Good Show

My grandmother on my dad's side is one of my favorite people. We shared a love of basketball, Mexican food, and Werther's originals. (She always had them in her purse.) She used to tell me I was her favorite. Somehow I believed her every time, even though I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one she told that to.

Before she passed away, my grandmother suffered from ALS. She had a very difficult time speaking and rapidly lost control of her body while her mind remained intact. It was extremely hard for me to be around her during this time. One thing she loved was to sit on the front porch in her wheelchair when I got home from school and watch me shoot baskets in the driveway.

Grandma was the world's best cheerleader. Every shot I took received one praise or another. "Good shot! And another good one! And another good shot!" Each exclamation had a slightly higher and more excited pitch...until I earned an, "Oh, so close! Shoot it again." No shot, whether good or bad, was ignored. When I finally decided to quit, she looked just a tad bit disappointed but would always smile and say, "Good show!"

I remember thinking it was silly of her to celebrate every shot I took. Looking back, I think she had the right idea. In fact, I wish I had a tiny grandma in my ear to celebrate each little victory with me, and encourage me to try again when I fail. Though I feel I'm better at basketball than I am at life, perhaps if I learn to appreciate the small greatnesses, I can look at myself and think, good show.

Flight Plight

On my way to Utah Friday afternoon, I had just settled into the flight with a good book when the flight attendant came around with the beverage service. After taking a few sips of my Diet Coke, I began to doze off. With the drink on the tray table I sat back, arms folded, to take a quick nap.

As I dozed, apparently I had one of those crazy dreams where you startle awake. Uncontrollably, my right arm flew out in front of me, nearly smacking the man in the seat next to me, and knocked my beverage directly into my lap. Laughing, my neighbor reached up to press the service button as I held myself up by the arm rests to keep my already wet jeans off my soaked seat.

As the flight attendant approached she looked at my face and said, "Uh oh, did you spill?? I've seen that look before!"

Just after getting things under control, the pilot came over the intercom to announce our descent into Salt Lake City. If there was ever an instance when I needed more time to air dry... this was it!
With my head held high and my duffel held strategically behind my rear, I calmly walked straight to the ladies' room. Hopefully nobody noticed my Coke crotch. I will say it was chillier than I'd expected in Salt Lake.

Comparatively, the flight home was uneventful!

Life's DMV

Lately I've been in sort of a slump that I'm referring to as my "mid-twenties crisis." When I mention it, people ask what I mean... but it's rather difficult to explain.

This afternoon it occurred to me that I feel as if I'm at the DMV, but on a much larger scale. The DMV of life. I picture it having a number of windows. Perhaps there's the "dream job" window, the "fabulous spouse" window, and a number regarding talents and hobbies.

So here I am at this giant DMV...unsure which line I'm supposed to be in, and nobody is calling my number.

I didn't even bring a magazine.

Everlasting Bucket List

So... I've been thinking about goals a lot lately. Mostly the fact that I have none. Not that I don't ever make them... Just that I happen to have met all of my previous goals and have failed to make new ones of late. Everything I've come up with is not so much a goal as something I want to do someday.

This is what inspired the "Everlasting Bucket List."

It's ingenious! Each time I accomplish one of the tasks on my bucket list, I remove it and add a new one. Ha! What better way to ensure my immortality!? Fabulous.

I want you all to be in on it. I'm going to keep the running list on the sidebar of my blog. There will always be 15 tasks on the list, although they may change from time to time as I accomplish them. In the meantime, if you happen to think of any actual life goals you think I should adopt, please let me know. I'm clearly in need of direction...

Just a Few Laughs

My nephews Brigham and Hunter went to the zoo with me yesterday. On the way home, Brigham decided we should turn the radio off and tell jokes. Great idea! He and I swapped a few jokes, then Hunter (4 years old) threw out a couple of his own. Here's how it went:

My Joke:
Why did the skeleton go to the movies alone?
- Because he had no body to go with him.

Hunter's Joke:
Why did the water bottle go to the theatre?
- Because he had no water bottle friends.


Brigham's Joke:
Why was the baseball stadium so hot after the game?
- Because all the fans left.

Hunter's Joke:
Why was it so hot at the beach?
- Because there were no fans.


My Joke:
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Impatient cow.
Impatient cow...
MOO!

Brigham's Joke:
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Impatient dog.
Impatient dog...
BARK BARK!

Hunter's Joke:
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Impatient turtle.
Impatient turtle who?
...
...
...
Looked in my rearview mirror to see a very puzzled little face. Finally he shrugged and we all had a good laugh. Best joke ever.

New Man in My Life

Meet Lyle.



Lyle is my new leopard gecko. I found him at a pet store on my way home from work last week. Lyle does not like the camera flash in his face.



Lyle is great at being a lizard! He is wonderful at eating crickets. See him sleeping next to his log? Lyle is a very good sleeper!



It's dark because Lyle doesn't like the flash in his face while he's sleeping. Can you blame him?



Look at Lyle's fancy stripes! They will turn to spots when Lyle is big. But Lyle is small. And so they are stripes. Cute Lyle with his fancy stripes.

Holiday Spirit

I've been doing some thinking the last day or two about what I could do to make it seem more like Christmas. Since I've spent this holiday season mainly in Arizona, it just hasn't felt quite right. Well, this evening I came up with a solution. I created false photos of myself doing holiday things! Enjoy!

Me running from a giant snowball:




Me chillin' with a yeti:



Me putting up Christmas lights:




And finally, me as a gingerbread person:




I can't even tell you how much this has helped.