Day 21: A Recipe

I don't fancy myself to be such a fantastic cook that people are wanting my recipes. I actually just looked through my cookbook, the one I've made of recipes I've collected over the years, and nothing really jumps out at me as something that people clamor for.

So I thought back to Grandma Night a month or so ago, and decided that I would share the recipe for my "Chicken Noodle Half-Asserole" that I came up with on the fly that night. It was really easy and took about a half hour to make.

Chicken Noodle Half-Asserole:

1-2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (depending on how much chicken you want in there)
1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
About a half a soup can of milk
1 16 oz package of pasta, pick your shape. I used Penne
Shredded cheese, again pick your variety. I used sharp cheddar.
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Johnny's Seasoning Salt

Ok, so this is an incredibly complex and difficult recipe. Are you ready?

First, put your chicken in a non-stick pan. It doesn't really have to be non-stick, but I don't like fighting with a regular pan. Add a little olive oil, maybe a tablespoon or two. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and maybe a little garlic powder. Cover it and cook for several minutes, turning so it doesn't get too brown, and cook until it's almost cooked through. Remove from pan, and chop it up into cube or bite sized pieces. Return to pan and add a little Johnny's. Cover, and resume cooking until fully cooked through.

While you are doing this, also be cooking your noodles, and preheating your oven to 375.

In a bowl, or your baking dish, or whatever you want to use, mix the can of soup with about a half a can of milk. At this point, if you're not cooking for a super picky diner, add in some frozen veggies too. I care a great deal for peas, but have also been known to throw frozen corn or green beans into my casseroles. Also the "Forrest Gump Mix" as I call it, also known as peas & carrots works great and the carrots are in perfect little pieces.

Ok, here's where it gets really tricky!!! Take the noodles (drain them first or this will be a VERY watery dish) and put them in your baking dish, add the sauce (if it isn't in there already) and chicken, and stir well. Top with shredded cheese (If you don't live with a cheese hater) and bake for 15-20 minutes. Longer if you want, doesn't really matter. You just need to heat the veggies and melt the cheese.

If you want to get really exotic, you can add some breadcrumbs to the top of the cheese. I like Progresso Italian Style breadcrumbs, but they might add a little too much class and bump this firmly into the casserole category and make it forfeit its "Half-asserole" status. It's up to you.

Then, remove the dish from the oven, cover with foil, wrap in a towel, and head off to your gathering, and then delight your friends with your witty "Chicken Noodle Half-Asserole" and feel free to take credit for it. I don't think that Graham Kerr, or Julia Child's estate will be coming after me (or you for that matter) for copyright infringement on this one.

Maybe I should start my own cooking show? Hmmm... In the Trailer Park with Stephanie Munden?

Day 20: A Hobby

I don't have a lot of hobbies. Or at least I don't think I do. I like to knit. And as I've said before, I wish I was better at it, and I know that if I keep up with it, I'll get there.

I also like to scrapbook. Again, not that great at it, but I enjoy the outcome. The problem is that scrapbooking is a lot of work, and I have to haul out the totes full of stuff, and then there's the clean-up, and for some reason, I always seem to work on my scrapbook while sitting on the floor. Then when I stand up, I hobble around unable to fully straighten my legs, or stand up straight for several minutes. You would think that I would learn, and work on it at a table, but no... every single time.

Another hobby of mine is blogging, which dovetails nicely with this day's topic, no? I enjoy sitting down and letting my thoughts come tumbling out of my head, down through my fingers and onto the screen. I like seeing it all in black and white, and being able to rearrange it so that it makes a little bit of sense (at least to me). And I like the feeling of peace once the troubling thoughts are out of my head. Expressing them in writing really helps me to feel better when things are bothering me.

And if along the way I can entertain someone, that's just icing on the cake!

Day 19: A Talent of mine

This one is a little awkward. Here, let me brag about myself and how amazing and awesome I am!

There are many talents I wish I had. As we have already covered, I am not artistic. I wish I could sew, or play a musical instrument. I wish I was a better knitter. I can manage scarves, hats, and basic baby blankets, but beyond that... not so great.

I can sing. And not to toot my own horn, since we have already established that I do not play a musical instrument, but I can sing fairly well. It is something I have always enjoyed, and I've been in musicals and choirs for many years. Now the only singing I do is in church, and in the car. And at work when I don't even realize that I'm doing it. And at home when I'm making dinner, or cleaning house. But I don't really sing in public, I haven't been in a play or a choir for a long time.

I don't really have any extraordinary talents. Or any unusual ones that hardly anyone else has. I think the most unusual talent that I have is my ability to make fussy babies fall asleep. It is something that I have always been able to do. I think it is due to my stubborn refusal to be defeated by a baby. I keep at it until I win.

I can also burp almost any baby, even the ones that steadfastly refuse to burp for their poor beleaguered parents. The downside to this one is that I get puked on by lots of babies. Guess its a good thing that another one of my talents is getting stains out of laundry.

Day 18: My Wedding

In talking about our wedding, I find that I could go on for pages and pages and yet at the same time I have a hard time remembering it clearly.

When we got engaged, we decided that we really wanted the pastor from his parents' church in New Mexico to marry us. We contacted him and he was very happy to come up. So we bought him a ticket and got him a hotel room and he flew in the day before the wedding.

The rehearsal was interesting to say the least. The wedding coordinator and I were not seeing eye to eye, and she kept trying to change things when I was out of the room. Pastor Mike had to raise his voice and get her attention and tell her, "Ma'am, it's what the bride wants. We do what the bride wants!!!" We finally got through the rehearsal and headed off to dinner.

The next morning I woke up and grabbed my bag and headed out the door. On my way to Blaine I stopped at our friends' nursery and picked out two hanging baskets that were to be the only floral decorations at the church. I was also supposed to pick up two sets of oil lanterns from my parents' house to line the steps at the front of the sanctuary.

I called my friends at the police department to get the number for the Blackberry House Cafe so that I could order some breakfast to pick up on my way to the hair salon. They told me to just go the salon, and then call me and they'd take care of getting my breakfast there. I arrived at the salon and found that they had sent food over for me and my bridesmaids.

After getting my hair done, I was a vision of beauty in my sweats, tank top, flip flops and veil. My Mom brought our photographer, the same woman who took my baby pictures, to the salon, and she went with me from that point on. We went to the florist to check on the flowers. They weren't ready yet. I decided not to worry, and just let someone else pick up the flowers. We picked up my dress and headed to the church.

It was 75 degrees out that day, which was unusually warm for that time of year. The bride's room at the church was at least ten degrees hotter, and my dress felt like it weighed as much as one of Elvis' costumes. As I was getting dressed I realized that I had forgotten the oil lanterns for the steps. I said, "Oh well. Guess we'll just have the flower baskets." I was remarkably unbothered by the details.

We went to Cornwall Park and took our pictures before the ceremony and then headed back to the church. We were going to try to stall the ceremony by a few minutes so that everyone who had to work that day could get there on time. Our mission was accomplished by Pastor Mike of all people. He'd been out sight-seeing that day and got lost trying to get back to the church.

The ceremony itself took only about 15 minutes, and the thing that stands out most clearly to me was when Pastor Mike accidentally referred to me as a "him." We all laughed.

The reception was lots of fun, and I remember laughing. A lot! I remember that my face was sore by the end of the day from laughing and smiling so much.

I was not really into a lot of traditions. I didn't want to throw a bouquet. I didn't want to wear a garter. I was talked into throwing a bouquet, so I called my friend Lisa and asked her if she could arrange a few silk flowers into a throwing bouquet for me. Then at the rehearsal dinner I was ordered, yes ordered to wear a garter by our friend Dustin who was at the time a Senior Drill Instructor with the Marine Corps. I said, "But I didn't buy a garter." He told me that they'd take care of it. So on our wedding day, Matt and Dustin went and bought garters.

When the time came to throw the bouquet, we got the single ladies assembled and I threw it. I must admit that it was more fun than I thought it would be. Then came time for Matt to toss the garter. I sat in the chair and they started the music. Matt retrieved the garter, and as he stood up and turned around, he whipped a pair of gigantic Incredible Hulk boxers out of his sleeve and held them up as if he'd taken them from under my dress.

I had made it very clear that I didn't want a wedding cake. I didn't want a cake because I didn't want to cut the cake. I was just going to have desserts served. I gave into peer pressure and ordered a couple of cakes from Costco with the understanding that the hall staff would cut and serve it. Then, I got ambushed during the reception and forced to cut the cake. (Now this was after I'd been forced to cut a cake at the rehearsal dinner since we weren't going to be doing it at the actual wedding.) The pictures taken of the cake cutting always amuse me because you can tell, if you know me at all, that my smile is totally forced because I was actually a little pissed at this point. Then people started trying to get us to feed each other the cake. At this point I very firmly said, "NO!!!!"

I do remember very clearly getting out to the car and finding it completely wrapped in saran wrap and written all over with shoe polish, and FULL of balloons. I am scared of balloons. Especially the noise they make when they pop. Well, a couple of well meaning wedding party members decided to clear out the car by popping all the balloons. I was standing there shaking and jumping with each pop. Until my brand new brother-in-law saw me about to have a heart attack and made them stop, got me and my dress all tucked into the car, and closed the door tightly before they could pop any more balloons.

We left the reception and went to the Bellwether hotel where we had a suite for the night. I remember walking into the hotel in my wedding dress and thinking, "Wow!! I'm really married." And then, someone in the lobby asked, "Oh... did you just get married???" And I politely answered "Yes." Had I been introduced to the wonderful humor of Bill Engvall at that time and known the magic that is "Here's your sign" I might have had an entirely different answer!!

Day 17: An Art Piece

I'm not into art. At all. I took one quarter of art class in 8th grade and barely scraped a C. I had straight A's except for that class. I'm not good at drawing, I can't even draw a straight line with a ruler. I can't paint, and my attempts with clay? Well, lets just say that if anyone ever breaks into my parents' house, all they have to do is chuck the "mug" I made at the intruder, and it would probably kill them. It weighs about 63 pounds, and is about 1 1/2" tall.

Clearly art was not meant to be my subject. At Parent/Teacher Conferences that quarter my father didn't score any points with my art teacher when the teacher said, "She just has a mental block, she doesn't think she can do it, so she doesn't really try." My father showed him my report card and said, "Look at these grades. She's got A's in every other subject. She can buy art!"

And sadly, I don't even really have an appreciation for art. I don't like abstract paintings, I just don't get them. I don't really like Monet because it just looks blurry to me.

I think that if I were to pick a favorite piece of art, it would have to be "Starry Night." I like that one. It doesn't really speak to me or anything. I mean, how creepy would it be if it did? I'd be walking by and some painting would be like, "Psst... hey you, yeah you. Go get me a Snickers, I've been hanging on this wall forever, and I'm starving."

I just like the way it looks. No real reason.

So, um, yeah... that's about it for me and art.

Day 16: A Song That Makes Me Cry (Or nearly)

There are several songs that impact me greatly, and will bring me to tears. They are all for different reasons, and have different meanings to me.

There are a few different songs that we sing in church that always make me emotional, the promise they contain is overwhelming to me and I just can't hold the tears in. Thankfully it rarely happens that those songs are on the order of service on my weeks to sing up front.

A few weeks ago, however, I saw the order of service and realized that I had to sing "It Is Well (With My Soul)" and I knew I was in for a rough morning. That song has always been immensely comforting to me, so much so that it is the song I chose to have sung at my Grandma's funeral. Since that day I have not been able to hear or sing that song without crying. I almost made it through. My voice cracked a little at the end, and I had some tears, but all in all, a valiant effort.

Another one that always gets me is the song "Goodbye's the Saddest Word" by Celine Dion. Several years ago I was driving home from an auction and I was listening to her "A New Day Has Come" cd, and not really paying attention to the songs. This song came on, and I wasn't really listening to the first verse. Then it came to the chorus, "Goodbye's the saddest word I'll ever hear, goodbye's the last time I will hold you near. Someday you'll say this word and I will cry, it will break my heart to hear you say goodbye." I just assumed it was another sappy love song, talking about a breakup. Then I actually listened to the next verse and I realized that it was written from a daughter to her mother. At this point I backed it up and started over again. By the end of the song I was crying so hard that I had to change my plans and go straight home because I was such a mess.

That one made me think about the fact that someday I'm going to have to say goodbye to my Mom, and that was a thought I was not ready to face.

And the last song that makes me cry is called "Amy's Song" by a local artist named David Harsh. This song was written for his sister who passed away when they were both young. And I first heard this song in the months after Brittney Armstrong was killed in that accident. The words of this song really sum up the feelings of having lost someone, and the emotions you go through, and the main questions that you have.

Here's a link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpm6p2tLZkA

Amy's Song:

The day you slipped away, was the day my pain arrived,

and I've wondered how my life would be, if you were still alive.

There's an emptiness within me that is crying out your name,

And no matter what I ever do, I'll never be the same.

And all I want to know, is are you happy now?

Are you in the arms of Jesus? Can you see my life somehow?

As I stand here making wishes, that time will not allow,

please tell me are you happy now?

I think about the memories, and the time I had with you

And I laugh about the games we played and the things we used to do

There is so much left to tell you that I never got to say,

And there are words I wish I'd never said, that I cannot take away.

And all I want to know, is are you happy now?

Are you in the arms of Jesus? Can you see my life somehow?

As I stand here making wishes, that time will not allow,

please tell me are you happy now?

And I can't wait, until I can see your face again

In the house of our Father, where the joy will never end

And I can't wait, to hold you close to me

And tell you that I love you

We'll be together in eternity

So as I walk along without you, in the years that still remain

I will think about you often, and smile through the pain

'Cause there's a part of me that's missing, when you left it went away

But a part of you remains in me and I know that it will stay.

And all I want to know, is are you happy now?

Are you in the arms of Jesus? Can you see my life somehow?

As I stand here making wishes, that time will not allow,

Please tell me are you happy, tell me are you happy?

Please tell me, are you happy now?

Day 15: My Dream House

This may come as a shock to y'all but I'm coming up empty on this one. Try as I might, I cannot come up with a dream house.

Growing up, I always loved our home. I was never jealous of my friend's houses because I thought mine was pretty fantastic.

When Matt and I were looking at houses, we looked at a brand new house that was just finished. It was beautiful, and we were all set to put make an offer on it. We were waiting until after the weekend to put in the offer, and during that time Matt and I were both struggling with that decision on our own. He was praying and asked God for a NOT subtle sign because he couldn't deal with subtle at that point.

While on patrol that night, he saw a "For Sale by Owner" sign that hadn't been up the night before. He picked up a flier and brought it home and asked me to call the people and make an appointment to go see it. When I called and made the appointment, the man recognized my last name, which was a little strange for me. Then when he asked how we found out about it, I said that my husband had seen the sign while on patrol. He got very excited when he realized that my husband was "Officer Munden." When I told Matt about this conversation, he told me that the owner of the house was the pastor at the Assembly of God Church. That's the same church that Matt caught a guy breaking into and trying to burn down. This man, and his whole church, thought of Matt as their hero. Definitely not subtle.

We went and saw it the next night, and the moment we walked in, we both knew that this was the house for us.

It needed work, mostly paint, to make it perfect for us, but we knew right away that this was the one.

Even though I know that there are nicer, fancier, bigger homes out there, I don't long for one. I am so happy with my home that I don't want anything else.

So sorry to let you all down, but I cannot write about a dream house because I don't have one.

Day 14: A Non Fiction Book

This one is actually a little harder for me because I read so many fictional books, and I don't read a lot of non-fiction.

I think that I will have to focus on "Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement."

This book came into my home after a particularly difficult case that Matt had to work. The reserve officer who worked this case with him was having such a difficult time that the two of them went and saw the Support Officers who gave them each a copy of this book.

It is written by a man named Kevin Gilmartin, and this is one very smart man. He has a background in law enforcement and so he understands what he is writing about. I started reading this book and immediately many things started becoming clearer to me.

It explains the every day things that LE families deal with, and explains why they happen. I can't explain it better than that, and if you are not in a LE family then it wouldn't be a thrilling read. But I think that it should be required reading for all new cops, and their families.

Day 13: A Fictional Book

A fictional book... let's see... how do I choose one?

I have read many books in my day, and a lot of them have left impressions on me in one way or another. I remember reading "Ribsy" in 3rd grade and not liking it, and in my book report I called it boring. And my teacher told me that there is no such thing as a boring book, only the boring mind that interprets it. Isn't that a nice thing to tell an 8 year? So, let my wrack my boring mind and try to come up with a good fictional book to tell you all about.

I think that, much like all the other topics, I'm not going to be able to keep it to just one; but I'll compromise and keep it to one series.

Since I started reading, the "Little House" series has held a special place in my heart. I still re-read them every couple of years.

I remember wanting to make maple sugar candy like Laura and Mary got to make, and I had a little chalkboard slate, and I would do math problems on it at my desk in my room, pretending that I was in a one-room schoolhouse like they had.

My favorite of the series is "These Happy Golden Years," the book where Laura and Almanzo start seeing each other and get married. Every time I read it, I still get excited when I get to the chapter titled, "Barnum Walks," because I know that's when Almanzo is going to propose. And I smile wickedly to myself when Laura lets the blanket flap in the wind to scare the horses to try to keep Nellie from going on their rides with them.

I remember reading these books for the first time when I was in elementary school, and I would borrow them from my sister. We read the books so many times that the pages started to fall out, and eventually I got a new copy of the series. My newer ones haven't been read quite as many times, and are still in good shape, but even as I think about them now, I am tempted to run upstairs and grab one of them and settle in on the couch for a nice little read.

And back to the "there's no such thing as a boring book," I truly beg to differ. I had to read "What Maisie Knew" by Henry James when I was at Trinity, and that book bored me silly. And I don't think that it was just my boring mind, because my friends that had to read it all felt the same. So, either I travel in a circle of boring minds, or maybe, just maybe, my third grade reading teacher was just a jerk.

Day 12: Something I'm OCD About

Me?? OCD about anything? Pshaw... I'd never be OCD about anything, that's so not like me!

Hahahahahahaha.... Ok, now that I've stopped laughing at myself, I can get on with this. I decided to narrow it down to just a few things that I'm OCD about.

First of all is my obsessive need to sort and put my playing cards away in a certain order. I think that this was born out of my frustration at never knowing if we had a full deck or not. Several of our decks of cards when I was little were missing a card or two. So as a teenager, I started sorting the cards into their suits and putting them in order. Now I can't put a deck of cards away unless they are sorted A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K and in order of importance (aka my favorite) by suit. So they are arranged with Spades on top, then Diamonds, then Clubs, and last come the Hearts. I don't know why Spades are my favorite, but they are; likewise, I don't know why Hearts are my least favorite, because really, it would seem like Clubs would be last, but that's just how I do it. (In my defense, the playing card manufacturers seem to agree with my preferences because last time I opened a brand new deck, I checked it out, and they arrange them the exact same way that I do.

I can sort a deck of cards in under 2 minutes. If I'm not feeling pressed for time, I will also make sure that the cards are all "right side up." That means that on the Ace, the spade, club, or heart are right side up; diamonds really don't matter, because they are the same either way. I also make sure that the majority of card symbols are pointed right side up too, like on the 6 I make sure that 4 of the 6 symbols are right side up, etc.

Sticking with my game motif, I also have to put my dominoes away in a certain order. My family takes great pleasure in toying with me by dumping out the dominoes and throwing them back in the case all willy nilly. They don't even care if the dominoes are all face up or all face down... they just toss them in there hap-hazardly. Now, clearly, as any sane (read: Completely OCD Crazy) person like me would understand, there is a right way and a wrong way to put dominoes away. You start with the double six, and go in order from there. Six/Five, Six/Four, Six/Three, Six/Two, Six/One; Double Five, and so on until you get to the very last domino which is Double Blank.

It actually bothers me to know that they are put away wrong. I say that I can hear them screaming in their case, and even though I'm just joking about the screaming, it still makes me edgy and almost nervous to put them away wrong.

And finally, I am completely OCD about how money goes in a till. All the heads need to be facing the same way, and they all need to be right side (face side) up. I would think that this would be common sense and that to do it any other way would just be asinine, but sadly Monsieur Moliere spoke very true words when he said "Common sense is not common."

I find money all crumpled up in the tills, bills folded nearly in half, face up, face down, heads facing the wrong way. I have this sixth sense when bills are in the till wrong. I can walk up to a till, open the drawer and just know that something is wrong. So I go through and fix them. Then I remind everyone at work how to properly put the money in the till.

Day 11: A Photo Taken of Me Recently

This was taken, as you might guess, on Christmas Day. It doesn't really require a lot more explanation than that.

We did a series of family pictures on Christmas Day, the whole Munden family, including Cindy's sisters, brother, and brother-in-law; then we broke down into smaller groups, and individual families.

We decided that we needed a current photo of our little family, and I was quite happy with how this one turned out.

Day 10: A Photo Taken of Me More Than 10 Years Ago

This picture was taken in the summer of 1992. It was my "Fair" picture that was blown up to 8x10 and hung on my stall in the horse barn at the Northwest Washington Fair.

This was my second Fair with Shadow. This would have been the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. In my junior year, I had the lead in the school play, "Anne of Green Gables." We dyed my hair red with a "temporary rinse," that was supposed to wash out in 4 to 6 washes. Well, after the play was over, and I had washed my hair about 12 times, and the red wasn't coming out, my Mom went back to the beauty supply store and asked them about it, and the girl said, "Oh, no... that's not a temporary rinse, that's a semi-permanent dye. It will come out in 4 to 6 weeks."

Well that turned out to be a lie too. It didn't wash out in a month, or even two months. It did, however, fade to a nice baboon orange. Sadly, somewhere there is a picture of my sister holding up a wildlife calendar with a baboon, right next to me.

And thus began my lifetime of dying and highlighting my hair because it never went back to its natural color, and now it's getting progressively darker as I get older.

Day 9: A Photo I Took...

I took this photo about 3 years ago. Mason was about a year and a half old if I remember correctly. He would come back to my desk and want to "help Terry" fix the tools. So Terry would give him a socket wrench and let him "fix" the tools he was working on. This one struck me as funny because I think it may be the youngest documented case of "Plumber's crack" on record.

Macy would spend quite a bit of time in the back room with his socket wrench. Or pounding roofing nails into a chunk of 4x4 while being supervised by Terry. I'm not sure how much work Terry actually got done on these days, but I know that they were great days for Macy!

Day 8: A Photo That Makes Me Angry or Sad

Now this may seem like an odd picture to make someone angry or sad. Let me set the record straight, it makes me ANGRY!! Not the saw itself, it was an innocent victim in the whole mess.

This picture makes me angry because I think of the dirtbag who came in to my store, and rented this saw for 4 hours on October 22, 2010 and then never returned it.

After 3 weeks with no word from him, and being unable to reach him since the phone number I had for him was not his phone number, I reported the saw as stolen to the Blaine Police Department. There is a fairly new law that really helps owners of rental stores reclaim their lost property and also collect the money that is owed them. So, armed with this knowledge, I set out to pursue this.

The dirtbag called the store on my day off, after the police had contacted him, and talked to my father and told him that he was using the saw out of town, and wanted to know if he could buy it, or what the monthly rental rate was. My father told him what the rate was and said that he would have to talk to me about buying the saw. He called me back and asked (again) what the 4 week rental rate was, and when that would be up. I gave him the amount and told him that the 4 week period would elapse the following Friday. He said that he would call me on that day to talk about returning the saw. Not that he would return the saw, but that he would call.

I'm sure this will come as a "knock your socks off" surprise to everyone, but he didn't call. I sent him a certified letter telling him what he owed and giving him three days to contact me before it was turned back over to the police. He didn't pick up his certified letter, dirtbags rarely do. So the matter was turned back over to the police. It went to the prosecutor, and he was issued a summons to appear in court. He didn't appear. He had all kinds of sad stories about why he couldn't be there; he was out of town, he had to have knee surgery, blah blah blah.

After he no-showed court, a warrant was issued for his arrest. This prompted him to call me again and tell me his sad story about how he "recovered the saw" but had been in and out of the hospital and had surgery, blah blah blah... Let me digress a little... He said "the saw is back in my possession," well the saw should never have been out of his possession if he is the one that rented it. And actually at this point the saw should have been in my possession since he only rented it for 4 hours! I told him that he had to talk to the prosecutor, but that I had to speak to her first.

I spoke to the prosecutor and we came to an arrangement that I was satisfied with. He was to return the saw, pay $500 (less than half of what he would end up owing) and then be trespassed from my store. She called him and explained those terms to him.

He called me again and told me that he'd had surgery the week before and that he was going to return my saw (which he once again told me he "had back in his possession") either the next day or the day after that. This was on a Monday. I called the prosecutor and told her that I wanted him to return the saw to the police department, not to my store, because I wanted this to all go through the proper channels and I wanted no further contact with him.

Not surprisingly, he didn't return the saw on Tuesday or Wednesday. He knew there was still a warrant for him, and if he returned it to the police, they would arrest him on the warrant. As days passed with no word from him, and no sign of the saw I lost my patience.

Finally the next Monday I called the prosecutor and said, "Deal's off. I'm done waiting. I want him picked up on the warrant and the court can settle all this." The next day I was at my desk and suddenly there is Dirtbag with a big brace on one leg and walking with one crutch, and having someone else carry my saw in. I turned around, picked up the phone, and called the police. They immediately sent officers, but Dirtbag told me that "I think there's another part for the saw out in the car" and then took off.

He called me, and I could tell that he was stuck behind the train as he tried to make his getaway. He told me that he'd thought there was another part for the saw in his car but there wasn't. I asked why he left, and he said he was headed to his bank to check on his finances, and asked again what he owed. I told him that for that day only I would honor the $500 deal that I'd made with the prosecutor, but that it had to be the full amount, it had to be cash or a cashier's check from the bank. If it wasn't paid in full that day, then it would go to the full amount owing which is $1056.25.

Guess what? He didn't come back and pay. So now he's going to get arrested on the warrant, and go to court, and we'll see what happens there. At least I have my saw back.

Last Friday a guy came in and rented a different saw for 4 hours, and it hasn't come back yet... Sigh... here we go again!

The lesson to be learned here is: If you're going to be a dirtbag and steal a rental tool, make sure that the person you're stealing from isn't married to a cop!

Day 7: A Picture That Makes Me Happy

This one makes me happy. It was taken at Universal Studios and the balloon above me says, "I haven't had this much fun since I was a kid." That pretty much sums up my whole vacation, and how I feel when I enter a Disney park, or in this case Universal Studios (because I was going to Hogwarts!!)

Day 6: 20 of My Favorite Things

Oh goodness, this could take awhile... I can immediately rule out raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. I am quite fond of bright copper kettles, but I do not own one, nor do I own any warm woolen mittens. I guess I'll just have to come up with my own favorite things, and not rely on the wisdom of Julie Andrews.

Get comfy, because you know I can't just rattle off a list without explanation, so you're probably going to be here for awhile.

I think that my list will probably seem somewhat cliche and superficial, but what can I say? I'm not a very deep person sometimes.

1. Even though it is a total Sunday School answer, Jesus is definitely at the top of my list. His ultimate sacrifice to save my unworthy life is something I am so completely grateful for and still cannot fully comprehend it.

2. Big mugs containing hot beverages... I like coffee cups. I collect them. And, not to sound too much like Sir Mix-A-Lot, I like 'em big and round! I was for the first 30 years or so of my life primarily a tea drinker, but have recently switched to be more of a coffee drinker. Either way, I want the cup that my hot beverage is in to be big, and fun, and have some special meaning to me.

3. My bed... I think that my bed is my favorite place on earth. (With Disneyland and Disney World tying for second place.) From the time I get up in the morning, I think ahead longingly to the time when I can crawl back into my bed at night. And it's not because I don't get enough sleep and I'm overly exhausted, I just love my bed. And on new-sheet day??? Oh don't even get me started about how much I love my bed on new-sheet day!!

4. Knitting... I love to knit. Admittedly, I'm not great at it. I can follow simple patterns, and muddle through. I can make a pretty decent hat, and an acceptable baby blanket. That's about it. I can whip out scarves, and other flat objects. I'm tempted to tackle a sweater, but haven't worked up the courage yet.

5. My cell phone... Ever since I got my first cell phone, which totally made me feel like a grown-up (even though I think I was 23 or 24 and should have already felt that way), I have loved having a cell phone, and it's gotten to the point where I feel almost naked if I leave the house without it.

6. Getting mail address to Mr. & Mrs. Munden... Almost 7 years later, the thrill of seeing that hasn't worn off. I love rsvp-ing to weddings on the card where I get to write Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Munden. However, when someone actually calls me Mrs. Munden, I get totally weirded out.

7. Spending time with my friends... I'm a fairly social person, and I love to spend time with friends. I think it's my need to entertain that fuels this, but I like to be around people, and I like to make people laugh and feel welcome.

8. Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner... Yes, you read that right. Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday growing up, and even though it has changed now, it's still my favorite day of the year. And I love cooking that meal. I get up and cook all morning, and then I get the kitchen all cleaned up and have everything done hours ahead of time so that I can just relax and enjoy time with my family. Of course, if you've ever been to my house during any sort of function I'm hosting, you know that I never really relax, or sit still, until after the meal is over. But it's a good plan in theory, even if I can't put it into practice.

9. Going to the range with my husband... Now this is a funny one to make it onto my favorites list, especially given how stressed out I was about my first trip there with him, but I've really come to enjoy this time together. It's one more example of him showing me how much he loves me by making sure that I am safe, and that I know how to protect myself if I ever need to.

10. Reading... I was a slow learner when it came to reading. It was very hard for me, and I just couldn't pick up on it like other kids (namely my sister) did. I struggled along until halfway through second grade. When my class went to the library, I was stuck looking in the kindergarten section. Then, quite literally overnight, halfway through the school year, it finally clicked for me. We had two library visits per week, and the first visit that week I was still looking at kindergarten books, and on our second trip that week, I was perusing the 3rd and 4th grade section. The librarian was quite perplexed. From that point on though, I was rarely without a book in my hand.

11. Fake fingernails... I had acrylic fingernails for 10 years, and I really enjoyed them. I've never been able to get my own nails to grow, they chip and tear, and snag, and are just not easy to deal with. I'm also quite fond of the super-glue on fingernails that are perfect for a quick little pick me up. When my hands look nice, it makes me feel better about my whole world. Shallow? Oh yes, most definitely... but also cheaper than a psychotherapist!

12. My Remote-start on my car... This is the second car I've had that has remote start on it. And I cannot imagine my life without it now. I love getting into a warm car on cold winter mornings. And I also am quite fond of scaring the buhjeezus out of people walking by my car when it starts up on its own.

13. My tea kettle... It may not be a bright copper one, but it is cobalt blue which has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember. I received my tea kettle as a wedding gift, and it was used very very often. I know it's faster to simply microwave a cup of water, but I like the tradition of putting the kettle on to boil. My husband also uses my kettle a lot during the spring and summer when he's feeding his infernal hummingbirds. One day, while searching for a large sum of cash that he had lost, he put the kettle on to boil, and forgot about it. It boiled itself completely dry and then fused to the burner. I had to replace the burner, and I was devastated by the loss of my kettle. I actually grieved a little. Thankfully I found one that looked like it would be similar, and he ordered it for me. Imagine my joy when it turned out to be a newer version of the same kettle I had just lost.

14. The sound of babies laughter... I think that this is one of my favorite sounds and I just can't help but feel happier when I hear it.

15. Riding horses... even though I don't have my horse anymore (he's out on a care-lease) I love to ride. I started riding when I was 7 years old, and have kept up with it, somewhat regularly since then. Horses are incredibly therapeutic, they are so perceptive of your moods, and they are wonderful listeners.

16. Pizza... Ok this is on here for two reasons. One, I really do love pizza. Especially a really good pepperoni pizza. For a brief time there was a restaurant in Blaine called Mama Jeanina's and they had amazing pepperoni pizza. It was more than 20 years ago, and I still remember it. The other reason pizza is on this list, is simply to amuse my friend Miriam!

17. The Magical World of Walt Disney... As I mentioned earlier, my second favorite place on earth is Disneyland or Disney World. I walk through those gates, and I'm so unbelievably happy. Even my worst day at Disneyland is still a pretty good day. I could go on and on, and on and on and on and on... but I'll just leave it at that. If you wish to see the feature length film of my recent vacation, call me up and you can get a copy of the 89 minute dvd.

18. Music... I can't imagine my life without music. I wish that my life could be a musical. I sing all the time. Even when I don't realize I'm doing it.

19. Telling jokes... I inherit this from my father. I love telling jokes, and sadly most of my jokes are not very appropriate and cannot be told to general audiences. But I am always hearing new jokes and filing them away for just the right moment.

20. My Lucie pup... This falls under the category of last but not least. I love Lucie more than I can really even explain. She fills our home with so much joy and laughter. She is so goofy and clumsy that she unintentionally makes us laugh all the time. And she's just good company. It is so nice to have her around since I am home alone so much of the time. She's an ok snuggler, she's good at it when she wants to be, but she's not much into snuggling. She's an excellent bed-hog, (she gets that from her father!!) and she has become such an important part of our little family. I can't even begin to imagine how awful it will be when she's not around anymore.


And I know that some of you are thinking, "Why isn't her husband on this list?" That's because I don't view him as a "thing." He can't be summed up and filed into a list of favorites. He's far more than that!!

Day 5: A Favorite Quote

Oh boy, a favorite quote... There are several that come to mind. I'm trying to draw the distinction between a quote and an expression. A quote is something that can be attributed to someone instead of just a throw off expression used to sum up a situation. A favorite expression of mine is "Busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest." That's easy enough.

It's harder for me to come up with a quote because I feel like it should be something deep and profound. There are several quotes that I use as email signatures, or as a reference when someone is looking for favorite quotes.

I think that probably my favorite is "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." That is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

I think that these are very wise words to live by, because as we all know, life is short and fragile. We have no control over anything that happens, and so often when someone is lost quickly or unexpectedly, we are left with regrets over things that should or shouldn't have been said or done.

I don't have much more to say about this one, other than this is how I try to live my life. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I fail. But I'm always trying.

Day 4: A Favorite Book

Ok, so there are many many ways I could go here with a favorite book. I could go intellectual, and spout off Shogun (which is very difficult to read), or try to impress you all with the fact that I read Gone With The Wind for the first time at age 10. I could bring up my fascination with Frank Peretti's books and the imagery that they bring to my mind.

BUT, I think I'm going to go old school... really really old school. I'm going to focus on three books that I have loved for many many years.

The first of which is called "The Magic Grinder" and it is a Walt Disney Book. It features Minnie Mouse and her nephews Mortie and Ferdie, and they toil away working for the Greedy Lord Gurr while they suffer in poverty. Minnie helps a dragon who has been trapped in his cave by fallen rocks, and in thanks he gives her the magic grinder that will give her whatever she needs, as long as you know the correct words to make it work, and to make it stop working. To this very day, when things get over-whelming, or when I want something to stop, I will say, "Golden grinder, stop and stay!" Sadly, no one outside my family ever has the slightest clue what I mean.

My childhood copy of this book was lost a long time ago, and so I found a used copy on Amazon and bought it a couple years ago.

The second one is called "It Could Always Be Worse." It's a Yiddish folk tale about a man who has very little, and his house is cramped and full of his whole family (in-laws included.) He goes to his rabbi several times for advice. Each time he goes, the rabbi tells him to bring something else into the house. It starts with the dogs, then the chickens, then the goats, then the cows, etc... Finally no one can rest, the house is so full, and everyone is terribly unhappy. Desperately he runs back to the rabbi who tells him to put all the animals back outside. That night everyone in the house sleeps happily and peacefully, even though things were exactly the same as they started. The moral of the story is right there in the title... It could always be worse.

I'm also on my second copy of this book because, as if to further prove that it could always be worse, my old cat Tiger got sick, and peed on my first copy of it.

Finally, the last book featured here today is the Dr. Suess classic, "Fox in Socks." I cannot count how many times I've read this book to different children I've babysat over the years. I loved it so much that I bought myself a copy. I just bought another copy to give to my friend's 3 year old daughter for her birthday, so I opened it up and perused it a little, and I wish to leave you all with these wonderful words of wisdom from Dr. Theodore Guiesel...

"And when beetles fight these battles in a bottle with a paddle and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...."

Day 3: A Favorite TV Program

Ok, so I know I'm a day late with this, but yesterday was Sunday. Not that I think blogging on Sunday is a sin, but I was busy doing other things, like knitting and watching the Packers win the Superbowl!! (YAY!!!)

As you may have noticed from Day 1 and Day 2, picking just one favorite is not something that I can easily do.

I have had many favorite TV programs for many different reasons. Gilmore Girls will always rank up there in my favorites because I thought it was such a witty show. One of my all-time favorite lines from that show: Emily - "Lorelai, you scared me half to death!" Lorelai - "Well follow through has never been my strong point." THAT is funny, I don't care who you are!!

As cheesy as it may seem, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is another favorite because it had some of the funniest moments I've ever seen. I own all 7 seasons of this on DVD and will pull it out occasionally and just laugh and laugh.

As far as shows still currently on the air, my favorites would have to be Castle, and Bones. I have not actually watched Bones on live TV, just on Netflix, but it is still a current show, so it counts.

Castle delights me weekly, and I still laugh out loud when I think of Detective Ryan looking at the poster of Castle and saying, "He really is ruggedly handsome!" And of course one of my favorite Bones lines will always be, "Jesus wasn't a zombie, Bones. I shouldn't have to tell you that!"

I know that I watch WAY too much TV and that's probably why I can't narrow it down any more than this, but I still manage to find some intelligently written shows out there in the sea of reality (yeah right, reality) garbage and animated monstrosities that pass as acceptable because they are animated.

Day 2: A Favorite Movie

Trying to pick just one favorite movie is like Sophie's Choice. (Which incidentally I've never seen, but just like to use the reference.) I have a number of movies that I can watch again and again, but they are not necessarily my favorite.

So I thought I would just rattle off a list of the ones that are in my top 10. In no particular order, so that no one misconstrues one as the actual favorite, here we go:

Top Gun (Pre-crazy couch jumping Tom Cruise), So I Married an Axe Murderer, Steel Magnolias, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Happiest Millionaire, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (I know this is the movie that broke up Brad & Jennifer, but I still enjoy it immensely), The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, The Cutting Edge, and Young Frankenstein.

A few years ago, we went to the Abbotsford Air Show, upon returning home, we immediately had to watch Top Gun, because all the planes we had seen that day, and the special maneuvers, made us want to watch Top Gun again.

I first watched So I Married An Axe Murderer in my senior year of high school. I realized that this movie was destined for my favorites list quite early on, when Harriet asks Charlie what he looks for in a woman, and he answers, "I know I'm supposed to say sense of humor, but I've really got to go with breast size."

Steel Magnolias is the ultimate chick flick. You laugh, you cry, you feel like you know this tight-knit group of Southern ladies, and it's just an all around great movie.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is one of my favorite old musicals. I love the dancing, and the dresses, and just the whole story, along with the fantastically amazing 1950's special effects.

The Happiest Millionaire is another great old musical. Fred MacMurray is simply divine as Mr. Biddle, and the Irish butler wrestling with the alligators is just hilarious.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith has some of the funniest moments, like Brad Pitt singing along to Air Supply, or the two of them in the matching "We Love Jesus" tracksuits and driving the mini-van... I've watched this one a number of times.

The Muppet Movie is hands down one of the most cleverly written comedies I've ever seen. The running gags throughout that movie were lost on me as a child, but as I watch it now I'm enjoying it even more than I did as a kid. "It's a myth! A myth!!" Lisping woman, "Yeth?"

The Great Muppet Caper is my other favorite muppet movie. Anytime I hear the phrase "Catch him red-handed," I always want to ask, "What color are their hands now?"

The Cutting Edge is another favorite, and I was quoting it just the other day, and much to my delight, my father picked up on the quote immediately. "Legano, mil-legano... is gray area."

And finally, the amazing work of the comedic genius Mel Brooks. I know that most people will always reference Blazing Saddles when attributing genius to Mr. Brooks, and I did enjoy that movie immensely, but Young Frankenstein is my favorite of his movies. So many things that my family says on a regular basis came from that movie, and it always make me sad when I quote it and people don't know what it is. A few of my favorite lines from that movie, "What knockers!!!" "Why thank you, Doctor!", "PUT ZE CANDLE BECK!!!", "OVALTINE!!!", "Would you care to join me for a roll in zee hay?"

I think I may have to call in sick for a couple days and just have a movie marathon now!!

Day 1: A Favorite Song

A favorite song... this is a toughie. I don't know that I have one favorite song. It all depends on my mood, and my favorites change as I learn new songs that speak to me in one way or another. And I am pretty much constantly singing, so I go through favorite songs like you wouldn't believe.

For example, right now I really like "Mean" by Taylor Swift, but it probably won't stay on the favorite list for a real long time.

As far back as I can remember, I've loved the song, "Ships" by Barry Manilow. First of all, it's by Barry freakin' Manilow!! How can you go wrong? But it's such a beautiful and sad song, and I can remember lying on our big comfy sectional couch downstairs and looking up at the top of the vaulted ceiling to where my parents had this really cool sailboat mobile that hung there and caught the light from several windows. I'd watch it turn, and the little dust molecules swirling around it in the sunbeams, and my Mom would be upstairs cleaning, and she'd have put on a Barry Manilow record (yes a record) and I would just listen. Even at 3 or 4 years old, I knew that this was sad song about a person who really didn't ever talk to his parents.

Another favorite is "How I Love You" by Keith Green. I first heard this song when I was about 5 years old and my Mom had bought his "Songs for the Shepherd" tape. We listened to it in the car all the time, and I was quite fond of the "Whoa-whoa-whoa's" in that song. We were driving to a party at my father's boss' house, and my sister and I were in the backseat, and I asked my parents where Keith Green got the words for his songs. My Mom answered, "He gets them from the Bible." I thought about it for a moment, and searching through all my Awana memorizations, I asked, "Where in the Bible are the Whoa-whoa-whoa's?" My parents laughed so hard that my father nearly drove off the road. And, come to think of it, they never did answer my question!

All the cool kids are doing it...

30 Days of Blogging:

Day 1: A Favorite Song

Day 2: A Favorite Movie

Day 3: A Favorite Television Program

Day 4: A Favorite Book

Day 5: A Favorite Quote

Day 6: 20 of your favorite things

Day 7: A photo that makes you happy

Day 8: A photo that makes you angry or sad

Day 9: A photo you took

Day 10: A photo taken over 10 years ago of you

Day 11: A photo of you recently

Day 12: Something you are OCD about

Day 13: A fictional book

Day 14: A non-fictional book

Day 15: Your dream house

Day 16: A song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17: An Art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)

Day 18: My Wedding (Future or past)

Day 19: A talent of yours

Day 20: A hobby of yours

Day 21: A recipe

Day 22: A website

Day 23: A youtube video

Day 24: Where you live

Day 25: Your day, in great detail

Day 26: Your week, in great detail

Day 27: Your worst habit

Day 28: What's in your handbag/purse?

Day 29: Hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days

Day 30: A dream for the future