Meema prepared this Pinteresting get-the-candy game.
We rented a snow cone machine and watched movies on the lawn.
A dear cousin is expecting a girl after two boys! Girly celebrating time!
Eat, Play, Love
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this article written by me: the Utah-residing nerdling daughter who hopped onto the Enterprise on its way to Meema’s house in Blackfoot, Idaho. I have been asked by the mothership to write a guest article for this blog about any topic I wanted. As a mature and responsible adult/college student/married woman who takes duties like this seriously, I decided the topic of this article would be…food.
You see, because of some recent health issues, I had to begin following new dietary restrictions starting the day before joining the rest of the family for the weekend. While these restrictions should be over within a few weeks, I have not been able to have any chocolate, soda, ice cream, and most wheat and dairy products. This is not the kind of diet one would prefer for a weekend with family at Meema’s house.
What is often easy to forget is that meals are social in nature. Several times, family members have enthusiastically suggested meal or restaurant options before catching my eye, remembering my current limitations, dropping the smile from their face, and uttering a quick “Nevermind.” I have also been offered pieces of candy, carbonated beverages, and even sandwiches that I have most definitely wanted, but have had to politely refuse.
No rudeness was intended on anyone’s part, and everyone has been very supportive, but when I was made aware of my new diet, I thought I would have to make a few slight adjustments at mealtimes and would have to skip out on dessert. I absolutely did not expect my very ability to socialize to be affected so strongly. What I can eat directly affects my social interactions, because food and socialization are so closely related.
Many times, I focus my vacation time on my temporary ability to eat, drink, and be merry to my heart’s content, and freeloading on my family’s Coca-Cola, Cheez-Its, and ice cream. However, with that option having been removed, I have been able to focus more fully on spending time interacting with my family, and less on helping myself to an extra couple of pounds on the hips. So no, I cannot make s’mores at the campfire, or have any of Meema’s homemade pizza, but until I get off my diet in a few weeks, I can enjoy the opportunity I now have to focus on making memories with my family.
This article is dedicated to my Dungeon Master in Well-Worn Armor, who has stowed way a pile of chocolates that he won so that I could eat them when my restrictions are over.
Dale made it safely back to Tampa, and then back to the airport to join the Tampa contingent going to Jamboree. These are his leaders by Van Gogh’s “Roses.”
I have written before about the seeming carelessness of some folks out here. It happened again.
Yesterday at Hobby Lobby I was waiting in a long line, watching a mom with two little girls, ages four and two. They were in cute little outfits, with Pinteresting braids in their hair. The girls were screaming for candy and the mom snapped, “No candy. You guys just had shakes.” This was the last mother-child interaction for a few minutes, as Mom was busy with the cashier. After the older girl gave up screaming, she started systematically taking the candy and dropping it on the floor. Her little sister began to help. When Mom scooped up the littler one, she left the candy on the floor, and the older girl began skipping about from aisle to aisle, merrily pulling things off of shelves and dropping them on the floor behind her, all the while looking to see if Mom would notice. She did not.
Now, I don’t know this mom. I don’t know what her burden is. I don’t know what else she had had to deal with that day. I could only surmise from appearances that she had not yet invested much time in teaching her little ones how to behave at the store. This mom needed help. After all, it takes a village.
Other moms started putting the things back on the shelves. I did not. Seeing the child a full 50 feet from her mother, I leaned down and whispered, in my scariest mom-voice, “Where I come from, we let the alligators eat little girls who don’t stay close to their moms!” You’re welcome, random mom.
This is a photo of our campsite on our first night in Provo. The Death Star is just visible on the right. The camper in the center of the photo belongs to some Canadians and has a feature called a slide-out, where part of the camper bubbles out. As an RV-er, you have a duty to place your camper, including slide-outs, so that it does not obstruct shared utilities. Please note in the bottom center of the photo, the shared water utility, accessible only by crawling under their RV.
Also just to the right of the slide-out is the electrical box. It’s cover was only able to open 30 of its 180 available degrees, before striking their RV. Naturally, they had already plugged into the outlet on the opposite side.
Rudest thing I have ever seen at an RV park. Poor Canada.
Spell it like you say it, sister!
I don’t know what this company truck does. #churchsploitation
This was the scene shortly after Dale left for the airport. You can’t see that the dark shape at Jack’s right elbow is a bowl of Jiffy-Pop. They are watching Phineas & Ferb on Netflix.
This car was parked next to us at 7-11! Please notice Melanie’s Gryffindor hat, Doctor Who t-shirt, and Thorin Oakenshield knitted nerd buddy.
And just when you think you have plumbed the depths of nerdiness in this picture, the car’s driver came out of the store…and he was wearing a map of the London Underground!! Geek bonus!
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I think I'm way funnier than I actually am
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Rebecca
Rolling Nerd Fest 