Dropping Hints...

Are you guys familiar with the "they have something on their face/teeth/nose but I don't want to be rude and point it out to them so I'll just brush my face/teeth/nose and hope they get the hint" routine? Well, I'm not sure what to call that, so for the purpose of this post I'm just going to refer to it as "dropping hints"

What is the point of dropping hints? I mean, I understand that we, as a society, want to be polite and not make anyone look foolish for having a piece of their lunch stuck to their face, but how many times does it actually work compared to how many times it doesn't? And how many times does someone assume a hint is being dropped when, in reality, it's not?

Let me give you a couple examples:

Example one:

Last week I had gone to dinner with a few friends of mine and after we finished eating we sat around the table talking for awhile. One of my friends kept picking at her teeth. I could tell there wasn't anything in there and couldn't figure out what she was doing. When I got home that night I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and noticed MY teeth full of spices from the dinner we ate. So apparently my friend was dropping hints at me and I wasn't picking up on them. Couldn't she just say, "Yo! You have crap in your teeth!"? Seems easy enough to me.

Example two:

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend of mine. We were sitting there talking and my nose was itchy, so I reached up and rubbed it. A few seconds later I noticed my friend do the exact same thing; therefore, a few seconds later I rubbed my nose again, and a few seconds after that she rubbed hers. This routine went on for about 5 minutes before I finally looked at her and said,

"I'm sorry. Do I have something on my nose?"

She replied, "No. Do I?"

So here I was just trying to scratch my itchy nose and there she was thinking I was dropping hints that she had something on hers. Because she rubbed hers I therefore thought I had something on mine and the cycle just kept repeating itself.

Does this sound familiar? This happens to me all the time and it drives me crazy. Can't we just tell people there is something on their face or in their teeth? I say yes! So from now on, if I pick at my teeth, rub my nose or brush at any other part of my face, please assume I am doing just that and not trying to drop a hint that you have a giant booger dangling from your nose, or a piece of lunch either stuck to your teeth or your face. Trust me, if that were truly the case, I would tell you.

I'd also appreciate the same courtesy because apparently, I don't respond well to hints.

My Quilt...

I finally finished all the blocks on the second quilt I'm doing. Obviously I still have a ways to go, but what do you think so far? I was worried about the colors all working together...but I kind of like it!

Spring in Utah...

I wanted to paint you a picture of what spring in Utah is really like, but who am I kidding? I can't paint. Therefore, snapshots will have to do.

Friday, March 26, 2010:
You can't tell from the picture, but the snowflakes were the size of golf balls. I kid you not.


Saturday, March 27, 2010:
I realize that nobody really wants to look at a picture of my street but I mainly wanted to show the blue sky and snow covered mountains! It was an absolutely beautiful day!


I can't guarantee it will stay this gorgeous though, because as you can see the weather is a bit unpredictable.

One More Thing, Continued...

I can't believe this came from CNN, the most "pro-Obama" news source in the nation.

One More Thing...

This is a video of a speech from 40 years ago by Ezra Taft Benson, warning members of the LDS faith (and Americans in general) about where this country is headed. Seems quite relevant today.



I'm beginning to realize that it doesn't matter how I feel about this, so I'll refrain from voicing my opinion and just let you listen to what he says.

Health Care Reform...

I have given it a couple days to try and calm my frustrations on this matter of health care reform* and you want to know what? I am still angry. I am not a political junkie. For the most part, I have never paid much attention to politics or the way this country is run. I guess I should feel extremely blessed that most of the decisions that have been made up until now have never really affected me personally. But after this health care reform bill was passed it finally hit me that those days are over and it's high time I start to pay attention.

Am I the only one who is scared about the future of this country? I don't know, maybe I'm wrong to worry about my future. If I were to lose my job in a couple years time and therefore lose the health insurance that goes with it, I couldn't say if I'd be able to afford a private insurance plan. And yet I'd be penalized for that. I would get fined an undisclosed amount of money, which I probably wouldn't be able to afford either, all because the federal government says it's a "requirement" and no longer a "choice" to have insurance. Maybe I'm wrong to worry about any of that.

But I do have a question that I am hoping some of you can answer for me. When did this nation's values and principles change from "you have the freedom to choose" to "you are required forced to do what we say and if you don't do what we say, we'll fine you"?

I feel like I live in China...or some other communist country. What on earth just happened to my FREEDOM?

This is what makes me angry. America is supposed to be run by the people and our leaders refuse to listen to us. This country will not survive if our basic human rights continue to be taken away. I don't think I can continue to sit here and watch that happen. I don't think I can continue to be a simple bystander and watch the country I love fall to her death by the hands of our own leaders.

Well, now that I have that off my chest, I think I might go email the President and tell him how I feel. The secret service may throw me in prison so be sure to come visit me often...and don't forget to stash a paperclip and piece of gum in the bundt cake.

What? It worked for MacGyver!

*I should make it clear that I don't necessarily disagree with having some type of health care reform (at the state level, not federal). I do disagree with the way the federal government is pushing it on us and forcing us to have it.

Out of Patience...

As for the health care reform bill that passed last night, I'm not going to say much. It's not that I don't have much to say, it's just that I've already used up all my kindness with dumb people today (aka: the man who called me a coward). If I speak out on this health care matter right now, I'm afraid bad words might come out of my mouth. Therefore, I will leave you with this:

I am not happy.

The Response...

Editor's Note: The author of this post had no intention of responding to the man who called her a coward, but after careful consideration she decided to share a few thoughts with him. The following letter is her response.

~~~~~~~~
Dellboy,

I kept telling myself I wasn't going to dignify your message with a response, but I feel you need to hear this and, hopefully, learn something from it.

I have no idea why you would call me a coward. Unless you miraculously figured out that I don't dare jump out of an airplane, I can see no other reason why you would call me such; especially without knowing anything about me. Does sitting behind your computer spewing this stuff off help you feel better about yourself in some way? I personally feel that people, such as you, only resort to this type of activity when they lack the basic language skills to communicate effectively.

Perhaps you were upset because I didn't post the comment you made on my video. Well, the reason for that is because your comment was insulting; not only to me, but to the members of the United States Military. It is one thing to have an opinion, but it’s a completely different thing to insult people because their opinion isn’t in line with your own.

If, in the future, you are able to refrain from the insults and can communicate in a more dignified and respectful manner, perhaps I will then consider posting the comments you wish to make. Until then, they will continue to be deleted.

Sincerely,

Camille

I am a Coward...

Remember that little video I put out on youtube a couple years ago? Well, I checked my email tonight and noticed a comment about this video in my inbox. I opened it and the person basically went on a rant about how the men and women in the military are not heroes. He then went on to say something about how the military doesn't keep us free, but instead their function is to simply keep the rich, rich. Then he told me I was brainwashed and my video was a load of crap. Hmm...how insulting.

Even though I do read every comment that comes in about my video, I don't always post them all. I generally don't like to censor comments and I will usually approve them even if they disagree with my own opinion of our military. But I do choose to draw the line when people use name calling and other insults and intimidation tactics to make their point. When that happens, their comments get deleted.

That's what happened this time. I deleted his comment. Two minutes later I received this message in my inbox from the same person:

"Your a coward and you know why"

Ignoring the fact that he can't spell, I thought long and hard about this and tried to figure out why he would say such a thing. Twenty seconds later I had it figured out.

I don't dare jump out of a plane.

Yep, he was right. I really am a coward.

Go Aggies!!!

And by that I mean these Aggies:

Not these Aggies:



It's March Madness and for those of you who don't know what that is, it's the NCAA (College) Basketball championships! Two Utah schools made it in to the championships this year: BYU (they won yesterday in double overtime) and Utah State - my own alma mater!

Game time for the Utah State vs. Texas A&M game is today at 2:45pm (MT) so put on your aggie blue and fighting white and cheer on the UTAH STATE AGGIES!

Saying Goodbye...For Now

Today was my uncle's funeral. The service was very nice I thought. Though there were a few tears here and there, there was also plenty of laughs and smiles. It was good that we could all come together to celebrate his life. He was a great man who, in one way or another, touched each of our lives and he will be dearly missed. Here are just a few pictures from the graveside service.

The Pallbearers: my brother and five of my cousins.


Waiting for the service to start:




My grandma and her kids...


Everyone in my immediate family who was able to attend... (can you believe about 15 are missing? My family is huge.)


It was the perfect spring day and we couldn't have asked for anything better (well, except for maybe some green grass). All in all, it was a good day.

Goodbye Uncle Richard, until we meet again...

I've Been Trained Well...

For instance, I know that when a terrorist who is holding a woman hostage gets in a taxi and goes into a tunnel with no camera feed, they are most likely switching cars and not just sitting in the parked cab waiting to be killed by Jack Bauer.

It's such a shame that I wasn't available to advise Jack on this situation. Now he's lost the terrorist, CTU has been hit with an EMP and New York City is about to be nuked.

Hopefully he can get it together soon because I'm tired of figuring things out before he does.

The Love of a Mother...

I woke up Sunday morning to a voice mail from my mom, letting me know that my uncle, her brother, had passed away Saturday night. Though sad to hear, I knew he hadn't been doing well for several years so in a way, I felt a sense of peace in knowing that he had finally passed on and was no longer suffering the ills of this mortal life.

As I went to church I found myself unable to focus on the lessons and talks of the day. Instead my mind was turned toward my uncle and then toward my grandma. My uncle was a very good man but he wasn't a perfect man. He, like most of us, had his share of struggles. But my grandma never gave up on him. She never stopped loving him, never stopped praying for him. Several years ago things got to the point where he was struggling to care for himself. He moved back in with my grandma and she started caring for him again. Eventually it became too much for her and she, along with her other kids, thought it best to put him in a nursing home. She visited him nearly every day and her other children each took one or two days a week to drive her there. For years she did this; always continuing to show her love for her son and never wanting him to be alone.

The minute church was over I jumped in my car and drove straight to my grandma's who, by the way, turns 90 this year. When I walked in the door she immediately threw her arms around me and we just stood there hugging each other for about a minute. I asked her how she was and she ushered me to a chair where, for the next 40 minutes, we sat and talked. We laughed together and we cried together. She mentioned more than once how she felt like she had "been put through the ringer". She said she thought her other kids were doing okay but "it's different when you're the mother" as she put it. She and her other children were with my uncle when he died which brought peace to her heart, and mine, knowing that he hadn't died alone. My uncle didn't have a wife or family of his own and Grandma was always worried about him being alone, having nobody to look after him. It brought tears to her eyes, and mine, as she expressed her gratitude in knowing that Grandpa is with him now and that he'd have someone there on the other side. She also told me how happy she was to find a cemetery plot next to some other loved ones so he wouldn't be buried all alone either. I sat there in awe of this woman. Even in her son's death she worried about him being all alone. That is the true love of a mother.

It was a remarkable 40 minutes with my grandma, to sit with her in her time of sorrow and still be able to learn from her example. She raised a family where, despite everything else, love always prevailed. That's the kind of mother I hope to be.

my grandma holding her 35th great-grandchild on her blessing day.

A Day of Rest...

A friend of mine posted an article on his Facebook the other day titled, The Lost Practice of Resting One Day Each Week and said he was going to implement it in his own life starting this weekend.

I read it and found it pretty interesting. It is important that we take a day of rest for many reasons. It actually reminded me of something I read in the Bible once. You know, the part where God says we should labor for six days and rest for one?

It seems He really did know what He was talking about.

I Sound Like What??

It's that time of year when mother nature can't seem to make up her mind on whether it should be winter or spring. The constant back and forth - winter coat one day, shorts and flip-flops the next - always causes my body to go into a tailspin and for the past five days, I have been sick. Not too bad. Mostly I've just had a really bad sore throat with some slight congestion. The sore throat, however, has caused me to lose my voice and now I sound all raspy and gross...like some psycho serial killer or something. At least that's what I thought.

I didn't go into work yesterday when my voice was really bad. Today I thought I was sounding a lot better but when I said something to my co-worker he paused and then said,

"Um, don't be offended by this but you sound like you could answer those 1-900 sex calls."

Oh, so apparently I don't sound like a psycho serial killer. I sound like a telephone prostitute.

That's. Just. Great.

No Apology...

Oh, you better believe I bought it.

Now I just have to wait 4-7 days until I can read it.

New Baby Ad...

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