Update!

Just a quick update, and yes, it will be quick!
I got the papers for those NEW meds I talked about in the last post, and I was mistaken when I said that the doctor told me to stop taking it if my feet became swollen. I'm supposed to stop if I get preggo....So I'm okay, floppy feet and all.
That one nice thing my hubby did for me this morning was WAY overshadowed by the crap he pulled tonight! He made me so mad! I'm not going to get into all of it right now, but let's just say that everything he did wrong was MY fault! *keep it under control...eat some chocolate...punch his pillow...not his face* I don't know what it is, but he's just annoying the crap out of me! ARGH! I just feel like taking his blog (and I have FULL access to it) and making a post about the stupid things he's done this last week! I want to, but I won't!
My mom and I didn't even make a DENT in the packing we did for my grandparents today...39 years of crap really accumulates and just sets up it's own residence! After packing for 4 hours, my mom and I cleaned out the kitchen and the bathroom. There is TONS more to do. But we were just too pooped to poop!

Quickie?

Just a quick note....I probably will be busy for the next few days. We're going to be moving my grandpa and his wife into their new house and I volunteered to help out! My mom asked me if I wanted to help them pack today and my exact words were, "I can help if you want me to." My Grandma Sue picked RIGHT up on that one and said (imagine this said with a thick Tennessee accent), "Notice she didn't say she would LOVE to, just that she would."
Okay, so I admit it...I HATE moving. It's not fun...especially when you have a TON of crap to move! That is why I've told my husband that the next time we move, it will be INTO a house that I NEVER want to move away from! It will be nice to have them completely moved into this new house. They've been married for 3 years now, and this will be the first house they'll be living in that won't be "his" or "hers".... just theirs! I think they'll really enjoy it! I can't wait for them!
One more funny note, I'm taking some new meds. The doctor told me that if I take these meds I may be able to get pregnant. He also told me that it can cause feet to swell up and if that happens to STOP taking them immediately. So I've been religiously taking the pills and hoping beyond hope that it works. A few weeks ago I saw my first hints of swelling. I hoped that it wouldn't get any worse, but yesterday I saw that my hoping was not going to come true! Both feet were bulging and poofy. NO! This was my hope...don't take it away from me. I'm going to keep taking it for a while and hope that it doesn't get too bad. I just WANT this so badly, that I can't give up just because I have fat feet now! I'm just going to put up with the wobbling tops of my feet and hope it turns out the way I want!

Oh, and thank you all for checking out my hubby's blog. He's LOVING the comments he's gotten. See, he's been bit by the blogging bug! The other day I realized why I love blogging so much...Blogging is like fishing. You put out your bait (posts) and hope that you get a nibble (comments), and when you do, you get so excited you throw out more and more so that you will get lots of bites! It's the thrill of the catch! We're just catching new friends and not fish! Good thing...cuz I don't like fish!

One more thing...I swear!! My husband is so cute and thoughtful. Just now, he ran upstairs and changed the channel on the tv. Then he flopped on the bed and just stared at me. I watched what was on, it was OUR song's video! He saw that video and thought of me! What a sweetie!! I love him so much!

I guess this post really wasn't a "quick note," oh, well. You still love me, right!?

"I'm just a little black rain cloud...."

For some reason I have that song running through my mind. I had ANOTHER rotten day, but tomorrow's looking up! I'm not babysitting!! *doing the dance of joy* Okay, so I've read a few other blogs and found that I'm not alone when it comes to having a rotten day. I think there are either many many little black rain clouds floating around the blogosphere or there is ONE giant one! Let's get together right now and blow that sucker away! Ready?? One.....two.....three.....blow!! *whooshing sounds* There! All gone...now on to happy things!

Announcement number 1: my husband has joined the bandwagon! He's started his own blog. Now, mind you, he did it as a way to vent his frustrations with a certain co-worker, so if you want to lambast someone you don't even know, then go to Chasing Stupid People and read and comment away! I've been helping him with the MANY things I've learned since becoming a blogoholic! I feel so smart sometimes!

Announcement number 2: I've heard through the grapevine that my Dweeb awards was my best post someone has ever read. I happen to think that it's true. Out of my many many posts this one was one of my favorites to write...only because it showed off some of my lesser known talents! (Belly flops and witty comebacks!) Now I'll have to live up to that ONE post...I hope I can do that...someday!

Announcement number 3: I have found my oasis of chocolate! My mom always buys a giant bag of Hershey's kissables from Sam's Club, and after my lousy week, I'm dipping my fingers in the pool! YUMMO!! For anyone who hasn't tried these yummy gems...I highly recommend it! It doesn't necessarily relieve my symptoms, but it does make ME feel better! YAY!

That's it for my announcements. I hope that your little black rain clouds have all departed (or are at least BEGINNING to depart!) Just think...the weekend is almost here! That can only mean good things!

The Upside of Babysitting for a Certified Massage Therapist

I woke up unable to move. I was in tears because the pain was so bad. I forced myself through the pain to get out of my bed. I couldn't lift my arm above my head (makes for difficulty in washing hair!) I sat down on my couch and cried. My poor husband was no help for me either...he couldn't move because his lower back was cramping up and he was stuck too!! I did the only thing I could think of...I took some ibuprofin and tried not to cry while the little ones were being dropped off. I told L's husband that I had a MAJOR stiff neck and was in desperate need of his wife's hands. He was ALSO suffering from lower back pain and told me he'd pass the word along. So all through the day I'd suck air when I turned my neck too far or too fast, or when raising my hands or carrying heavy things....like Cam and little L!
When L came to pick up her kids I mentioned my neck problem and she jumped right in and rubbed it out for me...loosening it up as much as she dared without causing me other problems. Now I can turn my head, but it still has to be SLOWLY, but I can lift things and shake my head....a big improvement from earlier in the day. I can't wait for her to FINISH! I want my ease of movement back!! :)

Planning Family Togetherness-Time

Family Reunions are a lot of work! For the next month or so we're having THREE reunions. One is a biggie...the JPH reunion. My dad's family is in charge of that one, meaning I'm going to be taking part in it as well. Then at the beginning of August we're having an F reunion...all of my mom's sibling and kids. That's one that we only have every 2 years, so it'll be fun to see everyone else again! The third "reunion" is my immediate family. We've decided, just this year, to go to Lagoon every year as a family. So we had our planning meeting on Sunday while my sister was here (she lives in Utah.) We decided when to go and my brother-in-law said that there was going to be a Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert that weekend, if we wanted to go down early enough to go to it. We thought that sounded like fun, so we agreed. Then we decided that it might be easy enough if we just stayed in Salt Lake overnight and go to Lagoon the next day. So started our CRAZY planning! My sister and her husband have a weekender's pass for a hotel in the area and thought that it would be cool if we could all get rooms there for the weekender's price, but they found out that they NO longer do this program for NEW people! ARGH! So either we had to get the expensive rooms there, or find another place to stay. Well, after many debates, we've decided on a hotel that's not too far from temple square. (Within walking distance!)

Next task...getting tickets for the concert. The problem is that in my immediate family there are 11 individuals and when you get tickets for anything at the conference center you are only allowed 4 tickets per person, per address. In order for us to get tickets in the same general area, we'd need to get them at the same time...meaning, 3 of us trying for tickets as soon as they were available. Tickets were available at 10:00 this morning. My mom goes exercising at 9:00 until 10:30...so she wouldn't be able to get the tickets, but her computers were available. She wanted me to go to her house and get online at the same time my brother was online at another computer, so that we could get the tickets as close together as possible. (Are you following my crazy rant? I'm sorry...I'm so confusing...I'm still trying to get over all this craziness coming at me at once!) Today was also my first day back to regular babysitting for my friend L. My husband was supposed to be to work by 6:00 AM and we only have ONE vehicle! So here was our plan: I took Steve to work at 5:30, so that I'd have the van for the day. As soon as L's husband dropped the kiddos off at my house I would load them up into my van and go to my mom's house to begin preparations for getting tickets. At 2:00 I was to go get my husband from work, drop him off at home, then run Cameron to speech therapy which started at 3:00. Three is also the time L gets off work, but unfortunately today was the day she needed a ride HOME from work, and would I mind picking her up and taking her home, (crazy me, I said, 'no problem.') Then I was to get my husband and go BACK to my mom's house for a relaxing night. Doesn't sound too bad, right?? Don't count on it!

Here's what really happened:

My body woke itself up at 4:00 in the morning. DANG IT!! GO BACK TO SLEEP...I DON'T NEED TO BE AWAKE RIGHT NOW...SLEEP!! Finally I fell asleep at 4:45....just about 30 minutes before the alarm went of to REALLY wake up. Alarm goes off...Kick hubby out of bed...sleep for another 10 blissful minutes. After he's dressed, get Cam and throw on some shoes and get in the van and take hubby to work. Get home at 6:00...ready to go BACK to sleep for an hour and a half...didn't count on the sprinklers going in front of our door...RUN THROUGH the sprinklers...getting our jammies wet and climbing into bed to sleep with Cam's feet in my back! Wake up when the alarm goes of the first time, slapping the snooze, then rolling back to where I was and realizing I CANNOT sleep! Finally, the alarm goes off again...last call....Get showered and dressed for the day. Eat breakfast...oops....no milk...that's okay...I'll improvise...we'll have toast. Cam throws a fit, saying he wants cereal....'No, toast is just as good as cereal.' (Fight continues until I turn on Blue's Clues.) Eat for a few minutes until little L and E arrive. Pile everyone in the van and hurry to get tickets. Get to mom's house and find NO signs of life anywhere. Wake up brother who is supposed to help, only to find he's got his alarm set. FINE! Go upstairs and set the computers to the correct web page. At 10:00 coordinate with younger brother and await the web page saying "Tickets available now." Refresh.....refresh....refresh.....2 minutes into the 10:00 hour it shows up. Go on to get tickets....and had to wait in the virtual waiting room 3 times!! Get the tickets and sit down with little L and E. Trying to get BOTH to settle down and nap. Finally L fell asleep, and so did E, then I tried to get Cam to sleep...not gonna happen. It's 1:30 and E decides he's starving to death...feed him his second bottle...figuring he'd already eaten, gave him 2 ounces...oops. He wanted more! Drive to get hubby from work. The WHOLE way to the store, baby E is screaming his guts out...he hasn't figured out how to keep the binky in his mouth yet. Get hubby and hurry home to make ANOTHER bottle for the baby. Feed him until he's stopped crying, and gather the kids again to drop Cam off at therapy. Yes, I hit EVERY light along the way when it was green. That means I'll be able to get L from work at 3:10...not too shabby! Get to the main intersection before the place of therapy to find they are repaving the WHOLE STINKIN' intersection and traffic is backed up for at least 10 minutes! (For those of you living in bigger towns with WORSE traffic than I have...Not one word... Ten minutes is a LONG time for waiting at ONE intersection in my town!) Finally get to therapy, and the therapist ISN'T ready for us. (I had left the two who DIDN'T need to be there IN the van.) Get Cam settled at therapy and take off. Determined to take a DIFFERENT route...longer, but quicker! Get in the van to find that baby E is screaming....AGAIN!! While little L is saying, "Ba-bee....ba-bee.....ba-bee..." Shove the bink into E's mouth and hurry to get L. She meets me in the parking lot worried that she'd missed me. We chat and I drive her to her new apartment....ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN! Get her and the kids settled and rush off to get Cam from therapy BEFORE he freaks out! Try calling hubby to tell him that I'll pick him up AFTER I get Cam and to be ready, no such luck. Get the voicemail...three times! Finally leave him a message and get Cam. Hurry back to get hubby, and he SLOWLY saunters down the stairs and we leave for the air conditioned comfort of my mom's house. On the drive over hubby tells me that he looked up the hotel mom wanted to stay at in SLC and it was a fairly decent price. We get to my mom's house and she's on her way over to my grandparent's new house. (My grandparents bought the house 2 doors away from my parent's house. And last night we spent our Family Home Evening priming their bedroom and bathroom walls for the paint job they are getting today! I was SO tired it wasn't even funny!) Forget to ask mom about the hotel situation until AFTER I had gone into her house, so I hurried over to tell mom about what Steve found. She wants me to call my sister and find out what her plans are and then book 3 rooms. I call BOTH of my sister's numbers and NO ONE answers. So, I make the executive decision to just get the rooms without them. They call back and we decided NOT to get them a room since they already had a cheaper room somewhere else. Book the rooms, and print off the confirmation pages.

PHEW!! Now here I am...whining on my blog. If you went through and read that then I applaud you! I wrote it and I don't think I could have handled so much whining all in one shot! On top of all of this I KNOW I've got PMS...not a good thing! I want to snuggle down into bed tonight with a belly full of chocolate...do you think that's too much to ask? I hope not! :)

My Life Monday/Dweeb Awards

For My Life Monday, Rachelle gave us the option of choosing our own topic. I’m SO excited for this...I’m going to tell you ALL my favorite things.
My favorite food is choco...
Announcer: We interrupt this post for our FIRST ever Dweeb Awards. Presenting tonight will be none other than Dawnyel.
Thank you, Bob! I'm so excited to be presenting here tonight!

In our first ever "Dweeb" awards we’ll be presenting some pretty impressive awards. So get ready, because here we go!
First up, in the category of best belly flop, the Dweeb goes to ME!! *wiping away my tears* Thank you all for your votes! *sniff* I couldn’t have done it without my mom. She IS the one who bought and mostly inflated the slip-n-slide. I also couldn’t have done it without Cameron, well, I guess I could have, but it just wouldn’t have been the same.
And now for the clip:
My mom had just bought a brand new slip-n-slide. It was a hot afternoon and I was anxious to see the exact size of the thing. So being very motivated, I pulled it out of the box and got to work setting it up. Slip-n-Slides have come a LONG way since I was younger, now they have inflatable sides and room at the end for a semi-wading pool. They’re still really fun and most are still bright yellow, but that’s where the similarities end. I attempted to blow the dang thing up by mouth. My lung capacity has diminished over the years...I guess you could call me a wimp. I tried and tried to get it to work and my mom suggested that I use an inflator from the trailer. I hurried in and quickly came back with the electric pump that was supposed to work on anything that needed inflating. I pulled it out of the box and the universal attachment was NOT there. But I was NOT going to give up. I hurried back and found a manual inflator and tried to get that working, it didn’t. By this time, my mom who was watching the whole thing from her perch on the porch was laughing at my feeble attempts. I gave up with the inflators and tried to use my mouth. OUCH! My cheeks hurt so bad after just a few minutes of huffing and puffing. Finally, my mom had enough of watching me fail, and came to rescued me. She blew most of the slide up, and I finished setting it up for the test run. Cameron was WAY excited to get wet. Once the water was on, he was running across the mat. He didn’t slide on his belly the way that I remember doing it as a child, so I told him, "Cam...this is how you do it. Watch me!" After getting his attention, I geared up for the "run." (Okay, so I don’t run...it was more like a quick walk!) I got my "running" start and took off for the slide, threw my arms above my head, and dove (belly-first) onto the slide. Now, usually when you do something like that on a WET slip-n-slide you move...at least a little, but that wasn’t the case for me. I completely flopped and halted. There was no slipping OR sliding involved...just flopping. And I found that I couldn’t move. I just stayed in that position for a few seconds, but it seemed a LOT longer. The first sensation was instant pain. My gut felt like I had left part of it IN the ground. The next sensation I experienced was loud laughter coming from behind me. My mom and youngest brother had witnessed the WHOLE thing and could NOT stop laughing. Not only was I in pain, but I was a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. My belly and my pride were hurt that night.
Thanks for that clip...now, our next Dweeb in the category of completely missing the directions for something goes to...*gushing* would you look at that...it’s me again!
*Sobbing* You LOVE ME!! You REALLY love me!!
Show that clip!!
As I was rolling up the slip-n-slide with my sister I noticed that there was a warning on the top part of the slip-n-slide. Not just on the box, but ON the slide itself. It read: "Not for use by adults...Not for use by persons taller than 5 feet or weighing more than 110 pounds..." If I had read that BEFORE my belly flop, I would have saved myself some pretty serious pain...both physically and emotionally! So much for reading the directions completely!
For our final Dweeb of the night, we award the wittiest come-back by someone...would you look at that! It’s a clean sweep everyone!! The winner is ME!!
*clutching the "Dweeb"* Thank you! Thank you!! This time, I’d have to thank the tobacco companies and those people who do cancer studies. They are the WHOLE reason I came up with my quick response! I feel so honored! These "Dweebs" will sit on a special shelf for years! And each time I pull them out I’ll think of your votes!
And now, for the winning clip!!
My younger brother was walking around my parent’s house looking for something to drink. He had just come back into the house from smoking his usual cigarette. He was talking to Cameron and he found some orange juice in the fridge. He poured himself a LARGE glass, and feeling like he was educating Cam he said, "Drinking orange juice prevents cancer! You should drink it!" I had to stifle my laughter, but I managed. Then I came back with, "Yeah, but cigarettes CAUSE cancer!" He looked at me, said nothing and walked away. I couldn’t help but be proud of that one! What does he think? That drinking orange juice will cancel out the cigarettes he’s smoked? If that’s the case, it would be one gallon of orange juice to one cigarette...the guy BETTER get drinking!
That’s all for our Dweebs! We hope you have a great night! And remember to drink that orange juice! It prevents cancer, ya know!

God Bless America!

Last year my brother and I undertook a fun project. We love listening to inspiring CDs, but when it came to the choices we had for patriotic songs there were NONE! I seriously LOVE patriotic songs. I live in the coolest city WEST of the Mississippi. On the 4th of July a local company owner puts up his own money and gives our area the BIGGEST fireworks show west of the Mississippi! Don't ask me how they KNOW it's the biggest, but when I see it every year, I tend to believe it! Anyway, a local radio station also sponsors the big event by putting together a play list that goes with the fireworks. Let me tell you, there are many many times when I listen to the songs they play and see the shining lights in the sky and I just cry. I feel so grateful to those men and women who made it possible for me to live the kind of life I can today. Anyway, my brother and I wanted to capture that "magic" to carry with us. I mean, when you want to get into the Christmas spirit you play Christmas music, right? So we wanted to feel the Patriotic spirit, so we made this CD. We searched and searched for the perfect songs that capture the feelings the we have on Independence Day and finally we thought we had come up with a good list, so we went to work making one for each person in our family. I think I listened to that CD a hundred times last year...I LOVE IT!!

This year I started thinking about that magical CD and I knew I was ready for that patriotic spirit!! I grabbed my CD holder that I keep in my car and flipped through the whole thing...it WASN'T there! But I wasn't deterred...I knew there were other places it could be. I went to my CD stash in the house and looked...it wasn't there either! AH!! I was starting to panic! I want that music...I need to feel that surge of gratefulness...where was I going to get it from?? I started to freak out and my husband calmly walked down the stairs and handed over the beloved CD. A wave of relief flooded over me. Since the day he gave me the CD I've listened to it many many times. I want to hear those songs when I come in the house and not just in the car (where I listen to the majority of my CDs) so this morning I burned myself an extra copy....YAY!! I'm so happy.

Now to get to the reason I'm writing this WHOLE big back-story. My absolute favorite FAVORITE patriotic song is "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood. To me, this holiday would NOT be complete without hearing it, at least once! Years and years ago we sang this song in a huge 3rd grade program and ever since then I've LOVED it! It just makes me grateful to live in a free land where you can do pretty much anything your heart desires. What other country allows you the right to bad mouth those very rights that allows you to speak your mind? Okay, so maybe the way I say it doesn't make sense, but I mean, seriously...I love living in this country. My heart swells with pride everytime I hear those sweet words, "I thank my lucky stars to be living here today, 'Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away. And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free, And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me, And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land; God Bless the U.S.A."

I think of all of those people out there who want to destroy those sacred rights that I love and cherish! And then my mind turns to September 11th. I know that I will ALWAYS remember the feelings I felt that day. I had an almost one-year-old son, and I thought that it was the end of the world. I wondered what kind of a world my son would live in. I sat numbly watching the images that they had on the news. By the time I had heard about what was going on, the first tower had already fallen and the second was leaning pretty badly. When that second tower started to fall, my heart sank and tears came to my eyes. My thoughts were on those poor children who lost their parents and how their lives would change so drastically. My heart had broken! Part of my "patriotic" CD is dedicated to remembering the feelings I felt that day, I have a few songs that are September 11th-esque. I always want to remember how TRULY blessed I am to live where I do, doing the things I can, and enjoying my life the way I see fit! (And just so you don't think I'm only talking about the USA...in my mind I think Canada is a part of this great land, their way of living is so close to our own, it's only right that they be included in this chant of blessing the USA/America!)

**************************

Now, my primary plans for tomorrow. It's the last Sunday of June (where did the month go?) and on the last Sunday of each month we play the SAME game. It's a little boy who needs to put on the armor of God. On the back of each piece of armor I have one of the songs that we need to review. Since we haven't learned ALL the songs for the year, I do have one or two fun songs. And we won't be picking another piece of armor until the kids sing the song to my satisfaction. The songs we'll be reviewing are: "Dearest Children, God is Near You," "Scripture Power," "I Know My Father Lives," "Follow the Prophet," "Did Jesus Really Live Again?," and "Holding Hands Around the World." They LOVE it when we play this game. And so that I'm fair to all kids involved, I pick names out of a can that the Primary Presidency has made. It has EVERYONE'S names on sticks with flowers on top. It just makes it so I don't have to think about who to pick next, and it REALLY helps you memorize those names!

Not So Boring...

Okay, so I've decided to spice up my life! I went for a new template. I was getting tired of the old blah, blah, blah...so I'm new...kinda! Anyway, while I was making the changes, I forgot to add my counter. I hate to admit it, but I LOVE my counter...I just gotta see what the numbers are at all times! So I went to a new site and got a brand-spankin' new counter...and guess what! They have a place where I can make up my own polls. Isn't that just exciting? So, I've decided that each month (as long as I remember to do it!) I'm going to have a poll. You can vote as many times as you'd like, but at the end of the month...or whenever I feel the need, I'll post the results. I'm pretty excited about it! :)

Now for a bit of a funny story. Yesterday I got up, and was wandering around my house, eyes half shut...stubbing my toes on things...and Cameron came up to me and begged for a bath. Now, I'm the kind of mom who will let him go a day in between baths...but not more than that. He had a bath the day before, and I wondered why he wanted a bath so badly. I told him that I would just wet his hair down and try to comb it so he looked nice. We went into the bathroom where I got out my tools...water, a washcloth and my brush. All was set, except for one thing....Cam now had a beautiful, new bald spot about the size of an egg. My first reaction to it was, "Oh, no!! He's got some sort of balding disease..." Then I remembered. My husband had gotten down my scissors to cut something and had left them laying on our coffee table. Cam must have gotten a hold of them and decided to give himself a haircut. I asked him if that was what he had done, and he denied it. (My mother's curse...coming out to haunt me!) After asking again, telling him to tell me the truth, he admitted it. I was so mad! I started in on one of my famous lectures about how scissors are NOT for cutting anything he wants and that ONLY mom can cut his hair...(blah, blah, blah) The poor kid felt so guilty! Unfortunately, there is NO way I can cover up his mistake. He did it on his part, so I thought about buzzing all of his hair off and starting over, but if I did that then he'd have a very SHORT spot. I'm still not sure what to do about it. I'm thinking about just leaving it at the length it's at and combing his hair the opposite way, making his part on the opposite side. What should I do?

Update: I've decided NOT to cut the boy's hair right now. I over-reacted to his "bald spot!" It's not even noticable unless I raise his bangs up, it's hidden underneath the length he's got. So for now, there will be no drastic action taken!

Go Mamas!!

It must be that kind of day...I just read a couple of posts and they are standing up for the mommy way of life. Reading them just makes me want to stand up, stick my fist in the air and shout out: "Go Mamas!!" Not necessarily the "burn your bra, woman-power" type chant, but the spit-up on, laundry piled high, living on no sleep, tired mamas I know are out there! Who's to say that being a mother isn't the hardest most rewarding job there is? Who decided that being a working gal was more important than raising well-adjusted, law-abiding, happy children? Whoever it was, WAS NOT a mother! Sure, there are days it feels lousy, we feel like we're taking care of others and not ourselves, but the reward for feeling this way is there. Rewards like, when your child comes to you when they have an owie that only mama can fix. Or when after an exhausting day, you hold your sleeping child in your lap and think how beautiful they look and knowing that they love you, and you love them. The rewards may not seem huge in the world's eyes, but they're there for you to find and savor when you do! For those moments, I say....GO MAMAS!!

"Where Are You Going?"

I admit it: I'm lazy. But now I've sunk to an all new low.

When I turned 13 my parents allowed me to start wearing make-up. I loved to experiment with the colors and the textures to produce an all new colorful me. I swore up and down that when I got older I was NOT going to let my make-up habit fall away. I was going to wear make-up EVERY day. I loved the feeling of looking "pretty!"

Fast forward many years...

I HATE make-up. It's such a pain in the butt! The only times I ever wear it are when I go to church, when I have to make a good impression, or out on a date with my husband. I rarely wear the stuff. I just feel that I'm not out there to impress anyone, so why should I have to try hard to make good impressions. (Okay, that's not my ONLY excuse, but it's the one my mind rationalizes to itself...)

Today, I woke up and felt very blah. I didn't want to feel this way all day, so I decided to put on some make-up, fix my hair, and wear earrings. As I was prettying myself up, my husband walked by. He stopped to admire for a few seconds, then he asked the question, "Where are you going today?"

AAAAAAAAAH! No!! I'm not making myself pretty because I have somewhere I have to be...I'm just doing it to help me to feel pretty....I'm NOT going anywhere!!

My mom often complained that we'd ask her that dreaded question when she would put make-up on too. Now, I've also inherited that comment. Maybe I should put it on more often, then again, maybe not...

Being Family H

Last night we had a fairly big family dinner at my mom's house. Normally, our family home evenings are spent there. We usually have dinner and then someone gives us a lesson. It's fun, and keeps us on top of the goal to have family home evening once a week. Anyway, last night we got together most of my H side of the family. We had a fairly good turn out for this family dinner..considering a few live too far away, and the others who DO live around here were working. Four out of Eight isn't bad!
This is the side of the family I TRULY belong to. We're stubborn, ornery, and we often stick our feet in our mouths often. Kinda fun, kinda hard to be! In this family, even if you are second cousins twice removed...or some other far removed family member, you are just "cousins." I sometimes get into trouble if I don't say hi to these people out in regular day-to-day life.

Our part of the family is in charge of a larger family reunion this year (the JPH reunion). Usually, my mom is in charge of most things, simply because she's the one who will take charge when no one else wants to. That's just the kind of person she is...if no one else is doing it, then she'll step up. (I think I've started to take after her in this regard...) So the JPH reunion is ALWAYS held the last Saturday in July. We have set the tradition that it's the Saturday closest to JPH's birthday. It NEVER changes...and EVERYONE knows this. EVERYONE!! Well, we've been hearing complaints from other "cousins" that they haven't gotten a letter about it, so they're going to make other plans for that weekend. I guess if they do, then it's their loss. My grandpa was kinda upset over this information and decided that we needed to get that letter out. He immediately went to my mom.
My mom has gotten tired of being the "go-to-woman" in the family, so she suggested that we have a family dinner/planning meeting. Unfortunately, since she IS the only motivated person on this side of the family, a few of my aunts don't really like her that well...therefore, they don't like US, her children. If she were to call a meeting, they wouldn't come, but if grandpa would do it, they would! Because of this, he went and called this family meeting/fish fry! I think it was also a way to con them into coming...Us: "Hey!! Free food!!" Them:"Man, we're going there...they have free food!!"
So about the time we NORMALLY have family home evening, the relatives began showing up. My mom and I had been working on the food for most of the afternoon, before Cam and I had crashed for a DESPERATELY needed nap. When I got up, my mom was outside in her backyard cooking some hamburgers for those who DON'T like fish (that would include me!) And I was in the house trying to bring all of the previously prepared food outside. I never realized how far it was from my mom's back door, to her picnic shelter! (Yes, my parents have a picnic shelter in their backyard...it really comes in handy!) So while my brothers were sitting around being lazy bums...I walked back and forth from my mom's house to the shelter like 20 times.

One of my brothers, Shad, was there with his new girlfriend and her parents. He was standing around trying to introduce me to his girlfriend, all the while completely ignoring the fact that I was busy. I started thinking, 'I'm sorry, but I've got OTHER things to do, especially if you want to eat!' My brothers, Braiden and Doug, were just watching my mom cook the hamburgers. My OTHER brother Daren was helping my mom cook the burgers. He was the ONLY one with a legitimate excuse! I was getting the stuff out, when I realized that I needed the hot dog sticks from the trailer, so I asked Doug to get them. His reaction was annoying!! He asked me if I knew where they were. I told him they were in the trailer. Then, as he was walking away he said, "Then you go get them." I was so mad...but I sucked it up and went to get the hot dog sticks.

The dinner went FAST!! Very little food was left when that brood got done with it! Then, when we had all settled down after dinner the adults circled the folding chairs and began the meeting.

We actually got a LOT accomplished! We delegated everything out, and even added a NEW event to this reunion....we're going to have a dunking booth! The first person my uncle volunteered to go into the booth was my dad! They're going to charge $1 for three throws. Any money raised for this reunion goes to the next year's fund, so we have raffles, an auction (with donated items from each family), and some paying games.

Every year for this reunion I donate a tile picture. My dad has made about a hundred boards, my mom buys the stuff for them, and I make them. They usually sell pretty well...if we find the RIGHT picture to make. I need to start this project soon...it takes me a few hours to put together, but it takes at least a day to dry and set up. This family is not so much the religious type, as they are the hunting type. So normally I make an animal picture and then I make a "girly" picture. I'd better get my rear in gear! It's going to be here before I know it.

All in all it was a fun time. I got to see cousins I haven't seen for at least a year and got to laugh at an uncle who is close enough in age to me that he's almost like a big brother. We had fun. I just hope that this happiness will continue as we have this reunion!

My Life Monday....according to Dawnyel

This week's installment will be a bit different for me! Instead of doing the normal assignment, I'm going to revamp it according to my own needs. So today, will be a tribute to my husband AND all of the other fathers in my life, along with a fun update of my weekend. For those of you who aren't my frequent readers, please excuse my rambling.
This is my husband and my son. Okay, so my picture turned out VERY washed out, but it's SO cute! I couldn't resist posting it! Steve is a wonderful daddy to Cameron. He's always helping him learn new things and the proper way to behave. There are days when the two of them will be on the same wave length and they'll torture me with tickles and that sort of thing, but I try to let it go as their male bonding time.
Steve LOVES the theater and has just recently tried out for our area's fall musical, Oliver. He's anxiously awaiting the assigning of the parts. I don't really enjoy it when he does these plays. I NEVER see the guy, but it makes him happy. And as long as he limits himself to one play a year, I'm okay with him pursuing his passion!
Steve and Cameron are A LOT alike. They have the same facial features and general look to them. They pull the same faces when they're being mischievous. My first reaction to seeing Cameron for the first time was, "He looks like Steve!" So now we call Cam, Mini-me! I love both of my guys SO MUCH! And I'm glad I managed to find a good daddy for Cam!
This is my dad! He is only 20 years older than me, so people have a hard time believing that he's my dad. When I was younger we didn't get along so well. We both have a stubborn streak that is HUGE! My favorite thing to do was to see how far I could push my dad without getting into trouble...hence, I got in trouble a lot!
He's such a funny guy! His sense of humor is one that if you don't pay attention, you may miss it! A few weeks ago my younger brother asked my dad where the best place to shoot a gun was. (He and a friend were going to shoot targets.) And my dad, without missing a beat, replied, "Outside!" See, it's there, but you have to wait for it. Most people who know him, don't know he's that funny...he usually saves it for people he knows really well!
He is an avid hunter and fisherman, but he can't do those things as often as he'd like, because he owns his own carpentry shop. He works really hard to keep it going so he can support his family.
He's always teaching me things. Yesterday he was teaching me the finer points of NASCAR! He's a great teacher!
He is also THE AWESOMEST grandpa EVER! Cameron will do ANYTHING for him. If we go to an event where quiet is required, if Cam sits with grandpa, he's as quiet as anything. If grandpa tells him to do something, even if he's been told repeatedly by someone else, he'll do it. I don't know what it is about grandpa, but he is the MAN!! I love my dad, even if I'm a brat sometimes!
This is my dad's dad...MY grandpa H! He has gone through SO much in his life. He, too, is young. For as long as I've known him, he's had a full beard. I've been told that when I was younger, he shaved it off. I was so used to it, that I didn't recognize him, and ever since he's had the beard.
He's a father of 8 children, and he worries over their happiness CONSTANTLY! He cares and he shows it any time we talk to him.
My grandpa has instilled in his kids the same loves that he has. He loved to hunt and fish. He still does those things, but not like he used to!
He's showed me the power that the gospel can have in someone's life. He was an alcoholic for years and years. Then, before my grandma died, he stopped drinking and has been faithful for years. He has a form of macular degeneration called star garts, so basically, he's blind. He just celebrated his 3rd anniversary with his wife, and is a very happy man, for the most part. He's got this laugh that just makes me smile. It's huge, bubbly, and warm! He's a great man and I love him a lot!

This is my mom's dad...my grandpa F. He's starting to show his age a bit. He's the stereo-typical grandpa: round, bald/gray, and constantly forgetting what he's talking about. He'll start telling us a story, that he just finished telling. When he does this it makes us giggle! He's the father of 12 kids. He loves to tell people stories about his family, or when he was growing up. He's FULL of really interesting tidbits and stories! My grandpa F is an avid journal keeper. He's got years and years of journals piled up. I love to just sit and listen to his stories, they are so fun (and often entertaining!)

I love my grandpa F...he's a real family man. For years and years he worked TWO jobs to support all of those kids he had! Now he's retired and keeps a perfect lawn. Recently he's started to have health problems, so he's cut back his yard work. Fortunately he has grandchildren who look out for him now!

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Now for the update of MY weekend! We had so much fun with my tie-cutting idea! The kids LOVED it! The whole thing just got them more wild than usual, but they sang! YES!! One teacher commented to me that we should do that ALL the time. It's the best her class has sung ALL year long! The tie now lies at the bottom of the trash barrel in the primary room, although some kids wanted me to give it back to the teacher to save, since it was his favorite tie! I loved it! We sang Daddy's Homecoming and the Dearest Names for sacrament meeting and they sounded good, but they didn't do all of the actions...oh, well! At least they sang!
My poor hubby had to work a LOT this weekend. They've given him graveyard shifts on the weekends, so he hasn't been to church for a month! He really misses it and I wish he could get it fixed so that he could come more often.
One of my friends had a REALLY good weekend this week. She's been having a lot of problems, but FINALLY this weekend they were resolved! I'm so happy for her! Things are finally turning around to where she can handle them! I'm so happy for her. She was so happy, that she called me last night before she went to bed and told me all of the details! YAY!! I love it when my friends are happy!

Life's Lessons Learned

I’ve learned a couple of things after yesterday’s babysitting adventure: 1) I may be able to handle caring for 3 kids, but not more than that...for a while. 2) I have a very helpful son, and little L is helpful as well, but not necessarily at the same time. 3) I’m really glad I was at my mom’s house so that she could help me out! It’s nice that baby E is still so young that he doesn’t really do more than eat, sleep, poop and fuss every once in a while, but when I have to take care of him, the other two jump right in and nearly stomp on the poor kid’s head. There were a couple of near fatal collisions. Fatal, because I was gonna kill the older ones for stomping the youngest one into the ground. But they were good and I think I was fairly good too. I’m just really glad that I don’t have 3 kids 24 hours a day.
I’m having some annoying computer problems. I have tried running my anti-spyware programs, but this message keeps popping up that I have an unsafe connection. It’s getting annoying! I’m hoping that my younger brother can help me figure it out...without destroying my computer completely! (He’s been known to do that before!) Anytime I’m on the internet for more than a few minutes it kicks me off! It tells me that some other program is using my modem (okay, so I have a SLOW dial-up connection, but it’s all I’ve got!) So I went through their whole thing trying to figure out what was wrong, but I’m still getting annoying results. So for my two friends I kept attempting to IM last night, I apologize for my stoopid computer. I’m sorry. Maybe we could talk another time...if I can get this to work again!! But for now, I’m trying to do as much as I can online WITHOUT signing into my two favorite IMs! (Like right now, I’m typing up my blog in WordPerfect and completely offline....much less annoying than trying to work with blogger!)

Cameron has such an imagination sometimes. Today he begged me to make his bed and I was confused. Since I’m a LAID back mommy, I don’t enforce bed-making (I don’t even make my own bed most days...) So I was wondering what he was talking about. So I took him in his room and showed him how to do it, so that someday he’ll learn to do it on his own. After making his bed, he asked me to make his bed into a tent. When we bought his BIG bed last year, we thought it would be nice to think ahead. We were hoping that by this time we’d have another child, but we still don’t. Anyway, so when we bought the bed, we bought the kid a bunk bed. Every once in a while I’ll take some extra blankets and drape them over his bunk and make a "tent" on his bottom bunk. So I took his blankets and tucked them nicely around and made him a tent. Then as I was trying to type up this post, the boy came into my room begging for toys off of the top bunk. He’s got the hang of going UP the ladder, but he can’t quite figure out DOWN. So I helped him and came back. Needless to say, I’ve been back and forth between the two rooms about 20 times now. I just went in there to take a picture of his "tent" and he was kneeling in front of his bed with his trucks and NO BLANKETS!! What!? I did all of that work and now they’re piled up on the floor! I asked him what happened and he told me that he didn’t want a tent. I think he’s just trying to keep me moving and active. What a kid!!

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Now for my singing time tomorrow. The songs are going to be review songs: 'Dearest Children, God is Near You', 'Scripture Power', 'I Know my Father Lives', 'Follow the Prophet', 'Holding Hands Around the World', and 'Did Jesus Really Live Again?' As we sing the songs, I’ve prepped a teacher (our only male teacher) on what to do. I’m going to give him a cheap tie that he’ll wear to church. I’m going to have him come up and "judge" the kids on their singing. I’m going to give him some score cards. I’ll find a happy face or something nice for good singing, and a frowny face or something icky for not so good singing. If he gives the kids a good review, then we’re going to cut off pieces of his tie. He’s going to react to the cutting like he does NOT want it cut...it’s his favorite tie...etc... I’ve done this in the past with 2 judges and we have the room compete one side versus the other side. But then I find that I want to reward both sides, and I don’t really cut the ties evenly...plus the price of cheap ties at DI has gone up. I used to be able to buy each tie for a dollar, now the price is closer to $3-5! So I’m trying to save myself some money, and have the kids work TOGETHER with their singing. It’s going to be fun. They sing their BEST whenever I play this game. It makes me wish that I could do this during the sacrament meeting program, but I know that it’s too irreverent! It’s just something fun I try to do at least once a year, and so far, it’s been Fathers’ Day BOTH times! I’m excited for it!

Center of the Universe

What is it with men?? Why do they think the world revolves around them?

Everyday my husband asks me what I've blogged about. If I haven't done a post yet, he suggests that I talk about something that he's just recently done...such as farting. Okay, so I'm not big into potty humor. The occasional potty joke is okay, but I don't find the humor in those jokes or activities that others do. We were just having a regular day at home, playing hand and foot canasta and just being blobs. Nothing spectacular...although, we did have some good rounds. Our last full game I won the thing by 15 points...unheard of for us! Anyway, so after we had finished our last game, and had come home from visiting my parents and my grandma (it's her 72nd birthday!) we were getting ready to head to bed when he sounded the trumpets. I took that as my cue to leave the room before I suffocated from the smell. He acted like I had offended HIM and followed me upstairs to my safety and proceeded to play his song here! Now, see....he thought that this would be the ENTIRE subject of my post...but I won't let it be that. I love the man, but I do have other things going on in my life.

I've noticed it's not just my husband who thinks that things are being done just for his entertainment and his sake...my cousin's husband was doing the same thing today. They just found out that he has crones disease and the poor guy just had surgery. Well, tonight we were just laughing and talking about other things, when he walks in and immediately changes the topic to what he's been going through. (He offered to show everyone his scar from his surgery..."uh, no thank you....") Then anytime we giggled or laughed he pouted and thought that we were laughing at him. Thinking to myself, "Geez...life is more than just you!! Get over yourself!" But there were other issues with them tonight....they're constantly bickering and nit-picking at one another. They're ALWAYS insulting one another and beating up on each other...it's playfully, but still. That much negativity can't be good. I just hope they realize what they are doing to one another.

Well, I will be babysitting for most of tomorrow. After all of your good advice about what to say to my friend, L, I took another route....I said nothing about it and just went on like it wasn't bothering me. I think I was just extra sensitive that day and I blew it way out of proportion. It really wasn't that bad of a request....just bad timing. So I just let it go. Tomorrow they're going to be moving and are finding frustration in moving with little L following them everywhere and E (the baby) getting dehydrated from being cooped up in the car for the day. Hopefully it will be a good thing. I'll actually go back to a regular babysitting schedule in a few weeks...better get back into the groove now. I've just been spoiled from NOT having another child to watch besides my own. There are days when I wonder WHY I really think I should have more children. One isn't so bad....I can handle him...more than that and I become a crazy lady....I guess I'll just trust in what the Lord thinks I can handle...he knows me better than I know myself, right!? L was telling me that she thought she had a brain, until she had two kids...now she's insane. Poor lady, I tell her it will get better, and hope that I'm telling her the truth. It does get better, right?

100th Post

I haven't been on blogger that long, but this post is officially my 100th! I can't believe it...wait, I can!! I know I'm an admitted blog-aholic, but man, in just less than 5 months I've written this much! Now, taking a page from someone else's blog, here are 100 things about me: (I swear, it won't take FOREVER)

1. I was born 25 April 1979.
2. I am the oldest of 6 kids.
3. I have 4 brothers
4. and one sister.
5. My parents were VERY young when I was born. (18 and 20)
6. We lived in an apartment that was above the Japanese embassy
7. That building is now a restaurant, and the apartment is STILL there...I saw it a few years ago, talk about weird!
8. I went to joy school (mommy run preschool)
9. I was the ONLY girl in my preschool.
10. Because I was the only girl, I was VERY girly...it could have gone either way....
11. When I was almost 5, we moved into a small house in the suburbs.
12. I met my first "friend," Carrie, who influenced my life greatly! :D
13. I walked to kindergarten with a neighbor girl...we never did get along that well....
14. I got chicken pox during the last few weeks of Kindergarten and MISSED all of the cool things that happen that week.
15. I was easily influenced to like things, so for years I thought my favorite animal was a horse, just because my cousin's favorite animal was.
16. Years later I realized that my favorite animal is the pig.
17. I was quite bright at an early age...loving to read almost anything I could get my hands on.
18. In first grade I was burned by my mean teacher...I think I've repressed some bad memories of that crazy lady....I think she has finally retired....THANK GOODNESS!!
19. I was good with math, until I was in first grade...then that teacher....
20. I couldn't see the board in the classroom, so I was referred to an optometrist and I got my first pair of glasses.
21. My friend made fun of them the first time she saw them...(you know you did, Carrie, admit it!)
22. I picked purple plastic glasses....because I thought they were my favorite colors...again, someone else's...
23. My REAL favorite colors are deep green and blues.
24. I wanted to grow up to be a mommy or a bag lady, just because it sounded cool....
25. I am a mommy....one dream down....
26. I made friends fairly easily and in elementary went through many "best" friends.
27. My third grade teacher was also in my ward, it created awkward moments that year, such as:
28. I had to go to school on a Saturday to finish the math part of the Iowa Basics test.
29. I went to two different elementary schools, but it was normal for the kids in this area.
30. In fourth grade I was in a class with my real best friend, Carrie.
31. Yes, we still were friends even after she made fun of me...she still does! :)
32. I rode my bike to school and have many funny memories of that!
33. I helped the janitors work in the cafeteria after lunch, because I would rather do that than play outside.
34. If I was outside playing, I played on TOP of the monkey bars (with Carrie) pretending we were astronauts.
35. I still have my *swishing noises* astronaut diploma!! *hee hee*
36. I discovered my weird streak while at this school.
37. I wasn't discriminatory when it came to friends, until someone told me boys had cooties...then I avoided my good boy-friends....
38. I think I missed out on some good friendships that way!
39. I fell off of my bike one time into a ditch.
40. Carrie was there to laugh at me! (she's probably laughing about it now)
41. I was excited, because I was going to get my PERRRRRRRRRRM!
42. I went to Junior high for only one year
43. The next year it became a middle school, so I was there for 7th and 8th grades
44. I hated 8th grade!
45. I met some more friends in junior high/middle school...they carried over into my high school group of friends.
46. I got my first BIG crush in 8th grade...unfortunately it carried me thru to 10th grade!
47. I became a stalker! (I can still tell you his birthday and where his parents live)
48. I saw this guy just a few months ago...I'm SO glad I didn't get what I had wanted! He's so skungy now!
49. I learned to listen in middle school...something I still need to work on at times!
50. I broke my tail bone....twice.
51. Then I sprained my ankle...multiple times!
52. In high school I became a member of a HUGE group of friends.
53. We were the nerdy/weird clique!
54. I took French for 2 years in high school
55. I can only understand a FEW words of French now.
56. I can read it better than speak it!
57. I took Italian for 2 years in high school.
58. I don't remember ANY Italian!
59. I was the Italian Club president! (haha)
60. I thought I wanted to be an English teacher in high school....until I became my favorite English teacher's assistant....
61. Then I learned I have NO patience for obnoxious kids! (bravo to all you teachers out there!)
62. My friends and I made many WEIRD movies for fun.
63. I gained a testimony of the gospel while in seminary.
64. I was miserably sick during the last week of high school...
65. I learned my gall bladder misfires.
66. I still have my gall bladder!
67. I made a video tape of our "movies" for all of my friends including a picture tribute thing at the end with another friend.
68. I learned that making movies TAKES FOREVER!!
69. I was a very angry child/teen.
70. After I saw my brother doing the same thing, I changed my attitude.
71. I love camping.
72. Many of my childhood memories are of camping trips we went on...like the time we almost started a forest fire....ah, good times....
73. I used to camp in a trailer, until I was 13...then I camped out in my own tent!
74. I still like to sleep in a tent!
75. I love rain!
76. The week I graduated, one of my best friends died in a car accident.
77. I went to Ricks College for 1 semester.
78. I commuted a half hour both ways...I basically lived in my silver, 1971 Pontiac Bonneville.
79. I hated school there, so I dropped out!
80. My favorite class at Ricks College was Dating and Marriage Preparation.
81. It was the HARDEST class I've ever taken! (I learned a LOT about myself.)
82. I went to Idaho State University and lived in the dorms.
83. I learned more independence living away from home for the first time.
84. I was in the institute choir and met my hubby while I was in it.
85. I was married in October of 1999.
86. I had my son in October of 2000.
87. I spent my first anniversary in the hospital.
88. If I could be anything, I would love to be an editor for books.
89. Or I'd love to be a Church historian or a sign language interpreter.
90. I have a deep love of the early history of my church...
91. There is a series of books called the Work and the Glory...I've read the entire series start to finish 3 times...each individual book more than that!
92. I've been trying to have my second child for the past 4 years!I discovered that I'm insulin resistant and I have PCOS.
93. My middle name is Marie.
94. My favorite country singer in the world is Tim McGraw.
95. His concert is the ONLY concert I've EVER been to!
96. I love candles...especially scented ones.
97. I've moved 3 times since I got married...and only plan to move ONE more time....when we find our dream house!
98. I love slippers.
99. I have to sleep with a small pillow that I can fold periodically throughout the night.
100. I hope to continue to grow and change into someone that I am proud to be.

So that's it! I know...it's not so much 100 things about me, as 100 random thoughts I'm having, but I'm satisfied with the list. Now I think it's time for me to go and eat lunch with my son and husband before I have to babysit!

Spiritual Awakening

For the past two weeks upon coming home from an exhausting workout at church I've settled onto my comfy couch and watched KBYU. I have found a NEW way to unwind! On any normal day I'll flip through my channels and quickly pass by this untapped resource. Normally I'm just trying to keep Cam entertained so that I can go on to do other things. But on that first Sunday after they changed up my world I decided, "Why not attempt to get back what I feel I've lost this day, and see where it gets me."

My husband was sacked out on the sofa, Cam had wandered upstairs to play in his room, and I got carried away on a spiritual high. I just love those days when I can feel the Spirit so strongly that I don't want to stop learning and growing. I don't even remember exactly what the point of the speaker's talk was, all I know is that I was loving this education that I was getting in my own home!

Then this last Sunday I came home, not nearly as exhausted as before, but pretty spent, and I did the same thing. Husband in the same position, son in the same position, why not mom in the same? I had a hard time pulling myself away from the things that they were showing! The speaker that drew me in this week was talking about romantic love versus eternal love. I was in hog heaven! I learned a lot about myself and what I expect from my husband...the poor guy! Anyway, I hadn't learned that much since my favorite/hardest class I took at Ricks College. Unfortunately that feeling was fleeting, I had to take my poor hard-working husband to work and I was going to join my siblings for Sunday dinner. After a fun day with my family, I came home, got Cam settled into bed and quickly turned that channel back on. I was back to my spiritual plane. My sweetheart came home, looking like the world had run him over, and then backed up and did it again, so I invited him into my world. I rubbed his aching feet while we listened to more spiritual truths. It was so nice and "romantic." I think I will try more often to invite that Spirit into my life....it makes me so much happier...and there's nothing better than that!

My Life Monday

This week's topic is a favorite childhood toy.

This topic is hard for me. I played more with nothing than I did with something, so I'd have to say my favorite childhood toy was my imagination.

As you may know by now, I have a strange title for my personal blog. The inspiration for my title comes from using my "toy" when a friend and I would pretend we were wearing giant invisible rubber underwear. But we did more than just wear invisible underwear...

For many many years my family lived in an apartment in the very bar-ridden section of my down town hometown. Our only "neighbors" were those bars or restaurants. I only knew other kids through family activities or through church. So when my parents told me that we would be moving into a house I was excited for the adventure of playing with other kids who lived nearby. The first week we were in our new home, the neighbor lady came by to welcome us and to introduce her two daughters to me. I couldn't have been more happy or excited! The one that was closer to my own age had hidden herself behind her mother and peeked around her mother's legs. Her brown hair was cut short and she had HUGE brown eyes. That was my first memory of Carrie. Soon enough we became the best of friends.

I learned early on that Carrie had an amazing imagination. She'd come up with things that would boggle my small, untested mind. One of our favorite activities would be marking out our front lawns to make mansions for ourselves. And since we could have things any way we wanted, our mansions were AWESOME! Many times we'd change things up a bit so that we could have any room we wanted, or do anything that we wanted: our mansions had elevators and hundreds of floors. Along with these mansions we had imaginary families. I remember vividly wandering around our yards with our hands tightly fisted...we were pushing our babies in their strollers. We'd often give one another tours of our "homes," just because they would change so much during the weeks! We had SO much fun just imagining our perfect environments and lives. Those are times that will ALWAYS stay with me! I may not remember the exact details of what we did, but the feelings of happiness and contentment will be with me forever.

Now, don't think of me as a crazy lady, I did play with "real" toys as well: my Cabbage Patch doll, My Little Ponies, Strawberry Shortcake, my bean bag doll...but my imagination would have to be my FAVORITE "toy!" It's what has brought me the most fun remembering my childhood.

To see or read other MLM participants visit Rachelle's blog.

Bored Out of My Mind

I can't believe how bored I am right now! After our fun family outing, we've just been boring homebodies. With my husband's graveyard shifts it just kinda happens that way, but what's my excuse?? I could go out and do things, but I guess I'm too much of a follower! I have to have someone with me or I feel out of place. Today I thought we were all set for another evening of boredom at home, when just as Cam went to bed and Steve was getting ready for work I got a call from one of my friends. She's been calling us on and off for a few weeks inviting us to go to her house for a get together/hot dog barbecue. Last week I told her that we could go and then I promptly forgot all about it. She called me tonight and I immediately asked her if it was tonight, she told me it was and I got depressed even further. Man, I'm such a ditz! I forget things ALL of the time! I apologized to her and then I went upstairs to tell Steve what we had forgotten. I asked him if he knew what was going on tonight and he said, "The barbecue?" I was shocked...he remembered?? And he didn't tell me!! What's wrong with this picture? He told me that he remembered at 7:15 and figured that she didn't really want us there if she didn't call to remind us. I love the guy, but geez!! He's supposed to help his spazzo wife remember stuff! IT'S HIS OTHER JOB!! Oh, well. I just hope that I can remember the next big activity without forgetting. *duh*

On top of my forgetfulness I got another call from my friend L. She called during dinner, and we don't answer the phone during that time...normally. Anyway, we waited and waited for her message, but she never left one. I really hope that she isn't mad at me. Like I mentioned before...I forget things...often times forgetting to call people back! I guess I'm just the dork of the night tonight.

***********

Now for my primary plans for tomorrow.

The schedule is the same as last week, even the singing time songs. But now that I've finished with my extra class, I'm back to doing what I do best...Junior Primary! YAY!! I wasn't very good with the Senior primary...I got them to sing, but not enjoying it like I think they should. For singing time last week I don't think that they taught the new song, Dearest Children, God is Near You, to the young ones, so I think I'll be doing that. And then review...review....REVIEW of the Fathers' Day songs: Daddy's Homecoming and The Dearest Names. We'll sing the songs and then play "Stop and Go." I made a really cute stop and go sign that I stuck on a stir stick for painting and I've left in the primary closet. When the stop sign is facing the kids they have to stop singing the words, and when the go sign is facing them they have to pick up where the music is. Hopefully the kids will forget that they're singing the same song over and over and over and have fun. That's what makes singing time fun for everyone!

Zoo Time Fun

I'm trying something new! I'm so excited for it too...since blogger is being such a pain about any of my pictures. I want to show you my fun times with Cam from yesterday. (And show you how funny that one particular gibbon was!)
I have one more complaint (besides blogger, I swear...it's my last one....really....) I downloaded a free trial of a game that I have become hooked on. I was hoping to get to play it later on in the day, so I went downstairs to do my normal daily chores. That afternoon I went upstairs to get into my game and wouldn't you know it...my husband had found that same game and had played it soooooo much that he used up my free trial. Now I can't play it! I'm so upset about it. I just hope that he will now understand and excuse me if I'm online playing it, since I can't play it offline without putting up $20!! What a punk!
I still hope to get some help with my problem that I'm having with L. I have found that I'm avoiding her, just because I can't think of an appropriate way to tell her I feel like I'm being used. Please help me with this problem...if you can!

This gibbon really liked the people who would watch him. He came up to the glass and pressed himself into it, I think he was hoping to be pet. Cam even asked if we could take him home with us.

Cam and me with zebra butts!

And a special thanks to Stephanie...for the whole Blogger dodging trick! Now instead of 4 stinkin' posts for today...I have managed to shrink it back into ONE!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

A Jumbled Mess

Today's post is a bunch of thoughts thrown together into one...please forgive the HUGENESS of this post! I just have a lot to say, and I don't want to post more than once a day...if I don't have to! So begins my jumbled mess...

I started a book the other day...yesterday I finished it. Yes, I know...I have no life! It was one read that I HIGHLY recommend! It's called Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story by Mary Ann Broberg. Usually I'm one for fluff books and non-thinking books. I love the stuff, but I was watching KBYU the other day and the speaker recommended a book, and since my mom has her own library I decided to raid her stash to see if she had it. I was looking and looking for the book, but had no such luck (I still want to read that one too...) But while I was rummaging around I came across this book. I skimmed the back cover and noticed a picture of the author and her daughter. I had the weirdest feeling that I knew the daughter from somewhere, so I figured, "What's the harm in reading this...if I don't like it, I just won't finish it." I started and found that I couldn't put the thing down.
I learned SO much from this book. It's the true story of a mother, her daughter and the slime of a man who kidnapped the daughter twice! It talks about a pedophile who brainwashed a little girl into thinking that what she was doing was right and that he was a wonderful person. On one hand it scared me. I can't even fathom some creep coming up with these CRAZY ideas...on the other I was fascinated with how the parents handled everything. I hope that I NEVER have to go through this situation, but if I do, I'm better educated and know what is right and what is NOT!
Today we had a mini family vacation, in our own back yard! (Well, not literally, but close enough!) We had decided that for my husband's "weekend" from work we'd do some family bonding. So today we decided to go to the local zoo and have a picnic. We had a ball! It wasn't nearly as hot as it was yesterday, so the weather cooperated with us and it was so nice to just hang out as a family! One of my other friends went yesterday, and thanks to her I got the heads up on what was new. There were SEVERAL new babies in the exhibits and we had fun trying to find them. We went through the ENTIRE zoo in about an hour and a half. Cam kept dragging us around from exhibit to exhibit. His absolute FAVORITE was the monkey house. There were these gibbons (we call them monkeys) and one was just thoroughly entertained by the people watching him...I actually felt like we were the ones on display for him! Anyway, he would swing from perch to perch and he liked to rub up against the glass and scare little kids. He was hilarious. I think if I were a monkey I'd do the same thing! But we had fun.
We ended up watching an animal thing where they brought the animals to us and let us see them. We thought it would be fun, until we heard that it was a special REPTILE thing. YUCK! I despise creepy crawlies, and snakes and lizards definitely fall into that category! They brought around a gecko and that was fine, it was still in the cage, but then they brought out the snakes....yes, TWO SNAKES!! They allowed anyone to pet the snakes if they wanted to and my son, the kid who freaks out over fluffy things flying through the air...the same kid who asks if there are spiders in our house...the very same kid who wants to know if there are snakes in every body of water we come across....THAT kid pet the snake! I was grossly proud and disgusted at the same time!
On the way out of the zoo, they have you exit through their gift shop. And of course, we're suckers for cutsie shirts and toys, so we spent extra moolah to please our already happy son. He got one of those monkey toys where the hands velcro together and they can hang from things. It looked a lot like the gibbon that entertained us so well. So the whole ride home our back seat was filled with screeches and howling. Needless to say, we had fun!
Then we ended up going to a local antique mall and browsed and dreamed. There were some really cute things there. I didn't think we'd be there that long, but I was wrong. We stayed there for over an hour. Then I wanted to try a local restaurant that is a throw-back to the 50's diner days. It was SO cute, but SO expensive. All in all, our day was fun! We laughed and enjoyed our time together in our own hometown.
One more topic I wish to cover before I leave for the night....Yesterday, my friend "L," who just had her baby and who's little girl I babysit, called and asked us a favor. They wanted to go down to the temple visitor's center and watch a movie. They didn't think that their daughter would be able to handle it, so they asked us if we could watch her for a couple of hours. They were going to take the baby...hoping he'd sleep through it, but they wanted to leave little "L" with us. I don't know what it was about that request, but it just made me feel like they were taking advantage of us. I've been watching little L off and on for a while, when they have doctor appointments and such, but this time I felt like they should take little L with them. They have her in church and she does fine...why can't they take her to this?? I guess I was just upset. How can I tell her that I don't want to watch their daughter any time they want some alone time? I just felt a little like a doormat. Don't get me wrong, I love them and want to help them, but this time I felt like it was a bit too much to ask. What should I say to her??

BTS Cake and Lies

I think I must be hormonal, because I'm totally craving Better than Sex Cake now (BTS cake for those of you who don't want to say the "s" word!) After writing about it in my last blurb I started thinking about it and salivating! YUM!
My BTS cake is actually one of my good friend's from high school's recipes. It's soooooooo good...and soooooo easy (otherwise, I wouldn't make it.) It's a chocolate one. I've never heard of a BTS cake (before yesterday, that is) that was anything OTHER than chocolate. I'm going to post the recipe here for those of you craving your chocolate fix like me...then we'll all stuff our faces....ready?

Better than Sex Cake (not really, but pretty close)
Step One:
Chocolate cake mix (boxed)
and the ingredients needed to make the cake
Now, make the cake following the instructions on the back of the box. I usually make this in a 13x9 inch pan.
Step Two:
Mix together: one can of sweetened condensed milk
and one bottle of Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel sauce (found by the ice cream condiments)
As soon as you pull the cake out of the oven take a butter knife and stab the heck out of the cake...making holes throughout the cake all the way to the bottom of the pan and getting the sides really good. (This is EXCELLENT for getting out angry feelings or frustrations you have without hurting anyone!) Pour the gooey concoction over the top and let seep through the cake for 20 minutes.
Step Three:
one container whip topping
a bag of Skor chips
Mix half the bag of Skor chips in with the whip topping. When cake has seeped enough, layer whipped topping mixture over cake. Sprinkle remainder of Skor chips over the top of whipped cream.

That's it....simple and simply evil!! :) I made this recipe one time at my parent's house and my dad heard the name and came running. He'd never had it before, but he had to see what the commotion was about! Once he ate it he sighed and said it was not quite better, but close enough! It made me laugh!

Funny story of the day:
Yesterday I refused to stay at my house with the heat and NO air conditioning, so I spent time at my mom's house. My parents are gone to Canada for their annual fishing trip and my brothers could fend for themselves, but I decided to "save" them and my own sanity and run to the cool air. We were sitting around and Cam found a toy that launches foam rockets. The parts that launch the rocket are plastic, and earlier he was using the plastic pieces as crutches, complaining that his legs were hurting.
Anyway, this time he was banging them on my mom's hardwood floors. The sound of the plastic hitting the floors reverberated and echoed really badly. It was getting on my nerves, so I told him to stop it. He kept going, so I loudly told him to stop it! The noise stopped.
From where I was sitting I could see Cam behind me holding the offending toy. I had seen him smacking the thing into the floor...I knew it was him...I saw it with my own eyes. As soon as he stopped he said,"I didn't do it."
I sarcastically said, "If it wasn't you, then who was it?"
He then proudly told me that the toy did it all by itself. My younger brother almost choked on his water. Such a blatant lie from such a young one? This isn't the first time he's lied to me, but it's the first time he was proud of it. I had to hold back my own laughter to tell him that lying is unacceptable and that I saw him and knew what was going on. He continued to deny his involvement, but I still giggle over the whole thing.
Do you think this is my punishment for lying so much to my own parents?

A...B...C...

Nikkie tagged me for this fun meme, so here I go!

ABC Meme

ACCENT: Idahoan (I’ve been told that we have them, but I can’t hear them!) There are the exceptions to not being able to hear the accent...like when a local sees a creek and calls it a "crick!"
BIBLE BOOK THAT I LIKE: John
CHORE I DON'T CARE FOR: Cleaning the bathroom...toilets?? Don’t even ask!
DOG OR CAT: neither...although, if I had one I’d LIKE a cat
ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS: Computer, Digital Camcorder, DVD player (portable and the regular one at home)
FAVORITE COLOGNE: Dreamlife Bouquet (Avon....so I get the good discount!)
GOLD OR SILVER: My wedding ring is yellow gold, but I’m starting to love the silvery colors...
HANDBAG I CARRY MOST OFTEN: My pretty pink Wal-Mart purse
INSOMNIA: When I worry about things the I have to do for the next day, then I can’t sleep. I used to be a TERRIBLE insomniac, but then I realized that sleeping during the day makes it so you can’t sleep at night. What a brilliant lesson to learn!
JOB TITLE: Mom, wife, homemaker, Avon lady, and babysitter
KIDS: a 5 and a half year old boy
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: 2 bedroom townhouse-style apartment with my sweetie and son
MOST ADMIRABLE TRAIT: Helpfulness, if I have a friend in need, I’m there for them!
NAUGHTIEST CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR: Lying all of the time about everything (I share this one with Nikkie....our poor parents!) This naughty behavior even got me grounded for 1 and a half years!! Okay, I’m going to have to stop here and elaborate...I was a rotten kid. I lied about everything and one time my dad got fed up with my lies and told me that I was grounded until my 16th birthday...I was a couple of months away from my 15th birthday. My mom didn’t want to undermine his authority in front of me, so she didn’t say anything to him until the next week...He thought that my next birthday was going to be my 16th, so he only really wanted to ground me until then...so what had started out as a year and a half turned into a few months!
OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: I only ever stayed there when Cam was born...and then while he was in the NICU for the next 6 days...my total stay was a week. (UGH!)
PHOBIAS: talking on the phone, mice, snakes, EXTREME heights
QUOTE: "There are going to be times when you and I disagree, but disagreement leads to thinking. And when you think about it, you’ll realize I’m right!" –Unknown
RELIGION: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
SIBLINGS: I’m the oldest of 6 kids...1 sister and 4 brothers
TIME I WAKE UP: Is this question for before or during school?? When I have to get Cam off to school it’s about 6:45...when I have the chance to sleep in it’s more like 9:00!
UNUSUAL TALENT OR SKILL: Elvis Lips, whistling through my hole in the roof of my mouth, and I can do this thing where I sound like a cooing baby singing a song...cracks up my primary kids constantly!
VEGETABLE I REFUSE TO EAT: squash (and if you consider them vegetables...mushrooms)
WORST HABIT: talking without thinking
X-RAYS: Every time I sprained my ankle I got one, but it was never broken....thankfully!
YUMMY STUFF I COOK: Better than Sex cake, Pretzel salad, and "Aunt Sherry" salads
ZOO ANIMAL I LIKE MOST: tigers and lions

So, there you go....more information about me than you probably wanted!! :) If you want to do this, then feel free....but I won't tag anyone. Those who I've tagged before just DON'T do it...so I'm gun shy when it comes to tagging!