OK, really, it's just taxes. I am REALLY tired today, so maybe the "death" kind of applies...
I finished my taxes and mailed them in today. Yay! We're getting a big refund. Double yay!
I even helped Meagan with her taxes. We were confused by the phrase, "Can anyone else claim you on their taxes?" Well, yes, but they're not going to, so what then? We had to call Dad/Grandpa and ask him. He said if no one else is going to claim you as a dependent, then answer that question "No." That gave her a refund, rather than having to pay and didn't make a bit of difference in our refund.
I went to Amber's SEP Conference and both of her teachers agreed that Amber is a wonderful girl and student. They said she's kind, friendly, polite, smart and gets along well with the other students. She got straight A's and they're impressed she chooses difficult books for her book reports.
Amber finished reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" yesterday. I didn't read that 'til Jr. High, and then only when my teacher made us read it. Amber and I discussed "Mockingbird" last night - because I stole the book from her over the weekend and read the first several chapters before she realized I had taken it. The kids hate it when I take over their books. Don't they know if there's an interesting new book in the house, I HAVE to read it? It's an obligation.
David and I took the Crown in for Safety and I/M today. It passed I/M, but the rear brakes had to be repaired. I didn't even hear them scraping - I guess it's a good thing we got them checked. Luckily, I got paid yesterday, so we had the money for it.
Cameron volunteered to help us grocery shop. What did we do to deserve such a great kid? He was a BIG help.
After we got home I cooked chicken, rice, cauliflower and broccoli for dinner. I managed to burn the rice a little. Yummmm . . . crunchy rice. I'm exhausted. Perhaps I should go to bed?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Movies & Magazines
Saturday morning our entire family cleaned the house. I didn't even have to talk the kids into it. David was the only one who complained about it. "What?! Who decided I was going to clean a bathroom?" But, to his credit, he did it anyway. He huffed and puffed most of the time and acted like he was going to die, but he did it.
I began wonder if maybe I shouldn't have assigned him a bathroom. I don't know why he got down on his hands and knees to clean the floor. We do have a mop, I reminded him. But, the bathroom is clean and the house is clean and it feels great!
OK, it's not totally clean, but it's way cleaner than it's been in a very long time. We're kinda slovenly around here... The good news is that I intermittently have more energy and actually feel like cleaning the house. Plus, six people cleaning goes way faster than one person cleaning the house!
As a reward, we went to see The Blind Side. No one wanted to see the movie but me, but it was the only decent (ie, not weird or R-rated) movie playing at the dollar theater. We could have gone to HC and seen a first run movie, but on the weekend we can't get in for free, which is pretty close to the price I'm willing to pay.
We got to the theater about 20 minutes after the movie started. I had to scrub just one more cupboard in the kitchen, plus I got my edited Institute of Children's Literature (ICL) assignment in the mail and had to read it. The suspense of not knowing my instructor's response would have killed me! I read somewhere that writers go from thinking they've written the most brilliant poem/story/article to thinking it's crap in about the space of 60 seconds. That pretty well sums it up. Especially for aspiring writers who aren't really sure what they're doing.
After searching in the dark a bit, we found six seats mostly together in the packed theater. I'm used to watching a half hour of previews on a weekday in a sparsely populated theater at HC. The movie had already started, but we only missed the first five or ten minutes. The kids laughed and oohed and aahed at all the right times. David seemed to like it, too. It was refreshing to go to an uplifting, inspiring movie all of us enjoyed that didn't have any shudder inducing moments. Well, not the kind of shudder that made me want to cover my kids' eyes or ears.
When we got up to leave, they all said, "That was a lot better than I thought it was going to be."
If you're not familiar with the movie, it's based on a true story about a homeless black teen named Michael. He's attending an expensive private school because he's huge and the football coach has plans for him. After school volleyball games, he goes through the stands and picks up all the leftover popcorn bags so he'll have something to eat. He washes his one spare pair of pants in the sink at the laundromat then finds a dryer that's already running to put his wet pants in because he doesn't have any money.
A wealthy white family notices him and takes him in. Their daughter and son attend the same private school. The actor who plays the son reminds me of a young Macaulay Culkin. The actor who plays Michael reminds me of Katelyn. He's quiet, kind and funny - and likes to cover his face a lot. He looks enough like Katelyn that he could pass as her brother. Sandra Bullock plays Mrs. Touhy, the mom. You probably already know that, since she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for her performance. If you want to know the rest of the story, you'll have to go see the movie - which I highly recommend.
Anyway, back to my edited ICL assignment. Shockingly, my instructor said the article I wrote was really strong and is almost ready to be sent out to publishers. I didn't expect that. Wow. I guess my next step is to polish it up a little, write a query letter and start sending it out to magazines. That, and write assignment #4.
This morning Amber and I went to talk to her 7th grade counselor. I almost forgot about it, so from the time Amber and I got up we had 15 minutes to get ready and get to the school. That's the fastest we've moved in a long time. The only change Amber made to her schedule was taking French instead of music and an extra semester of art. She's taking choir, so it's OK. The counselor asked Amber what she'd like her career to be when she grows up. Amber told her "a fantasy author." I think it runs in the family. That and art.
Meagan's on Spring Break, so she's got the whole week off. I don't think she's running off to Fort Lauderdale or anything. If she is, she hasn't told me about it. The other kids don't have Spring Break until the first of April. Odd.
OK, I've put it off long enough. I'm gonna get off the computer and do my taxes. I can't believe Becky actually enjoys doing taxes. What is wrong with her? Maybe she should work for H&R Block or something.
I began wonder if maybe I shouldn't have assigned him a bathroom. I don't know why he got down on his hands and knees to clean the floor. We do have a mop, I reminded him. But, the bathroom is clean and the house is clean and it feels great!
OK, it's not totally clean, but it's way cleaner than it's been in a very long time. We're kinda slovenly around here... The good news is that I intermittently have more energy and actually feel like cleaning the house. Plus, six people cleaning goes way faster than one person cleaning the house!
As a reward, we went to see The Blind Side. No one wanted to see the movie but me, but it was the only decent (ie, not weird or R-rated) movie playing at the dollar theater. We could have gone to HC and seen a first run movie, but on the weekend we can't get in for free, which is pretty close to the price I'm willing to pay.
We got to the theater about 20 minutes after the movie started. I had to scrub just one more cupboard in the kitchen, plus I got my edited Institute of Children's Literature (ICL) assignment in the mail and had to read it. The suspense of not knowing my instructor's response would have killed me! I read somewhere that writers go from thinking they've written the most brilliant poem/story/article to thinking it's crap in about the space of 60 seconds. That pretty well sums it up. Especially for aspiring writers who aren't really sure what they're doing.
After searching in the dark a bit, we found six seats mostly together in the packed theater. I'm used to watching a half hour of previews on a weekday in a sparsely populated theater at HC. The movie had already started, but we only missed the first five or ten minutes. The kids laughed and oohed and aahed at all the right times. David seemed to like it, too. It was refreshing to go to an uplifting, inspiring movie all of us enjoyed that didn't have any shudder inducing moments. Well, not the kind of shudder that made me want to cover my kids' eyes or ears.
When we got up to leave, they all said, "That was a lot better than I thought it was going to be."
If you're not familiar with the movie, it's based on a true story about a homeless black teen named Michael. He's attending an expensive private school because he's huge and the football coach has plans for him. After school volleyball games, he goes through the stands and picks up all the leftover popcorn bags so he'll have something to eat. He washes his one spare pair of pants in the sink at the laundromat then finds a dryer that's already running to put his wet pants in because he doesn't have any money.
A wealthy white family notices him and takes him in. Their daughter and son attend the same private school. The actor who plays the son reminds me of a young Macaulay Culkin. The actor who plays Michael reminds me of Katelyn. He's quiet, kind and funny - and likes to cover his face a lot. He looks enough like Katelyn that he could pass as her brother. Sandra Bullock plays Mrs. Touhy, the mom. You probably already know that, since she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for her performance. If you want to know the rest of the story, you'll have to go see the movie - which I highly recommend.
Anyway, back to my edited ICL assignment. Shockingly, my instructor said the article I wrote was really strong and is almost ready to be sent out to publishers. I didn't expect that. Wow. I guess my next step is to polish it up a little, write a query letter and start sending it out to magazines. That, and write assignment #4.
This morning Amber and I went to talk to her 7th grade counselor. I almost forgot about it, so from the time Amber and I got up we had 15 minutes to get ready and get to the school. That's the fastest we've moved in a long time. The only change Amber made to her schedule was taking French instead of music and an extra semester of art. She's taking choir, so it's OK. The counselor asked Amber what she'd like her career to be when she grows up. Amber told her "a fantasy author." I think it runs in the family. That and art.
Meagan's on Spring Break, so she's got the whole week off. I don't think she's running off to Fort Lauderdale or anything. If she is, she hasn't told me about it. The other kids don't have Spring Break until the first of April. Odd.
OK, I've put it off long enough. I'm gonna get off the computer and do my taxes. I can't believe Becky actually enjoys doing taxes. What is wrong with her? Maybe she should work for H&R Block or something.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Here Comes the Sun
Today was Jarom's last day at his job shadow. Steve was cool and let Jarom help him make stuff and run errands with him. Jarom's sad it's over.
Sheri and I went to writing group again this week. Mrs. Bean had so much stuff to look at we had hardly any time to really look things over. Booklets of poetry, recipe books, life stories, all sorts of booklets. Most of the other people looked at the poetry. Sheri and I were oohing and aahing over the typefaces, hand stitched bindings and crinkly handmade paper with dried flowers and juniper "leaves" pressed into it. And the full bleed recipe book with color photos. Are we graphics geeks or what?
I did read a few of the poems and writings. One of the stories I liked the best was about a woman who - I can't remember her name - LeeAnn maybe? Anyway, when she got a copy of her birth certificate years later, she noticed the Dr. had written "Gertrude" as her name. Later she discovered he was drunk when he filled out the birth certificate.
Mrs. Bean told a sad story about one of her favorite students. He was in her junior English class several years ago. The summer after his junior year, he drowned in Bear Lake. She had collected his poems over the school year and presented them to his Dad when she found out about his death. His Dad was so excited to have something that represented his son's thoughts and feelings that he made a booklet of the poems and handed them out at the viewing. Wow. How sad, but how great that Mrs. Bean had that to give him.
What's the deal with people dying over summer vacation? My friend Paul and my favorite math teacher both died the summer after my sophomore year. Too bad our English teacher didn't have us write poetry. Maybe Paul's dad could have made a booklet. Who knows what's going to happen, though?
Meagan and I went to the RS Birthday party on Wednesday. We were only an hour late. I thought we weren't going. The next thing I know, Meagan is all ready to go, so we went anyway. They actually had food I could eat - meatballs, rice and green salad. They had vanilla ice cream, too, which I ate even though I shouldn't have. For me, going to dinner parties is like walking into a minefield.
We get to sign Amber up for 7th grade next week. Wow. No more kids in elementary school. We've had kids in elementary school for the last 16 years. This is going to be weird.
Amber wanted to walk home from school today. I told her she couldn't unless she had someone to walk with. "But Mom, I need exercise!" she replied. She's right about that. Don't we all? Maybe Amber and I will have to start walking together now that the weather is warming up - which I'm really excited about!
Sheri and I went to writing group again this week. Mrs. Bean had so much stuff to look at we had hardly any time to really look things over. Booklets of poetry, recipe books, life stories, all sorts of booklets. Most of the other people looked at the poetry. Sheri and I were oohing and aahing over the typefaces, hand stitched bindings and crinkly handmade paper with dried flowers and juniper "leaves" pressed into it. And the full bleed recipe book with color photos. Are we graphics geeks or what?
I did read a few of the poems and writings. One of the stories I liked the best was about a woman who - I can't remember her name - LeeAnn maybe? Anyway, when she got a copy of her birth certificate years later, she noticed the Dr. had written "Gertrude" as her name. Later she discovered he was drunk when he filled out the birth certificate.
Mrs. Bean told a sad story about one of her favorite students. He was in her junior English class several years ago. The summer after his junior year, he drowned in Bear Lake. She had collected his poems over the school year and presented them to his Dad when she found out about his death. His Dad was so excited to have something that represented his son's thoughts and feelings that he made a booklet of the poems and handed them out at the viewing. Wow. How sad, but how great that Mrs. Bean had that to give him.
What's the deal with people dying over summer vacation? My friend Paul and my favorite math teacher both died the summer after my sophomore year. Too bad our English teacher didn't have us write poetry. Maybe Paul's dad could have made a booklet. Who knows what's going to happen, though?
Meagan and I went to the RS Birthday party on Wednesday. We were only an hour late. I thought we weren't going. The next thing I know, Meagan is all ready to go, so we went anyway. They actually had food I could eat - meatballs, rice and green salad. They had vanilla ice cream, too, which I ate even though I shouldn't have. For me, going to dinner parties is like walking into a minefield.
We get to sign Amber up for 7th grade next week. Wow. No more kids in elementary school. We've had kids in elementary school for the last 16 years. This is going to be weird.
Amber wanted to walk home from school today. I told her she couldn't unless she had someone to walk with. "But Mom, I need exercise!" she replied. She's right about that. Don't we all? Maybe Amber and I will have to start walking together now that the weather is warming up - which I'm really excited about!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
My Kids are Awesome!
But I already knew that. David and I went with Cameron and Jarom to Parent-Teacher Conferences last week. It was nice going from teacher to teacher and hearing what great, smart, kind, wonderful kids we have. The teachers love having both of them in their classes.
Jarom won Crusader of the Month. Mrs. McBeth has nominated him a couple of times before. At PT Conf she told him, "I hope you win it this month, because of all my students you deserve it the most. Not only are you a great student, you are an all-around great kid!"
Cameron, Jarom, David and I went to the temple yesterday and did baptisms for the dead. It had been a few months since I last went to the temple. I really need to go more often. David and I want to start going at least once a month. So, if anyone wants to go with us, let us know. It is so peaceful and calm at the temple. I feel so much better after going there for a couple of hours.
Meagan and Amber went roller skating with Becky yesterday. I think Meagan had more fun than Amber did. Amber said she fell down about 5 times. I think that's the first time she's ever gone roller skating. Wonder if she'll go again? She was brave to try.
Meagan also bought a new cell phone she can take pictures with. She's been wanting one for awhile, but had to wait until she'd had her phone for a year so she could get a $50 credit for turning in her old one.
Jarom won Crusader of the Month. Mrs. McBeth has nominated him a couple of times before. At PT Conf she told him, "I hope you win it this month, because of all my students you deserve it the most. Not only are you a great student, you are an all-around great kid!"
Cameron, Jarom, David and I went to the temple yesterday and did baptisms for the dead. It had been a few months since I last went to the temple. I really need to go more often. David and I want to start going at least once a month. So, if anyone wants to go with us, let us know. It is so peaceful and calm at the temple. I feel so much better after going there for a couple of hours.
Meagan and Amber went roller skating with Becky yesterday. I think Meagan had more fun than Amber did. Amber said she fell down about 5 times. I think that's the first time she's ever gone roller skating. Wonder if she'll go again? She was brave to try.
Meagan also bought a new cell phone she can take pictures with. She's been wanting one for awhile, but had to wait until she'd had her phone for a year so she could get a $50 credit for turning in her old one.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Olympic Colds and Other Stuff
What have I been doing the last month? Getting over a cold. Our whole family had colds and we missed "Family Home Eating" a week ago. The kids was bery sad. Mee two.
Mom ended up in the hospital with chest pains. It was acid reflux, not a heart attack, thank goodness. I didn't know acid reflux could get bad enough to make a person pass out. I'm glad she's feeling better now!
Becky told me that David is signing up for the Navy. That kinda surprised me. My boss told me he was in the Navy 4 years and loved it, so that made me feel better. That, and the Navy probably won't end up in Iraq or Afghanistan, since they hang out in the water, not the sand. Becky thinks David chose the Navy because of the Village People song.
I mailed in my third ICL assignment a couple of weeks ago. I wrote about beavers and how they use their teeth to chop down trees and build dams and so on.
I don't know what to do with myself in the evening now that the Olympics are over. I like watching all sorts of different sports. I didn't watch much curling. That is one weird sport. Why is it called curling? I watched figure skating, speed skating, ice dancing, snowboarding, nordic skiing, cross country skiing and ski jumping - cuz that's what they showed on prime time. I watched bobsled a bit, too.
Maybe my favorite part of the Olympics is hearing the different names of athletes from all around the world.
I tried watching the Closing Ceremonies, but it was boring. I didn't watch the Opening Ceremonies, so I can't comment on that.
David watched the end of the hockey game yesterday. I wasn't too sad we didn't win gold. Maybe I'm not very competitive? I think silver's still pretty good and I don't really care that much about hockey. Maybe because Amber got lost at a hockey game when she was 3? That may be it. And every time a fight broke out, I was in the lobby. I mean, really, why else would I go to a hockey game?
David watched the Stanley Cup while I gave birth to Amber. She refused to come out until the game was over. Just as they were awarding the trophy, she was finally born. Maybe she doesn't like hockey either?
OK, here's what the fam's up to:
David - and I used the Market Street Grill gift certificate I got for Christmas. We were debating blowing the entire $75 all at once or stretching it out over 2 meals. It was crab fest, so we blew it all at 1 meal. No wonder we only go there if I get a gift certificate. The crab was really good (I got snow, king and dungeness) but the clam chowder was my favorite. I was bad and even ate the potatoes (gasp!). David got the fisherman's platter with shrimp, scallops, halibut and kalamari. He also got the stuffed mushrooms.
David actually cleaned up his side of the bedroom. Wow. I guess I'm going to have to clean up my side tomorrow. Somehow anything in the house I don't know where to put ends up on my side of the bedroom.
Meagan - is having uber fun with the cadavers in her anatomy lab. She comes home and complains about them. I was going to go into the gory details, but then I remembered Mom will probably read this, so I will spare you. Meagan doesn't talk about chemistry or communications much, mostly anatomy and her gym class (stretch and tone).
Meagan helped me teach the 8-10 year old primary class a couple of weeks ago. Actually, she was moral support. The kids were cute and it went pretty well. We talked about Enoch. They were amazed that people used to live to be 900 years old. That is amazing. I can't imagine living that long. The whole Enoch story is pretty amazing. Did you know the Old Testament tells about Enoch in 4 verses? The Pearl of Great Price version is about 130 verses long.
Cameron - signed up for his Senior year. I talked him into taking Choir. He likes to sing, so I think he'll enjoy it. He's also taking the 3-D Animation portfolio class and C# programming. Right now he's taking Creative Writing. He says they're writing poetry and he's good at writing poetry. He has yet to show me any.
Cameron is so sweet. He scrapes the ice off the car windows for me in the morning and always gives me a hug before he hops out of the car and heads in to school. I love that!
Jarom - is signing up for 10th grade. I think he's taking Band instead of French 2. He wanted to take both, but Band is easier and he's already taking a bunch of tough classes.
Jarom is doing his job shadow. I think he likes his job shadow better than Cameron liked his. Jarom hangs around with Steve (who I used to work with) and sets stuff up for testing. Testing what, I'm not quite sure. Explosives? I know they do military contracting and they blow stuff up - probably mostly out in the desert. Jarom probably won't get to help (or even watch) blow anything up. Who knows?
Amber - is signing up for 7th grade. How did she get to be that old? She doesn't get to choose very many classes, but of the ones she got to choose, she's taking choir and art.
We went to New Beginnings a couple of weeks ago. Amber gets to go to Young Women's Camp this summer. The first one in years that neither Meagan or I will be at. I suppose she'll be ok, though. She seems to get along pretty well with most people.
*Sniff* What am I gonna do when all my babies grow up? I guess it won't be all bad, though. As long as they come to visit me. Often. I guess I have a few years left before they all bail on me...
Do you like how I don't post for a month, then I kinda go crazy with a reallllly long post?
Mom ended up in the hospital with chest pains. It was acid reflux, not a heart attack, thank goodness. I didn't know acid reflux could get bad enough to make a person pass out. I'm glad she's feeling better now!
Becky told me that David is signing up for the Navy. That kinda surprised me. My boss told me he was in the Navy 4 years and loved it, so that made me feel better. That, and the Navy probably won't end up in Iraq or Afghanistan, since they hang out in the water, not the sand. Becky thinks David chose the Navy because of the Village People song.
I mailed in my third ICL assignment a couple of weeks ago. I wrote about beavers and how they use their teeth to chop down trees and build dams and so on.
I don't know what to do with myself in the evening now that the Olympics are over. I like watching all sorts of different sports. I didn't watch much curling. That is one weird sport. Why is it called curling? I watched figure skating, speed skating, ice dancing, snowboarding, nordic skiing, cross country skiing and ski jumping - cuz that's what they showed on prime time. I watched bobsled a bit, too.
Maybe my favorite part of the Olympics is hearing the different names of athletes from all around the world.
I tried watching the Closing Ceremonies, but it was boring. I didn't watch the Opening Ceremonies, so I can't comment on that.
David watched the end of the hockey game yesterday. I wasn't too sad we didn't win gold. Maybe I'm not very competitive? I think silver's still pretty good and I don't really care that much about hockey. Maybe because Amber got lost at a hockey game when she was 3? That may be it. And every time a fight broke out, I was in the lobby. I mean, really, why else would I go to a hockey game?
David watched the Stanley Cup while I gave birth to Amber. She refused to come out until the game was over. Just as they were awarding the trophy, she was finally born. Maybe she doesn't like hockey either?
OK, here's what the fam's up to:
David - and I used the Market Street Grill gift certificate I got for Christmas. We were debating blowing the entire $75 all at once or stretching it out over 2 meals. It was crab fest, so we blew it all at 1 meal. No wonder we only go there if I get a gift certificate. The crab was really good (I got snow, king and dungeness) but the clam chowder was my favorite. I was bad and even ate the potatoes (gasp!). David got the fisherman's platter with shrimp, scallops, halibut and kalamari. He also got the stuffed mushrooms.
David actually cleaned up his side of the bedroom. Wow. I guess I'm going to have to clean up my side tomorrow. Somehow anything in the house I don't know where to put ends up on my side of the bedroom.
Meagan - is having uber fun with the cadavers in her anatomy lab. She comes home and complains about them. I was going to go into the gory details, but then I remembered Mom will probably read this, so I will spare you. Meagan doesn't talk about chemistry or communications much, mostly anatomy and her gym class (stretch and tone).
Meagan helped me teach the 8-10 year old primary class a couple of weeks ago. Actually, she was moral support. The kids were cute and it went pretty well. We talked about Enoch. They were amazed that people used to live to be 900 years old. That is amazing. I can't imagine living that long. The whole Enoch story is pretty amazing. Did you know the Old Testament tells about Enoch in 4 verses? The Pearl of Great Price version is about 130 verses long.
Cameron - signed up for his Senior year. I talked him into taking Choir. He likes to sing, so I think he'll enjoy it. He's also taking the 3-D Animation portfolio class and C# programming. Right now he's taking Creative Writing. He says they're writing poetry and he's good at writing poetry. He has yet to show me any.
Cameron is so sweet. He scrapes the ice off the car windows for me in the morning and always gives me a hug before he hops out of the car and heads in to school. I love that!
Jarom - is signing up for 10th grade. I think he's taking Band instead of French 2. He wanted to take both, but Band is easier and he's already taking a bunch of tough classes.
Jarom is doing his job shadow. I think he likes his job shadow better than Cameron liked his. Jarom hangs around with Steve (who I used to work with) and sets stuff up for testing. Testing what, I'm not quite sure. Explosives? I know they do military contracting and they blow stuff up - probably mostly out in the desert. Jarom probably won't get to help (or even watch) blow anything up. Who knows?
Amber - is signing up for 7th grade. How did she get to be that old? She doesn't get to choose very many classes, but of the ones she got to choose, she's taking choir and art.
We went to New Beginnings a couple of weeks ago. Amber gets to go to Young Women's Camp this summer. The first one in years that neither Meagan or I will be at. I suppose she'll be ok, though. She seems to get along pretty well with most people.
*Sniff* What am I gonna do when all my babies grow up? I guess it won't be all bad, though. As long as they come to visit me. Often. I guess I have a few years left before they all bail on me...
Do you like how I don't post for a month, then I kinda go crazy with a reallllly long post?
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