The Ultimate Irony

As I mentioned in an earlier post, our car was among the victims of an apparent attack on inanimate objects in the Dimit household.

I was without my beloved Maxima for nearly THREE weeks. Special thanks to my good friends Bridget, Brenda, and Sarah for helping with preschool carpools during this stressful time.

Finally, I get word that the car has been fixed. Lester is in Japan, and my wonderful aunt Deslie has flown in from Utah to help me out for the week. So Deslie, Brandon, and I cram our bodies into the Talon for the ride to Forest Grove to pick up the car.

At the corner of Rigert and 185th, the Talon dies. On my way to pick up one newly fixed car, the other one quits. It doesn't sputter, it doesn't lurch, it just stops running. After turning the engine over thirty times, it finally roars to life and off we go on a wing and a very fervent prayer made at the stoplight of Farmington Road and 209th.

Deslie says she should drive the Talon ahead of me on the way home to make sure she isn't stranded in case of a breakdown. I heartily concur.

We arrive at the auto body shop in Forest Grove only to be told two things:
1- The Maxima needs a new battery...NOW. The mechanic had to jumpstart it to bring it from the back.
2- While the Maxima is idling, the mechanic informs me it needs to be filled up...NOW.

So instead of safeguarding Deslie in the Talon, she is my wingman, making sure I arrive at the gas station and Les Schwab's without incident.

Three hours after starting out, we arrive home safely with both cars and our sanity intact (sort of).

I really despise inanimate objects.

Whose Beach Is It, Anyway?

On Saturday, the Masons invited us at the last minute to go to the beach with them. But it was not just ANY beach, it was HUG POINT!

You see, Lester and I got engaged at Hug Point. He picked me up after work one Friday evening, and drove me to the beach. He brought a duffel bag which he set by a driftwood log while we took a walk. He kept looking back at the duffel bag until finally he suggested we turn around.

"Why" I asked.

"I don't want the sea gulls to make off with my duffel bag."

Okay, I was young, and I was naive, but I believed him.

Little did I know that contained in the duffel bag was dinner, roses, and my engagement ring! No wonder he kept looking back at the bag!

It was sunset and it was so romantic to get engaged at HUG POINT, and so I was so happy when Mahina suggested going there.

But when we arrived at the beach, this is what we saw:

- A couple of guitarists crooning in a cave

- A canopy set up from which dangled a black flag with a white skull and crossbones. This canopy belonged to a group (coven, congregation, herd, whatever) of people dressed in pirate gear.

- A small wedding party. The photographer was my hero because she pulled Brandon from a deep tidal pool in which he had fallen. Gasp!

- A large wedding party (A note about the large wedding party. We were playing happily in the sand near some waterfalls when we were asked to pack up and leave so they could hold the wedding! Of course, we said yes and left, but I mean, really! As Mahina says, if you want to hold a wedding there, you stake out your spot a few hours early so people don't have to pack up five kids and endless beach toys on a moment's notice.

Of course, after all that, could I remember the exact spot that Lester proposed?

I could not.

Although I have a suspicion it was where the pirates were hanging out.

A Matter of Perspective, part 2/An Answer to Prayer

Okay, I've been bumming around the house today, feeling kind of sorry for myself because I don't have a car and I have kids who want to be constantly entertained and I'm not feeling super great, blah, blah, blah.

So I knelt down and said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to help me out.

Well, I got the answer to my prayer by coming across an update about a beautiful mother named Carol who delivered a baby girl (their second) and she had the most HORRIBLE things happen afterward. Her story, however, is one that inspires me and helps me be grateful for healthy kids and a healthy body and the fact that I can run stairs for exercise (even if I don't want to).

Check out Carol's story.

In other words, Heavenly Father was telling me to get a reality check and be grateful for my many blessings!

I feel humbled now.

A Matter of Perspective

I HATE inanimate objects (except chocolate, of course).

That's because in the past week or two, the following inanimate objects have broken. This list is not necessarily in order of importance.
- DVD Player
- Microwave oven
- Dishwasher
- Car (AGAIN! But this time I was NOT driving, and so I don't care as much as I might otherwise. No one was hurt, except our car (and the other car).

So far, the rest of our appliances are still ticking (cross our fingers and keep our repairman on speed dial).

BUT, none of this really matters when I have a sweet daughter who waves to me from the bus and a son who gives me bushels of dandelions. He even filled a plastic cup with ice water for the dandelions. I loved it, even if the dandelions didn't.

And as a funny postscript. I told Brandon he had to go to bed. He had his favorite "circle blankie" tied around his shoulders and informed me that "Superheroes don't go to sleep. They stay awake." Maybe I was just over-stressed from dysfunctional appliances, but I about died laughing.

Thank goodness I get to keep Brandon and Alexis and Lester forever, and I can ditch the appliances.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

This is the guest blogger, Lester, making a quick blog entry. As some of you may know, I like to follow the news, especially political news. Some would say I'm a political junkie (I like watching the Sunday news shows, West Wing, etc.). So I wasn't surprised when Alexis started taking an interest in politics. She started by following the Democratic Presidential primary, rooting for Hillary Clinton because "she is a girl and she would tax our schools" (I think that translates into she would raise taxes to send money to schools). Anyway, once Hillary was defeated in the primary, Alexis' political affiliation quickly switched to John McCain. When a Barak Obama sign went up at our neighbor's house across the street, Alexis had to have a McCain sign. When Daddy didn't move fast enough, she took matters into her own hands. When I got home from work one day, I discovered the following sign posted in our yard:

Brandon, not wanting to be left out, got into the act as well. I would definitely vote for him, but I am biased ;-)

So, as you can see, we will have a very interesting fall at the Dimit home following the presidential election.

Many thanks to Adriana Dominguez for making the signs for the kids.

EW! What is that smell?

For weeks, I passed through my laundry room (make that laundry hallway) and would catch a whiff of something truly foul. It was like stinky feet sitting in sewer. The thing is, the smell came and went, so I would tend to forget about it.

Finally, however, I uncovered the culprit. And what do you suppose that culprit was?

1- Laundry? Since I do my laundry with some regularity (I'm no Martha Stewart, but then she has people do her laundry for her. I'll bet in prison, she had someone launder and press the zippers on her orange jumpsuits. But I digress.) No, the laundry was not the smell.

2- Garbage can? Again, I empty the garbage with some regularity (at least before the trash reaches the ceiling), and I have been known to spray Lysol in the can before replacing it with a clean bag.

3- THIS WAS THE CULPRIT:

It was not this exact one that was the culprit, but something similar. ROTTEN POTATOES. Not having a pantry, my wonderful husband who is perfect in every other way stores our 5 or 10-lb. bag of potatoes on the DRYER. (Or maybe I put this bag on the dryer). Anyway, since potatoes fester in heat, and what is hotter than a DRYER, the leftover potatoes decomposed into a smelly, slimy, festering mess.

When I uncovered the mess, there was oozy brown and green slime on the dryer, on the bottom of the blue laundry basket on the dryer, and at the bottom of my laundry detergent box. My friend Mahina was over watching a movie with me at the time. Like the true pal that she was, she fed me paper towels and various housecleaning products until I banished the smell (mostly) from my house.

We opened windows, lit a scented candle, and sat down with a bowl of Tillamook Udderly Chocolate Ice Cream covered in Magic Shell and finished our movie.

Case solved and noses happy.

Alexis, the Newest Star of the Food Network and Lover of Strawberries

This is Alexis's very own recipe for Strawberry Cake and Strawberry Cupcakes

1 T. Milk

5 cups sugar
10 c. Plain cocoa
2 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
½ tsp. salt
10 Strawberries
Fireworks food coloring
Rainbow sprinkles

Mix the ingredients for 10 minutes. Bake it for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. It has to be thick.