Nieces News, a Graduation, Soccer, and the Star Trek Movie

I decided to write one really long post rather than divide it into four posts and risk anyone missing out on something they're interested in ('cause honestly, I have no idea what you all care to know, and what you don't). Feel free to read or skip sections according to your whims!

Baby Update: Summer and Zoe are doing really well! Lindsey was released from the hospital on Thursday, so now she is juggling time with G-unit and time at the hospital. The nurses have a strict schedule for the twins and a bunch of rules. They recommend Lindsey and Adam spend at least an hour a day holding their daughters (not sure if they both need to hold both babies). Both girls lost 10% percent of their body weight pretty quickly -- which meant that Zoe dropped below 3 pounds -- but are thankfully starting to gain again. Summer's lungs are strong enough that she was taken off forced air this morning and is now breathing room air on her own! Both girls are learning to eat from a bottle (their sucking reflex was delayed because they were born so early). I haven't seen the twins since their birth day so I have not been able to confirm Adam's belief that Summer looks like me... but I'm delighted with the idea! No word yet on how soon the twins will be independent enough to come home and flourish under the care of their darling, devoted mother, or when their big brother will get to meet them. Lindsey's mother, Sandy, is in town to help out in any way she can.

Lindsey apologized that she hasn't updated Facebook or sent out announcements yet. The hospital has a Web site where parents of premies still in the hospital can post status updates and photos, and she plans to recruit her brother to get it started in the near future. Meanwhile, I'll continue to make updates, too, and post photos when I get some!

Here is the one photo from last Sunday that I feel comfortable posting -- Adam standing in front of Zoe's isolette and all of the machines she's hooked up to. Summer has her own set of machines watching over her...

Work Schmerk: Thursday one of my co-workers asked for some help updating the page numbers on a file she was working on. This sort of question always makes me nervous. I know I know how to do my job, but I feel like I've said "I don't know" a lot lately. Sometimes if I have no idea I'll say "What if..." hoping to come up with an idea by the time I finish the phrase. It's worked once or twice! This time, I started by asking what the co-worker had been doing. Then I suggested the only other option I know of, which luckily worked! Hooray! Instant professional self-esteem. I needed it, especially as I begin to feel more and more overwhelmed with the upcoming release. More and more, not doing a play has proven to be a smart move...

David's Graduation: Yesterday, my youngest brother, David, graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering. David worked hard not only finished all the Engineering requirements but spent a year taking Art major classes. Total, he completed about 180 credits! I find that amazing -- I am so proud of him! I missed the university-wide ceremony, but attended the college commencement with Dad, Mom, and Peter. It was fun to see David looking so distinguished and gorgeous in his tie, cap and gown; I don't get to see him dressed up very often. Adam, Lindsey, and G-unit joined us for dinner at Mazzo (middle eastern food) and I very much enjoyed my chicken and cauliflower tabseh. It was a good day for my beaming parents. They put five kids through their Bachelors and the rest is up to us. It was nice to celebrate David's accomplishment with so many of my family!

Congratulations, Dave! I am proud of you!

G's Soccer Game: The G-unit is playing soccer this spring and I finally made it to a game this morning! G's team is called The Dark Knights, and they wear all black. Those little kids are awesome running around that field! Adam seems to be doing a great job as the coach. The team members don't really get the nuances of the game, but they all like to crowd around and kick the ball. G stood as a goalie for a minute or two, but it seemed his favorite part was being offsides. He had a lot of enthusiasm playing that first half, but he droopped during the second... at least, he droopped until he got to come hang out with his Grammy, and uncles Russell and Peter who ran drills with him with an extra soccer ball. It was pretty entertaining. The G-unit had quite the cheering section, including my dad, Lindsey, Lindsey's mom Sandy, and Peter's girlfriend Jordyn. I was glad I made it. It was a nice morning to sit in the sun and I love the company!


The Star Trek Movie: I've seen it twice! Last night I went with some friends from my ward, and today I saw it with Adam, Lindsey, Sandy, Russell, and Angela. I think the actors were brilliantly cast, did their homework, and were fantastic in each of the roles. I love the costumes, the special effects were awesome, and I thought the nods to fans were appropriate and tasteful, though I can see why non-Trekkies would be confused when Trekkies would laugh at seemingly random moments. All that said... I didn't love it. I'm not sure why. I liked it a lot. I'll probably see it again next weekend and maybe even buy it when the movie comes to DVD. It was a good movie. But I felt a little unsatisfied with something, perhaps because it conflicted with my limited knowledge of the science behind some of the fiction. My favorite Trek films remain First Contact and The Undiscovered Country. Still, it was genuinely funny and well-thought out, and I got emotional at a couple of moments. It was a lovely prequel, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good, fun, action flick!

My IMDB Profile: Last week I was up something like 536 percent. This week, I'm down 45%. My fans are fickle! What I really want to know is whether I'm 45% down from 0, or if I'm 45% down from 536%, because that's still 119% popularity. And if it’s the latter, how in the world do I ever know – forget it. My brain is starting to hurt. (Don't worry, I'm not deluded into thinking being on IMDB means I'm famous. I just find the popularity percentage interesting!)


C'est tout!

Easter Festivities

You married folks or those who spend a lot of time around children may wonder: what might a single person do to celebrate Easter weekend? Well my friends, that's what this post is here to explore!

My manager Beth enlisted my help to do something fun for our teammates for Easter. Her idea was to put together a one-clue scavenger hunt and hide the treats somewhere different for each person. Since the team is so fond of chocolate, I bought mini-Cadbury cream eggs, regular-sized orange cream eggs, tiny hollow bunnies and chicks, and peanut butter eggs. What I forgot, however, was something to put all the chocolate in! I did have colored construction paper for the clues, so I ended up folding a page into a cone and drawing a rabbit face on it. Beth even found some rope we could use as whiskers. The resulting bunnies were a little scary, but pretty cute (if I do say so myself). Unfortunately, if we tried to lay the cone on its side all the candy spilled out. So, we grabbed styrofoam cups, drew pictures on them, and placed the construction-paper bunnies inside so that just the ears stuck out. Truely, we were working with what we had.

Beth and I were the lasts ones in the office Thursday night, so we were able to hide the bunnies without fear of being caught. Friday morning I miraculously arrived first anyway, so I got to hear how excited the others were when they discovered the clues and then the bunnies. It was fun! (And I get to eat the leftover candy. Thankfully, there isn't much...) Everyone ooh'd and aah'd over the bunnies. I may have missed my calling as a Kindergarten teacher; you don't grow up around my creative mom without learning a few skills!

On Sunday, I forgot it was Easter until just as I was leaving my apartment. I suppose I'm the only one who felt I looked conspicuous in my non-pastel, non-floral dress (I wore a black dress with red hearts on it), but I still felt disappointed. I had been late to church and didn't had time to change. For some reason, I had thought Easter was the next Sunday. I really couldn't tell you why!

During Relief Society, the teacher recounted the last week in Christ's life. I admit, I was distracted and endeared by the teacher's pronunciation of words, such as "crucification" instead of "crucifixion". I think she was just nervous, but she was darling! It reminded me of Galinda in the musical Wicked because she does the same thing with her words. However, I think Galinda does it because she's either that spacey or she just likes the way the words sound... who knows?

In Sacrament meeting there was a baby blessing...in my Singles' ward. Never fear, it was for the Bishopric 2nd Counselor's grandson (whose parents are married), but it was a little odd hearing the cooing during the meeting. Cute baby, though. His family was on my row so I glanced over at him. To my surprise, there was a slightly older infant nearby. I wanted so much to go over and squish their pudgy little legs -- my nieces can't come soon enough!

I hadn't seen my family in two weeks because of my trip, so I was excited to see them for dinner. I even dressed up, sort of. Turns out that was a good thing, because we had guests! My mom's mom, my sister-in-law's brother Russell, and his girlfriend Angela all joined the rest of us for dinner and frivolity. I played with Gunner for a bit and it turns out I'm a pretty neat Catwoman, and not nearly as good as he when it comes to hiding Easter eggs. Then Gunner and Peter and David all tried to get a really cool dragon kite in the air. I didn't watch so I'm not sure if they succeeded. It didn't seem to be a terribly windy day, but anything's possible.

At one point, all of the girls got together to talk about baby things. When Lindsey said she was excited to dress the girls in frilly things for Easter, my mom and I both cheered "Yay!" (I think our outburst scared everyone else in the group.) My mom used to sew my dresses and make headbands and clips for my hair --that's half the reason I am now so girly. Now we'll have not one but two little girls to play dress up with! Thank goodness Mom kept many of my costumes growing up...

Thanks again, Mom, for not making up Easter baskets this year. I snacked on the available candy quite enough; it was nice not to take any home.

You might think that my Easter fun ended with Sunday, wouldn't you? Ha! The FHE Committee decided that for the activity tonight we should do something having to do with the holiday. As I recall, I was the one who came up with the super-cool idea to play "Egg-cellent" games, i.e. games revolving around eggs. There was egg dying (and an opportunity to destroy), an egg hunt, and 7-11. I ended up playing 7-11 the whole time and winning big! Who knew I was so lucky at dice? By the end, there were three guys and three ladies at the table, and I rolled 7 and 11 enough to end up with the Twix at the end. It took forever, though. We came up with a rule that rolling snake eyes warranted Truth or Dare (well, just truth) but none of us was brave enough to actually answer. There was plenty of candy so everyone got something. When we finished, the six of us confessed our movie-star crushes in an effort to get to know each other a little better, which was pretty interesting. Seriously, good times.

One of my personal goals was reinforced this week. During Sunday School, the teacher managed to bring the discussion around to the Atonement (it was a lesson on family history). She asked us to take a minute to find our favorite scripture on the Atonement. It was then I realized I don't have a favorite scripture about the Atonement. But as I navigated through the Book of Mormon to 3 Nephi, a verse in chapter 9 caught my eye:

19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

I was reminded that I need to be better than I am. In order for me to benefit from Jesus Christ's sacrifice, I need to give my whole heart. Most days I feel like I go through the motions instead of really grabbing the opportunities given me. I read the scriptures regularly, but I only go to FHE once every couple of months. I have a goal to go to Institute at least once a month, but I don't talk to anyone there unless I already know them. My Savior hoped for more than that from me, and wanted me to gain the blessings. He not only atoned for my sins, He taught how I can utilize the Atonement to become perfect and live with Him again. Eternal Salvation is very do-able, but it takes constant focus and effort. I must do better; I will do better. I am thankful for the Atonement. I am thankful that the Western world celebrates that magnificent event, and that I know what it means. I just wish it lasted longer.

Does anyone else find it interesting that we have two months of Christmas music, decorations, and service, but on Easter we only have the one day and three hymns? Just something to think about.

Anyway, that was my single-gal Easter weekend. Was it all you expected?

Thanksgiving Day 2008

Thanksgiving Day started the way all holidays/days off from work have been starting for me lately: I slept in and then cleaned my condo.

Mom hosted Thanksgiving dinner for my family and our nearby cousins; when I asked what time I should arrive at her house to help, she said I didn't need to be there until noon to set the table. Turns out, my aunt Elaine was in charge of most of the side dishes, so Mom didn't have too much to take care of. I set the table and put together a shrimp drink that most of my family loves (I can see how it would be good, but since I don't like shrimp I didn't eat any). As I was doing that, most of my brothers arrived, and Adam and Lindsey brought Lindsey's brother, Russell, and Russell's son Kellan. Lindsey volunteered to help Mom and I with dinner preparations, and the boys -- Dad, Adam, Aaron, the G-unit, Russell, and Kellan -- went outside and played football; it's the only time I can remember the boys doing that! They played for quite awhile, and then G decided he, Dad, Adam, and Kellan needed to play on the front porch with the two lego castles. It was pretty darn cute to watch them all play together.

Soon, the rest of the relatives came, bearing potatoes, rolls, sweet potatoes, beans, and other yummy things, which kicked off the official "Let's Hang Out and Remind Ourselves How Much Fun We Have When We Get Together" time. I really do love these people. I am so lucky to have interesting and cheerful extended family! We were sad not all of the cousins could make it, but I can accept the fact that they have lives of their own. The salmon-and-cream-cheese-on-crackers appetizer was a big hit, though I stuck to the cream cheese and hot pepper jelly option. About 2:30pm, we sat down at the tables and started in on the feast. I must say, Mom makes a turkey and stuffing that I look forward to all year long, but ever since I discovered that I like sweet potatoes (thanks again Marilynn!!) they've become my favorite. Mom had asked previously whether I wanted to sit at the "old people" table -- consisting of everyone who is a parent and the two younger kids -- or the "young people" table. I chose the young people, and had a blast talking about everything and nothing with Aaron, David, Natalie, Rich, and Spencer. Even when we had finished eating we weren't finished talking!

I had resolved to help with the dishes this year, but when I made it into the kitchen, I found Mom looking a little harried, and the G-unit clinging to her legs, begging her to play legos with him, so I volunteered to play. I admitted to the four-year old that I have little experience with legos, but he very patiently taught me the basics. That kid cracks me up; he has the best facial expressions. He got this look on his face every time I veered off script that very plainly said, "Megan is really lame at playing legos." (What? Evil knights and wizards might kidnap a princess to learn her quilting secrets, right?) When I got tired of trying to follow his storyline and figuring out who was good and who was evil, I suggested G play with Uncle Aaron for awhile. However, we found Aaron catching up with the cousins, and since I desperately needed a nap I asked G if he wanted to watch Scooby-Doo. Thankfully, he did, so I put in the DVD in the sewing room, grabbed a pillow and blanket and lay myself down on the floor. G laid down next to me (he did not cuddle but was wonderfully warm anyway) and we watched the first episode on the DVD until I fell asleep. I woke up just as the second one was starting and when an exasperated G asked if I was going to sleep during that one too, I truthfully replied "probably".

David woke me up not too much later, and asked if I wanted to see Casino Royale with my brothers, Spencer, Lindsey, and Jordyn. Of course! Peter and Jordyn had eaten dinner and Jordyn's family's house, so they met us at the theatre. We arrived at the Century 16 too late to find seats all together (I really thought the family I asked to move down two seats was going to murder me), and I would have preferred not sitting in the third row of the front section, but I enjoyed the movie anyway. I didn't quite understand what was going on the whole time, but the action was good, and Daniel Craig is an exciting Bond. I'm just so excited that the Christmas movie season is here!!

from left: Peter, Aaron, Jordyn, me, Adam, Lindsey, David, and Spencer (am I short, or what?)

We ended the day playing Trivial Pursuit as a family -- Dad, Mom, Adam, Lindsey, the G-unit, David, Aaron, Peter, Jordyn, and I. It was the 1981 edition of the game and we were quite surprised at how much we actually knew (and how cryptic many of the questions were). David and I held our own quite creditably as a team. I couldn't remember even the next day who won the game, but I know we had a blast... and we're thinking of getting an updated version of the game for Dad for Christmas.

Such a good day, and like all good days it ended too soon. I'm looking forward to Christmas and New Year's weekend, though! Hooray for time off work and time with the people I love the most. I am very, very blessed.