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!