Karen Facts

Here is an excerpt from a list I put together, by request, for some friends:

My favorite color is blue.
I grew up in California.
I remember number patterns very well.
I play the piano.
I love to nap.
I talk to our family's pet guinea pig.
I write things I have already done on my lists so I can cross them off.
I am a life long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I love cycling, but can't keep up with my friends. They are kind and wait for me, though.
I started participating in triathlons when I turned 40.
I have played the flute kind of regularly for the last 35 years.
I am an avid reader but very rarely read fiction. If I do, it is Jane Austen.
I am a nerd.
I could eat pizza every day for the rest of my life.
I am tall, but can't play basketball. Everyone assumes if a girl is tall, she can play basketball.
I cannot dance.
I want to travel to Italy.
I love classical music.

Warning: Virus Ahead

You know what that picture is? It and a gazillion of its clones have been making life miserable for the last week. While I think I am finally gaining the upper hand, I will decide for sure after taking a nap.

Clueless Musician or How Did I Get Here And Why Am I Sitting In Front Of A Piano?

I volunteer as a pianist for my church's children's group, ages 3-12. I LOVE volunteering with the children. I enjoy listening to their thoughts, comments and questions as they learn about Jesus. Some comments make me wonder if there are old people in those little bodies, other comments cause me to hide behind the upright piano and laugh.

Which brings me to my post's title. There is a lot of music each Sunday, I would guess 45-50 minutes. While I am very comfortable playing nearly all the songs in the youth music book, sometimes something terrible happens.

I have spoken with other musicians and know it happens to them as well. I will be sitting at the piano, playing along and then my brain starts asking questions. What song am I playing? I know how to play the piano?? When did that happen? What is a key signature? What is an accidental? I read music?

Then as quickly as it came, the feeling departs, leaving an auditory scorched earth with snickering children, sympathetic adults and a stunned pianist.

This Picture Made Me Laugh

Follow the Threadless Kids link-I don't want to mess with copyright issues.

Thanks B, for sharing. It is from Threadless Kids. I would buy one if it came in my size.

What's Your Favorite Disneyland Ride?

While trying to track down a photo for an upcoming post, I thought of the question: what is your favorite Disneyland ride? The picture shows mine.

Grown Up Sippy Cups

These water bottles appeared under the Christmas tree this year, addressed to Astronerd and B. They have CamelBak's bite valve and a straw so you bite the top and then suck the liquid out. FHA and I's outdoor mantra is "hydrate, hydrate, HYDRATE" and we thought these bottles would be fun and handy. We were right. The bottles were a hit and we don't have spillage issues like we have had with other bottles. They looked so fun, I bought one for myself.

Go to CamelBak's site by clicking here.

Draper Temple Open House

FHA and I had the opportunity to tour the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Draper Utah Temple today. What a beautiful building. It has arts and crafts influences, sego lily motifs and lots of wood. Two of the rooms have beautiful painted murals covering all the walls. Even the outlets, thermostats and other equipment were painted to blend in with the murals. I think they were my favorite rooms.

Not only was the physical building beautiful, there was peaceful, nice feeling there too. I wonder if they would notice if I just sat in there for a few hours?

The open house starts January 15th and ends March 14th. Since our invitation was for two, we are going back with Astronerd and B on a later date.

Go here for open house reservation information.

The Purge

Closet cleaning gurus say to get rid of clothes that don't fit or haven't been worn in a year. So tonight I decided to follow the gurus and commenced purging my half of the 6 1/2 foot wide closet I share with FHA. Part of the purging was a weird Christmas. I found forgotten cute things that probably fit! Part of the purging was a guilt trip. High hopes for fitting in clothes purchased 10 years ago and still can't button or snap. The sadness that while I am successful in other areas of my life, maintaining a permanent goal weight isn't one of them. Other clothes need hemming-will I actually do it? Who can I hire? Ha! Some of this stuff still has its tags on it. The salve was the knowledge that I bought this stuff at true outlet stores or 80% off sales. Finally, part of the purging was embarrassment. I was going to wear THAT in public?? Well I suppose it was in style when I bought it, but it certainly isn't now. I guess Rio's Rider could have worn it to her party last Saturday night. I still have a bit to do in the morning, but now I can comfortably fit all the clothes I own in my half of the closet and my half of the dresser. Except for cycling jerseys. And parkas. And snowpants. And wetsuit (for triathlons). But wait-all that other stuff is "sports equipment".

Snowshoeing

Today, Rio's Rider and I spent two hours snowshoeing in the canyon. It was an absolutely beautiful day. It was snowing and misty with ice forming on the sides of the river. I was thankful for the fact we weren't climbing a mountainside so I could actually converse with Rio's Rider rather than pant my way up the hill. You see, Rio's Rider races Rio and is in MUCH better physical condition than I am. To top it off, I came home and had a nice bowl of soup.

Channelling Grandma Rita

I don't follow any teams other than BYU, but I sure like watching the college bowl games. I watched a gazillion hours of them yesterday and did it for my grandma (cough, cough). When I was little, Grandma Rita occasionally visited us for the holidays. On New Year's Day, she would park herself in front of our TV and not move all day. I could hear her cheering and yelling from anywhere in the house. Currently, I am not cheering for Utah, but cheering against Alabama. By the way, my grandfather is in this picture.

Hello 2009!

The new year always excites me. I think of that fat, little Baby New Year bounding into my life and wonder what she has in store for me and I for her in the coming year.