musings

TMI

2011-07-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, wow, this is really personal. I'm not at all sure that I should be putting this out there. Of course, if you've known me for more than 20 years you may or may not already know the basics. Obviously it has taken me a while to get here. I kept telling myself that I just didn't feel like blogging. Seriously, I just didn't feel like blogging this. Also, I only have about a quarter page after this written. It really does get better from here. This is just the biggest molehill we had hit so far and I've struggled with writing the rest. Really, (spoiler alert) this is the climax and from here the falling action is just a bunch of lovey dovey, let's get married crap.

Well, apparently I'm willing to sacrifice dignity for...wait, what is this for? Fame, fortune, no. My "craft", perhaps. Attention, maybe, but as I cringe, I'm guessing that's not it in this case anyway. I guess I just don't care all that much about my dignity. If you could not mention to my husband that I've thrown him under the bus as well, that would be great. So, here goes...

We’d come full circle, back to New Year’s Eve, although this time I was pretty sure I would have a date. I just had no idea how that date would end.

The big dance was to be held at Fiesta Mall in Mesa. The church, the institute, someone… had rented Fiesta Mall in order to keep our precious young adults off the streets on NYE. Of course, they’d gone to the best to dj the dance and our buddy Dennis performed admirably as always. He was there with his adorable wife, Alisa. They had been pretty wrapped up in each other and hadn’t really been on the single scene anymore, so we hadn’t seen them for a while. When we went up to say hi, David and I were holding hands. Dennis was in shock. I honestly don’t know how this could have slipped past him, but he really was surprised that we were dating. I’ll leave that to him to explain.

We hung out with our friends, danced, and wandered the open areas of the mall. Finally, a year later, I got that midnight kiss from the one person with whom I had hoped to share it.

We had a lovely evening and played and had fun. We seemed to be getting closer to each other with each passing minute, which is probably why now suddenly seemed like the time to talk about our feelings.

Oh, feelings. Why do they always have to get in the way? In my mind, we were getting pretty serious. I did now possess a ring that had “I love you, David ‘90” inscribed in it. I thought there was no way I could have a secret from this guy. I decided now was the time to tell him that I had kissed his friend while he was away. It wasn’t really a big deal, after all to quote a famous dork, “We were on a break!” However, I didn’t want that guy to know something that David didn’t.

We got to my house after the dance and sat in the car “talking” for a while. I finally mustered up the courage to tell him. He was upset and I was upset and then we laughed about it and kissed and made up.

Then he told me that he had something he wanted to tell me as well. Deep Breath! Did I remember back when that girl came to visit from Alaska? Um, well yes, I did. It was only a few months ago. Well, apparently there was a little more to the story that didn’t really seem all that relevant at the time. Apparently he may have sort of underestimated the time that they spent kissing. He felt really bad about it and was so sorry, and I cried.

Now what was I supposed to do? I had just told him that I had kissed one of his best friends, but it was when we weren’t even really dating. But of course, we broke up pretty much every other week. But we weren’t broken up when he kissed this girl. What did this mean for our relationship? Top all this info exchange with the fact that it is somewhere dark thirty in the am on New Year’s Day. What drama!

I am about to press enter and put this onto the interwebs like a crazy person. Here goes...

Dental disaster

2011-07-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

I read once (on another blog, whose writer was probably jealous of certain blogs that we all know and love) that "Mormon" blogs are so lame because they only show one side of life. They are always positive and never let the reader see that their lives are not perfect. (If you never read "Seriously, So Blessed" you should look and see if it's still up. I heard the writer stopped. It is a hilarious spoof on the Mormon blog)
I think I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm definitely far from perfect and don't try to appear so. However, I also think, who wants to listen to Debbie Downer all of the time? So I sometimes vent here and sometimes not.
Today was more frustrating than life.
A little history, when we moved to So Pho, we continued to go to our family dentist that we had for years. Things were fine. After moving to Chandler, we decided that Phoenix was a little far to drive to go to the dentist, especially considering the plethora of dentists here.
There is an awesome dentist in our ward. If anyone needs a dentist, go see Marshall Hanson at Fountains Family Dental. He rocks! David went to Dr. Hanson and had fabulous work done to repair some old dental work. He bought their firm insurance and paid about the same that our insurance would have required. It was a big job.
Anyway, I took the girls to Dr. Hanson. They love him just like everyone else does. He is very gentle and kind. Unfortunately, the insurance didn't make nearly the same dent in the cost of Lauren's 6 cavities and Emma's sealant that she needs. So, we had to find someone different.
I searched the listings on the insurance website. The few reviews that I could find for dentists on the list were not good. Most, I couldn't find anything about. The several dentists that I know where not on the list. Frustration! Finally, I found a pediatric dentist that had good reviews and called them to set up an appointment. During the phone call the receptionist pointed out that since they specialized, instead of the insurance paying 80%, they would pay 20%. This wouldn't work for me.
I started looking again. I finally found a dentist that I hadn't noticed before, right down the street. I made the appt. We waited 2 weeks for Lauren to get home from Utah.
This morning we got up and went to the dentist. I sat filling out sheet after sheet of paper work. I talked to the receptionist about the insurance that we have. We had discussed it on the phone. SRP uses Delta and EDS. We have EDS. I'm not sure how this became confusing. Lauren is now in the chair, getting xrays and finding out that in the past 3 months, even more cavities have developed.
The receptionist calls EDS and while they are partners with the parent company, this dentist is not in their network. Somehow, I managed to get their address and phone number from my insurance web site, but they will not pay for the dental work. I pay for the work they have done so far on Lauren, but she still has a mouth full of cavities, Emma still doesn't have sealants, and I still have to go home and find ANOTHER different dentist for them to go to, all in the 2 weeks before school starts. I really wanted to punch someone in the face!

What does it all mean?

2011-07-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

So, I'm back from Utah. Except that I've actually been back for over a week. Instead of staying up in Koosharem for the 4th, we thought that my mom had a heart attack and came home on the 26th. So we've been spending time with the rest of the family that came to town and fighting with Mom to not overdo, when she is a classic overdoer.

Well, I think I will post the next installment of the David saga.

In my family, we have always gotten together with the extended Bogle family on Christmas Eve and then had a quieter Christmas at home and visiting my Pickering grandparents. After Grandpa Pickering died, Grandma would usually come to our house, or even sometimes come to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Bogle’s. This was a big to-do. All of the cousins that lived in town and often the ones who didn’t would gather for a traditional Mexican dinner of tamales and chalupa. I’m not exactly sure where our chalupa comes from, but it is heaven. Start with a base of corn tortilla chips, top with the chalupa (pork, pinto beans, and green chili) and all the fixings, cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa, sour cream. Later in the evening, Grandma would bust out the ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. Every year, without fail, this was Christmas Eve dinner. This year, I had let my Grandma know that I would have a guest coming with me. Oh My Gosh! (To paraphrase The Fantastic Mr. Fox, It’s kind of a big deal, so don’t just say okay.) This was David meeting my entire family. Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding except in a parallel universe where everyone is kind of midwesternish and less dancy.

Now would probably be the time to mention the missing member of my family. My older brother, the one who had teased me and tormented me and overprotected me from other boys, was in the army, stationed in Germany. We were in a constant state of waiting to hear if he was deployed to fight against Saddam Hussein. His wife and daughter were with him, probably wondering a lot more than we were. At least I didn’t have to worry about anyone commenting on the size of my plate in relation to the size of other things.

In my opinion, the evening at Grandma and Grandpa’s went well. We had the traditional tearing into the presents from relatives. Grandma wrapped up a bag full of pistachios for David. He seemed appreciative. I’m sure my Grandma wondered about that too, what to gift this boy who really hadn’t been defined as yet. Of course, I knew that we grew pistachios and we had the same giant box full in our cupboard at home that my grandparents did. But hey, she did wrap it up in a gift bag.

Afterwards, we got to the big show. David and I went out on our own. I gave him his beautiful box (that I had pain-stakingly rewrapped). And he gave me a bag. I pulled out a big white teddy bear. Kind of typical. Kind of boring. Kind of wearing a ring.

No, not that kind of ring! But a ring none the less.

It was a gold band, a pinky ring, with “♥ I love you, David ‘90” engraved inside. Well, let the wondering begin! What did this mean? Or did it mean anything? It was definitely time to talk.

We’d come full circle, back to New Year’s Eve, although this time I was pretty sure I would have a date. I just had no idea how that date would end.

Holidays are fun!

2011-06-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we're headed off to Utah for a while so this is the last installment for about 10 days or 2 weeks, whichever comes first.

So, about a week later, we’re at his sister Karen’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything was going swimmingly, ya, that’s a good word, swimmingly. His family was all very nice. Of course, I’d already met his Mom and Dad spending time at their house. (Actually meeting them for the first time has dissolved from my memory.) Now I got to meet his older sister and her 6 kids. She had just had a baby about a week and a half before, and was now hosting Thanksgiving dinner at her house. Ya, that’s not intimidating. David’s other sister was in rehab at the time.

I held the baby and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner. New for me, to have stuffing with nuts in it and things just slightly skewed from the traditional dinner I was used to and had never experienced with another family before. The little kids ran all over the house. This part was my element, having 7 younger siblings myself. It was all very family and holiday. David was sweet and I was happy.

Now, you can see that our holiday history was sort of hit and miss and of course we had the biggie right around the corner. “Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat.” My dad loved to sing this little ditty and remind me of the way I would sing it as a little girl. “Tristmas is toming, the doose is detting fat.” This year, I stressed about what to do with this semi-permanent boyfriend. I thought things were getting more serious, but I had thought that before. What do you get for the person you want to spend every minute for time and all eternity with? And what is he going to read into it? And what will he get me? (Not that he has to get me anything.) And what will it mean? I finally decided to get David a nice, brand-name sweatshirt. I put everything I felt about our relationship into the packaging. I picked out a nice, masculine, striped wrapping paper. I gently wrapped tissue around the article inside the crisp, square box. I lined up the stripes so that they matched perfectly, wrapped ribbon around, and attached a large bow. It was perfect.

One day, I came home from work at the local radio shack to find my beautiful present destroyed. The story was that my little brother had unwrapped the present because it was so pretty. (He was about 8. Something was fishy and I didn’t really buy it, but the parallels with my relationship were pretty eerie. I just hoped that this was not foreshadowing.

Oh we just love the drama!

2011-06-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

So, life went on with David and me going to movies, dancing, hanging out with friends, etc. And by etc, I mean there was some kissing going on. We were a little old fashioned. Exclusive dating meant that a kiss goodnight was once again a part of the plan. We were actually pretty good at this part and thought that practice would make us even better. We were right. We would practice at his house, my house, in his driveway, my driveway, but perhaps my favorite was the stop light kiss. The implication, of course, was that we couldn’t stand to not kiss, even long enough to drive down the street. David was actually quite good at knowing how long a stop light would last. We only got honked at once or twice.

As the holidays approached, David told me that a friend of his from his mission in Alaska was coming to visit. He would need to spend a little time with her, yes, her.

Long Pause.

I could be an understanding girlfriend. After all, we were in a loving, somewhat committed relationship, right? I was the one invited to spend Thanksgiving with him and his family at his sister’s house. I really, really tried to think positive thoughts, and not so much about the rocky past of our relationship. Unfortunately, the brain will have thoughts that the mind does not want to have.

On the Friday night that David was supposed to spend with “Alaska girl”, (shouldn’t there be a rule against the Friday night friend visit?) I ended up staying home. (Somehow, asking why we couldn’t all just hang out together never crossed my mind.) Later, that evening, a little before 10 o’clock, David called to tell me that he’d taken her home, and asked if he could come over. Silly, naïve me, took this for a good sign, my sweet boyfriend wanted to hang out with me and had taken this intruder home early.

Of course, I agreed that David should come over and when he arrived, we went for a walk outside. I lived in a little agricultural enclave where tamarisk and eucalyptus trees grew at least 80 feet tall and the old redneck joke about turning off the paved road definitely applied. It was a perfect place for a moonlit walk.

We held hands and walked and talked. David seemed a little nervous, but I didn’t really think too much about it. After some small talk, he turned to me very seriously and told me that he needed to tell me something.

I can’t really remember the conversation, I’m pretty sure I’ve blocked it from my memory. The gist was that “Alaska girl” had kissed him and he hadn’t really tried to stop her very quickly. I couldn’t decide if this was dubious or devastating. Did I believe that this stranger had gone in for the kiss? Was the fact that he had fallen for it a deal-breaker? Should it matter that he had felt the need to come right over to confess? Somewhere in the back of my head I remembered that I had kissed someone that David didn’t know about either. Would that make it easier to forgive him? Did that even count, seeing as how we were “on a break”? Was forgiving him what he was looking for? Would the heart-pounding, heart-stopping contradiction of emotions ever calm?

Evidently, forgiveness was what he was looking for because he was apologizing profusely. I’m pretty sure that I cried, although like I said, it’s all pretty hazy. I’m pretty sure he cried too, because he’s good like that.

I heart the Ice Cream Nazi

2011-06-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

So on the way back from camp, with Megan, Lauren, Emma, and Matti in the car, we decided to stop for a little bit in Pine. The Strawberry festival was going on and we couldn't resist. We were all in pajama pants, hadn't showered, probably didn't smell very good, and didn't really care.

The girls headed off to see what they could see while Meg and I spent a few minutes drooling over the cutco knives. They returned after a few minutes searching for kettle corn money.

We headed off to see what else was around, specifically a bathroom, as we'd been using port-a-johns for the last 4 days.

We happened upon a place called "Tornado Fries".

This is pretty much what it looked like. It reminded me of one of my favorite fair foods ever (which Elise knows the true name of) that are best doused with malt vinegar and salt. Well, they didn't have vinegar, but they had a wide variety of flavored salts, including vinegar flavored. While I rushed off to find a restroom, the girls decided to make it a sampler with a variety of the different salts. Later, I tried it and was underwhelmed. The potatoes were thicker and softer than I was expecting, which was more the original curly chips, like this:

butterfly fries, picture by ljc@flickr

So the girls are eating the lame-o tornado potato and we head down to the infamous delicious homemade ice cream shop. We pause to read the myriad of signs on the door, including one that says something to the effect of, No sodas, not even cans, we sell soda here. Ok, none of us has a drink, so I figure, we're good, and we head inside. The girl behind the counter immediately starts asking Lauren about the potato on a stick. "Where did you get it?" "That's so cool." "Is it good?"

Then the little old lady comes out from the back room. She pats Lauren on the shoulder and says, "Honey, I'm gonna give you a tip. You don't take food from one establishment into another. Just a little tip for you."
I'm thinking, "There is a festival going on outside your door. You do not sell fries, potatoes, or anything other than ice cream and desserts. I'm buying ice cream for everyone in my group. How does this potato affect you?" I didn't think it was quite like having my kid bring her happy meal into dinner at McCormick & Schmick. But, I bit my tongue.

Then the people next to us were discussing buying ice cream for their grandson, who couldn't eat the cone. They said, "We'd like one scoop of strawberry in a bowl, please." She replied, "Do you want to get the child's cone? It's smaller and cheaper." They responded, "Well, he can't eat the cone, but..." Ice Cream Nazi interjects, "That wasn't the question."

I'm thinking, Well, it kind of was the question. If you're gonna get all up in their face, be more specific with your line of questioning.

photo-Terry Richardson's Diary

So, I still got strawberry ice cream and it was good. Everyone else seemed to enjoy theirs as well, but I'm wondering if it was worth the degradation.

I need to look and see if that shop from (wait for it, Megan) Mystic, Connecticut takes online orders.

Aaahh, camp!

2011-06-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

I chose this picture specifically because you can't really see any faces and I don't need anyone's permission. I just wanted to write a little blurb about what I did last week.

In April I was thoroughly enjoying myself teaching a little class at church and avoiding anything really hard. Right before my birthday, the Bishop called me in and asked if I'd be the new young women's president, since ours was moving away.

I had carefully avoided being asked to go to girls camp, knowing that camping in tents was a little more "back to nature" than I really wanted to get. Apparently, avoidance was no longer an option and I was going to Long Valley, AZ with 9 first years, 3 second years, one 3rd year, 2 4th yrs who would join us later, and 6 ycls (youth camp leaders) who would wave to us as they walked by with their charges. One of the newbies and one of the ycls were my very own girls.

Everyone told me that it would be cold and possibly wet. I continually checked the weather channel app on my phone. I bought a new sleeping bag, I took a blanket and extra socks.

There was a very dedicated lady called as Camp Director and a super organizer called as Food Specialist. I even managed to finagle it so that my little sister went with me. (ok, Meg, it wasn't really me who sent you there, but I was sure glad you were there.) These people ran things, and I was just there as a warm body to help corral girls and put away dishes.

Driving to camp, listening to loud music, I started to think this might actually be fun. We were pumped and the girls were all so sweet. I felt sure I could handle this. I didn't even notice that backs of my hands burning under the windshield as I drove.

When we got to camp, everyone pitched in to help get set up. All of the girls were so cooperative and helpful. I was in heaven! We sat down in the cool mountain air to eat the lunches we had packed. It didn't phase me in the least that we were the last ward to arrive, the last camp set up, and had the most girls. We finished our lunches in plenty of time to show up for orientation, and I was happy!

After dinner, we went out to a little stage in the woods and enjoyed a presentation, silly camp songs and all. I noticed that it was starting to get a little chilly, but not really a big deal with my nice warm hoodie on. I did talk to a dear friend of mine who had gone up the day before to help get camp ready. She had frozen the night before and hadn't slept at all. I thought, "This poor dear must not have a super, low-rated, xl sleeping bag like mine. I'll let her use my blanket tonight so that she can get some sleep. Ah, warm feeling inside.

By the time we got back to camp and cheerily prepared for bed, the warm feeling had dissipated and I was feeling cold. The thought of changing into pajamas was a bit daunting. I put on my warmest jammie pants, a long sleeve shirt, put my hoodie back on and thought about how wonderful it was that someone had sent up some hand warmers for us to use.

I climbed into my xl sleeping bag and quickly realized that a mummy bag is not designed for an xl woman. I could barely zip the zippers up all the way around my shoulders and it was difficult to move. Not only that, but my face was freezing when it was exposed to the air and I couldn't breathe when my face was inside the bag! The hand warmer did keep what ever part of me it was touching warm, but that was about it. Someone had suggested putting our clothes for the next day in the bottom of our sleeping bag to keep them warm. They were cold.

Although I was told later that I may have snored, just a little bit, it felt like I didn't sleep at all. I got up some time in the middle of the night to go to the lovely porta-john. It was a wee bit cold. Teeth chattering, I headed back to the tent, rummaged through my suitcase and put on another pair of pajama pants and another hoodie, then crawled back into my tight sleeping bag. It didn't help AT ALL. I did figure out around this time that if I slid way down into my bag, I could curl up in a ball and turn. Somehow, the middle of the bag was wider, like it was built for a very slender, yet pregnant person. However, I still had that claustrophobic, lack of breathing problem. So it was defrost face inside sleeping bag, lower bag, gasping for air and freeze, hide back inside bag.

In the morning I wondered how I would ever survive the day after having gotten no sleep at all. Line dancing for morning exercises did not improve my mood. I don't know what it is, I just cannot bring myself to line dance. I think being one child of 10 makes my desire for individuality overly strong.

Back in camp, clean clothes and pancakes for breakfast cheered me up somewhat. I decided to go on the 1st year hike. Seeing as how we had 9 1st years and it would be the easiest hike, it seemed like the thing to do. We set off with our packed lunches, water bottles, and scriptures (mine on my ipod, because David never did find mine).

It was a lovely hike, more of a nature walk, really. We walked down the road for about half an hour, stopped to eat lunch, play games, and read scriptures then followed the ravine back to camp. The best reason to go on this hike is, that now I qualified for a shower. I waited for most of the girls to finish, which meant that my shower was rather cold, but a little longer than most and quite refreshing.

As the afternoon wore on, I started to worry about how I would cope with another freezing cold night of no sleep. I think I forgot to mention that in the morning several of the girls thought that the hand-washing water spigot was broken. When they asked one of the men in camp to fix it, he quickly realized that the actual problem was the water was frozen. It was COLD!!!

I managed to get a hold of 3 hand warmers and a tip to slide them between 2 pairs of socks, plus an extra sleeping bag that I unzipped and tried to share with Megan. In my sleep addled brain I managed to steal the whole thing apparently. I put on an extra long sleeve shirt and wore my fleece headband to bed. I slept like a BABY, the ones that sleep all night long and are really warm. It was beautiful and I felt eternally grateful to all who had participated in assisting me toward that goal.

The day before we had found out that some of our newbies were also cold during the night. One of the actual camp leaders went to find out what the problem was. One of the girls hadn't actually gotten into her sleeping bag and one had forgotten the ever-so-important sleeping mat that had been strongly suggested to bring. She tried to rearrange the girls so that they could sleep better and perhaps later than the 5am they had woken up the first morning.

She must have succeeded somewhat, because when I got up about 6:15, they were still asleep. I crawled back into my bag and slept for another hour.

This day I had volunteered to drive some of the older girls out to their hike site. I figured this way I could get to a store to purchase more hand warmers and whatever else might keep me warm. When I got back after dropping them off, I found one of our girls had gotten sick. We stewed about what to do and decided to have the young lady call and talk to her parents to make a decision. I left the other leaders to deal with this issue as I headed off to town and to pick up my 3rd years.

At the gas station I ended up at, I got more cups for the camp, hand and foot warmers for myself, Emma, and Lauren (I completely forgot about Megan. What a jerk!) They also had a hat with ear flaps, which I snatched up, and some sprite for my little sicky.

By the time I got back to camp, I found that she had already gone home. I gave Lauren and Emma their warmers. Emma was wrapped up in Megan's blanket, she had apparently lost hers (it turned up later in the bottom of her sleeping bag.) She asked Megan if she could borrow her blanket and Megan replied, "Sure, if your mom will give me the extra sleeping bag. AAagghhh! Now I'm either a terrible mom and a mean sister or a popsicle! I took the nice, warm sleeping bag and put it over Emma and her newbie neighbor, returned Megan's blanket and borrowed another extra sleeping bag. Unfortunately, this one was a mummy bag and unzipping it would have done nothing. I laid it sideways across Meg and I and told her to skooch in. She replied, "Hey did you remember to pick up hand warmers in town?" I swallowed and said, "Yep." I handed her my extra pair of hand warmers (Sorry Megan, but it is true. I had bought myself two sets. I am awful!)

I settled in, prepared to freeze. Luckily this was the warmest night so far. Thank Heaven! It was very cold, and I woke up a lot, but I did get some sleep and was comforted that the morning would involve taking down camp and heading home for a warm shower and a warm bed.

Aaahhww, girls camp!

Ahh, love.

2011-06-06T23:27:00.000-07:00

The next day, David called. He asked about Matt and how we knew each other. I told him that ever since I met Matt in the line to buy student season tickets for the BYU football games, I felt like I had known him forever. He was just one of those people that you’re pretty sure you knew in the pre-existence. We went dancing a lot in UT, but hadn’t dated. I had given him a watch for Christmas, and he had given me a sweater. Not really a big deal. (Sort of) He also sang When in Rome’s “The Promise” to me once in the café when he had hurt my feelings somehow, but I didn’t mention that, right then. During this very phone call, David told me that he thought we shouldn’t see other people anymore. We should be exclusive. Hmm, funny how things change! I didn’t even go out with this guy, but I got an extreme feeling of goose/ganderism going on.

However, when it boiled right down to it, being exclusive with David was exactly what I wanted. So, I agreed. David began this silly little game of telling me that he really “liked” me, and in fact, maybe even “loked” me (a cross between love and like, of course). The “loke” joke went on for what seemed like ever. I was pretty well smitten by this time and could quite easily acknowledge to myself that I was head over heels in love with David. There was no way, no how, no siree that I was ever going to admit that to him unless he said it first. I was a 1^st class chicken, maybe even a little bit burnt.

After many conversations about this, one night he broke down and actually said it. Something like, “Monique, I’m pretty sure that I do actually sort of love you.”

My response, “What did you say?”

“I said that I love you.”

Now, suddenly, after months of up and down and back and forth and joy and pain and sunshine and rain (Oh, wait, I got off track there.) Anyway, now it was really awkward to be in this situation of, for the first time ever in my life, telling someone that I was not related to that I loved them.

“Oh, um, (suddenly my throat is very dry and my heart is racing), uh, I think I love you too.”

Mixed up

2011-05-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

Just to clarify, we're getting back to the story and things that happened over 20 years ago.

Now of course would be the perfect time for David to meet a new girl. He called one night and told me that he hoped that I wouldn’t be too upset, but he really thought that we were getting too serious and that we should see other people. Of course, I was not going to act upset in front of him, but I’m pretty sure I cried myself to sleep again that night. I was well aware that “see other people” was code for “I met a girl.” Sure enough, it wasn’t long before David told me that he had a date with a girl named Aisha. Who names their kid Aisha, anyway? What kind of stupid name is Aisha? (Sorry if your name is Aisha. Unless you happen to be about 37 and from Gilbert, AZ. Then, I’m not sorry! Your name is stupid, and so are you.) David then informed me that he didn’t want to hide anything from me and he would be telling me about any other girl he went out with. Was this some bizarre form of torture, or just a way of eliminating future baby girl names?

David and I still went out. Kissing was off again. I was very annoyed.

About 2 weeks later, I got a call from a friend of mine from BYU. His name was Matt. Matt was currently serving a mission in Arkansas. Missionaries aren’t really supposed to call people other than their families on Mother’s Day and Christmas. Matt and I had been very good friends during the short semester that I had stayed at Brigham Young University before I got chased away by the cold. We never dated, but I can’t say it hadn’t crossed my mind. Shockingly, he had shown some interest in dating Mary, but she didn’t return the sentiment. Since I’d left, we had exchanged several letters. He even sent me a very sweet valentine. We had also made “the bet”. You know, the one where if you’re not married by the time I get home from my mission I owe you dinner, if you are married, you owe me and a girl of my choice dinner. I never did buy him dinner. Anyway, Matt must have been feeling lonely, because he called me and we were having a great time, chatting away, breaking mission rules. He told me about tracting and ticks and chiggers, and I laughed and missed him a lot. About 9pm, David called. I answered the other line and told him I was on the phone, but I would call him back when I got off. Ten o’clock, David called back. I asked if he would still be up in an hour and he asked who I was on the phone with. I told him about Matt and that he was on a mission so he was calling long distance and I would call him back if he wanted me to. He said, “Don’t worry about it.” And I went back to my conversation with Matt. About 11, David called to say that he was still up if I was off the phone. I wasn’t. I told him I would call him in the morning. Matt and I hung up about 12 and I went to bed in high spirits after a fun conversation with a good friend.

Happy 20th Anniversary!

2011-05-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

I looked at the next section of "the story" to see if I could post that today for our anniversary. I'm just gonna go with, no. So, we'll stick with this adorable picture of the super-hot guy that I married 20 years ago today. It's been an adventurous 20 years. We have some beautiful kids and some crazy memories. I do wish you hadn't shaved your head though. Look how gorgeous that hair is!

Just a few things I love about you:

1. I love your blue/green eyes.

2. I love how much you love your daughters.

3. I love how much they love you.

4. I love unannounced back rubs.

5. I love that you are dedicated to your job.

6. I love that you will spontaneously break out into dance.

7. I love when you hold my hand.

8. I love your voice.

9. I love that you do the dishes when I make dinner.

10. I love that you like to surprise me.

11. I love that you like to watch sytycd.

12. I love when you flare your nostrils.

13. I love that you love your parents.

14. I love that you wear the blue, flowered tie I bought you.

15. I love that you read my books.

16. I love that you look really good in blue, and red, and green, and gray, and brown and salmon.

17. I love when you get silly.

18. I love that you clean when you are mad.

19. I love that you like my cooking.

20. I love that you love me!

Angry

2011-05-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

In July, my parents wanted me to drive up to our cabin in Pinetop and bring some things home for them. I asked if some friends could come along. They were probably a little worried, but by this time, I was 20 years old and so they agreed. Of course, I asked Mary, and I asked David if he wanted to come and bring a friend. His cousin agreed to come along and we all set off. I’m sure that this trip was a mistake from the get-go, although it was all rather innocent. I think I’ve blocked most of it from my memory. I remember playing checkers in the Arizona room (screen porch), and then I remember standing out at the wood pile, chucking wood as hard as I could into the shed (where it wouldn’t get wet in the winter time). I don’t really remember what made me so mad, but I’m pretty sure that David was not behaving how I expected him to. He did come out to the wood pile to see what was wrong, and apologized for whatever he might have done to upset me. The fact that he didn’t know made me even madder, and I just kept right on heaving that wood into the shed. He practically (but not actually) dragged me back inside and spent a while trying to cajole me out of my bad mood.

By the time we got home from that ill-fated trip, I was pretty sure it was time to break up again. This time, I was really angry and didn’t want an insensitive jerk for a boyfriend anyway! I told him so and he spent the next several weeks trying to prove me wrong. He would drive down to visit me at my big Radio Shack job and drive several miles out of his way to get the good mint hot chocolate at AM/PM. (This was pre- Starbucks.) We would hang out and talk. He would offer me back rubs, which who can turn down? He was attentive, sweet, and still gorgeous and eventually we made up and were dating again. Oh yeah, and his eyes were blue when he was playful and green when he was passionate.

ps. The April 29 post photo has been updated to more accurately reflect the subject matter.

pps. Hopefully I'll get a good post on here tomorrow for our, wait for it... 20th anniversary!

Drama!

2011-05-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

This post is part of the story of David and I, but it is really about this little boy who is now married and has a little boy of his own, plus one on the way.

My youngest brother, Tyson was about 3 years old at this time. This is only weird if you’re not Mormon. Ty was my little angel. Due to an odd number of girls living at home at the time, and me getting really annoyed with some of my sisters’ sleeping habits (e.g. leaving the light on or sleeping with the radio on. You know who you are!) Ty and I shared a bedroom. Being the tiny little boy that he was, sometimes he would still wake up in the middle of the night and want his Mommy. At first, when he woke up crying, I would take him to my Mom’s bedroom and drop him off. Eventually, it just became way easier to have him crawl into bed with me. He was my little buddy.

One day, my parents had taken several of the kids over to Grandma’s house to go swimming. Mom had gone inside and Dad was outside with the kids. He hollered to the kids that it was time to get out of the pool and get cleaned up. Ty obviously thought that “get cleaned up” meant to wander around with a towel on your head. Meanwhile, Dad was having a conversation with Grandpa and completely missed Ty wandering into the pool. The towel on his head silenced the splash, and down he went. After a couple of minutes, Dad started looking around for Tyson and found him on the bottom of the pool. The paramedics were called and Ty was air-evac-ed to Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. My parents called me at Radio Shack where I was working at my glamorous job. Freaking out, I raced home.

Mom and Dad were rushing to get everything settled so they could head up to Phoenix to be with Tyson. My dad knew that David lived right down the street from the hospital and asked me if I would call him to go over and give Ty a blessing right away. I did and he did. He and his dad went over and gave Ty a blessing and waited for my parents to arrive (we lived about ½ hour away from the hospital, in good traffic). We were all grateful to have a contact so close and available to be of assistance to our little boy.

That night, David came over and picked me up to go out. Ty was still in the hospital, but he was recovering well. We decided to go to Mary’s and watch a movie with her and her boyfriend. At the time, I had no idea what the movie, The Abyss, was about. Well, as these people began to purposely drown themselves with liquid oxygen, I began to sob. Of course, they weren’t dying, but they could have, and so could my little brother. Luckily, I had a shoulder to cry on attached to a very handsome face. I really couldn’t take watching that movie anymore, so we left. Much snuggling followed. Tyson came home the next day with no lasting damage, but a cool story to tell about how he almost drowned when he was 3 years old.

New moon or some serious moonlight

2011-05-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

There will be no alternating blog subjects this week. I have had a little on my plate this week. I am also not changing the photo on my last post yet, either. I am also not going to explain the title and photo that are attached to this post. Apparently I'm a little defiant today! Let's just say that there were some overly mushy conversations going on that just sound silly when written down, but were oh, so dreamy at the time.

Aleruaro/Getty Images/SambaPhoto

Around this time, I’m pretty sure that the kissing issue came up again. I really enjoyed kissing David, and he seemed to have a good time as well. Unfortunately, that little talk about not getting serious kept popping up in the back of my head. One night, Mary and I went to a dance in Scottsdale, David asked if we wanted to “swing by” his house in downtown Phoenix afterwards to say hello since he had some reason he couldn’t go that night. Of course, we did go by. David was being silly and referring to himself as Charlie Brown, since he was so “wishy-washy”. I told him that I didn’t think I should kiss someone who was wishy-washy, and so, he kept trying to kiss me. I resisted, turned away, laughed, and was dying inside. I wanted to kiss that boy so badly, but I didn’t love his terms, which seemed to be that as long as I was the one there, he wanted to be with me, but he wasn’t really sure that he might not want to be with a different girl on another night. Not cool!

In June, David went with his family up to their house in Koosharem, UT. He planned to be gone for about three weeks. Ugh, loneliness! He informed me that he would write to me, if I would write to him. I could just address the letters to him Koosharem, UT 84604 and they would get there. I thought this was crazy and couldn’t fathom the small town where this would be sufficient address. He called me a few times and talked about sweet, romantic nothings like how if I walked outside, we would be looking at the same moon. He told me that his family didn’t have a phone at their UT house and he would have to walk down to the store and call from the pay phone (actually true), so we couldn’t talk for very long. He told me he missed me, and asked me on a date for the evening he got back. Of course, our mutual friend called to remind me of my incessant stupidity. He asked what I was doing on Saturday night, and I was so pleased to tell him that David had called from UT to ask me on a date.

Now by this time, I was going on the silly assumption that David knew that if he kissed me, it would mean something to me. Why I didn’t pick up from the Charlie Brown conversation that this had become a game to him, I’ll never know. So, of course we kissed, and I was right back where I started. Head over heels for a guy who really didn’t know what he wanted.

Meanwhile, I’m still spending my days back and forth between school at MCC and work at Radio Shack. By now I had pretty much figured out that I was the “token girl” at Radio Shack. If you don’t believe me, go down there right now. Every single store has one woman who works there. She doesn’t have to know the difference between a diode or a capacitor, but she will not be fired. I’ve never checked it out, but I’m sure there must have been a lawsuit in the past. Since I was pretty much irrelevant at my job, I would spend my time stocking shelves and changing the radio station. Somehow my alternative music tastes seemed to adjust quite well to the moldy oldies and mellow love songs in my current state of mind. “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” usually played daily and fit my mood, if not my actual feelings. The lyrics, “I won't ask for promises, So you don't have to lie.” felt so very real in my situation. Of course, my heart was screaming out, “Don’t lie, just love me and only me!” Okay, I’m not talking about moving in, at least not until after we’re married, and of course I don’t want to change your life, well, except for the for time and all eternity part, of course. But there is definitely some warm wind and stars and I sure do want to see you tonight.

Happy Birthday to me!

2011-04-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

The next day, my “friend” called to warn me again about how unwise it was for me to continue seeing David. He taught me a new phrase, “burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.” I had really never heard it before, but I wasn’t completely sure that it was inaccurate. Of course, it didn’t really change anything about my feelings.

David came home from LV brimming with talk about a girl named Jacque. I hated her already. Until I found out that she was probably about to be engaged to good ol’ Scott. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to meet this sweet girl (who probably would not be cool with her fiancé bowling every Saturday). For the next few weeks, David and I saw each other at dances and would often get together for a movie. We had a lot of laughs watching “Joe vs. the Volcano” together and David took to referring to himself as a “flibber-de-jibbit”. This didn’t really do my heart any good, but what is a girl to do?

Meanwhile, my birthday was fast approaching, May 1^st, May Day. I had always LOVED my birthday and looked forward to it with child-like glee. David began telling me stories of how he had always tried to buy people’s love, like, with a Guess jacket for a former girlfriend or ruby earrings for another one. He was so glad to have a relationship with a girl who he felt so comfortable with that he didn’t have to buy her affections. Hmmm!?. How to take that? Was I really that wonderful friend, everybody feels close to, or was he just being cheap because I wasn’t really all that important?

My birthday rolled around and David showed up with a gift, inside I found a mission journal and filler. Let me ‘splain. If you’re not LDS, when a young Mormon decides to go on a church mission, one of the things that they take with them is a “mission journal” to record all of their experiences. Boys generally go on their missions when they are 19 and girls can go after they turn 21 if they choose. (Remember, David getting home from his mission in Alaska?) My friend Mary and I had discussed the possibility and actually attended Mission prep classes on Sunday. I’m sure I told David about this, and this was his response. My mom and one of my aunts both seemed to think that this was a great idea. I was not so sure. It sounded good and positive, but also scary and long. However, back to the present. I was not quite sure how to take being given a missionary journal by the boy that I wanted to spend all of my time with. We actually started to talk seriously about things and he reiterated his feelings of fear about a serious relationship. He shared with me that he could really see us being together for a long time, but he wasn’t ready for that. He was hoping that if I decided to go on a mission, maybe he would be ready to be together by the time I got back. That didn’t really sound logical to me.

Blessing Gowns

2011-04-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine on facebook asked a question about blessing gowns the other day. I started to think about the idea of blessing gowns and the ones I have for my daughters. Should they be something formal that they can pass down to their children or more casual that they can actually wear more than once? Does it matter who makes it? A family member? A factory worker in Thailand? My sister-in-law's family has one dress that all of the little girls wear. My thought is how far out does that extend? When your great-grandniece gets blessed, do you send her the dress, or what? What do you think?

So, it was 1994 and I was a big fan of Battenburg lace. I was also a little unsure of myself as a seamstress. Lauren's blessing gown is a pretty simple little shift with lace sleeves and inserts and pin tucks on the bodice. It was very sweet on her and pretty much swallowed her, even though she weighed almost 10 pounds at birth. I hope she likes it.

Emma was born in 1998 and my tastes had evolved. I wanted a more traditional, long, draping down to the ground type of dress. Forget the fact that she was born in December and it was still pretty cold when she was blessed. So, yes, she was all wrapped up in a blanket. Also, my sewing confidence had grown and so , of course, I messed it up. I kind of extended the pattern, but I didn't think to gradually widen the skirt as it got longer. So, basically, it's like a long (but still pretty) tube. It has lace and puffed inserts and pretty lace at all the edges. I hope she likes it.

Around 1996, I think that I was having second thoughts about Lauren's blessing gown. (Although what good would that do?) Anyway, I made another dress, this one is cream, not white, but still that type of style. It has smocking on the bodice and sleeves, insertion lace and ribbon, and lace trim on scalloped edges. The only problem now is Lauren has 2 dresses and Emma has one.

What happens in Vegas...

2011-04-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been so irresponsible in posting this past week. I went with the YM/YW to Youth Conference in Flagstaff. Let's just say, sometimes I'm pretty stupid, and I have a lot of fun doing it. The conference was great and contrary to popular report, I didn't get arrested by the military police. But, I really think it's time to get back to my story, so here goes...

March turned into April and David filled me in on plans that he had to go with his friend Scott to Las Vegas. He would be gone for about a week. I worried about David on his bachelor weekend, but reminded myself that he wasn’t my boyfriend and I didn’t have any claim on him.

I wondered what to do with myself. Since I had been spending so much time with David, all of my other friends had plans. Out of the blue, a mutual friend of David’s and mine, who shall remain nameless, called me. He knew David was out of town and asked if I was going to the dance. I told him that I didn’t really have anyone to go with and didn’t want to go alone. He offered me a ride. I thought it was a little odd since he lived about an hour from me and the dance was half an hour back the other way. After the dance, he’d have to drive me home and then an hour back home himself. It was so nice of him, maybe a little too nice. I tried not to over think it. This guy had a history in my mind of trying a little too hard.

My friend came to pick me up and we drove to Scottsdale to the dance. Dennis was deejaying which he did less often since he’d gotten married. I looked forward to dancing to good music with a lot of my old friends. We had a good time, and then helped Dennis load his equipment up, and we went to get some food. It was pretty late when we got to my house, about 2:30 in the morning. My friend said he wasn’t ready to drive all the way back home yet and asked if he could come in. We sat in the living room, laughing and joking. Somehow with the lateness of the hour and our teasing conversation, we started to talk about how you can tell if you’re a good kisser or not. My friend dared me to kiss him to prove that I could kiss well. My pride was at stake in my tired mind, so I did. He actually kissed pretty well and I hadn’t kissed anyone for a long time. We kissed for a while until I started to realize what I was doing. He told me that I’d proved my point, that I could definitely kiss, and laughed it off. I saw him out and felt that familiar stomach ache return as I headed to bed, this time for an entirely different reason.

I had told David, who I really cared about, that I didn’t kiss boys for no reason. Then, I had done exactly that. I wasn’t overly worried about our mutual friend; after all, the kiss had merely been a dare. What would I tell David? Probably exactly nothing.

The next day, my kissing friend called to ask if I wanted to go dancing again. I certainly didn’t! I felt like a fool in the light of day. I’d been talked into something I didn’t want, and it hadn’t been all that hard to convince me. The kisser called back later and said that he thought we really ought to talk. I figured that was true, so I agreed to meet him. When we were alone, he told me that it really bugged him that I was spending so much time with David. (Remember, this guy was friends with David before he met me.) He told me that David was basically a player, although we didn’t use that word then. He told me that he thought I would be much happier going out with him, then I wouldn’t get hurt. Stomach tied in knots. Not what I wanted. Unable to form coherent thoughts! What was I going to do? Finally, I was able to explain that our kiss the night before really had just been a dare to me. While I thought of him as a good friend, I didn’t have any other feelings for him. David wasn’t really relevant to the discussion. Could we please not tell anyone what had happened? I didn’t even tell Mary!

Remember that game...Telephone? mmm, not really the same, I guess.

2011-04-19T23:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is gonna get embarrassing, for me, and most definitely for my husband. I need feedback on what you think of the story and just how personal is too personal. No, I don't mean like that. I just mean, well, just tell me what you think.

David called again the next day. Apparently he thought we were the type of friends now that could discuss dates with other people. I did not have the same opinion. He told me about his plans to go out this weekend with this other girl. I tried to get off the phone as quickly as possible. About a week later, I bumped into David at a dance. We danced, he flirted, I was nervous and confused, again. He asked what I was doing the next night, and luckily I already had plans. He pressed on and asked me out for the following Saturday. I was still smitten, yet hurt. I agreed to go out with him. Later, on the phone, he told me that he’d gotten scared of how quickly our relationship had been progressing and thought that going out with someone else would slow us down. While going on several dates with this other girl, he realized how much he would rather be with me. I was skeptical, but flattered.

Saturday night arrived and so did David. He looked wonderful, acted sweet, and took me to a resort that offered gondola rides. What part of snuggling together in a boat on a moonlit night was slowing down? After a lovely, romantic evening, he took me home. At the door, he went in for the goodnight kiss. Oh boy, was this going to be awkward! I gave him a small peck and dashed inside the house. I seemed to end up feeling sick to my stomach more often than not since I met this boy. What was I going to do?

The next day, I got the standard phone call. David was sweet and flirty and I was scared to death. I’d only had to have one conversation similar to this in my life. I finally gritted my teeth and told him that I needed to tell him that if we were not actually in a relationship, I was not comfortable with us making out. (There was a current trend called getting a ncmo, or non-committal make out.) I told him that I had tried that once and it was not for me. He responded that he really wanted us to be friends and that he didn’t want to jeopardize our friendship, but could we still go out together on the weekends?

This plan seemed better to me than the weekly upset stomach and broken heart that I had been experiencing. So I went along with it. We spent almost every weekend together, going to the movies, bowling, dancing, anything to spend time together. But, we were not dating. I did have to explain to my other friends that they still could not beat up David. They told me I was naïve.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-04-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is for Ashley, because she really knows how to talk me into stuff. What kind of world are we coming to? A double blog day! David will think I wasted my whole day. Oh, except I cleaned the bathroom and weeded in the garden and did some laundry too.

He walked me to the front gate of my house and gave me a very sweet peck on the mouth to follow the few minutes we had spent in the car. I fairly floated inside the house and fell into bed, hoping for dreams as sweet as my current reality.

We talked on the phone the next day, and the next, and every day that week. By Wednesday, he had asked me out again for Saturday night. I was in heaven and thought that I couldn’t have written myself a better love story. The timing was perfect. We would have been dating for two whole weeks by the time Valentine’s Day rolled around, just long enough to make things not awkward. Or so I thought.

Valentine’s day was on a Thursday and come Monday, I still hadn’t been asked out. There was a big dance, of course, but I was hoping for something a little more private. Tuesday, still no phone call. This was weird, because before this week, I think we had talked on the phone every day since our first date. I called Mary and wondered aloud what was going on. She was sure that he had just forgotten and would call soon. By Wednesday, I was so confused and upset that I decided I needed to call David and find out where I stood. He wasn’t home. I left a message, but I didn’t get a return call until the next day. When he called, I was relieved, but nervous. I couldn’t imagine what was wrong. David chatted casually like I was his best friend in the world, but no mention of Valentine’s Day. Finally, I broke down and asked him what he was doing that night. He informed me that he was playing basketball that night, but that a girl he met last week would be meeting him there. He asked if I had any suggestions on what he should wear to take her out after the game. WHAT? I was dumbfounded! I couldn’t speak! I quickly made some excuse to get off the phone before the tears started to flow.

After a good cry, I called Mary to tell her all about it. She commiserated, but had to go get ready for her Valentine date, of course. I called Steve and told him all about it too. It seems that several of my male friends had ended up dateless on this Valentine’s Day and were all headed to the dance together. They offered to pick me up and suddenly I was going out with four good-looking guys instead of none. We were all miserable and the boys all offered to beat David up for me. My very tall friend, Greg, suggested that we head over to the basketball game and beat him up right away. Although that sounded tempting, it seemed a little too desperate. I didn’t want to let David know how much I cared.

The five of us, Steve, Greg, Chris, and Eric (who looked like a blond Superman) headed for the dance. Eric was mourning the loss of a girl and was completely content to let me snuggle with him on the couch as we moped. We actually ended up having a great time wallowing in our misery together. At the end of the evening, I returned home and the reality of my lack of relationship with David returned. I cried myself to sleep.

Gardening?

2011-04-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Should I start this by stating how much I LOVE having fresh salad every day or how much I HATE having dirt under my fingernails. Maybe the actual beginning is to discuss how motivated my mom is. Dang it! Back in January, we started talking about a garden. I probably would have bought a couple of tomato plants to watch die and been done with it, but not my mom. First she talked about how wonderful fresh vegetables are. Then, I'm pretty sure she arranged to have grocery prices go up so that they sounded even better. Next, she got a little frustrated that no one seemed as excited about a garden as her. Then the guilt kicked in and we all said we would help.

Mom and Tom did most of the preparing of the soil, since they know how to use the tiller. We had a big Family Home Evening to plant the seeds. We bought rubber boots to waddle through the mud.

We labeled everything so we wouldn't forget what was where.

We loved that little garden so much that we even put blankets on it when we had that freeze in February.

And now we get to eat salad with fresh red and green lettuce, purple and orange carrots, green onions, peas, radishes, and spinach. Oh, so yummy! And I haven't bought a green vegetable for weeks.

I hope everyone else isn't tired of salad.

btw, next week for dinner co-op I'm doing fish tacos one day and something chicken and rice the other. And salad.

At last!

2011-04-12T23:18:00.000-07:00

I love these posts! I've already written most of the story, so all I have to do is copy and paste, and I'm done! Sometimes it also helps if I don't read it so I don't remember just how much personal information I'm posting about myself on the internet.

The next day, Sunday, I thought about this phone call all day. I went to church, but I’m sure I never heard a word. I debated calling that day, or waiting till the next. When it came down to it, there was never a question. I couldn’t wait. I called David that evening. He was busy. Devastation! He took my phone number and I waited. I actually hoped it was just a ploy to have a reason to ask for my number again. About an hour later, he did call back and I was in heaven. He asked me out on a date for that weekend and, of course, I agreed. I could have died happy at that moment. Thursday, David gave Mary and me a ride home from the dance. I had left my car at Mary’s house. I think Steve had picked us up. Sadly, David’s sister had been in a car accident that totaled his cute little blazer, and we rode home in the Hyundai hatchback. At Mary’s, we sat outside on the car. No one wanted the evening to end yet. My dear friend walked by me and whispered in my ear, “You’re right. He is pretty cute.” I thought that it was all over. There was no way I could compete. I drove the rest of the way home, depressed and upset.

However, I was the one with the date for Saturday night. Friday, David called and asked what I was doing that night. Strangely, I hadn’t made plans yet, and although I knew you should never accept a day of date offer, I couldn’t resist. He asked if he could come over to visit at my house. He could have asked just about anything. So, Friday night David came over and met my parents. Did I mention that my dad is 6’3”, not shy, and quite intimidating? After spending some time chatting with my angel mother and gun-toting father, we went for a walk outside. We ended up at the swing set where we sat down to talk. The attraction was definitely headed up a notch. David casually mentioned that we should really count this evening as a date so that there wouldn’t be any issues with not kissing on the first date the next night. After having waited three months for him to ask me out, it probably said nothing for my moral restraint that I was sure there wouldn’t be a problem.

Saturday, David arrived in his black, mock turtleneck tucked into nicely fitting khakis. He looked fabulous and I think I may have had on a similar outfit. We laughed and I grabbed a sweater to throw on over my mock. We were about as silly as anyone could possibly be as we ate our dinner of burgers and fries at Red Robin. (What happened to my no eating restaurant cooked meat, I wonder?) We went to see a movie, Hunt for Red October. (Never go see a romantic comedy on the first date. An action movie is much better. Intense.) We held hands in the theater and of course it was awkward as I left my hand resting on the arm rest and he tried to figure out which way to take hold of it. The drive home was nerve-wracking! How would this end? We had actually talked about kissing the night before! Once we arrived at my house, David started to talk, so we stayed in the car. I fidgeted in my seat, until leaning in and placing his hand on my cheek, he said, “I’m going to kiss you now.” I stopped fidgeting.

Not what I expected.

2011-04-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

This post is not going to turn out how I expected.

I walked outside to go take a picture of the garden. I've always hated gardening. From the times when I was little and my dad would tell us to "Go outside and hoe 2 rows before dinner.", to planting my own flowers on the front porch. Anyway, this is where the blog was going to go... but it will have to wait. When I walked outside, Tbone was standing by the fence looking friendly, so I went over to have a chat.

He's such a friendly little bull. He loves it when I pick grass from the field by the garden and bring it too him. He also loves getting his picture taken, obviously. I was headed to the garden anyway, so I figured I'd snap a couple photos and bring him some grass.

I didn't take a picture of the grass (although you can see a nice patch right in front), but next to the onions off to the right, there's a gorgeous patch of grass about a foot long. I figure pulling it and feeding it to the cows serves many purposes. First, it removes the grass from right beside the garden, discouraging it from reseeding right into the garden. Next, it fattens up those future yummy steaks. Also, it helps reseed the cow pasture when they eat the seed heads and then fertilize the field. I proceeded to pick a great big handful to take to Tbone. As I walked back to the cow pasture, I saw that he had gone to join the other cows on the other side of the pasture. I walked up to the fence to dump the grass and...

Here comes Chuck. I wasn't ready for him with my camera, but he came trotting up from clear on the other side of the pasture. This was shocking to me. Chuck had never come over to me at the fence before. Even when I did bring food. I wasn't quite sure if he was charging me or coming for grass, because he was running. He slowed up as he approached and quickly began to enjoy his (Tbone's) special treat.

Then Tbone noticed...

and he came running!

Usually Tbone is the only one that will come over to the fence when I bring grass, so this sudden, unexpected event made me think that I should go get some more grass, especially when I saw that ... Porky was headed over too! This was beyond shocking. Porky actually runs away when anyone comes near. (maybe not Tom, who feeds them everyday. I don't know.)

Tbone and Chuck were graciously enjoying their snack, but Porky was just hovering in the background. I figured he would come eat a little while I was picking some more grass in the garden. Coming back with another armful, Porky saw me and started to shy, but he really wanted that grass too.

He started to back away when I got too close. I started to walk away, still taking pictures.

Maybe we should have named him Chicken, the original white meat.

Even when I walked back to the other side of the road, he was still watching me over the top of the water tub.

That steer has no appreciation!

Success!

2011-04-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

My plan was to always post something different in between these memory posts, but Lauren has been nagging me. I'm not sure that Lauren was my intended audience. Hmm, how many more installments before this becomes uncomfortable? Ours was not always a smooth relationship.

The next time I saw David was all wrong. He came to a Saturday night dance with his cousin. Todd was in town on Winter break from University. Mary, my usual companion, had a date that night and so my friend Steve and I had met at the dance. Steve was a sweet guy. All the guys that Mary and I hung out with (and we only hung out with guys, our other girlfriend, Teresa, had already married) were at the very least, cute. It was fun to flirt innocently with our friends, knowing that we were all looking in other directions for actual relationships. So, I’m there with Steve, and David has a built in companion. Meanwhile, I have been wallowing in jealousy for the boy I’ve never even dated, watching him and his reactions to the other girls that he has met. I was rather pathetic. The evening was disappointing. I was ready to leave. David asked if we were going out to eat as we often did. Steve, who probably fed off my dejectedness, had no desire to go. Dennis the DJ was in the process of getting married and no fun anymore (just kidding Dennis and Alisa). However, I had technically come alone. It might be a little awkward, but how could I give up the opportunity to spend more time with David? Todd was up for food, so we headed off (in separate cars) for JB’s.

Suddenly, the night was looking up! I ordered my usual Pepsi and probably some fries, so that I wouldn’t get too much crap about not eating the traditional 1am dessert. Todd and I got along well and discussed some classes that we’d had in common. David was flirty, but somewhat reserved with his cousin maintaining most of the conversation. After some conversation and with my heart in my throat, I decided I better head out. It was getting late and I had about a 20 minute drive home by myself.

To my utter amazement and making it almost impossible to swallow, David said that he would walk me out to my car. Todd busied himself at the table. We walked out to the little, old Ford farm truck that I was driving. We talked and laughed and joked together. I didn’t want to leave, but wasn’t sure what to expect. David asked if he could call me and the heart that was already stuck in my throat swelled. Unfortunately, neither one of us had a pencil, paper, or the brains to walk back inside JB’s. There was a nail lying in the back of my truck and that crazy boy picked it up and told me that he would carve his number in the bed of the truck and if I would call him the next day, he could write down my number. I think that was the 2 o’clock in the morning talking. I thought my dad would kill me if he noticed something carved into that rusty, scratched up little truck, but I really didn’t care. I got into the truck and drove around the corner. I think I was holding my breath! Once I was down the street where I knew I couldn’t be seen, I literally screamed out loud. I was on cloud nine. I couldn’t imagine life being any better, except that I would soon be talking to David on the phone.

2011-04-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

I realize that the picture pretty much gives away the ending, but I think that part was gonna be obvious anyway.

November and December dragged by. Normally, my favorite time of the year, I waited for something, anything to happen. David didn’t ask me out, but at least he didn’t ask out my dear friend either. We talked, laughed, flirted, and danced on Thursdays and Fridays. He bowled on Saturdays.

Then a devastating development. One night in December, David mentioned that he’d gone out with the daughter of a family friend. She was nice, but not really his type. So now I knew that he did date, just not me. A tiny little crack started in my heart; it felt like it was starting to freeze. At least he wasn’t interested in this other girl, but we were turning into the dreaded “friends”. Then, the bomb dropped. He told me, his friend, that his ex-girlfriend had called. She had been dating someone else, a law student, good story so far. However, this law student had started talking about marriage. She felt that it wouldn’t be fair to marry him without resolving her feelings for David. Resolving my foot! He went on to tell me that They would be spending some time together and he might not be around for a while. I had pinned my hopes on the New Year’s Eve party that we would be attending, or at least I thought we would. He wasn’t sure if he would come or not.

It turned out not. All of our friends went to the party. 1990 was destined to be a banner year! Surrounded by friends, I was devastated. I wanted to go home. What was the point of celebrating when my reason for living was not even there? He was probably out with the girl he had dated for years before we met, before his time in Alaska, a girl that he had history with and who wanted to “resolve her feelings”. I moped, I pouted, I’m sure I was a major downer. Midnight came and I reluctantly cheered along with the crowd. New Year’s kisses surrounded me and loneliness filled me. I left as quickly as possible.

On my own, I contemplated the possibilities. I was falling for this friend of mine and I didn’t want to be the shoulder he chose to cry on if his ex dumped him. I didn’t want to watch him get over her and move on to someone else. I definitely still wanted him for myself, and I had not quite given up hope, despite Saturday bowling, set-ups, and ex-girlfriends, I felt an attraction between us that I didn’t think I had imagined.

today

2011-03-31T00:40:00.000-07:00

bear_river cmcflyfish.org

Today is definitely one of those "real life" days that no one ever blogs about because no one really wants to read about someone else's crummy day. Woke up to Lauren telling me she just threw up so she can't go to school, again. (She's missed so much school this year because she's been sick, that it's really affected her grades.) This was after listening to David hack all night (coughing) and I'm sure I woke up every time he got up to go throw up. I know, how can I complain, when I wasn't even the sick one. Came out to get Emma up for school to find out that Mom's sick too! Made Emma scrambled eggs for breakfast, but Dad wanted french toast. Came home, called the school, called the chiro to cancel, called the dr. to take Lauren in and get her on antibiotic in case it's the strep that went around last week.
Took Lauren to the dr. He says it's not strep but puts her on meds anyway for a secondary infection. (Making over $450 spent on medical bills in the month of March. And yes, we have insurance!) Then, he says he wants to see her again tomorrow, so she can't go to school AGAIN! On the way to fill her prescription, she tells me that today was the day she was going to take her French make up test. AAaaghhh! Take her home, go get lunch for Dad, work on Mom's scrapbook. Ignore the piles of both dirty and clean laundry, rethink buying clothes so often. Then, go get Emma for school, more scrapbooking, eat dinner, get ready for mutual. Take Emma to 1st aid night. Be sad that Lauren had to miss it.
Upside, come home to watch idol. Vote online for Casey and Scotty. I like James too, but I had to narrow it down. Really need to go to bed now!

Love part 2

2011-03-25T23:22:00.000-07:00

I’m almost certain I started counting the days to the next dance where I thought I might run into this boy? Young man? Love of my life? I’d learned that he set aside Saturday night for bowling with a friend. Ridiculous! Who bowls on Saturday night? In my opinion, Saturday was for dancing. Of course, so were Thursday, Friday, and Wednesday if possible. College classes were a necessary evil. So, a week until I would see David again. I’m sure I planned my outfit with more care the next week, but a GAP girl with modish tendencies and a passion for Converse really finds herself limited when trying to attract the opposite sex.

I was not disappointed. He was as adorable as I remembered! Those eyes, under those eyebrows! Smitten was an understatement. Also, a very attractive mouth; kissable would be a good description. We discussed a Halloween party coming up that we all intended to attend. My heart fluttered at the idea of seeing him again, knowing the time and place. A friendship began to develop, chatting with our common friends. He was hiding behind the DJ tables, and I wasn’t afraid to join him there to drag him out onto the dance floor. (Those two years in Alaska had been as a missionary and girls were a no-no.) He was nervous after this hiatus. I was safe. However, a safe friend was not who I wanted to be, but if it meant I was the one dancing with him, it was a means to an end.

Thanks to my dad, I had a job at Radio Shack. He required me to get a job. He got me the job. It paid for my entertainment expenses and filled my days. I probably spent more time at Radio Shack daydreaming to the music than selling personal computers, which were still somewhat of a novelty. Between school and the Shack, I thought I was pretty busy, but I was definitely glad that I had money for gas, movies, dancing, and eating out with my friends.

I was going through an interesting stage. I would only eat meat at home (my parents’ house). I decided restaurant meat was gross, and I wouldn’t eat it. Desserts were also off limits. I tended toward the plump, and desserts made that worse. Not eating dessert meant I could sometimes share clothes with my 5’2” best friend. This came up one night after a dance when a bunch of us piled into Paul’s dad’s big old whale of a car and headed over to Denny’s, one of the few places open at one in the morning. I ordered a Pepsi (What in the world made me think that soda was better for me than meat or desserts? But, such is the mind of a 19 yr old.) and Mary ordered a brownie sundae. So did David. I sipped at the pepsi as Mary tried to tempt me with the gooey chocolateyness of her sundae. I really wasn’t tempted at all. One, I don’t really care for chocolate ice cream (which her stirred up concoction had become) and two, I had honestly talked myself into thinking desserts didn’t really taste all that good. David joined in the fray. He couldn’t believe that I wouldn’t want a bite of chocolatey goodness. While I hated to disappoint him, it did at least draw his attention my way. Silly, teenage antics.

The night of the Halloween party arrived and Mary and I dressed up as who knows what. I had one thing on my mind, seeing David. The party was at a house out in the country with a haunted house in the barn. Trying to be subtle, I scanned the crowd. No sign of my mind-altering crush. I tried to look cheerful and enjoy myself, but I really was consumed by the idea of seeing this boy-man. (What is a 22 year old?) I wandered the yard, scanning the mummies, cowboys, and silliness that a bunch of college-age kids engage in o(n the 31^st of October. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to look into the deep-set (blue/green?) eyes of the best looking zombie I had ever seen! My heart leapt! He had been asked (because of the great makeup/costume job his sister had done) to join the haunted house crew and had been inside. We talked and laughed and I’m sure he had no idea that my heart was pounding in my throat. He asked Mary and I if we wanted to come see the Blazer that his parents had bought for him to start his new job as a runner (errand boy) for the law firm that his uncle worked for. Of course we headed out to the dirt road where he had parked and I managed, as I had for the past couple of weeks, to sit beside him in the car. We admired and fussed over his new to him vehicle; he was obviously excited by the purchase. The flirting had begun, but I wondered if this sweet, adorable boy was directing this attention toward me, or my ever adorable friend Mary. I went home, elated but nervous with a stomach full of butterflies and a surely a wistful look in my eye.

Love

2011-03-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

Although I really wanted to vent about my ridiculous experience with "cell phone insurance", I don't really want that negative post to be what's up on my blog. So, I think I'll post the 1st page of a story I wrote. This may not be the best photo, but the story was inspired by the 2nd guy from the left.

When I first saw him, I’m sure I thought he was pretty cute, because by the time we were introduced I definitely thought he was hot. I’m sure it sounds trite in this day and age, but we first met at a church dance. I might have made a better impression if my best friend, Mary, hadn’t been sitting on my lap. I knew a lot of his friends, but David had been in Alaska for two years. I vaguely remembered that Dennis the DJ had mentioned this guy that wrecked his little, old Porsche. So, our friend Paul walked up with the new guy that I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off of. I knew right away that he was the one. I mean he was The One! Of course, I had no idea how to let him know that.

My dating history wasn’t all that fantastic. I wouldn’t count any of the “dates” I went on in high school as real, only one other boy that would even come close to being called a “boyfriend” and a few innocent kisses with unrealistic young men. This was my foundation. I would discover much later that his story was as far from mine as possible. I think he dated every girl he ever met. Of course, he was gorgeous; at least in my opinion. He was WAY out of my league. But I didn’t care. I wanted him. I tried to steel myself for the inevitable heartbreak.

So, back to that concrete slab outside Arizona State University and my 19 year-old self. It was a Friday night in October and the evenings were finally cool enough to wear something other than shorts and a t-shirt, but I probably was anyway. I would definitely describe myself as casual, leaning toward what we used to call “mod”. I probably wanted to be a punk, but was too much of a rule follower and smart kid to go all the way. I would definitely shred my black tights, but no spiked dog collar for me! I’d like to say, “I’ll always remember what I wore the night we met.” But I don’t. It was probably a GAP t-shirt and cut-off jeans. Pretty sexy, eh? I don’t even remember what he was wearing. I probably never took my eyes off his face, the deep-set eyes (Were they blue or green?), cheek bones, and yes, of course a dimple! Brown hair brushed the tops of his strong eyebrows. I was definitely smitten.

I’m sure we danced. I was one of the few people there that he knew. I was friends with all of his friends, automatically part of the same group. I don’t know the songs, something 80’s, not country. We seemed to have similar taste in music, Depeche Mode, the Cure. I was always trying to get Dennis (remember, the DJ, one of our common friends) to play more alternative music. Surely people would dance to the Dead Milkmen and the Pixies. Dennis seemed to think otherwise. He never would play Panic, by the Smiths, I just didn’t get it. Maybe it was Howard Jones. I do remember we both loved to dance to Howard Jones.

What I remember most is the dreamy feeling leaving the dance. I recall my nervousness mentioning my sudden crush to Mary on our way home that night. She was much cuter than me, a boy magnet. I won’t even go into other crushes I had who ended up dating Mary, with her fiery red hair, and calling me to discuss the relationship with a “friend”. Pain in the butt! So, I wanted to know if my best friend thought he was as cute as I did, but I definitely didn’t want to draw her attention to my imagined future spouse. She conceded that he was “alright”, but hadn’t really paid much attention to him. Her focus must have been elsewhere that night. I was satisfied.

my terrible experience with cell phone insurance

2011-03-21T00:56:00.000-07:00

Last week Lauren dropped her phone in the bucket of soapy water while she was washing the car. Crazy, right? So nothing happens until about Friday when suddenly her phone won't turn on. "No big deal", I think, "We paid for the insurance on this phone." So we grab the receipt and box and toddle off to T-mobile to find out about getting a new phone. I explain what happened to the kid at the T-mobile and he smiles knowingly and pulls up our information on the computer.
"Wait", he says, "you don't have insurance on this phone." Well, I saw something on my account that seemed a little strange the day before so I explained that I had bought the phone for my husband, but he didn't like it, but when Lauren trashed her old one, he just switched the sim cards and took his old standard flip phone back. Of course, I had the original receipt showing that I had purchased the insurance on this phone and had been making the payments all along, about 10 months or $60.
Well, the kid informs me that insurance stays with the phone line, not the phone, which is ridiculous, because how many times do you drop your phone # into the toilet? Never, right? And so, even though I have a receipt for the phone and it says "handset protection and warranty" right on it apparently, I have insurance on David's stupid little flip phone.
I try to make some headway with this kid and he suggests that I talk directly to Assurant, the insurance company. I explain my predicament to them and they tell me the exact same thing. They say they're really sorry, but so many people try to scam them by trading phones when they don't have insurance that they can't do anything about it. (of course this is the exact opposite of what we did)
I explain again that I have the original receipt with the purchase of the phone and the "handset protection warranty" and both phone numbers are on the same account. We are the original owners. The phone hasn't switched owners, just users. However, this makes no difference. I ask to talk to the supervisor to whom I must explain the whole thing again. She comes on the line after the first person says that he's explained the situation to her. I ask if she know what's going on and she says, "Well I understand that you want to replace a phone that you don't have insurance on." I was fuming! I re-explain the whole thing and she basically says, sorry, Is there any thing else we can do for you. No! You can do what I've been paying you for 10 months to do. Oh, and during this conversation, they inform me that there would be a $40 replacement fee for the phone if they did cover it, so maybe I could just find a $40 phone for my kid.
Let's just forget that I bought this touch screen, web-enabled browser phone for my husband.
So I get off the phone with the &@#^ insurance company and the T-mobile kid suggests that I talk to the people at "customer loyalty" since I have been a loyal customer for so long and I'm now threatening to cancel my 3 phones. So I call and have to explain the situation to the first rep and then again to the loyalty department and they offer to take $40 off the price of a replacement phone. So after spending $60 on insurance, I can spend another $105 and get a replacement phone, or I can get a crappy phone for $40.
This begins to seriously tick me off.

Who in the world needs insurance on their phone #? I bought insurance on a phone!

Why does Mardi Gras sound so much more attractive than Fat Tuesday?

2011-03-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

Since it was my day for dinner co-op, I decided I needed to do something for this holiday that I don't actually celebrate. I actually kind of think the idea of Lent is cool. Sometimes I've done it, mostly not. but I've been craving seafood lately and this seemed like a good excuse.
So, we started with the idea of Shrimp gumbo... but apparently I can't move the photos from my facebook to here so...
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150204541607222&set=a.388570467221.212357.775997221&ref=nf

Anyway, we have a few people who don't like seafood (Mom), so I started out with some sausage that Meg had left over and cut up some chicken too, so that those people would have some food. My "research" showed that anything that runs, walks, swims, or flies can go into gumbo as long as you use a roux to set it. The recipe then suggested sauteeing okra "until the slimy strings stop forming". I thought, "hmm, let's just add spinach instead." The recipe called for oysters, shrimp, and crab, but I am cheap and crab is expensive right now, plus I didn't want to shell it and I didn't want the fake stuff. I figured with the chicken and sausage, oysters and shrimp would just about push us over the top on meat, which would be perfect considering the day. Next, I threw in some onions, garlic, celery, and carrots all diced up to sautee with the meat.
Once that cooked down, I put some in the other dish before adding the oysters (canned) and shrimp (tails on) and letting that cook. Next came canned tomatoes, the spinach, a couple bay leaves off the tree, vegeta (special eastern European seasoning that Elise introduced us to) some seasoned salt, salt, pepper, some water and pour the roux in once the other stuff has a chance to heat up. It was kind of a lot of work, but worth it.
I repurposed the leftover spanish rice from the night before into my version of dirty rice to serve it over.
I must admit, by the time I ate it, I could almost imagine I was sitting in the dim gaslight of Papadeaux (which is the closest I've been to New Orleans).
We had some toasted asiago bread and brie to go with.
Okay, I have to admit there was a flaw to my menu. I had already bought the cabbage to make cabbage crunch salad, and of course, that has a bit of an asian flair, but whose to say they don't have asian chefs in N.O. who wouldn't do the same thing. Thanks to Lauren and Mom for stepping in to put the salad together while I kept adding continuous ingredients to the gumbo. (It wouldn't be dinner at our house if someone didn't burn the almonds or the toast.)

My conclusion:
Dinner tasted good, but I'm not sure I have the patience to do that on a regular basis. I seem to have been choosing labor intensive dinners lately (frying tortilla bowls for the taco salad on Monday). It's probably the bounce back from pneumonia February.

I will try to get the pictures on here. I should know better than to use my phone, but I couldn't find my camera.
Then Mom had a watermelon that she balled to share, yum!

I HEART PACKAGES!!!

2011-03-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

I know, all caps is really obnoxious, but I really, really love getting packages in the mail. It's amazing to me that I don't shop online more. I remember the first time that I "mail ordered" something. It was my first year of college and I ordered clothes from Au Coton. (If you know what that is, it dates us both, so I'm ok with it.) I was so excited then and I was still just as exited yesterday when this arrived in the mail.

Yay! the package that I ordered from www.PrairieBirdBoutique.etsy.com arrived!

First, obviously, I ordered this so I know what's in it. (see previous post) Second, I'm addicted to ribbon, so I'm super excited. Finally, another blogger (sorry I forgot who, someone I followed a link from Tip Junkie to) posted about how cute her package was when it arrived. So I see the package on the counter and am amazed that David didn't open it since it's addressed to him (because the paypal account is in his name). When I open the package, I see this...

So cute! Notice the tiny little flower in the middle of the bow. Who wouldn't want to open this package? So, of course, I do...

and I pull out this. All that ribbon on top... I didn't order that. She just put it in to pretty it up, and entice me back. Good job, probably successful. I actually ordered the crinkled dyed seam binding ribbon underneath.

Look at all these gorgeous colors. There are lots more, these are just the ones I couldn't resist. The price ends up being about .35 a yard, fabulous! The variegated was a little more, but so worth it, so pretty. Also inside was this precious post card...

with this nice little note...

Very sweet. Would be great marketing, if I knew what her other etsy shop was?! I'll probably hunt for it.

So, showing all this fun stuff to my Mom and talking about what to do with it, I suddenly remeber that I have some wool balls from Anthro that have been sitting all the shelf since Christmas waiting for me to decide what to do with them. Yarn balls, meet Wrinkled seam binding...

and form a sweet little family for me to wear to church.

So, yay for packages in the mail, yay for pretty ribbon, yay for great presentation plus free stuff, because , of course, looks are everything. Great day!

Etsy

2011-03-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

It's hard for me to go on Etsy, because I want to buy everything. The other day I followed a thread from the Tip Junkie, who is great. I ended up here...

And I bought this...

along with this...

and a couple others as well. I'm sure that I could make these myself, and maybe I will in the future, but these are so pretty and a great idea. I love them and am waiting expectantly for the package to arrive.

An aside, we had breakfast for dinner last night in honor of Nat'l Pancake Day (which I'm pretty sure IHOP just made up). Well, we showed them! We ate pancakes at home. I'm not in love with this plan. I sat at the stove cooking pancakes for what felt like hours. This was even with a griddle, so I could cook 8 at a time. They were yummy though, with whipped cream, strawberries, and blueberries, and a little syrup for the bacon to touch. The kids loved it.

Also, going to the livestock auction with my Bro today to get a couple calves to raise for some home-grown beef. (if you want in on this, let me know. About $50 buys you a share with about 14 lbs of prime beef. You can't beat $3.50 a lb for knowing where your meat comes from.)

Burnt Limpa bread

2011-02-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

So, I kind of wish this is what my bread looked like. Mine was a little, um, darker on top. I forgot to take a picture. After a month of not wanting to do anything (see previous post), I decided that I needed to be more productive. My nephew Brecken really wanted Potato and Pea soup for dinner co-op tonight, so I thought homemade bread would go well with it. David's mom is Swedish and she introduced me to a delicious bread called Limpa bread. She gets it at a little bakery near Sugarhouse in SLC. She usually goes once a year and buys about 20 loaves and freezes them. They maybe last the summer. David loves it as a pb&j. I just like it with a thin layer of butter. It is a beautiful dark bread with rye, caraway, and anise.
I've tried to make Limpa bread before with disastrous results. No one would eat it, not even me. So I looked on the web for a recipe with some good reviews. I found a tip that suggested boiling the caraway and anise in liquid for a milder flavor. That sounded good, since the last time the bread tasted like black licorice. I found a recipe for a no-knead artisan loaf that sounded pretty easy and went to the store for yeast, spices, and rye flour. (This is when Lauren called to come home from school sick.)
Well, I started the dough a little bit later than I had planned. It tasted good though, so I was encouraged. Down a kitchen helper, and left with the little one (she's 12) who's afraid of knives and potato peelers, I was still a little slow in the kitchen. I really love potato soup when the onions, celery, and potatoes are sauteed in olive oil first and cooking for 15 takes a few potatoes. So, the bread went in the oven about 5:10, probably not to be ready by the usual 5:30. At 5:45, the top of the bread was still not brown. The oven has been heating a little low lately and the button won't go above 350*. (probably time to fix it, but then we'd have fewer adventures) I decided that a minute or 2 on broil would do the trick. I decide this a lot. I also burn bread a lot. Anyway, the top was just a wee bit darker than it should have been, but it was still yummy with the soup. It wasn't really anything like the bread from that SLC bakery, but still tasty. btw, how do they get dark brown bread? I don't get it.

Peeuwwmonia

2011-02-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, apparently having pneumonia takes away all kinds of energy for anything, even typing on a blog. I'm coming back though.

This I believe... religiously

2011-01-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

Recently I have bumped up against several mentions in national arenas of my faith. I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, LDS, or commonly referred to as the "Mormons". Anybody who wants to know what all Mormons believe can easily gain access to "The Articles of Faith" on www.lds.org. What follows are my personal beliefs with the context of that framework.
   I believe that Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior; that he literally came to earth, born to a virgin as the Son of God. He lived in, what we now call, Israel. Although the man who raised him was a carpenter, he was the rightful heir to the house of David. The young Jesus trained to become a rabbi, but he knew who he truly was and is. He selected several men from his followers to help him share the New Law. Some of these men demonstrated their own human frailties in their lives. The existing hierarchy of the church was not fond of Jesus. Together, with the Romans, they put him to death by cricifixion. He was placed in a borrowed tomb. On the 3rd day, he rose again. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene. He ascended to his Father, but returned to bear witness to his disciples. He allowed his life to be taken to atone for the sins of mankind and take our sorrows from us. From the life, death, and resurrection of this man came many churches based on one religion; the religion of Christ.
   I believe that I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me and I love him. This is also the father of Jesus Christ. I believe that I show my love for my Father-in-Heaven by following his commandments including the 10 Commandments given to the prophet Moses, as well as others given by the Savior and the prophets. I believe that in order to live with God again, I must do the best I can with what I know and look to my Savior for forgiveness of my sins. As hard as I try, and I will continue to try, I would always fall short without the atonement of Christ.
   I believe that the Holy Ghost, the 3rd member of the Godhead exists and is there to be a comforter and protector of mankind. I have felt his presence in my life and have come to understand the love that a Heavenly Father has for his children through his influence.
   I believe that the Lord has placed prophets on the earth to lead people to the gospel. He did this in both ancient and modern times. Moses did not ask to lead the children of Israel. He was called by God. Likewise, John the Baptist was ordained by God to preach of the coming of the Savior. Prophets were also sent to the Americas to lead the people there. During the time known as the Dark Ages, prophets were not on the earth. However, God would not leave the world he created without spiritual leadership. A boy who had been chosen, just like Moses and John, read in the Bible that if he lacked wisdom, he could ask God. With pure faith, he went into a grove of trees and asked. He certainly did not expect to see God, but he did. Despite persecution and death, he never would deny what he saw. He was given an ancient record by an angel. Eventually he showed the gold plates to 8 other men. Some of these men would go on to leave the church that was organised by Joseph Smith, but none would deny the existence of the plates.
   I do not claim to understand all of the works or intents of God. I do not know why Blacks were denied the priesthood in the early days of the church. I do know that Joseph Smith was opposed to slavery and a supporter of people of color in general. I certainly don't claim to understand polygamy, but I know it existed in the primitive church as well as in the early days of LDS history. Moses and Brigham Young were both polygamists. They both had some problems because of it. My 3rd great-grandfather, A.O. Smoot, was a polygamist. I have studied his life and find no evidence that he was a lecherous man. Indeed he was a philanthropist. My 3rd great-grandmother, Anne Mauritzdotter, was alone in the world when A.O.'s first wife suggested that she wed her husband (wife #4). I don't know what she thought, but she accepted and gave birth to a future senator as well as my grandmother's grandmother. Despite my lack of understanding, experience and logic show me that this church teaches truth, as instructed by God. (btw, polygamy is no longer practiced in the LDS church.)
   I believe that the family is an eternal structure given to us by our Heavenly Father to help us through our earthly trials, even if sometimes they are our earthly trials. I believe that the bonds of family are strong, eternal, and good. I have felt the guiding hands of my ancestors in my life. There is nothing more important to me than my role in this plan of our Father-in-Heaven, to raise my children in a way that is pleasing to him.
   This I believe.

A thank you note

2011-01-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

When I'm done writing this, I should probably send it to Glenn Beck.
Dear Glenn Beck,
I felt compelled to write you this note to thank you for the contributions you are making to our society in the U.S. I am a regular watcher of your television show. I honestly can't remember when I first started watching, but I do remember why. My family has always been interested in politics and preserving the God-given freedoms that we enjoy in this country. My younger brother has been a huge fan of yours and showed me the video of your conversion to the LDS faith. I felt a connection with this and your fact-based, Constitution-based ideology. I watched my brother add the books that you would recommend to his perpetual Christmas list. We would have Saturday discussions after watching taped episodes of your show. I started taping your show at home and would watch it late at night. My youngest sister and her family attended the Rally to Restore Honor. We enviously watched from home. I appreciate the research that you do and share with your audience.
I also recently finished reading your book with Dr. Keith Ablow, The 7 Wonders That Will Change Your Life. It was really the perfect time in my life to read this book. I am a conservative woman living in Arizona. In light of the recent events in Tucson, this is a somewhat difficult position. I was extremely upset by the senseless disregard for human life taken by the shooter. As I listened to and read the news about the events, I was disturbed by the rush to judgement that the shooter must have been driven by the conservative talkers. I began to get angry and spend more time reading and watching people placing blame for this man's actions on others. Thankfully, at this time I was also reading the section of your book on compassion. I realized that, while one can and should still work to correct misconceptions, my being angry at rash commentary was not improving the situation. I was able to let go of my anger and focus on reasonable discourse on the great chasm of truth in our society.
Additonally, I have never been an alcoholic or addicted to drugs, but I appreciated the honesty and depth of feeling in your stories of overcoming these trials. Of course, I do have trials of my own. I recently left my teaching job after 5 years of feeling that I was spending more of my time on other people's children than my own. My husband and I have struggled with financial issues. My father had a stroke that left him paralyzed on one side of his body and my mother was coming into a situation where she would be caring for him on her own 24/7. (She is lucky/blessed enough to have several therapists who come to their home.) We prayerfully decided (with my mom) that we should move into her large home to help her care for my dad. I have worried about not making a financial contribution to our family situation. I am now looking for breadcrumbs, some of which I may have overlooked, that will help me follow the path that will be helpful to me and my family.
Finally, I just want to restate my thanks to you for your contribution. I've read several of your other books and enjoyed them as well. This one really resonated with me. I took notes. When I finished, I started making lists of things that I love to do. (I really love history!) I've started thinking back to the inspiration that has been given to me and looking for future inspiration. Thank you for sharing this book and your experiences with me.

Sincerely,

Monique Fullmer

Things I'd like to do this year.

2011-01-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

not in any order
1. read my scriptures more often
2. spend quality time with my girls

3. celebrate our 20th anniversary with David by taking a trip together. (It would be the 1st trip together, without the kids since they were born. Some ideas pictured here.)
4. Get more exercise.
5. be more financially responsible.
6. be aware of the world around me and active in it.
7. read some good books.
8. work on family history.
9. be a good, kind, positive person
10. learn something new.
to be continued...

Shutterfly Christmas

2010-12-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Time flies, whether you’re having fun or not. So let’s get crackin’. Shutterfly is doing a really cool Christmas promotion! They’re offering fifty free Christmas cards if you blog about it on your blog site. I looked at their Christmas cards and they have tons of really cute options. Their photo cards with the candy stripes are some of my favorites. Look here, and you can see for yourself.
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards
So, my plan this year is to use a photo of my kids that I took with big wax lips in their mouths. They are so hilarious! Lauren looks rather amazingly like Lucille Ball. Emma is, of course, a little more reserved, but she participated willingly. I think this will be so adorable with a red candy stripe card. This will be my first time using Shutterfly and I’m really looking forward to it.
Of course, they also have really cute invitations if you have an event coming up, ya know, like your big New Year’s Eve party. Check these out… http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/party-cards-stationery
While you’re checking out this stuff, hop on over and take a peek at their equally cute Christmas address labels. Your Christmas cards will definitely be the most stylish ones on the post office conveyer belt.
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-address-labels

So, do you like any of these pictures? Which one would you choose?

Open letter to VP Biden (still under construction

2010-09-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

September 27, 2010

Dear Vice-President Biden,

I respect the sacrifice that you have made of your time to serve your country in a rather thankless job. I understand that being the vice president of the United States must be extremely stressful and difficult.

I would like to share one idea with you. I believe that, as a role model for our nation’s children, it is important not to curse. I recall Charles Barkley’s famous quote when a similar complaint was directed at him, “I am not a role model.” I even appreciated the message that he followed with, that parents and others closer to the children should be the true role models, not a sports star. I’m sure that in the situations that you are in, there are rarely children around and they probably don’t come to mind during your conversations. However, in the position that you hold, children should look to you as a model and a successful guide.

I am a school teacher. (So I can relate to the thankless job.) I realize that I am presenting anecdotal evidence; however, it seems pretty consistent. Having taught sixth grade for a few years, I began to notice a pattern. Children who swear at school seem to demonstrate less regard for their parents, teachers, and education in general. I don’t know what the statistical correlation actually is, but it is there. Students who consistently swear generally perform less well in their studies and have more discipline problems. Interestingly, some of my most difficult students were the ones whose parents didn’t care if they cursed.

Of course, I know you are an adult and have many freedoms that children should not be allowed. We restrict children from drinking alcohol and place the age for voting at an age when they have had a chance to mature and improve in reasoning skills. Adults are capable of deciding what is appropriate in their own lives. However, when children hear respected adults use foul language, they believe that using similar language makes them more adult as well.

I have heard throughout my life that swear-words are vocabulary for the uneducated. Obviously times have changed and such language is heard in every walk of life. It is simply my opinion that the dignity of the office you hold is denigrated by the use of foul language, and that hurts us all.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Monique Fullmer

Grade school

2010-07-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

So, I've been playing on a new FB page created by John Rubalcaba called "Chandler People". Wherever else I may have been, I am definitely and will always be Chandler People. Luckily, we're back in Chandler. Mom and I were looking through old pics and I found these. This one is from Mrs. Blocker's 1st grade class. Before she got married, that year, she was Celeste Celeste. I'm right up front in the red. I was always in front, because I was one of the shortest. One of my best friends was Shelly Hudson, and I'm pretty sure that is her behind me to the left in the yellow dress. She lived right next door to me. I also remember being friends with Lynn Row in the green on the right. She was always very nice. Monica Boles was in the purple gingham in the middle row. We both ended up at Knox School and often sat by each other because of the whole name thing. One day I opened up a Catsup packet and accidentally squirted her across the table. I don't think she ever spoke to me again. 1st grade was weird for me. I started school in 1974 when I was 4 at John Hancock Academy. When I moved the next year to public school, they wouldn't let me start 1st grade because I was only 5. Well, back in those days, kindergarten was where you played with play dough and colored for half the day. I had learned to read at the private school and so half way through the year, they moved me up anyway. I did love Mrs. Blocker. She made me feel very welcome in her class.

This was 3rd grade at Hartford. I think that Mom moved me over here because she liked the principal, Mr. Ethington. I am in the front row again, right behind the sign with my hair pulled back in a tight bun. (Thanks Mom) My best friend here was Heather Allen, front row, red skirt. One day on the way to school, she got hit by a car. I remember being very sad, especially that she was gone from school for so long. She was very seriously injured and lost about 1/2 of her blood supply, but she recovered well and came back to school. I actually student taught at Hartford when I was getting my degree. The secretary there remembered me (almost 25 years later) when I told her who I was. She said oh yeah, you're the one who wouldn't stop screaming when your friend got hit by the car. The teacher told the class what happened and you started screaming. We had to call your mom to come pick you up. The boy at the top, second from the left, was Ray. His Grandpa lived by us and worked for the farm. We would play when he came to visit his grandparents. I loved to chase him around the playground and kick him in the shins. That is how you show that you like someone, right?

just a note

2010-05-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well. School's out and I'm not going back. This should be interesting. The fam is moving in with Nana B. and Grampy. Lauren and Emma are so excited to be heading to Chandler. I think they love it almost as much as me. I'm a little emotional right now, but not about this. My dear friend from years ago, Celeste's father passed away this week. I just imagine how difficult this must be. He was always such a kind, gentle soul with a witty sense of humor. My prayers are with their family at this time. If anyone knows when the funeral is, will you let me know. I looked for an obituary and didn't see one.

An open letter to President Obama

2009-10-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

October 22, 2009
Dear Mr. President,
I feel compelled to write to you concerning the statements made by you as well as some members of your staff regarding FOX News. It offends me that my fellow Americans would insult my intelligence, as well as many others, by insinuating that we cannot tell the difference between straight news and commentary. In fact, we are quite experienced in this matter as we have had to look past the liberal bias of several other cable news networks for many years. I am shocked that you would allow and participate in this scurrilous attack on free speech. It seems to me that when you spoke of hope and change during the election, the emphasis was on transparency in government, disentangling the government from big business, and promoting equality.
Since you have taken office, legislation has become more confusing, more divisive, and less accessible to the public. The voice of the people is ridiculed when they disagree and make their concerns public. What happened to the promise of public access to bills before they are signed?
Additionally, you discussed the dangers of big business being involved in government. Does the reverse not apply? I thought that the founders of this nation laid out the structure of our government to limit their own power and keep the power in the hands of the people.
Finally, and perhaps my most heartfelt point, I am beginning to believe that we have very different ideas on the concept of equality. You see, I thought that you were referring to something like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of being judged by the content of one’s character. Instead, you seem to follow the more Orwellian principle of some being more equal than others. This brings me back to my original point. Simply because you disagree with the reporting or commentary of a group does not authorize you to attempt to relegate it to a nonentity. You are certainly not the first president to feel pressure from the press and you won’t be the last, I’m sure.
Please don’t be the man who allows shallow, insecure compatriots to influence you in a manner that would restrict the god-given rights of the people to free speech. Please believe in the intelligence of the American people to discern for ourselves whether we watch commentators who toe the liberal or conservative line, or both for that matter. When one champions hope and
change, one must make sure they do not lead down dangerous paths. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Monique Fullmer

Also being sent to President Obama, directly.

Kids n Dads

2009-08-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

Just a quick Emma story since I REALLY should be in bed. This afternoon Emma was a little peeved at David for something. He was getting ready to go to the store because he didn't buy the salmon that he told Karen he would bring for dinner today so he knew she was going to get mad again. He said to her, "Emma, come snuggle me since you probably won't later when you're mad at me for going to the store on Sunday." Emma replies, "Daddy, don't you know? I always snuggle you when I'm mad at you."

She is the strangest kid. Cool, but strange.

Emma's blog

2009-04-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

I could have sworn I blogged since this post. Then I remembered, that was Emma. Check out her zoo photos.

A couple photos

2009-03-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

This is the picture of the vase that Chris sent down for our family for Christmas. We all love it. Emma had me bring it to school so that she could show her class for show and tell. Lauren was there that day to help with our field day so she took it around to show the art teacher and a whole bunch of other teachers who all greatly admired it and were amazed that her uncle (my brother) had made this beautiful work of art. Of course, it is less fuzzy in real life, I have a problem taking pictures with my phone. Thanks again Chris, we love it. That's Chris Bogle for anyone who might be looking for a gorgeous piece of glass.

This is a project that I stole (borrowed, because there is no class, it is just an example) from my favorite, Melrose Vintage. The base is a sheet of metal and everything on it is a magnet. I've already made one and I will post a picture as soon as I have a family pic to put on it. Ooo, that may take a while.Yay, it is Spring Break, so we are going to go play now. Weeeeee!

Too much or too little

2009-03-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

I hate it when it's been a month since I blogged and I really don't have anything to say but feel like such a slacker because I really want you all to blog and am sad when you don't.

Ok, a few things...
Megan brought down my vase from Chris and it is gorgeous! I will post a pic when I bring it home. It is still at Mom's house because I was feeling sick when I left yesterday and didn't grab everything. I'm also a little scared to move it. It is green and blue swirled and absolutely beautiful. Thanks Chris!

I went to the doctor on friday for the tiny little rash below my lip and just as I lknew would happen, now they want me to make up for the years I haven't gone. The lip thing is not contagioous, but may be worse for me. The dermo said rosacea or psoriasis or something, so does that mean I'm doomed to having a bumpy red face for life and still have to go have all the tests done that the doctor ordered? LAME

I am laughing my head off watching my High School reunion on TVLand. Yes, MY high school reunion. It's like eavesdropping on the stupidest conversations that you ever heard and realising that this is television, so the entire world can hear how dumb some people were 20 years ago and how dumb some people still are. Chandler High Class of 88 rocks!

I am addicted to Lush bath and body stuff.

Happy late birthday Emma

2009-01-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, I'm totally stealing Darilyn's kid interview. Not only that, it's practically with the same kid, my own 10 year old Emma had a birthday New Year's Eve. So, here goes...
What is your favorite TV show? Can we skip this one?
What is your favorite movie? I'm not sure
What is your favorite color? Blue
What is your favorite food? How many can I list? Teriyaki wings, crab legs
What is your favorite thing to do with mom? Hang out
What is your favorite thing to do with dad? Play on the trampoline or go for a bike ride
What is your favorite thing to do with your sister? Play games
What do you want to be when you grow up? Either a sculptor or a dog shelter owner
Do you have a favorite friend? Maddy, Shyla, and Katie
What is your favorite thing to do when you are not at home? Play with my cousins
What is your favorite toy or thing? I danna know
What is your favorite book? You know, Warriors
What is your favorite animal? a dog (especially Sonny)
Do you want to go on a mission? Yes
Do you want kids? Yes
What's hard to do? Write a story in 2 days, with a dedication page and cover
What's have you learned from your primary teacher this year? Joseph Smith
What do you love to do? Hang out with my cousins, friends and family
What would you want to add? What kind of dog would you have if you got to choose? Some sort of golden retriever mix, golden retrievers rock (This was a great choice, seeing as how we have a golden doodle.)

For some reason, I can't load a pic right now, so...

make-up time

2009-01-30T18:36:00.000-08:00

Okay, this has to buy me some time before I have to change my background. This is a quick replay of the holidays. I actually thought that we might take a Christmas picture and send out cards. It went something like this.
"Lauren, I want to take pictures of you guys decorating the tree. Would you please put on a shirt with sleeves."

"No, Lauren, those are not sleeves. And Emma, eewww."
"It still doesn't work, even with a hat."

"Could we stop dancing with the dog long enough to take a picture?"

This might have worked, but by then I was too wiped out to even think about having the pictures printed.

Yup, those are my girls!

Yay Chris!

2008-12-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

These are beautiful. You really should come see.

Christmas time is here!

2008-12-07T10:50:00.001-08:00

Christmas is definitely my favorite time of year and it officially starts Thanksgiving morning at about 9am when Santa shows up at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. this year, the girls and I spent the night before at Nana B's so we could wake up and watch the parade with her. David arrived just in time for dinner, per his usual plan. He honestly can't understand why you would show up more than about 10 minutes before sitting down at the table. Austensibly, we were there so we could also help her get ready for the crowd coming to her house. She however, was up and had most things done before I ever woke up. My timing is impeccable. Lauren however, did help Reuben set up the rest. (I know you helped too, Meg. And I played with Catcher so that you wouldn't feel left out. wink.) Ok, this is going to be a little backwards since I obviously don't know how to post pics in order and I am slow getting everything on my blog. I'm so glad that Elise called on Friday (12/5) to see if we wanted to go to see the Nutcracker with her and her girls. I had planned on going to the Hamilton football game, but no one else could go. I asked the girls what they would rather do (thinking they would totally back me up on football) They were shocked, of course they wanted to go to the Nutcracker. It's a holiday TRADITION, didn't I know. One that it's been a couple years since we've done. The girls loved it, Zo especially! She asked Elise nonstop questions throughout the entire show. So hilarious. Lauren was enraptured. She told Zo to be quiet when she tried to ask her questions and Zo was mad. She told Elise that Lauren wouldn't play with her. She only wanted to play with HER friends. I'm guessing these were the ballerinas. Afterward, Lauren reassured Zo that she was her best friend.

At Nana B's house Thanksgiving Day, Lauren was so busy taking pictures of the food, that she pretty much forgot to take pics of the people. It's a tribute to how delicious dinner is at Mom's. Here we are playing the traditional Mexican Train game at the Miller's house Thanksgiving evening. Traditional, in that it is played almost every Sunday!

Back at Nana B's house, Lauren was able to take a picture of Catcher, because he had food in his hands, and face. He was so cute eating this apple. Nana B was enthralled by the tiny apples at Safeway (you know, the ones they used to let people come u-pick after they sold all the good ones to the stores). Well, this one was perfect Catcher size. He couldn't quite break through the skin with his 2 1/2 teeth yet, but once we took a little starter bite, he was going to town. I think he chewed on, sucked on, and generally adored this apple for about 1/2 an hour. He is so hilarious.

This is the pecan pie, before David and Lauren picked off about 1/3 of the pecans. Yes Lauren had already gained control of the camera and was on her food photo marathon.

The day before Thanksgiving, the girls helped make 6 pies, an apple, cherry and pecan for each house we went to. When I took the bags of apples out of the fridge, I almost died. The smell of those apples was like heaven. I just wanted to stick my head in the bag and leave it there. I hear that's not healthy. The girls were a big help with the pies. I don't know how I used to do 10-12. Oh wait, I didn't have a job. We had a blast and were covered with flour and dripping with apple juice by the time we were done. I love it!

Fine Merilee!

2008-11-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not,

my mom actually found suckers like this in gorgeous Christmas colors at Walgreens. Please don't buy them all, because I haven't been able to get any yet. I am so ready for Christmas. I know lots of people don't like the early displays, but they could have Christmas stuff up all year long and I would be just fine. I love to listen to the songs, see the lights, create the lists, make the pies, wrap the presents and everything else that goes along with the only holiday I can think of that makes strangers smile at each other and people go sing in front of other people's houses. I love it! Even when I'm not sure I can do it all and I am stressed out beyond ever, I still love it!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

I wonder, do bad memories of Halloween make it through the filter of childhood? I don't think I ever remember not having fun on Halloween.

Lauren's actual costume is "Alice Cullen, dressed as a wood nymph for Halloween", hence the black hair. Thanks to Aunt Megan, the wild bandido for coming over to do Lauren's hair and makeup for our ward halloween party and Aunt Elise for loaning the costume. One reason Halloween was more stressful for me, ward halloween party on halloween night and knowing my kids still wanted to trick or treat.I just loved this pic of Bad Guy Megan!

Emma dressed as Sally, from the Nightmare before Christmas. She actually won "Best Costume" at the ward party, which I think may have made up for missing out on trick or treating when Mom, Dad, and Lauren all got asked to help with game booths at the party.
However, she did inform us that no Halloween is complete without the annual dumping out of the candy and swapping with your cousins tradition. So, we made the trek out to Chandler, because for some reason, I'm all about making memories. Of course, this way we get to see Nana B. and Grampy when we're all dressed up for halloween too. Now, one holiday down....

Garbage trucks

2008-09-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mike Bogle for this link to a site that shares a truth that is easy to forget sometimes.
http://www.bewareofgarbagetrucks.com
or just click the title of this post.

September

2008-09-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well,

Fall is here, hear the yell back to school, ring the bell brand new shoes, walking blues climb the fence, books and pens I can tell that we're going to be friends

It's that time of year again. I don't want to bore you all with school stories, but of course, the classroom antics are interesting as usual.

On top of that, it's my um, 20th high school reunion next weekend. That should be interesting. The closer we get, more people are posting old and new pics on classmates. It's pretty funny. The amount of big hair is not really so surprising I guess as just amusing.

It is strange though, the change in the weather (even if it is just the monsoon flaring up), school starting, football, and I don't know who lit those fall scented candles in the dining room... I seem to just feel a static of excitement in the air. Whenever anyone asks what my favorite season is, I always think of Christmas, but then I realize that it's really the build up that I love. Right after Christmas is always a let down, so winter is not really my favorite. I love the crescendo as football leads to halloween leads into Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. I do love Fall. I don't even care when they start putting Christmas stuff up in the stores. To me, it's all just part of the fun. And hey, if they want to clearance the other holidays before they actually happen, I just get a better deal, YAY!

2008-08-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA PICKERING!

It's my Grandma's birthday today and I just thought I should mention it. She was a rockin' grandma. Mom and I were talking the other day about how she loved to read romance novels. When I was in high school and a young adult, she would pass the ones on to me that she thought were tame enough. Mom was a little shocked because she said her mom wouldn't even let her read East of Eden in high school, but I said, "Hey, that's what grandmas are for. It might be weird if you gave your daughter romance novels."

Grandma was great. She took us places, like out to the AF base to see a movie or shopping. Grandma was Oklahoma through and through. She married Grandpa at 15 and never looked back. She raised her 2 sons and 10 years later, her little daughter. (World War II happened in the middle there) By the end of her life, she had trouble remembering who was on her side or not. She was always fiesty and full of life and I miss her. Edith was "Jack" to her family and Grandma to us and will never be forgotten.

Reading list.

2008-07-30T01:15:00.000-07:00

I stole this 100% from a blog called "Troy and Nancy" The comments are hers and I don't have time to change them, or really want to for that matter. I don't necessarily agree with them and I've read 35 books from the list. (I'll add asterisks so we can see if I can count) - Monique

I read on another blog that the average adult has read only 6 out of 100 of the following books! (I don't know if those stats are true, but I guess it doesn't matter). I've bolded the books I have read.
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (awesome - one of my favorite)*
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (It's on my list to read. Love the movies)
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (great book)*
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (some of the best books I've ever read)*
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*
6. The Bible (the majority of it)-not enough of it
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (weird, but interesting)*
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (read it in high school, can't remember it)*
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (high school - BORING)*
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott (pretty good)*
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete work of Shakespere (no interest)
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (great book)*
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (just remember a lot of swearing, sorry Alexandra)*
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot*
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (hated the movie, so no interest)
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald*
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (HATED this book; couldn't even finish)*
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll*
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (boring, wouldn't recommend it)
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens*
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis*
34. Emma - Jane Austen (pretty good, rare occasion where the movie is better)*
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen (not her best work, but still a good read)*
36. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (read 1000 Splendid Suns and did not like it, so no interest)
37. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
38. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (started off good, but didn't like the ending)
39. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne*
40. Animal Farm - George Orwell (high school read - don't remember much)*
41. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (Angels and Demons is better)*
42. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez*
43. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving*
44. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
45. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
46. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
47. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
48. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (another high school read. remember the conch and "kill the pig, suck it's blood, bash it's head..." or something like that)
49. Atonement - Ian McEwan
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
51. Dune - Frank Herbert
52. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
53. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (on my to-read list)*
54. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
55. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
56. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
57. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (high school, but I do remember liking this one)
58. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
59. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
60. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
61. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
62. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
63. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
64. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (one of my favorite; great book)
65. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
66. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
67. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fiedling
68. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdi
69. Moby Dick - Herman Melville*
70. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens*
71. Dracula - Bram Stoker
72. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett*
73. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses - James Joyce
75. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
76. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
77. Germinal - Emile Zola
78. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (movie sucked, so no interest)
79. Possession - AS Byatt
80. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens*
81. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
82. The Color Purple - Alice Walker*
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert*(not sure I finished)
85. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte’s Web - EB White*
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (hated it, thought it was stupid)
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle*
89. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
90. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad*
91. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery*
92. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
93. Watership Down - Richard Adams
94. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute*
96. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
97. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
98. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
(The last two were missing, so I made some up)
99. Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton (Interesting read, but hated the ending)
100. Twilight series - Stephanie Myers (only read one and HATED it.*
I know, I know. I thought it was so shallow and silly, especially after just finishing the masterpiece of Harry Potter. No comparison.)

I got 23. How many did you get? I know a lot of people won't agree with my reviews, but if you found you had similar views, please share with me some other books that you liked. Or, post this list on your blog and do your own reviews.

Happy 13th of July

2008-07-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know that this is late, but I was sticking with the whole one post at a time thing. Anyway, I love small town 4th of July, especially where it's cool enough to have a parade! Emma and Riley got to lead out the parade with Thad's cousin Ell and his horse Amish.
Of course, they were all looking away in the first picture. I think Emma's favorite part was throwing candy at people.
Everyone was saying at church that the whole town had signed up to be in the parade and they were wondering who would be left to watch it. Well, the out of towners, of course, US.
Lauren was out fishing during the parade, but made it back in time for lunch, getting soaked in the canal, and of course sparklers.
I was a bit devastated that we didn't go watch "actual" fireworks, but a storm was brewing and the kids didn't seem a bit disappointed, so... Happy Independence Day!

Koooosharem, UT

2008-07-08T17:48:00.001-07:00

This seemed like a good time to write about how much fun David has in UT. This first picture is his nightcrawler digging uniform. He didn't want to ruin his jeans. I'm not sure why he didn't just wear his holey jeans. He did find 16 dozen worms though, in about 20 minutes, enough to last the rest of the week fishing.
And speaking of fishing, here's David restringing his hook after one of the, I think it was 11, fish that got away. You would think he would change poles, but he's a man of habit. One of those fish was reeled all the way into the boat, but grandpa's hook was still caught in the net with his fish and he broke loose.
This must be after losing another one. This day, Emma caught my limit, 4, I caught her limit, 2, and David would have had a lot more than he did. Technically, that's not true, it just means that we would have been done fishing a lot sooner.
After a long day of fishing, a little sunburn, and dinner at the Cafe, there is nothing like a good game of cards to finish off the day.

Summer

2008-06-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since I posted, I'm not sure that I even read my blog anymore. After reading Mer's Bos/Mas blog, I had to post this pic. There is definitely some sibling magic that can turn two kids who can torment each other like no other back into the best of friends in the blink of an eye. On a side note, this picture is just way too 21st century for me. Also, meet Sonny, the soccer dog. He is learning a few new sports. Soccer with Emma, Tennis with Lauren (pictures to come), etc.

Emma can be a pretty harsh coach! We all miss her, she went to Utah with her Fullmer Grandparents. When we talked to her on the phone, she said that she was cold. I had a hard tinme feeling sorry for her when it's about 110 degrees outside.

Hey Sonny, quit hoggin' the ball!Oh yeah, something about blogging just seemed a little too much like work for me to focus on it for the last 2 weeks, but I will try to do better.

Life is just so daily

2008-05-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm borrowing a little quote there from Mary Engelbreit that just so aptly describes my life lately. (Many other peoples' as well)

Last week on wednesday, my dad had a major stroke. I found as I read Megan and Tom's posts that I don't think I'll be able to write about it. Megan was pretty thorough if you want to read her blog. The first day I was at school while Megan was texting me all that was happening. Luckily, my students had just left when I got the text that said the doctors thought that my dad wouldn't ever talk or walk again. I absolutely broke down. My poor mom has been at the hospital non-stop. My dad gets very anxious when she's not there and she hates to leave him because they usually end up strapping him down. Unfortunately, yesterday she got that stomach flu that's been going around and has had to stay home in bed.

On a good note, my dad seems to be doing hugely better than they expected. We went to see him for home evening on Monday since he got moved out of ICU. The girls had made him get well cards and Lauren read them to him. Both girls said that they needed their tickle monster to get better quickly. Dad reached over (with his left hand) and started tickling Emma's side and smiled. They told him funny little stories and he smiled and nodded. Earlier that day, he said his name and sorta counted to 10. I don't know much since then but I think that his therapy has been rather hard on him. They also have had a really difficult time with his feeding tube. The first 2 times at least that they tried to place it, it didn't go all the way down past his stomach the way it is supposed to. The next time, I think it was making him uncomfortable and he pulled it out. Yesterday, when he coughed it dislodged it and they had to take it out. I don't really know much about it, but I think that my mom is getting worried about him getting the proper nutrition. Anyway, I wish I knew more right now and I'll have to get over there tomorrow and check on him. This week was also progress reports, so it was a little crazy.

On a much lighter note, thanks to Megan, Rueben, and Catcher for coming to visit me at school today! It was so much fun for me, the girls, my students, the other teachers. You can't imagine how much joy a little 4 month old brings to the dreary walls of a school. Thanks also to all who called, texted and came by to brighten my day as I begin my 38th year.

Well, it is late and I am going to go find something else to distract me from going to bed on time.

Hung Jury

2008-04-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

Somehow it seems that my trial was only interesting when nobody was allowed to hear about it. Anyway, the poor kid who got killed last year by PIR got no justice this time around. Of course, he was the one who started waving a gun around. I'll give him credit. He was going to put it down and fight with his fists before his girlfriend grabbed the gun, but I'm just guessing that the other gun probably wouldn't have come out if his hadn't first. Also, poor guy had weak taste in girls. The problem was his girlfriend blamed the same guy for grabbing her gun and shooting her boyfriend. Sadly, that was not the gun that killed him so it kinda damaged her credibility. Wait, credibility? Of the NINE witnesses, not one was believable. So, seven guilty, five not, but this guy went home free.

ps. don't let your kids party in the desert.

also, I didn't think you could get the same cold twice in a row! Blast!

fun, fun

2008-03-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well, who would have thought that this "2 week" jury duty would be well into its 3rd week and threatening to go next week. At least we are through with testimony and such. We are going into deliberation and hopefully that won't take too long, but I won't be the one holding my breath. I'm dying to talk about it. It's not really all that exciting, but you know me, I'm a talker. Even with jury duty, spring break was fun. We had a great time at the ball game on Thursday, "Go Cubs", when in rome or chicago, or mesa or whatever.

Easter was a great time with all the cousins at Nana B's. My kids didn't want to come home or go to school the next day. Oh wait, with mom at jury duty, they didn't go to school the next day. They took a little extra vacation. Will post pics soon.

Lame, lame again

2008-03-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have to beg for a little break. I know that I haven't been on in a while and I miss it so much, but life is crazy right now. I'm afraid that I have a bit more than just jury duty. I've been spending most weekends trying to work on water tower stuff and feeling like its not really going anywhere. There are now official people involved, but they don't seem to be looking for random helpers right now, mostly money, which I cant help with much.

On top of this, I got sick. At first I jusst thought that I had a scratchy throat from, um, raising my voice, at my students. Then my brains started leaking out my nose nonstop. I got called to jury duty on Tuesday. Jury selection continued the next day. Of course, I have to make the lesson plans any time I have a sub, so I was doing both jobs. The second day of jury selection, the judge had to call up a whole new group of people because he released so many the first day. So, being a half day at school, I taught in the morning, rushed to jury duty, got picked to sit on the jury, and got out of there by 6. So, the next day, I got to go to school to make my sub plans and my sub hadn't shown up so I taught for about an hour or so and then made copies for future subs. Then I went back to jury duty for the first day of a trial that the judge says should last about 2 weeks. Read into that whatever you want. Although, none of the jury pool raised their hands when asked if they had heard about this case on the news.

So, lucky me, hacking away, my nose stopped leaking and plugged up, we didn't have court on friday, so I got to go to field day and spend the day yelling to get kids attention with about 250 kids outside where I added a sunburn to my list. Oh yeah, and my team mate is getting married this weekend and so she had a sub all week who turned out to be crazy hat woman. Wait, we already called her that before this week. We just thought we were talking about the crazy HATS, now we know it was the crazy LADY. I swear, she showed up late every day and never stopped talking for one single moment and always ran out of things to say so kept repeating herself, over and over and over again.

Did I mention that this is the end of the quarter, grades are due and I get to spend my spring break next week on jury duty? Jury duty doesn't start till after lunch, but what can you do in the morning and still get back downtown, parked in a garage 4 blocks away and up to the 9th floor of superior court by 1pm.

At least court should make for a good post when it is over. Is it coincidental that there are 3 teachers on the jury? Well, that is my excuse.... I know, still lame

Home Evening

2008-02-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

We had Fullmer family Home Evening tonight at Karen's house. It was soup night and I was lame and took pillsbury fake croissants. However, here are some of the soups that were there. In the back left corner, is Rose's Pasta Fagioli which was absolutely fabulous. Rose also brought the potato soup in the back right corner that she adds crumbled bacon to for added flavor and hip girth. The brocolli potato on the front left is Karen's and although I didn't eat any tonight, it is wonderful and I am eagerly awaiting the recipe. The front right is Chicken enchilada soup that Rose also made (Rose was busy), I just had a little taste of that, but it was super yummy. Because I had to save room for this...Lindy made fried ice cream cake. Oh, my, gosh... it was to die for
Just to give credit where credit is due, Karen also made homemade bread that was so yummy and warm. Thad and Lily made their famous much requested chili. Dave and Phyllis brought a tasty green salad with Milae's homemade ranch dressing that is literally the best ranch dressing ever. There was more to the evening than eating, but I'm not sure I remember what. J/K. It is lovely though to have a fun evening filled with family and loud children and good conversation.

So, I decided to stock up on my posts since I rarely get to them during the week. Just read one every other day and they will last all week.

ps. David laid down about 450 square feet of sod in our backyard yesterday. It looks like such a tiny patch in our backyard, but it will continue to grow as we can afford it. We can't play on it yet, and the girls are anxious. Sonny has not given up his plant eating habit. David put up a fence around the grass, but unfortunately it is not Sonny proof- dang it.

Childhood has its moments of pure joy!

2008-02-24T21:11:00.000-08:00

Is there anything better than learning how to do a cartwheel? Straight legs will come eventually, I think.
She got up after one series of cartwheels and said, "I love cartwheels, they're so fun!"

Ah, change...

2008-02-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I put a new faucet on my sink. It was actually kind of fun. When we bought our house, the design center showed us several lovely new faucets for around $500. I thought this was a little high, so we decided that we would take the plain one that came with the house and change it later. Well, faucets,that I wanted anyway, are still about $250 at Lowe's and such. However, a few weeks ago, Tuesday Morning had some faucets on sale for $99. I found this one and David thought that this was a project that could wait, but he's not the one using the sink with water splashing all over the place from that low faucet. So, I decided to undertake this project. Once I was down on the floor under the cabinet, Lauren wanted to come help, which was fine of course. We only needed David's help for one little pin that we couldn't quite push in to lock the sprayer into place. I love it. It was easy and we donated the old faucet to a friend who was in need of one.

And the outgoing one?

2008-02-19T21:35:00.001-08:00

Lauren on the other hand, was awake, but unwilling. Who would have thought that this is the actress, the one whose life is a stage? And yet, she will not let me take a picture of her. What is her problem anyway? The goofball tackled me with a pillow and practically slammed my camera into my face.
Does she really think that this is going to be a better shot?

Or this? Well, my silly teenager is having a blast in middle school and we seem to be surviving 13 so far. We did have a little "no boyfriends allowed" issue, but I'll let her tell that story.

What, photos?

2008-02-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

So, I've been feeling guilty about my lame posts lately and decided to take a couple pics that I could post. Of course, Emma's in bed, so...
poor Emma doesn't even know that I'm taking pictures of her in her sleep. Of course the flash in her eyes may have been a big hint. She's been such a help and inspiration. When I get down and feel like I want to give up on this water tower thing, she chimes in with, "We can't let them tear down the water tower mommy." She gets her shy little self out there and asks people to sign our petition and reminds me that it is the future generation that we are doing this for. She's also really impressed with the whole Tom and Reuben farmer thing. She tells me how glad she is that they're doing this and she even said that when she grows up, she hopes that she can marry a farmer. What a doll!

I'm the lame blogger

2008-02-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am aware of the fact, but there is a new post on the Save the Water Tower site that includes a reference to the account that the Chandler Historical Society has set up for the cause. Yay, more people involved! I love it!

One step closer

2008-02-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, for anyone following the water tower progress, a blog has been set up and I'd love to have you post. For anyone who wishes I would post more often, I'm sorry, just really busy and tired. If it's not report card time, it's midterm time, etc. I will post and respond soon, I promise. Oh yeah, the water tower site is www.savethewatertower.blogspot.com I'm working on getting the bank account and paypal set up soon.

Stealing the tag

2008-02-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

A...attached or single: attached for almost 17 years.
B... best friend: My sisters
C... cake or pie: Cathy's Rum cake or my apple pie (not so humbly)
D... day of choice: As a school teacher, definitely Friday.
E... essential item: Totally copying, my glasses.
F... favorite color: Ask Emma. I either tell her, "Emma color" or "Rainbow", meaning, I just can't choose.
G... gummy bears or worms: Wow, with a mom who loves these, you would have thought, but I don't like either one either.
H... hometown: Chandler AZ, land that I love!
I... indulgence(s): pedicures
J ...January or July: Um, uh, wow, probably 2 of my least favorite months. I always have post-Christmas let down in January although of course I love the weather. I heart the 4th of July and no school, but not much else about July unless we're out of town, think Oregon or Utah.
K... kids? Lauren- 13, my, yay, teenager!, and Emma- 9, my little one
L... life is incomplete without: Stealing again- my family... and books
M... marriage date: May 25, 2001
N ...number of siblings: 4 sisters. Elise,Merilee, Emily, and Megan. 5 brothers. Bobby, Jaimie, Tom, Chris, and Ty.
O... oranges or apples: I love both, but they have to be fresh
P ...phobias or fears: Strange little bird phobia that only occasionally induces panic attacks
Q... quotes: "Try a little harder to do a little more." G.B. Hinckley
R... reason to smile: My kids at the end of the day, pretty things, fun music
S ...season: The holiday season, right before Thanksgiving straight through to New Year's
T... tag you're it.
U ...unknown fact about me: I'm really picky.
V ...very favorite store: Melrose Vintage on 7th ave north of Indian School.
W... worst habit: I think I should just let Merilee fill this out for me, oh wait, that would be... being lazy
X... x-ray or ultrasound: Do some people actually prefer one or the other?
Y... your favorite food: Have I mentioned that I have a hard time with favorites? I love crab legs, steak, Elmer's tostadas, Mary's mom tacos, chicken n noodles, curried meatballs w/rice, yum this list could go on...
Z... zodiac: taurus
Characteristics considered positive
Positive traits of Taurus people are:
discipline
hard-working
good sense of humor
prudent
great work-ethic
artistic
loving
creative
romantic
sensual
sexual
attentive
comforting
strong
steady
shy
organized
cautious
harmonious
trustworthy
calm
tenacious
stable
patient
resourceful
easygoing
careful
dependable
honest

Characteristics considered negative
Negative traits are:
controlling
stubborn
hyper-sensitive
gets stuck in ruts
little to say
resentful
moody
horrible temper
possessive
Jealous
overly self-conscious
are these the traits they write for everybody?

Saturday, 9am, Soccer fields

2008-01-24T06:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, here's a quick update. We decided to put out feelers to see how people really do feel about the water tower. We're (yes, that may be me and Emma) going to go out to the soccer field this Saturday and try to get people to sign petitions that we can present to the city to encourage them to be more helpful with the support of the tower. If anyone can make it, we should be setting up a table at the soccer fields about 9am on Saturday. Any and all support will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Water Tower Update

2008-01-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, Mom talked to JC and he said that the window of opportunity for tearing down the water tower is blocked until March because they can not tear it down during soccer season. Who knew that those thousands of van driving, gazebo toting soccer moms would come in handy for historic preservation? So, the way I figure it is we have at least a month and a half to get 3% of the population of Chandler to donate $10 to save the tower. Everyone should be feeling nice and happy about living in Chandler again now that they've captured the rapist. So, maybe we should try to start the three people thing. Like I'll ask 3 people to donate $10 and ask them to ask 3 people, etc. Except, I'm going to ask everyone who reads this blog to donate and ask 3 people, so it shouldn't take as long, unless of course only 3 people read this blog. This can really grow exponentially. Let's say maybe 9 people read this. If you ask 3 people, we're already at 27, if they each ask 3, we're at 81 and if they all ask 3, we're at 243, then 729. Add those up and in 4 rounds we're already at 1,089 and we only need a total of 10,000 to save the water tower. By the way, the next bump would be to 2,187 and a total of 3,276. We'd be a third of the way there. See how easy this is! Only $10 to save a piece of history so that future generations do not forget that one day, there were farms in Chandler Arizona. Cotton comes from fields that once filled the space where they live and play.

"Save the History"

2008-01-05T10:16:00.001-08:00

This is my official notification that I am starting a foundation called "Save the History". Either its first mission will be to save the Ocotillo water tower, or it will be in memory of the water tower. We are losing so much of the short little history that Arizona has a state of the United States. There are already many foundations in order to pursue and secure the stability of the the prehistory of this area. I would like to be an instrument for saving things like the old black school that was recently torn down.

When we found out that the complaints about the water tower in Ocotillo were such that it was going to be torn down, my daughter Emma began to ask what she could do to help. At 9 years old, her plan was to sell lemonade to raise the $100,000 or so dollars that it would take to pay for improvements on the tower. Her battlecry was, "Save the water tower, save the history." While her sweet little plan was more than I was doing, I couldn't actually see it amounting to success, nor did I really want it to.

You see, I can't see what is so wrong with the tower the way it is. If it were a public safety hazard, I would say, definitely fix its instability. However, who is to say that the fading red paint is unsightly? I think it is beautiful. It reminds me of a simpler time when children swam in ditches without permission and cotton and corn grew down Alma School road, rather than the sprouting houses and restaurants. This may seem a little strange coming from a member of the family who sold the land in the first place, but of course, I had no control over that.

I'm not a fanatic who thinks that zero population is the answer and that people should crawl back into caves where they belong, but just every once in a while, could we leave a few things the way they are and recognize the beauty that just is? Do we really need to tear all of the old things down and replace them with shiny newness? Are we so afraid that someone might get a glimpse off the golf course and see that we gave away our agricultural roots?

In addition, I have many other places that I have fallen in love with over the 37 years that I have lived in this valley. There is a cozy little spot on Scottsdale rd. that I haven't driven by lately and I wonder if the tiny little white cottages still stand. I still cringe as I drive by the corners where once beautiful homes stood and see the vacancy of whatever stands there now. If you have any desire to help me save the history for those who haven't seen it and who may never get a chance to, let me know.

Countdown to Christmas

2007-12-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

Aaahhh, the actual countdown! This is no longer the fun paper chain countdown, this is the real deal! It is 9am Christmas eve. I still have to go to the grocery store to get stuff to take to Mom's tonight, Karen's tomorrow, wrap more presents, contemplate going to buy the stuff that my kids requested YESTERDAY, clean up my house so we're not embarrassed when Santa gets here, consider the fact that cereal for breakfast on Christmas morning is not very festive and feel guilty that I don't have piles of cinnamon rolls on my stove like Darilyn or stacks of cookies like Merilee, oh shoot, that reminds me, we haven't made cookies for Santa yet, and while our santa is not particularly fond of cookies, it will devastate Emma if we miss that detail. I love this craziness, but just hope that there is enough time left in the countdown to get it all done.
12, 11, 10, 9, .... gotta go!

The holidays

2007-12-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

I love the Holidays! We had 4 parties to go to over the weekend. When else does that happen? Yesterday was David's birthday and I will do a "David post" soon. Thanks to Ru and Meg for coming over to install his present! He's in love. We only have 2 days left of school before break. I actually had a student tell me that her mom was going to complain to the principal that kids don't need a Winter Break. It sounds like someone has to find a babysitter. I need to find her and torture some sense into her. It is crazy I always try to get stuff done early so that I won't be so rushed, but somehow, this time of year moves faster than all the others and here it is one week to Christmas and I still have so much to do. If anyone talks to Mom before I do, is it possible for me to work with you to make some beef tamales for Christmas Eve. I sort of invited Risa to come over (she said that she never gets invited anywhere for Christmas Eve. Of course, being Jewish...) and well, she and her fiancee don't eat pork. I think I can handle a "chalupa alternative" but I'm not sure about making tamales on my own. That might be frightful.
Anyway, I actually love the craziness that is involved in Christmas and allowing myself to get wrapped up in doing things for other people. I never do get everything done I want to. The addressed unstamped Christmas cards usually sit on the table until I throw them out in the middle of January. Especially lame, because I often handmade them. But hey, you just have to let some things go. Like me, now...

e-mail tag

2007-12-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Place an X by all the things you've done and removethe X from the ones you have not, and send it to your friends (including me).
( ) Smoked a cigarette. (Not really, but I did pick up grandma's plastic filter one time and inhale because I thought it was the end of a party horn. Ughh, it was awful!)
( ) Jumped out of plane sky diving.
( x) Had feelings for someone who didn't have themback
( ) Been arrested
( x ) Gone on a blind date
(x ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Been to Canada
( x ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Florida
( x ) Been on a plane
( x ) Been lost
( x) Been on the opposite side of the country,
( x) Gone to Washington , DC
( ) Been to Yosemite No, but so close I could almost taste it and David wouldn't go!
( x ) Swam in the ocean
( ) Felt like dying
( x ) Cried yourself to sleep
( x) Sang karaoke
(x ) Paid for a meal with only coins
( x ) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
( x ) Made prank phone calls
( x ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came outof your nose
( x ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue and made snow angels too
( x ) Danced in the rain
( x ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( x ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( x ) Watched the sunrise with someone you careabout
( x ) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach?
( x) Crashed a party
( x) Gone ice-skating
( x) Been skinny dipping
1. Any nickname: Mo, Moses, Mojo, this list could go on and on.
2. Mother's name? Betty
3. Favorite drink? Vanilla diet coke w/extra ice from Sonic.
4. Body piercing? ears, normal two in the lobes and one more in the left that stays empty.
5. How much do you love your job? Depends on the day, love is an overstatement.
6. Birthplace: Mesa, AZ
7. Favorite vacation spot? Usually where ever I was last.
8. Ever been to Africa? No
9. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Don't remember.
10. Ever been on TV? On the news at a BNL concert when they were giving admission for $20 for everyone you could fit on a blanket and then donate the blanket to the homeless. A couple other times too, but ...
11. Ever steal any traffic signs? No, but I've had them left in my yard for me.
12. Ever been in a car accident? yes, many, including a rollover.
13. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle: 4-door
14. Favorite salad dressing? Depends on the salad. Ranch, italian, ceasar, asian...
15. Favorite pie? MMMmmm, pie. Why pick a favorite?
16. Favorite movie? 6hour Pride and Prejudice, Stranger Than Fiction, Mars Attacks,
17. Favorite holiday? The whole Thanksgiving to New Year period.
18. Favorite dessert? What's with you people and your choices. Why do I have to make all of these choices? You and Emma both!
19. Favorite food ? Really, this is getting somewhat annoying.
20. Favorite day of the week? Any day I don't have to work
21. Favorite brand of bodywash? Ginger Fish soap and my new favorite, Margarita from Philosophy.
22. Favorite smell? See previous question, plus wet dirt, rain, baking bread, apple cider, pie, curried meatballs at my mom's
23. What do you do to relax? take a bath and reading. ditto Elise, on this part anyway.
24. Do you have a message to your friends reading this? Hi!
25. How do you see yourself in 10 years? In 10 years Lauren will be 23 and Emma will be almost 19. David will be one day away from 51 and I'm not sure that I want to visualize any of that right now. Just the fact that we are 3 years away from a child with a driver's license is scary enough.
26. Furthest place you will send this message? The world wide web, but the furthest anyone will read it is probably Oregon.
27. Who will respond to this the fastest? Well, I haven't seen Mer respond yet. I laughed when I saw that I was supposed to respond to Meg fastest, did you forget that I don't read my e-mail anymore? I did respond once I saw it, just that was 10 days later.
28. Who is the least likely to respond? People I don't know.

Weird things about Emma

2007-12-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

Kas tagged Emma, so...
1.I'm the only blond haird person in my family.
2.I,m shy
3.I ate a raw mussel from a lake.
4.My favorite food is crab legs.
5.Turquoise has been my favorite color since I was old enough to talk.
6.I can't decide if I should say neither (ee) or neither (I) or either (ee) or either (I).

Strange

2007-12-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

I seem to be at a temporary loss of things to say. I can't imagine what has gotten into me.

Hello again

2007-12-02T21:59:00.000-08:00

Well, it has taken me 'til 11 o'clock just to read all the blogs I missed and update to Christmas music, so this won't be too long.
We had a wonderful thanksgiving. It's fun having Tom and Nat and the kids at Mom and Dad's and getting to see them more often.
We did our thankful list for home evening that week and it was so cute, the things the kids came up with and David feeding them his list. We put all of our things in a basket.
It's been so nice having rain and cool weather finally! I actually got to wear my ASU sweatshirt on the day that the Devils beat the wimpcats.
I think we just have the most awesome family in the world and my first song is for all of you spread out across the world. We miss you and wish you were here all of the time.
I will blog again soon.

6 weird things and a cute story

2007-11-20T14:42:00.001-08:00

I'm doing this together so I don't break the double post rule.

1. I feel compelled to shut every open cupboard door or drawer that I see.

2. I like it completely dark when I go to sleep.

3. I don't like to ask for help, ever! I do occasionally, but I don't like it.

4. I will read anything. Ok, maybe not anything, but cereal boxes, signs along the road, reader's digest, strangers' blogs (when I have time), most any magazine, teen-age books, the list could go on.

5. I am obsessive-compulsively perfectionist about really weird, meaningless things, like making sure that the stripes match on a wrapped present or tearing the pages in a scrapbook, just right.

6. I love to shop, I love make-up, and all that girly stuff, but I don't really like to dress up or put on make-up. Every once in a while is cool, but not every day. I have way too many clothes and too much make-up for how much I use or wear them.

Ok, now, cute story- The other day Emma and I were driving down the street and she asked me where I got her name from. I told her it was after the title character in a novel by Jane Austen, a girl who liked helping everybody else, but sometimes forgot to make sure she was taking care of herself. (We glossed over the bossy part) She replied, "Oh, you mean she was one of those people who puts themself aside to make sure that everyone else is happy?" We went with that. She answered back, "Yeah, Nana B. is like that." Totally!

Oh yeah, I will tag, and I know I'm stealing everyone, but inconceivably, I got here first.
Merilee, Elise, Mason, Tabi, Teresa, and Chris

Family

2007-11-14T20:12:00.001-08:00

These are some of my favorite pictures from Ty and Shanda's wedding. I don't know how to un-underline this. I realize I could have put more pics of actual Ty and Shanda, but go see them at hirdfam.com. I love to see everyone gathered together. Welcome to the crazy family Shanda, although you've already been here for a while.
It's great to have built in best friends!
And then add some to the pile! I love my little girls!
Emma followed the magician around like a lost puppy. She thought he was the coolest thing ever.

Hello Again

2007-11-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

In answer to Darilyn - It seems like that much time has gone by, but the talk is tomorrow. It is on gratitude. I always kind of gather info and try to focus on what my talk is centered on, but don't actually put it together until the last minute. Of course, I went to read my Mom's blog and the first thing the crazy, over-active, do everything herself woman does after a crazy weekend is go online and thank everyone else for what they've done. She is such an example.

I don't really want to recover this past weekend. Everyone else is doing such a great job. I would love to see any pictures though, because I am an idiot and NEVER brought my camera anywhere. If anyone got any decent pics of my kids on halloween, I would be indebted.

It was so fun getting to spend so much time with my fam. I live for those times.

Now, to finish writing that talk.

Aaaahhh!

2007-10-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

I have to talk in church in 2 weeks!

We have a ward halloween party in 20 minutes!

David's not home yet, from work!

I'm not sure how he's getting home, because the truck is in the driveway!

Merilee is awfully demanding!

Bye!

Hola

2007-10-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

It's weird. Sometimes I could just write and write and write and other days it seems like there is nothing to say. Life is good, but nothing thrilling. I hope that all of you out in the blog world are doing well!

Just for kicks, check out this blog. If nothing else, look at the list of links that you can blog surf on a rainy afternoon.

http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/

Ocotillo

2007-10-18T22:11:00.001-07:00

I just got off a blog that is listed on Darilyn's blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, or something of the sort. It really made me think about growing up in Ocotillo. I feel so lucky to have grown up on a family farm. This photo is actually a part of the old colored school that was used before our family bought the farm. These buildings were torn down a few years ago and I felt the need to personally document them before that happened. They were back behind the Lewis' house. We never did play in these buildings when I was a kid. I kind of think that someone might have been living in them. There was one building back behind the barn though that we loved to play in. We always said it was haunted and dared each other to go in. When they tore that one down, we would still play on the foundation and claim that it was still haunted. Behind the barn was one of my very favorite places to play. I loved to climb up the cattle loading ramp and play in the shute where they would put the horses when they needed shots. We would climb up to the top of the hay pile. It was all the way to the top of the barn. My big brothers would dare eachother to jump off from higher and higher points. Once we even played with some firecrackers back there so that Mom and Dad wouldn't hear us. How stupid were we? Let's go play with firecrackers by the hay in Arizona! Luckily, nothing happened.

We really loved cotton season. For some reason, it was fun to even pick a few pieces of cotton to play with. What we really loved was to play in the cotton trailers. This was a rare treat. It apparently isn't really good for raw cotton to have children burrowing in it. More often, we would play on the piles of cotton seed. The cotton gin was across the street and the canal. The lot behind the gin would have rows of cotton seed stacked, oh gosh, I don't know, maybe 8 or 10 feet high, but I was a kid, so who knows? We loved to dig tunnels in the cotton. This was not as easy in the seed. Still possible, but tunnels were more likely to collapse. I can't even imagine when my kids would have time to do all of this! Sad. It had to have been late fall, because that is when the cotton is ready.

This leads me to playing in the canal and the ditches. We loved when Bobby would get out his blow-up raft and go from one bridge to the next in it. This was really pretty dangerous and Mom and Dad would get mad at us, but it was worth it. The ditches were not as fun, but still pretty good. The only good thing about getting up on a cold winter morning for school was those days when the ditch was frozen over. The conditions had to be perfect. Just about 3 or 4 inches of water in the bottom of the ditch, otherwise the water would run to fast to freeze for our little Arizona cold weather. The top would just freeze over and you could always break it with your shoe, so fun. These were often the foggy days, when the fog would come up off the canal. This was about as "winter" as we would ever get.

I think I'll save some memories for another day.

Tomorrow Sonny goes in for "surgery" and I have to get up early to take him in to Uncle Keith.

"Domesticated" Cattle

2007-10-18T00:18:00.001-07:00

"Domesticated" cattle on the Savannah. I'm not sure I'd buy the domesticated bit. This ostrich sure didn't buy it. Of course, she was not very "domesticated" either. Or at least not very welcoming to her neighborhood. Her wings were even more puffed out than this as she tried to chase the monsters away.
Here is the giraffe picture I liked better.
THERE COMIN' UP THE DRAW! STAMPEDE!

zoo, zoo again

2007-10-17T17:21:00.001-07:00

Emma calling to see if someone can get Megan out of the trees. Ok, I'll drop that now.

I love this picture of Emma who got caught just as she
popped a piece of Kettle corn into her mouth.

This is not actually the ostrich picture I meant to post. There was a funny one where the ostrich was trying to chase some longhorn cattle out of her spot. She managed to get him to walk in about a twenty foot circle that ended up about 5 feet from where he started.

Lauren had fun trying her hand at "professional" photography. Thanks Elise!

I really liked the other giraffe picture better, too, but Lauren liked this one. I may still post the other one later, but now, I have to go.

More zoo

2007-10-17T17:01:00.001-07:00

This is right after the kids got to help feed the elephant carrots. They talked to them about how one of the elephants doesn't get along with the other two so they can't be out on display together. They told the kids that the elephant they tossed carrots to came from a circus. You sort of got the impression that she had been "rescued". They didn't ever mention that the reason she left the circus was because she killed someone. True story.

Here is Megan, probably holding more weight than she should be at this stage in her pregnancy.
The kids always love hanging out with Meg. Even 7 months pregnant, she more fun than their moms. J/k, Elise, I'm sure you're lots of fun, it's just me that got freaking old.

Fun Megan decides to test this jungle bamboo to see if it will hold. What is a visit to the rainforest, if you

don't get to climb it.

Deciding that it will hold just fine, she heads up.

Still waiting for Megan to figure out how to get down from the rainforest canopy. Why did we go to Colombia? Doesn't Megan know that she shouldn't do this sort of stuff when she's pregnant? Did I mention that we're in Colombia?

The zoo and prego Mego

2007-10-17T16:39:00.001-07:00

We went to the zoo yesterday and had a great time. Lauren, Emma and I went with Elise, Kas, Addy, Zo, and Megan. I'm sure Meg loved walking all over the zoo, preggers. In this picture, there is some sort of African bird that is showing off during a presentation. Somehow, when the African King Vulture was flying a foot or two over our heads, I forgot to take any pictures. The presentation was interesting though.

Now, I messed up the other pictures and have to start over.

Lovely Lauren

2007-10-14T21:08:00.001-07:00

Where do I even
start with this girl who will be an official teenager this week? I guess, the beginning. This child came into the world with a vengeance. I was talking to Megan the other day about Lauren's birth, and trying not to scare her since it is too late for her to turn back on the baby path. My pregnancy with Lauren was relatively easy, no morning sickness, just some sciatica and gagging on my toothbrush. I was completely unprepared for the drama of her delivery. We did have a little trouble picking a name. We wanted cute and hip, but not trendy. David shot down Katya, we already knew a baby named Mariah, and when we heard someone else talking to their McKenzie at the movie theatres, it just didn't sound right. David also didn't think the world was ready for a little girl named Remmington, Rhett, or Austen. Lauren turned out to be the ONLY name we could agree on at the time.
Finally, the day arrived. We went to the hospital in the morning after trying to put it off as long as possible, I had woken up having contractions. When we got to the hospital, they of course sent us home, or to the park, or anywhere to walk around, just not there. I'm thinking, "How am I supposed to walk around when every five minutes I'm doubled over in pain?" When it became every 2 minutes, we went

back. Several hours later, we were moved to the operating room, because three hours of pushing labor is apparently, not normal. I really didn't want to have a c-section. Of course, I also didn't know that babies could die from being in the birth canal too long. So with oxygen for Lauren on my face, and suction, Lauren came into this world. Of course, by this time, I was completely doped up on demerol and couldn't stop shaking or even lift my arms for that matter. I lay there exhausted, wondering how blood managed to get on my face, while Karen fed my baby the bottle that the nurses brought.
When we went home, things did not get much better. Here was this beautiful baby girl, with this perfect little round face and I still could not feed her. We spent several teary sessions on the phone, both with Mom and the La Leche League. We did eventually figure it out, but not before I had one of the goofiest moments ever in my life. With all the sleepless nights, pain, and newness of the situation, I was a bit loopy. I have to add, I had spent many years babysitting and nannying. I was driving home with a crying baby and the thought suddenly popped into my head, "When are this kid's parents going to PICK HER UP?" The realization struck me right then, I was the actual Mama - forever.

Well, this precious little girl had personality plus from the day that she was born. She loved attention! One of our favorite memories is the time that she climbed up on a chair at Elmer's Tacos and sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for the entire restaurant. She has become a regular at Elmer's. Every time we go, she asks to clean their tables or sweep their floor. Occasionally, they will let her, and sometimes they give her a soda or a frybread as a thankyou. I think she loves it more than a bean and cheese burrito. For a while, she asked for a job application at just about every restaurant that we went to. This was at about age 10. It was fun watching people try to figure out what to tell the little girl about why they could not hire her.
Lauren would sing for anyone at anytime. She sang Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam as a solo at a stake music festival and always seemed to have a singing part in the ward primary program. She was so excited to find that Orangewood Elementary, where she went to 5th and 6th grade had a drama department and put on a play each year. She is above as the feather bedecked Lily St. Regis in Annie during 5th grade and she played Zanita, the mayor's daughter, in The Music Man during 6th grade. She was great and we loved watching her performances. She also always participated in choir and got to go to California to a choir festival.
It's sometimes easy to only see this top, over-the-top side of Lauren. However, inside is the biggest heart that anyone could imagine. Once, we were driving down the road and she told me that her heart was full of love for the whole world. I couldn't do anything but smile and believe her. She never ceases to amaze me with the power and sense of self that she has. Of course, she has her moments of humanity and self doubt, but she often has to remind me that being herself includes liking things that her mom may not like.
I think that so many things that are wrong with the world stem from people who do not understand that they are sons and daughters of their Heavenly Father. This girl KNOWS that! I am so glad that I get to be the mom of this young lady. I look forward and am terrified at the same time of watching her mature as a young woman. I love her so much!

Templates

2007-10-13T01:23:00.000-07:00

I found the link to this while blogstalking. (again) I haven't checked it out, but the couples page was cute.
http://shabbytulips.blogspot.com/

If you're interested. I'll be checking it out when I'm more awake.

Weird dream

2007-10-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

okay, I had this really weird dream last night. I was so realistic and yet not. I've actually looked for some of the dream meanings, which I don't think I really believe, because it was such an interesting dream.

First, we (whoever we were) were at Nana B's house have a goodbye party for me because I was going away to school. Only problem, I was who I am now, a married woman with 2 kids. We walked outside and there were fireworks shooting off from behind the Chapman's house. Uncle Pete used to shoot fireworks sometimes when he lived there. We admired the pretty fireworks and got in the car to leave, my car, Natalie was driving, and Nana B. was in the passenger seat. I was in back with all of my stuff, headed off for BYU, the place I first started college. I thought that it was nice that I didn't have to go to school until after Thanksgiving and luckily my family would be able to visit for Christmas. Wouldn't it be nice if a semester of school was only one month long, however, I still would have a major problem leaving my family for that long. So, we're driving along in that weird dream way where only the important stuff shows up when we get to a beautiful lake in a red rock canyon. It was like rocks in Sedona, but with a lake. Sorry Em, not Lake Powell. As we drive, we see a beaver dam built by the side of the road that created a pond in a dip in the road. I told Natalie that we should stop and test the depth because I wasn't sure that my car would make it through. She just kept right on going and made it through just fine. I asked her to slow down or stop while I found my camera and took pictures of this beaver dam in the road. She just kept right on going. As I turned around, I saw these skydivers coming down over the lake. I realized, in that weird dream way that isn't actually true, that I had seen the divers jump out of their plane before the beaver dam. Now, they were almost to the lake and it looked so cool. I asked Natalie to stop so I could take a picture. Do we sense a recurring theme here? She kept right on going as the sky divers were landing in the lake. Then my alarm went off and I woke up.

Now I have to rag tie Emma's hair for pictures tomorrow.

New template

2007-10-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

A quick shout out to the awesome chick who is so willing to share her adorable templates.
http://www.matiekay.blogspot.com/

Beautiful Emma

2007-10-06T10:10:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by multiple people today. First, thanks to Natalie for posting one of my favorite photos of Emma. Next, thanks to Merilee for always having such great post ideas and sharing so much about her kids. Finally, thanks to Emma for being such an incredible person.

Emma has always been an unusual person. From before she was born, I have sensed her stubborn streak. She would wedge some body part up above my ribs where babies aren't really designed to fit. Then of course, came her birth. She was pretty good sized and based on Lauren's birth weight (9lb. 6oz.), the doctor suggested we induce labor 2 weeks early. Sonograms showed that she was over 7lbs already and an amnio showed that her lungs and such were completely developed. So, December 29th we headed to the hospital to welcome
Emma to the world. She, on the other hand was not quite ready to
arrive. The doctors did all of their work and we started to wait. Nothing happened. They finally decided on the 30th that we should do another sonogram and see what was up. The little booger had flipped over. So, now that we know that she is breach, I go into labor, more meds now to stop the labor and then, the most excruciating pain of manually turning the child by PUSHING ON MY STOMACH. They did turn her over and immediately strapped a girdle around my stomach to hold her still. Then, more medicine to restart the labor, and voila 5:30 am December 31st, there is little Emma.

Ok, after this, I was prepared for a VERY DIFFICULT baby. Lauren had been such a binky baby and so I just assumed Emma would be too. We were at church one Sunday and I was trying to get the little stinker to keep that binky in her mouth when I suddenly realized that she was only fussing when the binky was in her mouth. We put it away and never used it again. This was an insight into this adorable little baby. She would do things in her own way, and that way might be better than mine.

Emma was a really good baby. From an early age, however, I could still see that stubborn streak. She was always pleasant with her immediate family, but in public she would not socialize with women. She would go into hyper shy mode and hide her face in Mommy's shoulder. I thought at first that she was just really shy. But, then (you know how sometimes at the store you can end up standing really close to a stranger, but because you're facing opposite ways, you don't notice) she started reaching out and touching men - crazy girl! Of course, they would then turn around and start to laugh and ooh and aah about what an
adorable child. I need to scan a baby picture, of course most of you know what she looked like as a baby, but what a face! People would stop us every where we went to tell me how beautiful she was. Lauren (who of course is gorgeous herself) started to get jealous of all of the attention that Emma was getting. Meanwhile, Emma was snubbing all of the women and flirting with all of the men.

Little Emma did not grow out of this insane shyness (or coyness) as we thought she would. She did survive starting kindergarten, loved her class and teacher and made some fabulous friends. In about the third quarter of school (I was in school at the time myself) we had "student-led" conferences. Mrs. Rullifson had helped the kids create adorable little folders focusing on their work and what they had been learning in class. Emma started telling me about hers while Mrs. Rullifson talked with some other parents. While she was reading, Mrs. R. walked up behind us and listened in. When Emma finished, she was shocked and said, "I didn't know Emma could read! She won't talk in class." I had to lecture Emma on the importance of talking at school and participating in class.

To this day, (8 years old, in third grade) Emma is very shy. She makes friends quickly at school, but she still doesn't really like to volunteer in class. There are people that she opens up to quickly, not always men anymore. My entire 6th grade class adores her and they are always trying to get her to talk to them. She hides. However, there is one girl in my class who has a little brother in Emma's class that she loves. She asks me about her all of the time.

Strangely, this quiet little girl can be LOUD, especially about 7 o'clock on a Saturday morning when she climbs up in my bed and starts asking questions. "What are we doing today? What's your favorite color? When is Daddy going to wake up?" She will share this loud side of herself with her extended family (just ask Elise) but rarely any further.

I have to talk about this girl's sense of right and wrong. Boy, is it strong, just ask Lauren.
The other day she told me about her school class. She said that she sits by the 2 worst boys in the class. They want to talk and play all day long. Then she said, "But when they get really bad, I just have to give them the look, and they know they better stop." Already with the mom look. She does not break rules. She does break other things sometimes. There is a sign on the teacher's workroom that says No Children Allowed. She will not go in. You have to drag her to cross on a "Don't Walk". She does have some faults, but if knows what the rules are, it's rare for her to break them. Maybe I need to write down, Do Your Homework. Really, she usually does, but sometimes she forgets. I blame this on her adorably sweet 1st grade teacher who would tell her that it was ok if she didn't always finish her homework, because she already knew how to do it anyway. That was not ok with me.

Speaking of intelligence, Emma has a bunch. She is part of the gifted program at school, but the real demo of Emma is a conversation with her. Several years ago, her Aunt Karen commented after a conversation, "So your just going to skip her right from kindergarten to 7th grade, right?" Her vocabulary is impressive. I think her favorite word is "basically". She would be glad to tell you, basically what her favorite animals are, and everything else that she basically knows about them.

Finally, this sweet little snuggle bunkins is full of love for her family and Heavenly Father and Jesus. One of the rare times she will get mad at David or me is if we shop on Sunday. She does not approve! She often reminds us when it is time for family prayer so that she can go to bed. Occasionally, she asks me if I say my personal prayers too, "Just like you taught me." She loves church and really misses her old class that she grew up with.
The other day, she told me, "Mommy, the only thing that I don't like about you teaching, is that we don't have enough snuggle time."

Well, this is one long post and I have to get on with my day. Lauren's next.

My non-favorites

2007-10-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

Arrrrggghhh, I typed this up much better last night and then my internet dropped and I lost the whole post.

My dear, sweet Emma often asks me what my favorite color is. I often reply, "Emma color". This is because I don't have a favorite color. I am in a blue phase right now and LOVE the color of my new bedroom. Of course, I also love that bright blue of the sky that sometimes occurs during late summer softball games. Blue is beautiful. But then, I really love red. At Christmas time, I want red all over my house, red ribbons and bows and balls and candy.Green is good too. Not only for Christmas, but as my birthstone emerald, and grass and trees. Pink is fantastic! What would Valentine's day and cotton candy be without pink. It's also great fun with little girls in the house. I really love all of the subtle, various shades of brown. I think I really scared Mom when I was going through a brown phase and said it was my favorite color. I think she thought I was depressed, but I really do think it's pretty, not depressing. I'm not such a fan of orange. It is fabulous in Arizona sunsets though. And pumpkins, and candy corn. Being the end of summer, I'm kind of tired of yellow. I love fall leaves. (btw, for all of you arizonans who miss the leaves, try driving down Camelback road about 40th st at the end of october. It's not provo canyon, but it's a quick fix) In the early spring I love yellow. I think I painted my old bathroom yellow in february or so. (Weird typing this next part for the second time) I almost forgot that purple was a color. It's a nice addition to the sunsets, but it's not a color I ever choose to wear. I do LOVE purple flowers. Hydrangeas (also the blue ones) and the little poof flowers that you can throw at people that I now have in my front yard.

Yesterday morning, Emma came in and said, "Mommy, I have some questions for you. What is your favorite animal?" The girl obviously doesn't understand my sick inability to pick a favorite. I could tell that the whole list was going to be favorites questions, so I decided to nip it in the bud. I told her that I couldn't pick any favorites, because I just like too much stuff. So she asked me what some of the animals I like were. I said, "Sheep, dogs, horses, monkeys (and got a lecture on old and new world monkeys), and jaguars. We then had a discussion on the panther/black jaguar dispute. Then it was time to leave for school.

I'm not sure if she's obsessed with favorites or if I am weird because I can't pick any.

But, I had no problem answering my student when he asked me later in the day, "Mrs. Fullmer, who is your favorite student?" "I don't have a favorite. I adore all of you equally."

Do-over

2007-09-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think that I need to talk about the things that I am thankful for in order to remember all of my blessings. I seem to have let the activity of the last couple of months bring me down, and I don't like that.

I am thankful for:
a husband who loves me and who is always working to improve himself
Lauren- my sweet 12-year old. She has the biggest heart I know
Emma- my sweet 8 year old. I have never met anyone so naturally "good" she sometimes scares me.
My home- it was a long wait, but I love it
My mom- beyond words, full of faith, open to the spirit, kind, giving, loving, she could be the whole list
My dad- taught me so much about life, from changing a tire to understanding the gospel, etc.
Bobby- my childhood protector
Jamie- living up to your potential
Elise- seeing beauty and showing it to the rest of us
Merilee- always able to sense the feelings of others and lift them if necessary
Emily- cares deeply about so much and drives herself crazy worrying about saving the world
Tom- a great combo of intelligence and charisma trying to find the outlet that will best support his family
Chris- artistic talent and creative insight that are sometimes surprising in someone so funny
Meg- My baby sister who has grown up into a beautiful woman. Carting that adorable little girl around with me and watching her grow up helped me understand somewhat the power of motherhood
Tyson chicken chunks- sweet, sweet boy who asked me when I was coming home. I love it when we all get to come home. Yay, breakfast burros!
a billion nieces and nephews that my kids get to have for best friends
awesome in-laws- you know who you are!
Grandma Pickering- Pie, noodles, confidence, sass, love, a great mom, awesome uncles, good stories to tell
Grandpa Pickering- smackers and certs and barbecues on the patio
Grandma Bogle- grace and poise
Grandpa Bogle- generosity and love for his wife
my health- I have the lucky habit of never getting the full sickness that everyone else gets
cars- the thought of having to travel without them is scary
airconditioning- although summer is almost over, I don't know how people lived in AZ without it
the internet- I love my blog, blog-stalking, and paying bills online
sunsets- proof that Heavenly Father knows what he's doing when it comes to color and design
sunrises- thankfully, I never see them, but without them there'd be no sunsets. Although, I did just remember that soon, I may see them as we move into winter and school start time, sadly, does not adjust
beaches- how does that combo of fish smell, wind, crashing noises, and sandy feet lead to such a wonderful feeling
music- can lift my spirits when I didn't even realize they needed lifted
singing with the piano
singing with the radio
ribbon
paper
color
photos
chapstick
lotion
old things that stay pretty
not having to choose a favorite color
Chandler, Arizona
piles of cotton
a childhood in the country
theater
airplanes (even though they make me sick)
history
ancestors
cemetaries
old buildings
Jane Austen
Colin Firth
beauty
mountains
lakes
streams
trees that grow out over the road
shade
grass
crab legs
steak
Cathy's rum cake
blue berries right off the bush
oranges, cold off the tree
my mom's cooking
wonderwoman
memories
swimming pools
friends
life
love
Dance party USA
Of course, Heavenly Father, for providing it all
Jesus Christ, for making it worthwhile
the Spirit for little reminders
the scriptures, for direction and guidance
the prophets, for giving all they have to guide us
Young women leaders who taught me so much
Relief Society presidents who exemplify charity
people who demonstrate Christ-like lives
Christmas
Fall
time with family
bedtime-okay, I really love sleep, but I don't love going to bed. I always feel like I'm going to miss something good. But it really is time for bed, or I will regret it tomorrow.

Chandler

2007-09-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

So, I went to the R.S. broadcast yesterday with Mom, Meg, and Nat. I had forgotten to take a skirt to scrapbooking day and had pretty much decided not to go. I was going to be a bad influence on Meg and steal her to go get food at Elmer's. Nat had brought her skirt and told her mom and sisters that she would meet them there. Well Mom had different plans. She started pulling things out of her closet that I could wear and I figured that I better go along or risk the wrath of the guilt-trip queen. The conference was really good and of course, had all the things I needed to hear (other than the girls in front of us having a massage party). What really struck me though was the dinner afterwards (popped in my head while reading Darilyn's blog). I love seeing all of the old Chandler people and being somewhere where tons of people know me as well. So many people were offering us seats or coming up to say hello. It was so fun to see huge chunks of the Lambson family, including Stacy and Paul's 17 YEAR OLD SON. Claire Kaufman, Sis Porter, sitting with Nat's fam, Diane Lamb, who I saw but didn't make it over to before she left, and many others. I really miss that. I had just about gotten to a place like that in David's stake (of course, I had to adjust to the fact that when most people asked about my parent's, they really meant Thad and Lily, who of course are not my actual parents, because that would be weird.) Now we live in a place where no one knows either of us from Adam. We had to fill out info sheets about ourselves which was weird. It asked for interests and jobs and stuff that I wrote down, but it also asked for past callings. I'm thinking, "16 years of callings. Do they want to know that I taught Merry Miss 10 or so years ago when it was still Merry Miss or that those same girls were my Laurels when I was young women's president. Do they care that I've taught sunbeams and Relief Society and was it more important to be Enrichment counselor or Enrichment leader, because one was definitely a lot more work. Does it matter that I hated writing the ward newsletter (who'd of thunk?) or that when I left my last ward, I was really glad to get released as Primary secretary. And, now I probably won't be "the girl who was brave enough to marry David Fullmer", but who will be the Monique that these people know. It goes back to that conversation about letting other people see who we really are. I don't know, is it ok or necessary to be multiple people depending on your audience? Now, its 20 minutes to church and I haven't showered, gotta go.

Debt and Deliberation

2007-09-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am now officially in debt up to my eyeballs. As if I wasn't before. Of course there is the new house and all the payments that go along with that; mortgage, insurance, electric, water, etc. Then we really hated sitting on folding chairs to watch TV, so we bought new furniture(I also put up family pics on the wall in the back room and it's actually starting to look like a home). Then my computer was getting extremely unreliable, so of course, I had to buy a new one. However, I really needed all of the stuff off of my old computer, so I had to buy a new adapter to get the old one running long enough to get the info, along with a transfer cable to move it with. I pondered and pondered how much of this was necessity and how much was desire. The furniture was easier and harder to justify. Of course I need furniture. Every house needs furniture. But, why couldn't I find anything I could live with on Craig's list? David hates slipcovers and I hate ugly. We seemed to think that we had to have attractive leather. The computer seemed somewhat like a luxury, and yet as I lost touch with my bills sheet and went over 400 minutes on my cell phone, it seemed to become much more of a necessity. What in the world would I have done if I lived in the 19th century? Oh, I know, I would have baked pies and taken care of my children and all of the things I wish I could now instead of run off to my 10 hour a day job. Of course, I would also have lugged firewood and cooking water, washed laundry outside, plucked chickens (yeah, right!), beat quilts, made quilts, made all of our clothes, gardened (stifling a giggle), and gosh this list could go on. So, I guess I just better make sure that the debt is short term and stop going through computers so quickly (Wait, 4 years old is a pretty old computer!) Oh, if I were a wealthy man...

Stream of Conciousness

2007-09-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, tonight I'm driving down the road to pick up my mail and "The wind beneath my wings" comes on the radio. Totally cheesy, right? But the words are completely my mom. She has always put everyone else before herself. When we were reading Megan's post about Mom, Emma was reading over my shoulder and said "yep, Nana B. is the nicest person I know." Now she's trying to pinch me for typing about her. So, anyway, I'm driving down Camelback rd. with tears pouring down my face thinking about what I can do as a tribute for my mom who gives her whole soul to everyone around her. At least I have always known that when it comes to my mom, my dad knows he is the luckiest man in the world. Now more than ever. Well, I'm thinking about how Mom really internalizes all of our decisions and that what she would like the most is for me to do the best that I can with my life. I have a slight (wince) tendency to be lazy and I certainly did not get that from her. I am working on my motivation to do the most with my life that I can and to ignore that natural fear of failure that is inside me.

Okay, now Emma gives me a cheesy grin and says, "just post that and let's snuggle" Seeing as how I'm talking about mother/daughter relationships, I think I will pause and return to this later.

Merilee's 2 minute poetry contest

2007-09-19T18:34:00.001-07:00

Autumn

Leaves turn from green to gold
Sweaters keep away the cold.

At football games, we scream and shout
and Hokey Pokey, that's what it's all about.

Holidays are lots of fun
and always keep us on the run

Autumn really hits the spot
Except in Arizona, where it's still HOT!

ps. I hated this.

2007-09-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

It kinda seemed like the thing to do to put this picture up with my other sisters. I know I haven't posted in a while but my computer has been acting up and I just really haven't felt like it. The cord to connect my laptop has to be bent at a specific angle in order to keep my computer charged and if it comes unconnected, the battery dies in about 1/2 an hour, plus it's really slow. I've been trying to spend time with Mom and Dad at the hospital. Mom can rarely leave because Dad gets so nervous. Now I have a cold.

I still have adorable children and a sweet husband, they're just not getting much airtime right now.

I do have to tell one quick story though.
On Tuesday, I think, I went down to the hospital and they were about to give Dad a transfusion. They asked us to go wait out in the lobby while they set it up. I had just gotten there and so I took all of my stuff with. Mom, Emma and I played a fun little game while we waited and then they came and got us. I grabbed all my stuff off the counter, but my purse was on the floor and I left it there. An hour later, when I realized, I ran out to the waiting room. My purse was there but my wallet was gone. I got to spend the evening canceling cards and checks. Wednesday morning David had to be to work at 6. He got up extra early and went and filled my car with gas and got me some cash before he left for work. It was so sweet! What a great husband!