A Matter of Shoes, Laundry, Toys & Toilet Paper

Okay, I'm posting this blog at my own risk. I know once it is out there, I am setting myself up for my family to retaliate. But I just have to post this, because I think it will make me feel better.

Here are a few pet peeves about my family:

How come we have closets with these:

Yet, I always find these in our front entry:

How come I find this:

When we have this:

Or I find this:

Instead of this:

But my last two big family pet peeves are these:

I don't have a picture of the first: My family (Mike included) will put empty containers back in the refrigerator. It could be a water bottle, a container of sour cream, yogurt, a box with no more ice-cream. EMPTY. I still can't figure this out. Why put it back in the refrigerator?

Hey guys, we do have one of these:

Look it still has the sticker on
it letting you know what it is.

And for my final pet peeve: DRUM ROLL PLEASE
How come I find this:

When I should see this:

This is a little tongue in cheek, but can anyone relate? To be fair, I know I do a lot of things that irritate my family: I yell too much, I leave my one pair of shoes out sometimes, I drip water from my hands on the kitchen floor, I'm anal about the house being "tidy", I ask for explicit details of things. I know my family could add to this list. I guess I should be afraid, very afraid.

It's just frustrating. I tried to explain my frustration to Mike. He doesn't get it. I tried to tell him this: Imagine you are at work and you fix a computer that took at least two hours of your day and someone comes along and does something to undo all that you did and you have to start over. Every time you fix it, it gets messed up again.

He just says, "Well, I guess I'd be happy."

Me: "HAPPY! ARE YOU KIDDING!" Happy that someone is messing up what you worked hard to fix.

Mike: "Well, yeah, at least I have a job, right? If nothing ever needed to be fixed, I wouldn't have a job." He adds, "You need to relax and enjoy life a little more.

Ever the optimistic. (This is me sighing....)

Maybe I should be happy I have a job too, or maybe, just maybe all of this came about because of this:

PMS

(I hope this last part of the post did not offend anyone. If so, I apologize and please forgive me. I guess I'm just hoping that someone can relate.)

Saturday, Yard Work Day

I guess I'm in a bloggin mood this morning. Or maybe I'm just procrastinating the laundry and cleaning I need to do. Take your pick.

Saturday, we got up early to do some yard work (we wanted to get it done before the rain hit again). Yes, we had the girls come out and help too. We are not the type of parents that say this is for girls, this is for boys. Plus, we don't have boys, but even if we did, you can bet that he would be learning to wash dishes, laundry etc. too.

We told the girls they needed to come outside and help. I was on one side of the house raking with Ariel and Cecily went to the other. I did not see Cecily when she came out. When I did see her though, I could not help but laugh. This is why:















I don't know what is funnier: That A) Cecily thought that it was fine to come out in her white gymnastics leotard with the ruffled skirt (I guess I should give her credit. She did put on a t-shirt) with those shoes to do yard work, OR B) that Mike thought it was okay for her to be doing yard work in her white gymnastics leotard with the ruffled skirt and those shoes. LOL

That's my family: Imperfectly Perfect. Now our neighbors really do think we are crazy! LOL

I'm Gonna Miss This...Part Two

After reading Susan's blog this morning, she reminded me to not rush life with my kids so fast. To slow down and enjoy the time we have together. To create memories. Remember that's what got this whole blog thing started for me (that entry has been my favorite blog entry, with the dawg one being a close second.)

While making a comment on Susan's blog, I started writing about a good memory that happened last night, and then I realized hey I need to blog about this, so that I will always have it to remember.

Let me digress again (this is becoming a habit I think). Anyway, this is what I love about the whole blogging thing. It helps me to remember too. It gives me ideas for writing. Thanks Susan!

Back to the story...

Last night, Cecily came up to me with her cute "skinny" little self and a blankie and said, "Mommy will you rock me and sing me a song." It was so sweet, I wish ya'll could hear how she asked. Oh, and I did say she was little, but she's not that little. She is probably about 48 inches tall and 7 years old. But I seized the moment and took it.

As she crawled up into my lap and got settled in, my heart was touched once again. Memories began flooding in of when she was a baby, and I rocked her in that same chair. I told her that when we brought her home from the hospital that her little legs did not even come near to touching the sides of the chair arms, and now look they are more than over taking them. I thought back about how little she was (6lb. 5 oz.) and how perfect she was. I thought about her tiny feet and her little fingers.

And last night, as I sang, I looked down at this beautiful little girl, who is such the big helper. She is a sweet girl. We could not have asked Heavenly Father to send us a better match for our family (well, don't say that to Ariel, her response might be different...we're trying.).

It's funny, when we brought Cecily home, we could not have imagined (even though, we tried) what she would come to be like at 2, 5, 7 let alone a teenager, a young adult, and eventually a mother of someone else one day. One never knows until you actually reach those milestones. All we can do is pray, put our faith in teaching them what's right, and hope for the best.

Two thoughts come to my head right now:

1) When I was a little girl, WAY before I was a member of the church, there was a church commercial that showed a mom & dad looking into a baby nursery after their baby girl was born, then it showed them having flashes of her getting older, teaching her to ride a bike, her playing with friends, in a ballet tutu, graduating from high school, her dad palying with her. It was as though they were watching her grow up, it ended with them taking her home. I don't remember the tag line, I just remember even as a child loving that commercial. It's weird how some things always stick with you. I was like 5 yrs. old when I first saw that commercial and I LOVED it, and I have never forgotten it.

I think of that commercial because one minute our children are sweet precious babies who need us for everything and the next minute, they are grown, and we hope they will want to need us for something anything.

The second thing I think of is: The book "Love You Forever". That story always makes me cry. Although, I won't sneak in their rooms or houses when they are grown to rock them. In my heart I will be. Sobb... The love that mama has for her baby in the story radiates off the pages. It's so tender and sweet. And don't we all hope that our children will have that same kind of love for us? I know I do.

...And so if either of my children come to me with a blankie and ask me to rock and sing to them in the rocking chair, no matter how big or old, you can betcha that I will. Because I will "Love Them Forever and My Baby They'll Be".

Dinner Conversation

As we were finishing up dinner tonight, part of the dinner conversation, and an action by Cecily gave reason for us all to laugh. Here it is:

Ariel: Dad didn't eat his tomatoes.

Me: Well, if Dad wants to die because he doesn't eat his vegetables...
Then I glance over at Cecily's plate which has her untouched salad on it
Me: and set a bad example for Cecily I guess that's his choice.

Ariel: Yup, Cecily's gonna probably die too because she won't even touch her vegetables.

We all look over at Cecily, who quietly, but quickly reaches over and touches her cucumber.

I guess by taking Ariel's comment literally, she feels she is safe, and all is well. Hey she did touch them, right?

LOL....gotta love kids.

BTW--before I get any bad comments that I should not be telling my family members they are going to die b/c they don't eat their vegetables: I'm already aware that it is not the smartest choice in words for a mother, but hey, after years of trying to get them to eat vegetables, any vegetable, I'm desperate. Oh, and don't tell me to shred them or blend them up (the vegetables, of course) and add them to food---that's way too much work, and I'm just not that good of a mom. Besides, if I did that, they would have to eat the whole entire dish of "whatever" to still get the serving size. But I do appreciate your concern. Smiles...

Easier Said Than Done

I know they were just earrings.

But they were special.

"Were" being the key word...

On our first Christmas that Mike and I were married, he bought me a pair of REAL pearl earrings. I love pearls (even more than diamonds), but all I had ever been able to afford was the cheap costume jewelry. Not that there is anything wrong with that, heck most of my jewelry is that way. That's why these were special. I loved them and wore them often, UNTIL...

A dreadful thing happened. My ears got infected after I purchased a cheap pair of earrings (I told you most of my jewelery is fake), and wore them for just one day (I can't sleep in earrings, weird I know). Before you wonder, yes, I did clean them before wearing (even the thought of not doing so is too gross). I don't know what went wrong; they were hypoallergenic. But my ears got badly infected. Those cheap earrings really had an adverse effect on me. I still can not wear earrings (even expensive ones) without them getting infected again. Strange?

Anyhow, back to the matter at hand. A few Sunday's ago, I decided to wear my pearl necklace (another Christmas gift from Mike---and they are real too). My ears had cleared up, and so I decided to give earrings another chance. I turned to my good 'ole faithful pearls. But, I could not find them anywhere. I have torn this house apart looking for them. I have asked Mike and the girls. No one has seen them. They have disappeared.

Do you know what it feels like to be searching for something you love and can't find it? It reminds me a bit now of Ann's blog about The Red King. Although her story is a bit different, it's still the same. The need to find something.

Mike, the ever optimistic, says his famous words: "They'll show up. They've got to be around here somewhere."

But I just don't believe it. I've searched and searched to no avail. And I'm really good at finding things. Whenever anyone in our family is missing something, they mention it to me and I go on a rampage until it is found (I wish they did the same for me). It's been a good two weeks and they have not shown up.

Ariel reminded me of the very thing that I always remind her of: "If you put them back where they were suppose to be, you would be able to find them."

Don't you hate it when your own teaching logic comes back and bites you in the butt??

So, I sit here typing about it. Hoping something will jog my memory, and I will remember where they are. And hoping, too, that they did not get vacuumed up (as Ariel also reminded me of).

And I'm really sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. Again, I know they are just earrings, but I loved those things. I was hoping to pass them down to Cecily along with the pearl necklace (Ariel is getting my engagement ring someday).

Yesterday, there was a baptism at church and I wore my pearl necklace, minus the earrings. Sobb....

I always tell my girls that there is a lesson to be learned in all life experiences. What's mine for this one? It's just a material possession. You can't take it with you. There are more important things in life than pearl earrings.

I know, I know. Trust me I know. I should not put so much stock in a material possession. I'm not a "scriptorian", but all those scriptures (although badly misquoted) keep popping in my head about not focusing on the things of the world. Again, I know this is true, but I guess the natural man in me realizes that it's easy to say, but hard to let go.

I Have Been Outted--I'm Guilty Too!

If you haven't been to my friend Susan's blog yet, you probably don't understand my title (BTW, you should check out her blog if you haven't, it's really cute.)

Her first post today: Confessions of a Blog Stalker.

In that post she mentions that I introduced her to blog stalking. So in light of her post: Hi, I'm Andrea, and I too am a blog stalker. LOL.

Whew...soo glad to get that off my chest.

I didn't mean to be one. It just happened. One click led to another click, and before I knew it, I was hooked. I couldn't stop. This is coming from a person who shuttered at the thought of someone I did not know would be reading my blog. I guess I was paranoid, at first, that someone "weird" would start "stalking me and my family". And then I became the "stalker", but not in a weird way. Does that make sense?

Like Susan, I also put up a widget so that I could easily get to the blogs that I have come across. It became hard for me to remember which blogs that I had been to that I loved, and wanted to revisit. There are even a few that I can't find anymore. SOB, SOB, SNIFF, SNIFF... These people who don't even know me. But they uplift me, provide some humor on a daily basis, helped me learn to be more frugal, have given me some good recipes, and seem like really nice people who I would secretly wish to be friends with.

Does that make me crazy? Please don't answer that.

However, I don't want to call it "stalking". That sounds so creepy to me. I don't want to be creepy.

Can we just call it visiting, droppin' by for a spell? I know Susan and I are not the only bloggers who do this "stalking" thing, have you come up with a better name for it? If so, please do share. For when my husband asks me what I'm doing, I hate to reply, "blog stalking". He knows that sometimes I can be strange, but this might push him over the edge.

I guess this whole "stalking" thing cures my need to know. I mean have you ever had that need? Have you ever been sitting in traffic (not literally, but in your car) and look over at the car beside you and wonder about that person or family? You know what I mean...have you ever thought, "I wonder what that person is like? Where do they live? What is she fixing for dinner?Are they happy or sad? What was there day like? I wonder where they are going?

Well, I do. Sometimes I even make things up about them. Okay, so maybe that part's a little weird.

The other day, we were at a stop light, and I saw this woman just dancing and singing away in her car. My girls were laughing, but I could tell that she didn't care if people were looking, and that made me start to wonder about her. I wondered: What allowed her to have so much confidence (I would love to have that)? Then I thought I bet she is fun to be around. One thought led to another.

Maybe you don't know what I mean.

I have mentioned it to my husband before, and he seriously looks at me and says, "No, I can't say that I have ever thought about other people lives ,who I don't know, nor do I even care to."

Then, I think maybe that is what is wrong with the world today? Maybe we should care. Maybe we should want to know what our neighbors are like. No one tries to get to know other people anymore. We are so busy and worried about our own life, that we don't have time to think about anyone elses.

Maybe I have too much time...

Or maybe I'm just making all of this up to make me feel better for being a "stalker".

Who knows....But for those of you who read this, I'm really not a crazy, weird person. I'm just an average, college educated (I know you would not know this by my writing), stay-at-home mom who loves her family; and has always wanted to travel the world and surround herself with interesting people who have stories to tell that might not necessarily get told unless you ask (boy that was a mouth full). So, I guess blogging, and the whole "stalking" (man, I really do hate that word, shutter) provides a way for me to do that.

Thanks for helping me get out of denial Susan. I feel good about "getting to know my fellow bloggers". And in some strange way, I think it has made a better person of me. It has helped me stop and recognize the people around me.

I admire that from the "get-go" Susan was able to put her "blog-stalking" ways at the top of her page. I was so embarrassed that I tried to hide my list of "Blogs I Stalk" at the bottom, hoping no one would notice. Maybe I'll put mine at the top too...tomorrow. Smiles.

That's How You Know...

The other day, I called Mike at work to ask him something, and when we were about to hang up, I said my usual, "love you!". Well, he didn't say anything back and so I said, "How come you didn't tell me you love me back?"
He said, "Well, there's other people here right now."
So, I decided to have some fun. I said, "Oh, I get it. You're too embarrassed to let the rest of the world hear you say that you love your wife." He replied, "you know I do, I don't have to say it." I said, "How do I know? I think you do need to say it."
So Mike nervously laughs and says softly, "I love you too."
That was the end of the conversation. I couldn't help but smile when I hung up the phone.
Later that evening, I jokingly brought it back up while he was getting ready to go home teaching. We were both laughing about it. Then I started singing (yes, I know that's not my greatest talent) the song from Enchanted, "That's How You Know" (in case you don't know. It's the 2nd song on my playlist). I was singing the part from the beginning of the song that says, "How does she know you love her? How does she know she's yours?" Hearing me sing this alone was enough to make anyone laugh....especially the girls. But I kept singing it over and over.
So as he walks to the door, he said, "What do you want me to go outside and scream it?" I laughingly shrugged my shoulders and said, "Sure, then I would know you aren't embarrassed to tell the world." Can I just say, I was so shocked with what he did next, and really must admit I was the one who was a little embarrassed. What did he do, you ask?
He went outside in our front yard held out his arms really wide and yelled in a loud husky voice , "I LOVE MY WIFE, I LOVE MY WIFE!" LOL....But it didn't end there. He walked to the street and said, "IN CASE YOU DIDN'T HEAR ME THE FIRST TIME, I LOVE MY WIFE. I LOVE MY WIFE. I LOVE HER!" It was so LOUD! I said, "OKAY, OKAY. I think we all know! You can stop." I was laughing, and so was he and the girls. I should have known the crazy guy would do something like that. I told you he can always make me laugh. However, I'm sure our neighbors think we are some kind of lunatics.
But I can't let this story end there, because it really doesn't. Mike telling me that he loves me in words are far from the way that I know that he loves me. Anybody can say words. But just like the saying goes, his actions speak much louder. He gives me respect, he does little things for me like help with the dishes, help with the girls, he is forgiving, he will get up from what he is doing, and bring me a drink, pillow and blanket while I'm watching TV---just because I ask him to (and usually I'm closer to those objects), I could keep going, but I think you get the point.
I do want to say that one of the things that will forever touch my heart is one time someone said to me in front of him, "Oh, you don't have a job." He jumped in the conversation and sincerely replied, "Yes, she does. She has the hardest, most important job there is, but gets the least amount of pay and recognition for it. She is raising my children." I love that about him, and it brings tears to my eyes typing it because I know he means it. So That's How I Know....I Really, Really Do Know. Thanks sweetie.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice-Cream!

A few months back, Annie had a post about the ice-cream truck coming to her neighborhood. When I read her blog, I joked that her neighborhood must keep him very busy because we NEVER see the truck. Well, I guess now that the Emmertson's are in Utah, the ice-cream man (or I guess I should say lady) isn't getting enough business in their neighborhood so they are venturing out---into my neighborhood. The other night around 5:45pm, my girls heard the music of the ice-cream truck. Come on, you know what I'm talking about---that music is like a call sign for my children as well as every other child in America--oh those little chiming bells.

That's when it happens. They begin to start acting crazier than normal, yelling for money etc. They lucked out this time because I rarely carry cash anymore (gotta love debit cards), but I managed to find 2 dollars and gave each girl a dollar. Well, I guess it has been a really long time since we've seen the ice-cream man because the prices have gone up (we could even see the stickers on top of the old prices). Boy have they gone up. I guess with gas prices, she needs to continues to make her money too. Luckily, there was one ice-cream (and only one) that was a dollar. The bubblegum pop. Even though that is not nearly what the girls would have bought had they had more money, they were both very thankful for what they had. We are trying to teach them to be more thankful (Mike's favorite saying to us now is, "These are hard times we are living in"). For the most part, I think they are learning that money doesn't grow on trees and we are trying to live within our budget and save for a rainy day.

Anyway, here is a picture of the girls thankful that the ice-cream lady had something for $1.00

Here is them enjoying their treat!

Let me just say, I am a REALLY BIG thrift shopper. Some may even call me cheap. But I read on someone's blog recently, that they are following Dave Ramsey's Advice: "live like no one else now so that you can live like no one else later". This has become my new motto--so cheap I am, and proud of it!

I told the girls that for now on, I will play some ice-cream truck music and then they can run up to our freezer really excited and I will give them an ice-cream because for the price that I paid for those two ice creams, I could buy a box full. I know it's probably more "fun" to buy a treat from an ice-cream truck, but I think it is one of the BIGGEST WASTE of money ever. My poor kids, they are probably going to need therapy one day, but hey at least they'll be frugal. LOL

I Really Am a Rule Follower & I'm Passing It On

After the whole camp fiasco, I was charged as being someone who broke the rules. However, anyone who knows me, I mean really knows me, knows this is farthest thing from the truth. I really like to walk the line. The straight and narrow line to be exact. My whole life, I've pretty much been about following the rules (except I am guilty for using poor grammar). Whether it be at work, school or play, and I want everyone else to follow them too. I guess one would maybe even call me anal.

When I was little I remember my sister being more of the chance taker than me. If there were a sign that said, "DO NOT TRESPASS", you could bet your life that I was not going to, not even a step. I remember attending my brother's funeral in NH when I was a senior, and on the car trip home writing a paper for my A.P. English class because I knew that when I got back to school it would be due. It never occurred to me that my professor might make a consideration for me. I mean she said it was due on this day and I was going to have it to turn in. I never skipped school, never! I was a rule keeper.

I'm not trying to pat myself on the back or make it seem as though I am a "goodie two shoes", because I'm not. Often times I kept a rule just because I was scared not to. Scared to break the rules. As an adult, I'm still often times scared. I'm glad that I was born with that "fear" because I think it often times has kept me "safe". However, I also realize that I want to be someone who keeps a rule because I know it is the right thing to do, not just because I'm scared not to. I don't want fear to be my motivator.

So where am I going with all of this? It appear that I may have passed this trait onto my daughters (which is not a bad trait to have if I say so myself. Let's just hope it is a trait that sticks!). Well, when Ariel had to start wearing the rubber bands for her braces, her orthodontist had both of us (me and Ariel) sign this form of all that was expected of her Ie: proper wear of the bands, not to play with the bands, number of hours to wear the bands etc. The form stated that if she did not follow the rules that her treatment would not be effective and that their office would not be held liable.

Well, we signed and along with that signing, we reminded Ariel of how much money was and had been put into her mouth alone AND that she BETTER follow the rules! We only reminded her this one time and she stuck to it. Never complaining.

We started to see the progress of her jaw moving into place. It was amazing. However, Mike started noticing that Ariel's bottom jaw started protruding out and he showed me. I was like, "Hmmm". Mike having had to wear braces as a teenager (bless his heart, he had to have the head gear too. Thank goodness for technology!) he said that he did not think it was normal, and he wanted me to call and check on it.

So, I called the orthodontist, and to make a long story short (or as short as it possibly can be with me telling it. LOL), they wanted me to bring Ariel in to have her checked out. So we took her in on Monday, and Dr. Oliver came out and said that it was normal---that her jaw moved quicker than they thought because she was wearing her bands the right way. He said that most kids don't wear their bands right and/or for the amount of time, so the treatment takes A LOT longer. However, since Ariel was such a good patient she is moving along quicker. She has now moved to another phase in which she has to wear the bands in a triangular shape (and only for 8 hours instead of the 20hrs.). He also said her jaw will move back into it's proper place. He was really impressed (as were his assistants) that Ariel wore her bands everyday for the recommended amount of time. He said he rarely has a patient that does this.

Then I said something that made him (Dr. Oliver) laugh. I said, "Well when you made us sign that paper, I took it seriously. That's too much money to throw into the wind. We made sure Ariel knew the importance of following the rules."

Oh well, I guess some rules are meant to be broken, but I'm not taking my chances....at least not any more. LOL

I was going to try to post a picture of the way Ariel has to wear her bands now, but she did not approve of any of them. In her words, "those are so dorky". But I can say that this new position has been the most painful out of any of the dental work that she has had in her lifetime. What's that saying, "IF it hurts, it must be working." They told her that the bands would cause a little discomfort until she got use to them, but up until now, it had never been an issue.

It's Never Too Early To Be Prepared...

WARNING: THIS POST IS NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN TO READ...
(It's not horrible, there are just some rules for dating being posted)

Today,as I was reading over all the blogs that I enjoy, I found myself clicking on the Nesting Place, which I found from Liberty's blog. I love this blog. It has a lot of decorating ideas and since I have ABSOLUTELY NO talent for decorating, I like to check out this site for some ideas in hopes it can help.
Today, when I went to her site, I noticed she was having this neat thing called a blog party where everyone was to leave a link on her blog to their blog. The rule was to post anything that fits the line "Doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful ." Well, this aroused my curiosity. I wanted to see how other people decorated their homes. Can I just say, there were some really cute rooms, but there were also some not so cute and very messy rooms too (this made me feel a lot better about myself). A few blogs were not even about decorating, but things some women have learned to love about their imperfect selves. One of the blogs that I clicked on to see was at the following blog site: http://theresafishinthetoothbrushholder.blogspot.com/. Doesn't the blog name alone create some sense of curiosity?
Her room that she was featuring is a room they are renovating. Actually, I kind of just skimmed over her blog. IT WAS WHAT I READ AFTER THAT WHICH CAUGHT MY EYE. Unlike the other blogs I had clicked on, I saw something that made me want to read past the blog party post. So what was it that I saw? Let me just preface by writing that it caught my attention being a mom of two daughters. Here is what I read:

Dating My Daughters Part 2....
Brian's rules for dating his daughters....

Andrea here, Being the nosey "peepster" that I have become, I decided to take a peek and read more. This is what I read:

1. If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.
2. You do not touch my daughter. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.
3. I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, an I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not in fact come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.
4. I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.
5. It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is : "early".
6. I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is ok with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.
7. As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process than can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful like changing the oil in my car?
8. The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater and a goose down parka zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic theme are to be avoided. Movies with chain saws are okay. Hockey games are ok. Old folks homes are better.
9. Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing , merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.
10. Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

The blogger added this (I'm assuming maybe it is the mom)
It appears that they will never be leaving home....sigh.....

Andrea again: Let me just say, I was laughing hysterically. But at the same time, I was like, "with a little bit of tweaking, this would be perfect for Mike to use for his rules for dating his daughters"---when that time comes (which will be a long, long time away). After all, we do have two girls who will one day want to date (however, not until 16 will this occur, and they both already know that anything beyond group dates will be well into college---really we have this rule). Well, then I saw something else that kept me reading on the blog. It was this:

Dating My Daughters Part 1....
Brian's application for dating his daughters....

Name:

Date of Birth:

Height:

Weight:

IQ:

GPA:

Social Security #:

Drivers License:

Boy Scout Rank and Badges:

Home Address:

Do you have parents? yes or no

Is one male and the other female? yes or no

If no, explain:

Number of years they have been married:

If less than your age, explain:

Accessories

Do you own or have access to a van? yes or no

A truck with over sized tires? yes or no

A water bed? yes or no

A pickup with a mattress in the back? yes or no

A tattoo? yes or no

Do you have an earring, nose ring, pierced tongue, pierced cheek or a belly button ring? yes or no

If you answered yes to any of the above, discontinue application and leave premises immediately. I suggest running.

Essay

In 50 words or less, what does "LATE" mean to you?

In 50 words or less, what does "DON"T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER" mean to you?

In 50 words or less, what does "ABSTINENCE" mean to you?

References

Church you attend?

How often do you attend?

When would be the best time to interview your:

father?

mother?

pastor?

Short answer

If I were shot, the last place I would want shot would be:

If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken would be:

A woman's place is in the:

The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is:

What do you want to do IF you grow up?

When I meet a girl, the thing I always notice about her first is:

What is the current going rate of a hotel room?

I swear that all information supplied above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge under penalty of death, dismemberment, Native American ant torture, crucifixion, electrocution, Chinese water torture, red hot pokers, and Hillary Clinton kiss torture.

Applicant's signature (that's you moron)

Mother's signature

Father's signature

Pastor/Priest/Rabbi:

State Representative/Congressman:

Thank you for your interest, and it had better be genuine and non-sexual. Please allow four to six years for processing. You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write (since you probably can't, and it would cause you injury). If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentlemen wearing white ties carrying violin cases. (you might watch your back)

It's me again: Again, loved it, maybe needs a little tweaking, but for the most part, I think any boy that was taking out our daughters would get the point. Don't you??? As soon as I was done reading, I copied and pasted it into a word document and saved it. Then I forwarded it in an email to Mike. Then I called him to make sure he got it. Mike said yeah, with a little tweaking (like how are you planning for your mission, are you attending seminary, how often do you read your scriptures etc. ) it would be perfect. Do you think the girls will like it when they become teenagers???LOL. Oh well, who cares, right?

So to whomever Brian is, thanks for the great post. I'm a firm believer in not recreating the wheel when it's already been built. I also realized that maybe I should "peep" in on strangers blogs more often. You never know what one could learn. Again, it's never too early to be prepared, right?

This Is Just Like Disney World

Mike took his cue from me on Mother's Day, and said that he was going to have a Father's Day Weekend. I guess that seems fair enough. So, his special weekend started, not with breakfast in bed, but with the breakfast bar at The Golden Corral. Mike loves breakfast buffets, and was saddened when they closed Shoney's all those years ago. This was our first time ever going to Golden Corral, and I have to say it wasn't that bad. When we walked in and stood in line, Cecily said the funniest thing: "This is Just like Disney World!" We all looked at her and laughed, because hey, it was FAR from Disney World, but she clarified and said, "you know like Chef Mickeys. We could walk up and get our food. It's a buffet. " She was right about it being a buffet, but saddly there was no Mickey, Pluto, Donald, Goofy or Minnie coming up to our table to greet us. Definitely not Disney World, but hey at least we have the memories...

A Little Tribute To My Own Gene Kelly--the Best Dad and Husband In the World!

Let me explain the Gene Kelly reference. Some of you may not know (although others know far too well) that Mike is a great dancer! He is not one of those men that just puts their arms up around your neck (or possibly around your waist) and sways back and forth in a short robot motion. OH NOO! When he dances with you, you better be prepared to move from one corner of the room to the next with some twirling, dipping and who knows what other secret tricks he may pull. Let me tell you from experience---IT IS SOOOO MUCH FUN! I love it. When we dated he danced with me all the time. Actually on the night he proposed to me, he made sure there was some dancing too! I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT.

However, once we got married, the dancing did not seem to happen as often. He often complained of his hip hurting after doing so. He would jokingly tell me, "Why do you think I got married so soon? I knew my hip was giving out on me."

Well, even with a "bad hip", occasionally he surprises all of girls (me, Ariel and Cecily) and he will put on the music ,and take turns dancing with all of us. And yes, we are still swayed across the room. The girls love it too. It's a little trickier with them being so much shorter, but Mike somehow seems to still do it. Let me just say, I have to fight the girls for a dance with my dear husband. Last night, Mike surprised us all by putting on the music and dancing with us. He must have danced with us for a good hour taking turns with each of us. And again, the girls kept trying to cut in on my dance card. It was so sweet watching my girls dancing with their daddy. Their eyes looking up at their daddy--told a story of its own.

Which leads to my next point: He is absolutely the best father in the world. The Lord could not have given me a better match. He is patient, loving and understanding. I love this man and seem to love him more as each day passes. The girls adore him. He has always been a very "hands on" dad. From day one, he changed diapers, gave baths, read stories, and of course PLAYED--he is a kid at heart. If the girls are sick, he is up with them too.

He loves our girls and that is such a wonderful blessing for me. I've mentioned before that I never knew my real dad. That is one void, that although I don't focus on very often, still leaves a hole in my spirit. Having said that, I don't want to take anything away from or disrespect the man whom became what I refer to as "my dad" today (this would be my step dad who was brave enough to marry a woman with two 10 yr. old daughters. He is another great man who I will always be grateful to. He helped shaped me into the very person I am today.) However, I always wondered what it would have been like to be a little girl who had a dad that really loved her and would do anything for her, and I'm so grateful that my girls can say they know what that feels like.

Our girls are definitely DADDY'S GIRLS--no doubt. I often joke that if ever they had to pick which one to save, it would be dad. They both fight over who will take care of Dad when he is "old", and they both have a special bond with their dad that is hard to explain. Each one different, but with the same unconditional love. It takes my breath away sometimes just to watch it.

They both want him to be proud of them too. Last week, I tried all day to get Cecily to practice the piano without success, and then Mike comes home and tells her , "will you play the piano for Daddy? I love to hear you play." What does Cecily do, run to the piano and excitedly plays and now she wants to play every night for Daddy. I love it. It really warms my heart in no way that I can express.

I'm definitely not one of those women who can have their husband gone for long periods of time for work. We are grateful to have him home by 5:15pm just about every night. A few years ago, Mike had to go to San Fransico for a week for training and the girls cried every day. Can I just say that was the longest week of our life. We could not wait for him to come home.

He is wonderful. I wish every child could have a dad like him, and I'm sad that not every child does.

He is also a great husband. He really is. He is the true definition of help mate. He is not afraid to do dishes, cook, clean (although I have banned him from the laundry. LOL). He comforts me when I'm sad, he never judges (except when I cut my hair short. LOL), he always seems to know just the right thing to do or say to make me laugh (most people never see this side of Mike, but he is HILARIOUS), he inspires me to be more Christlike, he loves the Lord and will do anything for his family (trust me, he sold his '67 Mustang so he could take his girls to Disney World..How many men do you know would do that?), he is a hard worker, he is VERY SLOW to anger and tries to avoid contention, he has integrity and he is honest (if you don't want to really know the truth, then don't ask). I could keep going on and on about his many wonderful qualities, but I know he would be embarrassed if he knew I was writing this.

I am so blessed that I was at that church dance about 15 1/2 years ago, and that he asked me to dance---can I just say, he did not even give me a chance to say no, and I'm glad he didn't. Who would have known that all these wonderful blessings all began with a dance? When Mike danced with me last night, he put on the same song that we first danced too, and it brought back a lot of sweet memories. I really don't deserve him, but I'm glad he puts up with me! The best thing is knowing that we can be a Family Forever! In case you ever do read my blog Mike, ---Happy Father's Day, and thanks for being the greatest father any woman could ask to have for her children and for being a great partner for eternity, I Love You!
P.S. I want to get a good picture of him, but I don't have one on the digital camera. I'll try to get one tomorrow to post, because if I took one now, he would know I was up to something.

A New Opportunity To Serve

On Sunday, I was released as the secretary in Primary as well as a teacher in Relief Society. Although, as with most releases, another calling is not far behind. This held true for me. My new calling is First Counselor in the Primary. I'm excited for the opportunity to continue to work with children. Children have the sweetest spirits, and I know my testimony will be strengthened working with them. I also know that I will learn as much from them in this calling as they will from me, if not more. I am truly grateful to belong to a church were we are given the opportunity to serve.
For those of you who read my blog who are not members, every member is given a "calling"---or an opportunity to serve. These callings come from the Lord. Not only do these callings strengthen one's testimony, they also provide us with the opportunity to gain skills or talents we may not have had previously. In our church, no one gets paid monetarily for their service. It's all done voluntarily because of our love for the Lord. However, I can not say that I do not get gain from my callings held. Our family is richly blessed. The Lord gives us so much more in return. Maybe even more than we deserve, and for that I am grateful. Without Him, we would be nothing.

FREEZE! Don't Make Another Move!

So, Mike and I, well Mike really, decided that we needed to just not be lazy and take down the original wallpaper that was left on the wall. Well, this proved to be a VERY TEDIOUS JOB! We went to Lowe's on Saturday night and bought this chemical remover (thinking that maybe it would work better than Downey, but it didn't). Anyway, I started using it on Monday morning, and guess what??? Yes, once I started peeling, the entire top layer of the sheetrock came off. Ughhhhh. I should have known, but I peeled another piece and it took a HUGE piece of the sheetrock off.
I called Mike and he quickly told me to: "STOP". So I did. I wasn't 100% sure, but pretty sure that I had made a huge MISTAKE!
Then Susan called and told me to check my blog because someone had posted on my wallpaper blog. Something about the wallpaper being glued straight to the sheetrock and her advice was to stop because removal would lead to damaged sheetrock. Too bad I had not read the advice first. Thanks though Cindy because I think that helped convince Mike to just "stop removing the wallpaper."
So now, Mike has been busy repairing the sheetrock--luckily it's not too big of a section. Then we will just prepare the walls and paint on top of the wallpaper. Hopefully it will all work out and look nice.
One more time just in case you forgot: I HATE WALLPAPER!!!!! Smiles...

I HATE WALL PAPER!!!!!

I think the title of this blog entry speaks for itself. I will NEVER put wall paper on any walls EVER. NOW, that should be a Law! Wall paper should be outlawed and anyone who puts it up should be made to sit and peel it off.

Here was my kitchen wall with the lovely 80's blue flower print:

Just to let you know I don't have all this clutter and mess usually. I had moved everything to the table to prep to remove the wall paper. And I did not think to take a picture until I started.
Here is a picture of me starting. It really was not hard. It came off pretty easy, but it is still time consuming.


Here is what it looks like now. This is why I am frustrated and why I HATE WALLPAPER. When I started peeling away, I realized the lovely, previous owners got lazy and put a light coat of paint over wall paper (instead of removing it), and then put the blue flowery wall paper on top of that. So not only do I have to remove the first layer of wallpaper that took about 10 hours (with my VERY SWEET helper Cecily--love you! She stayed by my side all day! She is such a great helper. I wish I could clone that girl. She is so sweet.) I had another problem---another layer of wall paper with paint on top which has proven to be a lot harder to remove. Much more tedious. For those of you who have ever peeled skin after you've had a sun burn. Think that... no kidding. Sorry for the gross analogy, but it is the closest thing I can think of. After spending about three hours and only getting about an area the about the size of 24 inches by 12 inches done, I'm rethinking the whole removing the other layer. I've been doing some research. The bottom layer of paper is pretty tight on the wall. I think they may have sealed it. I'm thinking of resealing it again with an oil base sealer, sanding out the rough spots and then painting over it. Mike and I are going to have to talk about it.
Which leads to another point. When Mike got home Thursday, he was not in a good mood. I think he knew we were going to be in for a huge ordeal once this got started, and he was not quite ready to deal with it. When he came home, it was a mess, big bags of old wall paper, everthing moved everywhere, the floor was sticky from the Downey mixture (this worked great, thanks Lisanka). The house smelled like Downey (which Mike hates) PLUS---NO DINNER. Well, I called Mike and asked him to bring home Little Ceasars--which he hates too!
Anyway, me being me, made us have to deal with it before he was ready for it. I just didn't want 10 years to go by and we still have blue flowery wall paper, but now I'm thinking....What was I thinking? I guess I just thought, we'll get it done. It won't be that bad (or hard) and we'll be so happy when we do. Again, "The Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry..." Are you seeing a pattern?

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!I HATE WALL PAPER!!! OH and I still have removing wall paper from the front bathroom to look forward to. Yeah for me! UGHHHHH!

Pranks, Drama and Then a Thoughtful Message

I was not going to blog about this, because so much DRAMA came from the whole experience (and that is kind of putting it mild) but then I remembered the whole entire reasons for starting this blog : 1) I wanted me and my future children and their children to have something to look back and know that I lived and 2) to make sure my side of the story was being told. I did not care, and still do not care, if anyone else finds pleasure in reading it. It's nice if they do, but not necessary. I truly want my children to have something to look back on to see who their mother was (the good and the bad--I think I'm pretty even in sharing my flaws and my good traits) perhaps laugh a little, learn a little from my mistakes (I like to go back too and try to learn from those mistakes). But really I want them to remember me and I want to remember too.
So here I go again....
Let me preface this by saying that Lisanka and I have been Camp Leaders together for the past two years for our church Girls Camp that is held every year. It is for girls ages 12-18 and is usually held for 5 days. Girls come from parts of southwest AL and a couple of cities in MS. It is sooo much fun. I love Girls Camp and have since the first time I got to go about 12 years ago. I love the girls. They are so much fun. This year, I did not get to go because my current calling in the church is not working with the youth, but the primary children (11 and under).
However, like I said, Lisanka and I have been joint camp leader over the first and second year girls for the past few years and we have formed great bonds with these girls, especially Lisanka--that is one fun lady. When we see the girls aside from church, we are always greeted with hugs and talks of how great camp is. We love these girls! Neither of us were going to camp this year. We saw several of the girls months ago and they of course asked if we were coming to camp and when we both said no, they were like, "WHAT?" I don't think they believed us. When Lisanka dropped her daughter off at camp and left, the girls were like, "You can't go...."
We always have fun with them. The girls love to PRANK--especially us, and it has become a tradition of sorts to Prank them back. Again let me clarify---Pranks are not anything malicious, that will cause harm to a person or their property (and that is how I've always believed the camp rules to be that pranks were okay, as long as they did not fall under malicious etc. I guess I was WRONG!).
Last year was the best, because they came to prank us while they thought we were "sleeping", but we knew that they were going to prank us. So while they were pranking us, we had snuck out of our cabin and went to their campsite and pranked them by moving all of there beds out around the fire pit. Then, we went back and sat in the woods for about an hour watching them finish "pranking" us. We sat so long that I told Lisanka if they did not hurry up, I was going to go over to them and ask if they needed some help because I was getting tired and really wanted to go to bed. LOL. When they found out what we did, they were mad that we got them. They came back later that night and scared the you know what out of us. It was so much fun and I have so many great memories with those girls.
So this year, Lisanka and I did not want to break tradition. We decided we would go back and prank them again this year (unbeknown to us that the prank rule had changed). This year, we added an accomplice--Susan O. (her daughter was a first year camper and we thought it would be fun to have her come and help--which it was).
We left around midnight, but stopped at the Wal-Mart in Saraland to get some supplies and we spent A LOT of time at Wal-Mart searching for just the right things (we had some great ideas, but unfortunately were unable to put them all to use--keep reading and you'll see why). Anyway, we arrived at camp at about 2:30am using just the parking lights about 1/2 mile in. We parked with all the other cars, which in some ways was a bad idea because we were so close to everyone and a few times we thought we were going to be caught (everyone knows Lisanka's car), but in a way it was a good thing because we could see everything that was going on.
However, our plan was foiled because when we got there, so many girls were awake and walking around. We went this late because we thought they would all be asleep--the carnal rule of pranking is not getting caught. However, we saw girls going in the bathrooms, walking in the woods. If it had not been dark out, I would have thought we arrived in the middle of the day because of all the activity going on. We were shocked. I even said, "Wow there fire side must have lasted until after midnight for them to still be up.”
So we were like, "What now??" We decided to sit in Lisanka's car and wait. We for sure thought they would be getting in bed soon. I mean it was after 2:30am. 3AM rolled around and the girls were STILL up. We thought they were doing some sort of Morse code because we kept seeing bright lights flashing from across the camp ground. We were wondering what was going on, and we even began wondering why the leaders were not making the girls get in bed (remember we were sitting in the car waiting to do our thing which we could not do if they were awake!?! Don't want to get caught! Hello girls, go to bed! LOL).
When 3:30am rolled around and we saw there were still girls up and about we decided we needed to just go ahead and take our chances because it was getting close for us to have to leave (our other children were at home with dads who were going to have to leave for work soon). So we got up and quietly snuck into the bathrooms knowing we needed to work fast because we could get caught. Well, just as we started putting hair gel on the faucets, two girls come in. Lisanka runs to the closet and like a 5 year old playing hide and seek, I follow. HOWEVER, there is also a water heater in the closet---only room for one and I'm like "crap I'm going to get caught". So, I run into the bathroom stall and lock the door and just stand there. Then, I hear the girls say, "Who is in there?" I don't say a word and they're like, "Who is that?" I really thought they were going to peak under and Lisanka comes out of the "closet"---HA, HA! The two girls were like, "Hey!" So, I come out too. We were busted!
They thought it was funny and wanted to hang out and help, but we said, "NO. Why are ya'll still up?" They said, "We've been up all night. We haven't been to bed." We told them that they needed to go to their cabin and go to bed. Which they did, but not until watching us (they did not participate--we would not let them) put shaving cream on the toilet seats and Vaseline on the door handles, locked the bathroom stalls (well, we did leave one stall unlocked in case of emergency--see we are nice). We said goodnight to the girls, and left to go up to where the older girls were.
When we got to the older girls cabins (they were in the air conditioned cabins). We realized they were still awake too and they had their window blinds open! How can a person pull off a prank here! Don't they know they should be sleeping? I won't tell what we were going to do, but it would have been great! The girls would have been soo surprised. Okay, all I'll say is fishing line and bird seed. LOL. Are you going crazy trying to guess what we were going to do?
We realized our prank night had been messed up! So we went back to Lisanka's car to regroup. It was about 3:45am and we didn't have much time (we were not going to come back the next night because that being the last night of camp, we figured everyone would be up pranking and hello---have you seen the prices of gas?). Well, we did not want to come all that way for just shaving cream on the toilet seat, so we decided to just go and blow an air horn through out the camp site. (3 years ago, this was what the Camp leaders used to wake us up every morning and one night we stole it and blew it about every half hour---it was very funny).
This was a BIG MISTAKE TO DO! Had I realized how much DRAMA would have come from blowing a stinkin' little air horn, I would have NEVER done it! Hindsight is 20/20---remember my whole thing about, "The best laid plans of mice and men...." I'm tellin' ya--it fits ME to a T! Well, we drove through the campsite blowing the air horn (as we have in years past) saying, "Good Morning Girls! and shouting some of the girls name. President Emmertson got up and started squirting us with his water gun! We were laughing and then, one of the leaders came out and said, "That's NOT cool! We haven't slept all night! They've kept us up!" Lisanka said loudly again, we thought we were having fun, "Well, that's what camp is about!"
We drove over to where the older girls cabins were and jumped out blowing the air horn and since we knew the girls were awake, we banged on their doors and said, "Time to get up, come on girls, let's go, time for your hike (they hike every year, part of their certification)! Hustle, Hustle!" They were like, "yeah, right". Some of the older girls came out and said, "This is your prank. This is all you got this year. That's lame." We explained that we had more, but they were all up. Hard to prank when the persons you’re pranking can see you. The funny thing is one of the adult leaders got up and got dressed and started brushing her teeth. She really thought it was the wake up call until another leader said, "It's just Lisanka". LOL.
Well, that's when all heck broke loose. We had just started talking with the other leaders and girls when 2 of the leaders came in and were VERY upset. We were laughing, and one of them said sharply, "It's NOT funny!" I was like "Is she for real??” Apparently she was. I won't go into all that was said by the other person, because she is not here to defend herself. But let's just say, she was NOT a happy camper, nor was the other leader with her and apparently a few others who decided to stay in the cabin.
I have to admit, I did feel like a five year old again be punished by my mom. I hung my head, at first. All three of us apologized. We all said that had we of known we were going to offend them, we would NEVER have done it, and that is the truth. We do this every year with the girls, and we did not think we were causing any harm. The girls were even saying when we got there that they had been waiting for us to come and do something! Oh well... I really am sorry that they were upset, but I'm not really sorry that I did it. We left around 4am maybe a few minutes later. (Sidenote: I can't believe that I had stayed awake for over 24 hours, and when I got home, the girls only let me get about an hours sleep. I got a great nights sleep on Wednesday night. I fell asleep at 6:30pm and woke the next morning at 7am--haven't done that in a LONG time. I guess I'm not that old, if I can still function with that little sleep. LOL.).
Again in hindsight, I would not have done it had I realized that it would have caused so much drama. The next day, I realized we were being blamed for things we had not done. We were being blamed for the girls being tired (hello, they were up when we got there! Remember we were unable to do our real pranks). It was said we blew the air horn at 2:30am and at 4am--not true. Emails have been sent. Feelings have been hurt. Yada ,Yada, Yada.
I actually had put it behind me, and was thinking, "That is so yesterday. I've apologized, I offered to clean the bathroom (which I was told was unnecessary because the planned service project for the girls was to power wash the bathroom inside and out)." So I figured I've done all I can do. Again, sorry to anyone who was offended.
Anyway, I'm not bitter. Life is WAY to short, and now I'm thinking if people choose to hold onto it, that's their choice. Mike being the AWESOME husband he is reminded me of something. Can I just stop and say, "I love that man. He really is a super strength to me. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have him for a husband! I hope you all can say that about your husbands too. I would not change mine for anything! I LOVE HIM."
Anyway, at first, I was getting all caught up in the drama (and it's weird, because it seemed as though there were individuals who tried to keep the contention fueled). But Mike said, "Don't get caught up in that. It's not worth it." I kept saying, but I'm mad that all the truth isn't being heard. And he kept saying, "It doesn't matter. Remember the Savior. Just do nothing." And then my sweet husband sent me this message in an email:

Christ stood before Pilate and “answered nothing.” And he stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Art thou the king of the Jews?” And Jesus said unto him, “Thou sayest I am.” And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, “Hearest thou not how many things thy witnesses lay against thee?” And he answered him not a word. As illustrated by the Savior’s example, sometimes the most powerful and courageous thing a person can do is to remain silent. I was attending a track meet, and there were about a dozen fellows who had qualified to represent their schools in the mile run at this invitational. As the gun was fired, those young men, who had trained hard for this vigorous race, took off. Four of them were running in a bunch so close together that it looked to us as if they might trip each other. Suddenly one fellow spiked the shoe of the boy running in front of him. As the spiked runner went to take his next step, his shoe flew off. I wondered what this boy who had been leading the race would do. He had several choices: He could have grabbed the boy who had spiked him and done something to get even. He could have run over to the coach and yelled, “So this is what you get. I’ve trained half my life for this, and now on the big day, look what happens!” He could have said to his mom and dad, “Look what that guy did to me!” Or he could have sat down and cried. But he didn’t do any of these things; he just kept running. This happened on the first lap, and I thought he would quit after that lap. But he kept running every step of the way. The cinders came up through his sock into his foot, but he said nothing. He just kept running. He finished the race, and I thought, “What a boy!” He said nothing. He simply finished the job he had to do.-----Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Council of the Twelve

When Elder Marvin J. Ashton visited one mission, the elders asked him how they could best respond to some anti-Mormon publications in their area. He answered: “We do nothing. We have no time for contention. We only have time to be about our Father’s business.”

You see, I was reminded that there are always going to be people who are not going to be happy with you, or who try to trip you up in life--even when you are doing something good (no, I'm not saying that pranking is the Lord's work, but you know what I mean). You can't please everyone. You just can't. Again, it comes down to choices--Theirs and mine. I can’t do anything about what they choose to do. But for me, today, I choose to put that behind me and move forward. I admit, perhaps it was poor judgment to go to the camp, but I'm not sorry for the bond that I have with those girls and for wanting to keep it strong. If that is a sin, then I admit it.... I'm guilty. But I don't have time for contention. When I have contention, I'm sliding backward, not forward. And when I have contention, no good can come. So except for this blog entry, which is just my journal because I want to remember it, I am going to choose to remain silent. Thanks for the reminder Mike, I really do love you!

I'M STILL HERE

I guess ya know people are reading when people are calling your husband at work and asking him if his wife is okay because she has not blogged in five days! LOL. To answer those questions, yes I'm okay. It has just been a pretty busy week and I've been soo tired at night that all I want to do is go to bed (many nights I did not get there until well after midnight).
Some of you may be curious what I've been up to and if not, that's okay, but I should journal a little bit of it just so I can have something to look back on, so I will. But here is what my week has looked like in a nutshell.
Monday: Clean house, swim with girls, FHE, long talk with Mike (no we were not mad, we just had a wonderful long talk together about life and yes both of us were actively participating. It really was nice.
Tuesday: Girls Camp Prank ---did not sleep for over 24 hrs.
Wednesday: Slept, OBGYN appt. (no, I'm not pregnant, just yearly checkup)OH, my doctor has a new office and while I was in the room waiting to be checked, I could hear her conversations with all of her other patients. Not sure if she knows that she can be heard. Do you think I should call her office and let them know? I thought about telling her that day, but I guess I got scared and did not want her to think I was eaves dropping (but trust me, you would have to be deaf to have not heard--the walls are definitely not sound proof).
Thursday: Removed wall paper from my kitchen---UGGHHHHHHH! A LOT of work! Finished around 9pm, but did not finish cleaning up the kitchen until 1am.
Friday: Tried taking down second layer of wall paper that has been painted on. CAN YOU SAY DOUBLE UGGGGHHHHHH! I Quit. Trying to decide what to do!
Sat: Catching up on blog, yard work and back to wallpaper. OH WHAT FUN!

So now you know, I'm still here. Just been busy--but hey, that gives me a lot to blog about, right! So here I go....