quote of the week...

"Why are you compelled to do the laundry and irritated at your child? You should be compelled to be with your child and irritated at the laundry."


--Dr. Laura Schlessinger

well, it took me 691 days...

...but I won something again.

Not carpet, this time. Instead it was scrapbook paper. And, in spite of my having more paper than any human being should have, I will never turn down more paper. I mean, come on.

I'm not sure a nearly two year spread between random drawing wins can qualify as a streak or anything, but I'm thinking I should go bigger for my next one. So, in August of 2010, I'm seeing myself win a luxury car of some kind.

There. I put it out into the universe. According to The Secret, now I just need to determine whether or not I want leather seats and then wait for that bad boy to come rolling up into my driveway.

I love the lady that brought me this...

Wouldn't you?

quote of the week...

"In raising my children, I have lost my mind but found my soul."

--Lisa T. Shepherd

ok, folks...

Can we just decide once and for all that those car window stickers that depict various cartoon characters urinating on things need to be done away with? I mean, I get that you love your Ford, but does it really mean that Chevy needs to be peed on?

I don't think so.

quote of the week...

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."

--Picasso

blog for a cause...

If you are a funny blogger, This Blog wants you.

They are gathering submissions to fill a book, which will be called Sometimes Life Is Funny. The proceeds of this upcoming book will benefit Stephanie Nielson and her husband and children. If you don't know the story of Stephanie and her family, please follow the links and you can find many posts and stories about it.

If ever there were a family that needed help and support, it is this one. I have to imagine that what Stephanie and her family are going through right now will take every ounce of strength and faith that is theirs. At least perhaps we can ease their burden in this way.

things I learned last week...

*nothing takes care of getting to know someone like an 11 hour road trip



*Rexburg, Idaho and its inhabitants are apparently "precious". I see no other explanation for the 467 times I used that word while visiting there



*there is good Thai food to be had in Rexburg, if you know the right people



*church universities are a pleasant surprise to kids who grew up never being able to talk about things in school as they relate to faith/religion



*my phone can go 5 days without charging if I don't use it too much



*my daily exercise paid off as I trailed 3 very fit teenagers up the hill from @#!*% and did not have to stop, throw up, or beg for mercy



*Idaho makes my nose itch



*being in Utah just brings back all the great things I remember about being a kid



*Andrew--the waiter at Applebee's in West Valley--is a bitter and angry man



*Tim--the waiter at The Garden in Salt Lake City--is not



*it's fun to buy normal things while away from home...because then you can always think, "I got this book when I was in Utah with Kim."



*you'd think that when there is a 12th floor bar and dance floor in your hotel that being on the 9th floor would be far enough away from the noise...but you would be WRONG



*saying "Utah is stupid!" in a lispy and annoyed voice never stops being funny



*Kim always thinks that she can "get us there", and if by "get us there" she means "trap us at a railroad crossing on the wrong side of town while creepy hispanic pillowcase guy hovers around your car", then she's right



*5 days is just about enough sleeping in and doing whatever I feel like to be ready to come home

*I have a top notch husband. Three words: House. Was. Spotless.

quote of the week...

"It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself."

~Joyce Maynard

road trip...

Daughter and I head out to take her to school tomorrow. I am dropping her off, and then having myself a girls' weekend!

I am so looking forward to hugging my daughter and wishing her the best as she starts off on her new adventure...and then having a little down time with a dear friend. I am ready to enjoy all the good that is in this next phase of life...the phase where I watch my children make their own dreams come true, and become the people I know they can be.

Thanks to all who offered prayers on behalf of my husband and everyone involved in the DNC. Hubby called it the "most boring week ever" which was music to my ears.

quote of the week...

"Forget yourself and go to work."

--Bryant S. Hinckley