The Stinger Family

my chest...

2011-10-05T14:32:00.001-06:00

I thought I would call this post something catchy since its content is going to be anything but. I have a MAJOR vent and not the kind that is suitable for facebook because of the potential for offense - although yesterday I did delight in offending said people. I've since slept on it and decided that while I need to vent my frustrations and get it off my chest, it is probably better suited for my blog. That being said....anyone who reads any further than this is either going to be bored to death or offended so don't say I didn't warn you.

I'm having a girl in 17 days. Girl number 3. I know the odds of having a boy or girl are 50/50. I didn't want to have another child because I was trying for a boy, I wanted another baby. I would be lying if I said that somewhere deep down I wasn't hoping for a boy simply because I don't have one of those. And I don't want to sound ungrateful or selfish by saying that when I found out she was a girl I was a little disappointed. No, disappointed isn't the right word. I had just found out that I was having a healthy baby and that she is a girl - how can anyone be disappointed at news like that? Instead of disappointment I felt sad for the things that I knew would never happen because she wasn't a boy. Things like: fathers and sons outings, priesthood, missions, football games, etc. But disappointment was NOT something I felt.

Since then, whenever most people ask me what I'm having and I tell them it's a girl and that we're done with 3, almost inevitably people say "aren't you going to try for your boy" and almost inevitably I want to kick them in the face (if only my feet would go that high these days). What I want to say and should say rather than just politely saying "no" is something like: "what a great idea and what do I do when I find out I'm having a girl? Give her away, always wish she was a boy, have 15 kids until I finally have that boy everyone is so fixated on me having?" Sounds like a pretty crappy reason for having another kid if you ask me.

What is the magic number of kids you have before people stop looking at you funny when you tell them you're done. Or when they stop arguing with you that you will in fact have more. I can't count how many times I've had the following conversation (or one very similar to it).

someone: oh, do you know what you're having?
me: yes, it's a girl.
someone: so you'll have 3 girls, are you going to try for your boy?
me: nope, we're happy with 3 girls
someone: oh, you just THINK you're done, you'll have more.
me: no really, we're happy with 3
someone: *smirking like they know better what I want than I do* just give it time, you'll eventually want to try for that boy. I thought I was done after 3 too.

So someone, please tell me at what number of children am I allowed to stop having them? I wish it were just random strangers or neighbors that told me how many I wanted but family members also feel the need to weigh in and tell me that certainly 3 isn't enough.

I grew up and only child. I ALWAYS wanted a sibling. I would have sold all my toys and cashed in any future Christmas presents for the chance at having a sibling. It was never meant to be (I'm a miracle - but we can get into what a blessing I am in every ones lives in a later, very detailed post:). To this day I feel a sadness whenever someone mentions that their sister is their best friend or when they talk about their brothers kids and their nieces and nephews. I'll never have that. Do I skulk around and dwell on what I don't have - no. But that also doesn't mean that I don't feel a void in my life because of it. I imagine I'll always feel similarly about not having any boys. Am I going to be bitter and angry whenever a friend of mine has a baby and it's a boy - no, but I do imagine there will always be a sense of longing. I like to think that that's a fairly reasonable and common emotion for someone who wants something but never has the opportunity to have it.

So....when it came time for Preston's brother and his wife to find out what the gender of their baby was and it turned out to be a boy, was I bitter and angry? No. Was it hard to swallow for a few minutes afterward? Yes. Am I happy for them? Absolutely. What good is being anything but going to serve me or them? So when I mentioned to someone that it was a little hard to hear that they were having a boy and then to have that person tell me that I just need to get over it and that if I want a boy I need to have more kids - was a slap in the face. I wanted to slap them in the face.

I'm tired of people telling me how to feel. Telling me what I need get over and what is ok to dwell on. Telling me how many kids I need to have. To me, all it sounds like is someone telling me that having a third baby girl isn't special because I've already got two others. Or that she isn't quite as great because she's not that boy that everyone else wanted so badly. Would people be saying this to me if I'd never been able to have any children? Would it matter that she's a girl if she had a hole in her heart or needed a kidney transplant?

facebook

2011-09-07T09:40:00.000-06:00

I have a love hate relationship with facebook - equal parts love and hate. Of course I'm not going to focus on what it is that I love about facebook. Although I will say that I do love "reading" the people who are like a slow motion train wreck with their updates and comments, it really is my favorite thing. I dare say I would probably give up facebook all together in the interest spending my time wisely if it weren't for that ONE thing.

What do I hate about facebook? Where do I start?

I'm SUPER glad for you if your husband earns $3million a year and you have seven houses and the perfect life. Mine doesn't and I don't. Isn't there SOMETHING else you can post about once in a while? I'm sure that even though you have a maid and and a cook and birds chirp when you pee that there is something that isn't picture perfect - post that. I'm not saying you have to dwell on all things negative (like me) but seriously?!?

If I'm commenting on a friends post and I don't know you...just leave my comment alone unless the post is obviously up for debate. Chances are (in my case anyway) that I'm being sarcastic and we have a little inside joke going on.

Do you seriously have to say goodnight to your husband/wife on facebook? I am TOTALLY for the occasional "i love you", "my spouse is amazing" or "happy anniversary" shout out but can you not turn your head to the left and just say goodnight? They're out of town...call, send a text send a message, facebook has chat - use that!

If you have facebook mobile and you hit the "check in" button more than 4 times a day we will cease to be friends. I don't care to know where you are that much.

the list...

2011-08-10T17:18:00.003-06:00

The other day I put a list of things that bug me on Facebook. There isn't a lot of room to write your true feelings and expound on what you actually mean. Besides that, it got me thinking...there are so many more things that bother me lately that I just need more room to elaborate.

things that bug me recently:

-Matt Lauer

-outdated political bumper stickers (especially if the candidate on it LOST)

-people who say anyways and anywho - it's anyWAY, no "S"

-the words cuddle and moist

-people who say "like" and "you know what I mean" after every 5 words they say

-elevators if I'm not the only one in them

-grocery cashiers that ask if I found everything I needed. If I didn't, the checkout lane when half my groceries are scanned and bagged is a little late, don't you think?

and my newest additions...

-overly gay people. I don't care if you're gay, be gay. But seriously, do you need to be so flamboyant about it? Just be gay. Along the same lines, there are always those guys (usually) who go out of their way to prove that they're overly straight. That bugs me too.

-people who have never been or done something but are suddenly the expert at it. I had a conversation last week with someone who has no kids and has never been pregnant but who all of a sudden knew everything about sleeping while you're pregnant. I was complaining about not being able to lay on my stomach and she chimed in and said "you're SUPPOSED to sleep on your stomach, it's the best thing for you and the baby". Well, obviously that isn't right (which I said) but when she wouldn't back down from her opinion and kept telling me how right she was, my choices were either to argue and look like a jerk or just to let it go and not get to be right.

-people who won't let me be right.

-the use of the "F" word in movies where it absolutely doesn't need to be. I guess I could understand it in a war movie or something (although I contend it doesn't need to be in there either) but do they really need to say that word in a romantic comedy just to be "edgy"?

-the guy at the golf course last weekend who made comments about having to golf by a pregnant girl in flip flops. I might not be the best golfer ever but I consistently out drove you dude so shut it!

-people who are constantly late

-women sports commentators. More specifically, sideline reporters at football games who you can tell are being fed questions for interviews because they have absolutely no clue what they're talking about. Thanks Title 9.

-Orrin Hatch

and finally (for today anyway)...

-leftovers. I feel obligated to take uneaten food home from a restaurant but then it sits there in my fridge for 4 or 5 days. Then, every time I open the fridge I have this all consuming guilt that I haven't eaten my leftovers until finally, I throw them away having never been eaten, let alone opened.

it's that time again...

2011-07-28T21:40:00.007-06:00

So far in each of my pregnancies there has come a time when I am so full of angst that I stop caring about sensitivity and my social filters fly right out the window. I think we're rapidly approaching that time again.

Just a few recent things to get off my chest...

At no point in any woman's life does she want to hear that she's looking huge. I dare say that this fact is ESPECIALLY true when she's pregnant. So to the one person that tells me I'm getting huge every time she sees me, next time you say that to me I'm just going to say "you too".

I'm tired of people getting something for nothing. I don't care what the instance or situation is - you should have to earn what you get. When I was serving as a primary chorister I was told that we couldn't have contests because the kids might be upset that someone was doing better than them or heaven forbid that they lost. Since when is that real life? We were all created equal but that doesn't mean that we are, in fact, equal. I'm never going to win American Idol or the 100 meter in the Olympics and having someone tell me that I can is doing me no favors. So, don't even get me started on preschool and kindergarten graduations. Since when is completing kindergarten an accomplishment? I've never met anyone who has said they dropped out of school in kindergarten. How about we let people be good at what they're good at and not keep telling our kids (or teenagers or adults) that they're just as good or giving them a 1st place medal when in actuality, they're not.

I can't stand typing abbreviations. For example...thx, ur gr8. cu nxt week. luv u! How hard is it to add a few more letters just so you don't look like an idiot? I guess I understand the rationalization in a text message even though I never do it but where it REALLY bugs me is on facebook and in email. Seriously, how lazy are you?

I would like to petition someone about the over use of the papyrus and scriptina fonts. Maybe they were classy and fancy in 1997 but they're NOT anymore. There really is no more to say about the issue other than STOP USING THEM. There are 57,000 other choices out there, use one of those (unless it's the curlz font)!

My lower back always hurts. Constantly. At the end of the day it's worse. I feel like if I complain about it to my husband he feels like all I do is complain. I feel like if I don't complain about it he thinks everything is hunky dorey and I'm just being lazy. What's a large pregnant girl with back issues to do?

I'm having a girl. She's healthy. I'm thrilled. I didn't get pregnant because I wanted a boy, I got pregnant because I wanted a baby. That being said, this is the most dull and unexciting pregnancy ever! I don't know if it's because it's #3 or because I'm too busy to care most of the time but I just want to be enthusiastic about something, anything. She doesn't need any clothes and I can't justify buying any. She doesn't need blankets, I have those coming out my ears. I can't come up with a name, everything is ugly. I'm obviously not going to have a baby shower for girl #3 that doesn't need anything. I guess I'll be excited about the fact that I don't have to worry about circumcision.

i really really REALLY wish i'd written this...

2011-07-11T22:24:00.003-06:00

Laws of Sacrament Meeting...

1. If your kid’s toy falls at my feet more than twice, it will stay there.

2. Typos in the program will be circled.

3. If you have to squeeze past me to an available seat, your crotch points AWAY from my face. I realize that the alternative isn’t lovely either, but at least that way we won’t accidentally make eye contact. This applies to movie theaters, as well.

4. Any expectations you have of me shouting “Alooooo-ha!” at you the Fast and Testimony meeting following your Hawaiian vacation will not be met. Additionally, I will not close my eyes if you ask me to, and no, I will not stand up and turn in place on your command.

5. I will roll my eyes at any returned missionaries that pretend like they’ve forgotten how to speak basic English. And for the record – when you’re back in the States, please pronounce your mission so we can all understand. Here in the US, “Chile” is pronounced “Chill-E”, not “Chee-lay”. I met a girl once that told me she served her mission in “oo-roo-guywyayyYYYY” and I asked her to repeat it TWO MORE TIMES before figuring out she was saying “Uruguay”.

6. Sorry, but if you stand up in front of everyone and mispronounce the hymn name, I’ll probably be the most entertained out of the whole congregation. Case in point – my old bishop stood up the week before Christmas to introduce the intermediate hymn, “With Wandering Eye”. And even better, the 2nd Counselor in our ward in Rexburg announced that next, we’d be singing “Upon the Cross of Calgary”. I snickered, then laughed, and then it turned into one of those irreverent laughs where all you can do it hunch over and hope the speaker doesn’t notice you shaking and wiping your eyes.

7. Musical numbers are limited to HYMNS out of the hymnbook ONLY. I realize this eliminates lots of other good music, but this is the only surefire way to prevent me from ever having to endure another wavery-voiced teenage girl tackling “His Hands” during Sacrament meeting.

opinion...

2011-05-24T11:34:00.006-06:00

I guess I'm trying to be more sensitive or something but I have SERIOUSLY been biting my tongue on facebook lately. Never one to withhold an opinion, I just have to have an outlet for my rantings and somewhere to get it "off my chest". Therefore, it is with the disclaimer that you may in fact be offended if you continue to read what I write in the rest of this blog...don't say I didn't warn you.

First of all, I don't get the notion of being offended. I would be lying if I said that I've never been offended but I wouldn't be lying to say that I've RARELY been offended. It just doesn't happen that often. In my opinion, to be offended you have to have some real investment in another persons point of view. Maybe I'm insensitive or maybe I just don't put that much stock in what other people say but I just hardly ever take things personally. I guess until recently I just figured everyone was this way, or at the very least that people didn't put very much stock in what I had to say and would just brush something off as my opinion.

Back to the fun (and potentially offensive part).

There are a few people, whom I wouldn't even call friends that I'm "friends" with on facebook. I would LOVE to unfriend them. Every time I read their status updates (and there are a lot of them) I roll my eyes and wonder why I haven't just taken them off my list yet. But they're like a car accident - hard not to look at. I just can't stop reading about the inane things they have to say and rolling my eyes. I completely understand the irony here - that scores of people probably feel the same way about what I have to say on facebook. The difference: I DON'T CARE!

I think Barack Obama is a dolt and people who still like him after all the asinine things he has done fall into that same category. I understand liking him initially I guess, because he is a wonderful orator (with a teleprompter). But short of eloquently reading words off of a piece of glass, he is a complete waste of space. Wait, that's not true, he doesn't waste the space he takes up, he makes it worse. Just once I would love to talk to a rational supporter of Obama and figure out what it is that still makes them like him or what good they feel he has done. If there is one out there - I might even promise to withhold my opinion while I was listening. I would promise to try anyway.

When I say "this is dumb", I'm not intending to insult people who cannot speak. When I say "this is stupid" I'm not intending to insult people with a lower than average IQ, it's just something to say to try and express how I feel about a certain situation. I've recently seen commercials and heard comments about how insulting phrases similar to these are to people. Now I'm not suggesting that we all walk around intentionally insulting one another and I'm also not suggesting we go around calling each other racial slurs. I do however think that people need to grow thicker skin. What am I supposed to say next time I get upset about a situation? Is there nothing I can say that won't insult some race, sexuality, identity, intelligence or otherwise?

Now that I've decided to use my blog as my opinion outlet (it is afterall, my blog and you are more than welcome NOT to read it) I'm sure I'll be back often to share my opinion here rather than facebook!

why do you work here?

2011-02-09T21:03:00.004-07:00

Have you ever noticed that at most stores you go to the employees are ineffectual and unknowledgeable at best? Home Depot, Costco, WalMart and Roberts are the first ones that come to mind but I'm sure if I thought about it for a two seconds more, I could come up with a longer list.

The other day I went to Roberts and I asked one of the workers if they had a certain item. She says "I don't even know what that is". Fair enough. But then she says "I'll try to find it". Which at first doesn't sound like terrible customer service except she proceeds to walk up and down the aisles while I'm following behind her like a hungry puppy. All the while I'm thinking "I could have done this". Why didn't she just say "I don't know" and move on instead of wasting my time by walking me up and down all the wrong aisles?

I don't feel like a complete imbecile in a home improvement store. I'm certainly not a contractor or a handyman but I know what most of the general things are. How come every time I go into Home Depot I can NEVER seem to find anyone that works there? And, on the off chance I finally do find someone it seems that I know more than they do? One time I went to get some sprinkler parts - I admit to being a complete dummy about anything sprinkler related. So after about 30 minutes I finally found someone walking around in an orange apron and asked them my sprinkler related question. They didn't know and had to track down the guy that worked in the sprinkler department. When I got home I had completely the wrong part and had to go all the way back because Preston was up to his elbows in dirt. When I got back and couldn't find someone a second time, I finally just asked some dude who was buying sprinkler parts who looked like he knew what he was doing. Only then did I get what I needed.

If you know me well, you know I hate WalMart. I have nothing good to say about them and avoid shopping there on principal unless I absolutely have to. Little side vent, I hate it when people say they hate WalMart but then shop there like twice a week. If you hate it, DON'T shop there! I digress. I hate WalMart for so many reason, the least of which isn't the people who work there. Talk about ineffectual employees! I swear that on more than one occasion I have asked someone a question only to have them stare at me blankly and continue on with what they were doing - without saying anything. The one time I did get good service I was at the gun counter buying ammunition and the dude knew everything there was to know! I'm not sure whether to be grateful or a little bit scared.

I feel like it's almost blasphemous to say anything bad about Costco because I love it so much. I do not however, love their employees so much! Is it just me or do all the employees seem really self involved and bothered if they have to help you? And it seems like it's everyone: the cashiers, the floor workers and especially the customer service/returns people. Maybe it's just the Lehi Costco or maybe it's just me or maybe I'm just so focused on the idiots driving the carts that I fail to notice any nice employees, but I've yet to find one.

i'm standing here, you don't mind do you?

2011-02-02T23:22:00.006-07:00

I find it interesting the ways people find to impose themselves on other people. There are the obvious and common things like talking too loudly on your cell phone in a restaurant, taking too many groceries through the express line at the grocery store or texting during a movie at the theater. But probably what bugs me more than the little irritating things that happen all the time are the smaller, less frequent things that you can't get away from.

I'm not a frequent wearer of cologne and maybe I'm annoying and stink all the time but I can't decide if it's worse to stink all the time or smell like you bathed in cologne twice before you left the house. It seems like the worst offenders are little old ladies who are out for a night on the town. Maybe it's that their sense of smell has gone south and so they just keep putting it on and putting it on or maybe the older the perfume gets, the more pungent it gets? In a close race for second on the worst offenders list are teenage boys. It's almost like they think they'll be better looking if the whole world can smell them from 6 miles away.

I've never understood wind chimes. Is it that you really need to know when the wind is blowing? Was it the only souvenir you could find to bring back from your trip to Kansas? Do you enjoy torturing your neighbors? I'm not trying to be funny, someone please explain them to me? If you like the sound of the chimes so much, why put them outside for everyone else to "enjoy"? Why not hang them in your house near a ceiling fan or an open window and experience the full range of their resonance for yourself?

The reason I don't have a dog is because I don't want to have to clean up after it. That's the ONLY reason! The second only reason is because I don't want to have to listen to it bark during all hours of the day and night. What is the polite way to say, "shut your dog up or I'll cut out its voice box"?

running hands...

2011-01-25T22:23:00.002-07:00

Last night I worked out at the gym for the first time since college. Actually, worked out at a rec center for the first time in my life. And oh boy was it an experience! I didn't even notice that I'd been running around the track for an hour because I was so busy "observing" the other people there.

Of course there was the one guy who was working out in his levis.

Then there was the girl who you could tell used to cute and skinny 10 years ago but is no longer that same person - but she is still wearing the same workout clothes she used to wear when she was cute and skinny. I now want to poke out my minds eye, there are some things you just can't unsee.

There was the guy who was dressed from head to toe in skin tight under armor clothes, loaded up the free weights with like 1000 pounds sat down like he was going to bench press the world and spent the ENTIRE hour I was there on his cell phone. Hope you got a good workout holding that cell phone up to your ear, dude.

Then there was the girl who CLEARLY got ready to go workout at the gym. I've never seen more makeup and mascara on a person whose intent appears to be working out. Sorry chicka but I don't think the big dangly earrings and entire can of hairspray are going to help you on the stair climber. And, if you sweat even one drop your face is going to run like a stream. Oh and really, is the only place you can find to bend over and work out right in the middle of the free weights where all the guys happen to be???

I'm also suddenly very aware of what my hands look like when I run.

my birthday hates me...

2010-11-01T21:54:00.002-07:00

Recently I turned 30. What did I do for this monumental birthday? I went to the insta-care, got misdiagnosed, wasted $20 on a prescription I didn't need and went to bed early. On the up side, 2 days later I went to the dermatologist, found out I had shingles and then got a sinus infection.

family pictures...

2010-10-04T20:28:00.010-06:00

I really wanted to get our pictures taken before Halle started looking any older and Annie started losing teeth. A friend recommended this place called fotofly and they were GREAT! We didn't get a zillion pictures because Halle decided she'd had it about 20 minutes into it. I wish there were some other one we would have gotten or that would have turned out better but all in all, it was great (as great as family pictures can be anyway)!

a few things I don't understand....

2010-09-22T23:58:00.002-06:00

Conditioning shampoo. Seriously, has anyone EVER used a conditioning shampoo that has actually conditioned their hair? I hate it when I've been unfortunate enough to forget my own shampoo and conditioner and have had to use the hotel's 'conditioning shampoo'. It makes me want to rub the 'moisturizing body lotion' all over my hair just so it doesn't end up in a big, crazy bouffant on top of my head. Have you ever tried to comb through your hair after using the conditioning shampoo by itself?

Play Dates. It's not that I don't like them or that I don't like my kids to play, I do. I just don't understand the term 'play date'. Whatever happened to just playing? I remember when I was little I'd run home from school and ask my mom if I could play with this person or that, never once did I say "can I have a play date with so and so". It's weird.

Gymboree. I understand that this is a very popular store and I admit that on occasion, I have made a few purchases from there. But what I don't understand is why anyone who has a kid older than 5 or 6 would want to shop there. Why would a 10 year old want a shirt and a jacket and pants and a hair bow with a little poodle and a lollipop all over them?

Mexican Music. No offense to our neighbors to the South but I think I've finally figured out why so many of them want to come to America - it's to get away from that dreadful music. For one thing, it all sounds EXACTLY the same. I can't picture myself listening to it and thinking "oh I love this song". If I want to listen to something that sounds like people wailing and banging pots and pans together, I have 2 kids willing to accommodate.

do they give cart lessons...

2010-08-30T21:28:00.004-06:00

I can't decide which I like less, driving cars or driving carts. Actually, what I should say is: I can't decide what I like less OTHER people driving cars or driving carts.

There is a measure of expected irritability when it comes to driving a car, I suppose. I expect that some people are going to be atrocious drivers and do ridiculous things, but I guess I don't expect those same people to park their cars and follow me into Costco and agitate me with their carts.

Do all the people with awful cart etiquette shop at Costco or is it just that the carts are colossal so it seems worse than it is?

Last Saturday I went to Costco in Lehi. It must have been substandard IQ day that I didn't know about but I have never been so annoyed by people and their carts in all of my life!

As I'm walking in the door there are at least 6 women with their carts jutting out in all directions looking at the stuff they have lined up against the wall. Right then I wanted to scream "hello, there are like 5 billion people trying to get in the door, move". But, I contained myself and pressed forward.

I don't know if you're like me but in every store I go into I have a subconscious pattern that I follow. I don't mean to do it, I just go the same way every time I go to Costco. I guess my subconscious doesn't dare deviate from the path so I continue to blindly follow it. So I'm walking down the main aisle, back to the produce/fridge section and as I'm walking back a 7 or 8 year old kid is pushing his little brothers in the cart and people are literally pulling out James Bond maneuvers to get out of his way. I did NOT move and instead let him come within inches of hitting me, gave him a bad look and continued on my way.

Then I happened into the sample area. I don't think there is a sample of anything that could make it worth going into the madness that is the sample area. I swear people will wait around for a half an hour just to get a free sample of American cheese or half of a frozen cream puff. It's bad enough to have 39 people crowded around a card table waiting for a bite of something but then there are those people who see the sample, leave their cart in the middle of the aisle and walk to the next 4 tables without returning to retrieve their carts. It kind of makes me want to steal their purses or push their cart to the other end of the store.

Also in this same heaven-forsaken area of the store there are those people who are walking along and then make a dead stop in the middle of cart traffic without even slowing down first or gradually drifting off in another direction. I've nearly had to sacrifice my children and my internal organs to prevent myself from ramming someone in the back and chipping off their heal bone with the front of my cart.

Don't even get me started on the circus show that is the food court at Costco. Without fail, there is always that person who tries to push a fully loaded cart while balancing 2 slices of pizza in one hand, a chicken bake in the other and 3 drink cups with a churro in their mouth. I don't like making 2 trips as much as the next guy, but don't try to be a super hero my friend.

And finally, there is also, without fail, that person who is by them self, has one thing in their cart and has seated them self at a table for 8 right on the perimeter of the eating area - and has taken up completely good cart space and a completely good table.

do I have to listen for another 30 years?

2010-08-11T23:18:00.005-06:00

There is a certain person in my life *mom* whom I love but who has this horribly annoying habit. My mom and I have known each other for nearly 30 years now and EVERY SINGLE time I eat with her, at a restaurant or in her own kitchen, she HAS to comment on the way I eat. And, not only comment but say it like it's the first time she's ever noticed and the first time she's ever said anything about it.

I don't like tomoatoes. Never have. Unfortunately for me, tomatoes come on just about everything! I try to be vigilant about 86ing the tomatoes whenever possible but sometimes, I forget. It's not like I don't want to like tomatoes, my taste buds just won't allow it. And people *again, mom* always say, "there is nothing like a tomato picked right from the garden". So, every year I plant a few tomato plants and every year I try a tomato picked right from the garden and EVERY YEAR I nearly ralph on my shoes. It's a vicious cycle I see repeating itself for at least the next 30 years, just has it has for the last 30.

Still, every time I'm with my mom and I have forgotten to axe the tomatoes, she acts like I have just committed a felony. "Oh Emily, tomatoes are delicious, how can you not like them, there must be something wrong with you". Seriously, EVERY TIME.

I'm not a picky eater, I SWEAR I'm not...but I am very particular about eating meat. Some people have no problem chewing meat off the bones, gristle and all - I am NOT one of those people. Whenever I cut into a piece of meat, I inspect it for fat, veins, under-doneness or anything else that looks like it doesn't belong in my stomach, not to mention my mouth. So, every time I eat meat, I laboriously cut away any fat, cut around any veins, stab it with my fork, hold it as close as I can get it to my eyeballs and find only the most perfect parts. I also have a "discard" pile which is generally larger than the "intake" pile. I've always been this way. Again, I don't see this one changing any time soon. I don't imagine there will come a time when I'll just say "oh that piece of meat has veins and blood and fat seeping out of it, oh well", and shove it in my mouth.

And again, EVERY TIME I eat meat around my mom she acts as though this is a new habit I've conjured up, one that she's appalled at and never seen before. Moreover, she proceeds to me and anyone around (which usually happen to be my dad and husband who are VERY aware of the way I eat meat already) that I'm being ridiculous and I should just eat the meat. I don't know what she's complaining about, when I'm done digging through my meat, I always share my discard pile with her.

and the winner is......someone else

2010-06-04T12:03:00.003-06:00

Last weekend I ran a 5K. I ran the same 5K last year (my very first one ever) and finished in just under an hour - not too fabulous. This year I was determined to do better, it shouldn't be difficult considering last years lack luster time.

The race started, I was near the middle of the "pack". I get passed by quite a few people, something I expected since I've run in several races now. I get passed by a few more, I'm still ok with that. Then I get passed by an old guy wearing dockers and a dress shirt who is wearing tennis shoes. I'm wondering where he came from but I'm still confident that I'll pass him eventually given his age and attire. "Just wait until we get to the hills gramps" I think to myself.

I keep running. I feel good about myself even though legions of people have passed me at this point. Then comes the old lady up on my left, passing me. I look at her - she has to be 75 years old! At this point I turn around and see a sparsity of people behind me. There is one middle aged fat guy and behind him the open road!

Surely I can't be at the back, I have to be somewhere in the middle. Hey, I'd even settle for the middle of the back.

I finish the race with a respectable time of 36 minutes and change. WAY better than last year and not too shabby considering I ran the whole time, there were a lot of hills and I'm not really a runner.

Guess who finished last? The middle aged fat guy. Guess who was next? Me.

happy birthday...

2010-05-17T13:51:00.004-06:00

Halle turned 2 last week - I can hardly believe two years has gone by. My mom helped us celebreate on the day of her birthday by taking us to the Spaghetti Factory, the Disney Store and McDonald's. And just on Saturday, we had a Disneyland themed family party. When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she said Disneyland and since we couldn't go there, I figured the next best thing was to bring Disneyland here.

Halle eating the birthday dinner of champions, mac and cheese - hey, she was happy.

Opening the present that Annie got for her...

One of our FAVORITE places at Disneyland is Pooh Corner...I decided to make some of our favorite treats from there. We also had Blue Bayou Mint Juleps, Pizza Port Pasta, Bengal BBQ skewers, Adventureland Dole Whips and red velvet cake...

Halle's favorite things, fruit snacks and Mickey Mouse...

Happy Birthday Halle!!!

new goal...

2010-05-06T20:04:00.002-06:00

Recently I've seen a lot of my friends start something called "a picture a day" or something similar to that. GREAT idea! I need to start doing that too. But, lately I've been looking through old pictures and videos and I hardly have any video's, which makes me sad. I look at how cute they are and how much the kids have grown and I wonder why when it is so easy to turn on a camera and push record that I don't do it more often. So, my new goal is to take 1 video every day - even if it is only 10 seconds long.

Maybe next I'll do the picture a day thing too...

crisis at thirty...

2010-05-03T21:08:00.002-06:00

I'll be turning thirty soon. I hadn't really planned on this being a big deal. I planned on celebrating it like I would any other birthday. I've even started saying I'm thirty just to ease into it and not have it be so shocking and horrifying. That was the plan.....that isn't what's happening.

I think the meltdown started while I was watching the winter Olympics this past February. It's not that I have big dreams of becoming a winter Olympian, I have no skill in that area and I hate being cold. It was the realization that even if I wanted to and was talented enough, I'm too old now.

Same goes for American Idol.

The other day at the store a twenty-something year old guy stopped me by saying "ma'am...". Oh great, I've gone from Miss to ma'am and that only happens in your 30's.

A few nights ago we were watching the Jazz game and at one point they said the ages of a few of the players. I'm older than Carlos Boozer. Have you seen him? He looks like he's 40 and I'm OLDER than he is! If I wanted to play in the NBA, I would be rapidly approaching my retirement years.

My dentist is the same age as I am!

I've nearly reached the age when I can say the phrase: "when I was in my 20's...". I have reached the point where I can lump a whole decade together and it can be considered just a passing moment. The decade before that I was 10. I've reached the point where my life is being lumped into decades.

I'm passed the age of excuses: I didn't know any better, I've never done that before, I'll do that when I'm older, I'm so inexperienced, etc.

All of this is disconcerting, but I think the bulk of the problem lies in the fact that I feel so under-accomplished. Now that I'm lumping decades together I can say that I hoped to achieve more in my 20's, hoped to be in a different situation, hoped to have changed somehow, hoped to be thinner, hoped to be better and stronger in my faith and faithful pursuits, hoped to be things I'm not.

I anticipate my 40's will be better. I'll be used to lumping decades together, having people call me ma'am will be the norm, competing in the Olympics or auditioning for American Idol will be only a distant memory from a decade earlier, I'll get an older dentist and I will have finally run out of excuses.

Yes, 40 will be better!

the easter egg...

2010-04-16T10:56:00.003-06:00

To most people, this probably looks like a normal Eater egg. To me, it looks like the funniest thing that has happened lately. The other day I was fixing the kids breakfast and asked what they wanted - they said eggs. So I reached in and pulled out the old Easter eggs because I was going to throw them away and make some more. I noticed that the carton was empty and asked Annie when she had eaten the last egg. She said she hadn't eaten it. I must have looked confused because she said "mom, I put it in my sock drawer to give to grandma Lori". I said "you put the actual egg in your sock drawer or a plastic egg"? She said, "the real egg. I put it in there because I know socks are soft and it wouldn't break in there and I wanted to keep it safe for her until I could give it to her". I told her to go get it and sure enough, there was the Easter egg nice and safe (and a few weeks old) that she'd pulled from her sock drawer.

daily vent take fifteen...

2010-04-14T14:19:00.001-06:00

I am not a petite person. I don't realistically anticipate that I ever will be. I have big bones (sure those large bones are encased in 23 inches of fat and very little muscle but they're big bones none the less).

The other day I went to this boutique/store to see if I could find a cute and inexpensive pair of jeans. So I walk up to the table and start looking around. I see that they have my size but when I hold them up I see that they are the unrealistic version of my size and not the actual version that someone who has had two kids and whose body has seen better days would actually wear.

So I ask the clerk if they have it in a size larger and she says no. Then she comes over and says, "you think you need a size X, oh you don't, these are HUGE" and then holds them up by me. I told her I was certain that they wouldn't fit and that I'd just check somewhere else. She lifts up the jeans again, tugs at the waist and says "these will for sure fit you, go try them on, they're huge."

At this point, knowing they wouldn't fit, I just wanted to make her feel as stupid as possible so I agreed, took the jeans and stepped into the dressing room.

You know your headed for disappointment when you have the pants 1/2 way up your legs and already you're struggling for your next breath. So I yank them up past my hips, attempt to button them (which just wasn't happening) and assess what I see in the mirror. I looked like I was attempting to put on stylish compression pants, they were tight and hideous. Not to mention I couldn't zip or button them up.

About this time the sales girls (who HAD to be working on commission) came knocking at my door asking what I thought of the jeans. I stepped out of the dressing room (garments showing and fat dimples bulging) and said, "you're right, these are huge". The poor girl was speechless. I don't know if she was embarrassed or in shock that anyone dared step out in public looking like I did but either way, she was horrified.

It's a good thing I have a healthy self esteem!

So my vent isn't actually about the girl thinking that the jeans that were WAY too small for me were HUGE - although, it could be.

I can't stand it when I'm being realistic about myself and the size of my body and other people feel the need to tell me it isn't so. I'm not fishing for a compliment, I understand that I'm not a size 2. Please don't feel it necessary to try and reassure me that I'm not a little chunky - I know I am and I'm obviously ok with it as I haven't gone on a diet or taken up a rigorous exercise routine.

photography class...

2010-04-13T13:59:00.003-06:00

One thing I've always wanted to be better at (honestly there are MANY but this one seemed to be within reach) is taking pictures. It's not like I want to become a professional or even have a business, I just wanted to be able to take decent pictures of my kids and the day to day activities that we do.

So I signed up for a photography class.

I'm so excited because I think my pictures are actually improving. I've figured out how to handle the manual settings. I know what most of the little numbers and letters on my camera mean and I'm really excited to be able to use my pictures in my blog books without having to edit EVERY SINGLE picture!

march hates me...

2010-03-04T22:48:00.003-07:00

I don't know what it is about the month of March but I'm fairly certain it hates me! WARNING This is the longest post in history and is also a pity me post so if you don't want to know about our March misfortunes then just stop reading here and save yourself the boredom...

At the very beginning of last March I'd had enough of the tooth pain I'd been feeling for the past several weeks so I decided to go to the dentist. Not so glad that I did because I left the office being told I had 14 cavities (and yes, I do brush my teeth, I blame it on having been pregnant with Halle). I went back and had them filled but was told that several of them were really deep and that I might need a few root canals - a new experience for me. I wasn't too excited about the prospects though because everyone always compares everything bad to still being better than a root canal, so I put it off.

That didn't last long because in the weeks that followed I had the worst tooth pain I'd ever experienced in my life. I loaded up every single day on 800mg Ibuprofen as often as it said I could take it, sometimes more often. When that would no longer touch the pain I would take the left over Oxycontin from my c-section. NOTHING helped so I finally caved and called the dentist. I got two root canals and finally felt better - for a while.

One morning I woke up around 4:00 am to go to the bathroom and when I looked in the mirror I noticed that I had a cheek the size of a cantaloupe - no exaggeration. It wasn't painful really just this HUGE infection in my face. That is to say it wasn't painful until it started swelling more (as if that was possible) and then it really started to hurt. I waited as long as I could and then called my dentists emergency number around 6:30 am. He told me the office opened at 9:00 but he could see me at 8:30 (gee thanks) or I could go to an emergency dentist.

When I got to the dentists office he got this knife and made an incision in my cheek to try and drain the infection out of it, which didn't work. He tried a few other things, none of which worked and then he told me he would call the endodontist and try to get me an appointment the same day. I got an appointment with the endodontist at 2:00 and went home to wait it out. When I FINALLY got to the endodontist he told me that I needed yet another root canal to relieve the pressure and infection in my cheek and that he would put me on an antibiotic to help clear up the infection.

All of that sort of worked and the swelling went down but even with the antibiotic, the infection never really went away. Every 20 minutes or so I'd have to run into the bathroom and spit out the puss that would drain from my cheek into my mouth - totally gross I know. If you think reading about it is gross, you should try tasting it every 20 minutes for 4 or 5 days. I called my dentist back and said that I didn't think the antibiotic was working, no kidding. He put me on a stronger antibiotic to help clear up the remaining infection. Oh nice side note, the new antibiotic had a warning label that said "causes severe diarrhea" - awesome.

At last I had all of my medical problems solved - or so I thought. About a week after my teeth problems, I started to get really sick and have the same symptoms of my esophagus problems that I had last year. Being seasoned at faulty esophaguses I didn't want to over react to anything (and ride in an ambulance again) so I just kept taking my anti-inflammatory esophagus pills and went about my merry business. One day just after I woke up I suddenly got violently ill. My cure for feeling ill is to get in the shower, it seems to take the pain away, if even momentarily. This shower didn't help. While I was in there I couldn't stop vomiting - something I avoid doing at all costs! I was doubled over in pain and couldn't even stand up straight. I got out, called my mom and asked her to come get the kids so I could rest off whatever stomach bug it was that I had. She came and got the kids and I got into bed hoping to sleep off whatever this was.

Laying in bed wasn't helping, nothing was. I called Preston and told him what happened and asked what I should do. He was little or no help (sorry Preston but you weren't) and worse, he couldn't even leave work to come wait on my hand and foot. I waited a few more hours and when I could take it no more I called Preston back and told him he had to come home and drive me to the hospital. I didn't care if I was over reacting, I knew the hospital had medication that could make me feel better, even if it was going to be expensive - I didn't care. He said he still wasn't able to leave work but that he called his dad and he would come and take me. Great, just what every girl in traumatic pain wants - their father-in-law driving them to the hospital. I didn't care, at least I was going to be headed in the general direction of the hospital. It was all I could do to sit upright on the way there.

Once I got admitted, they gave me an IV so I could interveinous pain medication (praise heaven) and my life was grand again, I didn't care what happened after that - or so I thought. They ran some blood tests, did an ultrasound and found out that I had gall stones that had fallen into my pancreas. My gallbladder was kapoot. Not only that but the doctor said he couldn't believe I was actually conscious let alone that I walked into the ER under my own power. He told me that my pancreatic lipase levels were high. What the heck are pancreatic lipase levels? Come to find out that its an enzyme that essentially measures the health of your pancreas. Normal levels are between 0-50 and 160 is considered high. Mine were 82,000. My liver and kidney levels were also high. Normal is around 50 for both and mine were 5,000 and 8,000 respectively. My entire body was infected and I needed to have my gallbladder removed.

They couldn't get a surgeon to do it that same night so they scheduled it for the next morning. They took my gallbladder out and sent me to the recovery room. I ended up having to stay an extra night because my lipase levels weren't dropping enough and they wanted to monitor me until they were sure my levels were going to return to "normal". Turns out that having your gallbladder out is worse than having a c-section, and harder to recover from.

Fast forward to this March...

Halle got sick. Nothing special, all kids get sick. I took her into the insta-care and found out she had an ear infection and some sort of virus that is making her barf. A day or so later Annie got sick, barfing and all. Luckily, it didn't last long for Annie. But I swear, even the 24 hour bug feels like forever because it feels like you're doing laundry for the next 10 days. Both kids were feeling a little better so I decided to keep my bi-monthly hair appointment and drop my kids off at my mother-in-laws house.

Once I was at the salon I got this hair brained idea (no pun intended) that I wanted to go back to my natural color for a while to give my badly broken hair a break from all the bleaching. My natural color is a really dark, ashy blonde. I told the stylist my plans and she thought it was a brilliant idea. I told her that I didn't want anything with any red in it or anything too dark. I left the salon with dark brown hair with a red undertone which looked NOTHING like my natural color. I did NOT like it but I was determined to wait a few days and give it a chance. When I went to pick up the kids, my mother-in-laws face when she saw me said it all - she was horrified.

Later that night I started to feel sick. I was in the bathroom every 20 or 30 minutes from about 11:00 p.m. on and while I was running in and out of the bathroom the only thing I could think was "I hate my hair".

The next morning, after not sleeping all night long, I called my mom to come and get my kids because I was just so sick! Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Halle is still sick and throwing up so I called the doctor and asked my mom to take her in. Come to find out she has a condition called gastroenteritis, which causes kids to stay sick and keep barfing and having diarrhea unless the get enough fluid to flush it out. Only problem is, they can't have any dairy, juice, fruit or plain water - so all that's left is gatorade or pedialyte. Halle hates both so she's not staying hydrated enough and she is supposed to be drinking between 16-32 ounces a day. She's probably averaged 8 ounces a day if we're lucky. The poor thing has lost so much weight and is SO SKINNY! I called the doctor again and he didn't seem overly concerned but the poor thing is still constantly sick! And to top all that off, my washing machine broke and I can't wash ANY of the barfed on, pooped on or virused clothes!

It cost me $150 to get hair I hate and then have it redone, $75 in copays for all the numerous doctors visits we've made, $50 for all the medications we've needed and my washing machine is bound to cost $150 to have repaired - and it's only March 4th!

*March 5th* - Instead of costing us around $100 to get the washing machine fixed, it is costing us $511.00 + tax! The computer board went out which the repair guy said almost never happens (he's only ever seen one other) and he also said it is about the worst and most expensive repair you can do. Awesome.

lamby toss...

2010-02-27T10:03:00.002-07:00

It's amazing how a game called "lamby toss" (which involves tossing a stuffed lamb up and down the stairs) can entertain them for SO LONG! I'm glad it is entertaining them, don't get me wrong, but it is giving me a heart attack because Halle is standing at the very edge of the stairs when she tosses the lamb down and one of these times I'm sure she's going to toss herself down with it. I wish I were so easily entertained sometimes.

don't shoot, here's a carrot...

2010-01-02T09:24:00.002-07:00

This morning Preston went rabbit hunting. When Annie asked where her dad was I figured she was old enough to get the actual story. So I told her that he had gone rabbit hunting. She looked at me and asked what that was. I told her that sometimes there are too many rabbits and that sometimes there isn't enough food for all the rabbits so instead of the rabbits starving to death, people like daddy go and shoot them. She looked at me for a minute or so and then said "well, couldn't he just take them carrots"?

fat pizza...

2009-12-19T17:44:00.001-07:00

Tonight for dinner I made home made pizza. After it had been in the oven for a while I told Annie to go and see if it looked done. She walked over, looked in the oven and said "oh yeah mom, it's done. It's looking really fat, just like your tummy and that's FAT."

Thanks for the reality check, Annie!

christmas lights...

2009-12-17T10:47:00.003-07:00

Last night we went with Preston's sister to Thanksgiving Point to ride through the lights. They were nothing spectacular but the kids had a GREAT time! We piled some blankets into the back of their truck and off we went.

day six - toffee...

2009-12-16T09:30:00.002-07:00

I have always loved toffee but I have just been too scared to make it. This year I bit the bullet, bought a candy thermometer and decided to dive in head first. After stirring until my arm fell off and then for another 15 minutes after that, the toffee part was finished. I wasn't so sure it was going to turn out but I'm pretty impressed with myself - and it doesn't taste half bad either.

day five - cookies...

2009-12-15T20:03:00.003-07:00

Annie has been BEGGING me for weeks to make sugar cookies. I finally bit the bullet and she was so excited to start decorating them. This activity more than others really tests my quest for perfection and design. It takes every ounce of control I can muster just to let her do it her own way - but I did. The cookies turned out great and I wouldn't have it any other way. She was one happy girl! Even dad got in on the action and turned out some pretty "cute" cookies!

sweetest thing...

2009-12-14T15:42:00.005-07:00

I don't know how it happened or what I did but I have the sweetest 5 year old on the planet! It is no single event or happening that makes me say this, it is just a bunch of constant thoughtful actions on her part.

Today she asked me if she could go outside and play in the snow. Sure. So she got herself dressed in her coat and boots and headed outside to play. As she was walking out the door I told her to "stay by our house". When I looked out the window there were a bunch of kids her age playing on a snow mound but I didn't see Annie. I went downstairs and opened the garage door to see her standing in the driveway. I asked her why she wasn't playing over with the other kids and she said "because you told me to stay by our house".

The other night I had just had a really long day and I had lost my patience. I was being shorter with Annie than I should have been and when she asked me a question I told her to go to her room and figure it out and I'd be there in a minute. Well, a minute turned into about 10 and when I finally made it into her room I found her fast asleep in her bed. She had gotten herself into her pajamas, turned on her night light, turned on her music, put a few books by the side of her bed and fallen asleep before I made it in.

Most kids get a treat and want to eat the entire thing themselves, not Annie. One of the first things she does when she gets a treat is ask if she can share some with Halle (or whoever is around). She has always been such a good sharer. She is the best sister to Halle and is always concerned about Halle before herself. She is always willing to help me do whatever it is I need and she CONSTANTLY reminds me what it means to be loving and forgiving. She is definitely the kinder and gentler spirit in this house. I love her so much and every day I'm grateful that I'm lucky enough to be her mom - though I'm not exactly sure who is raising who.

in lieu of a christmas card...

2009-12-12T12:01:00.002-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

day four - cake balls

2009-11-28T19:50:00.003-07:00

I came across this recipe from one of my favorite new websites http://www.bakerella.com/. All the reviews said they were easy and delicious (not to mention cute to look at) so I decided to give them a try. These little gems were neither easy nor delicious but here they are none the less. For this recipe I used dark chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. IF I make these in the future I think I'll try something like chocolate cake and chocolate frosting or german chocolate frosting.

if games were won...

2009-11-28T19:47:00.003-07:00

If games were won by who had the cutest fans, UTAH definitely would have taken the cake today. It's a shame they lost but at least I had some moral support from the cutest fans in the league since I have to live in a sea of blue.

funny side note - I got Preston tickets to the game and while we were sitting at home getting ready to watch the game on TV, Annie started complaining that she wanted to go to the game. I told her that wasn't an option but that we could look on the TV and see if we could see dad anywhere. She thought I meant that he was playing IN the game. It wasn't until several minutes in that she finally asked which number he was and I told her we should look for him in the stands.

day three - thankful turkey

2009-11-25T15:29:00.004-07:00

I was trying to come up with a little craft that Annie could do while she was waiting for dinner to get finished tomorrow and I came up with these little "thankful turkeys". Annie cut out the feathers and I did the head and then we wrote what we were thankful for on each feather. I think they turned out pretty cute and they were SO EASY! I also thought I could have used a potato but I had a whole bunch of apples just laying around so I went with those. What a cute table decoration too!

funny annie...

2009-11-24T20:42:00.002-07:00

We got Annie's hair cut today. We went to the Cookie Cutters by our house. When it was Annie's turn a guy sat her in the chair and asked her how she wanted it cut. She said "I want it a little bit long and a little bit short. After clearing that up he proceeded to cut her hair. She instantly got this look of sheer terror on her face (I wish I had taken a picture). When her hair was all finished I asked if she liked it and she excitedly said that she did. It wasn't until we got home that she said, "mom, I didn't know that boys cut hair so I thought he was going to cut me some boy hair". No wonder she had sheer terror on her face - I would to if I thought I was going to get a boy hair cut. Then she goes, "mom, if he had cut me a boy haircut dad would have come home and said "who is this boy girl and where is Annie".

Oh, I love having conversations with a five year old!!!

25 things...

2009-11-19T10:04:00.002-07:00

I'm sure most people saw this when I posted it on Facebook but I've gotten in "trouble" for not blogging lately, so I'm putting this on my blog too. They're just 25 random things you might not know about me...

1. I love dry humor. Speaking of which...I'm really funny!

2. I love politics. I got really into politics in college and now I'm a junkie. Not only do I love it but I'm always right.

3. I can't speak in any foreign accent. When I try I sound like I have a mental disability.

4. When I was in college I wore a size 9 shoe. After I had my first daughter my feet grew to a size 10. Now, after having my baby my feet ballooned into a size 11. In case you're wondering, they don't make cute shoes in size 11.

5. I am into homeopathic remedies. I haven't sworn off modern medicine and doctors but my kids aren't immunized and I think everyone should have a bottle of silver on hand.

6. I wish that people would randomly drop treats off on my doorstep. Maybe I would like to actually know who it was that was bringing them to me so I would feel comfortable eating the treats but how fabulous would it be to have people just show up with a plate full of treats?

7. I'm just not sensitive at all. I don't believe in sugar coating things. If you feel a certain way - say it. People just need to grow thicker skin.

8. I like old movies and music. Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, The Letterman, Doris Day, Bing Crosby - all good artists. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Snowball Express, Holiday Inn, Apple Dumpling Gang, The King and I, Breakfast at Tiffany's - all good movies!

9. I am awesome at parallel parking. I don't know what it is and how it happens but I can fit any car into any space and end up 2 inches away from the curb on the first try. I impress myself with that talent all the time.

10. I would secretly like to be a journalist, scratch that, an editorial columnist. I want people to hear what I have to say not write about what someone else is thinking.

11. I am attracted to geeky guys (except my husband, he's AWESOME and not geeky at all). I would totally date Ross from Friends.

12. I hate war movies. My husband loves them. Therein lies the conflict.

13. When I go to Cafe Rio I order the pork salad. When I go to Chili's I order the Buffalo Chicken Salad. When I go to Paradise Bakery I order the Turkey and Artichoke Panini. When I go to Pei Wei I order the Pei Wei Spicy. When I go to Red Robin I order the Teriyaki Chicken Burger. When I go to California Pizza Kitchen I order the BBQ Chicken Salad. I love to eat out.

14. I like to learn and use big words. My new favorite words are tangentially and proclivity.

15. I have a zillion projects floating through my head at any given moment. I always have really good intentions of starting at least one or two of them - but rarely do. But trust me, they are REALLY good ideas, and cute too!

16. I love bargain shopping. I don't buy anything unless it is on sale and if it is more than $10 then I probably won't buy it. I'm really good at finding deals.

17. I wish I could play the guitar.

18. I worked at Thanksgiving Point on the beverage cart at the golf course for 2 years. It was a great job and I love golfing. I wish I got to play more but children and golfing are not cohesive.

19. If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be chocolate cake - that's a food right?

20. I hate swimming in the ocean. I like being near the ocean but not actually IN there.

21. I have a series of strange, non life threatening disorders - one of which is costalcondritis which is the inflamation of the cartlidge around the ribs.

22. I love Disneyland. It is a newer obsession of mine. In the last 3 years I have been 14 times.

23. I am a horrible example to my daughter. I am constantly telling her not to say words like stupid, hate, idiot and dumb yet my top 4 most uttered words are stupid, hate, idiot and dumb.

24. Before I got pregnant with Halle I had ZERO cavities. After I had her I had 16 cavities. And YES, I brushed my teeth.

25. I love to garden but I'm awful at it and I kill everything I try to grow!

let me in...

2009-11-18T16:57:00.003-07:00

I don't understand parents when they say that their kids don't like to get in the tub. Mine have the exact opposite problem. Annie would take a bath 3 times a day if I would let her and Halle is following suit. I wish that that last sentence had said "is following IN a suit" becuase this is what I found the other day...

day two - breadsticks...

2009-11-05T12:49:00.003-07:00

I know that to some people (ok, most normal people) breadsticks probably wouldn't be considered a craft. But, I spent so much time making 120 breadsticks from scratch yesterday that I didn't have time to do anything else, so I'm counting it!

I also didn't think this whole 30 day craft thing through completley because I failed to remember that I would be immersed in preparations for Super Satruday this coming Saturday. So, I'm probably going to be craftless until Sunday or Monday. But after that, it'll be 30 crafts in 30 days-ish!!!

day one - christmas tags...

2009-11-04T09:50:00.003-07:00

Well, I thought I would start out with something easy and make gift tags. It was NOT easy! Coming up with all the ideas was horrible, getting all the supplies from every corner of my house took forever and at the end of it all, my kitchen looked liked a hurricane had blown through - all for these "simple" little gift tags. Hopefully today's craft (once I decide what it should be) will be less difficult. Happy Crafting!

30 days...

2009-11-03T12:10:00.003-07:00

I've recently decided that I needed to "do more" with my days even though I'm not exactly sure what I meant by that. So in an effort to "do more" I shut down my card business and figured that could wait until the kids were older and in school. Just doing that alone has given me a lot more time to spend with the kids and more time to do things that I want and need to do. I took up baking or more specifically, bread making and have been making about 8 batches of bread items a week. We've had pizza, cinnamon rolls, breadsticks, rolls, artisan breads and more. I love to sew and decided I needed to do more of that, so this summer I made my kids some skirts to wear around the house and to church. All of this "activity" has been fun but there is still more I want to do. I'm giving myself 30 days and I'm calling my goal: 30 crafts in 30 days-ish. I can't promise that all of them will be cute or worthwhile but I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

BEST email I've gotten in YEARS...

2009-09-16T09:21:00.000-06:00

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can
think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell
my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves
me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-That's enough, Nickelback.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose
not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all
know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards
or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first
saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting
90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little
bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the
only one who really, really gets it.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to
finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",
all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod
and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a ---- from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.

- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu'
to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an
overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their
profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got
the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if
I do!

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring
would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be
a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people
watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will
they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't
watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and
leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and
goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone
and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she
hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light
internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still
not know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I’d bet my --- everyone can find and push the Snooze
button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time
every time...

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and
the link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw
they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,
someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think
about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people
eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by
myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard
before dinner.

favorite new website...

2009-09-14T09:15:00.002-06:00

Warning, this website can suck away hours of your life without you even realizing it. Another warning, some of the captions can be a little PG-13 rated but other than that, I've found my favorite new time waster! http://www.jakeoftheweb.com/

4 for 4...

2009-09-12T23:07:00.004-06:00

As I said in my previous post, Halle is a MAJOR bonk face. I just took a picture of her latest bonk. WARNING in one of the pictures she looks dead. She's not she just didn't like the flash. The bonk on her forehead is from 3 days ago, the cut on her eye is from 2 days ago, the black eye is from yesterday and the bonk just under her eye is from tonight.

I SWEAR I don't beat my child although I'm a little worried that if CPS saw her right now they might wonder.

Ok and now that I'm looking at the pictures, these make her look worse than she actually does but SERIOUSLY, can we just go a DAY without having a major bonk? My poor baby :(

mom I want to marry...

2009-09-12T18:18:00.002-06:00

Today we were in the car and Annie goes "mom you know which man I love the most? Well, it's daddy but you know what man I love the most thats on a ride? Indiana Jones. I think I want to marry him." Oh by the way, she's never seen Indiana Jones before...where does she get this stuff?

and this bonk makes #973...

2009-09-10T22:37:00.003-06:00

I'm going to TRY and compile an injury list for Halle in her short 16 months of life. I can only remember the "major" injuries, the small ones occur too often for me to try and remember those.

-fell off the bed in our bedroom
-sliced her finger on the heat vent
-fell off the bed at my aunts house
-fell down the stairs
-fell off the bed
-fell into the corner of the hutch and bonked her gums off
-fell down the stairs
-bonked her teeth out on the driveway while I was holding her hand
-fell into the buffet and bonked her face off in Jackson Hole
-got the biggest goose egg I've ever seen by falling into the corner of a piano
-slided her eyebrow in half when she fell onto the pot lid she was carrying around

The saddest part of this whole list is that she is actually a very well supervised child...can you imagine if she weren't? Poor Halle bonks her head at LEAST 2 or 3 times a day I always just pray that there isn't going to be any permanent damage - so far, so good (knock on wood). I really love that little bonky face though!

my feet felt like 40 pound weights...

2009-09-08T22:00:00.006-06:00

but I finished. I know it was only a 10k and people who run do twice that distance on a daily basis but for me, it was a big deal. I LOATHE running, I hate it. I would rather chop off my knee caps so "training" for 6.2 miles was quite an accomplishment. Funny thing is, now I actually enjoy a 2 or 3 mile run.

This last weekend my friend Kathryn and I ran the Swiss Days 10k. I felt pretty good until about mile 5 1/2 when my feet suddenly felt like they weighed 40 pounds each and I wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor.

My very most favorite part was looking toward the finish line and seeing Annie jumping up and down waiting for me to cross. When I finished she ran up to me and said "mom I was so proud of you, I had tears on my face". Who wouldn't be proud of themselves after that???

Oh and I would just like to say that the water on my shirt is rain NOT sweat and that this picture was taken AFTER the race. Why I'm showing everyone the orange in my cup...I still don't know.

quotes...

2009-08-31T23:15:00.004-06:00

I've been looking for a good quote for my 2009 blog book. I don't know if I've found "it" yet but I've come across several quotes that I like:

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind". ~Dr. Seuss

"One of life's greatest myseteries is how the boy who wasn't good enough to marry your daughter can be the father of the greatest grandchildren in the world".

"Your children will become what you are, so be what you want them to become".

"If I had my child to raise over all again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger paint more and point the finger less.
I'd do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging". ~Diane Loomans

"Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with a grateful hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that whatever place you have been, you may say that you lived happily." ~Roman Philosophy

obviously I looked for my shoe in the...

2009-08-25T22:42:00.003-06:00

One of Halle's latest "hobbies" is to take things from one location and put them in another location. I have found one shoe in the bedroom and the matching shoe in the garbage can. I have found socks, CD's, a camera, money, papers, toys, kitchen utensils, you name it, in the garbage can. I literally have to follow behind her and pick up after her path of destruction. If I don't keep my eyes on her 24/7 whatever she is carrying or playing with will be lost for good.

A few weeks ago my sister-in-law was at my house and when she was packing up to go she could NOT find her shoe. We looked EVERYWHERE we could think of and couldn't find it anywhere. So she left my house, stopped at the gas station and drove home without her shoe. As she was leaving she told me to bring her the shoe when I found it.

I forgot about the shoe until a few days later when I finally found it IN THE CROCK POT!!! Halle had opened the cupboard, taken off the lid to the crock pot and shoved in the shoe. If she had been playing with my shoes, they never would have fit in there :)

what do you call someone who eats all the ice-cream...

2009-08-24T22:30:00.002-06:00

The kids and I are in Jackson Hole with my parents. So while here we went to the grocery store and one of the things we picked up was DELICIOUS Rocky Road ice cream. It lasted all of 30 seconds and so today we decided to go get some more. After we got the ice cream I told Annie that I was going to eat it all and not share. My mom said "she's a pig isn't she Annie". Annie got all sorts of upset and said "NO, she's a raccoon grandma". I guess raccoons don't share any of their food!?!

what did you do this weekend?

2009-08-17T13:33:00.002-06:00

If it is true that bad luck happens in threes I better go get a bunch of lottery tickets because I'm due some good luck any minute now.

This Friday was my brother-in-laws wedding which was great. They had their reception at an art studio which meant they had to have valet parking because there was NOWHERE to park. I got there before the valets (and before anyone else for that matter) and so I had to find my own place to park. I pulled around the back to a parking lot, saw that there were some reserved spots with signs, some reserved spots with painted numbers and about 4 spots with nothing - so I parked there. The wedding reception got over, my feet were bleeding, the kids were crying, my hands were full of stuff. I walked out into the rain to unload everything into the car - and it was gone. Since I've been known to lose my car more than once, I head back inside, walked back out the way I came in the first time and still, no car. So I went up to Preston and said "either my car has been towed or stolen. I really hope it has been stolen". Sure enough, it had been towed. So 2 hours and $150 later, we got my car out of the impound lot and headed home with even bloodier feet, tireder kids and rainier rain.

Saturday I sat down to the computer to check the bills and the bank account balance. When I opened up our account I noticed that the account had -$103.00 (which wouldn't be unheard of for us except that Preston had just been paid a week before). So I look into the details of the account and notice that the guy I rented my camera lens from had withdrawn $900.00 instead of $90.00 - which means that not only do we have no money for the next 3-5 days, we also have a few hundred dollars in overdraft charges.

Sunday, I'm laying in bed hoping that Preston will get up with the kids - which he FINALLY does and as I'm starting to dose off again I hear him come in the room and say "GET UP, I need your help, the basement is flooding"! I'm thinking, it didn't rain THAT much on Saturday. But when I got to the basement and saw the window wells looking more like swimming pools I started to panic. After a few hours of dumping the water into buckets and hauling it out to the front yard where the grass wasn't a swampland, we finally got all the water out of the window wells. After we finished that fun task, we started the process of drying the carpet out in the basement. Not only did the basement flood but now our water bill is going to be enormous. Fabulous. Turns out, Annie and her friend left the hose on the night before.

What did you do this weekend?

conversation...

2009-08-15T22:37:00.003-06:00

Me to Preston: Are you sure you're going to love me for eternity?
Preston: Not if you keep getting the car impounded.

bye bye toothy face...

2009-08-09T23:47:00.002-06:00

I want to BURST into tears just thinking about this. Yesterday I was holding Halle's hand and we were walking UP the driveway when all of sudden she just fell on her face. Not her hands or knees or anything but flat on her face. The sound of her teeth hitting the concrete still haunts my memories. Anyway, when I pulled her up, her mouth was totally bleeding and after I got her all cleaned up I noticed the worst thing ever. The front tooth on the right side was chipped and the tooth on the left side was pushed up and sideways. She seems to be doing better today and isn't any worse for the wear - me on the other hand, I'm SO SAD! I'm going to miss her toothy smile. I think ultimately her teeth will be ok (minus the chunk out of the side) but still, it's just so sad. I'll have to post updated pictures when I finally take some.

rhode island diner...

2009-08-08T23:24:00.003-06:00

Next time you're in Oakley, Utah stop by the Rhode Island diner. Okay, nobody is EVER just passing through Oakley so let me say this: make it a point to have a fun family outing to Oakley and eat at the Rhode Island diner.

Several months ago my mom called me and said that she and my dad were driving to Oakley to eat in a diner car. Thought going through my head "okay mom, that's neat". So when we were all in Midway and she suggested that we drive to Oakely to eat there I was a little less than thrilled as I was already starving. But I'm a good sport and I went with the flow.

I was so excited when we got there! The diner car is so cute, it is full of amazing history and the food is WONDERFUL! It really was a great experience and one I hope we do again soon.

recommendation...

2009-08-07T22:26:00.003-06:00

I have a cook book obsession. I love to get them and then read through them. Rarely do I use them but I always have good intentions of using the ones I have. For Christmas my mother-in-law gave me the America's Test Kitchen Cook Book. I was thrilled to add another book to my small collection.

As I sometimes do, one day I was 'reading' my cookbooks. I think I was looking through the books to see if I could find a recipe for zucchini bread. I opened the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook and started looking through it - 3 hours later I was convinced it was the greatest cookbook on the planet.

Since then I have made many of the recipes in that book and they are easy and wonderful. Some of the things I like most about this book are that nearly every recipe has a picture to go with it. It has variations to almost every recipe, making for even more recipes. America's Test Kitchen also tests ingredients and appliances and makes recommendations for making the recipes better - trust me on this one, this book is worth every cent!

Today was a day of firsts for me. Using that cookbook, this morning Annie and I made butter rolls from scratch. Then I decided to try my hand at breaded, fried chicken (which I had to make home made bread crumbs for) with home made honey mustard sauce. All in all it was a successful day of first for me and my new favorite recipe book!

annie's birthday...

2009-08-06T22:26:00.003-06:00

For months and months Annie has been talking about her birthday and turning 5. She's been so excited to be 5 that it feels like she went from 3 to 5 because that's all we've been talking about. Several times a week over the last months, she would ask me "mom when is my birthday again" and when I would tell her the date she would say "no how many days" and I would say something like 67, 35 or 4. Last year Annie was dead set on having a Lion King cake (which turned out to be a nightmare) so this year when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted she said she wanted an Ariel cake (which actually, there is a lot more to that "theme" that involves her Ariel toy - but that's a whole other story). Months ago we started planning her Ariel birthday party. Needless to say, there was a lot of pressure to make this party fun for Annie since it has been in the making for nearly 6 months. We incorporated "under the sea" into her Ariel party so that we could play water games and have some fun decor. So if anyone needs any under the sea decorations - call me!!!

conversation...

2009-08-06T20:56:00.001-06:00

Annie (whispering): "mom I'm still really thirsty, dad is being rude and it's time for scriptures and prayers".

soon to be sister-in-law...

2009-08-06T20:04:00.002-06:00

In one week my brother-in-law Drew is getting married, FINALLY! His fiance (Alisa) is really cute and I'm excited to have another sister-in-law that I really like. There is only one problem with her...she's CRAZY!

She asked me to take their engagement pictures, then her bridal pictures and then their wedding pictures. Um, does she realize I have NO IDEA what I am doing? Apparantly not because she just keeps having me take pictures. Don't get me wrong, I like to do it, I think it's fun...I just feel bad that I'm not better at it.

I'm posting some of their pictures so you can see how cute my almost sister-in-law is and hopefully my lack of picture taking ability doesn't show too much!

toothy face...

2009-08-06T00:14:00.003-06:00

Halle is one of the smiliest people I know. All you have to do is look at her and she is all smiles - toothy smiles that is. Ever since she was months old, she has smiled with her whole face. This only got funnier (and cuter) when she started getting more teeth. One of my favorite things to do all day is to look at Halle and make her smile. If you can't look at that face and be instantly happy and/or laughing there is something wrong with you. She really is such a sweet and wonderful baby!

am I really this old...

2009-08-05T23:52:00.004-06:00

This past weekend was my High School 10 year reunion. At first I was pretty excited to go but as the weeks got closer I was a little more apprehensive. Afterall, I hadn't seen ANYONE (except a few friends) from High School for 10 years and needless to say, the years haven't been kind to my waistline. I said to Preston that I hoped everyone from High School remembered me as a big fatty so that when they actually saw me they wouldn't think that I was "that girl who gained 400 pounds since High School". But as soon as we got there I wasn't worried as much as I had been and I ended up having a really good time. It was fun to see everyone and to catch up with old friends.

We started out the day at an alumni golf tournament. It was really fun and it was a perfect day for golf. Even better, I won the long drive contest and beat all the boys! In all fairness, I did get a significant jump from the white tees to the red tees but I really nailed that ball! I guess if you have to spend your 8 year anniversary with all of your high school buddies, you might as well be on a golf course!

daily vent take fourteen...

2009-08-05T22:53:00.003-06:00

I am a horrible listener. After almost 30 years I have decided to chalk this up to selfishness. If I'm being honest with myself (and now with everyone else) I guess that deep down I just don't care about 75% of what people say and therefore just don't listen to and process the information. Not my proudest admission, but a true one none the less.

Bearing that admission in mind, people shouldn't go on and on about a subject you know I care NOTHING about. Are my not so subtle hints too subtle? Do I literally have to fall asleep while you're talking to me to drive home the point that I don't care about some subjects?

For instance, telling me that you just bought a Kawasaki Z599S means absolutely NOTHING to me so when I say "ohhhh" with as much excitement as I would if I were in a coma, please don't try to clarify yourself by telling me that it's just like the Kawasaki Z598T but with more horse power - you might as well speak Chinese to me. Which, lets be honest, I wouldn't listen to even if I did understand what you were saying.

This doesn't only apply to motor vehicles, it also applies to computers and movies or TV shows I've never watched or cared to watch EVER.

Telling me the plot of the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica is only going to put me to sleep, NOT induce a conversation. So when I turn around, gnaw on a carrot and fiddle with a calculator just to have SOMETHING else to keep my interest, PLEASE stop talking!

Furthermore, when someone says a punch line from a TV show that everyone gets but me because I didn't care enough to see the show in the first place, please don't take 25 minutes to explain all the nuances of the show to me just so I'll understand the line you told. Believe me, if I care, I'll ask.

This isn't to say that I'm completely heartless and never want to hear things that people have to say. If you talk about my children, disneyland or politics - I promise to listen!

maybe...

2009-08-04T10:35:00.001-06:00

Maybe this redesign of my blog will inspire me to blog more often...I hope so! I can't remember what happened last week if I don't write it down.

little secret...

2009-03-22T14:17:00.003-07:00

My kids both have horrible skin in that they have eczema. Both Annie and Halle get really dry and chappy skin, especially during the winter.

So here's my little tip for soft and wonderful skin...

Put 1/2 cup to 1 cup baking soda in the tub EVERY time they take a tub. I had a prescription eczema cream for Halle (because I completely forgot about this little tip) and it totally wasn't working. After the first tub in baking soda her skin was SO SOFT and since we've been doing this, her skin problems haven't come back! Halle has also had a really bad diaper rash and this has helped a ton with that too.

my latest dorkiness...

2009-03-20T08:23:00.004-07:00

If you read this blog, it should come as NO SURPRISE that I like Disneyland a little bit. Check out my latest endeavour http://www.tipsfromadisneygirl.blogspot.com/

what's been going on...

2009-03-19T09:28:00.011-07:00

Ok, I realize I've been a major slacker as far as blogging goes. I would like to blame it on the fact that I've just been so busy or that I'm spending less time on the computer - but I think the real culprit is Facebook. Well, Facebook and the fact that I'm trying harder to have less angst in my life and without angst I just don't have many things to vent about. That being said, my kids are still cute and I'm not totally immune to things really REALLY bothering me.

At the end of January, Uncle Ryan got home from his mission to South Africa. He looked fabulous and not one bit different. I thought he would have an adjustment but he seemed adjusted from the minute he stepped off the plane - it's great to have him home! It was funny, on the way to the airport I was telling Annie that we were going to get Uncle Ryan from his mission and she thought we were going to go to Africa - maybe one day!

Also at the end of January, Preston and I went to San Francisco for his company holiday party. He works for the greatest company, and not just because they fly us to California and put us up at the nicest hotel in the city - but that doesn't hurt either. It was a short trip but it was so nice just to get away (kid free) for the weekend. We packed a lot of things into 36 hours and had a great time.

side note...I'm really not 40 inches taller than Preston, it's a weird angle and I'm wearing 6 inch heels.

Then in February we went on Annie's 15th trip and Halle's 3rd trip to Disneyland. I'm telling you, that place never gets old. The more I go, the more I want to go back - it's an illness really. We planned the trip for when Ryan got home from his mission and it was great to go with everyone. The weather was FREEZING but it was still a lot of fun. I'm beginning to wonder if there is a spot at Disney where I don't have a picture?

Other than those big "events" we've just been hanging out and having fun (most days).

Halle is getting so big. She is almost walking *gasp*. She started really standing and stepping around 8 months and has been on the move ever since. Right around 9 months she started climbing the stairs and now she's a big pain to try and corral. She's got 7 teeth is still an awesome sleeper! She goes to bed around 6pm and wakes up around 8am but rarely naps during the day. She has got the wildest hair of any child I've ever seen. On the back of her head she has 2 callics that go opposite directions and that makes her fine hair stand straight up on the back of her head. Believe me, no amount of gel or mousse can tame that head. Her favorite things to do are spit and growl. If you try to coo at her, you'll get a big face full of spit. She can also say ma ma, da da and ba ba - though I'm not exactly sure she knows what she's saying. I took her to the insta care for her first ear infection last weekend and she weighed in at 18 pounds, she is a thick child! She is so much fun and such a great addition.

Annie is going through a crooked phase right now! She is obsessed with things being straight and not crooked. Her pants are crooked, her socks are crooked....and on and on. If she feels that one thing is even slightly crooked, she'll throw a fit and take whatever the cluprit is off. This has made getting dressed a real treat! I finally decided to let her wear whatever she wants from her head to her toes. So if you run into Annie on one of her especially "cute" looking days, just please try to notice that at least nothing is crooked. All of this crooked-ness has resulted in her wearing shorts and flip-flops for the last 2 months even on less than warm days. I just tell her "you can wear whatever you want, I just don't want to hear about it". So on the one day that she had worn flip flops and a short sleeved shirt and it snowed she walked around looking happy as a clam because nothing was crooked and I was happy because I didn't have to hear about it! Other than that Annie has been so much fun! She is such a fabulous big sister. I keep waiting for things to change and for her to start caring about Halle going in her room and messing up her toys or for her to get jealous or something but she just loves Halle so much and is such a big helper.

daily vent take thirteen...

2009-01-14T09:34:00.005-07:00

Whoever invented email was a genius - wasn't that Al Gore? Oh wait, he invented the Internet. I digress. Email is the greatest invention since sliced bread.

One of the reasons I like email so much is because it saves all those horrible pleasantries that you have to go through when you make a phone call. You don't have to ask how the kids are, what's new with the family and hear about the latest happenings in a persons life that, lets face it, we could all go without hearing every time we talk to someone. Email is strait forward and to the point. Only the most pertinent information gets included. Then, if you care to ask the questions like how are the kids and the dog and the diet going - you're free to do that.

Probably the greatest thing about email is that you don't have to suffer through the long goodbyes. You don't have to figure out how to end the conversation and get on with your life. You just put sincerely, love, thanks or whatever compels you at the moment and it's over with. In case you can't tell, I love email.

As with all things wonderful, there has to be a down side and I found it - email forwards.

This problem tends to stem from people 50+ who are just jumping on the technology bandwagon and think everything contained in an email is either true and/or worthy of passing on. Some of the more popular forwards seem to be the ones that have "cute" little animated pictures of animals or babies with inspirational sayings. Even more popular are the power point slide shows with music and glitter text so that you really get the message. All of this is supposed to show the recipient how much the sender really cares. Never mind that you're just another name on a batch email list and now your inbox is cluttered with an extra 4MB of stuff.

Another, and probably the most annoying kind of email forward is the ever popular petition. If you add your name to the list and then forward it on to your entire contact list then abortion will be obliterated or some company will donate $1 for every name on the list or some little boy in Tennessee will miraculously be healed of some never before heard of disease. Has anyone ever stopped to think how ridiculous this notion is? First of all, who is going to "collect" the information and turn it in once it has circulated the world 12x over? Secondly, who is actually going to take serious action based on a forwarded email?

Furthermore, is anyone actually compelled by the ending of every single email forward that tries to guilt you into forwarding the email on? "Forward this to 5 people in 5 minutes and 5 wishes will come true". Or "if you've felt as touched by this as I have, why be selfish and keep the warm feeling to yourself. Pass it onto 20 friends and give them warm fuzzies too". Or "if you don't forward this email to 10 people in the next 30 seconds something bad will happen to you". Does anyone actually believe that? The answer has to be yes because I can't tell you how many times I've looked and the email has been forwarded to exactly 5 people within the last 5 minutes of receipt of the email.

Then there are the inevitable emails of warning. Not that I don't want to be warned of impending danger but it seems like some people just see the title: 'Warning Pepsi cans decapitate 120 people' and pass it on because who knows, maybe the Pepsi can you have sitting in your fridge could be a culprit too. It seems as though common sense goes right out the window when a warning is involved. There are places to check the authenticity of an email - http://www.snopes.com/ is a great one. So before you forward an email warning me that the new flip flops I bought contain radioactive material and my feet are going to glow in the dark, check just to be extra sure that it's true.

Not all email forwarding is bad however. I do enjoy a funny joke or an SHORT inspirational story. I love email for catching up with friends and family. I love email for doing business and not having to waste $0.42 every time I want to send a correspondence. Just PLEASE for the love of heaven, don't send me a picture with cute little kittens and yarn that says "hope you're having a puuuuurfect day"!

mr. president...(elect)

2009-01-12T21:44:00.002-07:00

I did NOT vote for Obama. In fact, there are legions of people I would have voted for before him. Everything he has professed to believe in seems to be exactly the opposite of how I view things; we couldn't disagree more.

That being said, he is about to hold the highest office in the land, which demands respect no matter who is filling that seat for the season.

I didn't vote for George Bush in either election and I don't agree with a lot of his policies. But I am appalled at the lack of dignity and respect people showed to him and his position as President of the United States.

Therefore, Barack Obama will get my respect and support until he proves unworthy of it. He is about to take on the most regarded position in the world and I as much as anyone, hope he is successful.

halle...

2009-01-08T19:21:00.003-07:00

Earlier this week Halle had her six month check-up (she was actually closer to 7 1/2 months though). She is doing well, crawing early (boo) and everything is just dandy. I realize how blessed we are to have a happy, healthy baby and I'm so grateful that we do!

Halle was 24.5 inches long (11% for height) and was 16 pounds (120% for weight) - poor little thing. Hopefully she outgrows those statistics before High School! She is such a happy and amazing baby and makes me smile every day!

when the sister is away...

2009-01-08T13:47:00.003-07:00

the baby will play!

Halle LOVES to crawl into Annie's room and play with all of her stuff. Luckily Annie doesn't care. I know I better enjoy that while it lasts. But for now Halle is having fun and Annie doesn't care that her room is a wreck!

if all else fails...

2009-01-08T12:43:00.006-07:00

...improvise!

Yesterday was such a nice day that I wanted to get outside. With a baby, that's tough and since the city plows don't bother to come down our streets, it makes it even harder. Annie asked if she could go out and play in the snow. That was fine but I decided I wanted to go play with her. So with Halle watching from the indside, out of the back sliding door, Annie and I built a sledding hill. Well, hill might be too generous a word for what it actually is - mound would be more like it.

It is small and dinky but she still seems to have fun - even though there is only about 9 feet between the steps and the fence and it doesn't take her long to crash into it.

merry christmas...

2008-12-23T14:52:00.004-07:00

I didn't send out a Christmas card this year (too late, too lazy, too much money, etc.) so I figured I'd post one on my blog because most of the people I'd send one to look at my blog anway. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. My New Years resolution (in addition to losing 400 pounds) is to be better at blogging. I sure slacked off these last few months!

some people might call it excessive...

2008-12-09T23:48:00.004-07:00

We just got back from taking Annie on her 14th trip to Disneyland. We were already in Mesquite which is 1/2 way there so we figured, why not? If you haven't been to Disneyland at Christmas, I think everyone should go. It is so fun and they really pull out all the stops for Christmas it seems. The weather was wonderful and the girls were SO GOOD! The only thing that could have made it better were if Preston had been able to come...maybe next time!

thanksgiving in mesquite...

2008-12-09T23:30:00.004-07:00

Whenever my extended family gets together it is always hectic - to say the least. If you've ever been to Mesquite you know that unless you are golfing or gambling, you're BORED. Luckily, I made it to the golf course on Thanksgiving day and seeing as how I don't get to golf as much as I'd like to, I did do too shabby. I think I shot a 51 (and that's even counting my 2 balls in the water, which I usually don't do). All things considered it was a great trip and I really should just be grateful that my grandparents are still around to share the holidays with!

Too many cooks in the kitchen trying to get the dinner ready. I carved the turkey this year, and made the mashed potatoes. Was there anything left for anyone else to do...sure didn't feel like it...

We went bowling the first night we got there. Yep, we did all the fun things there are to do in Mesquite the first hour we were there...

I guess Annie didn't think it was so fun. And who can blame her? I went to help her and instead I made her slide 1/2 way down the lane and fall on her bum...

My cute cousin Meg and her little girl Lily. She and Annie are 1 month apart so at least Annie had someone to play with...

I definitely saved the best picture for last! You know how there is the crazy relative in every family? Meet my great aunt Annabelle. When she walked in, I grabbed the camera, leaned over to Preston and said "nobody will believe this if they don't see it" and snapped the picture. What I think I like best is the expression on my grandparents faces, priceless...

talk in church...

2008-12-09T23:21:00.003-07:00

Annie had to give her very first talk in church a few weeks ago. She was really pulling double duty since that was the same day as her primary program. The good part is, the grandparents didn't have to make 2 separate trips to see her in action.

Her talk was on being a Child of God. I have never written a primary talk before (except for maybe when I was in primary which was like 100 years ago and who can remember that) so thank heavens for the internet. Annie painted each picture herself. She did a WONDERFUL job and was really proud of her artwork.

Side note: she did NOT do so wonderful during the primary program. She spent the entire time with her hands in her mouth and would not sing the songs. Actually, I take that back, she sang the first 4 words of every song and then stuck her fingers back in her mouth. Makes me wonder why we even practiced the songs!

proposition...

2008-11-23T22:40:00.006-07:00

This post in a nutshell: long and boring.

It's always a little scary typing a post like this because you can read any "tone" into it that you choose. I will say that I mean none of this in a sarcastic or malicious spirit, these are just my feelings and my take on the issue.

I can honestly say that I feel like I understand both sides of the argument. I understand why people are for it and why people are against it. I feel like I'm standing on a fence looking at both sides. That isn't to say that I'm ON the fence on the issue, I just mean that I can see the validity of both arguments.

For me, the issue is way less about gay marriage itself and more about the ramifications of passing a bill like the one proposed in California. Two main issues stand out as the most important points, neither of which are the marriage of two same sex people.

First, it seems like there is an underlying social issue here. My understanding is, if Proposition 8, or a measure similar to it, were to pass, it would then open the door for the public school systems to teach about marriage and families however they see fit. Isn't this essentially the same issue as the separation of church and state? How?

Joe Atheist doesn't want his child learning about God in school. Bob Christian doesn't want his child reading the Koran in school. Dave Muslim doesn't want his child learning about Hanukkah in school. It all sounds very reasonable to me...religious ideology and social issues have no place being taught in a public educational setting, hence the reason for separation of church and state. So why then, would it be OK for the public school system to teach the child of a straight couple about gay marriage? Conversely, why would a gay couple want the school system teaching their children that there is only one definition of marriage? Social issues have no place in a public forum, especially where young, impressionable minds are present. Social and moral issues should be taught in the home and in accordance with the values of that family.

Secondly, I don't care what two consenting adults do in their own home on their own time as long as it's legal. But if society decides to change the "definition of marriage" doesn't that open the door for other things like polygamy as just one example? If two adults of the same gender are allowed to be married, shouldn't 1 adult man and 4 adult women be able to marry using the same logic? In most states it is illegal to marry a sibling or a cousin - would that then be legal under the proposed new definition of marriage?

I find it ironic that a small percentage opponents to the proposition , the same ones who are fighting against "injustice and intolerance" are the same ones who are targeting those people who voiced an opinion different to theirs. Isn't targeting religious institutions with hatred and violence for their support of the measure really just another demonstration of "injustice and intolerance"?

I believe most people are reasonable - on both sides. I believe most people just want to have their voices heard and to be respected - on both sides. Don't we live in America where the right to speak freely is among our choicest freedoms? Can't people have differing opinions without the need for hatred and intolerance - on both sides?

funny annie...

2008-11-20T19:03:00.002-07:00

Sorry, I know this is boring and I wish that I had more interesting things to blog about but for some reason my life is so BLAH right now. I guess I should be grateful because interesting blog topics sometimes mean that life is crazy. I'm just typing so that I'll remember the funny things Annie said lately.

Whenever she goes to the bathroom she always calls me in to "wipe her bummy". Today when I headed in there, she goes..."mom, aren't you lucky". And I said what do you mean and she said "well, grandma always says aren't you lucky whenever you have to wipe my bummy...so aren't you lucky today mom".

Also today while I was "wiping her bummy" (side note, this kid has got to have the cleanest intestinal tract of anyone alive, she is constantly pooping - sorry tmi). Anyway, today she goes "mom isn't that so interesting". And I said "isn't what interesting" and she said "it's just interesting mom". I think she's hearing new big words and is trying them out and hoping they'll fit somewhere.

And today while we were walking out of the chiropractors office she says "Mom look at that map. It says we have to stop at Ikea".

and the winner is...

2008-11-15T15:53:00.002-07:00

ERIN BASS!

Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway! There is also giveaway going on here - so you have another chance to win. Also, if you didn't win, I'll be emailing your $5 coupon shortly!

clothing designer...

2008-11-14T10:47:00.003-07:00

Annie is such a girly girl. She is into princesses and sparkly things. She loves dresses and skirts and if she had her way, she would never wear pants again. This morning I didn't have anywhere I had to go so she asked me if she could wear her summer skirt. I told her she could since we were just going to be around the house. A few minutes later she came in and said "mom, can I have some tape". I usually don't let her have it becuase she doesn't know how to break if off in pieces but I saw that the roll was almost gone and figured she could give it a whirl for whatever she had in mind. Usually she just wants to hang one of her recently drawn pictures on the wall.
After a while she comes wandering in with "pretty things" taped to her skirt so that it wouldn't look so plain. I seriously never know what this child is going to come up with next!

funny annie...

2008-11-13T21:45:00.003-07:00

Here is the conversation Annie and I had at dinner tonight:

Annie: mom today while I was watching my princess movie, Sleeping Beauty wasn't talking like herself.
Me: oh that's too bad.
Annie: mom, she was talking like a veenero girl and I didn't hear her.
Me: a what?
Annie: a veenero girl so I didn't hear what she was saying - can you fix it?

Then it occurred to me that in this particular movie there is a game on the DVD that you can play using the remote. Well, she must have gotten to the menu part somehow and changed it to Spanish because when I checked it, Sleeping Beauty was speaking in Spanish. No wonder Annie didn't understand what she was saying.

I'm still trying to figure out is what a veenero girl is???

good for a laugh...

2008-11-13T14:06:00.001-07:00

I've seriously watched this at least 20 times and for some reason, I always laugh out loud EVERY time I see it...

Christmas GIVEAWAY...

2008-11-11T17:42:00.002-07:00

My friend Ashby is having probably the best giveaway I've seen in a long time - she has AMAZING stuff (the cards are especially cute)!

Visit her blog and leave your email address in the comments section and voila, you'll be entered!

explaination please...

2008-11-09T22:23:00.002-07:00

I'm a total dork - technologically speaking, (in every other way I'm totally awesome) but I do NOT understand facebook. I have a blog, I built a website, I frequent a few chat rooms, I can navigate a computer better than your average Joe but facebook I just don't understand! Everyone I know is on there and under immense pressure I finally signed up...but now what? What's the point?

halle...

2008-11-03T20:30:00.002-07:00

I feel bad that I never say anything about Halle. She is getting so big so fast...I can't believe that she'll be 6 months old soon! She is the smiliest baby I've ever seen. One of my favorite things to do is to make her smile while she's crying - she is one of the only babies (or people for that matter) that I know of that can smile and cry at the same time. She brightens my days when I look at her.

She also is getting more mobile. She can crawl backwards and schooch forward (though not very far or very fast). One of these days I know she's just going to take off and then I'm going to have to start worrying about where to find her.

I love the noises that she makes. She makes the cutest little growling noises, it is hilarious. She really is such a good and happy baby. I lucked out again!

holy cuteness...

2008-10-30T11:01:00.003-07:00

My friend Ashby has the most amazing bow blog! In it she tells you how to make your own hairbows for FREE - how great is she?!? She just figured out how to make Disney princess hair clipies - you have GOT to check them out, they are so cute!

Check out Ashby's blog here!

i can complain...

2008-10-29T21:00:00.003-07:00

I always say that if you don't vote, you can't complain. Well, I voted today which means I have the next 4 years to complain (and no matter who wins, I'm sure I'll be doing PLENTY of it).

I voted early today, along with everyone else who wanted to avoid a long line come November 4th, which meant that I waited in line for nearly an hour. But as I was waiting to exercise the civic duty for which many fought and sometimes died, I was struck with emotion.

The people behind me were talking about the wonderfulness that is Obama - and if you've read my blog, well ever, you know I feel the exact opposite of that. But what struck me was the fact that here were nearly 100 people, waiting in a long line to exercise their right to vote too. And in that moment, it didn't matter to me who they were voting for but that they were voting. In that moment, we were all American's just wanting to make America better as we see it.

I blog about this neutral, patriotic moment only because I'm sure it will be a fleeting one. And in a few years, when things are really awful (because how can they be good given the choices we have) I can remember that on a sunny day in October, there was a moment, even a brief one, that I felt good about this whole political process.

which kid is this...

2008-10-28T20:55:00.002-07:00

If my mom couldn't tell and Preston had trouble, can you tell which of my children this is...it is uncanny how alike they look...

yesterday...

2008-10-28T20:33:00.003-07:00

Yesterday Preston turned on the sprinklers to water the grass. I could end the post there and that would be remarkable in and of itself because it was October 27th yesterday and the fact that we still need water on the grass is pretty amazing. What's even more amazing is the fact that Annie ran through the sprinklers at 6:00 at night, in her clothes and wasn't even cold. I wonder how many more October 27th's she (or anyone else for that matter) will be able to run through the sprinklers?

daily vent take twelve...

2008-10-27T20:19:00.003-07:00

I hate it when someone calls you and leaves a message, either on your cell phone or your home phone - or worse, BOTH and says "I'm just calling you" or "I guess you're not answering". Two words...caller ID. I check it. I'll call you back if I see you've called. You don't need to leave a message just to say that you're leaving a message.

Along with that...

Why is it that when you call someones cell phone and the answering system comes on that that lady comes on and says something like press 5 or press 2 and it takes you nearly 4 extra minutes to actually get to the voicemail system of the person you're trying to call. Who actually pushes those extra buttons rather than leaving a voicemail?

I also hate it when I get someones voicemail and they are either way too serious, give you way too much information or are trying way too hard to be funny..."Hi this is Emily. I have 2 kids, I used to work in an architectural firm, I love to read and cook, I'm a Libra and I wear size 11 shoes. My kids are adorable and I have some left over pot roast in my fridge. Please leave me a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can but I have a dentist appointment so if it takes a while, I'm sorry."

If you're going to call me that's fabulous, I would love to talk to you. I would NOT love to sit and listen to dead air while I try to come up with new things to say every 2 minutes. There is a certain someone that calls me a lot (who doesn't read this blog, so don't worry, it isn't you) and whenever they call me they say "I was just calling to talk to you" but then they sit there and I have to come up with EVERYTHING to say. When that gets old (which only takes a few minutes) I do the classic try to get off the phone phrases which NEVER work with this person! "Okay, thanks for calling, I'll call you later...".

And finally...when you're done talking and you've said all you need to say, end the conversation and hang up the phone. Nothing bothers me more than a 10 minute good-bye. My favorite end to a conversation is "okay BYE" - click!

lagoon...

2008-10-27T18:58:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago we my parents took us to Lagoon. I think the last time I was at Lagoon was maybe 10 years ago when I went to Frightmares on a date. And, when you're spoiled like some people and go to Disneyland every 20 minutes, Lagoon just doesn't seem that cool.

Anyway, we went and Annie had a really good time - which is all that matters I suppose. I couldn't belive how much had changed and at the same time how much it stayed the same. I used to think that my mom was crazy for liking the sky ride the best and now I guess I'm old or something but that's my favorite ride too (or maybe it's because it was the only ride I rode ALL DAY long)! We were lucky and had good weather so all in all it ended up being a pretty fun day (though if I don't go back for another 10 years, I won't feel too bad).

When I was little my dad used to tell me that he'd buy me any treat I wanted at Lagoon if I could just hang on to the side of the ride and not slide down next to him. We'd go on it several times so I could try with all my strength to hang on. I never could (though I'm pretty sure I got a treat reguardless). This time Annie wanted to go on the scrambler and since pregnancy brought on motion sickness, my dad was the lucky rider. He told Annie the same thing he always told me...she didn't last too long before she slid over though...

christmas card GIVEAWAY...

2008-10-24T18:29:00.004-06:00

Call it good marketing or a shameless plug - either way, I'm having a photo Christmas card giveaway from this fabulous company. The winner will be chosen from the commenters on the blog. All you have to do is leave a comment with your email address to be eligible. There is no need to enter twice, that won't help your chances and I'll draw a winner on November 15th. The winner can choose from ANY of the Christmas cards available on bizzybee creations.

*if you don't want your email address to be published, please just put PRIVATE at the top of your comment and I won't publish your email address.

BUT...it gets even better...

Anyone who leaves a comment will recieve a $5 off coupon code good toward any photo Christmas card from this fabulous company. So hurry and tell all your friends - time is running out!

*please refer to bizzybee creations website for the details pertaining to the christmas cards.

trip to the dentist...

2008-10-24T15:02:00.002-06:00

I didn't go to the dentist while I was pregnant so I figured I had better schedule an appointment for Annie and I. I talked to her for a couple days before and told her the dentist was great and that he used a tickle brush and that he could probably tell if she had princess teeth or not (ANYTHING having to do with a princess is compelling for Annie). So we got the dentists office and I sat in the chair first and told her how fun it was so she wouldn't be scared. So I get finished and it's her turn. She sits down and everything is great. They start cleaning her teeth and exactly 1/2 way through she decides to FREAK OUT and closes her mouth. No amount of bribery or threatening got to this child. She was determined that she was done! After like 10 minutes of asking and pleading, she finally opened her mouth again once the dentist promised not to clean anymore and once he told her he just wanted to see if her teeth looked like Belle's teeth.

As a side note, I have 11 cavaties and have to go back in for 3, 2 hour apointments. I'm pretty sure my insurance is going to drop me. First the ambulance and now this!

birthday fun...

2008-10-22T10:28:00.005-06:00

I decided to start my birthday off with a bang. So for a little extra excitement I decided to take a ride in an ambulance.

A few nights ago I was sitting at the computer, the kids were asleep in bed and Preston was in Salt Lake working late. I was chatting with some friends and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. I fell to the ground and tried to catch my breath - it was like someone had kicked me and I had the wind knocked out of me. After a few minutes of still not being able to catch my breath I crawled into the other room and tried calling Preston. His phone was dead so I couldn't get in touch with him - so I called my mom. She told me to call 911 - which I didn't want to over react and do, so she told me that they were on their way down to my house. After about 5 minutes of rolling around on the floor in pain and still not being able to catch my breath I called my mom and asked where she was...she said they were still only on the freeway in Salt Lake. I was determined to wait it out and not freak out. Well, not being able to breathe is not only a little bit scary but it is also not very fun. So after 15 minutes, I finally gave in and called 911.

The dispatcher told me that she was sending the medical personnel - and boy did she ever! After only maybe 5 minutes of waiting 3 police cars, a fire truck, fire personnel and an ambulance rolled onto the street - sirens and all. Needless to say, every neighbor within a mile was standing on their driveway waiting to see the spectacle that was Emily.

Anyway, they hauled me out on a stretcher and into the ambulance and took me to the hospital. All of that only to find out that I have a condition of the esophagus which causes my esophagus to expand and push on my trachea and make it feel like I can't breathe.

So my first (and hopefully last) ride in an ambulance was rather uneventful - they didn't even go fast!

look mom, a new dress...

2008-10-16T21:34:00.004-06:00

I'm was sitting at the computer today working on a bunch of stuff for Relief Society and from the other room I hear Annie say "wow, a new dress". I didn't think much of it until she came in the room actually wearing her "new dress". When I finally caught my breath after laughing hysterically I asked her where she got it and she said she didn't know and that it "didn't fit so much" but that she loved it anyway. I couldn't get her to stop curtsying so I could take her picture. What you can't see very well from the picture is the tag that says '3-6 months'. I guess a true princess can make a dress out of anything - even a baby sleeper!

good riddence...

2008-10-15T19:34:00.004-06:00

After over a year of submersion in the political pool, I've finally had enough and I'm out. I can't take another minute of coverage, another one-sided story or another journalists biased opinion. I'm voting early and then I'm done for the next 3 1/2 years!

I'm sad that I live in a country that has come to seem more like communist China than the land of the free as far as freedom of speech and a balanced journalism is concerned. I've heard the most outrageous stories of people being arrested and put in prison for speaking out against Obama. I've watched more than several interviews where the "journalist" asked the most outrageous, ridiculous questions of anyone leaning even slightly to the right. I've watched men and women being unfairly accused and hung out to dry by the media - and I've had enough.

I never thought, especially a year ago, that I would be crossing my fingers for John McCain and hoping he would win. I don't agree with most of his policies. I don't think he has a good plan for America, I don't think he is qualified to lead this country. BUT I think Barack Hussein Obama is evil. I truly in the core of my soul believe that about him. So I find myself compromising my views and standards of what I believe this country is about and thinking of voting for the lesser of two evils - when did it come to this?

I could go on and on and ON about how much I disdain Obama and anyone that in any way supports or agrees with him (and yes, I really do. If you have even one thing in "common" with Obama I feel as though WE have nothing in common). I could go on and on about how evil and dishonest I think he is. I could go on and on about the flattering media coverage he is receiving and how duplicitous this campaign has been. I could go on and on about the unfair coverage Sarah Palin has received. If people said the same things about Hillary Clinton or even Barack Obama for that matter, that are being said about Sarah Palin, people would have lost their jobs, companies would have been boycotted and the media would be in a frenzy. I could go on and on and on about all of my frustrations - but I won't. I'm tired just thinking about it.

"...and by your fruits ye shall know them."

How many more leftist radicals, racist bigots, terrorist and criminals does Obama have to associate with before people see his true colors? I'm tired of the ignorance pleas. I'm tired of the excuses. I'm tired of everyone turning a blind eye to the fact that Obama is friends with all of these people. I'm tired of the lack of media coverage.

Obama doesn't salute the flag. Can you imagine, a President who doesn't salute the flag? Why is he even being considered for President let alone leading in the polls? Whatever his "personal reasons" may be, it is unacceptable to have a potential commander in chief who is unwilling to support the values that made up this country - and the flag as a symbol of that.

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism ." ~George Washington

I'm tired of the games.

I'm tired of the lies.

I'm tired of the selfishness.

I'm tired of it all.

"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. " ~Samuel Adams

8 things...

2008-10-14T21:18:00.004-06:00

Whenever I can't think of anything to blog about I go and steal ideas off of random blogs. Besides that, can you really know too much about me - didn't think so!?!

8 TV shows I love to watch:
The Office
Prison Break
Friends
Frasier
American Idol
So You Think You Can Dance
channel 5 news
Little People, Big World

8 favorite restaurants:
Cafe Rio
California Pizza Kitchen
Paradise Bakery
Brick Oven
Cheesecake Factory
Tucano's
Chili's
Pei Wei

8 things that happened yesterday:
I actually made dinner - chicken enchiladas
did stuff for Super Saturday
worked on the computer (big surprise)
watched a few episodes of The Office
I wore winter clothes for the first time this year
talked on the phone a LOT - but not by choice
I went to bed early
at home most of the day because we are back to one car

8 things I am looking forward to:
having 2 cars
my birthday - I always look forward to my birthday, I just like feeling "special" for a day
the next time I get to go to Disneyland
going to California for Preston's work Christmas party
the first big snow fall
getting our basement finished
checking most of the things off our house "to-do" list (I think that will take a few years)
Halle being able to sit up on her own

8 things I love about fall:
definitely fall food
the change in the weather
College Football
halloween
clothes that cover more of my fat
standing by the fire and getting warm
my birthday - of course
the colors

8 things on my wish list:
another car (sadly, I want a mini van)
-30 pounds
a cleaning lady
money to pay off our debts
free stuff from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware
digital SLR camera
more storage space
access to a private jet

all my funny is gone...

2008-10-14T17:31:00.002-06:00

Maybe I'm like Sampson whose power came through his hair...maybe all my funny went away when I had Halle? I don't think it was as much "funniness" as it was angst for EVERYTHING and the ability to communicate it well. Whatever it was is gone. Now I'm like room temperature water in a plain see-through glass...could anything BE less interesting (picture Chandler from Friends when you read that)?

daily vent take eleven...

2008-10-13T15:46:00.002-06:00

All I wanted to do was sit peacefully and watch Les Miserables - yeah right!

This last weekend, Preston and I went to St. George to watch Big River on Friday and Les Miserables on Saturday. The plays were excellent, the conditions we watched them in were not.

"...do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men, it is the music of a people who will not be slaves again..."

The music of Les Mis is probably the best I've heard. I love it! I love it when I see it at the theater, I love listening to the soundtrack, I DO NOT love listening to the lady next to me sing along with the actors while the play is going on! Why do people do this? Am I supposed to be impressed that she knew the words? Was she hoping the director would hear her and give her the lead in the next production?

Then as if trying to avoid listening to Celine Dion next to me wasn't enough, I had to try not to listen to the dude in front of me explain every nuance of the plot to his ditsy girlfriend. I don't know if it was that she was really that stupid or if he was so into it that he felt the need to tell her what was about to happen. Isn't that what the plot summary in the playbill is for?

posterior decorator...

2008-10-13T12:01:00.003-06:00

Annie has a bin in the kitchen that has paints, crayons, stickers, etc. She is constantly getting things out of the bin and creating something - which is fabulous. Well yesterday she ran across some stickers that I guess she forgot she had. I ran upstairs for a few minutes to grab something and when I came downstairs I found Halle covered in stickers. When I asked Annie what she was doing she said that she decided to "decorate" Halle.

birthday list...

2008-10-03T12:58:00.003-06:00

My birthday is not too far away and some of my family members have been asking what I would like for my birthday. What I can't figure out is why they all look at me like I'm unreasonable after I tell them what's on my list?

-digital SLR camera with a few lenses
-satellite radio for the car & house
-the office season 4 DVD
-iPhone
-monthly pedicures
-gift cards

when 4 year olds get sick of cleaning...

2008-10-03T12:43:00.004-06:00

The other day we were in our car driving home from somewhere and like usual, Annie is talking about this and that while I'm half listening and saying "oh yeah" and "really" just to make her think I'm listening intently. Well, she starts talking about this sign that she wants to color and the more she keeps talking the more excited she gets. By the time we pull into the driveway, she can hardly contain her excitement. She jumped out of the car, ran up to her room, pulled out a piece of paper, ran back downstairs and furiously starts coloring on this piece of paper. Next thing I know she is insisting on a piece of tape so she can hang her "message" on her bedroom door.

Me: Annie, what does you sign say?
Annie: Mom, it's a circle and a line and a kid.
Me: oh yeah, and what's that for?
Annie: It says that no children can come in my room and mess it up because I cleaned it a lot of times and it made me tired so no more children are allowed.

Who can argue with that logic? What I want to know is...how in the world did she learn all of these things? They really are sponges!

trip to the capitol...

2008-10-01T16:16:00.002-06:00

We just got back from a vacation to Washington D.C. for 10 days. We had a great time and our kids were FABULOUS! Seriously, I can't even imagine how boring it must have been for a 4 year old to go from monument to museum to battlefield for 10 SOLID days and I didn't hear one complaint the entire time - Annie was such a trooper! We stayed with my aunt; first at her ranch and then at her house right outside of D.C. We saw all the sights and best of all, got to visit our cousins and friends! We really had a great time and thanks to everyone who made sure that we had fun.It's amazing how just being there, you can feel the history. You don't need to hear one word or see one thing, you can just FEEL it!

When we first got to Virginia we stayed with my aunt and uncle on their ranch. They have 8 horses, an awesome old house built during the civil war and a huge barn on a zillion acres. Annie was in HEAVEN while we were there.

Preston and my dad playing pool (or best out of three). I don't actually know who won...

My aunt showing Preston how to drive the tractor...

Annie was so excited that she got to ride on the tractor with her dad, and even mow the grass...

Annie loves horses but seeing as how she's not the bravest soul, I didn't think she'd actually get on and ride one. By the end of the stay at the ranch, she was riding a horse by herself...

There is something SERIOUSLY wrong with this picture...

This one is much better...Annie at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to measure how much money she's worth according to her height. Depending on the day, I'd take it (kidding)...At the Library of Congress they had a display about the National Treasure 2 movie about the Presidents book of secrets. One of my favorite things was the World War II Memorial. I wish I looked cuter but the memorial was fabulous...One of our good little travelers...Again, I wish I looked cuter on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial but at least Lincoln was cute...The Vietnam War Memorial. My dad thought it was cool that you could see the Washington Monument in the reflection...Annie thought riding the Metro (or underground train) was really cool...Who needs a double stroller?Another one of Annie's favorite things was taking pictures. She actually ended up being really good at it, but she had an enfatuation with taking pictures of her feet. We seriously have like 20 pictures of her feet, 50 pictures of Halle and at least 20 pictures of random peoples bottoms...The Nationals stink and they played the Marlins who also stink, but who doesn't love a baseball game - especially when you get a free T-Shirt...The Iwo Jima memorial. It is a lot bigger than I imagined it being...We met up with our friends Ryan & Ashby and went to Sweetwater Tavern. The food was fabulous and it was fun to see them. Annie and their daughter Brooklyn had the BEST time playing together. Annie had a major meltdown when we told her it was time to go...

Of course we had to get a picture of the White House...We went to the Air and Space Museum by Dulles International Airport. It was WAY cooler than the one at the Smithsonian on the Mall...

my joys...

2008-09-18T10:23:00.003-06:00

Three Joys
1. My Family
2. Good Music
3. The few minutes I get to myself after the kids are asleep and before I go to bed. I look forward to it every night!

Three Fears
1. Losing a member of my family.
2. Inadequacy.
3. Getting pregnant any time in the next year or two.

Three Current Goals
1. Get out of debt.
2. Learn how to take better pictures.
3. Learn more about graphic design.

Three Current Obsessions
1. Sugar Free Italian Sodas (thanks Kenny & Bobbie)
2. Disneyland - I can't believe it's been 2 months and I haven't been back!
3. Dieting. I can't say I'm enjoying it but I am obsessed with it by default.

Three Random Fact About Myself
1. I win almost every single game I play. I rarely lose at a board game or a card game, though I stink at dice so I rarely play those.
2. I love magazines. I'm a sucker for magazine subscriptions. I currently only have 2 (Better Homes & Gardens and Home) but I'd sure like a few more.
3. In case you haven't noticed, I have a LOVE/hate relationship with politics and follow closely what is going on in the world. I feel like one of the only things that can turn this country back around is an informed voter. I don't care how you vote (theoretically) just know WHY you're voting!

thanks for the tag Ashby!