pancakes

This is just plain cool. WARNING: don't click the link if you don't want to feel like an inadequate parent... :)

may 5th

I have Cinco de Mayo breath.

Carne asada with white corn tortillas, pico de gallo and guacamole.
Cuban rice.
Frijoles de olla.
And two churros for good measure :) They were smallish. Kinda. (That made me feel better.)

string cheese

Is 9 a.m. too early for string cheese?

I didn't think so either.



Notes on string cheese:
(Yes, I've managed to accumulate this much of an opinion on the matter over my years.)

• String cheese must be eaten right out of the fridge while still very cold. Waiting even a few minutes to eat it entirely ruins the experience. (Did I just refer to eating string cheese as an experience? Clearly I need to get out more-dang grad school.)
• Western Family string cheese reins supreme. I've tried other string cheeses, they just aren't as good.
• String cheese is the best mid-morning snack ever created.
• String cheese must be eaten in strings. Taking bites out of the whole stick is STRICTLY forbidden and just plain gross.

Now you know :)

Tomorrow

By "tomorrow" I actually mean today; which was today's tomorrow, yesterday.

Maybe this will help you make sense of that: Yesterday's throat clogging turtleneck choking weirdness has turned into today's fuzzy headed nose sniffling hot flash inducing sickness. Simply put, I'm skipping the gym and going straight home to my pj's, hot cocoa, and a chick-flick (You've Got Mail is my classic "I'm sick" go-to movie).

It should also be known that co-worker had his first waffle today! We should've taken a picture. Dang. I believe his words were, "This is good!" I think that means he liked it. "It" meaning he only ate one. (I'm not telling how many I ate.) I know on good authority that he has already recorded the event in his journal. I still can't believe it took 34 years for that man to experience a waffle. What a weirdo.

waffle baffle

I have a co-worker who claims he has never eaten a waffle. Pancakes? Yes. He told me he ate so many pancakes on his LDS mission, in fact, that he can no longer stand to eat them.

I question his knowledge of what a waffle is. That's the only explanation I've come up with. I mean really, how can a person who grew up in Utah AND has parents have never eaten a waffle? Did I mention he's over 30 years old?! I think it's apparent I'm appalled by this.

Maybe he's just afraid of waffles for some disturbing reason. Our boss made us Belgian waffles for breakfast at a department retreat a few weeks ago and he ended up with the stomach flu and didn't attend. Likely story.

The real dilemma is this: How can I reasonably trust a person who has never eaten a waffle? No wonder I feel compelled to play practical jokes on the guy.

A waffle party is already in the works for his birthday this year.

approaching fisticuffs

Last Friday was the first CHURCH BALL game of the season. I think that explains the title of this post.

In my experience, church ball is an anxiety-ridden drama inducing ulcer factory. Maybe there's something wrong with me, but I really enjoy it. Do you think growing up with five brothers, two of which played high school hockey, has anything to do with it?

Last week's game was particularly "exciting." Spoiler alert: no punches were thrown, but the wife of the elders quorum president sitting next to me was worried her husband would be the one to start it.

The start of the game was very promising when my good friend Meg announced she had a veggie tray in her purse and her intention was for us to eat it. Um, yes please. I, being impressed with what I thought was brilliant foresight on her part, complimented her on bringing an excellent snack.

Meg: "Oh, I just happened to have it so I thought I'd bring it."

Wendy: "I can't wait for the day when I just happen to have a veggie tray. I can honestly say that has never happened to me."

Things turned south quick when I realized which team "we" were playing. The jerk team. The jerk team, as I apparently call them, was the one we butted heads with last year. The one with the scrawny know-it-all with the 80's haircut and the seven foot 35 year old stuck in the glory days who seems to think this will be the game he finally gets drafted. I admit a bias. They really did cause problems when they tried to steamroll the Tuesday night pick-up games at our church house last year. Sure their gym was under construction and they've had the Tuesday night ritual for years, but this is our turf! Choose another night. Geez.

On with the game. We were getting a lot of fouls called on us but from what I could see both teams were playing rough. It's usually a good thing when one of the refs is from your ward (he plays on the geezer team), but not this time.

Munch, carrots.

We have a Polynesian WSU football player on our team who can appear quite intimidating but is the biggest tease. I look up from the sugar snap peas to see him getting escorted into the hall by a player on the other team. I hear something about him being the stake athletic director so he can make calls on the court if he wants to.* Our team member eventually gets a technical and the job of score-keeping on the sideline.

Munch, munch celery.

At one point the refs stopped the game and both teams huddle to regroup. Two members of our bishopric were there and went on the court to tell our team to cool it.

Munch, munch, munch cherry tomatoes.

The next thing I know, Greg is saying "That's the best call you made all night!" After which he stormed off the court in my direction, grabbed his coat from my lap, and headed for the door. In my confusion I asked, "What's going on?" "We're leaving." That was my cue to get up and get out.

Apparently Greg got kicked out of the game. It looked like he just decided to leave from my seat.

Saturday morning came and Greg started to worry a bit.

Greg: "In my parents' stake you have to talk to the stake president to get permission to play again if you get kicked out of a game."

Wendy: "For real?"

Greg: "I just hope I don't get called into the bishop's office tomorrow."

9:00 a.m. Sunday came with great apprehension.

Much to Greg's relief, he got slaps on the back from all. The first counselor in the bishopric complimented Greg on "the best comment of the game" and a member of the stake presidency had a good laugh about it with us.

I guess we'll be at the game tonight after all.


*This is where I took [biased] paraphrasing license

vacation

After at least a week long struggle with Photobucket (pictures showing up different sizes than they claimed to be-ugh), here are a few pictures of our trip to Cozumel...

View of the back of the resort. The large hut-like structure was where we ate breakfast and lunch. They strung rows of string along the open back to deter birds from flying in. They flew in from the other ends anyways and every few minutes you would hear the waiters clapping their hands to get the birds to fly out. The small orange building to the right is the "activities center" (pick up towels, rent water sports equipment, workout room, pool tables, etc.).



Another view of the back of the resort with Greg standing on the pier. Apparently a woman fell into the water here the day we left when she leaned over too far to look at the fish. I wish we would have seen it... The white house you see a glimpse of on the left was the governor's, come to find out. We caught a peek inside the gates and I think I may have dared Greg to go in.



The water to the left is the calm, clear water behind our resort. It was really interesting to see a distinct line of the change underwater when we snorkeled.



Fish you could see while standing on the pier. I wish we had an underwater camera to capture the really pretty ones we saw.



View from the beach chairs in the shade. A great place to relax with a good book. I loved the look/texture of these "umbrellas."



Beach chairs. Love the color and repetition of shape when they're all lined up.



View from the hammock.



LOVELY gear for our bike tour. Check out that bike! Greg's didn't have handlebar plugs and another lady that went with us had her chain fall off twice (sweet Greg fixed it for her).



Can you spot the iguana?



Squinty eyes from too many margaritas? I did mention our resort was all-inclusive, right?



We got a kick out of the lunch menu. Macarron and cheese? Delicious.



Greg teeing up for a round of mini-golf. Watch out for hole 12-it's a doozy!



How cute is he? Dinner at the resort restaurant.

rat

My boss asked me to tease her hair yesterday. I'm pretty sure that's not in my job description. Good thing too, because I'm not that great at it. I blame it on a lack of experience. (You may have noticed my hair has yet to reach the stratosphere.)

I obliged. The poor woman had surgery two weeks ago that left her right arm in a sling.

I later helped her carry her lunch from the cafeteria.

Should I be asking for a raise? Ok, I admit, she did buy me a slice of carrot cake.

I love my job.

two

It's going to be a long two days (Greg is at scout camp). I already miss him. Pathetic? We usually e-mail back and forth a bit throughout the day at work and it always makes the day go by faster. I tell him something funny a coworker said, he sends me a link to a ridiculous news story. I send him a quote from Kung Fu Panda, he replies with one from The Office. That's true love for you folks.

How do I console myself under such conditions? I already treated myself to lunch (Mexican, of course, since Greg won't touch it) and I plan on taking a long bubble bath tonight while I continue a re-read of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (refresher before the movie). Maybe this isn't so bad after all...

pills

I don't like pills very much. The result is I'm not good at taking them. It's not the remembering to take them part I have a problem with but the actual swallowing part. I think the dislike stems from several things: watching other athletes in high school become completely dependent on pills, hearing about a friend overdosing on pills (on purpose), and viewing first-hand the results of a parent of a friend abusing prescription drugs. I want none of that. On a less serious note, I just like to chew things. It's almost as if my throat refuses to swallow without chewing first. I don't do well with lollipops as you might have guessed. I fear I will never learn how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop.

The one pill I regularly take is really tiny and I considered it an accomplishment when I mastered taking it with only water. (My Mom will attest to the fact that this is simply amazing.) Now I take another pill and it's big. It's an anti-inflammatory for my left knee that's giving me problems after five pain-free years. It doesn't help that I almost cry everytime I have to take it with the reminder that I haven't been able to run for the last three weeks. There goes my summer racing plans! Don't remind me :(

The moral of the story is, taking pills usually means there's something wrong with me and who wants that? My throat hurts.

Best quote of the day (so far)

"Any time's a good time for a burrito," said my co-worker as she walked down the hall past my desk at 9:12 this morning, freshly microwaved burrito in tow.

I'm going to have to disagree on this one.

Thoughts?

Memoirs of Thanksgivings Past

I have Thanksgiving on the brain.


Is it possible to not completely LOVE this holiday? Granted there was the Thanksgiving when I was 4 and was relegated to Grandma Billie's to spend the holiday by myself (with no shirt on as I recall) while everyone else partied next door at Grandma & Grandpa Hancey's. Oh no, I wasn't bitter; granted this banishment was due to no wrongdoing on my part but rather a consequence of contracting Chicken Pox. In my parents' defense (so as not to paint my childhood as one of neglect and them as the guilty offenders), two babies under the ripe 'ol age of 4 months were present.


Other Thanksgiving memories:

• Hoping one of my cousins drew my name for the family Christmas gift exchange so I knew I would get something cute. Don't get me wrong, I love my brothers BUT I found out quickly that other girls knew what you would want better than boys.
• Wondering what they talked about at the "adult table" in the other room.
• Laughing at my Dad for spending more than one feast at the kid's table.
• Winning the family challenge by gaining 7.5 lbs. (All weigh-ins are monitored by another participant to ensure adherence to the rules.)
• Dominating the "Rootbeer Float Pie Contest" of '07. Ok, so "dominating" is up for debate but those pies certainly were tasty.
• Writing what I'm thankful for each year in the gratitude notebooks.
• Loving being with family.

What will tomorrow (my first Thanksgiving as a married woman) bring?

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is frying my brain. I have been in the process of creating THIS PAGE for a little while now and it's what I would call "reasonably complicated." It's a good thing you can look at the formatting for other pages; otherwise I never would have figured out how to format the columns. It's definitely been a good brain stretching exercise.

On an unrelated note, I had a Reese's Crispy Crunchy Bar today. Kind of weird.

As of late

I've had a seemingly unquenchable craving for CRAFTS. That's right. I bet you thought I was going to say cucumbers (for those that know me well) or chocolate (for those that know the natural food preferences of women in general - including me). I don't know why I've been having these cravings, but they have manifested themselves in a multitude of exciting projects. Everything from crepe paper decorating and cupcake frosting to quilt sewing and Halloween costume fashioning (for a giant inflatable man no less). Because that's what I've been craving as of late.

PICTURES COMING SOON.

Note to self

If the lunch you brought from home looks so gross that you know your co-workers will wonder what it could possibly be when they open the breakroom fridge, don't label it as the solution to their curiosity. Just don't eat that kind of "food" anymore.

We Recommend...

Shanghai Cafe
145 E. 1300 S. SLC
Really awesome Vietnamese food. They specialize in vegetarian dishes (although they do serve meat as well) and tofu never tasted so good. Try the vegetarian fried egg rolls and vegetarian chicken lemon grass. YUM!

The Organ Loft
3331 S. Edison St. SLC
Old silent films with live organ accompaniment = something everyone should see at least once. It's only $5 and popcorn and drinks are cheap too. Go early to get a good seat.

Note: This was the agenda for our date night last Friday and it was a blast! We saw the classic Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney and it was a packed house.

My husband is 12.

Don't worry, it's just biscuit dough.

[We had a date night with some friends @ Jared's property in Ogden Canyon. 10.03.08]

Wendy, Greg, Jared Hales

[Don't worry, Jared had his own date. I hate sharing Greg :) ]

More Bitesize Updates: ***Sorry for the weird formatting. I eventually gave up trying to fix it.***

Greg is gone deer hunting = time for me to finish a long overdo update:

AUGUST

Greg's friend Scott visited and they played a little wiffle ball.What was the final score again Scott? Har, har. Really though, we love having you visit!

Labor Day weekend meant some Grade A camping in the Uintas with the Willis crew. We had a great time hiking, fishing, 4-wheeling, camp firing, dutch-ovening, etc. Greg threw his first snowball of the season thanks to the snowfall that collapsed our tent the last night-luckily we were sleeping in the back of Ma & Pa Willis' Honda Pilot.

[Nice catch Christie (Greg's sister)!]

SEPTEMBER

We went for a long overdo hike up Adams Canyon.

Greg and his brothers (Leigh and Brad) competed in the Ogden Valley Triathlon @ Pineview Reservoir.

L-R: Greg, Brad, Leigh

Our new favorite thing = homemade caramel apples...

We've made better ones since these but there were still TASTY!

We were invited to watch the Weber State Homecoming Football game in President Millner's box. Lots of good food and fancy company - we felt like VIP's. We highly recommend it :)

What I'm thinking right now:

[This is inspired by recent e-mails at work from Greg asking what I'm thinking about at that very moment. Isn't he adorable?]

• How much I love listening to Greg sing along to his iPod while getting ready in the morning. He has a new cover of the "Oogie Boogie Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas -done by the one and only Tiger Army- that he gets really excited about :)
• I haven't worn make-up pretty much this whole week; not sure why. Although sometimes I don't put any on in the morning so I can have a refresher before I pick Greg up from work and it makes me feel way hotter (so glad I just admitted that).
• Some of the toliets at work have the auto-flush feature and others don't. I opt for the non-auto-flush; that's just a surprise I don't appreciate (translation: I found out about the auto-flush toliets by accident one day.).
• There are signs hanging up at my work that say "Making Ethical Training a Success." I laughed the first time I saw one. Why? Because of this:
  

• This is awesome.
• Favorite quote(s) from last night's episode of The Office: There's just too many good ones to pick from. Check them out. Or even better, watch the full episode.
• Pie. I got an e-mail telling me that Culinary Arts is going to be selling slices of pie for 25 cents at 11:00. Nope! Just kidding. I was just offered FREE donuts AND chocolate milk at 10:00. Sorry pie, you snooze you lose. And, I love chocolate milk so you really didn't stand a chance. This brings me to a story though:

STORY: The pie that is being sold at 11:00 today contains a mystery filling (according to the e-mail). Don't worry, I'm sure the people that made the pie know what's in it. I hope. Anyway, if you can guess what's in the pie, you get free lunch. Is it worth the risk???

STORY #2: A few weeks ago, Sunday September 14th to be exact, my Greg was in Denver and I journeyed down to K-Town hang-out with some Wilsons for the day. On that day, my Mom made a pie. She called it "mock apple pie." I was uncomfortable with that. Then, when she wouldn't reveal why it was a "mock" of real apple pie, I became really uncomfortable. I didn't eat that pie. Even after she told me what was in it. The best part is that now I don't remember what it was.......little help Mom?

• I love Fridays.

A Request

Dearest fellow bloggers,

My one and only will be gone having "manly time" (aka deer hunting) with the other Willis men for a few days next week. This means it's my chance to eat some serious mexican food :) [For those of you that didn't know, Greg doesn't enjoy Mexican cuisine.]

That brings me to my request: if you have any great recipes, please share! You can even post them on your own blog for others to enjoy as well!

Just to clear things up, I will be lonely and depressed without my Greg so if anyone wants to get together I would love it! :)