Humble Pie

Sometime when I was in high school - I don't remember which year exactly and don't feel like looking through scrapbooks to try to figure it out - my parents made us go do service on Christmas.* We had to go down to the youth center and help serve dinner to a variety of individuals and families. I remember mom made me play Christmas carols on the piano. Santa Claus came and gave small gifts and winter clothes to the kids. I also remember there was a man passing through town and he reported he hadn't eaten in a few days. I remember he ate plate after plate after plate... and expressed his deepest gratitude with each bite. 

To this day I remember that experience and often find it coming to my memory around the holidays. It is a nice reminder that my life isn't as terrible as I sometimes like to make it out to be and that I have so many blessings to be thankful for. 

Since living in NC, Thanksgiving has always been an interesting endeavor. Often it turns out to be a reunion of other orphans and misfits**, but I've also been taken in by the Young's, and traveled to see the Duque's. Every year it's been a lot of fun...but this year, I'm looking for something different. 

Mostly not in jest, I've been saying I was going to go to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving. I've been working so much that the thought of organizing a dinner doesn't sound like fun at all. I also don't really feel like asking up all my friends to see who's sticking around and slyly inviting myself over with nothing more than a contribution of some sweet potatoes. So that's where Golden Corral came in... an all you can eat meal, I'll make someone's day a little brighter by leaving a really big tip, and I won't have to worry about any clean-up or mass quantities of left overs of food (except pie... I love pie! There will definitely be pie making). 

But while I was looking online to make sure the local Golden Corral was even open, I came across a website a link for the Durham Rescue Mission's Thanksgiving dinner. I gave them a call, and...

Done. 

That's my plan. I'll be starting that day really, really early, but that's okay. 

And if I don't get my fill of goodness***... I can still hit up a Golden Corral (or at least a Waffle House) and know that there will be a homemade pie at home waiting for me. 

Feel free to join in.... service is always more fun with a friend. 919-688-9641 x 5025

*I think... it may have been Thanksgiving. 

**None of us, of course, are really orphans, but I'm pretty sure we all fit in the 'misfit' category

***Doubtful

Stuck in the Middle

Oh boy... in case you haven't noticed... it's time for elections. 

Early voting started in NC last week. 

Which means I really need to get my act together and start deciding who I will vote for. Not that I think my one little vote will matter in the long run, but I still want to make informed decisions. 

But for some reason, every time I think about elections, this comes to mind:

Deep Fried Devotion

In addition to the fun I had on Saturday playing horeshoes and spending times with friends Young...

I entered some tasty chicken wings to the NC Peanut Grower's contest. 

I didn't win...

 I saw the Spoon Man!

It was pretty crazy what he could do with spoons. 

I went to a place I'd never been before!

(I know... I can't believe there's someplace I've never been either)

I got the idea from Bearded Lady last Friday.

Anyway... where did I go???

The Soil & Conservation and NC Forestry Area!

I saw a helicopter, a cool tractor thing, and a "Bambi Bucket"

which holds 240 gallons of water to dump on wildfires. 

I learned that our communities have wildfire plans... well, some do. 

I learned that Smokey Bear knows our names.

I learned that the NC state tree (Longleaf Pine) is being threatened by many a construction project. 

I entered some grilled pork and mango pizza to the NC Pork Council competition.

It was oh, so delicious.

I didn't win...

To ease my disappointment,

I spent some time at the Folk Festival!

I could spend a lot of time there!

I checked out the roses and other gorgeous gardens...

they smell so divine!

And I ate a lot of food! 

Philly Cheese Egg Roll, 

Fried Pickles,

and some Mini Donuts!

Those will make anyone feel better!

But the most important thing I learned...

(State) Fair thee well, friends!

Debating Thoughts

So... while watching the presidential debate tonight I had these thoughts/questions....

and instead of smothering FaceyFace with this nonsense... I put it here. Probably just as bad, but whatevs.

...is one of the reasons gas prices are so high because we are producing more oil on US ground and we're more expensive employees than the good folks of the middle east?

...I don't like people who don't follow the rules (most of the time anyway)

...we believe it's a moral issue to reduce the deficit... but not my moral issue (that's the vibe I get)

...I think I still might be a fan of the purple tax plan...

...we do not tolerate discrimination.... (even if you're a child of an illegal immigrant??)

... flexible scheduling??? I could get behind that....though I don't see how on Earth that would work in most instances.

..."I know how to make that happen!" (reminds me of Elder Nelson re: missionaries - "They can help you!")

...Osama bin Laden is dead??? I still think Castro is too, but that's beside the point.

...no amnesty for my beautiful brown babies??? But they will have a 'pathway'. So they can serve in the military, but not get a drivers license. That's awesome...ly bad. Go DREAM Act!!!

..."have you looked at your pension??? have you looked at your pension???" (I don't look at mine... it's not as big as yours! ha!)

..."Don't go away!" Where do you think they're going to go?

...Who sits around and talks about Libya??

..."Everyone will be held accountable" (this totally reminds me of Ms. Maria at school talking about her 'camera' on the bus - that threat (in Spanish) is amazingly powerful to get 3rd graders to tell the truth!)

...marriage = gun control?? I can see that... to a point.

...I'm so sleepy!

...Why can't Romney say Bishop???

... The only person who is going to fight for me... is me.

... Should I fly down to see Kellee this weekend? to kiss my baby and go rock the vote?

Ringer!

Know what this girl 

and this guy 

have in common???

They can call their shots. 

After a grueling duel of horseshoes at the NC State Fair, where Mary won outright, Katie Baker and I had tied. We had each won a match. We decided to play a tie-breaking round to 3(0). Yeah, we're that good. 

On the first pitch, Katie Baker gets a point with each of her shoes... so the score is 2-0. Wowzers. I hate going down that fast. Then Katie Baker says, "Wouldn't it be funny if I just said "ringer" and then it happened." We laughed and said yeah right, etc, etc....

Then she did it. 

Not even kidding. 

As she was about to pitch, she points the shoe at the stake, calls out, "Ringer" and then proceeds to pitch that blasted shoe right around the post! 

Unbelievable!

How am I supposed to win against skills like that?

Photo by Lisa Young

Hey Blog... How Ya Been?

Sometimes my life gets really busy. And sometimes I don't want to do anything in my free time other than sleep. So sometimes my blog gets ignored. Like in September. That's just the way it is. But here's a sampling of what the last six weeks of my life have entailed (besides my regular work and temple work).... Oh boy!!

Annemarie moves in! 

Stake Council - Why do I have to go again??

DKG Board Meeting - Why can't we stay on track? Oh, that's right... cause I keep making snarky comments. 

Check NCSPA Registrations. 

Sell... sell.. sell... trying to get rid of some stuff the week between Annemarie moving out and Jessica moving in. But people tell me they want things, but then they really don't. That's obnoxious. 

Learn how to make buttermilk biscuits - and in combination with the State Fair coming - get Sir Mix A Lot's song stuck in my head more times than I want to admit. 

Check NCSPA membership. 

Speaking of State Fair - make sure my entries are in and start planning for the fine dining entry. 

Visit with friend Emily - so good to see her smiling face!

Cross reference NCSPA volunteer schedules.

Show up to the new ward opening social 30 minutes late - positive that I was on time - even after the iPad tried to tell me

Jessica moves in! 

Process NCSPA payments.

House toasting for friends!

First DKG meeting of the year - Again... my mouth. Why can't I keep it shut sometimes?

Get NCSPA and DKG confused. 

Night at the Met auditions - I was totally ornery that I even had to go, but so glad by the end of the night. 

Teach a class at Women's Day about Internet safety and the like... mostly the grandma's wanted to know how to Tweet. Learn about making your own laundry soap! Miraculously know the scripture I was supposed to have memorized weeks before. 

Call the state fair and ask about fine dining entry - still no word. 

Print mass quantities of name tags and agendas for NCSPA Fall Conference. 

Spend four days in a hotel at the beach for NCSPA! Get an award from the President! Get a cookie from the hotel! Get a chocolate bar from one of the exhibitors! Get thank yous that sill need to be sent on to Roxey! Deal with registrants and crazy presenters! Be so tired....

But not care and drive home to go to dinner with Katie Baker and then see War Horse the play! Be absolutely amazed at the puppeteering! 

Take entries to the State Fair grounds!! But not fine dining (boo!)

Listen to General Conference while still recovering from NCSPA craziness.

Get slapped in the face, proverbially, and think about the dark place again. Vent... a little. 

Listen to Elder Erying and try to snap out of it. 

Go to the doctor, cause it's been nearly three years. Everything's good.... relatively. Somewhat concerned about referencing the dark place. But it'll be alright. 

Watch movies with Steph - thanks again for dinner! 

The Young's are here!!!!

Win 3rd place - again - in the horseshoe competition. I really need to play more than once a year. 

Talk in Stake Conference - can I quit being Pres. Condie's project now? 

Go to the rest of Stake Conference - and ponder what the last 7 months has handed to me. Not sure I'm the better for it - yet - but our stake presidency reminded us that we are like buildings... we take time, we take planning, and nothing is lost in the details. Sometimes we have to spend our time in the proverbial toilet, but then we are invited in... to the warmth of the Celestial Kingdom. We are to find strength in our adversities and learn that trials don't always come because we've sinned. They come because God is trying to teach us to take the higher road on our own. To be more Christian and neighborly and kind. To never check our religion at the door... because God has a much better plan in mind than we could ever dream. 

September Reads

48. I've Got a Home in Glory Land by Karolyn Smardz Frost ****

(Kentucky)

Their great escape of 1833 led Thornton and Lucie Blackburn to freedom in Canada, but not without slave catchers, riots, jail time, and unbelievable risk. This telling of a true story started with an archaeological dig in Michigan, dug its way back 150 years to the slave trade of Kentucky, and then back north to Detroit and finally Canada. It tells of slavery, the forming of the underground railroad, and all the legal pretenses of 1830s border states. For a work of nonfiction, this book read so much like a novel I had a hard time turning it off (aka, putting it down!).

49. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore *****

(Baltimore, Maryland - Memoir)

"The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." This is one of the most unbelievably amazing books I've read in a really, really long time. Two boys with the same name grow up in, relatively, the same neighborhood. One is now a Rhodes Scholar, a decorated  combat soldier, a business man, and an author. The other is serving a life sentence without parole for murder.  Just read it... it's so good!

50. Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg*****

(Elmood Springs, Missouri)

This book is funny!!! I stole this review from Good Reads, but it pretty much sums it up, "Life is the strangest thing. One minute, Mrs. Elner Shimfissle is up in her tree, picking figs, and the next thing she knows, she is off on an adventure she never dreamed of, running into people she never in a million years expected to meet. Meanwhile, back home, Elner’s nervous, high-strung niece Norma faints and winds up in bed with a cold rag on her head; Elner’s neighbor Verbena rushes immediately to the Bible; her truck driver friend, Luther Griggs, runs his eighteen-wheeler into a ditch–and the entire town is thrown for a loop and left wondering, “What is life all about, anyway?” Except for Tot Whooten, who owns Tot’s Tell It Like It Is Beauty Shop. Her main concern is that the end of the world might come before she can collect her social security. In this comedy-mystery, those near and dear to Elner discover something wonderful: Heaven is actually right here, right now, with people you love, neighbors you help, friendships you keep."

51. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Won't Stop Talking by Susan Cain ****

I always knew I was under-appreciated* and this book just proves it. Introverts - you know, the quiet ones in the room - are responsible for a good number of innovations and they did it while everyone around them was talking, talking, talking. This was a well researched, introspective (ha!) book about what introversion looks like and how it it ignored by most of the mainstream - including introverts themselves. An interesting read whether you consider yourself to be introverted or not. 

*just kidding

52. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder *****
(Kansas)
Laura and her family leave their house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin to seek land and glory in "Indian Country." No matter how many times I've read this book, I get so sad when Jack disappears, excited when Pa finished building the house, and anxious when the Indians have their pow-wow. I just love these stories!!!

Voting for Crackers!

Today at work, I had brought yogurt for my breakfast... but I forgot my spoon. Luckily, I have one in the third drawer of my filing cabinet. I opened it and saw a pack of peanut butter nabs there. So delicious. Looking back and forth between the yogurt and the crackers, I said to myself with enthusiasm, "I vote for the cracker!"

For some reason that made me laugh aloud and I thought I'd put it on my google/Faceyface status updates. It would be so clever and cryptic - true to my updating style.

Then luckily some rational function in my brain kicked in and I realized that would be a terrible idea! Funny perhaps, but terrible.

The words cracker and voted should definitely not be included in the same sentence this day and age... just sayin'.