quote of the week...

"That which we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: 'tis dearness only that gives everything its value."

--Thomas Paine

i've got the blues...

I've been re-thinking my house lately. Up until now, I have pretty much had a simple color palette--red, cream, and black...with a little soft yellow thrown in. My walls are a neutral, creamy tan. I love it, and still do. But then this little pretty came along...

I bought this a while back, and the blue color has really grown on me.

But it was lonely, being the only blue thing in my house.

So sad. Until...

...this little guy, who know keeps the pretty window company in my kitchen/family room area. I like how the two of them together make a lot more sense. And they are a lovely contrast to all the deep reds and blacks. It makes the whole feel more light and clean. Loving this as much as I did, I figured, why not try some more?

I found these in the dollar (!!) section at Target, added the number rub-ons because I am a tad obsessed with numbers right now, and they now hold toys under a bench in the front room.

Then, my talented daughter was kind enough to paint a little beauty for me that had the blue in it...which I gave a place of importance on our bookshelves.

Now that the blue is here, it's like it always belonged.

What color might be missing from your house?

quote of the week...

"It's difficult to think anything other than pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato."

--Lewis Grizzard

kimi & matt...

I had a crazy busy and fun weekend away. Thank you for including me.

I wish both of you a life full of wonderful.

quote of the week...

"Great minds talk about ideas; average minds talk about events; and small minds talk about people."

--unknown

quote of the week...

"It is simply futile to try to change another if we do so in a critical spirit. We influence others most profoundly when we do not seek to change them at all, but simply go about straight-forwardly doing the right and loving thing."


--C. Terry Warner, The Bonds That Make Us Free

quote of the week...

"Our rewards in life will always be in exact proportion to the amount of consideration we show towards others."


--Earl Nightingale

quote of the week...

"The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."


--Mararget D. Nadauld

that's just good comedy...

Sometimes our dinner table rivals any open mic night at Comedy Works. We have this deal where we pull questions from the "family conversation jar" on Sunday nights during dinner. In the jar are little strips with questions on them that we all take turns answering. It's a lot of fun, and occasionally? Pee your pants funny.


Tonight's question:


"If you could go back to any time period, what time period would it be?"


6 year old: "Hmmmm...I am going to have to say...10:30."




I love my life.

quote of the week...

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."


--attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this woman...

I have read Stephanie's blog for a long time now. She never ceases to bring a tear to my eye and a smile to my heart.

learning curves...

There have been a lot of changes in my life in the last few months.


And with change, comes learning. So I find myself in the midst of lots of learning curves...and feeling some growing pains as a result. Some changes are sweet, some are bitter, all are necessary and I welcome each one.


The biggest change has been watching our daughter become a wife, and welcoming a son-in-law. This one is solidly in the "sweet" change category. The Hubby's grandmother once told me she preferred the term "in-love" rather than "in-law" and I have to say, I agree with her. This young man is now our son in love. We love him because our daughter does, and we love him because he loves our daughter. A dear friend said to me, "When you see your child loved, the way you always hoped they would be loved, the person who loves them that way becomes irresistible to you." This rings true to me.


Another change has been my calling to head the young women's organization in our church congregation. This means that I am responsible for running a program for 35+ young women from the ages of 12-18. We have Sunday classes, weekly activities, and summer camp...among other things. Since I was called, I have had many moments that I have felt overwhelmed and under qualified. However, in His typical fashion, God let me know several months before I was called to this position that my heart needed to be turned towards the young women, so I have also felt such peace. And an intense love and concern for each of the girls that honestly makes me ache to serve them, and to improve my knowledge so that I can be the leader that they deserve and need me to be.


There have been other changes, some that I don't feel right about sharing the details about. I can say that I have found myself in a learning curve with people that I thought we had good, respectful relationships with and it turns out...we don't. It has caused me to once again look inward to determine how the woman I wish to be would behave. The more I live life, the more clear it becomes to me that the only power I have lies in thoughtfully controlling what I say and do. I cannot EVER hope to change a situation by changing someone else. And I cannot EVER hope to be a person of influence unless I show myself to be "a doer of the word, and not hearer only." Even when I feel wronged and misunderstood, all that matters is that I control what I can--how I respond.


And although all these learning curves stretch my mind, my energy, and my patience...I am grateful.

quote of the week...

“Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all.”
—William Temple

quote of the week...

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”

quote of the week...

"Not being able to govern events, I govern myself."


--Michel de Montaigne

getting out of the bitter barn...

I had a rough week. Could you tell from my quote? Yeah. I'm transparent like that.


More root canals, more abscesses, more allergic reactions...same stuff, different year.


I am feeling better now! What an interesting thing it always is to me...how good it feels to feel better. How much I take waking up pain free and full of energy for granted. Whenever I am sick or in pain, I always think, "What if I always felt this way?"


I am SO glad I don't have to know. So:


3 cheers for antibiotics! (specifically, the ones that do NOT make me break out in hives)


3 cheers for Percocet, Darvocet, and all the lovely "cets"!


3 cheers for the ability to chew!


And 3 cheers for The Hubby, who held it all together while I fell apart.

quote of the week...

"The greatest evil is physical pain."

--Saint Augustine

quote of the week...

"A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle."

--Benjamin Franklin

i bore his fruit 7 times...

...and he builds me stuff.

such a terrific arrangement.

quote of the week...

"Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for and relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling."


--Marjorie Pay Hinckley

tori and chris.

I've known this sweet girl since she was a baby.

It was so fun to be asked to shoot her engagement photos for her.

Congratulations, Tori and Chris!

quote of the week...

"Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still."

--Chinese Proverb

quote of the week...

"You are educated when you have the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or self-confidence."

--Robert Frost

quote of the week...

“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
—Agatha Christie

best thing I ever heard on a talk show:

"What your problem is, is, that you got no self-respect for yourself."

quote of the week...

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want."

--Bill Watterson

credit where credit is due...

To those of you who asked if I took Bri and Jordan's engagement photos:

I wish.

Two of Bri's roommates at school this past semester were sisters. Their mom is Rebecca Frazier, a very talented photographer, who was kind enough to do their shoot for them while she was in town for her daughter's graduation.

We love her. A lot. As you might guess.

See more of her work HERE.

and so it begins...

These two wonderful young people will be married on April 10th, 2010.

It is a joy to see our daughter so happy and in love.

We are so grateful to be a part of watching them create their own family!

We love you, Jordan and Brianne!

quote of the week...

"People become attached to their burdens. Sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them."

--George Bernard Shaw

books read, 2009

Here's the breakdown:

I read 43 books.

20 were biographies/autobiographies. I used the strictest criteria on this, meaning that if it was non-fiction about a person's life, I counted it as a biography. Some books could have really gone into "humor" or plain "non-fiction" because while they were real stories about a real person's life, they couldn't really be considered a definitive account of the person's entire life.

4 were non-fiction/educational. Which means I supposedly learned something from them. We'll just have to see about that.

10 were non-fiction/brain candy. This is what I call the category of books that really just let me
have a simple, enjoyable little read. I don't expect much from them, and so they never let me down. Like a Twix...only you don't have to brush your teeth afterward.

9 were just plain non-fiction. These are ones that while non-fiction, still would challenge me a bit as a reader.

Most favorite: I pick Three Cups of Tea. I read it early in the year, and still found myself considering the life and work of Greg Mortenson as the year went on. His passion and drive to educate the women of Pakistan and Afganistan is amazing. His conclusion that "if you educate women you can change a culture" resonates with me. Women have a role that is so much more than simply an equality with men...they are the primary educators of their children, and I felt like Greg Mortenson really understands that.

Least favorite: I hate to say this...but I have to go with The Lovely Bones. I absolutely loved Alice Sebold's writing, but I really thought that the ending turned the book into something it hadn't started out to be. It felt like the book had been building up to something completely different...and I felt kind of cheated.

What were the best books you read last year? Any suggestions for what I should read this year?

quote of the week...

"Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
--Thomas Edison

happy new year...

I wish for everyone a year full of love and peace. My hope is to accept and embrace all of the year's coming challenges with grace and humor...and I hope that you are able to do the same!

on 300 posts, and blogger's block...

This is the 300th post I have made on this blog.

I haven't been around here much...I haven't written on my blog, and I haven't really kept up on the blogs I normally read. I'm not really sure why. Things in my life have been just as happy/sad and just as over/under whelming as they always are...but I haven't felt the urge to write about it.

I'd love to say that I've been off accomplishing incredible, amazing, life changing things...but I haven't. I've read some books, cooked some meals, gone to some meetings, cleaned some house, loved some kids. I've worked too little and worried too much. I've been pleased with myself in some ways, incredibly annoyed at myself in others. Nothing really new.

I miss the process of thinking of things to write, however. And I miss that small sense of accomplishment in writing a little something that sounds like me. So, I am back.



Quote of the week:

"Come what may, and love it."

--Joseph B. Wirthlin

quote of the week...

“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”
—Henry Ellis

wait--so there's a month between September and November?

I have looked high and low...in the back of my kids' closets, behind the 50 pound bags of rice down in the food storage room, and even under the batteries in the junk drawer in my kitchen...but I cannot find October. I've completely misplaced it.

why I am still happily married...

Once The Hubby sent me a text that said, "Sorry, I was wrong."

It was over some insignificant thing, like what we needed at the store or when one of the kids would be ready to be picked up.

I saved that text.

And now, on days when he is...ummm...shall we say...hard to love?

I read that text. And pretend he just sent it.

quote of the week...

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, and bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may."

--Mary Jean Iron

quote of the week...

"What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?"

--George Eliot

quote of the week...

"Cynicism is an intellectual cop-out, a crutch for a withered soul, a thin excuse for inaction."

--Jeffery R. Holland

going, going, gone...

It's been so nice having all of these children under one roof for the last few weeks. I've found out that as a mom, a part of you never quite exhales until all of your kids are in the same place.

It went too fast...our girl is heading back to school. And even though it's absolutely where she should be, I'm not looking forward to holding my breath again.

quote of the week...

"I used to work at a factory that made fire hydrants. You couldn't park anywhere near the place."

--Steven Wright

do yourself a favor...

...and go see the movie "Julie & Julia".

It is such a charming little movie. Meryl Streep is incredibly engaging and joyful as Julia Child, and can I just say that I want to put Stanley Tucci (who plays Julia's husband, Paul) in my pocket and carry him around? I always get SO happy when I see he is in a movie because he is such a terrific actor. Put he and Meryl together as this adorable couple, and well...lovely. Just lovely.

My favorite scene is when Julia and Paul take Julia's visiting sister out for dinner. The whole scene is just delightful from beginning to end.

quote of the week...

"What happens matters. Maybe only to us...but it matters."

--Tea Leoni, in Ghost Town

quote of the week...

"If you do not find peace in yourself, you will never find it anywhere else."

--Paula A. Bendry

quote of the week...

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."

--Albert Einstein

quote of the week...

"Someday I hope to enjoy enough of what the world calls success so that someone will ask me, ‘What’s the secret of it?’ and I shall say simply this: ‘I get up when I fall down.’ "


--Paul Harvey

quote of the week...

"If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers."

--Maya Angelou

congratulations...

...to Tyson, Jillian, and their loving families.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day.

quote of the week...

"It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any muscles to just sit there with a dumb look on your face."

quote of the week...

"The personality of a house is indefinable, but there never lived a lady of great cultivation and charm whose home--whether a palace, a farm cottage, or a tiny apartment--did not reflect the charm of its owner."

--Emily Post

well, good for me...

They were kind enough to have me as a guest poster over at Light Refreshments Served this week. I will try not to let it go to my head.

...Who am I kidding? I already have. When my kids asked if they could go to the park today, I told them to have their people call my people.

quote of the week...

"Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy. The amount of work is the same."

--Francesca Reigler

great article...

A friend recommended this one, and I really enjoyed it. It sort of solidifies some thoughts I have had in the last few days.

'Mourning sickness is a religion'

quote of the last 2 weeks...

“[The fact is] most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. …


Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

--Jenkins Lloyd Jones, as quoted by Gordon B. Hinckley

i {heart} golf ball sized hail...

...and tornados. And my insurance company.

That is all.

quote of the week...

"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense."

--Tom Clancy

quote of the week...

“My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make them because they are cheap; you don't make them because they're popular; you make them because they're right.”
--Theodore Hesburgh

car conversations...

Me: Honey, you really need to get over this whole "not liking to talk to people" thing.

16 year old (completely serious): Human contact is overrated.

when sisters attack...

My poor son. His sisters got bored the other night and decided to play beauty salon with him. He tried to run away so I couldn't take his picture...but then finally just crumbled, defeated into the corner. Nice eye shadow, huh?

quote of the week...

"The test of a man or woman's breeding is how they behave in a quarrel."

--George Bernard Shaw

just in case I forget to tell you, #2

Dear Children:

I think you'll come to discover that much of what you get out of this life will have to do with your perspective, and what you choose to focus on. You know how I love Abraham Lincoln, and one of my favorite quotes from him is, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." I believe that.

Let me give you an example that I believe is powerful. Here are 2 women's lives.

The first woman:

grew up in a very unhappy home
was abused in every possible way
could not trust the people in her family
learned not to have faith in herself
was parented with spiritual and emotional manipulation
watched her entire family fall apart when she was 17
had to move out with no family to speak of when she was 18
had no sense of what a relationship with God could be
lost both parents to death
struggled to build her own sense of worth
didn't know what a healthy relationship was
had no idea how to parent in a good way

The second woman:

was taught as a child that God loved her and knew her
had a deep belief from a very young age that life was meant to be wonderful
had opportunities to develop love and compassion for others
was blessed with a sense of humor
had experiences placed in her life that required her to learn and grow
sensed within her the chance to make her life anything she wanted it to be
was given a learning and willing heart
had amazing people put in her path that showed her that it was possible to succeed
came to rely on God because she knew He wouldn't let her down
was blessed with a man who saw her for who she was, and loved her
came to mother incredible people in the ways that she had hoped to be mothered herself
is creating a life of purpose, happiness, and value

And of course, you know that both of these women...are me. But just as I have separated the experiences in this post, I also separate them in my mind. Because the truth is that I choose which woman I am. I did not choose all of my circumstances, but I choose what I learn from them. And I can define myself by the good or the bad. I choose the good.

As you go through life, I'm not sure what other challenges and experiences you will face. Of course as your mother, I will wish all your lessons to be gentle ones. However, the wiser person in me will remember that it was through the fire that I came to be refined.

Whatever happens, choose good. Choose happy. Choose blessed. Because you are.

love, mom

This is your big chance to tell me what to do...

Well, the store stopped selling the bread we like.

I love good bread. It is a food group to me. When Jesus says He is the bread of life, I totally get it. And the fact that I now have to pay close to $4 a loaf for something that just tastes like somewhere to put the peanut butter and jelly just feels...wrong.

So, I was talking to The Hubby and we want to buy a bread maker. But this is a big area of knowing nothing for me. I haven't got the first clue of what to look for, what to avoid, what brands are reliable, what features are the best, blah blah bread maker information blah.

So, I appeal to my friends who stop by here. If you have any knowledge on this, please feel free to comment and point me in the right direction. If you know someone who knows everything there is to know about breadmakers, ask them to stop by. I promise to, well, pretty much do whatever I'm told. Because thinking about researching and picking a bread maker right now just makes my head hurt.

Oh, and just to be clear...you can only tell me what to do about buying a bread maker. All the other things that you wish to change or improve about me will just have to wait for another day. Sorry.

on our 21st anniversary...

21 reasons I am so glad I married The Hubby:

1) the way he looks in uniform
2) that he dances shamelessly in front of his children
3) how no one works harder than that man
4) that he makes up words to songs and then sings them with such commitment
5) because when I say my head/back/whatever hurts, he goes and gets me medicine
6) he can fix--or build--just about anything. I dream it, he makes it happen.
7) he has never once given me a reason not to trust him
8) that in spite of the fact that he never plays it, he still thinks he might win the lottery
9) how he still calls me from work just to say "hi"
10) Brianne
11) Spencer
12) Connor
13) Emma
14) Walker
15) Marin
16) Cooper
17) the fact that he would welcome another child in a heartbeat
18) he mops the floor because he knows I hate to do it
19) how he always knows what movie or tv show I am quoting
20) did I mention the uniform? Army, law enforcement...doesn't matter which. Hotness.
21) he was crazy enough to marry me twice--once for life, and once for always

you can stop looking, I have found @#!*% ...

...and it is 16 days in a family of 8 without a clothes dryer.

(fyi: that sound you hear is my will to live sllllooooowwwly seeping out of me)

quote of the week...

"Nowhere in scripture does it say, 'God is an accident' or 'God is death.' God is justice and kindness, mercy, and always--always--love. So if you want to know where God is in a bad situation or in anything that happens, look for love."

--Kate Braestrup

things you think you'd never have to say to your children, #29

"Honey, you can only buy KidsBOP CDs if you live in Canada. Sorry. No, it's true. YEAH, huh!

Okay, sweetie, I didn't want to tell you this but something really bad happened at the factory where they make the KidsBOP CDs and they were all destroyed...yeah. It was totally on the news last night. Really sad. But they said maybe in about 5 years they will rebuild and start to make them again.

So, what else would you like to use your birthday money for?"

quote of the week...

"If my life wasn't funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable."

--Carrie Fisher

happy mother's day...

...to my friends in the trenches of motherhood with me. It is a joy and a blessing to learn with--and from--you all.

And...I miss you, Mom. Both what you were, and what you never got the chance to become.

Fabulous prizes...

A while back, I entered a little contest that Miss Randi was having over at her blog. She promised fabulous prizes, and really, who doesn't want that?

All we had to do was post a quote from the LDS Church's General Conference, and if you were the first person to post her favorite quote from the conference, BOOM. Fabulous prizes for you.

So, I happened to be the one who ended up commenting first with her favorite quote. Yeah, me!

Now, Miss Randi is a busy chick. I'm not going to get into ALL the details, but I'm pretty sure that she is squeezing 3-4 more hours out of every day than the average woman. So, when the fabulous prizes didn't show up, I knew that she had it on her 'to do'' list, but that her 'to do' list was about 7643 things 'to do' long. She even wrote a post about how it was on her mind. In it, she calls me gracious. And, she is so right. I mean, seriously.

Hey...I don't laugh at you when you're deluding yourself.

Well, guess what I got in my mailbox on Friday? That's right--fabulous prizes! How fun is that? Now Miss Randi can take me off her 'to do' list. Now go and get some sleep, girl.

this may sound stupid, but...

...I have no idea what I have cooked for dinner for, like, the last 20 years.

What's up with that? It's like every time I sit down to make a menu, I'm reinventing the wheel. If you calculate it (here, let me) that's something in the neighborhood of 6000 times I've made dinner...subtracting around 1300 for the times I just threw my hands up and ordered something. Or let the kids just have cereal. Or tried to trick them that their after school snack was actually dinner. Or the times after I had a baby and someone else brought us dinner. Or the times when someone was actually insane, I mean, nice enough to invite our family over for dinner.

Umm, yeah...you see what I'm getting at. That's a lot of foodage.


And yet, as I sit down here (AGAIN) to make this month's menu...stumped. I have a vague recollection of some sort of pasta thing...and maybe hamburgers. But beyond that, I've got nothing.

quote of the week...

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."

--Tao Te Ching

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today did not reflect my best work.

I respectfully and humbly request a "do over".

Love,

Your daughter

it's weird...

...how watching my neighbor pull something from out of my garbage and drag it home can make me reconsider throwing it out in the first place. What do they see that I don't see?

It also makes me reconsider how high on the creepy meter that neighbor falls.

I'm not going to lie.

quote of the week...

"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship."

--Louisa May Alcott

fun weekend...

I've gotten to watch my son go through what we have teased him is "his Troy Bolton phase". Normally, he sticks with the sports. But he surprised us by trying out for a part in the one acts at his school, and ended up with one of the leads. Go Figure!

It was a fun one act called "Check, Please." It's about how the two lead characters, Guy and Girl, break up, and then they go on a series of horrific blind dates (one being with a foot reading psychic, pictured above) and end up deciding to get back together at the end. It is a sharp play, with a lot of opportunity for the supporting characters to ham it up. It was such fun to see him perform in a completely different way, and I could tell he really enjoyed it.

quote of the week...

"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else."

--Peyton Conway March

hey, Mother Nature...

Seriously??

one of my favorite songs, sung remarkably well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

quote of the week...

This is for my 11-year-old, 'Rocky' obsessed son:

"I'd rather do something I love badly, than feel bad about not doing something I love."

--Sylvester Stallone

quote of the week...

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to slide in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, screaming "HOLY COW, what a ride!"

--unknown

awwww...

Someone who means an awful lot to me recently told me that I have 'yummy smelling hugs'.

That may very well be the cutest thing anyone has ever said to me.

it's entirely possible that we should cut down on our reality TV...

...because yesterday, my children played "Biggest Loser" for over an hour.

They had challenges: Carry 5 Barbies from the basement up 2 flights of stairs, one at a time--first team done gets immunity;

Temptations: something involving the oatmeal pies I had just purchased;

tearful weigh ins: the 7 year old has plateaued at 54 pounds, in spite of his intense effort; and

One mother of a last chance workout. As I was watching our 11 year old pretending to be Bob, yelling "Come ON!! Last CHANCE!! You can do this!!" to our 35 pound 5 year old daughter as she jumps on and off an overturned toy basket the only thing I could think was...

it could be worse. They could have chosen to play @#!*% 's Kitchen.

quote of the week...

"I don't think there's anything exceptional or noble in being philanthropic. It's the other attitude that confuses me."

--Paul Newman

there's a blizzard coming...

...and me, without my emergency supply of sprinkles.

that's helpful...

Doctor: You really don't handle your stress well at all. You should learn to handle your stress better.

Me: I cannot believe I have to pay money to hear that advice.

quote of the week...

"How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it; if you could really look at other men with common curiosity and pleasure. … You would break out of this tiny and tawdry theatre in which your own little plot is always being played, and you would find yourself under a freer sky, and in a street full of splendid strangers."

--G. K. Chesterton

this should be fun...

So I am involved in helping plan and execute an event for a school booster club. This is normally not "my thing", but I am determined to do this--to be of help, and to broaden my social circles a bit. I am excited, but a little nervous, because getting to know new people in a new environment is not something that comes easy to me.

So, I get the emails about where and when the first planning meeting is going to be. It seems that in choosing the location for said meeting, a high priority is placed on the availability of adult beverages and, if at all possible, a good Happy Hour. (and not the Sonic one, which of course I would be. All. Over.)

Great.

You see, with new people, I've always preferred easing into the fact that I am Freaky Mormon Chick. I can usually count on a few meetings that don't require me to reveal my teetotaler status, which gives me a chance to get comfortable with people before we have to get all "why don't you drink?" about it.

So, I go to The Hubby and I state: (very maturely and not at all whiny) "But I don't waaaaaannna be the Freaky Mormon Chick at the very first meeeeetinnngg."

His response?

"Tell them you're a raging alcoholic."
"Or tell them that if you come home drunk one more time, I'll beat you."
"Or you could always say...hey! Where are you going, babe?"

He made being Freaky Mormon Chick seem preferable, I'll give him that.

quote of the week...

"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other."

--Audrey Hepburn

the rest of the story...

It was sprinkles.

Imagine an 8 ounce jar...a FULL 8 ounce jar...of sprinkles. Now imagine a little 3 year old climbing up several shelves in the pantry to reach these sprinkles and having...some trouble.

Sprinkles EVERYwhere. Imagine a colony of Pixar-animated mice invading and leaving their droppings all over the place. Imagine them NOT just being in the pantry. Imagine them in the pantry--every single shelf and crevice--and also all over the kitchen floor. And the family room floor. And a little in the front room. The nice thing about wood floors is that they really give things that drop a running start.

Imagine the little 3 year old boy, quietly and frantically trying to "pick up" the sprinkles before Mommy can see what's happened. One by one. With his little chubby toddler hands.
I know. I couldn't even get mad at him.

a conversation that has no chance of ending well...

Me: (yelling) 3 year old child? Where are you 3 year old child? Three year old child!!
3 year old child: (yelling) I downtairs.
Me: What are you doing?
3 year old child: I...uh...picking up.
Me: What? Why? What are you picking up?
3 year old child: Uh...ummm...nutting?
Me: (as I run down the stairs) Crap.

quote of the week...

"I can remember what flavor of ice cream cone my grandmother and I shared at Disneyworld; but most of the time, I can't remember what day it is. I guess it depends on what you think is important."

--Katherine, age 13

another window into my world...

So, anyway...last week was, being the first week of the month, grocery shopping time. (has anyone else noticed that I mostly start posts with words like, 'so' and 'anyway'? It's like my blog--and my life--are just one big run on sentence.)

This is trip to the store #1. This is where I go to one of those "members only" warehousey thingys (it's a technical term) and get all the big bulk stuff. Just fyi--that pudding didn't even make it into the house before the whining for it started. I spent $147.63.

This is trip to the store #2, which was done right after trip #1. This second trip is to the local military base to shop at the commissary. There are much better prices than one can get "shopping on the economy" as it is called among us military family types. This is honestly a great benefit for us, and I am grateful for it. Most of the time, we save about 10-20% by taking the extra drive to go there. This time, unlike most times I go, I brought along The Hubby and our two youngest. It was no small miracle that we exited the store with no bloodshed and still speaking to each other. I spent $274.57.
And here we are with all the stuff at home, ready to be put away. Well, actually this isn't everything...all the frozen and much of the refrigerated groceries were put away before I took this picture.
This was an abbreviated shopping trip, because we had things left over from last month, and because I only went with my 2 week menu shopping list as opposed to my full month's menu shopping list. This will last us about 2 1/2 weeks, if I keep constant watch that the children don't eat all the snacks in the first 72 hours...

quote of the week...

"Sometimes, things happen that make you so mad, you can't even blog about them."

--my wise and witty friend, Kim

quote of the week...

"People who are brutally honest get more satisfaction out of the brutality than the honesty."

--Richard J. Needham

quote of the week...

"You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing."
--Arthur Ashe

Sometimes I don't think things through...

Take Valentine's Day, for example.

I thought it would be cute to make wallet sized photos of my kids, pre-print them with a Valentine greeting, and tie them to a bag of goodies.

I did this for our pre-schooler last night. I had to make 8, and they turned out pretty cute.

Well, If I am going to do it for one, I have to do it for them all...this is where my not thinking things through came in and I spent this evening doing these.

75, people. 75. Oh, and did I mention my plan also included my baking stuff to go IN the bags??

quote of the week...

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever...”

--Isak Dinesen

25 things...

This is going around on Facebook. I might as well get as much mileage out of writing something as possible.

Here are some little tidbits about me. 25 tidbits, to be exact.

1. I don't eat breakfast. And on the rare occasions I do, it's always eggs benedict.
2. I read over 60 books a year. This is not a brag...it's a compulsion, and I probably need help.
3. My mom has been dead for over 20 years, and still sometimes on her birthday I have to remind myself that I don't need to get her a card.
4. I despise the term "hot" when it refers to a person's attractiveness. I still find myself saying it.
5. When I am shopping for groceries, I hyper focus. People I know have had to come up to me and grab my arm to get my attention, because I didn't hear them calling my name.
6. I miss my inlaws. I wish they lived here.
7. Nearly every morning, I wake up at 3 am. About half the time, I don't fall back asleep.
8. I would rather have a cook than a maid.
9. I never feel like part of the group.
10. I don't understand women that insult and criticize their husbands to their friends. It's like a sport with nothing but losers. Yuck.
11. I have been known to cry when I clean. My best guess is that it's cathartic.
12. During my formative years, I lived across the street from a cemetary.
13. I could eat pasta every single day.
14. I love that when I randomly quote something from a movie or TV, my husband totally gets it.
15. I like suburban life. It may be a bit trite and expected and boring, but I still like it.
16. I am not a hugger.
17. For most of my life, I talked incessantly. Now I really only do that with a few people.
18. My garage is currently so full of stuff that needs to be taken somewhere else, only one car can park in there. It drives. me. INSANE.
19. I romanticize the WWII era, and always think I would have fit in there.
20. If I can possibly avoid it, I don't drive in the snow.
21. I am doing a project right now where I take a photo a day for a year. I am putting them in a photo album with journaling and other things. I am loving the results.
22. My husband has to mop the floors, because I won't do it.
23. There are some books that I read over and over again. It's like visiting an old friend.
24. I haven't shopped for clothes for myself in over a year.
25. Cruises scare me, and I don't think I will ever go on one.

why I love where I live...

Stuff like this in my backyard. This is straight out of camera, no editing.

quote of the week...

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."

--Mark Twain