If It's Good Enough for Mr. Rogers...

ODE TO THE CARDIGAN
*Karen and Caitlyn, this one's for you.

I love cardigans.  There is something about them that just makes me happy.

Happy enough to sport them probably...mmm...I'd say about five days a week.  Give or take.  Conservatively speaking.

And it's not just me.  We took a guess the other day in my apartment.  Between the three of us, we have at least fifty, but probably more.  Yes, for those of you who can still mentally divide, that is a LOT of cardigans per person.  (**Note: We just went and counted.  Official count?  64--although only 15 of those were mine...)

My sister thinks it makes me "look like a teacher."  Could be.  I can't help it if other teachers seems to have the same great sense of style.  I mean, we all drive Toyotas too, but no one calls those "teacher cars."  It just means we are practical people who know something good when we see it.  And cardigans are definitely "something good."


Now, when I say that I love cardigans and that they make me look like a teacher, I would like to make a clarification: Please do not confuse them with the Ms. Frizzle-like cardigans your kindergarten teacher wore.  There are no bells, flashing lights, pompoms, or sewn-on designs to match each holiday and season, nor are any of my sweaters vests.  No, no, no.

That would give people a reason to beg me to stop looking like a teacher if I ever wanted to have a chance in life.

(Not that those types of sweaters aren't awesome--to all those kindergarten teachers, people over the age of 40, and extremely secure individuals who are probably unaware that someone wore a matching one to an ugly sweater party this past Christmas.)

Oh, the teddy bears....

Dancing snowmen?

Nothing says "First Day of School" like a good sweater...

Here are my TOP TEN REASONS for loving cardigans:

1. Sometimes it is too cold inside for short sleeves but it looks stupid to wear a coat indoors.

If only I had a cardigan....

2. They hide whatever you want to hide and can be very slimming.

See?  I knew this cardigan would hide everything!

3. They are the most versatile piece of clothing you will ever own.  You can wear a cardigan with anything: jeans, dress pants, dresses, shorts, etc.

This cardigan even goes with my motorcycle!

4. You can wear them all the places that you can't wear a hoodie.

See, I told you my hoodie wouldn't have worked with the pearls!

5. They are classic.  They never go out of style.  Jackie Kennedy rocked them and Michelle Obama rocks them still.  
(Note the picture above.  I mean, does the woman ever not wear a cardigan?)

6. They can be dressed up or down depending on what look you want to go for.

Hmmm....Maybe this post doesn't count for men...

7.  They work year-round.  At least if you live somewhere that it still cools off at night in the summer.

I just KNEW this cardigan was perfect for the beach!  

8.  They are perfect to go over tank tops and create fewer strange looks than just wearing a t-shirt underneath.
(In other words, a giant, neon sign saying, "Welcome to Utah.")

What?!  I think it looks good!

9.  They aren't too bulky to be worn under your winter coat.

Wahoo!  I don't look like the Michelin Man!

10.  You are in good company when you wear them.  
Hey!  If they are good enough for Mr. Rogers, they are certainly good enough for me.

Won't YOU be my neighbor?

If you haven't already, do yourself a favor:
Rock the cardigan.

If you need to borrow one to get you started, I may know some people who have a few.  :)

Dear Soldier

For Christmas this year, students in my class wrote letters to soldiers who would be overseas for the holiday. One of the boys in my class had a dad who spent Christmas in Afghanistan.  They thought about what it would be like to be away from family and then began their cards.  Here is what they came up with:

Dear Soldier,
Do you want to be at your house on Christmas day?  Oh, and also Merry Christmas!  Even though I don't know you I bet you are very nice.  Do you have a wife and kids?  Well if you do then I'm pretty sure you want to be with them right now.  (Picture of two stick people)  Choose which one you are: boy or girl.  From ______  (Boy)

Dear Soldier,
Hi, my name is ________.  I am very thankful that you are serving for freedom!  I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.  If you could have anything you wanted, what would you have?  I would probably have a lot of money!  Because then I could go and get WHATEVER I would want!  :)  What's your favorite holiday.  It's okay if you have two or three because I have two!  Mine are Christmas and Halloween!  :)  I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
Love Your Pal, _________

Pick a Holiday, any Holiday.   Or two or three...

Dear Soldier,
I hope you have a great Christmas.  I'm a REAL (underlined three times) girligirl.
Love,
______________

Dear Soldier,
I hope you have a great Christmas!  My name is _______.  Thank you for serving our country.  Guess what, my grandma gave me this jar and puff balls and if you do service you put a puff ball in it and I would put in like 15 if I was in the army!  Have a good Christmas.

That's right.  I got all these just by being in the army.  Beat that!

Dear Soldier,
I hope you are having fun.  My name is _______.  We are not having fun cause we are going to stay home.  Is it fun traveling?  I don't like it cause it is so boring.  Just sitting bored.

Dear Soldier,
Hello Sir, or Ma'am.  My name is _______!  I like soccer!  I feel it is like war.  You train for awhile, then you have a game or something to get you ready!
Your Friend,
___________

Hello,
You are the best soldier in the world.

Star Shaped Tupperware

Sometimes I hate Tupperware.  I mean, is it just me, or it is a nightmare every single time you attempt to find a lid for leftovers?  It's not that it should be that hard, necessarily.  I mean, you get a plastic container, stick something in it, pop a lid on, and stick in in the fridge, right?

Yes, at least in theory.  So WHY is it such a pain?

Well, my friends, because if you're like me, there are roughly 5-8 brands of so-called "Tupperware" in your cupboard, along with a drawer or container somewhere full of lids that may or may not go to anything that resides in your cupboard.  In fact, they may be to something you threw away years ago, something the neighbors left when they brought you food, or something you melted when you forgot it was on the stove.  Tupperware is like socks.  Keeping it matched is...challenging.

The other day I was at my sister's apartment dropping off some food.  I found a nice, rectangular Tupperware and stuck the food in, quickly scanning the large shoebox full of lids for something that might fit.  Blue lid?  Too big.  Red lid?  Also too big.  Green lid?  Wrong shape of rectangle.  Clear lid?  Obviously a different brand entirely.

Seriously, people!  This is not supposed to be rocket science.  I just wanted a lid for some ham!

Growing more and more frustrated, I tried lid after lid as my sister's roommate sat by watching.  Finally, exasperated, I asked, "Do you know where the lid to this is?"
(I think she must have been enjoying watching me battle a box of plastic, especially since I was losing.)

"Oh...that one?"  she replied.  "Mmmm....I don't think it has a lid."

Doesn't have a lid?!  Then what in tarnation was it doing in the cupboard in the first place?!  I grabbed another container, found the lid, and then transferred the food, threw it in the fridge, and left.  Tupperware-1.  Melissa-0.

On my drive home, I thought about something my friend Owen told me at a party awhile back.  We were joking about different people getting married and how some people just can't seem to find "The One."  THE one?  Forget that.  They can't seem to find ANYone!  OR...they date a million people and somehow none of them "work."  And then they are surrounded by all these people who are happily married, as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

"It's like this," Owen said.  "People are like Tupperware.  Most of them are just regular square and rectangular shaped.  So there are all these lids that look like they are going to fit.  And they just keep trying lids and trying lids and trying lids until something fits.  But other people are like star shaped Tupperware.  They are such a unique shape that it is really easy to find their match.  I mean, how many star-shaped lids are there?"

Hmmm....He had a point.  I mean, it doesn't take long at a medieval festival to realize the handsome knight across from some fair maiden probably made his own chain-mail armor, link by link, too.  Some people were just made for each other.  Absolutely a perfect fit--and it is apparent from the first few moments.  That is the kind of love you can spot through a million old rectangular lids.

"Oh honey!  I can't wait for Couples Jousting!"

And for all those rectangles?  I guess they just have to hold their breath, keep trying lids on, and hope they find something that works (before they throw the box, say bad words, or find out there is no lid).  It would appear that the more they try on, the better their chances that something JUST MIGHT someday fit.

Of course, if they are brighter than I am or have a little more reasoning sense, they may even be able to eliminate a good majority of the non-fitting rectangular lids before they even pick them up.

All that being said, I decided over Christmas break that I would once again take on the Tupperware.

See why Tupperware is so frightening?!

Attempting to be helpful one night after dinner, I took the leftovers and approached the cupboard.  Clearly not learning from past mistakes, I just grabbed something that looked like the right size, put in the food, and started looking for lids.  The first three were clearly NOs.  Not even close.  The fourth time I got it.  Or at least close.  Close enough.  I kept squeezing that lid down waiting for it to click.  I opened the fridge door and quickly put it in before the lid could decide to pop off.  Curiously, I peeked in the fridge...just to see.  Sure enough, the lid had popped off.  For as close as it was (and believe me, it was), it was not the right lid.  Close.  SOOO close.  Mad that I had been bested by Tupperware again, I marched back to the lids, determined to find the right one.  I grabbed one and put it on.

Snap!  Just like that.  No maneuvering.  No trying to force it down on each of the corners.  It was so easy.  I put it on.  It fit.  I put it away.

"Hey!  Brett!"  I called to my brother with a challenging tone.  "YOU try to find a lid for the next one."
"Okay," he said.  He walked over, picked up a lid, snapped it on and threw the leftovers in the fridge as I stood by and watched, utterly flabbergasted.

What could I say?
Some people have all the luck.