town hall

What a difference a week makes

2012-02-14T08:43:00.000-08:00

{image via pinterest}

I ran nine miles last Saturday and if felt like nothing. Well, practically nothing. I ran the first five miles with two of my running buddies, so those just flew by as we chatted and laughed about this and that. Then my girlfriends peeled off toward home and I continued on for four more miles, happily enjoying the sun peeking through the clouds and the sights and sounds of a sleepy town slowly waking up to a busy Saturday morning of basketball games and walks to the local coffee shops. I so wish I could bottle these effortless runs and preserve just one for my upcoming race day. Running is a fickle thing sometimes. You just never know what you're going to get out of your body when you lace up your sneakers and head out the door.

This week I've been focusing on my nutrition as an integral part of my training plan. I gave up soda several weeks ago, and haven't missed it a bit. If I'm really craving a fizzy drink I'll treat myself to one of Sonics diet cherry limeades, but mostly I'm drinking water. I'm aiming for 65 ounces a day (supposedly, the ideal is to take your weight and half it and then convert that number to ounces and try to drink that much water a day). I do really well in the morning with water consumption, but as evening comes on I don't really want to drink it anymore. I tend toward herbal tea at night. And, food-wise, I'm sticking to my routine of eating foods as close to their natural state as possible, for example, instead of drinking orange juice, I eat an orange. Or, if I want to have some bread I try to eat bread that is full of nuts and seeds and completely whole wheat based (my favorite is Dave's Killer Bread, the one with seeds). Normally, I follow an 80/20 rule like this...I eat 80% healthy and 20% not. But, now that I'm training so seriously and I really need my body to respond to high demands, I've moved it to a 90/10 rule. So far, so good. I'm not feeling particularly deprived. It helps that I'm not a big eater in general and food isn't a huge thing for me.

I've made lodging arrangements for our family for marathon weekend. We'll be staying in a condo eight miles up the coast from the starting line. My friend Kelly (who is a veteran marathoner and a certified running coach) is running too and will be staying near by, so we will carpool to the race that morning.

The more concrete this adventure gets the more excited I become. My only goal is to finish the race. No pace goals. No time expectations. If I just cross the finish line in an upright position I will be thrilled.

**post edit** I just looked up the registration list for Newport and I have a bib number. 671. This thing is for real.

Downton Abbey

2012-02-10T21:48:00.000-08:00

My new love. My passion. I now speak with a British accent.

Honestly, after viewing the first episode of this show I realized I've sadly missed my true calling in life- that of British Aristocracy. I would have been a good and benevolent Mistress of the Manor. I would have adored my lady maid and cultivated a chummy relationship with our head butler. I would have treated my kitchen staff with kindness and looked for opportunities to assist their welfare.
As fate would have it, I was born 100 years later in the wild, wild west of America and had to embrace a life of suburban housewife and mother.

I have oodles to say about Downton Abbey that I almost don't know where to start. I've watched every episode at least twice and I ponder the plot, character development and period elements daily. Rather than re-hashing the entire show, I thought I'd give a brief opinion of each character in the ensemble and that would really cover all I have to say about DA for now.

First I'll speak of the dear Earl of Grantham. I took an online quiz to see which character I was most like, and surprisingly it was Lord Grantham. I do adore this man. I believe him to be a dedicated husband and good father. He cares for his staff, more than most Lords may have at the time. He seems to spend most of his time reading newspapers and hangin' in the Library, because as you know, it would be most untoward for such a man to have an actual job. He's a fine fellow so I give him an A-

Sweet, yet strong, Countess of Grantham was my first love of this show. Do you recognize her? She's played by Elizabeth McGovern the former fiance of Sean Penn. Although slight, and seemingly sickly at times, Cora is a strong woman who knows how to get things done and isn't afraid of standing up to anyone, particularly Violet. I adore her clothing and hairstyles and see her as an icon of sophistication and beauty. Mostly because I love to look at her I give her a B+

Maggie Smith, my favorite. I saw her in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' on stage in London when I was nineteen and I fell in love with her then and have continued my devotion to her ever since. I've often lamented to Wes that I should have named one of our daughters Minerva (after her character Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series) just so I could yell up the stairway to her 'Hey Minerv! you're gettin' on minerv!" The Dowager Countess of Grantham is just too fabulous. She embodies everything I hope to be when I am her age. If you have not begun to watch this fantastic show do it just so you can watch Maggie Smith at her best. A+

Lady Mary, often hated by many, but not by me. Mary is great in a crisis, have you noticed? She does not crumble, and she always knows just the right thing to say. I love that she is Carson's favorite. I love that she is straightforward and bold. She has a hard shell that seems unfeeling and terse, but underneath she is a caring soul that simply wants to be loved without having to subvert her mind and passions to a mans position of power or prestige. A

Oh Edith, you have no redeeming qualities. You are often overlooked and unwanted. You annoy me. Every so often they try to give you some sort of likable quality, like nursing William in his final hours, but it doesn't work. We still don't enjoy you. You are fantastic at playing the jealous sister role. You will probably end up a spinster who gets the regrettable duty of caring for you aging parents. Sounds right to me! D

At first I thought Sybil was going to be my favorite of the Grantham sisters, but as time has rolled on I'm finding myself bored to tears by her. She is just too darn good. So kind, so hospitable, so righteous, so duty bound. All of that adds up to snoozerville. I know they are trying to make her interesting by adding the political activism aspect to her role, but I'm not into it. Also, her supposed feelings for the chauffeur are sort of interesting, but of course she is so good nothing happens, so I get bored again. C

Mrs. Isobel Crawley. Love her. She is perfect match for Violet. She likes to get down and dirty in the work of the day and I was really impressed with the medical procedure she preformed on the man with the heart condition in the first season. B

Matthew Crawley has grown on me. At first I was a bit turned off by him, especially with his unkind treatment of Mosely, but as time has gone by I've come to adore him. Of course I think he is the perfect match for Mary, but I know the writers want to keep that relationship a turbulent roller coaster so we probably won't see it settle into a nice groove, because that would be rather dull. I'm most upset my his spinal injury, but I have secret hopes that he will regain his mobility and all will not be lost. A-

I love Carson. If I had to have a butler, he would be my top choice. He runs that house as well as any CEO could. I think he has a secret crush on Mrs. Hughes. B

Mr. Bates and Anna. Two peas in a pod. Did Bates kill his ex? That is the question these days. A

I loathe Thomas. F

And, I loathe O'Brien. Her cruel ways show the smallness of her character. She hates to see anyone happy. I don't believe she has a conscience. She will do anything to destroy anyone who crosses her path. F-

There are more characters in the show that I could yap on about, but I've already spent way too much time talking about the main characters as it is.

Thank heavens for Downton Abbey.

First long run

2012-02-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Oh man, last Saturday was hard. Not so hard because I did my first long run, but because I did it with a terrible head cold.

I'm one of those militant-ish exercisers who does not like to skip a workout. I've been known to complete a workout even while suffering from cramps from h#&! because I'm just too determined to let something as lame as that get me down.

So, Saturday I headed out to run eight miles around Sherwood = run circles around this sweet little town.

It went just fine. I'm supposed to run slow and easy on my long run days and I did just that. Two things bothered me the entire time though, first, my earphones (just my right one) kept falling out! These are super awesome earphones that rarely give me trouble, and they picked that day to start popping out of my ear? I first blamed it on the wind, but then as I turned in different directions (toward the wind, away from it, etc.) the problem did not go away. Very annoying. Secondly, I sorta forgot to bring water, or food. I typically don't bring those things until I go past the nine mile mark, but since I was sick, I really should have because, well, I needed them.

As you can see from the photo above, I'm using my new-to-me Garmin for training and I love it! It makes me feel all official and I love when it jingles with each passing mile. I don't know, something about wearing this watch makes me feel like an official runner. Normally, I feel like an impostor, like a fake runner (and really? how would that work? I'm fake running around town to get some kicks?), but with the Garmin (which was gifted to me by my super sweet friend Marnie) I feel all in the groove and like I know what I'm doing.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add the final touch to my running-while-sick story. When I got home I felt awful. Like the most weakling weak person ever. I have never felt that bad after a workout. I had to lay around for a bit before I could resume my normal activities (aka cleaning the whole house and painting Alice's bedroom for her birthday). So, I do feel like my marathon training has begun. I'm on the path. I hope this is a good decision. I'm committed, so that's good. Just hoping I can hold up. I've gotta have faith.

Feed the beast

2012-02-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

Spencer came home from school yesterday with a frown on his face and threw his backpack on the floor. I have started hating afternoons that start like that because I know we are in for a doozy with my semi-dramatic, very touchy little man of the house.

Usually I just tell him to cool down and not to get mad at the rest of us for whatever happened to him that day at school. But, this time I tried a slightly different technique to see if I could tame this wild beast before bad went to worse. I sat him down at the kitchen table while he told me that life was not fair because Mrs. Shute (the sweetest librarian ever) had been soooooooo mean to him today because she shushed him and his friends during library. Oh, the injustice! So, I began to feed him. I made him a plate of nachos with salsa and made him eat it all (sometimes he'll just take a few bites and say he's full, but then be hungry in ten minutes). Then I gave him a glass of milk and some chocolates. I wanted his belly bursting. As he began to fill himself he calmed down. He became more rational, more pleasant. He hadn't really known that part of his dramatics upon coming home from school had to do with hunger.

I had a very wise mother (of four sons) once tell me that boys need three things- sleep, food and love. If something is amiss with them you can often solve it by making sure those three needs are taken care of. It is pretty basic, no? but I've found it to be completely accurate.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

2012-02-01T19:15:00.000-08:00

Whenever you have a baby you are taking a figurative roll-of-the-die. You simply do not know what you're going to get and, you naively think you somehow have more control over that person than you really do.

When Cate was born the first thing the nurses said to me was "My, what an alert baby!" At the time I thought that was good, my newborn was paying attention or something, but really that meant I would be raising a person who never slept and was driven to go, go, go and do, do, do in ways that often seemed superhuman.

Here's Cate on her first day of Kindergarten. Of course, she was totally ready and raring to go. She came home a couple hours later to tell me every single thing that had happened- who was friends with who, what they read at circle time, what she did at recess, who she sat by, who was nice, who was mean. No stone was left unturned. And it has been that way ever since.

Cate is a unique one. She cannot rest. No, I take that back, she can rest, but she must schedule it into her day.

She lives what she believes and has no qualms about sharing it with everyone. Courageous and true is how I describe her.

Over a year ago I posted about her sending an essay to the LDS newsroom and that they sent her a letter back telling her they may publish it in an upcoming issue of The New Era magazine. Well, time had gone on and we kept the possibility in the back of our minds but had largely given up hope since nothing had been forthcoming. Until Monday night, when we received a sweet little phone call from one of Cate's friends telling her to rush right over because her essay was on page 10 of then newest New Era issue.

To say Cate was over the moon would be an understatement. I'm not sure if her feet touched the ground that night. Her smile reached from ear to ear and I'm fairly certain she had a tough time settling down for bed.

We called both sets of grandparents to share the good news. We looked it up online, just to see her name in virtual print.

Cate googled herself and there she was, an author. She even emailed her favorite English teacher from eighth grade to let her know of the publication.

It is sort of amazing to see one of your kids do something so awesome and so far beyond something you would have done at his or her age.

Hall happenings...

2012-01-30T11:29:00.000-08:00

Today is day one for my marathon training plan. I'm a mess of mixed emotions as I look forward to my ultimate goal of finishing a full marathon. This quote keeps running through my brain today:

Our doubts are traitors and make us loose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.

Emma has become the baker in our home. She has mastered the art of delectable cinnamon rolls and we are all the fatter because of it! She loves to read my Sur la Table and Williams and Sonoma catalogs.

Spencer is playing his first year of city league basketball. He is a fairly coordinated kid, but at the beginning of the season he lacked the confidence to take the ball to the hole. A couple of weeks ago he finally made his first shot in a game and a massive light bulb went off in his brain and now there is no stopping him. He acts as if he is the next Ray Allen by trying to shoot the lights out in the building. Not to mention his smothering defense. He truly smothers people. It is hilarious. We are trying to keep his head from getting too large, but it's hard because his is a legend in his own mind.

Wes has gone back to playing early morning basketball with his friends. He is so happy about it, like he rediscovered a long lost joy that adds so much to his life. Yay for guys who like to shoot hoops before the sun comes up!

Alice's birthday is coming up next week and I'm trying to brace myself for it. She is such a lover of celebrations/gifts/parties/spotlight on her that I really have to step up my game or I will surely disappoint this girl. Even though this is her "off" year for having a friend birthday party, she has already planned the family birthday party, the one-on-one friend outing, the cousin get-together and the parents-take-me-out-for-lunch on my birthday extravaganza. Hope I can keep up!

Alice is also working really hard on her splits for dance. She is quite close and I expect her to reach her goal sometime in the next few months. It is quite an achievement because this family is not known for it's flexibility, just ask Emma.

I have to admit I have found it very convenient to have Cate driving for the last few months. She takes herself to her own ortho appts. She drives to work and back. She takes Emma home from school sometimes. She has even run to the store for me once or twice.

I finished reading the Hunger Games series, and so did Cate. Emma is reading them right now and Alice has just begun. I liked the books very much, although the first of the three was definitely the best. I'm glad there are series like these out there because they entice my kids to crack open a book instead of being on the computer or playing the wii.

Spencer just declared to me that he is a reader. He's eight and he just decided that he likes to read. And, so he reads a lot and is quite good at it. Emma did the same sort of thing when she was eight. And, so now I must get on my high horse and tell you all something. If you have a child who is in school but doesn't like to read, or is a slow reader relax. Yes, I said relax. I've had two kids who were early readers, and two who were classified as late readers. And, I completely understand how frustrating/disheartening/sad you feel when you go to a parent-teacher conference and your child's teacher tells you that your kid is "at risk" or "very behind" or whatever else term they use for letting you know that your child is not reading at the level they want them to be reading at. Breathe in, breathe out. Your child will be just fine. They just aren't ready to be a reader yet. You do all you can do (hire a tutor, read at least 20 minutes a day with them, tell them you think the are doing awesome and are a great reader) and then just wait. Because one day you kid is just going to get it, just like they learned to ride a bike, or they learned to use the toilet. And, you'll have this huge sigh of relief and think "Why the heck did I worry so frickin' much about this reading thing, when in the end, they really had to decide for themselves to want to read?"

I gave a talk at church yesterday and I am so glad it is over. My topic was awful (Law of the Fast) and there was very limited resources to use (guess how many conference talks have been given about the Law of the Fast? Two. Two in the last 40 years). I even had a nightmare about giving this talk. I'm starting to think that having a nightmare about an upcoming talk is the norm for me.

I've started taking vitamin D and I think it is really helping with my moods during the winter. It is usually about this time of year I get quite desperate for sun and fun and joy that comes with seeing blue skies. But, since I started my vitamin D regimen, I'm not really feeling too blue. I can't say for sure there is a connection, but I like to think there is one (placebo effect?).

I have several trips coming up and I'm really looking forward to them. I'm headed to the beach for a girls weekend the beginning of March. And, we are all going to Sunriver for a long weekend during spring break. Just having a couple of trips lined up makes me happy.

That's it for now. I've got to run to the bank before the kids explode through the front door.

hot chocolate

2012-01-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

A mug of hot cocoa is my guilty pleasure.

I drink a mugfull when I wake up each morning, and another mugfull right before I go to sleep.
I’ve become a bit of a hot chocolate connoisseur over the years. I love Stephens, but with the consumption levels in our home (we drink it year-round) I’ve found the price of Stephens to be a bit too steep for my budget. A fantastic alternative is the hot chocolate sold at the LDS Cannery in Milwaukee. I no longer buy it by the can, but simply by the 25 pound bag.

**funny side note** Wes likes to drink hot chocolate out of a glass. i.cannot.handle.it. He also drinks water out of a mug. this.is.beyond.me. It makes my teeth hurt just imagining doing so.

**second funny side note** One year when I was at girls camp, my cabin leader told me drinking hot chocolate was breaking the word of wisdom. That’s whack!

Silly me, I tried to read a book

2012-01-25T18:28:00.000-08:00

As you know, Alice is no shrinking violet. The spotlight is her happy place. She will preform anytime, anywhere and for anyone.
Particularly, she loves to perform for me.
Yesterday I foolishly thought I would sit down and read a book after dinner. I pointedly told Miss A. that I was sitting down to read and would love to have a bit of peace and quiet while doing so.
She struggled.

First, her shark was chewing on her chin.

Once she removed the shark from her face, he quickly became her microphone.

Then she felt the need to give him CPR and rescue breathing.

Then she pretended he was a ferret who sat on her shoulder and nuzzled her with his rubbery skin.

Then she explained the reason God made sharks with white underbellies and dark sea blue backs.

Then she put on her pink wig and serenaded me with a rendition of Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass.

I love this girl. Sometimes I wish for an ‘off button’ on her, but mostly not. She is just too darn entertaining.

Laundry and deliciousness

2012-01-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

I’ve been air drying 90% of my laundered items for years.
I just have a thing about air drying.

This afternoon I mistakenly dried a work out shirt in the tumble dryer and I cursed myself for a moment. I guess I hadn’t seen it before it went in to the hot spinning oven.

I feel that air drying my clothing helps it last longer, saves on electricity (dryers are not ever energy efficient) and helps with clothing shrinkage problems.

Last year I invested in a larger, more sturdy drying rack that often takes up residence in our bedroom. I even have a line on my back patio that I string out in the summer to line dry in the summer sun. And yes, I usually hang the clothes in a rainbow of colors. Why not make something so inherently unattractive look as best it can?

I also air dry Wes’s pants and some of the children’s nicer clothes.

I do tumble dry the towels, bedding, sheets and most unmentionables.

Cate has come to love air drying her clothes as well. So, between she and I and all of the laundry of this home, our hearty drying rack is rarely tucked away.

On another note, I’ve discovered the most delicious topping ever created by mankind.

I’ve begun to eat in such a way as to make sure whatever enters my mouth can be made decidedly better with a smear of lemon curd on top. It is ~~good~~ great on toast with butter, pancakes, scones, bagels, ice cream, crepes…

There's nothing good on t.v. right now

2012-01-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, we have Netflix and I do often watch it, especially when they add new episodes of Hoarders or Toddlers and Tiaras. But, sometimes I want to watch network t.v. just because it is so traditional, almost retro, you know, to flip on the tube and see what shows are on. And, lately, there is nothing! I have no pull, no anticipation of watching anything. It is a barren wasteland of yuck out there.

I've even stopped watching The Biggest Looser. It doesn't inspire me. Watching obese people workout does not pump me up for some reason. Usually, I get a little invested in a few of the contestants stories and have a desire to watch them overcome their weight-issue hurdles, but not anymore. There is too much crying on that show. Too much whining and boo-hooing. I mean, if you go to a "ranch" to loose 100+ pounds don't you expect it to be hard? Like super hard? Also, I'm so tired of the staged advertisements during the episodes. There are enough commercials during the show, why do they have to do plugs for Subway and Jennie-O a couple of times each episode. Plus, the show is too long. Two hours is one hour too much.

Also, I'm not watching The Bachelor. Just can't stomach it. I can't handle watching women be so terrible. Plus, I don't find Ben particularly attractive, so the fawning and adoration of him gets old.

And, since everyone and their dog seems to be smitten by the show Downton Abbey, I'm not watching it... yet. I hate being a follower. I've read three separate blog posts just today about the awesomeness of it. And, I'm sure it is rad, but I'll wait until the fad dwindles down before I become obsessed with it. Sort of the opposite of trend setting. Trend following, I guess, but intentional, so better, right?

Wes and I did just start watching My Family and I love it! We've only just begun- 2 to 3 episodes into the first season, but already I love the Dad. What a guy! When we're finished with it I'll give you all a full review.

Also, I've become slightly obsessed with House Hunters International. I'm so intrigued by the episodes set in Europe, particularly France and England. It so makes me want to go live abroad again (I did live in London for a semester during college (I'll have to do like a ten part post about it because as you can only imagine Steph-in-Europe would be full of funny stuff!)). I do find it interesting that the Europeans put a clothes washer in their kitchens and that they prefer their toilets in a completely different room than the bathroom. These are the tiny tidbits of information that roll around in my mind all day and make me think, why? Of course, I have asked my sister-in-law Sarah (She's from Germany) these very important questions and she just said that's the way it is. No real deep meaning, just how they do it. Crazy stuff!

So, is anyone out there watching anything good right now? And, don't tell me about Downton Abbey, I'll get there eventually.

Blurred reality

2012-01-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

I've been working out consistently at our local YMCA for more than four years now. And, as expected, I see a lot of the same people working out along side me almost every single day. Most of them I don't know. Some I do. And some I sort of know, like in the hi/bye, or head nod way.

And this is the thing. Most of these people at the gym only see me and my sweaty self without makeup and my hair pulled back into a pony tail and have never seen me anyway else. So, I can run into them at Target or the library and they don't even know who I am, or maybe have a vague recollection of possibly knowing me, but not sure how, because they are not used to seeing me showered and dressed normally. It doesn't bother me. I never get gussied up to go to the gym. I brush my teeth. That's it.

It kind of reminds me of how Survivor works. You see the contestants au natural the entire show. And, with the sun kissed skin and beachy hair most of them acquire, you think they look pretty good overall. The men grow beards and that's cool. You sort of forget what they had looked like clean shaven. Everyone looses weight and their clothes become tattered rags as the weeks roll on. And then the show ends and you see all the players at the reunion show and your like "who's that?" I usually recognize no one initially and only put the names with the faces as their voices emerge as Jeff Probst engages them in conversation. It's weird. I always think the players looked better when they were on the island. I don't like them looking clean shaven and fattened up.

The other thing about working out at the Y around the same 20-50 folks every day is you start to notice little things about them. And then you start to make those things become part of that person's story (even though I don't have any real clue about their story!). For example, there is this guy who works out very faithfully at the gym. He is in good shape and is a Duck fan. (These are cold hard facts) For years he would often do a similar workout to mine (not meaningfully, just happened to be) and so finally I introduced myself to him and we chatted for maybe ten minutes. Because of that chat we moved on to the head nod and hi/bye level of interaction, which is good. I like that level. Well, since I see him so much I've noticed a few changes going on with him over the past year or so. First of all, he joined the ranks of the 'boot campers'. Which is fine. But, he is the only guy in the group and the group he is with is full of lots of 'pretty' gym gals. Meaning, they put on full make up and matchy-matchy outfits to workout. Fine, I'm not judging. Over the year he has become very chummy with these gals (I call them his harem) and now lately has sort of paired off with one in particular. (now remember this entire story is based on what I see, not by first hand verbal confirmation from any parties involved) And, I kind of think their paring off is becoming a little bit untoward, if you catch my drift. And then, last week he bought a new sports car (I'm thinking mid-life crisis) and he and his gym girlfriend (I'm sure it is totally platonic guys!) are spending extra time chatting it up pre and post work outs by his new set of wheels. It is like a little soap opera for my viewing pleasure. I know, I'm terrible and if I knew the actual truth I'd be so proven wrong, but I don't. I'm not interested in that.

I don't know. These are just the thoughts I have all the while I am workin' the treadmill or peddling the spin bike. And now, I just ate two donuts so I'll have to go back to the gym tomorrow for the next installment.

Tools of my trade

2012-01-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

I remember when I got my first (and last) minivan over ten years ago, one of the other moms in the carpool line told me it was pretty. Sweet, huh? But, really it's a van and honestly you never, no matter how amazingly gorgeous you are, look "hot" driving a minivan. Minivans are mom (and sometimes dad) mobiles. They are also one of the best, if not the best, tools in a busy moms arsenal. Now that my kids are getting older and they don't require a stroller in the trunk or car seats strategically placed within the confines of our car, we don't really need a minivan anymore. The next car I get will not be a van. Yet, I have to say my van has been on of the best tools I have ever used. I highly recommend them for moms of young children. Sliding doors, enough spaced out seating to ward off WW3 in your back seat, cupholders, better gas mileage than SUVs and a miriad of other pluses, I give my van the top honor as my best mom tool.

(I know this one doesn't have sliding doors, but it's cute, isn't it?)

Second in line is a Kitchen Aid mixer. Yep, they are spendy ($250- $350), but I use mine every day. Really, I do. I would drive to Costco today and purchase another one if mine died. I adore it that much. Also, if/when you get one you must purchase the scraper paddle. What is that you ask? Well, it is the most amazing paddle attatchment that scrapes the bowl when you use it for mixing. So, you no longer have to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Hallelujah!

Another tool that I use every single day and love each time I pull it out is my Dyson vacuum. Now you must know, I thought long and hard about plunking down $300+ for a vacuum. Wes and I got our first vacuum (a trusty Hoover) when we got married and it lasted us more than 12 yrs. Eventually it started to smell and the engine began its slow demise, so I saved my pennies (and $20's) and finally decided to take the plunge and get a Dyson. I have never regretted it. It sucks. It is light enough weight that it's no problem taking in up or down the stairs. I love the attatchment system. I love that it is bagless (old Hoover was a bag machine). I just love it.

And of course, the obvious one, a tool box full of tools. Well, actually I just have this...

and it resides in a kitchen drawer. I cannot tell you how many times I have reached in and grabbed my handy screw driver instead of trudging through Wes's man cave to dig around the endless tool bags/drawers/shelves to find a screwdriver that would work. These little kits are cheap too. Five bucks or less and they can be found at Home Depot. So useful my friends. So useful.

Finally, the creme de la creme....Danskos. Really, Dansko clogs Steph? Why yes! I really had no idea the physical demands that motherhood entailed. Really, I was so clueless when I had my first bambino. I guess I figured I would change a few diapers and put her in a high chair for lunch, but other than that, she could take care of the rest. Oh my, I was in for a rude awakening within a few months of becoming a mom. I was physically exhausted. Try taking an infant to church and you will see the hurculean effort it takes to walk from you car carrying four different bags, a car seat carrier, the baby and anything else you might need to get you through the meeting. So, my thought is this. Treat your feet right. Give those dogs a bit of tender loving care with a wonderfully comfortable pair of Dansko clogs. I purchased my first pair (warning- they are spendy) 6 or 7 years ago and I still wear them very regularly. (I was telling Wes yesterday that I wear my Danskos (I have four pairs now, don't be jealous) from October to April and then wear flip flops (wasn't it funny that we used to call them thongs? My kids can't get over that!) from April to October) I have worn a pair of clogs for 8+ hours straight- while on my feet the whole time, with no problems- wear them at Disneyland ladies, no tennies for me. They are so freakin' comfy and I can't explain why. You could probably go to the Dansko website and read why, but that's your choice. I only care that they are awesome for my feet. I recommend starting out with a pair thats neutral (black, brown, grey) and then branch out from there (just got my first pair of red ones *swoon*) Oh, and if you find them unsightly, that's okay. Your loss!

So, there you go. These are the amazing tools of my trade. I love them all. I use them all. I choose not to go forward without any of them.

*If you read this and feel all sad that you can't have (today) all of these great tools, don't worry! Just create a 'gifts for me' pin board on Pinterest and pin them there. Then when someone wants to give you a gift (think Mothers Day) you have a great suggestion ready for them.

flashback

2012-01-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

Look what I found...

**picture taken at Washington Square Mall circa 1985ish**

Isn't it funny that you could walk into the mall in plain clothes, take a photo like this, and walk back out in plain clothes?

Anyone know of a place that takes pictures like this nowadays? I'm really wanting one.

Best book I read in 2011

2012-01-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

I've seen several blogs talk about all the books the author read over the past year. And, since I read a lot, I thought maybe that would be a good thing for me to do. But, I can't really remember what I read. I don't write it down or anything. I just find a good book (sometimes I look for recommendations, sometimes a friend will tell me I must read such and such book, sometimes I just go to the library and pick one out, hoping for the best), and read it.

I do remember some of what I read (I just finished the Hunger Games series and it was fantastic, although book one is definitely the best of the three), but mostly I plow through books so quickly (remember, I'm a fast reader) that it is just too difficult to recall what I've read.

But, I do have a Ultimate Grand Supreme and a Mini Grand Supreme for this year (yes, I've been watching too much Toddlers and Tiaras).

And, the winner of best book, could not put it down, thought about it a lot during and after reading it Ultimate Grand Supreme book of 2011 was....

Holy smokes, this was good. If you read nothing else this coming year, read this. It is the most, and I mean most incredibly inspiring, unbelievable, life affirming book I have ever read. I always have been drawn to stories about people who have gone through tremendous trials in their lives and how they endured and eventually overcame them. This book is the best of the best in that category. You will not be able to put it down. I read it while cooking dinner, while driving carpool (at stoplights only), while brushing my teeth, while walking the dog. I'm not joking folks, you must read this.

And, as a close second place and winner of the title of 2011 Mini Grand Supreme book of the year goes to...

Sometimes people have a hard time reading stories (true) about a person who is grossly mistreated as a child. I do. Yet, in this book the author is able to weave a true tale about her childhood that shows how children, who are raised by parents who are incredibly lacking in basic parenting skills, have no understanding that their childhood experiences are strange or not the norm. The matter-of-factness the author portrays about the amazingly crazy childhood she lived is truly astounding. If you have any interest in how the human brain works and/or how a person can overcome all odds despite the circumstances they are born into, this book is for you. I was engrossed in this novel. It was inspiring, amazing, troubling and funny all at the same time. You will not be able to get it out of your mind and you will never for get the power of one individual to become the transitional character in their family line.

So, there you go. My two book recommendations for the year. Go get them (beg, borrow or buy) and get reading my friends.

Christmas backlog part 1

2012-01-05T14:09:00.001-08:00

Christmas and all it’s ensuing festivities came and went in a blur of fun and furry.
I almost didn’t want to post any pictures of it because the amount of pictures was daunting and I felt more inclined to do nothing than to do what I should do- post them!

First off- Alice performed in her first dance recital. Her hip-hop class did a sweet and spunky piece from the Nutcracker.

Lily and Alice are best dancing friends. They love to crank up the tunes and let it all hang out. I love their enthusiasm.

Wes and I were joined by my sister Meredith, niece Lauren and my folks.

Here’s Alice, front and center.

That blond ponytail swung wildly. Next time I think we ought to go with a traditional ballet bun.

Photographing my kiddos in an elementary school cafeteria has been and continues to be one of my least favorite locations (photographically speaking). I’m determined to master it before Spencer graduates to middle school.

I asked her if she was nervous (nope!), I asked her if she worried about her abilities (nope!). Did I ask her to pose so incredibly for her final shot? (nope!) This Alice is far from camera shy.

Don't my parents look great?

The weekend before Christmas, Cate held a sweet little piano recital at our home for her six students. It was so great! The pianists all did very well. Cate was so proud of them. She loves those little ones and boy howdy! they love her! Hugs were the name of the game that night.
Here is a picture of her with three of them.

My dad won a set of eight tickets to The Nutcracker ballet at the Keller this year, so he took seven of us girls to enjoy seeing some amazing dancing. I’ve been to see The Nutcracker several times before, but this one was especially fantastic. The girls loved it.

I had prepared my girls that they would probably see more than they wanted to see when it came to the men and their tights. Well, as expected we got more than we bargained for. There was truly nothing left to the imagination. Whoa!

Next up- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

Routines are righteous

2012-01-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

We are finally back on our normal routine and it feels amazing.

The kids had two and a half weeks off for Christmas Break. We packed a lot of memory-making funtivities into those eighteen days, but by the end of the run we were all majorly pooped out and ready to return to our normally scheduled programming.

We are creatures of habit, as the saying goes. Everyone sits in their individual same seats around the kitchen table for dinner. We like our night-time routine in the upstairs loft of scriptures-prayers-teeth-reading until our eyelids close. We always sneak in our one episode of AFV (Americas Funniest Home Videos) after dinner so we can make sure to heartily laugh at least a dozen times for the day. We just like to do basically the same thing each day with tiny bits of differences here and there (of which get talked about as major highlights at dinner time).

For the longest time I've always wondered why I love coming home from a trip almost as much as the trip itself. It is the pure bliss I feel when I get to return to all of my daily habits of home life. It's the cup of hot cocoa I drink ten minutes before the kids wake up as I check my email and see if anyone had a baby or anything over night on facebook. It's the daily pilgrimage to the mail box to see if I received a beloved Christmas card or a super-awesome coupon. It's the morning jog around the streets of our town where I see the same storefronts and same beautifully landscaped yards. It's the quiet moments of peace and quiet that I enjoy after the kids are tucked in for the night and I have a few uninterrupted moments with Wes. It's the warm rice bag at the foot of my bed as I read from a great book right before the lights go out on another day.

Routines make me happy. Routines keep me moving forward. The sun comes up, the sun goes down. We wake up. We move forward. We become better. We close our eyes and sleep. And, we do it all over again the next day.

It's time to do it

2012-01-02T20:56:00.000-08:00

It's time for me to do a marathon. A full 26.2 miles at one time.

The desire to finish a marathon has been on my bucket list since I was a little girl who sat on the curbside watching and waiting for my dad as he ran marathons.

I remember it was hard for him.

I remember that sometimes he would walk a bit around mile 23 or 24 and us kids would go out to meet him and run along side of him in our simple attempt to help him finish what he had started hours before.

I would see him cross the finish line and I knew he had just achieved something hard.

I knew that someday I would do the same.

And that day has finally arrived.

I've been hesitant to attempt a full marathon because I know what it takes.

I know the hours you need to put in in order to have a reasonably okay race day.

I know the pain, the injuries, the doubt.

I've never been one to jump into something without really thinking it through. I like to look at all angles, make pros and cons lists, gather all the information before I pull the trigger.

Lately, I've been feeling rather uninspired about my exercising (I can't even call it training right now, because I haven't been training for anything!). Although my commitment to maintaining a higher-than-normal base fitness has been strong, I've lacked spark and focus. I just do this or that because I want to work out, but I'm not really going for anything, so it has felt rather pointless. Heck, when I did the All-Women's triathlon in July, I really didn't even train seriously for it. I did maybe two bricks, and just a handful of swims, but I did well (pr'ed by more than three minutes), so I know my base fitness was on point. But still, thing have felt kinda blah for me for months now.

I guess what I'm really trying to say it that I need a mountain to climb. I'm happiest when I'm training for something daunting. I like the rigors of pushing myself week after week with the knowledge that come race day all of my work will have been worth it.

Also, the timing is right. I've always said I want to do a marathon before I turn 40. Well, that big round number is not just around the corner for me, it is just around the next corner. And, right now, I'm injury free. And, I have the flexibility in my schedule. And, Wes is on board. And, none of my kids are doing a spring sport (gives me more time on Saturday mornings). And, I just want to.

So, my plan is to do the Newport, Or. Marathon on June 2, 2012. I've been perusing training schedules (this is something I will be very committed to, so I really want to find the right schedule for me) and I think I've found it. It is an eighteen week plan, so I need to start at the end of this month. I've been running rather consistently for a long time now and I can easily do 6-7 mile runs with out much strain, so I feel confident that my base running fitness is good and this plan will help to propel me toward my ultimate goal- just finishing the race!

I am a bit worried about problems arising. Injury is my biggest nemesis. I'm committing myself to diligent stretching, well-placed rest days, good shoes and yoga at least 1X per week. I know scheduling conflicts are going to happen, but I will just keep my cool and if I miss a workout here or there I'll try not to stress out about it, and just move forward.

I plan to write some on this blog about the training process and of course about race day. I will be very honest about the whole experience. Of course I have high hopes that it will be a super ride and I'll love every minute of it, but I'm reality based and I know there will be days when I don't want to work so hard or question why I've committed to do it in the first place. That's all just part of the journey they say.

Cheese

2011-12-30T13:26:00.001-08:00

Everyone thought my new trick on Christmas Eve was amazing.

As soon as Auntie Steph would pull out her camera, I’d break out my biggest grin. It verged on a grimace because I was trying so, so hard.

It became exhausting to smile with such fervor but, I did it for my crowd because they loved it so.

I really went all out this time.

Eventually, I got worn out hand took a break on the stairs.

It’s hard pleasing everyone all the time. Sometimes I just wanna curl up with my blanket and forget about being adorable.

But, I can’t. It’s my plight in life to be so cute people often declare their desires to eat me and to pull of the Justin Bieber hair style better than Justin himself.

Gift giving

2011-12-27T20:36:00.001-08:00

Oh my Alice. She is the giver of gifts. The picture above is of a rock that I keep on my bedside table. She wrapped and gave me a bundle of them to me for Christmas when she was three. Alice has always been and will always be a gifting person. She loves Christmas mostly because of the gifting element. Not that she is looking for fantastic gifts to receive, although she does love those, mostly she deeply enjoys the act of giving gifts to others.

This year she gave each family member (immediate and extended) a gift. Most she made. Some she purchased. And each one of them was thoughtfully planned, purchased and wrapped by her alone. My favorite gift she gave this year was the present my parents received. She made them sock puppets (of themselves) out of a pair of Wes’s old basketball socks, fabric, felt, ribbon, markers and glue. The best part of the gift was that she made each puppet look very much like my folks and then that evening spent hours with them on her hands play acting sayings that my parents used most often. My Dad puppet would say stuff like “batta bing, batta bong!” and “Hey Alice, will you go to the bathroom for me?” and my Mom’s puppet would say “Oh, sweetness!” or “I’m so glad you’re here!” It was so funny.

When I married Wes I was quite certain that he was not a natural gift giver. But, I didn’t realize the depth of his inability until our first Valentines Day as a married couple. I modestly gave him an engraved journal and some candy and he gave me…wait for it…it’s really special…red vines and a 44 ounce Dr. Pepper from Harts (a local convenience store). Well, I quickly decided that he was starting at rock bottom and the only way to go was up!

You see, Wes didn’t grow up in an over-the top gift giving family like I did, so over the years I’ve had to really explain the nuts and bolts of gift giving to him. Stuff like, when you give a gift you need to think about the person, think of what they like and then purchase it for them. Basic right? Well, it wasn’t that easy for my guy. He doesn’t like to shop (except at Home Depot and Harbor Freight Tools) so he was unfamiliar with basic merchandise. Also, he knew he never wanted to purchase an article of clothing for me (except for the multiple bikinis he so hilariously gives me- got another one this year in my stocking) because he knows that clothing is not his forte. Heck, he’s from Eastern Idaho my friends. I barely got him out of the eighties a few years ago (he’s still wondering where all his neon t-shirts and acid washed jeans have gone!) and I’m slowly trying to bring him into this century. So, for him to head to the store and buy me something to wear, well, that is basically unfathomable.

Over the years I’ve done things like buy all of my own gifts, wrap them, add a tag and say they were from him. Although this plan results in my getting exactly what I want, it misses the whole point of gift giving. I want him to actually make the purchase for me. I want it to kind of be a surprise. I want to have something to anticipate.

So, this year I have finally figured out the best solution to make all parties happy. This past summer I created a board at Pinterest that is a ‘Gifts for Steph’ board. And, over the past six months I’ve pinned up a variety of items that would be wonderful gifts for anyone (namely Wes) to get me. So, as the holiday season drew near, I sweetly reminded him to look at my gifts board and make some purchases for me. He shopped twice for Christmas with no deer-in-the-headlights moments. He did call my sister to ask her what stores some of these items would be found at, but all in all, it was a very smooth activity. And, the best part of all, is that I was super excited for Christmas morning this year. It was the first time in years that I was giddy with anticipation because I did not know what I was getting and I knew whatever it was it would be something Wes had chosen and that I would love.

win/win/win folks.

**You guys, this is my 500th post on my blog so...woohoo for me! and for you my loyal readers! Here's to another 500**

Truth is...

2011-12-24T16:46:00.000-08:00

truth is you don't really want to know the truth
truth is being an eight yr. old boy who lives among lots of females is exasperating for him and for me
truth is eating sugary foods all day is tasty but makes you feel like crap
truth is there is nothing better than singing 'You Raise me Up' at full volume
truth is I stay friends with certain people on facebook because their lives seem like a train wreck and it is just too hard not to gawk
truth is I cannot get over the fact that the Duggar's named their stillborn baby (may she RIP) Jubilee Shalom
truth is one of the hardest part of motherhood is food preparation. If I had known that I would make 5000+ meals for these people, I might have reconsidered
truth is the key to a long marriage is not getting divorced
truth is on Christmas Eve we always have a huge disagreement about what time we will all wake up on Christmas morning, but every year we all wake up around eight
truth is I've tried three times to get into the t.v. show Madmen, but I just don't like it, so I won't try anymore
truth is my Dad reads my blog every single day and then comments to me about it each time I see him (hi Dad!)
truth is boys smell (like dirt, sweat, grass and general stank) from age eight to 25, even with daily bathing
truth is Emma, Cate and I all make chocolate chip cookies from the same exact recipe and Emma's always turn out amazing, mine are okay and Cate's well...they bring up the rear- slightly
truth is I want to tell people how to run their lives because they can't seem to figure it out
truth is I am a total wench if woken in the middle of the night- this was a big factor when deciding to have more children or not
truth is I can only be friends with people that are funny
truth is this has been an amazingly dry winter so far and I'm over the moon about it. Bring on the drought, bring on the water rationing, I love it!
truth is I love Wes with a beard, but I don't love kissing a bearded man
truth is I'm super excited about Christmas morning because I can't remember 75% of what I've gotten for everyone. It will be so surprising!

reduce reuse re-think?

2011-12-22T18:27:00.000-08:00

So, at the Blazer game on Monday I ran into this little beauty when I tried to throw away my used plate and fork after downing some amazing sausage and chicken alfredo.

I stood in front of it confused. Where did my dirty (plastic) plate go? What about the fork or my napkin? I knew it wasn't supposed to go into the mixed recycling section. That seemed reserved for empty beverage bottles and plastic bags, right? And, I had eaten all of the food off my plate, so it didn't belong in the food waste part, right?

But, landfill. That sounded so awful (this is their devious little plan folks!) so I hesitated. For like ten seconds before Emma just said "Come on Mom, just throw it away somewhere!" So, sadly I put it in the landfill box and went on my merry way.

Then after half-time, I went back for a little more sausage and I proceeded to put my new plate and fork into the landfill box again when I was abruptly interrupted mid-throw and told that my plate and fork were recyclable because they were made from corn (?!) and thus should be thrown in the food waste/compost- ables box. Oh.

The lady who corrected me then proceeded to bend over and lower her head into the landfill box to remove all the plates and utensils that happened to get mistakenly thrown in there.

Okay, I'm all for recycling folks. I get it. Conserve. Reduce, reuse, recycle. But lowering my head into a garbage can to remove used plates made of corn to save the planet? It's just too much.

Driven to distraction

2011-12-20T22:27:00.001-08:00

I often go to a certain location with the intention of participating in A but my mind/eyes/whole self will often wander off course and within minutes I’m suddenly obsessed with B and A becomes secondary.

Last night Wes and I took our oldest two daughters to the Blazers first pre-season game at the Rose Garden. After perusing the buffet and stuffing our pockets full of candy and soda pop, we slowly made it into the arena just before the introductions were being made. After the lights came back on I noticed five guys walking along the baseline of the court toward the section just below ours. All five were dressed in three piece suits with sunglasses and a beer in each hand. I was mesmerized. The game suddenly became a side show. My show was 15 rows ahead of me.

Initially, I thought the ‘cool guys’- that’s how we referred to them, were special guests of the Blazers. They did a lot of handshaking, hand gesturing and hand dancing. They looked like they owned the place. But, their seats were not that good, so…
I was confused by the sunglasses. Why shades? Why?

Were they mafia? Wes said no.
Was the red-head Paul Allen’s love child? I doubt it, but maybe?

What was their story? They drank so much alcohol (like eight beers a piece) it was astounding. We started to worry about how they’d get home alive. Cate told me one of them had refrained and was surely the designated driver.
They seemed to have lots of friends who worked at the Rose Garden, yet I over heard them asking the kid a couple rows away from me if he’d like to party with them later. He had to decline because he wasn’t eighteen yet. We’re they looking for friends? A following?

The most troubling part of the ~~game~~ show was the fact that three of the guys had white iPhones. What guy has a white iPhone? I could not get over this. I badgered Wes numerous times over the white iPhone issue. Let me now claim this loud and clear: under no circumstances is it ever right for a man to own a white iPhone. If you do, you’ve essentially thrown away your man card for good.

They flirted extensively with the Blazer cheerleaders and eventually the one they were thrusting their energies upon reciprocated by tossing a Blazer t-shirt to them. But then…the red headed guy turned around and gave the shirt to a little boy a few rows up. I was deeply puzzled by this display of generosity.
They made a grand exit to our right as I sat mesmerized again by their ways. They asked me to party with them too. I was too stunned by them to even respond. I just stared as my show walked up the stairs and out the door.

Mindy

2011-12-15T18:27:00.001-08:00

“I’m so freakin’ sad that you are moving, I don’t want to talk about it. I love you.”
-Steph

This sums up perfectly how I, and most of my friends, feel about our precious Mindy and her upcoming move to Denver.

She is most adorable and here is why…

“I adore her way of being a great friend to all” –Michelle C.

“I adore her because she is one of the warmest people of all” –Christy W.
“I adore her sense of style” Jen P.

“I adore her genuinely upbeat attitude” –Traci E.
“I adore her caring heart and compassionate soul” –Amy R.

“I adore her is her ability to make everyone feel loved and special. She genuinely cares for everyone. That is truely a gift. I love ya!!” –Marnie E.
“I adore her real-ness” –Angela K.

“I adore her personality and mannerisms” –Kathy R.
“I adore her charitable way. She is amazingly friendly to all” –Stephanie T.

“I adore and admire her patience” –Heather C.
“I adore her light and cheefulness” –Beth F.

“I adore her kindness to all” –Raquel K.
“I adore her positive and cheerful attitude” –Angie A.

“I adore her humor. She’s very funny!” –Dayl H.

“I adore her wit and spunk. Plus, she’s the best dancer I know”- Stephanie H.
“I adore her openness. She is so easy to get to know” –Kim C.

“I adore her sense of style” –Holly H.
“I adore her real-ness. She can be brutally honest in a totally nice way” –Aimee N.

“I adore her sense of humor and generous heart”- Candice M.
“I adore her genuinely caring heart” –Heidi C.

“I adore how she is always up and happy”- Carloyn R.
“I adore her cheerful attitude” –Shannon C.
“I adore that she calls me hun” –Tera J.

As you can see Mindy is an amazing friend and an amazing person. My dear Mindy, you will be missed so much.

love- your friends.

Christmas card picture 2011

2011-12-13T14:32:00.001-08:00

Here she is.

Spencer received a package of nine sets of 'gnarly teeth' last month as a gift and we decided to put some of them to good use. And really, based on this families actual teeth some of us look better with the 'gnarly teeth' and some of us not so much.

This one was our first runner up. But, big eyes and gnarly teeth were a little too much I thought.

This is my favorite outtake. Each kid looks unique in their own special way.

Here is an actual 'regular' photo of us. Bor-ring.

Too bad this is a bit blurry. Cate's gnarly teeth with braces was really awful.

Alice's horse teeth actually look pretty good.

And mine, well sorry about the tongue poking through. I'm not sure why I did that. Also, this picture really highlights the great distance between my eyes. Can't call me a 'beady-eyed woman' can ya?

The heat is on

2011-12-12T13:43:00.001-08:00

Like normal, I can sense I will be pushing the limits of time and energy this Christmas season as I madly try to finish all of the handmade gifts I plan to give this year. I'm not making every gift this year (I've done that in the past and although wonderful, it is sort of crazy!).

So,every moment of my days are scheduled out to the minute in order for my crafting to get finished. Fortunately much of it can be done while watching television, listening to music or talking with family.

Winter wonder

2011-12-07T21:03:00.001-08:00

I love trees at wintertime. All of the hidden birds nests pop out for us to see.

We had no idea this cute little one resided in our maple tree by the driveway.

Look at how beautifully it is crafted.

The light in the winter evenings is mysterious and cool.

I continue with my love of birds nests. The work that goes into making them and the work that goes on inside of them.

Once the leaves had finished their fall to the ground, I discovered this little birdhouse in another tree of ours. Spencer made it at cub scout camp this past summer and placed it on a little branch hoping for a bird to take up residence. No bird appeared, instead has become winter housing for a giant spider.

Our cat is in full winter fluff now. She is actually a dainty little thing normally weighing a mere nine pounds. But winter temperatures brings on her woolly coat that she enjoys while perched on the fence.

The days are short making the warm evenings inside our home seem even longer. Thank goodness for the changing seasons. They always bring something new to notice as one slowly departs and the next gradually arrives.

An easy and delicious Christmas cookie- from my archives

2011-12-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

These are simple folks. Your life is probably as crazy busy as mine right now and everyone is needing you to bring a sweet treat to a holiday party every day, so it seems.

I urge you to give these a try. They are easy, simple and you most likely have all the ingredients at home already.

(Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate with nuts/peppermint)

Sweet treats are one of the very best parts of the holiday season (and when I say holiday I mean Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years)
I'm all about really diving into cakes, pies, cookies and other sweet treats that you normally don't partake of any other time of the year.
Then hit the gym the next morning and work your cute little buns off so you can simple stay even during these few blessed weeks of gorging.

I only make shortbread cookies during the holidays.  They are easy, require but a few ingredients and give a nice satisfying taste of rich buttery-ness to your mouth.

Today I'm very grateful sweet treats to enjoy with my loved ones.

So, I encourage one and all to find just about any old shortbread recipe.  Make cookies.  Dip them in chocolate and roll them in whatever confections your taste buds deem worthy and enjoy.
Then meet me at the Y at 6 am tomorrow!

Do you suffer from George Costanza wallet?

2011-12-02T14:15:00.001-08:00

I do.

This puppy explains all of my shoulder alignment issues.

I really need to get a handle on the problem before it explodes. Maybe a little Christmas shopping will help?

Happy Weekending!

Christmas card. Want one?

2011-11-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

Remember this beauty?

Well folks, it's that time of year again...Christmas card season!!!

It is mighty hard to out-do this beauty above, but I do have a nice photo of the Hall family up my sleeve this year.

Anyways, I want to know if there is any of my 'blog readers' want to receive a Christmas card from us this year (it even has a juicy (sorta) letter inside)? If you do (and don't go crazy fans, I've only got 32 cards available) please shoot me an email at sugarwoman33@gmail.com to give me your address.

I look forward to receiving cards from all of you this holiday season!

Christmas at home

2011-11-29T13:19:00.001-08:00

My kids, mostly Alice and Spencer, were very eager to decorate for Christmas this year. Honestly, we were not even finished cleaning up the Thanksgiving dishes and they were begging to break open the Christmas decorations and go to town.

See if you can identify my theme this year.

We do not have a topper for our tree because…I can’t find one I like. We used to have a perfectly nice angel, but Wes hated it (seriously hated it!) and ended up ripping the wings off of it. Apparently, he doesn’t like angels with wings. So, I tossed it after that because why would I put some wing-less angel on the top of my tree.

Each of these stars takes 30 square pieces of paper to make. I did a lot of folding last year.

I made this Santa years ago. And this advent tree was made by my mom. It was the first thing the kids hung up.

Oh, the banister. The bane of my decorating existence. Next year I’m coming up with something new. Alice told me it was her favorite decoration, so I gritted my teeth and dutifully put it up and dealt with the lights that don’t work and the nasty, sticky fake needles.

I like the mantle, but I feel something is missing on it. Still a work in progress…

This explains so much

2011-11-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

Okay friends (all three of you, plus my dad) I don't have any time to blog today because we are flat out of food around here, and my kiddos would rather I grocery shop than write funny stories for my posterity to enjoy 67 years from now.

But, I feel I must share this amazing quote I read a few days ago on one of my favorite blogs.

It explains so much, I can't even tell you. It may or may not mean anything to you, but I know it will mean lots to Marci. So here goes:

And one of the writers from Freaks and Geeks basically explained the meaning of life to me. He (a freak or a geek, presumably) said, "If you were popular you were in the center of the action and you weren't observing it and you weren't having thoughts about it really because you were living it." This explains everything that doesn't make sense on Facebook about why people don't remember that they don't know me and that I hate them! This explainseverything.

-Kacy

Deep thoughts with me

2011-11-26T22:40:00.000-08:00

I just found this list of "50 thought provoking questions" when I googled, questions to ask myself. I thought I would take exactly 5 minutes to answer these and we'll see what I come up with. Fun, eh?

Here goes...

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are? 38- I'm confused because I really am 38.
Which is worse, failing or never trying? Never trying, for sure!
If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do? Everyone makes us and we have responsibilities and all that jazz. Why are you being so deep already?
When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done? Said more. I have trouble keeping my big trap shut.
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world? Stupidity.
If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich? Sleeping and reading awesome historical novels.
Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing? Doing what I believe in. I wouldn't do anything I wasn't totally into. No half-bleepin' things for me.
If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently? Eat more donuts.
To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken? Maybe 70%. Hard to say because I'm still so young.
Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things? I don't worry much, so I don't know. I'm not an ultra perfectionist, so I'm not loosing sleep over doing things right.
You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do? Tell them off, no maybe not. I'm not a big confrontationalist. I'd probably try to change their minds and talk about how awesome my friend is.
If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be? Don't worry about what others think of you. Be your authentic self- especially during your youth.
Would you break the law to save a loved one? Probably.
Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity? No. I am very intrigued by insanity, but I don't like loud, crazy insanity and I've never really seen it lead to creativity- I'm thinking hoarders here.
What’s something you know you do differently than most people? I wipe my nose in a very odd way. Ask Wes, he loves to point it out.
How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy? We all like different things, no?
What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back? I really want to get my masters in Marriage and Family therapy. What's holding me back is my family and all my obligations. I'm getting closer though.
Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? No.
If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why? Idaho, Boise that is. I love me some wide open spaces and blue sky and red-neck conservatism. I'm sick of living amongst the "Keep Portland Weird" crowd.
Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster? No. I have a brain.
Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton? Joyful simpleton. Super smarty-pants folks are so overrated.
Why are you, you? Because I was me before I came to this earth and I'll be me when I leave.
Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend? Sometimes. I can be a good friend, but I'm innately self-centered and struggle with looking outward and being nice.
Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you? Loosing touch with a friend near by, although it probably happened for a reason.
What are you most grateful for? My family.
Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones? How could I not make new ones?, this question is too weird for me to answer.
Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first? Yes.
Has your greatest fear ever come true? No. My greatest fear is to be completely physically incapacitated by some accident, but my brain be totally normal.
Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now? No. I don't get upset much.
What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special? When we got our dog "Cocoa" for Christmas. My sister and I were so surprised and psyched. My Dad, not so much. Thanks Mom!
At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive? When I write. Or when I hug my family members.
If not now, then when? What? If not what now? I'm too literal for this type of question.
If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose? Nothing I guess.
Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever? Nope. I like to talk.
Why do religions that support love cause so many wars? Religions don't cause wars. People cause wars.
Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil? I think so. Somethings are masked as good, when they are evil, but your gut or your spirit can be very discerning. I have the gift of discernment so I'm an ace at this.
If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job? Nope, my kids still need me 24/7 whether I have a lot of cash or not.
Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing? I have more work than I could ever possibly accomplish, so this question means nothing to me.
Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before? Nope. For the record, I hate that movie Groundhogs Day.
When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in? I'm scared of the dark- what kind of question is this?
If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today? My family, near and far.
Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous? No. I'm already pleasant looking enough, for me (and Wes!) and I'd hate to be famous. I'm don't like the idea of paparazzi and red-carpet events.
What is the difference between being alive and truly living? Living, I guess. I mean doing things. Participation in life.
When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right? Today.
If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake? I'm not afraid of making mistakes. One of my great strengths, I might add.
What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? Pass gas in public- loudly.
When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing? Right now, when you asked this question.
What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love? Wes. My kids. My extended family. I mug all over them constantly, so yeah. (except the males peoples in the extended family group. I hug or handshake with them)
In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that? No. I'm not overly sentimental like that.
Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you? Myself. No one is the boss of me, well...maybe God and sometimes Wes- like to think of that as a partnership really.

Okay, all done. That was crazy weird and kind of fun. I'm not super deep or introspective, so some of these questions didn't really strike a chord with me. Plus, I just got finished watching '8 Seconds' with Luke Perry as a rodeo cowboy and my mind was still on that. And, Wes is upstairs in bed talking to his smartphone, which is a little weird and funny, so I was giggling too.

Good night all!

Giving in

2011-11-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

(Spencer sleeping in the hallway by Alice and Emma's room)

Sometimes in parenthood you have to know when it is time to give in.

I'm not much of a softy and Wes is even tougher than I, so our kids are not used to us giving in.

Sunday night we gave in and it was the right decision.

Spencer has struggled with the concept and behavior of sleeping by himself in his own room since he got out of the crib (his love language is quality time and he does not like to be alone). I'm embarrassed to say that we used to gate him in his room when he was a toddler (sort of prison-like) so he would sleep at night. Soon after his toddler-hood was over he was paired up with Alice as roomies since Alice can basically sleep through an atomic bomb drop so she didn't seem bothered with Spencer's late night shenanigans (he's a night owl).

Over the past 5-6 years we have re-arranged rooms and roommates more times than I can count. We have four bedrooms in our house, so obviously, three are designated for the kids. And, since we have four kids, two of them must share and we've had every pairing and arrangement you can think of. Of late, Alice has ever so kindly, put up with being bunk mates with Spencer. Yet, as time has rolled on, Wes and I felt like it was finally time for us to have him be on his own (because he's a boy and getting older). We put Alice and Emma together and Spencer on his own, along with Cate being on her own.

Well, this did not go over well, but we felt like we needed to persevere and help Spencer make this transition to sleeping on his own. The first few nights went sorta well. He needed some words of encouragement and all lights left on in his room, but he did do it and we felt like things were moving in the right direction. Then the anxiety started to build within him. He started pleading for us to lay down next to him while he fell asleep. He would get antsy and fidgety at the idea of us leaving him before he had fallen asleep.

Wes and I tried to stay strong and firm. We encouraged him. We coaxed him. We got a bit annoyed, but tried to stay very positive and forward thinking.

Soon he became even more distressed and began dreading night time. He didn't want it to get dark outside because it meant bedtime was coming. He stared begging his sisters to sleep in his room with him. Now Wes and I were really feeling like this was getting tough for all of us. Wes gave him a father's blessing. We said nightly prayers with him and asked for comfort and help from The Lord. I soon found him sleeping in the hallway next to his sister's room so he could see them while laying down.

It all came to a head on Sunday night when he began tearing up while we were having family scripture study (right before bed). I looked over at his sad little face and threw my hands up in the air. I gave up. I announced right then and there that from that point forward this is how things were going to work: Alice, Cate and Emma would each have their own rooms. Spencer would not have a room at all. He would rotate every night among the three rooms sleeping on the floor in a little bed roll that could be easily rolled up and tucked under whatever bed he was next to that night.

The girls cheered. Especially Alice who had been writing 'her own bedroom' on every wish/gift list she's written for the past three years. Spencer was absolutely over joyed by the announcement. He actually hugged me (not something he does much of lately) and told me this was the best news ever. He even bragged about it to his buddy while driving to basketball practice Monday night. He said "Guess what Jacob? I don't even have a room anymore. I just sleep on my sister's floors each night. Isn't that awesome?!"

So, this is where we are. Spencer is room-less and couldn't be happier. Wes and I know it won't last forever. Someday he will want his own room. When that will be? Your guess is as good as mine.

Once in a while Q & A

2011-11-19T20:16:00.000-08:00

Time for another great addition of 'Once in a while Q & A' with Steph.

Hey hotstuff! How do you come up with all these amazing hairstyles for yourself and your girls?

As you well know, my hair is one of my best attributes. I've talked about it before here. And, since I'm nearing the ominous 40 mark in just a couple of years, I pledged to myself that I would do one last grand grow-out of my hair before my time is up and super long hair on an old mom looks silly and sad. So, I've been paying extra attention to my locks of late just because I want my hair to be long and be healthy.

So, this has all lead me to my newest obsession- watching hair-styling tutorials on YouTube. This is addictive folks. There are some amazing sites out there that show you how to create almost any hairstyle you can imagine.

My current favorites are:

Cute Girl Hairstyles (these are best for girls and teens)

Its the Small Things Blog (this blog is my personal favorite for my hair)

Anyways, it's just super fun. My youngest daughter is very cooperative with my new passion of cute hair. She will let me play with her hair as much as I fancy, or have time for. Emma and Cate are more interested in doing their own hair, but have used these sites to find ideas they can do on themselves or each other.

Why do you like sports so much? Most women I know hate when their husbands spend lots of time watching football on the weekends, but you never complain. How is this possible?

You know what? I think I actually like sports more than Wes. Now don't get me wrong, Wes isn't one of those artsy-fartsy types who doesn't know the difference between a basketball and a soccer ball. He likes sports and all, he just rather play the sport than watch the sport. I'm the other way. I absolutely love to watch sports all day on Saturday. Unfortunately, the circumstances of my life do not allow such a luxury. I'm usually just lucky to watch part of a college football game and that is often it. Running a household, tending to four children and a whole bunch of other church, community and neighborly type stuff make my free time extremely limited.

My real passion for sports started very young. I remember being a 10 yr. old girl and spending my lazy Saturday afternoons watching Major League Baseball. Often, my dad would quiz me about professional sports teams just for fun. He would state the name of the city and I would say the mascot. I could name every mascot for each professional football, basketball and baseball team in the country.

When it comes down to it, I just really enjoy watching competition. I almost always root for the underdog, except when it comes to BYU. I enjoy learning about the intricacys of each sport and I love the thrill of a close game that comes down to the wire.

What is it like to have a child who can drive now?

Totally weird, to be honest. But, as we've eased into this new reality, I'm beginning to see the positives of this situation. Cate only drives within our city limits (except for Fridays when she drives to a neighboring town to teach a piano lesson) and we advise her to stay off the highway near us. So, basically she is just driving to seminary, school, piano lessons, friends houses, church and sometimes to the local market. Other than that, she doesn't really drive that much. She does pick Emma up from school some of the time and transports my other kids here and there if needed. It is very handy for us that we have three vehicles so her driving doesn't put Wes and I out at all. Also, she pays for her own gas and insurance- we just provide a vehicle to use. So, so far so good.

I'm getting better at embracing the fact that my kids are growing up and getting older. The funny part about it is as they gradually start doing more adult-type things, you start thinking they are responsible like an adult, but guess what? they're not. They are just larger people who are stretching their wings and practicing flying, but they are still children and need a lot of time and attention. Their bodies might be fully developed in size, but their brains are not! They are not so great in the frontal lobe section.

Cate has hit a lot of huge milestones lately and will hit another one tomorrow night when she receives her Young Women's medallion. These milestones are amazing and memorable for her and for us. We are trying so hard to savor each moment because we know this won't last forever.

What do you do?

2011-11-16T15:10:00.001-08:00

The question I dreaded the most at my 20 yr. high school reunion was “What do you do?”

Such a loaded question for me that really has no clean, compact answer.

The obvious and easiest answer is “I’m a stay-at-home-mom.”

And, that is a good answer, and was the one I most often gave, but it often led to the obvious next question of “so, what do you do all day?”

That one is much trickier.

I, like almost every other SAHM I know, do so much each day that we really can’t spell all of it out in the 30 seconds we have before the listener gets bored or the topic of conversation turns a new corner.

Some months of the year (Sept, Dec, May) are so jam packed I can barely keep up with the unyielding schedule, much less attend to the normal daily tasks that are done, almost elvish-like, by the mom of the house (Why can no one else think to clean the counters or sweep the bathrooms?)

Being a SAHM is the best job in the world. It is funny, exhausting, exquisitely sweet, demanding, repetitive, sacred, and every other emotion under the sun.

Earlier this month I spent a weekend away with some amazing girlfriends of mine (we calculated 35.5 children between the nine of us!) and the evening I returned home Wes and I were talking in bed after finishing the bedtime routine with the children. He said to me how thankful he was that I was willing to be home with the kids and listen to them all day long. He said they talked to him non-stop for hours on end that weekend. He hadn’t realized that this is how it is for me each and every day. I’m so used to it I don’t even think of it anymore. I guess he was just grateful that I kindly listen without pulling my hair out each day, because sometimes it does get exhausting to be everyone’s sounding board.

"Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion, and sorrow too. Nothing else will ever make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as as helping a person develop his own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own." -Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons

Sometimes I think I could really use a sister wife around here...

2011-11-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

Sister Wives. I love this show so much! I've only watched the first two seasons because that is all that Netflix has available as of now.

As you can guess, I'm against polygamy for religious and legal reasons. Yet, I do not find the idea of it repulsive as some amongst me do. I can see the appeal for some. I have no desire to live the polygamous lifestyle myself, but I can sympathize with those who do.

I feel like I can really only explain my feelings for the show if I go through the cast of characters first, so you'll know what I think of each of them (of course, I like some and dislike others!).

Cody- Cody is the husband. He seems to come across like a 15 yr. old high school-er who can only think two days ahead and who can never keep up with what is going on at the present moment. He has a grand affinity for button down shirts in any shade of purple and is constantly packing and unpacking in just about each episode. I haven't really figured out why these women love him. I can't see the appeal. He has longish, unkempt hair and often wears it pulled back by sunglasses- a most unflattering look.

Meri- the first wife. I like Meri. She is a do-er. You give her a job to get done and she will do it. She and Cody seem to have the most genuine and natural loving relationship in the bunch- they are very affectionate with each other. She is the alpha wife and the final say in a lot of things resides with her. She is also the one who has chosen the other three wives for Cody. She is a super huge fan of sister wives lifestyle.

Janelle- the second wife. She is the only wife who did not grow up in a polygamous family as a child. She plays the role of the responsible male in the home. She works full-time and is a main breadwinner for the household. She is not affectionate with Cody publicly. Some people I talk to who watch the show do not like Janelle, but I do. Janelle seems very level headed and normal. I also like her kids the most. Her oldest two are my favorites. The are funny, responsible and kind- just like Janelle.

Christine- the third wife. I'm not a huge Christine fan. She plays the role of the nurturer and homemaker. Something about her kinda rubs me the wrong way. She seems very needy and the most jealous of the bunch. She is quite emotional and needs lots of reassurance from Cody(who often withholds it?). She had a bunch of quirky beliefs like not believing in toasters and such. Also, she names her children made up names like Mykelti (Mikayla and Shelti combined).

Robin- the fourth wife. Robin is the trophy wife. She is the thinnest and youngest of the bunch. She is the only brunette and the only one who was previously divorced before joining the family. She has a few personality quirks that annoy me- constant apologizing to the camera and holding back tears. I think her moving into the group has really thrown Christine for a loop. The first three wives had all been married to Cody for 15+ years before Robin showed up on the scene, so it is kind of like Christine was so used to being the "baby wife" of the family that when she was ousted from that position she just couldn't hack it.

I've thought long and hard about this family. I've ruminated on the pluses and minuses of being part of a polygamous family. The list for both pluses and minuses are just too long to numerate right now. All I can say is that I think for Cody, at least, having acquired all these women he has created the "perfect woman" if you combine them together. You've got Meri's can do it attitude paired up with Janelle's financial security married to Christine's nurturing and then throw in a little of Robin's good looks and Cody has made for himself the perfect woman. Not to mention the night time rotation system that undoubtedly works for Cody and the wives.

Some other funny tidbits about the show:

Their cars are always breaking down. They get on the road and less than twenty minutes later they have a flat or the engine is smoking something fierce.

I find it amazingly weird when they are doing an up close interview with Cody and the wives and one of them is talking about something that is very personal while sitting amongst the entire group. Just seems odd!

Cody drives a convertible sports car. So him! and so amazingly unpractical seeing as he has almost twenty children.

When they moved down to Las Vegas, Cody was very unhappy about all of his wives having separate home. And, all of the wives were very happy about it. Hmmm.

During the intro when Cody says "Love should be multiplied, not divided." That makes no sense.

Anyone else watching this show? Love it? Hate it? Let me know.

Before and after- one gallon of paint edition

2011-11-10T13:35:00.001-08:00

A few months ago I was driving down our street and I noticed something that disturbed me. As you know the days are getting shorter, so the evening had come quickly making it dark outside. Curiously, I started to look inside each of my neighbors homes and I soon realized, much to my consternation, that 90% of them had a red painted wall right under their staircase. Just like me.

So, since I hate to be just like everyone else, I took action.

It cost me 22 dollars at Sherwin Williams.

The color is called Quietude. I had seen it in a model home this summer and got all the details on it just in case I wanted to use it somewhere in my home.

Yes, it took two coats to cover the red, but I feel like that is not too bad especially since the red is deep and dark. The blue/green shade really opens up the space. The living room looks ten feet larger now and I love the chandelier in the dining room with this shade of paint.

Fall always gets me pumped up to paint indoors. Spencer’s now purple room is next on the list. He is going gray (our compromise since he asked for black) this Saturday.

**I am so over this coffee table! Wes made a new one for this room, but it is not in place quite yet. Also, I am rewarding myself with a new lampshade for doing the hard work of painting. Woohoo, time to shop for something fun!**

***Oh, and seem that empty plant holder under the oval mirror in the living room? I've gone through three different indoor plants in that spot and killed all three of them. I really like foliage right there, but hate wasting cash on something that will eventually die on me. Any ideas on a place to find a good looking, but not overly spendy fake plant?***

A Portland story...

2011-11-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

So, last week my mom and I took Cate to downtown Portland to go shopping for a pearl ring for Cate's sixteenth birthday.

It had been so long since Cate had been to downtown that she couldn't really remember anything about it. I know, I know, bad mommy. I should be taking my children to Portland so they can become all cultured and whatnot, but I don't, because it's far (30 minutes!) and I'm lazy.

Anyways, we were fortunate enough to get to drive by "Occupy Portland" before we found a parking spot. I hurriedly announced, "Look Cate, here's occupy Portland, it's culture!" as we slowly cruised by in my mom's Mercedes SUV. (Kinda felt like a hypocrite for a second, and then thought not because we (our entire extended family) work hard and all that jazz, so...okay, I don't want to get political) My mom suggested we pick up some lunch and eat it in the park with all the other occupiers, but Cate found the idea horrifying.

After we found the ring (at Macys- no less, coulda just gone to Washington Square if I'd known we'd end up there), Cate wanted to head home because she just 'didn't like downtown'- those are her exact words. But, my mom decided we needed to go to Voodoo Donuts since it's some sort of major landmark of downtown and she hadn't been there.

So, we did, and it was yummy and kind of crazy.

Once Cate stuffed her face with a maple bacon bar her negative feelings of downtown started to melt, just a bit.

Finally we had to call it quits and we headed back to the parking garage. On our way there my mom had been chatting with Cate about driving (since Cate is in the throws of practicing driving) and my mom was saying that although she may be known as a wild driver, she had only been in two accidents and they had both not been her fault.

Then this happened. And, it was most definitely my mom's fault.

She just backed into this minivan with a titch of reckless abandon- felt like she had run into a rubber garbage can. Of course, my mom felt awful. She immediately called my dad and the conversation started with "Sweetness, you'll never guess what just happened..."

Then she wrote a super sweet note with her phone number and left it on the windshield of the other car. Days past and the driver of the wrecked car did not call. My parents were perplexed. My dad was ready and waiting to hear from the owner. Plans had been drawn about what was going to happen. But, the other owner just didn't call.

Finally, four days later my parents got a call from Marcus (the minivans owner) and my mom and dad both stared to apologize profusely and gear up for insurance info exchanges and stuff. Marcus quickly calmed them down and said the following:

"Don't worry about our van. I was able to get up in there and pop the part back into place. It looks almost as good as new. My wife and I are going on a religious retreat this week and we want to know both of your names so we can pray for you"

Seriously.

Now, I do admit that Portland can be weird. But, maybe in this case the weirdness was weirdly nice.

Needless to say, my mom was relieved and my dad was thrilled.

This little story had made Cate reconsider her dislike for Portland. She's thinking that maybe it isn't so bad after all.

And, as for me. I'm just left to wonder what Marcus meant when he told my folks he and his wife were going to pray for them. Did he mean he was going to pray for their souls, or did he mean he was going to pray for them to become better drivers? We'll never know.

I don't want to get old

2011-11-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't say older, I said old.

I know I'm getting older. I'm this close to forty.

It just, well, looks awful. Okay, here's the deal, when I work I service a few assisted living homes (code for dolled up nursing homes, if you ask me!). And, the ones I'm servicing are nice. Super, super nice and plush and I'm guessing very spendy. Anyways, when I was at "The Springs" today I had that crushing feeling in my heart that being old is going to be really crappy.

Here's what happened. I was walking down one of the hallways, and I passed by a table in the "recreation" room with a group of residents sitting around it. The 'cruise director' had a pile of leaves and Halloween candy in the middle of the table. She was asking the residents "What are these crunchy colored objects here before us?" Someone murmured leaves and she said "why yes, these are leaves. Does anyone remember leaves? Are leaves associated with a certain season of the year? Oh yes! Fall. Does anyone remember having to rake leaves?..." and so on. I was crestfallen you guys! Am I really going to be 88 yrs. old and having some young whipper-snapper trying to help me remember what a leaf is?

Then I walked down another hallway and saw another resident sitting on a bench. Normal, right? Not this time! She was leaning so far to the left that her head was just inches away from touching the seat cushion next to her and of course she was asleep. It looked so uncomfortable. So, I start to go over to her so I can, I don't know what? Push her back upright maybe? But, fortunately, she startled herself awake just before I got to her. Am I really going to be 88 yrs. old and sleeping sideways on a bench in the hall of my nursing home?

I've thought about this a lot and I've come up with my plan. I want to be completely normal and healthy until I hit 80 or so. Then I'm going to eat donuts every day, never exercise again and hopefully be killed in a car crash that takes nano seconds to do the job. I just don't want to linger like that. I don't want to have to spend 15 minutes just to go to the bathroom because walking in, sitting down, unzipping, washing up and all the other stuff takes forever. I don't want to sit there waiting for the mail to come because getting a letter from my great-grandson (like that will happen!) might be the highlight of my day.

I don't want to smell old.

Okay, I just re-read this and it is really quite a downer. Sorry. I'm just putting this up here for my posterity's sake so they can know when I'm old and even more crotchety than I am now, that I'm not a huge fan of being old.

Sherwood United

2011-10-31T11:50:00.001-07:00

Spencer played soccer for the first time this fall.

He loved every teensy-weensy minute of it.

He often forgot it was soccer and thought he was playing football.

He threw many elbows, shoulders, legs and hands. His poor coach kept having to explain the appropriate contact aspect of soccer to him.

Throw-ins were the arch nemesis of the year. More than half were called back for lifting the foot. Ack! Spencer specialized in lifting his foot.

Amazingly, he improved quite steadily as the season wore on. “Going for it” was not a problem for him. Finesse and touch were.

It was so foggy the last game I could barely see what was going on. In the above picture you can see part of the head referee. During this game Spencer had a nice move on an opponent and when the play was over he ran by the ref and gave him a high five. Very Riley Nelson-esque.

Spencer played on an awesome team with lots of his best buddies.

His coach was Gabi who has a very distinct European accent that could be heard from far and wide. He called/yelled Spensaaaaaaaar, a lot. I loved it.

Great job my boy. Love ya!

The art of letting go

2011-10-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Life is hard for most people.

Sometimes it is good and we go along in a very contented way, but sometimes it is hard, or very hard, and we literally struggle to make it through each day.

Parenting is sort of the same way. Sometimes every kid in the family is doing well, and we sit back and exhale because all is happy and tidy. But, sometimes one or more kids has a particular challenge they are going through (that can last anywhere from one minute to forever) and we, as parents feel sad, distraught, perplexed, annoyed, exhausted, anxious or any other unpleasant emotion.

Although things have been going well around these parts lately (I'm not going to confess that one or more of my children may or may not be struggling in some terrible way. No dirty laundry on display here), I've been worrying about the future way too much. Cate is getting older and with that comes avenues I frankly an not super thrilled to travel. She's always been one to look toward the future with aggression, almost. Like, get-me-there-now-or-bust kind of thing. And, since her 16th birthday is just around the corner, I've been feeling all reflective and sad/happy/avoidance about it. Sixteen is a big one. Around here sixteen means drivers license, dating (in groups) and basically hitting a huge milestone of just being older.

Cate is counting down the days (I think she has a paper chain in her room). Her driving test appt. is scheduled (has been since last month). She'll probably go to prom this year. She's just getting older and that leads to the inevitable exit from the family home. Am I old enough for this? What happened to the days of her pushing her doll around the house in a stroller? What happened to the days of her learning to be a two-wheeler on her bike? I honestly don't know.

Earlier this week I was in the kitchen and I spotted Spencer sitting on the couch reading a chapter book to himself. Instantly, I turned to Alice and said "That's it! I'm done. My job as a mom is done". Everyone can walk, talk, use the bathroom, feed themselves, add, subtract, read and safely cross the street. I pretty much feel like I've covered all the bases. I've taught them all I can and now they are no longer little kids. Well, I take that back, Spencer is still kind of little. I still let him sit on my lap in church and I can pick him up if needs be. But, other than that he is really growing up (he uses deodorant, when he can remember to). He's getting his adult teeth. He is now sleeping in his own room (this is a huge step for him since his love language is quality time (with people) and he does not like to be alone at all).

Okay, back to Cate and the impending doom of her getting older. I'm slightly freaking out about the fact that she will be driving a car at high speeds around town. She will be in ~~complete~~ control of a 3000 pound steel vehicle in a city that has its share of idiots on the road. This is not something I like to think about. I'd feel better if she were driving a tank.

I don't know what I'm trying to say. I just feel like time is moving so darn quickly and I can't seem to catch up, and I don't want to catch up sometimes.

Chandelier update

2011-10-24T13:06:00.001-07:00

Well, it's done. I'm quite pleased.

I ended up painting the metal oil rubbed bronze. I have to say a can of ORB spray paint can work wonders not only on chandeliers, but on bathroom fixtures, towel racks, trash cans...

Hanging this beast was child's play compared to hanging our new chandelier in the dining room. That was a true feat in bravery and creativity. Thanks Wes!

fall frenzy

2011-10-23T11:23:00.001-07:00

The wonderful chaos of fall is starting to feel a little more controlled.

I've been out of my comfort zone with three of the kids involved in time-consuming extra curricular activities. I typically try to keep the number at two, and prefer one, or none.

I like dinners together every single night. I like Saturdays free from scheduled activities so Wes and I can work around the home finishing projects and playing with the kids. I like weekday afternoons spent cooking and cleaning while the kids and I chat about their days or I help them with homework.

For the past couple of months we've had less of that and more of go, go, go. Do, do, do. Be here, be there, be everywhere.

It's been exhausting, but fun in its own crazy way.

I've witnessed Spencer give soccer a try this year. He loves it, and really goes for it, but he has a long way to go in the area of skill and finesse. He is a super fan though and we parents, on the sidelines, love watching his victory dances and unending high fives.

I've seen Alice perform with her hip-hop dance company at the Onion Festival this month. Dance is her passion. Her dream is to be good enough to eventually be on the high school dance team.

I've watched Emma enjoy volleyball with her pals. I enjoy her games a lot (there inside!).

I understand Cate took her first manual transmission car-driving lessons from Wes yesterday. Evidently it was a jerky affair. Mastering a stick shift involves quite the learning curve. She's had her first taste.

I've gone to four children's school conferences, started volunteering in their classrooms, reunited with the homework routines, bedtime routines and morning routines.

I've mowed the lawn for (hopefully) the last time this season.

Life is good, but a bit too busy for my taste. Winter season moves us down to only two children involved in lots of extras. Whew, that will seem so relaxing. Never mind Christmas is just around the corner. I am not thinking about that.

Dry shampoo is great for you!

2011-10-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Do you find your hair to often falling limp and looking shabby?

Do you sometime wonder how all of those runway models have gravity defying hair that looks so fresh and sleek?

Do you just want a beauty secret that will save you 20 minutes a day?

Well, if you answered yes to any of the questions above then I've got the answer for you.

Dry shampoo!

It is my most favorite beauty secret ever. It trumps foundation primer, hair serums, homemade soaps and washes. Dry shampoo is literally the biggest time saver I know of.

You see, I have naturally oily hair. Boo.

And, for most of my life I've had to shampoo my hair every day just so I doing have limp, lifeless oily locks come dinner time. But, when I found out about dry shampoo the heavens parted and the angels sang because now I can go two whole days between shampooing. And, this my friends is a huge huge thing for me.

Dry shampoo is a spray that you put in your nasty oily hair near the roots. It immediately dries everything up and adds amazing volume. The texture, the lift, the wonder. I'm telling you here and now, if you try this miracle in a bottle just once you will never go back. Never.

Fortunately, there are lots of brands of dry shampoo on the store shelves these days. I've tried several and guess what? My favorite is Suave. The cheapest one out there! It is like $2.50 at Target. So go get it. You will love it, I promise.

Oh, and here is a great page to learn about dry shampoo, in case my explanation wasn't the best.

My quarterback theory

2011-10-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

(Riley and Jake, and let me say this is a really good pic of Jake)

This theory has been brewing for well over a month.

I've always hated cheering for a football team when the coach is struggling with a quarterback controversy. You know, it's the whole "well I have two competent quarterbacks and neither one of them (on paper at least) seems particularly better than the other and they both seem to deserve the top spot". So, instead of choosing a first string quarterback, the coach will play them both. Sometimes they play alternating quarters. Sometimes alternating possessions. Sometimes alternating downs even. It is annoying for many reasons, but mostly I dislike it because you don't really have a team leader to rally around. Your always like, who's in right now? Who threw that touchdown? Stuff like that.

Well, sadly BYU was in this exact situation this year and as the beginning of the season rev ed up, Coach Mendehall sadly decided that Jake Heaps was going to be the more dominant QB for this year. And well, Jake stinks. I mean, he can really throw the ball (sometime too hard) but his accuracy well not so accurate and his moves are pretty non-existant.

And, it seemed like the team just couldn't rally around him.

I understood why very quickly. Despite his lack in skill, the team was struggling to raise him up as their fearless leader because he wasn't good looking enough. I mean, a football team wants their quarterback to be the symbol of the team. To represent, ya know? And, when you're representing you need to look the part. Jake is okay, but not really a looker.

Enter Riley Nelson. During the middle of the Utah State game, Bronco was getting frustrated and seemingly had just had enough- of Jake. So wonderfully, Riley Nelson comes in and leads the team to a dramatic come-from-behind win that left us all begging for more- Riley.

Now, I'm not totally convinced that Riley is that much better of a QB than Jake, but I do think because of his good looks and his position as the starting QB he had begun to believe in himself and can sense from all the adoring cougar fans near and far that he can lead BYU to victory.

Since Riley became the starter we are 4-0.

Since Riley became the starter our punter (whom I was pronouncing to be our best player on the team when Jake was the starting QB) has only punted once.

Since Riley became the starter all BYU fans are smiling.

Since Riley became the starter all the single guys at BYU are considering growing their locks out a bit.

Since Riley...life has been well,

swell.

Down and out

2011-10-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry I went MIA this week. I've been sick as a dog.

I learned five things while withering around in my bed sheets.

1. My definition of clean and Wes' definition of clean are similar, but not the same.

2. Daytime t.v. is fun for one hour a day. Daytime t.v. is unbearable for 10 hours a day.

3. I miss hugging and touching my family members when I'm sick.

4. My sister's good friend used to always say "I'm just one good bout of diarrhea away from my goal weight". That seems quite true for me when dealing with any illness.

5. I'm very glad I did not splurge on football tickets to the OSU v. BYU game today in Corvallis. I have nare enough energy to flip on the t.v. and change the channel, much less go to a game.

Hallelujah for good health!

It's not a competition

2011-10-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

This is my most recent mantra. Try it out because it really diffuses any angst a situation might bring. "It's not a competition"- being a friend. "It's not a competition"- singing a hymn at church. "It's not a competition" -to finish sewing your kids Halloween costumes. Works right? Makes you think about why you do thing and what it really means in the long run.

Or, maybe it doesn't. Maybe you're not competitive.

I was born very competitive. It used to be one of my greatest strengths (so I thought), but now I see it as one of my worst weaknesses. Being very competitive can be good in certain situations like swimming the 100 meter fly in the Olympics or spelling that final word in the national spelling bee. And, most of the time, when you are young, being competitive can be a boon to your success in life. The more competitive kids tend to be better athletes and the more competitive kids seem to get into more prestigious colleges. You know, that kind of thing.

But, as you get older, being really competitive looks stupid and juvenile. Being a competitive grandma- not so cool. Being a competitive neighbor, competitive dog walker, competitive parent (my personal least favorite) are not welcomed by most.

I realized my competitive streak was quite unbecoming in my late twenties. I remember sitting on the sidelines of my kindergartners soccer game screaming my guts out for her to get the ball and kick it in the goal. It was ridiculous because she was five and because she was so preoccupied with trying to figure out which way she was supposed to run and what the point of the whole game was, that she pretty much didn't hear a word I said. But, I somehow believed that if I coached/yelled/directed/lead her to the paths I believed she should take she would somehow become this amazing soccer player that showed every other kindergartner up.

I learned my lesson that year and now almost never make a peep at any game my kids play in.

Once, in fourth grade I played on a recreational soccer team with a bunch of girls from the neighborhood. My dad was one of the coaches and some of my best friends were on the team. It was only our second year of playing soccer and most of the girls were simply learning the game and learning how to use their bodies to play it. But, not me. I was committed to winning. I was elated when we won and devastated when we lost. I thought I knew everything and I wanted everyone else on the team to give it their all all the time. We were nine. We were little girls. Some of us were still scared of the ball. Most of us were not willing to sacrifice our bodies to block a ball or get the score. But, I was aggressive, and bold, and coordinated and had a nose for the goal. I wanted to win. Once in a game I will never forget, I yelled at another girl on our team for not trying hard enough. I berated her for not focusing and helping us win, when she was most likely just out there to have fun and make friends. It was really quite shameful when I think of it now. I had not yet learned to reign in my competitiveness. It was oozing out of me with wild abandon and it hurt others. But, I did not see that yet. I was all too focused on winning, proving my superiority because somehow that was what made me happy.

Competitive folks have a hard time keeping their mouths shut. It can take many years to learn.

Emma is playing eighth grade volleyball this year.

Emma is not competitive. It's refreshing. She plays for fun and that is all.

She does her best and that is good enough for her and for us.

Emma loves just being part of the team. Team spirit and camaraderie is the high point.

Winning is nice, but not everything.

As I sit in the school gym to watch her games I feel no anxiety. No knots in my stomach and furrows upon my brow. I know she is out there for the fun of it all. She is just enjoying the sport with friends and learning a new skill. Isn't that what it is all about?

My funky old chandelier

2011-10-07T08:37:00.001-07:00

I've been on a major do-it-yourself kick since the weather turned sour and I'm needing a bit of help.

We obtained this awesome chandelier from my parents house a few years ago and I'm finally getting to it. Meaning, I'm finally fixing it up in preparation of its use in this home of ours.

I really adore it.

But, I'm wavering on the idea of painting it. I'm thinking of painting the green metal parts.

So, here is where you come in. What do you think? Should I paint the metal parts? What color? Oil rubbed bronze? Mustard yellow? Cream?

Here is where it will be hanging just to give you a reference for the color scheme in our nook. Of course I do mix colors up around there, but mostly on the table only.

Please help!

Little Miss Ava

2011-10-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

Here's my baby. I mean Mere's baby.

She looks like a Gerber baby.

She likes to be naked and eat crushed ice.

She talks while she cries.

She loves my husband and plays games with him on the family room floor.

She's bowlegged.

She stands in her high chair during dinner.

She smells like yummy baby goodness.

Once in a while she thinks I'm her mom and snuggles my neck with her chubby arms thrown around me.

She requires her entire family to pretend to go to bed in order for her to go to sleep.

Her only dance move involves a lot of squatting.

She's the only Anderson kid who loves vegetables.

If you're lucky, or maybe unlucky, she'll give you a love bite.

She likes to wear other peoples shoes.

She backs into you to sit on your lap.

She is seriously the cutest person in the world.

K1 P1

2011-10-01T19:00:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I forget how much I used to knit.

This is merely a sampling of my gallery.

I learned to knit from my sweet mother-in-law Karen.

When Spencer was celebrating his first birthday we found ourselves in Idaho Falls for a Hall family reunion. The boys (Wes, his dad and brothers) spent days building a shed in my in-laws backyard. And, I spent my days chasing and containing my baby.

So, I asked 'The Master' if she would teach me how to knit.

Within six months I was knitting soakers for my cloth diapered son.

Six months after that I was in business.

I'll never forget the day the owners of Fluffy Mail contacted me with a proposal for me to be their knitter and sell my goods on their website. My heart raced uncontrollably and my sweat glands went into overdrive. I was elated and terrified.

I went for it.

I was in business for five years before life and love changed. It was an amazing run.

I still knit. Just finished a pair of pants this afternoon. I've got a new scarf on the sticks and a couple of hat ideas stirring in my mind.

I love knitting. It is a release. An outlet of creativity that knows no bounds. A movement of my hands that needs almost no thought anymore.

It connects me to others. "You knit?, oh how I love you. Lets talk, lets knit together".

Favorite memory

2011-09-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

I keep watching this video over and over again with a huge grin on my face. Just makes me smile for some reason. Plus, it makes you think way back to the far corners of your mind to come up with your own personal favorite memory.

I think mine is the moment when my children all stepped of the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland. Prior to our trip to the Magic Kingdom, my kids just didn't "get" what Disneyland was all about. I was so much more excited about the trip than any of them. When we arrived the first morning, most of them had been wowed by the monorail trip into the park, therefore it took that first real ride for them to get what all the hubbub was really for. And, it was magic.

What about you? What is your favorite memory?

The even distribution of M&M cookies

2011-09-27T09:48:00.001-07:00

We’ve resorted to a completely fair and uncomplicated method of cookie distribution around these parts.

Some members of our family may, or may not, have a slight problem with eating more than their fair share.

When I was a teenager my mom would write our initials with a sharpie on the top of the pop cans that were stored in the garage.

We were always frustrated that my dad had so many of them just sitting around- like it was no big deal to have all that pop and not be drinking it. It took me a while to understand that he would had the ability to go buy a pop whenever the heck he wanted to, so the highly desirable cans of diet Caffeine free Pepsi in the garage wasn’t really pulling too forcefully at him.

Rants and Raves

2011-09-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

I can't hold it in anymore. I was trying for so long (like 2 weeks) to be super nice and sweet on my blog and now I'm done. It's just not me in totality. I am one part nice and another part not so much. I'm sorry. It is a huge internal struggle for me because everything I read- church wise- tells me to be super nice and charitable. But, I was born with a terrible personality trait that makes this goal practically unattainable for me. I notice everything. I pay attention to every single minute detail of what is going on around me. I am especially attune to other people's body language and words. I wish I was more oblivious to all that surrounds me.

So, I have to express somethings that have popped up on my radar screen because I want to and this is my blog, so I can.

Rants:

* Wes has a swallowing issue. He swallows way too much. He is not swallowing food or drink, just saliva. And, he only does this excessive swallowing when we are laying in bed between 10:00 pm to 10:45 pm. The other night I counted and he swallowed 5 x as much as I did. And, I can't tell him to stop swallowing (I've tried) because it makes him swallow more. Stop the insanity!!!

*My old neighbor and friend Lori was singing in the choir tonight at the General Relief Society Broadcast in SLC. I was so super excited about going to the local church building and watching the broadcast because now I had something to do during the music portion of the show- look for Lori! But, sadly, I couldn't see her because I sat directly behind a very large person who I could not see past. I couldn't see above her or around her. I could only see her shoulders and head. So, I missed Lori and I'm so sad about it. That was probably my one and only chance to see someone I know in that kind of choir and it was a bust.

*I have no time to use my smart phone! I have been begging/pleading for Wes to let me get a smart phone (we're old fashioned that way. I have to beg for stuff and sometimes he grants me my wish). Finally, I got one (although it isn't really a phone because I can't make a call from it. I only use it in the same way someone uses an iPod touch- because we are cheap) and I have no time to use it. I can go days without picking it up and turning it on. My life is way too busy to sit on the couch and use apps/surf the web/take pictures with it. So, all that hype I had built up in myself to get the beloved smart phone was for not. I've considered scheduling time to spend on it, but really, my only free time is during church or right before I fall asleep. But, I hate the idea of scheduling time to waste time. Seems wrong somehow.

*I hate our cat. She is driving Wes and I crazy with her whole scratch-at-the-door-to-come-in-and-then-run-the-other-direction-when-we-open-the-door routine. Then she reverts to scratching at the door again once we've gone back to what we were doing previously. So, we start the whole routine again. Tonight Wes claimed (for the 97th time) that he was going to kill her. And, that was not a sweet idle threat, it was more of a "where is my shovel so I can give this cat exactly what she deserves" threat. Then, I took the next shift in the scratch-at-the-door routine and I opened the front door and screamed "COME IN!!!" as she ran the other way. The neighbors must think we're nuts.

Raves:

*I have none.

Is this the hill…

2011-09-20T20:08:00.001-07:00

I’m wanna die on?

I’m drawing a line in the sand.

I’m done looking at this. Yes, I shut the door. Yes, I know she’s a teenager. Yes, someday she’ll move out and this will no longer be festering/mouldering within the confines of my home.

But, I am done. It is time something changes.

I’m devising a (hopefully) fool-proof battle plan and it is going to work, come heck or high water.

Details forthcoming.

Fighting for breakfast

2011-09-15T13:27:00.001-07:00

17 years ago Wes and I participated in a fight over breakfast.

It was awesome because we had decided at that early, newborn stage of our marriage to fight over something in the future. Ever done that? It is so, so fun!

The fight went like this:

Wes: I want you (Steph) to get up every morning and prepare a hot breakfast for our unborn children so they can head off to school with full bellies and smiling faces.

Me: I don't want to. I don't like to make hot breakfast for me or anyone else. I'm not really too hungry in the morning, so I don't want to make something I won't eat anyways. I don't like to get up early. Making everyone a hot breakfast each day would require me to get up at least 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the family. I don't want to sacrifice like that. I didn't grow up eating hot breakfast everyday and I turned out amazing. Our kids can turn out just fine with cold cereal and milk.

We fought like cats and dogs about this. I guess we were bored and had nothing better to do because we cold-shouldered/ranted/raved/said my-mom-was-better-than-your-mom stuff for months. I'm not quite certain if we ever resolved this issue. I think, sometime along the way, we came to some sort of truce and dropped the subject.

I bring it up every now and then because it is so funny to me that we had this fight. We knew so much about marriage back then. Little did we know that it would be a good 7 years later that we would even have a child who would need to eat breakfast before going off to school. We were so funny back then fighting about breakfast.

What is even better is than none of our kids even really like breakfast! (except maybe Cate, but Cate is an early bird so she's on her own) If I were to get up tomorrow morning and make a hot breakfast for my kids this is what would happen:

Cate would miss it. She's out the door before the rest of us even crack open an eyeball.

Emma would maybe eat it, but first smother everything in ketchup. But Emma is a bit of a procrastinator, so she may have to miss her sweet hot breakfast because she is running late!

Alice wouldn't eat it. She drinks half a cup of hot chocolate every morning. That's it.

Spencer wouldn't eat it either. He is on the same diet as Alice.

Wes would probably eat it, but he shouldn't. He is not tromping off to the wheat fields to bring in the harvest, he is just driving .5 miles to an office building and sitting behind a computer. So, if he ate a hot breakfast every morning he'd start packing on the pounds. That's no good, so I would have to purposefully withhold it from him. That would definitely make our fight over breakfast routine even better.

I wouldn't eat it. I only have hot chocolate in the morning.

So, if you are sitting around your home tonight and you find yourself feeling a little bit bored, may I suggest you find something to fight about that is in the future. Because, you will definitely get the blood flowing and the words flying, and then you can look back on it and laugh seeing that your fight was pointless because, a. You're wife doesn't want to cook a hot breakfast in the morning and b. You're children wouldn't eat it anyways.

Her hands

2011-09-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

These are my moms hands.

They held my little girl hands.

They turned the pages of my childhood stories.

They create masterpieces stitch by stitch.

They dry the tears and sooth the owies of her grandbabies.

I spent my childhood tracing her hands in mine as I listened to sermons at church.

She has extra special thumbs that make her hands even more spectacular than normal.

I know these hands like I know my own face.

I love these hands.

Make the Pathway Bright

2011-09-12T11:09:00.001-07:00

I’ve pledged to be more intentional in my parenting. And, with this new commitment I’ve begun to understand the effort intention takes. Preparation, thought, inquiry, patience, hope and focus are slowly seeping into how I do things around here.

We are often harried and exhausted when the first week of September appears. September is hunting season, so Wes is away hiking through the mountains packing a compound bow and some trail mix. We all love that he loves it, but we miss him. It is a busy time for him to miss.

Every year Labor Day is highlighted with a delicious BBQ at Grannie and Papa’s house followed by boating. We usually come home sun worn and anxious, knowing then very next day is the first day of school.

This year I wanted to officially mark the first day of school with a special back-t0-school dinner.

Before Wes headed off the the wilderness we had discussed our family’s theme for the upcoming school year. It is hard to come up with one that doesn’t sound arduous and difficult. I wanted something positive. Something that we could all hold onto when the going starts to get tough.

We came up with this:

During dinner we talked about what it means to ‘Make the Pathway Bright’. We discussed how to be bright, how to give light and how to help others along your way.

Everyone oooo’ed and awww’ed over the star shaped pizzas and orange crush drunk out of fancy glasses. It seemed very special.

We all missed Wes, but knew to carry on with our special evening because hunting season is always going to be in September and so is back to school. We can’t changed those, so we accept them and do our best.

School is now in session and our old routines have come back to sooth and strengthen us. Backpacks, homework, friendships, fundraisers and football have bubbled up to the surface as topics of conversation once again. The kids seem happy to be back. I’m working on re-claiming my home.

Cheers to a bright year ahead!

Baby Lady’s feet

2011-09-08T20:50:00.001-07:00

Ava Jane’s got gams that just won’t quit.

Chubalicious ankles are my fav. (On a baby- adult cankles are not my fav.)

She is sporting a hip cropped hairdo to go along with her newly acquired mary janes.

Truly. Look at those little fat feet shoved in those precious shoes. Look.

Seriously people.

Humble beginnings

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

I could live here.

Actually, I think I could love living here. As long as these trailers had air conditioning and shag carpet I think they would be an absolute blast to live in. Anytime you had visitors coming to stay a while you just assign them the guest trailer (I'm thinking the orange camper job would be ideal) and you don't have to worry about being too loud, too late or too early, too sloppy or too fussy, because it's a trailer and because it is more like a little guest house than part of your house.

When Wes and I were first married we lived in a trailer (for 2 years) and loved it. Actually, when I phoned my mom to tell her we were moving into a trailer she was a bit aghast- thinking her lovely daughter was starting out in a camper trailer, but she soon felt much better knowing we were moving into a regular old trailer park where the trailers were set solidly (sorta) on the ground.

Here she is in all her glory. We loved her, all 400 square feet of her.

For reference, we looked like this (this is Wes and I the weekend we got engaged- at Multnomah Falls). If you look closely you can see my kid sister Meredith jumping up between us in the back round. She's so funny.

Our trailer had dark wood paneling. And, orange shag rug. And, a mini bath tub. The hallway was extra skinny so only one person could walk down it at a time. Ahhhh the memories.

I'm lovin' Wes's t-shirt. It was paper thin (you could hold it up to a light and read your mail through it) and had a deer on it.

A funny memory I have of this time was the one weekend when we were up in Eastern Idaho visiting a couple of Wes's high school pals. His friend and his family were living in a double wide trailer at the time and Wes and I were super jealous of it. It seemed so incredibly spacious and delightful! Wes even said to me "I think I could be happy living in a double wide for the rest of my life." I was like, yeah me, not so much.

Another view of the paneling. It was so dark and depressing, that when Wes and I moved to our two bedroom trailer down the street My mom and I wallpapered it. My neighbors were so jealous and would come over to visit simply to enjoy my white walls.

Here is a sweet picture of Wes and Cate. Yes, Cate was brought home to a trailer. It was a humble time for us (Wes was finishing up at BYU and working while I was at home with our baby), but such a great time. Life was simple. Our neighbors were in similar stations of life as us. We enjoyed small pleasures of back yard BBQs and dates at the dollar theater.

Our rent was under $300. The only utility we paid was our electric bill- $25.00.

We were living on love and enjoying such an uncomplicated beginning.

Back to School Portraits 2011

2011-09-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

Spencer- age 8, entering 3rd grade.

Alice- age 10, entering 5th grade.

Emma- age 13, entering 8th grade.

Cate- age 15, entering 10th grade.

I am a very lucky mom.

After everyone’s individual portraits were taken (I also took pictures of my sister’s kids) there were lots of requests for group shots. Here are just a sampling of some.

These two have a very tumultuous relationship. This photo reminds me that it can be good between them.

Lauren and Tyler are practically my own kids. I mean, Meredith gave birth, and she and Nate do all the hard stuff, but I get to enjoy the good. And these two have a lot of good in them.

BFFs.

My four.

Tyler and Alice. They had some rough times during their toddler years (hitting, scratching and bum biting), but nowadays, they are really like brother and sister.

Spencer wants to be like Tyler when he grows up.

Oh these two. Like yin and yang. Like Charlie Brown and Pig Pen. Like Ronald Regan and Barack Obama. Like Eleanor Dashwood and Marianne.

Lauren wanted a picture with me. This photo is proof of my complete paleness.

Okay, I guess school can start now. We’re ready.

School Portraits- A sneak preview

2011-09-01T16:41:00.001-07:00

I'm just finishing editing the pictures we took this week and so far, I'm in love with all of them.

2011-08-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Holy moley, where have I been?

I just discovered Pinterest (Thanks Kristin!) and it is my new obsession.

The best way I can describe it is like a personal peg board to keep online ideas easily accessible and organized. In the past, I would find an idea for something I wanted to make/buy/admire and I would forget where I had seen it, and I'd try googling it, or searching my history and more often then not, the great idea would be lost to me.

But, not now!

There are so many creative do-it-yourself ideas. Don't you just love this rainbow yarn look for gift wrapping?

And, of course there are super smart ideas for organization. I've got bucket loads of ribbon that are taking up valuable cupboard space. This seems like a great idea for getting them out of there.

I'm busily planning our traditional back-to-school dinner coming up next week and was looking for a banner idea. Isn't this awesome and so versatile? I'm making it Saturday.

How about re-purposing? I love re-purposing more than almost anything else. I think these drawer front knobs would be so cute in a kids bedroom.

I'm even using Pinterest for gift ideas for myself. I sometimes get asked what I'd like to receive for my birthday or Christmas and often I draw a blank. So now, when I see an idea I like I pin it to my gift board and I'm read to go. Love it!

On Pinterest you can follow people (I have three followers, don't be jealous!) and you can look at other peoples boards and see what they are into. And, Pinterest is much more than home decorating and projects, it has ideas for photography, travel, cooking and just about any other interest you may have.

You can follow me at Pinterest here.

Happy pinning!

Big bunny

2011-08-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

Makes me happy.

Chopped Salad with Chicken, Couscous and Vegetables

2011-08-27T18:39:00.001-07:00

Do you ever eat something and think yum! that was so good, I need to make that more often? I did that today after I made a large bowl of Chicken Couscous Salad. I got the recipe from a good friend who I think brought a bunch of this yummy salad to a baseball game and kindly let me partake of its deliciousness.

Chopped Salad with Chicken, Couscous and Vegetables

Serves 6

Dressing

1 cup fresh basil leaves

I cup mayonnaise

1 shallot, halved

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Blend basil leaves, mayonnaise, and shallot in processor until smooth. Gradually blend in buttermilk and lemon juice. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Salad

1/3 cup grated Asiago cheese

1/3 cup dried currants

1/3 cup shelled pumpkin seeds

1 10oz. package whole wheat couscous, cook according to package instructions (makes about 5 cups)

3 cups baby arugula

2 cups grape tomatoes halved

2 grilled chicken breasts chopped

2 cups fresh corn

Toss all ingredients together with dressing.

Only some of my children will eat it. That is a-okay with Wes and I since it means more for us. Plus, it is great the next day and the day after that.

So funny and so true!

2011-08-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

I've watched this video a half dozen times and it is just plain funny, and sadly too true these days.

It coincides perfectly with a book that I've been eagerly anticipating called The Entitlement Trap by Richard and Linda Eyre. They were presenters at BYU's Education week and were amazing, informative and super funny! I think this book will be a timely addition to our library in helping Wes and I intentionally teach our children how to gain ownership over their stuff and their lives and not fall into the trap of entitlement.

Check it out!

Intention

2011-08-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

As I distill all the amazing information I gathered while attending Education Week last week at BYU, I've come up with one word that stood out more than anything else (and that's saying a lot because an awful lot was said there!) and that word is intention or intentional.

I desire to become more intentional in my teaching. More intentional in my parenting. The premise is extraordinarily basic, but hard nonetheless. I need to focus more on what I want the end result to be. And, that goes for everything. The end result for unity. The end result for charity. The end result for love. The end result for testimony. Does that make sense?

It kind of goes like this...I, like so many parents I know, want more than just about anything else in the world for my children to gain their own personal testimony of our Savior and His love for them. That is number one for my greatest desires for my children. So, what am I doing about it? Lots, really. I take them to church. We read scriptures together. We pray together. We live our lives in accordance to the gospel teachings (to the best of our abilities) but what about testimonies? They hear Wes and I bear our testimonies once in a while during fast and testimony meetings, and some of them have bravely born their own testimonies in front of the entire congregation too. And that is good, but maybe I could do more? I've always believed that it is in the behavior of doing something, you truly learn and gain from it. So, I've come to realize that I need to provide more opportunity for them to bear their own testimonies in a safe and non-intimidating setting- our home.

Okay, long story short. For me to be more intentional about my children gaining their own testimonies of our Savior, I want them to bear their testimonies more often. So, I need to provide that opportunity. I've decided that on the fast Sunday's we are going to hold our own family testimony meeting after church and then break our fast right afterward at home (I plan to have each child, along with Wes and I, bear our testimonies). Now, I'm very realistic about this plan of mine. I know I will get plenty of push back from some or even all of my kids about it, but that's okay. Push back usually means they are simply adjusting to something new. Change can be hard for some more than others. And, I plan on their being quite a bit of griping about hunger pains and such. That's okay too. It is to be expected.

So, this is just a small example of my desire/need/hope for more intention in my life and in our family. Education week was so great this year because I gleaned a lot of super awesome concrete ways to become more intentional in my teaching. Now, don't get me wrong, I've done an okay job with this kind of stuff so far (I am not berating myself at all!), but family life changes and evolves as the children (and the parents) change and grow. What worked five years ago isn't necessarily the right thing for us at this stage of the game. I need to be consistently evaluating and re-evaluating what we are doing and where it is taking us.

Moving forward with more intention in my teaching will help me to first feel calmer about the minor crisis's that happen on a regular basis. I know that they are but tiny blips on our path in life. I love the one of the quotes I heard last week. It was this:

"Crisis + Time = Humor"

And, secondly, it will calm my heart and mind to know that with consistent thoughtful teaching and love I can slowly but surely do all I can do to help these amazing children of God find their way back to Him. Because, as you know, and I know, I will be held accountable for my stewardship over them when all is said and done. And, I want to make sure I am doing all I can do to help them return to Him one day. And, of course I'm not saying that by doing XYZ everything will turn out peachy keen. Each child is totally individual and each child requires different things (often times I have no idea what a particular kid needs and thank goodness God knows them better than I do and I can petition Him to help guide me along the way).

Parenting with intention is no easy task. It is much easier to be re-active to life. To put out small fires all day long and never step back and really think about what we are doing and where it is taking us. Intention requires thought, planning and most importantly consistency. And, then regular evaluations about how it is going.

I'm so grateful that I am blessed to be the mother of these four wonderful children. They are each as unique as can be. They each teach me so much about life, love and true joy. I often wonder about how I got so lucky to have them in my life. I honestly can barely remember my life before motherhood. It is the greatest responsibility I will ever have.

Back from Education Week and

2011-08-20T20:26:00.001-07:00

by golly, it was a doozy!

I just got home this evening after a lovely 13 hour drive from the Motherland to Sherwood and I’m sorta pooped.

The part of the trip that added the most spice and drama was staying here:

I made a point of enjoying my favorite treat from the BYU Bookstore. Can you tell what they are? I know it kind of looks like a loaf (that's for you Rizzo), but it’s not. They just sat in a warm car and melted together while I had dinner one evening.

The most fun was sharing my evenings with my two (out of four) awesome kids at the BYU Creamery.

And the most joyous moment was reuniting with a long-time childhood friend of mine for an early dinner. I know this is a terrible picture of Dovie, but it is the only one I’ve got and since I know she doesn’t read my blog (too busy raising seven kids!), I’m guessing she won’t mind. I love this gal. She is truly one of a kind.

I’ll write more about my experiences and most importantly, about what I learned. But, that will have to wait until I’ve showered and slept (I’ve been awake for 17 hours today so far and have a couple more to go before everyone hits the hay around here).

**sorry for the poor picture quality. These pictures were taken with my new Droid X2 (that’s right people! I got a smart phone, although I’m not really using it as a phone- long story) and they are not the best obviously!**

Jump photos- ain’t nothin’ better than a bunch of 'em

2011-08-12T21:13:00.001-07:00

I have a slight obsession with jump pictures.

I want to take them whenever I'm with a group of people. I even was wishing I could take some at my 20 yr. high school reunion.

We spend so much time taking them that we try to perfect our jumps. We use certain strategies to make our jumps look as impressive as possible. Some people (my sister) think I am way too intense about it. Maybe?

The kids love to get in on the action. They will jump over and over and over again. It's a great way to tire them out.

But, by far my favorite jump pictures are those of my parents. I mean, how can you not love this?

My dad looks like a crazy spider guy.

This jump is my dad's signature jump. My mom is so dang cute. She got some sweet air in this picture.

Even the Anderson's got in on the action. This officially Ava's first jump picture.

This past week a couple childhood girlfriends and I got together at the park with our kids. I suckered them into taking some jump pictures. I told them I wouldn't post them on Facebook, but I don't think I said anything about my blog. (Don't worry girls, only 7 people read this thing and most of them are my immediate family)

Our timing was off, but our enthusiasm was high.

Here's my favorite.

Long live jumping!

I love summer!

2011-08-09T19:36:00.001-07:00

Don't you?

I read this article today and it reminded me of the importance of our children experiencing the joys of summer.

My 20 year

2011-08-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

I've had a handful of people ask me when I'm going to write about my 20 year high school reunion that happened this past weekend. I guess they are just dying for all the juicy details of how the rich kids ending up as pathetic leeches on their placating hoity toity parents or how the one kid who always showed up to school stoned was once again high as a kite when he walked into the reunion. But really, that didn't happen. Almost everyone was pretty much normal and no real "drama" went on. Yeah, I know- boo hiss.

What surprised me the most:

I had a really hard time recognizing about 30% of the guys. Back in h.s. so many of the boys were tiny, I'm talking all bones and no mass. And I was some sort of huge amazon who weighed 25 pounds more than them and was 4-5 inches taller. So many of them had spindly little legs, knobby shoulders and an uneven spread of peach fuzz for facial hair. Now, 20 yrs. later, their like men. Real grown up tall, muscular, beard growing, could beat me up in a dark alley men. And, since I never really saw the transformation happen in person, I had a hard time picking them out of a crowd and labeling them correctly. And, because the name tags were pale and hard to read, I couldn't rely on them to help me out.

All the hugging. I haven't hugged that many people in such a short period of time since my wedding day. I'm not really a huge hugger in general. I mean I love hugging my man and my kiddos, but I don't normally hug people that I have just been introduced to again after 20 yrs, and who I know I never hugged back in high school. But, then I came to love hugging as the night wore on. I started judging our relationships that night by how we hugged. Lots of the hugs were perfunctory. Like we are hugging, but lets not really let our bodies touch. Okay, I hear ya on that. But, some of the hugs were nice, like you rock and I wish we could be next door neighbors from this day forward. I liked those the most. I couldn't always tell what kind of hug I was going to get (I gave hugs that went with what the other person was willing to put out there. A light hugger, okay, I'll go that way. I'm not offended. Or, perhaps someone really puts on the squeeze- verging on a bear hug, by golly, lets go for it!) What really threw me though was when I would hug someone who I had hugged in high school and they denied me a nice hug in return. It was kinda like, yeah, I liked you back then, but now, not so much. Seriously, this is the problem with high school reunions. You read so much into everything because the only thing you have to base your judgements on come from rocky/scandalous/neurotic relationships that happened two decades ago.

How many people were smokers. It was kind of sad.

The most important things I learned:

I had absolutely no idea how a bar works. Obviously, I had no intentions of ordering an alcoholic drink a the reunion, but I did have a little slip of paper someone gave me that entitled me to a free drink at the bar. So, after consuming a dozen glasses of water early in the evening (it was seriously hot in there) I decided that if I was going to continue on in the funtivities, I was going to have to have a bit 'o caffeine. So, I headed to the bar (this journey alone can take a good 45 minutes because as you traverse through the throngs of people between you and the bar you ~~have to~~ get to stop and chat with a dozen people on the way there and another dozen on the way back). So, once I had finally made it to the bar, I couldn't really figure out how to get the bartenders attention to get a drink. Seriously, I was confused. So, I stood there. And stood there and then I stood there as little longer. Finally, a sweet old friend of mine, who saw me and knew my great inexperience in this particular scenario, came to my rescue and helped me get a coke. People, I needed help getting myself a coke! Oi vey. And, right after he so kindly helped me he told the bartender that he wanted to pay his bar tab. So, the bartender pulls out a gigantic wad of debit/credit cards and starts looking through them like a huge deck of cards. And, of course me and my big mouth starts running off and I'm start asking questions like "What in the world?" "Why does he have everyone's card?". Soon it's explained to me that that is how they do it. They keep your card for the night! I guess it is so no one drinks and dashes. I don't know. Weird!

Some people never stop being wenches. They were wenchy at 16 and they are still wenchy at 38. You kind of think they'll out grow it, but they don't. I guess it is their essence- who they really are deep down. Now, don't get me wrong, most people were perfectly awesome that it made me almost forgot that they made my life a living hell in Lou Evan's English class, but some people just played the same old card they always played back in the good old days. You would look them in the eyes and expect them to at least acknowledge you. Say hi or something and they'd look right through you like you didn't even exist. It was the classic brush off. Now, I didn't really have this happen to me exactly, but reliable sources tell me it happened to some of my friends.

You never know when you are going to meet your next bosom friend. I met mine Friday night and it was surreal. She (hi Wendy!) is married to a guy I went to high school with (I know, shocker). Anyways, as soon as I saw- and hugged her, I knew she and I were supposed to be together. It was weird and wonderful all in one magical moment. When she spoke it was like she read my mind! Her awesomeness was contagious and fun! (sorry about all the exclamation points, but bosom friends just make you feel that way!) I literally had to pull myself away from her, or rather she kicked me out of her circle, so I could continue mingling with the people I was actually there to visit with. The second night when I saw her again, I instantly hugged her and called her my BFF. Strange, huh? I'm not usually one to make super strong connections so quickly, but when you meet a kindred spirit, you just know it.

What did not surprise me:

Every single girl at the reunion looked awesome. Really, they all looked so stinkin' amazing it was truly a sight to behold. I had an inkling that they would- and that is why I tried so darn hard to put my best self out there because I knew the competition would be fierce, but boy howdy, it was staggering. I guess it taught me that most women look amazing at 38, or maybe just the really good looking ones decided to show up. Maybe the revenge factor was at play, I'm not sure. All I know that was I have a feeling some of the guys who treated some of those girls like crap way back when were thinking "What the heck was wrong with me in high school because Susie A. Bombshell is killin' it tonight!"

It was a hard night for me (actually it was two nights, but that is kind of confusing, so I've melded the whole experience into one big extravaganza and am labeling it one night for clarity). I'm horribly inept at superficial chit-chat. It just isn't in my personality spectrum. I do much better in small groups. So, the experience of getting to participate in copious amounts of chit-chat exhausted me to no end. It was like a marathon when you get to mile 24 and you just hit the wall. I tried hard. I did my best. But in the end I had to walk those last two miles because I just couldn't take it anymore. Once, I actually sat down at a table all by my little lonesome self and just sat there for 5-10 minutes so I could have a talking break. It was hard work, but in the end it did seem worth it, because it was so fun to catch up with fellow classmates that I truly love and adore. Seeing my old childhood friends was the pinnacle of the event. These are the people who I had sleepovers with, played on soccer teams and went to girls scouts with. These are the folks who knew my family intimately and I knew theirs. These are the friends who I shared a bowl of Trix cereal with after school and wrote silly little notes to during class. These are my old locker partners and rally team members. These people are my childhood and the reunion with them was pure sweetness.

So, in the end it was all good and I'm glad I went, but it does feel like a relief to have it over. The jury is out on whether or not I'll attend another high school reunion down the road.

Seriously?

2011-08-06T11:40:00.001-07:00

Why is it so difficult? Why?

17 years

2011-08-04T15:46:00.001-07:00

We don't look old enough to have just had our 17th wedding anniversary, do we?

We celebrated like two old fuddy duddys- dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant and a movie (Harry Potter 7.2)

It was fun. He is fun. We are fun.

I love you Wes much more today than every before.

Cousins

2011-08-02T20:49:00.001-07:00

Besides wishing that I had been born a twin, I remember longing to have an amazing cousin relationship when I was a kid.

My siblings and I grew up thousands of miles away from any of our 7 first cousins. It was sad. Not one was my age anyways, half were older and the other half younger. Actually, I didn’t even meet the oldest three until I was 14. And, although my cousins are all awesome people, the lack of proximity in our lives has made us friendly, but not friends.

My kids are having the exact opposite experience.

Lauren and Spencer are 18 mo. apart and pretty much best friends. Lauren will play Legos with Spence until the cows come home. And Spence will play Polly pockets and pets (stuffed animals) with her all day long if they can.

They love each other.

They both are missing their two front teeth right now.

They will end up going to the same middle school and high school together. I’m sure they will get together while away at college, be in each others weddings and know and love each others spouses and children once they are adults.

Tyler and Alice are more like brother and sister than cousins.

Alice is as much part of Tyler’s neighborhood social circle than anyone else. They are both athletic, smart, funny and kind.

This fall Tyler heads off to middle school (he’s 8 mo. older than Alice) and will pave the way for Alice since she’ll be joining him the following year. I expect they’ll say hi to each other in the hallways. I hope they look out for one another in the lunch room.

Alice has been having a bit of a rough time this week during swimming lessons. So, this afternoon I bribed the two of them with cupcakes on the way home if they both really gave it all they had during lesson time. And, of course they did. So…

They both picked out a special cupcake to enjoy as a special treat.

I love these two together.

Thank heavens for cousins.

The Bachelorette- play by play

2011-08-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Season Finale

*I have not yet watched The Bachelorette The Men Tell All yet. (We don't watch t.v. on the Sabbath) but I plan to do so soon, maybe tomorrow? If I have anything to say about it I'll make a separate post for that.

I'm really excited for this finale.

I feel as though JP has it wrapped up. If he does not get chosen I will probably shed a tear for his broken heart.

I'm honestly feeling torn right now. I am so ready for this to be over so I can' stop watching Ash. But, I'm kinda sad it will be over because I enjoy watching the guys.

I'm excited to get a glimpse into Ashley's family.

Fun v. passion- JP wins!

Whoa tattoo sister likes to spank Ashies tush.

I predict tattoo sis is going to have big opinions.

I'm pretty sure I like JP's family much more than Ashley's family. But, that makes sense since I like JP so much more than Ash.

Why are they all sitting outside in the sweltering heat to grill JP? I mean they are all dripping with massive sweat beads. How about heading inside?

Mom likes him.

Tattoo sis is a major alpha female. She's trying to run the show.

Oh, here come the tears.

Tattoo sis is super blunt.

Heart v. head? Follow your head? Mom isn't really that smart.

I'm angry at them for dissin' my JP.

I think tattoo sis is workin' it to try to get her own reality t.v. show.

Why does tattoo sis act like she deserves to know everything about the two of them so she can decide for them if they should be together?

She is acting like he's been put out to pasture at the age 34.

I hate tattoo sis.

She is breaking his freaking heart! *dagger eyes*

Oh I hate her.

Now JP, are you sure you'd want to be married to Ash and have tattoo sis as your sis-in-law? Think long and hard about that.

Red flag: "I'm easily influenced by my family. I need other peoples approval."

Okay, now I'm thinking maybe JP should just turn tail and run. There are more fish in the sea.

Tattoo sis will probably loooooooove Ben.

I wish tattoo sis would suddenly come down with a nasty lower GI tract issue and leave the picture.

Ash just wants you to be a little more sympathetic tattoo sis. Seriously.

Tattoo sis just thinks Ash is an idiot.

Ash is acting like a fool. Trying to get tattoo sis's approval. I wish she could be her own person.

I hate Ashie's dog voice.

As predicted, tattoo sis loves Ben.

Ben seems right on paper. JP is right everywhere else.

Another date with Ben=boring.

Healing mud bath.

Friends first then lovers? Hmmm.

They keep going on and on about how sexy mud is.

He's planning to tell her he loves her later in the date. Fun!

I wonder if she'll say she loves him back? Doubtful.

Maybe they are right for each other?

He said it.

Her face said it back.

Okay, the pendulum is swinging Ben's way.

Feeling down about JP'ers.

Valid concerns JP.

Is he trying to convince her that they "work" together.

He told her he loves her.

She is thinking too much.

Their body language speaks volumes. Just saying.

That memory book could have sealed the deal.

Now I feel like she may pick Ben. Gut feeling right now. Could change after the commercial break.

Ash is predicting a bittersweet day.

I think she'll go with Ben because of her need for family approval.

How can she wonder if the guys she chooses will feel the same way about her as she does? I mean, they both told her that they loved her.

I don't like Ben's ring choice.

JP looks much more muscular now than when the show started. I think during all of his down time he must have been hitting the gym.

Ring man is putting a damper on JP's ring buying experience.

Ash's dress is not my favorite.

Those guys look mighty fine in their suits.

Okay, I am so ready for this to be done.

Ben's heart is going to be broken?

That dress does her no favors.

Ben's going to cry. I know it.

She is starting to break down.

He is not reading her body language!

She's struggling to maintain eye contact.

long pause.

That's it. He's crushed.

He wants to skedaddle.

Don't run after him Ash, it makes him feel even more pathetic.

He doesn't want to hear it dear.

She is such a pleaser!

I detect a twinge of bitterness.

He's dumbfounded.

Oh, I love how he rode away in the boat right past her. Made for a great shot!

She feels awful? How did she expect to feel?

Yay JP 'cause you're the awesomest.

He always smiles when he first sees her.

I love his little speeches.

Leap of faith, that's his mantra.

Awwwwww.

I like the ring JP picked out.

Okay, that trip down memory lane rocked.

Loved it!

I keep on Tri-in’

2011-07-30T20:13:00.001-07:00

Well, it's that wonderful time of year again where I sign up with a bunch of my pals to participate in the All Women's Tri at Blue Lake.

This year I had not prepared nearly as diligently for this event as I had in years past so my expectations were very low. I repeatedly told myself that my only goal was: To look good, because I sure as heck wasn't going to feel good. There is just something about swimming, then biking, then running that makes you feel all whacked out inside.

I think this is the moment when Mindy and I were trying to get our game faces on. I had declared just moments before that I was going to go all out this year. Leave it all on the table. Step it up. Give it all I had- just to the point before I might become physically ill.

Myself, Angela, Mindy and Jen (who was 5 mo. pregnant and is a total rock star!) were all in the same wave together so we hung out in the water before the horn blew. This year they had us swimming counter-clockwise (opposite of last year) and it really threw us all for a loop.

This is the moment where I start wondering why I signed up to swim a half mile in a lake.

Here is a great action shot of me gasping for air. My pals are somewhere around me, not sure where though. The worst part of the swim for me was my goggles fogged up about half way through and I seriously could not see where I was going. I just looked for the large neon green buoys and hoped for the best.

It is always so nice to get out of the water and hop on your bike. Unfortunately, this year they changed the transitions up a bit and we literally had to run a 1/2 mile with our bikes before we could mount them. That is soooooo fun with bike shoes on, let me tell ya!

Oh, we ran. We ran out, we ran back. This is me on the way back. See that girl behind me on my left. Well, she was a bit of a thorn in my side while I was biking. She and I rode about the same pace and she kept passing me and then slowing down right in front of me. So, I'd have to hurry up and pass her again because I didn't want to go slow. And, guess what? She'd pass me again and slow down. So not fun! We must of done our little pass dance 6-7 times out there. But, don't worry, I get her in the end.

Taking off for the run. My legs have already warmed up because of the 1/2 mile run with my bike into transition.

Okay, here I am just before I crossed the finish line. The little chicky behind me in the grey top. That is my bike passing nemisis. I saw her 25 yard ahead of me at the end of the run and I thought to myself "Steph, you have got to turn on your after burners and take her down!" So, I did. And that was pretty much the highlight of the race for me.

Here are Christy, Mindy and I after the fun was over. Our families were there to greet us with hugs and high fives after we crossed the finish line (Mindy's family even made awesome posters for her). Then we girls hung out for the post race festivities to eat, check our results and pray for a miracle that we would win a new wet suit in the raffle. No wet suit was won- by us at least, but we had a blast and we all can't wait to do it again next year.

Oh, and as a small side note: Even though I had super low expectations for myself this year, I was quite successful in giving it all I had because I PR'ed by 3+ minutes so...

swim 21:01
T1 4:07
bike 40:42
T2 3:14
run 27:37

total 1:36:41