Creatures of the Night

I'm getting ready for bed. It's late--for me. 10:53. I love getting into bed and snuggling up in my down comforter. I love feeling the muscle tension melt away as I realize there will be no demands on me for the next eight or nine hours. But tonight I'm thinking about all my friends who are just getting ready to queue up for "Twilight." They are probably touching up makeup and stuffing leftover halloween candy into their purses. Truly, I think the whole idea of seeing a movie at 12:05 am on the official release date is just delightful, but I need my sleep. So to those droves of Twilight fans, just about to hit the road, I'm with you in spirit. It's not that I didn't like the book. It's not that I'm not excited for the movie. But I do not regret the fact that I'm about to crawl under the covers. Good night!

Let me know if you liked it, but don't give too many details, k?

today I am thankful for...

...a thirteen year-old who fasted and prayed today while his grandpa A. was in surgery for cancer.

...a grandpa who seems to have 9 lives and counting! We got the happy call today that the surgery went very well.

...our cat Milo. He came home! After a week of sadness we were reunited with our lost kitty. He had taken up residence with a family up the street...so we'll know where to look if it happens again. I didn't know how much I cared until he was gone (insert cheesy love song). So it's a love fest around here. In this picture he is sleeping:



...a boy who gets up and makes a good hearty breakfast for himself nearly every day. His specialty? Omelet with sausage and cheddar. Way to go, Sam!


...a friend who occupies Maia so I can stain my new fireplace mantle. Thanks, Emily!


...my little photographer, Maia, who is the only person (other than me) who has ever shown an interest in documenting my life :0)


...a husband who is mechanically minded enough to actually want to tackle problems like a broken electric sliding door. (He's going to replace it with this fine piece of Japanese engineering, the non-electric mechanism, because the electric is >$1100. Yikes! I think we can shut our own door, thank you.)


...a van that runs well despite the fact that several pieces of it are strewn about the garage right now.

...the dude who is hopefully coming to pick up Oreo and Panda, the rats I am done owning.

...the family of strangers who are coming to stay in our house while we are in California next week. I am thankful for them not because they will feed Milo and take out the trash, but because they have motivated me to clean every nook and cranny. Even if they don't show up they will have blessed my life! Thanks, strangers! (Okay, I know you'll ask, so really they are cousins of friends, so not so strange.)

What are you thankful for today?

October Montage

My kids and I agree that autumn is our favorite time of year. I love the crisp sunny October days (great for photos), but I also love the early nights and gray rainy days that make me feel like hunkering down with the kids and some hot soup. Time to cuddle up and read some good books. But October was crazy fun. As I finally downloaded all my pictures, I realized I could have gotten about 10 posts out of October events. So I'm going to hit you with a seemingly-random string of events and thoughts. These are the highlights, anyway.

You've heard of the six-million dollar man. How about the boy with the
six-thousand dollar smile? (Berk got his braces off.)

And Sam was soon to follow.



Mom and Syd got to go see Swan Lake, an entrancing ballet.
Thanks for the date, Syd.

Next, a big thanks to the Vials and our friend Nicolina for a sunny day in the country.
Nothin' beats eating chili in the hay.

Well, maybe jumping in leaves.

Or carving a pumkin in a barn.

Or touching the sky.

Next up:
Have you ever met Oreo and Panda? I took this picture with the thought of possibly putting them up for adoption on craig's list. We are divided on this though. Some of us subscribe to the notion that pets are a life-long commitment. I, however, am tired of reminding the kids to feed and play with them. What do you all think?


WHICH BRINGS US TO HALLOWEEN:

I burn myself on the oven. Sydney thinks fast and grabs some ice--
Maia thinks fast and grabs the camera.

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Berkeley the alien-ninja with his friends on Halloween, but here are Sam, Syd and Maia with friends Gretchen and Parker.

And finally, friends, would you let your daughters go out with a boy like this?

How about a boy like this?


I love 'em both!

An Old Family Recipe

Doesn't this look delicious?

Ingredients:
Cardboard
Spray paint
Yarn
Puffy paint
Paper plate
Plastic utensils
Paper cup
Hot Glue


Assemble the above and add

ONE GIGGLY GIRL

p.s.
Who asked me this week why I love Halloween? Our conversation got cut off, but I kept thinking about it and here are my answers.
#1 Obviously, a chance to use the glue gun
#2 Chocolate? Hello, I've abstained ALL MONTH to make it that much more exciting (My kids know I get 10%)
#3 Traipsing around carefree in the dark
#4 Oohing and Ahhing all night at the neighborhood kids who come to the door; pretending to be scared by pint-sized goblins and ghosts

It's just good old-fashioned fun.

SURVIVAL OF THE SICKEST

I finished this book a week ago and can't get it out of my mind, so I think it needs a quick review.

Survival of the Sickest, by Dr. Sharon Moalem, explores and answers the question of why natural selection "failed" to weed out several hereditary diseases that are part of our genetic makeup. Moalem begins by explaining how some diseases have been passed on from generation to generation because they actually served an evolutionary purpose. These are diseases that kill us eventually, but they saved our ancestors from immediate threats, such as the bubonic plague.

Fairly interesting, right? Well, it gets even better. Many of the diseases we get actually control us for their own profit and benefit. It can be as simple as a sneeze, which helps propell the virus to find other hosts. Or more insidious, like an STD that increases sexual desire and reduces judgement. All those tropical parasites that make you itch do so for a reason.

Then it gets even more interesting. We have genetic coding that consists of innumerable "switches" that can be turned on and off based on our environment. This concept goes against everything I ever understood about genetics. For example, in one study fat yellow rats that came from a long line of fat yellow rats were given vitamin supplements in the first days of pregnancy, and they produced skinny brown rats. They still carried the fat yellow rat gene, but it was switched off because the fetus did not sense a threat to its future nutrition, so it's little body didn't need to hoard fat. Women who are on a junk food diet in the first days after conception trigger the switch that makes skinny babies, because they sense they are being born in harsh conditions and will need to be small to survive. Ironically it also triggers the switch to obesity in childhood and beyond, because they sense they will need to hoard fat later in life to survive. These traits are deeply set in our ancient DNA and helped our ancestors survive severe cold and famine. (I'm probably not explaining this accurately enough, but just giving you a taste of one aspect of the book that stuck with me.)

Aging unto death is another switch that is flipped. We are actually programmed to die. I can't do the explanation justice but it has to do with limiting rapid cell growth. In other words, aging is part of our bodies' defence agianst cancer.

So if you've ever wondered why we get sick or age, Survival of the Sickest is for you. I do not have a science background, but found this an easy and engaging read, Tipping Point- style. Five stars.

The book's website, For excerpts, reviews, etc.

must have been a beautiful baby

Dear Syd,

I love this picture because you shine so brightly in the sunset. In real life, you bring the sunshine to our family every day. Your enthusiasm for life bubbles over, sometimes into endless giggling, sometimes into singing and dancing. Your life is a happy musical and I'm just blessed to be a part of it! Happy Birthday, Syd!!! Thank you for seven wonderful years.

Love,
Mom

Syd with "Churro" and her Birthday Pies in the background
(Berkeley blogged about the fateful piemaking)

7 (better?) bits of Brenda Trivia

Okay, Bridget made fun of my last post so I'm going to try again. I'll admit that last attempt was a little lame, so I'm digging deeper into my childhood. I hope these pass muster because I doubt I can come up with 7 more.

1. I was the only Caucasian baby in the hospital where I was born in East Chicago.
2. My mom taught my kindergarten class in a little country church with a bell on top. One day we were running late so I had to come to school in my crocheted slippers.
3. I was considered an airhead in my family growing up. (I didn't discover my inner-nerd until graduate school.)
4. I broke my nose waterskiing. My ski flipped off and hit me right in the face. I was so panicked about all the blood I tried to get out of my life jacket in the water. I had to start my junior year of high school with two big black eyes.
5. For 18 months I was student body vice president and madame chair of the student council at my high school.
6. I was also a homecoming princess.
7. I went to community college for a year before my parents finally convinced me to leave the nest and go to BYU.

How's that? Now I want to hear 7-14 strange and interesting things about each of you.

7 bits of Brenda trivia

Okay, I don't claim that these are interesting things, just random unknown things. Everybody already knows about schizophrenic Brenda, right? (I was in a band and got my masters degree...) These are7 more up-close-and-personal bits:

1. I brush my teeth with hot water. I just like to, okay?
2. I love all things peanutbutter and chocolate--but not this month.
3. For the month of October, I'm doing a detox diet. No sugar, dairy, wheat, caffeine, or preservatives. I've fallen off the wagon twice already, both at social events. And I plan to fall hard on Halloween. (I'll probably do another post later about why I'm doing this.)
4. I'm not big on firm commitments.
5. I nap almost every day. 10-30 minutes. I can't get through the day otherwise. It's practically involuntary. My kids just deal with it.
6. I carry a book with me wherever I go, because I can't stand to be alone with my thoughts for more than a few seconds.
7. I like to cook but think of recipes as very loose guidelines.

If you read this, consider yourself tagged. What don't I know about you?

Four going on Fourteen

Maia started high school this year. Well, preschool at the high school. But it's "her" school, and she feels a sense of belonging as a "little warrior." Which is why she often sports her high school/preschool hoodie. Here she is posing as a smurf, holding our kitty Milo.


And tonight was her big night in her hoodie. The preschool kids got to lead the half-time parade at the Homecoming game tonight. Let me tell you, I think the last football game I went to was in 1989. It hasn't changed much--wet, cold, late, and long. And just like high school, I'm still much more interested in watching the marching band than the game. The half-time show was amazing and Sydney screamed her cheers for the awesome band and for Maia. We stayed just a few minutes past everyone's comfort level and left soaked to the skin.

try following this trail

"I'm Engr. Kevin Adkins. I am from Phoenix in Arizona, but currently based in Glasgow, Scotland...my son Alvin is coming for an holiday in the States, and i want him to be busy throughout. Therefore, i just want to know if he can always come to you and teach him good things on English every afternoon...I have someone that will always drive him down to your Place, I mean a Nanny. My Son's name is Alvin, he is 13 years old and he hardly excel in those aspects. I want you to calculate total charges for one month and get back to me so we can arrange payment..."

Okay, this email was not entirely strange because I am, after all, a reading and writing tutor. Engr. Kevin Adkins tracked me down through a website for a local SAT prep school. I teach for them regularly but they occassionally send me odd tutoring jobs as well. So I considered it, then got back to him with a price, thinking I'd probably not hear from him again.

Things just got weirder. Engr. Kevin Adkins was evasive about his son's travel plans, but insistent about sending money right away. I told him that students generally bring a check with them, for the price of that session. I discouraged him from sending money ahead of time and I felt like making up a reason to back out all together.

Then a check came, FedEx, from Ohio. It was $2980 MORE than the price of a month of lessons. It is from Suntrust Bank in Altanta, from the Coca-Cola company. With the check were instructions to deposit the money, deduct my fees and any other expenses, and to wire the excess money back to Tara Gill in Washington D.C. I felt slightly freaked out at this point, thinking, at best this is a money laundering scheme. Could I ignore it or was it my civic duty to report it? My friend "Kevin" was now calling, possibly from Nigeria, to see when I would wire the money. At least I knew not to pick up the phone when I saw the international number.

I consulted my wisest friends. Bridget laughed and said, "I think you need to call the police." Scott explained the apparently common "check overpayment scam" (You cash it, wire the money, a few days later it bounces, your money is gone.) Carl and Ken said it sounds Nigerian, and sent helpful links. Everyone was entertained.

So I searched for where I should report this attempted fraud. I called the National Trade Commision--they took a report, but said they will not do anything about it. They said I should give the check to my local police. So I talked to an officer. He basically said he could make a report but there is nothing they can or will try to do. He said I could shred the check (it's still hanging on my wall). He also gave the brilliant suggestion that we should all be careful about who we meet through the internet (end public service announcement).

In the meantime "Kevin" is emailing and calling because now his nanny and son are somewhere waiting for the money. It's urgent they get it so they can get on the plane in time for our lessons to begin. My dad said I should tell "Kevin" that I actually needed all the money to bail my dad out of jail--he was in for assaulting a Nigerian-check-scammer. (My dad has Charles Bronson-inspired theories of justice.) Instead I told "Kevin" I couldn't get to the bank for a few days. I figured if I stalled, at least I was wasting some of his time. It was obviously quite laborious for him to compose his daily emails.

The whole situation had become a source of amusement, but I hadn't had quite enough closure (which I gauged by my lack of desire to blog about it), so I called Suntrust Bank. They said "is it from Coca-Cola? We've seen a lot of those." That took the humor out of it for me. That means people were actually trying to cash them??? That's just sad.

So I lied and told "Kevin" I had been to the bank, and would just wait for the check to clear. A few days later he sent me several local addresses of businesses where I could wire the money. "Kevin" is thorough like that. Then this message:

"I really don't know why I have not read from you because the check has already cleared into your account and the Nanny is waiting to receive the fund from you.... (it goes on)
Waiting to hear from you soonest."

I finally decided to end it:

"Kevin, or whatever-your-real-name-is,
How's the weather in Nigeria? Good, I hope. I can't believe you persist with this. You must know why you haven't "read" from me. You can drop the charade, unless you were really just looking for a pen pal all along. In which case, get back to me "soonest."
Adios, muchacho!
Brenda"

So that was the end of my brush with international check fraud. Hope you enjoyed it more than I did!

New Shoes

I just love that feeling of fall coming around the corner--a new school year like a life preserver being thrown my way. That hope that we'll finally get our acts together in this new school year and strike the perfect balance of sleep, play, homework, sports, church, and family time. Hopefully not in that order. I get truly excited as I map out everyone's schedules on the calendar, and each day is a sensible square, lined and stacked in a larger square. And even though we'll be busy it will all be there, color coded and predetermined. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer and the craziness of going everywhere and doing everything from nature hikes to library fountains, but I am at that point where I need structure. I need that big yellow bus to pull up and these bright new shoes to march on and get carried away! Happy back-to-school!

Where's Waldo? And where Is Waldo's fan club???

Sometimes the phrase "better late than never" just doesn't fit the occasion. It's really and truly just best to be on time.

My family just got back from Waldo Lake, which is east of Eugene in the mountains, near Willamette Pass ski area. This lake is amazing. It's so clean you can see to depths of over 100 feet. It contains no fish or plant life because it doesn't have a permanent influx of water. No motor boats are allowed, so there is no pollution. Just crystal blue peace and beauty. We arrived on Friday night just in time to see the lake go from this:

to this:

As we canoed on it, looking through the blue water at sunken logs, stones and white silt, Mike and I thought of the deep pools of hot water at Yellowstone. Only this water was cold--too cold for me. The kids, however, swam from sunrise to sunset. They mostly ran back and forth on this platform with cousins, trying to rock it and throw each other off.

We were there in honor of my brother Neil, who was running "Where's Waldo,"
a national championship 100K race, which is roughly 62 miles of mountainous trails. It takes about 10 hours to run 100 kilometers. That's if you are super fast. Course-record fast. It would take more like 1 week for me, and I'd be dying at that. Of the ~70 people enrolled in the race, several took over 14 hours. Some even longer. Some, of course, came to their senses and dropped out altogether.

Neil has this down to a science. He studied the course and could tell us down-to-the-minute where he would be at mile 30, the half-way point, which happens to be right by our campground and an easy location to cheer him on. We did not attempt any other check points. We got there about 15 minutes early and were able to see the 3 runners in front of Neil, all young (not in his age group) and looking good. It was exciting. Neil came in about 9 minutes behind the lead, and one of his shoes and socks was bothering him so he swapped it. Only the one foot mind you, which saved precious seconds but drew amused attention from onlookers. We refilled and reshirted and shoed him, and sent him on his way. He had told us the course record for the finish would be about 3:15 pm, so we aimed for that time to see the winners come in. Alas, there was already some clapping when we pulled in at 3:13. We thought we'd look around and see what was going on, then get in position to cheer for Neil. But alas, he was already there! New course record, first place OVERALL! National champion of the 100K!

Better late than never? I don't think so. I can't get over missing that amazing win!

And maybe there is something to this strategy after all:

Lessons from Wall-E

Have you seen Wall-E yet? While we were cruising, my parents came and stayed with our kids. My mom said she felt like the robot in Wall-E--the vacuum who followed Wall-E around because his directive was to clean up dirt.

This was funny to me, not just because the kids do seem to leave a little trail of messes in their wake, but also because I kept thinking of Wall-E while we were away. I felt like we were the overweight, hover-crafting cruisers, whose "directive" for the bulk of the movie was INDULGE. We ate and napped, ate and napped. No dishes, no laundry, no cleaning. As wonderful as it was, I really wouldn't want life to go on like that, because I would become less of a thinking/moving person. And over time, there would be a loss of bone density...just kidding.

But seriously, as for the current controversy about whether Wall-E is liberal propaganda, I want to hear what everyone thinks. One commentator called it a 90 minute lecture, an animated Inconvenient Truth. To me it was SO entertaining I didn't think to take offense. I only chuckled at the irony of paying $42 for my admittedly large family (at matinée pricing) to learn that mindless entertainment and indulgence is dangerous, with DisneyPixar as our teacher... hmmm.

Maybe if it makes us uncomfortable, it's because we are deep-down uneasy about our ultra-lux lifestyle. Maybe we know we are too attached to the pleasure-seeker-within. Or maybe we simply don't want our cartoons to preach to us (unless it's veggietales?). At any rate, I can't believe that DisneyPixar has any agenda other than one: selling stuff. This time around, I happened to like the stuff. How about you all? Offended, entertained, validated? What did you get out of Wall-E?

the final frontier

Settle down, trekies, I'm talking about ALASKA. We just got back.

We took a cruise with Mike's parents, brothers, and their wives up the inside passage, to Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. It's funny, it took me a couple of days to wind down and settle into the trip, after all the stress and exhaustion of getting ready to go. And the anxiety over leaving my kids for so long. I couldn't just enjoy--I had to unwind my nerves first.

It was beautiful and amazing and a special bonding time for everyone. What a rare experience to have the adults together for so long--we got to know each other in a different way. We laughed and played games most nights. We had an amazing private sacrament/testimony meeting that lasted 2 hours. Everyone cried and shared their love for each other and the Savior. Mike's family is full of amazing people.

Travel synopsis: At Juneau Mike and I kayaked in a peaceful inlet with a glacier view. We saw lots of jumping salmon and a half dozen bald eagles. At Skagway Mike went mountain biking alone, while I toured the town and found a cybercafe from which to email the kids and my parents. I bought souvenirs and walked a lot. The weather was better than we expected. We hardly saw any rain. It was gorgeous like the northwest, but surrounded by snowy mountains. We had a day at sea in Glacier Bay, where we saw lots of humpback whales, and we saw ice "calving" from the glacier. It sounded like an explosion each time ice would break away then crash into the water. Then we sailed to Ketchikan, where we went on a zip-line/rock-climbing adventure. That was the highlight for me. All 10 of us adults did it together. Grandpa and Grandma were good sports. Then we all went to a lumberjack show. Every night we had dinner together, and we informally met up at other meals as well. It was the perfect ratio of couple time/alone time/large group time. And fabulous food and weather. Overall, a great trip.

So now I'm home and SO glad to bask in my kids' bubbly presence (except Berk, who is not bubbly AND not here--I can't wait to see him after scout camp). Big thanks to my parents, who helped make this possible!

Camp Alpine Reunion 2008

Sam, walking the tight rope.

Me!

Sam.

Maia and Mike.

Syd, under the waterfall.

Siblings.

Berkeley.

Boy cousins at the archery range.

Girl cousins on the bridge.

Maia just can't wait to get her swimsuit on.

Just a quick post-in-pictures to give a taste of the best reunion ever. I can't go to this place without fantasizing about building a home right in the middle of the meadow and living there. (Operative word: fantasizing.) Happy 70th birthday, mom! Thanks for building the zip-line, Mike. Thanks for teaching the kids soldering and the finer points of electronics, Ken. Thanks for buying all the food and for the geocache and hiking trips, Dad. Thanks for bringing the fun relatives from France, Sheryl, and for planning the fabulous menu. And thanks to all for the wacky talent show. I love my family!