Friday, September 30, 2016

7 Quick Takes about Becoming a Canadian Celebrity, Forced Thank-You Note Writing, and Sugary Treats from Your Dentist

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

1


In case you missed it, Unremarkable Files turned two this week. My two-year blogging anniversary snuck up on me, which was fitting because my actual anniversaries with Phillip often take me by surprise, too.

There might have been a few years when we were reminded it was our anniversary by someone wishing us a happy anniversary.

2


As Phillip and I climbed into bed the night before, I mentioned that tomorrow was my blog's second birthday.

"Really?" he asked. "You should make a cake."

"I already did that," I said.

"You did?"

"Last year."

"I don't remember that."

"The kids threw a party. They made and decorated a cake all by themselves. It was super-ugly. I'm surprised we didn't all die of salmonella."

"Oh." There was a long pause from Phillip. "You could make cupcakes, then."

"You really care about this."

"You could do the frosting in your blog's colors and the kids could spell out 'Unremarkable Files' with white chocolate chips. The cupcakes could be chocolate  no wait, that doesn't go with the colors of your blog..."

"I think you just want cake."

Phillip paused. "Well, I always want cake."

So we made cupcakes, as per Phillip's vision.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week? {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week? {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

One problem: I counted beforehand how many cupcakes we were going to need and made exactly that many. And I counted wrong.

As Phillip said, ending up one cupcake short was "perfectly fitting." ( In my defense, there are a holy ton of letters to count in 'Unremarkable Files.')

We made it work.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week? {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Much less ugly than last year's cake.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week? {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
You know that movie Gone in 60 Seconds?  

3


Several weeks ago, a reporter from the Toronto Star emailed me to ask for an interview on a piece about Mormon bloggers.

I was all ready to wow her with my professionalism, and then I ended up missing our scheduled phone interview because I got stuck in traffic driving back from a botanical garden with my kids.

We rescheduled, and I almost missed it again because I was dropping my daughter off at a playdate. I guess that would've given her a more accurate impression of my life and blog than the actual interview, now that I think about it.

The article is called "Mormon Mommies Have the Best Blogs," and I had to laugh when I read the part about my blog income being "a happy side benefit." What she didn't say, bless her heart, is that the "happy side benefit" is, like, a donut every year on my birthday.

She made me sound a lot better at blogging than I actually am.

4


Mormons serve in lots of different roles at church on a rotating basis, and for the last year I've been teaching the 9- and 10-year-olds.

Just recently, I was released from this calling and given a new one. (I like to joke that this happens when we get too good at what we're doing, so God nudges us out of our comfort zone and makes us start all over.) My new responsibility is in the presidency of the Relief Society, which is our church's women's organization.

I'll really miss the kids I taught, so I was thrilled when their new teacher found me on Sunday and handed me a pile of thank-you cards from my old class.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week? {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

Okay, so the cards came attached to a plate of cookies and I may have also been excited about that.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week? {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
"Dear Sister Evans: I have to write this." See? The kids LOVED me.

I think the cookies may have been for my entire family, but I wasn't sure so I ate most of them myself just to be on the safe side.

5


It's been a hard week here. Hilarious things have happened as always, but there's also been a lot of sadness.

A teenager from our congregation took his own life, and there really are no words to describe the heavy emotional toll it's taken on the entire church.

Between all the emotions following Matthew's memorial service on Saturday morning and the fact that I was in charge of pre-cooking the food for a spaghetti dinner for the whole congregation the next day, I may  have started sobbing hysterically over 25 pounds of pasta in my kitchen on Saturday night until Phillip took over.

Like I said, it's been hard.

The dinner went well, and our Relief Society president summed it up later by saying: "There's no better way to end this very difficult weekend than being surrounded by friends and pasta."

If you have an extra moment, please say a prayer for all of us, especially for our friends who are trying to find a new normal after losing their son and brother.

6


I'm always excited for General Conference, which is what we Mormons will be watching this weekend, but particularly so in light of the difficult week it's been. I could sure use an extra dose of Godly perspective.

General Conference happens every six months. It's a four-part broadcast from the prophet, apostles, and other leaders of my church, each speaking on different spiritual topics. Talks are usually between 10-20 minutes long.

You can listen in live (viewing times and ways to watch/listen are here) or after the fact at gc.lds.org while you're washing dishes or commuting to work. You don't have to be Mormon, all are welcome.


7


I received a hand-addressed letter in the mail from my dentist's office, and when I opened it up it was a thank-you note with a $10 gift card to Dunkin' Donuts!

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week? {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

My thoughts were as follows:

  1. What a lovely gesture.
  2. Heck yes, I will refer my friends to you for $10 at Dunkin' Donuts!
  3. Wait, is anything at Dunkin' Donuts even remotely good for your teeth?
Nevertheless, I'll accept the gift in the spirit in which it was intended and keep my mouth shut. It's the right thing to do.


Click to Share:
Unremarkable Files

8 comments:

Ann-Marie Ulczynski said...

Wow! So many things going on. Happy blog birthday! That's interesting about the rotating positions in the church. The thank you note is hilarious (I got a few of those each year during Thanksgiving week as teachers made students write one). I will be praying for your community. I'm so sorry for the loss of that family. I'm off to go read the Mormon blogging article (something I never imagined myself saying!)

AnneMarie said...

I'm so sorry to hear about Matthew-you and your church community will be in my prayers!
Those cupcakes are amazing. I really appreciate how insistent Phillip was on those :) And...that thank you note with gift card from the Dentist is pretty much the coolest thing ever! Wow! I guess that's one way the dentist is insuring your continued business? ;)

PurpleSlob said...

Wow!! Those cupcakes are cute!
And, I'm jealous!! I've never gotten a Thank you like that from my dentist!! Of course, my family only had half the number of mouths as yours, that may have something to do with it! Considering all the thousands of dollars you have probably paid him, a $10 DD card was the least he could do.
I will definitely pray for comfort, and peace for Matthew's family, and the whole church. My heart goes out to y'all.

Michelle said...

That's an amazing gift from your dentist! Mine gave me a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream, and I had the same thought about teeth. Especially since I had just received a lecture on making sure not to eat too much sugar.

Jessica said...

Happy Blog Birthday! Prayers for your friends. You sound like one busy lady. Hope you have an amazing October. #happynowlinkup

Jenny Evans said...

That's what I ended up deciding, that my dentist is an evil genius!

Jenny Evans said...

Thanks, Melinda. We all appreciate it.

Unknown said...

Happy blogiversary! I agree with your family. Being one cupcake short fits your blog perfectly. Also so sorry to hear about the loss in your community. I can't imaging the heartache that everyone must be feeling.