friends

Divinity

divinity candy

“Ladies, we are like Divinity. Some of us are smooth, some are crusty. But we all taste good.”

-Rea Allsop

Today in Relief Society, one of my favorite women in my old/new ward gave the lesson. Four hours later, I can’t even remember what the overall outline of the lesson was, but that comment stuck with me. Partially because I tweeted it out right after she said it, partially because she also passed out homemade divinity (with no nuts! Glorious!). But I can’t get the idea out of my mind.

Have you ever tried to make divinity? It’s light and fluffy classic homemade candy. It’s a very temperamental candy to make, especially when heat and humidity conditions aren’t good. But isn’t that how life can turn out? When trials abound, and we’re under tremendous pressure, we might not end up the way we hope. We may not be the right color. We might not be the right texture. We might look a lot denser, misshapen, airy, or gritty than the one next to us. But when it comes down to it…we are all sweet and special. And we are divine.

Non-Tangible Birthday Gifts

birthday candles Saturday is my birthday. Other than being excited to see friends for the Frida Tweetup – whoop-de-doo. Make no mistake about it, I do love my birthday. Born on February 5th, I’ve said since about 1985 – “Feb 5 is a great day to come alive.” It’s situated far enough past Christmas that budgets have recovered, and just before people have shot their wad on Valentines’ Day. I do love presents….but this year, it really seems unimportant.

Last year I celebrated my 30th birthday, and it felt pretty monumental. But  for the first time ever…this birthday just feels like another year in the history books. At this point, I’m really just happy to still be around. 30 was a year of physical health struggles, mental health struggles, financial struggles, and the beginning of the biggest identity crisis I’ve ever faced. I’ve made it through with the support of family and friends – both online and in person.

Earlier this week, I had a discussion with a friend over Facebook about birthday gifts. She wanted to know if she should get me an iTunes gift card or something off my Amazon Wishlist. She’s been unemployed for several months, and it meant so much that she was planning to spend her meager funds on me. I hate to think of her spending money on that I know she doesn’t have. I told her that I didn’t need a gift…and she seemed sad that I rejected her opportunity to give. Since then, I’ve been pondering this idea. And late in the night, I had a thought – this year I’d rather have non-tangible gifts.

It means the world to me when a random stranger smiles at me. Or someone offers to watch my daughter so I can have some non-mommy time. I read and reread the heartfelt emails I receive which say why I’m loved and important to them. Blog comments and Twitter replies feel like a gift…it helps me know that my thoughts and words make a difference. I love getting invitations to come over to have dinner with a friend’s family, thus taking away the stress of deciding what to make for dinner after work. I love getting unexpected mentions online, such as links to my blog posts or professional recommendations on LinkedIn. I love when people show up at my house randomly to give me a hug (and don’t judge me for my messy house.) Or just slap a sombrero on my head, sing Happy Birthday in Spanish, and present me with a dish of fried ice cream.


So unless you were planning on giving me a stash of Coke Zero, don’t waste your money on a birthday gift for me. I’m curious what people will do/say, so I will report back next week to let you know how my non-tangible birthday gift experiment went.

Way to Go, Wahlee!

Today, one of my very best friends achieved one of the most significant accomplishments of her life. Emily (aka Wahlee) has been working on her masters degree at BYU, and after much travail has completed her thesis and passed her defense. I was on campus when she passed to give her a big hug. She’s worked so hard…CONGRATS!

Emily and I have known each other since 1993. We met in our 8th grade science class. We were at the same table, and I was quickly intrigued by her last name Bytheway. She loved music (just like me) and was smart enough that I couldn’t keep up with her. We became fast friends, and have been ever since. She adopted my quirky addiction to They Might be Giants music, and we created our own TMBG-land as partners in 9th grade Geography. We wrote intricately-folded notes to each other in a secret language. We planned things out in our Franklin Quest planners. We listened to Broadway music together. We were roommates for EFY, and attended BYU Education Week together for many years. We were in the same high school dance groups, went to plays together, studied like maniacs, and sang together in MHS’s Womens Chorus, A’Cappella Choir, and Bel Canto. We memorized Scripture Masteries together. We both took French in high school, and still slip in words en francais without thinking. She put up with my boycraziness, which is a MAJOR feat.

Emily is a DIE HARD BYU Cougar fan. She’s been attending BYU football games faithfully, and has even attended some of their womens’ football clinics. After high school, she headed down to Provo as I headed up to Rexburg. We emailed each other often, and met up on the weekends we both were in Murray. She was one of the first people I introduced “my fiance” to, and was my maid of honor at my first wedding. She was my shoulder to cry on when my marriage dissolved. She got me into blogging. She hooked me on to Harry Potter (and I’ve never seen such a devoted HP fan). She shares my mad addictions to Keane, Donny Osmond, Disneyland, BYU bookstore fudge and chocolate-covered cinnamon bears. I’m really lucky to have such a great friend.

Je t’aime Em!

At my 17th Birthday party

Green Gables Girls on High School Choir Tour to British Columbia

Jello-suckaholics Anonymous

Emily with her Hogwart’s-obsessed family

Me, Em, Rosie, and Dobby at WahleeCon 2004

At my (2nd) wedding reception

Chilling with old friends at Dana Point

In line for Star Tours at Disneyland


Em’s Family has felt like my 2nd family for many years, especially her sisters

Chillin’ in the SLC at Sam Weller’s Bookstore
Out to eat…our favorite thing to do together

Blog Stalking – Creepy or Complimentary?


I am certifiably addicted to blogs. I’ve been a blogger on and off for seven years. As of today, I have 357 different subscriptions in my Google Reader, plus about 15 private blogs I follow (yeah, I know I’m crazy). I don’t read EVERYTHING in detail, and I usually only comment if there’s something particularly noteworthy. I’d do nothing but read blogs if I commented on every post (which I used to do). Some blogs I’ve been following as far back as 2002, and I stick in a few new subscriptions a month.

When I find a blog that strikes my interest, I usually read it all the way back to the beginning. That way I have reference to different family member names, significant events, etc. I spent the better part of my free time reading all of the archives on Dooce this summer. I’ve met approximately 20 of my blogger friends in the last two years in real life. After reading their stories, I rarely have any awkwardness meeting IRL. I call this “reading all the way back to the beginning of the blog” phenomenon blog stalking. When I tell a fellow blogger that I’ve stalked them, I mean it as a great compliment.

A few months ago I stumbled upon a blog of a girl from my ward. She had an interesting story and wonderful humor, and I read all of her archives. She was an acquaintence, we had common friends, and I requested her as a friend on Facebook. She immediately accepted, and we chatted well into the evening about various topics. We had kids in the same primary class, went to the same college, and I was looking forward to getting to know her better. The next time I saw her at church, I told her I’d stalked her blog back to the beginning. After church I went to look at her FB page, and she had disappeared. Not only off my friends’ list, but she wasn’t even found in the search feature. This means she had unfriended AND blocked me. Then I went to her blog…it was changed from public to private. Every subsequent time I tried to talk to her, she acted nervous and began avoiding me. I don’t remember saying anything offensive to her….my only guess is that she was creeped out by the term “blog stalking.”

Another blogging acquaintence friended me on FB this week, and we also had a good instant message conversation. I joked that I enjoyed stalking her blog, and she replied that she liked stalking mine. Yesterday I decided to contact her on FB to ask her out to lunch….and it was like deja vu – off my friends list, all previous wall posts disappeared, and not found in search. I know that being “friends” online isn’t the most important thing…but I’ve been feeling sad about it.

So opinion time…do you think the term “blog stalking” is creepy or complimentary?

Indiana with Julie

Last week I talked about how I really wanted to get out of town for the weekend. I had hoped for Orlando, but it wasn’t in the cards for the weekend. LAX, SLC, CVG, DTW, PDX and other locations I typically visit were booked solid. I put out a message on Pilot Wives Club to see if anyone wanted to get together for the weekend. Julie in Indiana was more than happy to have me visit while her husband was on a weekend trip. We had a phone number miscommunique Friday night, but we talked on the phone for an hour and decided that I should try to fly out Saturday morning on the first flight.
Julie picked me up from SBN around noon on Saturday. First we went to Michigan City, IN to the Lighthouse Factory Stores. I scored some cute yoga pants at the Old Navy Outlet, and a little hunk of maple fudge from the dessert shop. Next we went to Mt. Baldy and the beach of Lake Michigan.
We had to climb the crest of Mt. Baldy around through some sand dunes to finally see the lake. When we made it to the top, the view was beautiful!

Here’s me above the beach!

Julie and I took a few pictures, but I think the better ones are on her camera. I kept having issues with my zoom, and ended up with a bunch of closeups.

Two adventurous pilot wives = Fun!

Mount Baldy is actually a big sand dune next to the lake. It was deceptively further to the beach than we anticipated. Luckily, we got a lot of excercise in the process, and proceded to blow our efforts at a little pub in town.

We had to do a lot of driving on rural roads. Here is Fail Road. Awesome.

Our next stop was back in South Bend at the Notre Dame campus. I decided I’m an absolute college campus junkie. I love the vibrant spirit of the students, the mix of historical and modern achitecture, the abundant walkways, and the beautiful cathedrals.

This was my favorite shot on campus.


We ran into Bagpipe Band practice, and listened for a few minutes.
Jesus statue
“Touchdown Jesus”

After Notre Dame, we saw “Revolutionary Road” at the dollar theater. On the way back to her home, I saw a DEL TACO and made her practically swerve across lanes to be able to turn right to get to it. I got my two 99-cent chicken soft tacos that I’ve been craving for months. When we got back to her house, we logged into the Pilot Wives Club chat for an hour or so. We tried to start a movie, but both of us were dozing within 15 minutes. And because my flight departed at 5:50, and we had to be up at 4:00…we tucked in at 12:30. What a weekend!

Revisiting my past in Texas

This weekend, I’m in the Dallas area with my good friend Janet. We have been friends since 1993. We grew up in the same neighborhood, have many common friends, attended YW together, were in drama in HS together, our parents are friends. We have a lot of history. Her dad is a very senior captain for Skywest, and has been one of my husband’s aviation mentors. Our birthdays are both in February, and we try to do something special with/for each other every year.

Last night, we flew in to DFW, Janet and her husband Jonathan were waiting for us as close to our gate as they could. They greeted Rosie and I with big hugs. Only one other time in recent memory, when Liz picked me up from LAX a few months ago, has a friend actually gotten out of the car and been my welcoming committee. It was so awesome! (Not to say I don’t appreciate all the times I’ve been picked up at the curb…it’s probably saved me thousands in rental car expenses)

The stars at night, actually ARE big and bright…*clap clap clap clap*…deep in the heart of Texas!We got dessert at Braum’s on the way back to Little Elm. The caramel on my sundae actually rivaled Leatherby’s as my favorite. Instead of Leatherby’s creamy, hot and drippy sauce, Braums has thick, taffy-like caramel that is just like homemade caramels. Once we got back to their beautifully decorated home, I crashed into bed around 12:30.

Today we’ve got a lot on the agenda. After some amount of consideration, we are going to be meeting up with Rosie’s aunt and uncle at one of our sightseeing stops. Yes, that would be my ex-husband’s brother and his wife (who I must add, looks incredibly similar to my ex) I don’t think I’ve seen them since before he and I got divorced. They are very sweet people who hold no animosty toward me, but it feels a little strange. Actually, the whole extended family is great…but we had some rough patches through the whole court experience.

The last time I was in Texas was at Christmas in 1999. My ex and I came to spend 5 days with his brother’s family. My funniest memory of that trip was going on rollercoasters at Six Flags over Texas. I looked at the signs on the rides, and kept laughing, “Good thing I’m not pregnant! I love rollercoasters.” One week later, my pregnancy test was positive….and nine months later Rosie was born. Maybe she’s so awesome because she went on thrill rides in utero.

Birthday Bash

Last night was my big (little) birthday bash. It was an evening of friends new and old: high school friend, old roommates and pilot buddies. Taylor made his fabulous fajitas, and we celebrated with chocolate fudge fantasy cake. I was serenaded by Clint on his new single in production (and I say that a loosely as possible) Rosie took lots of funny pictures. We ended the night watching my favorite movie, Better off Dead, with a bunch of people who can quote the movie as well as I can. A fun evening, and a great way to usher in the last year of my twenties.

Lunch in Athens

Yesterday, Rosie and I drove 70 miles into Athens, GA to meet up with my old high school friend Amy. She’s been working on a graduate program at the University of Georgia, and has one year to go. I had mostly lost touch with her since we graduated, even though she was one of my most admired friends through school. We reconnected on Facebook this year, and I was thrilled that she was living so close to where I was moving.UGA’s mascot is the bulldog, and all through Athens you will see a variety of painted bulldogs for decoration. This one matched my shirt, and Rosie and I used it as a photo op.
In high school, Amy was nicknamed “Tall Amy,” for obvious reasons, and because another girl had the same name (first names spelled different though). I’m 5’10″, and she’s even taller than me. She was perched out on a bench with her head in a book, waiting for Rosie and I to arrive at the Last Resort Grill (just as I suspected). She treated us to fried green tomatoes, and I indulged in the delicious “Blow Oscar” sandwich. After lunch, we walked around downtown Athens and the UGA campus.
Everytime Rosie goes on a college campus, she says she wants to attend that school when she grows up. What do you think….will Rosie grow up to be a ‘Dawg’?

Pilot Wife Resources

My hubby’s plane

Some of you may have noticed my badges for Pilot Wives Club on my sidebar, as well as me being the featured wife of the month for January. I wanted to give you a list of some of my other favorite aviation and pilot wife/gf/so websites and groups for those who are looking for a little more support and friends in your situation…or for those who love to stalk and want to know more about the realities of pilot wifestyle. Here are my favorite groups:

Pilot Wives Club
Wives and Girlfriends (or Boyfriends!) of Pilots Facebook Group
Love My Pilot
Jet Girls

As well as a variety of pilot wife/gf/so blogs.Here’s my current blogroll…

http://partnerofapilot.wordpress.com/
http://av8rswife.blogspot.com/
http://imapilotswife.blogspot.com/
http://atexaninohio.blogspot.com/
http://katrinabjork.blogspot.com
http://ohthelifeofapilotswife.blogspot.com/
http://marriagewithaltitude.blogspot.com/
http://ramblingpilotwife.blogspot.com/
http://aviationfamilyinak.blogspot.com/
http://apilotswifetraveltips.blogspot.com/
http://barefootstargazer.blogspot.com/
http://global-gal.com/
http://elsja.com/blog/
http://se-impressions.blogspot.com/
http://hornetwife.blogspot.com/
http://diariesofapilotswife.blogspot.com
http://northcarolinanewbeginnings.blogspot.com/
http://littlemommaandcompany.blogspot.com/
http://mandyclaire.blogspot.com/
http://crazydaysofsummer.typepad.com/
http://coconutbelly.blogspot.com
http://regionalgf.blogspot.com/
http://adventuresintheskies.blogspot.com/
http://iambeingbindy.blogspot.com/
http://shelleypotts.com/
http://simpsonsightings.blogspot.com/
http://kassikfamily.blogspot.com/
http://deathofdisguise.blogspot.com/

If I missed you, let me know!

Prize Winners

Apparently I’m not good at getting people to comment on my blog, or submit for my giveaways. Which is kinda funny because I get 40-100 hits a day, and I always try for the free stuff on other people’s blogs (but haven’t ever won). Someday I’ll post truly fabulous prizes worth entering for (like when we’re out of debt?) However, there were two entries on my blog button contest, and by my secret random selection process…

The grand prize winner is…

HIZZEATHER!

Runner-up is…

TRIPACERCHICK!

Heather has won a gift card to a place that will be useful for her upcoming wedding this month (plus I’ll throw in a little extra for your wedding gift just in case I can’t make it to CA for the reception). Jen has won a selection of a few of my favorite things. Ladies, message me with your mailing address and await the splendor!