A Great Day at Chic-fil-A

by Camille Posted on September 29, 2007

The following conversation took place this morning at the Chic-fil-A drive-thru. The time was 8:15 a.m., just after I’d dropped off Kyle at the Sky Harbor International Airport…

Employee: It’s a great day at Chic-fil-A, and my name is Lori, what can I do for you?
Me: Hi Lori. Just for the record, I think it’s kind of a lousy day, but that’s just my opinion, and my opinion doesn’t count for much. How are you?
Lori: I’m fine, thanks. What can I get for you?
Me: Can you get me October 13th please?
Lori: (Not understanding that I just wanted her to fast-forward time for me) That’s a number one chicken with cheese, anything else?
Me: No, no, October 13th!
Lori: …Ma’am? That will be a number one with cheese, is that correct?
Me: (Realizing I was making a fool of myself and poor Lori was no therapist) Actually, Lori, I’ll just have a large Diet Dr. Pepper, please.
Lori: A number one chicken with cheese and a large Diet Dr. Pepper–that will be $6.17 at the second window.

So I was very obviously sad at first this morning when I dropped off Kyle at the airport, but I am much more cheerful now–it’s almost October!

You see? You see how fast September passes? It’s as though five Septembers could fit into the whole of August; the difference between the two months is more than just one extra day–it’s an eternity.

Speaking of eternity, I did turn 21 and I did go through the temple. Just like I said I would. Both experiences were fantastic, and the fact that I got to spend so much time with my family and future-family was just icing on the cake. Kyle and his parents flew in on Saturday, and we all had such fun trying to show the in-laws a good time. Eating out was part of every day’s itinerary, and I can’t think of a thing I would have changed about the week.


Stuart and Linda (yes, I have finally resigned myself to calling them Stuart and Linda [but not to their faces quite yet]) flew back across the border Wednesday; as one of my birthday bonuses, Kyle’s boss (his dad) let him skip the rest of the work week to stay in the U.S.A and help with wedding stuff. I finally had to send him back this morning, which was wretched, as always, but I take consolation in the less-than-two-weeks until I get to see him again.


And after October 13th, we will be together…well…forever. I wonder if Kyle knows quite what he’s in for? Probably not–Poor Kyle.

Oh p.s.: Thanks, thanks, thanks to the 23 people who posted on my blog, to make for a very happy birthday! 23!! An “Archives of Our Lives” all-time record. Splendid.

Posted in Overall Good Things | 8 Comments

{Milestones}

by Camille Posted on September 24, 2007

Kyle and his parents are in town. It’s like all wedding-planning trauma has come to a complete halt while we try to show them how amazing Arizona is (not difficult, with the beautiful weather we’ve been having since it’s not wretched August anymore). I don’t know why I’m trying not to act stressed while they’re here–they read my blog and hear about Poor Kyle’s phone calls, so they know it’s Bride-o-Mania (emphasis on the manic portion of the word mania) 80% of the time.

But despite that, they are here, and when one acts like one is not stressed, it really is easier to stay calm about things. Which is why Kyle should stay for the next 24 days, in my opinion.

The reason his family has journeyed o’er hill, crag, and border patrol is to be with me Tuesday as I go through the temple. I know there are people who read my blog who don’t know much about the LDS church, so I will give a brief overview: This is big.

And for a more in-depth overview: When I go through the temple for the first time, I will be making promises (covenants) with my Heavenly Father (the same God of the Christian/Catholic/Lutheran/Baptist, etc. religions) that will make me a better person and help me get to the highest part of Heaven, where He is. After I go through to make my own covenants, I will be able to go back as much as I want, in order to act for people who have passed away so that they can make the same promises. (No, this doesn’t take away their freedom to choose–we believe that when people pass away, their spirits are still very much alive. But if adults pass away before they get a chance to hear about the church and decide if they want to be baptized, we don’t think that should condemn them to Hell…That’s why I can go to the temple in behalf of people who are dead–so they have the option to choose, even though they aren’t here on Earth to go through the physical process.) Anyway, there is a lot more to it than that, but this is a blog, and to keep it brief, I will redirect you to this website, should you choose to learn more. (As a side note, there are lots of really lousy websites about the Mormon church. Most of them are full of beans. The only one I trust to give the whole truth, and the most details {for the internet} is this website, run and approved by the people in charge of that sort of thing.)

So Kyle is here. And his parents.

And something to note is that my birthday is Tuesday, the same day I go through the temple. I’m turning 21. Since I don’t drink, I am going to ask for the second-most thrilling birthday present imaginable, after getting drunk: Comments. Lame? For sure. True? Undoubtedly…

A brief glance into the archives of my blog show that the highest volume of comments I ever had was the day I opened up our engagement photos for deliberation. (I didn’t need to check the archives, though. I already knew 15 was my max. It was also the best day of my life, to that point.) I can’t think of much I would like more than to sign onto my blog on Tuesday and see a comment link with more than 15 comments. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while and simply never introduced yourself, come out of the woodwork! I just want to know who you are. If you comment every day, like my sister, stick to the status quo! I like comments. Keep in mind, this is a really great way to acknowledge my birth and to do it for less than something you could buy at The Dollar Tree–just leave a comment.

To keep with the thrill of it all, I am not going to check the progress of my birthday petition. I’ll just bite my nails from now until the afternoon of the 25th, and then sign on. (I won’t even cheat and check my emails, since I get notified every time someone comments.) Hopefully it’s a good turnout.

Now I’m signing off–feeling very much like a beggar–to get some sleep before Kyle and I wake up tomorrow to get our marriage license. The next time I blog, I will be 21. (I’m not that excited about being 21, by the way. The bridge between, say, seven and eight, was much more exciting than 20-21. I’ve pretty much felt 21 since last year.)

Posted in Uncategorized | 23 Comments

{le francais}

by Camille Posted on September 22, 2007
Septembre {sept*ahmbreh}: The French word for that pivotal time of year when everything bad becomes good, and everything already good becomes magnified one hundred times through a rose-colored lens.

Sometimes I think people don’t believe me when I say I speak French. Well here’s proof (albeit at the three year-old level).

Posted in French | 6 Comments

{Crafty?}

by Camille Posted on September 21, 2007



In the comment section of my previous post, I was shamefully and wrongfully accused of waxing too poetic lately. So for this post, to counteract the Emily Dickinson in me, I am merely going to show some images of the pomanders I made for my flower girls, and the Bouquet of Mostly Berries I made with my leftover supplies and surplus motivation.




Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

The Ending of an Era…

by Camille Posted on September 18, 2007

I feel so discontented when life changes on me and I’m not prepared.

Today, the Banner Mesa Medical Center (formerly known as the Mesa Lutheran Hospital) closed. I was born there. My sister was born there. Most of my extended family was born there. It was in that hospital that I have participated in countless–countless–waiting-room vigils for loved ones. {Evidently convening in waiting rooms while a family member has a baby or undergoes surgery is not a common occurrence. In the Leavitt Family, it’s a given. If someone is at the hospital, we are all there–not necessarily in the hospital room, but definitely in the waiting area. Steve’s Krazy Sub is always involved in these wakes, and they are times that the family comes together…for strength, for socialization (if the situation is not life-or-death), or sometimes just to annoy the people at the nurse’s station. I was 19 years old by the time I realised that not every family does this.} I’ve held the hand of many sick family members at “my hospital;” spent numberless nights on ridiculously hard and endlessly squeaky cots.

Here’s the “old” sign on the Brown Road Curve. It looks awfully bare. Forlorn, even.

The management had been planning on closing the hospital for a long time, but I don’t think any amount of time could prepare me for the sense of loss I feel now, at it’s closure. I didn’t even get to go to the 9th floor one last time. And it was not a big deal to them! I feel cheated. I feel like the hospital has been abandoned, used for its purposes and now left lonely since it ‘s grown too old to be considered “cost-efficient.” [Vile phrase, that.]

Poor Kyle–if I feel this downtrodden from a 44 year-old building closing its doors, how will I be when I move out of the country I’ve called home for 20 of my 21 years? Poor, poor Kyle…

Posted in change, sad things | 11 Comments

National Like-It-Link-It Day

by Camille Posted on September 15, 2007
A stanza in Snow Patrol’s song “Chasing Cars” is nice. {Actually, all of the stanzas are nice, but this one in particular is relevant to my post today.}

“Those three words are said too much. They’re not enough.”

A lot of people these days are saying that the word “love” is overused. I agree. Yet up until this point, I have done nothing to stop the massacring of the English language. “I love you,” I tell people, but at the same time I also say things like, “I love this chair. I love what you’ve done with the place. I love scrapbooking. I love flossing.” Is that to say that I have the same feeling in my heart for, say, the man I am going to be with for eternity, as I have for dental floss? “Chasing Cars” couldn’t have been more correct. Those three words aren’t enough.

But this post is not about how to tell your lover that you more-than-love him or her. Rather, it’s about using milder words–like, for example–to express those milder sentiments.

Welcome to national Like-It-Link-It* Day.

There’s a whole lot of like in the world, and most of it is coming from my heart this week. My dear friend, Melenie, once wrote a post on her blog wherein she linked to mine three times! In one post! I felt the “like” vibe emanating from Mel that day, and ever since then, I have been wanting to write a Like-It-Link-It* post.

Things I Like Enough to Link:

-Favourite TV Drama: Grey’s Anatomy.

-Favourite Real-Life Drama: Melenie’s Blog (Between Mel and her husband, they have, like, 9 parents. It’s quite fascinating.)

-Favourite TV Station: ABC.com. This company has worked wonders with marketing, music selections, and the overall appeal of their station. I only watch shows online, though, afther they’ve aired, which I can do with limited (30 second) commercials from their sponsors. I like it.

-Favourite Mouth-Watering Blog: Cupcake Frenzy {though it hasn’t been updated in quite some time.}

-Most Inspiring-to-be-Crafty Blog: Heather Bailey. My favourite post of hers is the one about straws. Read it here. I wonder if Kyle could learn to take photos like that for my blog?

-Blog that somehow always makes me feel bad about myself because she and her kids are so cool: Kayleen

-Person who probably doesn’t read my blog but who I wish would: Loralee

-Favourite store for gadgets: Brookstone! I just bought this clock yesterday (at half-price) and my life has improved since its purchase.

Well that was delightful. I like this new blogiday of mine. I think I will do this once a month. Maybe more, maybe less. I can’t really say what day is officially Like-It-Link-It day, because I might not like as many things in any given month. We’ll just have to see.

*Like-It-Link-It is a registered phrase of www.archiveslives.com. I thought of it all by myself. If you want to have a Like-It-Link-It day, go for it, but you ought to link to my blog in the process–it seems only fair.

Posted in like-it-link-it | 8 Comments

…Where Fashion Has the Right-of-Way…

by Camille Posted on September 13, 2007

Remember where I work? I’d almost forgotten–it’s the Fashion Mall. For Fashion People. I pulled into the Brown Parking Garage at work today, (the fact that it’s called the Brown Garage means nothing. There’s also a Green Garage that is actually painted tan. One of the many things that makes no sense about Scottsdale…) and had to slam on Tamra Camry’s poor little anti-lock brakes in an attempt to save both her life and my own. Had I not, we would have surely perished at the hands of a harried Porsche driver. (Why, I ask, would anyone be harried if they were driving a Porsche? If I could afford to drive a Porsche, it would only be after I could afford to pay the maid, butler, gardener, and daily hairstylist. I would not have a care in the world. I would pay someone to be harried for me. But that’s just me…) Do keep in mind that it was clearly my turn to go–or at least it would have been, in a sane city like Mesa. Evidently I’d forgotten that traffic laws change once a person crosses over the border between Scottsdale and The-Rest-of-the-World.

In Scottsdale, fashion has the right-of-way.

Later in the food court, as I stood in the chaotic line to order a Diet Pepsi at Paradise Bakery, I was rudely cut off by a lady toting a chihuahua in a Louis Vuitton puppy-dog carrier. (I am not telling a joke. I thought people like that only existed on Entertainment Hollywood, but I was quite wrong.) I was cut off at the hands of Fashion. This time, though, I shouldered my way before her in all my frump-girl glory. A shocked expression washed over her liposuctioned 22 year-old face (oh, hadn’t you heard? Aging happens sooner in Scottsdale, too!) and she was utterly speechless. I walked away carrying my medium Diet Pepsi triumphantly, like a trophy for all the name-brands to see. I wanted to shout, “And I even got the 10% mall employee discount! It’s not much, but it covers the tax!”

Posted in fashion people | 10 Comments