My Hilarious Mom, Once Again

My mom and I just started driving away from our house tonight on our way to Home Depot when I saw a dog without any tags wandering in the street. I was driving, so I pulled over, tried to figure out which dog it was, and walked it back to the house I figured was its house (luckily, it was!). Now, my mom is REALLY not a pet person, and she somehow loves my dog, even though she has no desire to have any sort of pet. She wasn't too happy about the stop.

We started driving again, and saw another dog on the corner, and my mom said, "If I see ONE MORE DOG . . ." She'd had it, apparently, with creatures of the canine sort! =) "Why do people even HAVE dogs!"

I think the irony MAY have been lost on her . . .

4Runner and Gas

My mom HATES filling up her car with gas--I can't think of many things she would hate more. It's a waste of time, it's expensive, and it just interrupts her day, according to her. I can't tell you how many times I'll hop in my car and it's on E, even though I KNOW I didn't leave it that way! "My car was empty!" she'll say.

Recently, I said something like, "I think I need to go to Costco and get gas," (I hadn't driven my car for a few days) and she said, "YEP! You're out!" Whah? She said, "Yeah, I got in my car and it was empty, so I hopped in your car and it was empty, and it was the worst! I can always count on your car having plenty of gas in it!"

Cute Boy (literally, boy)

Liz's nephews are the man of her dreams, and while my dog and nephew are really the men of my dreams, I have a new one to add to my list. A few weeks ago, this adorable 8-year-old boy came up to me at the park and asked if he could play with Kobe. I was beyond impressed with this kid; not only was he polite and sweet--he asked questions! Then a week later, I ran into him at the park again, and he couldn't stop raving about my dog (#1 way to my heart). Then after we chatted about his Little League team, he mentioned his elementary school--my elementary school!

I asked him, "Who's your teacher?" "Mrs. Kirby." I HAD MRS. KIRBY! And she was my favorite ever! He asked, "Did you guys do plays?" "Yes!" "Which ones?" (see? he's asking questions? I'm so blown away) "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice in Wonderland." "We're doing Peter Pan, and I'm Peter Pan. You should come!"

I did. It was the most fun Friday night I've had in months. Third graders doing 35 minutes of Peter Pan is just a riot. So afterwards I go up to my favorite kid ever--his name is Reid--and he was so excited I came! I couldn't believe it. He took me by the hand and said, "You've GOT to see Mrs. Kirby!" So he led me to her and it was so great to see her again! She was my favorite teacher ever, and I couldn't believe she remembered me, albiet with a different hair color. But we chatted, and it was a blast. There are obviously more details, but to keep this blog short(er) and sweet, apparently the new man of my dreams is somewhat of a professional actor, having done an episode of "Monk."

I can't get the picture of him to post, so copy and paste this into your browser--he's such a cute little kid . . . can I adopt him as a little brother?

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1167364352/nm2126420

Camping

Lately, it feels like we've been camping . . . in our very own house. It seems as though we've developed a cricket problem of sorts--maybe they've found a way through the fireplace? We aren't exactly sure, but if it gets much worse, maybe we'll pray for seagulls or something.

Today's Horoscope

"A huge workload doesn't have to intimidate you. You can do this! You are a star."

This was perfect for my day--maybe I'll believe in horoscopes every once in a while?

Friends

Dear friends,

I knew that, this last year especially, I had some of the most fantastic friends. I knew that, and I know that; it's not like this is news to me. I couldn't have asked for better friends than this last year gave me. But every once in a while, it hits me again how lucky I was, and how much I want to transplant y'all down here so I don't have to be sad that y'all are up there and I'm down here. Life'd be pretty perfect for me if I could bring you guys down here.

Love you,
Laura

If I Can't Root for the Jazz . . .

Then Kobe will do the rooting for me:

I *Heart* Laguna Hills

These trees line the street and when they bloom with these purple blossoms for about a month or two a year, it's the most beautiful thing driving up to our street!

My Hilarious Sister

Today I remembered one of my favorite conversations with my sister ever. I can't remember exactly how long ago this was; I'm guessing it was around 6-7 years ago. She had a Mazda Protege at the time.

Laura: How's it going?
Nicole: The a/c on my car broke.
Laura: Really? Wow! How much is that going to cost to fix?
Nicole: I don't know; I bought a Tahoe.

Losing My Identity

I got a new cell phone and number yesterday, and because of that, don't have my trademark Super Mario Bros ringtone anymore. It's kind of sad, and by kind of sad, I mean REALLY sad. I checked out the Super Mario Bros available for my new phone, and it's not NEARLY as cool. It sounds all fancy with different instruments, and I'm just not a fan. I feel incomplete.

Group Birthdays

After watching Sister OP on WifeSwap this week, and learning she has one group party for her kids' birthdays since they're within three weeks of each other (four kids), I remembered one of my sister's classic lines: "I hate birthdays. Unless it's my own."

Reformed Herb Thieves

The day after my Herb Thieves post, Mom saw folks at the park spraying all sorts of chemicals on all the plants along the path. We're, you know, earthy crunchy and avoid chemicals whenever we can, so what did I spend all day yesterday doing? Gardening/Herbing! I've never done this stuff before, and my mom's never done it successfully, so we're quite the pair. But after two trips to Foothill Ranch (20 mins away) to the Laguna Hills Nursery (what the?), I had enough plants, tropical potting soil, and pots to get this thing going.

We've got two plants of basil, two of thyme (one English, one green), mint, and chives. The other side of the yard has rosemary and lavender. I'm such a nerd, but I'm SO excited about this! We use lots of fresh herbs when we cook (or uncook--organizing elements, perhaps?), so I can't wait to have 'em just outside the kitchen door.

Herb Thieves

Recently at the park (we take Kobe twice a day so we see the vegetation quite a bit), we've started noticing a lot of mint growing along the side of the path. It's been great since we've been using a lot of mint in our Thai recipes, and the stuff you get at the store isn't *nearly* as fresh as picking it two minutes before using it--it tastes so much better, too!

Tonight Mom and I were making CPK's BBQ Chicken Salad, and I was moaning about the fact that the basil I was using was all lame and limp--we'd just bought it the day before. Mom remembered we have a basil plant, and even though the leaves were TINY, it was SO good in the salad. So our thievery at the park has started what is going to amount to an obsession: I'm going to plant an herb garden. We're thinking basil, mint, thyme, oregano, and maybe lavender (we already have a lot of rosemary); we're also going to try flat-leaf parsley and cilantro, but we don't know of anyone who's had success with those here. Any other suggestions? Are we missing something?

Holy Cow Part II

Last night, I told Kobe to go to the front door so I could take him upstairs. I went to the door and opened it, waiting for him to come around. All of a sudden, I saw this big black spider about two feet in front of the door, maybe a foot up in the air in its web. It was a black widow! I am *terrified* of spiders. TERRIFIED. Snakes? Mice? Bring 'em on. But spiders? I screamed like a little girl. Luckily Mom knew exactly what was happening and ran over to take care of it. But holy cow, I freaked out.

Holy Cow

Okay, you guys ready for what might be a Top 3 Embarrassing Moment in my life? Holy cow. Remember how my dog's had some problems with his anal glands? Last week at the vet, the tech showed me how to do it. She's like, "You get gloves, you get some lube, you know, like . . ." as though I'm supposed to know what this stuff is all about! Little did she know she was talking to a good little Mormon gal.

So then, yesterday I went to the drugstore to buy said things. Latex gloves? Check. Lube? Uh, there was a guy in the isle buying condoms, so I walked around to a different isle, hoping by the time I got back, he'd be gone. He was, but there was a girl looking at pregnancy tests. She was taking her time. I was thinking, What the H am I doing here? It was all I could do to a) not laugh, and b) not run. I picked whatever stuff was the most discreet looking, and scurried over to the checkout counter. I was very disappointed they didn't have self-checkout. Embarrassing!

But I survived.

It's Officially Summer

At least for me. I usually have one day of insane stupidity each year and get totally sunburned. Today was that day for me, so it signals my first day of summer! I wanted to give Kobe a bath, but it was super hot outside, so I thought, Okay, I'll do this in my swimming suit. Should only take 20 minutes, right? I'll be fine! No dice! At least it's just on my back, and not arms or legs, but holy cow!

An Easy Solution to a Very Big Problem

Today I went to the singles ward here for the first time. It was surprisingly fantastic, which was great since I so badly miss my BYU 241! But in Relief Society, a comment was made that made me laugh. A girl said something about how the guys in the ward don't ask out girls because when they (guys) DO ask, the girls say No.

I've heard this many times before. And I also remember Kelly saying something along the lines of, "Yeah, all the guys in the ward ask out the same three girls."

So I have a very easy solution. Guys? If the girls you're asking are saying no, try asking different girls. And not just the other two of the three who always get asked out.

Girls? Say yes once.

Easy squeazy.

Flirting

With my social life being less than stellar at this particular point and juncture, I couldn't help laughing tonight when a guy, who couldn't have been more than 20, was either flirting with me or being very friendly. Bless his heart, he was so cool and cute, and I was thinking in my head, Can you just be 28 and LDS and single? (and not, you know, just a hair past your teens?)

Mom and I went to the Orange County Catholic Chorale tonight at the Mission Basilica in San Juan Capistrano, where they performed Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, along with Mack Wilberg's Requiem. VERY COOL! I dropped Mom off at home so she could go to bed, and then I went to In-N-Out for some grub. That's where I met my little flirter. As I was in a skirt, nice top, and heels. He was in jeans and a t-shirt.

So do I have to step up my dining choices at 10:30 pm on a Saturday night in order to snatch a guy my age? Is that what this is about? Ruth's Chris, perhaps? Hmmm . . .

My Social Life

I'm not going to lie: my social life has been pretty pathetic since I've been back at home in Laguna Hills. My social life is this, in this order: Kobe, Mom, Nicole, BabyJack, and the lesbian couple down the street (they have two Labs and share my love for Diho Siam, the most amazing Thai place). I really need y'all to come visit me.

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Speed test

Speed test

My cousin Jocee B had this up on her blog, and basically, I'm competitive, so I had to do this, too.