Lucky Cat Figurines

Picture of the Day for 4/30/2014. I'm sure these cat figures have been around forever, but they've just recently shown up on my radar (after watching an episode of Sherlock- the Benedict Cumberbatch version). Now I see them everywhere. There are a ton of meanings assigned to them based on color and which paw is raised, but the gist is "good fortune" in business. I'm thinking I need one now!

Quail

Picture of the Day for 4/29/2014. I never fail to be charmed by the flock of quail who hang out in my neighborhood. 

Cookie Goal

Picture of the Day for 4/28/2014. I can't tell you how many packages of these mini M&Ms I've purchased over the past year with the intent of using them in a cookie recipe. Not once have I ever successfully achieved this goal. I always end up eating the M&Ms before I can make the cookies. Someday I will prevail. Someday...

Letter to John Glenn

Picture of the Day for 4/27/2014. I actually wrote a bona fide letter to an astronaut/former U.S. senator. My first time ever doing that. I had been informed that John Glenn is slowing down a bit when it comes to providing autographs. I'm surprised it's taken him this long to start slowing down given the fact he's in his 90s. I have a first edition copy of We Seven, a series of personal recollections/reflections from the original Mercury 7 astronauts. My book is signed by Scott Carpenter, but I've always wanted to add John Glenn's signature to the book and I figured I'd better not procrastinate. I sent it off to Senator Glenn with a little bit of a pang since it's the only thing I have signed by Carpenter who passed away last year. I'm sure it will be OK, but it almost felt like sending a child out into the world. 

Purple Chicken

Picture of the Day for 4/26/2014. I've been reading a Law of Attraction book which provides a series of experiments for readers to try to see if the principles really work. One of the experiments is to tell the universe that you want to see something really unusual within a certain time frame. I asked the universe to show me a purple chicken within approximately 48 hours. This is what I saw on a Facebook post. Pretty close!

My Posterior is in Peril

Picture of the Day for 4/25/2014. I was with my great-nieces, Sadie and Hayley, this afternoon for a snack at Crown Burger when they started outlining the most horrible scenarios regarding my bottom. If I HAD to get bitten on my bum by either a T-Rex or a blue whale, what would I choose? NEITHER!!!!! I can't remember them all now, but they kept on outlining scenario after scenario, each one more horrible than the one before. They were laughing so hard that Hayley was even snorting. Below is a picture of Sadie enthusiastically mentioning all the horrible creatures who could possibly gnaw on my bottom.

Playing with Straws

Picture of the Day for 4/24/2014. This is what happens when my niece Chantal is bored and in possession of a straw and attempting to annoy her mother with less-than-refined behavior.

Hard at Work

Picture of the Day for 4/23/2014. I had my sister Robynne meet me at my house this morning so we could run pressing errands for our company. There was a lot to do! Things to accomplish! Mountains to climb! Financial empires to build!

Well, we started off strong by going to our bank and getting a company Visa card, but then we had to regain our strength by having a leisurely meal at the Jasmine Bistro that has the most wonderful Bento box lunch specials. After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for comfortable chairs to put in Robynne's sun room. This is the chair Robynne eventually selected after visits to several furniture stores (which seem to be populated by snarky and annoying salespeople).



So in the end, no financial empires were created today. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Prepared to Exercise

Picture of the Day for 4/22/2014. This is just how committed I am to getting back into shape- I laid out my exercise clothes last night so they would be all ready to go in the morning. 

Not Your "Normal" Easter Bunny Cake

Picture of the Day for 4/21/2014. Since there really wasn't a noteworthy topic for today's picture of the day, I'm falling back on a picture I took yesterday. Every year my sister Paula makes an Easter Bunny cake. Its earlier incarnations included pink-colored coconut for the ears and an assortment of Easter candy for the eyes, nose, and mouth. That's far too pedestrian for my nieces. They jazz it up now in the most unusual ways. A couple of years ago there was a Rochester bunny in honor of the novel Jane Eyre. "How does one make a Rochester cake?" you may be wondering. Why, by giving him 1840s-era sideburns of course. 

This year's cake depicts the horrific wedding massacre scene from the HBO series Game of Thrones. This bunny's throat has been slit and an eye poked out. Poor bunny!

I can't wait to see what my nieces come up with next year!

Easter Shoes

Picture of the Day for 4/20/2014. On this Easter Sunday I attended church. Instead of pondering the meaning of Easter and the wonderful gift of atonement, I was mesmerized by the red and gold shoes worn by the woman teaching Relief Society. I'm sure she gave a meaningful lesson, but I couldn't even concentrate I was coveting these shoes so much. Yep, that's how I roll. Shallow as ever!

A WASP Investigative Journey

Picture of the Day for 4/19/2014. I recently visited an aviation museum where I saw this WASP yearbook. The WASPs were approximately 1,000 Women Airforce Service Pilots who flew all sorts of military aircraft and non-combat missions during World War 2. This freed up the male pilots for combat duty. One of the WASPs, Dorothy Sorensen, was from Salt Lake City!


Since her address was listed in the yearbook, of course I had to drive past it to see what it looks like today. 7570 South State Street has turned into an industrial/commercial area and her home is no longer there.


I googled Dorothy and found that her married name is Van Valkenburg. 


More googling revealed that Dorothy is still very much alive and living in Toquerville which is a small town in southern Utah. I'm going to be driving past that area within the next month so I'm going to write to her and see if I can drop by for a visit. I'd love to talk to a WASP!

Mystery Eyeball

Picture of the Day for 4/18/2014. I found this plastic "eyeball" in my washer the other day. I haven't washed any dolls or figurines that would have one of these eyeballs so I have no earthly idea how it got there. Maybe it crossed over from the mystery dimension where socks disappear to after putting them in the washer. As one of my socks was making the journey through the portal maybe this eyeball decided to slip into this dimension. It's the only explanation that makes sense!

Story Musgrave Speech

Picture of the Day for 4/17/2014. The Clark Planetarium held a fund raising gala tonight and the keynote speaker was Story Musgrave, a celebrated space shuttle astronaut who has seven graduate degrees. Needless to say, he's smart. And like most every other astronaut I've met, a bit of a flirt. When I approached him at the reception prior to the banquet and warned him that I had cold hands when he reached out to shake my hand, he replied "I'll take care of that." I love flirty astronauts.


Story's speech was fabulous! He actually addressed the adults in the crowd and not the youth. It was such a refreshing change since at events like this you usually hear "children are our future, blah, blah, blah." It's true, they are our future, but I'm still very much interested in crafting an interesting and productive life right now. He talked about how all our life experiences, no matter how mundane, are valuable. He grew up on a farm and observed how the mechanical skills he acquired from working on farm equipment as a boy came in handy when he was called upon to repair the Hubble telescope several hundred miles above the earth forty years later. He also spoke about deliberately charting a course and how we should all consider tomorrow, April 18, as the launch of the life we want to create/live and to figure out who we want to be. 




After Story's speech, there was a star party outside where several telescopes were trained on Jupiter. I was able to see the planet through a view finder after I finally figured out that even though I'm right-handed, my left eye is dominant. I was totally geeking out over seeing Jupiter and its moons through a telescope.


All-in-all, it was the perfect evening for a nerdy space fanatic. 

My Sister Can Crochet Anything

Picture of the Day for 4/16/2014. A Facebook friend of mine was mentioning how she was learning to crochet and I bragged that my sister Robynne can crochet literally ANYTHING. Want proof? Here's a moose head plaque she crocheted for my dad. He had it hanging in his home office for years.
 

Need a grandfather clock? Robynne can crochet one. 

Back in the Gym

Picture of the Day for 4/15/2014. My back is finally recovered enough that I'm going to head back to the gym. None too soon either as I've been gaining weight at an alarming rate. I didn't realize until I stopped exercising for the past three months just how effective that daily 1/2 hour at the gym has been for maintaining my weight for the past few years. 

Letter from a Missionary

Picture of the Day for 4/14/2014. I received a letter from my nephew Rob who is serving an LDS mission in the Four Corners region of the country. Currently, he's stationed in Chinle, Arizona which has stunning red rock scenery, but not much else. According to Rob, the one fast food place in town was struck by lightening and boarded up afterwards since according to Navajo superstition, anything struck by lightening is considered to be cursed. 

"So what is so notable about this letter?" you might ask. People get letters from missionaries all the time. Rob has been faithful about sending out a mass email once a week to his email distribution list, but getting him to respond to emails has been next to impossible. I know he's been busy and I've been delighted he's having a fabulous time serving the Navajo people, but it's been a little frustrating. I believe his mother had a word with him. Something to the effect of, "you better write to your Aunt Michelle before she has a seizure." The word was effective because I received this very charming letter which I was delighted to receive. He asked if the letter was going make the blog. Duh!

Dandelion Problem

Picture of the Day for 4/13/2014. Hmm...I'm guessing I have an dandelion infestation problem. I'll deal with it later. Sometime in the future. Whenever. Like how I deal with most things in my life.

Pan Am Bag

Picture of the Day for 4/12/2014. Do you ever see an item that you've lived your whole life contentedly without owning and then all of a sudden you MUST have it. That happened to me this weekend. I observed an older woman carrying an original (not a reproduction) Pan Am bag and I was overcome with an overwhelming desire to have a Pan Am bag of my own!

Free eBook

Picture of the Day for 4/11/2014. Occasionally I'll download a free book on my Kindle because "hey, free dummy." (I'll explain that quote below. In the meantime, keep reading.) I downloaded this book, Louisiana Longshot, on a whim since the premise appealed to me- a former military operative is forced to take refuge in a small town in Louisiana and pose as a former beauty queen. I thought it was very entertaining to the point that I ordered the second book in the series for $5.99. Pretty smart move on the author's part to lure you in with a free book to whet your appetite. 

Free Dummy Explanation: A friend and I both loved the following Jack Handy quote and would repeat it if we ever got something for free.

"If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy."

Familiar Character

Picture of the Day for 4/10/2014. I was reading a novel, Free Fall by Chris Grabenstein, on my Kindle when I came across the very familiar name of a friend, Al Hallonquist. It was late at night so at first seeing it made me extremely disoriented since you don't expect to see someone you know leap off the pages of a book. This isn't the first time he's appeared as a cop in a mystery novel. I guess it pays to have a memorable personalty and show up at mystery writer conventions where you mingle with authors! I have showed up at these type of conventions, but apparently I'm not that memorable since I haven't appeared yet in a novel. Can't blame the authors I've met. I guess former group health and benefits consultants who now sell speech therapy workbooks online don't make interesting characters. 

Disintegrating Wallet

Picture of the Day for 4/9/2014. Wow, my wallet literally disintegrated in my hands today. Good thing I was able to grab all the pieces before my credit cards went flying all over the store. I've only had this wallet three months! I think this is a sign of poor construction rather than overuse on my part. I'm sad as I'm kind of obsessed with flamingos so I was delighted to find this wallet in the first place. Maybe I'll see what I can find on Amazon.com. 

Bad Liar

Picture of the Day for 4/8/2014. My great-niece Hayley informed me that her older brother Dane had a girlfriend. This required some follow-up questions. Hayley was doing OK until she described "Debbie" as wearing really short shorts. As Dane met this supposed girlfriend at school, Hayley's big lie fell apart right there. Really short shorts would violate the dress code at Dane's high school I would assume. 


Indeed, Chantal texted me later to confirm that it was indeed a lie. Then we had a conversation about the sad state of Hayley's lying abilities. They need definite improvement and I suggested Hayley get a "lying" mentor to coach her. Something to think about.

Surviving the Landscaping Apocalypse

Picture of the Day for 4/7/2014. Almost three years ago I conducted a MAJOR landscaping project. I'm talking MAJOR. Aside from a few trees, everything was ripped out of the yard. It was kind of a landscaping apocalypse for the foliage that was there. I'm amazed anything survived it, but a few hardy tulip bulbs did. I'm glad. I always looked forward to the tulips blooming each year. 

Corinne's Wedding Dress

Picture of the Day for 4/6/2014. My niece Corinne is getting married in August and I got to see her wedding dress today. I'm 99.999999999% sure her fiance does not read this blog so I feel fine about posting a picture of the dress for all the world to see. 

When Holidays Collide

Picture of the Day for 4/5/2014. SPOILER ALERT for Suzanne Miner who is a faithful reader of this blog. If you don't want to know what Brenda is giving to you as a belated Christmas gift, don't read beyond this point!

I went out to dinner with my friends Margaret and Brenda tonight. At this Easter season, Brenda showed up with my belated Christmas gift which consists of 4th of July charms to put on a bracelet she gave me for Christmas 2012. I love it when holidays collide. I also love getting a Christmas present no matter what time of year it is!

Odd Evening

Picture of the Day for 4/4/2014. I've just had the oddest evening. And this guy dressed up as Elvis on the dance floor wasn't even the oddest part of the evening...

Fashion Stylist In Training

Picture of the Day for 4/3/2014. It appears my great-niece Sadie could have a multi-faceted career in fashion. Not only is she a budding fashion designer (see yesterday's blog entry), but she is a pretty good fashion stylist as well. After family lunch today I spent some time shopping with my niece Chantal and her kids. Sadie is pictured below pointing out items she thought would look good on us. Sadie spotted a white skirt and told her mother how versatile a clothing item that can be because of all the different shirts you can wear with it. The store clerk overheard this and was cracking up. It was cute hearing all this fashion advice coming from an 8-year-old.
 





My great-nephews have NO interest in fashion whatsoever and were bored out of their minds. In one store, they sought refuge underneath a shelf. Can't blame them. It's pretty boring stuff for action hero wannabes. Can't imagine Batman or Spider Man or Captain America spending much time in a women's clothing store.