Hello Dearest Family!!
I just have to start out by rubbing something in a little. Classy. Tactful. I know. But, rumor has it (ie the utah family that was visiting our ward on sunday) that things are still pretty chilly in Utah these days. Windy and cold. At least that was the report from our inside source. And rightly so, I feel it is my duty to let you know that Caen is absolutely gorgeous right now!!!
Spring is in full bloom and well on its way to summer. I am currently choosing to live in denial that it won't stay, despite the numerous claims from les caennais that insist that "c'est la normandie, so it won't stay and the weather always changes, etc....." For now I am choosing to believe that ignorance is bliss. And I assure you, our last week has been absolute bliss!
The skies are blue, blossoms are out on the trees, the grass has never looked so green (which also means that we get quite the show every time we pass by the big grass hills in front of the chateau....whether from people just wanting to soak up the sun or those who apparently want everyone to be very much aware that love is also in the evidently potent spring air....lovely.), the mornings are sunshiny, the afternoons are warm, even hott i'd dare say, and the birds are spreading their chirping cheer. I know I sound absolutely ridiculous being all fairytales and butterflies, but I just want to make sure to do a good enough job rubbing it in how currently beautiful life is out here.
Sure, I will admit that first weekend when soeur smart and i got off the train the week before christmas, with what felt like a bajillion suitcases, in the middle of a huge blizzard that all but shut down the entire city, and were then led to our little hole of an apartment with mold covering the whole fridge, a stench that reaked to high heaven, a sink that shocked us when we turned on the water, sheets that were dank and dirty, and no functioning source of heat.....i may have had a moment, or okay two, of doubt. But, I have been put in my place. That is for sure!
Normandie seems to have given us a case of spring fever. But the good thing about that is that we can hardly stand to be inside the apartment, so more adventures seem to be happening every day. Okay, well we don't actually have much time to email today, because we have a lot of rdvs to see apartments, but I just wanted to say hey, to say that things are going well, that I love you, that I miss you, and that I hope the sun is coming your way!!! Profitez-en!!
love, jordan xoxo
ps. i do promise i will give some actual updates soon.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
oops!
Hey gang!!
How are ya?!! I'm glad to hear that there are still neverending, lively adventures on the homefront. Sure wish i could have been there for the TCU incident, but probably a better thing that me and my big mouth were plenty of thousands of miles away. Though, sounds like middle aged mamma bear didnt need back up anyway. Too good!! Seriously got a good chuckle out of that one. Also was pleased to hear that mom's traditional april fool's joke was still just about as successful as every other year. meaning she ended up walking around soaking wet all day instead of everyone else! hehe.
And I'm glad that the conference pj party went well and that people managed to eat the popcorn like human beings! dang, i miss you guys. I have pretty cool siblings, if i do say so myself. Every time i get letters from you, i make smartypants and the other elders listen to them, just cuz im so proud of you and think you're so great and funny. Okay, well recently it seems like there has just been so much going on that i dont even know where to begin nor how to pick and choose what to tell you.
So, we'll see how this week's blabbering session turns out. (It's probably a good thing i only have a few months left, cuz i don't know how many more of these emails you guys are going to be able to handle.) But, the other day i was thinking about mom and doing projects with her. Random, I know. And how I absolutely hate, but at the same time think it is super funny, how she will always say, "oh dangit," when she is thinking about how to do something, which of course sends me into a panic that we have just ruined this thing we have been working on for the last 72 hours straight.
I mean, we all know that when it comes to operating heavyduty machinery, building swingsets/bunkbeds, redoing electrical wiring, or anything of the sort, you are in good hands going to mom or lisa. (exhibit A: arizona swingset story 1996ish.) Things always turn out great in the end, so really there is no reason not to be completely confident, but that momentary "DANGIT" sometimes adds a little better "adventure"? to the project.
Well, I've decided, as of late, that that is very comparable to having your companion say, "oops." And you're like, oh great, "What does OOPS mean??!" Poor smartypants. She seems to be stuck with a companion that has more than the average share of OOPS moments. So, I figured I would share some of the most recent.
OOPS......
1. I don't think I ever told you this way back when, but jet lag does not do good things to my already spacy brain. One night a few days after we got back from New York, I didn't write in my journal. K, and I know that sounds dumb and would normally not be a big deal. I get that. BUT, that was my first night in almost 4.5 years of not writing in my journal. Totally ruined my streak and I was so not pleased!! Now i'm back to like 3 weeks in a row....grr/oops.
2. I got hiccups the other day while walking out of a rendezvous. But these were no normal hocquets. These were like frog chirps on steroids coming from my spasming diaphragm. I was echoing with like a 30m radius!! And when we walked to the bus stop by the house we were at, we saw that it was like a 15 minute wait, so we decided that we would just walk back home. So we started winding our way around the hippodrome and the people running laps kept laughing at me.
Then we get to centreville and people are like turning their heads to see where that atrocious noise is coming from, and then detecting the source, would smile and start laughing with us. Shared some nice moments with those people, though it felt like the longest hicuping walk of my life! Maybe not the best contacting method, but i will admit thinking it was pretty funny to see french people, who normally do a pretty good job ignoring us at all costs, like turning their heads to pay attention to us.
3. K, but the hiccups incident did come in handy later that day. We went to visit this older sister in the ward who can't walk. She is like 96 years old and after falling and having surgery a while ago, hasn't been able to really regain any mobility. She is adorable and like the spunkiest old lady you will ever meet--she always just goes on about how she keeps praying and hoping that the Lord will bless her to be able to walk again and everything.
K and she has this dog, named Tomy, that is about just as old and frail as she is, but has this horrible hacking cough. So, we're sitting there singing a hymn with this lady who has her favorites memorized cuz she can't really read anymore and takes her singing of hymns very seriously, and this dog comes over and is like hacking up a storm and making all these gagging noises right next to soeur smart's feet. K, you would not believe that these type of noises were coming out of this little dog! So, being the horrible person that I am, instead of focusing on the words and music we are singing, I all of a sudden have the image of this horrible hacking and gagging turning into a massive dog pukage onto soeur smart's coach shoes come into my mind. And I think you can commiserate with me that the image of soeur smart's reaction to that would be enough to send anyone into a fit of giggles.
I swear, i could not help myself! It just would not stop. Try as I might, every time i started singing again, all that would come out was laughing. Eventually, i just stopped singing for a little bit and had to go with the "i'm so sorry! i got the hiccups in the middle of that song." So, yeah, basically I'm a really bad person now. Giggling fit during a hymn plus lying to a little old lady.....oops!
4. So, we had a rendezvous with Marie laure last thursday at the church, because a member, who has two little kids, was supposed to come teach with us. And when we do rendezvous at the church, Gabrielle is usually pretty good and will just play with the toys in the nursery and just walks around to take turns on people's laps and stuff. She's sometimes been a little fussy when it gets close to nap time, but we have never seen her throw a tantrum like she did this last week. (She has been teething, though, bless her heart.)
So, eventually, I gave her a cookie to see if that would at least keep her content to finish the lesson. K bad idea. major oops! She managed to get cookie everywhere and then in the cleaning it off her face and dress process, the crying turned to sobbing to complete hysterics. So then, smartypants and I are just making royal idiots of ourselves practically pulling out the tap shoes to burst out in a song, dance, and puppet show in order to get it to stop. K, i dumped out like all the buckets of toys. we tried everything, but gabrielle would not stop crying!!! So, we were finally like, ok quick prayer and let's get out of here.
Then Marie Laure was like, "maybe it's cuz she hasn't seen the Freres. Are they here?" I said I didn't know, but would go check. Turned out they were there working on their fiche for the DMB meeting we had after, and when they walked around the corner and smiled at Gabrielle, she was all of a sudden like all butterflies, squeals and giggles. I, on the other hand, was like, "you have got to be dang kidding me!!!" It was pretty funny though. And a good clear object lesson in why mom AND dad are necessary. And not just for logistical purposes. You need mom to do all the dirty diapers, feeding, dealing with the fevers and hysterics of the teething child, and then you need dad to come in for laughing and play time. Seriously.....ridiculous!
5. Oh, almost forgot to tell you how long hair can be a serious hazard on public transportation. One afternoon, it was kinda a tight squeeze, but we got on the tram and then i went to go validate my pass and realized with a swift and painful yank backwards, that i couldn't go validate my pass, because my hair was trapped in the tram door. I tried to pull it out, but there was to much of it and it felt like it was ripping, so i just handed my pass to soeur smart to validate and i waited, with my head tilted to the side and some of the girls around us laughing, to get it out at the next stop. Seriously didn't know that could happen!! Oops....Still, though, much better than the NYC-hand-in-the-elevator incident of 1993. At least this time the police didn't have to be called in for the extrication!
Okay, I'm so sorry, but time has just gotten away from me and I haven't even said anything! But, it looks like OOPS' 6-10 will have to continued next week, cuz we have to run. But, know that I miss you and that I love you so much!! You guys are wonderful. Don't know how i got so lucky.
Love, Jordan xoxo
How are ya?!! I'm glad to hear that there are still neverending, lively adventures on the homefront. Sure wish i could have been there for the TCU incident, but probably a better thing that me and my big mouth were plenty of thousands of miles away. Though, sounds like middle aged mamma bear didnt need back up anyway. Too good!! Seriously got a good chuckle out of that one. Also was pleased to hear that mom's traditional april fool's joke was still just about as successful as every other year. meaning she ended up walking around soaking wet all day instead of everyone else! hehe.
And I'm glad that the conference pj party went well and that people managed to eat the popcorn like human beings! dang, i miss you guys. I have pretty cool siblings, if i do say so myself. Every time i get letters from you, i make smartypants and the other elders listen to them, just cuz im so proud of you and think you're so great and funny. Okay, well recently it seems like there has just been so much going on that i dont even know where to begin nor how to pick and choose what to tell you.
So, we'll see how this week's blabbering session turns out. (It's probably a good thing i only have a few months left, cuz i don't know how many more of these emails you guys are going to be able to handle.) But, the other day i was thinking about mom and doing projects with her. Random, I know. And how I absolutely hate, but at the same time think it is super funny, how she will always say, "oh dangit," when she is thinking about how to do something, which of course sends me into a panic that we have just ruined this thing we have been working on for the last 72 hours straight.
I mean, we all know that when it comes to operating heavyduty machinery, building swingsets/bunkbeds, redoing electrical wiring, or anything of the sort, you are in good hands going to mom or lisa. (exhibit A: arizona swingset story 1996ish.) Things always turn out great in the end, so really there is no reason not to be completely confident, but that momentary "DANGIT" sometimes adds a little better "adventure"? to the project.
Well, I've decided, as of late, that that is very comparable to having your companion say, "oops." And you're like, oh great, "What does OOPS mean??!" Poor smartypants. She seems to be stuck with a companion that has more than the average share of OOPS moments. So, I figured I would share some of the most recent.
OOPS......
1. I don't think I ever told you this way back when, but jet lag does not do good things to my already spacy brain. One night a few days after we got back from New York, I didn't write in my journal. K, and I know that sounds dumb and would normally not be a big deal. I get that. BUT, that was my first night in almost 4.5 years of not writing in my journal. Totally ruined my streak and I was so not pleased!! Now i'm back to like 3 weeks in a row....grr/oops.
2. I got hiccups the other day while walking out of a rendezvous. But these were no normal hocquets. These were like frog chirps on steroids coming from my spasming diaphragm. I was echoing with like a 30m radius!! And when we walked to the bus stop by the house we were at, we saw that it was like a 15 minute wait, so we decided that we would just walk back home. So we started winding our way around the hippodrome and the people running laps kept laughing at me.
Then we get to centreville and people are like turning their heads to see where that atrocious noise is coming from, and then detecting the source, would smile and start laughing with us. Shared some nice moments with those people, though it felt like the longest hicuping walk of my life! Maybe not the best contacting method, but i will admit thinking it was pretty funny to see french people, who normally do a pretty good job ignoring us at all costs, like turning their heads to pay attention to us.
3. K, but the hiccups incident did come in handy later that day. We went to visit this older sister in the ward who can't walk. She is like 96 years old and after falling and having surgery a while ago, hasn't been able to really regain any mobility. She is adorable and like the spunkiest old lady you will ever meet--she always just goes on about how she keeps praying and hoping that the Lord will bless her to be able to walk again and everything.
K and she has this dog, named Tomy, that is about just as old and frail as she is, but has this horrible hacking cough. So, we're sitting there singing a hymn with this lady who has her favorites memorized cuz she can't really read anymore and takes her singing of hymns very seriously, and this dog comes over and is like hacking up a storm and making all these gagging noises right next to soeur smart's feet. K, you would not believe that these type of noises were coming out of this little dog! So, being the horrible person that I am, instead of focusing on the words and music we are singing, I all of a sudden have the image of this horrible hacking and gagging turning into a massive dog pukage onto soeur smart's coach shoes come into my mind. And I think you can commiserate with me that the image of soeur smart's reaction to that would be enough to send anyone into a fit of giggles.
I swear, i could not help myself! It just would not stop. Try as I might, every time i started singing again, all that would come out was laughing. Eventually, i just stopped singing for a little bit and had to go with the "i'm so sorry! i got the hiccups in the middle of that song." So, yeah, basically I'm a really bad person now. Giggling fit during a hymn plus lying to a little old lady.....oops!
4. So, we had a rendezvous with Marie laure last thursday at the church, because a member, who has two little kids, was supposed to come teach with us. And when we do rendezvous at the church, Gabrielle is usually pretty good and will just play with the toys in the nursery and just walks around to take turns on people's laps and stuff. She's sometimes been a little fussy when it gets close to nap time, but we have never seen her throw a tantrum like she did this last week. (She has been teething, though, bless her heart.)
So, eventually, I gave her a cookie to see if that would at least keep her content to finish the lesson. K bad idea. major oops! She managed to get cookie everywhere and then in the cleaning it off her face and dress process, the crying turned to sobbing to complete hysterics. So then, smartypants and I are just making royal idiots of ourselves practically pulling out the tap shoes to burst out in a song, dance, and puppet show in order to get it to stop. K, i dumped out like all the buckets of toys. we tried everything, but gabrielle would not stop crying!!! So, we were finally like, ok quick prayer and let's get out of here.
Then Marie Laure was like, "maybe it's cuz she hasn't seen the Freres. Are they here?" I said I didn't know, but would go check. Turned out they were there working on their fiche for the DMB meeting we had after, and when they walked around the corner and smiled at Gabrielle, she was all of a sudden like all butterflies, squeals and giggles. I, on the other hand, was like, "you have got to be dang kidding me!!!" It was pretty funny though. And a good clear object lesson in why mom AND dad are necessary. And not just for logistical purposes. You need mom to do all the dirty diapers, feeding, dealing with the fevers and hysterics of the teething child, and then you need dad to come in for laughing and play time. Seriously.....ridiculous!
5. Oh, almost forgot to tell you how long hair can be a serious hazard on public transportation. One afternoon, it was kinda a tight squeeze, but we got on the tram and then i went to go validate my pass and realized with a swift and painful yank backwards, that i couldn't go validate my pass, because my hair was trapped in the tram door. I tried to pull it out, but there was to much of it and it felt like it was ripping, so i just handed my pass to soeur smart to validate and i waited, with my head tilted to the side and some of the girls around us laughing, to get it out at the next stop. Seriously didn't know that could happen!! Oops....Still, though, much better than the NYC-hand-in-the-elevator incident of 1993. At least this time the police didn't have to be called in for the extrication!
Okay, I'm so sorry, but time has just gotten away from me and I haven't even said anything! But, it looks like OOPS' 6-10 will have to continued next week, cuz we have to run. But, know that I miss you and that I love you so much!! You guys are wonderful. Don't know how i got so lucky.
Love, Jordan xoxo
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