Love-15

Do you know what the number one question is when I tell people that I'm going to a tennis tournament?  "Oh, do you play?" Which is funny because I never get asked that when I say I'm going to a Dodger game. I realize though that most people don't follow tennis so they wouldn't know that professional tournaments go on year round and one of them is right down the road, figuratively speaking. And I suppose I should be flattered that someone would look at me and think tennis player. I did actually take tennis lessons, once when I was a kid and then again at BYU and I loved it, except holy cats you run a lot.

Anyway, Camille and I made the trek out to the desert again for two days of watching tennis and being roasted by the sun. And Lindsay joined us on day two, which was a treat. Katie was supposed to come out too but she got sick, which was the biggest bummer.  Next year!

Here's a round-up:

1.  Per tradition, we watched Andy Murray play

2. But for the most part we hung out at the smaller courts and saw some really great matches

























This guy is Samuel Groth from Australia and every time he'd make a mistake he would mumble to himself, "Come on, Sam. Come on."

3. I am done with people talking on their phones at inappropriate times. Like for example, the middle of a tennis match.  It happened all the time. Done I say!

4. But I'm not done with this guy:

No shoes. No shirt. No problems. Am I right?

5.  I don't think I can adequately express to you just how intense the sun is out there.  But here's a picture that maybe captures it a little. You can barely make out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga crouching down there. It is bright and hot and there are times when you feel like you're going to catch on fire and the only thing that will save you is another frozen lemonade.

6. Or naps in the shade.

7. Some guy asked if the three of us were sisters. We get this all the time. There is a very distinct Knechtiness about us. But he then said, "Do you want to know how I knew? You're lips." Blank stares from us. "I'm not a creeper."

8. Funny, non-tennis related story:  we checked into our hotel and went up to our room and opened the door and there were two men inside, already settled in.  And on their way to a night on the town because they were dressed in their fanciest club shirts and drenched in cologne. The looks on all of our faces were priceless. We got it all settled and I'm just grateful that everyone inside was fully clothed.

9. We got to chat with some line judges while waiting to get into a match and boy was it enlightening. I was very curious as to how they got into it and what their jobs are like. You start pretty low, like JV college low, and work your way up but then you can basically go anywhere. Which sounds like such a great gig. And I would totally look into it if it did not involve wearing pleated front khaki shorts.

Kuriously Bodacious

I sent a panicked message to Camille yesterday:

"We can't stay at that hotel I booked this weekend because they just sent me an email saying 'Come try our Kuriously Bodacious Kafe Bar food.'"

You KNOW how much it bugs me when places of business use incorrect spelling to be cute or grab attention. So much so that I've actually not used a product because of it. People who choose to ignore the rules of spelling should not get my money. We're still staying at that hotel, I'm not crazy, but they may get a strongly worded statement in my review concerning this matter.

What does kuriously bodacious kafe bar food even mean?

And I'm not kidding, two minutes after I sent that I came across this article explaining why companies do this.

I actually had to stop reading half way through because all the examples were giving me the vapors. But I can sum it up in just two words:

They're dumb.

What's your favorite?

A few weeks ago when Casey, Kylea, and Addie were in town, we headed over to Rite-aid for some ice cream cones.  It had been a tough day, and it's not that I need an excuse for a Thrify's cone, but if I did, that day had plenty of them. So you can imagine the laser beams that shot out of my eyes at the poor kid behind the counter when he told me that they were out of rocky road.  HOW DO YOU RUN OUT OF ROCKY ROAD!!!!!!!??????? Shouldn't you have a room dedicated in the back just for storing extras?

Anyway, I got chocolate malted crunch instead, which isn't such a bad trade off.

We went again on Monday, this time because Valerie was about to fly back to the Frozen Northeast and we needed some sitting around and talking time.  I feel like the universe was making up for robbing me of rocky road because the scoop that I got was exploding out of the cone. It was amazing. The counter kid has a real gift for getting the maximum amount of ice cream in those cylindrical scoops.

I asked my seminary kids what their favorite flavor of Thrifty's ice cream is and more than half of them said that they had never been or had only been once.  Parenting FAIL! If you're from southern California and you don't have a favorite Thrifty's flavor then I don't think you should be able to enjoy the other great things that this place has to offer. Hand over your Disneyland pass, stop going to the beach, don't even think about In-n-Out, tacos are off limits, and stay in your house because all this glorious sunshine is now off limits to you! Incidentally, we saw a ton of people we know also getting some ice cream so not every parent is failing.

While we're on the topic of ice cream, a few weeks ago we went out to LA and happened to be in the neighborhood of Neveux (ok, so we planned that) and stopped in to say hi to Leo. I tried the strawberry balsamic with the pepper peach and KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS!!! Who wants to go on a field trip with me?

Inclement Weather Art Society

It was a perfect morning for Art Society. Cold and rainy and lazy. It helps that having cocoa at every meeting, if desired, is in our bylaws. (Side note:  I am generally opposed to kitchen gadgets that take up too much space and do things that can easily be done using a more common tool. Like avocado scoops or mango cutters. Give me a break! You already have a spoon and a knife!! But the Cocomotion is genius and makes an appearance at nearly every Art Society. I know that you can make cocoa in a pot but this baby mixes and heats it up for you. And then will re-stir and reheat as desired. This is not a paid advertisement but if Mr. Coffee is reading this and wants to send me one I wouldn't say no.)

Heather wanted us to paint her some pictures to hang on her walls so the kids came with canvases and acrylics and brushes.  The Knecht New Years Eve Paint-fest was the first and only time I have painted so my skill level is pretty low but I watched several videos online and a life time of the Joy of  Painting with Bob Ross so I felt confident. And K and J came with pictures they wanted to do.

You should remember that I have Inclement Weather Paralysis and when it rains and is cold I can't bring myself to put on mascara or do my hair. So I look like a hobo. Or maybe like a consumptive artist. For the record, I did not sleep in those clothes. But that should actually surprise you.

K did the Omega Centari globular cluster (?!) and a snowflake, and J did the Walt and Mickey statue in front of the castle at Disneyland. And I did a tree. Because trees are easy and pretty. In between bouts of homework, Katie came out and touched up an abstract painting for her room.

True artists use up a lot of space

Luigi

Don't you love how sometimes your blotter looks like art too.

Later we cuddled under blankets and watched Star Wars and ate popcorn. Art Society is my favorite!!

I don't care. I'd like to go anywhere.

It's John Steinbeck's 112th birthday and Google Doodles put these up:

HOW DO I GET PRINTS OF THESE?!!! HOW?!!!!!! They need to be framed and hanging on a wall in my house immediately!!!! They're just so beautiful! Also, I would love something like this for all of my favorite books. Can someone make this happen please. I will pay you in chocolate chip cookies.

I don't always remember the circumstances of reading a book but I always remember them for Steinbeck.  He sticks with me. I read The Pearl in Mrs. Dallas' 7th grade English class and it made me feel like I had somehow crossed a line into real book territory. Of Mice and Men was in my Literature and Film class at BYU, and I cried like a baby through it. Travels with Charley came during a particularly hard case of wanderlust and then a few months later I headed off to Tunisia.  I read East of Eden while coming out of a rough patch and the weight and scope of it was a comfort.

What book quote would you put on a print? What would the picture be?

You and me both, girlfriend

My car tried to give up the ghost on Friday on my way home from work.  And it did so right in front of the Toyota dealership.  Handy. I don't, as a general rule, go to the dealership because of George Costanza. But I'm not going to turn down the miracle of a dealership when my car is experiencing seismic activity.

So I pulled in (well, more like jumbled in), and as usual I met some Characters.  Isn't life wonderful? I don't handle stress or broken cars very well.  I have a tendency of imagining the worst. And instead of hyperventilating (don't worry, I did that later) I got a good laugh.

First from my service consultant Rob (George would go ballistic over this. It would just be one more way for them to give you the old scroogy.) He was a large, tattooed fellow who on no less than three occasions said, "You and me both, girlfriend."  Oh, man! I knew I was going to love him forever.

And then Eli, who drove me home. Eli was from Japan by way of Hawaii and still had a very deep pidgin accent. He spent 37 years in the merchant marines and you cannot believe the stories this guy had.  Oh, the women he met in South Africa. The food he ate in New Zealand. The time he almost fell overboard in the Tasman Sea. The fights he got into in Amsterdam. I was so glad that he was only driving 45 miles an hour on the freeway. And then 15 on the side streets. Who cares that people are screaming at you and flipping you off as they pass by when you have crazy Eli telling you tales of the sea.

My car is fine now. Rob gave me the hook up and didn't once mention rust proofing.

Malady1

I took a quick road trip to Arizona to visit Cynde, Ryan, and Royce for the weekend.  Royce is the tallest 17 month old on the planet.  He also says, "Hey!" when you walk into a room in a very heart-melting way.  When you wave to him he does not wave back. He just stares at you until you leave and then, long after you can't see him, he waves. Like he will not give you the satisfaction of seeing him miss you. So it was a real victory for me that when I got into the car to drive off he waved and blew me a kiss.  Score one for the Godmother!

I took Cynde, Ryan, and the The Godfather Alan to the Gilbert temple open house.  I think it's such a huge deal that the church opens up temples to the community before dedicating them.  It's a great way to say, "Hey, look! We're not the mysterious weirdos you've always thought we were. It's a pretty building where we do nice things." Cynde and Ryan live just a few miles from the temple so I really wanted them to be able to see it. As expected, it was gorgeous. And huge! Maybe I've just been attending little Redlands temple for so long now that I've forgotten that it's one of the small ones. Enjoy it, good people of Gilbert!

There are few things I love more than a solo road trip.  Five hours is plenty of time to plan out elaborate schemes or sing all the Abba songs you know by heart. One of the things I like most about myself is that I'm very self-entertaining.  I never get bored.  I don't need distractions. So it wasn't that big of a deal to me when I pulled out my iPod and realized that I had forgotten to charge it. I'm really good at having very long conversations with myself. What are your feelings on long solo road trips?

On the drive home I saw a license plate that said, "MALADY1" This obviously was a gift to a wife that was either very gallant or very mean. I hope it was the first and that they had a great laugh once they realized what it really said.

Tacos and the Olympics

Camille, Katie and I went over to the Appels last night to eat tacos and watch the Olympics.  Tacos AND the Olympics? This is clearly a match made in heaven.

1.  What can we do about Bob Costas' eyes? He's a national treasure and we need him back in his ice palace gently mocking things.  If only to save us from Matt Lauer.  Ugh! There is not a single more insufferable human being on the planet than Matt Lauer and if Bob's eye business keeps up then we'll have to endure several nights of watching Matt cross his legs and slouch.  I can't handle it.  Who would like to join me in a candlelight vigil?

2.  Is Alex Bilodeau your new favorite olympian?  Because he sure is mine.  First his mogul run last night was amazing. He totally smuckered that last trick! (Did I use is correctly? Valerie came up with a suitable explanation for it: he stuck the landing, with jam. Although when was the last time you got stuck with jam?) And second, there is nothing better than a heart-warming brother story. He seems like a totally gracious and talented kid.

3.  Heartbreak City:  in the final race of a speed skating competition last night this guy crossed the finish line, looked up and saw that he was first. And the look on his face was shock and total joy. And then 10 seconds later the scoreboard changed and showed that there was a timing error and he got second place by 1/100th of a second. Cut back to him in tears. Devastating!

4.  Here's the reason why all those cross-country skiers collapse at the end of the race.  And you thought they were just tired.  It's science!

5. In the spirit of canoe dancing, here's ski ballet, which was an exhibition sport in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.  Let's bring this back!!!!

Smuckered the landing

Happy Olympics, everyone!!!

Once again the world comes together to play games.  It's just a beautiful thing.

Our Opening Ceremony party was a success.  We lit the torch, ate lots of really great food, and laughed with our friends.  And I thought the actual ceremony was a success as well.  I loved the War and Peace dancers and we all gasped when the torch was lit. Granted, we were with like-minded Olympics super fans, so gasping was bound to happen.

This will be the first of no doubt many posts about the Olympics so just sit tight. 

1.  On cross-country skiing:  KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS! Those people are super fit lunatics.  You know how I feel about just walking uphill. Who would want to trudge up a snowy hill for over an hour?  In spandex? With frozen snot coming out of your nose?  This is insanity!  And yet, it's one of my favorite things to watch.  I especially love when there's a sprint to the finish. And also when the people in the back of the pack still go all out and lunge across the finish line, even when they're in 30th place.  Go for the gold (in your heart!)

2.  On ski jumping: at one point the commentator said, "Boy, he really smuckered that landing." Smuckered? As in the jam? Did he mean smothered? That doesn't even make sense.  Can someone enlighten me as to what smuckering a landing entails and if it's good or bad.  I legitimately could not tell because in my book any landing that does not involve death is a successful one - smuckered or not. And naturally I have used that phrase at least a dozen times since hearing it.

3.  On this team figure skating business:  let me go on the record as saying it is a dumb idea. I guess I just don't see the point.  We already have so many nights of figure skating. Do we really need more?  And here is where I admit that I'm not a huge fan of figure skating.  Sure, it's pretty, and also impressive, but I can't handle sports with subjective scoring.  And there always seems to be so much drama swirling around it. It's the junior high mean girl of Olympic sports.

Relentless isn't so bad

Amanda called me a while ago to say that she is now a seminary teacher.  I was so excited for her.  Because it's really an amazing thing to do.  And it's fun. I mean, it's not fun all the time. There have been a few mornings when I've driven to work in tears because sometimes it's hard.  And, as one person recently put it, relentless.  I informed her that the waking up super early bit isn't the hardest part of the job. It's that you do it every single day.  And you prepare a lesson every day. And you face several sleepy teenagers every day and you have to convince them that what they really want to do is open up their scriptures and talk about stuff that has nothing to do with football or boy bands. It's the every day bit that is hard. I have two 4 day weekends from seminary in a row and it almost feels like I'm about to take a cruise to the Bahamas. And not in one of those inside cabins but one on the outside of the ship with a balcony.  Such luxury!

But there is a lot of joy and laughter to it.  I have a very quiet class compared to last year's three ring circus and some days it feels like I'm teaching in mime school. So when a kid shows that she really gets it, that's like winning a gold medal. And then this morning I brought in a harmonica, a recorder, and a child size box accordion and asked the kids if any of them knew how to play them (I was trying to illustrate being an instrument in the hands of the Lord) and one girl came up and played the Star Wars theme on the recorder.  It was magical.