Judging A Book By Its Cover

Sorry, this post is exactly what it sounds like. No profound symbolism here.

I went to pick out a book this week. A follow-up book to P&P, in which Miss Mary Bennett is the protagonist. Unfortunately, it paints Elizabeth Bennett's marriage in less than happy terms.

Guess what? I won't be reading that book. Anyone having the nerve to suggest that EB and Mr. Darcy are anything but blissfully happy for the rest of their lives can in no way write a story that would interest me. Hmmph!

Other relationships that must also, always be referred to in the most glowing of terms:
Jane and Mr. Rochester as well as Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth. I think that's it. Anyone else is free to their ups and downs.

Who are your favorite, perfect literary relationships?

In other news, go get The Graveyard Book. You will love it*. Or you won't. One of those.


*And if you do, tell me what you think.

In Which The Gracetress Schools MissKitti

But in a nice way.

We've been working on Project Mars over here in the Halverson household. Did you know that it has two moons? I know, right! I don't remember that from school. Phobos and Deimos. Now you know too.

Update: 3/25 So, it's been, what, 2 years since I wrote last? At least. This Holmes has been away from home a lot lately. Anywho, Grace's project was the bomb. Complete with black poster board, glittery red lettering (get it? the "red planet"), and styrofoam planets. In case you were wondering, Michael's has a very nice molecules set that doubles as a planet builder and it's cheaper than buying the planets individually. Just so you know.

In other news, The Gracetress has started softball. She's a leftie and so very great. (Really, she's right smack in the middle of the abilities line, but as a parent I'm obligated to say she's brilliant. And she IS.) I'm so proud of my softball-playing girl.

Also, and most importantly: Grace wants a "rock star" room. What is a Rock Star room? One may ask. When I tried to pin her down on the details, she was rather vague.
Grace: "You know, rock star. Really cool stuff in here. Older toys. We need to get
rid of the baby toys and stuff."
Me: "Yes, but what exactly are 'cool stuff and older toys' and what do you mean
by 'rock star'?" (throw me a bone here)
Grace: " you know..."
Me: "????"
I looked around the room and saw chapter books, pictures of The Gracetress, a school-ready bear, stuffed animals and clothes. No baby toys or books in sight. There's even a dresser-top devoted to all things lotion and body-glitter. Not to mention the Hannah Montana make-up/ hair-do head (yes. I caved. What?!) What's a parent to do?

It turns out that by 'rock star', she meant puppies and dogs. She wants a room decorated with dog stuff. Complete with a doggie bed, for her to lounge on with friends, and a dog bowl with Scooby snacks. To be fair, Scooby snacks aren't bad. Okay. No boy-band posters yet. Just dogs. I can totally do this.

It makes me very nostalgic for my Howard Jones and U2 posters. Good times.

My Favorite Part

Have we talked about this before? I can't remember. Anywho...

You know that time right between "just met" and "I love you". The part where you're trying to decide, to analyze, to decipher all the looks, actions, words of that special someone?

I LOVE that part. Be it real life, a book, a movie, someone else's story. I eat that stuff up. It's why I love young adult lit. I love reliving that time in my life.

In fifth grade there was the boyfriend of my soon-to-be-ex-best friend who was trying to decide if she was right for him and I was good friends with him and thought he was cute and was, of course, trying to help him decide what to do.... Naturally if I hadn't been scarred by the "you will marry who you date" idea, I might have considered stealing him. As it was, the flirting was fun enough and she ended up dumping him first anyway. (Besides, I wasn't ready for a husband at 10.)

In the sixth through 11th grades there was that one boy, RJ, who was perfect. Sporty, tall, blonde hair, blues eyes -what more could a girl ask for? Other than to actually be noticed by said tall, blonde guy. Yeah, there was a lot to be analyzed there (actually there wasn't, but teenage girls are remarkably resourceful when it comes to finding made-up clues that He knows you exist).

In twelfth grade, there was the case of mistaken "like" and the less said on that subject the better. Let us just say that the guy I had a major crush on was happy to hang out and do stuff but not much else so when another guy came along that wanted to be more, well my ego was totally up for it. In hind site, not my best moment.

In college there was that really tall, really smart, totally hot guy who asked me out a few days after we met. Then Christmas break happened and I didn't get to watch him at church or in passing to see if any of the "signs" were there. However, we ended up having an odd connection, in that his aunt is friends with my sister and his family lived in my brothers ward. Dude. Connections don't get any better. My family liked him before they'd even met him (btw, Grady Tripp -you raised an awesome family. Loved on reputation only).

That guy was my favorite story. Parties held on made-up excuses just to get him over to my apartment. Spur of the moment skipbo matches to keep him there. I even recall a "French Kiss" party that ended up just being me and his roommate. (Mom- the movie, not the action). My friends and I had a ball reliving every word and look -"did he or didn't he?", "did I or didn't?"

Man, I even had it worked out, on the advice of a close friend, that he was only looking for a friend and not a girlfriend so I had to play it totally cool. Until.. another girl stepped in and I had to totally stake a claim.

Flowers after our first kiss. Little notes and plenty of Riesen. Comedy Troupes, the Blazers, long walks and Valentine's at an antique shop. And don't forget the most righteous Reverend Al Greene and velvet pictures. Good times, all.

Where was I? Oh yes, I love love stories. More even than flowers on Valentines (which I also heartily love).

What's your favorite part?

Night Rider

Or alternately titled, "In Which MissKitti Rocks Pedom-o-thon 2009"

February is National Heart Health month. So, come on folks, lets all get healthy hearts!

I'm participating in a "pedom-o-thon" at work, for the month of February. Participants put in $5 and wear a pedometer, tracking their daily step counts. There is a weekly prize for the highest step count at the end of each week and a grand prize for the highest total step count at the end of February. Participants can only win one weekly prize and anyone can win the grand total.

We mean business in the Food Lab. We don't kid around about our competitions. (Seriously, our last competition, the Bark Off, saw people entering up to six varieties of bark, not to mention the ingenious names. We even went so far as to make up official ballots and have silent taste testing so as not to influence each other.)

Folks, I won last week's weekly prize. I set a goal to walk, at minimum, 10,000 steps each day. This is equivalent to about 5 miles/day. (1 mile = ~2000 steps). Unfortunately, my sights were set too low. My goal put me roughly in the middle of the race. I could see an adjustment was necessary. This past week, my grand total? Da daadaa daaaa...........147,304 steps! I know, right? I'm so proud. The next closest step count was 109,432.

How did I accomplish this? one might ask. A combination of walking and riding my bike. We all agreed that any form of exercise could be converted into steps. So at the end of every day if my step count wasn't as high as I wanted, I hopped on my bike and started to ride.

On Saturday, I thought it would be fun to reach 30,000 steps in one day. Guess what? It wasn't fun. No. It wasn't. But it was possible and so I did it. Walking 10,000 steps and riding 10 miles. I made it to 30,000 steps.

And so I won for this week. Also, it turns out stretching would have been a good idea.

Happy Heart Month to all!

The Downside To Being Mormon

I know, right? But it's true, there is a downside. And here it is:

Let us pretend that I'm trying to lose 40lbs. I might start by thinking, "Now, what are the easy calories to cut out of my diet? I could stop with the bar tours or late-night drinking with my friends. Oh wait. I don't drink alcohol. Okay, then. I can stop putting creamer or half-and-half in my coffee. No wait. I don't drink coffee. Hmm. Stop smoking pot to end the munchies?"

You can see my problem, yes?

And that's not the very worst part. The "extras" that I need to cut out of my diet are the "drop off treats" or the random Relief Society treats or the potlucks ("covered dishes" for y'all in the South). The food that people bring over because they LOVE me, want to share, want me to know they were thinking of me. This is the food I need to cut back on. But how does one cut back on all The Love? It's not easy folks.

How do I say no to this? I don't. And there is the problem.

I have started sticking things in the freezer to have a little at a time or to share out later (I know, not fair of me either, but turn about's fair play).

A friend at work says she does the "no, thank you bite". It's one bite and then, "no, thank you. I've had quite enough." All very polite and above ground. I should try that. Besides, who could ever be offended by a "no, thank you bite"? It just sounds so nice.

I think we should all stop bringing treats over* and just start saying, "I love you." Yes? Fewer calories and just as sincere. However, I don't think this will really catch on because aren't we sometimes just trying to say, "I was thinking of you and you're nice but we don't know each other all that well and food says it so much better and is less awkward when I can just drop it off without having to stay and chat." Oops, am I the only one that does that?

Food is the great bridge-crosser. The great equalizer. We all eat. Many of us like desserts or snack-type things that can be dropped off in a small amount of time. We can relate on the food level if not on anything else.

The great Getter Together of people. I'm sure that's why Enrichment turn-outs are so much higher when there is food involved. If you've been wanting to go but don't know a lot of people, well, there will be food to talk over (which is also something to do) and no awkwardness.

It's really a shame, though, that Mormons don't just stop eating food, too. I'm so good at avoiding alcohol and coffee. I'd like to be that good at avoiding food.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Anywho, that's the downside.

_______________
*Unless, of course, it's That Time**. In which case, bring it ASAP.
**If you don't know, you're too young or a guy who doesn't have a close lady-friend.

In Which MissKitti Says Thank You

To The Lovely People of Target:

Thank you for having the foresight to stock an automotive section with do-it-yourself jump-start kits. Great idea and very helpful.

To The Brilliant People at Duracel:

You guys are awesome. Thank you for sending your jump-start kits out into the world fully charged and ready to go, just in case some poor soul happened to leave her lights on in the parking lot while shopping at Target and was too embarrassed to call her friends, AGAIN, for a jump. Thank you. You saved my bacon and a little of my pride.

To The Kindly Gentleman Who Stopped To Hold The Roof Of My Car Up Before It Came Crashing Down On My Head:

You are a dear sweet man and I so appreciate your help and support. Thanks even for saying I could have done just fine on my own. No I couldn't have but thanks for pretending all the same.

To My Parent Who Always Help The Stranger, Just In Case:

You're right again: help people out and it's the gift that keeps on giving. Your kids are benefiting from your good karma.

Thursday was a little trying for me. How was your week?

Girly-Girls vs. Girls

The Gracetress did her very best last night to explain to me the difference between "girly-girls" and "girls". With an honorable mention thrown in for "tom-boys". She pays lip service to being a "girl" but let me tell you, she can't stay away from pink to save her life. Although, she has made head-way with wearing fewer dresses and no longer pesters me everyday to wear makeup.

My sweet little princess is trying so hard to transform into something else: a no frills type of girl. But not a "tom-boy". Oh no. That, apparently, is not the thing. I couldn't tell you why, though. As a child her age, I thought "tom-boy" was the only way to go. Who would want to be anything else?

I've been thinking about this whole transformation thing. Mostly in terms of me and who I am. Because, really, it's all about me. Right? Right, guys? Guys??

Anywho, I've often wondered if I'm a quiet, loud person or a loud, quiet person. Am I an inactive, active person, who — provided the health and opportunity — would be out hiking the trails of the world? Or the reverse: trying to be someone I'm not really cut out for?

I'm 31, soon to be 32. I'd like to know who I am. A few years ago I came clean with loving pink. I do and it's probably no surprise to anyone (just me). I love wearing makeup but not applying it. I love getting my hair cut and colored. I also really like dresses and skirts. I think it's safe to say I'm a "girly-girl" type. I am making an effort not to influence Grace in this matter.

There are just so many contradictions. What am I? What kind of woman am I? How am I known among friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances? I have had people tell me that they thought I was a "*itch" before getting to know me. One of my favorite people at work was afraid of me until we got to know each other better. But other people have known I was nice all along. I AM nice, btw.

Do you know who you are and what you're about? Have you sorted it out in your mind? How long did it take? Have you always known? What's it like? Walking around knowing if you're the "girly-girl" type, just a "girl" or a "tomboy."* I totally envy you.

Let's talk sometime and you can share your secrets.

_________
* If you're a male reading this, insert appropriate substitute. RD, I already know you're an "academic" with a little "man's-man" thrown in just to confuse everyone. You know: sexually "ambiguous." And just my type.

Happy Birthdays to Tyler, Dixon and Mom!

All on separate days (1/7; 1/14; 1/15, respectively), of course. Actually there are many more Holmes-related birthdays in January, but to avoid insanity, I shall focus on the original 12 (10kids+2parental units).

So, Mom and Dad have arrived in Russia. I hear that they will very soon have a blog up and running (thank you, Moddy) for all and sundry to peruse at our leisure. In this way we can keep up with the news and appreciate that none of us can possibly be as cold as they are. If you don't have to wear ice picks on your shoes, in the winter, just to go to the market-- you aren't as cold as Mom and Dad. No. Don't argue.

Mom turns a respectable, but not specified age, tomorrow. I wonder if, like me, she ever wonders where the years have gone, can she really be __(insert age), and has it all been worth it? How can the kids be grown up already, and isn't it nice that they are? (I love having a nearly-independent 8yr. old, btw.) Also, what next?

Truthfully, my mom is more active than I am, not to mention way more talented and lovely. She is a perfectly complete person and woman. If you do not know my mom, and even if you do, let us revisit her many wonderful qualities and skills*.

Firstly, Mom is a listener and councilor. The kind everyone needs. She will listen and ask what you think. She may give some examples of how she can relate and may offer some ideas but she will never tell you what you have to or should definitely do. She is wonderful at sympathizing and empathizsing and loving. She is also good at not saying, "I told you so." And she would never say, "Holy Crap! You did what?!" (mostly because she is so polite and "crap" is not a word she would say.)

Secondly, Mom is full of ideas and willingness to see things through. I can remember many times coming to my mom with a homework quandry and she would stop what she was doing (always with the "doing") to help. Poems got written, sewing projects put back together the right way, meals saved, YW activities planned, algebra problems got worked and so on. And always with humor.

Mom is funny. She is always one to look at the bright side and share a giggle whenever there is one to be had. My favorite 'making mom laugh moment' comes from back when I was a teenager. I was reading the Reader's Digest anecdotes to her so we could both laugh. The phone rang just as I was getting to the punch line. I hurried and said it just as she picked up the phone to say hello. Instead of talking, she was laughing too hard to say anything. Good times.

Mom knows what's important and doesn't sweat the small stuff. (A trait that our other January birthday people are also known for. Coincidence? I think not.) Running a little late? Oh well, just do your best to make up for lost time and leave a little sooner next time. Bad hair day? Could be worse and really, you're just making every other woman feel better about herself (though, to be clear, my mom doesn't have bad hair days -I'm talking about me). Make-up on wrong? -no biggie. It's just make-up. Gravy not your best? Well, one thing in your meal should be less than perfect -that way you're not showing off.

Speaking of gravy. And now for a list of some other extraordinary talents:

• scrumptious cook
• sewing dervish
• crochet-master
• grower of flowers and plants
• tender of many a happy grandchild
  

Last but not least, my mom is an excellent friend. Movies, books, frozen yogurt, quick shopping trip, you name it and she's up for it. And all the way there or during are so many things to talk about and ideas to explore. She's up for it all. I love that about her.


Happy Birthday (1/15)!


*See also Reagan's great post

Holy Crap! It's Been A Long Time....

No pictures. No news. I got nothin'. Sorry folks. My computer is sick.

(Shhhhhhhhhhhh, I slipped away to use another computer. I hope mine doesn't find out)

In lighter news (hehe), this is the year that MissKitti declares she will lose 40 lbs! Yay for me! Please keep any doubts on the possibility of that happening to yourself. No negativity, please. We are all lovers here, yes?

This year (Dec '08), Grace did her best to turn our Bible-reading of the Nativity Story into a talk about sex. "Yes, but how did she get pregnant?" and "But, why wasn't Joseph involved?" —"Look honey, Bible scholars throughout the ages, not to mention inquiring minds, would love to know the answer to that one. WE JUST DON'T KNOW."

Next was, "Okay, but how are babies made, again?" Finally we had to gently but firmly state that we could discuss that at another time when we weren't desperately trying to give justification to all the gift sending and receiving, as well as all the other hoopla of our pagan xmas practices. "Yes, Grace, there is a Christian holiday in here somewhere. Just keep digging, we'll get there eventually."

And you know, we did. I loved opening gifts via webcam/Skype with the lovely and talented Halverson, Richardson, and Diaz families. I got to talk to almost half of my family members (which I count as outstanding). And we got to spend the day together, in our jammies. (We have a strict pj's-only rule for Christmas day. Seriously.)

It's 2009. Central PA is expecting 6-8inches of snow over the weekend. My back and ankle are back to their regularly scheduled programming. Good things ahead.

Anywho, Happy New Year to all! Best of luck with all your resolutions. I have high hopes for us all.

How Could I Almost Forget?!

!! HAPPY 49TH ANNIVERSARY, MOM AND DAD !!

I'm so glad you're still going strong and more in love than ever. Thanks for living in such a way that everyone can see how much you like each other and are glad to be together. Enjoy your celebratory date.

You have taught me so many things about marriage:

• do nice things for each other: get the door, plant flowers, make lunches, train the kids to clean up after themselves;
• work together at something: gardening, canning, camping, backpacking (even if someone keeps pretending that there's a bear in the bushes), family stuff;
• go on dates regularly;
  
• "Couple Time" is important, call it what you will—"nap time," "we need to talk alone," "don't knock on the door or you're in trouble time"—just have it;
• always treat your spouse in such a way that they will always know they are loved;
• don't leave the house angry;
• sleeping on a problem is often a good idea—or space, whatever;
  
• don't air your dirty laundry with everyone in the family—speak well of your spouse at all times;
  
• forgetting a birthday or anniversary is not nice but it's also not worth punishing a spouse for—assume everyone is doing their best and some things just get forgotten.
  

My favorite concept is the idea that there is no one person out there meant only for me. There are many people that I could choose to be with and be happy. The important thing is to decide well and then keep on choosing to stay married. This set my mind at ease from a very young age. Knowing that my husband would be up to me and not the universe was very comforting. And look how well I chose!*

I'm so glad that you're both following your dream to serve missions. Thus combining your love of service, learning new things and making new friends. I'm so proud of you for putting yourselves out there, struggling to learn new languages, fit into new cultures, taking cinnamon rolls and Red Feather stories to the world.

Again, happy anniversary.

________________
*Ed. note: Universe 1, Kitti 0, Justin ∞

But Enough About Me

Firstly, you're all such lovely people. Thanks for your sympathy and sorry to be all 'poor me'. Things are fine now. It's just nice to get out of my own head every once in awhile. Okay, enough of that.

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm bound and determined to not only take pictures this year but to post them as well. I hope everyone else has that goal in mind because I can't wait to see what y'all do over break.

My best and brightest wishes to all for a lovely Christmas and happy New Year.

Can I Just Tell You...

The difference it makes to not be in pain? HUGE. That's the difference it makes.

Last night was dark (both literally and metaphorically). Life is just so terrible when you can't walk. Grace was trying to cheer me up by offering to time* how long it took for me to walk from the kitchen to the office. At two, I had to ask her to stop. Concentrating on staying upright when there's a little voice counting out, "one, two …" is really more than one can be expected to handle at such times.

I started to think, it's too much: Christmas, work, cleaning, cooking, living, finding joy, blah, blah, blah. Then there's the stand-by, "I never should have gotten married or had a family. I'm bringing them down. I can't live like this...." and so on.

(I never voice this out loud because then this conversation would ensue: K:"I'm bring you down." J: "What?! That's crazy talk. I'm the one bringing you down." K: "You? No, it's me. I'm cramping your style." J: "No, you're insane. I'm the party pooper." K: "Shut up. It's me." And so on. You can see that this is going no where. Also, J would never call me insane and I would never say "shut up" to him. Random strangers and other people we're mad at but never each other.)

Today I saw the handsome and talented Dr. A for my little toe and my ankle. He did a little fixing, some talking, a lot of planning and I left his office feeling so much better.

I went in thinking something had better get cut off or I needed a cane or heads were going to roll. Seriously. My feet are a hot mess. (My poor little tootsies.) Even Dr. A agreed. Then he so nicely said, "Here's what we can do about that..."

Woohoo! That's what I was thinking, going back to work, still limping but without the "I'm going to kill someone if they so much as look at me wrong" kind of pain. Yay! Sunshine and daisies. It turns out when you use orthotics and braces in-tandem they work so much better. Synergy, how I love thy name!

But really, I feel so much better. I have a ton to do up until Xmas vacation and now I feel like I can do it. (As opposed to thinking, "there's no way in h***" but finding a way to do it anyway. The "can-do" attitude totally helps the process.)

____________
*(She LOVES to know how fast she can do things. We time everything around here: getting dressed, dumping the garbage, laps around the quad, drinking milk.)

Note: Sorry Mom, it's true. I totally swear in my head when things get rough.

Holiday Bark-Off

At work today we are having a Bark Throwdown. Bark is another thing I didn't know about before moving to PA.

Melt chocolate chips, add almonds or crushed candy cane or anything else you can think of and spread out on a cookie sheet, lined with wax or parchment paper. Allow to cool in the freezer. (Or if you live in PA, put outside your door for a few seconds.) Once completely cooled, break into pieces. And there you have it, Bark.

Here's the one I did (P.S., they all had to be original recipes -no internet cheating):
1 bag 60%cocoa Ghirardelli chocolate chips
1/2 chopped macademia nuts
6 caramels (chopped in quarters)

Melt the chocolate. Add the stuff. Spread on parchment. Freezer for 5 minutes. Break and (put in a) bag.

I haven't actually tried it yet -it was 8am when I made it- so maybe it won't be great. Well see.

What I really want to know is, have you heard of bark and have you ever made it? I don't know if bark is just not a west-coast thing or if I was hanging with the wrong crowd.

Maudie Jane's Birthday

Yes, it's true. The Best Little Sister I Ever Had is turning....something. Happy birthday, Maudie Jane (on Monday)!

Now for the roast. Or some less embarrassing stories.

As children, there was of course, the fighting of many varieties: fist, feet, yelling, tickling (I'm so so sorry for that one), name-calling, food (I wish we'd done more of that), throwing, etc. Sad times. Sometimes we were enemies.

Also, don't forget the rush to the best spot at the dinner table (always next to Dad -why was that?), the licking of the plate to ensure no one else took the spot and the calling of the couch corner on Saturday mornings.

Sometimes we shared: interests, rooms, barbies, candy, friends, dressing Tyler up as a girl, ideas (remember the pretend play with the girl who always got everything but was never spoiled?). Good times. Sometimes we were friends.

Then we grew up to be teenagers and there was the borrowing and trading (sometimes not admitted to until much much later): clothes, hair-stuff, shoes (not as much), styles, friends, babysitting jobs, the car, wild stories (mostly on the part of MJ), jokes -I love the hilarity of MJ, music (it's true, MJ introduced me to Nirvana and Green Day). Good times.

Then I went to college and we forgot that we were ever frenemies and became just friends.

Favorite scary story: I called from UT, one night when you were home alone. You were totally freaked out because someone kept calling and hanging up. I told you to go over to our friends house and you took the land-line outside with you so that I would know you were okay--all the way to the car. But as you got in the car, you dropped the phone and shrieked a little and the phone cut out. All I heard was a shriek and the phone went dead. Scariest 30seconds of my life until you called to say what happened. Phew. The End.

Then we grew up some more and now there is only sharing and sharing.

• favorite books
  
• secret favorite books
• sometimes only "ok" books
• texting and phoning
• love of fine yarns and cheeses
• husbands who love the Wegman's bakery
• so many stories and so much more laughter
• sometimes tears
• sometimes soda through the nose
• still clothes (now through our kids)
• and on and on

I love you, MJ. Happy birthday.

Belated Homecoming Parade Pictures

Penn State knows how to have a Homecoming Parade. And the 2008 version was no exception. We staked out our plot of sidewalk a mere six hours before 'go' time. Good thing too. Not five minutes later and the whole area had been staked out by other eager beavers (er, eager lions?), also wanting a good place to watch. Phew, that was close.

I'm not even ashamed to admit that I got kinda choked up when the Alumni Band went by. Loud music, played by PSU-loving old people? What's not to love?
And we all loved Charlie Brown.
You're seeing the crab of The Maryland Chapter of the Alumni Assoc . Seriously, there were at least a dozen different State chapters of the Alumni Assoc. represented in the parade. Even Utah had people to march in the parade. They don't kid around about football.
The fanciest floats were all from The Greeks. Very impressive and mostly appropriate for young children. And they all throw candy. That's really the point, right?

I put this one in mostly to show what a poor camera-womam I am. Poor Jose, I didn't mean to cut her off. She was a HUGE hit at the parade. All the floats (going by us) were targeting Josie with their candy. I think she out-collected both Grace and Dane by about half.

And that's all folks.