Make Believe

As I was getting packed an ready to go for a road trip to Moab this weekend, this caught my eye:

 

Lanna came to play yesterday and I remember watching her strategically place each of my mom's little animals on our fireplace mantle as she muttered something about a zombie firefighter. I watched her giggle as she created different voices for each of the characters in her made-up story and I watched her eyes light up when a new idea came to her.

It wasn't until now that I matched the placement of these little toys, to what must be going on in that child's mind. And then something clicked and pretty soon I was understanding the little story that she created.

The evil zombie firefighter was about to strike again! But this time, on a defenseless baby panda bear. Something had to be done, so the bigger stronger animals (Black Bear, Polar Bear, White Tiger, and Mountain Lion) began to circle the zombie firefighter, creating a temporary shield to buy time for the animals to come together and figure out what to do.

Tiger, the king of all beasts, took control and rallied the troops to save baby panda and get rid of the zombie firefighter once and for all!

*Animals gathering according to size - Giraffe leads the way and the others bravely follow.*

And just like that, I was using my imagination again like I used to so often when I was little. It made me smile- I still have it in me, I can still make believe!

Awkward Moments

Everyone has them... moments where your face turns bright red and you honestly don't know what to do with yourself because the unfamiliar feeling of embarrassment is so overwhelming. And really, there's not much you can do about it except wait it out and let time wipe the moment from your memory.

Well, I've certainly felt that before, and "embarrassment" is becoming a little bit more familiar a feeling. Yes peeps, over the past few months my life has been spotted with these events... and for a while, I would let myself get so wrapped up in how truly silly I felt, that I would get anxious and nervous about it. BUT, no longer! Sure I'm still embarrassed. but instead of letting it get to me so much, I choose to laugh. Because honestly, if it wasn't happening to me, I'd be laughing at the person who it DID happen to. So there you have it :)

And so, for the sake of those who are constantly consumed by embarrassment, I will share with you a few recent embarrassing moments in my life:

#1. A few weeks ago I got SUPER sick, but decided to show up for work anyway. I could hardly breathe, and I was coughing all over everything (yeah probably not a good thing to carry into a workplace- especially a hospital)... So, they sent me home so I could get better and be okay to work the rest of the week. That night, I remembered I had planned to hang out with a friend, but I decided I should cancel because I was NOT feeling good, so I texted him and said "Hey _____! Are you still planning on hanging out tonight?" to see if he was still planning on it. Without thinking, I sent it and realized just seconds later that I had actually sent it to my boss!!! AH! I hurried and pressed cancel and my phone told me it hadn't sent so I was super relived... BUT. A minute later, my boss texted me to tell me that she wasn't _____ and that I had sent that message to her. My. Bad. I then realized she probably thought I was a slacker because I was hanging out with someone even though I went home sick from work. Hahahah... man I was embarrassed. Thank heaven I have an awesome boss!

#2. On Monday I was sitting in pottery watching my professor do a demo. on the wheel when I noticed a little fruit fly hovering over his pot. I forgot about it for a little while, but then I noticed a little black dot on his wet clay going around and around as the pot spun. I squinted and scooted a little closer on the edge of my stool as I said "I think there's a fly.... " WHAM! I fell off my stool and toppled on a couple people sitting by me, almost knocking my teacher's nearly-finished pot off the wheel! Man oh man, I'm never going to live that one down! And people didn't stop laughing until it was time to go home for the night. Bah, it was funny though, I have to admit :)

 #3. Two words: Junior High.

I won't even begin to say the funny things that have happened to me while skating. I'll just let you use your imaginations. (Hint: A really bad cold and runny nose while practicing spins)

It's true, I was an awkward child as well... Pants that reach my belly button, an Indian belt that isn't doing much to hold up those too-big pants... Ahahahahaha I love it.