Your Opinion Matters - Vote Now...

 What, You expected something POLITICAL?

Yeah, not around here missy - I'm all for voting and all, but I'll keep my political opinions to myself!

This is of much more immediate importance anyway right?  I really need a new "do" - and after much looking (about 20 minutes worth) I've narrowed it down to these...  now of course the "do" doesn't come with the professional make-up job of the model thin long neck... or even that Princess Leia inspired get-up on the last girl...  but I need some opinions.  It's too late to leave it long, but my shortest layers have finally reached my neck, so we're ready to chop them all off...

I haven't worn bangs in years... could I do it again?  I really can't decide.  

I'd love to say that whichever "do" gets the most votes will be the one I go with, but until I get back from the salon (a.k.a. the cheaper beauty school) Nobody will really know!  Next week - I'm saving up the nerve to just take the plunge... so voice your opinions now - hey, if you don't vote - you can't complain.  (you hear that hubby?)

Because Our Family is SOOO much fun...

We take normal everyday boring moments and liven them up a tad... okay, well - here's hoping that this first one doesn't happen EVERY day...

T was in his theatre class at school and was lucky enough to be a volunteer for the teacher - her annual gory make-up demonstration...  Now, because I took a few theatrical make-up classes in college I could tell you that there are some serious "no-no's" happening in this particular make-up job - but at first glance... well, let's just say it's a good thing that I HAVE taken a few classes and didn't freak out!  T hammed it up all through school (theatre is first period of course) and got a few sympathetic reactions from teachers and students...  Where on earth did he learn to be such a dramatic little booger?

( This is where the arial shot of everyone around the fire pit belongs... it disappeared into the ether and apparently Blogger doesn't want me to upload it again... Grrr...)

Then we had company - (yes, the company that I cleaned up for... no worries, we're back to clutter as usual!) - and because we're the consummate hosts we pulled out all the stops and did tin-foil dinners.  Yep that's right, Hobo dinners for people that drove 3+ hours just to see us...  It was Hubby's call, but they were actually pretty good.  That, and I love that when he cooks outdoors - I'm completely off the hook - especially since I got paper plates and cups just for the occasion!  (I know, I know... very un-green of me!)  After the sumptuous meal we crowded around our backyard fire pit and roasted a few marshmallows, ate a few s'mores and answered questions such as "would you rather clean the bathroom with your tongue or drink a cup of cat spit?"... a real winner for the kids to be sure!   Never let it be said that we are not a barrel of laughs around here! 

After a very relaxing nights' sleep (well, I'm assuming someone relaxed at some point) we were lucky enough to be blessed by our local good weather.  With temperatures in the 80's even this late in October we decided that it was a perfect day for the reservoir.  So - we picked up the Sea-Doo's (from our time-share type rental club) and headed out.  There was really no chance of getting nasty sunburns - but a few rays got through and I do have a little color to show for it.  This particular pictures shows W learning the water-skiing ropes from Uncle L - who happens to be pretty good at it as he demonstrated.  Q gave it a go as well and surprised us all by staying up for quite a ways around the reservoir but also rewarding us with a nice splash in the end!  

Say WHAT???

I've been mulling over this post for awhile... why you ask?  (really, ask....)

Well, since you asked it's because this is post number 100 - the kindergarten classes always celebrate 100 day and from what I've seen in my short stint (8 months) as a blogger there are some pretty fancy 100th posts out there...  I did some "research" to see how big a deal I should make of this... I mean - do I get some sort of trophy for my mantel  for setting a landspeed record of the most inane chatter in an 8 month period?  

Yeah - that'll do nicely!

Anywho - in all this "research" (which is my word for all the time I spent blogging that one day) I have found that there are some mighty special posts out there for #100...  I saw lists of 100 random facts (if you'll recall I had a hard time coming up with 7) I've seen retrospective posts going all the way back to their bloggy beginnings (ummm... not long enough ago, I still remember it just fine) I've seen giveaways (I just read a book I didn't like... and I've got a chest cold I'm tired of...)  I've... I've tapped my knowledge - I guess my research was more Exhausting and not so much Exhaustive!

Sooo - I'm breaking with Tradition - I've decided that since the number 100 is represented in Roman Numerals by a big fat letter C that we'll allow that to speak for me for now:

Caught Crummy Chest Cold - really - haven't had a voice until this afternoon when I had to yell at my son, it's been a very quiet household!

Compelled Chores and Cleanliness - had visitors (which you'll read more about later) and just couldn't stand the thought of them thinking we ALWAYS live in squalor!  Of course, Meg is a blog reader and now she knows that we cleaned just for her arrival...  should have REALLY scrubbed I guess!

Cheap - the country's cash crisis is really creeping me out - I can't cough up $ for anything full priced... this whole fiasco has created a Coupon Clipper out of me!

Camera - well, duh... I'm connected to mine at the hip!

Cats - Ahh Chooo...

Candles - I love the way they smell... I don't even light them, 'cause the smoke bugs me - but the smell is nice just sitting in the room!

Church Callings - currently I love mine, but check back in a few weeks - I have mood swings when it comes to children :)  I do love my Church in general though!

Cold - not the Congestion, the Climate!  I hate it... I can't stand it... keep it away.  My whole family is in Colorado and I can't even visit in the winter... 

Course of Action - (hey, there are no other C words in the thesaurus for "plan") - my point being that I never have one... I make To-Do lists some days, and sometimes I look at them... but I think most of my life is shooting from the hip... I know this stuff is!

Coughing -  yeah, I know I already used that one, but the Context was different - this time I'm busy actually coughing and my chest is killing me... I think that's enough C's anyway don't you?

C is For Cookie - and that's good enough for me!

Decorating for the Holidays...

In my bleary eyed stupor of the morning I was reading an article in my local newspaper - and the writer of said article actually had the audacity to call Halloween "pointless"...  Now yes, I can see her point that all other holidays - regardless of their current commercialism - have some underlying religious or memorial purpose.  I get that - but I still enjoy the Halloween preparations!  

You see, I enjoy making my kids' costumes...  I am a self professed "Halloween Seamstress".  To use this title for yourself you must first understand a few things:

The kids wear the costume once... "durability" is optional

It is dark when trick-or-treating... straight seams are wasted

In most areas of the country, it is cold Halloween night - and a coat covers a lot of mistakes

The costume is GOING to get dirty...  don't put lots of effort into it!

Oh, and the fact that I barely use my sewing machine the rest of the year...  Practice makes perfect - but since we're not going for perfection - Ta-dah... "Halloween Seamstress Extraordinaire"

So there's the 40 minute Tinkerbell- made from my hubby's old t-shirt (a gift, he didn't BUY something that color).  And the borrowed Dorothy, because my neighbor doesn't deserve the Halloween Seamstress Title and her costume has survived a few years.  The Classy Vampire(minus the makeup job), because after reading Twilight I just can't envision vampires not dressed nicely.  (and we're going to pretend that the blurriness of the photo is all about my kids' privacy and has nothing to do with my lack of photography skills or my sons lack of ability to Hold Still For A Second!) The Roadkill... actually 2 pictures of that because you just had to see a close-up of the fly buzzing around the skunk.  And T - sporting his cousin's name-tag...  I'm sure if he wears this costume to school it will be the name of one of his friends instead.   I have earned my title this year for sure!

As a general rule, October 1st has my kids rummaging through the boxes of decorations looking for the wooden skeleton and the brick Frankenstein - and then arguing about where best to display these creepy fellows.  As loyal blog readers will know, that particular date was a tad busy this year and we have yet to decorate our home... even the "coffin" which used to be a guitar box is still downstairs in the holiday closet.  I just can't bring myself to go all out for such a short time - I'm thinking I will just go straight for the wooden turkey and save myself a lot of effort.  Hey, at least my blog is all "Halloween-y" (yes I'm aware that isn't a word... and even if it were we'd all think it was a funny sounding one at best)

So - Early though it may be... aside from the Extreme Candy Consumption - I'm done with Halloween... and no hate-comments please, it's not like we're skipping Christmas!

Jam Packed Weekend of Fun, Fun, Fun!

Our weekend began very early Friday morning with a long car drive up to Ogden UT...  long enough that we needed to stop for gas before arriving - this was a little hard on the kids, but I like to pretend that they are good little travelers and I read my book completely ignorant of the fact that they are elbowing each other and fighting over who is touching whom...  Luckily when we stopped for gas we took a short break and walked around Cabela's...  for those of you who have never visited this mecca of camping/hunting/fishing supplies - you must know that it is virtually filled with taxidermy... although it was a little freaky when we happened upon an animatronic hunter amongst the taxidermy... of course Q told the kids it was just another example of taxidermy.   It's like Disneyland for avid campers - as is evidenced by the parking direction signs, the multiple entrance doors, and the postcards... really - postcards, I'm not about to send a card that says "Having a great time overpaying for road trip snacks - wish you were here!"

Next we made it to the Treehouse Children's Museum in Ogden - I've been trying to get up there for the past year and finally we made it work - it's a huge children's museum and worth the trip... T claimed to not have much fun, but there he is hangin' with Abe, looking to be enjoying himself anyway!  T's favorite part of the museum was the music area (easily the loudest area), though he was hoping for a little more in the science department... he might just be getting too old for children's museums?  W liked all the little areas where he could display his artistic talents.  P was digging the building blocks... the boys all did a contest together and although their tower was only the second highest theirs was free standing whilst the winning tower had to be held up by human hands...  I'm going to over-rule the museum staff and claim victory for the boys in this one!

H also really loved the art - especially the "art garden" where she made a lovely spooky card for halloween.  

M was totally in her element during the entire visit - 

we had to beg and plead to get her to take a break just to use the restroom.  As her fave she picked the firetruck, then the "tea party with Daddy in the White Bunny House", then... everything else.  and aside from a few tears when a younger child left angry red welts on her arm when he decided it was his turn to drive the fire truck and a close call when another child threw ABC blocks over the school house wall... she couldn't have been happier.  Her first words upon leaving the museum?  "Can we go to this place again?"... before she had even done her seatbelt!

No pictures of the Arby's lunch - but I do have to mention how disgusting "Mac 'n Cheezers" look...  and how silly it is that we adults bribe our children with "you'll get a treat if you finish your food..."  Here honey, have a few over-processed pieces of something that used to resemble chicken and if you eat it all you can have some refined sugar and fats as dessert!

Then we dropped off the kids... big thanks go out to Q's parents for putting up with our lovelies!

After Checking in to our B&B - The Hines Mansion in Provo, UT 

- we took a stroll around town.  I recently (yesterday) heard Provo referred to by Glen Beck... he said that it made Stepford look sane - well Glen - not THIS part of Provo.  I wonder, when Q and I were first married, did we realize that we lived in a dump... in the worst part of town?  It's certainly a lot dingier than I remember!  We did take the opportunity to finally walk through the "new" library (new to me at least).  That's the library in the picture by the way - the mansion is below... well, our room at least. We also took in a play at the Covey Arts Center that replaced the old library...  it was a whim and we didn't know anything about the play...  and frankly after watching "The Turn of The Screw" I'm still left wondering what it was all about...  if you've seen it and have any insight - feel free to share!

The B&B - well... okay, the bed was as high as my waist - and 

the breakfast was delicious... although I was a little disappointed that the little bowl of yummy fruit was mixed with poisonous fruit like cantaloupe.  Granted - nobody at the B&B was aware of my allergy - but having the entire bowl spoiled was a little sad.  The room we stayed in 

was "the library" although the only book there was the little guest book that everyone was supposed to sign.  I usually skip reading these because frankly - I'm always afraid that I'll find that I know a bunch of the other people who slept there!

At least now I can say I've slept in a library... 

The door to the bathroom was pretty cool as well :)

Saturday morning after checkout we made some quick stops to pick up forgotten items (have I EVER remembered everything?) like contact solution and hair gel... speaking of hair gel...  we're walking through the hair care aisle and I reach for a bottle of hair gel - but it's a broken bottle (I didn't do it!) and there's gel gushing everywhere... Q dipped his fingers in quickly and then did his hair while I grabbed a different bottle to purchase.  Is this shoplifting?

The ladies luncheon was yummy and fun - no pictures, sorry... I forgot my camera.  I really should have ordered something else though... far too many healthy veggies in that Cashew Chicken!!  (yes, you can say I told you so now)

The Craft is also photo-less... I was in charge of having everyone make cutesy hair bows for their little girls/nieces and it was a smashing success.  And if any female relation of mine gets on here and claims otherwise - they are dead wrong :)    LC and Megz posted photos if you don't believe me!

Next up would be the Halloween Party - an annual 

tradition that is the highlight of the season...  Just think somewhere between Chaos and Heaven...  Having given up on the game of musical chairs (it got really expensive what with all those broken folding chairs every year) we enjoyed some tamer games - and ESPECIALLY enjoyed Uncle D's very scary mission ghost-story with its multiple forays into doctrinal discussions...   If you look closely you can see W sitting with a skunk on his back (about 4 o'clock) - P as the classy vampire 2 to his right (looking straight at the camera) - and at 10:00 my cute little Stinkerbell and her sister Dorothy...   our wonderful teenage T is not pictured, but he was not far off sporting HIS costume... which consisted of a name tag which read "Hello, my name is C..."  His cousin C was pretty impressed :)

Sunday morning was slightly lazy - aside from 

getting all 6 adults and 11 children in the house ready to go to church!  My camera battery was suffering greatly by this point so there's no cute picture of newly blessed baby C in his chubby adorable-ness.  There is however this picture of the family quickly jumping for the food table where Aunty A had to request that the kids only take one dessert apiece (right before her own son took 3...)!  Little N standing there in the foreground is sporting a little hair bow from the craft (I think)...  

So that's it, my weekend in a nutshell... I'm sure everyone feels closer to me now :)

We're always happy when we get to spend lots of family time and enjoy all cousins/uncles/aunts - and then we're happy to come home and take a deep breath... until this weekend :)

Enough about the psychosomatic itching already!

I don't mean YOUR itching - I meant MINE of course...  I can't read anymore about it - and somehow despite my newfound ability to laugh about troubling times... I can't bear to leave that post up there representing my family while we go out of town for the weekend - SOOOooo, I need a new post.

Problem:  I've got nothin' - zilch, nada, zippo, bupkis! My brain is exhausted from making some quick Halloween costumes (gotta have 'em for the party tomorrow - as a matter of fact, we've still gotta go run over some stuffed animals for W's costume - he's going as RoadKill)

I could tell you all about the fun plans that we have in store for the weekend, but that would pretty much be a spoiler because I fully intend to take lots of pictures at the museum, the B&B, the sister luncheon, the wonderful craft, the party, and of the cute little new cousin!  You'll hear all about it next week...  

So how about this?  A question:  how dressed up do you get to run errands?  I've seen people in fuzzy slippers and their nightgowns at Albertson's in the wee morning hours - and we won't mention some of the atrocities I've seen at WalMart...  was that YOU?  I personally don't think I should have to do my hair or my make-up to run a quick errand, but I do think that certain standards of decency should be followed...  and then today - about 45 minutes ago to be precise, I had need of some hair clips which can only be found at Sally Beauty Supply...

Judging by the looks I got from the people at Sally - maybe I should have rethought my stand on hair and make-up to walk into a beauty supply place.  I'm pretty sure they wanted to pounce on me and do a makeover!   So, is "slumming" it okay - is it just me running around and scaring the world with my natural skin showing?  I know the ladies who work there have to look all nice, but I don't see any reason why I should spend twenty minutes getting ready to spend 5 minutes in a store!

Okay - I guess my "nothing" post became "something" after all... discuss amongst yourselves - I'll be back Monday with lots of photos to share!

Making light of a stressful situation...

First off, I have to admit to the world that my "stressful situation" doesn't hold a candle to some people's - and I'm sure that somebody will read this and say "what... THAT stresses her out, I'd like to see her handle MY life"   Well go right ahead...  I know that in comparison my life is peachy keen and since there was no loss of life (well, lives of human beings) and relatively little loss of comfort I will just get over this... but since this is MY blog and because there was SOME loss of sanity - I'm putting this into my stressful category and that's that.

You see, on the heels of my Monday from Albuquerque (Albuquerque being next door to Hades) I got the a Tuesday I would like to forever wipe from memory!  I have two beautiful daughters (and 3 handsome sons who don't figure into this story much) and 4 yr old M and I spent the morning volunteering in 6 yr old H's 1st grade class...  So far, no stress... life is good - I can cope, really I can!  Then... as M is sitting on my lap I see some movement from the corner of my eye... unfortunately the corner of my eye is focused on her SCALP!  There is a little teensy but definitely disgusting little bug in her HAIR... So I run screaming from the school (well, not really) - straight to the store to purchase every conceivable lice treatment in the world... or at least on their shelves.

I know... "ewwww", "ick!", and "Holy Crap - have my kids been anywhere near those filthy children?!?" and especially "oh please, let her not have posted pictures of those!"

Now, because I paid attention in health class - and because I saw the Arthur episode where Muffy gets lice - I KNOW that lice is not the "dirty disease" that it was believed to be... I KNOW this in my brain, but knowledge possessed in my brain does not always translate to emotional well being as I make phone call after phone call to schools, preschool, and even dental office to tell them the lovely news - I am not ashamed to admit now that I was crying many tears of shame then.  It took over a week to wash/boil/spray/throw out/quarantine everything in my house and slightly longer than that to be mentally prepared to be humorous about the situation!

So, without further Ado, I present:

All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Lice:

Share Everything (except hats, combs, jackets, barbies... yeah, never mind - be selfish, it's safer that way) *  Play Fair - and at least 5 feet from the nearest child * Don't hit people, especially when they might wrestle you down to a questionably clean rug that hasn't been disinfected yet * Put things back where you found them, after mom has finished tumbling them in the dryer on HOT for 20 minutes * Don't take things that aren't yours, especially combs and hats! * Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody, because nobody likes having their hair pulled even if it is very necessary to remove every last nit * Wash your hands before you eat - and as often as possible, especially is you touch your sisters/daughters hair * Flush - wait, I didn't learn that last week... but it's still important! * Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you - and a good break from stress * Live a balanced life - take breaks each hour from hair searching * Take a nap every afternoon, because you probably haven't slept at night while doing all this darn laundry * When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together - and keep your hair tied into tight little bands so as not to share anything unpleasant * Be aware of wonder.  Life can exist in a tiny seed - or a tiny egg that should be removed and destroyed thoroughly * Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die, and so do lice... they're just harder to kill * and then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.  Look VERY closely until your eyeballs are ready to pop out!   (with apologies to Robert Fulghum)

I also learned that good friends are good to have and "I've been there" are nice words to hear sometimes! * there is a lot of fabric in cars... whether you drive a Yugo or a Mercedes - those stupid seatbelts never end!  * no matter how tired you are you should still separate your laundry carefully because even though the 9 year old thinks his new pink splotchy polo is cool it screams "my mom can't do laundry" to the rest of the world! * Dolls and Barbies really don't need changes of clothes! * Who needs so many stuffed animals? * Attachment to physical possessions (bows, hairbows, etc...) is evil * Cheap rugs are cheap for a reason and don't necessarily like to be thrown in the washing machine * Tenacity is a good quality, except in tiny little bugs * Staying fit is important in case you ever need to bend to do laundry for 20 hours straight!

On a lighter note, the girls had REALLY cute hair do's for 10 days straight... 

and the bedrooms were REALLY REALLY clean when all was said and done!

(with special thanks to the teachers and principal at my daughter's school for their subtlety - she came home BEAMING because Mrs. T loved her hairdo's... even though Mom suspects there was some other reason for taking a glance at her head!)

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

I am torn in two...  this is one of those decisions you make lightly like the upcoming presidential election...  This is real life changing decision making here - this could affect the happiness of my marriage - for at least, what... a day or two at least :)

You see - on Oct 14th I celebrate a milestone 15 years of marriage to my wonderful and devoted man... this is an event worthy of a post pointing out all of his good traits and ignoring each and every time he has put the toilet paper roll on upside down (and in case you didn't know, it should roll off the top)...

HOWEVER - besides being such a personally thrilling date, the ladies over at The Secret is in The Sauce have chosen this date for their own fun purposes.  If you don't know anything about this  website it is a tremendous way to waste time because they have created a little SiTS-erhood of bloggers that check in daily to see who's being featured (and hoping to win a monthly prize).  I was completely sucked in when they were giving away the Cricut Expressions and somehow stuck with it even when I didn't win (mope, mope, mope...).  Anyway - they link to all sorts of fun and witty people and sometimes I find some great stuff out there in return for my 3 minutes of stopping by.  I say "fun and witty" because they were nice enough to send a pile of readers my way recently and they must have some standards right?  (yes Meg - that was when you commented on all the "saucy" comments I was getting)

SO, back to my dilemma - I could go on and on and gush about my wonder-hubby and how we met (a parking lot - though we like to tell a variety of more interesting stories) and how long we dated (about a year)... or I could post about this Blog-a-Thon they're doing over at SITS in the hopes that I could win one of the hourly prizes?

Do I inundate everyone with multiple pictures of Q making me applesauce cookies when I beat him in a "who can get more tan while T is in Mexico and Q is in Utah during the month of March" contest and our wedding reception (holy early 90's hair - you're missing out!)  Or, do I link to these 5 fun people I have found through SITS?

Ronnica - 'cause she has a cool name is my only link to Kansas.

Gingela - even though she has dogs - I'm not allergic to them over the internet apparently.

P.I.M.P - No, that's not her name... you'll figure it out when you click!  My frugal guru.

Tina - even though she likes the Utes - she's still okay in my book

& Yaya - because although I am a funny blog junkie - she made me cry last week - a well written touching blog is important once in awhile too!

Now I am feeling bad that I didn't do more... but I'll post links just for fun someday so that nobody feels left out.

Well - it looks like you'll have to check back next year for photos of that dress that my blood,  sweat and tears went into making.  Oh, and my mom's blood, sweat and tears, and my neighbor's more skilled serger and sweat (pretty sure she didn't bleed or cry).  Thanks Cheree... couldn't have done it without you...  Instead of telling you my 100 top things about the love of my life I've sold my soul to the Leopard Printed Devils over at SITS!  Hubby's sisters are probably relieved to not have to read all of that anyway - but I promise, it doesn't matter what they're giving away - if next years' blog-a-thon happens to fall on our anniversary, I'll concentrate on you instead :)  

(do you think they'll disqualify me for calling them leopard printed devils?  Oh well, it's worth the risk right?)

If you give a Kid a Camera...

...chances are...  you're going to have to apologize formally to Laura Numeroff for ripping off her story ideas (Sorry Laura).

To finish out Tag Week - yes, I really mean it... you'll be back to regular pointless meanderings soon enough - I've gone with a photo tag of a different sort.  I had to let each of my children take a photo of whatever they wanted.  Granted, I did kind of hover nearby when the youngest had my camera in hand - but trust me - they picked what they wanted to photograph all by themselves!  After all... would I have chosen to take a close up picture of Eeyore on M's blanket made lovingly for her at birth by her Aunty Di?  It is cute, but I think I would have backed up a tad... it's close enough that I can feel the cozy furriness :) 

This is H's photo - of her bedroom... she is looking to take real estate photos worthy of this.  5 minutes with a vacuum can make a world of difference!

P's photo - featuring W in action on the... shoot, I don't know what that thing is really called.  We'll dub it the Wiggle-Car and hope that nobody thinks that my boys are still into The Wiggles (actually, nobody in this family ever got into that...)  Nice action shot - it looks like W is about to take a spill!  Nobody came to me for band-aids so we will assume it all worked out okay... or that the boys aren't happy that I let M pick out the Hello Kitty band-aids this time.

W's photo - he took a picture of my least favorite spot in town... the hill that I have to walk up when I walk the kids to school in the morning...  what were we thinking buying on a hill?  About 3 houses from home I'm breathing hard... after that it's a simple matter of going the remaining mile to the school.  Oh, and if you look really hard (and have the same technology that they use on CSI) you can read the phone number on the window and buy that black truck my neighbor has for sale.

and T's photo... what would a 13 year old photograph?  Why, a granola bar of course...  actually - there's some hilarity behind the fact that he did...  are you up for a long story?  Yes?  oh goodie, I love a long story!  Back when I was a freshman in college I had a roommate named Christanne, only we called her "Stan" because... (wait, where are you going - you said you wanted the long version didn't you?)...  okay, the quicker version - College Roomie's Dad used to occasionally send these.  They make a great substitute for breakfast cereal if you crush them first.  They are FUN to crush, it's therapeutic... whap them against the side of the table... jump up and down on them... throw them at the kids...  in our family we've perfected the art of crushing them in the funniest way possible - and if nobody laughs, my appetite for them is gone.  They're quite yummy sprinkled over yogurt too!  So... that's why he took a picture of them - notice please that the package is slightly crunched up already :)

So that's it - Tag Week is officially over... if you've felt slighted that you didn't get tagged somewhere along the line - just pick something and do it - let me know and I'll be happy to come check it out!  

Gratitude

yes, it's another tag - don't say I didn't warn you... we're getting them all out of the way so that I can always say "oh yeah, I already did that one, it was fun - thanks for the invite though"...  

This one I picked up over that The Funny Farm...  her exact words were "consider yourself tagged" - and that's what I did.

1- If every job paid $50,ooo a year, and you had no physical or mental limitations, what would you do?

Given that I've decided that no mental limitations also means that I'd have a talent for it - I'd do some interior design...  of course, now that everyone's making 50 grand a year I might not be too busy - or wait, will this be like HealthCare reform?  oh, let's stop right there before I offend someone with a political rant.  Remember this is designated tag week - otherwise known as "I don't want to talk about all the other things that are going on in life and in politics so I'm filling my blog with nonsense week"

2-What is your current church calling?  What do you like about it?  What have some of your other callings been?

First - I have to give permission to anyone opting to do this after me to eliminate this question if it doesn't apply... I didn't write the questions people - I'm just answering them!  I currently teach the 6/7 year old boys and girls - they are a fun group of kids and I've grown to like a lot of things about the class... especially when they make me laugh out loud even when they're saying something that's off topic.  In the past I have served as (and I'm trying to keep these in order from my first calling nearly 20 years ago).  CTR 6 (Colorado), Nursery (College), Relief Society Teacher (Utah), CTR 7 (Colorado), Primary Secretary (Colorado), CTR 6 (Kansas), Relief Society 4th Sunday teacher (Kansas), CTR 8(Washington), Primary Secretary (Washington), Primary President (Washington), CTR 7 (Utah), Webelos Leader, Cub Master, Cub Committee Chairman, CTR 7 (all in this ward).  I have also greatly enjoyed getting to substitute teach a lot in RS while working with the cubs...  but I have a theory - we are called into a particular area for a reason - and we're supposed to learn something from that experience... so PLEASE somebody, clue me into what I have been missing all the many many times I have taught CTR 6,7,&8!

3- Name a person you regularly encounter (outside of you family) who brightens your day.

little neighbor A always makes me smile because she says my name "Ton-Eee-Yuh", how can that not help.  Also, I am privileged to start each day walking to school with neighb0r S who I regularly unload all my cares and troubles on...  and she tells me all the time that she doesn't mind even though I'm sure have more insanity than most :)

4- In 20 years, what do you think you will miss most about your life now?  Aside from my svelte figure and endless energy - oh wait, I'm going back 20 years again... umm, definitely my daily interactions with my children.  They drive me batty and then some most days - they are all incredible people with strong personalities...  I sometimes look forward to missing them, but I am sure I will... and then they'll visit and I'll change my mind :)

5- What's something you appreciate about your spouse?  This might be a long story - so hold on...  During the dark ages (the dating years) I met a lot of guys - and while you're looking for "Mr. Right" you tend to evaluate the potential field a little bit...  there were guys that made you fall head over heels for them and you (or maybe just me?) tend to change yourself just a tad to be more athletic/more brainy/ more witty so that they will like you more.  I knew Q was the one for me when I realized that I wasn't trying to be something different - that I could just be myself and we could be happy.  I loved him more because I actually liked myself more... Does that make any sense?  Okay, if it didn't let's just pretend I said I love that he tries to pitch in at home especially when he knows I've had a really nutso type of day.

6- What is your favorite routine, household chore?  really, I do tend to like clearing the tables and counters - it's such a rewarding result... until the next meal-time at least.

7- What's a book you return to occasionally (besides the scriptures)?

Oh, I have to go with Les Miserables - I don't always read it all the way through, but I love the intermingled plot lines and the history of it.

8- Favorite Small Pleasures:  blogging (entirely my SIL's fault), reading

9- Favorite Time of The Day:  I used to be more energetic and I'd do early morning walks - I would stand there on the sidewalk waiting for my friend  to come out of her house and be overwhelmed by the beauty of the morning pre-sunrise...  I love that each day brings with it a new opportunity to do a better job than the day before.

10- Name a person who performed what they thought was a small act of service, but ended up being a big deal to you:  When I was 8 months pregnant with my last child my friend Tara (who was pregnant herself) offered to come by and help me fold all the laundry that had been piling up...  it was clean, just not folded.  I had a doozy of a case of carpal tunnel at the time and really couldn't do much for myself and this one thing gave me a chance to feel like I wasn't months behind in the housework.  By the time she left I was more relaxed because I'd had a chance to chat with another adult and all the kids' sheets were washed and back on their beds - no small task for 2 pregnant ladies :)

11- Name someone who somehow changed your life.  This could be a LONG list.  I'll go with my oldest son though - all my kids probably, but him because he was the first.  On a daily basis he reminds me that I have a lot of growing to do in this world - and that despite being the adult I am but a child.  Maturity?  Yeah, we're working on it.

12- Consider what you do each day.  Think of one attribute or trait that you bring to your daily work that is a strength--what is something you do really well?  Crud... I'd forgotten that one was one there...  I'm going to go with perseverance...  because as many times as I just want to throw in the towel - I don't...  I don't WANT to stick to the budget, but I know I need to - I don't WANT to do the dishes/laundry/vacuuming/etc... but that's my job and it makes the house a happier place for my family.  

Ugh - this is not a funny post...  I suppose that's part of why I picked this tag to save for the end of tag week (well, almost the end...)

Tagging people:  I thought about tagging Ben - but he already posted about gratitude this week - and my list of other people that read here (and admit it) is limited to Kollen, Jenn, Heather, and Laura...  if any of you are feeling grateful, be my guest!

A Quick Trick Book Tag

Very Seuss-ian title - of which I am proud...

This is the tag in its entirety:  Grab the nearest book (no fair running around trying to find something impressive - just grab...) okay - got it?  Turn to page 56.  Go to the 5th sentence on the page.  Type it in your post.  Tell us what book it is... Ta-Dahh... one more down!

Okay:  my book is So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld - it's sitting here because I recently read it so that I could add a good two cents' worth to its review over on the book review blog.

The sentence:  "It was him, wasn't it?" Jen said.

oooh, that's mighty informative...  I'm sure you're dying to read it now :)  just be glad I didn't grab the second nearest book... it's a high school yearbook - here entirely because I don't frankly remember 2/3 of these people on facebook!  And believe me, that one guy looks TOTALLY different without the skater bangs covering his eyes!

Oh - and no, I'm not "tagging" anyone - just stick it here as a comment if you'd like - though you're welcome to do it over at your own blog if you feel the need :)

Ahhh... memory lane... this road really needs to be re-paved!

this 20, 10, 5, 1... is brought to you courtesy of Meg, and the number 20.  (I watched WAY too much Sesame Street as a child... but that was more than 20 years ago and thus the subject of another post entirely)  And yes, I'm doing 2 in one day - I'm getting tired of tag week so we're going to condense it a teensy bit!

20 years ago:  maybe not to the day - but I was finally of legal dating age and went out with some guy named Bryant to a Chinese Restaurant.  Trying to disguise my dislike of the food I'd  ordered I was talking a lot and gesturing with my hands - I know, that's a shocker.  Unfortunately my hands were holding a fork (no, I wasn't brave enough for chopsticks 20 years ago) and we were seated next to a short wall with a teensy little ledge which caught the edge of said fork and sent it flying... end over end over end... and it finally landed amongst a group of people just coming in to eat.  I used my embarrassment as an excuse to be done.  Funnier still - he continued to ask me out after that for awhile... I don't think we ever did go out again though.  Only guy I ever knew who really looked great with a beard.  OOoops, this was supposed to be a more general thing - working at a theatre in Downtown Denver, ditching my geometry class a lot... you know, typical teenage stuff :)

10 years ago:  Living in Wichita Kansas... wait, no - we had just moved AWAY from Wichita and were actually living with Q's parents for a little while (that being the code word for the fact that we overstayed our welcome by a tad...)  I was working at my 3rd KinderCare and suffering from a severe lack of respect for my boss - which was not entirely her fault I'm sure.  My two oldest were still but little wee ones and I had not learned the meaning of the words "basket case"  that came soon after though.

5 years ago:   Hmmm - why is this so hard?  We were living here, in this very house - though it looked VERY different at that point.  The kids were all doing well in school and I had yet to get super involved in PTA (ahh, those were the days).  I was teaching an occasional scrapbook class for the city, or maybe I was still on at Michael's then... details - who needs 'em?

1 year ago:  I was enjoying the beginning of school very much as the finally past-PTA president, it felt great.  The girls' awful summer haircuts were beginning to be manageable and I was beginning my Christmas shopping early!

Yesterday:  I listened to LDS General Conference on the radio...  it was good - I had small twinges of guilt that I will henceforth refer to as inspiration :)

There are no rules on how many I have to tag - so we'll go with... 2!  I'd like to see what Malinda was doing all those years when we'd lost touch - and since Becky and I seem to be twins separated at birth (aside from the whole birthday thing) I'd like to explore this theory a little further :)

Fastest Tag in the West.

This one wasn't originally part of tag week - but Mariann responded so quickly to mine so I'll return the favor... besides, once I dug out the right photo - 1/2 the work is done!

So here it is:  the rules of this tag were to open your photo program, go to the 6th folder, then choose the 6th photo in the folder...  easy peasy :)

The photo is from day one of the 2007 C family reunion (I think I'm right on the year...)  The athletic people in the family were playing tennis and the others (yep, that'd be me) were taking the kids for a walk.

I am just glad nobody wanted pictures from a few weeks prior when the girls chose to cut their own hair (after I let them watch The Parent Trap - apparently they wanted to be twins?)  a year and a half later and I still hate those photos!

TWO

yes, another tag - hey, I warned you it was tag week - what did you expect?  This Beauty is from my friend Janet who saved my sanity more than once while we lived in Arlington, Washington.

2 names you go by:  Mom and Tonya

2 things I'm wearing right now:  Grey workout pants and my t-shirt that proclaims "My Way or the Highway"  (I should have changed before answering that... or lied...)

2 of my favorite things:  my family and a good book

2 things I want very badly at the moment:  Sleep and for the laundry fairies to come and take care of the mountain of clean laundry I washed but cannot bring myself to fold

2 favorite pets you have/had:  Pinegar (a fish) and Ebby (a cat)

2 things you did last night:  Laundry, Dishes

2 things you ate today:  pretzel sticks, turkey tacos

Last 2 people you talked to:  my dear hubby Q, and M... she wanted something and now I'm wondering if I took care of it?

2 things you are planning on doing today:  oops, should have written this earlier - there's not much planned for the rest of the day...  study time with the family and making cookies together

2 longest trips taken in the last 5 years:  Florida with Q (first time we were alone in 12 years), and San Diego with the family - LegoLand rocks.

2 favorite holidays:  Christmas and Groundhog's Day

2 favorite beverages:  Wendy's light Lemonade, and Berry Flavored Water  (and no Janet, I wasn't copying you... I just happen to love the stuff too!) 

2 people who get to do this next:  Sher (my sister in law) and Kristelle (my good friend and neighbor whom I'm sure will still talk to me after this)

Would she even remember if I never did the tag?

That's what I said to myself back in early July when Erin challenged us to a tag - and now I'm sure the answer is "no" BUT... since I'm doing tag week around here, I can't leave this one out...  I'd like to say it's because I'm excited to answer her questions, but frankly - I don't remember what they are - so here goes nothing:

Favorite Day of The Week:  Monday?  yeah, not a popular opinion - and not LAST Monday in particular - but I like that my house is generally clean from the weekend cleaning burst of energy (and forcefulness) and that I get some time to just read to my youngest and relax before the week takes hold.  Actually, come to think of it - Monday was actually the best day even this week... 

Favorite Candy Bar:  I'll have to go with a PayDay bar... lots of sugar, lots of nuts, yummy caramel - and no nasty chocolate.  If you're surprised that I don't like chocolate you obviously didn't read the post yesterday.

Favorite Restaurant:  Hmmm...  Maybe Applebee's - there's some other places that I'd PREFER to eat, but don't because the price is a tad steep... so the practical side of me will stick with yummy and affordable.

Favorite Fast Food:  If Subway isn't fast enough for you I don't know what to tell you - Wendy's does have one good salad and I indulge in their lemonade as often as possible...  it might be a tie.

What City in UT would you most like to live?  Hmm...  I think I'm good, a smidge to one side or the other would be okay, but I like my city.  Who decided on Utah though?  

Would you prefer Hubby to bring home a bouquet of flowers or a pint of ice cream?  Neither would last long, but make it ice cream :)  And while we're indulging, could it be white chocolate macadamia nut cookie dough ice cream?

Anchorwoman or small shop owner?  Really this one's a toughie - but the ability to sit and tell the masses what I think... that's swaying my opinion pretty swiftly!

Magazine Editor or Big City Prosecution Attorney?  oh, Magazine Editor anyday...  as long as I don't get stuck at Car and Driver or something...

Favorite Household Chore?  does blogging count?  okay then, I like arranging the bookshelves... oh, I can hear Erin whining already - FINE - I pick vacuuming.

Least Favorite?  The competition is strong here - Bathrooms... there are too many boys in our family.

Favorite Cereal?  Rice Krispies... plain, no sugar...  or bran flakes... I'm getting old.

Favorite Season?  Autumn

Favorite ACTIVE activity?  Walking - as long as I'm with someone I like to chat with and we're not going so fast as to actually breathe hard.  

Favorite LEISURE activity?  Reading, no question there.

Do you take vitamins?  no, BUT before I get nasty e-mails... I am VERY conscious of the amount of nutrition in the foods I eat - so I do get the 100% of my iron, calcium, and a few others that I care about :)

How many tickets?  Oh, shoot, I don't remember this question being in there - I wonder if I could get away with not answering it?

What does retirement bring?  Well, I'm not counting on Social Security benefits - but since we're already living in the perfect area for retirees I think we'll stay put and plan to do some traveling.

What talent do you want to have?  Diplomacy...  that would really be helpful since the kids are entering their teenage years!

Oh, I'm supposed to tag people too?  umm, yeah - for today let's just share a few little tid-bits here in the comments section...  

When the going gets tough... the Tough go Tagging!

I have to say - it's been a REALLY rough week around here - and I'm just not feeling very witty and chipper - so instead of leaving it ALL week without a post... I'm taking the chickens way out and making it Tag Week... you see, I've been tagged 3 times this week... maybe 4 - and they all look like fun tags, so I'm going to do them... all of them - and here's the first - compliments of Becky (who happens to be one of the funniest people I've never met)

1- I spent about 75% of the time between the ages of 8 and 13 on crutches... stupid foot.

2-Although I grew up in Colorado I never went skiing until winter of 1998 - I hated it.

3-I like to re-arrange my furniture every 6 months... and coincidentally that's about how often I vacuum behind the entertainment center!

4-I don't eat chocolate... whether that makes me a bad American, a bad Christian, or a bad Woman in your eyes - I can't stand the stuff, it smells nasty to me.

5-I read obsessively.  This is not a good thing - Hubby knows by the big red box on the Calendar that a new book is coming out and that will mean 3 things:  Don't plan any family time, Expect Pizza for dinner, and make sure you have enough socks to get through the week 'cause this lady will only move from her reading perch for occasional sustenance and potty breaks.

Tag Break - man this is hard guys - who knew it would be such a chore to come up with 7 odd things about me... maybe I'm more normal than I thought?  Don't answer that.  I'm sure many of my friends and family could come up with... oh wait, that brings to mind:

6-I have just an itty bitty touch of OCD - my CD's are alphabetically arranged, my shirts are color coded in the closet, and if you ever play cards with me PLEASE don't make a mess of the piles... or discard three 6's in a row... it tends to make me a little crazy :)

7-Despite all those years on crutches, I've never broken a bone... unless you count my front tooth (but that's a WHOLE other post in itself... remind me sometime, it's a hilarious story!).  I've mis-aligned the growth plates in my wrist - I've had bones removed (a little tiny one in my foot) - I've had all SORTS of things go wrong with infections and the like, but no broken bones.

Okay - that's 7, and yes, it was crazy hard... now I have to pick 7 of you to tag... and you might just want to hold on because frankly there are only about 10 people that I KNOW come here often enough to be tagged... so you're gonna get it eventually, and maybe twice - so just save them up and do them all together?  okay, here are the lucky winners in no particular order because I'm just wracking my brain trying to come up with 7.

Chelsi - because I KNOW she laughed at all my medical mishaps and the OCD (and she's the only one I know who beats me to straightening the pile)

Janet - because one of these upcoming tags is from her

Erin - also because I've got an Erin tag on hold

Megan - because she's my kids favorite aunt... or at least that's what she says

Firefly - because she's lurking around here and I like to point out that some Non-Family DOES show up.  Besides - she's a cool yogini (I think that's the word)

Mariann - because she's been blogging about bugs a lot lately... and refrigerators... and I am dying to see what she does with this

Darcy - because she hasn't posted anything new in 2 weeks and sometimes girl - you just gotta put something mindless down!  Usually her stuff is nice and deep and meaningful (and beautiful, she makes some GORGEOUS quilts) and while that is a wonderful break from my "stream of conscious thought" writing - I just want to know what's UP?

Don't feel bad about being left out - and don't gripe about being tagged... I tell you what, if you really feel the need to comment you can just tell me what you think the proper spelling is for the sound the kids make when they stick out their tongues and blow a raspberry... I'm going with PBBLLTH for now, but I'm up for suggestions.  Are there differences according to regional dialects?  Maybe it's the #8 odd thing, but this question has intrigued me for years... (no, not really, who do you think I AM?)