Sponge Bob hasn't aged well...

like a good portion of the country our kids dressed up...

M- a sweet "ballerina bee" (she couldn't decide which to dress up as...)

 H- My little peace child

 Po - the greediest Leprechaun this side of Ireland...  we did manage to convince him that it wasn't okay to tell people "kiss my Blarney Stone"

and W - gettin' into character.  (Note - he only wore this at the family party... apparently 13 is just a tad too "cool" to be dressing up for school?)

well... most of our kids - the teenager said he was a homicidal maniac since they look just like everyone else.  I think he was afraid of me taking photos of him looking less than his hunky self.

and like a good portion of the country we celebrate this "holiday" by taking candy from strangers and leaving carved vegetables on our porch...

Only problem?






 Sponge Bob does NOT age well... ewwww!
Until I convince ManOfTheHouse that it's his job to remove all leaking fly-infested pumpkins from the porch I think I'll be using the garage entrance :)

(Update:  the pumpkins have been removed... apparently dropping hints on the blog works!)

whoo-hoo... all my own images today - don't faint!

It doesn't get any scarier than...

ummm... if you're expecting a spooky Halloween post you are in for a Trick...  the fact is - it doesn't get scarier than a 3rd grade field trip to the Symphony...

as I sat there listening to the beautiful music and enjoying myself I kept having strange phrases pop into my head...

Like:

"Youth is wasted on the young" (George Bernard Shaw) - I never understood that when I was young (ooh, there's a suprise) - but trailing the line of running 3rd graders into the concert hall... I GOT it.

"Children should be seen and not heart" (? an old Victorian ideal) - frankly, this is impossible... 'twould be nice at times, but it's bull.

speaking of Bull...  "Like a Bull in a China Shop" came to mind at least 67 times during the course of each song.

"You can put lipstick on a pig" (Obama) - think 1400 or so 3rd graders...  all dressed to the nines...  of course, they're still horsing around and teasing each other - only now they're doing it in dress shirts, lace and high heels!

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink" (old English Proverb... sort of) only I reworked it a tad into "You can lead a third grader to the symphony, but you can't make them sit still for five freakin' seconds and stop picking at the collar of their nice clothes"  Nor can you make them appreciate "Dance Boheme"

"I told you to go before leaving the house!"  (every mom I've ever known, and probably a few others) - luckily this was not MY chaperoning duty...  but that poor lady in the third row barely sat down the whole time.  seriously.  Perhaps she's really anti-symphony and gave her class Mountain Dew before leaving the school?   My own crowd?  I assume that their wiggling was entirely due to their excitement over The Dance of the Toreador...  hope they made it back to class okay.

"Your face is gonna FREEZE like that" (another mom-ism) - let's just say that if this one is true there are going to be a thousand or so third graders trick or treating this weekend looking like this:

only with fairy wings and a wand.

and finally:  "Music soothes the savage Breast" - seriously, that is NOT a typo...  but for the purposes of 3rd grade let's just pretend it IS a typo and go with "Music soothes the savage Beast"... so wrong in so many ways... Music apparently hypes up the average 3rd grader because the bus ride BACK to the school was insane.  Seriously - had kids looking at me like I was an alien when I suggested they might want to SIT while the bus was moving...    But wait... hmmm... maybe this one DOES have something to it... I sure wouldn't have wanted to sit in that auditorium with 1400 3rd graders without SOMETHING to listen to...

image shamelessly stolen from another site - because sewing the last of the costumes trumped me actually getting my kids to pose for a "bored" photo last night. and YES, they'd have to pose because NO, we are NEVER bored in our house. (it's my blog and that's the story I'm sticking with)

Who needs sandpaper when you've got feet like mine?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carmex®. All opinions are 100% mine.

A few years ago I was making my bed...  and I noticed that beneath ManOfTheHouse's pillow the sheets were quite torn up... I had visions of him having werewolf dreams and scratching the sheets.  I mean... what ELSE could have caused those little tears and rips?  I mercilessly teased him for the following week (okay... maybe two weeks) until the time came to wash the sheets again.  In removing the sheets I noticed that the tag was in the wrong place...  which meant the sheets were on upside down...  you may not think this matters (and it probably doesn't) but for me this also meant that the scratches and tears...

yep - mentally turn that sheet over...  yep, they were caused by my feet!

The shame... the horror - but what could I DO???  You see, I'm not a very patient person... my calluses took YEARS to develop.  Years of living out in the country on dirt roads being a little girl who had little love for shoes.  Now as an adult (with a lot of love for shoes) I had a problem... one I wanted solved by the end of the day.

My first "solution" was to get out the orbital sander.

No, I'm not kidding.  Now I'm not suggesting this for all of you with slightly dry skin... but for those of you with world class calluses like mine...  it doesn't really hurt.  Seriously - that egg shaped cheese grater is a LOT more uncomfortable than power sanding.  Of course, the solution is not a one day thing...  and so I began to enter the world of lotions, creams, sprays, and pedicures.  I was embarrassed to get my first pedicure because I was sure they'd charge me triple!   I have tiny feet... shoe model size feet.... but unless we're looking for a before picture I'm not going to be doing any modeling any time soon!

After spraying "Crack Cream" on my feet (yes, despite the ridiculous name it IS for my feet - and was only used on my feet) for weeks and barely enduring the smell - that was doing me no good.  A friend gave me a lotion with the printed instructions "use daily until you can no longer sand furniture with your feet" which did some good but was priced so ridiculously high that I couldn't bear to purchase it again...  I broke down and bought some tube of goop that promises miraculous results... only #1... it STUNK and #2...  I ruined a second set of sheets with the grease stains that my feet were now leaving.  Not to mention the number of times I've slipped trying to answer a ringing phone while my feet are still slimy.

Apparently the good people at Carmex were tuned into my plight - because they sent me some Carmex® Healing Lotion and Carmex® Healing Cream to try.  After one week I'll tell you a few BIG things.

#1 - it FEELS good... not slimy, it doesn't sting...  and yes... I can tell a difference.  I've been using the healing cream on my feet (and they're softer) and the healing lotion on my hands and arms...  I can actually imagine that this might be our first winter in the desert that doesn't involve cracked and bleeding hands!

#2 - it SMELLS good... now remember folks - you ALL know what Carmex smells like (at least... if you were ever a teenager at my Jr. High you know what it smells like)...  and a nice smelling lotion is MUCH easier to convince ManOfTheHouse to rub into my feet at night.

#3 - it's not all nasty greasy.  It rubs in... my feet feel better... but I don't have to sit and let them dry for 20 minutes before putting on socks or letting my feet touch anything.  Trust me... it got to the point of ridiculous trying to dry my feet before bed by waving them in the air...

So...  I thank you... ManOfTheHouse thanks you...

Oh, and my sheets thank you!

Time and All...

I just ate my breakfast cereal out of a small serving dish.

You see, I forgot to start the dishwasher last night.  I remembered to load it - I remembered to tell the kids to put their plates in after dinner - I remembered to go back and put their plates in when I realized they'd all ignored me and run off to Scouts without so much as a backward glance.  I just forgot to start the darn thing.

It might be age related memory issues - I'm not ruling that out... but I have forgotten so many things lately.

To be honest - sometimes memory loss is necessary.  Any mother of more than one child can attest to this... because if we REALLY, truly remembered all of the discomfort, pain, and general crabbiness associated with pregnancy, labor, and childbirth - this would be a world of "only children".  Apparently my memory is really bad because I have 5...

Last night I forgot (again) that I'm far too old to function on 5 hours of sleep.

It's not like I had too many choices - after picking up Teen from Scouts and taking him to the only store (besides Wally World) that stays open until 10 pm to buy black slacks (which I found out yesterday were needed for today's men's choir performance... at 8 a.m.)...  We got home at the very unreasonable hour of 11:00 (because I ended up at Wally World anyway for costume "finishing touches"*).  Not so bad... except that Teen chooses then to remember that there are a few things that must be washed before the performance as well...

Being the self sacrificing type of mother I am widely known to be - and not wanting to deal with a grumpy Teen in the morning - I offered to stay up the 42 minutes that the wash cycle takes in order to put the laundry into the dryer.  Wrinkles be darned - I didn't care enough to stay up the additional 40 minutes of the dryer cycle.

Sometimes it's not our choice to lose sleep - because Time and Tide wait for no man.  Only... we use All Free and Clear... but that may not be the kind of "Tide" that saying is about?  :)




*"finishing touches" may or may not refer to the fabric with which to construct said costume, the pattern to create said costume, and whatever I could find to invent something for me to wear so as not to look like a dud this year. I love Halloween, really... somehow I just haven't caught the "spirit" yet?

Heigh Ho Cherry O it's off to work out I go...

Despite my bum ankle I have carried on...  doing my darnedest to be an active sort...  well, okay - at least between the hours of 6 and 7 a.m. - then I sit in my comfy corner of the couch.  Perhaps I should switch corners because I fear this one is beginning to sag.  True Story.

It's beginning to get a bit chilly this time of year - have you noticed?  I'm sure that your definition of "chilly" and mine are not quite on par... since I think anything under 75 degrees requires a jacket - but for the sake of argument, let's assume that my chilly and your chilly are similar - so when I say that I'm downright FROZEN in the early mornings you will not think me a complete wimp.

This week - since walking long miles on a track is not exactly good for my ankle - we've moved the workout/mental therapy session inside.  My good friend (and fellow morning therapist) has a garage perfectly suited to our needs.  Treadmill?  Check.  Elliptical Machine?  Check.  Recumbent Stationary Bike? Check.  Heart paddles in case I DIE from trying to use these machines?  Oh crap... I knew we forgot something...

Yesterday - I tackled that bike - I cycled like nobody's business and was AMAZED when my legs made it through - not a problem... I can do this!

Today?  Today I realized that yesterday the bike's "resistance" settings were false...  Today I learned how to make it a little more difficult.  Today I also decided that my ankle could handle a short 20 minute workout on the Elliptical.  I spent 20 minutes in total...  but only 10 of them were actually involved in moving my arms and legs... the other ten were spent breathing.  Hard.

ManOfTheHouse has been telling me for months that my morning walks aren't a good enough workout - that I need to add some cardio.  I hate it when he's right.

So... if you happen to be driving down my hill at 6:59 sometime this week and see some short girl walking down the hill at little old lady pace... just wave and smile... I'll get there eventually.



Because what doesn't kill me makes me stronger... Right?????  and now that my sweaty self has cooled off I'm freezing - time for a HOT shower and to snuggle up in the Cozy!

How many Blogs must a blogger blog?

Having spent a good portion of last week trying to design a blog for a non-profit I volunteer for (still not done) and working with my graphic designer brother on the header for my book blog (done, but just sitting there because my lazy streak would be a shame to break today)... and working on the blogger's night out (which...  by the way... is changing - so if you've penciled it in, erase it... info to follow)...  I've realized that even as a stay at a home mom (whose kids are all in school) it IS possible to bite off more than I can chew.

Especially when you have a sweet little dainty mouth like I do.  (shhh...  hey, some of these people DON'T know me in person... stop laughing... they might buy into that lie)

But now... with my "injury" (see below if you want to laugh at me for being a clutzy dork) I am enjoying a little more time to sit and hoping that the kids want to fold the laundry when they get home.  All this time should allow me to catch up on all of your blogs...

But... since you're here...  and if you're a "gimme a book" type of person - there is a HUGE book hop giveaway going on... which being a part time book blogger I am NATURALLY participating in.  Pop over to the Book Blog and see which lovely piece of literature I accidentally bought two copies of this time!  (Hey, what can I say...  at least it was on sale the second time around right?)

Alanis Morissette doesn't know Boo about irony...

Way back in my school days we learned about Irony... I remember that class distinctly.  That was the class where my teacher told me that I should bring licorice for the whole class if I wanted to eat it.  I did.  Then the teacher told me that sitting with my feet up on the desk and displaying the soles of my shoes was akin to flipping him the bird.  He probably shouldn't have told me that...

He was actually a cool teacher - and I still remember learning about irony.  So when Alanis Morissette sang all about Irony I wanted to cringe...  I mean... a black fly in your chardonnay probably sucks, but it's only ironic if every other item on the menu is "black fly beverage" and you order Chardonnay specifically because you're not in the mood for fly.  Even then...  And rain on your wedding day?  Yeah, not ironic - and actually quite nice if you're the kind of girl who likes the rain.  I suppose if you'd planned the wedding based on the least likely day for rain - then maybe I can give you irony... but let's be honest...  being saved from certain death floating on Queequeg's coffin's got it beat hands down.

Me?  I know my irony...  like this morning - My shoes were there on the floor.  My "special" shoes... the ones my therapist and my podiatrist both highly recommended for my poor ailing ankles.  These shoes (plus the pricy inserts that reside wherein) are designed to support my ankles, designed to keep me from twisting my ankles.  Unfortunately - that doesn't work so well when the shoes are on the floor where I am trying to walk.  Yep, here's me, back in a stupid brace and taking Ibuprofen like it's going out of style.

Now THAT's Irony...  but you can't dance to it. 


(with apologies for being a horribly absent blogger this past week... I'm sure to improve now that I'm sitting around with my ankle elevated :)

Southern Utah Bloggers' Night Out

So... it's been a little crazy lately... but for good reason!

If you're not a local (Southern Utah, Northern Wherever is South of us) or planning to visit me soon - then you have my permission to skip today's blog... but don't forget to come back soon... because there's all sorts of funny haha things happening around me every day and I'm just itching to share them :)

If you ARE a local - then you need to know about a few things!

#1 - Bloggy Boot Camp is coming to St George Utah - November 13th. An all day intensive training for bloggers, bloggers to be, and some other folk that are probably not reading my blog anyway so we won't mention them!

#2 - Prior to Bloggy Boot Camp a bunch of us local folk are going to get together (on November 5th, at the Washington City Community Center, 7 p.m.) and party like it's 1999. Seriously - because 1999 was so cool I just want to do it again. (I had three tiny kids in 1999 and I was a partying fool... between breastfeeding and dishes)

$10 is the magic number to join us for the night of fun and frolicking (who knew... I actually spelled that right...) and if you send me a message RIGHT NOW (before the end of the 20th...) to let me know that you're "in" the in crowd and are going to party with us... then I'll share a secret code with you. This is COOLER than a secret de-coder ring (and seriously - I've complained before about the lame cracker jacks prizes you get these days)because my secret code will get you a discount on the registration for Bloggy Boot Camp - that's right - spend $10, save $24... it's like money in the bank! ch'ching!!!

and... a little secret... just for those of you wonderful folks who read down this far... there will be some giveaways at the Blogger's Night Out...  and one of those giveaways just might be equal in value to a ticket to Bloggy Boot Camp... Shhh...

So, don't miss the fun!!!

e-mail me

comment

or drop payment by the Washington City Community Center (attn. April E)

and we'll get all the details to you!!!

3D movies give me headaches...

truly - I keep trying to sit through them but always end up with a migraine level pain right behind my eyes. Am I the only one?




too true... and this gal's songs have been entertaining me all weekend... check out "learn to play guitar" after watching...ermmm... I mean "listening to" this one :)

Until then - don't be surprised if I go to a 3D movie with you and enjoy it with my glasses OFF... it's so much easier to eat the popcorn that way!

an open letter to all those devoted teachers

I take my morning walks 6 days a week around the track of a local elementary school - and it never ceases to amaze me the number of teachers who show up before we do (at 6 a.m.).  One teacher in particular (who drives a big red noisy truck - but that's not the point) comes nearly every morning and is faithfully sitting at his desk grading papers.... or occasionally running around the halls preparing something or other.

Today? Today there is no school... and yet there were still three cars at the school.  You guys amaze me...  seriously - but please, for the sake of your families and making all the other teachers look like slackers... go home, sleep in... go hiking... but just ONE day - please relax and think about you.  In the long run I think it will prevent you from having a nervous breakdown in class and cutting off all your hair with the blunt tipped scissors. (man THAT story will haunt me for the rest of my life)

and... thanks for all you do :)

Wordless Wednesday...

seriously NO words??? that's not my cup of tea "T" but I need a relax (and clean the house) day.

My Dream Man

In honor of the fact that I have (as of Thursday) been married for seventeen years - I had planned on telling you all the wonderful things about "ManOfTheHouse"... and yet - every time I sit down to write this it turns into a sob story about why on earth he puts up with someone like me!?!?!


and although that has a LOT more "funny" potential than a gushy post about M.O.T.H. - it was also a little bit depressing... and maybe revealing.



So... let's talk about dreams. Are your dreams vivid? I don't mean color vs. black and white... I mean... do you wake up not quite sure which 'reality' you're a part of? You see, a long time ago (seriously, I think I was pregnant with our first kid... ahhh... that actually explains a LOT)... I woke from my dream in quite the mood. I couldn't really put my finger on it... but I was MAD... no strike that... I was furious.


Then M.O.T.H. woke up. The pieces started to fall into place... I was still mad... but now anger had a name.  I was mad... at... HIM! Ooooh, and was I ready to let him have it!


Luckily, before I'd gone too far down the "unstoppable tirade" path - pieces of my dream floated into my memory.

(insert fuzzy edged background here...)

"dream hubby" had gone to work and sat at a table with a female coworker. "dream coworker" had invited my clueless "dream hubby" out for lunch the next day. Clueless "dream hubby" had asked my dream self and my dream self had told him that I wasn't comfortable with it. "dream hubby" didn't understand that "not comfortable with" is a kissin' cousin of "over my dead freakin' body" and went out to lunch.


I started to tell him this part of the dream - and he laughed at me for getting so worked up over it. Mistake #1 might have been picking me as his eternal mate, but mistake #2 was definitely choosing to argue with a pregnant lady because I immediately asked him why it was ridiculous to worry whether or not he was going on lunch dates with other women. (seriously, I think the only women he worked with were 20 years his senior...)


...and then... the rest of the dream resurfaced.... because "dream coworker/hussy" had obviously read more into their lunch than "dream clueless jerk that I married" and had cut paper hearts out of construction paper and pasted them all over our "dream apartment" and his "dream Geo"...



Luckily he's a quick learner... because he stopped arguing with the crazy pregnant lady right then and there... and made me breakfast. I'm MUCH more reasonable with a little protein in me. Or sugar...

When men are running late...

5 minutes late -we are annoyed.

10 minutes late - you have been in a traffic jam

15 minutes late - the traffic jam was caused by an accident

20 minutes late - of COURSE you were involved in the accident

23 minutes late - when is the hospital going to call???

25 minutes late - you must be dead

26 minutes late- how on earth am I going to notify your family? 

27 minutes late- where are those phone numbers...

28 minutes late- is your good suit back from the cleaners?

28 1/2 minutes - I wonder if his car is totalled - the teen gets his license soon...

29 minutes late- should I buy a new tie to bury you in... or is that wasteful?

30 minutes late- I hope they don't serve "funeral potatoes" after the services... I like those and it would ruin them for me.

35 minutes - Crud... this is really going to put a damper on the holidays...

40 minutes - shoot... I wonder if he fixed that leaky sink before he left for work... because I don't want to call a plumber.

45 minutes late - Wait... is that his car?

46  minutes late...  "Hi Honey...  hope you had a good day... sorry your dinner is cold!"

(not necessarily in that order... but yes, seriously!)

so maybe I'm a little bit of a hypocrite...

what?  So I had my little rant last week about people and their word choices (seriously - poured is NOT the same as pored... really) and this week I have to admit that we've got our own little quirks.

February - I am well aware that the preferred pronunciation leaves out the "R"... but that bugs me... I will, without fail, ALWAYS say "feb-roo-air-ee".  Technically this is listed as an alternate pronunciation (at least the last time I picked up a dictionary) and I've gotten a few strange looks, I just don't feel right leaving out an "R".

My sweet little H stormed around the house for a full ten minutes earlier tonight... She's been reading "The Wednesday Wars" for a week.  Come to think of it, she's been looking at a calendar for YEARS... but today is the first day she realized that it's not spelled "Wensday".  She wanted to know who the idiot is who invented the spelling.  Whoever you are... expect a letter from a very opinionated eight year old soon.

Theatre/Theater - I don't know why...  but a movie theater can be spelled one way - but a theatre where you actually have to dress up and don't have to worry about your feet sticking to the floor?  That type of theatre deserves the fancier Brit spelling.  At least in my head.

I also get flak for the way I pronounce certain words... Colorado (I grew up there... and most of the state thinks I say it wrong...  but it's a Spanish word, shouldn't it have the Spanish pronunciation?).  Envelope, Orange, Chorus, etc... 

So now you know - I'm a complete and utter hypocrite. 

and no worries - I will NEVER correct or criticize your pronunciation on your blogs (vlogs?  maybe) Mostly because it's written... but partly because I learned my lesson when ManOfTheHouse were dating...   a two hour  conversation about the words "Legs" and "Eggs"... and yet he STILL says "laygs" and "aygs"... 

I blame my voice and diction classes...  and all the time I spent at the theatre.

A quick favor... don't worry, it won't cost you a thing.

it won't even hurt!

I want everyone to pop over to my book review blog and answer today's query...  we're talking about whether or not a book written about characters who have NOT been raised in a clean and wholesome environment can really be completely free of language. 

My opinion on the matter?  well, for now I'm keeping that to myself...  let's just say that I need to run down and flip through some pages of Oliver twist - because Bill Sykes STILL creeps me out... but was he a potty mouth?

hmmmm...

Why I'm glad we went to the cabin even though M was car-sick...

We spent the weekend at the family cabin.  I don't have a single picture of the fun and excitement...  because the whole point was family togetherness and spiritual growth.  (spiritual growth isn't very photogenic)

Hold Up!  okay, for those of you non-LDS blog readers - you need to know that this past weekend was a bi-annual chance for our church to join together (well, not physically...) and hear from our prophet and some of the other leaders of our church.  Feel free to find out more at LDS.org if you're curious, stymied, or just plain weirded out that I just got all "churchy" on my otherwise hilarious non-secular blog.  Bear with though - I've avoided dropping any other lingo into the post so you should feel right at home :)

It is a LOT easier to listen to general conference while surrounded by rolling hills and multi-colored aspen.  Miles and miles of nothing but us.   Or so I hear...  unfortunately I was still plagued by the fact that I took my five children (who are not fond of sitting for hours of conference despite the promised treats) and for the first time ever at the cabin someone was camped nearby.

Someone with kids even younger than mine.

Kids with a lot of lung capacity.  At hours when lung capacity is NOT a welcome trait.

Truth be told - I did probably catch more of the talks than some years...  For 2 of the sessions I sat at the dining room table and put together a puzzle with the eldest.  Putting together a puzzle does not require much in the way of speech, and it keeps you awake...  this was PURE genius on my part.  The younger kids?  Well, building with blocks does keep you awake (especially when said block makes contact with your back) and doesn't Require speech... let's just say that there are LOTS of blocks at the cabin... maybe LOTS and LOTS of blocks even.  There could be millions of blocks in that room and I still think my kids would accuse each other of taking the block they were just about to use. 'nuff said.

You know what gem of wisdom I'm going to remember most from conference this year???  I know, you're DYING to hear it...

so here it is... straight from... ummm... someone's mouth.  Hey, give me a break - when you listen on the radio instead of watching on TV there are a few things that get lost in translation!

The words?   "You stupid Cow" - yep...  that's what I'm walking away with.

and before you all drop to your knees and beg forgiveness for my blasphemous ways... I mean it.  I loved that story...*  and I wonder why on earth I continue to be a stupid cow... why I keep breaking through all the fences that are meant to protect me - and especially why I keep gorging myself on a field of wheat putting my life in danger...

seriously.  I'm going to not be a stupid cow this week.  or die trying.

On a related note - 3 carb free days did NOT kill me.  even at the cabin.  Will I be doing it again soon?  My family hopes not.

*for the record, I didn't MEAN to purposely leave out the story... usually I can link to a youTube of it or something... but it's still early and apparently the LDS youTube crew is still observing their day of rest. See, there I am, being a stupid cow again!!!


and the picture - that's from some moocowfanclub.com place... because I never did see a real cow this weekend to take a picture of and then photoshop it...

Pipe Dreams?

two and a half years ago I blogged about a Children's Museum dream I had...  a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged...  oh wait... that wasn't MY dream - besides, I have five children.

Two and a half years ago I also had a dream that my blog was only read by my 4 sisters-in-law... which is why I won't link up the original post which has NO redeeming humor.  (and now the pressure is on to make this an informative yet amusing post... hmmm)

Anywho (hmmm, after yesterday's rant I probably shouldn't use that non-word anymore...  who am I kidding - I'm a hypocrite of the worst kind!)

Anywho - yesterday my little steering committee had an appointment to present to the city council once again... about a different building this time and it seems that FINALLY we have reached that "next step" in the process where we can begin moving forward.  Now... the fact that my own kids will have probably completely outgrown their desire to spend hours at the children's museum by the time it comes to fruition is beside the point...  after all most of the other folks on the committee are grandparents.

Seriously - I sit on a committee with people who are about 10-45 years older than myself.  Through this experience I have learned something very important.

Respect your elders.

Except Even when they're dead wrong.  You can still show respect while explaining to them that their thinking is outdated right?  If my voice was raised it wasn't in ire...  but because I wanted to be sure that everyone was able to hear me... right? 

Okay, so maybe the once I was a little irate... but overall it's been a good experience.

I would link you up to the "City Council OKs children's museum" headline...  but for some reason my local paper thinks that particular article is so special you should have to subscribe to read it online.  The gist?  My fellow committee member rocked the presentation - the city council loves us - and the wheels of government will begin turning ever so slowly to provide us with the go-ahead for the next step...

Let's just hope and pray that this time the steps aren't iced over!