Welcome to my Chaos!

Are you still here?

2010-09-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

Are you still here? You're missing all the fun!

Welcome To My Chaos has a NEW home.

PLEEEEEEEEEASE come visit.

I have some fun giveaways coming up and I want YOU to win.

There's a "subscribe" button on the top right corner of my new site. Click it so you don't miss a thing!

See you there!

~Veronica

Change is good.

2010-08-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

Up until now, I haven't owned my blog name. Someone else already has it in blogger, so I decided to buy my domain name and use Wordpress. It's a big step for me, but so far it has been good. I won't be posting new things here after August is over, so PLEASE, if you subscribe to my blog in a reader or by email, hop on over and subscribe to my new address. Then you won't miss a minute of all the things we did this summer and all the fun new stuff ahead.

Winston Churchill said:
“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction”.

So I'm hoping that you'll follow me to my new address and subscribe.

Top 10 from Toy Story 3

2010-07-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took my 3 youngest to see Toy Story 3. I work from home and Mondays and Tuesdays are crazy busy working days for me so by the time Wednesday rolls around the kids and I are due for some R&R. This movie was the perfect choice! I laughed, ~~I cried.~~ (I almost cried, but "almost" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Right?) I also ate TOO much movie popcorn. You know the kind, with extra butter. And too much Diet Dr.Pepper. Wait, is that really possible?

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I brought something back for you. But you won't really understand it, until you've seen the movie. So you should really go. Then come back here and read this again. But first, Let me 'splain...No there is too much. Let me sum up:

You see, I have this problem. I collect useless information. If you could see all the crap floating around in my head you would call TLC and have me signed up for a Hoarders intervention. I'm sure of it. I have so many useless facts, silly stories and pieces of quasi-important-yet-highly-irrelevent information in my brain that frankly I'm surprised there is room for anything else. I gather this stuff from books, tv, music, movies, conversations and of course, the internet. I usually don't mean to remember it, but it just sticks in my head. Did you know that in German they use the term "ohrwurm" (or earworm) to describe something (a song for example) that sticks in your brain? Did you know that I am also prone to side-trips? Although I don't know how to say THAT in German, I will look it up and inevitably it will become a permanent addition to my font of useless information...I can't help it. I just can't.

Where were we?

Oh, yes! I brought something back for you! What good is all this useless information if I don't share it with you, my friends? I know, I'm too kind. Without further rambling and endless chatter, I bring you my:

TOY STORY 3

TOP 10 QUOTES:

Baron Von shush.
I gotta kink in my slink.
In the sand box? Yah, I don't think those were Lincoln logs.
Return of the astro-nut.
Yes,sir well groomed man.
You can't hit each other. That's MY job!
Ahh you're a sight for detachable eyes.
*sniffing* That wasn't me was it?
The claaaaw!
I told you kids, stay outta my butt!

*photos courtesy of Google

You're welcome!

If you've seen the show and have lines to add, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Sassy Sccops!

2010-05-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Meet The Sassies!

Photo by WinkFotos

This group of fun, fabulous and yes, SASSY women are all about

supporting local businesses,

strengthening the community

and making connections!

I can tell you from personal experience that these ladies also throw a great party!

You must go hear what they have to say. From Acupuncture to Red Velvet Cake they'll give you the scoop on the best local places to shop!

Click on over and meet more than just their feet!

Real Men Wear Pink

2010-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

You KNOW you've made it when you find your photo on Kristina's blog.

I showed this to Spencer & Easton and this was their response:

Easton: {Grins sheepishly and turns away.}

Spencer: "What the CRAP mom?"

Click on over to her blog to see it live and in person!

(But hurry because it's the picture of the week and you wouldn't want to miss it.)

I Was Featured!

2010-05-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

I was featured on Make It Work Mom's blog! She's a hardworking mom of two beautiful girls. She inspires mom's everywhere to break out of the routine of everyday life and make great memories with their kids. Go check out her blog!

Part 2 --- No More Monkey Bars

2010-05-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

By Tuesday afternoon Josie was feeling a bit restless. She wanted her hair fixed since she had what we lovingly refer to as "Scaggley Hagatha Hair". So we came up with something that would be comfortable and would stay nice when she slept.

Once she was satisfied we comandeered a wheel chair and went for a stroll. We found all sorts of awesome things..... Hello Spidey! Who is your handsome friend?

We also found the Forever Young Zone. It's a pretty fun place filled with toys, musical instruments, crafts, video games and lots of volunteers whose main job is to see that the kids have a great time.

She was pretty easily worn out, so we spent a lot of time snuggling and just hanging out.

One of the highlights of our stay was when the Service Dog, Diva, came for a visit.

What sweetheart!

The food at Primary Children's is actually quite good. I went to the cafeteria and got food to take back to the room, but Josie had room service from 7:00am-7:30pm. She could order whatever she wanted, whenever she wished. Too bad she didn't eat much! One night we had some special visitors meet us down in the cafeteria. Josie's Uncle Brett, Aunt Ash and "the cousins" brought us Cafe' Rio for dinner!

By Wednesday she was feeling pretty good and we got the "all clear" to bust outta there! But not before winning a round of Wednesday morning BINGO! They broadcast a live Bingo game every Wednesday at 10am on channel 8 within the hospital. Since many of the kids can't leave their rooms this is something everyone can play. The kids call in when they get a BINGO. They can also call in and tell a joke or request a specific category if they are close to winning. After the game, the volunteers bring around a cart full of prizes so the winners can choose a prize.

Here's one of the jokes:

Why do ducks have webbed feet?

(to stomp out forest fires)

Why do elephants have flat feet?

(to stomp out flaming ducks)

Our stay was as good as we could have asked for, but we were EXCITED to go home!

Medical side note: The reason for our extended stay had to do with the artery in her arm. Due to the severity of the break, there wasn't a pulse at her wrist. During surgery they got it flowing and they wanted to make sure it stayed that way. Whenever they came in to her room to check her vitals, they brought in a little doppler machine because although we still couldn't feel a pulse, we could hear it with the machine.

No More Monkey Bars

2010-05-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday night after dinner, my 7yr old wanted to show us some tricks on the monkey bars. She spends half her life hanging from those bars. This time it didn't turn out so good. She fell as we all watched and none of us were close enough to stop it from happening. It still makes my stomach hurt to think about it.

She immediately started screaming.

My husband ran to her and scooped her up. Her first actual words to him were, "I think I broke my arm." He took one look at her arm and headed straight for the car.

She was right.

We headed for the nearest hospital emergency room. They got us right in. With all the clenched teeth screaming going on, they could tell there was a problem. The Xray machine was brought into the room and even my untrained eye could tell without a doubt that it was broken.

Once the orthopaedic surgeon at that hospital saw the xrays, he declared that he wanted nothing to do with the situation and we should go immediately to Primary Children's Medical Center in SLC. So far she had already had a dose of morphine and it wasn't touching the pain. So they re-dosed her and sent us on our way. It was a rough drive, and I was certainly glad we didn't live any further than we do.

The other hospital had called ahead and told them that we would be coming in. So when we arrived, the ER staff checked her over and confirmed that she needed to have surgery.

They then proceeded to tell us that there had been no less than 5 injuries like hers just that night. So this meant we were 3rd in line. (Later we would learn that in a 3 day period, our surgeon had repaired 15 elbows.) There was currently one patient in surgery and another waiting in the wings.

Enter, another dose of morphine.

They put us into a room in the RTU (Rapid Treatment Unit) where we could wait.

She was highly medicated, but still managed to eek out a smile for the camera.

At 2:50am we were finally called down to surgery. We met the surgical team and they reassured us they were all practiced up and ready to fix her. We watched as the anesthesiologist gave her something that put her out and then we watched them wheel her away. This is an emotional moment for any parent, but honestly I was so relieved that finally someone could ease her suffering that I was ok with it. Weird.

Over 2 hours later we were finally able to see her. Normally this procedure can be done in as little as 45minutes and without an incision. Her case was different. Once the bones were set and pins put in, they check for a radial pulse to make sure the blood flow is sufficient. She had no radial pulse.

Long story short: they ended up making a large incision in the arm to free up the traumatized artery and give it plenty of room to do it's job. Once it was free and there was still no blood flow, they used some medication and were able to get it to function. The next option would have been a bypass using a vein from another area of her body. We are so grateful that it didn't come to that. She came out of anesthesia slowly and vomited 8-10 times over the next few hours.

We were not sent back to the RTU.

Instead they put us in the Neuroscience Trauma Unit or NTU.

She slept through most of Monday afternoon from the Morphine with plenty of Zofran (& some other drug) to help with the vomiting.

By the next morning, she was doing much better and was happy to see her Doctors who had, incidentally been up for at least 36 hours yet were still gracious enough to smile and pose for a picture. They checked on her Monday evening, and decided it was best for us to stay a little longer to make sure the artery continued to do it's job.

Wednesday morning is our goal for getting out of here

In the picture below: Josie was cheery because of the copious amounts of painkiller in her system.

The other two were most likely delirious from lack of sleep!

The resident: Dr Phillips (on the left) and the awesome and amazing, attending: Dr Woiczik (on the right).

Dr. Woiczik looks like she could easily be 23, but I found out later that she is actually 35. (Sorry for outing you Marci!)

I am completely (and non-creepily) in love with Josie's doctor. She is friendly, thorough, easy to talk to, funny and brilliant. She spends part of her time at Primary Children's, but Shriner's is her home. We are lucky to have her taking care of our daughter.

With the exception of the triage nurse in the ER, our stay here at Primary Children's has been pretty positive. It's a great atmosphere and the nurses and tech's are attentive and kind. They are great with kids and that puts the parents at ease.

More about our adventure tomorrow. . .

You Really Should Join Me

2010-04-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning there's something fabulous going on! You should join me!

It's a Baby Shower!!!!

Presented by the

Service Soapbox Bloggers

to benefit

The March of Dimes

Teddy Bear Den Program

The March of Dimes Teddy Bear Den Program (TBD) gives low income women incentives (in the form of diapers, wipes, new baby clothes, etc.) to participate in pre and post-natal care and to avoid high-risk behaviors during pregnancy, resulting in fewer infants with life threatening birth defects.

Come enjoy food, games, fun, prizes, and the company of some fun women as we collect baby items and donations for this wonderful charity.

Saturday April 24th, from 10am - Noon

at the beautiful Noah's Event Hall

located at 322 W. 11000 S. in South Jordan

Bring a gift/donation of diapers, wipes, baby clothes, blankets or other new layette items. We have door prizes donated from MANY wonderful area businesses, so there's a good chance you won't leave empty handed!

Event Sponsors:
The Vintage Pearl
LaCaille (donated by PC Laptops)
Rod Works
Blush
Watch My Style
D'lea Designs
Cherry Hill
Wishes and Whimsy
Mod Podge Rocks
Wonderfully Wordy
Leatherby's Grat Clips
Famous Dave's
Platinum Car Wash
Hollywood Connection
Classic Skating
The Pie Pizzaria
Chick-fil-a
Garden House Floral

In addition to our door prize sponsors, the following businesses have donated money or items:
Dear Lizzie, Walmart, Western Family, Target, Salutations Etzy Shop, Baby Steals.com, Mobile Airbrush Tanning, Great Clips and the Jordan River Family Medical Center.

Noah's generously donated the space, Zurcher's donated the party supplies and Garden House Floral donated the centerpieces.
Thank You to ALL of these people/businesses for your generosity.

Easter

2010-04-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Devil's Food Cake by Josi S. Kilpack

2010-03-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

I love to read. There's nothing more relaxing than getting lost in a good book.

Lately I've been so busy that I hardly find time to read anything but emails, and sometimes not even those! My latest read came to my mailbox through the Good Reads. I recently discovered the First Reads section of their site and it could be a dangerous thing! Children could starve (mine), toilets could go unscrubbed for days on end (what else is new) and schedules interrupted (schedule? I had one of those...once.)

So I bring you....

Devil's Food Cake ~by Josi Kilpack

This is the third book in the Culinary Mystery series. First was Lemon Tart, then came English Trifle, and now we have Devil's Food Cake. It's really not surprising that this would be my favorite of the series because, you know, I love chocolate.

(from the back cover)

It's been years since Thom Mortensen has been back to Garrison, Colorado. As part of the committee that invited the bestselling author to speak at the library fundraiser, Sadie Hoffmiller wants everything to be perfect--right down to the homemade devil's food cake she baked herself.

Murder was not on the menu.

When Thom's manager ends up dead on stage, Sadie immediately offers her guidance and expertise to investigators. But when the police refuse to take her seriously, Sadie has no choice except to pursue justice on her own.

I have been saving this book to read on my jaunt to St. George. I don't really like car trips and this book was a good distraction. It was also a great poolside read. As I mentioned I've read each book in the series. One of the coolest things about these books is that they are sprinkled with delicious, tried-and-true, homemade-tasty-goodness recipes. I could also list this as a bad thing. I may have gained a pound or two during this series.

The story line was easy to follow, and the characters were relatable. I liked the plot, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was a twist or a turn. At one point I actually gasped out loud (and had to check and make sure no one noticed the crazy lady in the lawn chair with the book).
It's a fun, light read that will keep you guessing until the very end!

This is us by the pool. It's kind of hard to read AND watch a 5 & 7 year old in the pool, but I managed. In between all of the "Hey Mom's" and the "Watch ME's" I really enjoyed this book!

The next book in the Culinary Mystery series will be Key Lime Pie.

You can bet I'll be ~~eating~~ reading it as soon as it's released!!!

Legal Schmegal Disclaimer: I received one copy of the book to read and review.

Other than that I received no additional compensation for my time or review.

Bounce a bounce a bounce.....

2010-03-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

As an onlooker, I want to say, "Wow! Impressive!"

...As a mother, I don't even know WHAT to say.

(Click on the photo to appreciate it fully.)

I'm assuming the idea behind this stunt was to see how many consecutive bounces he could achieve

without falling off the yoga ball, breaking a bone or hurling himself through the TV.

(For the record, he just informed me that his record is 156 bounces. Sheesh!)

Blessed

2010-03-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I made an executive decision.

I decided to take the weekend off.

Partly out of necessity, but mostly because I wanted to.

So I borrowed a baby...

And I did a little of this.

And a little of this.

And some of this.

And I didn't even look at my dirty kitchen.

Or the piles of laundry.

Or the un-vacuumed carpets.

And you know what?

One of the kids eventually cleaned the kitchen.

My husband did a whole lot of laundry.

Another kid vacuumed the family room.

I checked out and life went on.

The world continued to turn on it's axis.

The sun rose and set without my giving it a second thought.

The internets kept on internetting.

I could complain and say that I'm not needed.

That everyone's just fine without me.

Instead,

I'm grateful.

Grateful for kids who know how to clean.

Grateful for a husband who knows how (and more importantly is willing) to do laundry.

Grateful for a nice home where I am warm and safe and cared for.

Grateful for sisters who bring dinner and lend babies.

Grateful for good books and 3G networks.

Some might say I'm a lucky girl.

I'm not lucky.

I'm blessed.

Speaking of blessed...that sweet baby is Haizyn May and she was blessed on Sunday. Isn't she cute?

Recap of the past 48hrs

2010-03-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

It's been a rough couple of days around here. They say that if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Well, mama (that would be me) has been ANYTHING but happy lately.

I have a health issue that requires that I undergo a certain medical procedure every year or so. I'll spare you the gory details because frankly, I wash my children's mouths out with soap for saying "potty words" and any detailed description of the last 48 hours is sure to be full of them.

Long story short, I usually manage to make it through the prep and the procedure without too much of a problem. Actually the prep phase is always the worst and the day of the procedure is mostly a blur. But hey, since it's my 6th time around this particular block, why not spice things up a bit?

The prep was pretty much how it always is, lengthy and torturous, but I didn't throw it up so that's a win! Also, I didn't have trouble during the scope since I was out like a light. Once I was in the recovery room, I actually woke up from anesthesia a lot quicker than I usually do. I thought I was doing pretty welll.

We came home and I slept for about 4 hours, then Kevin brought me a jamba juice so I took some sips and went back to sleep for an hour. This time when I woke up, I got up and went into the bathroom and from there into the kitchen. I set my drink and some pills on the counter and then all of the sudden I was REALLY tired. So I put my elbows on the counter and layed my forehead on the nice cool countertop.

--That was the last thing I remember.--

Suddenly Kevin was yelling my name and everything was black except for a little circle with his face in it. He caught me before I hit the ground and took me to the couch where I proceeded to hallucinate. I was convinced that: My mouth was huge and my teeth were falling out. My skin was covered in fur...on the INside. Also, there was a whooshing sound in my ears and I just kept saying "something's wrong" over and over again. Only, I don't know if I was saying it out loud.

Once he decided that a return trip to the hospital was not necessary, Kevin grounded me to the couch and babysat me for the rest of the day.

Today I feel alot better but my hands are shaky and my head is still a little fuzzy.

I'm not sure exactly what went wrong, but I'm thinking it was a reaction to the anesthetic (propofol & demerol) coupled with the fact that I was dehydrated from the prep.

All in all, it has been a pretty eventful couple a days. Days that I don't want to repeat any time soon. But I will have to. In 18 months (insert wailing, whining and gnashing of teeth). Poor me.

The good news is, the Dr said everything looked good (I'm pretty sure that's a relative term considering where his camera was at) and there's no sign of anything cancerous.

For now...I'm just taking it easy.

Happy Birthday

2010-02-27T06:01:00.000-08:00

This strapping young man is my first born.

He turns 15 today.

He's taller than me.

He has a wicked sense of humor.

He's a High Honor Roll Student.

He's a great cook.

He can sing. But he won't.

He has a killer cut fast ball.

He eats me out of house and home on a regular basis.

He's never met a sport he wasn't good at.

He's fun to hang out with.

He's not afraid to hug me in front of his friends.

I'm proud to be his Mom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

~I LOVE YOU~

Winter Morning

2010-02-26T19:57:00.000-08:00

Love Notes:

2010-02-25T14:01:00.000-08:00

World for Haiti

2010-02-13T19:04:00.000-08:00

You may have already seen this video, but it's worth watching again. And again.
Mashable quoted an answer given by Quincy Jones regarding the decision to distribute the video through YouTube “… with the stroke of a key on your keyboard or cell phone, images and messages can be transferred all around the world to hundreds of millions of people in seconds. That’s an enormous amount of power. How can you not try and harness that resource to help people in need?”

That, my friends, is Social Media at it's finest.

What an enormous amount of talent they have gathered together for a great cause. (And how nice it is to see Michael in his semi-normal days.)

All proceeds from sales of the song on iTunes will go to Haiti relief.

Was That My Out Loud Voice?

2010-02-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

Another edition of things I probably shouldn't have said.

Of course I knew what you were talking about. I just chose to mock instead.

I want the sandwich WITHOUT the wingnut.

Where's Madam Pomfrey when we need her?

I walk into a place like this and I can't help but wonder what time they dance on the bar.

He followed you into the restroom? Did he tap his foot under the stall?

Naughty doesn't get anyone anywhere!

You're funny. I'll be sure to share that one with my next husband while we're spending all your money.*

I'm melting.

While I do not currently have a scathing retort, you check your email periodically for a doozy!*

You can give them back the key to the mini bar. Just tell them we don't need it because your wife is a recovering alchoholic. (husband looks at me like I've lost it) What?...They won't even question you. But if you tell them you don't drink because you're a Mormon they'll look at you funny.

Let's go around the block once. Then maybe they won't remember that we're the ones who drove on their sidewalk.

*These two were actually lines from television shows. I made it a point to remember them so I could use them later...and of course, I did.

Heavenly Choirs....do you hear them singing?

2010-02-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

This is one corner of my office. This shelf is built in and frankly it's not very pretty. So I've tried to make it a little ~~less ugly~~ less conspicuous by covering it up most of the time. But am I the only one who hears heavenly choirs sing when I see a well organized space?

Do you hear them? The angels....the singing?
Things like this make my heart go pitter-pat.
It makes me weak in the knees.
It soothes me.

Hallelujah!

2010-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Have you heard???
Spanx makes swimsuits.
It's an answer to my prayers.
(Now if they'd just lower the price by about a hundred dollars I might place an order.)

Oh, Yes I Did

2010-01-31T16:54:00.001-08:00

I totally wore this awesome skirt to church today. It was a great find and it's really comfortable!
Now excuse me while I go snuggle the little boy lurking in that picture.

Did your grandma make this?

2010-01-29T22:34:00.000-08:00

Did your grandma make this? If she did, tell her I really like it.

I can only imagine the hours of love she must have put into it. The places she wore it. The nice compliments she must have received. The stories it could tell.

I'm oh so glad she finally decided to part with it. And that it happened to cross my path. Because I really like it. And I'm going to wear it. It makes me happy.

TwittFaced

2010-01-24T21:46:00.000-08:00

I bought this book on Amazon last week. They had me with the title. So clever! It's written by Jacob Morgan and Joshua Peters and is described as a "crash course in social media".
Because I am a Virtual Assistant, and because many of my clients could benefit from using social media to market their business, I have been learning everything I can on the subject.
I'm only half-way through the book so I will give you a full review when I finish. But so far, I have really enjoyed it. Mostly because I'm a geek, but also because the authors are real people and it's written in a friendly conversational style. It was a little slow at the start, but they really caught my attention when they mentioned that they KNOW social media works, because they wrote a book together and they have NEVER met in person! That intrigues me.
Nobody is paying me for a review of this book because frankly, no one cares what I think. So if I hate it, I'll tell you. If I continue to enjoy it, I'll share that too.
Now, if I can just find my highlighter I can get back to reading. See, I told you I was a geek.

Dinner: FAIL

2010-01-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

"OOMPA LOOMPA DOOMPADEE DOO
I'VE GOT ANOTHER PUZZLE FOR YOU....."

I forgot to put the chicken in the crockpot this morning. It didn't even cross my mind until about 5:00pm. I had a little panic moment when I thought about dinner.
Never fear, I have a huge bag of blueberries in my freezer. And two more in the deep freeze downstairs. So I pulled one out and we had blueberry muffins AND blueberry pancakes for dinner.

We are all feeling a little like this:

We may all have to be rolled to our beds tonight. And juiced...oh my goodness!

I don't really like blueberries.

Tomorrow I'm going to plan a little better.

BTW: Does anyone besides me think that the Johnny Depp version of Willy Wonka is a tad creepy? Give me Gene Wilder any day.

Captain Obvious Takes on Epson

2010-01-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

Last night while working in my office I ran out of black ink in my printer. I knew it was getting low, but I was trying to eek out those last little drops before spending money on a new cartridge.
It was finally over. Nothing left. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Blank pages spewing forth from my Epson.

I went online and found the best deal on "genuine" Epson Ink Cartridges (which at the time was from Epson itself) and placed my order.

No problems with the order. Everything went smoothly and my ink is on it's way to my door. WITH free shipping, I might add.

But when I got my order confirmation I saw this:

Order Confirmed
Here is your confirmation #WX-26785400100
You may want to print this page for your records.

Really???

I may WANT to print it, but I CAN'T! Hence my order.

Thank you Captain Obvious!

Note: Yes, I know that little message comes up every time. But it was particularly frustrating THIS time.

Resolution Shmezolution

2010-01-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already 2010. What happened to Christmas? How did I miss New Year's Eve? Ok, I didn't miss them, but they sure whizzed by. Now I find myself at the beginning of the first full week in the new year.

Feels like a new beginning of sorts. Apparently it feels that way to alot of people. I laughed hard when a facebook friend posted this notice:

Hey! Heads up to all you people who think you are going to start working out this year. Do not show up and take my treadmill at the gym if you are only going to quit after two weeks. It just pisses me off. Stay home where you belong. I've got to get my workout in, and I'm actually serious about mine!

You GO Lisa! Exercise is a biggie for resolutions and I guess church is too.
We were a *teensy* bit late for Sacrament Meeting today and ended up sitting on the VERY back row of the VERY last over-flow. Maybe I should resolve to be on time to church. No, that's not gonna happen. (Not even with the 1:00pm block time.)

Honestly, I'm not real big on New Year's Resolutions. Maybe it's because I always have something that I'm working on. I will admit that during the course of each year I try and do at least one thing that scares me.
For example in the past I have:
*had a kid
*sung the National Anthem at a basketball game
*had a kid
*directed a beauty pageant
*had another kid
*signed up to do kitchen show home parties
*finally had a girl this time...yeah, we can be done!
*gone on a Pioneer Trek
*W.T.H another kid?
*signed up to sell cosmetics
*had a hysterectomy
*recruited a team of consultants and earned a free car
*decided that although I like to attend them, I'm not really that keen on throwing parties. So I sent back the free car (No, they didn't come repo it. I called THEM.)
*started "Virtual Assisting" company.

*Warning* Side-trip (side-trips are my specialty)
That last one was just last year and it has really taken off. I love my job. I love that I only have to depend on (aka babysit) me. Maybe someday I will have some employees, but for now I am thrilled with how things are going.

What is a Virtual Assistant you say?

I found this definition online:
A virtual assistant, or VA, is a highly skilled professional who provides administrative support and other specialized services to businesses and entrepreneurs, executives, sales professionals, and others who have more work to do than time to do it. Most work from their own home.

That’s the official definition, but for me, I stay busy with: data entry, computer file maintenance, graphic design (newsletters, flyers, postcards, brochures), mailings, sales tracking, email handling, website maintenance and in-office organization assistance. All of which are right up my alley.
*side trip over*

So this year, I need something to shoot for.....something that scares me, but won’t take up too much time. If it’s time consuming then my blogging suffers. I mean it.
And by the way, I will NOT be giving birth this year or ever again, (5 is my limit) so that is out. But other than that I am open to suggestions.

Do YOU like New Year's Resolutions? If so, what are yours? What big, scary, awesome, difficult, amazing, wonderful, fun things do YOU have planned for 2010?

2009-09-30T12:10:00.001-07:00

No excuse

2009-09-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

I really have no excuse. Not even gonna try to make one up. I guess it's just life....(Life: the thing that everyone can handle, but me).

I'll try and do better. Really, I will.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.....

2009-08-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Veronica hasn't been blogging much as of late because.......

(I really don't have a good ~~excuse~~ reason. Could you just make something up for me? I can't wait to read what you come up with!)

You Finish It

2009-08-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but....."

You Finish It

2009-08-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Good fences make...."

You finish It

2009-08-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Hell hath no fury like....."

You Finish It

2009-07-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

When I was in elementary school I read a book full of popular cliches, only they had different/crazy endings.
For example: "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" ended up being "People in glass houses shouldn't.....undress."

I wish I could remember the name of the book, but it's been ~~twenty three years~~ a LONG time. So I've decided to throw a cliche or saying out into the blogging world every friday and let you finish them.

Let's start with:

"He who lives by the sword......."

Leave your ending in the comments.

P.S. I need a laugh. So, if you make me laugh out loud, I might just send you a prize!

2009-07-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

I Might Be A Redneck

2009-07-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it. I love the rodeo. What's not to love?

The sights,sounds(smells)and pretty much the overall feeling there is such a vivid memory from my childhood. I love watching the skydivers jump into the stadium. I always get chills when the last guy comes in with the huge American Flag.
When I was really little my Dad was one of those skydivers. Then in later years, he was the pilot of the plane that dropped the "jumpers". I remember going up in the plane with him one year. They took the back door off the plane to make the exit easier. We circled around then dropped the jumpers. Once they were safely on the ground we would swoop down and fly REALLY low over the stadium and tip the wing to say hello. (My Dad made me bring an empty wonder bread bag with me just in case. But I never threw up.)

The rodeo was always a "family thing" for us. I don't think we ever went to the rodeo without salt-water taffy and coke. And although we weren't drinkers, in my mind I can still hear the guy yelling "Ice, cold beer!" as he climbed the bleachers.

This year my parents invited us all (13 adults and 16 kids) to relive the good ol' days and join them at the Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo. Not everyone took them up on it. Only the smart ones. And It.was.awesome. The stadium is surrounded by huge trees and you can see the mountains in the not-so-distant distance. It was so much fun to share my childhood memories with my own kids. They had a great time. We cheered and hollered for the riders. We laughed like crazy people at the rodeo clown. And we ate things we probably shouldn't have...like licorice and popcorn and candy and navajo tacos. Oh, and there was also cotton candy. Lots of cotton candy.
Who doesn't love cotton candy?

(Sadly, I forgot to bring the salt water taffy. I guess I'll just have to go again!)

"Charmed, I'm sure."

2009-07-17T14:09:00.001-07:00

Remember these charm necklaces? I do. They were all the rage back in the early 80's. You would buy the plastic chain and then buy the individual charms. I vividly remember the "baby bottle", "tennis racket" and "whistle" charms. At my elementary school the teacher finally had to ban the kids from wearing them because they became a disctraction during class.(photo courtesy of Flickr)

Now that we're all grown up, plastic just ain't gonna cut it. We had to find a ~~way more expensive~~ more suitable substitute.
There are so many cute charms available, but they can get pretty expensive.

How about you? Have you seen these charm necklaces around town? Is this a bandwagon you could jump on? Have you already jumped? What's your favorite place to find charms? Do tell....

Love

2009-07-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

Seventeen years ago today....I realized that I love you.

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

2009-07-08T10:26:00.001-07:00

Last week we had a "Girl's Night" at my parents house. My sister served a mission in Argentina and she and her former mission companion (now honorary sister) agreed to cook us dinner. Argentine Style! (Here we have: sister #3, sister #4, sister #1, me, "missionary" sister #5, "missionary companion"/honorary sister #6, Mom. FYI: I didn't number them to choose favorites, it's by birth-order. I love you all equally!)

We had some YUMMY stuff! Empanadas with beef, hard boiled egg and onion inside. (these were my favorite!)
They even let us help (a little).

Here's what was on the menu: Empanadas, Milanese de Pollo (Chicken Milanesa), Tortilla de papa (like a frittata with swiss chard), Ensalada Rusa (Russian Salad *huh?* apparently very popular in Argentina) and for dessert.....
Bizcochuelo. This is a sponge cake that was topped with Dulce de Leche. Creamy caramelized goodness!

Thanks Sis! Let's do it again!

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T13:28:00.000-07:00

The Wall

2009-07-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

My husband and sons spent 2 days building a wall.
It.was.huge.
It's for an activity at "Zion's Camp" (a church camp for 16-18yr old boys).
They say it's supposed to teach team work.
You see, there's no physical way to get up the front of the wall without help.

It also helps if you are a monkey.

And you have to freak your mom out by doing tricks once you get to the top.

Did I mention it is HUGE?

Now could you get the blasted thing out of my front yard before one of the neighbor kids climbs up there and falls off? (I have homeowners insurance, but it's not THAT good.)

Heavy Breathing

2009-07-03T12:44:00.001-07:00

One morning last week I awoke to the sound of heavy breathing. My husband had already left for work, and I didn't have my glasses on. (I'm pretty much blind without corrective lenses.) I wasn't worried because every night my two littlest ask if they can sleep in my room. And every night I say no. Nearly every morning I wake up and find that during the night one (or both) of them have made their way quietly into my room and set up camp in the lazy boy.

So I took a picture and crawled back into bed.

Take a look...

2009-06-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

This is my new nephew.

Can't you just smell that heavenly new baby smell?

This is what I'm doing right now

2009-06-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm bleaching my teeth. It was free with my "new patient exam and xrays". Of course I had to let them fill all my cavities first. So twelve fillings and a wad of cash later (not too bad thanks to insurance) here I am.

It kinda burns. Is it supposed to burn?

What if....

2009-06-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

What if you took your kids to Maverick for an Icee?
What if you secured the plastic domed lids to the cups and very carefully dispensed the Wild Cherry (even though they whined for the Coke flavor)?
What if you placed the long red straw into the hole in the top and handed it to the four year old with a warning: "Don't spill it!"
What if he didn't spill it?
What if, instead, he promptly BLEW INTO THE STRAW AS HARD AS HE COULD!!! Then looked up at you with that "What-the-heck-just-happened" look on his face as Wild Cherry slush dripped off his face, his shirt, and his hands?

What would you do?

Getting Creative (or maybe it's just O.C.D.)

2009-05-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

My niece called me today to ask me a question about the digital scrapbook program that we both have. It got me thinking. I like to organize things. I like things to be neat and tidy. You might call me a "container-aholic".
I also like to control things. (But that's a conversation for me and some poor therapist down the road, because I live in a house with 6 other people and there are very few things that I can control.)
I work on the computer. Alot. I'm a little obsessive about my computer files and the way they are organized, but I'd never really thought about my desktop. Have you? What does yours look like? Is it a favorite photo? A pre-fab that came with your PC? A blank blue screen?
Tonight after talking with my niece, I was inspired to get creative and find a way to wrangle in and organize all those pesky icons on my desktop.

Here's what I came up with:

Note to self:

2009-05-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Favorite white shorts
+
2 small children
+
Lagoon Amusement Park
=
NOT a good combo!

V is for....

2009-05-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Vanessa! (...and Veronica too.)

Last weekend I was able to visit with the lovely and talented Vanessa! We were both headed to Plain City for various events and it was too much of a coincidence to let it slip by! She came all this way for her daughters dance competition and my son had baseball games less than 2 blocks from there. (My 6 year old took this picture of us!)
Next time Vanessa is up this way, we are going to meet up with another Vennesa (my sister) and we are SO going to the Burger Bar!

Which was featured on this show:

Burger, fries, shakes and their original fry sauce....ooooh and a lime ricky!

Thankful Thursday

2009-05-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Today I am thankful:

For good friends who call to say hello, just because they were thinking about you.

That I get to work with awesome people.

That my husband still has a job and that even though we have to totally re-do our benefits, that we still have them.

For 70-80 weather. Ahhhhhhh! It's heaven! (Enjoy it while it lasts.)

For a husband who tries, though he's not always successful, to understand and even decipher my many moods.

For a preschool teacher who wrestled 48 kids at pre-school graduation last night and came out a hero! (Half-way through the wiggly, wriggly, whiney program, she reminded us that she usually only has to do this with 12 of them at a time! She's a saint...you still couldn't pay me enough!)

For the power of prayer.

For the healing powers (whether real or imagined) of homemade chicken noodle soup & hearty homemade wheat bread.

Cool Rider

2009-05-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

She who succeeds in gaining the master of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life. -Frances E. Willard

Saturday Tiburon rode in the Cycle Salt Lake, Century 2009. Their stopping point for lunch was in the neighborhood, so I dropped in to say hello!

"The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew--and live through it."--Doug Bradbury

Tiburon and her cycling partner Chad, arrived after a 36 mile journey and they didn't even look winded! We chatted while they ate lunch.

And then they were off to finish their 72 mile ride.

In June Tib will be headed to California for a JDRF 100 Mile fundraising ride. Go here if you'd like to support her.

And in the immortal words of Mark Twain:
"Get a bicycle. You will certainly not regret it, if you live."

Kindle

2009-05-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

I think I need this!
Anyone out there already have one? Is it really worth the $359/$489 pricetag? Please ~~contribute to my Kindle fund~~ tell me what you know about them.

Friends in Real Life!

2009-05-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend of baseball games. We won some and lost some. We saw a few clouds and a lot of sun. Who knew Pocatello Idaho could be so nice in the spring.
One of the highlights of the WHOLE trip was getting the chance to meet one of my blogging buddies, Angie from Leaping Through Life! We discovered that we have a lot in common after reading each others blogs for several months. Back in March I posted pictures of a baseball game we played in St. George. Turns out we were playing her sons team! I wrote about a 14 yr old with a beard and she KNOWS him! (Says he's a really great kid!)
The fact that we were at the very same ball park and didn't get to meet was just crazy and we weren't about to let it happen again!
We texted back and forth all weekend. Then her son's team made it to the championships so after our games we stopped by to say hello. It was SO fun to meet her! (I am a little jealous that she can look so good after spending two full days at the ball park. But I won't hold it against her.) She is funny and witty and awesome! She also has some mad photog skills. Check out her photos here. This is why I LOVE blogging. I have made (and met) so many wonderful women that I would have never had the chance to know! I would definitely count blogging as a blessing in my life.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

I won! I won!

2009-05-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

Back in April I entered a drawing at Light Refreshments Served. They were having Beauty Week where Lisa was posting all kinds of great tips from Michelle at Cultures Salon. I really enjoyed learning all the tricks and tips from Michelle. At the end of the week they chose 6 winners and I was one of them!!! Here's what I won:
Série Expert Shampoo & Conditioner.
Not only did they email me to find out where to send my prize, but she asked me all sorts of questions about my hair so they would be sure to give me the correct formula! Talk about service!
Over the course of our emails we discovered that I live fairly close to where they are located, so Michelle invited me to come to the Salon for a complimentary Deep Conditioning Treatment and while I was there I could pick up my prize. I scheduled an appointment and last week I got the Royal Treatment from Michelle. She is wonderful! She deep conditioned my hair, washed and styled it and somewhere in there she did an extra conditioner that I didn't understand, but when she was done I had silky soft hair! I have to admit that my very favorite part was the scalp massage that she does while she washes your hair. I tried really hard not to drool on myself while I sat in her chair (I think that's another reason they put the nice black cape over your clothing).
All in all it was a wonderful, relaxing start to what would have otherwise been just another day. So, thanks Michelle! I really enjoyed my visit! And thanks Lisa, and the folks at Light Refreshments Served for having such awesome giveaways!
If you want to visit Michelle at Cultures you can click here. They offer a wide variety of Salon and Spa services in a peaceful, relaxing environement. I'd say it's worth stopping by just for the head massage!

The View

2009-05-08T23:48:00.000-07:00

You probably thought I was going to talk about that smutty, gossipy, everyone-talks-at-once daytime talk show. Nope.

This is the view from my back window. I love it.

Jungle Gym

2009-05-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

Is it any wonder that this kid has so many bumps and bruises?

I'm Running Away

2009-04-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm taking off.
It was either this or the Funny Farm.

I'll see you when I get back.

I'm still here. But my sanity is not.

2009-04-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

I've had several nice comments and emails from friends in the blogosphere (and in real life) asking if I have fallen off the face of the earth.
Not really, but if I don't find my way through this mountain of work you may have to form a search party.
Did someone say Party? That sounds like fun. But there's no time to party because it's the end of the month.

I'm a WAHM (Work at home Mom). Last year I started a small business doing various computer related tasks for other small businesses. I've always looked for something that I could do from home so I am still available to my children. This job/company just sort of "happened". But I am so grateful. I love what I do. I love helping people. I love setting my own schedule. And I love working because it keeps my brain from turning to mush.

That being said, the end of each month never fails to bog me down. There are many tasks and responsibilities that just HAVE to be done at the end of the month and there aren't enough hours in the day (or night, for that matter!).

Something has to give. Unfortunately it usually ends up being my blog. So if you don't see me around, just check your calendar. If the month is coming to a close then I am probably holed up in my office working like a mad woman!
But, rest assured that I am still reading YOUR blog. You make me laugh. You help me relax. You give my tired brain something different to think about.

So thank you for your comments and thank you for missing me!
I assure you, I am still here. I'm afraid that somewhere along the way my sanity seems to have disappeared. But don't worry. I'll be back at the beginning of next month. With or without my sanity!

Wet Paint!

2009-04-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

We've lived in our home for just a little over 10 years. KJ built our home (and many of the homes around ours) and I love it! We went through hundreds of house plans before we finally found our dream home. Then we redesigned several areas of that plan to fit our specific needs. We love our neighborhood and the surrounding areas and are very happy here.
But after 10 years and with 5 kids it was in desperate need of a paint job! So KJ busted out the spackle and went to work.

I'm really happy that he's painting. I'm NOT so happy that he used our bed sheet for a drop cloth.

We have several areas to paint (family room, hallway, kitchen...and whatever else strikes my fancy), so I'll keep you posted!

2009-04-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Thought for today:

"Lord, You May Wash Me on the Gentle Cycle, But Please Don't Put Me Through the Wringer and Hang Me Out to Dry."
(from Rachel Anne at Blog Sanctuary)

Breakfast of Champions

2009-04-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Top Ramen
(a.k.a. Curly Noodle Soup)

Wicked

2009-04-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

My sister and I went to WICKED on Friday night. It was fantastic! Actually the whole evening was fantastic!
We had dinner at PF Chang's in Salt Lake. The food was delicious!
We laughed our heads off and made inside jokes that no one else understands.

We visited with the waiter/busboy who took our picture. "Say queso!" that's what he told us! (No clue who he is. Very friendly though. Told us about his wife. Probably worried that we might get our hopes up.)

(See that big group in the booth behind us? They were also going to see Wicked.)

Once we arrived at the theatre we bought some candy at the little snack place. They were advertised as "Chocolate Toffee Caramel Bites" or something to that effect. Vennesa called them "Rich Mans Milk Duds" which is pretty much what they were. Pricey, but yummy. We got to our seats and realized we had a perfect view of the stage thanks to Peterson Tix(a.k.a. my neighbors).

I really don't know how to describe the show. I was totally enthralled! My favorite was Donna Vivino who played Elphaba. She was amazing! Gave me chills! Every once in a while I had to reach up with my hand and shut my mouth because my jaw was hanging open.
I've loved the music from wicked for a few years now, and seeing it done live did NOT disappoint! The whole night was awesome. And there's no one I would have rather gone with than my sister! Love ya sis!

P.S. I'm pretty sure she won the limbo contest.

Itty Bitty Hoops

2009-04-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

Not to be outdone by her brothers, the Princess has decided to play basketball. Itty Bitty Hoops they call it. Her Dad and her uncle are the coaches.
She's learning how to shoot.
And how NOT to stand directly under the basket after your shot goes in.
"C'mon girls! You've gotta keep your head in the game!"
It's a fast-paced game, I tell ya! The only problem is.....
Everybody gets a chance to play. "You're pulling me out, coach?"
It's hard to wait your turn.
Really hard.
Really, really, hard.

W.T.H. ?

2009-04-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

My oldest plays 14U. That means all the boys are 14 or under. Now, I don't know if you can see this, but this kid (in red) on the other team has a serious BEARD!? What.The.Heck? The kid is only 14 for pete's sake! (I wish I could have gotten a closer shot but I didn't want to be obvious. Click on the photo anyway and you can see it!) We were all amazed. Most of the Dad's were secretly impressed.

Baseball Quote of the day:
You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you, too. ~Roy Campanella

Between Games

2009-04-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is what you do between baseball games in St. George:
We had several other baseball families staying at the condos near us, so even in between games all the kids were having a great time.The boys caught 8 lizards of various shapes and sizes.
My 4 yr old was really excited to tell me about the one he caught by the tail. It got away. It's tail didn't. (I believe that's called "a reptile dysfunction".)

Anyway, when they took all the lizards over to show the other parents they seem to have lost a lizard in Heidi's condo. Shhhhh....don't tell Heidi.

Baseball Quote of the day:
Baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up. ~Bob Lemon

It's gonna be good!

2009-04-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Counting down the days!

HOME RUN!

2009-04-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is son #1. He's 14 and has been playing comp baseball for 4 years. As the boys get older their games get more exciting. It's really fun to watch these boys play ball.

But what I REALLY like is watching him pitch! It's a little nerve wracking (makes his dad an absolute basket case) but it's so fun to watch!

In their last game of the tournament, son #1 hit a HOME RUN! Right over the center filed fence! It.was.AWESOME. Then he pitched the last couple innings of the game. We had been down but we came back to win, so he got a "save".
I was one proud mom! (He looks pretty proud too!)

Baseball Quote of the day:
The pitcher has to find out if the hitter is timid. And if the hitter is timid, he has to remind the hitter he's timid.
~Don Drysdale, quoted in New York Times, 9 July 1979

Grandparents & Slushies

2009-04-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

My kids spend a LOT of time at the ball park. We really like the parks that have a playgound close by. When there's not a playground you've got to make your own fun.
This handy little area at one of the parks became known as "the arts and crafts table". It was right by the bleachers so we could keep an eye on the kids and several families had crayons and paper that were shared by all. It was a hit!

Of course, if Grandma & Grandpa happen to stop by the park then they can usually be convinced to spring for a slushie.
They're the best! (Grandparents I mean...and slushies too.)
Quick! Put your money away Grandpa or they'll happily spend it for you!

Baseball Quote of the day:
A critic once characterized baseball as six minutes of action crammed into two-and-one-half hours. ~Ray Fitzgerald, in Boston Glove, 1970

I.am.so.excited!

2009-04-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

I.can't.wait!

Sand Dune Boone

2009-04-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

While in St George son's #1 & #3 each played a 4 games. Now 8 games in a weekend seems like a lot! But this year was actually a walk in the park for us because normally we would have had 12 games. But son #2 broke his arm back in February. No games for him until he gets his cast off.

So lets start with son #3. We call him Sand Dune Boone. Just Sand Dune for short. (Remind me to tell you that story another time.)Sand Dune is a lefty at school and at dinner time, but he's a "righty" in sports. When he was little I tried to convince KJ that the kid was a lefty, but he didn't believe me. I think he's kicking himself now. But either way, Sand Dune is one tough player. Just look at that concentration!
He got on base and is listening to his coach.
Sends him to second.
Made it to 3rd and he's heading home.....
....SAFE!!!!

Baseball Quote of the day:
I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it. ~Rogers Hornsby

Fimmin' Suity

2009-04-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

After much delay...I continue with the family vacation saga...
Immediately upon arrival at the condo in St. George the big people were pestered by the little people with an incessant request to go to the pool.
Side trip (side trips are my specialty): Sometimes in our family "going swimming" is referred to as "goin' fimmin' suity". This stems from my childhood. One of my sisters couldn't pronounce "swimming suit" and the term Fimmin' Suity was born.
Since I was prepared with a few good books to keep me occupied, and plenty of pasty white skin in need of some sunshine, I was happy to oblige. (I'm not real big on wearing a fimmin' suity. But I can sit in a lounge chair and read a book like nobody's business!)
So they swam.
...and swam
...and cannon-balled
...and played under the waterfall
to their heart's content!

2009-03-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

Baseball Season is upon us.
Actually we've had baseball practice since before Christmas. I hate it when the sports seasons overlap. Which is always. Basket ball runs into baseball and baseball runs into football and footall runs into basketball. It's a vicious circle. But I digress.

Our first big tournament this year was "March Madness" in St George. So last Wednesday we packed up and headed out.
KJ usually does all of the driving on our roadtrips. I think if he had to sit in the passenger seat he would have a nervous breakdown. As it is, I sit in the passenger seat and every time I look at the speedometer I have a nervous breakdown. I'd like to see if maybe we can have our speedometer replaced with a slowometer. Maybe?
Probably not.
We take a few big roadtrips and several small roadtrips each year for baseball. This makes me grateful that we have a rather large vehicle with plenty of seats and nearly enough cargo space for all of our junk. I almost had to leave the kitchen sink at home. It was a tight squeeze, but KJ can pack a trunk (or the back of a suburban) like nobody's business!
I'm also very grateful for good kids. And ceiling mounted DVD players.
And classic #2 pencils and paper for this girl. She's constantly drawing and creating.
We were also equipped with plenty of snacks, drinks for all and good conversation.
Are we there yet?

Since these next few posts revolve around our trip, and our trip revolves around baseball I bring you The Baseball Quote of the Day:

"Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, stealing is legal and you can spit anywhere you like except in the umpire's eye or on the ball. ~Jim Murray"

It's a NEED not a want. Really!

2009-03-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

My kids play sports. A LOT of sports. I attend a lot of games. I like to blog. I like to scrapbook. It's nigh unto impossible to scrapbook or blog something that looks like this:

So I really NEED one of these:

But every time I ask, I get one of these: (Translation: I'm trying really hard to pretend that I don't hear you.)

I was just about to rent a billboard to get my point across when lo-and-behold, he took me to the camera store on our way out of town last week! We bought the exact camera that I had ~~researched, studied and begged for~~ wanted.

Where before, I couldn't take an action shot at a 4th grade basketball game....
Now I can take this:
and this: out the window of the car going 85mph on I-15! Yipeeeeeee!

(Not that these last two photos are anything special...I just wanted to see if they would come out clear and they did!)

On the road again

2009-03-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

I've had a few people ask me where I've been.

We took a little family vacation. So, if you aren't into reading someone else's travel journal and seeing their family photos then you might want to stay away from here for the next little while.

Special Delivery

2009-03-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I got to personally deliver a prize to Ashley who was the winner of my 100th Post giveaway. I'm so glad I got to see her. It's been way too long! She's gracious and lovely and ~~she's one of those cute pregnant women we love to hate~~ awesome!
Congratulations again to Ashley! I'm pretty sure that her next "special delivery" will be a sweet little girl sometime next month!

WINNER!

2009-03-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

Time to announce the winner of my 100th Post Give Away!

I want to assure you all that this was a VERY technical process. Since this is my first giveaway, I did a little research on how to select the winner. I looked into Random.org and Random Number Generator and finally settled on Random Fit Thrower (remember him?).

While I waited for the Random Fit Thrower to ~~load~~ wake up and get dressed I wrote down the names of all the commentors and put them in a bowl. Very technical, I know. And since my instructions were clear as mud, I decided to accept comments from all three posts where I talked about the contest.
I'm glad I picked Random Fit Thrower to choose the winner because he was ~~my scape goat~~ really excited!

Once we had consulted with the auditors to make sure that everything was on the "up and up" this was our WINNER!
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CONGRATULATIONS to Ashley from "The Olsen's: A small glimpse into our little world" Ashley is just a few short weeks from having baby #2! Stop by her blog and give her some suggestions on what to name her baby girl!

Last Chance to Enter!

2009-03-16T12:47:00.001-07:00

Today is the last day to enter my 100th Post giveaway! Click here or here and leave a comment. The winner will be announced tomorrow.

Scum, Glare, Evil Eye...call it what you will.

2009-03-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

I call it ATTITUDE!

I'm bringing this one to you slowly....frame by frame....

So....do you think he's unhappy with me?

Here's the PRIZE!

2009-03-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Oh yah! You KNOW you want to win this!

Do you need a better shot of that cute wooden basket?

And how about those file folders. There are 12 in all. Three of each clever saying.

Here's a list of the loot and why I love it:
A cute container - I am a container-aholic.
Lovely Striped Dish Cloth - just because.
Turtle Chex Mix - It's got that "sweet/salty" thing going on.
Dr. Pepper - Nectar of the Gods.
Look Ma, New Hands (from Bath & Body works) - makes my hands feel SO good!
Cashew Cranberry Almond Blend (from Archer Farms) - it makes me feel a teeny bit healthy.
Dentyne Ice - Love the crunchy shell and minty *burst* inside!
Breath Savers 3hour Mints - they are so good I could eat them like candy.
Milky Way - Just the right blend of chocolate and caramel with a little nougat thrown in for good measure.
...and last but certainly NOT least...
Post-it notes & AWESOME file folders - I have an office supply fettish. Seriously, if Mr. KJ is in trouble, he knows that the road to forgiveness is paved with office supplies. (Makes my heart go pitter-pat!)

Don't forget that you can enter EVERY DAY until 11:59pm on the 16th!

You are going to win. I just KNOW it!

My 100th Post Giveaway!

2009-03-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Yikes! It's my 100th Post! Yes there will be a giveaway, and no it won't be cash. But I got your attention didn't I? Sorry. (We are in a recession here, people!) Before we get into all of the details, such a glorious occasion deserves a well-written speech. I had my speech writers over at Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Generator throw a little sumpin' sumpin' together. Since they didn't have anything remotely associated with 100 Posts in blogland, I had to go with this:

Acceptance Speech for the Outstanding Achievement in Gaffing Oscar:

Thank you! Oh! Thank you! I can hardly believe this! I feel so lucky! And this statue - it's so shiny! Oh, thank you again! I just want everyone to bow down before me and accept that even in my wildest hallucinations, I never could have imagined how this would validate my mediocrity. And to the other second-rate nominees, I want each of you to know how totally saddened your lackluster applause makes me feel right now!

You know when they first told me I wasn't pretty enough, I just had to take a Xanax and obsess about how generous my thighs have been. I guess it all just makes me feel kinda numb

You know, there are so many obsequious little people to thank! First off though, I want to pay off the esteemed people of the Academy, who looked deep within their lint-encrusted navels before giving me this fantastic award! Also, I want to thank Charleton Heston, for being such a powerful force in my kitchen. And to the People Under the Stairs, who taught me to take life by the horns. And finally, to all the personal assistants I fired - I couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you America, and good night!
(cue orchestra music)

So......for those of you who are still here. You too can write your own Academy Awards Acceptance speech (it's a little like playing Mad Libs), or you could just bag that and enter my giveaway.
Since I am at a loss for what to offer you for your devotion to me and my ramblings, I will go with the generic "My Favorite Things Basket". (I will post a photo tomorrow.) Trust me, it's gonna be exciting!

To Enter:
Leave a comment on this post. You can enter as many times as you'd like, but only once per day. Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm March 16th. The LUCKY winner will be announced on St. Patricks Day.

The Answer Is....

2009-03-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

I have a slightly fuzzy recollection of sitting at a Girls Camp Planning (or maybe it was certification) meeting. I was probably 13 or 14 yrs old. While we were waiting for the meeting to start one of the Stake Priesthood Leaders (a big burly mountainman sort of guy) went to the chalkboard and wrote this:

MR BARS
MR NOT BARS
OSMR
CM CLAWS
NDEDBD IS
OICM
MR BARS

He challenged us to figure it out. I couldn't. But I've never forgotten it. You see, my brain is pretty much full of useless information. Yes, that's me, a font of useless information. ...where were we? Oh, yah, so although this riddle may not have anything at all to do with actually attending girls camp I've always associated it with girls camp in my cluttered brain.

What's the answer you say?
Well you have to say it in your best mountain man voice:

MR BARS = Them are bears ("bars")
MR NOT BARS = Them are not bars.
OSMR = Oh, yes them are!
CM CLAWS = See them claws?
NDEDBD IS = And the itty bitty eyes?
OICM = Oh, I see 'em!
MR BARS = Them are bars!

Okay, so for those of you who spent a lot of time on this one, I'm sorry. Pretty corny, huh? But those are the sort of things that stick in my head. It's a curse.

MR BARS

2009-03-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Can you read this?

MR BARS.
MR NOT BARS.
OSMR.
CM CLAWS?
NDEDBD IS?
OICM!
MR BARS!

If you ever went to girls camp, chances are you can!

Your personal tour of the Utah State Capitol Building

2009-03-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Capitol Building which originally opened in 1916 was closed in 2004 for a 4 year renovation. The original cost of the building was $2.7 million. This most recent renovation cost somethwere in the neighborhood of $310 million. That's a LOT of granite and marble! On Feb 27 I went down to the State Capitol for PTA Day at the Legislature. I am on the PTA Board at our Elementary, but I am the Secretary (not the Legislative person) so really I went for my own curiosity. (The last time I was there was 17 years ago and well before the renovation.) I'm so glad I went and lucky for you I took along my camera!

This is the Governer's Office.

He was out that day because of Larry H. Miller's funeral.

This is the state Reception Room. It is better known as the "Gold Room" (Gee, I wonder why?) This is where they have important state functions and meetings.

It is decorated with Scottish, French, Russian and English turn-of-the-century period pieces and many of the moldings are covered in gold leaf.

This is the House of Representatives. There are 75 Representatives in the House. (This is the only picture I didn't take. I had to go search and I found it on About.com.)

You'll notice that there are seats way up top for all of us common-folk. This is called the Gallery.

Now we move on to the Senate. This desk is for the President of the Senate.

The Senate also has a Gallery.

There are 29 Senators in the Utah State Senate.

That's my Senator in the back on the left talking to some lady. Pay attention, Mr. Senator!

After our tour and some meetings, the PTA provided lunch for us. The tables were set up in the Rotunda (right below the big round dome). The seating assignments were such that we were able to sit with our local Senators and Representatives. It was nice to meet them face to face.
FYI: This is also where my graduating class held our Senior Cotillion. I sang the theme song at that dance (many moons ago). The acoustics in that building are COOL! But I digress.

This really is a beautiful building full of history and fascinating stories. I'd love to go back and have a more extensive tour. You should too!

Tooth Fairy

2009-03-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

The resident Princess lost her first tooth. Actually it's not lost. We went to the dentist and he pulled it out. She fell off the cart at Walmart a while back and her tooth has never been the same since. So the dentist decided it should come out. She was excited! Really. She counted down the days and talked about it constantly.

The pressure was really on the tooth fairy with this one. Apparently one of her friends told her that not only does the tooth fairy leave money, but if you leave her a note, she won't take your tooth. AND (this one's the kicker) if you leave a glass of water out on your dresser the tooth fairy will magically turn the water the same color as her dress. Wah?

I'm SO glad she clued me in when I went in to say prayers with her that night, or I'm afraid the toothfairy would have failed. Miserably. As it was, everyone was happy. And the tooth fairy? She had on an orange dress.

Blogger Lunch! (Yah, I know. You've already heard about it.)

2009-03-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

(Tiburon, Me, Sher)

A few weekends ago I had the chance to go to lunch with some of ~~the people I stalk~~ my friends. Kudos to Kristina over at Pulsipher Predilections who planned the whole thing! I was so excited to go, but a little scared to go alone. So I put on my Unibomber sunglasses and my hooded sweatshirt and I sent an email to Sher. In the email I did my best to convince her that although we'd never met, we should definately carpool together. Lucky for me, she trusted me enough to let me come to her house the next day and pick her up. We instantly hit it off and the drive to Draper just flew by.

(Kristina, Amber, Arianne, Melissa)

We arrived at the resturaunt along with 38 other blogging women. Everyone I met was so....normal! I especially loved sitting by Vanessa, Tiburon, Melissa, Arianne & of course the lovely Sher! These women are beautiful, talented, hilarious and sarcastic! (Pretty much everything I look for in a friend.) And Vanessa and I decided that we are pretty much soul mates and the universe was just waiting for a chance to get us together.

(Vanessa, Me, Sher)

(Melissa, Martha, Sheila, Tiburon, Vanessa)

Before we left for home, Sher and I took advantage of Kristina & her Snuggie for a photo op. Thanks Kristina for a lovely Meet & Greet!

Happy Birthday

2009-03-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

Last Friday my oldest had a birthday. If I was on the ball I would have posted about it the day before, or at least the day of. But I'm not. So I didn't.

He's 14. He's taller than me. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Seriously though, he's a great kid. He's a FANTASTIC athlete, a pretty good student and.......he just texted me and asked me to come and pick him up from school because he is going to throw up. Gotta go!

P.S. If he pukes in my car I'm going to take back all the nice things I said about him.

Thankful Thursday

2009-03-05T16:33:00.000-08:00

I know that I am on a blogging hiatus, but I can't pass up the opportunity to show some gratitude. Because, in the wise words of someone named Melodie Beattie:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

This week I am thankful for:

1. Kids who are AWESOME at the dentist. Once they are in that chair with headphones and a movie, they don't make a peep! Even my 4 year old. I usually just sit in the waiting room and read a book while they are getting teeth cleaned and cavities filled.

2. Birthday Parties. They give me an excuse to get together with family.

3. Piccolo Brothers Pizza. Nuff said.

4. Blemish Control Toner & Acne Treatment Gel. TMI?

5. Being able to work from home.

6. Blogging friends who (even though I am a slacker this week) still let me read and comment on their blogs.

7. Creative people like Tib who let me steal the Thankful Thursday logo.

What are you Thankful for?

Blog Interrupted

2009-03-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

This blog has been temporarily interrupted so that the author may participate in real life.
Regular programming will resume shortly.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely, The Management

Friday Night Fights

2009-02-24T06:05:00.000-08:00

Cage fighting, Mixed Martial Arts, Ultimate fighting. Any way you put it sounds painful to me. But what do I know?
Last Friday my husband and two oldest boys went to the Energy Solutions Arena for the Throwdown Elite "Showdown III". My husband invited me to go, but I was pretty sure the boys would enjoy it much more than I would have. (Now that I think of it, he probably knew I wouldn't go, and was just trying to win points by asking.)
They got to see the Jazz Bear's motorcycle up close and personal.
They got to eat dinner at their table which was right by the ring. And of course they got the all-important photo with the hot chic/"Ring Girl". (Thank you Ring Girl for wearing clothing.)
After the fights were over they got to meet some pretty awesome people. This is Travis Marx a.k.a.T-Train. He has a 12 and 1 record and I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley. Actually he is polite, gracious and humble. (Although he probably wouldn't want you to say that in front of his next competitor.)
Son #2 has not let ANYONE sign his cast, but when Travis said he would be "honored" if he could sign it, he couldn't find the sharpie fast enough! That's a pretty cool souvenier!
But even cooler was when Travis took his red gloves (see photos above) that he wore in the fight and signed them and gave one to each of my boys!

I love to see the temple

2009-02-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

We took the family to the Draper LDS Temple open house last Friday. I'm so glad we went. The kids were looking forward to it all week and they had lots of questions.
I was very impressed with how well organized the whole thing was. You can go online here and get tickets. We started at a nearby meetinghouse where we watched a short film about temples and why they are important to us. Then we boarded the bus that would take us up to the temple.
The bus ride was about 5 minutes. One of the volunteers was talking and answering questions during the bus ride, but we were in the back and couldn't really hear what he was saying.
Once you get to the temple they have a long line of tents set up to protect you from the weather as you walk from the bus to the temple. (The weather was beautiful when we were there, but I can imagine that those tents have come in handy with all the snow we have been getting!)
The tour of the temple was fascinating, especially for the kids who'd never been inside before. My 4 yr old was convinced that the baptismal font was a swimming pool, and everyone loved looking in the mirrors (in the sealing room) where you can see "eternity".
After the tour there was a reception at the chapel next to the temple where they had diplays, pictures, beautiful music and refreshments.
The kids loved the tour and they were very repectful and reverent. It was neat to be there as a family. It just makes me even more grateful for Eternal Families.
Wow! That is one good lookin' group!

The early bird catches the....?

2009-02-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

Early one morning:
Sleepy six year old (looking out her window): "Mom, why's there a toilet on our lawn?"
Me: (thinking to myself as I walked down the hall to look out the window): "..silly girl she must be really tired! Why would she say such a thing?"

Me (looking out the window now): "Hmmmmmm.....because it's true."
Sleepy 6 year old: "Told you!"
Me: "Somebody please go check out the toilet on the lawn."
(stomp, stomp, push, shove...4 out of 5 kids run to the door at once and push their way outside.)
Kids: "Holy Cow!?!"
Me: "Don't TOUCH it!"

(Of course, they don't listen.)
Kids (after a thorough investigation): "It's emtpy."
Me: "Whew! Just leave it there, he'll be back to get it later."
This is why I love my neighbors. They crack me up!
This was apparently the result of a long-running ~~slightly irreverent~~ email conversation that had gone on the previous day between my husband and several of the other husbands in our neighborhood.
The neighbor across the street came later that morning and retrieved his throne. But only after I'd sent him ~~a threat~~ an email that went something like this, "That's mighty bold of you, considering you and your lovely wife will be out of town all weekend.....just sayin'."

All I can say, Mr. Neighbor, is watch out!

Seriously though, I really love my neighbors! They are hilarious and sarcastic. What more could you ask for?

Big Sale!

2009-02-18T08:03:00.001-08:00

I got up at 5:15am this morning. Not to exercise. To save money! There's a big sale at Albertson's.

Some of the things pictured aren't usually on my list because they can be pretty expensive (and sometimes not very nutritious). But I figure once in awhile it's okay and when you combine coupons with the sale then I can afford it. My kids seriously thought they were in heaven when they got to have Toaster Strudel for breakfast this morning! (And as you can see, I also go some milk, wheatbread and whole grain cereals.) The only thing NOT pictured here is the Dr. Pepper that I drank on the way home.
(He's pretty excited about the Batman fruit snacks.)

Total value = $445.21

I paid = $100.21

A Savings of.....$335.00!!! WAHOO!

...and now I need a nap.

PS If you want to learn how to do this you can visit: Grocery Smarts or Pinching Your Pennies
And if you want someone to come and teach you (for free) how to do it, then go and visit Stacy here. (She didn't pay me for this advertisement. But good grief she taught me how to save $335! Thanks Stacy!)

Valentine

2009-02-14T10:49:00.000-08:00

This is my kindergartener.
This is her (shoebox-mod podge-paper-glitter) valentine box.
This is her valentine hair.
Happy Valentine's Day.

PS. I got the idea for this cute heart hair-do from a girl at church. She has four kids ages 5 and under and I've never seen her girls without a cute do! She's way talented and you can check her out at Pigs & Ponies.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

These are heart pillows. Not just heart shaped pillows. They are "Heart Pillows". You see, we have a tradition at our house that from February 1-14th if you clean your room, make your bed and set out your Heart Pillow, mom will put a treat inside. The kids LOVE it! As soon as they come in the door after school they race to their rooms to see what's in the pocket of their Heart Pillow. (Even the big kids!)

My mom started this tradition when I was little. We always looked forward to February because we knew it meant heart pillow time. The biggest and best treat always came on Valentines day (usually a box of chocolates) but every day was a new surprise. The pillow above is the one she made for me 30-something years ago. It now belongs to my daughter.

Up until now my youngest hasn't had his own pillow and he really didn't care. Frankly, he was more concerned about the candy than the delivery method. But this year he noticed. So I took him to the fabric store so we could make his heart pillow. (I really like going to the fabric store. I love the sound that the scissors make as the lady cuts the fabric using the groove in the table as a guide. Am I crazy?)
Anyway, I told him he could pick out any fabric he wanted. Right off the bat he spotted this Matchbox Rescue Vehicles fabric and there was no changing his mind. So we bought enough to make him a pillow case as well.

I think my mom is still doing "Heart Pillows" for my youngest sister. She's in college and doesn't live at home, but the other day she saw my kids' heart pillows at my house and said, "Hey! What day is it? I'm missing heart pillows!"
So Mom, if you read this, she hasn't forgotten!

Happy Valentines Day!

This is a first

2009-02-12T18:46:00.000-08:00

We've never had anyone in a cast at our house. We've had plenty of stitches and even surgeries. This kid holds the record on both of those so it's only right that he gets to be the first cast as well! His wrist is damaged at the growth plate. I honestly can't tell there's a problem, but apparently the gap between bones is too wide and off center. (I'm just going to trust the surgeon and his 30 years of experience on this one.)

He doesn't look too thrilled. I think he was hoping for some kind of miracle cure. This pretty much puts an end to his snowboarding season and his basketball season (where his team is undefeated in two different leagues).

This will be a lot more comfortable than the splint he has been in while we waited for the swelling to go down.

He's a pretty tough kid and I'm sure he'll come through this without a hitch. Just to make sure he was off to a good start we headed straight for Carl's Jr. where he ate a Bacon Avacado Six Dollar Burger (the whole thing!), fries and a coke. That ought to help, right?

Something's Wrong Here

2009-02-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a comparison picture of Son #2's wrist after his snowboarding "incident". Yeah. Definitely a problem. The swelling is even worse now than it was when that picture was taken. The doctor is concerned about the growth plate.
We get to go visit the orthopedic surgeon on Monday. In the meantime he looks like this:

Was That My Out Loud Voice?

2009-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Time for another exciting edition of things that may or may not have been said in my "out loud" voice:

Are you nuts? It’s whipped cream & pudding! Who doesn’t like whipped cream and pudding?

I’m not rolling the window up until one of you claims that! C’mon boys man up.

It looks like it’s just us tonight. We’ll get all cozy by the fire and you can pluck this hair out of my chin.

Enjoy it dear, ‘cause it ain’t never gonna happen again!

Close your mouth or close your door. You choose.

Thank you for the “shimmy”!

DON’T touch my Dr. Pepper.

Please don’t go commando in my pants.

Wow, that is one boyscout of a sling you’ve got there. It just screams merit badge clinic.

(said by 4yr old): Who’s the King? ME!

Thankful Thursday

2009-02-05T10:11:00.001-08:00

Last night my 12 yr old went snowboarding. He had a little accident and this morning we took him to the doctor for xrays on his wrist. There are no visible fractures of the radius or ulna (long bones of the arm) but they are worried about the growth plate where the bones meet the wrist. The swelling is pretty bad so it is in a splint for now. We will see the orthopedic surgeon on Monday.

It could have been something a lot worse so we are looking on the bright side and today I'm thankful for:

Good friends

Ice Packs

Good doctors

Modern Medicine

Xray machines

Tough kids

Ibuprofin

Dr. Pepper

Laughter

What I'm NOT thankful for? Ski Resort First Aid people who let an injured 12 year old sit in the lodge for 3 hours WITHOUT an icepack!!!

It's been a long 24 hours. I need a weekend.

(thanks for the logo Tib)

Treasure?

2009-02-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

In our basement we have a really old armoire that we acquired from my husbands grandparents. We put it to good use in our first house, as we didn't have a closet in our bedroom. Once we moved into our current home, I wasn't able to part with it. It has too much potential.
Some day, I'm doing to strip it down and refinish it. Someday.
But for now, it waits.
We use the shelves to hold various boxes of books and trinkets but have never used the bottom drawer. It has been preserved. It is exactly the way we found it. Like buried treasure....
Treasures like: a broom, two lantern wicks, an old mason jar, three american flags, an empty salt shaker, 2 rolls of toilet paper, a bottle of coffee grounds and what's that?.....
...a bedpan.
Yes. That's a male urinal.
And so I close the drawer and leave the contents untouched. Literally.

My Favorite Handy Man

2009-02-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

Remember a few weeks ago when I listed some of the things that I love about my husband?
One of the items on the list was: "He can build just about anything".
He really is a talented guy. And it's a good thing because being that it was January and all, I decided to set some goals for 2009.
One of which is to get our food storage built up to where it should be. When he built our home, he outfitted the storage area (under the porch) with awesome custom shelves which I promtly filled with large amounts of "stuff". Mostly boxes of clothes labeled for the next kid in line and holiday decorations. But what it amounted to was a lack of storage space for food! If I'm going to make sure we have food storage I've gotta have someplace to keep it. I needed more shelves!

Strange how my goals neccesitate work on his part.
But this past weekend he ~~got tired of listening to me nag~~ jumped at the chance to make me happy and set to work!
Voila! A few short hours later we have new shelves! He knows how to make my heart go pitter-pat.
Now that the decorations have a new home, I will have plenty of space for food storage. I'll post some pictures of the food storage area once I move it all in. I'm a woman on a mission!