy and the rest sunny or mostly sunny. Tomorrow's high will be a frigid 49, but the next week it will make it up into the 70s. I wish I could bottle up some of this cold and take it out next July when I'll be melting and wishing we had moved to the North Pole instead of Texas.
2 - My mom. Those of you who know Lori undoubtedly know her sense of humor. The Monday after Christmas, we went skiing with 3 generations of Boyers! It was awesome! Mom was there, plus a bunch of my sibs and their spouses, and Matt, my nephew. I thought it was pretty cool that Matt was skiing with his grandma. Anyway, we were enjoying ourselves on Challenger at Solitude. It's one of the steepest hills I've ever skiied, but it's well-groomed, so you just have to keep your edges and make lots of turns. On about our 3rd time down, Sammie lost his edge in the middle of the hill, fell, and slid and slid and slid, ending up as a crumpled heap at the bottom of Challenger. (I can't remember if it was that run or another one, but as we were at the top he questioned why they would name a ski hill after a space shuttle that blew up.) Anyway, there he was wadded up at the bottom of the hill and I was at the top, wanting to laugh but needing to make sure he was okay first. My Mom, skiing ahead of me, was the first one to him. Upon reaching the prone, lifeless form of my husband, she said, "I guess now's a bad time to tell you that your hat's on inside out."
3 - Martha. (This is for "making" me blog. :]) We've always said that, since the day she was born, Martha has been in charge of the universe. These days, that translates into her being a natural leader and very talented, capable, and intelligent. When she was little, it translated into her being bossy. She could stare a hole through anyone with her dark brown eyes. And she wasn't afraid of telling anyone what was what. For example, we had a family rule that you could only have two rolls at dinner. Martha would count the number of rolls guests took and inform them when they'd had too many. My favorite quote about her, though, comes from a jocular and rotund man in our ward in Toronto, Canada. (Martha was two when we moved there and four when we moved home.) He informed my mom, "Martha is the littlest person that I'm scared of."

Double the Garmin

In my very first blog post, I mentioned that Sammie is retrieval impaired. He has the very endearing quality of NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND ANYTHING!!!!!!! And that is why Sammie and I have two GPS systems right now. They're almost exactly identical--both Garmins--except one is one month old and the other is one year old. We bought one last year before driving across the country for Christmas. It has become our favorite toy for road trips. It finds us the nearest Maggianos or Chipotle, tells us how far we have to go that day, and takes us to whatever address we plug in. With it, we found the Andersons in Raleigh-Durham, the Dal-Marks in Dallas, the Hou-Marks in Lake Jackson, the McLaughlins in Houston, the Linscotts in St. Louis, and the Powells in Austin.

Alas, last month Sammie took the Garmin with him to Arkansas and, upon his return, couldn't find it. We finally decided it was gone, that we needed to be more careful with it, and that Sammie shouldn't feel too bad about losing it. It could happen to anyone. We also determined that, despite our limited student budget, we should definitely buy a new one before our road trips over Thanksgiving and Christmas. We're happy with our new Garmin and have almost settled on a name for it.

Today, however, I got a phone call from Sammie. He's at school working in his office. He's mostly trying to wrap up the semester, but took a break from academics to call the State College tax office (again) and try to figure out our city taxes (again). He reached in his backpack to pull out his calculator and found... the Garmin!

He called me to tell me the funny news and put me on speaker phone so his office mate could hear me laughing hysterically. I haven't laughed that hard at him since he went to the eye doctor and came home with "nerd robot" sunglasses. He asked me how long until I let him live this down. I responded that we'd be married for eternity... He asked if I was going to make this story a part of the epitaph on his headstone when he dies. I told him that I hope there are very clear road signs to heaven, otherwise he'll never find it.

New Marketing Survey

OK, thank you very much (all 22 of you) who completed (on very short notice) the last survey I posted here. I have another one and I would very much appreciate it if you all could complete this survey as well. I'll need to type the results on Monday (12/1) -- so please do this one before then if you want your response to count :) It shouldn't take very long, but you'll need to understand the product before completing the survey. And I should forewarn you that some of the questions are a bit long -- please read them carefully and let me know if one of them seems totally whacked to you.

Here is a written description of the product followed by a picture:

Our product, the Recipe Manager, is a device which will allow a cook to work on multiple recipes at the same time as a collective meal as opposed to working on multiple recipes independently of each other. This product fills a key need identified by our market research – time management. The product will be a system into which multiple recipes will be inserted alongside each other and a light will move down the recipes to highlight the step which the cook should work on. A pause button can be used if the cook is slowed down. Each row of the recipe will represent one minute of time. Recipes can either be downloaded from the internet or made with a simple software package. The picture below shows what the top view of the product will look like – arrows explain what each part is/does.

In this survey, you will be asked several questions about the Recipe Manager. Some of the questions refer to the product itself; others refer to situations which this product will make easier.

Click Here to take the survey

Click on the picture to make it bigger.

Once a Utah Mormon...

I feel really in touch with my Utah roots tonight. Utah Mormon roots, that is. Recently, I bought a wheat grinder attachment for my Bosch Bread Mixer. I have been looking around for some wheat to buy for my food storage and finally found a feed and grain place that sold me 50 pounds for $13.00. So, tonight I ground my food storage wheat into flour and then made whole wheat bread from my Lion House Cookbook. And in the background, Sammie was watching the BYU vs. Utah game.
So when do we change that cliche from "Molly Mormon" to "Melissa Mormon"?
But my Pennsylvania roots are well intact, also. Samme and I are going to eat the whole wheat bread with locally produced honey. (The guys sells it in front of his house. He just puts different containers of honey on a table in front of his house with a jar for money and trusts his customers' honesty.) And we spent the afternoon in Beaver Stadium watching Penn State become the Big 10 Champs! And, in true Penn State Fan style, we watched the game in 30 degree (and dropping), snowy weather.
As I felt the feeling slowly creep back into my toes during the bus ride home, I realized I'm more ready to move to Texas than I thought...

Now joining the "Dal-Marks" and the "Hou-Marks" - the "Aus-Marks"

Well, it's officially official. I received a great offer from Dell that I couldn’t refuse – so we’re moving to Austin this summer. I’ll be working in Client Field Services – the same team where I interned from May-July. No other news than that. Melba and I are both really excited to be headed back to Austin. Melba insists that I’ll have to start putting all of my musical gear back to good use and get in a band. She is already looking into schools in the area and getting ready to teach. We’ve looked online at houses and Melba has made it a point to get a house with a nice guest room (hint, hint). We’ll post updates on our blog as things develop.

Phoebe's New Haircut

Melba came home tonight after babysitting for the Smiths. Toni brought home a gift for Phoebe -- a Dog Mullet. I swear to you that Toni is the only human on the planet who brings home gifts like this for the baby sitter.

Oh, and did you all know that Melba got glasses last week?

Marketing Survey

OK, something about hearing lectures for two weeks about coming up with ideas for new products and how to find out if there is a patent on them made me think that the first deliverable for my marketing class (due tomorrow) would probably be related to coming up with an idea for a new product and find out out if there is a patent on it. But no. I actually have to conduct some market research on a focus group. I mean, it says that clearly in the syllabus -- don't know why I didn't look at that until now. Anyways, enough about me being stupid -- I don't want such things on this blog to begin with. Wait -- I digress here. Seriously, though -- for those of you who are reading this (evening of 11/3), please click the following link and fill out the survey. I need the responses by tomorrow afternoon (around 2pm ET) so i can do the write-up and get it to the professor by the due date. It should take about 5 minutes or less. Thanks-


http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=U2AS6Q539RHJ

Funkweiler vs. the Trick-or-Treaters

Sammie and I were excited for Hallowe'en this year. Last year was our first time passing out candy to trick or treaters and we thought it was a lot of fun to see the costumes and meet the neighbors. This year, I was soaking in the bathtub as the trick-or-treaters started to ring our doorbell. When I came out of the bathroom, Sammie's Funkweiler gear was suspiciously on the bed with a few key pieces missing. I went downstairs and, sure enough, there was Funkweiler--black afro wig and 70s polyester shirt--passing out candy to trick or treaters. It was fun to open the door and see the look on the kids' faces when they saw Funkweiler. But soon that wasn't enough. He started swinging open the door and yelling "boo!" That got some good scares. But it still wasn't enough. Sammie's creative (perverse?) mind never rests. He'd had enough of treats and decided to try some tricks. The next doorbell ringer was 20-month-old Isabel from our ward, with her parents, our good friends, Adam and Lauren. Funkweiler swung the door open and waited for Isabel to say "Trick or Treat!" When she finally did, after a few false starts and much prompting from her parents, Funkweiler pulled the water bottle from behind his back and sprayed it in Adam's face, yelling "Trick!" All three trick-or-treaters collapsed, two in laughter, one in tears.
Adam didn't cry for long, though.

My Crazy Wife

After laughing hysterically at this video, my wife went out with the Relief Society President and then sent her this email:

BYU went up in the rankings from 18 to 14. Sammie's ecstatic!

I told him about the Smiths moving and he was most unhappy. He was wondering if we were going to call him as the new RS Secretary. I told him probably not.

Thanks again for the meeting tonight. I'll e-mail you tomorrow.

Love you,

Melba

Birthday, Boyers in the 'Banx, and Ben Hur

After ending our Texas summer with a bang, we're back in State College trying to stay in the same city for more than a week at a time. Sammie's last day of work at Dell was on August 1, which is also his birthday. Now, I DIDN'T forget Sammie's birthday. I had asked him weeks before what he wanted and bought him plane tickets to Utah in September to watch BYU/UCLA with his Dad. But, I woke up that morning with a lot on my mind! We had to get Phoebe to the vet, pack up the apartment, clean the apartment, load the car, and drive to Dallas that evening. Sammie's subtle reminders of his special day (jumping on the bed, the wide goofy grin on his face) failed to jog my memory. It wasn't until I was signing Phoebe into the vet and the desk attendant said, "It's August 1st" that it hit me. The whole waiting room heard me gasp and watched me look at Sammie in horror. He thought it was hysterically funny... and will never let me forget it.

The second week of August found us in one big beach house on the Outer Banks with the entire Boyer family - 2 parents, 8 "original" kids, 6 spouses, 5 granddaughters, and 3 grandsons. It was a blast! Having the entire family together is magical. There's nothing like it and more than once during the week, I decided that it was like Heaven. Here's a picture of us in our "Boyers at the Banx" t-shirts.

(Funny story. As we were taking the picture, a car drove by and stopped to stare at us. We realized that the camera was behind a large plant where they couldn't see it, so it looked like we all put on matching t-shirts, lined ourselves up on the front porch, and stood there smiling.)

Sammie's back at school, feeling "big and bad" cuz he's not only a 2nd year, but had a coveted Dell internship and has an even more coveted job offer from them. He says it's fun to see the 1st years try to ask him about Dell without looking too eager. He and his buddy Paul are coordinating a "Champions League" to help the 1st years with their resume, interviewing skills, and job search.

I finished my 2nd day of teaching at Juniata yesterday, and feel like myself again. I forgot how much I love teaching. I also forgot, though, how tiring it is to teach 3 80-minute classes in one day. (How do you high school teachers do it? And you do it 5 days a week while I do only 2!) Yesterday evening, Sammie was at a "Champions League" event at school, so I flopped down on the couch with my laptop intending to do some work. As I flipped through the cable guide to find some background entertainment, I saw that Ben Hur was playing. It's been about 2 1/2 decades since I saw it, so I decided to have it on while I worked. Well, so much for working. I was absolutely entranced. What a great show! I love the panoramic view it gives of the Roman Empire. The Christian message in it was wonderfully profound--a movie with not just a "good message," but with THE good message! The characters are fully-rounded, complex, and moral (although I remember when I was little thinking that Judah and Esther were naughty for kissing so much before they were married). And speaking of kissing--romantic fervor isn't expressed by open mouths, tongues, and groping, but by how high on the e-string the violins are playing and the intensity of the bow stroke. Okay, okay, so the soundtrack may need updating, but the movie is magnificent. If you haven't seen it in a while, log on to Netflix, go to blockbuster, or sign up for cable and watch it!

We're Home

We got in late last night and all is well here in PA. My boss gave me Friday (Aug 1st) off as a 'birthday present.' I think it had more to do with that being the last day of my internship and there was literally NOTHING for me to do. Anyways, Melba took me to a nice birthday lunch at Macaroni Grill (they gave me a free piece of birthday cake), then we went home and packed and snacked on another piece of cake that Melba had bought for me (thank you, Melba) and then hit the road to Dallas. We stayed with the Dal-Marks -- always fun to see them and Laura had made a birthday cake for me (thanks, Laura). We left early Saturday morning and drove all day to St. Louis and stayed with the Linscotts -- spent Sunday with them (Thank you Carrie for the birthday cake) and then left Monday morning. We drove 15 1/2 hours yesterday and got home around 11:30pm. It was nice to be home. We'll post more details sometime later.

Here's something funny from the trip (since I know that's why you all come to this blog): Saturday night I woke up and realized we left something in Round Rock. I didn't mean to bring it, I meant to throw it away -- we had to leave the apartment empty to keep from getting fined for anything that was left. I called my good friend Brandon (Dell Intern from Duke) who lived at the same building as us and would be there for the next week.

"Brandon, I need a HUGE favor."

"Sure, whatever you need -- what's up?"

"Brandon, I left a small trash can on my porch that we used for bags of poop after walking Phoebe. Can you go throw it away for me -- PLEASE?"

Let's just say, I owe Brandon several favors now. Trash cans full of poop sitting out in the Texas heat make quite an odoriferous combination..........

Camp Anderson

I just returned from a week at Girls’ Camp with my Stake in Pennsylvania. When my good friends, Toni and Bekah, were called to be the Stake Directors, I was bummed that I would be in Texas all summer and wouldn’t be able to go with them. So when someone approached me and asked me to cook, I couldn’t resist. My friend Stephanie, who cooked at girls’ camp the last two years and is amazing and helped me prepare, told me I would feel like I climbed Mt. Everest when it was over. She was right! It was totally physically tiring, but exhilarating to accomplish.

Below are some lessons I learned along the way.

1. IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN ASSISTANT COOK THAT DOES!!! I originally thought I would do all the food by myself, with Stephanie and other camp leaders lending a hand when they could. Stephanie was wonderful at helping me to prepare, but I couldn’t have done it without Suzette, my full-time helper. She’s done this a million times and was absolutely awesome! I kept telling her all week that I wouldn’t have gotten out of the grocery store if it weren’t for her. By the end of the week, she even let me call her Zettie.

2. Token Priesthood Holders (Men) are great help in the kitchen. Brother Brant manned the grill every morning and President Roming chopped watermelon or did whatever else needed to be done. Some mornings, they were in the kitchen before Zettie and I were.

3. Go SIMPLE and cook recipes you’ve already made and know how to do. And remember that cooking times are longer for the big recipes. I made my family’s favorite Frito casserole one night. I’ve made it tons of times, but since I multiplied the recipe by 12, cooking took longer.

4. Teenage girls like green peppers. Who knew?

5. The night the girls cook tin foil dinners over the fire is a good night for the leaders to get take out from a local favorite BBQ place. (Toni’s idea was to wrap up one of the BBQ pork sandwiches in tin foil, pull it out of the fire, and say, “Hey! Look how mine turned out!” We didn’t think the girls would laugh very hard, though, so we didn’t do it.)

6. Keep a supply of “contraband” in the fridge--Diet Pepsi, extra cookies, ice cream, and, of course, the leftover BBQ--etc. for the leaders.

7. “Shoe String” potatoes are not hash brown. They’re French fries.

8. Teenage girls think it’s super cool to be served French fries for breakfast.

9. French Toast cooks up quickly. If you need a morning to sleep a little later, opt for French Toast.

10. Campers and other camp leaders willingly pamper the cooks. Zettie and I had 35 minutes on Thurs. afternoon before we had to help the girls put together tin foil dinners. It was the first free 35 minutes we had had all day. My feet were killing me, so we decided to soak our feet. We grabbed the buckets that the girls use to wash their dishes (they weren’t so thrilled with us when they recognized the buckets) and sat out on the patio with our feet in warm water. At the end of the 35 minutes, we had a sign that said, “M&Z Spa,” a plentiful supply of Almond Joy, Chocolate Candy, and Good & Plenty, a girl to change our water when it cooled off, another girl giving us shoulder rubs, and another girl making us tie-dyed t-shirts. Camp goes well when the cooks are happy…

11. At Stephanie’s home, passing gas is another way of saying, “I love you.” We all agreed not to let our own families in on this, for fear that they would tell us they love us.

12. The cooks’ bedroom, off the main room of the lodge, is not soundproof, especially during testimony meetings. No, I wasn’t “telling anyone I loved them.” I was singing silly songs to Chase, Bekah’s baby, to make him laugh. I made a few other people laugh, too.

So, girls’ camp is supposed to be for the girls, but the leaders have a pretty dang good time, too. Thanks Zetti, Toni, Bekah, Kelli, Cynthia, Greg, Pete, Stephanie, Katherine, Becky, Dawn, Melissa (the great), Ashley, Megan, Meagan, and all the wonderful girls!

PS - Check my recipe blog for camp recipes.

June 23's edition of "Why My Husband is a Poopoohead"

Before I left for PA, I told him that I was leaving clothes in the dryer because they wouldn't be dry in time for me to get them out and fold them. He responded by saying, "I'm sure they'll still be there when you get back." I laughed. It was funny. A clever joke.
Or so I thought.
Today, I go to do laundry, open the dryer, and, sure enough, there are the clothes still there for me, now that I'm back. Just like my husband, the Poopoohead, said.

And that is today's reason why my husband is a Poopoohead.

Big Trouble, Little China: Big Stupidity, Little Merit

I need a guy's help. I don't get my husband right now. He's sitting on the couch, as I type this, eating a bowl of ice cream. That's pretty typical. But he's watching Big Trouble in Little China. And ENJOYING it! This is a movie with the stupidest plot on record and lines like, "Are you ready?" (As Kurt Russell and his side kick rush in to save the girl.) "I was born ready." What?!?
I don't understand how Sammie is enjoying this. This is my film-school graduate, worked on movie sets and in the Technicolor film lab, loves to hate stupid movies, cinema snob husband Sammie. Is it a guy thing? Someone help me. After almost three years of marriage, I thought I knew this guy...

Oh. And I should add that we OWN the copy of the movie he's watching.

My universe just turned upside down.

Chihuahua?

We think we figured out Phoebe's other half. We know she's part Corgi, but have been pretty certain she's not a thoroughbred. The other night we went to see the new Narnia movie (FABULOUS! by the way) and, to our horror, made the discovery. Check out this movie trailer and see if you agree...



(Sorry to make you sit through that, I know it's painful.)

Just so you have a reference, here are some pictures I posted of Phoebes.

Adventures in Houston

This weekend was filled with adventures and memorable moments. Perhaps Jacob, our nephew, summed it up the best in his prayer on breakfast this morning, "We've had a lot of fun with Uncle Dammie and Aunt Melissa and Phoebe's a really cute dog!" Sammie's older brother Dave lives with his wife Carolyn and their 4.5 kids in Lake Jackson, just south of Houston. We traveled through pretty back roads on Friday afternoon, arriving at their beautiful brick home in time for smoked ribs and grilled vegetables. (HOW COME NOBODY HAS EVER INTRODUCED ME TO GRILLED CORN?! I'VE HAD A DEPRIVED LIFE UNTIL NOW!) The next morning, "Dammie" and I went to the Houston temple and then drove by Clear Lake, where Sammie grew up. We parked in front of his old house, walked around the back to see the gazebo and deck he helped build with his Dad, brothers, and Todd (the carpenter they hired to do the job) and gazed into the bayou where Sammie used to see alligators and water moccasins. He also drove me by the KFC where he used to work, his junior high, his high school, and the parking garage where he and his friends rappelled down the side. That evening included swimming, meeting Aunt Mary, Cuban sandwiches, strawberry shortcake, and the Far Side movies. (Yes Boyers! They exist!) This morning, we went to the Brazosport ward to check out the rumors of a new bishop in town. Indeed, Dave had been made bishop the week before. Sammie celebrated this important milestone in his brother's life by making faces at him from the audience. We were also there for Carolyn's first Sunday School lesson. I think she's relieved to trade in her 6:00 a.m. seminary kids for a room full of adults once a week. She began the lesson by saying, "I taught seminary all year. So when I ask a question, keep in mind that I'm not scared of silence!"
This picture was taken as Sammie and I tried to watch the kids while Dave set Carolyn apart for her new calling. Sammie ended up as a jungle gym... Will's on his head, Jacob's on his right foot, and Matt's on his left.Sammie's greatest church adventure, though, involved taking Jacob to the boy's room. When Jacob asked Sammie to take him, he assured him that it was only #1. Carolyn said he'd only need help washing his hands. All the way down the hall, Jacob chanted, #1! #1! #1! However, as he pushed open the bathroom door, he smiled up at Sammie and chanted, #2! Let's just say Sammie took another important step towards fatherhood today.
After a yummy crepe lunch, some coloring, and a walk around the block with Phoebe, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to Austin. Thanks Dave, Carolyn, Will, Matt, Melanie, and JJ! We love you!

So Where Are You Guys From?

It's an easy enough question, usually, and a very popular conversation starter. But this weekend, it was too confusing for Sammie and me to answer. A year ago we moved from Va to Pa and a week ago, we moved to Austin, Tx for the summer. This weekend, we were in El Paso for a wedding of friends we had in Virginia. So, when anyone asked us where we were from, and how we knew the bride and groom, it was difficult to back track and get to a semi-coherent answer.
It was a beautiful wedding and one of the best days we've had in a long time. I like to tease Jesse and Echo (bride and groom) that they are Ken and Barbie. When I was a little girl, my sisters and I loved to play Barbie and especially loved to plan and execute Barbie and Ken's wedding. Well, Saturday I saw Barbie and Ken get married and it was more beautiful than anything I ever imagined as a little girl. Sammie would say that Barbie could have found a better Ken. (He and Jesse have that kind of relationship.) But I think I'm proof of the miracles that a fabulous woman can do with her husband. :)
Maybe Sammie (who was the wedding photographer) will let me post a picture of them on this blog. In the meantime, here's a video that Jennie (my baby sis) took of Sammie and Jesse playing in their band, Barefoot. We uploaded the clip to youtube.

I Have a Feeling We're Not in Pennsylvania Anymore, Phoebe

If Sammie's mileage countdown across the country ("52 more miles to Texas... 48 more miles to Texas...") had somehow failed to tip me off that I was in Texas, the following 2 clues would have surely given it away. At our hotel in Dallas, I made a Belgian Waffle for Breakfast (I think I blogged about this when we drove home for Christmas). Texas has special waffle irons, though. The waffles come out in, yes, the shape of the state of Texas. Then, yesterday morning, Phoebe and I went on an exploring walk. We found lots of cool places by our apartment and lots of fire ants found us. When I got home, shaking fire pants out of my pant legs and socks, Sammie said, "Welcome to Texas, Melba!"

We had a wonderful trip across the country and got to see lots of friends: The Choates and the Kidds in VA, the Andersons in NC (who showed us around the Duke campus), and the Markhams in Dallas (we got to see Ella's kindergarten graduation!). Highlights of the trip also included the monsoon we drove through in Mississippi, leaving my purse at Jonas and Rachel's in North Carolina, and the absolute jitters we both had as we drove into Austin.

We have a nice apartment, very close to Dell and lots of shopping. We miss State College, though. We knew we loved it there, but we didn't realize how much until leaving. We'll see all you Penn Staters in the Fall!

Feeling Lucky?

Melba and I took Phoebe on a walk today and as we were finishing I decided to look for 4-leaf clovers. Melba kinda mocked me -- so I reminded her of the time when I once found 3 three 4-leaf clovers in one day. She walked a little bit further ahead, and then in no-time I saw her pick a clover from the ground and start walking to me.

"Did you find one?" I asked.

"No, not really. Look."

Then she showed something that isn't a 4-leaf clover.



There are 5 leaves here. Four symmetrical ones, with a fifth leaf growing above them. Crazy. (The clover is a little bit mangled, and it wilted a little bit by the time we got home to take the picture, but I assure you -- it is for real.) I kept looking for a little bit longer until I found a 4-leafer. I decided that it would take too long to try and out-do Melba........