Tangled Thoughts

A Master Plan

Christina

January 16, 2014

When David was preparing to make his trip here, our friend and neighbor helped Amanda and I come up with a list of “Entertainment” ideas. I guess we were afraid of running out of things to do. Oddly enough, I think we managed to do one thing on this list. Of course, many of the things were summer related items – and it WAS the middle of winter, so swimming etc would be out.

But for what its worth, I thought it was funny. And obviously, we planned on doing a lot of sugar eating. Which shouldn’t have surprised David too much – since he is acutely aware of our love for candy.

1. Big Bang Theory (This was one of our current TV shows that we were obsessed with, and figured we would introduce him to it as well)
2. Kayaking (Because all guests need to be strapped to a tiny piece of plastic and thrown into the water.)
3. Deer Mountain (Because why not hike one of the biggest mountains in town?)
4. Ice cream shop (Because who doesn’t love them some ice cream. Pretty sure we planned to do this more than once, and Im actually surprised to see it only made the list once, seeing as there were three of us)
5. Ketchi-Candies (See? Candy.)
6. Rent-A-Boat or Boating (Not sure what rent-a-boat is, but thinking we wanted to go on the water. Again. In the middle of winter.)
7. Brown Mountain (After scaling the second tallest mountain in town, its only natural to scale the tallest one too!)
8. Zip line (And zip line while were at it. Because we Americans. We live on the edge.)
9. Cookies (Because yum? I assume we were going to school him on the proper way to make cookies. Since over in England you would call a real cookie, a “biscuit.” )
10. Ward lake (Because why wouldn’t you want to walk around a lake during salmon spawning season. Its an Alaskan right of passage.)
11. Beach(es) & Bonfire & Marshmallows (Because more sugar!)
12. Piano & Guitar (a.k.a. musical skills) (No idea what we were planning here. A talent show of sorts?)
13. Make Jewelry (So we could get rich, and afford all these awesome things. Obviously.)
14. Air Hugs (Much preferred over, real hugs.)
15. Drawing & Painting (Because nothing says therapeutic like crayons and paper!)
16. Weeding (Because who doesn’t like to weed?)
17. Swimming in Oceans and Lakes (Can we say polar plunge?)
18. ASMTAS ASAP (as many tours as possible) (And Im really glad we decided to decode that, because I have no idea what those letters would have stood for.)
19. Star Gazing (Because he might not see the same stars as we do over in England.)
20. Church (Because this needs to be on the list so we can atleast cross something off)
21. Dog Training (Step one: Find dog. Step two: Train dog. Step three: Eat candy.)
22. Redecorate the Shop in ENGLISH Theme (Because it would just be SO DARN FUNNY!)
23. Make Scrapbooks and Cards (Oh you know, just another afternoon project, making scrapbooks, with an S)
24. Set up Joint Booth at Mall (Because we need more money, yo!)
25. Photography (Just for kicks and giggles, of course)
26. Prank Phone Calls (no accents!) (Because we are so not childish.)
27. People Watching (Showing our old side or plumb out of money – one will never be certain.)
28. Star Trek – just one – American right to freedom! (Which was not going to happen.)
29. Wake up Girls @ 6AM Saturday morning! (And most certainly, was not going to happen.)

And there you have it. A master list of “Fun things to do” should you ever happen to make it to this side of the country, or world.

Randomness In The Color Red

Christina

2 comments

January 9, 2014

I have a handful of stories I could tell and rants I could rave about. Like the vender who told me I would have to cancel my order because it was too much work for him. Or the piece of fried chicken Yoshi picked up on our walk.

But instead Im just going to say today I walked home, and on my way out – grabbed a red pepper because it looked good. Then I laughed at the image of me walking down the road with a random red pepper.

And then? I ate it.

The only other time I have done something this crazy was when I was hungry for an onion. I took an onion, sliced a piece, and ate it.

What randomness have you done (or ate) this week?

Happy Birthday!

Christina

1 comment

January 5, 2014

Today is a very special day for a certain little someone. My nephew, Mr Judah turns a very big two today!

Happy Birthday little mister!

Hello 2014

Christina

1 comment

January 1, 2014

We rang in the new year in a few different ways this year. The first round was about 3pm, when the clock and calendar turned over in England. Then again when the clock struck midnight and I wasn’t paying attention until I heard fireworks and joined in with my own version – a cooking pot lid, and knife to be exact.

This morning while talking to mom she asked about new years resolutions. She has a couple really good ones, and I want to…its just…that every time I make one, I break it, and then feel bad about starting it. And then don’t follow through because I want to forget I started it. Even as I try to make some goals somewhere in the back of my mind I hear the small voice that “You wont finish…you will fall flat in about a month. Or week.” And while its probably true? I still might try. Maybe. Just for the fun of it. Perhaps.

I started thinking about the things I want to accomplish this year. And while I don’t have a whole lot of things on my list, there are a few small things that I would like to see happen. Maybe they will, maybe they wont. But it wont be the end of the world for sure. Recap of 2013? Its hard! Because there are so many moments in 2013 I want to carry over, and the fact that it can be the end of one year, and the start of the next in the matter of seconds just doesn’t seem to make sense to my small pea sized mind. But alas.

Figuring I needed SOMETHING to close the year out on, I went back to my trusty stats to see what people liked the most this year. And funny enough the most popular posts were from 2011, and 2012. Nothing from 2013. So maybe this year wasn’t great for blogging. But boy was it great for memories.

The favorite post still seems to be one I wrote back in 2011, and I kind of already knew that – it seems everyone at some point has clicked it. And that’s ok. Because its kind of one of my favorites too. I reference it in my mind every so often, and use it to build on in moments of frustration. Its still something I struggle to understand and completely “Know.” Its something that has stuck with me through the past few years.

Just this last week in church our pastor said something that made it all make sense. And while Im not quoting him exactly, because I don’t remember how exactly he said it – he basically just made the point that we cant be saved – if we have nothing to be saved from. If we don’t believe we are sinners, then how are we supposed to see our need for a savior? And if we keep telling kids that you just need to accept Jesus and everything will be ok – then they arent going to have a lasting relationship.

And its true.

Sometimes I think that I get to thinking that because I am saved, I don’t have a need anymore. I can do it myself. And every once and a while I am reminded, that no I cant. And yes I do have a need. A great need.

While I don’t have any great big goals this year of winning the lottery, or ending world hunger…I think this year, instead of brief moments of remembering, and realizing – I want to remember year round. I want to remember my need for a Savior. When I think about it, there isnt a little voice in the back of my mind saying “You will mess this up” and maybe thats because I already know I HAVE messed this up. Which makes it all that much better. Because no matter how much I mess up, its ok.

I want to stop and remember that those days that suck are just brief moments, and the days that are awesome – are just brief moments as well.This year has went so fast, its almost scary. Time has literally flown by, and the pages of the calendar have just peeled off.

Its time to reprioritize.

Happy New Year, and Hello 2014.

And here is to making some more great memories.

And They Call This Fun!

Christina

2 comments

December 11, 2013

I have written on my woes with shopping many times before. Many people just don’t seem to understand how I can NOT like shopping. I guess I could see how it might possibly fun, if it weren’t so stressful and stupid and all that. I do enjoy shopping with Amanda – shes fun and excitable, and all things girl when it comes to shopping. When she left a few years ago – I got to (somehow) fulfill the duty of grocery shopping. Yes, mom and I had a few episodes where I lost all my bearings and we just walked out of the store where I promptly burst into tears. But that’s another story. For another day.

Shopping and me just don’t see eye to eye. Now I have a list. I have my moves carefully calculated and I barrel my way through the store in record speed grabbing what I need and not an item more. It works. For me. Sometimes. And then sometimes it doesn’t. And if something I had on my list isn’t IN the store then my whole shopping trip is a bust. Its just how me and shopping go.

But there is a different kind of shopping that shivers me in a whole different way. The dreaded Christmas shopping. I hate this even more. If you have seen in the past – we tend to go all out at Christmas time for our relatives. I don’t mean ALL OUT with gifts, I mean that we try to give everyone a small something. We don’t do birthdays or anything else – so mom likes to think of Christmas as our way of keeping in touch – and that’s fine. Its…just…not….fun to shop for all billion and two relatives.

Its not even fun to shop for my immediate family!

My attempts usually fall flat. The times I do know what I want – I get the wrong thing. The times I don’t know what I want – I get nothing. The times I find what I want – its too expensive and I just cant justify spending THAT kind of money. Its hopeless, me and shopping.

This year, my Christmas spirit was HIGH. Like full tilt over the moon BUY ALL THE THINGS! Kind of high. I took advantage of it, and did some late night browsing. I ordered a few gifts, and made a list. I was feeling pretty proud of myself – having knocked just about everyone off my list, and having a general idea of what I wanted to get people who I hadn’t bought for yet. I EVEN made cookies. And baked them – and they didn’t get burnt! All was well.

And then my Christmas spirit took a dive. But that was ok! Because my shopping was done. I could relax. I decided that since I had done such a GOOD job on getting things in order, that I would reward myself by buying frosting, instead of making it.

Which is where things went south. Note the word: BUY. Buy – involves shopping.

Because when I got home, it turns out the frosting I selected? Was a not so lovely shade of green. Instead of white, like I was hoping, it was a pale pea green. Even after adding some food dye, it still resembled something from the pea factory – but I was too far in to back out.

And then last night, as I was looking through my online purchases, I noticed something. The things I bought? Were NOT the things I thought I had bought. Infact, I really have NO idea what was going through my head at the time of purchase – because I thought I was being savvy. One item? Was under a dollar. Which sounds good. Except that the shipping? Was ten. TEN DOLLARS for an item that didn’t even cost a dollar to begin with! My eyes bulged. HOW.

And then…the mail started trickling in. Ever so slowly. Because they have decided to divert our mail north for a 5 day delay before bringing it to us.

I was excited.

I ripped open the package.

And stared into the face of what was supposed to be a pajama set but instead was an…

“Oil green panel”

Say WHAT?

Now I knew that things weren’t what I thought I had bought but how does one go from pjs to a curtain panel? Closer inspection showed that what I ordered – was not sent. In its place – was a single curtain. A CURTAIN! Now I don’t know about you – but I don’t know how I was supposed to GIFT a CURTAIN! ONE panel, mind you. The product I had ordered? No longer in stock. I guess this was the closest substitute they had.

All this came crashing down ontop of my Christmas spirit, or lack there of – and led to my firm belief that shopping, no matter HOW “Wonderful” people say it is – is not, so wonderful.

Online or offline.

Which is all to say – Merry Christmas, if you receive pea green cookies, or a green curtain panel from me this year – just know. I fought VERY HARD for those items. And yes, it all involved shopping.

Until next year!