Not my email

Braeden suggested I just change my email address.  I don't want to.  It's a good little email address.  That's why people keep claiming it as their own.

It is weird to get pictures of people I don't know emailed to me.

No explanation.  Just pictures.

They all seem happy though.  It's not like they were calls for help.  So that's a relief.

*****

 This was a sort of freaky video of this girl lip syncing.  From Sweden.

And while we're pondering the imponderables.  This.

My best guess is that it's a mattress store in Brazil.  And I got the invoice emailed to me.

It's a strange life.

*****

I don't mind the friendly messages:

From now on can my nieces and nephews call me Antey?

And right back at you, Walter.  From both of us?

I appreciate the brevity on this one:

Way to get right to the point, Robert.  The unfortunate part is that he probably still hasn't had his question answered about going to town.  Is he waiting by the door, just in case?

Rhoda is less succinct.  Is she speaking in code?   

I don't understand the Turnip/Turner reference.  An inside joke?  Too bad the intended Thelma didn't see this.  She'd probably appreciate the humor?  I love that she wished me all bests for tomorrow though.  I could use all the bests.

Here's another spot of good news.  How to avoid the Sunday Blues.

After contemplation, I realized they weren't talking about the Sunday Blues that happen from hours of endless meetings.  They're talking about becoming your own boss so you don't get the blues on Sunday night.

I never get the blues on Sunday night.  On Sunday night, I feel relieved.

*****

I can't help feeling responsible when I get some emails.  For example, I wish Eithne would just bite the bullet and go to the dentist.  They are concerned about her, and frankly, I am too.

And will Thelma pay her bill, when I keep getting the alerts about the bills?

I hope so, because Virgin Media sounds like a rollicking good time.  Must-watch HD telly!

Then there are the appliances.  I would like a new refrigerator because side by sides are the worst.  Did this Thelma get a new fridge?  I hope she will know about the service plan, even though I got her email.  Protect what matters, Thelma.  That's caring.

This Thelma may need a new fridge.

I'm not sure the appointment to get the repair went well.

The drama!

Speaking of drama.  I'm worried about Kath.  Hang in there!  Drink some juice.  Have some chicken soup. 

Stay tuned for more exciting email (that isn't mine).  Will Eithne go to the dentist?  Will Thelma Newnham forgive Hotpoint?  Will that Virgin Media bill get paid?

Emma

Last night we went to Tim Timmerman, Hope of America.

We loved it!

The main reason?  Emma was in it twice!

There was this part (that was also in the trailer):

And another time when she was playing frisbee.

Braeden's friends Brian and Olivia were in it (Brian had a few lines!) and Emma's friends Vanessa and Caralyn were spotted. 

Also, Adam had a plaid shirt exactly like this once upon a time:

It was filmed here in good old Utah county so we recognized the high schools and Seven Peaks and of course Mt. Timpanogos was a shining star.

Adam and I got a little excited because Ripples, the drive in that is in The Phone Call movie was in a few scenes.

The whole thing was just a lot of fun to watch.  It was a pretty good movie too.  Clever and entertaining.

Speaking of clever, Emma and her friend Fiona have been working on a project for their world history class.

They made this guy out of paper mache:

They named him Pierre Oublier.

Yesterday in class, they did a presentation about the French Revolution and cut off his head with a guillotine.  (It was one of those big paper cutters.)

Poor guy!

I like having Emma for a daughter.  She brings a certain razzmatazz to my life.

Very married

If I get married, I want to be very married.

Audrey Hepburn

I think Adam and I have achieved "very married."  We can do that thing where we communicate paragraphs with a look.  We like to do mundane things together.  Costco?  Filling the car with gas?  Anywhere?  It's fun if we're together. 

We don't so much finish each other sentences because we know what each other is thinking but more because Adam stops talking mid sentence a lot because he's a deep thinker.  I stop talking mid sentence because I forget words.  (I would blame old age, but I've been like this for a long time.)

Adam and our kids are really good at deciphering what I mean when I call everyone "whosit" and everything "whatsit."

Maybe a way that Adam and I are most compatible is that I like to switch decorations around and he doesn't notice.  It's a beautiful thing.

Recently I pointed out to him that I'd changed a few things for spring.

He admired (dutifully) and then I said, "Now I need to show you my pièce de résistance."  He corrected my French pronunciation because who am I kidding?

Then I led him into the living room.

He looked around.  "Is that pillow new?"

"No.  We've had it for a few months."

He came up empty, so I introduced him to Andromeda.

Isn't she lovely?

Adam said, "That's kind of weird."

And that's OK.  Because we could have gone months (years?) without him even noticing her.

I think every room needs something "kind of weird" and he doesn't mind. 

We're very married.

Update

1.

I miss this one:

I found this on my phone--I think he texted it to his grandma.

It feels like did that really happen?  Did he really come home? And also, I got used to talking to him and having him around and now I miss him.

2.

Franxiety.  That's what I'm calling it.  I got an email from Emma's French teacher about the trip to France and I was hit with Franxiety.  The best way to combat it is to think of really crazy and far fetched scenarios of doom and gloom related to the trip.  Then I feel less anxious.  And also I'm excited.  And also I'm nervous.  And excited....

3.

I have figured out an excellent way to go incognito.  When I pick up Mark from school, we occasionally give his friends, who are brothers, a ride home too.  On Friday one of them climbed in the van and said, "Oh, I thought you were someone else.  I thought you must be Mark's sister.  You look so different."

I looked exactly the same as usual except I had my hair in a pony tail.  Apparently this is how Superman can disguise himself with just glasses.

4.

I made a congratulatory/conciliatory cherry chip cake.  (We called it a Five C cake.)

I also invented a new kind of frosting because I didn't have all the ingredients I needed for my usual recipe.  My improvisation turned out well.  Tabor called right in my moment of triumph so he got to hear me wax enthusiastically about frosting.

How lucky is that brother of mine?

5.

The cake was created for the big moment when we found out if Emma was admitted to BYU--hence the congratulatory/conciliatory nature of the thing.

I was pretty sure it was going to be congratulatory.  I mean, why wouldn't BYU want my girl?  But we were still all a nervous wreck.  We stress ate our way through dinner and I forbade Emma from checking her phone.  Occasionally I would nudge her and say, "Check your phone!"

Nothing.

All evening.

Later we were on three different computers, refreshing the page over and over and reading Facebook posts from other kids around the country that were also not getting the news.  Occasionally some kid would report that they'd heard.  Emma was despairing.  "I didn't get in.  That's why they haven't told me. I'm denied!"

She said she was going to throw up.

She is nothing if not dramatic.

Finally Adam came down the stairs and showed us the screen on his phone:

Emma fell on the floor. (Nothing if not dramatic.)

I got on the floor too, to hug her.  Mark piled on too because that's how he lives his life.

Adam took a picture.

It's the picture Emma wanted to put on Facebook and I wouldn't text it to her because all you can see is her foot and one arm and it's hardly the dignified image I want to portray on the internet.

Ha!

Never mind.  Here it is.

This is what joy late on a Friday night in the Davis household looks like.

Then we had cake.

Grateful Friday

I'm reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown.  In it she wrote that she blogs about gratitude every Friday.

I thought it was a good idea.

Today I'm grateful for Janet.

She's the kind of friend that sent me a video scientifically proving that McDonald's Diet Coke tastes better than other kinds.  (It's something we've always theorized about.)

She's the kind of friend that sends Braeden cookies on his mission and has been a rescuer of my children on various occasions.  She's the kind of friend who provided best friends for my kids with her own stellar children.

She's the kind of friend who prays for us (and I pray for them too).

She's the kind of friend that every time I see her or talk to her, it's like no time has passed.

Why did I do a rotten thing like move away from her?

Braeden eyed the houses for sale in our neighborhood and said, "The Jorgensens should move here!"  I told him the problem was that whenever I mention it to Eric and Janet they remind me of what a hard time we had moving here.

Rats.  Sometimes I should be less forthcoming.

But Janet's the kind of friend you tell things to.

And besides, like Braeden said, "But we're here.  It would be different for the Jorgensens!"

Today I have a playdate/phone call scheduled with Janet.  So excuse me while I go make sure my phone is charged up completely.

Those phone calls tend to take some time.  We have to talk about all the things.

A day in the life of I need Adam

Yesterday I was grocery shopping and inexplicably sprung a leak.  The knuckle on my thumb split open and started to bleed.  I use lotion, Badger Balm, Working Hands and everything else everyone ever suggests to me.

I texted Adam and told him that my skin is the worst.  He told me that I needed to put on lots of lotion and then gloves to sleep in.  I did that twice last night and I woke up with much smoother hands.

I need Adam.

Yesterday my alarm clock--which tells the date--didn't switch to March.  It had February 29 as the date.  I fiddled with it and messed it up further.  Adam was leaving for work and suggested I use the manual.

Where does he come up with these novel ideas?

I used the manual and got it all set except the alarm went off at midnight.  Then something beeped a few hours later and I just unplugged the thing.

Adam set it up for me initially and I'm going to have him do it again.

I need Adam.

Last night the laurels were in charge of the combined activity--the one with all the boys and all the girls.  We played human PacMan.  I ran all of my ideas by Adam and he helped me tweak them and figure out how to divide the teams effectively.  He left work a few minutes early so he could be there to help set up the course. 

I asked him to be a referee because I envisioned boys leaping over the chairs that were the boundaries of the PacMan maze.  (And yes, the first thing Mark did when he saw the maze was leap over some chairs.)  Also, I didn't want kids running.  I wanted no broken limbs on my watch.

Adam used his booming voice to explain the rules to a gym full of kids that resembled a gym full of puppies.  He oversaw the game and blew his ref whistle for infractions.  He has this presence that is hard to argue with.  He also knows how to facilitate fun.  He tweaked the game a little as we went and all the kids had big grins on their faces.  They were working together and red faced and panting (even though no running) and smiling.  Emma even thought it was fun.

I need Adam.

Books I read in February 2017

I didn't read much.  It was a month where my attention was largely elsewhere.  I did finish these two:

The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander **

I enjoyed this book more than the previous one in the series.  (This is the one with the Newbery award so I guess that makes sense.)  I learned something that the rest of the world probably already knew.  The Disney Black Cauldron movie is based on these books.  I've never seen the Disney movie but Adam has.  So that is something.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown ****

I've been wanting to read this book for a long time.  Someone picked it for book club so I read it.  (I didn't go to book club because Braeden.)  I loved it!  The history was interesting.  It's set in Seattle so I knew the places it talked about.  I realized who Royal Brougham Way (a street in Seattle) was named after.  I even liked the sports drama.  Good good stuff.