Officially Technological

• “Girls’ camp is not a diet camp.” The food is really, really good and expected to be eaten.
  
• Four inch Stiletto heals do not a great camp shoe choice when it has rained the entire weekend.
  
• Two hours of sleep a night is enough when you’ve spent the other four hours of non-sleep praying that you’ll make it through the next day (the pop and candy helped too).
  
• If you can unwrap a Starburst in your mouth you will be a good kisser (I don’t know if this is true or not because I was not about to try this in front of the 15 year-old girls who told me about it and who spent the rest of the weekend practicing this technique).
  
• When it takes a pair of jeans 32 hours to dry, it is humid.
  
• When your husband tells you (on a 95 degree day) to pack a sweatshirt to head south, listen to him.
  
• Showering at camp is a useless activity.

1. I spelled my maiden name incorrectly on a request for my MSU transcripts. That's weird considering, I've only been married for a year (which should not be long enough to forget 25 years worth of writing my last name on everything). My excuse? I was typing and I claim it to be a typo.
2. I've officially over-booked myself (again). This weekend is girl's camp and so I'm leaving tomorrow and coming home on Sunday night. Between tonight and tomorrow I have promised to make something for a friend for lunch serving (which should be #1 priority since I promised that first), make chicken salad for Brian to eat while I'm gone, get presents/decor for girls camp (which - incidentally I totally didn't even think about doing before), pack, finish the laundry (which I'm embarrassed to say has gotten completely out of control since I haven't really finished the laundry in about 2 weeks, so now we have stacks and stacks and stacks of folded laundry all over the laundry room because I like folding, and hate putting it away), and do the Bible Study for girls camp.
3. I've been really tired lately. I'm feeling a little better today. But very tired and confused and not very "with the program". It's kinda maddening. I blame the weather (Heaven forbid I take responsibility for going to bed late and over-booking myself. lol).
4. We went to the Rib Fest this past weekend. Awesome. Then we left and got ice cream (actually frozen custard).
5. Our first year anniversary is in 12 days. Can't believe it's been a year already. Whoa. And yet sometimes it feels like we've been together our whole lives (in a good way). I would tell you all what I got Brian, but he reads my blog (and actually might be scouring it right now for clues). So, I guess you'll have to find out after he does. I'm really proud of it. hehe. I love surprises (I just stink at keeping surprises surprises).
6. Margo is due next Saturday. I'm pretty pumped about that. I can't wait to hear their name. I have an obsession with names.

I'm feeling quite smug. This evening I did two things for the first time (in my life) and I did it by myself. First of all, I lit a charcoal grill (this is a feat for anyone who has never tried to light a charcoal grill without lighter-fluid). And I stopped the toilet from running. And now Brian is on his way home to eat juicy hamburgers and American Fries in the blissful peace of not having to pay a high water bill. Yep. I'm feeling pretty cool right about now.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about our toaster. It troubles me. First, let me explain that our toaster is the nicest looking toaster on the shelf. It is stainless steel, and is curved at the crown. It also has various different settings (one for a bagel, one for frozens, one for warming, etc). It is a very handsome toaster. Unfortunately, now that it’s ornaments my kitchen (where it recoils behind our microwave – which is also nice-looking and is much less troubling), I mistrust several features.

First of all, with the experience of an 11-month homemaker, I can confidently declare that 2 slots are not enough slots in a toaster. We justified it for two reasons: first, the 4-slot toasters were a little too “magnificent” for our space; and secondly, because we’re only two people and two people can only eat two pieces of toast at one time, right? Wrong. As I found out last night (which was our first BLT night of the summer), 2 people can easily eat 4 pieces of toast at a time. And besides, having a two-slotted toaster leaves one with no latitude when one has company for breakfast (or for BLTs).

Another vexation I have with my toaster is the browning factor. It seems as though if one would like his/her toast to not be toast at all, but soft bread, or if one would like his/her toast to be charcoal, our toaster would be satisfactory. My grandmother, for an example, liked her toast to be quite crisp and I am persuaded within myself that she would have no objections about our toaster. But for those who prefer to have their toast lightly browned on both sides and still soft on the inside, our toaster would be found to be insufficient.

This morning, after having an altercation with the toaster last night and still having feelings of ill-will toward it, I timed it to see how long it took to “toast” my bread. It took four minutes. Four minutes in the morning violates my very calculated schedule.

So, in short, I’m selling a toaster. One very nice-looking toaster that either warms or chars (and indeed does both very well). I will sell my toaster to the highest bidder. I set the low bid at 50 cents.