We got a wii for Christmas. David is really liking the wii. I've hardly played it--and I'm originally the one who wanted it! David really likes bowling and making miis. Yesterday he probably played the wii 10 hours. Even Jarom's friend David has played our wii longer than I have. I finally I took over the wii for about an hour. Actually, David played, too, but I picked the game and had the main wiimote, so I was in control - even if I didn't know what I was doing.
We played Mario Karts and I was horrible at it. Well, for the first dozen times, at least. I kept going the wrong way on the track and bumping into walls and falling into the water and quicksand and coming in last place. It was driving the kids crazy. They were all yelling instructions at me (and David) and that made me even more confused. Then, miracle of miracles, I came in first place. I found out I'm much better playing as Bowser than Yoshi. Poor Yoshi. He kept making very sad noises when I ran him into things and lost.
After an hour of Mario Karts, Jarom and I came upstairs and watched "Strange Brew." He had never seen it before. Can you believe it??? He thought it was funny. Especially the part where they are in the courtroom and Doug has bullets up his nose and he sneezes. He thought Hosehead the dog was pretty weird, too.
Friday morning I made pancakes for breakfast. Before anyone could eat, I made them listen to "The Twelve Days of Christmas" by Bob and Doug MacKenzie on the Christmas CD Becky made for us. Cameron was getting frustrated because he thought it was dumb and his pancakes were getting cold. Tonight when we were making dinner, the kids finally figured out that it was the "Strange Brew"/"Brother Bear" moose guys that did the Christmas song. "Oh, that was them?!" they said. Um, yeah... Somehow they seemed to like it better once they knew who "sang" it. David says that song is the only Bob and Doug thing he likes.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
First Day of Work
Well, I made it through my first day of work at my new job. I ended up leaving work at 4:00 pm instead of 6 and my head was still swimming from all the new information. This is gonna take a while to get used to, but it will be good in the long run.
It was a good thing that I got home early, because I took the Suburban with me to work and I didn’t really want Meagan driving the Crown in the snow. It’s tough to drive in snowy weather since it’s rear wheel drive. That’s one of the few things I don’t like about the Crown. Driving it in clear weather is great.
After I got home, Amber read “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” to me. Twice. I love that book. It’s been one of my favorites for a long, long time. During the second reading, I fell asleep – Amber woke me up at the end because she wanted me to sign her reading calendar. After I signed her calendar, I went back to sleep. After sleeping off my information overload for 3 hours, I’m starting to feel human again.
David and the boys are downstairs watching some movie called “Beartooth.” It looks and sounds like it was made in the 70’s. They’ve got it up kind of loud. It’s about some old guy with a Cajun accent that lives in a cabin in Montana in the wilds. About all he interacts with are wildlife and a stray dog. That used to be David’s aspiration – to move to Montana and be a hermit in the woods. Guess that would be kind of difficult for him now.
Meagan came home from work on Saturday very happy because the 2 Somalians that kept bugging her have been banned from her work until March. I guess they were bugging alot more people than just her.
This morning as I was heading out the door for work, Thor tried to sneak in the house. If I had been staying, I would have let her in – it’s so cold outside! I almost shut her in the door – twice. I think she thinks I hate her now. I called her tonight, but no response. Hope she keeps warm!
It was a good thing that I got home early, because I took the Suburban with me to work and I didn’t really want Meagan driving the Crown in the snow. It’s tough to drive in snowy weather since it’s rear wheel drive. That’s one of the few things I don’t like about the Crown. Driving it in clear weather is great.
After I got home, Amber read “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” to me. Twice. I love that book. It’s been one of my favorites for a long, long time. During the second reading, I fell asleep – Amber woke me up at the end because she wanted me to sign her reading calendar. After I signed her calendar, I went back to sleep. After sleeping off my information overload for 3 hours, I’m starting to feel human again.
David and the boys are downstairs watching some movie called “Beartooth.” It looks and sounds like it was made in the 70’s. They’ve got it up kind of loud. It’s about some old guy with a Cajun accent that lives in a cabin in Montana in the wilds. About all he interacts with are wildlife and a stray dog. That used to be David’s aspiration – to move to Montana and be a hermit in the woods. Guess that would be kind of difficult for him now.
Meagan came home from work on Saturday very happy because the 2 Somalians that kept bugging her have been banned from her work until March. I guess they were bugging alot more people than just her.
This morning as I was heading out the door for work, Thor tried to sneak in the house. If I had been staying, I would have let her in – it’s so cold outside! I almost shut her in the door – twice. I think she thinks I hate her now. I called her tonight, but no response. Hope she keeps warm!
Friday, December 12, 2008
How Many of Me?
The other day, I found an interesting web site that tells you how many people in the US have the same name as you (first and last only). I found out there are 9 of “me” in the US. You can try it and see how many of "you" there are. Just click on this: How Many of Me? Did you know that "Worm" is a real last name? So's "Friday." There may even be 1 or fewer people in the US named "Corn Syrup."
Earlier today I could think of lots of stuff to say, but, now that I am writing, I can’t think of much to write. Today I did not work because my new job is starting on Monday instead of Friday. I asked my old boss if I could change today to my last day and he said, “No.” What a weirdo. He hasn’t even found a replacement for me yet, so I don’t know what the big deal was, but whatever.
The good thing is, I’m getting paid anyway, because my new employer told me I would start on Friday but then couldn’t train me until Monday. “Think of it as a sign-on bonus,” he said. What a nice guy.
Today, instead of cleaning the basement like I should have, I goofed off and spent most of the day on the internet. That was ok. I guess every once in a while it’s ok to goof off.
OK, what’s everyone been up to?
Meagan – has been working. She’s fed up with Somalian guys hitting on her at work and the security guard pulling a mean prank on her. Other than that, she’s mostly ok with work. I think she’s ready to graduate from high school already. Whatever will she do without Tyler next semester?
Cameron – has been having trouble trying to decide what he wants for Christmas. Today he finally decided. If he changes his mind again, well, that’s just too bad. Actually all of the kids have been kind of slow deciding.
He’s also been struggling with Physics. He raised his hands in disgust the other day because he finally figured out why he’d been getting so many Physics problems wrong. It’s because he was using the wrong formula! Yeah, that would do it.
I tried to help Cameron with his math the other day and was no help at all. I think he’s given up on coming to me for math help. They’ve been doing matrices for probably the last month and I think I only ever did them a day or two in all the years I took math.
Jarom – had his band concert Wednesday night. He is first chair in trumpets. That’s pretty amazing since he hasn’t practiced in a month. Something about it hurts to play the trumpet with his braces on. That’s possible. I remember Meagan saying something about Tyler quitting the saxophone because he got braces. Hopefully Jarom won’t quit. He should be getting his braces off sometime in 2009. Jarom’s band teacher said he was challenged for his chair and he won. Wow. Just think how good Jarom would be if he practiced!
Amber – has her Chorus Concerts next week. You are welcome to attend either or both! According to the note sent home from the school, these are the two concerts:
• Tuesday December 16th at 7:00 pm at VF Mall in front of the inside entrance to JC Penney’s – the concert will last about 30 minutes.
• Thursday December 18th at 9:00 am at the elementary school – it will be a more formal concert (whatever that means)
Amber is sitting on the couch asking me lots and lots of questions. It’s hard to write a blog and carry on a conversation at the same time.
Amber is spending the night at Kyleen’s again. I think Kyleen’s is the favorite place because she’s an only child. That and Charity, another of Amber’s friends, is at Kyleen’s a lot. Like tonight, in fact.
David – has been playing Devil May Cry almost incessantly. I guess he REALLY likes it. He also went and bought a bunch of frozen dinners and pizza at Smith’s today because they were having their 10 for $10 special.
Jetta – got freaked out today because I let Thor in the house. Thor is the cute little gray neighborhood tabby cat – the whole neighborhood kind of looks after her, but no one has officially adopted her as far as I know. I would if David and Jetta would let me. She is such a cute kitty. She’s snuggly and purrs when you hold her. If you’re wondering about the name “Thor” for a girl – I named her that before I knew she was a girl – and the name kind of stuck.
At first Jetta was kind of ok with Thor being in the house and even wagged her tail. Thor wandered into Amber’s room. I called, “Thor,” and she paid no attention to me. Then I called, “Kitty,” and she looked right at me. She probably gets called “Kitty” more than anything. Our family calls her “Thor,” one family across the street calls her “Tigger” and another family calls her “Bubba J.” Talk about confusing.
After 5 or 10 minutes of Thor being in the house, Jetta backed Thor into a corner. Thor sat up on her hind legs and started scratching the air in Jetta’s direction. I hurried and pulled Jetta away from the cat before either of them got hurt. Thor had to go outside after that. Poor Thor.
I sure wrote a lot for not being able to think of anything to write, didn’t I?
Earlier today I could think of lots of stuff to say, but, now that I am writing, I can’t think of much to write. Today I did not work because my new job is starting on Monday instead of Friday. I asked my old boss if I could change today to my last day and he said, “No.” What a weirdo. He hasn’t even found a replacement for me yet, so I don’t know what the big deal was, but whatever.
The good thing is, I’m getting paid anyway, because my new employer told me I would start on Friday but then couldn’t train me until Monday. “Think of it as a sign-on bonus,” he said. What a nice guy.
Today, instead of cleaning the basement like I should have, I goofed off and spent most of the day on the internet. That was ok. I guess every once in a while it’s ok to goof off.
OK, what’s everyone been up to?
Meagan – has been working. She’s fed up with Somalian guys hitting on her at work and the security guard pulling a mean prank on her. Other than that, she’s mostly ok with work. I think she’s ready to graduate from high school already. Whatever will she do without Tyler next semester?
Cameron – has been having trouble trying to decide what he wants for Christmas. Today he finally decided. If he changes his mind again, well, that’s just too bad. Actually all of the kids have been kind of slow deciding.
He’s also been struggling with Physics. He raised his hands in disgust the other day because he finally figured out why he’d been getting so many Physics problems wrong. It’s because he was using the wrong formula! Yeah, that would do it.
I tried to help Cameron with his math the other day and was no help at all. I think he’s given up on coming to me for math help. They’ve been doing matrices for probably the last month and I think I only ever did them a day or two in all the years I took math.
Jarom – had his band concert Wednesday night. He is first chair in trumpets. That’s pretty amazing since he hasn’t practiced in a month. Something about it hurts to play the trumpet with his braces on. That’s possible. I remember Meagan saying something about Tyler quitting the saxophone because he got braces. Hopefully Jarom won’t quit. He should be getting his braces off sometime in 2009. Jarom’s band teacher said he was challenged for his chair and he won. Wow. Just think how good Jarom would be if he practiced!
Amber – has her Chorus Concerts next week. You are welcome to attend either or both! According to the note sent home from the school, these are the two concerts:
• Tuesday December 16th at 7:00 pm at VF Mall in front of the inside entrance to JC Penney’s – the concert will last about 30 minutes.
• Thursday December 18th at 9:00 am at the elementary school – it will be a more formal concert (whatever that means)
Amber is sitting on the couch asking me lots and lots of questions. It’s hard to write a blog and carry on a conversation at the same time.
Amber is spending the night at Kyleen’s again. I think Kyleen’s is the favorite place because she’s an only child. That and Charity, another of Amber’s friends, is at Kyleen’s a lot. Like tonight, in fact.
David – has been playing Devil May Cry almost incessantly. I guess he REALLY likes it. He also went and bought a bunch of frozen dinners and pizza at Smith’s today because they were having their 10 for $10 special.
Jetta – got freaked out today because I let Thor in the house. Thor is the cute little gray neighborhood tabby cat – the whole neighborhood kind of looks after her, but no one has officially adopted her as far as I know. I would if David and Jetta would let me. She is such a cute kitty. She’s snuggly and purrs when you hold her. If you’re wondering about the name “Thor” for a girl – I named her that before I knew she was a girl – and the name kind of stuck.
At first Jetta was kind of ok with Thor being in the house and even wagged her tail. Thor wandered into Amber’s room. I called, “Thor,” and she paid no attention to me. Then I called, “Kitty,” and she looked right at me. She probably gets called “Kitty” more than anything. Our family calls her “Thor,” one family across the street calls her “Tigger” and another family calls her “Bubba J.” Talk about confusing.
After 5 or 10 minutes of Thor being in the house, Jetta backed Thor into a corner. Thor sat up on her hind legs and started scratching the air in Jetta’s direction. I hurried and pulled Jetta away from the cat before either of them got hurt. Thor had to go outside after that. Poor Thor.
I sure wrote a lot for not being able to think of anything to write, didn’t I?
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
All-American Breakfast?
This morning for breakfast I had kefir, creamy buckwheat cereal and borscht. Sometimes I look at what I eat and think, is there anyone else in America who eats the way I do? Probably not. Not unless they just immigrated from Russia or Thailand or something. That’s ok, though. I haven’t converted my family, however. I think Amber would be the easiest to convert – she already likes red rice and soy milk and stuff no one else in the family besides me will touch.
Well, here’s the rundown:
Meagan – turned 18 on Black Friday. For her birthday we had a family dinner and invited Tyler over. David was even sort of ok with that (?). Meagan got an MP3 player (her old one was stolen from her gym locker at school) and a “Labyrinth” DVD. She was so excited to get “Labyrinth” that she squealed for almost two minutes. Tyler kind of rolled his eyes. Meagan loves David Bowie and the muppets. I can’t say I blame her.
Meagan has decided she wants to go to UVU for college. That’s ok, as long as she can figure out how she’s going to pay for it. I suspect she wants to go to UVU because that is where Tyler is planning on going. In March. I guess he’ll graduate early from HS – at the end of this semester. I think that’s mid-January.
Cameron – I don’t really know what Cameron is up to, except that he is doing well in all of his classes except Honors Physics. I would have struggled, too, if I hadn’t taken Trig first. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t be talked. Oh well.
Jarom – Jarom finally finishing his autobiography for English. He has been working on it for months now. He sure had to find a lot of photos for it.
Jarom marched in the day-after-Thanksgiving Christmas Parade with the Jr. High Band. I didn’t even recognize him when he marched past because he was wearing a beanie. He almost never wears hats. That parade was sure cold!!! I sat in the suburban for most of it. It was nice when it was time to go in to the warm mall.
Amber – Has been playing Nancy Drew computer games. She played both of the games Holly gave me and has started checking them out of the library. The last one, she had to have Jarom help her, because Nancy kept getting blown up in the theater demolition. She kept wanting me to help her, but I’m clueless when it comes to those games. (That was punny, wasn’t it? It wasn’t intentional.)
Last night Amber had to write a list of 20 family traditions. I ended up thinking up most of them, because Amber couldn’t think of very many. It was really hard. There are some things we did for awhile, then quit doing. Like when I worked for Holiday Inn, we’d usually go on a short vacation in either Utah or Idaho and stay at a hotel for a couple of days because I only had to pay $25 a night for a room. We don’t do that now because I just can’t bring myself to pay $89 a night for a hotel room. Maybe I should…Meagan’s almost old enough to leave home! Ack!
David – is visiting his silly skin doctor today. He sees Dr. Williams in Murray. Dr. Williams is always entertaining. Last time David was there, Dr. Williams was telling David that Shania Twain had just gotten divorced and was now available. Apparently Dr. Williams is not married. I told David he’d have to ask Dr. Williams if he’d gotten a date with Shania yet. When Jarom went there, he was teasing Jarom about becoming a dermatologist. I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
This morning I had David check the anti-freeze in the suburban. It was really, really, really low. It’s a good thing I saw a drip of anti-freeze on the driveway and had him check!
Me – I found a new job that I think is going to be much better than my current job. My new boss was sure alot nicer to me when he hired me than my current boss was.
I gave my two weeks notice the day before Thanksgiving. Gary (my current boss – who works in the Denver office) didn’t seem too sad about my leaving. Maybe he was stunned? I asked him for a raise a year ago that never happened. “We will talk about it,” he told me. We never did. He did thank me for giving them two weeks notice. Kenny (the sales rep at the SLC office) told me yesterday that he wouldn’t stay the whole two weeks. Quint (the vitamin guy and former owner of the company) said, “Heidi’s a good girl, she’ll stay the whole two weeks.” Yup, that’s me. The good girl. Quint’s old enough to be my dad. He’s also my favorite Graves (the family that owns the company).
Here’s the weirdest part about my leaving, though. Lisa suggested to Sue (the office manager at the Denver office) that her daughter Sara replace me. Sue said, “Oh, Sara can’t work for the company, she’s related to you.” What? Apparently you can’t work for them if you’re related to anyone who works there UNLESS your last name is Graves. Then you can “work” there, be incompetent, not show up, irritate customers and still get paid for your entire shift. Hmmm…
Well, here’s the rundown:
Meagan – turned 18 on Black Friday. For her birthday we had a family dinner and invited Tyler over. David was even sort of ok with that (?). Meagan got an MP3 player (her old one was stolen from her gym locker at school) and a “Labyrinth” DVD. She was so excited to get “Labyrinth” that she squealed for almost two minutes. Tyler kind of rolled his eyes. Meagan loves David Bowie and the muppets. I can’t say I blame her.
Meagan has decided she wants to go to UVU for college. That’s ok, as long as she can figure out how she’s going to pay for it. I suspect she wants to go to UVU because that is where Tyler is planning on going. In March. I guess he’ll graduate early from HS – at the end of this semester. I think that’s mid-January.
Cameron – I don’t really know what Cameron is up to, except that he is doing well in all of his classes except Honors Physics. I would have struggled, too, if I hadn’t taken Trig first. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t be talked. Oh well.
Jarom – Jarom finally finishing his autobiography for English. He has been working on it for months now. He sure had to find a lot of photos for it.
Jarom marched in the day-after-Thanksgiving Christmas Parade with the Jr. High Band. I didn’t even recognize him when he marched past because he was wearing a beanie. He almost never wears hats. That parade was sure cold!!! I sat in the suburban for most of it. It was nice when it was time to go in to the warm mall.
Amber – Has been playing Nancy Drew computer games. She played both of the games Holly gave me and has started checking them out of the library. The last one, she had to have Jarom help her, because Nancy kept getting blown up in the theater demolition. She kept wanting me to help her, but I’m clueless when it comes to those games. (That was punny, wasn’t it? It wasn’t intentional.)
Last night Amber had to write a list of 20 family traditions. I ended up thinking up most of them, because Amber couldn’t think of very many. It was really hard. There are some things we did for awhile, then quit doing. Like when I worked for Holiday Inn, we’d usually go on a short vacation in either Utah or Idaho and stay at a hotel for a couple of days because I only had to pay $25 a night for a room. We don’t do that now because I just can’t bring myself to pay $89 a night for a hotel room. Maybe I should…Meagan’s almost old enough to leave home! Ack!
David – is visiting his silly skin doctor today. He sees Dr. Williams in Murray. Dr. Williams is always entertaining. Last time David was there, Dr. Williams was telling David that Shania Twain had just gotten divorced and was now available. Apparently Dr. Williams is not married. I told David he’d have to ask Dr. Williams if he’d gotten a date with Shania yet. When Jarom went there, he was teasing Jarom about becoming a dermatologist. I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
This morning I had David check the anti-freeze in the suburban. It was really, really, really low. It’s a good thing I saw a drip of anti-freeze on the driveway and had him check!
Me – I found a new job that I think is going to be much better than my current job. My new boss was sure alot nicer to me when he hired me than my current boss was.
I gave my two weeks notice the day before Thanksgiving. Gary (my current boss – who works in the Denver office) didn’t seem too sad about my leaving. Maybe he was stunned? I asked him for a raise a year ago that never happened. “We will talk about it,” he told me. We never did. He did thank me for giving them two weeks notice. Kenny (the sales rep at the SLC office) told me yesterday that he wouldn’t stay the whole two weeks. Quint (the vitamin guy and former owner of the company) said, “Heidi’s a good girl, she’ll stay the whole two weeks.” Yup, that’s me. The good girl. Quint’s old enough to be my dad. He’s also my favorite Graves (the family that owns the company).
Here’s the weirdest part about my leaving, though. Lisa suggested to Sue (the office manager at the Denver office) that her daughter Sara replace me. Sue said, “Oh, Sara can’t work for the company, she’s related to you.” What? Apparently you can’t work for them if you’re related to anyone who works there UNLESS your last name is Graves. Then you can “work” there, be incompetent, not show up, irritate customers and still get paid for your entire shift. Hmmm…
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Work, Medallions, Matrices and an Achey Head
I have a headache. It has been a busy day. This morning I finished up my "packet" and turned it in so they can do my background check and see if I get the job I'm hoping to get 'cuz it pays $3.12/hr more than I'm making now. Plus paid vacation. The job I have now has absolutely no benefits, except that I get a paycheck twice a month. Well, and I do get to talk to Lisa and I like some of the doctors, PTs and massage therapists that come in to buy stuff from time to time. And Kenny's nice, too--and Quint. Nuf said.
Can you believe Quint went to Hawaii and left me and Lisa behind? I told him next time he has to take us with him. I wonder if I'd really go...
Meagan had her YW in Excellence tonight and got her YW Medallion. She actually passed everything off last March, but I guess they were waiting 'til now to award them. Meagan worked very hard for a long time to pass everything off. So did Terrin and Megan (the other one). It made me feel that maybe my years in our ward's YW were of some value.
Well, that's about it, except that Cameron wants me to say that the real reason I got on the internet was to help him figure out how to solve matrices. He figured it out before I could get the computer fired up and the internet connected, which is just fine with me, 'cuz headaches and Algebra 2 just don't mix. I asked Cameron if he's taking Algebra. He said, quite emphatically, "TWO!, I'm past Algebra."
Can you believe Quint went to Hawaii and left me and Lisa behind? I told him next time he has to take us with him. I wonder if I'd really go...
Meagan had her YW in Excellence tonight and got her YW Medallion. She actually passed everything off last March, but I guess they were waiting 'til now to award them. Meagan worked very hard for a long time to pass everything off. So did Terrin and Megan (the other one). It made me feel that maybe my years in our ward's YW were of some value.
Well, that's about it, except that Cameron wants me to say that the real reason I got on the internet was to help him figure out how to solve matrices. He figured it out before I could get the computer fired up and the internet connected, which is just fine with me, 'cuz headaches and Algebra 2 just don't mix. I asked Cameron if he's taking Algebra. He said, quite emphatically, "TWO!, I'm past Algebra."
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tests and Interviews and New Jobs
Yay! I passed my type test. I even got eligibility - high. I didn't think I would, 'cuz I don't think I type as fast as Becky, who also got eligibility - high. I was so relieved I passed the type test, I forgot to get an employment packet and had to go back and buzz the door again. The girl who got me the packet said, "Oh, they should have given you a packet if you passed the type test."
There was only one other person who took the type test when I did. I don't think he passed. He was very nice. I told him my sister said you should make sure to get a packet. He walked out without one, even when I told him I was waiting for one.
Hmmm... I hope he didn't fail because I was asking the test administrator a question at the end of my test. It was weird because the computer said that at the end of the test it would tell you to go tell the administrator you were done. Did it? Not exactly, instead it said: if your test was interrupted and you want to resume, click this button, if your test is done, click this button. How was I supposed to know if my test was done?
Fearing my test had been interrupted and that seconds were ticking away, I asked: "Is my test done?" The administrator said, "Shhhhh! He's still taking his test!" I said: "Oops!" or something to that effect. Luckily, my test WAS done and not just interrupted. And I passed!
Meagan had a job interview today at HC. She will start working there at the skating rink on Friday. Now we get to start juggling cars even more! We're all getting new jobs, it looks like. I hope I get one soon. My 3 year anniversary at MSC is coming up on January 9 and I really don't want to still be working there by then.
There was only one other person who took the type test when I did. I don't think he passed. He was very nice. I told him my sister said you should make sure to get a packet. He walked out without one, even when I told him I was waiting for one.
Hmmm... I hope he didn't fail because I was asking the test administrator a question at the end of my test. It was weird because the computer said that at the end of the test it would tell you to go tell the administrator you were done. Did it? Not exactly, instead it said: if your test was interrupted and you want to resume, click this button, if your test is done, click this button. How was I supposed to know if my test was done?
Fearing my test had been interrupted and that seconds were ticking away, I asked: "Is my test done?" The administrator said, "Shhhhh! He's still taking his test!" I said: "Oops!" or something to that effect. Luckily, my test WAS done and not just interrupted. And I passed!
Meagan had a job interview today at HC. She will start working there at the skating rink on Friday. Now we get to start juggling cars even more! We're all getting new jobs, it looks like. I hope I get one soon. My 3 year anniversary at MSC is coming up on January 9 and I really don't want to still be working there by then.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Plumbers R Us
DISCLAIMER: This post is a little bit gross. Mom, you might not like it. It's not as gross as I can get, but you've been warned.
SEMI-GROSS PART: This afternoon Meagan and I attempted to unclog the bathtub drain. We cleared out a bunch of hair in the pipes underneath the tub, thought we had gotten it, put the pipes back together--and--no. It was still clogged. So I tried cleaning out the top part of the tub and got a few more clogs, and still, no.
I do not like plumbing. It is STINKY! Of course, the reason David wasn't helping us in the first place is the smell. I can handle a lot more stinkiness than David without gagging.
EVEN GROSSER PART: I was at my wits end when David finally started helping us. He did everything he could think of and the tub still didn't drain. We were about ready to call a plumber when David got the bright idea of using the plunger. A bunch of hair surfaced in the drain and Meagan said the drain down below sounded like it was dry heaving and a big glob of stuff came out the bottom. YAY! THE TUB DRAINS NOW!!! Thanks to David and his ingenuity.
MORAL: If your tub or sink is not draining after using a plumber's snake, or the other traditional plumbing methods, try a plunger. It really works! Warning: DO NOT try this AFTER you have used Draino or anything else caustic. That probably goes without saying, but, ya know.
OTHER MORAL: Or, just live in an apartment or condo where your landlord takes care of all the yucky maintenance stuff.
SEMI-GROSS PART: This afternoon Meagan and I attempted to unclog the bathtub drain. We cleared out a bunch of hair in the pipes underneath the tub, thought we had gotten it, put the pipes back together--and--no. It was still clogged. So I tried cleaning out the top part of the tub and got a few more clogs, and still, no.
I do not like plumbing. It is STINKY! Of course, the reason David wasn't helping us in the first place is the smell. I can handle a lot more stinkiness than David without gagging.
EVEN GROSSER PART: I was at my wits end when David finally started helping us. He did everything he could think of and the tub still didn't drain. We were about ready to call a plumber when David got the bright idea of using the plunger. A bunch of hair surfaced in the drain and Meagan said the drain down below sounded like it was dry heaving and a big glob of stuff came out the bottom. YAY! THE TUB DRAINS NOW!!! Thanks to David and his ingenuity.
MORAL: If your tub or sink is not draining after using a plumber's snake, or the other traditional plumbing methods, try a plunger. It really works! Warning: DO NOT try this AFTER you have used Draino or anything else caustic. That probably goes without saying, but, ya know.
OTHER MORAL: Or, just live in an apartment or condo where your landlord takes care of all the yucky maintenance stuff.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Halloween and Beyond
Today I am practicing typing. I passed the written part of the postal encoding exam, now I get to go take the typing portion. FUN!
Amber, Jarom and Cameron went trick-or-treating this year. Amber was a black, blue and silver fairy, Jarom was Inspector Clouseau and Cameron was a grim reaper/skeleton. They each got a big bag full of candy. I didn't monitor their candy eating this year. I think they've eaten almost all of it already.
Meagan thought she was too old to trick-or-treat, so she stayed home and helped me pass out candy. We ran out and had to go to the store for more. I think next year if we run out, we're going to just turn off the lights. We got between 190-200 trick-or-treaters this year. Usually we get about 150. Of course, this year the weather was really, really nice in our neighborhood. No snow or rain and it was a balmy 50 or 60 degrees.
One of the women at church on Sunday that has lived in this neighborhood probably 40 years said, "We didn't get many trick-or-treaters this year, did we?" I guess back when she moved in there were tons of kids that lived in the neighborhood. I can't imagine how many trick-or-treaters they used to get - maybe 400-500?
Meagan and I went to Lagoon with Becky and Dana on Saturday. It was fun. It had been so long since I'd been to Lagoon - probably 5 or 6 years. Maybe longer. The weather was perfect and the lines were short. Becky is so funny to go on rides with. She yelled and screamed and laughed so much that I started doing it too. I think a day at Lagoon was just what I needed.
David and I went and voted Tuesday morning. I thought we were going to have to wait in a long line for an hour or more. Nope. No line at all. Voting took us about 15 minutes, and that's only because there were so many things to vote on. I did vote for Obama, but let me tell you, I was so close to voting for Ralph Nader.
I really thought the electoral vote would be much closer - something like the 52% to 46% popular vote. I'm wondering if we shouldn't do away with the Electoral College? What exactly is its purpose? I was impressed with McCain's concession speech. It was extremely gracious. Maybe I don't dislike him so much after all? I guess we get to see now how well Obama keeps his campaign promises. If he keeps even half of them, I'll be happy. At least he does have congress on his side...
David says he's going to move to Canada. I said he can if he wants to, but I'm staying here. It's too cold in Canada for me.
Last night Meagan, Cameron, Jarom and David went to the Conference Center for a big "New Year's" Celebration. I guess they recorded it last night and they're going to distribute it on DVD for New Year's. David said it was really good. Cameron said it was good, but LONG. I guess it lasted from 6:30-9:00pm. That's kinda long. Maybe they'll edit it?
I didn't go because I couldn't get off work early enough to be there by 5:30 to be seated, and someone had to be at home with Amber. I picked her up from Activity Days where she made a bookbag. I think it's the first time she's used a sewing machine. She did a really good job for her first attempt.
It was strange being home alone with Amber. She was looking around the house and saying, "Where is everyone else?" I thought David had told her they would be gone. Maybe she forgot? I asked what she wanted for dinner. She decided on Rice-a-Roni and ate almost a whole box by herself. Guess she was hungry.
Amber, Jarom and Cameron went trick-or-treating this year. Amber was a black, blue and silver fairy, Jarom was Inspector Clouseau and Cameron was a grim reaper/skeleton. They each got a big bag full of candy. I didn't monitor their candy eating this year. I think they've eaten almost all of it already.
Meagan thought she was too old to trick-or-treat, so she stayed home and helped me pass out candy. We ran out and had to go to the store for more. I think next year if we run out, we're going to just turn off the lights. We got between 190-200 trick-or-treaters this year. Usually we get about 150. Of course, this year the weather was really, really nice in our neighborhood. No snow or rain and it was a balmy 50 or 60 degrees.
One of the women at church on Sunday that has lived in this neighborhood probably 40 years said, "We didn't get many trick-or-treaters this year, did we?" I guess back when she moved in there were tons of kids that lived in the neighborhood. I can't imagine how many trick-or-treaters they used to get - maybe 400-500?
Meagan and I went to Lagoon with Becky and Dana on Saturday. It was fun. It had been so long since I'd been to Lagoon - probably 5 or 6 years. Maybe longer. The weather was perfect and the lines were short. Becky is so funny to go on rides with. She yelled and screamed and laughed so much that I started doing it too. I think a day at Lagoon was just what I needed.
David and I went and voted Tuesday morning. I thought we were going to have to wait in a long line for an hour or more. Nope. No line at all. Voting took us about 15 minutes, and that's only because there were so many things to vote on. I did vote for Obama, but let me tell you, I was so close to voting for Ralph Nader.
I really thought the electoral vote would be much closer - something like the 52% to 46% popular vote. I'm wondering if we shouldn't do away with the Electoral College? What exactly is its purpose? I was impressed with McCain's concession speech. It was extremely gracious. Maybe I don't dislike him so much after all? I guess we get to see now how well Obama keeps his campaign promises. If he keeps even half of them, I'll be happy. At least he does have congress on his side...
David says he's going to move to Canada. I said he can if he wants to, but I'm staying here. It's too cold in Canada for me.
Last night Meagan, Cameron, Jarom and David went to the Conference Center for a big "New Year's" Celebration. I guess they recorded it last night and they're going to distribute it on DVD for New Year's. David said it was really good. Cameron said it was good, but LONG. I guess it lasted from 6:30-9:00pm. That's kinda long. Maybe they'll edit it?
I didn't go because I couldn't get off work early enough to be there by 5:30 to be seated, and someone had to be at home with Amber. I picked her up from Activity Days where she made a bookbag. I think it's the first time she's used a sewing machine. She did a really good job for her first attempt.
It was strange being home alone with Amber. She was looking around the house and saying, "Where is everyone else?" I thought David had told her they would be gone. Maybe she forgot? I asked what she wanted for dinner. She decided on Rice-a-Roni and ate almost a whole box by herself. Guess she was hungry.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
MESA and White Boys
Wow, 2 posts in one day! I just have to write about this before I forget to.
About a month ago David, Cameron and I went to Cameron's Parent Teacher Conference. When he told his Physics teacher that he was interested in building a trebuchet, his teacher said, "You should join MESA, we're building trebuchets this year."
We were all stunned. "They won't let white boys join MESA," we said.
"Oh, that changed this year. A white boy wanted to join and took MESA to court, so now white boys can join," his teacher replied.
Interesting.
So, we go home and tell Jarom, our math whiz, "You can join MESA now. They're building trebuchets this year."
Jarom thought MESA and trebuchet building might be cool, so the next night at his Parent Teacher Conference, we talk to his Algebra teacher about it. She turns kind of pale and says, "Oh, no, white boys can't join MESA. If we allow any white boys to join MESA at the Jr. High our funding will be pulled."
So we tell her about the High School. "I only know what they told us at our meeting," she says. "If Jarom would like to join, he can write a note stating he would like to join and I can forward it to the district representative, but I can't promise you anything." Then she turns to Jarom, "MESA was created for populations that don't traditionally enter math and science professions. The club is mostly girls and hispanics. Are you sure you would even want to be in MESA?"
Jarom looks at her and says, "My friend Cody is in the club, that's why I want to join." Score one for Jarom. I was proud of him. His teacher didn't really know what to say to that.
One morning when I was driving Meagan, Cameron and Tyler to school, we were talking about white boys and MESA. Tyler, who is half white, but probably couldn't pass for it, says, "Have you looked around the High School lately? White boys ARE the minority!"
In the end, neither Jarom or Cameron joined MESA. Jarom didn't want to make waves and Cameron didn't get a parent's signature in time. Maybe next year.
About a month ago David, Cameron and I went to Cameron's Parent Teacher Conference. When he told his Physics teacher that he was interested in building a trebuchet, his teacher said, "You should join MESA, we're building trebuchets this year."
We were all stunned. "They won't let white boys join MESA," we said.
"Oh, that changed this year. A white boy wanted to join and took MESA to court, so now white boys can join," his teacher replied.
Interesting.
So, we go home and tell Jarom, our math whiz, "You can join MESA now. They're building trebuchets this year."
Jarom thought MESA and trebuchet building might be cool, so the next night at his Parent Teacher Conference, we talk to his Algebra teacher about it. She turns kind of pale and says, "Oh, no, white boys can't join MESA. If we allow any white boys to join MESA at the Jr. High our funding will be pulled."
So we tell her about the High School. "I only know what they told us at our meeting," she says. "If Jarom would like to join, he can write a note stating he would like to join and I can forward it to the district representative, but I can't promise you anything." Then she turns to Jarom, "MESA was created for populations that don't traditionally enter math and science professions. The club is mostly girls and hispanics. Are you sure you would even want to be in MESA?"
Jarom looks at her and says, "My friend Cody is in the club, that's why I want to join." Score one for Jarom. I was proud of him. His teacher didn't really know what to say to that.
One morning when I was driving Meagan, Cameron and Tyler to school, we were talking about white boys and MESA. Tyler, who is half white, but probably couldn't pass for it, says, "Have you looked around the High School lately? White boys ARE the minority!"
In the end, neither Jarom or Cameron joined MESA. Jarom didn't want to make waves and Cameron didn't get a parent's signature in time. Maybe next year.
Politics!
Why I'm voting for Barack Obama:
1- I went to http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm and checked out who I agree with most on the issues. Just click on the “2008 Presidential Vote Match Quiz” to find out who you agree with most.
2 - I would vote for Ralph Nader, except he is extremely anti-gun. I don't really love guns, but when people start messing with the Bill of Rights, that makes me very nervous. And, no, I don't think that voting for Ralph Nader would be a "throw away" vote. If people stopped thinking like that and would vote for whomever they think is the best candidate, politics in the USA would shift dramatically. While I'm on my soapbox, what's the deal with only allowing the Republican and Democratic nominees to debate. Isn't the US a free country??? All candidates should get equal time during the debates, regardless of how big their campaign fund is.
3 - Sarah Palin is just WAAYYY TOO SCARY! Sarah Palin for President (if anything happened to John McCain) -- ACK! Why is Sarah Palin scary? Road to Nowhere, TrooperGate, selling the Governer's tiny jet and then getting her own VEEP mega-jet. Everything she says would make her a good candidate is a lie. Of course, according to David they're ALL telling lies (McCain, Obama, Biden, Palin...) Which could, sadly enough, be very true. I'm hoping Obama will bring change – good change -- to Washington and the US.
4 - My mom and dad are voting for Obama, and I think they have very good judgment. Also, Colin Powell is supporting Obama. I would definitely vote for Powell if he were running!
While I'm talking politics, here's a question for you. What is the deal with raising so much money for Presidential Campaigns? A job that pays $400,000/year but you have to raise and spend MILLIONS of dollars just to compete? Does that make any sense at all? To quote Shakespeare, "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark."
When I was young and naive, I thought that people ran for President so they could help make the world a better place. Now I think they must do it for power, so they can get kickbacks and make sure the laws are/stay good for them and their pocketbook. Maybe it's watching Fahrenheit 9/11 that did it? Of course, I came to that conclusion BEFORE I watched the movie.
Lastly, I think that whoever becomes our next President should put Ralph Nader in charge of straightening out the Wall Street / Banking / Real Estate mess this country is in. Just look at what Nader has done for consumers in other areas. He’d be the perfect choice.
Now if I could just figure out who to vote for in all the local elections...
1- I went to http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm and checked out who I agree with most on the issues. Just click on the “2008 Presidential Vote Match Quiz” to find out who you agree with most.
2 - I would vote for Ralph Nader, except he is extremely anti-gun. I don't really love guns, but when people start messing with the Bill of Rights, that makes me very nervous. And, no, I don't think that voting for Ralph Nader would be a "throw away" vote. If people stopped thinking like that and would vote for whomever they think is the best candidate, politics in the USA would shift dramatically. While I'm on my soapbox, what's the deal with only allowing the Republican and Democratic nominees to debate. Isn't the US a free country??? All candidates should get equal time during the debates, regardless of how big their campaign fund is.
3 - Sarah Palin is just WAAYYY TOO SCARY! Sarah Palin for President (if anything happened to John McCain) -- ACK! Why is Sarah Palin scary? Road to Nowhere, TrooperGate, selling the Governer's tiny jet and then getting her own VEEP mega-jet. Everything she says would make her a good candidate is a lie. Of course, according to David they're ALL telling lies (McCain, Obama, Biden, Palin...) Which could, sadly enough, be very true. I'm hoping Obama will bring change – good change -- to Washington and the US.
4 - My mom and dad are voting for Obama, and I think they have very good judgment. Also, Colin Powell is supporting Obama. I would definitely vote for Powell if he were running!
While I'm talking politics, here's a question for you. What is the deal with raising so much money for Presidential Campaigns? A job that pays $400,000/year but you have to raise and spend MILLIONS of dollars just to compete? Does that make any sense at all? To quote Shakespeare, "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark."
When I was young and naive, I thought that people ran for President so they could help make the world a better place. Now I think they must do it for power, so they can get kickbacks and make sure the laws are/stay good for them and their pocketbook. Maybe it's watching Fahrenheit 9/11 that did it? Of course, I came to that conclusion BEFORE I watched the movie.
Lastly, I think that whoever becomes our next President should put Ralph Nader in charge of straightening out the Wall Street / Banking / Real Estate mess this country is in. Just look at what Nader has done for consumers in other areas. He’d be the perfect choice.
Now if I could just figure out who to vote for in all the local elections...
Monday, October 13, 2008
Cathedral of the Madeleine
Meagan and I went to her last religious service for her Humanities class yesterday morning. We got to the Cathedral of the Madeleine at about 8:15 am. The first Mass of the day started at 8:30 am. (Aren't you proud of me, mom?)
The Cathedral of the Madeleine is such a beautiful building. I have only been there once before and I remember it being really dark. This time it did not seem very dark at all. Maybe it was because I went in the morning instead of the evening? Maybe they restored the frescoes when they re-did the cathedral a few years ago? Anyway, the paintings on the walls and ceilings and the stained glass were bright, colorful and very pretty. Maybe I don't have to go to Europe to see beautiful cathedrals after all--although I'd still like to!
Meagan and I switched seats 3 times because we wanted to be able to see what was going on without being too conspicuous that we were visitors that didn't have much idea what was going on. I think we may have still been conspicuous, because we didn't stand up, sit down or join in with the congregation much. That, and there was only one other person sitting in the section we were in. Since we were obviously visitors, they didn't bring the collections basket around to us or come to us during the "Peace be unto you" part. That's ok, 'cuz I wasn't expecting it. The greeter at the door was friendly, though, and the Pastor welcomed all the visitors at the end of the service, so I guess it's ok that we were there.
The service lasted about 1 1/2 hours, which wasn't too bad, but near the end, those wooden benches were starting to get hard! They had all the robes and candles and crosses you'd expect, but no incense. That was ok with me, we got enough incense at the Hindu Temple. We were given a printed program when we walked in that had lyrics to the music the congregation sang and the general program, but since I am not familiar with Catholic Mass, I was a bit lost. Meagan kept telling me how similar it is like the Lutheran services she's been to with Tyler. I was glad the services were in English and not Latin.
One of the more interesting things that happened was that the Associate Pastor got up and said he was from a Diocese in southern India. According to him, about 85% of the people in India are Hindu and only 1-2% are Catholic. He's in the US collecting money to help the Tsunami orphans in his Diocese. He told us that the caste system in India is still very strong, even among Catholics. Apparently the upper caste does not associate with or help out the lower caste. That's sad. Then again, the woman at the Hindu Temple told us that when they offer milk to the mother goddess in India, they give the milk to the poor. Who can say? I thought it very interesting that both of the worship services we went to had something to do with India/Hinduism.
When we left, I had the feeling I had stepped back in time. If I had been alive 400 years ago, I suspect the building and religious service may have been very similar to what I had just experienced--except it probably would not have been in English. I suppose I have had many ancestors who were Catholic.
Anyway, that was the end of our religious excursions. It was interesting, but I'm glad it's done. Although I would still like to go to the Buddist Temple...
The Cathedral of the Madeleine is such a beautiful building. I have only been there once before and I remember it being really dark. This time it did not seem very dark at all. Maybe it was because I went in the morning instead of the evening? Maybe they restored the frescoes when they re-did the cathedral a few years ago? Anyway, the paintings on the walls and ceilings and the stained glass were bright, colorful and very pretty. Maybe I don't have to go to Europe to see beautiful cathedrals after all--although I'd still like to!
Meagan and I switched seats 3 times because we wanted to be able to see what was going on without being too conspicuous that we were visitors that didn't have much idea what was going on. I think we may have still been conspicuous, because we didn't stand up, sit down or join in with the congregation much. That, and there was only one other person sitting in the section we were in. Since we were obviously visitors, they didn't bring the collections basket around to us or come to us during the "Peace be unto you" part. That's ok, 'cuz I wasn't expecting it. The greeter at the door was friendly, though, and the Pastor welcomed all the visitors at the end of the service, so I guess it's ok that we were there.
The service lasted about 1 1/2 hours, which wasn't too bad, but near the end, those wooden benches were starting to get hard! They had all the robes and candles and crosses you'd expect, but no incense. That was ok with me, we got enough incense at the Hindu Temple. We were given a printed program when we walked in that had lyrics to the music the congregation sang and the general program, but since I am not familiar with Catholic Mass, I was a bit lost. Meagan kept telling me how similar it is like the Lutheran services she's been to with Tyler. I was glad the services were in English and not Latin.
One of the more interesting things that happened was that the Associate Pastor got up and said he was from a Diocese in southern India. According to him, about 85% of the people in India are Hindu and only 1-2% are Catholic. He's in the US collecting money to help the Tsunami orphans in his Diocese. He told us that the caste system in India is still very strong, even among Catholics. Apparently the upper caste does not associate with or help out the lower caste. That's sad. Then again, the woman at the Hindu Temple told us that when they offer milk to the mother goddess in India, they give the milk to the poor. Who can say? I thought it very interesting that both of the worship services we went to had something to do with India/Hinduism.
When we left, I had the feeling I had stepped back in time. If I had been alive 400 years ago, I suspect the building and religious service may have been very similar to what I had just experienced--except it probably would not have been in English. I suppose I have had many ancestors who were Catholic.
Anyway, that was the end of our religious excursions. It was interesting, but I'm glad it's done. Although I would still like to go to the Buddist Temple...
Monday, October 06, 2008
Hindu Temple Excursion
Meagan, her friend Netta and I went to the Hindu Temple in South Jordan yesterday. Their worship service/prayer started at 5:00 pm. We left right after the last session of General Conference and had enough time pick up Netta and make it to the temple about 20 minutes early. The Hindu Temple is tucked away on a dead end of a little back street. If you didn't have directions, you would never find it. It is interesting that you can see the steeple of the LDS Jordan River Temple from the Hindu Temple's parking lot. Wonder which was built first?
After trying to decide if we should go in 20 minutes early or not, we finally decided to go in at about 10 to, so the Hindu worshippers would not wonder why three white women were loitering in their parking lot. Meagan did call ahead, but did not tell the nice woman on the phone exactly which service we would be going to. Apparently they have worship services seven days a week.
We had to take our shoes off just outside the temple, so I was glad I wore slip-on shoes. There were sure a lot of shoes scattered outside the entryway. We tucked ours in a corner by a bench to make sure we'd be able to find them again. Everyone there except us looked like they were directly from India, which, I guess, is what you would expect. Most of the women wore beautiful elaborately decorated dresses. Other than the priests, most of the men wore slacks or levi's. The people who did talk to us were very nice and no one really stared at us or seemed to wonder too much who we were or why we where there. BTW, we were there because Meagan and Netta are taking a Concurrent Enrollment Humanities class through SLCC. They get college credit for it even though they are still in high school. Cool, huh?
The man we talked to just inside the entryway told us to go in and look around. They had a few little rooms (kitchen, etc) just off the entryway and one big room at the back with several shrines and a big open area with several large rugs on the floor. The temple is a Sri Ganesha Temple, so the main shrine is of Ganesh (the god with the elephant head). We looked around at all the shrines and the pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses on the back wall. Colorful flowers and lights and little oil lamps surrounded the shrines.
As we made our way around the Ganesh Shrine, we met a very friendly woman who explained what the symbols meant. There was a big mandala on the floor that looked like a sand drawing and had several unlit oil lamps on it. In the middle of the mandala was a big red circle with 9 white triangles inside it. It was actually an eight petaled lotus which was on top of a 32 petaled lotus. There were apples and bananas laid at the corners. Apparently food offerings?
The woman who was telling us about the symbols said that right now they are in the midst of a 9 day celebration honoring the mother goddess. I can't remember the name of the mother goddess, but she is the wife of Shiva and the mother of Ganesh (and all of us, according to their beliefs). Something about using 108 types flowers (or as many as they could find) to honor her. They did bless and toss a lot of flower petals while we were there.
At 5:00 they started what our guide said would be an hour long prayer. The prayer was in Sanskrit, so we could not understand a word they were saying. Two priests, one in red robes and one in white robes, chanted/sang the prayer. They had very good voices and it was quite soothing when they were singing. Some of the piped in music was not quite so soothing - drums and I don't know what other instruments.
Every once in a while the worshippers would join in or repeat what the priest in white robes was saying. People would come and go at random and some stayed the whole time. It was almost like an open house. Near the end of the prayer, which actually lasted an hour and a half, they lit a bunch of incense. They also lit a bunch of candles and all the oil lamps that were in and around the mandala. Meagan leaned over to me and said something about a fire hazard. We found out that the big black square coming from the ceiling we were sitting under was a big vent. I'm not sure if it was good or bad that we sat by it, but it was rather smokey.
I did find out they really do use yoga's prayer pose when they pray (at times) and some of the kneeling and bowing they did near the end reminded me of bits of the sun salutation. They used bells off and on - one hand held bell the priests used and a bigger bell that hung from the ceiling and had a long rope.
I could say a lot more, but I'm running out of time. I have never been to a non-Christian worship service before and it was totally different from what I am used to. I told Meagan it was interesting to go to, but I would probably not go back because the incense and repetitive chanting gave me a headache. I guess it's what you're used to, huh? I'm glad we live in a country where everyone can worship in the way that suits them best. Thank goodness for the Bill of Rights.
I had dreams about Hindu worship most of last night. Hmmm...
After trying to decide if we should go in 20 minutes early or not, we finally decided to go in at about 10 to, so the Hindu worshippers would not wonder why three white women were loitering in their parking lot. Meagan did call ahead, but did not tell the nice woman on the phone exactly which service we would be going to. Apparently they have worship services seven days a week.
We had to take our shoes off just outside the temple, so I was glad I wore slip-on shoes. There were sure a lot of shoes scattered outside the entryway. We tucked ours in a corner by a bench to make sure we'd be able to find them again. Everyone there except us looked like they were directly from India, which, I guess, is what you would expect. Most of the women wore beautiful elaborately decorated dresses. Other than the priests, most of the men wore slacks or levi's. The people who did talk to us were very nice and no one really stared at us or seemed to wonder too much who we were or why we where there. BTW, we were there because Meagan and Netta are taking a Concurrent Enrollment Humanities class through SLCC. They get college credit for it even though they are still in high school. Cool, huh?
The man we talked to just inside the entryway told us to go in and look around. They had a few little rooms (kitchen, etc) just off the entryway and one big room at the back with several shrines and a big open area with several large rugs on the floor. The temple is a Sri Ganesha Temple, so the main shrine is of Ganesh (the god with the elephant head). We looked around at all the shrines and the pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses on the back wall. Colorful flowers and lights and little oil lamps surrounded the shrines.
As we made our way around the Ganesh Shrine, we met a very friendly woman who explained what the symbols meant. There was a big mandala on the floor that looked like a sand drawing and had several unlit oil lamps on it. In the middle of the mandala was a big red circle with 9 white triangles inside it. It was actually an eight petaled lotus which was on top of a 32 petaled lotus. There were apples and bananas laid at the corners. Apparently food offerings?
The woman who was telling us about the symbols said that right now they are in the midst of a 9 day celebration honoring the mother goddess. I can't remember the name of the mother goddess, but she is the wife of Shiva and the mother of Ganesh (and all of us, according to their beliefs). Something about using 108 types flowers (or as many as they could find) to honor her. They did bless and toss a lot of flower petals while we were there.
At 5:00 they started what our guide said would be an hour long prayer. The prayer was in Sanskrit, so we could not understand a word they were saying. Two priests, one in red robes and one in white robes, chanted/sang the prayer. They had very good voices and it was quite soothing when they were singing. Some of the piped in music was not quite so soothing - drums and I don't know what other instruments.
Every once in a while the worshippers would join in or repeat what the priest in white robes was saying. People would come and go at random and some stayed the whole time. It was almost like an open house. Near the end of the prayer, which actually lasted an hour and a half, they lit a bunch of incense. They also lit a bunch of candles and all the oil lamps that were in and around the mandala. Meagan leaned over to me and said something about a fire hazard. We found out that the big black square coming from the ceiling we were sitting under was a big vent. I'm not sure if it was good or bad that we sat by it, but it was rather smokey.
I did find out they really do use yoga's prayer pose when they pray (at times) and some of the kneeling and bowing they did near the end reminded me of bits of the sun salutation. They used bells off and on - one hand held bell the priests used and a bigger bell that hung from the ceiling and had a long rope.
I could say a lot more, but I'm running out of time. I have never been to a non-Christian worship service before and it was totally different from what I am used to. I told Meagan it was interesting to go to, but I would probably not go back because the incense and repetitive chanting gave me a headache. I guess it's what you're used to, huh? I'm glad we live in a country where everyone can worship in the way that suits them best. Thank goodness for the Bill of Rights.
I had dreams about Hindu worship most of last night. Hmmm...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wow, I'ts Been Awhile!
I didn't realize how long it had been since I had posted. It has been a busy month. The kids are all back in school and settling down - especially Meagan, who is taking concurrent enrollment classes - which means she gets college credit for them. She is also getting ready to graduate. Ack! She brought home all of the graduation invitation and cap and gown stuff on Friday. I can't believe she's old enough for that.
I barely survived YW Camp and Youth Conference. Boy, am I glad they are over! We had YW Volleyball Kickoff on Saturday and that went well. I can't believe how much I stressed over bringing muffins and juice. I think in the end, we had 20, maybe 24 girls show up and probably a dozen other people between leaders and their kids. I was surprised at how unpopular the blueberry muffins and orange juice were. Everyone seemed to prefer the double chocolate muffins, poppyseed muffins and milk. Who knew? 3 dozen muffins would have been fine, but I bought 4 dozen. Better too much than not enough, I guess? I was glad I was in charge of refreshments and not the volleyball part of it, but that went well, too.
My kids thought it was great that there were leftover muffins. Unfortunately only Cameron likes blueberry. What is wrong with people? Blueberry muffins are my favorite - if I could eat them. When the kids came upstairs, they said, "Wow! Those are humongous muffins! We thought they would be regular size!" Yes, we do not buy muffins at Costco often, as you can tell. As it turned out, they each got 1 1/2 humongous muffins - except Cameron - he got 3.
Saturday afternoon, we took a big trailer full of junk to the dump. Old fences, old tire swing, logs from long dead trees, etc, etc. We had to turn back home half way to the dump because a downpour started and we didn't have jackets, and David forgot how far north the SL County Dump is. It was the first time I had ever been to the SL dump.
I remember going to the dump with my dad when I was little. I thought it was the most fantastic place on earth. BIG piles of garbage with bulldozers running through and over them, seagulls everywhere. It was kind of a let-down because the dump now is just a big cement gully with only one bulldozer running back and forth. I guess the real "dump" is somewhere else now. The birds are now on their own little islands in a big pond and not all over the garbage. There were seagulls and pelicans, though. David assures me that the SL Dump used to be just like the Bountiful Dump was when we were kids.
By the time we got to the dump, it was sunny, which was ok with me. Meagan and Amber stayed in the Suburban while the rest of us chucked garbage in the gully. Cameron was having the most fun, seeing how many pieces he could get old logs to shatter in to and lifting big chunks of fence over his head like the Incredible Hulk and tossing them in the pit. He got a stick to stand straight up in a big cardboard box on the other side of the gully. Jarom was having fun tossing things, too. I felt kinda sorry for the bulldozer guy. I'm glad they didn't hit him with a big piece of fence.
After we had tossed everything in the gully, Cameron noticed that it said on the post to put cardboard and metal in the recycle dumpsters behind us. I guess we know for next time. Oh, and all the logs? We could have put them in the huge recycle pile just out of site from the gully. So, if you're going to the SL County dump, there's a heads up for you. And it's just west of 5600 West on California Avenue, if you were wondering.
After that, we took our old (but still nice) bookcase headboard over to Holly and Gary. We have way too much stuff crammed into our bedroom and it just wasn't fitting. Cameron had to pull the headboard out of the trailer by himself, to prove he could do it. It must weight about 200 pounds. Meagan kept telling him to stop it or he'd get injured. Meagan, our medic. She knows way more about anatomy and injuries than I do.
The cats really liked the headboard. Not too long after it was set in place, the cats were laying on top of it. Katelyn says she's glad it's not her headboard, she doesn't want cats jumping on her in the middle of the night. After that, everyone had to try out the wii. David and the boys were enamored with the bowling. Meagan read her Alanna book. Amber and Katelyn goofed off. And I watched it all. Kyle even bowled with Cameron and Jarom. Wow.
I barely survived YW Camp and Youth Conference. Boy, am I glad they are over! We had YW Volleyball Kickoff on Saturday and that went well. I can't believe how much I stressed over bringing muffins and juice. I think in the end, we had 20, maybe 24 girls show up and probably a dozen other people between leaders and their kids. I was surprised at how unpopular the blueberry muffins and orange juice were. Everyone seemed to prefer the double chocolate muffins, poppyseed muffins and milk. Who knew? 3 dozen muffins would have been fine, but I bought 4 dozen. Better too much than not enough, I guess? I was glad I was in charge of refreshments and not the volleyball part of it, but that went well, too.
My kids thought it was great that there were leftover muffins. Unfortunately only Cameron likes blueberry. What is wrong with people? Blueberry muffins are my favorite - if I could eat them. When the kids came upstairs, they said, "Wow! Those are humongous muffins! We thought they would be regular size!" Yes, we do not buy muffins at Costco often, as you can tell. As it turned out, they each got 1 1/2 humongous muffins - except Cameron - he got 3.
Saturday afternoon, we took a big trailer full of junk to the dump. Old fences, old tire swing, logs from long dead trees, etc, etc. We had to turn back home half way to the dump because a downpour started and we didn't have jackets, and David forgot how far north the SL County Dump is. It was the first time I had ever been to the SL dump.
I remember going to the dump with my dad when I was little. I thought it was the most fantastic place on earth. BIG piles of garbage with bulldozers running through and over them, seagulls everywhere. It was kind of a let-down because the dump now is just a big cement gully with only one bulldozer running back and forth. I guess the real "dump" is somewhere else now. The birds are now on their own little islands in a big pond and not all over the garbage. There were seagulls and pelicans, though. David assures me that the SL Dump used to be just like the Bountiful Dump was when we were kids.
By the time we got to the dump, it was sunny, which was ok with me. Meagan and Amber stayed in the Suburban while the rest of us chucked garbage in the gully. Cameron was having the most fun, seeing how many pieces he could get old logs to shatter in to and lifting big chunks of fence over his head like the Incredible Hulk and tossing them in the pit. He got a stick to stand straight up in a big cardboard box on the other side of the gully. Jarom was having fun tossing things, too. I felt kinda sorry for the bulldozer guy. I'm glad they didn't hit him with a big piece of fence.
After we had tossed everything in the gully, Cameron noticed that it said on the post to put cardboard and metal in the recycle dumpsters behind us. I guess we know for next time. Oh, and all the logs? We could have put them in the huge recycle pile just out of site from the gully. So, if you're going to the SL County dump, there's a heads up for you. And it's just west of 5600 West on California Avenue, if you were wondering.
After that, we took our old (but still nice) bookcase headboard over to Holly and Gary. We have way too much stuff crammed into our bedroom and it just wasn't fitting. Cameron had to pull the headboard out of the trailer by himself, to prove he could do it. It must weight about 200 pounds. Meagan kept telling him to stop it or he'd get injured. Meagan, our medic. She knows way more about anatomy and injuries than I do.
The cats really liked the headboard. Not too long after it was set in place, the cats were laying on top of it. Katelyn says she's glad it's not her headboard, she doesn't want cats jumping on her in the middle of the night. After that, everyone had to try out the wii. David and the boys were enamored with the bowling. Meagan read her Alanna book. Amber and Katelyn goofed off. And I watched it all. Kyle even bowled with Cameron and Jarom. Wow.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Entertaining Olympic Quotes
I found these on msnbc.com. (Does that mean msn owns nbc, too? Probably!)
"At first, I couldn't stop touching (my jersey). I was like, 'Oh, my gosh! Is this mine? Are you sure it's real? The USA isn't going to fade into my sports bra, is it?' I still kind of look down and ask, 'Are you sure I'm supposed to have this?'"
-- Softball player Monica Abbott, on wearing the U.S. national jersey for the first time.
Yes. That would definitely be me - at least she's athletic, though.
"I think with her own family she's competitive, everybody. Like if she was racing for an ice cream cone with a little kid, she'd probably push the kid out of the way."
-- Beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor, on her teammate Kerri Walsh.
Wow. She sounds kinda mean. It's a good thing she has to stay on her own side of the net.
"It's very awkward and weird. I train six to eight hours a day to be the best athlete that I can be for my team and my country, and then people want to talk about my looks...I don't feel like a celebrity. I'm still just a little dork.
-- Softball player Jennie Finch, on her off-field fame.
I love that. She really is quite pretty, but she's a dork. Cool.
"It's the Olympics. If you can't get up to swim in the morning, don't go."
-- Swimmer Michael Phelps, on finals being scheduled for the morning, Beijing time.
Ain't that the truth. Meagan only swam competatively for one year and that was ALOT of early mornings!
It was funny watching swimming events with Meagan. She would critique all the swimmers' form and let us know how they could swim faster. She did have really good form though - her coach always used her as the example for the rest of the team - even though it was only her first year. If only it weren't for her bad knees. C'est la vie.
"At first, I couldn't stop touching (my jersey). I was like, 'Oh, my gosh! Is this mine? Are you sure it's real? The USA isn't going to fade into my sports bra, is it?' I still kind of look down and ask, 'Are you sure I'm supposed to have this?'"
-- Softball player Monica Abbott, on wearing the U.S. national jersey for the first time.
Yes. That would definitely be me - at least she's athletic, though.
"I think with her own family she's competitive, everybody. Like if she was racing for an ice cream cone with a little kid, she'd probably push the kid out of the way."
-- Beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor, on her teammate Kerri Walsh.
Wow. She sounds kinda mean. It's a good thing she has to stay on her own side of the net.
"It's very awkward and weird. I train six to eight hours a day to be the best athlete that I can be for my team and my country, and then people want to talk about my looks...I don't feel like a celebrity. I'm still just a little dork.
-- Softball player Jennie Finch, on her off-field fame.
I love that. She really is quite pretty, but she's a dork. Cool.
"It's the Olympics. If you can't get up to swim in the morning, don't go."
-- Swimmer Michael Phelps, on finals being scheduled for the morning, Beijing time.
Ain't that the truth. Meagan only swam competatively for one year and that was ALOT of early mornings!
It was funny watching swimming events with Meagan. She would critique all the swimmers' form and let us know how they could swim faster. She did have really good form though - her coach always used her as the example for the rest of the team - even though it was only her first year. If only it weren't for her bad knees. C'est la vie.
Friday, August 22, 2008
A Good Service Man is Worth His Weight in Gold
Our washing machine started making a horrible, metallic noise last Saturday. I thought that it was a belt or chain going out. Not sure what to do about it, I went online to see if I could find anything about d.y.i. washing machine repairs. I found an exploded drawing of our washing machine model. After looking at the pictures and the machine, we decided it was probably the bearings going out. It looked like it would be difficult to get to.
We were wondering if we should call in a repair person or just get a new machine. I went on-line again, this time to try to find a repair person to talk to. I found the Service Magic(tm?) website. They found me 3 repair companies in SLC. The first one called and said it would be $55 for someone to come out and look at the machine. From what I described, they said it was either the pump or the bearings. If it was the pump, it would cost about $140 to repair; if it was the bearings, it wasn't worth fixing. The second company said they would come out and look at my machine for $29.99. I went with the 2nd company, because if it wasn't worth fixing, I didn't want to spend $55 finding that out.
The service man was great! He showed up 5 minutes early, answered all my questions, had my washing machine fixed in less than 30 minutes and only charged me $100 to replace the pump in my washing machine - service call, parts and everything. That was $40 less than the other place! Thank goodness it was only the pump, and thank goodness I DID decide to get my washing machine checked instead of giving up on it! Meagan was happy, too, because she hadn't been able to wash any clothes in 4 days.
Oh, yeah - and word of advice - don't overload your washing machine or the bearings on it will wear out faster than they should. I asked about front load washers, because I've heard they're better for the environment (take less water, etc). Joe (the service guy) said they are really good at getting clothes clean, but very tempermental. Once you start a load, don't open the door! And if they break down, they're much more expensive to repair.
We were wondering if we should call in a repair person or just get a new machine. I went on-line again, this time to try to find a repair person to talk to. I found the Service Magic(tm?) website. They found me 3 repair companies in SLC. The first one called and said it would be $55 for someone to come out and look at the machine. From what I described, they said it was either the pump or the bearings. If it was the pump, it would cost about $140 to repair; if it was the bearings, it wasn't worth fixing. The second company said they would come out and look at my machine for $29.99. I went with the 2nd company, because if it wasn't worth fixing, I didn't want to spend $55 finding that out.
The service man was great! He showed up 5 minutes early, answered all my questions, had my washing machine fixed in less than 30 minutes and only charged me $100 to replace the pump in my washing machine - service call, parts and everything. That was $40 less than the other place! Thank goodness it was only the pump, and thank goodness I DID decide to get my washing machine checked instead of giving up on it! Meagan was happy, too, because she hadn't been able to wash any clothes in 4 days.
Oh, yeah - and word of advice - don't overload your washing machine or the bearings on it will wear out faster than they should. I asked about front load washers, because I've heard they're better for the environment (take less water, etc). Joe (the service guy) said they are really good at getting clothes clean, but very tempermental. Once you start a load, don't open the door! And if they break down, they're much more expensive to repair.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Whew!
Youth Conference is over, YW Camp is over, Cameron and Jarom are off at Scout Camp, Meagan and Cameron are registered for High School. BIG sigh of relief! Now all I have to do is get the kids ready for school - as in clothes. That will be ok except for Cameron, who hates clothes shopping with a passion.
Youth Conference was fun, but I am glad it's over. I have slept SO well the last few nights. Yesterday I got to work full time, which reminds me why I don't work full time. Between that and the busy weekend, I was exhausted. I came home, ate 1/2 pint of Ben & Jerry's and crawled in bed and didn't get up until 8:30 this morning. It was very nice.
This morning Meagan, David, Amber and I went to get Cameron and Meagan registered for school. We did mail-in registration, which was very nice because we only had to stand in line 5 minutes instead of 2 hours. David said, "Why did we never do mail-in registration before?" Meagan got her Senior pictures taken, too - and it was probably 1/4 of what it would have been had she gone in to the studio to get them taken. Good thing she was at camp the week of her appointment. She even liked how her pictures turned out, which is awesome. Digital photography is amazing, isn't it??
Youth Conference was fun, but I am glad it's over. I have slept SO well the last few nights. Yesterday I got to work full time, which reminds me why I don't work full time. Between that and the busy weekend, I was exhausted. I came home, ate 1/2 pint of Ben & Jerry's and crawled in bed and didn't get up until 8:30 this morning. It was very nice.
This morning Meagan, David, Amber and I went to get Cameron and Meagan registered for school. We did mail-in registration, which was very nice because we only had to stand in line 5 minutes instead of 2 hours. David said, "Why did we never do mail-in registration before?" Meagan got her Senior pictures taken, too - and it was probably 1/4 of what it would have been had she gone in to the studio to get them taken. Good thing she was at camp the week of her appointment. She even liked how her pictures turned out, which is awesome. Digital photography is amazing, isn't it??
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
American Idol - or Somethin'
Cameron and I have been playing Kailien's copy of American Idol. I had never played it before. It's kinda fun, 'cept now my throat is sore. I guess I'm gonna hafta have Becky teach me how to sing without injuring my vocal cords if I wanna keep playing. I actually did better than I thought I was gonna do.
Funny thing is, my favorite part is seeing if Simon's gonna say something really mean to me. Amazingly, he hasn't. When he does say something kinda mean, I just laugh. Know what else is funny? I sing way better on the songs women sang originally. For some reason that surprises me. And Cameron's favorite song to sing? Piano Man.
So...that's what I've been up to. That, and getting ready for Youth Conference - which I am really relieved that it is happening this weekend and it's all starting to come together. At least my part of it is. Yay!
Funny thing is, my favorite part is seeing if Simon's gonna say something really mean to me. Amazingly, he hasn't. When he does say something kinda mean, I just laugh. Know what else is funny? I sing way better on the songs women sang originally. For some reason that surprises me. And Cameron's favorite song to sing? Piano Man.
So...that's what I've been up to. That, and getting ready for Youth Conference - which I am really relieved that it is happening this weekend and it's all starting to come together. At least my part of it is. Yay!
Monday, July 21, 2008
76 Trombones in the Big Parade . . .
I really doubt there were more than a dozen! We all packed up Saturday morning and went to Jarom's last parade of the summer - the Days of '47 Youth Parade. It was a very warm day. It was supposed to get up to 100 degrees, I heard, but I'm not sure if it did. The good thing is that we found shade to sit in and we remembered to bring our chairs this time. I'm going to get the hang of this parade thing yet.
Did you know that the Days of '47 Youth Parade is the biggest youth parade in the country? That's what the announcer said. Longest running, too, I think.
When the Days of '47 Royalty drove past, Meagan and I were disappointed that they weren't wearing big funky, hoop-skirted dresses like they did in the 1947 Centennial Parade. We know, because the dresses are on display at the DUP musuem. To the best of my recollection, one of them was white with sequined seagulls and crickets on it, one was blue with beehives and bees and one was red with covered wagons. Maybe they'll break them out for the Bi-Centennial parade, huh? Instead, they were wearing boring black dresses.
I should upload photos of the parade. I remembered to bring the camera this time. Actually, David remembered. Holly and Katelyn were in the parade, too. I saw them, but they did not see me. I was going to look for them after the parade, but once we found Jarom, David and Cameron were hot and tired and ready to go, so we left.
Alot of the Stakes had cute ideas for dressing up their primary kids to march behind their float. One stake had everyone dressed up as apples with sock puppet worms sticking through a hole in the apple. Why do we think wormy apples are cute?? Holly's stake had their kids with fish hats - and Holly and other adults got to carry cloth waves. One had kids dressed up as pioneers, carrying picture frames. It's a good thing the parade route was fairly short, because some of the little kids were exhausted by the time they got to us. We sat at the end of the parade like we usually do.
We lucked out and got popsicles from the band. Mrs. McBeth begged us to take some because the parade organizers gave the band a ton of popsicles and they were melting. That was a nice end to a hot parade.
Jarom and most of the band went to Lagoon after the parade. Jarom hung around with his friends Todd and Laura at Lagoon, so that was good. I didn't want him to have to wander around Lagoon alone. After he got home, he slept for a long time. I was glad I didn't have to stay out in that heat, but if I were 13 I may have wanted to. Now Cameron, Jarom and Amber have all gone to Lagoon this summer. Poor Meagan.
Did you know that the Days of '47 Youth Parade is the biggest youth parade in the country? That's what the announcer said. Longest running, too, I think.
When the Days of '47 Royalty drove past, Meagan and I were disappointed that they weren't wearing big funky, hoop-skirted dresses like they did in the 1947 Centennial Parade. We know, because the dresses are on display at the DUP musuem. To the best of my recollection, one of them was white with sequined seagulls and crickets on it, one was blue with beehives and bees and one was red with covered wagons. Maybe they'll break them out for the Bi-Centennial parade, huh? Instead, they were wearing boring black dresses.
I should upload photos of the parade. I remembered to bring the camera this time. Actually, David remembered. Holly and Katelyn were in the parade, too. I saw them, but they did not see me. I was going to look for them after the parade, but once we found Jarom, David and Cameron were hot and tired and ready to go, so we left.
Alot of the Stakes had cute ideas for dressing up their primary kids to march behind their float. One stake had everyone dressed up as apples with sock puppet worms sticking through a hole in the apple. Why do we think wormy apples are cute?? Holly's stake had their kids with fish hats - and Holly and other adults got to carry cloth waves. One had kids dressed up as pioneers, carrying picture frames. It's a good thing the parade route was fairly short, because some of the little kids were exhausted by the time they got to us. We sat at the end of the parade like we usually do.
We lucked out and got popsicles from the band. Mrs. McBeth begged us to take some because the parade organizers gave the band a ton of popsicles and they were melting. That was a nice end to a hot parade.
Jarom and most of the band went to Lagoon after the parade. Jarom hung around with his friends Todd and Laura at Lagoon, so that was good. I didn't want him to have to wander around Lagoon alone. After he got home, he slept for a long time. I was glad I didn't have to stay out in that heat, but if I were 13 I may have wanted to. Now Cameron, Jarom and Amber have all gone to Lagoon this summer. Poor Meagan.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Camp & So Forth
Meagan and I survived yet another year of camp. It was Meagan's 6th year, so it was her last year and she was a YCL (youth camp leader). Camp was fun for the most part, and I enjoyed it, but it sure is alot of work when you're one of the leaders.
We transformed the Pavilion into "Heaven" by putting gauzy white material all around it (with a staple gun, white Japanese lanterns hanging from the rafters and white silk flowers on the tables. It really looked rather amazing.
The theme this year was "It's How You Play the Game" and each ward chose a different board game as their theme. Ours was the game of Life, but we didn't do much with it - we had enough to do with the Stake game and dinner, the service project, the skits, certification, visiting various wards and a spiritual hike that highlighted different people who were touched by Christ's life.
Meagan did all right until Thursday night (the last night) and I was pretty much ready to go home, too. It was SOOO cold at night and a cot is only so comfortable.
Jarom marched in the Ute Stampede Parade in Nephi the day Meagan and I got home from camp. He said the rodeo and parade were long and boring. At least he got the chance to experience it and decide if he liked it. It could have been that he didn't get home on the bus until 12:30 am Saturday morning. Apparently Jarom really likes Arby's because anytime the band stops at a group of restaurants to eat, that is always what he chooses. Maybe it's because they don't put condiments on their sandwiches - probably.
We transformed the Pavilion into "Heaven" by putting gauzy white material all around it (with a staple gun, white Japanese lanterns hanging from the rafters and white silk flowers on the tables. It really looked rather amazing.
The theme this year was "It's How You Play the Game" and each ward chose a different board game as their theme. Ours was the game of Life, but we didn't do much with it - we had enough to do with the Stake game and dinner, the service project, the skits, certification, visiting various wards and a spiritual hike that highlighted different people who were touched by Christ's life.
Meagan did all right until Thursday night (the last night) and I was pretty much ready to go home, too. It was SOOO cold at night and a cot is only so comfortable.
Jarom marched in the Ute Stampede Parade in Nephi the day Meagan and I got home from camp. He said the rodeo and parade were long and boring. At least he got the chance to experience it and decide if he liked it. It could have been that he didn't get home on the bus until 12:30 am Saturday morning. Apparently Jarom really likes Arby's because anytime the band stops at a group of restaurants to eat, that is always what he chooses. Maybe it's because they don't put condiments on their sandwiches - probably.
Monday, June 30, 2008
West Fest and Other Doings
We went to the West Fest Parade on Saturday morning to see Jarom march with the band. After the parade, the band played four songs at the park. My favorite was the Indiana Jones theme song. Jarom is getting to be quite the trumpter. After the band was done and Jarom got a snowcone, we went home. It was hot! I felt sorry for the people who had booths and had to stay at the park.
We went back again at about 9:30 pm to watch the fireworks. They started when we were still wandering around trying to find a place to sit. Fortunately, there just happened to be an empty spot on the lawn right where we were, so we sat down and watched the fireworks. We were so close, we had to lay on the grass to see most of the fireworks. I couldn't believe how much smoke there was - Meagan said it looked like a scene from a war movie, with all the smoke. Jarom and Meagan both got hit by ashes in their eyes. I think next year we will sit farther away. The fireworks were pretty, so it was worth it.
Yesterday we went to mom and dad's for Byron's baby blessing. It was nice to see so many people I had not seen in a long time. I didn't realize how long it had been since we went to mom and dad's church until Amber got out of the car and had no idea how to get to the chapel. It was nice seeing Byron and seeing Ray's parents and sister again (and Sondra). Ray has a very nice family - what I've met of them.
Last Sunday we went up to Mueller Park with the whole family, too. I love Mueller Park. It was nice to see that there is actually water in the creek this year.
We went back again at about 9:30 pm to watch the fireworks. They started when we were still wandering around trying to find a place to sit. Fortunately, there just happened to be an empty spot on the lawn right where we were, so we sat down and watched the fireworks. We were so close, we had to lay on the grass to see most of the fireworks. I couldn't believe how much smoke there was - Meagan said it looked like a scene from a war movie, with all the smoke. Jarom and Meagan both got hit by ashes in their eyes. I think next year we will sit farther away. The fireworks were pretty, so it was worth it.
Yesterday we went to mom and dad's for Byron's baby blessing. It was nice to see so many people I had not seen in a long time. I didn't realize how long it had been since we went to mom and dad's church until Amber got out of the car and had no idea how to get to the chapel. It was nice seeing Byron and seeing Ray's parents and sister again (and Sondra). Ray has a very nice family - what I've met of them.
Last Sunday we went up to Mueller Park with the whole family, too. I love Mueller Park. It was nice to see that there is actually water in the creek this year.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
I Finally Learned How to Spell Fahrenheit
As I type, Cameron is downstairs playing his powertour guitar he got for Christmas. Wow, an electronic toy that has lasted 6 months and he still likes it. I am getting tired of hearing the same songs over and over again, but he is getting pretty good at it. It's basically guitar hero, without the game system (ie, computer screen).
Let's see, what's happened since my last post? I watched Fahrenheit 9/11. You know, I don't think Michael Moore is as crazy as the media makes him out to be. His Oscar acceptance speech kinda a freaked me out, but if even half the stuff in Fahrenheit 9/11 is true, I can understand his outrage. I can also imagine that George W really hates Michael Moore.
Now that George W's presidency is winding down, we can look forward to a new president. Or not. One of the librarians when I was returning the dvd to the library was telling David and me that she heard that no matter who gets elected as president, they're gonna make George W look good. Scary. One thing is for sure, our government is corrupt. I used to think that US Presidents were in the job to help us, not for self-serving reasons. Oh, was I naive! I guess the only real question is, what do we do about it? I haven't come up with a good answer for that yet.
I would go in to the story of why I wanted to watch Fahrenheit 9/11 in the first place, but it is time for me to go to work. Suffice it to say, if you haven't seen the movie yet, it's eye-opening. And perhaps a bit one-sided. Moore never goes in to all the bad stuff Sadam Hussein did - genocide and all, but it makes one wonder, is Bush any better than Hussein? I do have to say, it is "R" rated for a reason - war scenes. I had to fast forward thru those. I could never be a soldier. Anyway, it's worth a watch. Thank God America is still a land where we are allowed freedom speech!
I do have to say that even with all its faults, I still love this country. There are still alot of good things about the US and many good people who live here. I hope that everyone all over the world can say that of their own country.
You know what else? No matter what happens, it is good to know that everything is in God's hands and everything is gonna turn out ok. I don't know who said this quote, but I like it: "Faith is not knowing what the future holds, but knowing who holds the future."
Let's see, what's happened since my last post? I watched Fahrenheit 9/11. You know, I don't think Michael Moore is as crazy as the media makes him out to be. His Oscar acceptance speech kinda a freaked me out, but if even half the stuff in Fahrenheit 9/11 is true, I can understand his outrage. I can also imagine that George W really hates Michael Moore.
Now that George W's presidency is winding down, we can look forward to a new president. Or not. One of the librarians when I was returning the dvd to the library was telling David and me that she heard that no matter who gets elected as president, they're gonna make George W look good. Scary. One thing is for sure, our government is corrupt. I used to think that US Presidents were in the job to help us, not for self-serving reasons. Oh, was I naive! I guess the only real question is, what do we do about it? I haven't come up with a good answer for that yet.
I would go in to the story of why I wanted to watch Fahrenheit 9/11 in the first place, but it is time for me to go to work. Suffice it to say, if you haven't seen the movie yet, it's eye-opening. And perhaps a bit one-sided. Moore never goes in to all the bad stuff Sadam Hussein did - genocide and all, but it makes one wonder, is Bush any better than Hussein? I do have to say, it is "R" rated for a reason - war scenes. I had to fast forward thru those. I could never be a soldier. Anyway, it's worth a watch. Thank God America is still a land where we are allowed freedom speech!
I do have to say that even with all its faults, I still love this country. There are still alot of good things about the US and many good people who live here. I hope that everyone all over the world can say that of their own country.
You know what else? No matter what happens, it is good to know that everything is in God's hands and everything is gonna turn out ok. I don't know who said this quote, but I like it: "Faith is not knowing what the future holds, but knowing who holds the future."
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
42 . . . The Answer to Life, the Universe & Everything - and My Age Now
So, now I'm 42. I wonder, was Douglas Adams 42 when he wrote "Hitchhiker's Guide"?
My Birthday was yesterday. I did most of my Birthday-ish stuff on Saturday. My cute sister Sheri made me a gluten-free birthday cake that was so yummy, Amber liked it better than she liked David's regular cake. I think Amber ate half of my cake all by herself. This was the first year in several that I have actually had a birthday cake and my attempt to blow out the candles was quite dismal. After the first try, I still had 3 candles lit. It's a good thing my cake didn't have 42 candles on it - just 13, enough to spell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
On Saturday night, David and I went to Panda Express for dinner. I love Panda Express because they have gluten free choices and never use MSG, so I don't have to remember to make a special request. We also went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. It was pretty good. I'd give it 3 out of 4 stars. Thank goodness it was better than "Temple of Doom," I don't like that movie - it's too gross. It was more along the lines of the 3rd Indy movie, but, unfortunately, no Sean Connery. I love Sean Connery and Harrison Ford together.
Mom, Dad and Sheri (and maybe David???) called last night and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. That was the highlight of my day!
My Birthday was yesterday. I did most of my Birthday-ish stuff on Saturday. My cute sister Sheri made me a gluten-free birthday cake that was so yummy, Amber liked it better than she liked David's regular cake. I think Amber ate half of my cake all by herself. This was the first year in several that I have actually had a birthday cake and my attempt to blow out the candles was quite dismal. After the first try, I still had 3 candles lit. It's a good thing my cake didn't have 42 candles on it - just 13, enough to spell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
On Saturday night, David and I went to Panda Express for dinner. I love Panda Express because they have gluten free choices and never use MSG, so I don't have to remember to make a special request. We also went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. It was pretty good. I'd give it 3 out of 4 stars. Thank goodness it was better than "Temple of Doom," I don't like that movie - it's too gross. It was more along the lines of the 3rd Indy movie, but, unfortunately, no Sean Connery. I love Sean Connery and Harrison Ford together.
Mom, Dad and Sheri (and maybe David???) called last night and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. That was the highlight of my day!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Musings on Life and Other Stuff
I was looking at my mom's blog and thinking it has been a very long time since she posted a blog, then I realized, it's been just as long since I have posted.
What a strange month May has been. A death in the family we NEVER expected. I was so sad Samuel passed away, I could barely sleep the night of his funeral. I can only imagine what Christopher and Christy are going through. Our prayers are with them.
It seems that the only thing you can really count on in life is that you never know what's gonna happen. I think that if we did know what was gonna happen, sometimes we would be too scared to go forward with life. Not that all of life is scary or sad, but some of it certainly is. The best thing, though, is to know that everything is in God's hands and it's all gonna turn out ok, even if we can't see right now how that could possibly be.
I have a favorite poem, don't know the author:
And God Said No
I asked God to take away my pride,
And God said, "No."
He said it was not for him to take away,
But for me to give up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole,
And God said, "No."
He said, "Her spirit is whole,
Her body is only temporary."
I asked God to grant me patience,
And God said, "No."
He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation,
It isn't granted, it's earned.
I asked God to give me happiness,
And God said, "No."
He said He gives me blessings,
Happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain,
And God said, "No."
He said suffereing draws you apart from worldly cares
And brings you closer to Me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow,
And God said, "No."
He said I must grow on my own,
But he will prune me to make me fruitful.
I asked God if He loved me,
And God said, "Yes."
He gave me His only Son, who died for me,
And I will be in heaven someday, because I believe.
I asked God to help me love others,
As much as He loves me.
And God said,
"Ah, finally you have the idea."
On a happier note, I got a mirror for our Crown Victoria at the Pick-N-Pull half price sale. It matches my car perfectly. The Pick-N-Pull guy was shocked that we found the right color. "That never happens," he said. I swear it was the only Crown Victoria in the whole lot that wasn't 1980's or older. There sure were a lot of Tauruses, though. Thanks to David, now our car has a lovely side view mirror and no dangly bare wires!
Also, Cameron had a very fun 15th Birthday Party on Saturday. Four of his friends came over Saturday afternoon and went to the fitness center with us. They played racquetball, fooseball, climbed the rock wall and swam. Afterwards, we came back home and ate pizza, cake and ice cream. I figured 1/2 pizza per person - I mean these are 15-year-old boys. Two of them were so full, they couldn't eat any cake or ice cream. Go figure.
Cameron has some funny friends. They had us laughing so hard, our faces hurt. I was glad when they went downstairs for awhile and gave us a rest. It was like having a comedy club in our kitchen.
What a strange month May has been. A death in the family we NEVER expected. I was so sad Samuel passed away, I could barely sleep the night of his funeral. I can only imagine what Christopher and Christy are going through. Our prayers are with them.
It seems that the only thing you can really count on in life is that you never know what's gonna happen. I think that if we did know what was gonna happen, sometimes we would be too scared to go forward with life. Not that all of life is scary or sad, but some of it certainly is. The best thing, though, is to know that everything is in God's hands and it's all gonna turn out ok, even if we can't see right now how that could possibly be.
I have a favorite poem, don't know the author:
And God Said No
I asked God to take away my pride,
And God said, "No."
He said it was not for him to take away,
But for me to give up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole,
And God said, "No."
He said, "Her spirit is whole,
Her body is only temporary."
I asked God to grant me patience,
And God said, "No."
He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation,
It isn't granted, it's earned.
I asked God to give me happiness,
And God said, "No."
He said He gives me blessings,
Happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain,
And God said, "No."
He said suffereing draws you apart from worldly cares
And brings you closer to Me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow,
And God said, "No."
He said I must grow on my own,
But he will prune me to make me fruitful.
I asked God if He loved me,
And God said, "Yes."
He gave me His only Son, who died for me,
And I will be in heaven someday, because I believe.
I asked God to help me love others,
As much as He loves me.
And God said,
"Ah, finally you have the idea."
On a happier note, I got a mirror for our Crown Victoria at the Pick-N-Pull half price sale. It matches my car perfectly. The Pick-N-Pull guy was shocked that we found the right color. "That never happens," he said. I swear it was the only Crown Victoria in the whole lot that wasn't 1980's or older. There sure were a lot of Tauruses, though. Thanks to David, now our car has a lovely side view mirror and no dangly bare wires!
Also, Cameron had a very fun 15th Birthday Party on Saturday. Four of his friends came over Saturday afternoon and went to the fitness center with us. They played racquetball, fooseball, climbed the rock wall and swam. Afterwards, we came back home and ate pizza, cake and ice cream. I figured 1/2 pizza per person - I mean these are 15-year-old boys. Two of them were so full, they couldn't eat any cake or ice cream. Go figure.
Cameron has some funny friends. They had us laughing so hard, our faces hurt. I was glad when they went downstairs for awhile and gave us a rest. It was like having a comedy club in our kitchen.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Can It Be?
Yes, it can be. I am blogging! Every time I blog it's an event, isn't it? It has been almost a month and I am finally posting. I should be asleep 'cuz I am very tired, but hey, I haven't gotten my internet quota for the week in and the week's almost over. What did we ever do before the internet?
Work has finally slowed down, thank goodness. Perhaps a bit too much, but I'll take the break. I don't think it will last long.
David has been having fun tearing apart the old trailer in our driveway. It was falling apart and his sister Kailien gave us a better one, so it's all good.
David and I have been cleaning up the house. Spring cleaning. I will be glad when it's done - but then, it's never REALLY done, is it? Maybe under control is a better way to put it.
Cameron and Jarom have been working on state reports for Quest. Cameron is doing Tennessee and Jarom is doing Texas. They didn't get to choose which states, they were assigned. Amber quizzed me all morning about state flowers, birds and trees. She thought it was funny that Delaware's state tree is the American Holly. Probably because she has an aunt named Holly. I couldn't figure out any other reason. Cameron found out that Tennessee's state flower is the iris. He was excited about that because it's his grandma's name.
We went to Heart of Hunter since my last post. I blogged it wrong - it was really in April, not May - oops! Only half as many people showed up as last year, but it was just as noisy. Sadly, the people did not quiet down for the performances. The kids were so cute and sang their hearts out. No smoke alarms this year. The Jazz Band was last on the program and 75% of the crowd had left by then. I guess everyone left as soon as their child performed. They should have had the Jazz Band play first - they were loud enough to drown out all the crowd noise.
Amber's Abravenel Hall Concert happened last Tuesday. The kids were cute, but it was a rather long show. Fourteen schools performed, 2 songs each. Probably 300 elementary school kids from Beaver performed. I can't believe they travelled that far to sing 2 songs! Amber's group sang "It's Ruff Being a Dog" and "Love in Any Language." I won't say more than that, because I don't want to give away what they did - just in case any of you want to attend Amber's May 28 concert. Yes, there REALLY is a concert on May 28 at 6:30 pm at the elementary school.
Meagan has been sewing up a storm lately. She sewed herself a totebag and then made one for me. She's also sewed a quillow. She's quite the seamstress! Everything she makes turns out really well.
I gotta say, I went to mom and dad's today and had some very good food. Sheri made a yummy vegetarian meatloaf and Becky made an awesome pie. I'll have to get the recipes for them both. It was also fun to see everyone.
Well, guess that's about it. Gotta go read scriptures and climb into bed.
Goodnight y'all!
BTW - did you see the comment on my last post? Nice comment, but I don't get it. Somebody in Brazil who sells notebook computers reads my blog? It's a small world after all?
Work has finally slowed down, thank goodness. Perhaps a bit too much, but I'll take the break. I don't think it will last long.
David has been having fun tearing apart the old trailer in our driveway. It was falling apart and his sister Kailien gave us a better one, so it's all good.
David and I have been cleaning up the house. Spring cleaning. I will be glad when it's done - but then, it's never REALLY done, is it? Maybe under control is a better way to put it.
Cameron and Jarom have been working on state reports for Quest. Cameron is doing Tennessee and Jarom is doing Texas. They didn't get to choose which states, they were assigned. Amber quizzed me all morning about state flowers, birds and trees. She thought it was funny that Delaware's state tree is the American Holly. Probably because she has an aunt named Holly. I couldn't figure out any other reason. Cameron found out that Tennessee's state flower is the iris. He was excited about that because it's his grandma's name.
We went to Heart of Hunter since my last post. I blogged it wrong - it was really in April, not May - oops! Only half as many people showed up as last year, but it was just as noisy. Sadly, the people did not quiet down for the performances. The kids were so cute and sang their hearts out. No smoke alarms this year. The Jazz Band was last on the program and 75% of the crowd had left by then. I guess everyone left as soon as their child performed. They should have had the Jazz Band play first - they were loud enough to drown out all the crowd noise.
Amber's Abravenel Hall Concert happened last Tuesday. The kids were cute, but it was a rather long show. Fourteen schools performed, 2 songs each. Probably 300 elementary school kids from Beaver performed. I can't believe they travelled that far to sing 2 songs! Amber's group sang "It's Ruff Being a Dog" and "Love in Any Language." I won't say more than that, because I don't want to give away what they did - just in case any of you want to attend Amber's May 28 concert. Yes, there REALLY is a concert on May 28 at 6:30 pm at the elementary school.
Meagan has been sewing up a storm lately. She sewed herself a totebag and then made one for me. She's also sewed a quillow. She's quite the seamstress! Everything she makes turns out really well.
I gotta say, I went to mom and dad's today and had some very good food. Sheri made a yummy vegetarian meatloaf and Becky made an awesome pie. I'll have to get the recipes for them both. It was also fun to see everyone.
Well, guess that's about it. Gotta go read scriptures and climb into bed.
Goodnight y'all!
BTW - did you see the comment on my last post? Nice comment, but I don't get it. Somebody in Brazil who sells notebook computers reads my blog? It's a small world after all?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
O Bla De, O Bla Dah . . .
Hi again. Work has been crazy, so I haven't been able to post there. I used to post on my breaks, but now I can't even really remember what a break is!
Jarom had his band concert this last Wednesday. Those Jr. High band kids were so cute! Jarom is in both Cadet Band and Jazz Band now. Kinda funny, since he didn't even really want to do band to start out with. Now he seems to be enjoying it. He got to go with the Jazz Band to the Band Festival on Thursday. He didn't get to play there - I guess there could only be a certain number of students playing each instrument? - maybe next year. He had fun anyway. Jarom plays the trumpet, if you were wondering. Cameron never got to be in the Jazz Band. I guess baritones are not very "jazzy."
Meagan is over at Kearns High School taking the ACT even as I type. Lucky her. I think she will be glad to get it over with. I walked in with her to help her find the correct classroom and make sure her graphing calculator was "legal" to use on the test. It was. The June ACT is the same day as the Scottish Festival, so she decided she'd better take it now. Can't miss the Scottish Festival!
I am typing all bundled up and with gloves on my hands. I just got back from standing outside in the wind for 2 hours. I'm freezing! Our Stake's YW had a soccer game this morning. I'm really glad Cindy is going next week instead of me. There were lots of YW who showed up - about 20, compared to last year's 5 - they seemed to have fun. I had to look up what pollens are out there. When I got home my eyes felt all goopy.
Cameron is in a Dance Concert Wednesday April 16 at 7 pm at the Jr. High, if anyone wants to come. I think it's $3 per person to get in. Cameron is really embarrassed about it, so I thought I would post about it. Aren't I a mean mom? Cameron is taking Social Dance right now and seems to be enjoying it. He tried to teach me the Waltz a month or so ago, without much success.
Hmmm . . . that only leaves Amber. What has she been up to? Reading me Nancy Drew books. Oh, yeah, did I mention she got a trophy in the Reflections Contest for writing? David and I didn't even know she had entered until she got the trophy. Sneaky, isn't she?
Amber has a Choir Concert at the Elementary School at 6:30 pm on Wed. May 28. She and Jarom will both be performing at Heart of Hunter Mon. May 28. It starts at 5pm, but I don't know when they'll be on the program. It's generally very crowded and noisy, but you get free hot dogs and potato chips. (You can only imagine how excited I am about that menu!)
David is addicted to the PS2 now. Thanks, Kailien. She gave us a PS2 for Christmas. David walked to and from Jarom's Band Concert on Wednesday. That shocked me. He didn't even pass out or anything. WOW.
Jarom had his band concert this last Wednesday. Those Jr. High band kids were so cute! Jarom is in both Cadet Band and Jazz Band now. Kinda funny, since he didn't even really want to do band to start out with. Now he seems to be enjoying it. He got to go with the Jazz Band to the Band Festival on Thursday. He didn't get to play there - I guess there could only be a certain number of students playing each instrument? - maybe next year. He had fun anyway. Jarom plays the trumpet, if you were wondering. Cameron never got to be in the Jazz Band. I guess baritones are not very "jazzy."
Meagan is over at Kearns High School taking the ACT even as I type. Lucky her. I think she will be glad to get it over with. I walked in with her to help her find the correct classroom and make sure her graphing calculator was "legal" to use on the test. It was. The June ACT is the same day as the Scottish Festival, so she decided she'd better take it now. Can't miss the Scottish Festival!
I am typing all bundled up and with gloves on my hands. I just got back from standing outside in the wind for 2 hours. I'm freezing! Our Stake's YW had a soccer game this morning. I'm really glad Cindy is going next week instead of me. There were lots of YW who showed up - about 20, compared to last year's 5 - they seemed to have fun. I had to look up what pollens are out there. When I got home my eyes felt all goopy.
Cameron is in a Dance Concert Wednesday April 16 at 7 pm at the Jr. High, if anyone wants to come. I think it's $3 per person to get in. Cameron is really embarrassed about it, so I thought I would post about it. Aren't I a mean mom? Cameron is taking Social Dance right now and seems to be enjoying it. He tried to teach me the Waltz a month or so ago, without much success.
Hmmm . . . that only leaves Amber. What has she been up to? Reading me Nancy Drew books. Oh, yeah, did I mention she got a trophy in the Reflections Contest for writing? David and I didn't even know she had entered until she got the trophy. Sneaky, isn't she?
Amber has a Choir Concert at the Elementary School at 6:30 pm on Wed. May 28. She and Jarom will both be performing at Heart of Hunter Mon. May 28. It starts at 5pm, but I don't know when they'll be on the program. It's generally very crowded and noisy, but you get free hot dogs and potato chips. (You can only imagine how excited I am about that menu!)
David is addicted to the PS2 now. Thanks, Kailien. She gave us a PS2 for Christmas. David walked to and from Jarom's Band Concert on Wednesday. That shocked me. He didn't even pass out or anything. WOW.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Just When You Thought I'd Never Blog Again
It's been awhile, hasn't it?
Everything kind of blew up in my face the end of December, thus, no blogs for 2 months.
Georgia quit - and work has been interesting, to say the least. Not in a good way, unfortunately. I've been stressing out about work much more than I used to. I think it's time for a new job. OK, I KNOW it's time for a new job, it's just getting around to doing it.
Also, all of the chaos associated with Christmas when you have four kids at home. And, last but not least, my beloved kinesiologist moving out of state. I do believe I've had my last appointment with her. >sob< But this too shall pass and I will learn to cope and move on.
Also, President Hinckley dying was sad. Probably not for him, but for the rest of us. He was (and is) such a good person. I loved his kindness, his sense of humor and his optimism. I wanna be like him when I grow up. I will miss hearing his talks at General Conference. President Monson is cool, too, though. I'm sure I will grow to love him as much as I did President Hinckley. God always leaves us in good hands.
Oh, yeah, and Jarom turned 13. Can you believe it? Now I have 3 teenagers. They are all wonderful children and I am glad they are mine. Only one left to go - and by the time Amber becomes a teenager, Meagan won't be anymore.
Last, but not least, Becky had her baby. I have yet to see him in person, but from his photos, he looks adorable. Soon. I am glad for Becky that the labor bit is over with.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. I found this website that has a test to see what kind of job you would have been good at in the Middle Ages. Me - it says I would be a "Storyteller - Minstrel." Since I am not very musical, I'll stick with "Storyteller" - I think that suits me.
If you want to take it, go to:
www.kingdomality.com
FUN!
Everything kind of blew up in my face the end of December, thus, no blogs for 2 months.
Georgia quit - and work has been interesting, to say the least. Not in a good way, unfortunately. I've been stressing out about work much more than I used to. I think it's time for a new job. OK, I KNOW it's time for a new job, it's just getting around to doing it.
Also, all of the chaos associated with Christmas when you have four kids at home. And, last but not least, my beloved kinesiologist moving out of state. I do believe I've had my last appointment with her. >sob< But this too shall pass and I will learn to cope and move on.
Also, President Hinckley dying was sad. Probably not for him, but for the rest of us. He was (and is) such a good person. I loved his kindness, his sense of humor and his optimism. I wanna be like him when I grow up. I will miss hearing his talks at General Conference. President Monson is cool, too, though. I'm sure I will grow to love him as much as I did President Hinckley. God always leaves us in good hands.
Oh, yeah, and Jarom turned 13. Can you believe it? Now I have 3 teenagers. They are all wonderful children and I am glad they are mine. Only one left to go - and by the time Amber becomes a teenager, Meagan won't be anymore.
Last, but not least, Becky had her baby. I have yet to see him in person, but from his photos, he looks adorable. Soon. I am glad for Becky that the labor bit is over with.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. I found this website that has a test to see what kind of job you would have been good at in the Middle Ages. Me - it says I would be a "Storyteller - Minstrel." Since I am not very musical, I'll stick with "Storyteller" - I think that suits me.
If you want to take it, go to:
www.kingdomality.com
FUN!
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