How to Tell It's a Monday

First, wake up late cause you set the alarm right, but the volume was too low and the only reason you woke up is because the dog needed to go out. Second, jump out of bed, let the dog out and wake up the kids - letting them know that their get ready time is already shortened. Next, realize you don't have time for a shower so you're going to have to make the best of your sleepy-head hairdo and pull it into some semblance of order. Now pick out the clothes for the day and run back in and tell the kids that have fallen back to sleep they have about 10 minutes to get out the door now and they still need to eat breakfast. Now on to packing the lunch for the day and starting the car, family prayer and off to take kids to school. Get to school with not even seconds to spare and realize you have forgotten parking passes and badges needed for work. Hurry home and retrieve said items from the other car. Sneak a fruit rollup or two from the snacks, realize that the pants you chose to wear are the ones with the tear above the pocket that you never got around to fixing, run upstairs and change pants and then head to work. At work, fill out time sheet that you forgot to fill out on Friday before leaving, check all the Facebook messages and blog updates that you didn't see all weekend long, check list of bugs that need fixing today and email back people, conference call and finally ready to begin doing something productive...ok, well at least look like I'm productive. Can it be Tuesday now?

Downsize

I've recently had a conversation with my butt and we've agreed to downsize. Now I just have to break that news to my taste buds and stomach...that won't be pretty.

All Tucked In

Here's my little garden all tucked in for the night. Sleep tight little tomato plants.

General Relief Society Meeting 2009

Here's a link to the conference in which I was privileged to participate in the choir.

http://www.lds.org/move/index.html?type=conference&event=Oct179&lang=english.

You won't see me in any of the footage - up close anyway - but I was there, singing with angels.

Quick Update That's Long Overdue...

I started this blog with such high expectations, but very little actual follow through - unfortunately this is such a recurring theme in my life. Anyway, on to the update. I'm so excited I get the opportunity to be in the choir for the General Relief Society meeting of General Conference this Saturday - 9/26/09. It has been so very fun to be a part of this choir. Sister Kathy Jolly is our conductor and has so much positive energy and humor that keeps us laughing and yet striving to improve. She teaches junior high students and her students must absolutely love her. Before each practice we have a mini devotional and it's wonderful. The spirit is so strong. We've been privileged to hear from Sister Allred and Sister Thompson of the General Relief Society presidency and several members of the General Relief Society board. We are singing As Sister's in Zion - a really fast version of this song which sounds really cool, Guide Us O Thou Great Jehovah - nearly the same arrangement as the Tabernacle Choir did with a slightly different descant on the last verse, and How Firm a Foundation which we sing along with the congregation and also have a beautiful descant for the seventh verse (no we aren't singing all seven verses, just 1,2,3 and 7). I have met so many wonderful people with whom I'm privileged to be part of this choir with, many of whom were part of the ward I was in when I started going back to church and then were split into different wards. I get to know the sisters in my ward that I get to sing with better, and it's so cool that we all represent each of the parts. I get to sing 1st soprano, Anji Litchfield sings 2nd soprano, Abby Beatie and Leisel Shupe sing 1st and 2nd alto - but I can't remember which sings which part. As part of this choir, we were warned from the start to expect opposition, but also to expect miracles. Fun stuff, so opposition: the AC goes out in my one car, my other car battery died and had to be replaced, Nate gets the flu, I get stranded at Walmart because the battery terminal is also bad and I have to wake up Nate to come and rescue me (my knight in an old blue truck :)), a stupid traffic ticket for pulling out "too early" to make a right hand turn, two days off work for the above mentioned items, traffic court for the stupid ticket which the judge only knocked off $10 and still left it on my record - not that I'm bitter or anything, and Nate has wrecked his shoulder at work and is waiting on Workers Comp to schedule an MRI. Wow, so miracles: I like to call them Nate, Macayla and Jordan. I'm healthy, the cars are working now (minus the AC in the PT Cruiser), my spirituality has increased and they finally approved Nate's MRI and will be calling to schedule it soon. Sister Jolly and others from this experience gave a couple of awesome quotes "Live each day so that Satan says, Oh great, she's awake" and "The babbling brook would loose it's song if the Lord removed the rocks." Great stuff.
Ok, so other than that, Scrooge tryouts are also this Saturday. Jordan and I will be trying out this year. Macayla is going to be too busy being a cheer leader and her cheer practices are the same days as play rehearsals. She is kinda bummed cause the play is so much fun. But she is doing really well with her cheer. She is working on her back-hand-spring still and her round-off - back-hand-spring as well as her splits - ouch. Jordan is going to school by me for the first time and it's been great having her around more often, not to mention not having to drive out to West Valley so much.
Okay, so that's basically what's been going on lately. Maybe I'll update again in a few months or so...I make no promises :).

Jordanism

I was at the park with Jordan and Macayla yesterday evening and Jordan says to me, "Mom, your butt isn't big, it's just not normal." So there you go...I have a not normal butt.

4th of July Parade

Macayla was in the Clearfield 4th of July Parade this year with her cheer team. Go Panthers!

The INVASION

I have had the opportunity over the last couple of days to watch my niece and nephew while their daddy has been in the hospital for back surgery. Little girls I'm used to, and seven year olds are very fun. Little boys are totally different, and almost three year olds are...

...very fun too! Love ya Syd and Alex!

Mine Dryer Ist Kaput

Apparently there isn't much you can do to save a dryer that makes really funny noises and oozes stinky smoke when you turn it on except turn it off before it starts your house on fire. So auf weidersehen to the dryer and laundromat here I come...that is until my tax return money gets here.

Merry Christmas from Us Elves

How Bad Do You Really Want Wicked Tickets???

Maybe you've heard of a small musical called Wicked. And say you actually thought you might want to see this little musical performed on stage. And say you heard it was actually coming to your city oh about a year ago...and you watched...and you waited...and you anticipated the day the tickets would finally go on sale. And say you also consider yourself a seasoned Black Friday shopper; you've dealt with crazy crowds before...right??? And then the day comes when tickets go on sale and you find this...




Oh, and if you thought why didn't you just log on to their website? Well, smartie pants, you would have seen this screen after 3 hours of their site not even being available...

Oh, but wait...what about the phone???
"I'm sorry all lines are currently busy." Click.

Perhaps I should have gotten season tickets or something, but although I would love to see this show and there probably isn't any other show I'd rather see on stage, there are definite limits to my quest for tickets. So for now...Sad Face :(
But on the upside, I have a great view from my window at work!

A Mother's Work Is Never Done

My sweet mother-in-law sent me this and it was too cute not to share. For all those hard working moms out there, enjoy!



The Mom Song from Northland Video on Vimeo.

Random Photo Tag Thing

I thought this was fun and doesn't require any thinking of some clever thing to say or write about which is great for me because that's a lot of pressure - entirely self created - from all the cute blogs I follow and stuff. How's that last sentence for quite the run on. Anyway, back to the photo thing. Here is the 4th photo from the 4th folder under the my pictures folder of my work computer. This is from Macayla's trip this summer to Thailand.


The results would be totally different from my home computer, maybe I'll have to do this again from home. Thanks for the fun idea Sarah!

I think I was Tagged by Jill

Here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you
2) Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading)
3) Write 6 random things about yourself
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them (This is only a game)
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up


Ok, so aside from the 101 things I posted earlier...thinking...thinking...ouch! :D
1. When I was growing up I thought Amy was a good name and if I had a daughter, I would name her Amy. I went with Macayla and Jordan instead.
2. I love a clean house, but am somewhat hindered in my non-love of cleaning.
3. I am a complete chocoholic. If I can work a candy bar into my daily caloric allotment I will. I will even bump fruits and veggies off if I have to.
4. I like big words, even if I don't always use or spell them correctly.
5. I love playing Scrabble - the one and only board game my mom would play with my dad and I growing up and usually soundly squash both of us - but no one else in my house loves it.
6. The laundromat is this magical place where I can take a weeks worth of laundry for my entire family and have it washed and dried and folded in about 3 1/2 hours time. But alas, the gas prices have cut far into this luxury.

Ok, so I'm not going to tag anyone, but this was fun - Thanks Jill.

I am Cinderella

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

You too can take this fun quiz and find your inner Disney princess.

http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354&m=-1

Memories

Here are the rules of this fun little reverse tag:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! This is a perfect time for all you blog-stalkers or rare-posters to make yourself known. :)


2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you (and if this isn't on there...I'll assume you're a procrastinator like me and will check back later!)

101 Things About Me

I saw this post on a few of my niece's blogs and thought it was so cute. I thought I'd try my hand at it and quickly realized that 101 things about myself is a really long list. Here it is though, hope you enjoy.

101. I'm a bit of a pyro.
100. Once on a 4th of July, I lit the bucket of used fireworks on fire and laughed as I sat on the lawn and watched it burn.
99. I once shot a barbie doll with a 12 gauge shotgun. I laughed then too as only the legs were left.
98. I love power tools.
97. I've never been a real girly-girl.
96. But sometimes I have girly moments, like fake nails from time to time.
95. I'm a total fish, I love water and water related things. (interesting contrast to my pyro side)
94. I'm an inherently lazy person.
93. I think that spell check is one of the best inventions ever.
92. I think my husband looks awesome in his suits.
91. I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way.
90. I've learned a lot about myself from friendships and other relationships.
89. It's taken me a long time to get to where I'm happy with being me,
88. but I'm happy with who I am...most of the time
87. I have to be careful when I pick up a book,
86. I really don't like to put a book down until it's done.
85. It wrecks all sorts of havoc on my laundry and house work and dinner prep when I start a book.
84. I'll even half way shove a book under my keyboard at work to keep reading.
83. Even if the book is not all that interesting.
82. Unless it's Hemingway, I can't get interested at all in his work.
81. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is an extremely boring book and I never finished reading it even though I passed off a book report on it.
80. I can be quite stubborn.
79. I loathe exercise, unless I don't consider it exercise like swimming or scuba diving.
78. My favorite place to dive is Cozumel Mexico.
77. I would move to Cozumel if it were reasonable.
76. I love cereal.
75. When I don't have anyone to cook for but me, I usually eat cereal for dinner.
74. I like baking - cookies, pies, cakes, etc.
73. I don't enjoy routine cooking so much (a.k.a. dinner).
72. Unless it's cooking with my husband who is a great cook.
71. My husband and I love making new dishes up, he has a great sense of what foods/flavors work together.
70. I'm slightly addicted to HGTV.
69. My favorite soda pop is Diet Coke.
68. But I don't like to be addicted to caffeine.
67. I've never colored my hair.
66. I don't think I look my age.
65. I don't thing I act my age either.
64. I don't plan on looking or acting my age for as long as I can get away with it.
63. I sometimes like onions.
62. When I was little, I hated onions and anything with them in it.
61. My favorite type of food is usually Italian or Asian.
60. I love Asian style, clean lines and geometric shapes.
59. The state of the USA worries me.
58. I believe fuel prices are fictitiously high and the stories of low supply are rumors started to raise prices.
57. The first concert I went to was the Eagles.
56. I was about 8 months pregnant with Macayla when I went to the Eagles concert.
55. I took my hunters safety course when I was also 8 months pregnant with Macayla.
54. I flew to Cancun when I was two weeks away from delivering Jordan and Jordan likes to claim that she was almost a Mexican baby.
53. I am color phobic when it comes to walls in my house.
52. That's why most of my house is still painted white.
51. I want to have another baby before I'm 35.
50. I have poly-cystic ovarian syndrome that may make having a baby hard.
49. I've always loved animals.
48. I have a tattoo of two lizards around my right ankle.
47. My 4-yr-old neighbor thinks the tattoo is a stamp.
46. I live in a great neighborhood and love my neighbors.
45. I've been married to Nate for two years.
44. I've never been in a fight or an argument with Nate ever.
43. I don't always agree with Nate but we can talk about it and not fight.
42. I love my job and working in general.
41. I like the adult interaction and some time away from home that work provides as well as the income.
40. I have two totally different but equally wonderful daughters.
39. I love being a mom.
38. I love camping, as long as there is an air-mattress.
37. I love to sing.
36. I sing really loud in the car by myself.
35. I almost always have a song stuck in my head.
34. Acting is kinda fun too.
33. I was recently cast as Sister Margaretta in the Sound of Music (Terrace Plaza Playhouse).
32. I used to have a couple of piercings, but took them out when I became active again at church.
31. I love my current calling as a Sunbeams teacher.
30. I learn a lot from the 3 and 4 year olds in my class.
29. I love to check out what thrift stores have.
28. Thrift stores are a great place to find expensive jeans for picky teens.
27. I went to college for a year at Southern Utah University.
26. I didn't finish my degree as I got married and had a kid.
25. I did go to Advanced Technical Center and learned computer programming.
24. I've been a computer programmer since 1999 ish.
23. I like working with computers, it's fun and challenging, sometimes lame.
22. I don't like my hair short.
21. I had my hair cut really short in 2nd grade and I hated it.
20. I was a very awkward kid and teen.
19. It took me a long time to find my inner cool.
18. Although I'm still a geek at times, I've come to accept and embrace it.
17. I play Dungeons and Dragons with my husband and friends once a month.
16. I enjoy watching American Idol.
15. American Idol is one of the only things I record and watch religiously.
14. I love calla lilies, they are so elegant.
13. I love peas fresh from the garden, other varieties - canned or frozen - not loved.
12. One of my favorite movies of all time is The Princess Bride.
11. I also really like the movie Hook.
10. I think my theme song is the Toys R Us jingle - "I don't wanna grow up..."
9. I love my kids equally, but for very different reasons - aside for the obvious one that they are my offspring.
8. I'm inspired by people who are themselves regardless of what other people think.
7. I didn't cry for about 14 years after my brother died.
6. Sleep is my favorite stress reliever.
5. I don't handle confrontation very well.
4. When in a heated argument or confrontation, I get all stressed out and my brain freezes.
3. Nate is the first guy ever to make me feel safe other than my father
2. and I love him for many reasons, but mostly cause he loves me for who I am always.
1. It's taken me a few weeks off and on to compile this list but now its done - whooo hooo.

M.I.A.

I've been m.i.a. for a long time on this blog. My apologies to those who were left wondering where I was. I got overwhelmed by a bunch of things all at once, or at least in quick succession. The first and by far largest was Macayla got invited to tag along to Thailand with Nate's dad and his family as they went for a visit. Nate's dad married a lady from Thailand and her daughter Chulee is friends with Macayla. So to prepare for this unique opportunity, we had visits to her doctor for immunization updates, a visit to the Health Department International Travel Center for a typhoid shot and other information, packing and spraying all her clothes with mosquito repellent, a trip to Las Vegas with the family to drop her off at Grampa Shelby's, having to leave her there while me, Nate and Jo go back to Utah, leave Jo at Gram Gram's (Nate's mom) house in St. George to go camping in Moab and then coming home to just Nate and me for the better part of three weeks. No kids. Quiet and kind of creepy. You'd think with all the "extra time" I would be able to get all kinds of things done, but I didn't. I had all the right intentions and none of the drive or ambition. We did learn how to dutch oven a bit and as activity chair-people for our ward, we helped plan a multi-ward dutch oven cook off. Other than that, it was pretty boring. Then over the weekend of the 4th we went back to Las Vegas and picked up Jo on our way down and got Macayla back. She has safely returned from half way around the world with many great experiences, lots of new clothes, and a slightly expanded vision of the world. There are adjustments to be made as the girls are figuring out how to get along after being apart for three weeks, but it's wonderful to have them home and safe...I think.

Big Day

Yesterday, May 21st was my dad's 82nd birthday, my sister-in-law Becky's (Nate's sister - who funny enough is also married to a John) birthday, my other sister-in-law Jeanette's and her husband Paul's wedding anniversary and the day my brother-in-law Todd and his wife Victoria took off for vacation in Paris. It was also the finale of a little show I like to watch on T.V. called American Idol. So.....happy birthday, happy birtday, congratulations, bon voyage and way to go Dave Cook!

Summer Time

Summer has arrived! Yay, I love summer. It's so hard to concentrate at work (especially today with the A.C. out) when the thing I want most to do is kick off my shoes, feel the grass between my toes and find a quiet place in the shade and just soak in the day. Maybe I'd bring along a book and a tall glass of Diet Coke (not a lemonade fan), or just lay on my back and wonder at how blue the sky is. Or perhaps, head to a beach and relax in the water and sand... Anything but boring old work...But alas, there are still bills to pay, so it's time to get my head out of the clouds and get back to the grind.