this guy.

i am happy my dad is so tall. because my mom is pretty short (but so very cute), and so that means that between the two, i come out to about average height, if not a little taller than most of my friends. (except the friends that are giants.) thanks, dad.

but seriously, i really love my dad so so much. my dad was the catalyst for me going on a mission. i was 22, one semester away from graduating, and considering an internship in france. filling out the application, actually. i went home for christmas break, and one of the things that came up was this:

dad: "so i've been thinking a lot about this, and i really think you should consider going on a mission."
me: *snort* "yeah, ok."

ok. despite my totally bratty response, it did stick with me. because here's the thing--my dad is usually a "you make your own choices and i support you" kind of dad. every once in a while, he'll give suggestions, but only if he thinks it's pretty important. here's the other thing--i really respect my dad. he is very wise. so i started thinking about it, like a "ok i won't say NO, but i'm definitely not saying yes..." and once that door was opened just a little crack, eventually it just blew right open and off i went to tahiti, allowing me to have one of the most rewarding 18 months of my life.

i once heard in a religion class that sometimes God will reveal things to other people for us, because sometimes we're not listening. i am so grateful that my dad is one of those people who does listen, for all the times when i don't.

now things have come full circle, and he's out serving a mission of his own. i couldn't be more proud to be able to say that paul hansen is MY dad.

love you, dad. 

also, if you were here, i would take you to this: 

i have bad luck with spiders.

let's talk about last thursday.
*disclaimer: there are some pictures of me on a toilet. you have been warned.

then, out of the corner of my eye, appears:

and then i:

this spider was huge. way too big to squish with a shoe, because then i would feel it crunch and smush. and i can't handle that. so i went for the next most effective alternative. scrubbing bubbles. 

after using about half the can on the demon and watching him curl up and die, i felt secure enough to do my hair in the bathroom. but i didn't want to touch it (the spider, not my hair), so i left it on the window sill because i also wanted to show grace when she got home, because fear must be shared. 

then i left, spider still curled up and not moving on the window sill. fast forward to a few hours later. grace and i come home. me: "grace come see the giant mutant i killed in our bathroom!" grace: "...iii don't..."

it.

was. 

gone.

after a frantic and scary search in the bathroom to see where it had gone, we found nothing. but i really had to pee. but i was really scared. but i still had to go. so i did. 

i don't think i've ever put my pants back as quickly in my entire life. obviously i made grace kill it the second time around. 

in case you missed this, here is some background on other horrifying spider experiences.