Creating a Dead Drop

by Stephanie

For those who are less familiar with the espionage genre, a dead drop is a designated location where two spies can pass information to each other, without ever having to meet in person. One spy can simply leave information at the dead drop for the other spy to pick up at a later time. Using a dead drop can minimize the appearance of suspicious activity and protect the identity of the spies.

Here are some helpful hints for choosing a dead drop location:

1. Choose a hiding place that is a tight and secure fit for your secret object. For example, a yogurt-covered pretzel is a perfect fit in that little detergent compartment in the dishwasher. Anyone who happened to find it would have to pry it out, thereby destroying the evidence in the process.


2. Find a place that no one would ever think of looking. (See photo above.) Place the blueberries (or secret information) in one of those little outlets that have been set below floor level to accomodate plugging in a lamp that is not near a wall. It is unlikely anyone will look in there until the blueberries have had time to become mushy and possibly moldy.


3. Think of a location that is somewhat gross, where no one will want to go investigating, say...the cat box. Place the Star Wars figures in the yellow mud pond and then use the little shovel to mix it all up a bit so they have some camouflage. Believe me, no one will go looking for them in there.

These are just three small examples out of endless possibilities. Remember - be creative, be discreet and, above all, be quiet - good spies do not draw attention to themselves. I hope this was helpful.

How to Pick a Lock

Tools required: Cell phone, patience, nice husband.

Step one: Pull out your cell phone. (Whew! Good thing it was in your pocket!)

Step two: Enter the speed dial number of your husband's phone (or anyone else who happens to have a key to your house - doesn't have to be a husband).

Step three: Start by asking how his day is going and if there's anything you can do for him.

Step four: Ask if he will be available for awhile or if he has some meetings scheduled (unfortunately, it's only 9am at this point). Then, when he says he will be around, tell him you (and his cute little daughter) are locked out, but that you can borrow your friend's car and come get the key from him. The catch: you will be driving someone else's car without a license.

Step five: After he says, without any hesitation, that he will drive the 40 minutes one-way home and let you in the house, then drive the 40 minutes back to work, thank him sweetly and sincerely.

Step six: Wait patiently for him to arrive and start thinking of something yummy to make for dinner.

Voila! Lock-picking made simple. You would think that, with my great love of mysteries and crime detection, I would already know a more sophisticated way to pick a lock. I am ashamed. Maybe there's a class I could take...

Top 10 Clues for a Successful Move

Don't ask if we're all settled in yet. The answer should be obvious.
Alright, here are the top 10 clues:

10. On your last day in the old house, do not ask your kids if there's anything they want to do one last time before you move. Both the boys managed to yank out a not-so-loose tooth and we ended up having one more visit from the tooth fairy, as if we weren't busy enough that night.

9. Expect the unexpected. On the day of our move, Daniel came home from Kindergarten with The Surprise Box. "Please help your child find an item to put in the box and write three clues to encourage the other children to guess what it is. You must return it tomorrow! Have fun." Yeah. Very fun.

8. Make sure you know where the cat is before it's time for him to go to his overnight bungalow at the vet. Otherwise, as you can imagine, you will be frantically searching for him when you really should be focusing on actually moving.

7. Choose a funny person to be your realtor so he can entertain you while you sign papers and wait for your thousand copies to be made. (Thanks, Del.) You may also want to do some hand exercises in the days leading up to your closing. Oh yeah - and they'll need your signature WITH your middle initial as well as WITHOUT.

6. Wait at least 10 minutes before depositing your check from the title company. If you don't, they will probably call you right after you leave the bank and say, "Hold on to that check for a bit, will you?" Just imagine the stress you would have if that happened...

5. Be prepared for a warm welcome from all your new neighbors. No, I'm not talking about the human ones. Among the array of creature neighbors we've met so far: chipmunks living in the front yard, woodpeckers, box turtle, wolf spiders and a possible black widow (never could get her to roll over before we gave up and smashed her - just in case.).

4. If it looks like a lazy susan, it probably is a lazy susan. Push harder.

3. Remember to use deodorant on your first Sunday in the new ward.

2. Do not, I repeat, do NOT believe anything Verizon says about transferring your phone service.

And...

1. Do not promise your kids you will take them on the ward campout that takes place two days after you move. Trust me, you will be exhausted. (Or, at least, your husband will be - if it's the Father-Son campout.)

Mystery Dinner

Mmmm! Doesn't this look colorfully delicious? This is the dinner that was brought to my family last night by a very kind friend who thought I might not want to be doing a lot of cooking with just 6 days left till the move. She was right. This is a black bean quinoa dish with fresh vegetable salsa on top. It was even tastier than it looks. What's the mystery, you ask?

Well. The mystery is why my kids ate it without ANY fuss whatsoever. No sideways glance of suspicion as they approached their plates. No tentative queries into its unique components. Daniel simply asked, "What is this?" I told him what it was and that my friend had brought it for us, and he replied, "It looks yummy!" and dug right in and ate the entire portion on his plate. This is, indeed, a mystery! Did he do this because it was brought by someone else, not made by me? Was it the smell? All the beautiful colors? I guess I should ask him because if I could crack this mystery, we could have success at every meal. Nathan and Stephanie ate theirs with no trouble as well (though Nathan is typically a very adventurous eater anyway).

Eric was the only one who seemed to think twice about it. After I told him what it was called, he said, "What is quinoa anyway?" I told him it was a kind of grain. He froze mid-bite and asked, "Brain?"

(Note: I have since learned that it is not a true grain, but a kind of seed. But hey, that's better than brains.)