Thank You, Gadgets-Pro from Hong Kong

So, about a month ago, as Compaq computers are unfortunately and irritatingly wont to do, my computer cord fizzled, and kaput, died. I was okay for the first few days, because my dad allowed me to go on his computer in increments of about 20 minutes, just enough to check my email. But a week of personal-computerless-ness was really thining those wires that hold together my sanity. So instead of checking my email one day, I signed up for ebay.

There, I purchased a cord from Gadgets-Pro and prayed it would soon be on my doorstep. I guess "soon" for international purchases is at minimum a week. So in that case, my prayer was answered. Nine days later, it was here! That was 3-5 days ago, I really can't remember. Anyway, I am back! Yay. After too many moons.

Let's see, today something interesting happened. But it must be prefaced with some background info.....

The Summer of 2008 was a strange one, from the erratic weather to the flowered leggings my aunt kept wearing. I was running a B&B in the middle of nowhere (which, to let all of you aspiring entrepreneurs out there know, is a prime spot for business). My family dropped in on me for a couple of weeks, pouring cement on the B&B's sidewalk just as guests were traipsing by, screaming things like "Angela! Where do you keep your tampons?" from my bathroom while I was showing guests to their rooms, and performing other equally delightful and business-enhancing acts. To amuse myself and a few of my sisters during this time (who, like me, were simply audience to the little circus the rest of our family was conducting, sans striped tent), I developed some (for lack of a better adjective) stalkerish habits to pass the time. Though maybe not simply to pass the time--rather, to distract ourselves from our Barnum-Bailey family during whatever free time we had.

In any case, my family (miraculously) and I were invited to the Judge Jacob Johnson House for dinner about three weeks ago. The Judge Jacob Johnson House, while rumored to be haunted (whale bones were found in one of the fireplaces... can anyone say "corset" and not "Moby Dick's ghost"?), is the largest and most gorgeous house in town, originally owned by Judge and Utah Congressman Jacob Johnson. However, it hasn't always enjoyed the status it has now, resting serene in the lap of elegance, on the corner of third and first.

Only 3 years ago, it was falling apart. But, luckily, a lawyer and his family swooped down from Salt Lake and snatched it up, clutching it to their feathered chests like a treasured lamb. They've worked wonders on the place and grounds, which, coincidentally, have the largest stone barn in Utah. Before you question my use of the term "coincidence," let me explain further. This family includes a son, right now about 20 years old, whom I met last summer very briefly. It is coincidental that the grounds include a magnificent barn because, since seeing the homestead a few weeks ago at that dinner, I am planning to marry their son. Yes, that little visit to the Jacob Johnson house kindled what was nothing into a bright flame of something.... yes, intense love for the... house. When weighing all of my options, marriage into the family seemed the easiest way into the heart of the house. I did consider adoption as well, but figured that despite the circus-ring antics of my family, I'd like to keep them. Anyway, when our marriage comes about, the barn would be a dreamboat of a reception center. That's where coincidence comes into play. I can only thank my stars that Marvin Gaye is dead so that I am not distracted from this very humbling and yet empoweringly awesome plan.

Since then, I have come up with very serious and determined game plans of sorts to snag this well-connected boy. I have related them to my sisters, who have augmented them, and together, we have formed completely fool-proof schemes to hook this boy and his house right out of the water (available at a small fee, for any other house/husband fishers out there).

But, what started as a joke has become kind of hard to shake. Let me expatiate.

Today, I walked with my sister Cooper to the Post Office to collect our mail. She wanted to go buy a yo-yo from the gas station, so I waited at the Post Office for a few moments while she went ahead. During my wait, my future mother-in-law drove up. I became so flustered that I walked away before she got out of her car. What? What is this? It's ridiculous. She hasn't a clue of my schemes to usurp her place as queen of the marvelous, most excellent Judge Jacob Johnson House.

That is the strange thing that happened today (one, that I actually thought, very briefly, something like, "Alert. Future mother-in-law approaching, six o'clock." and two, that I walked away in embarassment--embarassment from private jokes, most of which take place in my head! Jiminy, this is simply a lesson in the extent to which thoughts can influence actions. Now I can better relate to the bit/bridle analogy), and if it's news enough to make it to my blog, you know what kind of life I am living. Cha. Partay animal equals Angela Belle. Simple math, people.

Alright, and for a bit more news, I am leaving for Jerusalem on Friday! Oh my ham (which, inexplicably, I could not stop saying yesterday. Can anyone tell me where I may have heard this or if I am simply supremely creative and inspired?)

PS: The lyric of the day is "There's so much left to know, and I'm on the road to find out" Courtesy of the ever-delicious Cat Stevens and his song "On the Road to Find Out."