The many names of ME

I heard I have a secret blog fan club -- the CAT team in Peoria!! Hi Fan Club! (We should give you an official name!) I've never met these people, and probably lucky for them, they've never met me. But we did get to spend 4 hours together two weeks ago as I drove us back to Illinois, while Matt conferenced called them. Somehow in that time, I became known as "Precious". But Peoria folks, just so you know, I have put on a few lbs since moving south, but I am no where near looking like the celebrity Precious.


(But I do love me some cardigan sweaters. And P.S.- I'm white...very white!...in skin color and dance moves)


Well, it got me thinking about all the names I have been called--well, you know what I mean--not behind my back kind of names--Proper Names. Here's my favorites:

Peaches--That was Matt used to call me in public to embarrass me
Sara Sue--Jennifer Kraft Norris always called me this
Sister Sara--Mr. Morr (HS Science teacher who taught all 5 Flamms) called me this for the movie Two Mules for Sister Sara
Sara F. -- Always had to go by that at 4-H House because there was two Saras
Sara Mae -- Only the great Cathy Allen!
Mrs. Ervin -- Official title on July 5, 2003
Aunt Sara -- The lucky 15 nieces & nephews, though only Matt's side adds the Aunt in front
Serv -- Brett Calvert's take on Dippin' Merv's wife Merv & Serv
Miss Sara or Miss Sawa-- Called that by my little kiddos at Growing Together and Ahead Start
Crush -- Camp name, named for Orange Crush cheering section at U of I
Sara Lee -- That's from my awesome Father-in-Law, John!
Peon -- I think I named myself that at Girl Scouts way back when. It hasn't changed.
Matt -- No that isn't a typo. Our then 2 year old neighbor in SC, Jude, always announced "Matt & Matt" are here!
The Baby -- I'm the youngest of 5 and some of my siblings are, uhm old!
Sharolyn, Sherry, or Susan -- Along the same lines, it's not uncommon to be called by one of my sister's names.
Ma'am -- Ya'll, I do live in the South!


And my dad's favorite story to tell is related to my name. Supposedly....When I came home from kindergarten I announced that it was a good thing that they named me "Sara", because that is what everyone at school called me! Clearly, I lived a sheltered life. That or I was well on my way to discovering what a genious I was/am!

To Do: Make fun of Matt

According to Matt, he says this blog is just a way for me to make fun of HIM. Ok, if he insists!

I wish I had a small recorder so you could hear what is happening in the next room over. Well, first note, that (a) Matt generally cannot be in the same room as me if he is on the phone. Probably because I am always making fun of him for (b) constantly yawning when on the phone, (c) saying "and da da da and da da da" ---literally! or maybe just that (c) Matt's phone conversations rarely last over 6.5 minutes.

But right now he is the phone with customer service for our frozer dvr player....and we know that will last over 6.5 minutes. But it is vitally important that our dvr is brought back to life. Right now it is just playing a nasty trick on us--It records but as you are watching it, usually at the most dramatic part--it freezes.

But as many of us know, Matt's patience level varies depending on the task. But when he loses it, he loses it. So just pretend that you can hear him YELLING into the phone, note (d) at a very slow, robotic pace our account number. Then I hear him saying "Customer Service" as loud as he possibly can at least 3 times. I bet they couldn't hear him! Wait, he just got his directions. OMG, they told him to unplug it and try again. I hear the romote being slammed on the table. I hear words unappropriate for children. I hear a big sign. Oh don't you just wish you could be here to witness this!

He's probably a little cranky too because he took a nap and was awoken by the storm radio going off....there is a small thunderstorm 20 miles away. And the weather radio doesn't go off, until you turn it off. Again, I'm sure you can imagine.

Maybe when he reads that I only told you abour 4 of his flaws, he will laugh. Hopefully he reads this tomorrow!

To Do: Send Matt to school

It was a big day at the Ervin household today....

MATT'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!



And just like my nieces are probably counting down the months till summer break, he came home and said "14 weeks to go!".


Note: He did wear shoes to school today! That was on our supply list.

Above: Matthew John Ervin, future Engineer

To Do: Observe Magic

Magic--Just like that our waverunner is fixed!

Ok, maybe it wasn't that easy. But Matt & Dustin made it seem like magic that it was fixed in just 1 day. The history of the waverunner we just purchased is a long & winded story. And I'm not much for telling those kind of stories --ha! The Cliff Notes version:
1. The waverunner broke down the 3rd time we used it.
2. The waverunner shop had it for weeks and never started working on it.
3. The waverunner warranty was about to expire in days.
4. The waverunner was dismantantled and parts were strewn all over the garage for weeks.
5. The waverunner engine was sent to Florida.
6. The waverunner engine arrived back yesterday.
7. The waverunner miraculously was re-assembled by Matt & Dustin today!!
8. The waverunner will be tested tomorrow-- if you don't hear from me for a few days, you may want to send the coast guard....or whoever saves you in Arkansas.

But while it may seem that the boys were heroes and that these mechanical engineers (or whatever their big whig title is) should write the process for reassembling an engine, I thought you might enjoy hearing some of the actual comments I overhead from the garage today:

• Do you know where this went?
• We better hurry, the silicone dries in an hour
• If we take this out, what holds it together?
• I think....
• We better look at the instructions
• Let's take off one bolt and see what happens
• You know all these things look the same
• The instructions say to do it now, but I want to do it out of order
• Now you look like a mechanic
• That is so Macgyver-ish (and trust me I wanted to insert a photo here, but since Dustin is one of my top blog followers, I know I would be in trouble)