Quirks

This post will be full of many random things. Every day is different, and I'm always finding a way to keep busy. Busy with work, hobbies, friends, and what may seem like nonsense sometimes. Quirks, I call them. Quirks and all.

Quirk #1 - Coloring

I am 23-years old, and I still love to color in a coloring book. Mary and I color some for some hand-made cards together, and one day it made me ask her if there were any coloring books lying around here. I figured there must be at least one since the 6-year old granddaughter comes over every now and then. We had a bucket of crayons, but no coloring book. 

Well, one day I come home and find a sack that I ask about, and Mary says "there's something in there for you." I open it up, and I smile from ear to ear as I see it is a coloring book. "For me?" Yes, yes it was. One of those things I like to do some times to pass the time or help my brain relax before bed.

I told my story about how my grandparents had mailed me a little coloring book they picked up on a vacation while I was living in American Samoa. One year as a college student, I had told them all I wanted for Christmas was a coloring book. :-) Think I may have told this story once on my Samoa blog.

Quirk #2 - Crosswords
One of my latest things is doing the daily crossword in the Omaha World Herald. I often work on it with a cup of coffee on the kitchen table. I will take it with me up to the restaurant if Mary and I go out for breakfast. Some times if I get a little stuck, I'll read it out loud and Mary may come up with the word. We are getting quite good at the crosswords. It's a fun little thing to do in the morning. I learn new words, I remember little trivia I forgot I even knew, and it's fun to watch it fall together. Some times you are debating a few words, and it is clear the answer you need once another word has been answered. Nerd alert. haha It is really cool to think about how a crossword puzzle is put together. I've been at it for a few weeks now, and every day I become quicker. Minus those gigantic Sunday ones full of trivia. haha

Quirk #3 - Doodling

While sitting in teller training class this past week, our instructor gave us some paper and said if we need to doodle to go right ahead. I recall learning how doodling can be good for a person's learning sometimes, it keeps your brain active. Not so much passive learning anymore. Well I started doodling after a while. I found myself laughing and noting how my doodles became more advanced as the days progressed. Check it out for yourself. 

First day, I doodled some basic little patterns. Day two, I started throwing in more sketch-like images. Day three of doodling, I ended up with little sketches and quotes/saying accompanying them. Too much fun. :-)

Quirk #4: Heavy Lifter

Yep, heavy lifter. hahaha I come home one day from work and see that Mary had finally picked up a few pumpkins to set up in the front yard like she had talked about doing. I walk inside the house and say it looks nice. She responds, "Well there's a whole trunk full for you to unload. You may want to move the car more." "Move the car," I ask. "Why? I can handle this. All 20 pumpkins I unloaded from the trunk and helped place in Mary's little display. Looks pretty nice.

She is calling it "Molly's Pumpkin Patch", for her granddaughter. Miss Molly was over Sunday night with her dad for a visit. I had to take a picture with my beautiful little friend in the pumpkin display.

Quirk #5 - Nerding out
I love nerding out in my reading glasses at night. Curling up on my bed or the couch and digging my nose into a book for the night. I took this photo of myself, and I rather enjoyed it. My cute little nerd photo. haha I'm such a goof, some times.

Quirk #6 - Samoan flare
Rocked a "pieces of Samoa" outfit with a little American touch Friday. Slid into my brown dress I bought in Independent Samoa over the holidays, laced up my beautiful necklace from my Samoan friend Lillian, and stuck a sei behind my ear. Topped off the outfit with my casual yet professional white businesswoman blazer.

Wore it to breakfast, where Mary and I took some photos with some of our Egg and I friends.

Quirk #7 - Interior Design
Mary and I got to hanging some new things on the walls one day this week, and I forgot how much fun it can be to decorate a room. Add a few touches, and the room has a new feeling and look.

Quirk #8 - The Escape is in a garage!
The plan has been to make room in the garage for my vehicle in the garage before winter starts knocking on our door. Need the driveway clear of vehicles for the plow to come through, or I'd be scooping out every morning, which would be doable. Well, we had started clearing out the garage one day. I come home, and before I push the button on my opener, I wondered if I was going to drive right in today.

Garage door opens, and low and behold, there it is - an empty space for the Escape. I pulled right on in, and it was an odd feeling for me. I've never had my car parked in a garage before. I know that may sound funny, or odd that I was so amused. Yet, I was. Was an interesting moment my brain took note of, and I found myself smiling. The Escape is sitting in a garage. Extra safe and sound. haha

Quirk #9 - Technology is so cool

I had the opportunity to speak with one of my students from American Samoa who is currently going to college in Hawaii. We had e-mailed about trying to Skype some time, and I finally caught him online. He was so surprised to see that I actually gave him a call, and it was great to chat with him a bit. It's still hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that we can have a video chat like this from oceans away. From the classroom to the football field to field trips in the National Park, Tavini here was one of my hardest working students. His English has jumped up eons just from moving to Hawaii, where is Uncle is not allowing him to speak Samoan. Good practice for him. Was cool for me to get to chat with him, and I think he enjoyed it, too. :-)

Quirk #10 - I love breakfast!
Breakfast is seriously my favorite meal of the day. Funny how I do a little part-time work at a place famous for breakfast. haha Here you can see a waffle topped with Greek yogurt, banana slices, and candied pecans; complimented with a small glass of milk and a cup of coffee. You will also notice some festive place-mats Mary put together. Mmmm breakfast. "Momma always told you to have a good breakfast." (A sign with this saying is hanging in the restaurant.)

Quirk #11 - Call me Betty Crocker
I've been trying out some baking lately. Something I started to play with more with my island sister Hannah while living in American Samoa. My mom and I were never the best bakers. We let Aunt Paula, Grandma Boschen, and Grandma Wingert handle most of that. Well, one day I attempted making an apple pie, with a little assistance from Mary. It actually turned out pretty well! The next week, I attempted an apple pie with a crumb top. A la mode, and it is quite satisfying.

I do enjoy putting on my apron and trying out some baking. Baking in style thanks to this Morningside RHA apron my Omaha mom tweaked a bit. Just for fun, here is my "Just call me Betty Crocker" photo. :-)

Quirk #12 - Science Jokes
From time to time, I will run across a pretty good joke. Some you only understand if you have a certain bit of knowledge. Thanks to my science background, I found this little cartoon quite enjoyable. Sorry if you don't understand, but for those of you who do I am sure you will be smiling and laughing just like me. I found this via one of my fellow volunteer science teachers from this past year.

Quirk #13 - Softball is my favorite sport to play
My glove is always sitting in my closet, and from time to time over the years, I dig it out and play catch with my brother, my dad, or friend Karena. Well, thanks to some friends I am making through the bank, I was asked to come sub on a league team here in Omaha Sunday evening. Decided not to pass the chance up. I haven't played in a game since I was 14-years old, it seems. I forgot how much I love playing. We were demolished in the first inning, but changed a few things around and did a little better the rest of the game. Bottom line, though, we had some fun.

I played a little short stop, and I actually hit the ball. That was crazy. Hitting was never my best game, but it was okay my last year on the summer team as I made up for it on the mound. haha I did tally up an RBI on my hit though. Woo! haha

I also have a nice little bruise on my shin courtesy of playing at short. I was ready for it, but the grounder took one nasty bounce. Did not get behind me though. :-) Right away, I knew I would likely have a bruise in the morning. Glad I went, met some new people, played my favorite sport, and had a good time. Perhaps I will have the chance to fill in again over the next few weeks.

Quirk #14 - Mesmerized by the Sunrise
Nothing like waking up at 5:15, going on a little run by the light of the moon, showering, enjoying a cup of coffee, working on my blog, and witnessing another beautiful sunrise. I am always amazed on how quickly the scene changes. Sunrises are always different, and the colors are just beautiful. As I ran downstairs to grab my camera, the sky changed. Some things change in a blink of an eye. Appreciate some of those moments and the world around you. :-)

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you have a great week. Life is good, and every day is an adventure. (You hear me say that time and time again, I bet.) Toodles :-)