How many “O-Meters” can one person have before they’re crazy? I got a pedometer so I can track how many steps I take. (FYI- I sit wayyy too much at work.) Someone please tell me if I cross the line and turn into this guy.

Well, April, let’s see…

At work we stayed busy with some matches and a Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Camp. The camp was enjoyable because there were only 11 athletes, which means we got to really know the shooters on the range. We also to go take a tour with their group inside the vault of the Berman Museum. The Berman Museum, in Anniston, is really cool anyway. This guy was a spy in WWII and collected (traded and stole) artifacts which completely fill a 3 story museum. They have trick guns (pens, belt buckles, etc), guns from each war and country, swords and Asian art. I’ve been through the museum twice but I’ve never been down inside the vault; which is where they keep all the artifacts they don’t have room to display. Hundreds of pistols, guns, swords, arrows, crowns, and medals of honor are all stored inside this vault, that we got to walk around and touch!

We also spent a little bit more time in a hospital as J’s mom is battling high blood pressure. However we were able to all gather at their home for Easter and spend some holiday family time together.

J and I spent most of March dog sitting, which at this point has become more like dog-stealing. We love watching our friends dog, Rexi, so much we get excited when it’s “our weekend” to have her. We joke it’s like shared custody.

We also took a few weekends off work at the end of April and worked around the house. We bought and set up a new bedroom suite, which I absolutely love and we got for a steal! We planted our garden with a lot of vegetables and are praying they don’t all decide to become ready while we’re gone in June. J is planning all kinds of projects around the house; like getting a bee hive to produce honey. I’m just glad we got the garden in… one project at a time.

I am slightly ashamed to admit how excited I am about this, but James bought a Kill-o-Watt meter, and it’s the most awesome thing ever!!!

You plug your appliances into it and the meter tells you how much energy the appliance uses. After you know that, you can figure out how much money it costs to run the appliance; per day, month or year. Do you know how much money it costs to run your modem each year? Cause I do!

I guess ever since we started tracking our finances in order to buy our home I have become obsessed with them. I meticulously color code each purchase we make in a spreadsheet so I know exactly how much money we spend on things like gas, or food. Not because we need to be crazy about our pennies, but because I just love knowing! And this new kilowattmeterthing tells me how much money the hair dryer uses to run or the coffee pot!

PLUG IN ALL THE THINGS! TEST ALL THE THINGS!

“Uncle Scar, you’re so weird”

“You have no idea”

-The Lion King

This should be the quote of my family… seriously.

How do I know I grew up in a weird family? Because while the kids were hunting Easter eggs, the adults were walking around hunting beer cans.

And our Easter eggs weren’t always filled with candy and quarters, sometimes if you were the lucky one that year, you got an egg filled with pickled herring. You quickly learned not to open your eggs over the candy basket.

Happy Easter everyone!

This story was told me to by a crazy Aunt when I was probably close to 6 years old. I remember sitting squished in the back seat of the car alongside a few cousins, and driving past the gas station on the corner to her house. She was in the passenger seat and every once in awhile she’d get so into the story she’d twist her body around to look us directly in the eye. I’m pretty sure it was summer time, but with her telling it, we couldn’t resist a Halloween story. I’ve decided to post it now instead of in the fall, because of her great story telling in all seasons.

“Look What I Can Do With My Ruby Red Lips and My Long Fingernails”

 (Names are totally not changed, we are an important part of this story)

Once Upon A Time… There were five kids who lived across from a creepy old house. Their parents told them never to cross over the fence to this house, because it was rumored to be haunted. So the kids, Nolan, Taeja, Sarah, Madison and Nathan, always played in the safety of their own backyard. One day they were outside playing soccer when Nathan, who was very strong, kicked the ball all the way over the top of the fence!

They had to get their ball back to keep playing, so Nolan, who was very brave, lead the group through a slot in the wood fence. The old house had paint chipping off the door and shutters falling off their hinges. It looked like no one had lived in the house for a very long time. The ball lay in the overgrown grass near the rickety front porch.The group slowly walked up to the house.

“Did you hear something” Nolan whispered to the group?

“You’re just trying to scare us!” Madison said. They slowly inched closer to the ball.

“Look what I can do with my Ruby Red Lips and my Long Fingernails…”

This time they all heard it. There was a voice, and it was coming from inside the house.

“Maybe we should just go back” Sarah said grabbing the ball.

“No, I wanna know who that is” said Taeja.

The group continued up the steps of the front porch and into the abandoned house. They crossed through spiderwebs with their arms up to guard their face. The house was empty and everything was lined with a layer of dust.

“Look what I can do with my Ruby Red Lips and my Long Fingernails…”

There it was again, a woman’s voice repeating the same thing. It sent chills down all their spines.

“Look what I can do with my Ruby Red Lips and my Long Fingernails…”

It was coming from up the stairs. Trying to be as quiet as possible all five kids creeped up the stairs. They heard them sqqueeeaakk with each step. Everything was dark at the top of the steps, except for a small glimmer of light coming from under one door way.

“Look what I can do with my Ruby Red Lips and my Long Fingernails…”

The voice was louder now, and they knew they would find their answer behind the lit doorframe.

“Nolan, you go first, you’re the oldest” they all decided. Nolan ever-so-slowly, without making a sound, pushed open the door. Everyone’s heart was racing with the suspense.

Inside sitting at a mirror was an old woman with long gray hair. She turn to look at the kids when she noticed their entrance.

“Look what I can do with my Ruby Red Lips and my Long Fingernails…” She whispered at them in a raspy voice.

She raised one long fingernail to her red lips…

and went “blllbblllbbblllbb”

(The sound your mouth makes when you strum a finger up and down over your lips.)

Yes, she totally got us.

P.S. It was very hard to retell this story as amazing as my Aunt, I hope I did it justice. Also, if you’re interested in another retelling (I sometimes can’t help but google everything) here’s what I found. In our minds, my Aunt will always be the original author of this story.

Big Circle, Little Dot

I totally forgot about this until I saw my cousin do this to her daughter.

Big Circle, Little Dot

Question Mark, Marks the Spot

Elephants Stamping Up Your Back

Spiders Crawling Down Your Spine

Cool Breeze, Light Squeeze

Now You Got The Shiver-ies

I loved this as a kid! We had a couple other versions, but this one was always my favorite.

March is gone?? I guess when you spend 13 days two time zones over the month really flies by. I did have some non-California highlights though-

Definitely Number One- I was reminded of the value of writing. I received a letter, and it reminded me of the hope you can find in someone else’s thoughts. I remembered why I thought saving memories was so important. It was reiterated to me that learning through someone else’s voice, even if you were there, or already know the information, is an amazing part of our human experience.

J and I ran in our first 5K, although it might not be a huge step towards a healthier lifestyle since we ate bacon on the way and had a bloody mary at the end.

We started working our garden spot; tilling and throwing out rocks. I forgot how much work that was! We also transplanted some flowers. We had some beautiful days that were great for working outside.

We had a scary patch in March too, and had to make a last minute trip home to see my grandma. Although she is doing well now, a silent car ride and wondering if you were going to need the black pants you packed sucked, to say the least. It was nice to be home though and spend a few days with my family again.

1. My parents have taught me all the valuable lessons I needed to learn in life; like potty training, don’t touch the wood burning stove, and not to bite people. Thanks for that.

2. I tend to think most of the things I say and do are funny, really funny, however, I don’t think everyone agrees with that. I think I get this from my mom; she’s really funny in her head, but not always out loud. I sympathize.

3. One of the things I really like about myself is that I have blue eyes and dark hair. When I have my 2.5 children though I don’t care if they don’t get that awesome trait, just as long as they’re healthy.

4. Nothing really traumatic has every really happened to me. Unless you count that time I ran over my favorite white kitty Eley, that was pretty traumatic. Other than that I think I’m truly blessed and have an angel that follows me around, whether or not I deserve it is another question.

5. An ex-boyfriend once told me that my emotions have about a 2 second rebound rate. If I’m mad just wait a minute and I’ll be fine again. I think this is pretty true, but not a good reason to piss me off.

6. I think I have a high pain tolerance, which I only say cause of that one time I almost lost my foot…

7. I always thought scoliosis was the worst thing to happen to me, and although I hated that brace with a passion, it’s not what I really remember the most from that time in my life. My family helped me through all of that, and I had awesome friends who tried their best to sympathize with me.

8. I know not everyone loved high school, but I definitely did. I enjoyed it for what it was, an amazing four years that I got to spend with the funniest friends ever, and a chance to learn a lot (probably more out of the classroom than in) but it gave me a chance to figure things out before I went off to college on my own, so I didn’t fall on my face.

9. I love flowers, however I hate getting them. Because I think they’re so beautiful and I want to keep them, so I feel guilt when they die, and end up feeling worse off than if I just hadn’t gotten flower in the first place. However if I HAD to get flowers…I like Gerber Daisy’s, those really big colorful ones.

10. Electronic targets are the greatest invention ever, I love them and the 10.9’s they let me see. However they also brought out my least favorite thing…9.9’s.

11. I compulsively play the same song/album an unhealthy amount of times. I don’t think there’s any cure.

12. I am jealous of the amazing ability James has at the random word game.

13. I think it’s important to cherish each moment- but unfortunately the world doesn’t spin fast enough for me and I’m very impatient, that means I’m usually wishing time would speed up and catch up to how fast I’m trying to go.

14. I’m very indecisive (I like to blame it on being a libra) and therefore stress out a lot about making decisions. However my impulsive decisions haven’t led me astray thus far. Someone once told me that if you make choices for the right reasons it’ll turn out okay. I always thought this was a little common sense, but I took it to heart anyways, cause I thought this person was very wise, and they meant a lot to me.

15. I have no idea what being a com major is going to do for me. I have no plan for the rest of my life. And this seems to bother me less than anyone else.

16. I enjoy all things that allow me to be ridiculously childish that I can see get away with in college (e.g. colored band-aids and Disney movies)

17. I have mix-matched my socks for so long now I think that if I wanted to change it would be more of a hassle (nearly impossible) than anything. It’s just easier now to not change.

18. When I first started shooting my dad told me he wanted me to get good enough so that I could shoot my boyfriend in the knee cap when he pissed me off. I think I’m that good now, but only if he was standing still. It would have to be a sneak attack so he wasn’t moving.

19. I hate the saying hind-sight is 20/20. Of course it is! It’s already happened!

20. For some reason people usually think I’m really emotionally closed off when they first meet me, or that I’m hard to read. It’s probably true, but I don’t know why I do this. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing however.

21. I love my brother Joey. When we were little he used to tell me really weird things, like that moth balls would make snake come out of their holes, or that he could remember being a baby. I never believed him then, but I do now, because he’s really strange like that and really honest.

22. When I get scared I cover up my ears, I’m not sure why I do this, but I’ve done it ever since I was little. I cover my ears when I sleep too, with my blanket. Which is probably why my yellow blanky was so special to me when I was little.

23. I’m pretty far from being a wild child. I can remember all of the times I got in trouble in elementary school. They were all terrifying.

24. I have very vivid dreams, and I usually remember them all. I have a dream book to analyze them, which is fun, but I don’t really believe that your dreams mean anything other than what you’re thinking about. I’m glad I dream though, if not sleeping would be a lot more boring.

25. My mom was raised Catholic, my dad Baptist and for awhile we went to a Lutheran church. When I was 16 though we became members of a Methodist church, and soon after I was baptized in a hot tub.

Sarah, January 30th, 2009

7 Car Pile-Up

I turned on the Play Station the other day to play Guitar Hero and noticed a band was already saved on the memory card Joey gave me. “7 Car Pile-Up”. I totally forgot about how he named the band that.

Thanks for getting me through so many songs Joey!

Well, we have finally made it back home from California. What a trip! The weather was beautiful the entire time we were out there, and we got to eat a ton of great seafood. Eating at the same restaurant three nights in a row isn’t crazy if you love their fish tacos, right?

One day we traveled out to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and hiked to a natural palm oasis. The signs at the beginning of the trail were no joke about carrying a gallon of water. It was hot! It’s too bad we only got one day to spend out there, the park was beautiful.

We also got to spend one afternoon with the lovely Viola Kelly, James second-cousin, who happens to be 7 months old. We walked through North Los Angeles to a pet store and looked at the guinea pigs and fish.

The trip wasn’t just a vacation though. During the other 11 days we worked with the Marine Corps Wounded Warriors at the shooting venue. J and I mostly ran the electronic targets and produced results on match day, but we did get to know a few of the athletes. This year, more so than last year, was really an exception experience in seeing their camaraderie. We attended the Opening and Closing Ceremonies where we recognized some of the athletes. Knowing the Warriors and hearing about their individual struggles and recoveries made the entire week more meaningful. We were proud of the shooting athletes and their advances during the week.

The week got both J and I thinking about how we could incorporate an adaptive adult shooting event in our own work. We were also approached several times about traveling to other events and running the targets, looks like we’ll continue to be on the road in the future!