I swear I did not plan this.

I can't get away from working at the mall.

When I was in high school, I had the high-schooler-job in the Food Court, at Charley's Grilled Subs. It was your typical fast-food job - hot, boring, greasy, and a REALLY good motivator for college, so I didn't have to do this for the rest of my life. Which was the whole point, from my parents' point of view.

When I was a sophomore in college, I worked for Worldwide Book Drive, and we had a kiosk in the mall for a month. I got to recommend books and talk to people all day (YAY!) but I had to be one of those annoying kiosk people who accost you when you are just trying to walk from one store to another. My love for books made me really enjoy half of that job, but I really hated bugging people ALL THE TIME.

After that, I applied for a summer job with Knighton Vision, and I became an optician (My boss, when she interviewed me, thought I was going to be black, with a name like Alyshondra. She was really surprised to see a white girl from Happy Valley Utah). It was, once again, in the mall, but it was a lot more than your typical retail job. I still got to work with people a lot - helping them pick the right frames, adjusting tweaked glasses, and generally doing the customer service thing - but there was a whole technical side as well that helped keep me interested. I fell in love with the balance of it, got my national certification, and have been working there for the past four years. It's now Insight Eye Care, and two of Jon's sisters and my cousin all work there, too (I'm good for employees, apparently).

Now. I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

I stopped working there about two weeks ago (because I need to get ready for the baby, dang it!). Jon's poor sister got her wisdom teeth out on Friday, and I offered to cover her shift. Look what I found when I walked into the mall!

It's a new store called the Candy Barrel, two stores down from Insight, and it was their FIRST DAY open! And look at the candy they had!

They even gave you your candy in a little brown bag. I felt like I was about 7 again, and Mom said I could have a dollar to buy whatever I wanted. It was usually at the pool, or at our family reunion in Washington, so the little brown bag inevitably got damp, and the wrappers got all sticky. It was perfect.

(Not these)

Except that this time I got to spend whatever I wanted. Muah ha ha! I tried not to go too overboard, but this is my stash: Neapolitans (I LOVE me some coconut), Giant Lemonheads, Fruity Tootise Rolls, Fizzy Zotz, a Carmel-Apple Sucker, and of course, Sixlets.

It is officially summer.

Also, it's probably a good thing I'm not working at the mall anymore.

Nostalgia

I'm a sentimental fool. I love things that revive old memories for me. (probably because my memory is so bad, I need all the help I can get!)

So every once in a while, usually at the beginning of the summer, I get a craving for some treat from my childhood. It usually turns out pretty well, like when I rediscovered Sixlets last summer, with the hard candy coating and the malted chocolate and the tiny cellophane packages.

But why on EARTH did I think, in the craft store today, that getting Circus Peanuts would be a good idea?!

Blech.

At the hospital - but not the way you think

So, this happened last night:























(click to embiggen)

And while I pretend to be all upset, secretly, I think it's HILARIOUS.

My poor husband. Our teacher (Erin! She's cute and bubbly and awesomely comforting in how matter-of-fact she is about everything) asked for volunteers, and he leaned over, "Please tell me you aren't going up there..." Of course I am! I got to be all dressed up in the lovely hospital gown, with monitors strapped to my belly, an oxygen mask on and tubes tied to my arms. (I'm really glad she didn't actually stick me with the IV's - I hate needles!) I looked HAWT, let me tell you.

The best part was when she called JON up, and made him put on scrubs as if we were going into a C-section. With the hat and the booties and everything. Yeah, I kinda got in trouble for that one. I didn't know that my volunteering would affect him! (and yes, I had to look affect vs effect up, to make sure I was using that right)

Anyone have any great stories where they embarrassed not only themselves, but someone else with them?

Getting To Know Me

Remember in Junior High when these memes would be emailed around to everyone?
And you'd fill it out, and hope that your most sekrt special crush would say that he liked YOU?
Yeah, good times.

1. What time did you get up this morning? Around 9am...which has been typical for the last few months. I'm growing something here! But yeah, I don't expect that to last.
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls.
3. What is your favorite TV show? Oy. You would think that with no cable, we don't watch a lot of TV, but that's just not true. Between Netflix and Hulu, we watch quite a bit. My VERY favorite show, the one that makes me all bouncy when there's a new episode? Doctor Who. LOVE it. Like, considered flying to New York for the season premiere a few weeks ago. (Not really. But Jon and I talked about it...) I also love Food Network, and most USA shows, like Burn Notice and Psych.
4. What do you usually have for breakfast? Cereal and some fruit. Unless it's Saturday, then we do something fancy like French Toast or Breakfast Burritos or something.
5. What is your middle name? I don't have one. My first name is too long and pretentious for one. *grin* I guess, technically, now it's my maiden name.
6. What food do you dislike? Mmm, there's not a whole lot of foods I dislike. Heavy raw onions, maybe. Things that are very greasy.
7. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be? Depends on when I'm going and for how long. Right now, I would love a relaxy weekend vacation to Portland. But if I can take a week or two in about 8 months? Japan with my mom or Taiwan with Jon's parents. I've always wanted to visit Asia, but I really want to go with someone who speaks the language. Or back to Great Britain, probably Scotland. I can't really go wrong there. (I take my travel very seriously!)
8. What is your biggest pet peeve? Mouth noises. Ugh. Someone chewing with their mouth open and making all sorts of smacky noises. It gives me the willies.
9. Are you a morning person or a night person? A night person. Even now with all the crazy pregnancy sleepiness, it's easier for me to stay up until midnight or one than it is to wake up at seven.
10. Any new and exciting news that you'd like to share with us? By the end of June, I'll have a baby? But if you know me, that's not really news. I've been pregnant like, forever. How about, it's my birthday on Saturday? Yay birthdays!
11. What did you want to be when you grew up? A mom. (No, seriously. I liked being the Bossy McBosserton.) Or a writer. Or an astronaut. Or a fairy.
12. What is your favorite pastime? I am a TERRIBLE blog-stalker. I spend about an hour reading blogs every day, but I never comment. No more. I'm going to be a crazy commenting fiend!
13. Do you wish on stars? You'd better believe it. I also wash my face in dew on May Day. And make up my own little superstitions. I like to believe that magic is just a little bit real, that Narnia is a real place, that fairies live in the right conditions, and that someday I'll hear the Tardis and I'll come running.
14. What is under your bed? My boots (put away for the winter) and a present or two for Jon. It's my secret hiding place. If you had asked me when I lived in my parents house, it would have been anything under the sun. I cleaned by shoving everything under there. I paid for it, too. I spent a year with my mattress on the floor because then I couldn't put anything under it, and after that my grandpa built a wooden frame like they have in hotels that went between the box springs and the floor. I'm much better now.
15. What is your favorite candy? Right now, Sour Patch Kids. Mmm, delicious. But that's mostly the baby talking. My favorite candy bar is Crunchies. (It's a British candy bar. I told you, I'm a crazy anglophile!) You know how good Cadbury's Eggs are? Well, imagine that chocolate over a honeycomb center - it's impossible to describe, but it's delicious.