The Price is Right

I got volunteered to be the official Run for Rwanda race day shopper. I'm not a strong math student, so this was a challenge. Math problem of the day:

If bananas at Sunflower Market cost $.49/lb, every banana is a different weight, and you need to spend a $25 gift card on said bananas, how do you know how many to get? I underestimated, went through the line twice, and still have $1.64 on the card. Good to know that if I ever got chosen for the The Price is Right I would never win the ugly canopy bed.

Name that Produce

I offer my apologies to the rain as I was blaming it for a dreary afternoon. I went to the farmer's market to pick up a friend's community farm share since she's away camping. I found treasure. Coming from the midwest, I feel like I should be better at name that vegetable, but aside from the general category of squash, these have me stumped. Can you name that squash?

Irish Day

The other part of Boston trails me. It's a very Irish day here. A morning for wearing braided hair, yard work, golf practice, and listening to the Once soundtrack. Then being shut in by persistent, dark rain to drink tea and read an Irish novel full of more rain, an asylum, religious wars, priests and secrets. I'll grant you that I can pass for Irish since I'm Scottish and English. But I had a lot more fun pretending to be Italian.

cure for feeling broke

Just back from Boston, I was feeling kind of broke. The TSA ruined my nice suitcase that I don't have $400 to replace. My tub is dripping. I have no more room in my little cabin box of a house to put anything away. The very smart dress sandals I bought last week broke the first time I wore them. Fortunately, Boston also provided a cure. Think like an Italian. The true cure was to make a great homemade meal. My skill will be my wealth. So I kneaded pizza dough. Made my own sauce with basil from my yard. Topped it with fresh mozzarella. I do feel better. And resourcefully clever.

Driven by an a curiously unknown to me before, I decided to visit a singles Sunday school class today at another church. I used to reject the idea of hanging with the love cast-offs, but today it felt wonderful to walk into a room where I would be normal. Even if it was a room mostly filled with attractive, smart women and some weirdo men. They were friendly, smiled at me, and didn't make me sit alone. And they went rafting yesterday- Bonus! The reward for my bravery was getting to join Polly and Me Gusto for an afternoon where I am treated like family. I loved pretending to be Italian today.

Do it Yourself

This week I learned how to make homemade vanilla and homemade cereal. My new fascination is working on making homemade facial solutions. I was a sucker a few weeks ago and spent $50 on a bottle of mask that I pretty much figured I could make myself with a visit to Whole Foods. Today I tried covering my face in mashed banana, letting it dry, wiping it off, then wiping my face with the inside of the banana peel. This makes my skin feel better than anything I've ever spent money on. Now if I could just make a homemade cure for allergies. I'm miserable after an evening in a friend's house with 2 cats. I don't know why all of my friends love to own such toxic creatures.

Another book for your reading list-- Moloka'i. It's about a girl who gets leprosy and goes to lives on a leper colony in Hawaii. Good story. Not depressing.

Leprosy, allergies, banana mask. I obviously have a lot of exciting things on my mind. Maybe tomorrow an interesting entry on hangers...?

grateful

I'm so grateful for friends today trying to help me find my way out of the crazy in the ways each of them is uniquely equipped to guide. Kimono's kind, gentle questions and concerns. The assurance that a friend will get me to the airport tomorrow. Lucky's express assurance that I am loved and of value. Birdie being my phone-a-nurse to assure me from San Antonio that my prescription really is making me crazy but that it won't last. I needed to hear that from a friend and not a stranger.

Rally

I spent today trying to rally and trying to find places to flee the inferno of my house for air conditioning. I haven't been sleeping well, and Sex and the City makes excellent company at midnight. I'm sure this was part of my inspiration as I spent the afternoon shopping, bought crazy wedge shoes with gold rings on them, and bought a very expensive product from the place where I got a facial that should have magical properties. I think I'm in danger of becoming a hedonist.

Lessons Learned:
- If you trip over a piece of equipment at the gym and really hurt your ankle, don't go to the meat heads at the front desk for help. Go to the Loaf n Jug. They will be nice.
- Try clothes on. Worse to own something cute that doesn't fit than the $8 shorts that do.
- If the man who gives you a facial reminds you of an old friend you will spend more money than you ought to.
- Dating soldiers who deploy with the infantry this year makes you feel patriotic but is sure to disappoint long-term.

Pretty profound stuff today. Maybe I'm dehydrated.

honesty

The woman who gave me microderm abrasion said that beauty hurts. Emmylou Harris says that love hurts. Right now buying ugly sweatsuits and giving up seems like it would feel good.

I have a friend who likes to pass out honesty in glaringly harsh doses of revelatory light. "I bet the guy you went out with last night thought you didn't have an athletic enough body type." Making up a better reason would feel good. Avoiding friends with feedback would feel good too.

Last summer at L'Abri my good mentor Jock said that when you're at the 21st mile of a marathon, stopping the run would feel good immediately. Because you wouldn't be a running. But then the deep regret of miles wasted would come.

I want to cancel the date tomorrow with the man 6 years younger than me. Because I want to quit. I will hopefully come up with an amazingly effective pep talk for myself by 6:30.

High School Flashback

I was with my date tonight hoping he wouldn't notice my post humidity in Texas acne. He was covering his mouth hoping I wouldn't notice any food stuck in his braces. Yes, I am still living the life the rest of you lived when you were 15. Awesome. Just add in the REO Speedwagon soundtrack.

What does it mean when someone keeps checking you out (eyes southward) in the middle of a date? What does it mean when they end a date with a one-armed hug? Please teen magazine, unravel the mysteries of my life.

Taste in Books

I will never claim to have great taste in wine or clothes or movies or high-end cuisine or paint colors. I can't tell if clothes fit right, don't know how to apply eyeliner and tend to believe there is only one best way to arrange a room of furniture. Despite these failings, I think I have excellent taste in novels. I've been searching for good choices for vacation. If you are doing the same, I wanted to put together some must-reads in addition to what's on my blog list.

READ ME!:
Ender's Shadow and Ender's Game (my departure into sci-fi)
The Double Bind (if you're intrigued by the Great Gatsby)
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (if you love Southern chick fiction- I do!)
The Namesake (if you grew up in an immigrant community)
The Book of Bright Ideas (if you like small-town charm)
Special Topics in Calamity Physics (if you love a deliciously complex novel)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (mystery + international)

In spite of trying to keep up with running, my scale keeps whispering every time I approach it, one at a time please.

Raining

I was just about to go running when I stepped outside and found tremendous thundering and a little rain. Looks like it will get worse. I'm looking out the window of my office and wishing the Cat in the Hat would swing by to entertain me.

no, no, no, no, no, no, no....

I arrived back from Texas today after an extremely harrowing plane ride. Our small commuter jet circled the Springs for 45 minutes after a couple of scary attempts to cut through a storm. I have never been in such prolonged turbulence. The lady in front of me made use of several vomit bags. Everyone on the plane kept a barf bag close on hand.

Arriving home, I thought I was done with fright for the day. I watered my garden, gazed lovingly at the mountains, and gave myself a facial. Then I checked my email. There was an update from match.com on suggested future dates for me. One of the pictures looked very familiar but all out of context. It was a colleague related to my new job. No!!!! I always like to trump bad with stupid, so I sent an email entitled Is this a bad work dream?

Told Lucky tonight I'm designing a new collection of keepsake figures called Awkward Moments. They will feature scenes from my life starting with tonight.