Sydney Dust Storms

I've been following various stories on the Sydney Dust Storms lately.

My favorite came from Flickr itself.

I can't seem to get these images out of my head. If someone were smart, they would grab a camera and film a movie. Or just capture the images, and then write the film. It is amazingly other-worldly. I sometimes forget that God has a sense of humor, and oftentimes when we think we are the most creative creatures on the planet, He reminds us where we came from.

This is my favorite--it reminds me of the Doctor Who where they moved the hospital to the moon. It doesn't seem real.

It is at times like this that I am incredibly grateful to be so blessed. There is a plan and we are just a small part of it, but the opportunity to take part is wondrous.

Upon the anticipation of a visit

My dear, sweet, lovely cousin A is coming Thursday night. When we set up her visit over a month ago, I had no idea that the excitement of a visit would be come so exquisitely painful--can't she get here yet???? I want our Friday facials! And to see Ash at the fair (Deep Fried HoHos, really?)! And to have our shrimp boil! Why does time fly 99% of the time, and then suddenly move at a pace where even slugs are exclaiming, "Sheesh! Speed it up already?"

So, in honor of her visit (and because even my excitement that it is a Glee! night is not helping take the edge off), a list of my favorite A and I moments (in no particular order):

• Singing along together to really twangy country music in the car on the way to Grandma's.
• Watching Jupiter's Darling, Ivanhoe, A Town Like Alice, Summer Magic, or It Started With Eve, among others.
• Reading books while sitting in trees or out loud while road tripping.
• North Beach
• Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup - post surgery
• OVID!!!! with Duckwitz
• Retold Fairy Tales
• Las Vegas (with bull riders & cowboy bars)
• Dancing!
• Los Hermanos & Good Chinese Food
• Sighing over boys
• Chocolate-covered strawberries
• Ordering Flowers
• Squeaky Cheese!
• "Always take backup!"
• Playing with hair
• Trying to decide who is Sense and who is Sensibility.
• "Grandma, sometimes the Lord says, 'No.' "
• Princess Dresses & Crazy Birthdays
• Knowing that if anything is wrong, I can pick up the phone. Even if it is 4 in the morning.

I love you, Mand. We cannot wait for you to come!

Gleefully Yours. . .

I know it isn't the most family-friendly, nor the most uplifting, but I LOVE the music. . . All of it.

Glee

If that is wrong, I don't want to be right. . . Yep, I'm a

Also, Kristen Chenoweth, I love you. Just in case you weren't sure.

Otterpops

BYU taught me a lot of things, not the least of which is my love for otterpops. Funny enough, I have never found them east of the Mississippi. Until now. Thank you Rite Aid!

New addition to the TV shows I adore

The Big Bang Theory: I finally caved and watched it. Thank you Thells and others for promoting it, and Jim Parsons for being so funny at Comic-Con.

Nuts & Trees & Gruesome Kidnapping Scenarios.

"The nut doesn't fall very far from the tree" is a favorite quote of my mother's. She should know. She is something of a nut.

Due to her crazy nightmares about getting stuck in a car in a lake, one Christmas we got a funky hammer thing that will pop your air bag, slash your seat belt, provide a flashlight, and crack your window/windshield. Another Christmas, she gave us this nifty little thing that gives your battery a charge if you can't find someone near you with jumper cables. And every so often, she sends insanely paranoid forwards (okay, she sends forwards all the time, but often they are of the paranoid warning variety that have usually been proven false) I am pretty sure that she has sent this exact email at least 4 other times--if not more (I don't read them all--and I know B doesn't). By the way, snopes.com hilariously refutes a lot of it here.

So, note to self for this Thursday, don't get kidnapped and horribly murdered.

Check.

Jet Setting

Every so often I think how nice it would be to be married--settled, a permanent date for Friday night who I am diabetically in love with, a couple of kids running round. . . Then I have a week like this one, where I am making plans to travel, or dropping everything to road trip with a friend (on the weekend); and I am grateful to be single, with no strings, and no massive obligations to anyone (except the state of North Carolina, but only from 7:30-4:30, M-F).

FYI: B and I will totally bunk together if anyone wants to come for a visit. Seriously. It isn't hard. Book your flight now. A few flights to and from RDU have been relatively cheap lately, and we would love to see you! You, too, can feel footloose and fancy free!

P.S. Miss ABC is coming for my birthday, and I cannot wait!