It's Almost August!

Tomorrow is August 1st. That means in less than 3 weeks I will be moving to Milan, Italy!

Three years ago we were supposed to move to Singapore, but plans changed 5 weeks before we were supposed to go, and we ended up staying in Houston. I think part of me keeps expecting that to happen again. And part of me keeps hoping that will happen again.

You know what? I don't think it's going to happen. I think Robert, Scott, and I are really going to be living in Italy for the next two years.

I've still got a lot to do to get ready to go.

Oh, and just to let you know how art illiterate I am - I didn't know that DaVinci's Last Supper had been painted as a mural on a wall of a monastary in Milan. The city I will be living in. Maybe a year or two in Europe will do me good...

Lois the Corpse Flower

For those of you not in Houston, wondering at my title, let me explain. A corpse flower is a rare flower found only in Sumatra. There are a number of them owned in the United States, but there have only been 29 reported bloomings. The plant only blooms after it's at least seven years old. It's a rather large flower, standing anywhere from 6 to 10 feet tall. The name comes from the fact that when the flower blooms it smells like rotting flesh. This is to attract flesh eating beetles, which help it pollinate. Sounds enticing, doesn't it?

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is fortunate enough to own a corpse flower, which has been named Lois. We have been waiting anxiously for Lois to bloom, a feat that has taken her a couple of weeks longer than it was supposed to. Finally on Wednesday she began to bloom. Kimberly and a friend went to see Lois during the day on Friday, and Kimberly said she was very pretty. We decided we should go see her, but to avoid the crowds, we (meaning Kimberly, Scott, and I, along with James S.) went at 4:15 early Saturday morning. Which is very early. But traffic was nonexistent, we were able to find fairly close parking, and the lines to see Lois were much shorter.

Was it worth it? Judge for yourself:

I think she's beautiful and very unique.

Here's a picture of the Stink-O-Meter:
She was only at a 5. I didn't think she smelled that bad.

I'm glad we went. It was a fun adventure in the middle of the night. And who knows if I'll ever get the chance to see a corpse flower bloom again!

Over the Hill!

It's official! I'm now 50 years old. I am over the hill!

Last Day

Today is my last day in my 40's.

I shall now go sit in a corner and get older.

Bummed

It's been 5 years since I had my eyes checked. 5 years since I've gotten new glasses. I didn't realize it had been that long until I called my eye doctor to make an appointment. Luckily for me he had a cancellation, so even though I just called yesterday I was able to get in today. If they hadn't had a cancellation it would have been mid-August before I could get an appointment.

I went to Eyemasters to get my glasses. Since we're moving to Milan, I wanted to bring 2 pair, and they always seem to have a "buy one, get one free" special going on. So I picked out some frames - trendier than what I have, so that will be fun.

Here's where the bummed part comes in. I have really bad vision. REALLY bad. I need to get expensive lenses so they can be as thin as possible. I don't feel like wearing pop bottle lenses. On top of that, I wear bifocals (which will be much stronger with my new prescription, so I will hopefully be able to read with them). What all this means is that my lenses aren't stocked in the store. They have to be special ordered. Which will take about 10 days.

I am not a patient person. I have picked out new glasses, and I want them NOW! So I'm bummed that I have to wait. I guess I will survive. But it may be trying.

How Did They Know?

Today Shelley, my sister, and I drove James, Scott, and my nephew, Steven, to San Antonio so they could attend EFY (Especially for Youth).

We were driving down I-10 when a mini-van full of girls drove by and held up a sign that said "EFY". We gave them the thumbs up to let them know that's where we were headed also.

My sister then made a sign which said "3 boys". When we drove by them again I held up the sign, and the girls clapped and waved.

A few minutes later they drove by us, and one of the girls held up a sign that said "6 girls". We clapped and whooped for that - the boys definitely liked those odds!

That was the last exchange, but who knows, maybe they'll meet those girls at EFY and recognize each other!

Our only question is how did they know we were heading to EFY? Shelley has nothing on her car that would lead anyone to think it belonged to Mormons. Maybe 3 moms and 3 boys in a car together screams EFY. I guess we'll never know!

If the car ride is any indication, it's shaping up to be a good week for the boys!

Am I Feeling Benevolent?

I'm still trying to decide if I should be a nice mom, or if I should play a doozy of a trick on Scott. Here's the back story:

Three years ago our family was supposed to move to Singapore for a year. It just so happened that while Jeffrey and Scott were at Scout Camp, things changed and we ended up not moving. When the boys got back from Scout Camp we told them we weren't moving. Jeffrey was elated, but Scott was disappointed. He was ready and anxious to spend his 8th grade year in Singapore.

Fast forward to now. In August Scott and I will be joining Robert in Milan, Italy. We will be living there the next two years. Scott has spent the last two weeks at Philmont Scout Ranch. Before he left he told me, "I'd better not come back from Philmont and find out we're not moving".

Scott gets back tonight. Robert is coming for a week beginning on Friday.

Do I:

A. Tell Scott Dad is coming to visit for a week.

or

B. Tell Scott Dad is coming home on Friday, and nothing more.

What to do, what to do.

What would you do?

Happy Independence Day!

I hope we will all take the time today to give thanks for our great country, and the freedoms we enjoy.

What could be more fitting than a video of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner:

That's the way our national anthem should be sung!

Happy Fourth of July!

Solitude

When I first realized I would be home alone for a couple of weeks, I was kind of excited. It seemed like it would be fun to have the whole house to myself for a while.

Now, more than a week into my alone time I'm -

Not enjoying it quite so much.

Getting a little bored with my own company.

Annoying even the dogs and cats with my talking. Yes, I do talk to them and to myself. Want to make something of it?

I'll be glad when I'm not alone.