Memorial Weekend!

This morning, I went with a bunch of sisters and their kids to breakfast for a birthday. When we drove past the gas station, my jaw hit the floor. $4.19 a gallon! It must be a holiday weekend. Needles to say, Jon and I will be driving as little as possible this weekend.

I also realized this morning that I had not posted anything in a while. What can I say? It has been a busy week, and yet, nothing really exciting has happened. Jon has been studying hard for his finals that will be over today! He said he would write something about it later.

I have mostly been working on somethings to get ready for Young Women's Camp next month. It is going to be such fun times. Things are really coming together, and I am glad I am not in charge. I would rather do what the Camp Leader tells me, then have to figure out all the logistic.

I am looking forward to this weekend since Jon will be done with his first year of med. school and we can just relax with no studying. It should be a good weekend void of excessive travel.

25 REASONS I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
' Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS (technically it is diffusion not osmosis since osmosis is water moving through a membrane not other things).
'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP.
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you

The Tiffin Branch

Sunday morning, I left at 6:55 a.m. to head to a unit conference in Tiffin, Ohio. It is southeast of Toledo. I met up with the Stake Young Women's President, Sister Chase, at her home in Haskins. We (Sister Chase, her daughter, and I) traveled the hour to Tiffin, getting there just in time for the meeting of all the speakers prior to sacrament meeting. It was a fun drive, but I have to say that all of Northwest Ohio looks the same to me. Flat farmland with lots of groves of trees interspersed.

Sister Chase had woke up without a voice and she was supposed to be speaking in sacrament meeting and then teaching part of the lesson for the combined Young Men and Young Women. She whispered her talk with the microphone turned way up. It was good. All the talks were good and I heard somethings that I needed.

Before sacrament meeting started, Sister Chase decided that she would not be able to teach, but she would still try to do her talk. I got the opportunity to teach. Well, Brother Watson (Dusty) and I split Sister Chase's part of the lesson. I was terrified! I don't do well with last minute things like this, but I agreed to it. It turned out well, and in the end I was glad I was there to help out. There were only 5 youth and about 5 leaders from the branch, so it was a small group.

It was a good experience! In September, I will get to teach again since Sister Dewey will be out of town. At least I will have a little more time to prepare for that one.

The ride home was fun. Sister Chase's voice was coming back. It was fun to chat about how things went and other things in life. I got home at about 2:20 p.m.

Later that evening was seminary graduation. It was really cool to be there and support those that graduated. There were some really good talks from some of the graduating seniors. Jon was able to go with me and it was nice to actually get to spend some time with him during a busy day.

It was a busy day filled with a lot of good things, but I was so exhausted last night that I went to bed at nine and actually slept well!

Saturday Is a Special Day!

Saturday, was a wonderful day for me. Jon and I were able to sleep in until ten, and then, I was able to just take it easy the rest of the day while Jon studied. After the busy weeks I have been having and not being able to sleep well, it was a much needed relaxing day with no places I had to be. It also prepared me well for the busy Sunday coming the next day.

El Salto

Last night, Jon and I decided to try a recommended Mexican Restaurant. El Salto was recommended to us by a family in our ward. It is in Maumee not too far from our apartment. We were very impressed! It is family run, by one of the few Hispanic families I have ever seen in the area. The food was really good, the price was better, and the service was the best. We had not been seated more than 10 minutes before we had our food. It was amazing! The food tasted better then Los Hermanos in Provo, but not quite as good as Plum Loco in Idaho Falls. So over all I would say this is a good find. For those here in Toledo, it is located on the corner of Gibbs (Cass turns into this road) and Anthony Wayne Trail. If you like Mexican Food, it is highly recommended by us!

Threes

List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself.

3 joys:
-being at home
-making new friends
-spending more time with Jon now that he is in med. school then I got to during his undergrad.

3 fears:
-I won't be able to get pregnant.
-Public speaking (I actually had an asthma attack in my 9th grade Speech Class)
-Being in charge

3 goals:
-pay off loans
-Jon to find a job doing something he loves
-start our family

3 current obsessions:
-growing things
-Young Women's
-Gilmore Girls

3 collections:
-pictures that need scrap booked
-Jon's papers from med. school
-movies

3 random facts:
-I like to quote movies.
-My junior year of high school, I taught seminary to the freshmen for a month.
-I hate being the center of attention, which is why I hate my birthday.

Girls Camp

Last night, I went to a camp planning meeting. It is fun to be involved in the planning of Girls Camp! I am really excited to go to camp this summer. It sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun! We are going to Camp Fort Hill near Sturgis, Michigan.

I also received a fun email from my sister and wanted to share it. I thought it was quite funny. It has nothing to do with Girls camp, but oh well.

Due to budget cuts this is your new office.

The Race Continues

I realized this morning that I have not posted in a while. I thought this week would be less busy than last week, but that is not the case. I have something every night this week, and poor Jon is down to his last five days of class, and then two finals and he is done with his first year of med. school!

So a recap on where I left off last...

First off a correction, the tour Jon gave last Friday was not for an interviewee. It was a sophomore at Kent State, who is interested in going to med. school when she graduates and just wanted to take a tour of UTCOM (University of Toledo College of Medicine). Everyone who has been accepted to med. school has to accept or reject their offers by tomorrow (Wednesday) and then the wait list will be prioritized and people will begin to be accepted off the wait list. It is a crazy time! I am glad we are past it, but feel for those who are still waiting to hear. Good luck!

Friday night, Jon and I went to a barbecue with a few of the med. students and their families. There was tons of good food and good conversations. We left a little early to go and play volleyball at the church and get in a little exercise. We also had to fill our car up with gas. It cost us more then $50! Ouch!

Saturday morning, we took our monthly trip to Michigan. This month we decided to go to the ward (Elder's Quorum) temple trip. It was fun to go at a different time when it was still light for the drive home. We actually did not have any spectacular finds or adventures this trip. Which was okay! The picture at the right is of a tree in front of the stake center next to the temple.

On our way home we stopped and got or twenty-three cent pizzas with our rain checks. It was nice to not wait in line and chat with the worker who was a little stressed, but still kind of smiling. I guess they sold around 600 pizzas in 2 days. Crazy! I have been and will be eating pizza all week. I love Papa John's Pizza!

Mother's Day was really good over all. The only down side being the perfume in sacrament meeting, which caused me to have to sit in the hall for the whole meeting so I could breathe. At the end of the meeting, the youth in the ward gave out carnations to all the women over 18. Then, Jon and I enjoyed food and games at our friends, the Ziemers, after church for the rest of the day.

On Monday, I was actually able to get a lot done around our apartment. The one down part is that our vacuum started smoking from the motor, and it appears we are going to have to get a new one. Sad! Oh well. We fed the Elders, had Family Home Evening, and then went to work out with the Deweys. Sister Dewey made an amazing discovery with my back problems. She poked around a little and found that my spine is rotated between my shoulder blades. Why, in all the doctors I have been to over the years, has no one caught this before? So now my exercising with the Deweys can be focused toward helping correct the problem. It was amazing to finally find out what the problem has been all these years of pain! Thanks Denise!

I thought I would end this post with a picture of my bean plants. One has not grown too much, but the other is about double in size. I found a new home for them. I have to remember to bring them to the Ziemers next time I go over there.

Busy, Busy Week

This week has been crazy! Not only has Jon had two tests, but I have had tons more to do then normal. Our Anniversary turned out to be a day where we did not get to see much of each other, but we had previously decided to celebrate on the weekend.

Tuesday, Jon studied most of the evening and I was gone so I think it was a little easier for him to get things done. I do try really hard to let him study, but sometime I just keep asking him questions and stuff. I visited some sisters in the ward and then I went down to Haskins, Ohio to scrapbook. I have made a new friend in the last few weeks. She is awesome! We had fun chatting and kind of scrap booking. Well, Julia was scrap booking, but I do not know if you could call what I was doing scrap booking. I had one of those books that you just slide the picture in and then can write something about the picture on the margins (Thanks Emilee for trading me at the baby shower so I did not have to have lotion and stuff that I was allergic to). Now you would think that it would be easy to just slide pictures into the pockets, but I got to the end and there were extra pictures. I thought I had figured it out so that would not happen. Looking through the pages I found some I had missed. Oops! Needless to say it took me 2 hours to do something I thought would be a breeze. Next time maybe I will do some real scrap booking. We laughed and talked and broke a light bulb (well her husband did, but he was trying to help) and just had a good time! It's so good to have another good friend around!

Wednesday while Jon was taking his first test this week, I tried to catch up on some cleaning around the house that has been neglected for a while. I got the kitchen looking nice, but that was as far as the cleaning went. Today the kitchen looks like it did before, so today will be the same battle as Wednesday. The dishes were not as bad as this picture, but it felt that way.

Thursday was another busy day. Jon again had a test the next day, so he studied all night. I went to walking group in the morning so I could get a little exercise, but had to leave right after the walking part was done, so I could shower and be ready to take someone to the airport in Detroit. It was the first time I had driven to the airport. I think I have only been to the Detroit Airport once before and I was a passenger. It was not too bad. I made it without getting lost at all and made good time, too, since there was no traffic at all.

I was home just in time to pick Jon up from school and get to a 2:30 appointment. We had wanted to go take advantage of the 23 cent pizza at Papa John's earlier in the day, but we did not get there until after4:00. There was quite a line, but we thought we would wait for a little while. I mean you cannot beat Papa John's pizza for less than a quarter. Not long after we got there, an employee came out and stood behind us and started handing out rain checks. We were going to be the last ones to get the pizza deal for the day. We talked to the lady and she said we could wait and get pizza today or we could take the rain check and still get the $0.23 pizza between now and Sunday. The idea of getting our pizza when there would be less of a line for the same price really appealed to me since I was tired and hungry and did not want to wait. We both got a rain check and decided to go back on Saturday afternoon to get our pizza for less a quarter. I cannot wait for some pizza. This will probably end up being our anniversary celebration dinner on the weekend. Can we beat the price though?

After Jon and I can home and heated up some leftovers, I got a call from a sister in the ward to go to a Stake Relief Society Activity with her. I had been debating all day if I was going to go, so I decided to go. It was a breast cancer awareness night. Chrys Peterson, a news anchor from Channel 11 news here in Toledo, was the main speaker. She is a member of the other ward that meets in the same building as our ward. She is also the Honorary Chairperson for the "Northwest Ohio/Komen 'Race for the Cure' for Breast Cancer." It was very interesting! She also had member of the stake who were survivors of breast cancer talk a little about their experiences. I was really glad I went and was made more aware of this horrible disease. There was also free stuff given out and lots of pink desserts.

Today, Jon has another test. He is also doing a tour for an interviewee. I was thinking it was really late in the year for UTCOM to still be doing interviews, but I guess there is one next week too. Good luck to all those still waiting to get into a school this year!

Well, there are a few things that Jon and I have been doing the last few days. I hope next week will be a little less busy.

Hey Everyone in the Toledo and Cleveland Area!

Do you want $0.23 pizza tomorrow? Click here to find out how. To find out why click here.

Once Upon a Time, In a Land Far Away...

Today, Jon and I have been married for four years. We were married for time and all eternity in the Idaho Falls, Idaho LDS Temple. It has been the best four years of my life so far. To be with my best friend forever is such a great blessing.

I love you, Jon!

Boys Night Out and Girl Party

Last night, Jon and I went to a HALO party with other members of our ward. I was the only wife there since the host's wife was out of town. It was really fun! I have gone to two of these nights and I enjoyed myself. There is always lots of good food, and it is kind of funny to see doctors, residents, and med. students shooting each other up on a video game. One med. student said he thought of it as shooting robots and then it was okay. Jon and I left at 1:00 a.m. and there were still about 9 playing. I don't know how late they stayed. It is good that they have some kind of release from their work, and it is quite entertaining.

This afternoon, I went to a baby shower. It was quite different from the party last night, but still fun in its own way. I have attached a picture of the blanket I made for Kirsten's future bundle of joy.

Another Plant Update and a New Toy

I was going to transplant my bean starts (that is right another one worked out too) yesterday in honor of it being May Day, but I did not get to it. Instead, I did it this morning. I dug up my sad dead garlic, and planted a bean in the little pot. I planted the other one in a plastic cup (I will have to be really careful not to over water this one since it has no drainage). I do not know what I will do when they out grow these little containers in my window. Oh well, it has been fun to have something growing. Here are some pictures.

This is the new one that can up about two days ago.

Here are the two together. I used straws and bag ties to hold them up so they could grow straighter.

Yesterday I also get a new toy. I have been needing a new mop for a while. When we moved here I bought one that had replaceable heads so I could just but a new mop head instead of a new mop when I needed one. The time came when I needed a new mop head, and they do not carry the changeable heads any more. I was a little saddened by this. My floors have been neglected far too long, so finally, I broke down and bought a Swiffer Sweeper that can also be used as a mop. It will actually be less expensive in the long run and it works great. So much better then a mop and bucket of soapy water. It gets the corners so much better! It is also way easier. Less work for me to mop my kitchen and bathrooms! Yeah! I am a happy "camper" now.

Sportsmanship in College Softball

This is an amazing story! And not just because I love softball.

Central Washington offers the ultimate act of sportsmanship

Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in her career. Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman was already her school's career leader in them. But when a twist of fate and a torn knee ligament brought them face to face with each other and face to face with the end of their playing days, they combined on a home run trot that celebrated the collective human spirit far more than individual athletic achievement.

Both schools compete as Division II softball programs in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Neither has ever reached the NCAA tournament at the Division II level. But when they arrived for Saturday's conference doubleheader at Central Washington's 300-seat stadium in Ellensburg, a small town 100 miles and a mountain range removed from Seattle, the hosts resided one game behind the visitors at the top of the conference standings. As was the case at dozens of other diamonds across the map, two largely anonymous groups prepared to play the most meaningful games of their seasons.

It was a typical Saturday of softball in April, right down to a few overzealous fans heckling an easy target, the diminutive Tucholsky, when she came to the plate in the top of the second inning of the second game with two runners on base and the game still scoreless after Western Oregon's 8-1 win in the first game of the afternoon.

"I just remember trying to block them out," Tucholsky said of the hecklers. "The first pitch I took, it was a strike. And then I really don't remember where the home run pitch was at all; [I] just remember hitting it, and I knew it was out."

A part-time starter in the outfield throughout her four years, Tucholsky had been caught in a numbers game this season on a deep roster that entered the weekend hitting better than .280 and having won nine games in a row. Prior to the pitch she sent over the center-field fence, she had just three hits in 34 at-bats this season. And in that respect, her hitting heroics would have made for a pleasing, if familiar, story line on their own: an unsung player steps up in one of her final games and lifts her team's postseason chances.

But it was what happened after an overly excited Tucholsky missed first base on her home run trot and reversed direction to tag the bag that proved unforgettable.

"Sara is small -- she's like 5-2, really tiny," Western Oregon coach Pam Knox said. "So you would never think that she would hit a home run. The score was 0-0, and Sara hit a shot over center field. And I'm coaching third and I'm high-fiving the other two runners that came by -- then all of a sudden, I look up, and I'm like, 'Where's Sara?' And I look over, and she's in a heap beyond first base."

While she was doubling back to tag first base, Tucholsky's right knee gave out. The two runners who had been on base already had crossed home plate, leaving her the only offensive player on the field of play, even as she lay crumpled in the dirt a few feet from first base and a long way from home plate. First-base coach Shannon Prochaska -- Tucholsky's teammate for three seasons and the only voice she later remembered hearing in the ensuing conversation -- checked to see whether she could crawl back to the base under her own power.

As Knox explained, "It went through my mind, I thought, 'If I touch her, she's going to kill me.' It's her only home run in four years. I didn't want to take that from her, but at the same time, I was worried about her."

Umpires confirmed that the only option available under the rules was to replace Tucholsky at first base with a pinch runner and have the hit recorded as a two-run single instead of a three-run home run. Any assistance from coaches or trainers while she was an active runner would result in an out. So without any choice, Knox prepared to make the substitution, taking both the run and the memory from Tucholsky.

"And right then," Knox said, "I heard, 'Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched each bag?'"

The voice belonged to Holtman, a four-year starter who owns just about every major offensive record there is to claim in Central Washington's record book. She also is staring down a pair of knee surgeries as soon as the season ends. Her knees ache after every game, but having already used a redshirt season earlier in her career, and ready to move on to graduate school and coaching at Central, she put the operations on hold so as to avoid missing any of her final season. Now, with her own opportunity for a first postseason appearance very much hinging on the outcome of the game -- her final game at home -- she stepped up to help a player she knew only as an opponent for four years.

"Honestly, it's one of those things that I hope anyone would do it for me," Holtman said. "She hit the ball over her fence. She's a senior; it's her last year. … I don't know, it's just one of those things I guess that maybe because compared to everyone on the field at the time, I had been playing longer and knew we could touch her, it was my idea first. But I think anyone who knew that we could touch her would have offered to do it, just because it's the right thing to do. She was obviously in agony."

Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace lifted Tucholsky off the ground and supported her weight between them as they began a slow trip around the bases, stopping at each one so Tucholsky's left foot could secure her passage onward. Even with Tucholsky feeling the pain of what trainers subsequently came to believe was a torn ACL (she was scheduled for tests to confirm the injury on Monday), the surreal quality of perhaps the longest and most crowded home run trot in the game's history hit all three players.

"We all started to laugh at one point, I think when we touched the first base," Holtman said. "I don't know what it looked like to observers, but it was kind of funny because Liz and I were carrying her on both sides and we'd get to a base and gently, barely tap her left foot, and we'd all of a sudden start to get the giggles a little bit."
Accompanied by a standing ovation from the fans, they finally reached home plate and passed the home run hitter into the arms of her own teammates.

Then Holtman and Wallace returned to their positions and tried to win the game.

Hollywood would have a difficult time deciding how such a script should end, whether to leave Tucholsky's home run as the decisive blow or reward the selfless actions of her opponents. Reality has less room for such philosophical quandaries. Central Washington did rally for two runs in the bottom of the second -- runs that might have tied the game had Knox been forced to replace Tucholsky -- but Western Oregon held on for a 4-2 win. But unlike a movie, the credits didn't roll after the final out, and the story that continues has little to do with those final scores.

"It kept everything in perspective and the fact that we're never bigger than the game," Knox said of the experience. "It was such a lesson that we learned -- that it's not all about winning. And we forget that, because as coaches, we're always trying to get to the top. We forget that. But I will never, ever forget this moment. It's changed me, and I'm sure it's changed my players."

For her part, Holtman seems not altogether sure what all the fuss is about. She seems to genuinely believe that any player in her position on any field on any day would have done the same thing. Which helps explains why it did happen on that day and on that field.

And she appreciates the knowledge that while the results of Saturday's game and her senior season soon will fade into the dust and depth of old media guides and Internet archives, the story of what happened in her final game at home will live on far longer.

"I think that happening on Senior Day, it showed the character of our team," Holtman said. "Because granted I thought of it, but everyone else would have done it. It's something people will talk about for Senior Day. They won't talk about who got hits and what happened and who won; they'll talk about that. And it's kind of a nice way to go out, because it shows what our program is about and the kind of people we have here."