A Halloween Grinch

I really don't like Halloween. In fact, this is the first year that I haven't felt all out contempt for the stupid holiday! I'm feeling more of an irritance or discomfort or extreme dislike or something to that effect. I celebrated Halloween as a kid-- dressed up, when to door-to-door trick or treating, went to carnivals, etc. and I loved it. I don't think I'm too grown up for the holiday. I think I just hate what it's become.

For example, on the way taking the kids to school we drive by a house that has this plastic sheet hanging over the door that has fake blood smeared all over it and, in the fake blood, it says "Warning" or something to that effect. Excuse me? Since when did Halloween become a gore holiday. That's disgusting. Try explaining to a 5 year old boy why it's not a good idea to pretend that we have blood smeared all over the front door. Bleech!

Or the creepy dead bride who is holding her severed head and still singing. Or the realistic guts and gore popping out of the "victims" on the lawn. It's disgusting. I do not want my kids seeing all that and thinking "ooh, that's fun!" No.

Ghosts with smiles, pumpkins, harvesty things, dressing up-- it's all good. But when it gets to the gruesome, nasty, dismembered holiday that people seem to revel in now, I'm out. And I'm taking my kids with me. I'd like them to retain their innocence. I'd like them to not think that some things are cool-- like killing people and blood & guts and being frightened out of your mind. No thanks.

So Happy wholesome, non-nasty, slightly spooky but not creepy Halloween,

from a Halloween grinch. ;o)

Random Thoughts

I haven't had anything to post for the past few days-- just to give you an indication of how difficult things have been. If I can't find any humor in life to write about, then life is bleak (for me anyways). That's the joy of being a mother. Your kids certainly have a way of making you feel like trash when you already feel pretty low. The baby is cutting four or five teeth and screams almost incessantly sometimes. My son is having his bi-weekly emotional crisis and saved his grand-mal tantrum for the meat department at Winegar's grocery store yesterday. And other various and assorted traumas and frustrations and difficulties.

I went to yoga last night for the first time in three weeks (wore my new pants) and ended up walking in crying. It was rather embarassing. Thankfully the teacher knows how to make us suffer and that was a good distraction from all the rest of my life. I was too sore and tired to care when I left.

So here are some random thoughts:

-if my dog were my ex-boyfriend, I could get a stalking injuction (like a protective order) against him.

-fig newtons are nasty. Gross!

-Napolean Dynamite has the best quotes. It has the best music too. Why can't they make a sequel????

-I still don't know who to vote for for president. I'm an undecided loser (according to one local talk show host).

-I was 13 years old when I discovered Yanni. I also had a shrine to Milli Vanilli on the back of my door in my bedroom. Ask my sister-- she'll tell you about it. She hated it.

-My baby is crying right now. Now I am typing with one hand.

-Parenting books mostly just make you feel stupid or overwhelmed. Or both. Same with fashion magazines. Except those also make you feel ugly and fat too.

-That's all I have to say. Not too creative this week. Too much whining and screaming dulls the senses. And you should hear my kids! (ha! :o) just kidding )

I'm Alive!

I survived the race! I ran all but about a half mile of it. Here's me pre-race:


Here's me post-race:

Can you tell the difference? I had to move my numbers down. But other than that? No not really! ;o) I don't like having my picture taken hence the grimace. A friend of mine took a picture of me running. If he emails it to me, I'll add it to these two. It can't look any worse! ;o)

So just as I completed the first lap of race, a guy came behind me and WON the race. Ah, such is life. His time was 14 minutes and some change. My time was 29:53. Not bad. I had two real goals: 1- Don't finish last; 2- Finish in less than 45 minutes. So I was one of the last 5 runners, I think, and obviously my time is under 45 minutes. I was surprised. I didn't think I could do it in under 30 minutes.

So hurray for me because I didn't die! My arms were frozen, but I made it. I will definitely need a nap and some ibuprofen for lunch. Mmmm.....lunch. Time to eat!

They've got my Number! I'm running for it!

I'm so excited! Tomorrow I'm running in my very first 5K. It's put on by the Dating Violence Task Force that I'm a co-chair of as a way to raise money and awareness for teen dating violence. I've been wanting to run in a 5 K for several years now but never felt "ready." I still don't feel ready, but I'm going to do it anyway. Luckily it's a 5K Run/Walk. I'm sure I'll be doing both, and hopefully in equal amounts.

So here are my goals:
--don't die. It's in public. Plus, there will be lots of people there that I know. I don't want to embarrass myself!
--run as long as I can. At least until I'm out of sight of the people at the starting/finishing line who I know.
--don't die. Did I mention that? It's always my goal, but it seems so much more appropriate for tomorrow.
--try to look good. I have new running capris. I got them on clearance at Target. I can also wear them to yoga. So I will try to look good and smile if someone is looking at me and not die. Gasp! I think I'll skip the smiling part. I'm running. I'm supposed to be serious about it. You can't smile and run. People think you're crazy. So, forget the smiling.
--cross the finish line. Walking is fine. If necessary, to save face and lessen embarrassment, fake an injury by limping or holding my side. :oD
--go home and die in the privacy of my own home. OK, so I probably won't die, but I will need a nap, a shower, and a Pepsi. And probably not in that order.

Well, that about covers it. Wish me luck. I'll try to get a picture taken so I can post it. I'm most excited to get those numbers to tape to my shirt. That makes me a true runner! (finally!)

Today's Planet Money Podcast-- the TED Spread is dropping!!!

Just had to share-- just finished catching up on some of this week's Planet Money podcasts. And the great news is that the TED spread is down to 2.51 today (down from almost 5 last week). That is huge. 4.9 was catastrophic for an index that should be down under 1. So each time it drops it means that the global markets are calming down. It is a much better indicator of how things are going than the Dow Jones or stock market.

Betcha didn't know that, huh? I didn't.

Woo-hoo!

Here's an official Wikipedia definition for you: (if it doesn't make sense then you need to listen to the Planet Money podcast! ;o) )

The TED spread is the difference between the interest rates on interbank loans and short-term U.S. government debt ("T-bills").

Initially, the TED spread was the difference between the interest rates for three-month U.S. Treasuries contracts and the three-month Eurodollars contract as represented by the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). However, since the Chicago Mercantile Exchange dropped T-bill futures, the TED spread is now calculated as the difference between the three-month T-bill interest rate and three-month LIBOR.

TED is an acronym formed from T-Bill and ED, the ticker symbol for the Eurodollar futures contract. The size of the spread is usually denominated in basis points (bps). For example, if the T-bill rate is 5.10% and ED trades at 5.50%, the TED spread is 40 bps. The TED spread fluctuates over time, but historically has often remained within the range of 10 and 50 bps (0.1% and 0.5%), until 2007. A rising TED spread often presages a downturn in the U.S. stock market, as it indicates that liquidity is being withdrawn.

The Whole Truth and Nothing But....

My daughter came home from school the other night and asked if it would be true that if he were elected that Obama (didn't call him by his full name-- just "Obama") would take away everyone's gun and not let anyone protect themselves. Nate and I looked at each other and made one of those just-heard-a-really-terrible-joke faces.
"Where did you hear this?" I asked.
"Oh, a boy at school said it."
We then explained to her that he probably didn't know what he was talking about and was just repeating something he heard at home that was probably exaggerated and that NO it was not true in the slightest bit.

But that got me thinking. It's so easy to hear something that someone said and believe it as the truth. ESPECIALLY in an election year. Things are so distorted by the media and by opposing campaigns. Obama says this, he believes this, he'll cut this. McCain will do this, he says that, he'll add that. Who's right? That's a tough question to answer.

People tend to believe what they want to hear anyway. We do a quick "litmus" test when we hear new information and base it against what we already know (whether or not that information is accurate or not). Senator Obama is a democrat, democrats traditionally oppose lots of gun rights, therefore Senator Obama will take away all of my guns and leave me defenseless.

Okay, so that was obviously an exaggeration (though for some people not much of one). But we want to believe what we want to believe. It takes effort to find out truth. It's easier to just listen to what we are being told and accept it as the "truth." We find what we deem "reliable" sources and stick to them. "Well, if Sean Hannity says it, then I agree with it" or "if it's on NPR/CNN/CBS/NBC/XYZ then I believe it" or something of the sort. They become our external brains. That works for a lot of people.

It doesn't cut it for me. I want to know for myself as much as is possible. I don't have a lot of time to fact-find right now, but I do my best. For example, I'm very interested in the financial state of things, but the media coverage is baffling at best. I found the most fabulous podcast that actually explains it. I know what the Commercial Paper Market is and why the Ted Spread is so critical (it went down last week, hallelujah!) and what is really going on. I love the power the information brings. Here's a link: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=94411890 I highly recommend it. They even are discussing what the candidates are saying/accusing each other and whether or not their policies, arguments, and propositions are well-founded or not. I love it! Did I already say that?

Anyways, this issue has been on my mind a lot lately, and I wanted to put it down in words. But the dino nuggets are ready for dinner (yum?) and the kids are done with their homework so I must stop.

Truth is power. But no one -- NO ONE-- is going to hand that truth to you on a silver platter. Not without lots of strings attached. Use your God-given right and ability to think for yourself and understand the world around you. Form your own opinion. See how powerful you feel.

But DON'T take my word for it! :o)

Just how serious how are you....

Thanks to sickness (my own and the baby's) and cold weather, I haven't run outside for two weeks. I planned to run yesterday morning, but then the power randomly went out at 5:30 am and I didn't sleep after that. Running was not going to happen on so little sleep. But I was determined to make it happen today, no matter what.

Well, I did it, but it was pretty miserable.

It was one of those times when everything seemed to go wrong. It was way colder than the 53 degrees on my thermometer, and I was wearing shorts. Two of the roads were under construction and I had to run around tractors, trucks, barricades, flag persons, and dirt. I had a bitter head wind too. My fingers went totally numb halfway through the run. At least my iPod worked!

Blah. But I still did it. And I didn't die (which is my typical goal). I ran a bit further than I normally do.

I wanted to run because this weekend is my very first 5K. I'm so excited. I hope to not embarrass myself by dying in public while running. I ran last week on my treadmill and wanted to run today to practice again. I've not been able to get back up to the distances I had before I had foot surgery at the end of February, but luckily it's a 5K Run/Walk. I think I'll be doing both.

So here's a post to doing things even when it's tough. And if I'm lucky I might just get a nap today! ;o)

Then again, Maybe Not.

Hermy changed her mind about hibernating. Mostly because I tried to move her to a more permanent location for hibernation; I put her in a box with wood shavings in it downstairs. And boy did she get mad! She wouldn't stand for it! She was totally awake in about an hour and is now back under the bird cage. She didn't come out much on Sunday, not at all yesterday, and only just barely came out for today. She's eating some lettuce in the kitchen right now-- waiting for the sunshine to hit the floor. Who knows when she'll decide to hibernate for real again?

As a woman, I should have known better than to move her from her "house" before she was completely comatose. Oh well, I'll have try again when she's totally asleep and non-responsive.

Inheritances

Four years ago, my Grandma Hansen died. A year and three months after that, my Grandpa Hansen died. The Hansens were my favorite set of grandparents. I grew up with them. I spent hours & hours & hours with them as a kid and kept in close touch with them through my life. Losing them was devastating. I still miss them. I know I will see them again, but that seems like such an awfully long time away.

But I digress..... My grandma left me several things of value that I cherish. I don't always use them (like the gold-plated flatware), but I cherish it because it came from her. My grandpa left me even more things (some of value, some not) that I cherish-- a grandfather clock, a portable radio, a blanket.

And 87 year old Uncle Kent.

My grandma had two older brothers: Kent & Richard. They lost their mother when they were young (Grandma was only 11) and were raised by their father in Idaho. Kent really struggled with his mom's death and had a personality conflict with his father and left home at the age of 16. His life didn't improve from there. He drifted for 60 years, marrying and divorcing, raising a son, losing his son to an untimely death, struggling with alcohol, trying to hold down a job, disappearing for long stretches. My dad never got a chance to know his uncle and the stories he heard were never flattering.

By the time Kent hit what most call "old age" he mellowed considerably and made huge changes to his life. He started going back to church, spent a lot of time trying to get to know his brother & sister and their families again, and tried to make up for lost time. My grandma, even though her health was poor, did her best to take care of her brother. When she died, my grandpa took over that job. He didn't always want to (Kent sorta drove him crazy at times), but he knew it was important to his wife.

When Grandpa died, there was no one to take care of Kent. He had no living children. His closest relatives were nieces and nephews were now raising families of their own and who had largely grown up without knowing their Uncle Kent. So, knowing that it was important to my Grandma Beth, Nate & I adopted him.

And what an adventure it's been.

The latest event is that his automated medicine dispenser is calling my cellphone to tell me that it's almost empty. That's kinda creepy-- even though the dispenser has a pleasant woman's voice! :o)

But there's no regrets. Some days are harder than others. We got him set up on a really good County Aging Services program and they are taking care of a huge portion of his needs. That has helped. But we're doing things we didn't dream we'd ever do for a "distant" relative-- living wills, funeral arrangements, etc. I had to stop saying I'm his great niece because the "great" part sounds more like an adjective than a family title!

It comes down to doing the right thing even though it's not the easy thing. Some told us to just leave him alone and let him become a ward of the state. Not a chance. He's my uncle. He is family. One day I will look my grandma in the eye and tell her that I took care of her brother because I knew it was what she wanted.

Plus, sometimes when Kent laughs, he gets this twinkle in his eyes and it's like looking at Grandma Beth again.

And that makes it all worth while.

Aw, my first blog tag. How special!

hee, hee, hee! I've never been tagged on my blog! I'm a giddy as a school girl! hee, hee, hee! My first tagging! How exciting! Isn't it wonderful??? Thanks, Cindy!

(go ahead and roll your eyes, if you want!)

A. Attached or Single? Attached
B. Best Friend? Nate, Laura, Rachael
C. Cake or Pie? Cake with cream filling and cream-cheese frosting
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential Item? Laptop
F. Favorite Color? Blue, White, Denim
G. Gummy Bears or Worms? Worms that have been left out so they are hard!
H. Hometown? Kirtland, NM
I. Indulgence? Cafe Rio or Panda Express
J. January or July? July (it's my birthday month)
K. Kids? 3 (1 girl, 2 boys)
L. Life is not complete without? My family
M. Marriage Date? April 15
N. Number of brothers & sisters? 1 sister, 2 brothers
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples
P. Phobias? Being out of control
Q. Quotes? "Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us the most...You are a child of God; your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us...." by Marianne Williamson.
R. Reasons to Smile? Baby laughs, Animals, Clearance sales
S. Season of Choice? Spring
T. Tag some Peeps! How about Heidi! And, uh, I'll have to keep thinking....
U. Unknown Fact about Me? I love bats (the animal kind) and hate fig newtons!
V. Vegetable? Yams
W. Worst Habits? Being short-tempered with idiocy
X. X-Ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound-- saw my babies that way
Y. Your Favorite Food? Burritos, Orange chicken, Chili over rice
Z. Zodiac Sign? Cancer

Hermy goes to school! And then decides to hibernate.

(a pre-PPS: I just found this picture as I was cleaning up my camera. Wow! It turned out so well! So I am adding it to the beginning of my blog because it shows my beautiful tortoise!)



Last Monday afternoon, Hermy, age 50 to 80 years, made her debut at school. She was a great success.

She made her way to school in her box (see above) and spent a half hour walking around inside of the 3rd grader's "Community Circle." She also took the opportunity to pee on the carpet. Right in front of two rowdy boys who were sent into rapturous giggling fits over the sight. Luckily I grabbed her peach towel (see above) and caught most of it.



The 3rd graders asked lots of questions, pet her shell lots of times, and enjoyed the experience. The principal of the school even came down for a visit with Hermy.

When we got home, Hermy was all tuckered out and put herself immediately to bed under the bird cage. She slept till 9 am the next morning and then spent the day in the sunshine. She had a full meal of dandelion heads (her favorite!) and put herself to be about 4 pm.

She has not come out from under the birdcage since Tuesday afternoon. And yes, she is still alive. She hisses when I touch her. She moves around, shifting her head or her legs, but she won't come out. See here she is:



And I am SO sad. I'm not ready for her to hibernate! I thought I'd be so excited to have a 6 month respite from a pet, but I'm not! I don't want her to be done being awake! I still want to feed her dandelions and lettuce. I want to watch her in the sun. I want to step over her as I'm making lunch.

But she won't be budged. Nature is taking it's course. School was the final straw. She's ready for winter. Sigh.

Here's some of my favorite Hermy pictures from the past few months:


After eating zucchini from our garden


Digging in her pen with her powerful claws. I just love this photo!



And my all-time favorite photo of Hermy. She's such a fabulous tortoise. Isn't she cute?? (just smile and nod)

Once she's in a full hibernation (doesn't respond or hiss or anything when touch), I will put Hermy back in her box and put her downstairs in my food storage room where it is cold. I go in there at least once a day and can check on her. She should hibernate until April-ish when she'll start to wake back up. Baby steps until April....baby steps until April...baby steps....

;o)

Motherhood: the ecstacy and the agony and the ectasy....

(What a rollercoaster!)

Yesterday morning I sat at the table eating my Life cereal (sometimes it's the only Life I get!) and watched as my two older kids scurried back and forth getting ready for the day and thought "you know, this motherhood thing is not SO bad."

Fast forward two hours......

I return from the bathroom at my great aunt's house after changing baby's horrible diaper to find that my 5 year old son is digging under her sofa cushions for loose change. Gasp! What are you doing??? I politely-- and quickly and forcefully and discreetly-- put an end to that practice.

Twenty minutes later this same son, holding the Nerf football that my aunt gave him, asks her in his "sad boy" voice: "Isn't there anything else you wanted to give me?" Blah! We had a serious and firm talk about manners and didn't we say before we even left the car that we would NOT ask for things when we got into the house???

The visit ended shortly after that.

Fast forward two more hours.......

My daughter bursts into tears and tells me that sometimes she feels like I don't trust her. Huh? Isn't she like three years too young for this accusation? Shouldn't she be a teen? What just happened? I listened to her through her sobbing and reassured her that I did do the right thing at the library regarding the Harry Potter tapes. Gak!

Motherhood. Sometimes it's a feeling of (in a voice that's a bit too high and fast): "I know why hamsters eat their young!!" or "I think strangers at a day care might do a better job raising these monsters today than I will" and occasionally it's a feeling of: "You know my children might not need as much counseling as I feared." :o)

You can love your children even as they are driving you completely out of your mind and you are seriously thinking about the benefits of a foreign boarding school (hee, hee- just kidding). But you can love them. But that doesn't make your job as a mother any easier.

Motherhood: it's a GREAT profession except for the kids. (ha!) ;oD

Turf War

Of course all of you should know one of the greatest truths in the world. Allow me to quote the original author, Vizzini:
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" (from Princess Bride)

Now only part of that truth applies to my tale today, but it's great to quote the whole thing.

Since the weather turned cold, we've been having our own land war in Asia (my kitchen) going on between Hermy the tortoise and Kip the dog.

I'll tell you the story in pictures:



Hermy loves to warm herself up in the sunshine that comes in the kitchen window starting around 10 am every morning. She follows it across the floor until 4 pm and then puts herself to bed. She NEVER leaves it.



She even eats lunch there. (she never leaves)




Kip the dog used to warm himself up in that exact same spot. It's HIS spot or so he thinks. He had it first. At least he thinks he did (he is a dog of very little brain), but he wants it back.




He tried to share, but..... Hermy didn't exactly go for the idea. You can't really cuddle with a desert tortoise.




"Fine!" he says. "Have it! I didn't want it anyways." Baby steps till hibernation. Baby steps till hibernation. Baby steps......

(Stupid tortoise). And then Kip went in to sit on the bed. And pout.

Go ahead-- Question me and my testimony!

So I live in Utah (said U-tar!) and there's a lot of assumptions about that. One assumes I'm LDS/Mormon. That is true. I am a Mormon; I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( I know who I am, I know God's plan....). One assumes I am a Republican. That is mostly true. It is true in so far as I declared that on my voter registration card. But honestly the longer I am in Utah the longer I wonder what I am. One also assumes that I vote and will vote Republican. And I do vote.

So WHY, you might ask/DEMAND/politely inquire do I have political signs up in my front yard for a DEMOCRAT??? Gasp! Double Gasp!!

Now if you are some in my neighborhood, you have done a double take at the signs. If you are others-- hopefully NOT living in my neighborhood-- you might be wondering how on earth I can profess to be an active member of the LDS church and still support a Democrat.

And that, my friends, is where I roll my eyes. And sometimes gag. And roll my eyes again. You see every year-- EVERY YEAR-- the First Presidency of our Church (that's the top three leaders) send out a letter to all of the church members urging them to make their own decision. You know: study out the issue, read both sides, review the candidates, pray about it, etc. But decide for yourself. And I happen to be doing that. With every candidate and issue on the ballot.

Kyle Roberts is the democrat in question whose signs are in my front yard. I know him. I'm good friends with his wife. I will admit that I have yet to take my own church leader's advice and study his platform and compare it to his opponents, but I still agreed to put his signs in my yard. Kyle is a good guy. He's Mormon too. His wife is Mormon. You CAN be Mormon and Democrat. Go ahead-- be shocked if you must. But please get over it quickly.

Then there's the issue of the Presidential election. Oy! That's a toughie for me. Sometimes I wish I could be totally superficial like some other Americans. You know, vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin because Sarah's name is fabulous and she has a great up-do and way cute glasses. Or NOT vote for them because Mr. McCain is old and his teeth seriously need some bleaching trays! Yikes. Or vote for Obama because he looks sorta like Denzel Washington who I have always found to be incredibly good looking. Or NOT vote for them because of that one email forward I got that said "This might not be true but if it IS true than we will be sleeping with the enemy" or something fearmongering-ish like that and went on to spew ideas about Obama cavorting with terrorists in Pakistan and selling the American soul to Tehran for a cheap nickel, etc. Did you get that email? It's in my Trash box with a lot of disgust. I won't be basing my decision off any junk email forward or for that matter off ANY political ads. Those are largely crap (that's potty mouth in my house so don't tell my kids I said it please).

So most of the rhetoric that the average American bases their opinion off of isn't going to be good enough for me. I have a high horse I'm riding! (ha, ha!) It's called "The Quest for Truth" (cue theme music!). No really. There's a lot of rhetoric and crap and accusations and garbage and fear-mongering and fluff flying around in this election. And while I occasionally feel like my vote might be wasted in Utah any way thanks to the archaic practice of the electoral college-- another subject for another day-- I AM STILL GOING TO VOTE.

After I've done my homework.

So go ahead and question my testimony. Ask me if I can be a good Mormon and vote for a Democrat.

And I'll tell you "Yes." Because that's what I have been counseled to do by my good Mormon leaders (well, not the vote for the Democrat, but vote for who I believe in. You know what I mean.)

The end.

Step away from the soap box! ;o)

p.s. you can check out Kyle's website at: www.roberts4house20.com

Bleecchhh!

5 inches, frozen temperatures, power outage, still coming down in some areas.

Welcome to Utah Fall. It will be back up to 70 degrees on Friday.

Today's Math Lesson

9 Quarts of Stewed Tomatoes Plus
14 Pints of Salsa Plus
11 Half Pints of Salsa EQUALS

Two tired legs
One crabby baby
One exhausted mom
AND
Zero canning jars leftover

Which means NO MORE CANNING THIS YEAR!!

Time to give away the rest of my tomatoes! Good thing I have friends!

Interesting/Amusing/Odd/Unique/Weird Things about me

-I sleep with a Winnie the Pooh blanket and have for 13 years. I refer to it lovingly as "Pooh" or "Pooh bear." I am nice enough to let my dog sleep on the bottom of it, but I don't share it with anyone else. Oh, and I didn't take it on my honeymoon. There's a long story to why I love it so much, but I'll have to share that later...

-I never eat the crusts on my sandwiches. Yuck! But, being a good mom, I force my kids to eat their crusts.

-I don't drink milk. I don't like milk. The smell of milk makes me gag (all due to a bad milk experience in kindergarten). Thank goodness for soy milk.

-I was voted "Cutest Girl" twice in school. I won't tell you what grades, but one time I got a pink elephant certificate with a bubble gum scratch-and-sniff sticker. Nice!

-I love garlic. It's the most perfect seasoning. It smells heavenly. Aaaaahhhhh!

-I struggled with "un/underexplained" infertility for 6 years. It was miserable.

-I have a bachelor's degree in Sociology. "What do you do with that degree?" you ask. I hang it on my wall. "No, really, what's it good for?" Looking good on my wall. Really. It's a bachelor's degree. But with regards to sociology, I can't do anything without a PhD.

-I used cloth diapers on my daughter. I almost used them with this baby, but I got lazy. I still contemplate using them, but.... I'm still lazy. I loved cloth diapers. They are not as hard as you think. Trust me.

-I wish I had an online store. Selling puppets.

-I have spoken at conferences/press conferences/workshops/interviews/etc with the governor of Utah, the governor's wife, the US Attorney General of Utah, the Utah Attorney General, and other important people. And none of them remember me! ;o) Except the governor's wife, Mrs. Huntsman. She's a sweetheart.

-I write articles for two newsletters in Utah. One gives me credit by putting my name on it, the other doesn't.

-I used to be a huge Milli Vanilli fan when I was 12. I had a picture shrine to them on the back of my door (drove my sister crazy!) I was pretty much over them when they were exposed as frauds. But I still like their music.

-I have an unpublished novel. Everyone who has read it likes it-- except the editors who need to publish it for me. Sigh, such a sad thing.

I ate the rest of the birthday cake on account of all of the whining and other tidbits from my life

It's been a week. And it's only Wednesday. And so I polished off the rest of little Mister's first birthday cake for dinner part one AND part two. And then I ate some leftover Cafe Rio chips and a handful of pine nuts. My husband is at school tonight so the kids were dino nuggets (yeah, I'm sure you can't believe I passed those over for birthday cake with marzipan frosting!) and I have a very whiny baby who won't let me put him down and a son who decided to act out at dinner time and was writhing on the ground like an earthworm who had been run over by a wagon wheel at the same time he was screaming and trying to destroy anything he could get his little hands on while I tried to keep my calm all the while wishing I had MORE birthday cake to eat and thinking how my husband doesn't appreciate my sacrifices to put him into school and how he'd better graduate soon or he or I might die. That's been my evening so far. How's yours?

I've put my iPod on hospice care. I believe she's on her last leg (poor girl). I hope she'll make it through the year. It would be nice if she'd carry me through till Christmas so Santa could bring me another for a present, but I'm just not sure. I had to run on Monday without her to coach me and that was rough.

And there's valley snow predicted for this weekend. From 80 degrees last week to 70 week to 40 degrees and SNOW this weekend. Yikes! Sign me up for Phoenix.

And Hermy, the tortoise, is getting closer to hibernating. Within the next few weeks she should be asleep till April. Isn't that the best pet ever? Asleep in a box in your basement from Halloween till Easter? I'm wishing some days that I could get my dog to do that. Or maybe one of my kids.... just kidding.

Speaking of pets: Lady the $160 chicken (see older posts for my chicken epic saga) survived her 4th round of antibiotics and seems to be intent on living. She was rather touch and go for awhile and I didn't know whether or not she'd survive. Two of the three new chickens I got ended up being roosters. Not a good addition to our neighborhood. Last Monday they were returned to the farm where they came from. Now we are down to two chickens: Lady and Annie. Annie is a very pretty white chicken with pale pink combs and waddles. She's very lovely. She's scared to death of me, but that should/could/might change. For now the two are content in their completely raccoon proof enclosure. Plus, I lock them in every night. No raccoon could get past that. Unless he brought his cordless Black & Decker drill and tool belt.

Alright, I have kids to get to bed. And then myself. Tomorrow is running day. I can feel in advance that I might die. And then I have to make salsa. Yum!

Love thy Neighbor as Thyself

I've been taking my daughter to the same school for over three years and, when I'm not feeling lazy and when the weather is good, I try to walk her to school. It's just barely under a mile there and back and is a fairly pleasant walk (despite having to cross a highway-- but the crossing guards are super nice). Well, since walk # 1 wwwwaaaaayyyyy back in 2005, I've had to pass by this certain house. I have nothing against the house itself, but the homeowners have often left little to be desired. They obviously lead a rather wild lifestyle and, to make it harder for me personally to swallow, they have little kids in the chaotic mix.

On most days I've passed the mom pulling out of her driveway so I know exactly what her vehicle looks like. Well, one day last year I ended up dropping off my daughter at school in the back parking lot right behind this mom. And without really thinking, I started criticizing her in my mind: what a crummy life she gives her kids, what a chaotic life....blah, blah, blah, blah. I was NOT being nice.

About two minutes into this un-Christlike diatribe of mine, I caught myself! "Hello, earth to Sarah! You are NOT being nice. You do not know this woman! What right do you have to judge her? You should be...."

All of the sudden this mom rolls down her window and hocks out the biggest wad of spit & phelgm I've ever seen a woman hock. I had a brief moment of shock and then I burst out laughing! Of all the moments for her to do that, that moment was the most choice (the most ironic!) Classic!

Of course my kids (and the other kids in my car) immediately wanted to know what was so funny and I just shrugged them off. Had she spit a few moments earlier it would have confirmed every nasty thing I was thinking, but for some reason in my ironic brain that timing has forever let her off my hook. Every time I see her now I just smile. She's doing the best she can, and God bless her. She'll not get any more flack from this momma.

But I might snicker in her general direction. But it's nothing personal. It's because I have an odd sense of humor.

Dove Beauty Video

Watch this video created by the Dove Self-Esteem workshop fund. It's shocking how "beauty" is created now, and it's no wonder that so few women and girls have a positive image of themselves and their bodies. Look at what they are competing against-- a fantasy!

Customize

What's Important to You is Important to You....

Or: We women throw way too many stones at each other.

I had a bishop once tell me that what is important to you is important to you. Period. Too often we look at others and think "Well, that's a stupid thing to be worried/in love/concerned/happy/excited/whatever about!" But it's important to them. I'm often guilty of this. I had a friend who was always very concerned about pointing out to her guests that her home decor came from a particular store in the mall. It seemed silly to me and I confess that I was guilty of "casting stones" at her. You know, throwing those little barbs-- out loud, in their face, behind their back, or even just in your mind-- that say "your thoughts/feelings/ideas/passions are stupid!" Now I look at it and think "So what? So she liked that store? So? What did that do to me? Nothing. So what was the point of making her (and me) feel bad?"

That's just it. There was no point. We as women are too prone to judge each other. To compare ourselves and to throw stones. Oooh, and this whole world of blogging has just opened up a new world of comparisons, hasn't it? We can read about her frustration with her baby or her attempt to lose 5 pounds or her desire to start a business. Our sister friends vent on their blogs and share parts of their hearts (just as we do ours), and how do we respond?

Do we criticize and mock? Do we shake our heads and "should" them to death? Do we offer them our support and love? What do we do? How do we respond?

During last Saturday's General Relief Society Broadcast, the leaders over and over again said that Relief Society is not as united and as strong as it could be. And I kept thinking Why? How? And I think after thinking about it for the past few days I finally figured it out. It's because we are still too prone to throw stones at each other. We're too apt to point out differences and wrongs and less likely to gather in unity and love.

How sad. I'm guilty as charge. I look at the women in my Relief Society some Sundays and I see how they are different or why I don't/can't/won't/shouldn't like them or befriend them. Definitely not a Christ-like attitude. Definitely not the way to live up to grand privileges available to us all.

And I can do better. And I will. Time for me to put down my own stones and remind myself that "What's important to you is important to you. I may not understand it, but I don't have to attack it."

Click to Feed Homeless Animals

Here's an easy click to make:
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

Go to this site and click on the purple button to sponsor food for animals in shelters. Pretty cool, huh?

So go do it! You can click every day to help animals!

Things I love!

Love, Love, LOVE! After a fairly revealing, slightly embarassing post for yesterday, I want to take a happier "look on the bright side" post today.

Here are things I love:
-picking fresh tomatoes off my plants in my garden to use on my sandwich
-having 10 tomato plants with at least 100 pounds of tomatoes picked so far
-baby laughing! Who doesn't love that baby laugh sound?
-full moons
-the new trail head at 500 S. in Bountiful just off the Legacy Parkway. You can see some awesome birds there like turkey vultures
-7 pm bedtime
-walking to and from school with my neighbors so we can chat
-the library! Yesterday I got 2 hold books that I've been waiting for! Oooh! But how to choose which to read first!!
-naptime with baby so I can sneak in some reading of those fabulous library books
-Costco. I do love that place.
-Walmart. I know. Love it or hate it. I have a love for it.
-IMing my hubby during the day-- especially during my son's meltdowns so I can keep under control
-texting my sister-in-law
-yoga class
-Nielson's frozen custard
-the Mandarin Chinese restaurant in Bountiful, or the Panda Express for a reasonable substitute
-Sour Patch kids
-birds! Chickens, cockatiels, black-capped chickadees, eagles, Clark's nutcrackers-- all birds
-when people post comments on my blog-- double good when they are NICE comments!
-family coming to visit
-my bed and my pillow-- my favorite place!