It's Way More Than Just Bowls. Really!

Tupperware. Most of us hear the word, and we immediately go back in time to the kitchens of our moms and grandmas. We picture bowls. Lots and lots of bowls. Giant storage bowls, medium-sized mixing bowls, small cereal bowls. And most of them are gold. Remember? I have a super large Tupperware bowl. It's not gold, but I think once upon a time it might have had a gold lid? I must have gotten it from my mom, but honestly, I can't remember. It's very wide, though, and our family lovingly refers to it as the "throw-up bowl." Whenever a kid says "tummy ache," I quickly grab that bowl. "Here. Throw up in this, NOT on the carpet!" I'll never forget Christmas of 2005. All four of our sons were sick with stomach flu, not all at once, but one at a time, each day from December 23-26. I remember rinsing out that bowl over and over and then disinfecting it just in time to give it to the next kid. Ah, Tupperware bowls. What would we do without them?

But is it still around? Like, the company? Do ladies still host Tupperware parties and invite all their friends over to socialize and see the newest products and eat yummy food? Yes, indeed, they do! And not only that, but Tupperware these days is way, way more than just bowls. Crazy more! It's an entire food preparation, cooking, and storage system. How do I know this? Well you see, I have attended not one, not two, but THREE Tupperware parties in the past week and a half. Why would I do this? Let me backtrack.

When Shulamith's baby Swen was born, more than anything, she desired to be a full-time, stay-at-home mommy. And she was blessed to be able to be just that. When Swen turned a year old in May, she decided it would be nice to have a little extra money for the little "extras" in life, but she still didn't want to leave Swen very much. So she returned to Macaroni Grill (where she has worked on and off since she was 19) to serve a couple lunch shifts each week. This has been okay, but not ideal. She doesn't like leaving Swen, even for short periods of time, to go to work.

Wondering what she might do instead, she remembered someone she knew a few years ago, a girl who also used to be a teacher but who quit to stay home with her baby and now sells Tupperware. Long story short, she called Kaitlyn, and after much discussion and thought, Shulamith is now officially a Tupperware consultant. Woo! Her initial training party was here at our house, and I watched as Kaitlyn made fresh salsa in less than five minutes using this chopper thing. It's sort of like a lawn mower? Except no electricity or gasoline. You pull a string, and the chopper circulates. It literally chopped an entire onion with two pulls of the string.

The following week, Mathew's mom, Dawn, hosted a party for Shulamith where Kaitlyn again amazed me with her delicious microwave caramel corn and monkey bread, both prepared in about 20 minutes using various Tupperware products. My own party for Shulamith was this past Thursday night. Here, she made an entire German chocolate cake in a Tupperware stacker cooker in the microwave. She put everything in the bowl, frosting and all (!), and cooked it for 9 minutes. Delicious! I don't even cook, and I want all this stuff.  :-)

Shulamith has four more parties booked in the next two weeks, so she is off and running. And the best thing about this endeavor: the parties are always around 7:00 pm, the exact time Swen goes to bed. She doesn't miss any time with him at all. So if you ever want to see what's new with Tupperware products, she is the one to ask...

...because it's way more than just bowls. Really.

Drug Addict?

I think I've mentioned before that my family has a history of addiction. Back as far as I can remember, my relatives struggled with any number of issues: alcoholism, compulsive gambling, overeating, excessive spending, tobacco dependence, and these are all situations I have witnessed first hand! Yep, I was genetically predisposed to inherit an addictive personality. And I have it. At least I think so. I'm pretty dang compulsive. And I do love my Diet Coke! Seriously, though, aware of this family history, I've been uber careful all my life about potential substance abuse and common addictive behaviors. I've often joked that I'm pretty sure I'd be an alcoholic, if only I drank alcohol.

I don't take any prescription meds, and even over-the-counter medication scares me. So I basically don't use it. I have to be hurting pretty bad to take so much as an Ibuprofen. I worry about the side effects of medicine; doesn't it all have to be processed through the kidneys and liver? I'm pretty fond of my kidneys and liver. Just sayin'. 

So here's what happened. Here in Utah, I struggle with allergies more than anywhere else I have lived. Meine Gute! Apparently, the pollen count is unusually high here? One day a month or so ago, Gerald said it was higher here than anyplace in the country, save El Paso, TX. And this summer, this nasty pollen has made me sick. Literally. My throat constricts, my eyes water, my ears itch, my head aches. If only I could cut off my head, I know I would feel just fine. Remember when I thought I had throat cancer? Yeah, turns out it was just really bad allergies.

So all summer Shulamith has been hounding me about taking allergy medicine. "You don't have to feel like this," she says. I resisted and resisted. I do not like to take medicine (see above). Finally, one night when I was suffering pretty severely, she brought up one tiny pill, one of Matt's over-the-counter, non-drowsy allergy pills. And I caved. I took it. Wow! Within an hour, I felt like a new person. Ninety percent of my symptoms were gone. Unbelievable!

That was about a month ago. Every day since then, I have taken one of these pills. Every. Single. Day. I can't help myself. This must be what it feels like to be a drug addict. Every day I tell myself, "Today I will not take one of these pills." But about 24 hours after I took the last one, my symptoms start to return in full force. It's awful! I start coughing. My throat becomes scratchy and constricted. My ears itch. My eyes water. And like a drug addict, I begin to think, "I could feel so much better if I just took one little pill." And what do I do? I go take a pill. Yes, yes I do. Zero will power.

So that's my story of the day. It's not good. Who knows what damage I'm doing to my internal organs by taking all these pills? People tell me that once the first freeze comes, it will kill whatever causes these allergies, and I'll feel better without medication. I really hope so.

You'll Be In My Heart

This afternoon Gerald and Shulamith and I attended our fifth Hale Center Theatre play of the season, the musical "Tarzan." Simply put, it was excellent. As always, the production was spot on in every area: acting, singing, choreography, set design, costume and makeup--all top notch professional. I had never seen the play. I didn't know the story of Tarzan, other than that he was a boy raised in the jungle by apes. I had no idea what to expect, yet I was captivated from start to finish.

Most especially, I was moved by the ape mother and her unyielding devotion to the boy Tarzan, so much so that I found myself weeping several times including when she sang the reprise of "You'll Be In My Heart" as she anticipated her "son" leaving her to join the human world. Okay, yes, I'm a wimp mom, a point we've already established many times. It's fine.

While her character caused me to think about all my children to some extent, I was particularly focused on Isaiah. Why, you may ask. Probably a combination of things. For one, he's been talking about possibly moving out this year, finding a house to share with some roommates. This is not a bad idea. It isn't. After a couple years in the dorms at Westminster, last year he moved home with us, but yeah, I don't blame him for wanting a bit more independence this final year of school. It makes sense. But you see, I like having him here. I like hearing about his adventures at school. I like laughing about all the restaurant drama at Macaroni Grill. I like hearing him sing. I like the way he interacts with Seth and Swen.  Essentially, I like him.

And I'm proud of him. Really proud. Can I brag just a little? This past summer Isaiah set two goals: (1) to learn Spanish and (2) to become more physically fit, fairly lofty goals, but he followed through like no other. He found a free program on the computer and taught himself enough Spanish that he qualified to take the 2nd year course this fall at Westminster. Impressive! And he developed an exercise plan that he followed religiously every day. I often came home to find him lifting weights or doing push ups, crunches, or squats. All this has resulted in some weight gain (very good for Isaiah!) all muscle, obviously. He looks great.

He would not want me to write this post. He does not like to be the center of attention. He is the classic middle child, happy to slide by under the radar, requiring very little, and never making much noise. So hopefully he won't see this? If he does, hopefully he won't be mad?

But Zay...here's the thing:

You'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more

You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, 

always.