Where's Waldo?

Every January, the young men and women of our ward get together to play "Where's Waldo?". The leaders find some adults in the ward that are willing to play the game, and take a pictures of them a week or two before the event. The night of the game, the adults dress up to hide their identity, and show up at the mall before the kids arrive. This gives you time to find a place to hide in plain sight. (The idea is to NOT be found, but you aren't allowed to go more than 5 feet into any store.) The youth are given a sheet of paper with photos of all the players printed on it. When they find you, you have to sign your photo to confirm that you were busted.

This year, Doug and I were asked to play along. Obviously, we were more than willing to give it a go. Doug was great! He bought a mustache and beard that you apply with spirit gum. (In case you don't know what that is, spirit gum is a liquid glue that you use to glue all sorts of things to your face. Highly useful at Halloween, but also dangerous. If you aren't careful, you might just glue your fingers to your upper lip. I'm just sayin'.)  With his Nascar shirt, temporary panther tattoo on his arm, beat-up baseball hat, and a shaggy beard, Doug was pretty intimidating. The kids thought so, too.

Apparently, they were a bit too scared to approach him. They would sit down, stare at him for a bit, discuss among themselves whether they thought it was him or not, wait a bit, discuss some more, and most walked away. Some looked him right in the eye, and still didn't recognize him. He was finally found out, and then they spread the news. After that, the jig was up. He had a blast, though.

 

I waited until that day to get a long over due haircut. (That morning, my hair was a couple of inches below my shoulders.) I added some black hair spray as a futile attempt to hide myself. Actually, it wasn't hairspray. It was "hair-spray". This was not a sticky spray that is used at Halloween, it was a spray that is used to cover bald spots; in other words, "fake hair" in a spray. Unfortunately, it doesn't stick to your hair, so you have to add hairspray over the top. Let me just take a moment to explain why this product is a bad idea: It doesn't stick to hair. At all.

However, it will create a cloud of hair color dust, something like a mushroom cloud, that will land on everything within a half-mile radius. I sprayed my hair with it, only to find that it landed on my arms, my face, my neck, and clothes. (Good thing I did it outside.) It was EVERYWHERE. My face had a gray hue that would surely give me away immediately. I quickly found that in order to get it off, you had to use soap. If you don't rinse the soap off immediately, you will have to start over. Just to make things more difficult, the slightest breeze will blow it off on some unsuspecting bystander. Nasty stuff, that is. Like I said, I don't recommend it.

After arriving at the mall, I was wandering around, trying to find a place to be inconspicuous. I passed a window, and noticed a woman standing completely still behind some mannequins in a window. I wondered why she was there, or what she was up to. She didn't look familiar to me, so I forgot about her. At the end of the night, and I showed up at the food court, I realized that it was a woman from our ward. Cory was fantastic! I didn't recognize her, at all! (Normally, her hair is red, and makeup isn't a big thing for her. Karate is more her style.)

While wandering around, I found a place where I could see down the hallway through some windows. It gave me time to find something to do. I noticed that if I were looking at something in a window, I could see the reflection of the kids and leaders on the glass. It was so fun to see them walk right by me, and not even suspect that I was on the list. After awhile, the third group to pass me started noticing that I wasn't looking at any of them. That was when I got caught the first time. Suspicious behavior. Gives you away, every time.

One of my favorite moments was while I was standing in front of Hallmark, "reading" some booklets that tell you everything that happened in a certain year. It was interesting reading, I highly recommend glancing at one for a few seconds, but not much longer. As I was "reading", my neighbor, Nate, walked right up next to me with the sheet of paper in his hands. In frustration, he yelled to all the others in his group, "Let's just go in here and ask everyone if they have seen anyone on this paper!"  I had to try hard not to laugh. He was only about a foot away from me. I thought he had figured out who I was when he walked up, but was so relieved that he hadn't. Within about 30 seconds or so, someone else found me. Could it have been that I was acting suspicious again? They had walked past me several times, but now I was right in the group, and didn't dare look at any of them. Suspicious behavior, again.

Later, I was walking down the hallway, as it was almost time to return to home base. I looked at my watch, and thought I could hang out a few more minutes. I walked over to a bench to sit down, but when I turned around, I saw Brother Hanks. He was sitting down on the opposite bench with a black wig, holding on to a stroller. It surprised me, so I though I would walk over to him to chat for a bit. At that moment, Sister Jacobsen and Sister Dayton walked up to him. They found him and wanted to take a picture. I almost walked into them both. I had to stop myself, regain my balance, and take a moment to compose myself. They still hadn't recognized me. I took the opportunity to walk right by them, and waved goodbye to Brother Hanks, chuckling as I left. 

We had a great time, and I have to say, the best part of the night was that my own daughter walked right by me at least 3 times. I really didn't think my "disguise" was that good. I guess it was just good enough to keep me from being recognized from behind. We have such a great group of youth in our ward. They are so much fun! I can't wait to see who dresses up next year, and who gets found.

Happy Bug-a-versary!

Today marks 10 years that Miriam came to live with us. We met her for the first time on March 11th, 2000. It was so fun to be with her! We met her in a park with her case worker, Lori, and her foster mom, Karen. It was a long drive to Atascadero, California, but it was worth the drive!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Doug and Miriam. We were at Morro Bay, and they were walking on the beach together. I just couldn't resist taking about a thousand pictures of them together. It was so cute to see them hand in hand looking for sand dollars and really cool shells. Miriam had a really good eye for things once you showed her what you were looking for. She found a bunch of shells that I still have in a frame with this picture. I keep that picture in my kitchen so I can see it every day.

We built sandcastles all afternoon. Miriam has always loved to build things. It was a beautiful day, and when it was time to leave, we had to practically drag her away from the sand.

I just loved the outfit she was wearing. Karen put her in her NEW corduroy Winnie the Pooh overalls. I would just like to say that sand never, EVER comes out of corduroy. EVER. I must have washed that in the hotel room 50 times. Still, when we returned them to her foster mom, they were stiff and still leaving sand everywhere. Lesson learned, don't let that happen to you. I still feel a bit guilty.

We took her to a children's museum in San Louis Obispo the next day to meet with her case worker. She had tons of fun standing inside of a giant bubble, flying a plane with her new dad, and sliding down a dinosaur's back. We had a hard time getting her out of this train, too. She just loved having her picture taken, unless it was with me. She didn't like me very much. She just didn't want a new mom.

This was as close as she would let me get to her most of the weekend. Lucky for me, because that meant that Doug had to do all the diaper changing and clean up after eating.

We came back the next weekend to see her again, and she was able to stay overnight with us in our hotel room. We took a little couch that we bought for her that would unfold into a bed so we could actually get some sleep. We blew giant bubbles that weekend, and spent some time swimming with her.

That weekend, we went to Pismo Beach to meet with Lori. Miriam wanted to stay on the swings forever. It was impossible to get her off of the swings for many years after that.

This is a picture of Miriam that Karen took of her 10 years ago today. They were at the airport waiting for their flight to Utah. What an adventure for Miriam, not to mention Karen. Miriam never liked to sit still for more than 20 seconds at a time. What do you do with a little girl that likes to pose for pictures when you have hours to sit around? You take plenty of photos of the little poser.

This is the evening of March 31st, 2000. She was so excited to see her little couch again. She wore it to shreds. She was so excited to see us again, almost as much as we were excited to see her. I think she changed her mind a week later, when she realized that she was staying. Poor Miriam. It's rough to have us as parents.

These are just a few of Miriam's stuffed animals. We gave her the white rabbit the first day we met her. Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore were waiting for her on her bed when she arrived. The little Pooh Bear was a gift from Sam and Stacie. That was a well used little bear. The little brown bear was one of her toys that she had when she was living with her birth mom, and it never had a name. Miriam never named anything, she thought it was silly. One of her most favorite toys was the "Happy Face". She had that for a couple of years until it popped. It was a toy she had with her birth mom, too. She just loved her happy face. We still have all these animals stored away for her own kids, someday. They might just find a spot or two of Vaseline on the rabbit or Tigger that we somehow missed cleaning off.

 

This is Uncle Ron with Miriam on her second day with us, April fool's day. She instantly fell in love with Uncle Ron. He supplied her first wheeler ride. Thus started the need for more and more rides, and more visits to "Untow Won's" house. She still loves him deeply, as well as wheeler rides. Totally addicted.

This is my sister, Darcy, that helped us find Miriam. I am so thankful for her and the friend she was to a single mom that happened to be blind, and couldn't take care of her daughter any more. Her example of friendship is a huge lesson to me. Miriam cares for her so much. They were the best of buds. Now that Darcy is gone, we miss her more and more every year. We have such a special place in our hearts for her. I owe her more than I could ever repay. She is a wonderful big sister and I miss her.

Miriam was playing with our camera today, and I had no idea until I picked up the camera to download some pictures from it. I am happy that she took a picture of herself today. Ten years later. My, how things have changed. She is so happy, and doing great in school. She is starting to enjoy laughter, and I love to hear her laughing at herself. What a blessing she is in our lives. We love you, Bug!

A-Haunting we will go!

After all these years, you think I would learn. Seriously, I should know better than to be stuck inside on a rainy Saturday afternoon with Doug. He gets bored very quickly, and then the trouble begins. The comment was made that it would be fun to make some ghosts for Halloween. "Cool! Sounds like fun, let's do it!" (That will be on my tombstone someday, I'm sure of it.) When I got a look at the pictures, I realized that he might just have some unresolved issues with me.....

I began to feel like there was a hidden agenda that day. Had I done something to irritate him? Me, the world's most perfect wife? What could I possibly have done to justify this? Well, I think I better not open that box. It belongs to Pandora.

I took another picture of Doug, and then my questions were answered. Doug's true identity was revealed. I have married the spawn of Satan. That sure explains a lot.If only I had taken this picture 20 years ago.....

Well, at least he is handy. He is great to have around when things go awry and need fixing. I used to think he just had exceptional skills, now I realize that part of his skill is from an extra set of hands.  I can't believe he was keeping that secret from me. How many times have I been involved in something and wished for an extra set? Where can I get a set of my own?

In my attempt to explain to Doug that I am an angel, and he should worship the ground I walk on, he came up with a brilliant idea. Why not take a picture to reveal MY true identity, too? Remind me to say "NO!" next time. I am now totally busted. At least I can claim to be an angel, even if I AM playing for the other side.

We decided an exorcism was in order; after all, we have an image to uphold. It seemed to work, but I just liked the lights. They were pretty. What can I say, I am entertained by small and simple things. Apparently, I am a cheap date.

After we were thoroughly cleansed of all evil, (in my dreams) I took another picture of Doug to see if it worked. Sure enough, he was my super hero again. Able to control the elements, and leap small footstools in a single bound.

My hero! We tried for a halo, but it didn't take. We did get a nice picture of his wings, however. I should have known that he had wings, as he is so addicted to flying.

Doug is also enthralled by the supernatural. He really wants to find evidence of ghosts, so we went ghost hunting. If you've never done that, you should. Lots of fun, but chasing them around a stool can be hazardous, so be careful. You want to make sure you don't break a nail, like I did. Stupid ghost.

We found that ghosts like to play "Ring Around The Roses", and "Here We Go 'Round The Mullberry Bush".

It wasn't long before we realized that our ghosts were just trying to make us dizzy and fall down. I have to say, it was pretty effective. There was plenty of dizzyness going on that evening.

We decided to check out Miriam. She is old enough that we thought maybe she was haunted, too. We were not quite as surprised with the results as we should have been. She is turning into a teenager in a couple of months, after all.

After realizing she had a direct connection to the mother ship, we performed another exorcism to disconnect her. I'm not sure how long it will last, but let's hope it will get us through the next 5 years, or so. Yeah, good luck with that, right?

Well, it seemed to work, if only temporarily. I guess we'll take what we can get. I'm just hoping that the moodiness subsides for a week or so. I could use a break. I found that Miriam has inherited her father's ability to manipulate the elements. Either that, or the mother ship is trying to reconnect. We'll keep checking, just in case.

Beware, all of you that have family members that are easily bored. You just might get more than you bargained for. Make sure you want to know what is really going on in the seedy underbelly of family life. Luckily, I have a great couple of people to live with, aside from the occasional attempt to bump me off. Halloween will be over soon, and we will all be back to normal, right? Right? Please tell me that we aren't always this twisted and creepy...

Jazz it up!

On October 1st, Doug called me from work and asked if I had anything planned that night. Nope, nothing. Some people have lives where asking that question would be logical. I, on the other hand, rarely have anything going on. That is because I need to get a life. However, on this occasion, it was a blessing. He had two tickets to the Jazz game, and wondered if I wanted to go. Well, DUH! What kind fo question is that? Of course I wanted to go.

Doug couldn't go with me, because he had a scuba class to teach that night. Some people have a life, and can't do things on the spur of the moment, like going to Jazz games. I love my life. Unlike the guy that has the job of cleaning up the sweat on the floor. Ick!

Doug's boss has season tickets, and couldn't go, so he gave them to Doug, who couldn't go, either. Priorities, people. Get some. They are 4th row tickets, and right behind a stairway, so you don't have to deal with all the pesky people in front of you. On the down side, it is right next to a seat reserved for the press, so a photographer was constantly coming and going. Still, great seats if you can get them. Yay, me.

This was Miriam's first Jazz game in the Delta Center. She absolutely loved it! She wanted to go to a game the next night, and the night after that, and the night after that....... I see a pattern developing. Miriam better start saving her allowance, or get a job to support her habit; I am not much of an enabler. 

The Jazz were playing the Denver Nuggets, and of course, we won. I'm sure it was because we were there, so they should give us season tickets. Maybe I am just looking for free tickets.

Miriam chased down a Jazz ball that was used in a game during the third and fourth quarter. A couple of people were trying to hit a target a few steps above us with a giant sling shot, and for each target they hit, they got $100. Miriam ran after a stray ball, and was thrilled about her souvenir. I would have been happier with the money.

After the game, they drop confetti. It falls from the top of the stadium, and is fun to watch for a 12 year old. However, all I could think about was the mess that would have to be cleaned up. That was my reality check. I am a 40 year old mom. I need a life.

My mom and dad went to Chicago, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.

A few weeks ago, we were on our way to Flaming Gorge, when Doug's cell phone rang. It was his boss, and he needed to send Doug to Chicago to do a trade show. There was a discussion, then Doug hung up, turned to me, and said, "I have to do a trade show on the 19th through the 24th in Chicago. Dale asked if you would like to help me, I told him yes." Ummm, OK. Whatever. One thing I have learned from living with Doug, is that you have to go with the flow. I just had to learn everything I could about a product line I knew almost nothing about, and then be able to sell it to professionals in that field. No problem.

This is the view from our hotel window. I took this picture on Sunday, and I'm glad I did. The entire time we were there, it was cloudy and rainy. No wonder, with that monstrous Lake Michigan right down the street. See that blue line hidden behind the buildings? Look closely, that's it, in the very back. Beautiful, but big. I guess that's why it's called a great lake. Duh!

This is the view from our room on the 19th floor. The most entertaining thing to watch from our window happened to be the tour boats running up and down the river. I think they came by about every 45 seconds, and were usually full. Then there were the kayaks. Tons of them. I just can't say I would want to kayak in that river. It was filthy, I think I'd rather swim in Utah lake for a couple of days, thanks.

To the right side of our hotel was a better view of the city, if you don't count the roof top we had to look down on. See the tallest building that is black? It is the John Hancock building. We had so many people tell us we had to go there to get the best view of the city. Yes, the Willis Tower (used to be the Sears tower, name was changed this past summer), is still the tallest building in North America, but apparently, the best view is from the John Hancock building.

There is an observation floor that has a fantastic view, but I got the scoop from the guys a few booths down. Apparently, you need to go to the 95th floor (that's a restaurant, in case you were wondering) and enter the ladies room. Yes, I said the ladies room. I know what you are thinking, get your mind out of the gutter. Sheesh!

You see, there is a big picture window in there that has the greatest view in the city. The view is of the lake and the city of Chicago, obviously, but I guess the restaurant staff are constantly dragging the men out of the restroom, because their wives keep taking them in to see the view. (Out the window. Good grief, do I have to keep clarifying this for you?)

This is what we went to Chicago to sell. Tablecloths. I know, that has got to be the last thing in the world that Doug would be interested in, right? Doug is actually developing medical products at the moment, so who better to send to sell tablecloths to outdoor furniture companies, right? I know the next thought you are about to have: Isn't that why he took me? To have a girl there to sell the girly things? Wrong. Oh, so wrong. First of all, I own only one tablecloth. It gets used maybe 4 times a year, at best. Although, I have to admit, they have a cheetah print table cloth that I sorta liked. Still......

Grandway Honduras is the company that Doug works for, and they carry a line called "Windtamer". They make table cloths that have weights in them so they don't blow off the table. Sweet! That almost made me want one. Almost. After 4 days of giving the sales pitch, not so much.

As if tablecloths were strange enough, we had to sell these:

I know, right? The last time I owned a pair of kitchen gloves was in the early '90's, a few years after I got married. I think I used them to strip some furniture. Or maybe it was to grout some tile, I forget.

On the up side, we met some really fun people across from our booth. We were fortunate enough to be across from "Lechuza". They make the coolest planters EVER! Self watering, need I say more? We had a blast with them. There was much laughter at the amount of interest in our sassy kitchen gloves and tablecloths. None of us were so crazy about them, but holy cow! So many people just loved them. More power to them, I say.

We had so many members of the press stop by and ask questions because they wanted to write articles about our products. Ok, whatever. Insert sales pitch here. One woman, Diana Durkes, writes a blog about re-purposing things. She described herself as a diver lady, meaning "dumpster diver". She just started writing for the Chicago tribune and the Chicago Sun Times about her passion.

She flipped over our products, but specifically, Gloveables. She came by a few times for info, but came to take a picture of my hands in a pair of the gloves. Then, as I was goofing around with Susanne (the Lechuza lady), Diana took another picture. It was terrible, but she posted it, anyway. You can check out her Fine Diving in Chicago blog, if interested. FYI, Gloveables have even been used by Paula Deen, as well as on Desperate Housewives. Apparently, I am seriously out of fashion.

We did get a chance to take a few pictures of the city, but not much else. One bridge looks so much like the next; if you've seen one, you've seen them all, right?

Here I am on some street next to the river.......

And here is Doug at the same place, wherever that is......

We spent all day, every day, at our booth in the Merchant Mall. By the way, if you ever have a chance to go there, you should. I just love the design stores in there. We had to be there about 8:30 in the morning, and had to stay until it closed at 6 p.m. Then off to find a restaurant for dinner, and the evening is over. It got dark so soon after we were done, that we never even went anywhere fun. We were so tired, I think it was all we could do to get ourselves back from dinner, anyway.

One night, I woke up after sleeping about an hour, and felt wide awake. I went to the window and saw this:

That is the top of the John Hancock building, all lit up. It was beautiful in the fog, but in a very short time, you couldn't see it at all. The cloud base moved down to the top of the building on the right, (with the white lights) and the top of all the other buildings completely disappeared. Very cool to see in person, but not very photogenic. I moved to the other side of the window to photograph the other side of the city. Meanwhile, Doug slept peacefully for hours while I pace and take pictures. Some people are just so inconsiderate.

We spent 5 days in Chicago, and we didn't see anything that people go to Chicago to see.

Did we visit the shops and sites along the Magnificent Mile? Nope, no time. Did we see the Willis (Sears) Tower and the observation deck that is clear glass and places you directly above the street? Ah, no. Missed that. How about Millenium Park and the mirror art? Darn, missed that too. What about Wrigley Field? Didn't even lay an eye on it. Did we at least get to Navy Peir? Can't say we did. Thought about it, but not so appealing in the dark.

So, what did we do? We had pizza. Not just any pizza, the best pizza I have ever had in my life. Doug agreed. It was the only vegetarian pizza I have ever seen him agree to eat, and still enjoy. He liked it so much, we had to go back again for our last night. All hail, Lou Malnati. They will even ship it to you, if you are so inclined. I think I just might be.

Miriam went to stay with grandma for the weekend, and then her cousin came to stay with her during the week. She had a blast, and I'm not sure she even missed us. We only had time to find her a shirt while we were there, so when we came home, this is what she got:

Sorry, sweetie! Better luck next time?