Home, Sweet... Ugh.

So we came home. This is depressing because when I was in LA, I was convinced that it was SUMMER now! Even though I was still expecting sweater weather for Disneyland, I adapted pretty quickly to short sleeves and warm weather outfits. Divine. When we stayed with my aunt, we even walked to the grocery store (where we found and purchased full-fat honey greek yogurt, at 10 gr of fat per 4 oz, which was supposed to be for Gulliver but I easily ate over half of it). And here, now that we're home? It's snowing. A sad reminder that we still have at least three months before we catch up to the California weather.

Every time I visit southern California, I feel like I learn something new about my mom. Last time I was there, I think what I paid attention to the most was all the vegetation. All the different plants. Because I look at it all, and then I imagine my mom moving from Los Angeles up to Porcupine Ontario. Big, big change. And I'm not saying anything negative about where I grew up. What I am saying is that since I was born there and only ever knew my mom in that context, it's strange for me to visit the place where she actually grew up, and realize that her life was way way different than I could ever imagine it.

This time, I of course was struck by the weather. The fact that winter can entirely bypass a place that is in the continental United States still baffles me. When I've heard about people going to Florida in the winter, I guess I really have always imagined people going to a place where there is a milder winter. Now that I've visited LA in February... well, I realize that my mom made a big, BIG move, going to a place with -40 winters. I also understand a little better why my dad told her to get her head out of California when she walked to the end of the driveway in bare feet in the middle of the winter.

When I was talking to my mom about this big revelation, she said that when she first moved up to Canada, she asked my dad what kids did if they received a bike for Christmas. My dad told her that they would ride it around in the basement. He asked what kids in California would do. She said they'd ride it around outside in their pajamas.

Anyway. I'm ready to go back. Immediately. To California. I would quite happily leave THIS INSTANT if you told me that I could go and spend another week there. Or, you know. The rest of the winter there.

SF 2009!!

Every year for the past three years, I have gone to San Diego to visit Switchback. It's a Pioneer Day tradition (although the definition of "Pioneer Day" changes from year to year). This year, however, Switchback has moved to Provo (Yay!!!) and we don't need to drive 10 hours to see her. So instead, we're going to drive MORE hours to go see San Francisco. It's my first time, and Murray can be my guide. I'm so excited. It also seems like such an adult vacation. It's still weird for me to be in the pilot seat of my vacations. It seems like such a parent thing to do, and then I defer to all their decisions. Even visiting Switchback wasn't totally grown-up because we always stayed with her for free, and we didn't really plan what we were going to do until we were actually there.

So here's our tentative plan. I don't like to give dates, because robbers can break into my home, but just so that the robbers know, my mom will be in town while we're away and she'll be using our home. And we have a bad-A neighborhood watch neighbor who keeps an eye on things. So don't even think about it.

Day 1: Drive to Carson City to stay with KT and her family. It has been years since she and I have had a chance to really sit down and visit, so this will be wonderful.
Day 2: Drive to San Francisco. Check into the apartment we're subletting for a week. The apartment sounds great and it is in a cool location as far as I can tell. Close to Golden Gate Bridge and close to water. Soooooo cool!
Day 3: Play in SF!
Day 4: Play in SF!
Day 5: Teach a little and play in SF!
Day 6: Teach a little and play in SF!
Day 7: Teach a little and play in SF!
Day 8: Drive to Lake Tahoe to camp
Day 9: Drive home

I am so grown up. I planned all that myself!

Any suggestions of must-do's in San Francisco?

Vacation in Orem

It's no secret that I've been a little overbooked and a little bit stressed lately. So this weekend, I took an unexpected vacation... in Orem. Friday was Murray's sister's birthday, so I met up with the girls and kids of the family to celebrate and have fun at the park. Here's Gulliver at the park.


Then I had students come over to Murray's parents' house for an Illustrator lesson. That same evening, Murray had a commitment with friends (for the first time in our marriage) and conveniently Murray's sister (not the bday girl) was spending the night at her parents' with her kids, so we were able to have a sort of girls' night. You know, with kids! She and I slipped away to go to the Gap so that I could do some online shopping returns and there I found two pairs of wonderful pants for $20 each (steal!) and a really nice cardigan---great clothes for BlogHer '09!

Murray was going to be out late, so I told him that I was spending the night at his parents' and he could join me, and I told him which room I'd be in so that he didn't accidentally crawl into bed with his sister.

I visited all evening with my mil and sil and the kids and it was great.

Saturday morning, Murray left to go and teach a couple of students, and I spent the morning and afternoon playing some more with my in-laws. Can I just take a moment to say how much I love my in-laws? Murray and I both lucked out in the family department. We both absolutely love our own families and we adore each other's families, and we are sooooo grateful for the fact that we know that we'll never have family stress as part of our marriage. (Until Gulliver marries a girl who I can't get along with and she steals my baby away from me!!!)

My nephew, "Cody," who is nine sat me down and asked, "You know how you call [Gulliver] Gulliver on the blog? Well... I was wondering... what would you call me on the blog?"

"Hmm. Well. I don't know. What about Jedi Boy?"

He scrunched up his nose and said, "No."

"Well, what would you like to be called?"

"I'd like to be called Cody."

So here's a picture of Cody with his turkeys:


I also spent some time coloring with my niece. She thought that I made really really nice clouds. And then she colored in the clouds purple, which I may have indicated was a little silly. When the picture was done, there wasn't a single white space left on it. She said that we should give the picture to baby Gulliver, so I said we needed to sign our names to it so that it would be worth more. But then there wasn't a white space left to sign our names. I let her know that if someone hadn't colored in the clouds purple then we could have signed our names in the clouds, and she indicated that she thought that was a little silly. Names in the clouds! Then she suggested signing our names on the boy's face, which I told her was the worst idea yet. Ultimately, we went for the grass.

I didn't spend any one-on-one time with the youngest nephew, but when I was at their house a couple weeks ago, I spent about twenty seconds with him on the trampoline. Only twenty seconds because that's all it took for me to discover that my bladder control post-baby isn't what it once was.

The weekend was sooooo relaxing and I just realized that all I needed was to get away from my computer for a little while. It was wonderful. On Saturday evening, Murray and I went to see Up (which was excellent, and the animate short was my favorite to date, and the movie made me cry without being emotionally manipulative).

On Sunday, we got together with the in-laws again. Usually, Murray and I meet up with Steve and Cici (Murray's brother + wife) at their parents' house for Sunday dinner. (Before me and Cici, the boys would just go home every Sunday for dinner where their parents would ask them about their dating lives.) Steve recently asked his mom if she would take dinner requests, and I know that she's all about dinner requests because she hates having to plan meals. He requested artichokes, and I just happen to make artichokes a lot every spring, so I volunteered. We had a wonderful meal of salmon and potatoes and artichokes, and at the end of it all, I said we should get more requests, so Steve decided "flan!" off the top of his head, and I happen to know of a good flan recipe that I had at my cooking club, so I volunteered for that one, too! Can't wait for next week!

Here is Gulliver taking a Sunday nap in a fort I made for him so that he wouldn't roll off the bed. I also threw a rattle in there so that when he woke up, I'd hear the rattle and come rescue him.

On our way out, we ran into Murray's best friend and his wife and son. It was a great photo op to get the friends and introduce the boys. The last time they met, Gulliver was only a week or so old.


So that was my wonderful, relaxing weekend. And here are some other pictures from before the weekend:

Gulliver's first pool at the Bean's birthday party, Thursday evening.


Gulliver's wrinkly pool feet.


Gulliver in our bedding that we bought at Ikea. I was ready for a change and wanted something very light and bright and summery.

Gulliver in a cart for the first time. He lasted about 3 minutes. He didn't like the cart and preferred to be carried by his #1 dad.

On Vacation

I thought I should put up a couple pictures to give you a hint of what we've been up to lately.

Another hint as to where we are: It may only be midnight Utah time when I'm posting this, but out here it's 2:00 a.m. and Gulliver is still wide awake. And we're getting up at 6:00 tomorrow morning (four hours from now) to go look at cherry blossoms.

Not Disneyland, Part 2: A Screenplay

[It's 10:00 pm in the Terreno di Amore home. Cicada sits on the couch watching television. Murray comes downstairs towards her. She hears him as he comes.]

Murray: Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

[Cicada fumbles for the remote and pauses her program.]

Cicada: What?

[Murray stumbles into the living room, holding his head.]

Murray: Oh no. Oh no.

Cicada: What happened?

Murray: I sliced my head open on the ledge of my drawing desk. I felt it go in deep. It's going to start bleeding a lot really soon.

Cicada: Oh! Okay. Um... let me help.

[Cicada and Murray go to the kitchen sink. Murray takes his hand away from the wound; two fingers are covered in blood. Cicada takes a paper towel, folds it in quarters, and applies it to the wound.]

Cicada: Should we go to the ER?

Murray: I could hear it slice into my head. I think I'm definitely going to need stitches. It's pretty deep.

Cicada: Okay. You go sit down. I'll call my visiting teacher because she's a nurse and she can tell us if we should go.

[Murray sits down and Cicada calls her visiting teacher.]

Cicada: Hi, Katie?

Katie (sounds groggy): Are you okay? Is everything okay?

Cicada: I'm fine. My husband cut his head on a desk and we were just wondering if we should go to the ER.

Katie: What does it look like?

Cicada: Hm. I haven't really looked at it. Let's see. [Removes paper towel from Murray's head. The wound isn't bleeding too badly.] Oh. It's about 3/4 inch long and the sides aren't touching... We should probably go to the ER, huh?

Katie: I hate to tell people not to go to the ER. Your biggest worry is that it would get infected. Since Instacare is closed, I'd go to the ER. Go to Orem Community because they're much less busy at night.

Cicada: Okay. Should I give him Tylenol or anything?

Katie: Don't give him anything, but you can put ice on it.

Cicada: Okay. Thanks. [Hangs up phone.] Okay, Murray. We do need to go to the ER.

Murray: Okay.

[Cicada gets an ice pack for Murray. Cicada and Murray leave the house together; Murray is wearing a t-shirt, pajama pants, and a nice grey blazer. Cicada is dressed as if she attended a fake funeral earlier in the day, which, in fact, she did.]

[In the car, driving to the hospital, Murray and Cicada begin to joke about their unexpected date to the ER and the events of the evening.]

Cicada: I think that I woke up my visiting teacher. She sounded pretty tired. Oh well. It's her job.

Murray: Do you think that she's ticked that you called?

Cicada: Uh, well, no. I mean, she's my visiting teacher. That's what they're supposed to do is be there to help and be called upon.

Murray: Yeah, but no one ever actually does that.

Cicada: Sure they do! You can ask your visiting teachers and home teachers to do stuff. That's what they're there for!

Murray: Yeah, but it's an unspoken rule that you don't actually ever take them up on their offer to help you if there's anything you need.

Cicada: That's so not true.

Murray: Yes it is. You're not supposed to actually ask them to do anything.

Cicada: I've always asked my visiting teachers or home teachers to do something for me if I needed their help. Like the one time that The Boy sat on my bed and it couldn't support both our weight and it broke. When my home teachers asked if there was anything they could do, I asked if either of them could weld metal. One said he could, and I told him that he could fix my bed for me! I gave him the broken parts and he fixed it! Or there was the time my grandma died and I called my visiting teacher at one in the morning to ask her to drive me and The Boy to the airport at 6:00 that very morning. This is how the system works!

Murray: Yeah, but nobody does that. At least it's not done here in Utah.

Cicada: You are a horrible person.

[The couple pulls up to Orem Community ER. They enter the tiny ER waiting/reception room. A mother with her son are ahead of them in line, checking in.]

Cicada: It's so funny waiting in line in an ER. No one ever seems to be in a big hurry.

Murray: I know! Don't they prioritize by the severity of the injury?

Cicada: Well, yeah, they probably do. But if you're waiting in line, they figure your injury isn't bad enough to warrant immediate care.

[Murray gives Cicada a skeptical look.]

Cicada: Well, it's true! If you had severed your arm, we wouldn't be standing here in line with me holding your severed arm. We'd get in right away.

Murray: I don't know. There's not many people around here.

Cicada: Yeah, but if I were waving around your severed arm, and we were yelling, people would come and help us immediately.

Murray: Oh, I know! You'd get immediate help if you came on an ambulance. You have to come by ambulance.

Cicada: You can drive up to the ER yourself and still get immediate assistance. Haven't you ever watched ER?

Murray: That's a dramatization and I don't watch shows like that.

Cicada: Well, people can just drive up, and they drag their friend's body through the doors and they yell, "Somebody help me! Help me!" If this were a serious injury, we'd be making a lot more noise.

Murray: But that's in places like Chicago.

Cicada: The same stuff happens here in Orem, too. Just on a less frequent basis. If we were making a lot of noise, we'd get service immediately.

[The receptionist finishes with the mother and son, and Murray and Cicada check in. They then go to their seats to wait and watch the Jay Leno show on TV.]

Murray: I hate that guy.

Cicada: Didn't you tell me yesterday that I have a prominent chin, but not a Jay Leno chin?

[Murray and Cicada intermittently watch the Jay Leno show, discuss whether or not they would choose to plastinate Murray's severed arm a la Body Worlds, and laugh about the fact that with Cicada's pregnant belly, everyone should assume that she's the one who needs to be in the ER.]

Cicada: Do you want me to take a picture of your head wound with my iPhone and then you can see it?

Murray: Yeah.


[Cicada takes a picture of Murray's head wound and then shows it to him. The couple laughs about the head wound. Others in the ER begin to get restless and ask when it's going to be their turn to leave. The mother and son are soon called away. Murray and Cicada are left alone in the room with one other ER patron, a plump young lady in her 20s.]

ER Patron: So why are you here?

Murray: I hit my head on the ledge of my desk and cut it open.

ER Patron: I figured you guys would be the first to be called in.

Cicada: Yeah... it's really not that bad. But we were wondering how people are prioritized.

ER Patron: This is a better place to come than Utah Valley Regional, though. The last time I went there, I waited for five hours.

Murray: Wow. This is lots better.

ER Patron: Yeah. [To Cicada:] When are you due?

Cicada: January 4th.

[They talk about the baby for a while until Murray and Cicada are called back to the ER. Back in the ER, a doctor and nurse inspect Murray's wound. They marvel at the amount of hair that has been mashed into the deep cut. They dig out the hair, disinfect the wound, and inject it with numbing agent to prepare for the staples. This is the most painful part, and Murray makes a face that communicates his pain and makes his insensitive wife laugh. The doctor inserts two staples into Murray's head, a la Frankenstein, and tell the couple they are free to leave as soon as they have their discharge/staple care instruction sheets. On their way out of the ER, Cicada generously offers to treat Murray to his copay. She whips out her wallet and pays the receptionist $200.]

Murray: Wow. Two hundred dollars.

Cicada: I know! We're slowly but surely spending all that money that we would have spent if we had decided to go to Disneyland.

Murray: I wouldn't have hurt my head and had to go to the ER if we'd gone to Disneyland. We could have had a wonderful day of fun and adventure at Disneyland for that amount of money.

Cicada: Instead we got to spend an hour in the ER. It's like Adventureland.

Murray: That is not my Fantasyland.

Not Disneyland

A few months ago, Murray's sisters announced that they were going to go to Disneyland for the first few days of December. Of course we were invited, but everyone basically understood that at that point, I'd be super pregnant and ready to burst at any moment.

Well, a little over a week ago, I realized that the trip was only a week away, and although I was pregnant, I didn't feel super pregnant, and I didn't feel as if I were ready to burst. I figured I'd be up for a trip to Disneyland. Murray loves Disneyland so much, and I really wanted the opportunity of going with him and his family and experiencing the park with him. (I went when I was 9 and was singularly unimpressed, to be honest. But I was ready for Murray to change my mind.)

So I told Murray that I figured we could go. I called the doctor and found out that 35 weeks was the cut off point for travel, and since I'd only be 34 weeks, I'd be okay to go. So we made plans to go to Disneyland, and we were really excited.

And then I went in for a diabetes appointment one week before we would have left, and I was reminded that I was actually 34 weeks. One week before leaving for Disneyland. Which would put me at 35 weeks when it was actually time to leave for Disneyland. Which is the cut off point for travel.

We went to the doctor's office the next morning for our regularly scheduled appointment and asked the doctor if it really was such a big deal for me not to travel at 35 weeks. And she said that she really couldn't recommend it. She said that we could go and be absolutely fine, or we could go and have the baby. She said that the choice was ours to make, but as our doctor, she had to recommend against it.

And Murray said that he'd bet money that I wouldn't have the baby while we were in California, but then we realized that we'd literally be betting $10,000 on it, because that's what it would cost to have an out-of-network baby.

So we canceled our trip. Poor, poor Murray. It's one of many sacrifices that we'll be making for this baby.

BUT, I figured that Murray needed a little getaway, not to replace Disneyland, but to at least make up for it in some small way. So yesterday we had a surprise date. I sent him to work dressed up in a shirt and tie and told him that we'd leave straight from work for our evening's activities.

After work, I picked Murray up and we drove together to Salt Lake City, where I took him to Madeline's, a steak house. Murray had recently decided that if he were able to choose his last meal, it would be a good steak. The decor of the steak house was very... not our style. There were animal heads mounted all over, and signs about cowboys. But our food was delicious!

After dinner, we headed to the Gateway to kill some time before the night's main (and still secret) event. When we headed back to the car, Murray was surprised that we weren't walking to the night's main event. He had guessed that I was taking him to a 3-D movie at the Planetarium. Nope!

We made our way closer and closer to the University of Utah and I started hinting at what we'd be doing. Within a couple of blocks of Kingsbury Hall, Murray finally figured out that we were going to see the Odyssey Dance Company's version of It's a Wonderful Life, Murray's favorite movie. I told him that it's a family tradition, since last year we went to Springville's local production of It's a Wonderful Life. Every year, we'll have to try and find a new adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life to see!

Murray is an excellent gift receiver, and he made me feel like I'd just given him the moon! We enjoyed the production very much and then had a nice drive back home.

So here is how our evening was like Disneyland:

* A themed restaurant with fake (or dead) animals.
* A Disney Princess---Sleeping Beauty. (See photo.)
* A show (Murray keeps telling me that Disneyland is not about the rides---it's about the shows).

Here is how our evening was not like Disneyland:

* Really good food for not too much money.
* No animatronics.
* About 1/5th of the expense.
* We didn't have a baby in the It's a Small World tunnel.

Murray my love, we'll make it to Disneyland soon!

My Mountain Man

I promised you all that I'd share the tale of Murray the Mountain Man as soon as I had pictures, and now I have pictures!

As part of our family vacation two weeks ago, we spent a couple of nights at my sister-in-law's family cabin out in Weber County. The time spent at the cabin really helped us feel like we were actually getting away on vacation. No phones. No internet. It was blissful. Well, it was blissful for me, who stayed at the cabin at all times to gestate my fetus and to sometimes take care of my niece and nephew. Others had a less relaxing time, as they packed their days with rigorous, rugged activities. And where there was a mountain experience to be had, Murray was always at the front of the line volunteering.

Almost as soon as we arrived at the cabin, my dad and Captain Fabuloso got ready to go fishing. They invited Murray along and he readily accepted that invitation. Unfortunately he had the wrong footwear, so they outfitted him with a pair of cowboy boots and gave him a fishing hat to make him official. He proudly wore the fishing hat for the rest of his mountain activities to show the change from "City Murray" to "Mountain Man Murray."

Here's Murray and Dad and Captain F back with their catch. What a catch!!


Here's Murray cleaning the fish.


From this picture, I bet you can guess that Murray didn't participate in the licking of guts like El Senor did.


The next day, almost everyone went out on the horses, and Murray, who had never ridden a horse on his own before, also participated. Once again, I stayed home and gestated. Please note that he is still a mountain man because he is still wearing the mountain man hat.


During the horse ride, my sil told my mom about Jim Bridger's cabin, that was 3/4 the way up the mountain side. He'd built it with a couple of men who wanted to trap with him. They chose their strategic location because it was too steep for horses to access, and it would give them a lot of time to prepare in case Indians ever wanted to go after them. And to my understanding, the Indians were never that dumb anyway.

My mom absolutely wanted to hike to Jim Bridger's cabin herself, and Richie decided he'd go, too. Murray, not to be outdone by his mother-in-law (grandmother of 2.6), signed up for the adventure, too. My sil warned them again and again that it wasn't a nice little hike, and there was no trail, and that it was pretty awful. But the party insisted on finding the cabin, so we let them go.

Several hours later, they came back with their tale to tell. Richie was the only one who ever made it up to the cabin. By the time the mountain slope got to be about 80 degrees, my mom and Murray were exhausted and no longer really had the desire to conquer the mountain or see Jim Bridger's cabin. They'd been gone for hours, and the hike up to the cabin would take another hour at least, of simply scrambling up the mountainside.



The return trip wasn't as easy as they thought either, since the mountain was so steep. Mom and Murray came down the mountain mostly on their butts.


After his mountain adventure, though, I was able to care for and nuture my manly mountain man. He deserved all that pampering and more! I am now certain that if Murray and I were lost in the wilderness, he'd be prepared to take care of us and fight for our survival.

So delinquent!

I apologize for the lack of posts. Life has been pretty busy! And for the past three workdays straight, I feel like I've been doing nothing but emailing. Not the friendly chatty emailing but the productive work emailing. And then I get sad because I don't receive money per email I send or anything. Maybe I should raise my rates...

(By the way, I'm emailing so much because I'm accepting enrollments for the Photoshop and Illustrator classes. Remember those? If you're interested, you know where to find them...)

But here's a summary of events from our recent happenings:

* Had family vacation with my parents and Ricky in town. Will post about some of those activities if I ever get photos from my mother and video from my brother.

* Learned that Murray is a true mountain man. Will report on all the details (including the scratch on his bum that ripped through his underwear and drew blood) when I get pictures from my mom. (Pictures will not include bum scratch, which is for my eyes only.)

* Clicky has potentially died for good, but maybe not, but because of the near-life threat, we've been car shopping. And guess what I've found out I prefer to car shopping. I prefer having ONE car and not even having to deal with buying a new one. So maybe I'll start advocating being a one-car family! Or maybe we'll just get Clicky into the shop and find out that she's doing just fine. She's just a little smoky.

* Murray and I attended the Monet to Picasso art exhibit at the U and almost got kicked out because Murray slyly tried to take a photo with his iPhone. The security guard got on his case immediately (I swear we looked for signs, and it's not like it's flash photography, and all the paintings are public domain, so what's the big deal?). I heard the security guard call in to all the other guards telling them about Murray. Then as we continued our way through the exhibit, I saw the guard approach every guard in every new room we entered, telling them about us. I know because they were all staring at us, and I heard him say, "...taking pictures with his phone..." and I saw him mime the action of taking a sly picture with an iPhone. Anyway, besides that little bit of humiliating unpleasantness, I maintain that Murray is the best person to go to an art show with. His knowledge about all the artists and all the pieces really blows me away. (If you remember, he scored major points during our second date at the BYU art museum where he acted as my own personal tour guide.)

* Murray and I gathered all the artwork in our home to finally decide what is going to go where. And while all the frames and artwork were out, I was carrying a frame and dropped it on my big toenail. The toenail got all black, and it was pretty much the most horrible pain ever. Then Murray learned that to relieve the pain, we needed to poke through the nail with a red hot needle to relieve the pressure. So Murray and I together performed an at-home surgery. And it sucked. But my toe is feeling much better now, thank you.


That's a good enough update for now! We'll see what I can do about the mountain man post. Mom? Pictures?

San Diego trip 2008

This past weekend, Murray and I headed to San Diego for our annual vacation with Switchback. It's too bad that we didn't time it right with Nemesis's honeymoon, because it would have been totally fun to hang out with the Nemeses in San Diego, too.

Here are my vacation highlights:

Lots of travel time in the car with Murray. I love spending time with him and we don't actually get bored with talking to each other in the car for hours on end. Some of our discussions during the trip were... questionable and insightful. We'll leave it at that. We both love that we're married to someone who we can discuss absolutely any taboo subject with. We didn't actually listen to much music; we listened to a lot of The Ricky Gervais Show podcasts, which were great. A few of our discussions centered around whether Karl Pilkington was really for real (Murray insisted that he was and I insisted that he couldn't be) but we eventually reached a mutual understanding that some of the show absolutely is set up, but in general, the ideas and thoughts that Karl Pilkington shares are genuine.

Spending time on the beach. Murray and I got to the beach a little late on Saturday but we enjoyed meandering over there and taking our time. Once we were on the beach, we were able to enjoy ourselves quite a bit. We had assumed that we'd have one more beach visit during the trip, but we didn't, so I'm glad that we made the first one count. And as a pregnant woman, it was nice (really nice) not to have to worry about sucking in my gut the whole time we were there. Phew! My gut is my pride and glory right now!! I let it all hang out. I started rubbing my tummy during the vacation, and I think that helped it to grow some. It also helped other people to know that it was a pregnant gut, not a fat gut.

Spending an evening in Little Italy with Murray and Switchback. We went to an art gallery where both Switchback and Murray impressed the owner with their knowledge (Murray with his art history, and Switchback with her history-history, which gave insight into one of the pieces). We ate at a good restaurant and enjoyed one another's company. Afterwards, Switchback took us to the pier where we looked at street art and almost got run over by rickshaw bicycles. Several times. Switchback is the greatest hostess and tour guide. Unfortunately on this trip, she didn't ever bust out her metal pointer. Next year? Also, I got a restaurant to let us use their bathroom even though we weren't paying customers because I stuck out my tummy, rubbed it, and waddled into the lobby. Perks! Perks!

(I complained that the menu of the restaurant where we ate used Papyrus as its font. After the restaurant, we passed this unique plant that we really liked and seems to be a common graphic design inspiration lately. When we were wondering out loud what it was, a passerby told us it was Papyrus. Who knew?)

Going to the single's ward with Switchback. It was the quietest church I've been to since November 2007. So lovely! But of course then I was reminded, when they announced the FHE wiffleball tournament that silence in Sacrament meeting comes with a very, very high price.

Going to a big band concert in a park where we got to spend more time visiting with Switchback, Switchback's sister and brother-in-law, and Kelly Roxanne. Switchback made a great salad and peach pie for dessert. I took a second piece of pie because I'm pregnant. Perks! Perks! Murray was still in his church clothes because we didn't have time between church, our afternoon activities, and the concert to go home to change. Except I remembered to ask Switchback to bring me some pants, but forgot to have her grab clothes for Murray. So everyone who met us will have just assumed that Murray is a really really righteous person.

Going to Sea World. I kept calling it Marine Land and the Marine Land jingle was in my head all day long. I can get behind a theme park based on aquatic life. I got to feed and pet sting rays and dolphins. It was absolutely worth every penny. Then I had to question whether I made the right decision to become a graphic designer and not a marine biologist, but I wouldn't have found Murray if I'd become a marine biologist, so I know I made the right choice. Marine Land was a great place to go (see? I didn't actually call it Marine Land on purpose just then---proof that advertising works, because the only place I ever heard of as a kid in lots and lots of commercials was Marine Land) as far as theme parks are concerned because I got to sit a lot. We did lots of shows, and the weather was ideal except for during the dolphin show when the sun scorched one side of my neck. Switchback joined us in the evening in time for the sea lion and otter show that makes fun of the other shows. It was really funny and entertaining, and when the otter came running across the stage pushing a cart, acting like a human, I actually had tears well up in my eyes because I could not handle the cuteness. I might be tearing up again just thinking about it.



I could go on and on about Sea World. Lots of it was cheesy, and it's a good thing that I was with Murray who could join me in making fun of all the cheesiness. For the final show, there was no one sitting beside me or Murray on our whole bench. Then a family of a culture that has different personal space perceptions came to sit beside us and the mother literally sat with her whole arm and shoulder pressed up against me. I inched over, and she inched over. So I moved a couple feet over and put my purse on the bench next to me. And then Murray and I laughed a lot.

(This guy was lurking right behind Murray's head and he turned around and jumped---Murray, not the fish.)

Also, Murray and I did something really smart. You know when you agonize over a decision, and in the end you make the wrong decision and then you just keep being bothered by the fact that you made the wrong decision? Well, on Monday Murray and I made the RIGHT decision. Sea World was offering Meal Passes, where you can eat for "free" all day at select Sea World restaurants if you pay $28. I knew that the food prices were going to be high, so we kept debating if this was what we should do. We carefully read the rules of the pass, and it stated that the wrist-band wearer would get one meal for every time he or she went through the line. There was no other limitations. So we bought one meal pass that Murray used. Then we shared every meal that we bought. And it was plenty of food for both of us. So for $28, we ate three meals at an amusement park. It's more expensive than sneaking in your own sandwiches, but I figure we made out pretty well for an amusement park. Plus, we got to split this Shamu cookie.



All in all, it was a great trip, like it always is. And Switchback is the greatest hostess. Of course, having her married, pregnant friend and husband come to stay with her for several days in a house that she shares with roommates could definitely... push her roommates' patience. Next year, we realize that with a baby we definitely can't do the same thing. So we'll go to San Francisco instead and stay with Switchback's mom, Truth. Mothers always love babies, so I'm sure that we'll be welcome when we invite ourselves.

(She's pregnant, too.)

Don't Mess with Canada. Part Trois: Texas

Okay, so I have already posted some Texas pictures, but here's the rest!

We went to Texas for Murray's brother's wedding. Here is my favorite shot of the bride. Murray took it while she was trying to get ahold of her photographer who was late.

After the wedding in San Antonio, Murray and I headed to his old mission stomping grounds. Here we are visiting one of Murray's favorite sassy ladies.

Remember this map? Now look at that red dot. Now look at the Gulf of Mexico. Yep. We went from Red Dot to Galviston, on the Gulf of Mexico. We're that cool. In fact, we were recently watching a Planet Earth where snow geese were discussed. Apparently snow geese make this trip every year. But it take them four months. So as we dipped our feet into the warm waters of the gulf, we said, "Suck it, snow geese!"

This was honestly my favorite part of the trip. I had a big sense of accomplishment. Really! Four coasts in one year! I'll be dedicating an entire post to our coasts later. Because I'm that proud. Anyway. People were watching us take pictures and celebrate by yelling "Yatta!" (Like Hiro). But they really didn't understand just how much cooler we were than they. Did they just complete a four-coast pilgrimage? I think not.

Don't Mess with Canada. Part Deux.

Here is the second half of our Canadian adventure photos. Of course, our "Don't Mess with Canada" saga will continue with a few more Texas pictures. Maybe tomorrow.

Murray panning for gold at the Timmins Gold Mine tour. Never mind the fact that panning for gold is a Californian thing and wasn't done in Timmins.

A view of Timmins.

The two of us, in the underground mine tour, with a leftover miner.

Heading underground. We actually learned lots of interesting things on our mine tour. Gold mining is what Timmins was founded on, so I made the trip to the gold mine a must for Murray.


This next series of photos demonstrates the bug problem this year. Most Timminsonians we spoke to agreed that this was the worst year for bugs that they'd ever lived through (of course, they haven't all lived through it yet....). The bitter thing about living in Timmins is that you have eight solid months of winter, and when you can finally enjoy some mild weather, the blood sucking insects are out there to enjoy it with you. This series demonstrates the difficulty of taking a picture while being swarmed by mosquitos and black flies. Note the progression:

This is the outhouse at our cottage. We affectionately named the ravine where the outhouse was "Hog's Hollow." We had years of fun at the cottage before we had actual plumbing, so Hog's Hollow was very familiar to each of us. And every night, we'd all take a trip to Hog's Hollow (in the dark) and siblings would hide in the bushes and jump out to scare us. Good times.

Taking a dip in the lake.

On our way back to Toronto, we stopped by again to see Scotty and Myrtle, my great aunt and uncle. They are perhaps the funniest, warmest, most endearing couple on this earth. Scotty still runs his barbershop (you can see a picture of him and grandpa on Murray's blog)

Grandpa and Myrtle just happened to wear the same outfit.

And to give you some idea of what life is like when Scotty and Myrtle team up with Grandpa, here they are with the plumber. Who they joyfully invited into the photo, and who joyfully joined them.

I had to include this one of Scotty because this is the expression on his face about 90 percent of the time. When we first showed up (unannounced) on their doorstep on our way to Timmins, Scotty greeted each of us with this same level of enthusiasm. He is a riot. And of course, everything he says is even funnier because after over sixty years of living in Canada, he still has his thick, thick Scottish brogue.

Here is Murray at Niagara Falls, on our way back to Buffalo.

The two of us at the Falls, right about where Superman saved a falling child in Superman II, as Murray pointed out.

THE END
(Of Part Deux.)
(With a photo that shows what Murray appreciates when he thinks no one's watching.)