as if it weren't embarassing enough already

I was grocery shopping with my sister yesterday when I walked by an aisle with a very disturbing sign. I had already walked past the sign by two aisles when the words were burned into my brain and my mind registered the meaning. I backtracked my steps, disbelieving what I thought I saw and going back to check. Sure enough, there was a section so raw and vulnerable that I had to take a picture. Incontinence. As if it weren't embarassing enough already to have to go to that section of the market, but to have that sign hovering above you as you are picking the right protectant, so to speak. It's not like you can do it on the sly when there is a floating label above you. And how cruel is it that this market placed it right next to the unassuming facial tissue. So a person who is out buying what they need for this personal problem will find themselves shopping next to someone who is getting something so common as Kleenex. It is as if the market is secretly laughing at them for their problem that is already embarassing to start with. People these days.

what starbuck's DOESN'T want you to know

Since I bought Starbuck's espresso, I have become quite the barista and no longer frequent the establishment nearly as often. There is just not the need when I can make drinks that taste just as delicious. However, there is one problem. I find it to be a major one, although you might not agree. I think it is something one might not understand until it has been personally experienced. I have found that I am quite attached to the plastic cup and straw that the drink is served in. That cannot be replicated at home. Yesterday, I used my own cup and straw (see picture) and it just did not have the same affect. First of all, I had to search at home for a straw to use, and this is the only one I could find. As you could imagine, I could not take it out of the car with me as I might have been teased quite horribly. One just does not look nearly as sophisticated carrying around a travel mug with a squiggly orange straw as they do with a Starbuck's cup. I would like to pose that it is not really the coffee that people get addicted to, but the cup.

Time flies when you're having fun

Yesterday was Bob and I's 3 year anniversary. It's crazy to think how fast it goes. But I also can't really remember what it is like to not be married. I guess that is what happens, your lives mesh together so much that you can't remember the times it is not like that. Plus the fact that I was 18 and he was 19 when we first started dating. It is amazing how much we have grown and changed together. The Lord has really taken us down some of the same paths and taught us the same things simultaneously.

I love marriage, I love having a safe place to be me, both good and bad, and to know that I will be loved (even if not liked) no matter what. It is amazing to learn to work through things together and to come to a compromise even if we begin at opposite sides of the spectrum. I cannot think of a greater earthly relationship and how it constantly points to our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Bob and I spent the first part of the day at the beach with some Jr. Highers from our church, then we had a nice dinner at McCormick & Shmicks (thanks to the Thompsons), where they printed out "Happy Anniversary Jamie & Bob" on the menus. We made the best-ever chocolate chip cookies when we came home and ate them while watching Life is Beautiful. We also got to spend all day today together relaxing and enjoying whatever we wanted to do. For this moment, Life is Beautiful.

macho (?) minivans

Much to my surprise today, and maybe fear, Bob readily admitted (without any prompting or reservations) that he liked driving minivans. In some fairness, he was driving a Chrysler minivan at the moment, taking some Jr. Highers to the beach. When I looked at him and stated aloud, "Oh, no," he didn't take that as needing to stop talking, but continued on about how smooth they drive, the nice features, etc. I guess I am doomed. Although minivans have come a long way into the future, and I do know some cool families that drive them, I still cannot help but think that I am going to be stuck driving one. Or worse, my husband will be driving one... and not because he is stuck doing it, but because he likes them. Maybe I should be thankful. Maybe that means he will be carting our future children around to all of their activities. Could men in minivans be the wave of the future?

"the finer things" book club

For years I have wanted to be in a book club. I love to read and that is usually my main goal for the summer. It seems like certain genres naturally emerge, for instance last summer it was concentration camps and WWII, and this summer it seems to be personal biographies. I am really interested right now in people that were really devoted to their religion and then left the faith, and even more specifically, mormonism and polygamy (don't ask, I can't help my interests). For the last couple of years I have looked into the library and Barnes and Noble to join a book club, but nothing-- can you imagine? Anyway, my desire was rekindled when I noticed that our church has a book club, but decided quickly that Bellflower was a really far drive no matter how much I wanted it. My friend Erin has a book club with her friends but it doesn't start until 9pm, which is bedtime for me. So I decided to start my own book club and with the help of a few friends, it started today.

A few of the teachers from Calvary came up with a list of books to read for the summer and then we put it in everyone's boxes, not knowing who would show up or not. Well the first one today was at my house and after making biscotti and decorating the table with my cutest dishes, 3 people came. That is 3 people including me. My first thought was, "You guys better eat a lot of biscotti." Anyway, the book we read was Sheldon Vanauken's A Severe Mercy. As we were discussing the book I had to stifle a giggle the entire time. Sort of like when you get the giggles in church right at the wrong time and anything the pastor says is funny. It didn't sound like me talking-- discussing the themes, questions, and words used, talking about page numbers and letters written and poetry. All these years I have dreamed of a book club and I started to feel like it was way to0 sophisticated for me. We started joking about the Office's "finer things"club and that is totally how I was feeling. Well, I guess a little sophistication couldn't hurt a person (could it?). Maybe next thing you know I will be serving caviar instead of biscotti...

the inevitable

Okay, so why is it that when you are running late, everything that could possible go wrong does? Is it some law of physics? First of all, after driving two blocks,you realize that you forgot something in your house, so you go back, forgetting your keys in the car to unlock the door. Once you take off again, you quickly become aware that you must have a sign on your car that says, "Please pull in front of me as a cruel joke since I am already late." And of course somebody has to honk at you, just as a reminder that not only will the people you are arriving late to not like you, but strangers also hate you. As you weave in and out of traffic, you always choose the lane that stops suddenly and you have to slam on your breaks even though you were only going 5 mph to start with. Your tires screech and people look at you, wondering what your problem is. When you finally get off the freeway and are close to your destination, you are stuck behind a semi, whose driver gets paid by the hour and is in no hurry, taking up the entire green light. So there you are waiting again at a red light. Arriving at the place to turn left into your destination, the once dead street turns into a highway of cars trying to make you even later. You can even see the people's evil smiles as they drive by, apparently in no rush to get where they are going. Finally you arrive, and although people greet you kindly, you cannot help but notice the meeting has started without you and you are the person who everyone is glad that they are not.

And to think that I didn't understand physics in high school. My life is physics; boy would my teacher be proud!

flossy flossy

Our friends from Scotland came for lunch and after eating pineapple, Kelli pulls dental floss from her purse to pluck the remaining fruit out of her teeth. I was immediately confused by two things: who carries dental floss in their purse, and who wouldn't want the taste of pineapple in their mouth all day, if given the option. Anyway, once I laid eyes upon her dental floss I had to do a double take because of how thick her floss was. I don't know if it was made for people with gaps in their teeth or if it really just does the job, but I was amazed. The only kind of dental floss I use is the kind that gets threads stuck in your teeth and then you need more dental floss to get that out. When discussing this with Kelli I realized that is because I don't buy name brand dental floss but the cheapest store brand I can find. So I guess because of my budget, I have given up on dental floss completely. I mean it is really about priorities. I would rather spend the money on pineapple than dental floss anyway.

sized up

The Running Lab is this awesome athletic store in Old Towne Orange where they do all of these tests on you to see what kind of shoe will best go with your feet and the way your body moves. Part of this test was making a carbon copy of how your feet step. Pretty good lookin' feet, huh? (You can decide whether I am talking about the carbon copy of my feet or those of my husband in the rainbows). When they had me walk to the door and back repeatedly my huband asked if I felt like a runway model, to which I answered, "Not really." Perhaps this is because I am such a realist that even though a few paparazzi (okay, shoe fitters) were watching me walk back and forth, I quickly realized that I didn't have what it takes. I did learn a lot of other things about myself at this fitting as well. My right leg is longer than my left, which I would like to think means something significant, but I think I ultimately have to chalk it up to genetics. I also learned that shoes made for larger framed people feel more supportive (does this say something about me?), but I decided to go with the lighter feeling ones, maybe just for principle's sake. My lack of decision making skills was also reinforced as I tried on a few pairs of shoes back and forth. But I did feel better when the guy that was helping me said the longest he had spent with a customer was 2 1/2 hours. For some reason, that helped me to make my decision right away. Thanks to Alison and Cheri who helped make this a $2 purchase for me and gave me countless experiences (and self-esteem issues) in learning about how I walk.

newest addition to mehaffey family

While I am so thankful for where we live and our cute little house, there are a few things that I miss from my house growing up. 1) a dishwasher, but I did hear my husband say today, in front of others as witnesses, and now I am writing it on here so it is public knowledge, that he finds it peaceful to wash dishes. 2) air conditioning. Summers in this house are a little taste of what hell might be like. And after the sun goes down, it gets even hotter in this house. It is like a constant oven that sucks the life out of us. In fact, I think I could even bake cookies without having to put them in the oven. Bob and I had had it last night when we had to put cold wash cloths all over ourselves to take away the heat. We seriously talked about taking a cold shower in our pjs before going to bed. So tonight we plugged in the portable air conditioner (ghetto cooler) that Bob's parents gave us. This is a picture of our new best friend and the next addition to our family. I am sure it will cause us to settle down, in the sense that we will be in our room now any time that we are home. And although it is not the loveliest or most petite of air conditioners, we are hoping it will help us make it through the summer.

dairy

So based on a lot of reasons you might not want to hear, but mostly because it hurts my stomach, I decided I should stop eating dairy. Until a friend called inviting me for Gelato today. And not only Gelato, but Gelato that she was going to buy. After trying to convince myself for awhile that Gelato was not really dairy, I realized that I was lying to myself, which is a sin. I thought I would punish myself for lying with a good dose of being honest about my intentions. So I jumped into her wonderfully air conditioned car and headed toward lower-calorie and lower-fat than ice cream bliss for two reasons:
1. I walked 7 miles today
2. I can always stop eating dairy tomorrow (unless someone else may call...)

Thanks Alison!

reunited and it feels so good

Bob came home from his 3 week retreat yesterday, so I had the privilege of picking him up from the airport. Being a newbie to going alone to pick people up, I called my mom to get all the details on where to go, etc. That's me, I'm a planner. You think I could follow the very explicit airport signs, but I just had to go in with the confidence that my mom was behind my back. I also got there almost an hour early so that just in case I missed the bold signs and had to loop a few times, I would still be there as the shining face greeting my husband.

Since I had no problems finding exactly where to park, I ended up arriving in the arrival area long before I needed to, which lead to many interesting sights and experiences. There was the guy sitting next to me on those leather-like benches that are all connected, who, ignoring the fact that I was writing, decided to bounce his left leg repeatedly and every so often include his perhaps jealous right leg with a big pound, sending the whole bench shaking and my writing to become squiggly. Then there were those exciting moments of lovers reunited (the anticipation was killing me). I especially thought it cute of the one girl who hid behind a pole and then jumped out at her significant other.

There were also the kind of sad moments like the guy who had brought a welcome home balloon and flower to his (girlfriend?) and she barely acknowledged him. In fact, a few minutes after their greeting, he had to say, "These are for you." Really? Who else would they be for? Maybe she was his sister or cousin, but if so those gifts might be excessive. I also saw the family where Dad was picking up Mom and 2 young sons, and the older son wouldn't even look at him and jumped into Mom's arms. Dad first spent a lot of time talking to kids and then kissed Mom as a side note. I know I don't have kids yet, but it killed me that he didn't greet his wife first.

Well I couldn't wait for Bob to come out and I was waiting to see what our reunion would be like. It was straight from a movie, really, and it felt nice to be the star in the scene. It felt like slow motion. He was the last one coming down the hall and had to cross a barrier before he could get to me. I actually felt like we were getting married again but this time he was walking down the aisle to me. I smiled, looked away, smiled, and waved (which I know isn't very movie-like, but hey it was my first time!) When he crossed the barrier, we hugged and he actually picked me up, which felt very movie like, except I was wearing shorts and a tank top, not a long flowy dress...

Anyway, I decided that the airport is the best place to go to watch human interaction, both sweet and sad.

NOT a runner

I have been walking almost every morning now with a group of friends for about a year and a half. Lately, though, I have had the urge to run. Maybe because it is a quick way to tone or workout, but I haven't done it because I have been walking. Well, this morning I went out alone and decided that I would run instead. After about a block (okay, maybe it was half a block), I quickly remembered why I never liked running in the first place. It is just not fun-- and I know that if I don't enjoy the exercise I do, that I won't do it. I really believe that people were built as runners or they weren't. I recognized that I wasn't years ago when I ran my first mile in 5th grade at the not-so-marathon-worthy pace of 12 minutes. Well, now I can walk a mile that fast and it feels good. As walkers, my group has had many people say to us, "Walkers just look so happy, they're the only people still smiling at the end of marathons." And that's how I feel. My love for walking was rekindled once again this morning.

One of my runner friends once told me that I would enjoy running if I could just make it to my second wind. I don't think I have one of those. And even if I do, I don't intend to run long enough to find out.

they grow up so fast

Teaching might be the best job possible. I know it is fitting that I say this on the last day of school when I now get three months off, but really, beyond that there are so many great joys. I just attended the 8th grade graduation of the first class I ever had. It was so wonderful to see the ways that they have grown as people and it just made me feel good to know that I am still close with a few. I am starting to realize that it is really not the majority that you really make an impact on. Rather, it is those very small few who you remain in contact with along the way. I am starting to become okay with that; in fact, just knowing that I have even touched one life in my whole career is becoming enough for me, although I do pray that it is at least one a year, that one that will keep me going from day to day in the classroom.

the little things

It's always the little things in life that make you the most happy. Lately for me it has been my espresso maker. I bought it at a garage sale a few weeks after Bob and I got married for $5. The lady told me it was a good deal, but that realization never quite came to fruition until I actually bought espresso to put in it. You see, I am slowly becoming a coffee afficionado, and for a long time I didn't realize that coffee beans were different from espresso beans. Therefore, everytime I made a "latte" with my coffee beans, I wondered why it didn't taste like Starbucks. Now I know. Since I bought these little pieces of heaven called espresso beans, my lattes taste real and I am hooked. All I want to do is make lattes for people, and for myself. So if you are ever in the mood for a latte that tastes like Starbucks, but is free, and also includes my presence, you are welcome over.

the race is on

I got a glimpse of my selfish (and competitive) heart today when returning something to target. As I was getting the heavy box out of my car, I noticed a lady who had gotten a cart to place an item on that she was returning. Even though she was already walking far in front of me, I thought, "The race is on." I guess my daily fast walking has paid off (or maybe it was the fact she didn't know we were racing), because I beat her by a ton. Only to find that I had to wait behind a lady full of complaints. Well, that is life. I always get in the slow lane.

Buying stamps is making me go bankrupt

Okay, so we all know that the price of gas is ridiculous. I mean, when you drive by a station in the morning and then later in the evening and it has gone up 10 cents, there is something really wrong there. Really, I think it is a mortal sin. Anyway, has anyone bothered to look at stamp prices lately? I was at the market today and when I asked the cashier to add stamps to my purchases, the price went up by nearly $10. I thought about saying no to stamps in order to show the system, but then I realized that it was only myself I was punishing. And those friends that I like to write letters to. Is there some kind of petition we could start?

orange

I am starting to have this new appreciation for the color orange. For some reason it has really gotten a bad rap. I mean, who have you ever heard say that their favorite color is orange. But really, the color has so much personality! The color is popular enough in my book to make the font on this blogpage; I even bought an orange shirt that I have gotten many compliments on. However, it still has that edge (or awkwardness) that you wouldn't want to drive an orange car or paint a room that color. Well, I hope that others start to see orange for it's true value, really I think it could make the world a little bit of a better place. At least for now, it makes me smile.

The blogging world

Well, it's about time for me to jump on the bandwagon. It feels kind of strange since we don't have kids or travels to speak of, just daily life... which might be the most profound.