Friday Free for All: Winner or Loser?

FFA Topic of the Week: What is something you are completely fantastic at, and what is something you are really crappy at?

So last night, we'd just gone to bed, and I asked Ellis what was something I was really good at. After a minute, he said, "You're really good at making stuff." Curious, I said, "What kind of stuff?" And because the man can fall asleep within seconds of getting into bed, I guess I was lucky to even get an answer. Before drifting off, he kind of mumbled, "You know, poster boards."

So I lay there thinking, "Poster boards? What in the crap is he talking about? Is he already asleep??" His response kind of made me laugh for the next 10 minutes, but then I thought, I guess I have made some pretty impressive things on poster boards.

I have made large Frog Prince posters for Larrin and Marley's princess birthday parties so they could play "Kiss the Frog." I've made baby shower games, yard sale signs, YW posters, displays of authors and their works for my English classes, and some pretty killer candybar posters.

So there you have it, folks. Where do my talents lie? In the posterboard arts.

Now, what am I crappy at? The thing that comes to mind most at the moment is my complete lack of ability in the garden and/or yard. When it comes to growing things (other than weeds), I'm a complete mess. Every plant I've ever owned has come to an unfortunate and ugly death.

Now that we own a house with a yard, I've gotten ambitious to make the yard look nice and plant a garden. It has taken me weeks and weeks to weed all the flower beds, and now that I've gotten that done, all the freaking weeds have grown back. Argghhh!!

I was at Costco a month ago looking at fertilizer. Do I buy the one with just plain weed killer, or the one that kills crabgrass? Do I have crabgrass? I don't know. I look at the picture of crabgrass and think, "That doesn't look like anything we have in our grass." So, I purchase the regular weed killer, bring it home, and take a look at our yard. Yep, we have crabgrass.

I planted a little garden, and I was kind of proud of myself. Then, when Peggy and her family were at our house a while ago, her husband Scott says to me, "Have you ever planted watermelon before?"

A bit warily, I anwer, "Uh, no. Why?" Apparently, watermelon needs A LOT of room to grow. More than the one foot I gave it? I guess so.

Then this morning, I put the ol' sprinkler on the little garden. When we got back home at 9:30 tonight, I remembered about the sprinkler. Yep, it had been on ALL day. I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that's not really good for a garden.

So yeah, I'm a bit horticulturally-challenged. It's something I keep trying to combat, but I think it's time to just admit it. I suck.

Tag! I'm it!

So, Peggy tagged me, and amazingly, I'm actually going to do it. It's not that I don't always have the best intentions to do these things, but somehow I manage to put them off until no one even remembers that they sent them to me. So here goes:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Let's see . . . 1998, huh? Ellis and I had just moved into the tiniest little 1-bedroom house you can imagine in Salem, Utah. And when I say tiny, I'm talking 600 sq. ft. If you stood in the center of the house, you could literally turn in a circle and see every room in the house. I was also doing an internship at Spanish Fork Middle School where I was basically a 1st-year English teacher, but they only had to pay me half salary.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?

• Exercise - check
• Grocery shop - check
• Weed the flower beds and/or garden - nope
• Find a Father's Day present for my father-in-law - well, I didn't find it, but Jenni gave me a fantastic idea
• Return this bag of stuff to Linens N Things that has been sitting on the floor of my bedroom making me crazy - CHECK
  

3.What are some snacks that I enjoy? Oh, where to start?

• I love ice cream of all varieties except fruit flavors. Don't waste my time with strawberry ice cream, okay? And no, sherbet/sorbet is not ice cream.
• Movie theater popcorn sans the nasty butter they're always wanting to squirt on it.
• Cherry bites (you know, those little licorice bites? Yummy.)
• Cold cereal (yes, it's a snack)
• Jr. Mints . . . they're very refreshing!
• Those little 100-cal packages of striped fudge shortbread cookies

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.

Ah, let's see . . . pay off all of Ellis's student loans and buy a house with an actual garage attached to it. Give a whole load of it to charity -- I always want to do that, but I inevitably feel like we're too poor to contribute to anything. Then I feel guilty about it, and I always want to assure the grocery store clerk who wants me to donate to the Save the Children fund (every time I go through the line) that I really will donate once I actually have some money to donate. And yes, I do need that carton of ice cream. I'd like to team up with the Gates family and Bono and see what kind of good we could do. I would also love to travel to all the places that I've repeatedly made Ellis promise me we'd go someday.

5. Places I've lived.

California, Utah (Spanish Fork, Salem, and Midvale), and North Carolina.

Now I tag:

Debra, Kristy, Joey, and Jenni-O

Taking back the yard

So, in the process of weeding this spring (during the times that it was actually warm enough to be outside), we discovered this big thistle growing in the back corner of our yard. It looked pretty big, but I wanted to get the flower beds weeded first before I tackled that part of the yard. Well, fast-forward 2 months, and this is what I find:




This thing was a complete monster. I made the kids stand by it to prove I wasn't exaggerating (and I have tall kids!) Right before I whacked the thing down and dug it up with the shovel, I kept having this nagging feeling that it was going to start singing to me, "Feed me, Jami," or I'd discover bodies hiding under it or something. It was a little creepy.

Peggy Rocks

I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but . . . Peggy rocks! Just ask Larrin, her biggest fan.

Friday Free for All: Beam me up, Scottie!

FFA Topic of the Week: When Technology Goes Too Far . . .

Now, look, I’m all for advancements in technology. Yea for cell phones! Yea for laptops! Yea for flushing toilets! I know there’s a reason I wasn’t born in pioneer times, and I’m grateful for it daily. But seriously, there are some things about how people use all these new-fangled gadgets that just make me crazy (and yes, I know that indoor plumbing is not exactly new).

Let’s talk about the ol’ Bluetooth headsets that people are so fond of wearing these days. First of all, I don’t care how many people I see wearing them, they still look like they jumped out of a Star Trek episode to me (and in case you were wondering, that’s not a good thing).

Now, I understand the benefits to these things. My dad has one, and since he is on the road quite a bit for work, I’m glad he has something that aids his safety while driving.

But seriously, what is up with these people who insist on wearing their headsets 24 hours a day? A word of advice: if you’re not on the phone, take the stupid thing off! You look like an idiot.

And by the way, I'm just guessing here, but I think the best way to impress your date is not to look like a telemarketer on his coffee break. But that’s just me.

How well do you really know me?

What Jami Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

The morale of the story, apparantly: Don't get in my way.