Today I am Commodore Iron Mary Bonney

It's not unpredictable that I, like others in my circle of friends, will post today to honour the long-awaited International Talk Like a Pirate Day - pretty much my favourite holiday of the year. And so here I go.

I went to work today with a hand-made sign on my oversized nametag that said, "Happy ITLAPD". I had visions of every customer I spoke to asking me what ITLAPD meant, thereby giving me a chance to explain and spread the joys of this occasion. Unfortunately, time passed and no one seemed to notice my sign or wonder what ITLAPD stood for. (As Scott said, they probably assumed that it was an acronym for a really lengthy-named police department. Perhaps an offshoot of Los Angeles.) As I started into my 3rd hour of work, I realized that it was time to take matters into my own hands.

"Hello, welcome to FYE. What can I help you find? Oh, really? Well, you're in luck - we have that cd right over here. AND, did you know that today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day? In fact, we have some of the best pirate movies ever made right in this section over here."

"Hello, welcome to FYE. What are you doing to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day today? Nothing? You don't even know what ITLAPD is? Oh, dear, that certainly is a travesty. Well, don't you worry - I can equip you with a movie that will be sure make this year's celebration terrrrific."

Since no one was approaching me with questions about ITLAPD, I chose instead to reach out to the uninformed and educate them. Some people didn't want to play along, but most were good-natured and humored me. It made work more interesting and I even got a sale or two off of it...though my manager now thinks I'm nuts.

Here's the way I described the adventures of today in pirate-speak to a couple of my friends:

Argh!!! I been waitin’ fer this day ever since September came upon us! Tis a day of true celebration and camaraderie! It seems th' land-lubbers of th' eastern seaboard aren’t to be knowin’ about this day. But never you worry – I took it upon meself to…shall we say…*inform* those scurrrvy dogs. And every one of those bloody lubbers who didn’t agree with me ways, well, I lashed ‘em to th' taff-rail and drove ‘em windward…or I keelhauled ‘em. Then I made ‘em all walk th' plank! Th' crew got a mighty good laugh out o’ that and I got all th’ booty I collected from those bilge rats before I cast ‘em into th' sea. Argh!!! Tis a fine thing to be a pirate!

Commodore Iron Mary Bonney

I'm most excited, of course, about watching The Muppet Treasure Island tonight to celebrate. Scott has yet to see it, for which I shake my head pityingly and say, "Oh, you poor, deprived soul..."

Julie, you know what I'm talking about.

A Stewardship

I went to church today and sat in with the Primary class that I'm supposed to take over teaching in a couple of weeks. The class is small; it consists of 2 regulars, and 1 child that comes every other week. We represent a fifth of the whole Primary - which is about 15 kids. (Supposedly we have more, but many are inactive.) 15 kids is a pretty small Primary, but in my last church ward the Primary in its entirety was 3 children large. So this is a step up. :) The current teacher hasn't been with the class for long, but her husband is being stationed in Japan in a few weeks and so Nina is moving, leaving the class leaderless. In comes Sister Albrecht to save the day.

The only girl in my class (I'm calling her Amanda) was very clingy today. Nina assigned us to groups for our skit activity, in which we acted out the story of Elijah and the false priests of Baal from 1 Kings. I played the 450 priests of Baal (now that's talent). The boys insisted on being in their own group, so Amanda and I were together. Amanda's face lit up. She did nothing without talking to me first, and begged to sit by me for the rest of church. It was as though I was the best friend she needed so badly. I've discovered that Amanda's situation is very similar to what mine was at her age. I feel that she is fragile but covers it up. I've been given a stewardship over these children and I'm teaching this class for a reason. I know there's something I'm supposed to do for this girl, but I'm not sure what. I'm terrified that I will mess up and miss the chance to make a difference in her life. I can only hope that I'm worthy of this assignment.

But I needn't be so worried; the Lord will guide me. He promised.

Expert

My 3-year-old nephew Porter asked me a couple nights ago, "Tarythe, what are you an expert on?"

It was a simple question, but it got me thinking. What am I good at? And what am I good for?

For a while I've been a little down, trying to not feel badly about myself. First there's the fact that I rarely think highly of myself: I know better than to believe that I'm a good person. Then there's Scott's family, whom I absolutely adore but who completely leave me behind when it comes to knowledge and education. I'm the only one in the family who doesn't yet have a degree, including Scott's 22-year-old baby sister, and only 3 out of the 8 family members have Bachelors. The rest have Masters or PhDs. They don't treat me like I'm worth less than they are, but it's hard not to feel inferior when I wish that I could participate in their conversations, but realize that I don't know what they're talking about and therefore have nothing intelligent to add. I often feel pretty silly even being around, pretending as though I merit being there. Pile onto that the fact that despite the many applications I had filled out and turned in, I didn't have a job and didn't even have any interviews. If I had any kind of skills or experience or qualifications, why hadn't I received any phone calls? Especially when there had been a couple managers who seemed very enthusiastic when I'd handed in the application: "Oh, great! Well, we'll be hiring in the next week or two." And then...nothing. Waiting after a while gets wearing.

So I've decided to make a short list of a few things I think I'm good at, to try and force myself into thinking positively. This is not to brag, and those of you who know me know that this kind of a list comes only out of need.

1. I'm good with children. I get told this all the time, and while I sometimes doubt my expertise, I know that I love being with them, so perhaps I do have a gift. In any case, a simple love for something can often create or build up a talent. Living so close to Porter and Penelope makes me much happier than I would be without having family around.

2. I'm good at packing. A simple talent I know, and perhaps not very impressive one, but it certainly came in handy when I was moving and we had to fit all of our stuff in the car. It has also been helpful when I travel, because it means I can pack a lot of stuff into a small amount of space. Everyone thinks I'm traveling lightly, but really I'm just traveling efficiently. When I flew to Utah for a few days recently, I had only a backpack...but in it I had regular clothes, clothes for the funeral, pajamas, snacks, a water bottle (which of course I was forced to leave at security - I had forgotten about the 'no liquids' rule), reading books, a SuDoKu book, scriptures, papers, and I'm sure other things. A bit odd perhaps, but I've always taken pride in my ability in the way of spacial orientation.

3. I'm a good diplomat. I'm not manipulative (which is why I'm not in politics and not a diplomat professionally), but I know how to work with people. I'm naturally social. I relate to people and can very quickly make them comfortable around me. I usually like people right off the bat. At the same time I'm pretty shy, so this is often an interesting balance.

4. I'm a good homemaker. I never thought I would be, but I am. And the only reason I know this is because my husband tells me. Every day. He comes home from school and tells me with a big smile, a hug, and a kiss. That's how I know I'm doing a good job. I even cook for him; I used to hate cooking with a passion, but now I have someone to cook for (if it were just me, I would probably still be happy eating only cereal, corn torillas, cheese, and ice cream). And I enjoy doing it. I'm a good homemaker because I keep my home in such a state that others are comfortable being here; and more importantly, *I'm* comfortable being here. Other than the 8 months I lived with the girls in 99, it's been a while since home has equaled comfort for me.

I think 4 things are enough - this is the point where I'm starting to get uncomfortable talking about myself, and I know that if I don't post this soon I'll chicken out and erase the whole thing.

It's taken me 2 days to write it already. This kind of thing really shouldn't be so hard.

Wedding pictures

For those of you who read my blog but whose email addresses I don't have:

I have finally posted my wedding pictures online:
www.tarythealbrecht.shutterfly.com

I will (hopefully) be posting more pictures fairly regularly of all my DC adventures. That's my plan at least, so there should be reason for you to check the page every once in a while, on a regular basis.

The Fallen Loaf

Alright, so the bread didn't turn out as fantastically as I had hoped. It wasn't a complete disaster, the bread just fell after it rose so it looks kind of weird. And it's heavier than I was planning on it being. I think I added a little too much water. It smells great though, and tastes pretty good (especially with lots of butter). It's always hard to make a gluten-free bread recipe in a conventional bread machine anyway. At least, that's what I've been telling myself to make myself feel better. Perhaps my next attempt will turn out better. I'll definitely tell you guys how it goes; I know you're all dying to know.

Ps. The other new thing I got today (after that last entry was written): a DVD/VCR player from Wal-Mart. When each of you get married, tell everyone to get you gift cards only. They're wonderful.

Just Like Christmas

Today is just like Christmas. I got a mattress, a cover for my LoveSac, and a job, all in one day.

Mattress: I am no longer sleeping on an air mattress on the floor; I have a real, MemoryLux mattress from Monaco. Although the air mattress was surprisingly comfortable, I am glad to have a real bed. Thank goodness for Labor Day Weekend sales!

Cover: For those of you who are sadly unaware of what a LoveSac is, it's a large bean-bag type cushion. Only it's filled with bits of foam and is the most comfortable thing you've ever sat in. When I got the LoveSace to begin with, they were out of stock in the kind of cover I wanted. But Scott called around and got one for me, and it came in today! It's a light olive green microsuede. It's nice.

Job: After driving myself crazy being stuck at home with nothing productive to do for the past few weeks (running errands, making phone calls, and going grocery shopping wears on you after a while), I finally have a job. I'm a sales associate at FYE; it's a retail store that sells entertainment stuff like DVDs, music, video games, etc. Not really the most mind-stimulating job ever, but it will keep me busy. I'll have to get my brain stimulation through schoolwork and such.

All that, plus the bread that I can smell baking in my brand new bread machine (a test loaf; the first one made in said appliance), is turning this into a pretty good day. It's kind of like Christmas.