Wednesday What Is It?

What is it?
Here's how to play.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The results of last week's Wednesday What Is It?

Dumbbells!

5 points to Nicole!
2 points to Dave.

You aren't sorry

If I tell you that I'm going to do something for you and I don't do it, it's not because I'm blowing you off - it's because I'm forgetful. Sometimes I will respond or complete the task I promised a little late. And that might not be because I forgot, it's probably because I'm a working mother and sometimes life gets busy. But still, sometimes I forget. And so I make lists.

I make lists of things to buy. I make lists of things to make, to write, to clean, to photograph. I make lists of bills to pay. I make lists of things I need to make lists of. But don't worry, there's no need to alert A&E - I'm not that crazy. No offense to crazy people. Why is it that when people say "no offense" they always say something offensive? And also - why do people start sentences with "I'm sorry but..."? I'm sorry but the name Deece is way cooler than the name Dooce.

No, you're not. You're not sorry. If you were sorry you wouldn't have said anything. Say it like you mean it. Be proud - the name Deece is the greatest nickname of all time, Deece is so much cooler than Dooce!

Oh! You got burned!

What happens when you walk around for an hour under the scorching sun searching for lost keys after you already spent 45 minutes walking around taking pictures under the same blazing hot sun?

A collar and sleeve sunburn!

It looks really stupid. How does one correct this? Next time I'm rubbing my SPF 20 lip gloss all over myself.

Two Things

1. I wore a scarf today. I wasn't hiding anything. I just thought it was cute. And it kept me warm in my air conditioned office.

2. I only learned a few weeks ago that Austin City Limits is, in fact, not filmed at the Austin city limit; rather, it is filmed at an indoor venue.

Wednesday What Is It?

What is it?

Here's how to play.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The results of last week's Wednesday What Is It?

A Hanger!

5 points to Maggie!
2 points each to Shar, Bon, and Plumeria.

I'm sorry it's late. I didn't have my computer with me last night. Bust!
And also, I don't know why the picture is sideways. Sorry.

Typhoon Choi Wan

So typhoon Choi Wan rolled through Saipan on Monday and Tuesday. It wasn't as crazy as typhoons can get - I was thankful that it was fairly mild and that it only intensified into a super typhoon after it left us. The crazy thing is that when we were in condition I, when it should have been pounding us, it was pretty tame and when it was downgraded to condition III and we were told to report to work, it was pretty dang strong typhoon weather. Some banana trees fell around our yard, but there was no major damage . . . except . . . except we lost power for somewhere between 28 and 30 hours. Because?

Because a tree fell on the power line:


Look a little closer...


Here's another line that went down. But I'm not sure if it's a cable line or a power line...


Thanks to the hard working linemen of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, our power was restored at about 6 am on Wednesday. And from what I was told, crews were working 24/7 since the wee hours of Monday morning. After CUC restored the power, we called MCV to rescue their cable line, they did. And they left the logs of the tree blocking our road. So we called the mayor's office to clear the road. And they did. Sort of. I was told that while the rest of us were at work, my mom and my sister's babysitter still had to go up and do some more trimming to fully clear the road. My mom! Did you hear that mayor's office?! So all you people who drive all crazy, blazing through the pot holes on our road, just slow down and remember all the people it took to clear that road.

I feel like the richest person in the world.

For the first time in nearly two years, we have hot running water. And what a luxury I never knew it was!

Several years ago when our electric rates skyrocketed, I became this crazy power monster. Not that I was aspiring to a position of power, but I became this crazed electricity regulating drill Sergeant. Turn off the lights! Turn off the air con! Do you really need that fan?! I placed all our TVs and the microwave on power strips so when they weren't in use we could turn off the power strip so no electricity was wasted on internal clocks. Our electric hot water heater was turned on only when we needed to shower. Then one day it broke. And I said, good. I made the decision not to have it fixed because fixing it 1) costs money and 2) means we can run it which costs even more.

So for about the next few years, we did not have hot running water. Our kids took bucket showers, a very common occurrence on Saipan where water is boiled on the stove and then added to a bucket of cold water in the bathtub, and the adults just suffered through cold showers. It wasn't a big deal because, as you know, we live in paradise where 74 degrees is near freezing. But on those 74 degree nights or when you are sick with the flu, cold water showers suck! So bucket showers it would be. And when I would take a bucket shower, I would think, wow this is so wonderful - it's like that time in California, the night before I was going to fly back to Saipan for vacation from college and I was still hungover from the night before and I had the stomach flu and Margot drew me a hot bath at her home in Studio City and it was the most soothing thing in the world, and I emerged from the tub fullly restored. But I was wrong. A hot bucket shower is nice, but it is nothing like a hot shower - a hot shower that steams up the mirrors so when you step out of the tub you can't see yourself at all. That is restoring. That is luxurious.

Our old honking inefficient hot water heater, which stands about as tall as I do:


Our new effecient propane powered always on instant hot water heater that I love so much.


Although typhoon Choi Wan knocked out our power for over 24 hours, at least we had hot running water. I feel like the richest person in the world!

Wednesday What Is It?

What is it?

Here's how to play.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The results of last week's Wednesday What Is It?

A Lamp!

5 points to SharShine!

Great guesses everyone!

Like mother, like daughter.

Our daughter, our oldest child, started school last month - it's almost unreal. She was adorable in her uniform with her little kid-sized backpack (I made her a bag, unfortunately I didn't finish it in time for the first day of school). I wondered how it would go. Would she shake her teacher's hand? Would she cling to me or ask to be carried? Would she cry? No, I don't think she would cry. Would she do what I did when I started school for the first time and practically push her mother away?

We began talking to her about attending school months ago. She met her teacher over the summer and during that visit she fell in love with the school's playground. But I wondered what it would be like without me nearby and with her classmates there.

She was awesome! She walked right up to her teacher and shook her hand. She was so happy to be there that she almost forgot to say goodbye to me. I hugged and kissed her and said goodbye. She hugged me back and said goodbye, then she held her teacher's hand and walked away. She never turned back.

My heart was aflutter all day.

Wednesday What Is It? Round 5

What is it?

Here's how to play.

Wednesday What Is It? Results

The results of last week's Wednesday What Is It?

A Toilet Tank Floater!

5 points to Plumeria Girl!
2 points to Shar - yes, I'm giving you 2 points.

Congratulations on being first Mark!

Because I'm reworking the layout of this blog I may not post your points in the sidebar for a few more days. But don't worry, I'm keeping track.

The best snack food!

Edamame with kosher salt!


My kids love these. Probably more for the salt than the nutritious protein rich soy beans. But I don't care cause they are snacking on nutritious protein rich soy beans.

Are there no accountant types who found my Fund Accounting post humorous?

So I was planning on changing around the look of this blog and I accidentally did something wrong and now it looks different, but not how I want it to look. I'll be re-working over the next few days, so please bear with me. And remember to subscribe to my other blog: www.ayorátá.com because a) it's awesome, 2) I'll be updating more often, and c) there will be a contest.

How many of you think I should switch to wordpress?

Before.

Three years ago I wrote some stuff. Nothing amazing. You can read it, if you want to.

Two years ago I wrote some stuff. You should read 'em! They're fun.

One year ago I wrote some stuff. I recommend reading these: my root canal, haikus, stuff I was gonna say, quotes from movies I love - some of these quotes just get me every time, and Jacob's diet tips.

That's me. Before.

Welcome to the Wedensday What Is It Round 5!

Wahooooo! Aren't you excited?! It's finally here!

What is it?

Here's how to play the WWII:

Every Wednesday I will post a small part of a picture of some object. You tell me what you think the object is. You have until I post the results of that week's WWII to submit your guess by leaving a comment.

I will post the results the following Wednesday in the morning, at noontime, or in the evening. Sometimes I am late, but I will never be early.

Submit one guess per person; you may not change your guess - your first guess is your final guess. Please be specific. Don't say, it's food; instead say, it's a chocolate chip cookie. Only guesses posted on the blog will count, Facebook guesses will not count. Anonymous guesses will not be accepted.

The first person with the correct answer will receive 5 points, all other correct answers earn 2 points. On the following Wednesday I'll post the answer along with the results, which will be tracked in the sidebar.

The first person to 35 points wins something handmade by Deece. I'll mail it to you if you live off island.

Let's play!