5.17.20 - Best of the Missouri trip

The weather was excellent. Everett and Mom couldn't stop commenting on how nice it was that cooler spring weather was lasting so long. In fact we only had any humidity in the last 3-4 days I was there. Before that there wasn't any real humidity, and typically the weather was in the mid 60s to mid 70s. Maybe one or two days in the high 70s or 80, that's it. Best of all, there were thunderstorms maybe 5-6 times. I love thunderstorms so much. I love the smell and sound, and I love the nostalgia. They remind me a little of when I was a kid and a lot of Missouri summers in my young adulthood (late teens and early twenties).

One of my favorite moments of the trip was sitting on Don & Merlene's front porch with all three kids watching a huge thunderstorm roll in. It really was a little awe striking and beautiful watching the clouds swirl around each other. Clara observed the dark clouds coming in on her left and pushing out the white clouds on the white. The fishing-themed wind chimes were playing and the American flag was whipping around, as were the branches in the big tree in their front yard. Don & Merlene joined us after awhile too. I was glad to really get the most out of that thunderstorm.

It was cool to get to be in Missouri in the spring. I don't think I've done that since Easter of 2009. Mom's yard in particular had a lot of blooming flowers and the gorgeous Japanese maple trees out front, plus her Easter yard flag and other décor. Just super cute. And when we went on walks around Don & Merlene's neighborhood there were likewise a lot of flowers in bloom--even one tree that had white petals falling all around it which the girls stopped to observe. Also robins everywhere. Just kind of cute.

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It was great to see Eddie and Elisabeth a few times. I saw them three times in 4 weeks, which is about the same average as when we typically visit Missouri. In particular, the first time I saw them I walked around Don & Merlene's neighborhood with Elisabeth, each of us pushing our babies (Eva and Calvin) in strollers. Then we sat in the front yard (at least 6 ft apart) and talked longer, and eventually Eddie joined us because he got off work early. Elisabeth took Eva home for lunch and a nap but Eddie stayed and we chatted longer. I'm always happy to see those guys but in this specific instance it had been only a day since my lowest point of the quarantine, and I was so relieved to see and visit with other people. Felt like a bit of normalcy, and socialization can make a big psychological difference.

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Speaking of walks, I thought we'd be walking around the neighborhood all the time, but we ended up doing so only a few times. Still they were really enjoyable. The first time I took all three kids to try to give Jack some space, and I tried to make the walk last as long as possible. We walked slowly and stopped to look at everything I could think to point out: trees, flowers (especially dandelions), different types of mailboxes, robins and other birds, rabbits, squirrels, storm drains, cute porch décor, house numbers, the sun. The girls enjoyed making countless observations, and Clara picked a lot of dandelions. We walked around the block we usually do, but then kept going up into the coldasack just to keep it going. It was nice to spend peaceful time with them. I also thought a lot about owning a house someday as I considered what I liked or didn't on each porch. We saw one or two signs announcing that FZS 2020 graduates lived inside, and like so many other things in St. Peters, it was nostalgic. I thought about high school and how I have memories in this same neighborhood from that time.

Over the trip Clara and Jane also went on a few walks with Mimi and Gpa, which I think gave them some nice bonding time and change of scenery while also giving us (Jack and me) little breaks.

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It was great getting to spend so much time with Everett. We spent a lot of afternoons sitting in the basement, him playing Kingdom Hearts and me trying to get work done, but all while chatting casually with each other. We made fun of Kingdom Hearts a lot (Sora is kind of an idiot) but we also enjoyed the animation and soundtrack. And more generally it's nice to visit without feeling pressure to hurry and make the most of it. During other Missouri trips I would have packed the schedule with social events, but we couldn’t' do that this time, and while it means we saw fewer people, it also means I was more relaxed with a more flexible schedule. And in the case of Everett, social distancing from everyone else made it easy for me to spend a lot more time with him than I normally get to.

We also did go have cigars on the DuPre bridge, twice. I love that tradition. We talk a lot more there, I assume because no one else is around, there are no other distractions, and it's usually relatively dark which means we aren't even distracted by what we're looking at. Both times we had more substantial conversations than we do when working/playing Kingdom Hearts, of course, and I think the bridge & cigars tradition gives me an unusual change to really hear how he's doing. Plus we always talk about the memories with that creek and the path to it and the DuPre neighborhood generally. It's nice to have someone that remembers that shared history.

I also got to spend Everett's birthday with him, which is very unusual. We went with Mom and picked up sushi (Wasabi, but at the wrong location of Town & Country, oh well) and then ate it at a picnic table near the Missouri River in old town St. Charles. Mom laughs so easily she encourages me to try to joke more often which makes her laugh more often. And of course she thinks Everett is hilarious, and he thinks her laughing is itself funny, so yeah, lots of laughing. After we visited for awhile at her house, and then way later Everett came to Don & Merlene's with his laptop so we could play Catan online with Jack and Neil (Neil and I had figured out how to set it up earlier that day). Don & Merlene even sang Everett Happy Birthday. Catan was a blast. We played two games. Calvin stayed awake through all of the first but just sat on the couch between Everett and me and hung out. He really wanted to hit Everett's laptop but eventually got it out of his system. Poor little guy was exhausted by the end of the first game and fell asleep almost as soon as Jack took him. Then we played one more game, probably a mistake because we were up too late, but we were all joking around the whole time. Neil (the only one not physically in the room) kept playing the devil on the shoulder trying to get everyone to go after each other. I also had some candy and chips around to snack on while we relaxed. It was a fun evening.

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I'm glad the kids got to spend so much time with Mom.

We went to her house a bunch of times, and it was really helpful to me because it's an extra pair of hands, helpful to Jack because he gets a more relaxed break to study, helpful to the kids because it's a change of scenery and they love their Jama. We played in the backyard a lot, particularly with her hose. Clara liked to "paint" the entire back wall of the house with water. Jane liked to water the plants. And her back patio furniture makes it easy to just feed them outside, if we want.

I also love Mom's front porch. It's very cozy and well decorated. Once or twice I got to sit peacefully up there with Calvin in my lap as he watched cars drive by and cooed. And one time Jane and Calvin took naps at the same time, so Mom played with Clara in the house and backyard and Everett and I sat and chilled on the front porch for probably over an hour.

Mom and I also took the kids to All Saints twice. The first time we went to look inside the church. The girls were very impressed and at first kept calling it a castle, saying it was just like in Beauty and the Beast. We also took them to the playground, of course, and especially the 2nd time we went they had a blast. The weather was great and Mom and I took turns (mostly Mom) chasing them all over the playground while they giggled and shrieked "You can't catch me!!" I so enjoy how much my mom and my kids like spending time with each other.

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Also glad the kids got to spend time with their cousins. This took longer because we waited until we had been in MO at least 2 weeks, but then we had a playdate with the Jacksons all over to use Mimi & Gpa's new playset. There was also a kite, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles, and they loved it. It's so good for kids to get to spend time with other kids, and I'm glad all of our kid are roughly the same age.

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And of course Don & Merlene were fantastic hosts, as they always are. Paid for our groceries, made countless meals, clean every night (we tried to be better about cleaning up as part of night time routine, but it's still never the same as if there weren't a bunch of kids in the house), did laundry, babysat so Jack and I could go on dates, etc. They are ceaselessly generous and kind.

9.30.19 - Joy statuses

1.2.18 - Missouri trip highlights

Other favorite parts of this trip:

• Watching Clara sing "Jingle Bells" for Christmas karaoke at the pancake breakfast. Also seeing her interact so much with other kiddos.

• Having dinner with the Bairds at Cappuccinos. Enjoying some great pancakes (recommended by Eddie) and generally good and funny conversation with them, as always.
• Getting some work done at Picasso's, sitting at the table in the corner where Grandpa and I once sat together, listening to old time Big Band music and thinking of happy memories with him.

• My 4-5 hour ongoing conversation with Aaron about religion and faith and science and atheism. It was such an amicable, genuine, respectful conversation, and it endeared me to him very much. And now we can joke about these things more easily because we've already discussed it.
• Playing Code Names at the Jackson New Year's Party with Julie, Katie, and others. Oddly satisfying game. Also playing Gang Beatz and crying laughing as I held on to a wall and Denny tried to remove me.

• Getting sushi with Jack, Don, Merlene, and Ricki. Ricki is very easy to talk to and full of interesting stories. Also the sushi was absolutely delicious.

• Scanning thousands of old photos and starting to organize some of them, plus having some help from Julie, Mom, and Linda to date some of the pictures and just generally put a family tree together.

6.17.18 - My birthday & Father's Day

A few days before Father's Day I was working at Picasso's and decided to walk down Main Street and see if I could find any good gift ideas for Jack. I went to this really charming bookstore called Main Street Books and they had all kinds of unique, thoughtful, and funny greeting cards. I picked out a sweet one for Jack and then also found a pair of Hungry Caterpillar socks, which I figure is kind of Father's Day-themed since our kids love that book. I imagined him wearing the socks and pretending his feet were caterpillars. Who knows if that will ever happen but it was the best idea I had so I got them.

Anyway so this morning I gave him those gifts before he took the girls to church, and he seemed to like them.

While everyone was at church I relaxed and enjoyed the quiet and time to myself. I made a plate of nachos (with the mango peach salsa I have been really loving this trip) and watched 2-3 episodes of The Office uninterrupted. Frankly it was awesome. I also tried to remember Pachelbel's Canon on the piano but I couldn't quite get the whole thing. Still enjoyed playing it without little hands pounding the keys on either end.

I went ahead and got dressed and prepped a couple things to take to Mom's house later. Jack came home with the kids and the sermon had been Father's Day related and church had given all the dads bags of M&M's with a little card, so that was sweet.

We all caravaned to Mom's house for my informal birthday potluck. Jack dropped us off and ran to Costco to get rotisserie chicken (from us) and canned chicken for Everett's buffalo chicken dip. (Side note: I like how proud Everett is of that dip. It's freaking delicious and all of it always gets eaten at get together's, which he likes to point out.) Ellen made Sunshine fruit salad and she was so thoughtful as to make one version completely gluten free, which means a lot to me.

Thanks to Ellen and Everett the basement was already totally clean and prepped for company. Good thing, too, because Zoey forbid me from going down there while she worked on my birthday gift, haha. But once she was done we all moved all the food and drink to the downstairs table. The Bairds came over with bacon wrapped smokey mini sausages in a crock pot (which also all got eaten), Don & Merlene brought gluten free chips and cheese, and I think Julie brought a bunch of veggies and hummus. Later Linda got there with apple fritters.

Blurry pic Mom took of everyone visiting. I'm having grapefruit juice with white wine, mmm.

We all hung out and chatted, and we played a few games of Quiplash. One of the questions was what to name a cheese shop and I won with "It's all Gouda." Lol. Everyone loves puns. Zoey and Malcolm stayed upstairs for this part because the game is not always kid-friendly. Clara is too young to understand, though, and she stayed with us and happily danced to the background music and watched the animated characters as we entered our answers. At some point Katie Jackson came over and joined us, which was really great because I hadn't been sure if she'd be able to make it (Aaron is home with poision oak, but the kids were napping so she snuck away for a bit). She played Quiplash too and laughed a lot.

Zoey's sweet card.

We were able to play only a few games because the Bairds had to go tend to other things (alas), but then it was time to open presents. I actually wasn't really expecting presents because I'd told everyone not to worry about it, but I had several anyway. Zoey made me a handmade card all taped shut, and inside it was her gift: a drawing! Very very sweet, and she was so excited for me to open it. Ellen got me a stainless steel baking dish (I am slowly converting all bakeware to stainless steel for ease of cleaning and gluten free cooking), Don & Merlene got me a sweet card with some cash, Jack got me a book on teaching our kids to read, and Mom painted me a fresca based on the lyric book "It's a Wonderful World" that my girls enjoy. That was especially creative and touching and she even copied the exact style of the birds and butterflies in the book's illustrations.

We didn't have any cake, but Mom stuck 7 candles in an apple fritter (3 and 3 for 33 and "one to grow on") and then everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and I blew out the candles with Clara's help. I was pleased to see that Clara has evolved from being shy and intimidated by everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to enjoying it and wanting to aslo blow out the candles.

I think it was after that Linda had to get going and so did the Jacksons and the Wolks. Everett, Jack, and I hung out and chatted in the basement for awhile and then quickly cleaned up. Jack and I took the girls back to Don & Merlene's so we could hang out with Dave while he was there after work. At some point Merlene put a candle in half a gluten free fig bar (lol) so that the Jacksons could sing me their much more professional, harmonized version of "Happy Birthday." Clara loved that too, and again helped me blow out the candle.

3/4 of the Jackson singers that night.

Oh and of course I got a lot of well wishes via text and on Facebook. My favorite this year was from Nick Reynosa:

6.14.18 - Dinner with the Bairds

Jack and I dropped the girls off at Julie's. Jane fell asleep on the drive there and went to sleep (with some fuss) in the pack'n'play. Zoey and Malcolm were appropriately quiet and stage whispered everything to Clara, who didn't whisper at all. They started playing together immediately, so Jack and I snuck off without Clara even noticing.

Keeping each other busy.

We met Eddie & Elisabeth in the parking lot and went in to Gingham's diner, which was brighter and more cheerful than I'd remembered. We sat at a booth near an elderly man who looked remarkably like Hammond from Jurassic Park, and Eddie texted me to say so and then told me he had just texted me with a big smile on his face. Once Eddie pointed out the similarity, Jack couldn't stop noticing it and joked about wanting an autograph from "the guy who looks like the Jurassic Park guy."

Anyway we ate and talked and laughed a lot, and at one point Eddie asked us what the odds were that we would ever move back to Saint Louis. He said he was unreasonably invested in us moving back, which flattered and surprised me because I didn't get the impression he cared about it specifically. We talked about the trickiness of trying to figure out where to move and the enticement of better nursing wages in Sacramento, but the specifics of the conversation aren't really my point. I was just touched that he wants us to come back so much. The Bairds are definitely on the "pro" list of pros and cons for St. Louis.

Julie sent me this pic of Malcolm & Jane. Apparently Malcolm told Jane "Baby Jane, I wuv you."

The entire time we had dinner there was what seemed like pre-storm weather outside. It was very windy and dark and we kept seeing not flashes but bolts of lightning across the sky. Personally I love that kind of weather. But it never ended up really raining, just sprinkling here and there. When we left the diner we talked a while more in the parking lot but we were laughing the whole time because it was so windy it was almost blowing us backwards. We took a selfie and you can see how much we're all laughing:

Jack and I went back to Julie's to get the girls, who were apparently having a great time. We hung out for a bit and Zoey, Malcolm, and Clara all ran around in big circles chasing each other in the front yard while the weather was so cool and breezy. Jane hung out too, mostly crawling over the front porch chalk drawings and making a mess. At one point Clara stepped in a mud puddle and wasn't willing to keep playing until she got "wash cloth," that is, got her foot cleaned off. But then she was fine.

And then, after we got back to the Jacksons, Mom and Ellen came over and went for a walk with Jack and the girls and I around the block, playing more "I Spy" and enjoying hearing Jane mimic "Gaga!" and "woooow." It was still nice and cool out thanks to the not-quite-storm and Jack and Mom enjoyed beers as we went. Overall a very pleasant evening.

6.8.18 - Day off with the kids

Mom had the day off so I took the kids to her place for the later morning and most of the afternoon. There we could visit while Jack finally had some time to go focus on NCLEX studying.

We decided to take the girls outside before it go too warm to be bearable. The great thing about being at a grandparent's house is they already have a lot of toys and kid-friendly activities and ideas. Mom had sidewalk chalk and bubbles and soccor balls, etc. She pulled the shade down to block the sun from the carport and spread out colorful quilts so Jane could crawl around without being directly on the hot, hard cement. We gave them gluten free potato chips and juice with ice cubes. Eventually Mom put her sprinkler on to water the tree in her backyard. Clara was very interested in examining the sprinkler but was not at all sure about running through it. Eventually Mom ran through the sprinkler and laughed and made a deal of it, so Clara followed suit, but once she went through she turned to me and said, slightly desperately, "Towel??" Haha. She wasn't upset but she didn't want to run in the sprinkler anymore.

Eventually it was too warm so Mom took the girls back inside and kept them busy while I packed up everything we had set up outside for them. It took me five trips back and forth inside the house to gather everything, haha. We hung out with the girls in Mom's room and Jane played intently with Mom's phone, which Mom thought was hilarious.

After a few hours Jack returned from studying to pick us up. We dropped the girls off with Don & Merlene and then we headed out to The Pasta House for a date night. The Pasta House was where I had my first real job, which I started in early 2004 as a hostess for $6 per hour. (Not long after I became a server and made fairly decent money for that time and place.) I hadn't been back there since perhaps 2005, but it looked very much as I remembered it, and one of the managers from when I worked there is now the owner of that location. And the manager on site when we were there for dinner looked very much like one we had when I worked there, so perhaps at least two of them have stayed on all this time.

It was an enjoyable date because the memories of Pasta House inspired Jack and me to talk about that time period and particularly the various blue collar jobs he worked before moving to California. Jack has had quite a few jobs, actually. In general it was pleasant to talk about in the sense of seeing how far we've come and feeling glad we've moved past that phase. I do not miss being a waitress. And in a broader sense I don't much miss being in my late teens/early twenties and still having so much to figure out. That was daunting. Dating, college, all of it was looming and confusing. I'm glad to be past it.

Anyway dinner was tasty in a "this is terrible for you" kind of way. I ordered the same meal I used to order when I got a complimentary meal for working a double: eggplant paremsan with a side of pasta in a cream sauce. We also had a bunch of dinner rolls and the famous Pasta House salad. We were both super full by the end and neither of us finished our food, so once we left we dropped by Mom's and gave Everett our leftovers. Lucky him.

Then we went to visit the Bairds. We basically sat on their living room couch for about 2-2.5 hours (and then stood in the foyer/front door area for another 20-30 minutes) just talking and laughing about all sorts of things. Also Eddie told us about his Keto diet and made us a pretty tasty chocolate whipped cream type dessert with raspberries. We got to briefly meet their nephews, including Blaine, who is about to be a sophomore and who lives with Eddie & Elisabeth full time now. He was well mannered.

When we got home Jane was in bed, Clara was ready for bed, and they had both been on walks and had baths. So not only did Don & Merlene free Jack and I up to enjoy a childless evening together, they also took care of our kids' needs such that there was a lot less we needed to take care of once we returned. It was a welcome relief.

After putting Clara to bed, all four of us stayed up and watched some of Black Panther because we knew we'd never get through all of it. Sure enough about 30 minutes in I was falling asleep, so we gave up. In fact I then spent a ridiuclously long amount of time typing out the bullet points of this trip so I would have them to seed the full blog post later. It took forever because I kept falling asleep while typing. So exhausted.

But overall it was a very enjoyable day getting to spend plenty of time with my kids and then going on a date with my husband and seeing old friends. A+ day.

1.26.17 - Joys in a bad day

Could definitely use an extended joy inventory for today. 

• I did some training with a coworker today who is super sweet and patient and gives clear explanations.
• I have health insurance to cover prenatal care for Jane.
• When my car died today, I was already parked in a safe place in decent weather. While it does suck that the car died, it was not dangerous.
• I have insurance to pay for the tow.
• I have a go-to brother-in-law to let me know what I should be looking for and how much it should cost. He even sent me youtube links of how to fix the problem ourselves at home.
• Also the tow guy was remarkably friendly and easy to talk to. He had a picture of his 4 kiddos taped to his dash (oldest is 6, youngest are 1-year-old twins) and he was super happy to talk about them. It was sweet.
• Even though Jack is swamped with school, he still found time to figure out what parts we need and put them on hold to pick up later today.
• The dog downstairs has, at least for now, shut up. (This may be more of Insidious Joy Inventory but I'll take it.)
• After I got home, Eddie called me just to chat. It was nice catching up with him, and somehow telling him about the various things going wrong made them seem funny. I don't know, I just ended up laughing a lot. Now I really do feel much better.

Good ol' Eddie

7.6.15 - MO Summer Trip

Jack, Clara, and I went back to MO for a quick few days to see everyone, and to let everyone meet Clara. The trip was chaotic because it was too short and we were trying to get visits in with everyone. Still, it was also fun. In no particular order, my joys from the trip:

• Clara did well on both flights to MO, sleeping a lot and not fussing much.
• Mom picked us up from the airport and she brought Neil with her, and she thoughtfully packed us a bunch of food to eat on the ride home.

Early in the morning, getting ready to fly out.

• Zoey was very interested in Clara and treated Clara very sweetly.

Zoey and Clara.

• I got to see Julie's new house and she gave us a tour. Also got to enjoy sibling time at the house and a bunch of junk food Mom bought.
• Jack and I stayed with his parents, and Merlene made us many delicious meals, including tortellini, taco salad, blueberry muffins for breakfast, etc.j
• Don and Merlene's living room couches are so comfy. I'd almost rather sleep on those than in a bed.
• I found time to go to Picasso's with Julie, and we got to sit in the decorative chairs just like old times.

• We had time to see Grandma and Grandpa for a few hours, at their house, which is nostalgic to me. Also Grandma made cherry pineapple dump cake, and it was amazing.

4 generations!

• We found time to visit Mom every day we were there, so she got some good cuddle time in with Clara.
• The weather was relatively cool and even rainy, which is so great for us from dry, dry California.
• Clara got to meet her cousin Naomi, and Jack and I joked with Aaron and Katie about Clara and Naomi being rivals. It was hilarious.
• Dave got to meet Clara and seemed to like her.

• Merlene introduced me to The Big Bang Theory and it actually was pretty funny.
• We had great weather for Sugar Creek winery and I got a nice buzz going.
• I took a break at Sugar Creek to go the car and pump, and while there I had a good PM convo with an old FB friend who is having a hard time. It made me grateful for technology all over again.
• Being a new parent gives me so much to talk about with other new parents. I had a lot of great visiting with Missy, and with Katie too.
• I got to talk one-on-one with my father-in-law more than I think I ever have before when he and I happened to both be awake early.
• Clara got used to sleeping in a pack and play in Don and Merlene's office, despite a rough first night.
• Don and Merlene got a lot of good visiting and cuddle time in with Clara.
• Jack had time to play Resistance with his and my brothers.
• He also had time to visit with some of his very old friends, including Ian and Chris.
• Jack's family managed to drive up from southern IL to meet Clara.

• That includes Clara meeting her namesake, Jack's paternal grandmother.
• Don and Merlene got some amazing photos of Clara and Naomi together. Some of the photos look downright professional.
• I got to see Eddie and Elisabeth briefly, and we laughed a lot playing 5 Crowns.
• Clara finally rolled onto her back, and though I wasn't in the room when it happened, apparently everyone cheered as if it were a sports event.

12.21.13

12.21.13

• Had a lovely Panera lunch with Aunt Linda.
• We got to sit at a table for two by the windows.
• We updated each other on serious things going on in our lives
• and we made each other laugh a lot, too.
• She let me do a quick video interview of her, which was adorable.
• We ran into some people I used to know when I lived here, including a girl who was 5 last time I saw her. She's 10 now, and it was wild to see how she's grown.
• Once we got home, Linda gave me a copy of some drum and fife Christmas music I really like.
• Ellen and I went thrift shopping together, and even though I didn't find anything I wanted, I still love thrift shops.
• Then I got a good, much-needed hour workout in.
• I went to Eddie's & Elisabeth's for dinner, and we had a nice visit, plus the food was great.
• Then Eddie & I went to Everett's and watched the Blues game and played 5 Crowns with him and Lydia. There was a lot of laughing with that too.
• I also got some cat lovin' from Mr. Tom.
• And I still got to bed at a reasonable hour.

Mr. Tom, who is actually female, is the neighborhood cat that
goes to Everett's apartment to get warm.

6.17.12 - My birthday

My favorite messages from my birthday this year were:

• FB post from Julie: "so how does it feel to be 27 and the lightest you've ever been in your adult life, hmmmm?"
• A 30 min call with Renata. Haven't gotten to talk to her in so long. So nice to hear from her.
• FB post from Scott: "Happy fathers day!!!"
• A brief call from Hugo! Never actually heard his voice before, so delighted to hear from him! Bonus: he called me just as he was about to workout and right when I happened to be working out. We are interstate workout buddies. :)
• FB post from Cody: "Hey, It's that one day. Dont die for another year."
• And my favorite, a text from Eddie: "Ooooh, my name is Monica, and today's my birthday! I'm so special because EVERYONE is gonna talk to me today! Happy birthday. don't think you're special because you're 27...I've been 27 for months now."

12.22.10 - Spinach Sausage Loaf

Wednesday morning I got up “early” and drove Mom to work so we would have more cars available with our ever-more-full household.  By the time I got home everyone was still asleep, of course, so I went to Shop’n’Save to buy spinach sausage loaf ingredients.  I enjoy driving around the St. Peters area by myself, listening to music and thinking of my many, many memories of the town.  I went to the Shop’n’Save near Jungermann because I know the layout better—or so I thought.  It was redone enough that I still had to hunt around a bit.  No big deal.

Not sure what I did during the afternoon, but that evening I made spinach sausage loaf of course!  I make less loaves every year, partly due to budget constraints, and partially due to having less people to make loaves for, but either way 5 loaves this year was much easier than 15 loaves once upon a time.  For the beginning I hung out with Sarah and talked and talked.  It was great.  Eddie joined us later, and David also came over.  Given these are the three people outside my family I made loaves for, that worked out really well.

Every year I make spinach sausage loaf for my family and friends. Here they are enjoying the spoils.

Sarah had to leave for reasons I can’t remember, but Eddie and I hung out and chatted in the living room, joined periodically by different people around the house.  Soon I needed to go pick up Mom from work, so Eddie left too.

It’s funny, I remember going to pick up Mom from work last time I was in town, in August.  At that point 8:30p meant it was still light out, and plenty warm.  One evening I was a little early and just parked and rolled down the windows and dozed, listening to the radio.  Not so now.  It had been dark for hours by the time I left, and was certainly too cold to roll down a window.

8.7.10 - touring Eddie's work

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day putting together wedding program/fans for Julie, and then I played more Tichu. Ridiculous, isn't it? Shortly before midnight I left to go visit Eddie at his work. He's a 911 dispatcher. The drive there was about 30 minutes, windows down, warm night air, blaring music--this may be one of my favorite aspects of visiting MO in the summer.

Eddie explained all the workings of his computer, the abbreviations, the methods, and I got a microphone-less headset so I could listen in on the calls. Most of them were reporting drunk drivers. It's a pretty interesting job, very cool to get to see the other side of those phone calls. I also worked on programs while I listened in. When he had his 10 minute break we took a quick walk around the neighborhood. It's an entirely business district so there were no people around, but it was incredibly clean and well kept and there were rabbits everywhere, which was kind of weird. He works one block from both Starbucks and BreadCo. The whole area looked extremely pleasant. Hardcore pleasant.

Today Dad, Jill and the kiddies are going to be getting into town, and the next few days are when things are really going to ramp up. I probably won't post again until after the wedding, so wish us all well. :)

8.5.10 - Drive visits with Mom and Julie's bachelorette party

Nearly every week day I get up "early" (9am feels early when you go to bed at 3) to take Mom to work so we have another car available during the day. It gives me a chance to visit with her on the way to work and a chance to blare my music with the windows down on the highway on the way back, so I enjoy it. This is what I did yesterday. Then I came home, took a deep breath, and registered for the LSAT.

Yesterday afternoon I went to have coffee with none other than Echo, who I hadn't seen in about 5 years. I got to meet her son Conner, who was very quiet (I like quiet babies :P). He even fussed quietly, it was cute. And it was great catching up with her. Btw, I *also* got to try a nonfat no-whip double chocolaty chip frappuccino, and I can say I've discovered my new drink.

I left Echo to take Julie back to her place, which didn't take as long as I thought. I went to pick up Mom from work but got there about 40 minutes early, so I sat in the parking lot dozing and reading a little bit more of The Name of the Wind (which I have all but forgotten since arriving in MO). Just as Mom got to the car and we were getting ready to go back, Julie texted me asking if we could drop by and visit at her place for awhile, so we did, and happily I convinced her to go see Inception with the rest of us (since the other 4 siblings were already going--peer pressure). We all went as well as Mom and several friends. I'd never seen it, and I thought that I might not like it since *every single person* I know who has seen it has gushed about it. I thought my expectations would be too high. Turns out they weren't. Also, I may be in love with Joseph Gordon Levitt.

Today Eddie came by again for some Tetris Attack. We really need to get a decent 2nd controller. After he stomped me a few times, Ellen and I worked together to write a quiz for Julie's bachelorette party. The quiz was half questions about Julie's life and half questions about wedding trivia, and it ended up being pretty funny. Everett got 10/14 right when we tested it on him, so maybe we made it too easy, but whatever.

Sarah is in town and came over, and her, Julie, Ellen and I went to Goodwill and then Plato's Closet (Goodwill but better). I found a halter top I love for $5.

Finally we all went to pick up Mom from work and then head to Moolah's for Julie's party. Tiffany joined us there. We had drinks, junk food, bowling, good music, the quiz, good photos, good time all around. I'm glad we went on a Thursday because we were nearly the only ones there and had plenty of space and didn't have to wait for a lane. Julie wore a tiara I got her, in place of a tiny veil, and it came with a magic wand, so all bonus.

We returned home, taught even more people Tichu, and watched old home videos I'd brought for Sarah.

8.1.10 - Massive Grand Tichu

Today I walked up to All Saints with Mom. Fr. Don gave the homily; his homilies are nearly always out of the park. This one was about greed vs charity, and it was well done. After church Mom and I walked to First Watch cafe to find a 25 minute wait, and we continued on to Bread Co (woot) to find a 0 minute wait, as well as calories listed up front on the menu (awesome). We had a small breakfast and walked home.

I already forgot what I did this afternoon, although I probably worked out because Everett has a new elliptical machine and I've used it nearly every day. Not only that, Everett has a 50" tv with surround sound, so when I work out I just set up a Youtube playlist of music videos and the time flies. It's stellar. Someday, when I have money, I'm going to get the same set up, I think.

Tonight Troy texted me asking if he could come over to play Tichu (the madness is spreading!). He and Erin came by and brought everything needed to make spiked fruit smoothies while we played cards. I quit in the middle of the game because Eddie came by to visit and I wanted to talk to him. While he and I were downstairs watching old home movies we heard the continued Tichu game upstairs. There was muffled shouting and roaring laughter and then a loud, ominous thump. We were curious how they managed all that within a card game, but not curious enough to get off the couch. Later Everett came downstairs and explained that they had invented a new rule called "massive grand Tichu". When you call "tichu," you see all your cards and make a 100pt bet that you will go out first. When you call "grand tichu" you see 8 out of 14 cards and make a 200pt bet you will go out first. Well "massive grand tichu" is when you get to see none of your cards before betting 300pts you will go out first. It's an act of desperation, to be sure. In any case, Erin called it and then won, after not winning a single previous hand. This lead to chaos, apparently.