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Thanks to ~j. for the request…

We all have memories. Some good, some bad. This memory of mine, could be catagorized as bad except that it makes such a good story.

My mom and I lived in an apartment complex in Mt. Lake Terrace, Washington that had 2 buildings. One on the left and one on the right with a driveway/parking lot in between. The complex was located off the bend in the road; kinda like the bottom of the capital Y was the apartment driveway and the top of the Y was the road. It was at this location I had my first recallable memory.

When I was 4 years old I was run over by a taxi, my shirt caught something underneath and I was dragged about 40 feet until the neighbors got the driver to stop.

I was lying on a speedbump in the middle of our driveway/parking lot…

…at this point you’re thinking, “You deserved to get run over if you’re stupid enough to be lying on a speedbump in the middle of the road.” But I must remind you, I was 4 years old (not 14 or 24 or 34, etc.) – would you fault a 4 year old? Well, let me continue and you might see how my 4 year old reasoning makes perfect sense…

The day was a little chilly and the pavement was warmer than the air. Well, the speedbump was warmer than the pavement, kinda like a little space heater or electric heating pad. So I’m lying there with a black & white dog (medium sized, I think it had one blue eye and one brown eye) petting and talking to it about whatever 4 year olds talk about to dogs. Then I look to my right and see the taxi coming up the road but think that it will go around the bend and on its way. He didn’t turn and instead pulls into our driveway. The dog sees that the taxi is coming. He gets up and walks over to the grassy area. I, on the other hand, think to myself, “He wouldn’t run over a cute little girl,” and I stayed there.

The driver ran over a cute little girl.

The neighbors alerted my mom (who was taking a shower; she claims she wasn’t but this is my memory) who took me to the doctor for surgery on my left shoulder. Luckily that was the only damage, other than scrapes and bruises and a really trashed shirt. They say I have no lasting effects from the accident but people who like to make fun of me say they beg to differ.

I’ve told you mine, now you tell me yours.

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I LOVE DR. CALLIE TORRES

If someone made this saying on a t-shirt I definitely would wear it (as long as it’s a v-neck). Did you SEE her last night?

“He makes my world stop.”

“You just shut up about him!”

I rewound that a couple times during the next commercial break (to the annoyance of my hubby) and kept repeating, “You just shut up about him!” Then I grunted. That kind of grunt that a man does about tools. Although I grunt for tools too. I’m that kind of gal.

Since the start of the show (when it was stupid and I kept praying they’d get better writers because I could see the potential in the cast; I don’t know what happened but it was like night & day when they fixed it), I’ve loved George but now I almost, dare I say, LUST for George. He is darling and sweet and kind and strong and all that Callie said last night. I teared up (I would’ve outright bawled but my hubby was there and he makes fun of me for crying at TV shows) when George intercepted Meredith’s dad. I wasn’t expecting him to say what he did but am glad because it’s about time he gets out of his funk. That doesn’t mean I agree with what Meredith did to George, but there is a time to get-over-it.

Alex rubs us all backwards but I admire his honesty when he’s not just being an A. There’s a lot of Alex in me – with my honesty and bluntness (those of you who know me personally can attest, and I’m sure you will). I liked how he stood up to Dr. Burke because he was right. Nobody can tell you HOW/WHAT to say. There is something to be said about appropriate bedside manner but in this case I was impressed.

Dr. Yang cracks me up with her competitiveness. Again, a lot like me because I like winning. Competition gets my juices flowing and I almost get in another world. It all started at Circus Circus in Las Vegas back when I was young. My folks could plop me down on that twisty stool and I could sit there all day shooting the water into the clowns mouth to win the prize. In band I was a top seller. Brownies, the same. When my dad took me shooting for the first time my first bullet hit the target and I knocked over the turkey (metal, don’t worry PETA).

The show does a great job of putting us RIGHT THERE.

I could almost smell Izzy when Denny inhaled the sweater.

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I LOVE going out to eat.

This love developed shortly after I heard one too many, “I don’t like this. I don’t want to eat it. Waaaah!” Besides, cooking takes preparation, time and talent and I’d rather blog, or sew, or sit on my butt watching TiVo’d Oprah. We don’t think about cooking until everyone is starving and by then it’s too late to get started. I know I’ve trained my family to be this way – shame on me.

When I go out to eat I pretty much get the exact same thing everytime at each restaurant. Each place has one or more items on the menu I love and trying something else (like my hubby does EVERY time) just ends in disappointment and wishing I had just gotten what I always get.

Here’s my list of restaurants and what I get there, in no particular order… (drum roll please)

1. Carrabba’s: filet Marsala, Mezzaluna Carrabba (combination of 2 dishes) or the Salmon
On a number of times (at least 3) the salmon has come to me not completely cooked, so watch out for that. Anything with the word “Bryan” in it is delicious. The taglainini (sp?) is foul – not in the chicken sense but in the gross sense. Proceed with caution. Most entree’s come with soup (all are yummy but the spicy chicken is especially) or a salad; the Caesar is the best and I get mine without croutons – if I’m going to eat all that bread in olive oil then I need no croutons. Oh, another thing about the olive oil, you have to ask for the balsamic vinegar; add it.

2. Wendy’s: grilled chicken sandwich with fries and a coke
I figure that ordering the GRILLED chicken instead of the breaded/fried gives me permission to have some fries and coke. Sometimes I’ll throw away the end of the bread if I run out of chicken in the bites. This is not how I grew up but I’m trying to convert – I don’t have to eat everything on my plate MOTHER!

3. Los Hermanos: Halibut Veracruz
Now, the clencher with LH is that I never go if I have to wait longer than 10 minutes. There is no burrito on this planet worth a 2 hour wait. Swing through Taco Hell – it’s faster anyway. Their purple smoothie drink is worth the $ but not worth buying a t-shirt and wearing it there so you can get it for free. Seriously, I don’t want to look like an idiot to save $3.25. No offence to those who do want to look like idiots… you’re saving lots of money and that is to be commended!

4. Thai Village in AF: Pad Thai and/or the coconut soup (can’t remember the official name)
This place gets a bad rap because they serve their soda in a can. But, I am happy to know that no bugs have fallen into the fountain container and I’m drinking the real deal. There is one server there that needs an attitude adjustment (WE are the customer, don’t be a jerk) but most of them are gracious. Pad thai is what I get at any Thai restaurant.

5. Cafe’ Rio: grilled steak salad only if I’m going there with someone who loves it will I wait in line for 30-45 minutes for some friggin’ lettuce and chewy sliced steak.
I don’t get the big deal about that place. It’s just too long to wait for a burrito (see the LH notes). Granted, I do think their tomatillo ranch dressing is to DIE for but my gourmet friend Miss Teenie can make it pretty close to the real deal. The place we prefer is…

6. Bajio: chicken chimichanga with black beans and sweet rice topped with mango salsa
B usually gets the pineapple shrimp salad but I think the shrimp are dumb. They’re just little guys, not worth stabbing around the lettuce for (ending in a preposition?). But the guys behind the counter are the SAME ones everytime (seems like they’re at the other ones we go to also, but I’m sure they’re not). The kids chaw on a cheese quesadilla (“Make yourself a dang quesa-dill-a, Napoleon!”) and the sweet rice while gulping down Apple Beer (who’s idea was Apple Beer anyway?)

7. California Pizza Kitchen: hummus with pita bread if with a friend and Margherita Pizza
I can eat a whole pizza by myself. The crust is thin and tasty and the ingredients are fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. The hummus is to die for. They have a spicy grilled chicken soup that, I swear, is the same that you can get in the refridgerator section of Costco. I have one in my freezer at this very moment.

8. Carl’s Jr.: I love, love, love the low-carb $6 burger that comes wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun
Sometimes they use a piece of lettuce that is too monsterous to get into your mouth but the patty is so tasty and the fresh ingredients are refreshing. Sometimes I top it off with an Oreo Shake — I don’t eat the burger for any type of diet, I just like the taste.

9. Arby’s: jalepeno poppers with the berry dipping sauce
I’ll swing through and just snack on those sometimes. Not ALL the time or often but they’re fun and I won’t go through the trouble of making them at home.

10. Tepanyaki: chicken with veggies
This is a fun place to go if you have a group and are alright with smelling like grill smoke. You must be ready for them to hurl a busted piece of shrimp or chicken (if you’re allergic to fish) into your mouth but even my kids have successfully accomplished this feat (one is 6 and the other almost 3). I hear they’re opening one in Lehi right off the freeway. The Provo one is out-of-date and kinda trashy. My P loves the broth they bring out at the beginning; shocking.

These are all places in the Utah Valley area. Restaurants up in SLC have much better cuisine than we do down here and I do try what sounds good on the menu (Red Rock Brewery, Lugano’s, Pine, The Boulevard, Cucina’s). With the exception of Carrabba’s, we’ve found the food choices in the valley to be sub-par.

What makes your tastebuds tap?

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My husband, he’s darling. We just celebrated 8 yrs of marital bliss (maybe not ALL 8 yrs) yesterday with dinner at Carrabba’s in Orem. He really is terrific… except.

Except when it comes to household maintenance. The boy has taught himself how to play guitar (bass, dobro (sp?), mandoline, accordian, drums; pretty much any musical instrument), has invented his own programming language after mastering all the others, started 3 businesses with another by the end of this year and has another side businesses he’s working on. But I can’t get the guy to pick up a hammer. If only Lydia lived by us with her handy hubby.

Last year we had a terrible mouse problem (we’re in a new construction area). Yes, they’re cute and you feel bad killing them UNTIL you open your kitchen drawer to find TWO, yes 2, of those cute varmints staring up at you as if to say, “Hey, who turned on the lights? We’re peeing and pooping in here. Close the damn drawer!” I know that’s what they were thinking. In the beginning I ignored it, trying to wish the problem away. If I pretend they’re not here, they’ll leave (just so you know, mice don’t think that way). Until I witnessed one scamper across the floor late at night while I was watching TV and hubby was out of town. THAT was it. I was going to catch that guy no matter what. So I chased it around the room until he ran into the toy room under the stairs. He’d skitter here and there. I’d squeal and squelch then he ran under a big plastic bin and I smooshed it down so he couldn’t keep running. I held it there for a while trying to figure out what to do next. In the meantime I’m smooshing the cute thing more and more into the carpet and realize he stopped squirming. I guess I suffocated it because he really wasn’t moving when I let up and it’s cute little tongue was sticking out and wouldn’t go back in. Then panic set in because I didn’t know what to do (and I felt bad actually killing a living creature, as germ-ridden and disgusting as it is). So I called my poor neighbor who tried talking me through how to discard it and I told him, “NO, I am not doing that. You’re coming over right now and getting rid of it for me!” Bless his heart he did without a complaint (thank goodness for great neighbors).

So, back to my hubby’s maintenance allergies. I went through the house & garage sealing the cracks and crevases with The Great Stuff foam sealer and haven’t had a trace of rodents in months. Until this morning. They chewed my garage door jam and the broken (it’s been flopping in our way for months) weather seal along the bottom of the door to get in/out last night. So the kids and I jumped in the car this morning to Home Depot for some rodent retaliation and the ripped off door seal that I have to replace because my hubby won’t. I feel like Laura Engel’s, running a farm. Bought more The Great Stuff too for the dryer hose that goes outside and to seal up the underside of the kitchen cabinets; just in case they find their way to those places. I shall prevail!

Aren’t men supposed to do this stuff?

BTW: my dog just started her 1st heat (period, for those who aren’t canine savvy) today and I forgot that I was supposed to get her fixed about 4 months ago (she’s 10 mos). Um, sick.

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