Make an Omelet

An item from my live list.  I've been writing a story called "Voices" lately.  In one of the chapters, my main character gets up early to make omelets.  As soon as I wrote that, I started craving them.  That's kind of an odd thing for me.  I don't really like eggs.  So, when my mom and I were talking about my vacation to Texas, I said, "Can we make omelets?!"

I didn't really know what I was doing, and neither did she.  We just kind of went off of what we'd heard from other people.  We didn't look it up or anything.  So, my omelet took about a minute to cook, and I was freaking out the whole time, saying, "Mom!  I don't know what it's doing!  What do I do?  Help me!"

It turned out looking pretty funky, but it actually wasn't all that bad. :)  Not exactly what an omelet is supposed to look like, but hey, whoever said I was a cook?

While I just put some cheddar and bacon in mine, my mom had the works.  Onions, green bell peppers, cheddar, bacon.

Hers took a lot longer to cook, and it didn't turn out exactly how we planned, either.

But, you know...  It was fun.  And it was fun to spend that time with my mom.  Normally for meals, we get our own separate dishes and sit in the living room with the TV on.

I'm so glad I got to go home for a week.  My mom and I certainly had some adventures!

Go to Arches National Park

My mom brought me back up to school after my Spring semester home.  We had a blast!  We laughed a lot, and even managed to not kill each other.  She trusted my driving a whole lot more, and even slept in the car some.  On the second day up, we stopped at Arches National Park.  The only one I hiked up to was the double arch, which was absolutely breath-taking.

You know, I really love the fact that my mom is so supportive of my photography.  She stopped numerous times for me to take a picture, drove with her window open, waited for me for an hour, and so much more.  She really is amazing.

I used to be absolutely obsessed with rocks.  I still love them.  When I was little, I wanted to be an archaeologist or a geologist.

Mom thought this one was really cool.  I think it's called "Balanced Rock."

The double arch!!!  Isn't it magnificent?

In the arch looking up.

Petrified sand dunes.  Cool.

The delicate arch!  I did have to hike a little ways to get to a viewing point to see this one.  Ugh.  That was when I realized...  I'm *so* not in shape.

NOT a very photogenic day for me.  So this is the best you're gonna get. :)

What adventure would be complete without the perfect sunset at the end?

Arches really was great.  But the adventure didn't end there!  Oh no.  We still had to get to Provo through the mountains that night.  After the sun went down, in construction, without the lines painted on the road.  Mom absolutely refused to let me drive, so I had to settle for telling her when the road curved, and watching for deer.  She was terrified, and rightly so.  It was not a good driving situation.

But we pulled through. :)

Thanks for the adventure, mom.  Love you!

My Mom The Photographer

I've never really considered my mom a photographer.  She takes pictures once in a blue moon, and is more worried about actually taking the picture than getting a really, really good one.  You know, that's fine.  Most people are like that with pictures.

But when I saw this picture, I immediately had to reconsider.

Wow, Mom.  You're fantastic. :)

A Tupperware of Cookies

For several days, I've been looking forward to today.  It's April Fool's Day!  :)  That, to me, is synonymous with "birthday," because I was born on April 1st... some years ago.  I've always loved my birthdays.  In fact, I can't ever remember not having a good one.


Last year, my sisters and my mom threw me a surprise bash (that I partly knew about).  I was still surprised, though, because one of my friends scared me half to death when he jumped out and screamed, "SURPRIIIIISE!"  There were also people there that my sisters and best friend had invited--people that I didn't think even cared that I existed, yet they came.  There was also the slightly awkward presence of all four boys that I'd ever kissed...  But the party was really amazing.  I'd always wanted a surprise party! :)


Looking back at it, I realize that the gifts I remember receiving were the ones that really meant something.  I vaguely recall a book, and a pen, and a picture frame, but only after thinking about it really hard for a few minutes did I even remember those.  One of my best friends gave me a HUGE bag full of Supernatural inside jokes!  I laughed and laughed and laughed, even though nobody else knew what the heck was going on.  There was even an apple pie!


Another best friend gave me the item currently hanging above my bed: a canvas of pictures of my trio of high school friends that she decorated herself.  She printed and cut out the pictures, made a collage, and added animals and flowers.  I was shocked, because nobody outside my family had ever spent that much time on something just for me.  She also gave me a Batman blanket, which I cherish greatly.

So, today, I cut open the package sent from my parents in Texas to my apartment in Utah.  Inside was a note from my mom, telling me that this was for my birthday, and that was for Easter, and not to open them until the appointed days.  She reminded me that "it's the thought that counts."  I interpreted that to mean that she was worried that whatever she sent wasn't going to be something I was very excited about.


Then, moving aside the colorful grass stuff that emerges in stores around the time of Easter, I saw the tupperware of cookies that she mentioned.  Earlier in the day, while talking to my seven-year-old niece, she'd said, "Did you get you package today and eat the cookies?"  I laughed and told her I hadn't.  "Oh... Well, surprise!" she said, completely undaunted.  So, I knew they were there, but what I saw wasn't what I'd been expecting.


My all-time favorite thing to eat in this world is a home-made-and-decorated sugar cookie.  I just love them.  I love making them.  I love making the frosting into different colors.  I love pouring copious amounts of sprinkles on them.  They're fun to make, and taste so, so good!  I think I like them so much because they're something that takes a little bit of effort, but not a whole lot of talent, so anybody can make them.  Little kids can make them.  They're the perfect food.


So, I have to say that my excitement about the cookies in this tupperware was absolutely paramount.  I opened the lid and took one out immediately, biting into it and relishing the sweetness and the melt-in-your-mouth frosting.  Upon examining them, I noticed the subtleties that proved my mom really had made them.  The way they were frosted--the way the frosting was spread evenly, in swirls, going right to the edges but leaving about a quarter of a centimeter between the edge of the frosting and the edge of the cookie--that was my mom.  The sparseness of the sprinkles--that was my mom.  The time and the love that she'd put into those cookies was completely obvious.  She knew I loved them, so she'd made them and sent them to me, just because it's my birthday.


As I sat down on the couch with a couple on a plate (I knew I was kidding myself, I was definitely going back for more), and a glass of milk, I had a really odd reaction to the simple tupperware full of home-made-and-decorated sugar cookies.  My eyes started to sting, and my vision blurred as tears threatened to fall down my face.  I know it was a very weird thing to do, crying over a tupperware of cookies...


It was a simple act--my mom making sugar cookies and sending me a package for my birthday.  But it really meant a lot to me.  They were my favorite, and she knew that.


Sometimes it still shocks me just how much my mother loves me. :)