"H"-I-Am Tag

I am... a teacher by trade and by heart
I think... a lot,and if I don't I can't sleep or have weird dreams
I want... to go back to school to get a masters in reading
I have... a lot of other things I should be doing right now
I miss... the atmosphere of high school (seeing your friends everyday, getting a million hugs, studying, hanging out, no responsibilities...)
I fear... being lost in the jungle
I feel... a strain in my heel and pain in my neck
I hear... some crazy rapping on the Electric Company
I smell... vinegar on my chairs since I just de-loused them
I crave... chocolate and pretzels; peace and quiet
I cry... when I cut onions
I regret... not going to prom
I search... for my kid's clothes, socks, and shoes WAY too often
I wonder...what it would have been like to live in a different era
I wish... I knew what I was doing as a parent
I love.... Bill, Billy, Kyra, Tasha...(do I really have to name everyone?)
I care...about the environment
I always...wash my hands when I go to the bathroom (Except ONE time when I was at the movies with Bill and it was totally tense moment and I raced to the bathroom and used a TON of toilet paper because I knew I needed to run back. The other woman in the bathroom yelled something at me as I was halfway down the hall. I can't believe it! The ONE TIME I don't wash.)
I worry...about very little (unlike my mother who worries about EVERYTHING!)
I am not...patient
I remember....smells. A smell will take me back in time or bring a memory of a loved one.
I believe... in Christ (ya ya, it's a song are you singing it yet?)
I sing... in our church choir even though I don't really know what I'm doing.
I don't always... cook dinner
I argue...through email. WooHoo!
I write... in many different styles. I enjoy copying people's handwriting and disguising my own.
I lose... my mind when children whine
I listen... when people talk
I can usually be found... awake, reading or on the computer around 5am
I need... to get to work
I forget...everything unless it is written down
I am happy... when my friends and family are happy

I liked this little tag from Lisa. It felt like a little Dr. Seuss Sam-I-Am tag. Now let's hear from: Sue, Monique, Amanda and Tori if you're still out there. (I'm trying to hit a few cities other than Tempe with this tag!)

Stupid Sesame Street Joke

"How is a chicken and a violin the same?"

They both have necks.

They both have bodies.

They both get plucked.

Ha Ha.

Now go tell your kids.

I've really missed the Internet, but I should probably attend to my children now.

The Highlights from the Last Week...

Wednesday “It’s the end of the world as we know it”
Yep, head lice. They will survive a nuclear attack, along with the roaches. I’ve never dealt with this before. Not as a parent or as a child. Why now?!
Thursday: The guilt sets in
We’ve infected the Lee household too. Not only do all 3 of us (Bill doesn’t share a brush with us) have these boogies, we gave them to 2 of the Lee kids as well. Crap. I’m feeling like a really negligent mother right now. I should have spotted them sooner… but what mom does their 10 year olds hair when it is as short as Kyra’s? I’ll wallow in guilt for a while, and then resolve to be a better parent. I’m grateful I found out the hard way to pay attention to the warning signs with something like head lice. (You know, instead of suicide, drug use, sex, ect.)
Friday: Real Friends
Head lice are when you know who your real friends are. Not that you’re not a friend if you stay away, but holy things that are above and beyond friendship batman! Monique spent something like 2 hours digging through my hair for me yesterday.
Saturday: Getting out
I escaped the infested house today after Mo dug AGAIN! A little grocery shopping, mouthwash and shower cap buying (for the buggies), and some more chocolate. Yep, I gave up the sugar fast because I’m way too overwhelmed right now. Why does chocolate help?!
Sunday: A day off
The world was created in 6 days and then there was a day of rest. Don’t I deserve a day of rest too? No nit-picking on this day. The kids got some relief as well. They got to play with the Lee’s since they are the only people not afraid to play with us L. Thanks for the much needed break today.
Monday: How much does depression cost?
$7.64. By sundown I’ve had it. A stop at Safeway costs $7.64: 2 rolls of cookie dough (one sugar, the other chocolate chip), and a pound of butter (to make more cookies later). I also finished the last disc of Lost, season one. I’m hooked. A little Sayid and about a dozen cookies later and I drifted off to dreamland.
Tuesday: Is the end near?
No live bugs for 3-4 days, very few nits in Tasha’s hair, and I’ve finally made it through all of Kyra’s hair. Hope is in sight. The pain in my neck (an actual pain, not just lice and child induced pain) is at an all time high after all this picking, but Super Bill to the rescue. I think he enjoys jabbing his fist into my neck as hard as he can while I wince in delighted pain. That’s true love baby.
Wednesday: A New Hope
I found virtually nothing in Tasha’s hair today so I sent her to school. When I picked her up all 3 of her teachers told me how delighted they were to have her back. “Class just isn’t the same without her; we’d take her bugs and all!” Crazies I tell ya, crazies. They had checked the rest of the class and nobody got it and they washed all the play clothes as a precaution. How can something so small be so damaging?! Esther was a HUGE help this morning! She came over, with her kids, and dug through half of Kyra’s hair while I did the other half. An hour and a half later we were just about done when I had to go get Tasha. Then Ester asks, “Do I need to make my kids shower and change clothes and everything when I get home?” WOW! She risked it, even without knowing her kids would be safe. I assured her they had played in the “safe zone” and that no live lice had been in the area for days. No worries! Kyra will be going to school tomorrow if I have my way.
And now I have a renewed hope that there is life beyond lice. WooHoo! Friends have called today and want to know where the heck I am. How sweet…I’m missed. I’m totally going through internet withdrawals and I think it’s worse than sugar withdrawals. That’s probably why I’ve turned to my good friend Chocolate, who can’t play host to any head lice, for comfort and sympathy. I’ll have to give him up again when the weekend is up. Anyway, I have started making plans for the weekend, which involve people other than my immediate family. Not that I don’t love them, but a week of only them is making me a bit insane. I’m looking forward to other people. Plus, I have a date to watch a friend’s kid tomorrow and she has the internet!!! I’ll be watching the kids at her house no doubt.
Thursday: Stupid Desert Marigold!!!
We tried to send Kyra to school today. Mostly because her teacher had called twice and was hoping she could come in because she was sorely missed. When she got there they had to get the lice certified inspector to check her head and, of course, she found some eggs. DUH! I could have told you that. But even the letter that the school sent home said that “no-nit” policies were not necessary. After being really pissed off, lots of tears from Kyra, and a new comb was purchased from Walgreens, I got it back together. (A little) That stinkin’ comb really worked! Where have you been egg comb and nit comb?! Oh how I love you, let me count the ways. (If anyone gets these little boogies, I’ve got the goods.)
I was still annoyed on my way to pick up Tasha (mostly at Kyra who can’t seem to follow simple instructions) when Bill called me. I was pretty snippy when he asked how I was doing. “How the BLEEP do you think I’m doing?!” I think I thought some worse things too, but that’s just because I was late for pick-up, cranky with Kyra, and achey in the neck and foot. (I'll make up with him later) Today didn’t look like there was much hope to be found. Until…
I watched Crystal’s kids for her while she went to have lunch with Jared. The kids frolicked outside where I didn’t have to look at them. (Mine, not hers. Tasha layed into me as soon as I saw her. Lame kids!) I got to use their internet. WHEE! Connection with friends. Life goes on. People outside my home exist. Life is good. But it gets better! Brandon crawled up to me about a half an hour after he got up and paused. He gave me 2 distinct looks: the first was “dude, you’re not my mom but you’re sitting at her computer”; the second look was, “that’s cool, I like you too.” The second look came with a sly smile because that kid just doesn’t have strong emotional responses. (Except maybe the screaming he saves for the middle of the night for his mother.) Then later Ethan ran in from outside (Crystal had Brandon asleep in her arms) and snuggled up to me on the couch and fell asleep. What’s up with that?! I can’t remember the last time either of my kids did that! In fact, I don’t know that Tasha has EVER done that. Kyra was maybe 2. Ethan earns the sweetest boy EVER award for yesterday.
Friday: Back in Business
Crystal checked Kyra’s head for me yesterday and could find nothing. Yippee, but I’ll still be checking and combing once or twice a day until school on Monday. I’ll have to check and comb through Tasha’s head today which she has already refused to let me do. Bummer. I shampoo-ed the couch and chairs last night so they look all pretty and are lice free. More laundry. There’s some DQ in the freezer waiting for me. I get to go to Costco. Life goes on…

NTS: Change Password to GMail Account

I have such funny friends. If I could remember a new password, I might change it. But for now I'll have to hope she doesn't mess with me too bad :) I needed a laugh today. Good for Crystal.

in no blog land

Hi, my name is Helena and I can't blog anymore, blah blah blah. Just kidding. This is Crystal and I'm blogging a post for Helena. She doesn't have internet access right now (I won't go into the sordid details - she can do that later) so she won't be blogging again until sometime next week. One of the great things about having friends come over to your house and check their e-mails or write a post is that their password stays in your computer and you can then be evil and post on their blog. Just messing with you again. I'm sure H will delete this post tomorrow when she comes over to my house and sees that I screwed up her blog but for now I say . . .



Nah, nah, nah, naaaaah, naaaah! You can't do anything about it since you can't get on the internet and I can. Hee hee! It's fun to be bad sometimes!!!



Love,

Your very good friend (don't be mad at me), Crystal

Crazy Dancing Lady Liberty!

If you drive in the Mill and Southern area, you know what I'm talking about. Tax season brings out the crazy dancing Liberty. And I really can't say Lady Liberty, because it's not always a lady. That is disturbing. I will say that the chic twirling the batton was entertaining to say the least. It made sitting at the light bearable.

Toothpaste and Doctor Burt

(Warning: the following contains explicit details of how to remove a massive zit from your face. It is not for the faint hearted.)

Sunday morning, as I was putting on my makeup for church, I noticed that I was developing quite a welt on the side of my nose. It wasn't the kind that you get because something bashed you and now it was swelling, it was the kind that comes because your face is breaking out, again! I could also tell that it was the kind that was going to hurt. You know, the kind that when you touch it pain shoots through your veins and you want to yelp, "holy mother of all things evil, what was that!?!" But at this point it was only a bump, no redness or puss or anything like that.

That evening when I washed my face the pain began. And I have to tell you it is impossible to blow your nose without pushing or at least rubbing the zit that is on the bridge of your nose. And everyone knows that after you wash your face you have bogeys that you have to blow out or you won't be able to sleep because you have a stuffed up nose. So, "holy mother of all things evil, that zit hurts!" To which point Bill kindly notes that it should have it's own time zone or something equally as insulting. At this point it is just red and irritated and throbbing in pain. Nothing will help.

Monday morning I wake up early (again). The whole house of lazy schooless and workless people are in slumber as I trek to the bathroom. Aargh. Worse than ever, but now I can do something about it. Poke, pop, squirt, ooze... do anything to get that massive mound of gross puss off my face. And then I slapped a little toothpaste on it. Yep, that's right, toothpaste. It has to be the paste kind, not gel because the gel will not dry up. I believe the theory here is that as the paste is drying up it sucks out the rest of the liquid in that massive zit. I don't know the science behind it, but it stinkin' works! The added bonus is that your face smells like minty fresh breath.

After my family woke up I had to abandon the toothpaste because it just isn't worth it to have your children and husband make fun of your toothpaste nose. Not nice. Back to the bathroom for more work. Seriously, it's still pretty big, but there is nothing left to squeeze out without inflicting so much pain that I will fall faint on the floor and have to be rushed to the ER having bashed my head open on the sink. And I certainly wouldn't want that to happen because then all the nurses would be saying, "Did you see the massive zit on that lady's nose? She didn't faint, the thing must have pulled her over!"

So I cleaned it up and rollered on some of Doctor Burt's Herbal Blemish Stick. STING! "Holy mother of all acidic feeling ointments!" But, no pain, no gain, right? This stuff really does work. Sometimes it makes the appearance of said zit look redder than it was before, but I think that's because it's drying up the area and pulling the blood to the surface. I apply this several times before I try to hide the area with make-up that doesn't really stick because the mound is just too great.

Monday is spent trying to avoid letting people see the left side of my face. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to situated people to your right. I also reapplied the blemish stick and cover make-up several times. I'm telling you, this baby was a monster!!!

Monday night, after the monsters of this house were in bed and could not poke fun at my nose, I went through the toothpaste process again. I'm not sure, but I think the mint also provides a little pain relief as well as sucking out the liquid.

By Tuesday morning the gigantic erupting volcano had reduced itself to a small mound. Several slatherings of the blemish stick and a bit of cover-all did the trick. Sure it's a bit pink under there, but I don't have to tilt my head to the side anymore. I think I only did the touch up once that day. No more need for toothpaste, but any chance I get Dr. Burt is drying that baby out.

Now it's Wednesday morning and all is well. Flat and dried up, there is a bit of dry skin that will soon flake off, probably with the make-up that still needs to hide the pinkness. But at least it's not a massive welt that needs a zip code of its own. No more pain and looking the other way as people try to pass me on the left side of my nose.

Aah, Doctor Burt and Original Crest, how I love you, let me count the ways...

Confessions

I admitted to a friend today that I was eating ice cream. I did. It wasn't that great, but I ate it all. She was glad that I told her because she needed to know that I messed up and fell off my sugar ban. That's cool. I delight in the failures of others as well. It means that we are all human. So, to make you all feel really, really human here are some of my confessions:

I delight in the failure of others. (not really, I just learn from them)

I haven't opened the mail in over a week. I just keeps piling up.

I avoid phone calls, especially confrontational ones.

I have no idea how to pay bills at this current moment in time. I used to do it, but now Bill has set up some online billing and automatic payments and that is freaking me out a little. I'm going to be the widow that has no idea how much (or how little) money she has.

My van is a mess. A big mess. A pigsty on many days. There are strange colored food particles in the rut where the seats are supposed to sit.

There are several loose DVD's and VHS tapes around the house because I am too lazy to put them back in their cases.

I've lost 2 Netflick movies, only to find them right where I left them days later.

I get mad at my husband.

I will never admit how much money I've paid the library in late fees. I put myself on a payment plan and limited the number of items the girls could check out at a time. Once, when Kyra needed a book for a report, I took her to the bookstore because I didn't want to face the checkout Nazi at the library desk.

A friend said I am OCD about cleaning my sink, but right now there are rust stains in the bottom because I had emptied a tin can and let it dry overnight. I'm not worried.

I yell at my kids, and am not proud of it.

I sometimes serve popcorn for dinner if Bill isn't home.

I recently gave up my ban on rated R movies because I don't have a child that cares about it anymore.

I've broken the Word of Wisdom a few times and had to repent.

I don't get offended easily, but if you tick me off, watch out. (I honestly don't know the last person that's made me really mad. But if you want to know about the wrath of H, talk to Bill's ex-wife or the crazy lady that stole our money in a bowling league 10 years ago. Wow, it's been that long?)

I can hold a grudge. But if you're nice enough to me, I'll forgive you.

There's a load of laundry that has been sitting in the washing machine since 9am. I'm going to stop making myself look bad now and go take care of that.

I hope you all feel a little bit better about yourselves now :) Who's up for a Peanut Buster Parfait from Dairy Queen?

Dude. Get out of my dishwasher!

Retaking Our Bedroom

Today, thanks to MLK and a day off for Bill, we worked hard to retake our bedroom. Over the years, it has become a dumping ground for all things unwanted. We constantly had a pile by the door of things to give to Good Will, the ironing board stood behind the door and fell over often, old clothes of the kids that we didn't want to give away sat in an old laundry basket, and a file cabinet that holds my student's files and other misc. items like a broken picture frame and a Pampered Chef Glass bowl. (Anyone interested in that last item? It was replaced because one piece was broken, the bowl and lid are fine.)

We rearranged ALL the furniture. Vacuumed ALL the floors and baseboards. We cleaned several sections of the hideous wall. I moved some of the pictures, added some candles, and threw out the dead plant. And the dust... oh, the dust! We filled up the full canister in the vacuum with lots and lots of dust. Bill said we were throwing off the ecosystem by removing all the stale air and dust. It was such a beautiful day out today so we opened the window and let the fresh air in. We pulled out the winter comforter, hung it on the line, and put on new pillowcases.

FABULOUS!!! I'm so excited to go hang out in my new bedroom.

But wait. There's more. Our bedroom door has been broken for a while now. It used to stick when you shut it. Then it wouldn't shut all the way, but you could push it hard enought to make it stick. Then it wouldn't shut all the way a little less. Lately there had been a 2 inch gap because the door was so warped. You could push it this far and make it stick, but sometimes it was very difficult to get back open. Anyway, I had just about given up hope of EVER having this door fixed. We finished the bedroom and I left to take Tasha to gymnastics. When I got home...

Drum room please...

Bill fixed our door!!!

It shut all the way.

It locks.

April, eat your heart out, baby. "A brown-chick-a-brown-cow!"

FHE at it's best

Bill and Kyra teamed up last week for a fabulous FHE lesson. The kids in primary had been challenged to lead their family in FHE that Sunday and Kyra felt up to the challenge. Lucky for me, I had not been in sharing time that day so Bill got to help her out. Tasha and I made cookies while they prepared the lesson.

Bill reads from the scriptures, and discusses the concept:




Kyra points out the steps in the Plan of Salvation:












H tries to help Tasha read a scripture, while Tasha continues to duplicate the Plan for herself:
















The cookies:

Some Harvesting

I harvested some of the veggies from my garden this last week. The carrots probably were not really ready to come up, but I could not resist since I was out there. Below Tasha has a beet in her left hand (your right), then in the other picture (the one with the dog's butt) she has spinach in her right hand and a several stubby carrots in her right. YUMMY!

The girls enjoyed eating the carrots like rabbits. OK, the cartoon rabbits on TV that eat them holding the greens and munching away on the carrot. It was quite cute and they didn't even need ranch dip to eat the whole thing!

I enjoyed the spinach with a friend. I have a yummy chicken/pear/bleu cheese/spinach dish that I made for dinner one night that Bill did not care for. I thought it was fabulous and made it for myself a few times at lunch. Things always taste better if you share, so I cooked lunch for April after she brought Kyra home for me. I was right: lunch was delish, conversation was great, and I had grown my own spinach! Whee!

An Edward Day

For all you Twilight and Edward fans, here' a pic that proves that he could visit you in Phoenix, the land of the sun. I took this in December on my way home from teaching one day. It's beautiful, no?!

"What's opera?"

"What's opera?" That was the 4 year old question in response to her father asking if she wanted to watch opera on PBS.

The 10 year answer to the question was:

(Opera is...) "Music and singing that you can barely understand."

What I won't read about while I'm bored

I'm still radio-less at the gym and need something to occupy my walking/jogging/cycling time. Yes, I added the bike this week because I hurt my foot Thursday night and can't really do the treadmill. The added bonus of the bike is that you are hands free and your head stays pretty still and you can read just about anything. Of course, I didn't have anything with me so I was at the mercy of anything anyone left out. Another cycler graciously let me take the paper that he had discarded. YES!

The continued part of an article on Bill Bidwell. (I'll pass)

Classified Ads. Nothing good for sale, and no job openings of interest.

The Apartment guide. Now we're talkin'! There is a man upset because he thinks he is about to be evicted from his apartment for his religious practices. He smokes marijuana in the name of his religion. What?! Let's clarify for this gentleman... you're being evicted because you're breaking the law, duh!

Back to Bill Bidwell, it's all that's left. Did you know that 17 of the 20 seasons that the Cardinals have been in Phoenix they have had a loosing season?! No wonder we love them so much. Did you know we lured Bidwell and the Cardinals here with the promise of a new stadium and then he had to wait and wait and wait until we passed some sort of support of this thing in 2000? That sort of sucks for him. Did you know that his charitable contributions include sending a dozen students to private Catholic High Schools here in Phoenix? Did you know that his father owned the team before him, he died and his mother took over, then he bought his brother's share from him when they were old enough to manage it? Do you care? Bill will, and he will be happy that I now have this knowledge filed away in my "useless football information" folder. (Oops, did I really just say useless? Sorry babe.)

Aah, yes, sweaty newspaper man is finished on the bike and has left me the rest of the paper...

Psycho man beats 2 kids with a baseball bat and kills them. Old news. Or is it? Is this a cycle that is being created by an inadequate system that is letting people with mental disorders roam the streets? Apparently there was another similar situation a while back where a man blew away 2 employees gathering shopping carts at a local retail store. Both of these men were supposed to be monitored by an agency (the same agency) that was being paid by the state. Case workers had been aware that they were off their meds for several months, and that they were prone to violent behavior in the past. Hm, is our system failing us?

There may be 30% fewer tickets sent out by photo radar this year. The trigger speed for DPS is now set for 11 mph over the speed instead of 10. That may just be in the freeways tough, I'm not sure.

Nobody I know died.

Finally, AZ is one of the most prepared states as far as surviving the bird flu. We were one of 2 states that didn't fail miserably in 28 categories of preparedness. My guess would be that Utah is the other one. (?!) I wish I could remember the 4 levels of pass/fail but I believe that they were something like: good to go, needs minor plan changes, needs major plan changes, fails completely in more areas than we can possibly address in one brief. Most states fell into the final category of failing completely. AZ was one step up, let's not get too excited.

The Blessings of Temple Attendance

Sometimes you attend the temple and reap the rewards right away. Sometimes you receive answers to prayers, inner peace, a renewed hope. All these things are great. Serving others, blessing the eternal life of someone that has passed on, and doing family names are all very rewarding in their own ways. Sometimes you recognize that you have a little more patience with your family, a little more inspiration in your calling, or more faith to continue on the right path.

But sometimes... just sometimes... you receive instant gratification in the terms of physical blessings of service from those you love. I left the house this morning at 8am, did an endowment session, attended a baby shower and a wedding, and stopped at the grocery store. When I arrived home at 4pm this is what had been done at my house:

• laundry washed, sorted, folded, and put away
• sheets washed and put back on the beds, all beds made
• floor swept and mopped
• carpets vacuumed
• dishes done, dishwasher unloaded
• bathrooms cleaned (WOOHOO!!!)
• living room dusted
• baseboard caulked
• and the lawn was being mowed

And to think that all I said on my way out the door was, "hey babe, could you put our sheets in the wash for me?"

Experimenting with Color

We have little color tablets that you can add to the bath water and Tasha has been obsessed with them lately. I usually let her take 2 and she gets to discover what the 2 colors mixed together make. A couple minutes after I left the bathroom Tasha called me in a bit excited. I was annoyed because I had just left her and was trying to make dinner. Much to my surprise though, I found a quite interesting site. Tasha had discovered how to keep the 2 colors seperate by using her body as a dividng line in the water. Genious I tell you! Absolute Genious.

(Picture has been removed by author to protect the innocent. Thank you friends back east for your thoughfulness!)

Dear Clint,

Thanks for being a shining example of Mr. Fixit. It doesn't matter that you are a bit OCD and that you were fixing your chair at 1 in the morning. I doesn't matter that you interrupted our card game to do it. I doesn't matter that you were at the tail end of a post-Christmas party at your house. I doesn't matter that you had spent the whole entire week before working on all parts of your home so that it wouldn't be in total disarray when all your friends came over. What matters, to me, is that when the chair needed fixing, you fixed it.

The picture below shows me that your crazy behavior can benefit me in my home. I caught Bill fixing this chair (that has been in bad shape for weeks) the very next day. Or maybe it was the same day, just later in the afternoon, I don't know.

So Clint, please let me know when you are going to clean off your carport, or maybe replace a window in your back door, or perhaps you know how to fix a warped bedroom door that doesn't shut all the way. If you do any of these things, I will make sure we happen by at any time of the day.

Fondly,

H

Swingin' at Desert Marigold

Because you have to capture and treasure each of these moments!

"I love you momma"

That's how my night ended. With a sweet, sincere, head squeezing embrace from Tasha followed by, "I love you momma." I love it when she holds my head in her sweet little arms and kisses my forehead. Sometimes she'll kiss my lips with her winter chapped lips in the morning with her little kid morning breath. This night it was toothpaste breath. She held me tight. She squeezed just right. Then after she confessed her love she became truly repentant. She said, "I'm sorry that I whined at you, and cried at you, and screamed at you." It hadn't even been that rough of a day, but she'd had her moments. Sweet child how I love you too. All is forgiven, just as it is every night when you lay in innocent slumber to begin your new day. I will love you always, no matter what you do.

Tasha(ism)'s and conversations

Tasha: Mom, I can say 3 words now...

Me: Oh yeah, what are they?
Tasha: "Dessert, bathroom, and, how do you say 'famlee home veevning'"
(I miss the old ways she said, 'wizert' and 'bwathroom'. Obviously she doesn't have FHE down yet.)

Tasha(ism): I'm boring.
(She's trying to say that she's bored. I find this one hilarious! She doesn't. I start laughing and she's bored. You can imagine how well that goes over.)



Tasha(ism): That's what I was meaning.
(This is what she says if you correct her or try to clarify something she said. She says it in a very exasperated tone, ususally with dramatic hand gestures.)


Tasha: "Bunny, chicken, fish?"

(That was right after this conversation...)
Tasha: Mom, I want something to eat in here.
Mom: OK, as long as you can get it. (I'm lazy, what can I say?)
Tasha: I don't know what to have.
Mom: You can have some fish crackers. Wait, I mean chicken ones.
Tasha: (she's confused) Bunny?
Mom: Yeah, bunny. Bunny, chicken, fish. Whatever it takes.
(Then she questioned me)
Tasha: Bunny, chicken, fish?
(That's when we both started laughing and she kept repeating it the rest of the day.)

Electronically Ignorant

Yes, that is what I am. I joined a gym today and I can't watch TV while I work out. Well, I guess I can WATCH it, I just can HEAR it. I need to "tune in" to hear anything they are saying, and there is only one TV there that has closed captioning. It is always on sports. Yesterday I caved and became wrapped up in the report. Bill was thrilled. Silly man though, he thought it would carry through until today and it didn't. Kurt Warner is old news now, I've moved onto Lost and think I have 4 seasons to get through before the new season starts this month. Thanks a lot April and Crystal. You guys suck!

But back to my point... how do I tune in to hear the words these people are mouthing? Scott said an MP3 player, not an iPod. Like I really know what either of those are. I know you stick something in your ear, it attaches to a cord, and then there is a little cool looking box or cylindrical object that probably has the guts of the system in it. Seriously, does life really need to be this difficult? I'd take a magazine or something to read, but the elliptical machine (I think?) doesn't have a place for it. I guess I'm stuck with the treadmill.

Someone save me! Is there an extra electronic device out there to be had? One I could borrow just to see if it works for me and I'll buy my own. I don't even know if it is supposed to have an am or fm receiver on it. Duh.

"Fear not, little flock; do good"

I just read that in the scriptures and it brought a little smile to my face. I thought I'd share the joy. If our lives are built upon the rock of salvation and faith in Jesus Christ, then the problems of this earth and hell can combine against us but they will not prevail. (That's H's summary version of D&C 6:34) So... "fear not, little flock; do good"! Doesn't that just give you the will to go out and succeed at something?!

Dear Men,

You all need to get back to work. I am very concerned with the amount of time that you spend, during working hours, blogging and emailing. It has been very entertaining, but I am worried about the welfare of your families. Who is monitoring your behavior? Isn't there a higher-up at your jobs that would be a little concerned that you are spending so much time off-task?

I, on the other hand, have successfully completed the following:

• Scripture study
• Made breakfast and lunch for every member of my family, and successfully gotten them to and from school (and work)
• Done 3 loads of laundry
• Gone to the gym
• Showered, make-up and done my hair
• Read 2 chapters in Eclipse

Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed our banter. If possible, I would like to continue it on another day. But right now I have to get that last kid home from school and possibly talk with her teacher. Thanks for the laughs, challenges, and mockery.

Fondly,

H

NTS: Grapes are Not in Season

No matter how red, juicy, and delicious that big pack of red grapes looks in the frozen tundra of Costco's refridgerated section, the grapes are niether juicy or delicious. Stop buying them! Hopefully writing this down will help me to remember.

Happy New Year, 2009!

As if we don't already have enough women in our house, on New Year's Eve we add 4 more to the mix. Our good friends, the Lightburne's, have 2 daughters (14 and 10) and a granddaughter that is just a few weeks younger than Tasha. These kids get along so well together, in a way that just makes their parents crazy, but happy. We used to see them all the time, when we lived in Scottsdale and Bill and Dave worked together (me too, for a while), but now we are lucky to get together for this one night. It is always a blast!


They come over in their pj's around 7pm and we do fondue around 8 or 9pm. It's always a wonder if we get rice crispy treats or not and the cheese fondue is always a mystery (but this year I think I've got it figured out).

Upon their arrival we quizzed Dave and Sue on their card playing abilities. I had almost lost hope, but after fondue I gave it one last shot. I brought out a couple decks of cards and Wizard. If I didn't play something I was going to fall asleep. Bill went right for Wizard and started explaining. Another couple sucked into the game. Yipee! We'll have another reason to call them up now. (Sue even suggested we leave all the kids at their house and play at our house! HAH!)

A year would not be complete without a few things happening:

• A good car story from either Dave OR Sue
• A good sports story from Bill
• Morgan's fun laugh, usually at herself
• An incoherent sentence from Kendra
• An incoherent sentence from Kyra
• Something getting hurt on Tasha
• Something being tattled by Angelise
• Me be reminded that I am still banned from picking movies
• Sue being reminded that she can't make rice crispy treats
• Their girls being the first to say goodnight and wander out the door with droopy eyes and dragging feet
• The parents continuing to talk because the last 4 hours weren't enough and there was just one more story...

But this is the first year that we have had any good rowdy neighbors. We go outside and bang on pots and pans and scream, but usually we are the only ones. As we exited the front door at about 11:59, we heard a ruckus coming from a back yard across the street, followed by a small spark flying through the air. Yeah, more crazies! That also reminded me that we had sparklers so I ran in for them. This was a fun treat that we've never had before. No burnt fingers, tears, or fighting over anything because there were plenty to go around. The girls were great and the house survived. Until next year dear friends. We love you and cherish you always! (LOVE the haircut Dave... ooh baby!)

Now if I could just get to sleep...

They DO Love Each Other

What do they do when mom is completely ignoring them to email and take down the Christmas tree? They use the vacuum as a substitute. Yep, that's the vacuum at the other end of the bead jumprope.

And here they are making Bill's dreams come true. He actually saw them out there and said, "now THAT is what I envisioned as I was building that part of the swing set." Yipee!