Satan's favorite food

Day #11
Picture of something you hate

I think that hate is a really strong word.....and I would never go so far as to hate someone....because I know that is wrong.  However, I will very much stand by my hatred for inanimate objects that deserve a good hating.  I have several things that I really can't stand, but one thing just hands a huge smackdown to the rest.

CILANTRO



I never knew that one little flavor could hold so much capacity to ruin everything....

They say you either love or hate this....and honestly I don't understand how you could love it.  I think all of your taste buds would have to be distorted.

I did a little research, because that's what I do best, and I discovered that they actually believe that those that don't like cilantro reject the flavor because it is too similar to poison.  To me the stuff tastes like dirty lemon flavored dishwater (yeah....mull that one around in your brain)...and most that don't like it agree that it tastes soapy.  Well, you aren't meant to eat soap, so your brain automatically determines that it is a poison, hence the REALLY strong dislike.  This makes sense to me, because there are other flavors that I dislike, but that don't make me react so strongly.  Take rosemary for instance.  The stuff is nasty.  BUT....never could it be compared on the same level as cilantro.

Side note....went to Thai last night with my intern friends and started in on this awesome looking curry, only to find out (once I had an enormous bite in my mouth) that it contained its fair share of cilantro.  Deciding that it was neither the time or the place to make a scene, I swallowed it.  Longest 30 seconds of my life.  SICK.

Overly dramatic?  Yes.  So?

That's Pretty Messed Up!

Day #10
Picture of the person you do the most messed up things with....

Definitely can't narrow this one down to just one person.

I have the best friends in the entire world.  You know how sometimes people talk too much about their significant other....I talk too much about my friends.  Let me tell you...I am friends with the cream of the crop.  We are all so different but so like-minded in some ways.  Half of us are social workers, the other half are going to save the environment or make huge differences in the lives of others.  We talk about the most ridiculous things, but we also have deep conversations about God and about life and how the Gospel is being played out.  There are not many people that I feel I can totally be myself around....but these girls bring the real me out.  There is never a stupid question, never a confession that I can't make, never a moment of pain that they don't meet me in, and never a moment of happiness that they don't celebrate with me.  I get advice that I hate to follow but that I know is good for me, I get experiences that I'd never be brave enough to try on my own (like flying to Ireland with no plans and not a lot of money! ), and I get memories that I can't wait to retell to my kids! 

Now I have a pretty full stack of best friends in my life....but the ones that I do the most messed up things with are pictured above.  Mollie, Allison, Christie, Marisa, Whitney...you have won the top award. 

Mollie: I actually think everything that I've ever done with you has been messed up....skinny dipping, ghost hunting, peeing in Depends (I'm still embarrassed you talked me into that one)....you are definitely the mastermind and ringleader of all things ridiculous in my life.

Allison: You get dragged along into doing the messed up things along with me....we are the two that normally would say no, but always get peer pressured.  Thank you for being on my level!  :)

Christie: All my good prankster moments were caused by you.  You are reckless and unflinchingly brave, and I love it.  Please don't blow off the edge of the Cliffs in Ireland, because that would be totally messed up.

Marisa: Dirty dirty.....preacher's kid who although being the most rational in the group, also has done some pretty messed up things.   When I think back on the most ridiculous moments that I had with you guys, your laugh usually is mixed in there somewhere.  And I love that you are the champion of "Pin the Macho on the Man"....at every bachelorette party!

Whitney: It may be because you lived with Mollie, but you have ranked pretty high on the wild and crazy scale as well!  You guys masterminded a lot of stuff in your prime, and although marriage is suiting you well and you have embraced adulthood, I love that you also embrace your crazy on a pretty regular basis! 

 

A little early for Mother's Day

Day #9
A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

There are some people in this world who deserve sainthood....at least the title.  My mom is one of them.  To say that I was an easy child would be the biggest lie I've ever told.  But one of the biggest truths that I can tell is that my mom is one of the most patient and loving people I've ever met and she is one of the biggest blessings in my life.  Let me tell you about my mom....

This lady is one of the hardest workers I know. She wasn't a stay at home mom when we were little because my family couldn't afford for her to be, and I really respect that.  They worked out a schedule so that my mom worked days and my dad worked nights so that they could provide a childhood that wasn't filled with daycares and passing us off to random babysitters.  Basically for them it meant never seeing each other though, and all so that we always had a parent at home.  I think that's incredible, and I feel blessed that they valued my upbringing enough to sacrifice that time for us.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has been my best friend.  If I'm having a bad day or if I'm having the best day ever, she is the first person I call.  Recently she has been taking trips to Canada for work and I feel like big things always happen when she isn't within cell phone range...haha.  She has gotten me through the absolute hardest times in my life...anxiety, heartache, anger, frustration, sadness....she has covered the spectrum.  She is a good listener (thank goodness, because I talk a lot) and also a pretty solid advice giver (although I'm just now starting to recognize that one!). :)  She always reminds me of the value that I bring to the table, prays for me, encourages me in my passions, supports my career and the choices I'm making in life, and is my number one weekend buddy. 

So that picture is the greatest lady that I know, and one person that I thank God for constantly.  He knew what he was doing when he hand-placed me in this family! 

Anyone seen my pocket protector?

Good thing I don't have kids, I'd probably forget to feed them.  Ok....I realize that is pretty dramatic for the situation, but I have forgotten to blog two days in a row....not showing my abilities to multi-task and remember things here!  So....lets play some catch up!

Day # (what day is this now?)
A Picture that Makes you Laugh

THE HALF SNEEZE @ Nerd Night

Let me start this off by explaining who I hung out with in college.  I definitely ran with a pretty conservative crowd of people, and basically got the "Christian college experience" while going to a public school.  We ended up doing a lot of ridiculous things that other college students would probably look on as "not fun" or "stupid" or "annoying".....but it was memory making and I have a lot of fun memories from my time at Eastern.  One of our ridiculous expeditions happened to be Nerd Night.  I'm not sure how the idea sparked, but someone called me and told me to dress up in my best nerd gear and get ready for a hot night on the town.  We gathered whoever was brave enough to take part and went to eat dinner in Spokane at Red Robin.  I'm no good at acting, so I just looked like a regular kid wearing nerd clothes, but a few of my co-horts made it seem like we should have just come from the Star Trek convention. Brian brought along his computer books from his major classes and calculated things....it was just ridiculous.  This makes me cringe a little bit now to explain it, because this is already something I would hesitate to do today.  haha.  I guess that is what growing up gets you!

The funny picture is Brand (my dear friend Allison's now-husband) doing his nerd face, which is essentially a sneeze that he stops halfway through...  Always makes me laugh....never fails.

The gang's all here!

Real World

Nerd World

There were no squirrels on Nantucket until 1989.	There were no Nerds in the Bahamas until the annual Star Trek convention was held there in 1995.
Giraffes have no vocal cords.	Nerds have no sense of fashion whatsoever.
In Chinese, the words for crisis and opportunity are the same.	In ancient Egyptian, the word for genius and socially awkward is Nerd.
The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.	While Nerds aren't officially mentioned in the Bible, the words "develop" and "code" do appear, so Nerds were clearly a part of the culture.

Can't help who you love!

Day #7
Your Most Treasured Item

Some people might have to play out the fire scenario for this one....you know the one!  "What would you grab if your house was on fire?"  Pretty hard to consider really because there are so many things I'd be pretty devastated to lose!  Pictures, my book collection, my favorite pair of running shoes, etc...Amazing how much stuff you can form an attachment with, even though in reality it really is just STUFF.  But there is one thing that I wouldn't even consider allowing to be lost in flames....only one object in my life that I can honestly say is priceless in my eyes. 



Yeah, I'm not talking about the guy holding that poster although he is a great friend and deserves his own blog...I'm talking that little bundle of love on the poster!  So my mom and dad took me to a little drugstore around the block from their house when I was 10 months old, with the purpose of getting me a stuffed animal.  There were an assortment of cute ones that I could have chosen, but jokingly my mom grabbed onto this ugly thing and waved it in front of my face.  She grabbed it because it looked just like BooBoo Kitty (Shirley's stuffed animal on Laverne and Shirley...see below)

and while she was making some comment about it to my dad, I grabbed onto him.  Long story short, I wouldn't let my mom put him back on the shelf and they had no choice but to buy the ugliest stuffed animal on the shelf.  My parents named him BooBoo, since I was too young to talk, let alone name a toy. We have pictures all throughout my childhood carting BooBoo along under my arm.  My parents knew how much I loved him and how great the likelihood was that I would ruin him if I were allowed to take him everywhere with me, so I was only allowed to take him outside of the house when I was going to a sleepover.  He has survived a lot.  He has been thrown up on, he has lost a majority of his hair, his tail and bowtie have been sewn back on multiple times, and his eyeballs and nose have been totally worn off.  He also used to have whiskers, and if I'm remembering correctly...he doesn't anymore.  I still sleep with him every night and have a hard time sleeping if he isn't there.  He is going in my carry on for my upcoming trip to Ireland....embarrassing?  Maybe?  Worth taking him to be able to get to sleep once I fight through the jet lag...definitely!

(Explanation of the picture...my dear friend Stephanie started dating this guy named Mike when we were seniors in high school.  Mike quickly became one of my best friends as well, and it was only a matter of time before he discovered this ugly secret I slept with every night.  He definitely wasn't supportive, so for his birthday one year, I made him a poster of BooBoo.  Just so he could enjoy him as much as I did!  Ha!)

So there you have it...the main man in my life is balding, ugly, and smells bad.  Pretty typical.

Rain Rain Go Away

Day #6
A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day



Oh to be that carefree little kid again!  And I don't own a sweet rain jacket like this anymore, although this picture inspires me to go find one! 

You Making Fun of Me?

Day #5
Picture of your favorite memory

First of all, I'm a day late on this.  Epic fail of the challenge.  I knew I would forget it at least one day....

And this particular one is really hard because I have so many happy memories to choose from.  I had a handful that were contenders and I narrowed it down to this one.

In case you missed it, I worked as a resident advisor for a program called College Bound in Moses Lake the summer after I graduated from college.  College Bound is a government funded educational program that seeks to provide promising high school students from underprivileged backgrounds with the academic and social support that they need to head to the next stage in their education.  In the case of the students in Moses Lake, a good number of my students were from families where one or both of their parents didn't speak English.  Moral of the story is that these kids are brilliant and were a huge blessing in my life, and honestly this job absolutely made me fall in love with the idea of social work.  I was an RA for the recent high school graduates who were headed to all different corners of the state to attend college.....and I just enjoyed the chance to learn from them and help them in any way that I could during this transitional period in their lives!  Not only that, but I fell in love with my staff.  I was the token white girl both on staff and out of the whole population, but they really embraced me and my lack of knowledge about Hispanic culture and helped give me the experience of a lifetime.

We planned activity nights every weekday night after their summer classes, and one of our activities was a huge talent show.  There were a lot of laughs and a lot of talented kids, but the part that made this my favorite memory was the show that the staff ladies put on.  We decided it would be fun to make a skit that mocked our male co-horts...and it turned out to be probably the most hilarious thing that I have ever helped mastermind.  I wish we had caught it on tape.  The only real painful thing about this was donning the UW jersey to play Chuy, our smarty-pants engineering major.