The Long Version Part IV: My siblings came to visit and we had a marvelous time

They were supposed to arrive Tuesday night around midnight. I had the house all ready. The carpet was freshly vacuumed, the kitchen and bathroom were sparkling; now all I had to do was head to Wal-Mart to pick up some things and make some "Welcome to St. Louis" bags for my guests. Yep, I had thought of it all. Can you tell I was a little excited to finally have someone come and visit us? But then. Then I got the call. "Sage, don't come and get us tonight. Our connecting flight was delayed. We can't leave tonight or we'll be stuck in Salt Lake. We won't be there until 2:30 pm tomorrow." Oh the crushing blow! The disappointment! I had to wait
another whole day until they got here. How was I going to keep the house clean? What would keep me occupied until then? Now how would we be able to fit in the bazillion things I had planned for us to do? Yes I was horribly disappointed. I had waited and pined for this day, but now their arrival was delayed and I had to wait even longer. I didn't want to cry (I had already cried a lot that day; I won't go into details) so what did I do? I bit my lip and watched Pollyanna to cheer me up.
Well, Wednesday afternoon finally came (I watched Pollyanna again that morning) and after waiting and waiting for them to get off the plane (there was a big thunderstorm and they weren't allowed to get off the plane until it was all cleared up) they finally arrived. The rest of the day we spent laughing and catching up and hugging and crying. Just kidding. You didn't think we were that cheesy did you (not with a thirteen year old boy around anyhow)? I do know that I brushed my brother's hair into a crazy Afro on fire. Observe-



Thursday we went to the Arch and the old Courthouse. I took them into my work and
David said- "Who would ever want to buy any of this crap?"
and I said, "David I pour my life into this place!"
and he said "What? You're JUST a cashier?"
and I said "thanks David. That makes me feel special."


Waiting for the tram up to the arch (notice the haircut)


Two redheads in the tram car the baseball stadium as seen from the top of the arch

the Mississippi river from the top of the arch



Judge David at the old courthouse


Old Courthouse ceiling


Friday we went to the Zoo even though it was a cruddy day (oh yeah did I mention we had the worst weather ever while they were here? It rained 90 percent of the time.) I don't have any pictures because zoo pictures are boring. Actually, I already have pictures of just about every animal at the zoo so I didn't need to take any.

Friday afternoon we drove to Normal, Illinois to see our aunt and uncle and cousins. We stayed the night there and headed back the next morning. I took them out to my old work to eat dinner (and got horrible service; that's what happens when I leave) and then to one of the weirdest and wackiest places in the world, City Museum. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures but you can check out the website here. We had a good time crawling around on our hands and knees.

Sunday we went to church and came home and watched the Goonies. Then we cried and cried because David had to leave. Brooke and I took him to the airport. Then we comforted ourselves by drinking hot cocoa and coffee and then watching Pollyanna (are you getting sick of me talking about that movie yet?)

Monday we went back to the zoo because we hadn't gotten all the way through it the first time. Plus it's free so we can do that. We saw the birds and the monkeys and the reptiles. Brooke wanted to see the hyenas again because they were asleep the first time. They were still asleep.

Then we ate some delicious Vietnamese food at Pho Grand and walked around South Grand a bit to some of the shops. Then we topped the night off with St. Louis' own Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I could have some more of that right about now please.

Tuesday we went to the Contemporary Art Museum and looked at obnoxiously large and oddly shaped cardboard boxes that were supposedly art. Then we went to the REAL art museum and saw some Egyptian mummy cases and some paintings by some SUPER famous artists. Are you totally impressed yet? We topped the night off with some really nasty Ethiopian food down on South Grand again. (It was solely Brooke and Jonathan's idea- If you live here do not go there; it's not worth it. That is, unless you like Teff i.e. thin, sour, dirt-colored pancake sponges). To get the taste out of our mouths we went to Crown Candy Kitchen and had some delicious Cake Batter ice cream.

Wednesday we enjoyed the beauty of the botanical garden and had an overpriced lunch on the patio while basking in the joy of a rare sunny day. Brooke was leaving that afternoon so she was determined to get me a present to say thank you to me for being a good hostess (i.e. making her sleep on the couch hide-a-bed and dragging her out of bed every morning to go trekking all over the city). She got me some awesome presents for me from the gift shop there. Someday soon I'll have to take a picture of them to show you.
Here are some flowers at the garden-


After that the grand finale of Brooke's St. Louis tour- the Miniature Museum! Something right up her alley. Dollhouses all decorated up with every tiny accessory and minute detail you can imagine. It was quite cool really.
Then we finally had to say goodbye. What I had been waiting for all spring had finally come to an end. We had a lot of fun though and I was ready to say goodbye (Brooke chews crackers in her sleep and is much too cheerful in the morning.)

Sorry about the lack of decent pictures. I hate taking pictures and Jonathan wasn't able to take any either because he was busy grading final exams for most of the time they were here.

The Long Version Part III: I watched Polyanna three times

I have not been slacking on blogging again, honest. I had all intentions of updating every day to get through this boring Long Version saga, but I broke our computer. The only way I am updating this now is the use of my school's computer lab. Hopefully our computer will be up and running soon.... or we are in trouble. This also will explain why I will not be posting any pictures today.
So on to Part III. I love Polyanna. If you have not watched that movie you better go watch it right now. If you are ever feeling sad all you need to do is pop in this flick and watch it a few times. Your heart will be warmed and your eyes will be brightened. I was getting anxious for my brother and sister to get her so to pass the time I watched Polyanna. then I found out that their flight was coming in late, so I watched it again to comfort myself. Then my sister came and I made her watch it with me once again (even though she has probably seen it as many times as I have). So that is the story of why I watched the movie Polyanna three times. Now I am feeling like I could go watch it again...

The Long Version Part II: I survived the end of the semester

I cut it pretty close the last week of class, I admit. I had three presentations due, two papers (albeit short ones), and two enormous projects (basically just really long papers), all due in one week. Wednesday of that week, I had two papers and a presentation due which I hadn't even started. I typed most of one of the papers before class. Then I went to class, taught a lesson to my classmates (this one I had prepared in advance) went down to the library and finished typing up the paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation, then turned it in and gave the presentation all within in a matter of about 40 minutes. Then I went to Northwest Coffee, drank down an iced Americano and got started on my next essay. I somehow finished it up before class. The next day, Thursday, I spent writing a huge project that I hadn't started on even though it was due Friday. Unfortunately I had to go to work on Friday, so I would have to turn it in before I went to work. Well I worked all day and night, had to go to bed, woke up and worked on it some more and still hadn't gotten it done. It ended up that I had to call my boss and ask her if I could be a little late to work. So I hurried and finished it up, went to school, printed it off, turned it in, and got to work only 45 minutes late and worked an eight hour shift. Blech. It was not a fun day. Then the next week I had finals but they were not too bad and then I was free from the craziest and zaniest semester ever. Yay! So to hurry up and end this horribly boring story.... I got my grades last week and managed to pull of all A's- 4.0 for eighteen credits. Not bad if I say so myself. Really though, I couldn't have done it without God's grace or the help of my wonderful, patient, and encouraging husband. Check back tomorrow for the
Long Version Part III: I watched Polyanna three times in one week. (and want to watch it again)

The Long Version Part I: We did not get the green couch/We bought a new couch

Before I start this story let's get one thing straight: I don't say sofa. It's too snobby. That's all.

When we moved here almost three years ago... (oh my could it be three years already?) we left our couch behind for several reasons-
- more space in the moving trailer without it
- we weren't terribly attached to it
- it was plaid
- we got it for free anyway
- we passed it onto some newly married friends who needed a free couch just like we had a couple years earlier

Thus, when we arrived here in St. Louis, Misery, we had no couch. After spending just about all of our savings on the expenses of moving half-way across the country and Jonathan's first semester of graduate school (I am not sure when we will ever be so rich again that month before we moved and had that amount of cash in our savings.. ah those were the days... just kidding... being poor is fun!) we didn't have a whole lot of extra money to spend on things like a new couch (like brand-new from a store). So we looked around, scoured newspaper ads (this was before I knew about Craigslist, apparently) and somehow ended up in a scary part of town at some junky used furniture place called Kathy and Son's or something like that. They had an old-fashioned, the kind you would find in your great-grandmother's house, couch with wood legs and everything and it was a lovely greenish-goldish color with a pretty flower pattern. I probably have a picture of it somewhere but I am too lazy too look. Heck maybe there is a picture of it on this very blog- that's a challenge, readers!
Anyway, it wasn't it in the best of shape. The cushion covers were ripped on one side and it stunk like an antique store or St. Vincent's, but it was comfortable (Jonathan is extremely picky about furniture comfort) and it was 80 bucks. What could we do but take it home? (with the help of Kathy and Sons.)

Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, the couch didn't hold up long. The foam in the cushions was aged so badly it was that nasty dark orange color old foam becomes, and the rips in the cushion covers were getting bigger. And bigger. And bigger. We still didn't have the money for a new couch (or the time to look for one) So what did I do? I took an old bed comforter (that consequently itself was ripped on one side) and fashioned it into a cover for the couch. This was a good temporary fix. It looked decent and made the couch usable again. However as most couch covers have the tendency to do, it never wanted to stay in place, and me being the obsessive compulsive person I am, was constantly re-adjusting the thing to the point that I wouldn't even let Jonathan sit on it because he always mussed it up. So for a long, long, time I wished and longed for a couch I could just curl up on without messing it up and that was actually comfortable (the couch cushions were so worn out they were no longer comfortable). However, we still didn't have the time or money to get a new one so we just dealt with it.

Then it just so happened, my brother and sister were coming to town, and there was no way I was going to have a cruddy old couch around with company in the house. It was also looking especially cruddy lately because I had gotten fed up with the constant readjusting and took off the blanket and just taped up the big rips with many a layer of packaging tape. Nice. So I started looking on Craigslist (that's where I found the awesome green one, it just wasn't as great in person as it was in the photo); I looked especially for a couch with a hide-a-bed (no, not a
sofa sleeper; still too snobby) since that would come in handy with company coming (we don't have a guest bed or an air mattress), but to no avail. Not finding anything used, I tried the furniture outlet store Weekends Only, but I had no such luck, and it was just a couple days before my siblings would be here. On the way home from Weekends Only I saw Value City Furniture* and decided to stop and check it out. They had a much better selection and a few couches I liked so I dragged Jonathan back the next day. After sitting on just about every couch in the store we finally decided on a plain, brown (or is it grey?) suede (or is it faux?) hide-a-bed couch that looks like just about any other new couch. It doesn't look as cool as our old one did and it isn't the old fashioned style you find in your great-grandmother's house, but it's comfy and new and our second major furniture purchase, so we better just like it. Honestly though, I really do like it. I have already spent many an hour curled up on it watching movies and the telly, reading good books, or just spending time with Jonathan.
If you are are asleep you can wake up now. That's the end of Part I: We did not get the green couch/We bought a new couch (like brand-new from a store!) Check back soon for the next big snoozer- The Long Version Part II: I survived the end of the semester.
p.s. If you are wondering what happened to our old couch; don't ask. It's too sad.
*Those of you who know of Value City Furniture, please do not tell us that they are a rip-off or that they sell high-priced, low quality crap. We don't want to know. It's too late to take it back.

Update- the short version

Jonathan is threatening to cancel our internet service if I don't update this thing so I thought I better get back into blogging. To make up for my prolonged absence I have prepared a long, enthralling, and yet entertaining post to catch you up on all the gory details of my boring existence. First of all I'll give the shortened version for those of you are easily bored.

1. We did not get the ugly green couch.

2. I survived the end of the semester.

3. We bought a new couch (like brand-new from a store!)

4. I watched Polyanna three times in one week.

5. I chopped my hair off, much to my husband's dismay.

6. My siblings (or Kids as Jonathan called them) ventured to Saint Louis and we had an awesomely wonderful time.

7. Jonathan survived the end of his semester (and got off the computer finally so I could update this danged thing)

8. We are now enjoying a short break from work and school in which I've been spending my time reading on the new couch and cooking new meals.

I am slowly but surely working on the long version so check back soon! (hopefully later today)