My New Calling

I was released from my church calling today. And then called right back into it! I've been serving as the Second Counselor in our ward Primary since last November. Recently our President was called to serve in the Stake Primary Presidency. I've been on pins and needles waiting to find out what the Lord had in store for our Primary children.

And this morning I found out that I will be serving with BFF Jen!! She is our new President!!!! I'm so thrilled to be able to serve with someone so close to me. This is my first opportunity and I couldn't be happier. Our ward has many many outstanding women who could serve as Primary President and it doesn't surprise me a bit that the Lord called Jen. She has so much to offer. It's a privilege to serve under her. And I'm thrilled that He saw fit to let me stay!

I love all the primary children and am blessed and lucky to serve them. They are so sweet and I'm humbled to know that the Lord is trusting me with their little hearts and minds.

All three of my children are in Primary. Our new First Counselor is someone I don't know well, so I'm looking forward to getting to know her better. Our Secretary is my friend Heidi, and our Music Leader is my good friend Allison.

I can't wait for our first meeting and to begin this new endeavor!

xoxo

"Paper or Plastic?"

For the first half of my childhood the grocery clerk didn't ask this question. We had no choice. It was just paper. They would fill the paper bags with groceries and we would empty them at home. Then we folded them up along their creases, and tucked them away on the side of the refrigerator. Later we'd pull out a bag and use it as an extra trash bin, stuff it with must haves to carry to a friends', or cut one up, wrap it around a text book, and decorate it.

The 70's child was taught to conserve trees. And to try not to use so much paper. We loved our Mother Earth. Finding more uses for the grocery bag made us feel better. Like we were making a difference.

Then something HUGE happened! Along came plastic. Wonderful plastic! There were even commercials touting the virtues of plastic. This product would save us from our environment wrecking, tree killer selves. Here's a Pepsi commercial from 1978:

See?? Wasn't that great?! Can't you just feel the excitement and joy?!

A few years later Coca-Cola came out with plastic 1/2 liter bottles. The nation was thrilled! We could now drop our sodas and they wouldn't break. Over the years we went wild for plastic. One day it even showed up in the form of a grocery bag. When I heard, "paper or plastic?" at check out, boy did I feel like an A+ citizen when I boldly replied, "plastic." I was doing my part. You're welcome world.

Well that was the eighties. We did our best. The fast food industry even abolished their Styrofoam food containers. We tried.

Now it's the future, and the right answer to "paper or plastic?" is "neither, thank you. I brought my own multi-use bag constructed of recycled stuff." Unfortunately, I never have my act together enough to bring said bags with me to the grocery store. May constantly gets after me about it and wants me to leave them in the Nav. But it's hard enough to keep it picked up without leaving permanent clutter in there.

I don't know, give me time. At least I own a few. That's the first step. I must admit, I didn't actually buy them myself. I won them at a neighborhood party. They were a prize from my dear friend, Angela. She clearly loves Mother Earth way more than me. After all, I brought jewelry as my prize giveaway. Amy Chinn, Rotten Polluter!

What about you? How do you answer the question, "paper or plastic?"

PS: Here's a picture of sweet Angela and me at her baby shower last night...

Thursday Three

The Friend Edition

#1) Meet Marina. We have been besties since we were 21 and have gone through many-a-life changing events together. She's seen me do all those dumb things that I'd like to pretend didn't happen. She knew me "when" and still likes me! Love you, Leena!

#2) This is BFF Sharlene! She inspires the lazy part of me to Get Movin'! She was my first friend when I moved to Texas and my life vest when I needed her in Spokane. She steps in and does for me what I can't do for myself. Love you, Shar!
#3) Let me introduce you to Melanie. Every Thursday night, for the last 9 years, we've got together to watch Survivor. Yes, that show is still on and yes people still watch it. Melanie holds my hand through life and would step into the dark to save me. Luv you, Lanie!

A Day in the Life of ME

Randomly chosen day: Tuesday, March 30, 2010

We had our normal morning routine until 7:30 when I sent Baden off to school on his bike. This is a first for him. He rode around the corner picked up a friend, and they biked to school together. He loved it! Me, not so much. I'm a bundle of nerves. It'd be great if the school would send up a smoke signal when he gets there. Is that asking too much??

7:50 - May caught the bus. Mr. Chinn dropped Kitty off at school and headed to work.

9:00 - At Jens to Visit Teach. Unfortunately, I brought the April Ensign. Ugh. I stayed for an hour, which is perfectly acceptable because she's a bestie and it was just the two of us anyway. Then the RS Presidency showed up for their monthly meeting, and I stayed a few minutes to chat with them.

[Forgot to take picture with Jen & Co. Grrr.]

10:30 - Went grocery shopping and happened to run into a couple friends. I snapped this picture of Jennifer who looks good with no make up, work out clothes, and a pony tail. (She was Miss Utah; she can't help it)

12:00 - Lunch Time. Thai chicken with noodles and bell peppers.
12:30 - Unpacked my shipment from mini Boden. Super cute clothes, it was a thrill!! Tried to track down Baden's pinewood derby car, and finally got the badges onto his blasted scout shirt.
2:00 - Picked up Kat from school.

3:00 - Walked down our street, around the corner, and down that street till I ran into Baden on his bike. Ahhhh, big sigh of relief. Saw my friend, Kristy, who was doing the same thing because she knew I was terrified. We chatted and our boys decided to play over at our house.
4:00 - May May brought a friend home as well.
So poor Kitty was the only one to actually do chores. She had to put all the TP away in the bathrooms.5:00 - Off to scouts. Baden is here showing off his fine badges.
5:30 - Kitty asked if she could have a snack. I found her aproned and making her own sandwich (double fiber bread, mustard, ranch dressing, turkey, cheese).

6:00 - Back at scouts...

6:30 - Dinner. No pictures cuz it's leftovers (!).

7:30 - Finally some homework...
8:00 - Nite Nite, Kitty.

9:00 - Baden's Bedtime story. Chapter 18.

9:45 - May's reading. I'm blogging. Mr. Chinn is still working...

Thursday Three

#1) A few weeks ago Mr. Chinn and May May were invited by wonderful friends to accompany them front and center at the Mavs game. Mrs. Wonderful Friend and I were soo very envious!

#2) Baden had his school open house this week. He was suppose to show us how he could work out this math tile problem. But Mr. Chinn and I totally took over and worked it out ourselves absolutely ignoring the man cub. As soon as we finished I realized what we had done and I stood there in the middle of his second grade classroom laughing out loud at Baden's parents!
#3) Here's what BFF Melanie is up to when Heidi the Trainer isn't looking....

Reunited...

And it feels so gooood.



Meet Jonathyn - the best hair stylist in the world and honorary BFF. He is such a fabulous guy and I'm so lucky and excited to have him back in my life again! Two years ago Jonathyn moved to a land far far away. The day I found out he was moving I cried. I was so sad to not be able to hang out with him anymore. It was miserable; like a break up (no laughing, this is serious drama!). Well, he's in town again and we're back together like two long lost loves. I'm so happy!!! I saw him today and I think we made Loren (my colorist) gag cuz we were so sticky sweet. I can't help it - he's fabulous, fun, and an absolute gem.

The Chinn & Chang Effect

Last week we had the wonderful opportunity to spend 4 days with one of the coolest families we know! Bill and Ujin have been friends since they were kids. I met Ujin when he was engaged to Suji and then again at their wedding. The four of us used to hang out when we all lived in Chicago and then again when we lived in the Bay Area at the same time. We had not spent so much time together in years, so it was fantastic to reconnect again. They are both incredibly intelligent and well rounded, yet so down to earth and accepting. I just love that.



These are their darling boys! They are the cutest, sweetest, little guys you've ever seen. I wanted to pick them up and hold them the whole time they were here, but held back most of the time so as to not scare them away. May May on the other hand had a total "in" with the boys. She LOVED them! They responded well to her doting on them and she had the time of her life. Baden enjoyed them, too. Often May would play with one of the twins and Baden would play with the other. That way they felt they were being fair with each other and not hogging all the twins attention. It was really cute.







Meal time was always fun. How cute are they??



Bill was very proud of himself for getting Little Chang (names muted to protect the innocent!) to sleep. One night he and Ujin raced to see who could get their Little Chang to sleep first. Ujin won, but Bill made a great showing!



We took some really cute pictures of all the kids together on this couch, but the red eye was ridiculous and when I tried to take it out some of the kids looked a little alien like. Baden's the only real alien eyed one in this picture, so I decided to go ahead and post it. Notice how May and Baden each have one of the twins?




It was terrific getting our families together. The Chinn kids think of the twins as little cousins and I couldn't be more pleased. And Ujin and Suji were great role models as parents and we hope to borrow a few of their parenting attributes. Thanks for coming guys, we love you!

Independence Day

The first picture here was very hard to get. Nobody wanted to smile and they all thought I was torturing them. As soon as I said I wanted to take a picture they claimed that the sun was hurting their eyes. So I sat them on the swing set and for a second they thought it was funny, so I got a trace of happiness from them. It was America's Birthday, of course Mommy was going to want pictures!! How long have they known me anyway??



After the torture was over we went to a party at our friend Rebecca's house. It was so much fun! There was tons and tons of ridiculously yummy food, waving American flags, and super fun music. She was definitely the Hostess with the Mostess! Hands down. Here's Party of the Year Winner, Rebecca Anderson, throwing a peace sign...



I should have got a picture of the food, but it's good I didn't because if you saw it you would have felt like you were on Survivor and the other half of the tribe won a food reward and wouldn't stop talking about it. You'd hate me. But I did snap this picture of Kitty eating a piece of lettuce. Her choice seemed odd until I spyed her dangling a red onion spiral over her mouth (like it was spaghetti) and chomping down like munch, munch, munch. Oh, and she loved the corn - I have a story to tell you about that...Last Monday we had two missionaries from our church over for dinner (and yes we ate outside again where we have added 3 old fans to go with the toilet). Kat says the "p" sound instead of a "c" sound, so corn comes out as ____. At one point in the meal she kept asking the poor 19 year old missionaries if they wanted "corn." She said, "Do you want porn?" Then to the other missionary, "Do you want porn? Daddy likes porn." At which time I took the bowl of corn and suggested dessert. Nobody said anything...maybe they didn't notice??



Baden was playing the timeless Catch the Football from the Diving Board Game (that's an American football to you CJ). All my action shots came out totally blurry, but I thought this one with his tongue sticking out was darling. If you love us then you'll click the picture and see it better (hint: this is a "How much do you love the Chinns" test. Don't worry, I'll never know.)....



More fun...















...and now I'm done.

New Friends & Neat People

Meet Yellow Card Roy. As Bill, Gabby, and I sat in the Amsterdam Airport on our way to Rome, Gabby noticed the man across from us struggling to open his pencil package. He would try to open it for a bit and then take a break and play with his phone or something. Then a few minutes later he'd pick the package up and try again only to set it down unopened. It was like he was attempting to crack a safe and he had to collect himself in-between tries. The process was driving Gab nuts - she just had to try to open it herself. So she practically bolts over to him and grabbed the package out of his hands. Between the two of them they finally got the offending package torn apart. We told him that we had been watching the whole thing and he was a great sport. We ended up chatting for the next few hours. He is Scottish and was very open about what an emotional and physical soccer player he is (thus the nick name we gave him), all of this in stark contrast to his nice guy demeanor. He's currently in a study program where he was going to Vienna. It was all very fascinating. After that he was meeting up with his wife for a vacation across Europe. They sound like a fabulous couple. I'm sure I butchered his story, but we really found him quite interesting and wish him and his wife well.



On the cruise we made fast friends with a couple of our dinner companions, Britta and Clara. The first night we sat with them I don't know how we even ate because we were laughing so much. I haven't laughed so hard since Cousin Jim told us a story about pigs and hot air balloons last summer. It's one of those "you had to be there moments," but trust me we were all rolling!
There's also tremendous depth to both women, so conversations were also enlightening.



Clara has a fascinating outlook on life that I just couldn't do justice to here. I wish I was more capable. One morning we saw her on our way to an excursion and she called to us, "I hope you have an epiphany!" Love her!



This is Jim and Britta. Have you ever felt an instant bond with another person, like you've known each other before? That's what it was like for me and Britta. Right away I knew I liked her and I was completely comfortable with her. There's no topic we can't discuss, no dance floor too hot, and no emotion we wouldn't share. She is fabulous and I'm sure we were meant to meet on this cruise.

My "Spa" Week

Sharlene, Melanie and I flew into Tuscon a day early so we could arrive at the "spa" as early as possible on the day of our booking. We ended up staying by the airport, which isn't the best part of Tuscon. We ate breakfast at the hotel,"deluxe continental" as you can see. But there wasn't a restaurant there for dinner, so we had to take a taxi (Victor the Cherokee was our driver). We told him we were starving, he suggested McDonalds. We asked for a sit down restaurant, he suggested Denny's. Help us! So we paid him $20 to drive us to "the best Steak House in Tuscon" recommended to us by another local as well. Here is where we end up:








Quality steak knives at Tuscons Finest.



Okay, we surrvived. But the next day I sure was happy to be relaxing at the spa and couldn't wait to get there. Melanie had told Sharlene and I how wonderful this place was, "Oprah's favorite" she said. Spa treatments everyday, great food, yoga... Here is where we spent all our time:



When I walked over the hill and saw the challenge area, I was totally scared. Where was the pool with the guy that spritzes water?? I hadn't even seen a massage table yet!



Okay, so I had a rocky start, but I threw myself into the challenges (really I went pretty slow) and I learned a lot about myself, my friends, and life. We did get a bit challenge crazy and signed up for as many challenges as we could sqeeze in during our stay - 5 in all.



Yes, this is me 35 feet in the air.



And yes, these are my bruises.



This is what gave me my bruises - The Giants Ladder.



This is Sharlene braving Quantum Leap. The little red disc she's stepping on moves around like a lazy susan. Yikes!



And this is Melanie walking blindfolded while 35 feet in the air!



This is Fain, our instructor - or as Melanie likes to call him, "Wise Mysterious Desert Man." He could be helpful during challenges (and he did save our lives by keeping us safe), but he loved to answer questions like, "Where do I put my feet?" with "I don't know. I know where I'd put my feet, but I don't know where you should put yours." Wealth of knowledge, Fain, thanks. After each challenge we would sit and discuss our thoughts. He was extremely insightful and I will forever appreciate his wisdom and willingness to share.



Me, having a little fun once the blindfold walk was over.



Our group, the three of us with Fain and Eileen. She will be leading challenges on her own soon and I hope to go on a few with her in the future. She is totally fabulous!



I had an amazing experience and feel very lucky to know such strong, brave, and courageous women like Melanie and Sharlene. I am grateful to be able to call them my friends; BFF's as we like to say. Thanks ladies!



Next time can we go somewhere that sells candy?? The health food kind of got to me...