Monday, February 27, 2006

A Virtual Mood Ring...

Your Mood Ring is Dark Red

Very happy
Love
Passion

Muppet Personality Test

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick.
You're always willing to lend a helping hand.
In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going.
"15 seconds to showtime!"

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Check Please

I have had some interesting occurrences throughout my life in a well known restaurant, Pizza Hut. Recently I went with my husband and some friends to have some pizza, and were a bit disappointed. We were temped for about 5 seconds to get the new pizza bites. You know, the new pizza promoted by Jessica Simpson in a commercial that was overhyped during the Superbowl (I heard she was paid $1 million for that commercial). Then reality set in of what those might be like and all the unecessary calories, and that idea was scrapped for a large mushroom with breadsticks. Our friends brought their baby along, and had him sit in a little high chair. We had polite conversation, good breadsticks, "ok" pizza, a cute baby with sauce on his face, and a waitress that had no clue. It was the typical visit to Pizza Hut.
On looking back to my childhood though, I realized I had experienced some rites of passage in that red roofed restaurant. As a kid, I actually lost a baby tooth while eating a piece of pizza. I couldn't find where the tooth went, and was convinced that I swallowed it, which totally horrified me. My Aunt took me and my siblings there that day, and she tried desparately to calm me down. We never found the tooth, but she claimed it must've landed on the floor somewhere. She told me years later that I probably did swallow it, but she didn't have the heart to tell me, plus I was crying and making a scene in the middle of the restaurant. But I think I grew up, just a little, that day.
Fast forward a few years and I'm a sophomore in high school. My date, my friends, and I had planned for a great night out before descending into the drab depths of our high school gymnasium. Our "great plans" turned into having dinner at Pizza Hut. Picture it: the gals with their dresses and fancy hairdos, and the guys in thier suits, sitting in a booth with a large pizza on the table. Classy.
As nervous as I was that night, having the pizza helped us relax and laugh more than if we went to some fancy schamcy place for dinner. I had a blast that night. I grew up, just a little, that night.
Throughout college, I'd make the occasional trip to ol' Pizza Hut, because there was a small "fast food version" of one located on the bottom floor of the building I worked in. From freshman year to graduation, to the receipt of my Masters Degree, I studied many hours in that place. I spent lots of time hearing the workers flirting with the young college girls, rapping while baking the personal pan pizzas, and the sound of the tv on the other side of the eatery set to the college television network. I grew up there, just a little, during those years.
Now I go to Pizza Hut as an adult, with a husband as a date, and little worry that I'll be losing a tooth on a piece of pizza. I can go with friend ans their 1 year old. He, however, is teething. He's growing up, just a little.

Friday, February 17, 2006




Why "Wyo Hues"?

I was asked, what does "Wyo Hues" mean?

It has a trifold of meanings. Being new to the western landscape of Wyoming, I have experienced new colors, sounds, smells, and places. To see places like Yellowstone National Park, the Rocky Mountains, the vast landscapes, and the wildlife are so fresh and new to me, and I am enjoying it. These "hues" have had a large impact on me, being from the mid-atlantic, aka Western Pennsylvania, and its drastically different physical features, seeing Wyoming opened my eyes to a new world.
Wyoming has also helped me see the "hues" within myself. I have a new sense of independence, to be the only person in my family to move this far away, and to discover the world totally on my own. I started an entirely new life: I graduated from college with my MA, married a few weeks later, and two days after that moved 1700 miles away for a job opportunity I couldn't refuse. We packed up the truck and moved, saying goodbye to the life we once knew, to start another. We had no idea what would be ahead of us. Using "hues" as a synonym to "discoveries," I am still finding these new hues within myself.
And as a final "shade" of my Wyo hues, it is a play on words. When you say it, it sounds like "Y-O-Us." YOU are invited to read this blog, make any comments you'd like, and come back again!

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

But I Don't Want to Live on the Moon


For all those Sesame Street kids who grew up in the days of Mr. Hooper's Store and Snuffy as just an "imaginary friend" of Big Bird, this was television. Sure, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was around and popular, but your parents knew that when you saw the pink elephant trunks pop out of Oscar's garbage can squeeling, or Cookie Monster tossing those cookies into his mouth, you were glued to that screen like a magnet. It gave them just enough time to maybe write out their bills, clean up the living room, or just breathe for a few minutes. I was one of those kids too. As a child, I idolized Cyndi Lauper, Jem and the Holograms, Princess Leia, and the one and only Ernie from Sesame Street.
Looking back, I realize that this muppet had it all: he didn't have to work anywhere, he had a set of drums to play in his apartment, playing checkers and taking baths was his passtime, he had a best friend named Bert(and I don't buy the gay theory, by the way)that took care of him, plus he could go to places like Egypt to see the pyramids or go to the moon! OF course, it was all in his imagination, and I traveled to those places too.
My favorite Ernie moment has to be when he sang,
I Don't Want to Live on the Moon. His message is so lighthearted and pure...

Written by Jeff Moss
1978 Festival Attractions, Inc. (ASCAP)
Sung by Ernie (Jim Henson)

Well, I'd like to visit the moon
On a rocket ship high in the air
Yes, I'd like to visit the moon
But I don't think I'd like to live there
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I might like it for one afternoon
I don't want to live on the moon

I'd like to travel under the sea
I could meet all the fish everywhere
Yes, I'd travel under the sea
But I don't think I'd like to live there
I might stay for a day there if I had my wish
But there's not much to do when your friends are all fish
And an oyster and clam aren't real family
So I don't want to live in the sea

I'd like to visit the jungle, hear the lions roar
Go back in time and meet a dinosaur
There's so many strange places I'd like to be
But none of them permanently

So if I should visit the moon
Well, I'll dance on a moonbeam and then
I will make a wish on a star
And I'll wish I was home once again
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I may go I'll be coming home soon
'Cause I don't want to live on the moon
No, I don't want to live on the moon

So now being an adult, I see that the message doesn't just apply to some child learning his ABC's, but to everyone. It's a message of love for one's family, but the desire to explore the world while keeping roots. I feel in my life I've just begun that journey....


thanks for reading.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Thinking Outside the Valentine's Mailbox
With Valentine's Day only a day away, I was thinking back on the past V-days of my life. I used to look forward to writing out the little children's Valentines to the kids in my class, making a Valentine mailbox, and having a quick, but fun party with my class. These parties, usually were supervised by the teacher and a parent volunteer (which was my mother a lot of the time), and consisted of the handing out Valentine card and getting cupcakes.
One year in grade school, I made a Valentine mailbox from a box that had a red brick pattern on it. I turned it into a cute little house design with windows and a door and an extra large "mail slot" for my Valentines. I was so proud as I brought it into school the next day, only to find out that I was among the few that actually cared enough to make a box, let alone write out Valentines. Always trying to follow what was "cool," I tried to hide it, but only for one of my friends to announce to the class how cute it was and how I should show it to everyone. Being an easy blusher and very timid, I turned bright red as I pulled it out of my book bag. In a complete reversal of what I thought would be coming next, the girls in my class complimented my little house. They didn't tease me like I thought they would, but told me how creative I was. So that goes to show that sometimes your creativity is worth being noticed, if you only have enough confidence to show it.
I've had a soft spot for Valentine's day as long as I know. I've never been into the "love and romance" part of the holiday until I was a bit older, but nevertheless, I do like how for one day people can express themselves. Whether you are in love and give someone a V-Day card and feel all "lovey dovey", or hate the holiday because of a bitter break up, or just can't stand the commericalism of a truly marketed holiday, this is the day to vent! and eat chocolate!
So to all you Valentine's day lovers and haters out there, here's to you!