I'm still here

It has been a long time since I blogged. While I don't feel all that concerned about keeping this thing updated frequently (and it actually will probably live longer if I approach it casually), there are a few things I wanted to write about. This will be lengthy, and I almost never read anybody's posts if they are way more words than pictures. So I will totally understand if everybody skips over this one. :)

First of all, I need to document this pregnancy. I'm not super comfortable talking really openly about this stuff, largely because I have been the one on the infertility/miscarriage end of things, and it's really hard to know how to approach it without being insensitive. I know several people struggling with these very issues right now, and I'm actually really bad about showing sympathy because I preferred to be very private about them when it was me. So if you are going through struggles with infertility or miscarriages, please believe me when I say that I know how much it sucks and that I understand on some level even though I probably won't bring it up.

I also feel bad because I've been incredibly neglectful of all of my friends and family for several months now. This pregnancy has really wiped me out, and I just can't wait to get through it. I pretty much hurt all the time, and have dropped anything out of my life that doesn't feel absolutely essential. A trip to the grocery store one day means my hips are going to hurt for two more days--partly because of all the walking and pushing a heavy cart, partly because there are days when that precious 2 year old is way more than I can handle. As much as I used to wish I didn't have to have c-sections, for now I am just relieved to know the exact day this baby will come and that it won't be two weeks late. (It will be March 16th, if you're wondering.) Sorry for the complaining, I don't want to sound like I think life is awful and I hate babies. I love them and I'm getting excited to meet this one (especially because we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet). But I do know that I'm as guilty as most people of forgetting how difficult this can be when I'm not in the midst of it, and I tend to lean towards honesty and bluntness as much as possible.

22 weeks pregnant

32 weeks pregnant (and clearly I don't have the energy to clean my bathroom mirrors anymore)

Life has been fairly uneventful for us lately, but the kids have been pretty patient and willing to hang out at home a lot. One of their favorite things to do is play video games with Daddy. It started out last year with Minecraft, but we had forgotten about it for a long time. Recently he tried it again, and both kids love to sit and watch Daddy explore caves, build his farm, grow vegetables, and kill zombies and creepers. Millie is pretty bossy about it and tells him exactly what he should do next. Luke eventually loses patience and tries to push buttons himself or just use Daddy as a jungle gym. Another game they have gotten into is The Legend of Zelda, or The Hero Game as they call it. If you're not familiar with it, it consists of a lot of monster slaying and exploring of deep, dark dungeons. I'm really surprised they don't have nightmares, but they both go running to the couch when we ask if they want to play it.

Millie is doing awesome at preschool. I'm so happy that she loves to go and that she loves to learn. I would never have known how smart she is until her teachers started to tell me so. I want to avoid having any sort of specific expectations for her academically--not that I don't want her to have a great education, but I don't want to assume things will come as easily for her as her parents--but it is kind of nice to know that school is something she isn't likely to struggle with. Millie also adores crafts. It's hard to stay patient when my house is littered with confetti, tape, and bits of paper, but it's really nice when she will happily work on something independently for a long time. She's also getting a very stubborn streak when it comes to choosing her clothes, her hairstyle, her food, etc. I try to relax and accomodate her as much as possible to keep the peace.

Millie on Christmas morning--all she asked for from Santa was a globe

Playing in the snow

A Millie approved hairstyle needs at least 3 clips or bows

Luke is getting both easier and more difficult as a child. On the one hand, he is more capable of getting into trouble and hurting himself. A few weeks ago, he fell down the stairs twice (once causing a nasty scrape on his forehead) and somehow tried to strangle himself (we did not see it, just the mysterious sore line across the front of his neck). He also is incredibly headstrong and prone to throwing fits about not getting his way. I resort to bribery way too much to just get things accomplished. On the other hand, he is starting to communicate so much better. He talks a lot more, imitates most of what we say, and loves nothing more than for somebody to laugh at him. He is so funny and so mischievous that it's hard not to find him adorable. It doesn't hurt that he loves to snuggle and that he still takes a nap most days. He is also OBSESSED with the color green and Mickey Mouse. It can cause some frustration, but it's kind of endearing.

Luke on Christmas morning - we still need to get rid of that stupid binky, but for now it makes life easier *sigh*

He would play in the snow all day if we let him

Mark is really busy at work this semester since he picked up another class to teach. We look forward to a time when he won't have to stress as much about establishing himself in his position and in his field, but for now it's like he's started out all over again at the bottom and has to fight his way back up. He's been on several trips lately and has more planned for conferences and colloquiums around the country. I look forward to the day when I don't have little tiny children at home and I can accompany him to some of these places.

I kind of went through my nesting phase early. I think I have everything ready for this kiddo, and I'm glad to know I won't be scrambling when I'm even more huge and uncomfortable. It was kind of nice only needing to buy two outfits (one boy, one girl for coming home from the hospital) since we already have everything we could need. I did manage to squeeze in a couple of sewing projects, but I kept it to a minimum: a few more burp cloths, a carseat cover, and a quilt. Now can somebody just push the fast-forward button to March?

My very first quilt ever! It is FAR from perfect, but I actually finished it!

We're having a. . .

GIRL!!

So we've been asked frequently over the past few months whether we were hoping for a boy or a girl. I think it's sort of a terrible question. Not because it's such an awful thing to hope for one or the other. It's just that the more you have to answer it, the more convinced you are that you've got it figured out. And when you find out you're wrong, where does that leave you? So please everybody, don't ask me if I'm disappointed that we were completely wrong. We figured it would be a boy. Mark has even been reading The Complete Calvin and Hobbes to prepare for parenthood of a possibly precocious little boy. (Three huge volumes, one volume per trimester.) It took me a minute to register what the technician meant when she said, "It's a girl!" because I didn't understand most of what she was saying anyways. But yes, it's clearly a girl in there sloshing around in my belly.

I'm mostly excited that now we can move forward with things. Picking a name (which will be SO much easier than it would have been with a boy). Buying stuff. Deciding what we really need and what we can live without in our tiny apartment. Figuring out how to stuff a carseat into the backseat of our car.

Also, for the record, I have no intention of having a "Little Princess". Please don't try to convince me that I'm wrong about that, and I'll ignore the little smirks behind my back that suggest I'm naive and will understand some day soon. That's just the way it needs to be.

Ithaca

Generally blogging is like one of my many interests--it comes and goes and there is a general lack of consistency. This time I have a valid excuse, not that I'm making any apologies. Mark and I spent our summer (and continue to work on) packing, moving, unpacking, and cleaning an entire sorority house. I'm not gonna lie to you. Life has been miserable. You know how people always ask you how you are, or how your summer was? I sort of just stare at them sizing them up to decide if they really want to hear my answer.

Anyhow, complaining doesn't accomplish anything, so moving onward.

I have sort of had Ithaca on my mind lately. A place that has come to mean so many different things to me over the course of three years. I've almost forgotten how much I hated it here when we came. What made it so awful? I remember desperately needing a job in a town with no industry but Cornell (and consequently working as a cashier at Wegmans for a year). I remember being yelled at on the phone by the telephone company when I was simply trying to set up my telephone (I hung up on someone for the first time in my life, then was terrified to call back and possibly get the same lady). I remember weeks of straight, drizzling rain. Followed by months of a greyish cocoon of sky that blocked the sun most days. My seriously crazy upstairs neighbor, Paul. The list could go on, but I'll stop.

And the interesting thing is, these are all such tiny things in my eyes now. I've been through much worse since I decided I liked this place. Heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, stomach-sickening times of stress and pain and overwhelming responsibility. And yet this place has become home to me. I'm sure there are plenty of reasons for that, and a lot of profound ideas to be drawn from it, but the thing that sticks with me the most is that it is the hard times that make us stronger as a family. I have no desire to relive some of the things of the past three years, but I do know for sure that these experiences have knit our marriage together more tightly and have given me confidence in the life ahead of us.

Once upon a time I spent my days in the JKHB at BYU. (That's Jesse Knight Humanities Building at Brigham Young University.) It was one of those gross buildings that reminds you of an old high school bathroom. But I loved it because of the colorful flyers posted throughout the halls and doorways. One day I came across a poem posted on a Philosophy professor's office, and it sort of became my mantra for life (how fitting that not long after that I began my own journey to Ithaca).

Ithaca
by: Constantine Cavafy

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber, and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca on your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what these Ithacas mean.

Reservations

Last week we made all of our lodging arrangements in Italy. (A few nights in Naples, a place right on the Amalfi Coast, Sienna, 2 nights in Florence, 6 nights in Rome. . . I'm finally feeling more excited than anxious about this trip!) We got an email today from one of the Bed and Breakfasts we reserved in Rome that says something like, "Please contact us if you have anything to tell us or any further changements." And I just had to smile. I hope all of the Italians we run into try to talk to us in English. :)

Fall Break-Away!

A few suggestions for people traveling to the Adirondacks in the fall.

1) DO bring a GPS. You'll get to see some really cool backroads. But don't trust your GPS completely. This is the first turn it told us to take:

2) DO make your driver stop from time to time to take pictures, otherwise they will all look like this:


3) Unfortunately, even if you do stop, the picture never quite does justice to the scene. This was the most charming view with the church steeple sticking up from the trees. SO New England. :) Now it just looks like trees and a mountain. *sigh*

4) If you visit Fort Ticonderoga, DO go during the fall. The fort is slightly boring, but the scenery makes up for it. And also go to the gardens while there. The butterflies certainly seem to enjoy them.

5) DO go to Vermont, you won't regret it. It is so fun to drive through, and we fell in love with Burlington. It's like Ithaca, only the way it was intended to be. Their downtown shopping area is WAY better than the Commons, and people actually hang out there (not just to smoke). We think it's because they're not so afraid of capitalism that they have a better variety of stores. Buy some maple fudge while you're at it. And don't forget to take the ferry over Lake Champlain. At dusk.

6) DON'T bother going to North Pole, NY unless you have kids. Even if you think you just want to go buy nice Christmas ornaments, you will be very wrong and disappointed. We almost paid the $18 a piece (for adults, mind you) to get into Santa's Workshop, but were convinced by the lady at the window not to do it. She let us into the gift shop for free. We bought the least tacky ornament we could find--most of them were probably made by children and I would never hang them on MY Christmas tree. Even if my own child made them.


9) DO try things on. You'll never ever find a reason to wear a conductor's cap or a racoon-skin hat again, but it doesn't hurt to have a picture with one on.

10) DO climb a mountain. They're everywhere, and they're not very tall. Or if you don't have time for that, take a gondola ride to the top of one and stand next to the sign that says how high you are so your relatives in Wyoming can make fun of New Yorkers for thinking they have mountains. (The tallest mountain in NY is Mount Marcy, located in the Adirondacks and measuring in at 5,344 feet. Fremont Peak--the mountain Mark wanted to climb in Wyoming last summer--is the third tallest mountain in the state at 13,809 feet.)

11) DON'T spend tons of money eating in restaurants. We hauled peanut butter and jelly to the top of the mountain and used our camping spoons to make sandwiches. They weren't too bad, though you may want to remember to bring a knife so you don't have to fight over who has to lick the peanut butter off of the spoon (I lost).

12) DO try camping. We seriously did this trip as inexpensively as possible, which made it possible to spend a little more money on some of our activities. And I'm sure that hotels are even more overpriced than food up there.

13) DON'T assume that because your campground has showers that they will be nice showers. They will possibly have spiders in them, will probably suffer from water pressure and temperature issues, and might even cost you a quarter. And if you're really unlucky, the only outlets in the campground will be in the men's room so you will have to drive to the nearest rest area to dry your freshly-washed hair. Every morning. And the same creepy rest-area construction man will walk into the women's room because he, ". . . wondered what that noise was. . ." every single day.

14) DO take advantage of the opportunity to eat Dutch Oven Chicken, Dutch Oven Cobbler, Dutch Oven Breakfast, etc. as much as possible. Seriously some of the best food EVER.

15) And DON'T forget the cook.

16) DO take lots of pictures. (We filled two memory cards.) DON'T forget to take some of yourselves. (We're getting good at finding ledges so we can set the timer.) DON'T assume that a stranger will do a better job than you. (Our worst photos were taken by friendly people who didn't know how to use my camera.)

Trip Planning

So what do we do when the nation is facing financial doom and gloom? We worry a bit (or a lot), are grateful for once that we are still students (and that we are blessed with our current living situation), and then we buy things off of the internet. Plane tickets to Italy, to be more specific.

We only make large purchases with MUCH agonizing and drawn out discussion -- which is probably the way it should be -- and a trip to Italy has been on the table since before we were married. And we finally decided that if we find a reason not to go now, we'll always find a reason not to go. So we bought our tickets, and there is no backing out now! I can't believe it's a reality because I've wanted this for so long, but I have a history of planning lots of trips that never happen. And as I sit here thinking of all of those trips I wanted to take throughout my life, I realize that Mark is making all of those dreams a reality. (Washington DC, New York, Nauvoo, Italy, what's next?) Wow, I'm a lucky girl. And for all of those lessons on patience that Heavenly Father is always trying to teach me, it sure is great to be on the other end for once, seeing the rewards that come after the trial of our faith.

Finally to Italy?

Mark and I have been talking about going to Italy since before we were married. We considered doing it as a belated honeymoon when Mark graduated from BYU, but it didn't work out. We pretty much plan to go every spring, but something comes up that makes it impossible. Or we just talk ourselves out of it before we get around to buying tickets. So we finally decided we should go for Christmas this year. I'm not trying to brag or rub it in or anything like that. I'm actually looking for feedback to help us decide whether we're really up for it or not. Has anybody traveled in Italy or Europe during winter? We realize the weather will not be ideal, but it WILL be warmer than New York, and we we're not really "beach people" anyways. We've heard that the lack of crowds makes for a nice visit, and Mark says that the Italian hot chocolate ranks up there with the gelato. The much lower ticket prices don't hurt, either. Any thoughts?

The Best Three Years

Yesterday officially marked three years of marital bliss for the Transtrums. It's kind of funny how the longer we are married, my perception of the time changes. For instance, I used to count the time in months. We've been married for four whole months now! That's, like, so long! Then it became a question of whether it was okay to round up or not. We're going on 2 years now. Okay, so we've technically been married only 1 year and 3 months, but one year just seems like such an insignificant number that no I longer want to claim it. Now I hear how long others have been married, and it sounds like a long time until we hit that mark and realize it's not that big of a deal. You guys have been married for three years? What must that be like to be married for that long? (Do people finally quit thinking of you as newlyweds?) becomes: Hmmm. Three years. I guess it's not really that long after all.

So maybe I sound dorky, but I am beginning to realize that the older I get, the less old I really feel. Sometimes I start to panic and want to rush my life ahead, but fortunately my husband has the undying patience that only a professional student can have (especially when it comes to life being put on hold for just a little longer), and he helps me realize that there are things to enjoy at each stage of our lives. How grateful I am for the experiences that we have shared in the past three years! Yesterday while we were driving home from our anniversary "dinner date," Mark told me that he has learned that we have much more in common than he realized when we were dating and deciding to get married. I asked if he really thought that was the case or if it is because I've been open to all of his interests. (We have established long ago that Mark has interests; I have random fetishes, few of which ever develop into full-fledged interests before I tire of them.) Sitting here now, I believe that our marriage has grown stronger as we have grown more alike. Not that we see eye to eye on everything, but we have learned from each other and from our mutual experiences in such a way to make us more united in our purposes and goals.

I've seen compromise at work, and that's not something I would have believed we were capable of. I've learned that most fights begin with misguided thoughts in my head, and therefore the unnecessary ones are often preventable. I've learned that I'm happier if I prevent an unnecessary fight. :) I have realized that during the times when I don't feel like my needs are being met, I'm usually very guilty of not considering Mark's needs. I have always felt happier when I am with Mark and miss him horribly when we're apart for even a day. I have felt incredibly loved and completely content with the idea of spending eternity with my chosen companion. Some of these things may seem cliche or trite-- the kind of advice you give to engaged couples to prepare them for the adventure of marriage. But these are not lessons you can ever teach anybody; they must be learned individually. These are the things that make marriage even better after three years than you can ever imagine on the day you are married. And it takes some of the hardest, most heartbreaking experiences to realize how much you have come to trust and rely on each other.

Okay, so enough sappy musings about our personal relationship. I love Mark so much and have had so much fun these past three years! He's given me opportunities I never imagined possible, and despite my bittersweet feelings about the East Coast (okay, so Ithaca), I am thrilled that his love of learning has brought us here for a few years. I'm sure we have many lessons to learn in the years to come, and I only hope they bring us even closer.

School Days, School Days

Another school year has dawned, and for the first time ever, I didn't get excited to see school supplies in the store. I didn't want a $.79 package of Crayola crayons or a package of mechanical pencils or even a brand new gel pen. This may be the first year that I fully realized that back-to-school will never again be a part of my individual life. Sure, I'll have to take kids and a handful of different lists someday (and hopefully not be one of those moms who insists that the package of 16 crayons is just as good as the package of 64) and I felt a 'maternal' urge to take Mark to buy a new outfit for the first day of school. (He bought two pairs of pants because they were on sale and was tired of shopping already, in case you were wondering how THAT went.)

But back-to-school is not a happy time in Ithaca, NY if you are a year-round resident. For me, it means I have to dodge crazy drivers on the road--whether they are 18 and just got their SUV for high school graduation or they are a parent trying to take their kid to the dorms and cannot figure out how the roads work in Ithaca. It means I have to schedule my trips to Target strategically so I don't end up there on the weekend or right when the TCAT bus pulls up with 3 dozen college students needing bean-bag chairs and mini-fridges. It means that at least until the first prelims start, there will be a party at least every other night blaring music 'til 2:00 in the morning when Mark and I go to bed around 11:00. It means that all of the very best things about an Ithaca summer--the peace and quiet; the swimming and hiking in gorges; the berry picking and the sunshine--are coming to an end. It's a good thing fall is the prettiest time of year here, or else I don't think I would love this place so much. :)

In other ways, the start of school means reality sets back in. This week I've had to deal with a broken toilet, two basement floods (two days in a row), and a very determined bat that seemed to have no intention of moving out of the house. (The day after we chased the bat out at 1:00 in the morning, an email circulated throughout Cornell about a rabid bat that had bitten somebody. Perhaps we chased it out just in the nick of time. . .) I'm not sure why it is that catastrophes always seem to hit at the same time rather than spreading themselves out through the semester, but I'm sure we'll have a few more before things level out and we adjust to this crazy life again. So if you are a devoted reader of this blog (hi Mom!) I apologize if it takes a few weeks before there are any pictures to post of us doing some fun New York things.

Husband Tag

I get a lot of these, but I don't have anything else to blog about so what can I do? Plus, I secretly enjoy doing these. :)

1- Where did you meet? BYU. Want more than that? He took my picture for a ward directory at church my first day in the new ward, I started to get interested in him, waited for a few months while he dated someone else, asked him out after they broke up, sparks didn't fly, the next month we had to make a random 6 hour round trip drive to pick up a friend in the middle of the night, we realized we might be interested after all, and the rest is history.

2- How long did you date before you were married? 9 months

3- How long have you been married for? 3 years next month

4- What does he do that surprises you? He's not a real mysterious person.

5- What's your favorite feature about him? His laugh. He can be pretty quiet around people, so they don't often hear him crack up hysterically. However, he finds many things funny and it's hard not to smile when I hear him laugh so hard about something that's not even humorous. :)

6- What's your favorite quality about him? His intelligence. He's so insightful about any subject, from physics to literature to the Gospel, but he also has never been one to act like he's smarter than everyone else so you don't feel uncomfortable around him.

7- Does he have a nickname for you? What is it? We sort of make fun of people who have pet names for each other (sorry. . .) but sometimes in jest he calls me 'Precious' or 'The Precious' (LOTR reference) or if he pretends to be angry with me he calls me 'Jennifer Joy'.

8- What's his favorite color? I don't know. Let me ask. . . . . . . He says he doesn't have a favorite color. Though he does wear a lot of red and blue and sometimes yellow. So maybe he's secretly Superman.

9- What's his favorite food? Pasta (and I don't mean spaghetti - he prefers penne pasta with some kind of sauce homemade from fresh veggies)

10-What is his favorite sport? He likes to play basketball, but doesn't really watch sports unless it's BYU football or basketball.

11- Who said I love you first? He did.

12- When and where was your first kiss? January 2005 sitting on the couch in my apartment after we had walked home from school together.

13-What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? Eat good food, watch funny shows like Wipeout, laugh.

14-Do you have kids? How many? No

15- What's a hidden talent that he has? I think his talents are pretty much out there on the table. He does play the piano really well, which you wouldn't know if you haven't been to church with him.

16- How old is he? 26

17- What's his favorite type of music? Almost ANYTHING. He can listen to music while working, so he'll blare it from the stereo and it drives me nuts! Depending on his mood, it can be anything from Nirvana to Jack Johnson to Enya to Matchbox Twenty to Broadway Musicals (he had a phase there where he loved Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). He pretty much refuses to listen to Country or Michael Jackson though.

18- What do you admire most about him? He is such a completely good person. He has so much patience and is willing to help anybody no matter how tired or stressed out he is.

19-What's his favorite past time? He likes to play old computer games that he used to play as a kid. He would love to make his own game(s) someday.

20- Do you think he is going to read this? Yes, because he wants to know why I asked him what his favorite color is.

I tag: Katie, Jenn, & Mandy

Adventures in Home Maintenance

If there's one thing I have learned from living at the sorority, it's that things break at very inopportune times. I used to go into panic mode when something would break, not completely sure how to handle the individual situation.

There was the day that the furnace AND the water heater went out at the same time at the house. I didn't know where to start! Turned out, somebody had shut off the furnace in a failed attempt to turn the water heater back on. After spending hours trying to relight the water heater, we had to replace the entire unit. The good news is we have a better water heater that probably won't have a serious problem for many years to come.

Then there was the time that I found the basement had flooded -- crap!! A little careful hunting for the source of the leak, a phone call to the laundry company to repair a hose on the washing machine, and a few hours of blowing a fan and the problem was solved.

Probably the most traumatic discovery was that the heat had gone out in our cottage on the coldest day of the winter. We spent forever trying to get that stupid pilot light to stay lit to no avail. Of course, it was night-time and also the weekend, so it would cost a lot of money to make an emergency call to the heating company. We ended up borrowing a couple of space heaters from the church to get us through the weekend and actually sort of enjoyed snuggling up together to keep warm. :)

Last week I discovered a swarm of ants entering the cottage through a crack in the exterior wall. I sprayed them with some awesome pesticides, which only sent them scurrying inside to escape the poison. We found dead and dying ants all over our floor for the next few days and our vacuum cleaner had quite the workout. It was apparent that it was time to fog the cottage to try to kill the rest of the vermin before they emerged. I read that you need to turn off all pilot lights before beginning the procedure, so this morning I shut off the furnace and the water heater. We came home, found that the bug bomb had done its work, and tried to relight the water heater. Somehow I wasn't altogether surprised that it would not light. After about 30 matches and yet another phone call (on the weekend, meaning we would need to make it through the weekend without hot water) we looked a little more carefully at the manual. We found our error, lit the pilot light without any problems, and started to stock back up on our precious, underappreciated hot water.

The point of all this rambling is that I realized something important today. When these crises happen, I usually try to take it all upon myself to resolve them. Next I get frustrated and ask for Mark's help, and he tries to take over completely. We both think we know what we're doing and get annoyed when we get in each other's way. Ultimately, when we finally have exhausted all of our ideas, we give up and start talking through the problem. And THAT is when we actually SOLVE the problem! We're actually grateful after the fact for the problems because they make it easier to deal with the next time. If only we could really get it through our thick heads that we have a higher success rate when we calm down and work together on something.

ABC Tag

I realize that I rather recently was tagged and went on and on about boring stuff that nobody really cared much about. But I'm so bored and have nothing to blog about, so I'm just going to go ahead and do another one since Shannah was kind enough to tag me again. :)

A- ATTACHED OR SINGLE: Attached at the hip to The Mark
B- BEST FRIEND: I hardly know how to spend time with anybody but Mark-- maybe someday I'll learn to have girlfriends again the way I used to
C- CAKE OR PIE: Pie. I didn't even want cake at my wedding, but nobody would back me up on it
D- DAY OF CHOICE: Friday
E- ESSENTIAL ITEM: right now it's shoes that don't require socks, like Chacos!
F- FAVORITE COLOR: purple
G- GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: graduating from BYU
H- HOMETOWN: Ontario, OR
I- INDULGENCES: chocolate, any kind of granola bar-type snack (Clif Bars, Balance Bars, Luna Bars, etc.)
J- JANUARY OR JULY: July
K- KIDS: just Mark (I think it's good practice for the future)
L- LIFE IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT: the Gospel
M- MARRIAGE DATE: September 16, 2005
N- NUMBER OF SIBLINGS: 2 brothers, 1 sister, 5 sisters-in-law, 1 brother-in-law
O- ORANGES OR APPLES: both are good, but I have to be craving them
P- PHOBIAS OR FEAR: spiders, bugs in general when they are in my house, fishing hooks
Q- QUOTES: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -Orson Wilde
R- REASON TO SMILE: summer vacation is almost here!
S- SEASON: Spring - I love every season except Winter, and Spring is just the beginning of 9 beautiful months
T- TAG FIVE FRIENDS: Jessica (aka Fishstick), Mandy, Abbey, Sarah, & Jen
U- UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I find it devastating that old movie theatres are being shut down and replaced with huge multiplex's. I feel like we're losing our sense of community by replacing Americana with modern 'conveniences'.
V- VERY FAVORITE STORE: either Kohl's or the craft store
W- WORST HABIT: procrastination
X- X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND: Um, that's a dumb question. I haven't necessarily had good experiences with either.
Y- YOUR FAVORITE FOOD: something that involves basil, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella
Z-YOUR ZODIAC SIGN: Aries

My birthday is tomorrow. . .

and before I get too crazy and waste my day away just because I think I deserve it, I thought this little reminder might encourage me to make the most of my day. But probably not. :)

140,188 People

An Apostle in New York

I was going to post this exciting piece of news days ago, but I've been really sick this week. (I think it was about the sickest I've been since I was a kid, and I hope I can make it at least another ten years without throwing up again.) Last weekend was our stake conference, and we were all excited to hear that Elder L. Tom Perry would be coming to speak to us. When I arrived and actually saw him close up, I realized I had never been that close to an apostle, and that I'd never shaken hands with one. I get sort of tired of hearing everyone else's stories about who they've met and who they know and who they've touched. So I was pretty determined I was going to shake his hand. Try as I might, I just couldn't get him alone in an "Oh! Well sorry to bump into you like that. While we're both here, maybe we should shake hands," sort of way. I gave up my quest (since I really didn't want to be a creepy stalker) and headed for the restroom. Lo and behold! He was entering the restroom, too! So maybe I could time it just right so we exited at the same time and . . . well you get the drift. It sorta worked, and it came off looking like he had approached me, and I was thrilled. Then, after all that work, we all got to go shake his hand after the meeting anyways.

Tag

I think I was tagged. I finally get to play the game. :) We'll see if it's as much fun as it appears.

20 years ago: I lived in Lebanon, Oregon and went to Green Acres School. We walked to school with our next door neighbors and we HATED the safety patrol because they wouldn't let us try to avoid the cracks when we crossed the street. I had morning Kindergarten with Mrs. Noss. I remember learning cheesy songs like, "What's the Weather Like Today?" and having our own bathrooms right in the classroom. I loved Green Acres. Every minute of it.

10 years ago: I was almost old enough to date. I had a crush on a boy that sat behind me in Seminary. I'm pretty sure I was working at Aiken Elementary as a safety patrol monitor. (Whoa, that came back to haunt me!) I played soccer for one year in high school; after that I always had a job and didn't have time for extracurriculars (but I didn't mind). I bought my first car - the white Pontiac Grand Am with the huge rusted circle on top where the paint wore off.

5 years ago: I went back to BYU after taking a year off. I needed a break from Provo and time to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I randomly ended up in an apartment with some amazing girls and inherited all of their friends, including the Richardson brothers. It was by far the best BYU ward I ever lived in. I got a job at the MTC in the dining hall. I washed dishes and served food. It was a gross job sometimes, but we had a lot of fun. Favorite memories from the MTC: getting messages written in cheese from the missionaries who REALLY appreciated us, meeting a co-worker who later became a stalker, waking up earlier than the missionaries so we could serve them their breakfast, going home and getting two more hours of sleep before having to get up for class, eating donuts that were left uneaten on trays (can't let 'em go to waste), and hoping to see a familiar face or two (it WAS good to see Melanie from time to time!).

3 years ago: I was dating a dashing young man named Mark and wondering if I could cope with changing my last name from Walk to Transtrum. I was a Senior at BYU studying Humanities and trying to decide whether to look into grad school or not. I was in my favorite class ever at BYU (Precolumbian Culture - Mark got to learn about Aztecs every day while we walked home from school). A typical evening spent together usually ended in the library when the music over the loud speakers informed us it was time to leave. I was also working at Macey's in Orem as a cashier/bagger/assistant store trainer/front-end supervisor/service desk worker.

1 year ago: Mark and I were living in a basement apartment in Ithaca, New York. Our neighbor above us was a little insane. His mom was the landlord. I don't recommend this setup. I was working at Wegman's as a cashier and pharmacy employee. I hated my job, and we were hopeful that a sorority position would open up. It did.

So far this year: I have survived my first Rush experience. I became the proud owner of a new laptop computer. I better start accomplishing more. . .

Yesterday: It was a bad day. From start to finish. It's in the past.

Today: I got to spend time entertaining a two year old. I learned about condors watching Go, Diego, Go! (they live in the mountains; have excellent eyesight; and are afraid of pumas, not chickens). I did paperwork for the sorority. I went to a funeral for a lady who will be deeply missed.

Tomorrow: I have to go to the post office. If it's not raining or snowing or sleeting, maybe I'll go for a walk. I will research the problems my car thinks it's having (it's a bit of a hypochondriac). I will take a few much needed breaths, and then clean my house.

This year: We will take some trips we've been meaning to take. Maybe Boston, Toronto, Montreal, NYC, Maine (just for lobster), the Thousand Islands again to camp with Janelle, and DC when my parents come out to visit this June. Maybe we'll find cheap tickets and fly to Italy. May as well keep it in the plans. We'll also go to Wyoming for Mark's sister's wedding. We will spend more time outside enjoying Ithaca while it's wonderfully warm and green and inviting. We'll pick lots of berries and find a way to grow tomatoes without the deer infiltrating them.

I will tag: Katie, Alexis B., and Lexi J.

Wildlife vs. Human Life

I have a subscription to the Smithsonian magazine. I feel compelled to support an institution committed to preserving so many facets of history. Last August Mark and I had the chance to visit a handful of their museums in Washington D.C. I could spend a month there and not see everything of interest to me. I'm not always interested in all of the articles in an issue, but there is usually something that sparks my curiosity. Occassionally there's even something that angers me. A few months ago there was an article about antelopes in Wyoming. The approach that the author chose to take was to attack oil drillers for interfering with the natural habitat of the wildlife there. The antelopes' migratory path had been narrowed by the presence of the rigs, and they liked to stay close to the warm drilling sites. Now, I'm all for conserving nature and keeping Yellowstone as natural as possible so people can appreciate it for generations to come. I'm also in favor of preserving the jobs and livelihood of the people who need to support their families and who in some small way are preventing our total reliance on other nations for our energy needs. That being said, I'm sure there is a lot more to the story that I'm not aware of. Despite my initial frustration with the article's slant, I soon forgot about it.

A few days ago I was flipping through my most recent issue of the Smithsonian. I'd just finished a couple of fascinating articles about Egyptian temple excavations and Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. I turned the page to find a really cool picture of a jaguar and an article entitled, "On the Prowl". Looked interesting, until I read the subtitle. "Long absent from the United States, a few jaguars now roam the wilds along the border with Mexico. How will the crackdown on illegal immigrants affect the big cats?" Okay, so maybe the author is just interested in discussing the cause and effect relationship between the cats and the (future?) wall, but I'm ticked off once again. Maybe I'm a terrible person for thinking that a wild animal pales in importance to the security of our nation. Maybe it doesn't matter what I think since we obviously won't be building that wall anytime in the next four years. It's my opinion that if there is anything we should be conserving for the benefit of our future posterity, it's a free, independent nation that gives them the opportunity to succeed and support a family. And if that nation has a few wild jaguars on the prowl? Well that's just an added perk. I do, after all, like cats. :)

Colors and Music

Okay, so two more things really quickly:
1) The red thing was hurting my eyes. I am scared to mess with my blog too much, so I'm reverting to the basic, boring, easy to use, friendly, brown template.
2) If you haven't heard of Pandora, and you like music (especially if you are obsessed with always having music playing) you need to go check out my links. This is my favorite new website. Seriously, I think it might be better than Facebook. Mark's pretty low-key about things, but he was stinking impressed. Granted, he falls into the "obsessed with always having music playing" category, so he had to love it.

I Love Pork Ribs!

I started this blog about a month ago, and I worried that I would be writing on it constantly about anything and everything (since it started out that way). And all of a sudden, I realized I haven't written on it for like 2 weeks. One of the reasons for this is that I get caught up in reading other people's blogs, and I am so impressed with their stories or even their blog layouts that I feel completely inadequate. Most of the reason, though, is that I simply can't stick to one thing for very long, despite my best efforts. Mark can attest to this, as every time I walk into a craft store I can't resist picking up materials for some random new project and then lose interest somewhere in the middle of completing the task at hand. I have 2 quilt tops that I sewed before I was married that have never been assembled into quilts. About 2 years ago, I started to make a board game (complete with game board, cards, and logos) and it's about 85% done. Haven't touched it in months. There are tupperware containers with tons of scrapbooking papers, letters, pens, and stickers that were used to make one scrapbook 8 years ago and haven't been touched since. Mark, on the other hand, gets fixated on an idea and never loses interest. He knew he wanted to study Physics since high school, and look how far he's veered from THAT path. I took piano lessons for a year and got bored with it. Mark took lessons throughout most of his childhood from his mom and still wants a piano so he can practice. Lately he's constantly telling me he wants to go fishing this summer-- you know, get his own pole and tackle box and get up at 5:00 in the morning when the fish are biting. He even wants the big, silly boots. I know better than to dismiss it as a passing phase. In fact, I don't doubt that he'll be a fisherman for the rest of his life now that he's got it into his head. I love that my husband gets so passionate about his interests in life. It inspires me to be more dedicated to the things that I really, truly love. It makes me want to be more consistent, less impulsive, and most of all more patient as I develop talents and strengths.

On another note, I feel that this blog's #1 purpose is to be a journal for me (since it doesn't take me long to lose interest in writing in a journal. . .) so I feel compelled to talk about my day. Mark and I pulled the crock pot out of storage (no easy feat- it's buried underneath the stairs behind boxes full of Christmas ornaments and extension cords) and made pork ribs for dinner. We turned on the crock pot and went for a drive, anticipating a delicious, home-cooked meal awaiting our return. Our destination was a state park up on Seneca Lake so Mark could scout out a possible fishing location for the summer. He's really serious about the fishing thing. We nearly ran out of gas on the way up there, but were saved by the GPS when it told us the town we thought we could get gas in did not, in fact, exist. We turned around before getting too far out in the boonies, got the gas, and retraced our steps. The park turned out to be quite a find! It has an amazing view of the lake, and they have a WWI museum with airplanes on display. We're planning to take my dad there this summer. We also accomplished our 4th successful geocache hunt. But seriously, back to the pork ribs! It was such a strange feeling to be preparing a real, planned meal for the first time in months. We walked back into our home to the mouth-watering smell of onions and cloves, and decided we really miss cooking for ourselves, and want to do it on a regular basis. We even bought a pasta maker while we were out today, so even if I lose interest in the whole cooking thing, I know Mark will do whatever it takes to get fresh pasta every week. :)

The Beach Boys & Conservativism

First of all, I wish to extend my appreciation for the person playing the chimes at Cornell today. As I left Friday Forum and headed for home, wishing I had remembered to bring gloves and an extra layer of clothes, I heard a familiar melody issuing forth from the bell tower. It took me a minute to recognize that the song was 'Kokomo'. It just lifted my spirits that somebody had the irony and sarcasm to make such a fitting song choice. I sang along (in my head, of course) until I could hear the bells and feel my fingers no more.

(This is the gorge we walk over on the way to campus.)

The main thing on my mind, though, has been stimulated by what's happening on the political scene lately. Ever since I came to Ithaca and learned about life in liberal country, I have had myself convinced that I'm moderate in my political stances. I've been in both camps and can understand why they feel the way they do about many issues. I don't get pleasure out of forcing my ideas upon others, so I'm pretty content to sit the fence. The last thing I want to be accused of is being 'conservative', mostly because I fear it also means I'll be perceived as naive, uneducated, and judgmental. Lately I'm beginning to realize that I'm just pretending to be something I'm not. Though an extreme conservative might think I'm a bit too liberal because I don't think certain moral issues should be government-controlled, I'm firmly planted on the conservative side of the fence. My life and values clearly dictate that. And I'm coming to terms with this reality. I still have no desire to force my views upon others, but it sure feels good to know for sure what those views are. And that doesn't mean I will unquestioningly follow a conservative leader because all the other conservatives are doing it. It makes my decisions more complicated because I have to study things more deeply to see how well they correlate with my views. While it may seem silly to some of you that I would have these feelings and then blog about them, part of my accepting this reality is to tell it to the world (or at least to the 5 people who might actually read this). :)

It's all in the Network

I have no intention of contributing my thoughts/comments more frequently than two or three times a month for two reasons. First of all, I would be guilt-ridden if I failed to accomplish a loftier goal, and I don't need more guilt in my life. Second of all, I really don't have much to say. However, I am so excited that I'm learning how to make my blog look nicer, that I couldn't stand to not put a few pictures on now that I'm networked to the main computer. If you want a photo history of our lives since we were married, you're better off looking at our webpage that Mark tries to keep updated with pictures of our wanderings (the link is below). I'll just post a few from my favorite places that we've visited together to get me in the mood to take more pictures.

In front of the Grand Tetons

At the Logan Temple on our wedding day
(I love this picture, even though it's shot at a random angle)

At Bear Lake (where we spent the first summer after we were married)

Standing in the Mississippi River in Nauvoo

(Mark hates all piggy-back pictures of us; I love them.)

In front of Niagara Falls

First Trip to D.C.