"Bon Apetit!"

A few words on my last post: I love you all for reading it. Seriously, Sarah? This is what we're calling a blog now? Yes, apparently.

Today I ran into a short essay contest in the Des News. I submitted late (by like 3 days) so I didn't win, but they did like enough to put it up on the blog - i'll let you know when that happens. Anyway, in honor of the new movie (which is WONDERFUL, please go see it when it comes out) Julie and Julia... a story about the Julia Child in my life.

What I Learned From my Own Julia Child
By Sarah Thompson

To say I wouldn’t be here without my mother’s cooking is an understatement. Yes, she cooked me nutritious and varied dinners as a child, and baked me the requested Strawberry Short-cake every year for my birthday. Nutrition? Check. But my mother’s cooking is really how I came to be the person who I am.

While attending BYU, my father and his roommates (having good taste and a great idea) decided to hire someone to cook dinner for them each night. One of the roommates ran into my mother in class, she said she’d be willing to cook each night and she was hired. Despite the initial disgust my mother felt from having this young Canadian knock on her door wearing loafers without socks (in January no less), something was set cooking that day that produced a marriage now celebrating its 40th year.

Decades (and 5 children) later, while in a financial-slump, my stay-at-home mother laced up her apron and went to work to make ends meet. While working at Spoons ‘n Spice, and later as a rep for Cuisinart, she taught class loads of students cooking skills, and everything she would slice/dice and whip would come home at the end of the day and become dinner. There was a lot of quiche, and a lot of character made.


Now, as a newly-wed, I am just beginning to realize how much I wish to be like her, in every way possible. She has taught me how to bake a perfect cake, just “try” to create new things, create menus when I think there’s nothing, and to casually cook a turkey “just in case someone wants something to eat.” But her cooking has also taught me to find love where there was contention, to always add too much vanilla, and to change a recipe -or your life- if you don’t love it.

and they said "'nothing' could get a girl transfered."

Once upon a time I sang for my Grandma’s chapter of the Daughter’s of the Utah Pioneers.

(and by “once upon a time,” I mean “many upon a time, but this is a story of one such experience.” I mean, their chapter didn’t sponsor me to be in the Days of ’47 Pageant for nothing… come on…) And I sang this song called “Take It On The Chin.” (name for purpose of this blog, who knows what the real title is). Anywho, the song is about taking life’s downfalls on the chin and smiling. Pretty good for old ladies, yeah? Yeah, except for when the refrain says “after all is done and said, pretty soon we’ll all be dead.” I mean… it’s perky when it says it… but still, I looked at Jon McBride playing piano for me that fateful high school day and thought “SERIOUSLY!?! Why DID I PICK THIS SONG? THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE DEAD SOON AND I’M RUBBING IT IN THEIR FACES!”

There are two important after-points to this story.
1- nobody there said anything to me about singing them sweet songs of death, and to my knowledge none of them have died since (it doesn’t mean they haven’t died, I’m sure some of them had – they were old – but I haven’t been told about it, so it probably didn’t exist).
2- This isn’t what I wanted to blog about.


This isn’t what I wanted to blog about either, but I’ll go where I go today… Did you ever start a story (especially one you thought was pretty good) and then, half-way through the story, realize (a) it’s not applicable (b) it’s not funny or (c) you don’t know the ending? I find this happening to me an alarming amount of times. Ooh and for me I’d also add realizing that (d) it’s a lie. (sometimes I hear things come out of my mouth and I think “that’s not even remotely true.” It’s like that girl in Garden State, and nobody is leaving posts on HER blog, telling her SHE’s crazy.) The above story is true, but not at all relevant. Until about ¾ of the way through that story, I thought it was going to be about saying no. (I had thought the song was “everybody says don’t,” but after careful re-singing, realized it wasn’t…)

And this leads me to believe I have no attention span.

And this leads me to believe that what every woman says about having “pregnancy brain” and so not being able to remember things is made-up, because CLEARLY I’ve never been pregnant, and yet CLEARLY can’t remember anything.

And this leads me to believe I shouldn’t judge other people, especially pregnant people, because I have no idea what they’re going through. And maybe that's why they freak me out (formerly?) so much.

And this leads me to think about trying on other people’s shoes and walking around.

And this leads me to think “I’d like to put on less-hurty shoes and get a sno-cone.”

Which is pretty much where all thoughts lead me to. Sno-cone. I hope everyone enjoys some this summer. They are a gift from the summer-gods and shouldn’t be avoided, or shunned (no matter the margin of profit the sno-cone shack is making off ice and sugar.)

Ooh yeah, and what I wanted to blog about is this: I don’t want to do a thing today. Except now that’s not true. Now I DO want to buy a sno-cone.

The Minutes Seem Like Hours, the Hours Pass So Slowly

Gosh, I must have just accidentally spent no less than an hour web-surfing this morning… no? No I didn’t? I swear I’ve been wasting time forever. But no. Confirmed by only being on song #2 on Pandora -- today is going at a snail’s pace.


And it makes no sense. This isn’t a Thursday before a long weekend. It’s not a day where I have especially fabulous plans this evening (even though I am excited for The Bachelorette finale tonight). I’m not waiting anxiously to resolve an issue. I got plenty of sleep, a nice relaxing morning due to the husband and I skipping the 6am workout (I even at breakfast at home instead of in the car), and wasn’t over peeved about having to work today (despite the general Monday-ness which ensues). And yet, even with a not horrible attitude and coming to work properly armed and fed, this day will not start – and I won’t BEGIN to talk about how it’s not ending.

Why is it that some days just don’t have the motivation to will time to go by quickly. Not actual working, or a diverting email or talking to your co-workers will make it go by quickly? What is wrong with these days? And how can I get them to change their sluggish ways and get into hyper-drive to make up for it?

SERIOUSLY, today. Seriously? Seriously. Help a sister out.


Speaking of things not going quickly… still no word on moving.

Who needs sleep? Nah, you're never gunna get it.

I get a secret joy out of quoting or referencing anything someone says or does to a movie or song. (It's TRUE! Often in normal conversation I'll find myself singing a song and wonder where I got it from... only to realize a person said something similar to a lyric of that song in my conversation... 20 minutes ago.) This is especially true if it's a chick flick (preferably a Norah Ephron film) or a BareNaked Ladies song. You may notice this from my blog-titles. And now, until I forget, I will post blog titles as movie quotes or song lyrics from now on. (The observant among you may say "but Sarah, how will this be different from now?" and I say to you "it'll be on purpose.")

Okay, now for (blog-related) apologies moment:
apology the first: remember how I didn't blog for like 2 months? yeah, that wasn't the best.
apology the second: that last blog was OVERLY vague and left many people confused. Let me 'splain. No, too complicated. Let me sum-up. "once upon a time my job and I had some issues to work out. And it turned out to be alright, but for a while it was a little bit touch and go." (More like riding the Bat than Colossus, if you take my roller coaster analogy and make it all Lagoon...ey. Or more like Gadget's Go-Coaster than Space Mountain, putting it Disney-terms.) Moral of story: YUCK.

Yum: MPI is in town, which means old work-friends of mine are in town, and I get most of the perks from going to the conference, but none of the boring classes. For example today Matt and I had a wonderful afternoon with my friend from Disney Brian Bouchelle (Tony Caputos, JSMB, tour of downtown, free food-stuffs). I had SO much fun. And on Monday we're going to the openhouseslc event. It will be top-notch... free food, fabulous venue, good people, all the free drinks anyone could ask for so ALL event planners there will be happy (never seen such a drunken industry, hanging out with meeting planners/sellers is like living the TV Show Mad Men). Plus, free Ogio bags. Holla.

DOUBLE YUM: Married life, for all those who ask, which is many people, is great.

Can I Get a Wha Wha?

First off, I would like to point out how Internet-famous I am (and by "I am" I mean "my wedding flowers are"... http://cheaperbythedozens.blogspot.com/2009/04/sarah.html

Check out all that hotness of the bridesmaid bouquet. Check out how totally awesome I am with the... you know... rest of it? Pretty classy, eh? I thought so.

I used to think to myself "it never rains but it pours." I found this to be especially true when dating because, as they say, "all you need for someone to ask you out is to have another date." (Perhaps this is why my old roommate Tori "lived in the Seattle of dating" because she perpetually had dates...) Anyway, life is like that... all or nothing. That's what I thought, but I was wrong.


Friends, life is a roller coaster, and I just have to live it. It can be all AND nothing at the same time. It is the best of times and the worst of times. All at the same times. It is Bridget Jones that explains "It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces." SPECTACULAR AMEN, Bridget.

But here is why it's way awesomer than living in the Sahara or the Brazilian rain forest: because even though there are deserts, there are spectacular thunder storms. The same day. At different sides of 5 minutes... at the same time.

Life is a roller coaster. There are ups and downs, but the ride goes fast and you should just illegally raise your arms above your head and scream. (umm... but not like a crazy person... maybe I didn't think this one through...) :)