32 Flavors

It's A Brand New Day or One Year Later or You Gotta Fall In Order To Land.

2010-02-19T23:37:00.000-08:00

It’s a brand new day

The sun is shining

It’s a brand new day

For the first time

In such a long long time

I know I’ll be ok.

I'm In Love...

2010-02-11T21:41:00.003-08:00

Subjects - Little Miss P & Miss R

Date & Time - 2/11/10 9:33 pm
Location - Miss R's bed

Love Notes From My Daughters

2010-01-24T23:44:00.000-08:00

You mack
me Happy
I Love
You So
much Love
your doter
:R
To Mommy
<-Hug me please thank you

Mommy P and
I miss you.
We love.
you! Hope you have
a good Day whith ->
Star and Brad. thank
you for the turkey.
ther is a treat!
in the lanch Box.
Love R, P
To mommy
Hope you have a
good day. mommy

mommy
Hope you
Have a
good day
Love:
R
To:
mommy

my I Love
you. Hope
your Day
is good ->
OXOXOXOX
OXOXOX
Love
R

Love. P
to. mommy
I Love you
I miss you

I Love you
mommy.
have a
good Day
with Star,
Brad.
Marry
christmas
and a
Happy new year
I Love:
R
To: you
Dec 7
2009
7:59

Insight Into The Mind of Little Miss P

2009-12-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

On the wall outside Little Miss P's kindergarten class they have posted "Wanted" posters for each of the kindergarteners. Each poster has a picture of a kindergartener with a list of things that tell others about them. Most of the kids responses are normal, with a few "out there" or "silly" responses. Not my girl.

I am: a cat

I live: on a rock

I eat: dog food

I have: a pet guitar

I like a tree to eat

I hate: people

I wish: I could never be alive

Talk amongst yourselves.

Anyone Know A Good Contractor? or Pull Out The Blue Tarp!

2009-12-15T20:57:00.001-08:00

Gingerbread Waffles

2009-12-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

3 c. flour
4 t. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
4 eggs
2/3 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1 1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. molasses
1/2 c. melted butter

Combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar till fluffy, then beat in pumpkin, milk, molasses and melted butter. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until moist. DO NOT OVER STIR, seriously. Then cook it. Then eat it. These waffles are a softer waffle, don't hold out for a crispy waffle. I had it this past week with huckleberry syrup. Yum.

Things That We Are Thankful For or Things For Which We Are Grateful

2009-11-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

I sat down with the girls today and talked about gratitude. Why? IDK, maybe because Thanksgiving is this week? So, they made this list of all the things that they are grateful for in their lives. Here is the list that the girls made - word for word.

We are thankful for:
turkeys & family
our house & family
God & Jesus & everything that you could imagine
mommies & daddies
sister, cat, fish, mom & dad (glad to know where I stand in the line-up)
the prophet & bishop
Church & temples & everything, except bad guys
my house & warm clothes
bishops & prophets & grandmas & grandpas
missionaries
the Book of Mormon
my uncles & aunties
books, school, animals
a warm house
cozy bed
all our electricity
the cozy fires & everything that makes us warm
food
pillows
hugs & kisses
friends
flowers
food (double entry I know, they like food)
breakfast & lunch & dinner (again with the food)
rice bags (bags that we heat up in the microwave that help keep us warm at night)
clothes
TV
butterflies that fly in the air & all the animals that are living
milk
Books of Mormon (see below)
The Best Two Years (a movie I recorded off of BYUTV during conference this year, the girls love it, the humor is right up their alley)
dishes, so that we don't have to drink soup off the table
our Primary Program

L'Automne

2009-11-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

L'automne est un deuxième printemps où chaque feuille est une fleur.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

-Albert Camus

I Know The Plans I Have For You

2009-11-04T22:14:00.000-08:00

"I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6

Cabin Fever or The Internets Got Me.

2009-10-31T00:12:00.000-07:00

I left work early last Friday feeling like I had about three and a half elephants sitting on my chest. Ever have that feeling? Even some of my co-workers noticed something wasn't quite right with me. One was just polite enough to ask if something was wrong with my eyes. Nice. I anticipated some down time before I got the girls from school and a nice, relaxing recovery over the weekend.

No such luck.

Of course I should know better. I have kids, two of them in fact. Every mom knows what it is like when she is sick, I don't need to go into detail about it. If you don't know, go ask a mom. That said, I am no exception. So, then the most wonderful thing happened. Miss R came down with a fever Sunday night. Then Little Miss P followed suite on Tuesday afternoon. Needless to say, I haven't quite gotten the recovery I was hoping to get. As an added bonus I've left the house twice in the past week for short jaunts out and back. Needless to say, cabin fever has hit all of us, and I think we are starting to get on each others nerves, Maybe just a little bit. The girls are bored. I'm bored. I'm bored because I'm sick. I'm bored because I don't have any energy to do anything because I'm sick. I'm bored because I have been resting so much, I'm no longer tired enough to sleep, yet I am still mysteriously, completely exhausted. I'm bored because I've watched so much TV that it feels like my eyeballs are going to start to bleed. So tonight I decided to change it up and trade one time suck for another. I got on Facebook. I checked out a friend's status. You know the rest of the story.

The Internets got me.

And it was nothing worthwhile, I guarantee. In fact it was so mind numbing I thought I'd share it with you people. I started with a link to dance steps for a video. Why did I click on it? I have no good explanation.

Then I went to this parody:

And then to this one:

Next there came this:

Now with this one, there are a couple of things that amaze me about this clip. 1. Someone actually thought that filming their TV and then posting it on YouTube was a good idea, and 2. Over 600,000 people have watched this clip. Amazing, absolutely amazing.

And then finally this.

And now not only are my eyeballs bleeding, but my brain and bum have gone completely numb. I hope you people appreciate what I have done for you.

Sigh, I hate being sick. We all better get well soon.

100th Post

2009-10-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it. I just decided to start blogging again (for real this time) and I just noticed this is my 100th post.

Cool.

So, where have I been you ask? I am going through a divorce people, and that is all I'm going to say about that topic.

Life is good, however. Great, actually.

This is what I have been up to. In no particular, reasonable, or even chronological order of course. I was too lazy to upload my photos in order. And I had even less motivation to organize the mess I created while uploading them.

I've been spending a lot of time with these two lovely ladies.

We did a little bit of this during the summer.

Someone started kindergarten this year. Sigh.

Someone else started second grade. Double sigh. This was her first day of school pose. I couldn't get her to stand still. I just love the dry, dead grass as a background. So lovely. Creates a wonderful ambiance. It cries "White Trash".

We met quite possibly the largest pig I've ever seen. One of her ears was as large as Little Miss P's head. No joke. Enormous. Little Miss P was in heaven. She soooo badly wanted to hold one of the baby piggies, but that wasn't about to happen.

Terrorist Tea Pot - We demand hot tea. I love that this tea pot has a ski mask as a tea cozy. Classic.

While in Spokane, we went to Boo Radleys. Possibly the coolest store in Spokane. I'd say we spent about 2-3 hours there giggling and not acting like the 30 something moms that we are. While in college, I used to call Spokane - Spokompton. In was a lovely nickname that described Spokane quite nicely. Now it has been topped by a new personal favorite - Spokanistan. I loved it soooo much, I brought a memento back with me.

Other fun nicknames for Spokane - Spoklahoma, Spokanada, Spokandyland, Spokvegas, Spokan't, Spokamsterdam. Or Methlehem.

I went to Spokane for my ten year college reunion with one of my most favorite people in the world. Or Tacoma. Yep, she is definitely my most favorite person in Tacoma. While there, we stopped by Pizza Pipeline for some Tricky Sticks. They were just as good as I remember them being.

It's fall and my favorite time of the year. The girls and I took a walk through our neighborhood cemetery and collected lovely leaves of every shape, size and color.

I'm back. (For real)

Screw It

2009-10-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

I know you are reading my blog and I don't care anymore. I miss blogging.

Days Like These

2009-09-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

Me: Miss R, please go untie your sister, NOW!

It was just the perfect end to one of those days. Do you ever have days like that? Days where you find yourself going from one surreal moment to the next? Days where you find yourself saying the craziest things, and yet they seem perfectly reasonable? I've had several days like that this week. And I'm loving it.

On My Mind

2009-08-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.

Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.

And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.

He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.

Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.

And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.

And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.

O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?

May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.

O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

2 Nephi 4:16-35

Blueberry French Toast

2009-07-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Oh yum. This is one of my favorites. Ever. And it is easy to make. One of the best things about this recipe is that it is prepared the night before. No work required in the morning other than popping it in the oven. Which is ideal for me because I am NOT a morning person. Another great thing about this french toast is that it doesn't require syrup. I don't need to explain why this makes me happy if you have ever seen Little Miss P eat. If not, just guess.

2 1/2 cups whole milk

8 eggs

1 t. vanilla

unsliced day old bread (I used bread that is slightly larger than a baguette, but I have made it before with larger bread. It really doesn't matter.)

brown sugar

cinnamon & nutmeg to taste

BLUEBERRIES!

Grease pan. Slice bread 1-1 1/2 inches thick and place in pan. Mix milk, eggs and vanilla together and pour over the bread. Sprinkle nutmeg & cinnamon on top of each slice and then cover with about 1/4 inch of brown sugar. Put blueberries on top, cover it and put it in the fridge overnight. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

A Zen Moment

2009-07-27T14:24:00.001-07:00

Seen On T-Shirt Today

2009-06-23T15:43:00.001-07:00

We have nothing to fear but fear itself....
and spiders.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2009-06-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

Little Miss P: "Does ______ go to church?"

Miss R: "No. She wants to, but her mom & dad won't let her. They don't believe in God."

Little Miss P (with a look of disbelief and a dropped jaw): "What?"

Miss R: "I KNOW! It is very upsetting."

Little Miss P: "But God is real."

It is conversations like this that cause my heart to swell with love - for my children and for my Heavenly Father. I am so glad that they are learning at a young age to follow the Lord and know that He is real. I'm grateful for the blessing and experience He has given me of being able to raise children and participate in a vital part of this great plan He has for us.

When I struggle with the challenges of parenting and fear of letting my children go out on their own into the world, I find comfort in the scripture verse in Proverbs that says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Likewise I also love a children's song at church that speaks on the same message.

We'll Bring the World His Truth

"We have been born, as Nephi of old, to goodly parents who love the Lord. We have been taught, and we understand, that we must do as the Lord commands.

Chorus: We are as the army of Helaman. We have been taught in our youth. And we will be the Lord’s missionaries, to bring the world his truth.

We have been saved for these latter days, to build the kingdom in righteous ways. We hear the words our prophet declares: “Let each who’s worthy go forth and share.”

We know his plan, and we will prepare, increase our knowledge through study and prayer. Daily we’ll learn until we are called, to take the gospel to all the world."

When I attended church as a child, this song was one of my favorites. As I started to attend church again as an adult, it moved me deeply once again. A few weeks ago in church, some of the seminary students sang this song in sacrament meeting. I could hardly hold back the tears as I felt the Spirit speak to me of the great importance of raising my children correctly, when they came to the line, "We have been taught in our youth." It spoke to me again today as I overheard my children's conversation. I am so grateful for experiences like these that strengthen me and uplift me. And that I can return to memories like these when times are hard and I am discouraged.

Mon Frere

2009-06-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Check this out! This is my brother and a friend climbing Colchuck Peak. Guess which one is my brother....

Seen on T-Shirt Today

2009-06-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

Sunday Thoughts.

2009-05-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

Family Portrait

2009-05-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

Burn, Baby, Burn...

2009-05-29T13:00:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things to do at my parents' house is to roast Christmas Trees. I like this above almost all other things I get to do while there, including eating my mom's yummy food, playing 37-Dice Yahtzee and sleeping in. Seriously enjoyable things, I might add, but they pale in comparison to tree roasting. I tried to convince my dad to go down their street after Christmas and collect the neighbor's trees so we could have fun all year round. Needless to say, my request was not granted.

So, how do you roast a Christmas tree? All you have to do is take one extra-crispy tree and light it up. No starter-fluids necessary, although we had a fire started already. The flamage is huge! One year it almost reached the branches above the fire pit which were at least 15 feet up. Sadly, it also is a great reminder to me about how dangerous Christmas trees can be. Keep them watered people!

About 30 seconds on the fire.

Maybe another 30 seconds, if that.

I love this picture because it reminds me of Godzilla. Check out those flames!!

The tree toppled over and sent stuff flying everywhere, so everyone scattered. Not to mention the flames were seriously huge. Note for next year - create a better stand so the tree stays up.

Me and the girls.

The event wouldn't be complete without Little Miss P and her crazy, contortionist expressions!

Me and Mr. Hudson Mack, who is turning 1 this weekend! Yet another excuse to run away for the weekend...

I Know A Name...

2009-05-09T22:43:00.001-07:00

...a glorious name, dearer than any other. Listen, I’ll whisper the name to you. It is the name of Mother.

Happy Mother's Day MOM!

Piggies!

2009-05-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

Little Miss P loves piggies. And penguins and panda bears. But piggies are her absolute favorite. I found these pigs in the dollar bins at Target. Major score.

Things I Just Don't Need To See

2009-05-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

1. Regis' (of Regis & Kelly) man-boobs. Not necessary to share with the world thank you very much. They were hairy and old. I don't want to get into too much detail for the faint of heart.

2. Slugs. Squished slugs. Child squishing slugs. Squished slugs in a child's hand.

3. Seefood. A la Little Miss P.

I think that about sums it up for today.

Still 32 Flavors

2009-04-23T09:19:00.002-07:00

Flavors are continually added and taken away in life. Some of the new flavors added aren't that great. Some of them are just nasty - bitter, even. Some are a vast improvement. Some are new unknown flavors that have to be tested. Some weren't that popular in the first place but they somehow managed to hang on for ages. Some are even retired against our deepest wishes. Who knows if the maker will bring them out of retirement someday or if they are gone for good.

32 Flavors

I'm not trying to give my life meaning by demeaning you
and I would like to state for the record
I did everything that I could do
I'm not saying that I'm a saint
I just don't want to live that way
no, I will never be a saint
but I will always say
squint your eyes and look closer
I'm not between you and your ambition
I am a poster girl with no poster
I am thirty-two flavors and then some

Small Pleasures

2009-04-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

My toaster has a function that can lift the toast up higher out of the toaster so I don't burn my fingers.

Seeing not 1, not 2, but 3 bald eagles in one day.

Watching my daughter put a puzzle together.

My pillow.

Dreaming in French last night. As in my dream is spoken in French. It hasn't happened in a while and I love, love, love when I dream in French. It reminds me that the ability isn't lost, it is just lying in wait.

Might Be Baby Wright

2009-04-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

I have some friends who are trying to adopt. They are fabulous people and I am glad I can help them out, however it may be. Below is a link to their adoption site, please pass the word along so they can find the Wright Baby!

Emotions Personified

2009-04-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

I have this picture that P drew posted on the wall by my desk. It is a butterfly (blutterfly) in case you were wondering. I know I was at first. See the wings? Now do you see it? I love the impish smile and upward-looking eyes. It reminds me of a Tim Burton claymation character. It brings a smile to my face when I look at it.

Easter Fun

2009-04-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Now that the girls are getting older, we can be a little more devious about hiding Easter eggs. Not a lot mind you, but just enough to make it a leetle more fun for the adults. We also had the egg hunt inside. It was too darn icky outside.

Here are some of the eggs that we hid this year:

This was by far my favorite hiding spot. The kids took forever to find this egg.

Another favorite.

This egg is hanging in a dangling cat toy.

P got so caught up with the yellow egg, she didn't even notice the green one stuck inside the house.

The blue bag with the yellow chick is P's Easter basket.

Snug as a bug in a rug.

Random Thoughts

2009-04-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

We are free to choose, but we are not free to alter the consequences of our choices.
Ezra Taft Benson

God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other.
Spencer W. Kimball

Choose you this day whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:15

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.
Doctrine & Covenants 88:119

...cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.
Doctrine & Covenants 88:124

Wanna See My Dirty Little Secret?

2009-04-07T22:40:00.001-07:00

I felt inspired my My Ice Cream Diary's up-close and very personal posts about dejunking a while back. It made me feel better to know that I am not alone. No offense though Liz, but your junk trauma was no match for mine! So, I thought I should let you in on my dirty little secret.

Wanna see it? I warn you it is not for the faint of heart. Before I show you though, let me give a few reasons (excuses) as to the reason things got so bad.

First, we remodeled the basement in our house, and by remodeled, I mean we ripped everything out to the studs. Our basement up until that time had been the dumping grounds for all things. Baby clothes, memorabilia, camping gear, tools, food, you name it - it was there. Enter the brilliant idea of using the computer room on our main floor as storage during the remodel. In my mind I can still hear myself saying "It will only be temporary, it will only be temporary." That was 3 1/2 years ago. The basement has been finished for almost 2 years, but for one reason or another, never quite got around to taking everything back downstairs. Then it became even more of a breeding ground for disaster.

For starters we had all the furniture that was normally in that room as the food to feed the growth. Then we added all the junk that was downstairs. Then more stuff started getting added to the pile. Tools, broken computers, more kid clothes, junk and a chainsaw. Yes. I have had a chainsaw in my computer room for longer than I would like to admit. And yes, we have a garage. Sigh. I finally had it about a month ago and said "Enough"! Chainsaw went to the garage. Junk to the garbage can. Stuff made it back downstairs where it belongs. I made 3 trips to the thrift store and boy did that feel good. Now I have a place for everything and everything in it's place (mostly).

I was to the point where I could hardly pull my chair out to sit down at the desk. These picture don't even do the room justice because I took these after I had tidied up the room. Generally, the rug was always covered with junk. And yes, the mess goes all the way back. So behold my monstrosity.

And after.

P couldn't even remember using our computer room for anything other than storage. The girls love it because they have another place to play. I love it because I have been able to undo the rest of the damage done to the rest of the house by having this room crammed full of crap. Seriously.

2009-04-05T20:14:00.001-07:00

Pray as though everything depended upon God.
Work as though everything depended upon you.

I'm back. I hope.

Totally Copying This From Facebook...

2009-02-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

1. I don't like to wear shoes.
2. I worked on a fishing boat in Alaska.
3. I have 3 tattoos.
4. I love cheese. I have a drawer in my fridge devoted completely to cheese.
5. I don't like to wear socks.
6. I like to put ketchup on my mac & cheese.
7. While in Paris I DIDN'T go up the Eiffel Tower. (I ran out of money.) I came back from France with $0.40 left to my name.
8. I don't really care for fruit. Apples are about all I like and don't even get me started on bananas...
9. I am the oldest of seven kids.
10. I kissed Colonel Sanders (of KFC).
11. I hate the way Colonel is spelled.
12. I once went a year without shaving my legs. I still hate shaving my legs.
13. I got braces when I was 27 years old. I now love my smile.
14. I am a night owl. I get my best work done between 11pm-2am.
15. Thus I have 5 alarms go off to get me out of bed in the morning. And I still manage to hit the snooze at least 3 times.
16. I had a bad perm for quite a while when I was in elementary school.
17. I made the mistake of taking an 8am class my freshman year of college. What a joke. And it was called Environmental Geology. What an even bigger joke. Biggest joke of all? The professor looked like Papa Smurf.
18. I like to pick my split ends.
19. I have 5 blankets on my bed (not including the sheets). One of them is a down comforter. I still manage to be cold when I sleep. For this I have two rice bags at my feet to keep me warm enough.
20. I love my children. Even more when they are asleep.
21. I live in the house that my mother grew up in. My children have the same bedroom my mother did. I spent my first days in this house. My grandparents spent their last days in this house. I was born two blocks from this house, as well as two brothers, a sister and one of my children. This house is special to me. I love it.
22. I have an order to daily cleaning of my house that MUST BE FOLLOWED. I absolutely can not do it out of order. Tidy up living room, tidy up bathroom, make bed, then tidy up bedroom. Then tackle the kitchen starting with the kitchen table, then counters, then dishes.
23. I speak French.
24. I like the colors blue & green the best. But any rich hued color appeals to me.
25. I love Cream of Wheat.

Pardon My Absence

2009-02-09T22:44:00.000-08:00

Last week was a rough week. I have been having bad, ongoing headaches. I was amazed I was even able to make it through the week. The headaches have been almost non-stop for almost two weeks now. I'm attributing it to a new medication that is supposed to help with the ringing in my ears. I'm off of the medication now, so we'll see if it makes a difference. This weekend the headaches kicked into full gear and I was wholly miserable. At church on Sunday I managed to make it through the first two hours alright, but when Sacrament meeting started, the combo of the microphone, the organ and the horrible lights just made me have to leave. Immediately. The headache had morphed into a migraine. Now I have had exactly one migraine in my life. It was the kind to make you ask for your life to be mercifully ended quickly. This one was not as bad. Not even close to what my dear friend Prone deals with either. Still bad though. I spent most of Sunday in my bedroom with the drapes drawn and the lights off. So I beg your mercy and hope you haven't given up on me.

Love,
32 Flavors

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

I love that I am a part of you. That you are a part of my life - the best part of my life. I love that we think alike and I don't have to explain myself to you. I love your generosity. I love your smile. I love your crazy laugh. I love your cooking, too! I love your basket fetish. I love that I can give you a hard time & tease you. I love that you didn't give up on me when I was a teenager. I love that you are "Bad Nana". I love the sound of your voice. I love that we both love Dar Williams. I love to hear you sing. I love playing "made-up" games like 37 Dice Yahtzee with you. Did I mention I love your cooking? I love that you can fool people into believing that you are me on the phone. I love that I am your password. I love that you are finally employed somewhere that you are appreciated for the amazing person that you are. I love that we have the same size feet. I love that you aren't afraid to keep your Christmas tree up until February. I love that I inherited some of your craziness - most of the time. I love that you get up with the girls when I come to visit. Oh, and by the way, I love your cooking.

I love you all around the world and the tunaverse! I hope you have a special day today. You are my most favorite mom. Seriously.

Love,

Dentist!

2009-01-28T21:36:00.000-08:00

So I'm sure you'll understand by now how I feel about going to the dentist. I have great teeth and have had very few problems with them, but I still can't stand going to the dentist. Don't even get me started on my orthodontist....sadistic person that he is, he is always glad to see me go for how much of a fuss I make.

My girls on the other hand love the dentist. Idolize her is more like it. When they play "doctor" at home, they both want to be the dentist and they each fight over who gets to be Dr. B. I'm not quite sure what is wrong with them. My feelings were reconfirmed today when we went to the dentist for a check-up. There was another girl there who was terrified and her mother had to practically drag her into the office. When my girls jumped up, excited and clapping when their names were called, the kid gave my girls a look like "Are you kidding me?"

Sigh.

On a side note, R has a bifed uvula. That means that the dangling thing at the back of her throat has a split it it. Much like a forked tongue. I always forget until the dentist calls her assistants over to "check it out". Freak show that my daughter is....

What A Way To Start The Week!

2009-01-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

Today started badly. I went to bed late last night thus I got up late this morning. Big Surprise. Then I went to wake up the girls but they were already awake - half-dressed and fighting. The morning routine turned into a yelling match between the three of us. Them yelling at each other. Me yelling at them trying to get them to stop yelling (counter-productive I know) and get ready for school.

Then they did this at breakfast:

They propped up the place mats so they wouldn't have to look at one another.

Which upset me even more.

Which made me go hide and get on this:

Which breaks the only resolution I've kept 100% since January 1st.

Resolutions broken this morning: 3/5. What a way to start the week.

Live Happily

2009-01-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the month again....NO! Not THAT time of the month! It's my turn to teach in church again.

This month's lesson is titled "Finding Joy in the Journey". I felt inspired to try harder and make more time for what is important after I read this talk. Usually, when I hear, "Spend more time with your babies, they grow up too fast, ignore your housework, do what is important first, blah, blah, blah, I start to tune out. I've heard this enough already - I get it. This time however, it struck a note with me. Very appropriate for me at this time in my life, I guess. Maybe it's the timing with the whole new year/resolutions thing that I am attempting to conquer.

“Later, not right now, tomorrow…” I find myself often saying this to my children subconsciously, without even listening to what they are asking me. Sometimes I have to pause, stop what I am doing and listen to what they are actually saying.

P when she forgets what she is about to say, will say “I love you.” I'm trying to do the same thing especially when I find myself about to say "Not right now". I say "I love you" while I pause to collect my thoughts and assess what I am doing….whether it can wait, be put on hold, or is truly important. In my head I think there is always tomorrow, but today is what is important. Tomorrow will be a different day and today may not ever happen again. Childhood doesn’t happen twice.

Here are a few bits from this lesson:

"You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays."

"I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. "

"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly."

“Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with grateful hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that in whatever place you have been, you may say that you have lived happily.”

"When I was around thirteen and my brother ten, Father had promised to take us to the circus. But at lunchtime there was a phone call; some urgent business required his attention downtown. We braced ourselves for disappointment. Then we heard him say [into the phone], ‘No, I won’t be down. It’ll have to wait.’
“When he came back to the table, Mother smiled. ‘The circus keeps coming back, you know,’ [she said.]“‘I know,’ said Father. ‘But childhood doesn’t'."

"We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us."

Bacon-Wrapped, Pineapple-Filled Dates

2009-01-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

I know what you must be thinking right now. Dates=gross. But think of the first ingredient, bacon. Anything wrapped in bacon has to be good, right? It is, trust me. These are the best appetizers ever.

1 package bacon, don't use flavored kind
1 bag pitted dates
1 can pineapple CHUNKS
steak rub, I use Rub with Love
toothpicks
tinfoil
jellyroll pan
oven
you

Soak toothpicks in water for 20 minutes.
Take bacon and cut as many pieces as you want into thirds.
Stuff same amount of dates with pineapple chunks. You might need to cut the chunks down to size to fit in your dates. Then again, you might not.
Wrap bacon around dates and secure with toothpick.
Dip bacon in steak rub. Coat both sides of bacon. Place on foil-lined jellyroll sheet (sheet with sides are needed to catch the drippings).
Broil for 5-10 minutes on EACH side. Watch them! Each oven is different and you don't want it raw or burnt.

This is a picture of Rub with Love to help you find it.

TP Roulette

2009-01-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

Have you ever played this game in your house? It is so much fun! Not as deadly as Russian roulette and not as costly as playing roulette in the casino. This is a game for the whole family, and anyone could be the winner. The rules are this: you take a fresh roll of tp and each person takes turns pulling various amounts of tp off the roll without letting your opponents know how much tp you have taken. The object of the game is to be the last person to take a turn and leave exactly 2 sheets (no more, no less!) on the roll. Then you are the winner! Loads of fun for the whole family.

Peanut Butter Popcorn

2009-01-19T23:10:00.001-08:00

This is sooo good, easy to make and very addicting.

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/8 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
bag of butter-flavored microwave popcorn

Microwave the popcorn first. Stir sugar and corn syrup together and cook over medium heat until mixture starts bubbling. Remove from heat and add peanut butter & chocolate chips. Stir until smooth and then stir in vanilla. Wait for alcohol to burn off then pour over bowl of popcorn. Make sure to remove unpopped kernels or you will destroy your teeth! Mix the peanut butter mixture completely into the popcorn and enjoy!

Note:
Don't use organic peanut butter, it won't taste very good. You need all those things that are bad for you in this.
Don't use plain popcorn. Same reasoning. It won't taste good if you try to make it healthier.

Relativity in Regards to Age

2009-01-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

I am now the age my mother was when I first realized how old she was. Old being the relative term.

I was 8 years old and just couldn't get over the fact that she seemed so old. I don't know what made me finally realize how old she was, or what difference it even made. Nonetheless, it is a memory that has stuck with me. It has been creeping back into the forefront of my sub-consciousness as my day of reckoning drew nearer.

I also remember realizing how old my grandparents seemed to me at the time, absolutely ancient. But looking back now, my mom is the same age they were when I was 8. She doesn't seem old. Do my girls think the same way about me, about their grandparents?

Is that the trick with aging? You don't feel it all at once? I feel about the same as I did when I was 22. Minus all the baggage that comes with having kids, and I do mean baggage. And I need to sleep more, even though I don't sleep more.

I don't feel old, I feel good, but the number is starting to betray me. Is this the same way I will feel when I am 56, but just a little more tired?

P.S. I'm only 32. Happy Birthday to me!

I Luv My Seesters

2009-01-12T20:34:00.000-08:00

This one does this crazy thing with her retainer that makes her look like the Predator. She is amazing with a camera in her hands and she has an awesome laugh. And you should see her dance.

This one is my baby sister. She is awesome, sometimes frightening (with love my dear) and is not afraid to speak her mind. She loves cows. And needles. And poking people with needles. She is allergic to just about everything. Much like the dog she had growing up who was allergic to himself....

And this one taught my oldest child how to say "no." Big thanks to that one. I guess it is payback for me teaching her how to say "icky ca-ca" when she was two.

My Guardian Angel

2009-01-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

I received a pin, much like this one years ago when I was in high school. I half-jokingly attached it to my backpack during my freshman year of college to "watch over me". It stayed with me all through my college years and travelled with me to school, Alaska and France. Every once in a while I would glance at it while getting something out of my backpack. Once I noticed it had lost a wing. I joked that each time it lost a body part, it had gotten me through or kept me out of a bad situation. Over time it lost one appendage after the next. I rediscovered it a couple of years ago, still on my backpack. It had one arm, one wing and one leg left attached to its torso. I removed it from my backpack and attached it to my purse where it has been for the last few years. It has not lost any other appendages since then. Until this Sunday. When I was roaming through my bag at church looking for something to appease my starving child, I discovered that the backing of my pin was rolling around loose in my purse. It made me pause and wonder what kind of predicament it had kept me safe from recently.

Resolutions

2009-01-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm keeping it short this year. And real.

1. Get up at 7am on school days. No snooze button.
2. Do not get on the computer in the morning on school days unless it is vitally important. Bloglines does not count as vitally important.
3. Be better about morning prayers with the girls.
4. Be in bed by midnight on school nights. I need to be in bed in 20 minutes. Crap. Breaking that one already.
5. Lose that last 25 lbs.

You get my theme right? Any glaringly obvious points indicating where I am failing slash struggling with right now?

Henoch-Schönlein Purpura, or Don't Ever Ask What Next, or The Hungry Thing

2009-01-06T22:44:00.001-08:00

One should never ask, what next? Even half-jokingly. I think I learned my lesson. My last post was only the starting point of our little adventure....

Monday was uneventful, minus one sleep-deprived, very sick mom. P was not all fine and dandy the next day, however (the Tuesday before Christmas). She started to get hives. Everywhere. All over the place. Really, really bad, very, very itchy, and she was still throwing up. Then the day after Christmas she started to get these purplish bruises all over her legs. And then red splotches all over her legs. It looked like we were alternately caning her and giving her hickeys on her legs. And she still had hives on top of it all. And I was still very, very sick.

Enter the trip to Children's Hospital. She was diagnosed with something called Henoch-Schönlein purpura, it is a vascular disease. Go check it out at Wikipedia. Real fun. The pictures aren't for the faint of heart however....

Thankfully we caught it early enough, so she is doing better already. The bad part however is that she has to take steroids for a month. The really bad part - P on steroids. If you have ever been on large amounts of them for a long period of time, you know the joy of the side effects. Roid rage is not a joke people. Roid rage in a 5 year old is even worse. Not to mention her raging appetite. Seriously. She can eat everyone under the table right now. She must have asked me for more food at least 75 times today. I am not exaggerating. You remember that steak that John Candy ate in The Great Outdoors? She would ask for seconds after finishing that bad boy.

For Unto You Is Born This Day....

2008-12-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

We Have a 187 in Progress...

2008-12-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

...5 victims, 4 female, 1 gender unknown.

We have 2 possible suspects in custody at this time. Each suspect says the other is responsible for the crime. We have photos of the crime scene and none of the evidence has been tampered with or removed from the scene.

What Next? A Plague of Locusts?

2008-12-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat and a stuffy nose. Great, another cold. My third one in three months. My immune system has been compromised because of my illness and my body is jacked up. Merry Christmas to me.

I needed to get firewood, clear the stairs, take out the garbage and do a few other things outside. Of course I didn't want to go outside. It is cold and we have 10 inches of snow. When I got outside, I decided I should clear some of the snow off of our van. I unlocked the van, grabbed the scraper and shut the driver-side door.

Crash. Shatter. Small avalanche sound.

This is the results.

Needless to say, Webster's Dictionary of Curse Words was running through my head at that moment. I have no idea what happened. There was only a few inches of snow on the rear window, not enough to cause this damage. So then I needed to triage the whole situation. Every time I touched the window more pieces fell, little pieces, the size of pencil tip erasers. More snow in the van, more glass chunks in the snow. Ten inches of snow. Bah!

Shop-vac to the rescue. I ended up having to bust the whole window out. I shop-vacd our driveway full of snow. I'm sure the neighbors thought I was crazy. I spent two hours outside cleaning up the mess. I ended up having to put a tarp over the whole back end of the van. Have I mentioned yet that we don't have a garage? Have I mentioned the ten inches of snow we have that is preventing the van from getting out? Have I mentioned that we live at the end of a dead-end road? Yeah.

I manage to get the van out after some fun times shovelling out loads of snow. We get it to a shop. $400 later...

Next. I'm still sick and feeling worse after spending so much time outside. We get back home and our neighbor points out that one of his trees has fallen onto our property. Missed the house by inches and is now resting on our lilac & forsythia trees. Out comes the chainsaw.

Fast forward to the middle of the night. I can't sleep. P comes in the bedroom at 1am. "Mommy I'm gonna throw up." I get her in the bathroom just in time. Clean her up and get her back to bed by 2am. 7am she wakes up all bright and chipper. Bah Humbug!

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Another boring day. Some more free fun with the digital camera.

I'm Dreaming of a White December 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th...You Get the Point

2008-12-16T23:55:00.000-08:00

Because snow rarely happens here. We had the best of luck to have it snow while at my parents' house. Way better than being at home. And we got snowed in an extra day. Darn.

She doesn't mind her wet jeans at all. I'm too cheap to buy sleds, snowsuits, boots and such. Who knows if we will ever have the chance to use them again? Most of the time the snow is gone the next day, or the same day.

"Mom, I'm really, really, really cold and I want to go inside."

"Just one more picture. Smile this time, please."

The view from my parents' bluff. Mt. Baker is out there somewhere. Don't ask me where though.

So much better than running around in our backyard where everyone can see/hear what we are doing.

Side note: Once when R was little, my neighbor 2 HOUSES DOWN came into our backyard to make sure she was OK. She thought she was hurt because of the way she was crying. R had been screaming for me to pick her up because I had to put her down while I was putting the laundry on the line to dry. Of course I wouldn't pick her up. I don't play that reindeer game. My neighbor thought otherwise...

"Mom, I really want to go inside. I'm cold."

Spoken not more than 10 minutes after going outside and after I warned her REPEATEDLY not to stomp in slushy/icy puddles while wearing tennis shoes.

She really didn't mind getting whitewashed. She thought it was amazing fun. Wait till her dad does it to her.

Great Stocking Stuffer Ideas

2008-12-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

I'm holed up at my parents' house this weekend for a little R, R & F (rest, relaxation & food). I was reading the local newspaper and had to pass on some great stocking stuffer ideas:

1. Light bulbs. I kid you not! Lest you think (as I did), that they were off-their-rocker and being cheap, I read further and saw that they didn't mean just your regular ol' light bulbs. The kind that would shatter into a dozen bite-size pieces in our stockings. No people, they meant the fancy-pants LED light bulbs. Thank goodness. I would be over-the-top happy to receive LED light bulbs in my stocking.

2. PUD gift cards. What is PUD you might ask? Public Utilities Department. Riiiiight. I'd like to ask Santa to pay for my utilities for Christmas. It would be the best gift ever! I promise that I have been a good girl this year....

It's just gonna be one of those months people...

2008-12-10T12:06:00.001-08:00

After reading my posts for a while, you may come to think I am a bit odd. I am. You would be too if your world looked like this some days. On the one hand, I look like Rebecca Romijn for the first time in my life. On the other hand, the children look like evil minions. Which is so unlike their true angelic personalities.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2008-12-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

This is what that means to me. And no, those are not my legs. Grow baby, grow!

Elder Wirthlin

2008-12-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite apostles from my church died this week. I have grown much because of the messages that he has shared over the last few years. Here are quotes and links to some of my favorites:

The Great Commandment

"Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes that poets and writers immortalize. Often, the greatest manifestations of love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the path of life."

Come What May, and Love It

"Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives."

"...She may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

"I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife."

Concern For the One

"The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole."

Good Night, Good Morning, Good Night!

2008-12-05T09:21:00.000-08:00

The other night I was out late and came home to my husband shouting for me to "Come quick!" I look down the hallway to our bathroom and see R sitting on our bathroom stool and my husband laughing hysterically. Apparently, R had been sleepwalking and my husband wanted to see what she would do and not interfere. Men. So you figure out the rest of the story. Ha. Ha. Guess who had to clean up the rest of the story?

R was still not awake while I gave her a shower. She would follow my commands, but she wasn't there. It wasn't till 10 minutes later that she woke up and asked why her hair was wet... Did I forget to mention she didn't remember the incident the next day???

Next day. This is what I woke up.

That is a Nalgene bottle lid. You know, the virtually indestructible water bottles? Well, it was no match for my dishwasher. The funny thing is, I didn't smell any scorched plastic while the dishwasher was going, but when we melted it off, it smelled terrible.

After that, we did this.

The End.

Dreams

2008-12-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

As of late I have been dreaming heavily and remembering my dreams. They have all been a little on the slightly crazy side. What dreams aren't though?

So here is a rundown of some of my more interesting dreams:

1. I dreamt I was one of Barack Obama's daughters. I was getting a wardrobe makeover a la Sarah Palin. We also rode around in a beater pickup truck and Daddy Barack was wearing overalls.

2. I was in the Middle East against my will. Pretty much like Sally Fields in "Not Without My Daughter." Complete with all the melodrama and burquas as well.

3. Dreamt that a Winco was built a block from my house. Sad I know, but I was soooo happy when I woke up.

4. I went to my Ob's office with a friend to get Botox. Because I was sick. The friend will remain unnamed because she was getting Botox done as well. And she reads my blog.

5. Fighting space aliens. Including fist fights, jumping walls, flying, etc. I think I might have been Will Smith, although I never got a good look at myself.

So now for the piece de resistance. This one isn't so much a weird dream as a dream I have had many times. Meaning at least 20 times in the last few years.

The dream is always the same. I know that I am married, and I know that I have kids, but I am in my senior year of college. I am moving into the house that I lived in during that year, although my roommates are different. Sort of like the guys from Animal House, completely undesirable and male. I am struggling to get unpacked and get ready for school, I just can't seem to get anything done.

Flash to the first day of school. I can't seem to make it to the HUB to get my class schedule and when I do get it, I have already missed several classes and am late for my next class. I try getting to that class but for some reason I can't find the classroom. I finally get there and class is over. I then have to make my way back to the HUB to get my code to open my mailbox. This is really important for some reason. I get the code, accidently forget it and the mail people won't give me the code again.

This is where I freak out in the dream and wake up. I've been picking it apart for a long time and could use some fresh insight. I always try to address what might be nagging me at the time or what I'm struggling to get done, but I still have this dream. Any thoughts on this dream?

I Found Happiness For $11, or Socks

2008-11-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

I love my socks. Really, really love them. Check them out.

And

They are the coolest socks ever. I found my first pair of these socks in college and there has been no looking back since then. I have always had a hate/hate relationship with shoes and socks. I have large, wide feet and never found socks that fit right, unless they were men's socks. Yuck. And don't get me started on shoes...most of the time I can never find anything in my size that I like. I also prefer to go barefoot or as close to barefoot as I can get, and these socks get me close enough. Which is also why I wear Birkenstocks. Even in the rain.

Fun fact: My mom, a brother, a sister and I all have the same exact size feet. Birkenstock size 40.

So back to my socks. They are the best ever and they stay on my large feet quite nicely. Most of them even go up to my knees. Each sock is unique and no two socks are similar. So, sometimes I end up with a pair of socks that looks like this:

Now for the downside to these socks. They cost $11 per pair. It's ok if you feel a little queasy right now, I know I do when I go buy them. I just bought myself a whole load of new ones and I asked the salesperson not to tell me what the total was...I'm such a tightwad as it is, it really hurts to buy these socks. I do have regular socks and try to wear them, because my mom taught me when I was younger that You HAVE To Wear Socks With Your Shoes. But then I'm back to my original problem. I attempt to mend them to get a few more wears out of them, but it really doesn't work because these socks are stretchy and then I end up having a seam on the bottom of my foot. Yuck.

I relish these socks during the winter for their leg-warming abilities. And they are so purty.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

People, perfection has been achieved today. What started out as this:

is now this:

I have successfully replicated my grandmother's stuffing recipe! For me, Thanksgiving has never been about the turkey, it has always been about the stuffing. Specifically my grandmother's stuffing. She always used to give me a bowl to take home just for myself. Not to be shared. When she passed away, I thought the secret of her stuffing was gone. Thankfully her sister, my aunt, had the recipe as well. After a few years without it, I was ready to give it a try. The results were so-so. Close, but not quite. But this year, oh this year, I am happy to report it is as good as my memories.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Little Itty Bitty Toys

2008-11-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

I am addicted to my daughter's toys. Specifically these adorable little animals. She must have at least 50 of them and they take up no space whatsoever. 5 or 6 of them fit nicely in the palm of my hand. That is my definition of the best toy ever. And they are so cute. How could anyone not love these little faces?

Guess what someone is getting for Christmas? Yep. In my defense, animals are her favorite thing to play with and she plays with these every day. Me too. Well, ok, ALMOST every day.

Ladybugs, snails, wiener dogs, huskies, mice, butterflies....too many cute options.

I wish I had recorded the cute little voices she was doing. So quiet. So tiny. So unlike her. She has two volumes - loud & louder.

Our happy little world...complete with 2 pink piggies, jet ski and a soaker tub. Notice the tiny toothbrush & toothpaste in the foreground? Too cute...

Charlotte's Web. I mean really, how cute is that?

Ahhhh, shag.....Someone got tired playing with her toys.

Post tally:

Used the word "cute" - 5 times.

Because I have nothing better do do with my time.

2008-11-23T22:10:00.000-08:00

I got this from the Duchess over at Yarnnation. I thought it would be fun. Feel free to do your own. Highlight what you have done, leave the rest alone...

1.Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band I was a band geek in high school!
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped NEVER EVER!
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort In Seattle? Seriously? Not ever gonna happen.
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping I left a choice item of clothing on...
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors Does Ohio or North Dakota count?
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing First & last time.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted Painted my own portrait.
48. Gone deep sea fishing Duh. Although I didn't actually do the fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris Been to the bottom. I didn't have enough money to go up it.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie A TV movie. With MacGuyver!
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies Never! I was a Campfire girl.
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma All the time in college.
65. Gone sky diving NEVER!
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar And how about making it too!
72. Pieced a quilt YEAH RIGHT!
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible Skipped boring parts. Sad, I know.
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own

Tag, YOU'RE it!

I am not a domestic goddess.

2008-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

Some mothers make fantabulous dress up outfits for their children. I don't. I give my children old socks. They don't know any better and they absolutely love it. Hopefully none of their friends will let them in on what a bum deal it actually is. Now these aren't just old tube socks, my feet have to have fancy pants socks. I cut off the feet when they are dead and they use the rest as leg warmers, arm warmers or clothes for their animals.

Notice my lovely model P sporting her personal favorites.

Part 2.

I was flipping through some Good Housekeeping magazines the other day, courtesy of my grandmother, and came across a whole spread on fancy cupcakes. Unfortunately for me, P was with me at the time. Her birthday was just a couple weeks away and she spied her dream cake. Cupcakes that is. GAK! Pandas are her second favorite animal, pigs being her most favorite. Here is my sad attempt at recreating them. Individually they don't look so bad, but together they look like they might come to life and do bad things. Good thing for me, 4 and 5 years don't know the difference. In the words of one child, "This is totally awesome!".

Favorites

2008-11-17T22:39:00.000-08:00

I know I'm not supposed to play favorites. I'm supposed to love them both equally, but I just can't. Bad of me, I know. I feel guilty that I can't give them both the same amount of love and attention. It's just too hard. I focus more of my energy on the one I like better. I know that if I just gave the other one more love, more attention that maybe I might learn to appreciate them more.

I just don't think I can.

So, I think I just need to get it out and say it -

I love one of them more than the other.

My eyebrows that is.

37 Dice Yahtzee

2008-11-16T21:44:00.001-08:00

I went to my parents' house and had me a little vacation from life last weekend. Well, most of my life that is. I had to bring the kids. Bummer, I know. We had fun anyway. We made the best of a bad situation. Lemons & lemonade, you know.

It's not all that bad though. My mom takes care of me and my kids. I don't even have to get up with them in the morning. My mom is so nice. Oh, and the cooking. Fabulous meals. We had a great salad with quinoa (Keen-wa) in it. And apple dumplings. And yummy soup. And an amazing barbecue chicken made out of cranberry sauce and Russian salad dressing. Weird I KNOW, but it was so good. Must go raid the fridge now...

One of my favorite things to do while I am there is play games My husband isn't really a game kinda guy, so I get my fix with my mom. This time we played Yahtzee. 37 DICE YAHTZEE! So much fun. So many dice. You need a cup to hold all the dice and a box to contain them all. Sometimes we decide on getting just 1 roll, other times, we get 3 rolls and have to fill 3 spots. This time we decided we would get 4 rolls and had to fill 2 spots. My score was over 1,000. I think it was my personal best. And I lost. So much fun. We decided to play a regular game afterwards. You know 3 rolls, 5 dice. BORING. We also like to play Scrabble. Usually with at least 10 letters. Love it.

What is Art?

2008-11-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

In the eyes of a 5 year old:

Globs of paint

Batting

Fake flowers

Broken toys

Bits of scrap wood

Thread spools

Frozen juice lids

More globs of paint

Yarn

Twine

Rope

Broken necklaces

Cork

Used dryer sheets

Ketchikan

2008-11-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

Yet another Alaska story. This is the week for them I guess. While in Alaska, I also had the opportunity to work in Ketchikan for a short while at another fish processing plant. It was the first time I ever worked at one in a city and it was awesome. I had only been married for a few months and it was a honeymoon of sorts for us. We were transferred there after the end of the season at another cannery. When we arrived in Ketchikan it was the end of the cruise ship season, shops were still open and the weather was still fairly decent. We very rarely had to work, so we had plenty of time to explore. Our place was above a mini-mart that sold "Chester-Fried Chicken". We could hear the timer go off occasionally and then a waft of oil & fried chicken. Good times.

So, I was reading Newsweek. I love Newsweek. Especially "My Turn". It usually has quite interesting essays. Here is the link to the essay that I was reading.

It was about the "Bridge to Nowwhere". This proposed bridge was for the city of Ketchikan. The city really is only a few blocks wide in some areas, it is...odd. You can only get to Ketchikan by boat or plane. There are no roads in or out of town. This town really could use that bridge, it literally has nowhere to grow (go). I know what some of you are thinking. We just got through with the elections....please no more politics....STOP & DESIST NOW!

Guess what? I'm not. I just thought the essay brought to light the other side of the argument. Things are rarely black and white. Especially Ketchikan. It is mostly gray. I think the Cullens would like it there.

Brought to You By the Letter P and the Numbers 5 & 44

2008-11-06T00:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday little girl.

Sorry for the poor video quality...

This is not a political endorsement. I love how P says Barack Obama, and 44 IS her favorite number.

Gooey Pumpkin Cake

2008-11-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

This is a Paula Deen recipe and it is great! I love butter and Paula loves butter. I think we could be friends. This is really the best stuff ever and never lasts long while I am around! Enjoy!

Cake:
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
8 T. melted butter
1 egg

Filling: 8 oz. softened cream cheese
3 eggs
8 T. melted butter
1 t. cinnamon
15 oz. canned pumpkin
1 t. vanilla
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 t. nutmeg

Mix all cake ingredients well & pat into greased 9 x 13 pan.

Beat cream cheese & pumpkin until smooth, then add eggs, vanilla & butter. Next add powdered sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg. Mix well and pour over cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. The center must be a little gooey because this is a gooey cake!

Election Day

2008-11-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Alaska

2008-11-03T23:06:00.000-08:00

There was a story in the newspaper last week about a fishing boat that sank and half of the crew lost their lives. Here is a link to that story. As I have mentioned before, I worked in the fishing industry in Alaska quite a bit. One of my jobs was working on a boat in the Bering Sea. Whenever I hear about these stories, I am always grateful that my experience was mostly positive and nothing truly bad happened.

Our boat was huge compared to other boats that you hear about in the news. Our boat was well over 300 feet long and was called a catcher/processor or factory/vessel. We caught the fish and then we processed them right there. We had a crew of over a 100 people. The boat I was reading about was over 100 feet long and had a crew of 11.

We worked 15 hour days, 7 days a week, which compared to cannery hours was a piece of cake! My husband and I were thankfully able to work together. Not that that meant much. We really couldn't talk because it was so loud. We did get to look at each other however. We didn't eat meals together. We didn't even get to sleep in the same room. Forget about trying to sleep in the same bed, it was a twin. We spent our first anniversary working on that boat.

It was a very different experience for me, after having worked several summers at a cannery. I remember the sobering experience of having to practice putting on a survival suit and hoping that I would never have to use that skill. Part of it felt like a school-time fire drill, the other part felt scary. We were very sheltered on the boat and we weren't allowed to go out on the deck very often. Several times we had the opportunity to go and see the captain and his view. Nauseating. The waves really freaked me out.

I only remember one time having to stop working because the weather was really bad, but that didn't mean much. We worked in treacherous conditions. We ate in them. We slept in them. Trying to take a shower was fun as well. Let's put it this way, I did not shave. There were railings everywhere and on everything. In the hall, in the shower, on your bed, at your table....for the longest time after working on the boat I would make jerking & grabbing motions if something was too close to the edge of the table.

Another sobering thing was realizing what the value of your life was worth. Once, a worker in the freezer area of the boat was blasted with something, I think it was freon. I just remember whatever it was was not a good thing. I remember watching as they tried to keep him conscious and alive, while everyone else kept right on working. That boat wasn't going to turn around for him. We heard many other stories of similar incidents, where the captain would only go as far as to meet a ship that was going back to land to save someone's appendage or life. Terrifying.

I have nothing but sadness for the families of those men and for others who risked their lives and lost them.

Clam Chowder

2008-11-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

This has to be one of my favorites. It is soooo good and perfect for yucky days. I got this recipe from a dear friend who was kind enough to share it with me. Not the healthiest meal, but I like to think all the veggies counteract the butter & cream (yeah right). I like mixing up the texture by adding minced & chopped clams and by dicing & chopping the veggies. I've also made this with just evaporated milk - it's ok, but the cream is what really makes this tasty. I've found that about half of each is good, but any more than that and I can notice the difference too much. Enjoy!

1 can (6 oz.) minced clams
1 can (6 oz.) chopped clams
1 1/2 c. chopped onions
1 1/2 c diced & chopped celery
2 1/2 c diced & chopped potatoes
4-5 slices chopped, cooked bacon

3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. flour
1 quart cream or 1 pint cream & 1 pint evaporated milk
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. sugar

Drain clams over veggies in pot. Add salt, pepper & sugar. Add enough water to cover veggies & simmer until potatoes are tender. Melt butter & add flour. Blend & cook 1-2 minutes. Add cream & cook until thick, stirring often. Careful not to scorch the bottom of the pan! Add bacon, clams & cream to veggies, heat again until thickened.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

Note to Self...

2008-10-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

...don't put purple carrots in vegetable soup EVER AGAIN. Yuk.

I grew a variety of different carrots this year, purple, yellow, white and regular orange carrots. I harvested some this week and I thought it would be fun to put them in some soup, kind of a rainbow effect. BAD IDEA. The purple carrots turned every vegetable a nasty, washed-out, purpley color and turned the soup blood red. Try getting the family to eat that mess. Yeah right. I couldn't look at it either, but it did taste delicious. Now I have to figure out how to force them to eat it tomorrow as well...

Girl, You'll Be a Woman (too) Soon

2008-10-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Her favorite color is brown. What 6 year old girl loves brown? My girl. She would choose to wear brown clothing all the time if I let her.

Her memory is incredible. She can remember minute details from things we did several years ago. I know this will come to bite me in inconvenient places later on.

Amazing rhythm as well. This girl can dance. From an early age she has had amazing moves. When she was little we used to joke that she looked like a pole dancer. I KNOW that isn't funny, but when you see your 2 year old with smooth moves like that, it's hard not to think so. Now if I could just get off my duff and get her into a class to even her out. Something like ballet....maybe tap...

She knows what she wants. She is not afraid to ask for it either. Or remind you, not-so-gently of course, if you forget.

She is quite the artist and has a great eye for detail.. She has amazing drawing skills and the stories that she creates are so cool. Right now she is working on a 25 (now 37) page Halloween story. It's a masterpiece.

She plays pig with her sister. P loves to pretend that she is a pig and R loves to indulge her. When we dropped her off at school she said to P, "I'll play pig with you when I get home." Made P's day. All she could talk about was when R would get home to play with her. And she did. She loves her sister and can be quite tender and loving...at times.

When I Was a Boy....

2008-10-27T23:37:00.000-07:00

I had another girls night out with my mom and we had a blast. We started off the night by heading down to Fremont for dinner at Costa's Opa. But before we could eat we had to find parking. In Fremont, on a Friday. So we drove around a little (open to interpretation of what a little means (and crossing the Fremont Bridge several times)) and drove past Troll Avenue which is under the Aurora Bridge. I told my mom we had to go up and see the Fremont Troll. She had never seen it before, so I was excited to show her. The troll was put under the bridge and yes, that is a Volkswagon Bug in it's grasp. It's cool. I would looove to live on Troll Avenue. Who wouldn't?

Walking back towards the restaurant we saw a sign celebrating the installation of the J.P. Patches statue, so we decided to find out where it was. For those who don't know, J.P. Patches had a local t.v. show for YEARS. Maybe 20? He was a clown and the Mayor of the City Dump. He had a lot of fun friends come visit him like Ketchikan the Animal Man, Boris S. Wort, The Swami of Pastrami, and Ggoorrsstt the Friendly Frpl. My personal favorite was Gertrude, his girlfriend who is the masculine lady in the statue with him. She has hands just like a Michelangelo statue. And all the other parts too. (Don't get the wrong idea, she was only played by a man.)

You can almost see her 5 o'clock shadow.

The statue was designed so that people could add their own pins to J.P.'s jacket. I thought that was such an awesome idea.

ICU2TV

My mom and J.P.

Cool side note - We got to see J.P. Patches at the Stanwood-Camano Fair a couple of years ago. He was just as funny as I remember. My girls loved him and still talk about him. The fun was that there were a lot of adults in the audience who didn't have children with them.

Costa's Opa is a fabulous Greek restaurant where they set cheese on fire right in front of our table and shouted OPA! Awesome. The food was amazing and I plan on returning in the near future. Avgolemono, mousaka, souvlaki, dolmades, spankopita....drool. The only thing I didn't eat was baklava - I was too full.

And for the last part of our fun night we got to go to a Dar Williams concert. She is another singer that I discovered in college. Ah, the good ol' days when you had unlimited access to friend's CD collections! She had Shawn Mullins open for her. He had the hit "Rockabye" ("Every thing is gonna be alright"....that guy). He was good, but Dar was awesome. She is quite the storyteller and the stories that led into her songs were so twisted and convoluted that I had a hard time keeping up/not peeing my pants cause I was laughing so hard. She's that funny/subtle. It was my first time seeing her in concert and I was not let down. Here are two of my favorite (of many) songs of hers:

When I Was a Boy

The Christians & The Pagans

OPA!

Less is More, or More is More?

2008-10-24T13:46:00.001-07:00

I gave the girls 3 sheets of window clings to decorate the windows in our house. They used all three sheets on 1 window no matter how much I tried to encourage them otherwise. Sigh.

Cream Cheese Onion Dogs

2008-10-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

I'll spare you a picture this time. This is really, REALLY not a photogenic food. The picture I took made me not want to eat this so much. This is a super easy meal that we love. It came to us via my sister via a street-side hot dog cart.

Ingredients

Buns (I prefer Fransisco International Outdoor Rolls)
Dogs (I like Costco's polish sausages)
Cream Cheese
Barbecue sauce
1-2 T. Olive Oil
1-2 T. Butter
1/2 sweet onion, sliced about 3/4 inch thick

Saute onions in pan. You can use straight olive oil or butter if you choose. I like to mix it up a bit. You can carmelize them if you desire, but I like mine just as they start to turn light brown and still have some bite to them. Lightly toast bun and spread cream cheese on both sides. Put onions and barbecue sauce on top. Will make enough onions for about 3-4 hot dogs. Enjoy.

Proof that I am not crazy...

2008-10-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

So, for the longest time I have loved Wheat Thins. They are by far my most favorite cracker ever. They are a staple in our house, they almost qualify as another food group. From where I am sitting right now, I can see 3 1/2 Costco-size boxes of Wheat Thins. Yum. Too bad my retainer is in right now...

For quite a while I have thought that there was a difference in taste between the Costco Wheat Thins and grocery store Wheat Thins. Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy. They tell me they can't tell the difference. For the longest time I held out and would only buy grocery store Wheat Thins because I could tell the difference.

My mom was over last week and had some Costco Wheat Thins to snack on. She asked if they were the low-fat kind. It was a blind taste-test, I swear. She told me they tasted different.

One more thing to knock off my "See, I'm not crazy list."

Or, my mom is just as crazy as me.

Steee-rike!

2008-10-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, we went bowling. The kids had a blast. I sucked horribly. Even with the bumpers in. R rocked. Average speed for the girls' bowling balls, 3.5 mph. I couldn't believe that they had something to track the speed!

Check out her form and that action! Everytime it was P's turn to bowl, she would get up to the line and you could hear her say "Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, throw!"

Where did the ball go?

It's Been One of Those Days...

2008-10-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Endurance & Gratitude

2008-10-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

This has been a rough week for me. I had yet another doctor's appointment where I was hoping for some good news. Yet again I was let down. It seems that I might have contracted a virus while in Mexico that somehow did something to my inner ear when I passed out. The doctor just doesn't know. Good news, no permanent damage, so hopefully the hearing loss in my right ear is only temporary. Bad news, the dizziness and tinnitus might continue on for another 6 months. I could tell the doctor was just throwing a number out there for me. He has no real way of knowing how long it will take to recover or if I will even recover completely. Yee haw. So excuse my word vomit and indulge me yet again...

Elder Robert E. Wells:

“I have been flying many kinds of aircraft for the last 30 years, both in the United States and in Latin American countries. Not too long ago when I had returned to the [United] States after an absence of some years, a very dear friend offered me the use of his new [airplane]. …

“We discussed my qualifications of being covered under his insurance policy, and it turned out that I needed a check ride with a qualified inspector as it had been some time since I had flown that particular type of plane.

“The arrangements were made, and I met the inspector at the side of the airplane at the appointed hour with my licenses from the USA, Argentina, Paraguay, and Ecuador, and logbooks showing flights in Cessna 310s across jungles, mountains, deserts, international boundaries, etc. He smiled calmly but was unimpressed and said, ‘I’ve heard about you, and I have no doubt about how much flying you have done, but I have to assume that those flights were when nothing went wrong. Now let’s fire up this bird and see how well you fly it when everything goes wrong!’

“For the next hour he made everything go wrong! He simulated every emergency he could think of. He turned things off that should have been on. He turned things on that should have been off. He tried to create disorientation or panic. He really wanted to know how well I could fly when everything did go wrong! In the end he climbed out, signed my logbook, and announced, ‘You’re okay. …’

“One of the purposes of this life is to be tested, tried, and proven to see how well we will serve the Lord. The Prophet Joseph [Smith] said that we would be tested to see if we would serve and remain faithful through all hazards. We knew before we came that there would be many adverse circumstances to test us: accidents, sickness, and disease to prove us; temptations and distractions to try us; disappointments, discouragements, reverses, failures, and all kinds of situations to determine our character. …

“The question still is: How well can you fly it when everything goes wrong? How well can you live when every test, every trial, every proof of your faithfulness is exacted of you?”

I told this story Relief Society while teaching a lesson on adversity. I had forgotten about it until a few days ago while I was reviewing the last few months. I am nowhere near being out of this trial yet, but I am most definitely not in the darkest days of it, or so I assume. Let's hope not. I have been told that there will be lessons that I will gain from this experience. I am grateful that I have not had to wait until this trial was over and long gone before I could reflect and receive some insight.

During some of my hardest days, I truly questioned myself. I had huge amounts of guilt because of my inability to take care of my family, I still do. I would lay on the couch during the day thinking of everything I should have been doing. I couldn't cook. I couldn't drive. I couldn't even make it off the couch some days to let my girls play outside. Sometimes I would want to pull my hair out and tear my skin to pieces when the dizziness got out of control. It was then that I realized my illness was affecting my sanity. This has been a very trying time for me. I go. I do. I run a tight ship. I have to, it's part of who I am. This has forced me to let go of pretty much everything. All at once. Oh yeah, trials are fun. What was the other thing that I taught in that lesson? That sometimes things happen to you for no good reason at all. Nice.

I recognize that I am such a Martha (Biblical, not Stewart). Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Martha had sat down to listen to Jesus instead of prepare the meal. I'm sure some guy there (not Jesus obviously) would have been grumbling that there was no food. In my role as a mom I quite often get caught up in my Martha role because that is basically what I do each day. Clean, feed, repeat. But I forget that even though someone, sometimes, maybe even often, might have to do the dirty work, it doesn't always have to be me. My kids (and husband) are much more capable than I thought. True it might not be to my standards, but I have been learning to accept that. Ok, so I have to force myself to turn my back while R is vacuuming, but then everything is fine after that.

I recognize that it is part of who I am and that is fine. I think that one of the things I needed to learn is when to choose the better part. I have a hard time with that one. Because while I am having fun, in the back of my head I'm thinking about everything that isn't getting done. Once I was forced to drop everything for a while (quite a while to be sure), I found other things to take their place. Some more important things, some less important things. I am reassessing the priorities in my life and trying to choose the better part even if it is in 5 minute increments. But what matters most is that I have been able to release Martha's death-grip on me. Now Martha & I are just holding hands. Handcuffed to be sure, but holding hands.

So while maybe I haven't aced this flying test, I haven't failed it either. I still have a chance to show that I can do same dang good flying when there is some pretty bad turbulence ahead. So what if the oxygen masks dropped and some luggage got thrown around? No one was hurt, right? Hopefully my passengers aren't afraid to fly with me again.

The End.

Po' Man's Roca

2008-10-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

So I made this the other night for a party we went to and by request here is the recipe! I really don't have a better name for it. It is somewhat similar to Almond Roca in flavor. Somewhat. Insomuch that there is sugar, butter, chocolate and almonds involved. The previous name was Chocolate Saltine Treat. Yummy. Doesn't that just roll off your tongue? This is super easy to make and I have no candy experience whatsoever so don't expect temperatures or any of that other technical junk.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cubes butter

1 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 packages saltines

16 oz. chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, peanut butter, whatever!)

Nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.)

1/4 stick butter

Line regular size jelly roll sheet with tinfoil and butter it with approximately 1/4 stick of butter. This works best if you stick it in oven for a minute or so while preheating the oven. Place saltines over entire sheet.

Melt 2 cubes of butter and add sugar, cook it until it is slightly brown. Not taupe, not caramel-colored, just slightly brown. Add vanilla.

Pour mixture over saltines and spread evenly to the edges of the sheet. Bake in oven for 5 minutes at 350*. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and spread evenly to edges. Get creative with chip flavors if you want to. I usually mix half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet together. Sprinkle nuts on top and gently press into chocolate. Refrigerate MINIMUM 1 hour. Chop into chunks and devour. Oh and watch out for little bits of tinfoil on the bottom. It happens sometimes.

For Maggie

2008-10-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

Tagged

2008-10-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

My first tag! I'm so excited. So here are the rules.

1. Link to the person who tagged you: http://accidentprone-lefthander.blogspot.com/

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Random things about me. Beware.

1. Cheese drawer - I have a drawer in my fridge that is devoted solely to all types of cheese. The occasional lunch meat might make it in there, but really it is the cheese drawer and it is full of goodness. Currently - Parmesan, Mozzarella, Cheddar, cream cheese, Gruyere, Emmental, Laughing Cow, Velveeta (I know it is cheese product, but it is SO good) and Asiago/Romano. I LUV cheese. Story - the first time I ate Brie, I cut the rind/skin off. I didn't know you were supposed to eat it. Plus it was kind of nasty looking. I'm raising my girls to not be so gauche. They know the right way to eat it and LOVE it.

2. Colonel Sanders - I have kissed Colonel Sanders, of KFC, that is. Yep the Colonel himself. And I have a photo of me puckering up. I was probably one and a half. The details are fuzzy in my head, but my dad was a manger of a KFC back in the day and for some reason I got to meet him and give him smooches.

3. Trumpet - I play the trumpet. I used to be really quite good at it too, but since having my braces off 2 years ago, I'm too paranoid to play it much. See, my trumpet mouthpiece is part of what made my teeth the nasty bucktooth mess that they were. I don't want to go back to that.

4. Alaska - I worked in Alaska in the fishing industry. I started off at a salmon cannery in between school years during college. It could only get better from there! After I graduated from college I worked in Alaska for almost an entire year in various locations. Topping this whole experience off was working on a factory/vessel in the Bering Sea during the winter. Not to be repeated.

5. I am addicted to chapstick. I am miserable without it. I have 2 in my car, 1 in the kitchen, 1 in my purse, 1 in the bathroom, 1 next to the computer and 2 in my bedroom. Oh, and 1 in my pocket. They usually migrate and will end up all in one location and none with me.

6.) My family is confusing. Sorting out the siblings is even crazier. I am the oldest of 7. Split into two different families. I'll spare you the break down, but needless to say it is confusing.

Mom's name - Susan (Suzi)
Step-mom's name - Susan
Step-dad's name - Joe
Father-in-law's name - Joe

Brother - Ryan
Step-brother - Ryan
Step-sister - Holly
Half-brother - Gavin
Half-sister - Maggie
Half-sister - Cassie

With 2 brothers named Ryan, I can't even describe how confusing it is. It was even worse when they were little!

So tag, Diana, Danielle, Jessica, Hope, Cricket, Calley. I hope you give me some good reading material!

Of Hangers and Toilet Paper

2008-10-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

As I was doing some quick clean-up around the house the other day and making my Costco shopping list, I had an epiphany about a couple of my many quirks.

First off is toilet paper. I remember many a times growing up we would be low, really, really low on toilet paper. In a house with 6 people that creates a potential for disaster. Now, as an adult, I have found that I have to have no less than two (2!) Costco size packages of toilet paper in my house. One of them must be unopened and when the other gets below half full, I buy another package. So sometimes that makes 3 packages at home. What a freak.

Second is hangers. We also had a hanger shortage for quite a while at home. I remember sneaking into other closets at home and stealing any empty hangers and whisking them back to my closet. Where they would promptly be stolen back when empty. So now, in my kids closet I must have triple the amount of hangers that they need. As for myself, I must have two dozen empty hangers in a spare closet. We had a roommate who moved out recently and asked if we needed any extra hangers. Yes, please. I inspected the bag that she left us, there must be at least a hundred hangers in it. SCORE!

I shall never go without again.

Kids

2008-10-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love my girl for the crazy, random person that she is.

Favorite number - 44 Why? We don't know. She just likes to shout it out just because.

She pretends she is a pig most of the time. And she has the craziest snort to go with it that she will rip out at the weirdest times. It is loud.

Matootie Ma Toot Toot. Yeah, that is another one of her crazy things she says, we are not sure what it means.

Her little voice. Capitllar. Blutterfly. Titty Tat, Mommy-a. Some days she sounds like she is a New Yawk native.

Her cheeks. Both sets.

Her fast pitch swing. We seriously need to get her into softball. She has the speed. She has this crazy walk where she swings her arm like a fast-pitch softball pitcher and does this hop/gallop thing. Seriously crazy.

She will give you her last M&M without even thinking about it. She is amazing when it comes to sharing. She always has been. Unfortunately her older sister has figured this out, and will use it to her advantage. If she knows she won't get caught. But my little one doesn't care. She will still give.

Sometimes when she is talking and forgets what she is saying, she'll pause, look at me and say "Mommy I looove you."

Gives the best kisses. Complete with sound effects.

It's Over Now...

2008-10-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I got to go see The Phantom of the Opera this weekend. Yea for me! I adore The Phantom. This was the second time seeing it on stage, but that was over 10 years ago, so in some respect it was almost like seeing it on stage again for the first time. The only real bummer was that we made the joke before the show started that we were going to get stuck behind someone tall (nothing personal tall people, but it sucks getting stuck behind you sometimes) and guess what? We did. Fortunately for me, they had these booster cushions for vertically challenged people that were at least 6 inches thick. I still had to sit criss-cross (applesauce) and lean into the ailse to be able to see somethings. Nothing better than seeing The Phantom barefoot! The first half was good, but not great. Some people were a little flat or a little too shrill. Maybe they were ready for a break (it was the final weekend here). The second half rocked however. I was riveted and had plenty of goosebumps. And I got to see it with one of my most favorite people in the world.

My mom. Who loves it as much as I do. Which makes sense of course since I am a clone of her. I'm her own little Mini-Me.

Proof. My husband can't tell if he is talking to me or my mom when he calls me at my mom's house. Truly Freaks Him Out.

Oh, and I converted her. She now has jammies just like me! I knew she'd like them.

Lame picture (I know), it was all that whipped cream!

We went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and had us some fabulous food. We gorged ourselves and decided to go back to the Cheesecake Factory for our cheesecake after the show. Marvellous idea! We got three kinds of cheesecake. No, we did not eat it all right then. I took some of my share home for the next day. And no I did not share it.

And the best part of all of this? My girls were gone for the weekend, so I got to sleep in LATE the next morning. And eat the rest of the cheesecake for breakfast!

Then there was one....

2008-10-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

...and now there are none.

Go into the light little fish...

I am not against pets. I would just like to have a pet that has a lifespan longer than a dishwasher cycle. I also don't do dead things. As in disposal and removal of them. Ask my mom. I made her come home from work one day to take care of a deceased pet. I don't like dead things. Period.

We have had aquatic frogs for the last year and a half. We raised them from the tadpole stage until they were full fledged frogs. We managed to keep two frogs (Cinderella & Juan) alive for a year and a half. Pretty good if you ask me. Well, a couple of weeks ago one of them turned into a floater. It wasn't dead, but was clearly on it's way. It would move if you forced it to, but then, well, it would float again. A couple days later the other frog did the same thing.

Have I mentioned I don't like dead things?

So someone came up with the idea to grant the frogs a final wish. We called it the "make a frog's final wish foundation." Honestly, we made that up all by ourselves. Someone took them to a nearby lake and released them into the wild for a final hurrah. I did not condone this action, but then again I didn't have to dispose of them. I feared they would clog the toilet and I was not about to bury them.

So then I said in one of my not so bright moments, stop by the pet store and get a fish to ease the pain of our children. In my head I was thinking about a beta, I think they last a fairly long time. I forgot to express that thought. Came home with 10, count them 10 goldfish. The ten cent variety. I believe they are called feeder fish. ARGH! They succumbed quickly over a period of 12 days. And guess who got to dispose of them?

One not so happy lady.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

2008-10-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

One of our family's favorites and really easy to make. I mean, come on, it's pizza. My mom and I made homemade pesto and froze it into various size muffin tins. I pull out a regular size muffin tin chunk of pesto for this pizza. I also use a Boboli pizza crust because 1.) I haven't found a homemade pizza crust recipe that I like, and 2.) I'd probably be too lazy to make it anyway.

Ingredients

Boboli pizza crust

about 1/2 - 1 cup pesto

about 1/2 block of cream cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup cooked chicken, cut into strips

about 1/2 of a zucchini, thinly sliced

2 mushrooms, thinly sliced

red pepper, thinly sliced

onions, same routine

about 1/4 cup parmesan, romano or asiago cheese, finely shredded

Mix pesto and cream cheese together to your taste. We have kids, and they like it a little creamier. You can use straight pesto if you choose, but I like to add some cream cheese because it helps bind the pesto together and makes the sauce not as greasy. Layer the rest of the ingredients in order. Vegetable preference is obviously optional. I'm the only one in my family that likes onions and peppers on my pizza. Sprinkle finely shredded parmesan cheese (or whatever you have around) on top.

Enjoy!

Like Mother, Like Daughters

2008-10-02T23:05:00.001-07:00

Me and my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

2008-10-01T00:38:00.000-07:00

First, I need to apologize for my harsh language the other day. I was having a really bad day. And I couldn't wear my jammies to make me feel even a little bit better. They were in the wash.

The day started off fine, I went to another doctor's appointment. Doctor number five to be precise. The doctor that two other doctors referred me too. The doctor that took me FOREVER to get an appointment with. But that is another story. I was excited to go see this doctor because he was a SPECIALIST'S SPECIALIST. Basically, he only dealt with problems similar to mine and a few other things. I didn't get my hopes up too high, but I was trying to be optimistic. After all he was a SPECIALIST'S SPECIALIST. (I promise I won't say it again in caps.)

So I get there, tell my story for what must have been the umpteenth time to an M.A. (Umpteenth is a number, just go look it up if you don't believe me.) Then I get to tell it again to the doctor. Redundant. Why did I tell the M.A. in the first place? But I have asked this question too many times to let it bother me yet again. So we are doing the doctor/patient thing and he's talking about all these tests he is going to do, tricks he has up his sleeves, blah, blah, blah...then he says the magic words, I'd like to do an MRI first.

Wait.

I've already had an MRI. Did they miss something? Is there something else he wants them to check out?

No.

My stupid doctor's office DIDN'T transfer my records over.

Nice.

Especially when it was the DOCTOR that told me she would have my records sent over to the new doctor. The buck stops with you lady and this is not a good sign of how you run your practice. You suck. (I'm reverting to grade-school insults.)

Did I mention how long it took me to get in to see this guy?

So, I'm trying hard to keep my cool and not explode all over this doctor. Like the Incredible Hulk. And I try to esplain (I'm leaving this typo in) to him my frustration about what a waste of time (and money) it was to come see him today, calmly. He offers a few apologies about "Medical practice red-tape, negligence, blah, blah, blah." Whatever.

It's just my life. NO big deal. I can hold on and wait for another few days. Wait, that is what this whole process has been, I can just hold on for another few days while I wait YET AGAIN because of some mistake or oversight. ARGH. Don't think that I am being irrational here. I understand it takes time to get in to see a doctor, to get test results back, answer phone messages etc, etc, etc. But the mistakes have just happened too many times over the last few months. The only way I get through each day and hold onto my sanity is based on when the next doctor's appointment is, when the lab work results come back, anticipating a phone call etc. It's like my own little Advent calender in my head. 6 days to go, pop another chocolate in my mouth, go to bed.

Did I mention they are weening me off of the medication that makes me feel better? It's only a "short-term" medication. It doesn't "solve the problem", it only "masks" it. Whatever, I felt a whole lot better on it than I do today.

So that threw my whole day into a downward spiral. I went straight to Krispy Kreme, bought some doughnuts (no numbers needed) and ate them. Then I laid on the couch and slept.

The one thing I forgot about was that a few weeks prior my husband had paid for me to get a massage. And it was that night. Let me tell you, that hour made all the difference and washed away the whole day's worth of garbage. I felt soooo good afterwards. And I came home to clean jammies.

Lessons learned: must get a massage every day. Need to buy back-up pair of jammies.

P.S. Sorry for all the cap usage. I'll do better next time.

Art for Art's Sake - Typophile 4 Film Fest Opening Credits

2008-09-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know that this has been out for awhile already, but I just had to post it for those who haven't seen it. I like to watch it every once in a while just because. I get a little weepy every time I watch it. Not just for the beautiful story that it tells, but for the gorgeous visual imagery. And the music really drives the story. And the attention to detail. Ok, it is just amazing. Correct me if I'm wrong (I can't remember which blog I saw this on), but I believe the husband of The Wonder Years was part of the team that worked on this?

For those of you who might not know what typophile is, it is a film festival that shows films that are related to typography (think fonts), animation (think stop-motion) and other cool edgy forms of art. There are some really cool short films that have been shown there.

Enjoy!

@#$$&*&@!$%

2008-09-29T10:25:00.001-07:00

More to come later.

Indulge Me...

2008-09-27T00:53:00.000-07:00

I've had a bad couple of days and have not felt well, and, well, I think the craziness level is getting a leetle too high right now. So, indulge me.

When I was in college, I was a DJ for the college radio station - KWRS, Spokane's only Pirate radio. We used to joke that it had less wattage than a light bulb. You could hear the station on campus, several blocks away from campus and on a good day, from Mt. Spokane. It was awesome to play radio DJ for a couple of hours a week. I still have some old cassette tapes (just saying the word makes me feel old) of my shows. I loved my show, it was called The Happy Hour. But that is besides the point. I was introduced to a whole new world of music that I had never been exposed to before. People like Michelle Shocked, Ween, Barenaked Ladies, Bjork, Rusted Root, Dar Williams and Ani DiFranco. One song I heard made an impact on me, 32 Flavors by Ani DiFranco.

I had been struggling with identity issues for quite a while. You could say that the teen years had been difficult for me, and the jump from high school to college was even more so. In high school I was easily defined by what I did. Smart kid, band geek, Christian, yearbook editor, swimmer, over-achiever. Each of those things firmly defined me and shaped who I was, what I did, who I was friends with, etc. But there was conflict in some of those terms that I struggled to reconcile. I thought every aspect of myself had to fit into one neat, tidy package.

When I came to college everything that defined me was stripped away one by one. I was average now, one of many over-achievers and I found it not so easy to juggle activities and my responsibilities. I also questioned heavily the concept of being a Christian and God. I heard 32 Flavors for the first time my sophomore year of college while I was deeply unhappy with myself.

I love this song because it has quite a few different messages that I get out of it. What I think I love the most about this song is the message about self-realization/acceptance. A woman is a complex creature, and I am amazed at all the things women are capable of doing. We have layers (flavors), some so deep inside us that most people (including ourselves) don't get to see them often (if ever). We need to embrace and celebrate the flavors that make us unique and create contrast in us - those things that make us individuals. We need to accept that we are not perfect, that we are flawed. Not to let that inhibit us, but let us grow and move forward.

So, this song was covered by Alana Davis in the late 90's, it might sound familiar. As for Ani, she looks pretty scary. Someone should have told her fake fluorescent feathers is not a good hairstyle for her. You know, the kind that come attached to cheap cowboy hats. (How judgemental of me, bad, bad, bad.)

As for the present day, I don't struggle as much with the things that define me. I spend less time trying to reconcile them and more time embracing them, realizing that I am complex and flawed. And wonderful.

This song is called Present/Infant.

This song embodies what I think causes so many women to have struggle. As a mother now, I hope I can instill in my daughters such self-confidence, acceptance and strength that they will make it through the difficult years joyful and confident. That they will not let the world outside try to project the idea that you're never pretty enough, popular enough, thin enough, clever enough..... That they will be content to smile and enjoy themselves the way they are. That they'll never be caused to doubt themselves and their true divine nature. During General Conference (bi-annual general meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a talk called, "Concern for the One". I was supposed to teach this talk in Church on Sunday, but I just am not able to pull it together in front of a whole class of women right now. Which is probably why I'm rambling right now. I really loved this talk and really wanted to teach this lesson. Aneeewho, enough. Something Elder Wirthlin said has stuck with me this last six months and I have really tried to embrace it.

He said "Some are lost because they are different. They feel as though they don’t belong. Perhaps because they are different, they find themselves slipping away from the flock. They may look, act, think, and speak differently than those around them and that sometimes causes them to assume they don’t fit in. They conclude that they are not needed. Tied to this misconception is the erroneous belief that all members of the Church should look, talk, and be alike. The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole. This variety of creation itself is a testament of how the Lord values all His children. He does not esteem one flesh above another, but He “inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; . . . all are alike unto God."

Here is a link to the complete talk he gave.

So, like I said, thanks for indulging me and letting me get the craziness that is floating around in my head out.

The End.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

2008-09-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Look what I found when I went out into my garden today! They are completely unmarked by the squirrels. I was harvesting all the nasty, nibbled on zucchini and found these three! I generally like them a little larger (Who doesn't?), but I wasn't about to tempt fate. This was a gift from above, so I took it. Nothing like a little zucchini to bring some sunshine into my soul today. And I already have plans for these little beauties. Chicken Pesto Pizza. Yum.

Kids

2008-09-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

Me: How much do you love me?

P: All around the world and the tunaverse.

(Driving in car)

R: Mommy, where are all my rubberbands? (She had at least 30.)

Me: I took them back inside the house because I needed them.

R: But I was saving them so when there was a volcano I could save all of our food.

Children of the Corn

2008-09-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

I am speechless. And angry. I saw this commercial on tv yesterday and just about flipped my lid. I'm still trying to process it. I thought I was hallucinating. The Big Fat Liars. We KNOW it isn't good for us. Don't lie.

The big jug of purple mystery juice made me laugh however. Have you ever tasted that stuff?

In our house we drink water. So far I haven't been told that it is bad for us, so I guess we'll stick with it until further notice.

Guess What I Am Wearing Right Now?

2008-09-23T08:46:00.001-07:00

Yep, my new pyjamas. They definitely don't qualify as new now. But here's the best part. Do you know why I'm wearing them? Because I have found someone to CARPOOL with. I know, I'll give you a minute to you settle down. I am ecstatic too.

I have been bound and determined this year to find carpool, especially because I am not well. Driving to school isn't my favorite thing, but I'll do it if I have to. It also hasn't helped that I don't like driving right now. I'll do it, but then I need a two-hour nap afterwards. So I found out through a friend (of a friend of a friend) that there was a women who had a daughter going into 1st grade just like R. But she only knew the daughter's first name and that they lived fairly close to us.

Side note: We have shipped R off to another school district because we just liked the other school district better.

So back to my super-sleuthing. I was bound and determined to find this child. So I got out R's yearbook, found this girl, found out what class she was in, and watched day in, day out for her when school let out(I wasn't stalking). Unfortunately, her school picture wasn't that great, so I wasn't sure what she really looked like. Then one day it happened. Just by chance, she happened to be walking down the hall with her lunch box and HER NAME was written on the lunch box! (She looked nothing like her picture) Oh joy! I had found her. So the next day I waited around, followed her (I wasn't stalking, I was determined), and met her mom. She had a car big enough to fit not just R but P as well (I know that is next year, but a girl has to have something to look forward to). The rest is history.

The blessings continue. I have a friend at P's preschool who is willing to bring P home for me while I am convalescing.

Grand total: So now instead of ten trips to R's school each week, I only have to make five. P's school? Three less trips. I went from thirteen trips a week to five trips a week. But who's counting?

More jammie time for me!