Yay!!

After possibly the longest courtship in the history of two BYU students (I kid! I kid!) Drew and Jenny finally made it official and are engaged!

She called tonight and let me blather on forever about what I had for dinner and Isaac's soccer before she told me.

I'm so thrilled and happy for them. Apparently vacationing with our family for a week last summer was not enough to deter Drew from deciding to join it. They are thinking August for the wedding which gives me one more exciting thing to look forward to this summer.

(She asked me not to post about it on facebook, but I figure it is okay to post about it here.)

I'm so excited!

My name is Lisa and I am not an Eagles fan...

Blah. So I had another e-harmony date yesterday. I was a little nervous. PDH e-mailed and chatted online several times a day for nearly a month before we met up in person, so I felt like I already knew him pretty well. Tech Guy (TG) and I had e-mailed twice and texted a little bit. We agreed to meet up for a quick dinner around 4:00 with the understanding that he was meeting friends at 6:30 to go to Atlantic City. (Definite ending times for dates are critical in these situations). The date itself was fine. He was a nice guy and looked like he did in his pictures (cute). I would go out again if he asked. But if he didn't ask, that would be fine too. But this blog isn't intended to be a report on the date. It is just to ponder the question of where do I find a guy who isn't totally obsessed with sports? PDH was obsessed and I mean obsessed with football (college and NFL) and hockey. He kept up with multiple fantasy leagues, drove up to State College often for football games, etc. As silly as it sounds, it did kind of put a strain on our relationship, because it was something he was so passionate about and something I have absolutely no interest in at all, and very little tolerance for. For him, certain games were critical life changing events, which was something I really couldn't understand or relate to. As a gag, this was one of the Christmas presents he got me: And sports were a prominent discussion point in my date with TG. We had originally talked about meeting for lunch, but Isaac's soccer game was scheduled for lunch time, so that is how we ended up with an early dinner. He was like "So what other sports does your son do?" Me: Just soccer. TG: Really? Me: Yeah, spring and fall. TG: Really? He doesn't do baseball or anything? Me: No, not right now. Just soccer. He's only five. TG: Oh, that's kind of weird. Me: Well, his dad is really into soccer and wants him to play. And he loves it. But if he ever asked to play another sport, I would sign him up. (I decide to not mention his brief endeavor into the world of gymnastics, something told me it might not be well recieved) Later... TG: So have you grown up in this area your whole life? Me: Yeah, pretty much. TG: So you a Phillies fan? Me: (racking brain, vaguely recall something about Phillies recently winning the World Series): uh... not really? TG: What?! I then realize he thinks I would rather root for another team than the Phillies.... I try to politely explain to him that I just don't care about any baseball team. At all. TG: So you would never go to a baseball game? Me: Well... I have... But I could name about twenty other things I would rather do than go to a baseball game. TG: What about the Flyers? You a Flyers fan? Me: Uh... Well... I mean... I would rather go to a hockey game than a baseball game. TG: Have you ever been to a Flyers game? Me: Yes! I don't mind watching Hockey. And when I was in Pittsburgh I went to a few Pens games. We got a student discount. TG: Do you like football? Me: No... TG: Have you ever been to an Eagles game? Me: No. And I can see my stock plummeting as he realizes I will never be the girl sitting next to him cheering on the Eagles or passionately following Phillies games. Why do I keep getting paired up with these sports fanatics? How can I get matched, with, like a hipster who isn't going to be horrified that I don't understand a thing about football? How important is it that you share interests like sports with your significant other? Does it have to be a dealbreaker (like PDH)? Is there room for compromise (I'm thinking of my college boyfriend and I who would literally have two tvs next to each other in his living room, one playing baseball and one playing Trading Spaces)? Feel free to comment.

It's not fair

How come you can eat a cheeseburger and immediately grow a food baby and feel fatter and disgusting, but you can excercise and excercise and excercise and eat tons of salads and vegetables and still feel like you are struggling to buckle up your jeans? I know I need to be more patient and keep fighting the good fight... These things don't happen overnight... I'm trying hard, but it's discouraging. I was never a heavy girl growing up, and I hate that since my pregnancy five(!!!) years ago I look in the mirror and literally don't recognize the person I see staring back at me. I have much more to write on this subject, including some new fitness equipment purchases and the report on adult gymnastics... I'm so tired though I will end it here.

Seriously

What the heck is WRONG with some people? (In case you have been living under a rock) Constance McMillen is a well spoken and out lesbian who wanted to wear a tux to prom and bring her gf as her date. Evidently this is a crime in the state of Mississippi. You can catch up on the back story here. The ACLU ended up getting involved and the school decided to cancel the prom rather than allow Constance to attend. A judge has already ruled that Constance's constitution rights have been violated by being banned from her prom. I've been struck by how mature and well spoken she has been throughout the whole ordeal. Here she is on Ellen: The saga took yet another disappointing turn this weekend when, adults of her town set up a fake alternative prom that Constance was invited to. It's like something right out of Carrie or a Lifetime movie. She showed up and only a few a few other special education students where in attendance. And again Constance comes out on top with her mature reaction to this devastating hoax. “They had the time of their lives,” McMillen says. “That’s the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn’t have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom].” Bullying and discrimination like this is what leads kids to killing themselves in high school. It's totally dispicable that students, parents and administrators appear to have all colloborated to discriminate against and humiliate this girl. I mean, it's sad that teens could be so cruel, but it's not unheard of. For adults to behave so poorly is horrific.

Life Soundtrack...

Incredible band. Great song. Lyrics to All At Once : There are certain people you just keep coming back to She is right in front of you You begin to wonder could you find a better one Compared to her now she's in question And all at once the crowd begins to sing Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same Maybe you want her maybe you need her Maybe you started to compare to someone not there Looking for the right one you line up the world to find Where no questions cross your mind But she won't keep on waiting for you without a doubt Much longer for you to sort it out And all at once the crowd begins to sing Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same Maybe you want her maybe you need her Maybe you started to compare to someone not there Maybe you want it maybe you need it, Maybe it's all you're running from, Perfection will not come And all at once the crowd begins to sing Sometimes We'd never know what's wrong without the pain Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same Maybe you want her maybe you need her Maybe you've started to compare to someone not there Maybe you want it maybe you need it Maybe it's all you're running from Perfection will not come Maybe you want her maybe you need her Maybe you had her maybe you lost her to another To another

How to Get Your Own Earring Out of the Trap

Okay, for all of my feminist girl powerness, there are somethings I really, really hate to do for myself. Home repairs totally fall into that category. A few days ago my brand new earring that I had only worn once fell down the drain in the bathroom sink. I begged and pleaded for my dad or brother to come over and retrieve it with no dice. My dad (kindly) told me, that this was something I could handle myself and walked me through the steps using his own bathroom sink as a visual model. So tonight I decided to tackle it. And, of course, blog about it. I think it falls under domesticity attempts. It was actually pretty easy and took less than five minutes. A definite success for my first venture into plumbing. To retrieve your earring out the trap you will need:

A bucket (cat walking into frame optional)

Open up that sink door and take a peek at what you see. It should hopefully look like this. If you have metally looking pipes instead of plastic ones, you might need a wrench of some kind. The little U shape is the trap where your earring should be. It is filled with water (and probably some other gross stuff, but try not to think about that).

Clear away all of the stuff under the sink and position the bucket under your pipes. There's a little ring on the back end of the U. Give it a twist. Mine was pretty easy to loosen. If it's tight you could probably use a wrench. As you can see in the picture the ring will slide up and the U will slide away.

From there you can just kind of tug the other end of the U off. Warning: it is filled with water and smells kind of gross. Another purpose of the U tube besides being a catch, is that it stays filled with water and keeps the sewery smell from coming up the pipes into your bathroom. Anyways, tug the whole U thing off.

And dump it into your bucket. The water was so gross I couldn't see the earring but I could hear a "plink" as it hit the bucket.

There it is!

Then just jam the U pipe back on and twist the ring over it. Keep the bucket there and do a little test run with the water to make sure everything is back in place.

Not too hard and kind of empowering. Go me!

We're old...

I was out for a birthday dinner with some friends last night. We ended up in a rather long conversation about ketchup.

"Gosh, we're so old, all being so into a conversation about ketchup" - Friend 1

All make agreeing noises and nod their heads.

"Let's talk about things young people like to talk about" - me

"Good idea" - Friend 2

"Um............ what do young people like to talk about?" Friend 3

*Very long silent pause*

".....Lady Gaga????" -- Friend 1