Don't Cover Up The Bean Plate;

I want to watch it burn.

This phrase traipsed past my vocal cords this weekend, merrily sashayed over my tongue, across my lips and out into the world, from whence it could ne'er be unsaid. It was followed by one of those comic silent beats and subsequent explosions of laughter and derision (good-natured, of course--at least I don't think my mom was openly mocking me...). If you want the story, you will have to call me.

So it's been one helluva week. I am going to thieve Bea's Wednesday Words idea (avlsYffkwOi)and cleverly disguise it as my own: Monday Words. I'm so original.

1.Thanks: I want to thank you all for your kind calls, thoughts, and prayers. My grandma was one awesome lady (read Proverbs 31:10-31 and you will pretty much know her) and losing her was hard, but having such a great network of supportive friends and family helps more than you know.

2.Bree: a shout-out to my new bloggerfriend, who is braver than I. I've been reading your blog through Pat's for awhile now, too, and never had the guts to comment - you're one funny lawyer-to-be. Thanks for your kind words and for introducing me to O_o. :)

3.Hoopty: if ever I doubted that my car is a piece o' shite, my travels last Sunday and Monday put the kibosh on that question. My trip to Kansas for my grandma's funeral involved me flying crazy-early into Denver Sunday morning, getting picked up at the airport by my cousin from Ft. Collins, riding 6 1/2 hours with him to KS, going to the funeral Monday morning, and then doing it all again in reverse. The highlights of this ridiculously fast-paced travel schedule include getting to know my cousin Justin (he's six years older than I am, so we didn't really hang out growing up), careening down the backroads of hilly rural Kansas while drinking Red Bull (yecch) and perfecting our farmer waves, and getting to drive Justin's Audi. Holy Leather Seats is that a nice car.

4.The Fam: after the whirlwind trip to KS and back, I found out I could have taken five days off of work. I was feeling pretty depressed and very alone and just...weird...so I decided to take Thursday and Friday off to go back to Nebraska and spend some actual time with my family.

5.Baritone: I went to my sister's college choir concert on Thursday night. They sang Carmina Burana (you'd know it if you heard it) and had this amazing baritone soloist. Holy crap, he was good. The tenor, however, sounded (in the words of my PhD/college professor dad) "like his underwear was four sizes too small." It was a little forced and...um...painful.

6.Waubonsie: my sister, mom and dad and I camped at Waubonsie state park (just over the border in Iowa) on Friday and Saturday nights. Beautiful fall trees (something I don't get to see here in PHX) and perfect fall weather. We hiked and ate and talked and played board games and made trips into Nebraska City (20 miles away), where my Dad's students were presenting in a competition.

7.Apples: we went to the Apple Orchards in Nebraska City. My family used to do that when my brother and sister and I were little and we all lived in Peru. (...that's Peru, NE, by the way. It's always fun telling people I grew up in Peru.) Cider and Pie and Caramel Apples: oh my!

8.Brother: he thinks I'm funny! Ben's not much of a talker - a man of few words. So, even though we get along great, we don't talk a lot. Anyway, I was showing him my razr phone last weekend and played him the ringtone I have set for my sister (the theme from Sanford and Son as sung by Turk and JD on Scrubs) and he cracked up. No big deal. Well, I hung out with him and my sister-in-law in Omaha on Sunday and he was showing me his new cell phone. And he looks at me with his one-dimpled smirky-smile and goes "wanna hear my ringtone?" You guessed it. Sanford and Son from Scrubs. Aww. :)

9.Loquacious: I need to shut up now.