Verbal Personality

This is what S brought home as a description of a certain personality. Hmmmmm.. She thought it sounded a lot like me. What do you think? Does this fit?

VERBAL/LINGUISTIC PERSONALITY
"You need to say, hear and see words. You like to speak, write, read, and listen. You can verbally or in writing explain, convince, and express yourself. You enjoy writing and creating words. You "LOVE" books. You like to tell stories. You like to be "secretary", take notes, and use word processor. You like to talk to people, write thoughts down on paper (journal), write letters, create poetry, understand puns, listen to people talk and speaking in front of others. You like creative writing, tongue twisters, puns and humor. You work word puzzles, and enjoy solving riddles. You are interested in the meaning, sounds, and rhythms of words."

Gearing Up!

Okay. Tomorrow is basically insanity on a treadmill. UGH! working for 3 hours at the school, 3 Parent teacher conferences (2 with 6 teachers each at the same time dif schools), a flag football game, a volleyball game, an orthodontist appointment, 2 piano practices, homework, running to the 3 stores on errands, young women activities, and volunteering at the Library. Don't know when we will be eating the cold cereal that is on the menu.

Oh yea... and J is out of town...
*girds up loins*

Here is a smile, tho, that I'm going to carry in my back pocket to get me through it and other days like this one. (Also I stashed a chocolate bar at the back of the cupboard as a finish line celebration!)

“Why God made Moms” Answers given by 2nd-grade school children to the following questions.

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same as he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. Because we're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you've got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's. Moms have magic - they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Dye her hair - maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like her to get rid of those invisible eyes at her back of her head.

My Dad's Day

Did y'all know that I was born on Father's Day? Yep. My mom says that they had to have someone go to the Doctor's Sacrement meeting to pull him out of church on Father's day to deliver me. (before beepers and cell phones ya know)
Here is picture of us together on the first Father's Day.. aren't we both cute? He's the one with the awesome sideburns...

Some years I get to share the day with my dad. This year I got Saturday and he got Sunday. I like that arrangement best cuz we get to hang out together for two days in a row. *smiles*

On Saturday he came to see me and he was driving his new toy, a 2009 Mustang. Super cool and flashy silver! He let me drive it! Awesome! What a great present! I only kinda felt like I was 16 again with my dad watching how I was driving. *grin*

On Sunday we got to have dinner together! He fixed yummy dutch oven with extra mushrooms *happy sigh* I had three helpings!


My dad is awesome. I think that he can fix anything. He has a creative talent to think up solutions. He always seems prepared and is a perfectionist about doing a good job on his projects. He is always helpful, dependable, and trustworthy - chock full (why do we say that?) of Integrity. He loves to enjoy the outdoors and to have a good time. He is a man with some great hobbies and he loves to spend time with friends and family.

I just love all of these things about him and more! Happy Father's Day dad!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I love this day so much!! *HUGE GRIN* It's my birthday!!

Remember that everyday is worth celebrating...Make the most of it!
and every birthday just means that you are one year better....

Here is a taste of my history in hair. I've been scanning these to include in my book about femininity & true beauty...(Beware snarky comments - I know where you all live! *cheese*!) I love the high school pics even better than the handle bar pig tails... *laughs* ahhhh teenager years...

Niki All Growed Up

My baby cousin is all growed up!! She is a doll of a girl and I just think the world of her. In my mind she has always been this cutest little 6 year old.... Thinking this way comes from being one of the oldest cousins, I guess.

This all changed on June 5th, 2009... I was watching the video that was made of her and cute fella for her wedding and I teared up.. I was seeing her grow up before my eyes and I was so proud of her and everything she had become that tears streamed down my cheeks (as they are now, actually, just thinking about it *smiles*) She is amazing! (Check the footwear! sparkly white tennies! *loves it* )

It was so so so neat to be there as the entire family (minus the cutie little grandson) sat in the sealing room of the temple for this wedding. I cannot describe the beauty in that. What a wonderful family these are. I just love them. They are terrific examples to me and a TON of fun to be around! Thanks to them for all of that and more! I absolutely LOVED being there at the temple with you for this neat event!

What a wonderful day the wedding was for everyone, but especially this awesome young lady and her terrific guy! Congratulations doesn't cover it... but it is the right sentiment. I love you Niki and wish for you every blessing and happiness!

SUMMER!!!

Finally the sun has come out to play!!

*does a happy dance*

That is all....

Sew, Sew, Sew your bonnet.....

S and I are going on TREK! *cheers* We are packing the bare neccesities into a 5 gal bucket, putting on pioneer dresses and old fashion headgear and starting off next week to live like the pioneers.

We'll be pulling (or pushing) handcarts on average 5 miles a day in the wilderness. I've been working out, taking long walks, and doing push ups to get ready. I even mowed my lawn the other day without the self propel thingy engaged. *wiggles eyebrows up and down*

We are so excited!

Well.. we are actually exited more about the company then the attire and accommodations. Also the experience itself. Our family has been researching our ancestors and the other pioneer that left everything to come and make a new place here in Utah.

I am so thankful to them and what they went through to make this a terrific place for my family. I'm grateful for their examples and hope that I can be a little more like them because of this trek.

I'm appreciating them a lot more today because I am struggling to sew a few skirts and pantaloons for myself. Domestic arts are not my forte. I'm glad this project won't be graded or scrutinized too closely. I am SOOOOOOO glad that I, at least, have a sewing machine. I can't imagine making all of my clothes.

See? already I am turning my hearts to my ancestors....

SV Graduates are Awesome!

Some of my favorite Young Women just graduated from SV. I am so excited for them, but sad that they are moving on. I am so so proud of them. They are terrific girls. I have loved being around them. Just thinking about them makes me smile. Some I don't get to see as much because of a ward split, but I still claim them and cheer for their every accomplishment. Even the girls in my ward are hard to keep up with because they are so busy and involved with lots of things. I just think the world of them. *grin* Young Women are just awesome!




I snuck into graduation just to watch them get their diplomas. It was held at the University Basketball stadium in order to accommodate all the family. The super cool side benefit of this is that each graduate got to appear on the jumbo tron when their name was called. Awesome! I loved seeing them grin and wave. *heart about bursts*




I really wish that I had my camera to take a picture of them all facing the podium with their mortar board caps on. It was really cool to see the blue and white of SV with all the tassels dangling! I just grin whenever I hear "Pomp and Circumstance"? I also loved watching all the proud parents taking pictures and grinning. Such a great day.

I wish I could get a picture of all of them... I've posted a few (nipped them off of their facebook profiles *hehe*) Aren't they gorgeous? The others are too! Love you ladies! GO SV Class of 2009!

Monster Truck Fun

The last few days of school was a whirlwind for us. But filled with good things.. one of my favorites was the 1st grade Drive In Movie. The 1st graders get to make cars out of cardboard boxes and then drive them into the gym to watch a movie as an end of year celebration. J and I had a great time making his. I was relishing it because I knew it would be my last one. *sniffles*

He had some really fantastic ideas (he does come from a long line of car guys!). We settled on a monster truck with big ol' knobby wheels. We were working on our grill design when we stumbled on an online pic of a grill that looked like sharp teeth and then the "Monster" truck ideas started flying. We researched scary eyes and J thought up the slit pupil thing. After we choose a sage green color out of my box o' paints, he came up with incorporating scales (he learned about texture lines in art class - scales being the fav.) and a Rock On Dragon Truck was born.



It turned out great! We had a fun time painting it and J found the foam blocks to turn into bumpers (his brilliant idea) and I made twin tail pipes chromed out with foil to finish it off. J and his best buddy (also in 1st grade with a flying car complete with real steering wheel) did the scales.



In the end tho, J's sweet ride was overshadowed (literally) with a refridgerator box turned int Optimus Prime. 4 or 5 kids (J being one) could fit inside to watch the movie which they did. Hey even the coolest human made vehicle can't compete with an Autobot.

My Little Brother

My little brother is not so little. In fact, we decided yesterday that being tall is his super hero... well... super thing. He decided to wear a mask and call himself Tall Man. Able to reach things way up high without a single bound.

He loves to have fun and is super adventurous. He has a "bucket list" of stuff he wants to do. All of them involve peril to his body. He just went sky diving (the word die is right in it!)

He is super creative. See the little claymation slug thing he made. It looks just like the ones on Flushed Away. (funny movie... *does an impersonation of the slugs screaming*) You should see his paper snowflakes. Pure Awesomeness.

He has recently developed a new trait. It is called "letting little kids win" This is great. Especially when we are talking about his 8 year-old nephews. All the kids love Uncle Trav.

This doesn't apply to me. Caution: never play one-on-one with this guy. Have you seen his wing span? sheesh. I can totally take him in Racqetball tho. Dude, that ankle injury was so fake!

We share lots of interests.... I taught him everything he knows about video games, how to choose the corner piece of cake to get maximum frosting, to quote all the best movie lines, and those sweet skillz on his bike.

It is his B-day today and I am thinking great things of him and wanted him to know it!Happy Birthday Travis! You are Awesome! and Rad and Totally Tubular too.

Crash and Burn

I saw something on my computer that I hoped I would never see.... The Blue Screen of Death. Yep. I actually read the the words 'WARNING: Complete disk failure is eminent.'

The word 'WARNING' was even flashing. Scary.

Then my computer crashed. It happened so fast. There wasn't time to even say goodbye. One minute the kids were playing "The Cat in the Hat Living Books" and the next minute the computer was gone. Jerry and I stood there with it at the end - a silent vigil as the screen went from blue to memory check to flashy words... and then to a black and silent screen. *makes a flatline beeeeeeeeeeeeeep."

This was my home computer. Not the one I use to access the internet. Completely unrecoverable data. My documents. My letters. My book. All of my Pictures since J was a baby. The 2 years worth of painstaking scans of my grandpa's WWII pictures and letters. 12 years of genealogy research. My banking records. My taxes. All of it. Gone. In a flash. Kaput.

It is a good thing I am married to an IT manager and that I was a computer operator at USU. I know about the need for backups. I do them. Often. If fact, I stayed up until 3 in the morning just 2 months ago doing a complete and full backup of my whole computer. (everything except the game files... forgot them cuz they were in the program files. We'll have to start over on ALL those levels and Nancy Drew Mysteries.)

ummmm... this is a not so gentle reminder for all y'all to do the same. Today.
Beware the Blue Screen of Death. Don't be in denial. It is real. It could happen to you soon.

Techie Gadget Combo

Hello Friends! I have been messing with the sidebars here and not posting. So now I will dazzle y'all with a post about my sidebar. I've changing and un-changing some stuff there (you might not have even noticed unless you check everyday)

It began as a quest for a simple hit counter (which I still haven't found) and the only thing I have made permanent is the countdown to my Birthday. I love this countdown more than any other because is is accurate to the sec! *laugh*

I was blown over one day 2 weeks ago. I had posted some - i thought - funny stuff in posts and hadn't gotten any comments. *hears crickets* I thought maybe that no one was peeking and that I was, once again, talking to myself.

I made some reference to some story in front of my YW and one of them laughed and said "yea, I read about that one your blog." *open mouth shock* I didn't even know she even knew about it. She followed the link on my Facebook account. wow. I wonder who else has been reading my stuff? Hence, the hit counter quest.

Blogger has a new list of gadgets and this one caught my eye... it is a Follower list. Haven't seen how it works yet. I was kinda hoping for a guest book but I dunno what this one is yet. If it is a tattle tale about how often people look then I don't want it. But if it let's you sign a howdy then I'll keep it.

If the Follower isn't in the sidebar by the time you read this then I'm sure I've found another toy to put in it's place....

5/29 Update: Well, that didn't last long.. It WAS a tattler and when folks signed up it changed their own blog and dashboard... in the word's of my brother: "LAME!" so it's ouuta here...

I guess y'all will just have to fess up about checking in on me by making a comment and saying hello. *winks*

and don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the page and feed my virtual fish! *cheeses*

Creative Kids

So I went on a field trip with my son's first grade class to the zoo. While we were eating lunch the kids spied balloons that had gotten tangled up high in the trip. I asked them how they thought we could get them down and out of there. Someone said "just pop them and they'll fall down." "Yeah!!!" yelled everyone else. They got so excited I asked them "How could we pop them?" With a few promptings from me they came up with quite a list. It started out kinda ordinary, but then really got creative. The future is in good hands.

Here are the ones I remember best:

Shoot them with a gun.
bow and arrows
throw a knife
Indian hatchet
jet pack up there with a pin (my son's *grin*)
long ladder and a sharp poky thing
train one of the zoo's monkeys to go poke it.
rockets
parachute down to it with a knife
long stick
throw darts at 'em
put sharp pins in a cannon
stack buses on top of each other (my idea)
stack the tables to reach them
take bags of popcorn stand on them when they pop it'll lift you up (also mine)
trick riders on motorcycles on trick ramps
tall monster trucks
RC cars that could go up the tree
Velcro / sticky hands
Spiderman
Batman
(pause for debate about which super is more super)
boomerang
spray with fire hose
really big fans
tract hoes with the sharp diggers
cherry pickers (made a joke about how we'd have to change its name...*blank stares*)
power pole guy's truck with the bucket that lifts people up
train a bird to poke them with its beak
sling shots
ride a giraffe
throw a spear
use Indiana Jones' whip
boomerang
leave them until they fall down
chop down the tree
blow up the tree
climb the tree like a rock wall
ninja stars
tight wire and unicycle
trampoline could bounce us up there or springy shoes
Jaguar could get them with sharp claws

Waves of Technology

My family and I have been going through a difficult time this past week. There has been a death in our family. The microwave. It has been ill for a month or so. Strange arching lights occur randomly. This happened most commonly whilst popping corn. (maybe, because we have popcorn often) Wailing could be heard on these occasions because once you start a bag of microwave popcorn you can't really finish cooking it if interrupted. And, we buy the good "Butter Lovers" variety, too. Such a tragedy.

We've been cursing this dastardly fickle appliance and then it croaked. And, out of revenge, it did so on a weekend.... a weekend that we had a new movie to watch. *gnashes teeth* Luckily, we have good neighbors that rescued us. The girls were a bit embarrassed to ask, but, Hey! It was either go begging of go snackless! (Yes, I know that we could have air popped and buttered.. but it's just not the same - *shrug* and how on earth would we have melted butter??)

That was the weekend but then we've had to wait for the part to come in the mail. It is a little 3x5 piece of cardboard that is spray painted metallic silver *rolls eyes* and costs $11.95 plus $7.95 shipping *ugh* I think they can charge more for this do-hickey because it has a big name. It is the "Wave Guide Cover" *oi*

Yesterday, I had to cook dinner without it. It was a soccer night (*translation* quick small meal in a giant hurry) I had tons of great leftovers and dug them out buffet style then remembered that my microwave was dark. No plan B and the game in 30 minutes so I had to re-heat things - like the pioneers - ON THE STOVE! *shakes head*

I can now add burning leftover chicken to the long list of anti-accomplishments in the Kitchen.

I didn't realize that my particular cooking style was so dependent on this machine. I am sorely repenting taking it for granted. This morning I had to heat water in a pan for my breakfast! It's like the dark ages over here.

I cannot wait to hear the UPS truck today! *sings* Mr. Postman... bring me a dream...make it the bestest that I've even seen... (Not the actual lyrics. but I am really singing them...)

More Sense

Anita Renfroe is the mom/comedian that made up that "Momsense" song to the William Tell Overture. It packs everything that a mom says into 2 minutes. Awesome.

She has some of her other great stuff that I stumbled on when I was looking for the first thing. Here are my 2 new favs:

Don't Breathe (parody of Faith Hill's Breathe) Video is HILARIOUS! I wonder if that is her good husband... the mask scene split my sides!

and

You Raise Me Up. (Love this! Found this coincidentally, on the day I had been bra shopping - Sorry Josh! Bs to Cs * snork*)

WARNING: These are great songs that I love and, like Wierd Al wonders, I can no longer enjoy them in their original forms... but these are definitely worth it -listen to the women cheer!! *gufaws*

Bonus: If you want more here is another good one with a nod to Carrie Underwood and her Cheats song & video. It is called Before I Eat.

All in a Daze work...

I was coming out of Sam's club yesterday and I saw a little 2 or 3 year old straining against his mom trying to run away from her while she held his arm at their car. He was doing his utmost to wiggle out of her grasp. She was bending down over a baby carrier (the kind that snaps into the car to be a car seat. She was using one hand to fiddle with the straps to get the baby buckled. He was resorting to the "go limp" tactic. them scooting on his behind to get as far away from her as possible. She didn't say anything to him just focused on the baby seat. Then scooped him up and hauled him into the car to strap him into his restraints. (love that word!)

As I passed her car I looked back to see the baby reach out for what mommy had set precariously on the edge of the car seat. It was Her lunch - a to go salad from Costa Vida. It was probably a finish lie reward for surviving a shopping trip with children in tow. I wondered as I got into my car if she made it (and if the salad made it into the car. *smiles* If she had luck like I do she probably had to scoop half of it off the pavement.

I can remember days like that when just going to the store was exhausting - just gearing up and making sure everyone was changed and fed and napped so that we could go would do me in. Never mind actually surviving the store and returning with some of my sanity.

I started contrasting that old version of me to what life is like these days.

Here is an example of a typical Thursday these days:

I won't detail the part of the day where I get up at 6 to get everyone off to school with their permission slips found and signed, their lunch accounts up to date, their homework in their bags, and they have a well balanced breakfast (meaning their bagel is in one hand and their banana is in the other). I won't bore you with the hours of tedious monotony of cleaning and laundry and de-cluttering that I do everyday or the phone calls to insurance companies, and repairmen. I won't detail the hours of volunteering at the school and to make YW reports and calenders for my calling. Just know that it was a regular full day.

And then the children come home and the work begins.

2:21 T is home. We chat and have after school snack. I try to build our relationship She tries to evade questions, keep her privacy, and argue her way out of homework (cuz it's not due for 2 more days!)

2:41 Try to help T with 6th Grade Math. The area of a circle is "Pie Are Squared" right?

3:06 S is home. I explain mystery of the universe and why abortion is wrong (She is studying Big Bang theory science and taking a Teen Living class.)

3:14 Realize that T has escaped and is straitening her hair in front of the TV instead of finishing homework. "But I needed help with number 7." *rolls eyes*

3:18 Help S with 9th grade Geometry. The surface area of a cylinder is 2*¶r(squared) + 2¶rh and volume of a trapezoid is L * (b1 + (b2 - b1) * h1 / h + b1) * h1 / 2

3:36 J opens door wide enough to chuck his back pack inside, yells to me that he is going to play, slams door and jets down to his friends house.

3:39 I drag a crying 7 year-old back into the house and explain (again!) that kids have to hug their mother and do their homework before they can play.. Yes, even if.... Yes, and no buts.

3:40 - Drag T to the piano. Once she is there she plays wonderfully. She has a gift, me thinks. Thank goodness that we have a piano with headphones, tho. otherwise the other 2 homework doers might not... (doer that is.)

3:41 Listening to J read while I think about what to fix for dinner. He does math while I peel carrots. 6 + 4 = 10. I can handle 1st grade math.

4:01 - Rounding up J's soccer things, doing 9th grade math, and critiquing piano solo all at once. "Where is my other cleat? Does an isosceles triangle have a hypotenuse? Is this note flat-ed or natural?" Did you wash my sweatpants? (I should have looked under the boots jammed in the closet for dirty clothes I guess. *shrug*) Where is the calculator that does trigonometry? But, that shin guard makes my leg itch. Listen to this scale, mom. I forgot to tell you that these cleats are pinching my toes. But, Mawwwwwwwwwm! I don't WANNA wear a sweatshirt - I'm not even cold and it makes me look puffy."

4:18 Phone rings. It's Jerry calling for evening detail of who-drives-who-where-tonight coordination. Love him for that. Sure couldn't do this without his help.

4:21 Gather library books to turn in (they are only 4 days overdue). We are missing one of them, of course.

4:25 T remembers that she needs a special costume prop for concert rehearsal that starts in 20 minutes.

4:26 Digging through boxes and closets for a non embarrassing (and clean) robe while still keeping an eye out for that other cleat.

4:32 Check calendar for where the soccer game is and realize that it is our turn to bring treats for the team. I load soccer chairs into the Jeep.

4:42 Js done with homework and he and his friend tear through the house playing sword fighting spy game.

4:48 I try not to tear my hair out and take a few big breathes.

5:02 T done with homework. Races to dress for concert rehearsal.
litte friend is booted. Stacie helps J with shin gaurds. I fill water bottles.

5:09 Hand Jer the lost and found cleat. Leave with T for rehearsal.

5:16 Drop T off. Only one minute late! YES!

5:22 Slow down enough to drop off Library books. Can't get new ones.

5:27 Stop at my mom's to pick up genealogy book for tomorrow's project. She is looking at owl's in her back yard. My brother is showing off pics of his sky diving trip.

5:32 Phone call from Jer. (How'd we live without cell phones?) I've told him wrong field for soccer. No one is there and now they are late. I Correct that and find out that J decided he DOES want a sweatshirt cuz the wind is cold *rolls eyes*

5:33 Have to leave Mom's in a whirlwind without seeing the owls or the sky dives.

5:41 Hit the store for treats and juice boxes for 11 soccer players. This means I have to buy 2 boxes of 10. *sigh*

5:45 Race to pick up T and head to game.

5:49 Stop by the house to get Sweatshirt and umbrella.

5:58 Get to game in time to see J block a goal with his body as goalie. *cheers*

6:01 Half-time and clothing change inside of a blanket. (J does, not me! *cheese*)

6:08 Sit and chat with a friend while we cheer on the team! Go Yellow!

6:31 Break out the treats and race for home.

6:42 Help Jer get Ramen noodles on the table for everyone and throw a bowl of soup in the microwave for me.

6:48 Run downstairs to print the YW calenders.

6:59 Race to Young Women activity with the girls.

7:02 Remember that my dinner is still in the microwave.

*big breath* Sadly, this is what more than one night per week looks like for us during soccer season. It really is a blast and I am not complaining but, MAN, sometimes that hammock in Hawaii calls to me *laugh*

I remember when friends with older-than-mine kids would laugh at my baby adventure stories. They'd say life just gets harder as the years go by and as the after school activities pile up and then it is multiplied by the number of kids you have.

They would tell me this while I was wearing spit-up & food-stained sweatpants; while my hair was in knots and I hadn't had a chance to shower in 2 days because my husband was out of town; when the baby was up 7 times in the night just for "fun"; and while I was in the middle of loads of laundry and diapers and nap schedules and feeding times. I could NOT understand how things could possibly get busier….

But I was wrong. Now things are crazy times 3 and it is harder because all of the busiest stuff is not spread out through the day but concentrated in the 3 or 4 hours after school.

God bless mothers of the world for the work we do at all the stages.

*smiles* He does bless me... I get to hold hands with a rice-crispy sticky goalie, receive grateful hugs from a glittery song bird, have helpful and funny daughters and a husband I can steal kisses from over a hot stove, super students, tons of hilarious moments, precious bedtime prayers...

and most importantly, a comfy pillow to crash onto at night.

I wouldn't trade this for anything! I love my crazy life! and my kids are worth every minute of work! I only wish that I had twice as many of them... can you imagine?? *shakes head*

But, then I definitely wouldn't have anytime to write about it! *grins*

My son, the wordsmith

He is a Chip off the ol' block.

His name isn't chip. this is a just a saying that means he is just like his mom. See previous post about strange phrases. Does anyone realize that when they use this one that they are calling themselves and "ol' block?" It's not really the image I'm trying to put out there about myself.

Anyway....

Last night I was reading a book to J about a diamond heist mystery. We were reading about the crime and it said "Just then the jewerly store alarm went off." He stops me and with a very puzzled expression asked "Why does it say that the alarm went off? Didn't it just turn on?"

That's my boy!!

Lexiconologist ©

Many know that I love words… in fact, my friend helped me coin the word Lexiconoligist©. That is what I like to call myself now. I am trade marking that title and next year it will replace “life coach” where it calls for an occupation on my taxes. Caveat: This does not mean that I’m good at spelling… if you’ve read my stuff for long that is easy to pick up on… but I dyegress…. (<----- Angie, that was a joke!)

What I love almost as much as large interesting words and their meanings is thinking about phrases and their origins. My personal favorite, because I haven’t figured out yet, is “Let’s paint the town red!” I also like “crossing the Rubicon” Ask me what it means sometime. Why in the world do we say such things? And isn’t it interesting that some of the most nonsensical ones get handed down generation after generation. I think that is really very cool.

I am seriously considering applying for the graduate scholarship in Folklore at USU. I love Prof Siporin (and his amazing storyteller wife) and his classes were a joy to take. My favorite thing was collecting camp song lyrics and I had a great idea for a collection after his class was done. Also this phrase thing.

I know of a missionary going to the Southern states and it got me thinking about countrified sayings like “I felt lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut” and “She was more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” *snork* You know, all the things that the narrator would say right before a commercial during the Dukes of Hazzard show. If I get the scholarship I’ll start my research at tvland.com .

BTW: Did you know that you can watch full episodes of old TV shows online? I showed my kids Family Ties, Gillligan’s Island, and a super awesome Charlie’s Angels. I forgot how much I loved Alex P. Keaton, how much I wanted to get marooned on an island and build cool camp gadgets like the professor, and how much I wanted to be a beautiful spy lady. I’m getting off topic again. Sorry.

So back to crazy phrases. I was subbing (is that really a word?) for the reading ladies in a kindergarten class. One group got away from me and well… ate me for lunch. *writes that phrase in research notebook* I’ve tried to stay vigilant and not let things get to far out of hand. In other words, I no longer trust the innocent looking 5 and 6 year olds. I’ve become a sinic. (<----- other joke!)

One sweetheart of a tiny blue eyed blondie tried to explain how many pieces of candy the regular teacher rewards them with (they are always so helpful in teaching me how to do the job right.) 1 whole smarty for every time they raised their hand sounded fishy to me. *makes another note* (how did it get from smelled fishy to sounded fishy?) The other kids were all holding their breath and listening very closely to my answer to that. So I narrowed my eyes at her, squished my lips to one side and said “I think you are pulling my leg.”

All five kids, at the same time, tipped over in their chairs to look at my legs under the table. *laugh out loud* HA! It was a riot. And best story ever for my folklore thesis. Doncha think?

Little Bits Bin

You know when you run across a strange little piece of something and you are not sure what it belongs to. It looks important but it is little and has become separated from it's group so you feel sorry for it and you keep it safe on your counter in a little dish.

Because you now have a place for little lost things more tiny gaget-y do-dahs begin to gather there until you have a cluttering bowl that overflows with puzzle pieces, peices of crayons, a pencil erasure, polly pocket shoes, a coin or two, magnetics, a rubber foot from your electric fry pan, a twisty tie, parts of mcdonald's toys, a die, half of a keychain, etc etc.

One day you really notice this annoying cup and it makes you mad. You dump it out and decided that you need to put everything away, once and for all. Most of it, you discover is junk and worthless. You decide if no one else cares enough about this to put it where it belongs then you will keep the change and toss the rest.

You do. It feels wonderful. You clean the counters. They shine and are completely clutter free. You even take a picture of a sparkly kitchen. *happy sigh*

You feel so great that the next day you decide to make bread. (This is the day after the garbage gets picked up.) You get out your wheat grinder because your flour bucket is low. And it is then that you remember where you have seen that little plastic part before. You know, the one that started the countertop lost and found collection. It is the one part that you cannot work the grinder without. *gnashes teeth*

It only costs $1.75 to replace. Plus $5.95 for shipping and handling, of course. And allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery.

Poor T's Teeth

My darling brave daughter has inherited my teeth. poor thing. She has teeth too big for her little mouth. Also her teeth are stubborn. I blame this on her dad. They won't fall out. This whole tooth growing process is near the top of the list of questions I want to ask when I get to Heaven.

"Could you, please explain to me what is up with the tooth thing? Why aren't babies born with them? a speechless helpless baby is hard enough without adding miserable crankiness while teething. also, why do they have to fall out? The rest of our bones grow with our bodies. I'm not saying it's a bad plan. In fact, I'm sure there is an excellent reason. I just want to understand what that is."

I have this question all planned out cuz I've thought about it every time there has been a tooth transition with our kids. Especially cuz in our family I am the designated tooth puller-outer.

2 week ago T had to go to the dentist to get 4 teeth pulled. They were way over due and were not budging. Xrays showed that everything behind them were stalled and causing problems. *Ugh*

She had a set of 4 taken out 6 months ago and that didn't help. So they decided to pull the rest. She is a trooper tho and suffered through the puffy-lipped, scary bone-crunching experience with a toughness I wouldn't have mustered. These things were MONSTERS! They still had sharp claw-shaped roots locked on to the permanent teeth. Yikes! I was going to paste pics of them on here but they are too scary looking. *shivers*

She has also dealt with the after effects without complaint. Poor thing. She now has no teeth that actually fit together to chew with. And those that are there are now tender and sore cuz everything moving at once.

After this, braces will be a cinch.

Easy Being Green

Sunday was a wonderful Spring day. It was perfect for our Easter / Stake Conference / Day of Rest / Spring Break. After Conf (which we get to have at awesome Logan Tabernacle) we hung out in our backyard soaking in the sun and laying on the coming-out-of-hiberation lawn. I LOVED being on my tummy in my sock feet with the sun warming the back of my hair. I put my head down on my crossed arms and breathed in the smell of spring grass and warm earth. Ahhhhhhh. It was as if my soul was waking up from a long winter nap. I could feel my spirit uncurl from the fetal position that it assumes in yucky winter weather and stretch itself. I love that smell so much it almost hurts. I know that if I was blind that I would still have the same favorite color. That smell is the color green.

p.s. Tues and Weds has been rainy wetness. The lawns all look gorgeously lush and ready to mow. J got out of the Jeep on weds morning as I dropped him off for school and took a big sniff. He looked back at me, squinched up his nose, and said, "It smells like worms out her." He also has a nose for spring. *snork*

J is for July

My 7-year-old is a chip off the old block (me.)

He got up last week on a drizzly chilly day, crawled into my cozy bed, snuggled into the warmth and said "Mom I wish that I could wake up in the morning and it would be July. *sigh* I lOVE July."

Later that morning he was still pondering that sick-of-winter thought and decided to make a list of everything he would do when July finally came. Here is the list:

• park day
• yellowstone
• sprinklers
• fossil mowtan
• campeen
• Hawaii
• take beautiful pichers
• swim at pool
• play with frends
• trampoling
• gardin
• bear lake
  
• ride bikes

Village Idiot On Demand

Okay.. How hard is it to run a VCR? Put the TV on the show you want, put a tape in, and push REC, right? This is the way most people do it. I on the other hand am an idiot! *arg!*

I just had the most difficult time EVER working the VCR. It was a simple thing. I just wanted to make a copy of the Saturday morning and Afternoon sessions of conference for my friend. Comcast has them On Demand for free. (Hope I don’t get in trouble by admitting that I was doing that. It’s probably why I had such a stupor of thought about the whole thing.)

My friend feels bad for the trouble I had but it was so NOT her fault that I haven’t got a brain in my head. I was happy to do it for her and volunteered for the job.
She brought me her tapes and I threw them in, started the Sat morning session, and hit record. They are 2 hours each and so I just let it play with the sound down and went about my day. I had to leave and because it was On Demand I couldn’t set the timer on the VCR to stop so I just let it record until I got back to stop it. I rewound it to the end of the first session so that I could record the afternoon on the same tape. So far so good.

The next day, I started the afternoon session recording and wanted to hear a few of the talks again so I cranked the volume and cleaned my house while I listened. I got a phone call and so I muted the sound. when I saw it was the last song I text-ed my friend that they were ready and she could come pick them up.

Being a perfectionist I rewound a little and checked it. I found out that the last talk was minus sound. Apparently, when I muted the volume what I actually had done was muted the cable box and not the TV and so no audio went to the VCR. The picture was good but the sound was absent. I got it set up to re-record the last talk (Pres. Ering’s awesomeness!) but didn’t have it done when my friend stopped by so I had to admit my mistake. No prob. She is a good friend and didn’t make fun. She said that she always wanted to learn to read lips. *ha!* I told her I’d run it over to her when it was done.

Finished. I rewound it (and checked the playback at the first, cuz you know how I am) and found to my dismay that I when I turned the sound down for that session it was the cable box again and so the talks were in whisper mode. *ack!* Fixed it. re-re-recording set. 2 hours later and I was setting the second session to record on a non-cranked volume. When it that was halfway done taping I realized that I had recorded the wrong morning session. I had taped Sun AM instead of Sat AM! *ugh*

(to my credit they do all look and start the same... a shot of beautiful grounds while the choir sings and the voice from above says, "Welcome to the 179th Annual Conference of the LDS Church...all copies or transcriptions of this broadcast without express written permission... etc, etc, etc... *sigh*)

I let the afternoon finish and rewound to re-re-re-recorde the correct morning session.

2 hours later I completely spaced stopping it and it ran over the afternoon session which completely ruined it and required a whole NEW taping of the afternoon session. *grumbles*

Finally done. I rewound the thing, (making myself not check ANY of it!) turned it over to my friend, and made her promise to not breathe a word to me about it if something was wrong with the tape. *gnashing of teeth*

LDS Funness

I love Conference Weekend. I love the talks, I love the feelings, I love the music!

I love the shows about the church around the world that KSL puts in between sessions.

I love the projects I work on while I watch (last Fall I made a Levi Quilt and this year I digitally restored damaged antique photos! Way fun!) I also love the LEGO party that my kids have while they watch/listen.

Most of all, I lOVE day long church that I get to attend while in my Jammies!! *happy sigh*

Here is how to keep the fun lasting longer: I just found out that if you go online to the conference stream/download area that you can download (for free) the music mp3’s from all the sessions (even the YW Broadcast!) Click here to sample and download music from this April 2009 session and/or here to watch/listen/download the talks or subscribe to the Conference Podcasts. Yippee!!

p.s. check out the great Easter things on the homepage www.lds.org

p.s.s. Have you seen the NEW ERA supplement web pages? more jokes, mormonads, and fun games/ puzzles that go with the magazine. www.newera.lds.org

p.s.s.s. Genealogy fun-ness. The church has a complete Pioneer database that is searchable by name or wagon train that has links to online journal entries, news articles, and biographies for all wagon and handcart companies from 1847-1868. Tons of resources at a click! Woohoo!

Tortured in Nylon

Okay.. here is a shout to all the girls out there who have ever worn nylons. What is with these things? I lifted a new pair out of the box/egg thingy and they hung there in the air much like I imagine Peter Pan’s shadow must have looked. I pondered them and tried to convince myself that I could squeeze into these 12-sizes-too-small-leg-raisins. I felt like a snake that was trying to fit back into its shed skin.

(S’s noticed that these sad wrinkled things look like the poor unfortunate souls in Ursula’s garden in the Little Mermaid movie. *laughs* Once you get this, you will think of that every time you put a pair on.)

I finally got everything squeezed and tucked into these contraptions and realized that I had snagged them right above my knee with my freshly trimmed fingernail. *gnashes teeth* With only 5 minutes till walking out the door, some fast repair work had to be done. Every nylon wearing woman has a bottle of clear fingernail polish handy just for this type of emergency. A little dab of this sticky stuff will fray-check the tiny tear and hold embarrassment off for one more wearing.

I went to church and didn’t think of the little run again until after sacrament meeting when I stood up to go to the next meeting and felt my epidermis tear as the nylon that was now glued to my skin shifted and took a few hundred layers of skin with it. ow.

After church, I set a new speed record for getting out of those middle throttling torture devices and made the mistake of holding them up in front of me again. They were now a stretched out saggy-baggy-elephant imitation of legs. I submit that if anyone wants to feel badly about the size of their thighs, forget trying on new swim suits, just put on a brand new pair of hose! It don’t matter what size jean you wear, doing the new nylon dance /battle will make you feel bad about it and then even worse when you take yourself out of them again.

I am so going back to knee-highs... 'cept I wear them too long and they fall down. *sigh*

Lets all go back to petticoats, K? I like the idea of wearing a pair of capris under my dress. Here is hoping that all nylons go the way of pioneer bonnets, whalebone corsets, and bustles.

The Eyes Have It

It happened. My mother told me that it would when I was exactly this age. She was right.

I was getting ready for church and put on my necklace. I turned the clasp to the front and bent my chin down to see it and I couldn't. Everything was fuzzy. I blinked and squinted but nothing changed. I had lost my eyesight. eek!

I've been in denial a little. I started noticing that one eye wasn't seeing as well as the other. I would close it while birdwatching, all the while blaming the focus on the binoculars. *laughs*

I finally had to admit that it is my focus that is off. I've seen my friends start to hold things out further in front of them in order to see better on close up things. I guess I'm going to have to teach my husband how to put necklaces on for me or just start wearing longer ones. *sigh*

Snowy Traditions

I really dislike winter. Oh I like how it looks for Christmas time and as a novelty of the changing seasons. But, I detest being cold such that Winter is by far my least Fav season. I do try to make it into something fun and, at least once a year, have an outside playdate with my kids. I try to choose a warm (relative to winter, of course) sunny day. It also has to have the perfect snow (sunshine is a secret ingredient of this also cuz it melts the snow a little and makes it more sticky for building stuff.

2 years ago we didn’t have a big enough snow so that there was any snow to speak of in the spring. and last year I was not in a good enough place to be the “fun” mom. I thought that, after the big melt this year, that mother nature wouldn’t be cooperating again and I wouldn’t be able to pull It off.

Then we got dumped on. More than a foot overnight! We had gone from the sunny greening grass beautiful day lets’put-up-the-tramp and get the porch swing out to scraping the driveway again 3 times in one day. This was the day!

I jumped into my snowpants and dived in. The snow wasn’t awesome but it packed okay and with T’s help I built a fair enough fort. Because this was new snow the thing was perfectly camouflaged from the bus stop vantage point. Once inside and hunkered down we could not be seen. T invented a brilliant way to make a peeky hole (handle of the broom) and we made a weapons cache and staked out the bus stops.


First was the junior high kids. They weren’t as easy to surprise. But we still got in some good licks. Of course, the girls ran by just out of our range squealing and fast stepping in their girlish shoes, but the boys launched a counterattack. They are much better shots then when they were little and have had a few years practice on me doing this to them.

It was fun tho. S just casually got the mail and then was our photographer for the next round. I guess the novelty of this little game has run out for her. My nephew, being the oldest and wisest of that group, said “Oh yea, Lisa, that’s real mature!” but he was the one that stuck around the longest, fired off the most return fire, and obviously liked it even better than the little kids did. We must be related!


Then it was time to ambush J’s grade school stop in the other direction. Of course this wasn’t as great as it used to be because the bus stop has moved. Used to be that all 20 kids had to pass our house to get home and it was a perfect ambush spot. Now we only get 3 kids walking by plus J.

Of course, he was the slow one on this day and we had launched our attack and were holding the invaders off when he finally noticed what was going on. He immediately skirted the blast zone and ran into the house. hmmm not what I was hoping for. When he finally came out to join the fray he was able to breech the defensive wall by attacking from the unprotected rear.

I am definitely finding a better spot next year.
We had a great time and now the snow can melt and not return until next Christmas thank you.

TA DA!

So I finished my book finally (thanks to a friendly kick in the pants).. I was totally dragging my feet because I was afraid that I would not be happy with what it turned out to be like in the end. That would be a blow. Turns out that I am pleased. Not thrilled - I still see lots of problems with it, but, I like it.

The best part is that the thing is out of my head and actually printed on paper. I can't tell you how good it feels to hold it in my hand. It is still rough around the edges but it is to the point that it would be okay to let people actually read it.

I feel very vulnerable however. I didn't realize how much of my heart that I would put into it. It is, after all, my brain child and I have been working on it for years. I know it needs critical inspection and feedback to bring it of age and make it better but I am going to have to pair friendly critiques with lots of chocolate. I'm glad that the first readers are my good friends. I know they will be kind and I am counting on them to be helpfully honest.

Yeah me!! *claps*

and hello blogging again!