On Dasher, On Prancer, On Donner, On Nitro?

Don't compare your inside with someone else's outside

Saw this quote in a book today. Love it. Must remind myself of it every day.

Umbrellas and turtlenecks

UMBRELLAS
I am 40 and 11/12ths. Why is it that I begin using an umbrella now? It is beyond me why I am concerned about being wet now. I've lived here all my life. I'm using a $1 dollar umbrella from China. It's as random as my train of thought here.

TURTLENECKS
I want my neck to be warm. It's cold outside, and I sit in the convergence zone at AMMEX. Right smack in the middle of the two zones of heat. Lots of cool area buzzing about and a little like playing, "HOT/COLD". As I walk to the conference room, I hear in my mind, "you're getting warmer, warmer, warmer, HOT." Same deal walking to the ladies room.

So I head to the mall tonight to get a sweater that I saw on a gal at lunch. No such luck. Plenty of sweaters with V necks, scoop necks, exposed necks. Okay, no need to show my cleavage in November, December, January. I think I'll pull out my $2 scarf that I picked up in 06 at the Great Wall.

Nothing fashionable about my umbrella and scarf. Functional? Check. Affordable? Check.

You never cease to amaze me kid

Reyde's artistic talent continues to flourish. He joined Art Club at school; we are thankful that a local artist is donating her time to teach children the basics of art. Theory, types of brush strokes, shading of color, styles of art. What a blessing.

Last night, Reyde drew these pictures at Miss Vicky's. I asked him if he'd learned this at Art Club. Nope. Did you see it in a book at school? Nope.

"Mom, it was in my mind."



Hmm. Art has never been in my mind like this.

So I thank God for giving Reyde the gift of art. He'll be the last kid on the block to have his own computer, probably won't touch email and instant messaging like his Dad, but he'll have nurtured his creative talent.

Baby Got Back

Out at Grandma Betty's this past weekend. She shared some of her baby photos.

Baby Betty Got Back.

I'll have to scan James and my photos in the same pose.

Family. It's the greatest.

Breaking Up!

I hate the way you make me feel.

I am a strong woman and can live without you.

The awful feeling I get in my stomach after I've been with you is too much to bear.

I'm sorry, I know you've been a part of my life for a very long time, but it's time to say goodbye. We'll probably have those awful, "I can't live without you, let's try it one more time" dates.

But I will grow stronger. It is for the best.




Bye bye beef. I can't do it anymore. Chicken, it's what's for dinner.

Kellie Daisy

Pretty name. One that I will use.

My night didn't quite go as planned. James and Reyde were to be out of the house, running an errand. As I left the office tonight, Natalia asked me what I was doing tonight.

"I don't know where to start! I've got three hours to myself and so many things to do," I replied as I headed out the door.

1 task completed that was not on the list and my phone rings.

"Where you at? Are you close to home?"

"Yes, just coming through Des Moines, why what's up?"

"Reyde doesn't want to go tonight."

Sigh. "Okay, I'll be there in 2 minutes."

I selfishly set Reyde up with the small DVD player in his room and told him that I want to watch my TV and get on the treadmill. He is cool with that, bless his little soul, and I continue watching the movie, August Rush.

Good story, a bit predictable, love the actress who played Felicity, and the love interest is cute with a fab accent. The gist of the story being two adults who have unrealized dreams. Music. (Okay, there is more but I am not spoiling it for you.)

Love it when a book, show, movie, song, makes me cry. Not loving it so much as I am walking on the treadmill, at an incline, huffing and puffing, crying and wiping away the tears at the same time.

There is a quote out there, let me see if I can find it...nope, can't find it. But it is something along the lines of all of us have stories inside of us. It is the precious few that put pen to paper and share them with others. Don't take yours with you.

I am a bit sqeamish about writing that sentence. Fear that I can die tomorrow and not accomplish my creative goal.

Watching the movie, I am inspired to create. I've got the book name, the first sentence, the story, and now possibly my pen name. So where is the segue to the post title?

I can't recall how old I was, I'm sure Amy remembers. Standing in the section of vendors underneath the stadium stands at the Evergreen State Fair, I ask Mom if I can get a silver identity bracelet, and she says sure. The vendor takes the bracelet and asks me what name I want engraved. Standing and thinking, Amy asked me if I was gonna give the gal my name. I replied, "well I don't know what name I want on it." My thinking was to have it be a pretend name so I could pretend I was someone else, not Wendy.

Yes, you guessed it, Kellie got engraved that afternoon, and my sister rolled her eyes. (Mind you not for the first time and certainly not the last.)

And I just like Daisy. Good pen name. Maybe I'll add a surname. Maybe I won't.

If only...

Okay so I see this video link on a gal's facebook page that I went to school with. See? See I tell you. This is the exact reason why I suffered my John Hughes moments thinking I am not normal. That I should have friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

I love this video.

You know you're tired when....

Your thought process goes something like this!

As I unwrap a new roll of toilet paper last night, I notice under the Kirkland brand logo,

"425 2-PLY SHEETS."

Wow, that's kinda cool. Costco puts their phone number on the wrapper for any consumer issues. Nationwide, they use the "425" area code. Cool, that the brand touts the local area code. Wonder if they have had so many issues that they need to put a phone number on the wrapper.

Duh.

Under the wrapper, please find 425 pieces of 2 ply toilet paper sheets.

While I know some great thinking CAN occur on the toilet, this is not one of the better epiphanies...flush.

Alone

Scary word for most.

I have a friend struggling with an ugly divorce situation. She's a great blogger, sharing all the venom in her veins for us to bear with her. I do know it is helping her as I've seen her heal over the months.

She posted a blog entry on being alone and how she struggles with being alone.

I too struggled. Thought that I should have a group of friends like the ones in John Hughes movies. Many a year I'd say to James that our New Years Resolution was to "get friends."

But I came to a fine realization in 2006. Amidst a crappy moment in our marriage, we sought counseling. The counselor suggested we do a quick test about personalities and traits.

Low and behold, I tested out as an introvert. What a relief to find that my inner struggle to create "normalcy" in my life was over.

I judged myself for years, since junior high and highschool, for the lack of a circle of friends.

Now I know. All those years of yearning for a big group of people to be with, have dinner with, have parties with, go camping with, yatta yatta yatta is over.

While I thought I wanted friends, I really didn't. Game over. Calming effect really. Quite freeing.

So here's a shout out to my friend. Embrace your inner introvert. She's quite nice.

Thankful

It's a crazy world. This economy, crappy human behavior, people without, people with too much, trying to keep up with the Joneses, trying to do more and more every day.

I think I heard Tom Petty singing "Life is a Highway,"you know, that "Cars Movie" theme song.

....life is a highway and I wanna ride it all night long... Oh, it's a Rascal Flatts song. At any rate, I am ready to take the next exit and stop at the diner for pie and ice cream.

It's June 30th and I keep thinking to myself, I can't wait for summer. Summer doesn't usually start til mid July in Seattle. But we've had a great June and I have to remind myself to be in the present and remember that tomorrow is not summer, it is today.

I am thankful for all that God has provided. I go to sleep each night saying "Thank you God. For today and all that you provided. And for taking care of my son and my husband. For my health and shelter. Please continue being with me."

Noteworthy Blogs

I worked with Sara for a couple years. Great person. Her blog is so funny, poignant, and just so Sara. I highly recommend you mark it as a favorite:

http://www.jimsaramiller.blogspot.com/

Another blog I follow just so happens to be a Wendy. Unknown to me, her blog came up as a top blog for blogger.com. This gal has it going on! Mark it too:

http://wendysees.blogspot.com/

The Hunter

Seems Turbo wasn't the only hunter in the family.

James and I were standing at the garage doors tonight and Nitro walks down the driveway. She's gingerly stepping and I asked James if she is hurt.

Nope, she just walks that way down the hill....over to the tongue of the boat trailer. Sneaking up on the tongue of the boat trailer. And casually lifts her front left paw.

"James, she's on point."

"Yeah, been doing it all day. I think there is a bird nesting in the trailer tongue."

Atta girl. Bring momma home some din din.

Zoom zoom ZOOM

It is hard for me to decide the title of this post. Torn between "Zoom zoom ZOOM" (which in the end I picked,) or "RJ's first ride," or "I'm okay with this gene handed down," or "Here we go Aunt Amy."

Yesterday was a beautiful family day. Went to visit our friends at their cabin they are building in Ashford Washington. Continued down the highway and up to Paradise at Mt. Rainier. Fun, relaxing day. As we headed home, I suggested to James that he call Jimmy and see if they are at the Quarter Midget Track in Graham. Jimmy had said they would be practicing. James said he'd just stop by and if the gates were open we'd drive in and see if Jimmy and Jim were there.

(queue Jaws music for Aunt Amy.)

Sure enough, the Fergusons were there and had Jim's car out. We visited, played, fed Nitro, watched Jimmy (who IS Mr. Goodwrench) work on the cars.

Then it went something like this:

(queue the DUH DUM DUH DUM louder for Aunt Amy.)

Jimmy, "So Reyde do you want to try and drive the car?"

Reyde, "No thanks."

Jimmy, "But listen, I can make the motor sound really quiet and go slow. Like this."

(queue quarter midget motor sound starting quietly.)

James, "See buddy, it's pretty quiet."

Reyde, "No thanks."

Jimmy, "I think you should try it, it would be really fun."

Reyde, "No thanks."

Wendy, "Reyde, look at Mommy." (For when Mom wants full manipulation techniques to engage you must have eye contact.)

Reyde, "Yeah Mom?"

Wendy, "Remember in Sun Valley how you didn't want to go skiing?"

Reyde, "Yeah."

Wendy, "And remember HOW MUCH FUN you had after you tried it?"

Reyde, "Yeah."

Wendy, "And how you wanted to ski every day after that first day?"

Reyde, "Yeah."

Wendy, "Reyde, do you want to try driving the car?"

Reyde, "Yeah, okay."

Wendy, "Jimmy, he said okay, let's get him in the car."

And a racer is born. No, he was born December 14, 2002. 12-14-02. Numerology. 12+14+2=28, his Daddy's race car number.

No, I haven't used my ice cream maker yet

Still missing Turbo. Went looking for a journal entry in Reyde's journal about Turbo and came across this one. I laughed out loud. Needed that.

1/26/03

As I try to get the hot food issue resolved with Reyde's homecoming, I am planning meals more than I ever have and making use of leftovers.

Tonight's meal is split pea soup. It's a great recipe I received from my friend Tamara and pretty quick to put together. It involves a lot of chopping, so I decided to pull out the wedding gift from Auntie Gogo and give the Cuisinart Food Chopper a whirl.

Now this is the second time I've used it in 6 years, although I'll use it more now that time is of the essence right? Pulled out the box and had to cut through the packing tape I used to move it from West Seattle to here. Sad sad story. All the pieces are in the box, save the directions on how to use it. Not a problem, I can figure this out. To be on the safe side, I do go through all my paperwork in the kitchen and recipe books to see if I've placed the manual somewhere else. No luck, not a problem. This can't be Wendy proof.

I cut up my ham to be chopped and put all the pieces together. Thunk, goes the first piece of ham and I press the "on" button with confidence. Nothing. Hmm...it can't have quit due to no use. Oh, I see this button that looks like it needs to be pushed to engage the motor. Unplug, move the bowl, plug in, and wallah! Power chopping. So much power chopping that my ham is in very very small pieces. No worries, it will still taste good.

I let my soup simmer while I entertain Reyde during his alert time. We check out websites online to see if I can figure out how to greenhouse garden. Not too entertaining for wonder boy Reyde, so I decide to put him in the swing I just re-arranged the living room furniture to accommodate. Get him buckled in, turn the swing on and go to check on my soup as I need to chop my carrots and onions to complete the recipe.

Clean my veggies and go check on Reyde in the living room. I bust out laughing and have to turn the swing off. Reyde's just a little light in the weight factor to slow the swing down, and he is swinging fast and furious. I am surprised he didn't spit up. The chair stops and he appears to be okay with just sitting and pondering the underside of the marble table. Back to chopping veggies. (Perhaps I should have weighted him down with a potato in the swing.)

So knowing that there is water in the veggies, I know I don't have to chop them as long as the ham. Trying my darnest not to, I still puree the heck out of the carrots and onions. The onions actually become paste. Aahh, not to get upset, I figure the food should still taste the same.

James comes in the house, takes over Reyde duty, and I am off to the store. I double check and taste my soup before I leave, just to make sure it is edible. Yes, tastes like split pea, just a bit on the smooth side.

Upon returning from the store, I turn the oven on to make biscuits. As luck would have it, since we are going to have leftovers, I purchase a couple extra cans of dough. I knew I had one in the fridge and pulled that one out. Hmm, use before December 30th. Has it been in the fridge that long? Do I toss it and use a new can, or try my luck at old dough? I pop it and use them anyway, figuring that they won't be that bad and if anything is growing on them, it will be killed with the heat of the oven.

Since being on bed rest since November and all the hospital time, my cooking skills have gone by the wayside. I overcooked two meals last week, so tonight I am careful not to over cook the biscuits. The buzzer goes off, the biscuits look fine, and James and I are dishing up dinner at 7.34pm. And it's hot. And Reyde is asleep. And I get to eat my meal while it is hot. I am careful not to ask how James likes the meal. I wait for his comments as I am sure he will notice that tonight's split pea soup, while not overdone, doesn't require a lot of chewing and isn't quite as chunky as the norm.

I enjoy my food and try not to laugh as I look at the 35 mph swing in the living room. That whole event is one where I think my son is looking at me and saying, "What are you people trying to do to me?"

I scoop up the last of my silky soup and James makes just one comment. "So the next time you make this, you don't have to put the ham in the machine." "Oh, you'd rather chew it than sip it?" I reply. "Well yeah, unless I need to eat it through a straw!" We bust out laughing.

All's good at the Grantham household. Week three begins, and by the way, pureed split pea soup tastes just fine. I think I'll pull out the ice cream maker and see if I can put that to use this week. No, haven't even used it, but I hear that plastic is best aged at 6 years. Wouldn't want my ice cream to taste bad as the container wasn't seasoned well.

Versus

Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

or

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

A customer came by on Friday. I walked her out to her car and as she opened her trunk she asked me if I'd read any of Meyer's books. Nope, sure not. Until now. On page 90 of Twilight. I have book 2 & 3, with an offer from a guy at work for book 4. So here's the conundrum. I should be reading Friedman's book for work. REQUIRED reading due by April 20ish. He's so wordy and so much information to understand and absorb. My reading rate is 20 pages per hour on this book. Yeah, about 45 pages per hour on Twilight. I know what I should be reading. But isn't there some famous quote about never shoulding yourself?It's not like I can fake knowing what that last 200 pages are about in Hot, Flat, and Crowded. But I just want to get to the part when Bella figures out Edward is....

The Adventure Ends

Wow. This week has gone by so very fast. It seems as if it were weeks ago that I flew into Manila, out of sorts, low on blood sugar and out of my element. It took just one shift in the office to feel at home again.

My co-workers saved their photos on a disc for me so I can upload a few pictures. (My IT department updated my work lap top prior to my departure and now I don't have camera wizard!)

A quick run down, and perhaps why the week went by so quickly.

Friday was a 24 hour day. Funny how you can stay up all night when you are surrounded by people in an office environment with bright green walls and fluorescent lighting. Headed to the beach on Saturday morning after a quick 2 hour "power nap."

7 hours later, and only 270kms, (150 miles,) we arrived at the beach. Had wonderful food prepared by Vanessa's Mom, met Vanessa's baby, and cooled off in the pool and the South China Sea.

Yes, that's me in the photo. Reina took this shot on her phone. We had such a good time at the resort. Not only did I come to Manila to train on the art of selling gloves, but I might have exposed some folks to basic, rudimentary synchronized swimming skills. Wait til you see the videos I upload when I get home.

Slept soundly Saturday night. So soundly. That's what exhaustion will do for you.

Sunday was filled with sightseeing in Agoo, visiting the Catholic church where attending services is an event. Concessions stands, toys, cotton candy, a carnival atmosphere. Hiked to a tourist hot spot of the 90s where a man said he saw the Virgin Mary and that she said rose petals would fall from a guava tree. (The tree is dead now.)

Back to the beach resort to have a wonderful picnic prepared by Vanessa's Mom and Dad. Grilled mussels, fish, crab, prawns. Papaya coleslaw, fresh mango, watermelon, rice, veggies. Incredible.

Monday was another 24 hour day.

Wednesday morning after shift, had a quick "2 hour power nap" and went to the mall with Vic, Reina, Melody, Czarina, and Neil to get my hair cut. $7 cut by a super senior stylist. Not just a senior stylist, but a super senior stylist. Too funny. Went shopping for handbags for gifts. Found a really cool one, bought it in 7 colors. Now I am coming home with11 bags and 15 scarves from China. Christmas shopping done early.

Got some better sleep before shift Thursday. Now it is 9.30 am Friday morning and my flight leaves at 7.30 Saturday morning. Still need to walk to Glorietta and see what's new there. Gotta get one of those power naps in again and pack and get ready for work tonight.

The time has gone by so quick. Hopefully I come back again this year. So much fun in the office and really good training sessions. I miss Manila.

Wish me LUCK!

So, this will probably be way too much information.

Maybe I should not have eaten that lovely snack Phil brought me at the booth yesterday.

And I have been exposed to the crud. All three kids have it and Norma and Fred.

I awoke today knowing that I have a stomach and the length of my intestines as gas moves through every nook and cranny of it. Blah.

I pray I do not get the crud. Especially tomorrow as I fly to Manila.

China Update

Thought I'd show you where I stay when I am in China. I'd call this house design confused.

Must include a picture of food, right? Had this snack at the trade show. My co-worker Phil brought it back from the"7-11."

"Wendy, would you like to have a try?"

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

Bottoms up.

And lastly, some of the cool products I've seen at the show.

The Flamingo has landed

Technically, I can say I've been to Japan. I don't know that the Holiday Inn at Narita Airport really counts...but having missed my connecting flight last night I got to stay in Japan and have my passport stamped.

I do recommend in having a change of clothes in your carry on. Me, not this time. I had 12 pairs of socks though.

Trying to stay up a couple more hours to get into this time zone.

At the last minute, I took out my Sun Valley sweatshirt as I figured I wouldn't need it. Wrong wrong wrong. The house has no heat. It's colder in the house than outside!

Maybe, just maybe

I've found my artistic inner child. Went to a baby shower and we decorated onesies. Or perhaps, my inner artistic child has always been with me, just now I know she doesn't do well with hot glue sticks, baskets, and christmas ornaments!