As You Like It

Good movie. Here's my favorite lines: JAQUES. I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is emulation; nor the musician's, which is fantastical; nor the courtier's, which is proud; nor the soldier's, which is ambitious; nor the lawyer's, which is politic; nor the lady's, which is nice; nor the lover's, which is all these: but it is a melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples, extracted from many objects: and, indeed, the sundry contemplation of my travels; in which my often rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness. ROSALIND. A traveller! By my faith, you have great reason to be sad: I fear you have sold your own lands to see other men's; then to have seen much and to have nothing is to have rich eyes and poor hands. JAQUES. Yes, I have gained my experience. ROSALIND. And your experience makes you sad: I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad; and to travel for it too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARK!

Boycotts

My SIL and I had an interesting :) conversation the other day about HBO. She sent me a link to this article and I thought I'd share because it's good. The article can be found at http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma Highlights include: "Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding. Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Tim Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series. As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness. Not only is this the model that Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated in his own life, but it also reflects the reality of the strength and maturity of Church members today. As someone recently said, “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore.” In other words, with a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly. The Church’s strength is in its faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church."

I saw my first armadillo! It was waddling across the highway and I slowed down almost to a stop so I wouldn't hit it and couldn't help but laugh as it tried to run off the road!

Don't worry, It's normal!

Last night at work, just as I finished coloring my last client, something I've been dreading happened. Oh, the sirens went off!!! My sister-in-law called my cell phone to inform me that a tornado was heading my way. ;) (Thanks for the tip!) We turned the radio on and don't worry. There were 2 on either side of us. Since the salon has beaucoup windows we decided to go down the street to the "Cackle Hatchery" to my boss' grandma's store where we knew there was a basement. Locked. I stood in the hail ringing the bell like a mad woman, jumped back in the car because Nicole couldn't reach anyone on her cell. (Nicole being the boss) So we decide to go to her grandma's house. No basement there, but we had a key. By this time her significant other is in his truck behind us. Nicole reassures me that this isn't that big of a deal...yet. We are almost there when a huge burst of lightening reveals just in front of us a wall cloud. For those of you not privelidged to live in a freaky state, such as Missouri, it means a tornado is forming right before your eyes. I didn't see anything because, honestly, who looks for that? Nicole turns around and Mark (her man) calls us and we decide to go to his mom's house. Nicole is no longer calm. Her 8 month old is. He was sleeping like a babe in the back seat. Thank goodness. We reach highway 44 (the house is 10 min. away if you go the speed limit) and the radio says the other tornado is at highway 44. Umm....Nicole? At 20 mph I thought we would never get there! It looked like we were driving under a waterfall with 70+ mph winds (so says the radio). Meanwhile the radio is telling us to get out of our car. Hmmm....blown away in a car, or blown away in water....with a baby. What would you do? We kept driving. Me praying non-stop in my head, Nicole praying out loud. (you have to know Nicole to truly appreciate this story. She's tough and NOT afraid of tornadoes. At all - which tells you how bad it really was) I relived my childhood with the common question of, "Are we there yet?" Couldn't be helped. We pulled up to the house and the rains stopped. We ran inside and the storm just passed (the house, not us) Yeah, we drove right through the worst of it. I don't want to know how close we were to the tornado. We had to stay there until the watch was over which was about 15 minutes because those things move fast. We got back in the car and there were cracks (the kind that go completely through) all over the windshield and side windows. For those of you who have been in car accidents, you know the really bad headache that follows from being so tense? I got me one of those. Still. I hate watching scary movies because I hate being scared. I definitely got my fill for the year. The only difference besides one being real, is I didn't have my husband to cuddle up to. Clark? Hurry back!!!

Things I've Learned...

In Missouri there are a lot of things that are different. Here's a few things I've picked up on so far... Anything "Skank" = "Ghetto" (ie: "That's skank-nasty!") The only exception to the rule is "skank-a-licious" which translates to: "That's hot!" Cows can swim. I tell the truth, I saw one. It was weird. People here refer to MO as the Fast Food Capitol of the World. One man said, "Relationships in Missouri are weird. If there's a problem the answer is always to have another baby." It's not uncommon for 15yr. olds and 20 yr. olds to date. If you're driving on a country road, a barf bag is a must if you are the passenger. If you're the one driving you're okay - as long as you aren't eating while you drive. (don't worry, I've experienced both) "Wall cloud" or is it "Cloud wall" or is it "funnel cloud"? Well, whatever it is, it translates to GO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!! (I'll explain that one in my next post)

If you haven't noticed, I'm taking a break. A long one. Check back after February for updates. In the meantime, I'll be packing, moving, and getting settled in Missouri!