A Public Thank You

This year our family had the fun of being visited by the 12 Days of Christmas. Each night (even on the days that we were bombarded with snow--the final tally according to the ruler in my front yard was 16") we had a little treat left on our front porch with a funny little poem that related the gift to the original 12 Days of Christmas. We really looked forward to it and whoever it was was really good at hightailing it out of there before we caught a glimpse of who it was.

Tonight we got a bag with tonight AND tomorrows gifts in it. And they LEFT IT ANONYMOUSLY!!! Aaaaah!!!! I need closure, people!! I was so looking forward to thanking these friends for bringing some fun to these last two weeks of snow and drudgery. But since they WON'T TELL ME WHO THEY ARE, I am going to hope that maybe they are followers of this little blog and they can hear me say how thankful I am. Thanks for choosing us and making us feel special. As much fun as it is to give treats, it really is fun and exciting to receive, too. So have a Merry Christmas and we'll eat some English Shortbread for you! Oh, and if you will please let me know your secret for choosing perfectly ripe pears, I would appreciate it. I always buy pears that are rock hard and those that the partridge left were PERFECT.

How do you spell disaster??

Well, when you factor in four and a half snow days, two batches of caramel, one batch of cookies, a batch of dipped peanut butter bon bons, dipped marshmallows, and chocolate covered pretzels, it is spelled M-Y-H-O-U-S-E.

But my little treat trays are DONE. Now if only the roads would clear enough for me to deliver them to the neighbors and friends...

My Talk

One of the benefits (?) of being in a stake calling (even though I am the secretary) is the increased number of opportunities to speak. While this is terrifying and exciting at the same time, I am grateful for the chance it gives me to see the Holy Ghost in action as he leads me in the direction I should go.

Yesterday was a perfect example of this. I was asked to speak at our ward's Young Women in Excellence (YWiE) program about a month ago. The theme was Aspire Higher. YWiE is a yearly activity where the 12-17 year old girls focus on a goal they have been working on and either perform it or make a display talking about the work that went into achieving that goal, and the outcome. Soon after I was asked to speak I had some clearly defined ideas in my head of what I wanted to talk about. At the time several people close to me were having relationship difficulties and I wanted to make sure that I talked about never settling in life -- that it is important to set your expectations of yourself and your eternal companion high. That you take the time to get to know them, blah blah blah. After some time, this evolved into talking about the worlds standards regarding marriage, education, modesty, etc and comparing them with the churches standards and "Aspiring Higher" in all we do.

Then I sat down to write the talk. I had been praying for guidance in how I should go with this. I really wanted to say what the Lord wanted me to say. I know I have a tendency to be opinionated and I feared that if I didn't seek direction that it would be 15 minutes of the Gospel according to Paige. As I sat down I felt inspired to find a talk online that I had read years ago given by a friend from Utah (that talk can be found here). On just the first page I had found the basic ideas that I knew I needed to present.

It was incredible to me how quickly and seamlessly everything came together. Even the analogy of the tools and toolbox that I used felt like they were just placed in my head (though when I sent it to Brian to proofread he thought I should have used a makeup kid instead of a toolbox --ha!!).

I am posting this talk here, not because I am proud of what *I* did, but as a reminder and evidence to me that when we seek guidance and inspiration from the Spirit, we WILL be directed where to go. These words weren't from me. I know that. This wasn't how I thought the talk would go. And yet here it is. I can only imagine how life would be if I had the patience and spirituality to be directed like this in ALL things. This has been a testimony building experience for me that I want to work toward that level of discipleship.

Young Women in Excellence
December 9, 2008
“Aspire Higher”


I have known about this talk for a month, and for that entire time I have had ideas swirling around in my head of what I would like to talk about.

I still remember much of the advice that was given to me when I was a youth. And for that reason, this talk has terrified me. I take very seriously the invitation to speak to you. I know that some little thing I say may wedge itself in your brain and you may find yourself reflecting on it later and I want to make sure that whatever it is, it is coherent and meaningful.

Many of you have probably wondered why the church has the Young Women in Excellence program. Why, when there is SO much going on in your lives and you barely have time to sleep some nights, that we are asking you to prepare something that you have been working on and then talk about it to the rest of us. I remember when I was younger thinking of it as a mini – talent show, only we HAD to participate. To help answer that question of why we do this, I want to read you a quote. President Hinckley said in 2004:

You have the potential to become anything to which you set your mind. You have a mind and a body and a spirit. With these three working together, you can walk the high road that leads to achievement and happiness. But this will require effort and sacrifice and faith…you will be expected to put forth great effort and use your best talents to make your way to the most wonderful future of which you are capable.

President Hinckley said that it is by effort and our TALENTS that we will be able to achieve our greatest potential. Every single one of us has been blessed with talents. Some talents are really obvious. I was always a loud singer and musical things came quite easily to me. Some of you have that same talent. Some of you are good at art, or at cooking, or at crafts. Those are talents that are easy to make a display for at programs like this. Other talents aren’t as easily identified. Some of you have the talent of patience. And if you don’t think that’s a talent now, wait until you have young children. Some of you have the ability to make everyone feel included. Some of you are natural born leaders and you have the talent of speaking so that others will want to listen and follow. I know that these talents are harder to display or write about, but they are still special gifts to you that you should cherish and develop.

I like to picture talents as items in a personalized toolbox that our Heavenly Father sent with us on this journey to earth. They are tools that are unique to us, tailored to our own unique journey. But like real tools, they don’t do us any good if we don’t get them out and use them. If we just carry them around, they get rusty and we forget how they work. We learn from the parable of the talents in the book of Matthew that if we don’t use our talents we can lose them for good. But on the flip side, if we work hard to learn about and develop the talents we are given, the Lord will give us more.

So, back to my toolbox idea, if you think of life as a great big construction project in the works, we start off with a few basic tools. As we get better at using the hammer and screwdriver, the Lord will add a sander to our toolbox, and then maybe a table saw. And so on.

The only problem with this scenario is that as Young Women most of you have no idea what you are building. Is it a Treehouse? A Single Family Home? A Boat? A Tee-Pee? How are we supposed to know what tools we need if we don’t even know what we are building?? Enter the Personal Progress program and nights like these. You will never again in your life have as much time to focus on YOU as you do right now. Your basic needs are taken care of. School, seminary, and your family dictate most of your schedules for you. No one is depending on you for more than doing a few chores or helping with a group project at school. This is the perfect time for you to take out those tools you have been given and play around with them. Find out how they work. Find out which ones are the easiest to use and which ones really require some effort. Which ones can you learn to use all on your own, and which ones do you need someone to show you how to use?

So here we are tonight. Through this program, you have been encouraged by your leaders to take a tool out of your toolbox, polish it up, and show us all how it works. Fabulous. Now what?

When I lived in Utah I had the honor of working with an amazing woman named Staci Peters. In addition to being a very successful composer and producer, she has an incredible testimony and spirit. She was a member of the General Relief Society board and she had the chance to give a devotional address at BYU-I. This is something she said in that talk:

Let’s talk for a moment about the desires of your hearts. Perhaps some of you are looking forward to serving a mission. All of you are certainly looking forward to graduation. Some of you are preparing to marry in the temple. In addition to the many righteous desires that we have in common as members of the Church, each of us has some very personal desires concerning the unique contribution we want to make to this world with the set of gifts and talents we have been given. You may desire to design an important building that will stand for generations, to provide life-saving medical care, to create art that uplifts the soul, to coach a sports team and inspire your players to greatness, to lead a company to great financial success so you will have the means to bless others - all of these can be noble and worthwhile - and even righteous - pursuits. As long as we are living in such a way as to be under the influence of the spirit, these desires and interests have a divine origin and they are to be cultivated with the intent to do good and to build up the kingdom of God. Let me not gloss over the beginning of that statement: as long as we are living in such a way as to be under the influence of the spirit.

I think that this is where the “Aspire Higher” theme plays a roll in our lives. Like Staci says, all of us have personal wishes and desires of our hearts. All of us want to take our talents and gifts and leave a mark or a legacy. But Staci stresses something that is very important. We know the Plan of Salvation. We all know where we came from. We lived with our Heavenly Father before coming to this earth and we are His spirit children. We know why we are here. To gain a body, gain experience and knowledge, and show our obedience to the commandments through our choices. And we know where we WANT to go. We want to gain eternal life and live with our Heavenly Father and loved ones and have never-ending joy. But with that knowledge comes responsibilities and expectations. We know that everything we have comes from our Heavenly Father. And in return for our blessings, He wants us to use our gifts to build his Kingdom here on the Earth and help others along the path of life.


President Hinckley said,

“You ’re good, but it’s not enough to be good. You must be good for something!”

To me, this means that we not only should we know how to use all the tools in our toolbox, but we need to be BUILDING with them. And not only building our own tree house, or home, or tee-pee… we need to be helping to build OTHER people’s tree houses, or homes, or tee-pees. Because as we can see by looking around the room at the displays tonight, not all of us have the same tools. And because we don’t have the same tools, I may have a tool in my box that Sister Edwards can benefit from. And I’ll bet that she has something in her toolbox that could help build my construction project. And what happens as we help each other? We may just pick up a little bit about how to use each others’ tools. And maybe if we practice with that tool enough the Lord may see fit to bless us with that tool for our OWN toolbox. And the more tools we have, the better we are able to help others and ourselves.

Let me go back to Sister Peter’s talk. She says,

As you sit here today, each of you has in your heart some idea of what you want to do with your life and where you would like to arrive at the end of it. You are at a crossroads in your personal journey to your own, individual promised land. That Promised Land is really a symbol of the intersection of grace and works - the things you are working hard to righteously achieve combined with the Lord’s divine enhancements that will ultimately lead to your chosen destiny.

I love what she says here. That each of us has the free agency to do what we want with our life. The sky is the limit. But it is when our own personal desires and work meet up with what the Lord has in store for us that we arrive at our own personal bliss and destiny.

Let me give you an example of this from my own life.

When I was in high school I was a full-on drama nerd. Music and theater were my life. My goal in life was to see my name in lights. I wanted to go to a big performing arts college and then move to New York City and live the highlife of a famous Broadway star. The first bump in the road came as my parents (in their amazing wisdom) told me that I was free to go to college where I wanted, but if I wanted them to pay for it, I was going to go to a church school. I was aggravated with their decision, but luckily I was wise enough to know that I would be an idiot to turn down a subsidized education. Besides, both my parents were BYU graduates and they had all sorts of fun amazing stories of BYU life and I was excited to experience it for myself. I think that may have been one of the most important and smart decisions of MY life.

So I started out at BYU as a vocal performance major. I was well on my way to becoming famous. But little things started chipping away at the foundation of this goal that I had set. I still loved to sing, but I was realizing that the lifestyle that accompanied a name in lights was not parallel with my other goal in life – to be a wife and mother. I was putting in hours and hours of practice times. And I was learning that while one person may LOVE the way I sounded, another person would hear the same performance and find me mediocre. I realized that performing gigs were way harder to come by and that I had to always be available for work – whenever or wherever it may be. I found that I was getting more stressed out by the experiences and I was no longer getting the joy from it that I felt when I was in high school and living a life that was not concentrated 100% on music. But what else was I going to do??? My talents do NOT lie in the maths and sciences. I loved English and History, but I didn’t want to start my college education over again. Surprisingly, the idea of majoring in music education had never occurred to me before.

But I remember when it did. It hit me like a ton of bricks. It just made sense to me. I loved music. I loved people. It was a skill I could use to better my own position in life, and the things I would learn would help me as a mother and in the church. Of course I know now that it was personal revelation that led me to that decision. Once I filled out the paperwork to apply for the program, things literally fell into place. I loved what I was learning. I found myself good at what I was doing. I had connections that allowed me to have conducting experiences that boosted my confidence and self esteem, rather than the self-doubt and questioning I had experienced before. As I approached graduation from BYU and found myself NOT married I was grateful for the job that pretty much fell into my lap and allowed me to stay near Provo. Six months later it was evident that the Lord gave that option to me so that I could be in the right place at the right time to be reacquainted with the man that would become my husband. In the early years of our marriage it was my degree in music education that allowed us to pay for Brian’s schooling and put food on our table while he worked towards HIS degree. And now that I am raising three little ones, it is that degree that has given me the skills to bring in extra income and still be at home with my children.

I had no way of knowing it at the time, but when I made the decision to change my major, I was at the intersection of grace and works, as Sister Peter’s called it. I allowed my own desires and talents to work in harmony with what the Lord had in store for me and my family and hundreds of students were able to benefit from the blessings that would come from that choice.

And here’s the amazing part – just as my personal revelation inspired me to change my major to music education so that my talents could best serve the Lord, there are other people out there whose personal revelation tells them to go into vocal performance because their mission in life is to bless people in that venue. The Lord knows where you will best fit and he knows where he can use you the most. We just have to trust that if we let Him, He can make us into more than we could become alone. Doctrine and Covenants 6:8 says, “if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation.” That’s a big promise. All we have to do is desire it and be willing to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands.

Did I have the tools to be a performer? Absolutely. But along with that tool in my toolbox was the tool that allowed me to work well with junior high students. A tool I didn’t even know I had until I was put in the position to use it. And when I combined my performance tool with my teaching tool with my desire to be where the Lord wanted me to be, I was capable of building some amazing things.

All of your talents are necessary for the building of the kingdom of God on earth.
· Artists and musicians are needed to provide wholesome and uplifting media in this time when Satan controls so much of what we are exposed to.
· Cooking and Home Economics will be needed as we are forced to become more self-reliant. The world has produced generations who are dependant on others for basic needs and cares. The scriptures and prophets have taught us that these resources will not always be available. Your talents in these areas will not only bless your lives, but you will be a vital resource to others to help them develop these tools.
· Sewing is a tool that I feel we are all going to have to depend on as it becomes harder and harder to find clothes that are modest. The ability to alter pieces so they reflect the sanctity of the body is an invaluable tool.
· Many of you are blessed with the ability to write and put your feelings and expressions on paper. This gift will bless generations. Write your testimony. Write of things that uplift, edify, and inspire. In times of discouragement you will be able to look back on what you have written and it will get you through rough times. Share your writings with others so they too can benefit from your talent.
· Those of you who have been blessed with the gift of knowledge and learning have a blessing that we have been promised in the scriptures will benefit you for the eternities. For whatever knowledge we attain here on this earth will rise with us after we die. Be a teacher. Even if you aren’t in a formal classroom surrounded by students, teach your friends. Teach by your example what you know.


As for those tools that are hard to display or perform: the gifts of leadership, patience, compassion, service, self control, dedication, discipleship, testimony – I think these may be some of the most valuable tools in your toolbox. Unlike some other talents that fade with age or that can be taken away through physical trials, these are gifts that can never be taken away from you. If we use them, they only get stronger. These are the gifts best used to do the Lord’s work here on the earth. For just as He has given us our toolbox of talents and blessings, WE are His tools. His time on the earth has passed and He must now rely on US to continue the work. And He knows exactly what kind of tool He needs us to be, and what He needs to do to get us into perfect working order. And by following the guidance of the Holy Ghost and through personal revelation, we can align our goals and talents with the needs of our Heavenly Father to fulfill our highest potential here on this earth.

Sisters, I have a testimony that each of you is a loved daughter of our Heavenly Father. He has blessed you with one of the most precious tools that he could put in your toolbox – the gospel. It is like a combination flashlight-GPS-instruction manual-duct tape-first aid kit tool. Take that tool and study it. Polish it. Use it. Share it with others. Because that tool will help you with every other tool that you have been given or will get in the future.

You have some amazing talents inside of you. Don’t let the world convince you that there is no need for what you have to give. You are just what this world needs. If everyone in this world was encouraged to develop and share their talents like you are tonight, think of the good that would come from it. THAT is why we have nights like this.

I would like to bear my testimony to you that this church is true. That the principles found in the scriptures and in your YW lessons are true. That if you strive to follow those teachings, you will be blessed. And you will be HAPPY. And that the Lord will always give you the tools that you will need to get through the various stages and hardships of your life if you work to develop what He has already given you. I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the perfect example that He is to me. And I am thankful that he chose to use the tools of redemption that only He could use. Because if he chose to let those tools rust, none of us would have the opportunity to repent and all would be lost. I have a testimony of personal revelation and answers to prayers. Use them. They will direct you to where you need to be to find your own personal Promised Land.

I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

My Favorite Age

I am pretty sure I have said this before about other ages and stages, but I LOVE the age that Jaren is right now. He is almost 2 1/2 and he is forever cracking me up with the things he says, his requests, and his mannerisms. For the most part he is a very easy going kid. He knows what he wants, but when he doesn't get it he recovers quite quickly. Lately he has been really into singing. His version of Jingle Bells cracks me up. First of all, it sounds like he is saying "Tinkerbell" instead of "Jinglebells." This wouldn't surprise me in the least because he DOES have two older sisters.

Today he seemed to be in a performing mood, so I got out the camera and asked him to sing us a little medley. Hope it makes you smile.

*~Burp~*

Thanksgiving has come and gone. The food has been devoured, the leftovers put away for future casseroles and lunches. We played Greed, Apples to Apples, and lots of Wii. And now my parents, sister Megan, brother John, and his girlfriend Stacie are on their way home. And I am left feeling kind of sad. It has been a really fun, busy day. I loved having all of the people here. I loved the many conversations going on at once. I loved all the help in the kitchen. I loved catching up on the news. And now it's just kind of quiet. I can just hear the football in the background and my tummy trying to digest the three different kinds of pie.

My cup runneth over. I am amazed at the many ways in which my Heavenly Father has blessed me. I have a wonderful family. I have amazing friends. I am surrounded by great examples -- people I can observe almost daily and try to be more like them. I have the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have the faith to know that He is in control of everything, even when it seems like the world is in chaos, I know that there is a plan. I have a living prophet to guide me and offer words of comfort. I have a healthy family. We have money for our needs and many of our wants. We are safe. My family can go to sleep at night and there is no doubt in my mind that we will all wake up and go about our day and be back together again the next evening. I live in a nation where I can study what I want, worship whom I please, and be who I want to be. I live in a time where I can keep in touch with cousins and old friends at the touch of a button. Anything I want to learn is at my fingertips. I can take pictures and videos that will last for generations. We have two cars that take us where we need to be. I can drive two miles and enter a store that has anything I could ever need to eat, clothe myself, decorate my home, or entertain myself and others. I live in a beautiful part of the world, where I am able to enjoy mountains, trees, streams, and wildlife every day.

Life is good.

Back in the Saddle Again

I haven't made an apron in a LONG TIME. I haven't even SEWN in several months. I tried to make some baby sets with the appliqued letters and bibs and such and my sewing machine decided to be difficult. So I put it away and tried not to think about it. Then I remembered that I signed up to do a fancy holiday apron swap. Yikes.

The requirements for the swap said that the apron should be a holiday themed hostess apron. We were encouraged to use nicer fabrics and up the bling factor. This apron is for entertaining in, not necessarily cooking in. I remembered that when Brian went to Singapore four or five years ago he brought back some silks to be used as drapes. They no longer fit our color scheme, though the pinkish color was hanging in the living room for the past three years. So I bit the bullet and cut out a pattern. I took a pattern I have made lots of times but I sewed three different layers together, each layer a little bit longer than the others. I got stuck a bit when it came time to finish the edges of the layers. They were fraying like crazy and I wasn't able to get a good crease with the iron. But Walmart saved the day and I found some bias tape that matched the gold silk, and they even had some metallic gold bias tape (who knew???) to sew on the transparent layer. It matched the gold snow flakes really well. I finished it off with a gold Christmas tree brooch on the waist.

The package has to be in the mail by tomorrow. Nothing like waiting until the very last minute, huh?

Twilight -- Part Deux

I went and saw Twilight again with a group of friends. Despite my previous experience, I really was looking forward to seeing it again. To just enjoy it without any expectations at all.

Can I just say that I REALLY LIKED it????????? My experience was TOTALLY different from the first one. The movie was the same. But my reations were totally different. I didn't find Edward as stiff. I didn't find the storyline as choppy. I didn't find the special effects as cheesy. Weird. I have a few theories.

One -- the audience. This audience was full of young girls and people who were obviously really excited to see the movie. The vibe was electric. There was very little inappropriate laughing, unlike the first night where people were laughing all over the place at times when it wasn't supposed to be funny. I think that really makes you sensitive to how the scene COULD be perceived and doesn't let you just take it for what it is.

Two -- I knew what was coming. Period.

So... if you felt let down the first time, go see it again. I am SO glad I did. And I need to get the soundtrack, too. Shannon brought hers so we could listen to it in the car. Very cool. :)

My Twilight Review (DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW)

I am going to put my pictures from Tuesday night on here at the top so people (Shannon) who don't want to know anything don't accidentally read anything.




I wrote this review yesterday morning for Twilightmoms.com. They had a section where people who had been to a screening could put their thoughts for people who wanted to know. So here it is! There are a few spoilers, but nothing big.

It is going to be absolutely panned by the critics. I am sure of it. (Uh, yeah, I was right). The beginning is really slow. Really. Slow. Like so slow that I was wondering if I was going to be able to sit through it again on Friday with my friends. Rochelle said the same thing in the car. I think this is probably because it takes a while to lay the groundwork for the relationship and the movie and I already KNEW the groundwork so I was thinking, "LET'S GET ON WITH THE GOOD STUFF!!!!!" There were some scenes where the audience laughed and I don't think they were supposed to. Like the very first biology scene where Edward is so conflicted. And the dazzle scene. I agree with whomever said he looked sweaty. That was kind of the over all effect, though it wasn't THAT bad. There are some editing issues that I found, and coincidentally, both were in the scene that we watched be taped when we were invited on the set in April. I don't know if they are noticeable to anyone else, but they jumped out to me. There are some parts that come off as cheesy. And there are some parts where the acting looks not so great. But Rochelle and I couldn't decide if it was bad acting or how the characters are.

I know it sounds like I hated this movie. I really didn't. It was a rough start, but the ending was fabulous. Some of the camera work was fabulous. They did a really good job of keeping to the book. They did a GREAT job with Charlie and Bella's relationship. All the scenes with the Cullens are great. Like others said, I really wish there were more. The baseball scene, the hunt, the fight... all that is fantastic.

I think the movie was produced with two assumptions: You have read the book, and they are going to make a sequel. I don't know how well the movie is going to read to those who haven't read the books. Which is why I think it is going to get dismal reviews. There are enough akward/bad/cheesy/choppy/poorly edited scenes in the movie that will be quickly overlooked by those who can see the big picture and who already love the characters. But not by those who are coming expecting to hate this over hyped film. Some scenes and characters just don't even make sense in the movie if they don't make a sequel. Like Jacob. He is in here SO little and he really is pointless without New Moon.

I am looking forward to seeing this again. All off my presumptions and expectations are gone and I can just enjoy it for what it is. I tend to be hyper critital (part of that darn fine arts degree) and I tried REALLY hard not to be and I think I accomplished that. It was good entertainment and I think I had an objective mind. But I really think it would be impossible to make this movie appeal to every fan. These are characters that we have personified in our minds. The scenes have played out in our imaginations over and over again and of course our imaginations aren't the same as Catherines, or Stephanies, or anyone elses. I think it is the same as the Breaking Dawn. There was SO my hype, and all of us went into it wanting/expecting something. Some got it, others didn't.

So I give it a B/B-. But go see it. I know you all will, anyway. I am keeping my thoughts from all my friends. I want them to be able to go into it and take it as it is, without any of my opinions and thoughts. Like I said, I really liked the last half. If they could have put more of that action and intensity into the first half, cleaned up a few things, and fixed a few parts that came off as funny when they shouldn't have, it would have been a B+/A-.

My Twilight Night (NO SPOILERS)

Because I hate having things ruined for me before I get a chance to experience it myself, this post will be be totally spoiler free. It will have everything about my evening UP TO the movie starting. You may release your pent up breath now.

In April my friend Rochelle won a radio competition to go down onto the set and watch Twilight be filmed. For some unknown reason she chose me to accompany here. You can see many of those pictures HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE. That experience also included tickets to the advance screening that took place last night -- three days before the official release of the movie.

Both of us have been really looking forward to this night. There have been no reviews of the movie released yet, but we had both seen many trailers and teasers that the studio has released. They really have done a good job creating a monster with this movie! You will be hard pressed to find anyone who at least hasn't HEARD of it at this point. I took this opportunity to get a new shirt and scarf for the occasion and it was a good excuse to cover my grey. I knew it would be a laid back affair, but seeing as the target audience for this book and movie is teenagers, I wanted to look as cool as a 33 year old plump mother of three could.

I felt like I was getting ready for the prom. I'm lame, I know that. We decided to leave town at 3:30 even though we didn't have to be there until 6:10. We didn't want to risk traffic. We had dinner at Red Robin (Mmmm... BBQ Chicken Rollups) then headed over to the theater to scope it out. Thank goodness we did. It wasn't even 5:00 at this point and there was a line around the theater! I guess that bookstores had been giving out screening passes and several other people had won contests. The local press was also there to see it so they could write their reviews. We initially took our place in line. It was chilly and we were towards the back. We got to talk to some other fans and hear how they got their tickets and what they were expecting from the movie. Around 5:45 someone came through the line telling us that no cell phones would be allowed in the theater so we had to find places for them. Some girls behind us had been dropped off by their mom and were freaking out because they had no where to put their things. So I let them put their stuff in my car. It was while they were loading up that Rochelle found out our names were on a VIP list INSIDE and that we could have been inside in the warmth the whole time. So we headed in. Behind us in line was the actor who plays Embry in the movie. Very cool. We also met a really bratty local critic who I think was determined to hate this movie before she even saw it. She just acted like she really couldn't be bothered to be there that night.

Before we could get into the theater they took a few tips from TSA... they told us no cell phones, nothing that records audio, they had "wands" that the waved around us and they looked in all our bags. Serious stuff. The guy sitting next to us says that each advance screening copy is digitally coded and there is a security guard with it at all times. After the screening it goes back to Summit and is destroyed. Yikes. They are taking NO CHANCES.

So we got in and waited for them to fill the theater. We weren't sure at first if everyone (including the girls whose things were in my car) who was in line with passes was going to get in. But they did. The local stations did a few giveaways (Rochelle won a shirt) and we all got free wristbands and mints. They showed a preview for Push (another Summit movie) that looks pretty good. Then they got right to the movie. Yada yada yada... then we came home!!

It was very cool to see the scene that we watched them film. And to see places that I have been to and live near. And we were for sure the envy of all the girls around us when they heard our experiences on set. What a great way to round out the whole experience. Thank you Rochelle, for including me in your special nights!

CUTE!!!

Is this not the cutest hat? Would it not be the talk of the school? Would it not be DARLING in photo shoots? Well, unless you have all boys... but anyway. You can WIN that hat HERE. Or you can buy it at the creators Etsy shop HERE. If you don't know about Etsy, it's a site where crafters and craft suppliers list their items for sale directly to the buyers. I love going there and just looking at all the beautiful, creative, CHEAP (sometimes) things. I have purchased fabric and patterns, and purses from Etsy and have always been impressed. It is such a great source of handmade items and inspiration.

Politics

I hate politics. I really do. I can't stand the stress and confrontation and ugliness and hatred that comes from them. It irks me that people can't just stand up and say, "This is what I believe" without tearing down the person running against them. I don't like that issues are reduced to black and white, when we know that there are so MANY shades of grey in between.

In case you can't tell, I am very glad that this election is over. I am not super thrilled with who won, but I don't know that I would have been thrilled if the other candidate had won, either.

I think that at least for a while, the change will be good. A majority of Americans have found a leader they feel confident in. One they feel is going to "make everything better." And if nothing else, he has instilled hope in people. He has succeeded in getting a record number of people to take interest in the country and to get out and vote.

I hope that he makes good on his promise to unify the parties. I am comforted in the fact that he has young children and that he is trying to do what he thinks is going to create a safe world for his girls. There are some of his policies that I cannot and will NEVER agree with. And unfortunately those things were big enough to me that I voted against him, despite agreeing with him on other issues.

But despite my mixed emotions tonight, I am above all grateful to live in a country where for better or worse, we choose our own fate. We put our leaders in power, we tell them what we want them to do, and then we live with the consequences of those choices. Obama has a chance to do great things. He has a chance to bring people together, to strengthen this nation. He's got four years to do it. If he fails, we get to pick someone else. I honestly hope that he can do it.

But whether or not he is successful, I am comforted in my knowledge and testimony that this is a blessed nation. That our Heavenly Father is mindful of us. That we have been warned of and told to prepare for a time when our Constitution will dangle by a thread. Whether that time is now remains to be seen. I am going to focus on the positives. I am going to continue to try to strengthen my family. I am going to continue to pray for the leaders of our nation, that they will be led by the hand of God to do what is right and best for our country. And I am going to go eat a piece of Halloween candy in celebration of the fact that I don't have to hear another political ad for at least another two years.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

This is our favorite Halloween book, and hearing Jerry Seinfeld's routine while looking at the pictures is PERFECT. Enjoy!!

The Kids

I have been horrible at updating our day to day lives lately. I think because we have settled into our routine and not much out of the ordinary happens. So here are some updates on the kiddos.

Jillise is really thriving in 2nd grade. She has a great teacher and some good friends. She has been a "self manager" since the second week of school. Self Managers are allowed to leave for lunch and PE early, they get to eat lunch with the teacher on Fridays, and they get other special privileges. She has been able to maintain this status and really enjoys the perks.

She continues to do well in spelling and math. Since first grade started, she has only missed one spelling word. I wish I had her brain. She has recently gotten back into writing and illustrating stories. Brian and I just crack up at what is swirling around in her head. She is currently working on a chapter book. I'll have to put it up here when she is done.

Her "meltdowns" have been few and far between lately, and none of them have happened at or about school. The few she has had have been in the evenings when she is tired and the last straw just makes her snap. She is also quite helpful here at home. She loves to practice her piano and most days doesn't even have to be reminded to do it. She really is a fun girl to be around.

Joelle seems to be enjoying kindergarten -- at least from what I can get out of her. She never seems to want to share much after school. She knows her letter sounds and has started to read some simple phonics books. She loves doing her "homework" and I think is really liking some independence from home and her big sister. She is not a morning person, so afternoon kindergarten was really a good move on our part. She has the morning to lounge around, eat lunch, do homework, fight with Jaren, and have some Mom time.

Joelle is our "spirited child" and I am trying to figure out how to best raise her so she has some self control, but maintain her energy and feistiness. She is very loving and I think she is just trying to find her place as the middle child. She makes friends easily and is very social. She also loves (LOVES) to talk. She has been blessed with a great Primary teacher who I know is helping her with that. I have yet to hear from her kindy teacher that she is a motor mouth, but teacher conferences are this weekend. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the news is good. I have heard that the class has some REALLY unruly boys, so maybe a chatterbox is the least of her worries.

Both girls are finishing up soccer. It has been fun to watch their personalities come out during practices and games. Jillise is a perfectionist and carries that onto the field, where she is thoughtful and a bit cautious. She has been hit in the face with the ball a few times, but each time has gotten back in there. They have goalies this year and she has come close to scoring a few times, but those goalies make it tough. :) Joelle, despite her feistiness, does not seem to have a competetive bone in her body. She is out there running NEAR the ball, but she seems more interested in managing what is going on. She rarely makes contact with the ball, but she is always shouting helpful instructions to those who do. She also loves to tell all of the female coaches and refs about her day. During the game. Whatever. This is a child who isn't very inclined to do physical exercise on her own, so she will be sticking with soccer to keep her moving.

Ballet has started up again, too. Keeps me busy.

Jaren is my buddy. I. love. this. kid. He is funny, charming, cuddly, and all boy. It cracks me up to watch how he plays with things. He is all about noise, destruction, and chaos. His speech and vocabulary are a constant source of entertainment for me. He is pretty good at getting his point across. Thanks to his older sisters he has mastered "I don't want," "I can't," "Stop," and "No, not that!" But he loves to say prayers (always in a whisper, except a loud AMEN with hands thrown up in the air at the end), and count and try to sing his ABCs. His current TV shows are Go Diego Go and Dora. He loves to call Brian at work and say, "Oh, Maaaaaaaan!!" like Swiper and "Yumyumyumyum... delicioso!" like backpack. His favorite drink is milk or water WITH ICE and he is back to loving cheese.

I like that Jaren still enjoys being rocked before bed and that he is snuggly when I get him up in the morning. He is surprisingly easy going and doesn't pitch a fit when he is awakened early to take Jillise to school in the cold. He seems to love being along for the ride and likes to try to make any situation fun.

Our weekends in October have been CRAZY BUSY and we hadn't been able to go to the pumpkin patch yet. This was one tradition we hadn't broken yet, and it was killing me that we might not be able to go. Yesterday was sunny and 72 degrees, so Brian took the afternoon off and we went to a really fun place. The kids had a great time, though Jaren couldn't seem to figure out what on earth we were doing. We climed the hay pyramid, rode the hay ride out to pick our pumpkins, took a ride on crazy cow train, and saw the animals. It was a fantastic fall day.

When we got home we were lucky enough to have the missionaries over to teach a lesson to a woman who is interested in learning more about our church. I was responsible for trying to keep the kids quiet (her six year old son was over and the kids were having quite a bit of very noisy fun upstairs) and so I wasn't able to be there for the whole discussion, but I really enjoyed being reminded of how I came to know for myself that the church was true. We are meeting again on Thursday and I hope that the same spirit will be here at this next lesson to help her know for herself that the gospel and Book of Mormon are true.

*sigh* That's it.

Pure Poetry

Jillise's class is doing a poetry unit. She had to write a rhyming poem and a haiku. Here were her contributions to the poety page:

BASEBALL

Watching baseball's fun for dad.
But that just always makes me mad.
I always want to watch TV,
But baseball's not that fun for me.

FLOWER HAIKU

Flowers smell so nice.
I have some by my front door.
There are lots of kinds.

Chili Cookoff

"My" white chili won the chili cookoff this year. Woo hoo!! Never mind that the Elders Quorum presidency were the judges. Brian said he took himself out of the vote. I won the world's largest Mum. Seriously. It's huge. It is taking up most of my porch. I love it.

Anyway, many of you asked for the recipe and since it's not some top secret family recipe and since I won this year and will have to come up with something different for next year, here it is. I got it from Taste of Home magazine seven years ago. You can make this really low fat by using fat free sour cream and fat free half and half instead of the whipping cream in the last step.

Creamy White Chili

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 t garlic powder
1 T vegetable oil
2 cans (15 1/2 oz each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained (Safeway doesn't carry this kind of bean, I just used white beans this last time and it was fine.)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz each) chopped green chilies
1 t salt
1 t ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream and cream. Serve immediately. Makes 7 servings.

Motherhood

Joy of Motherhood #1853: Fishing poop out of the bathtub.

Joy of Motherhood #1854: Not dryheaving while fishing poop out of the bathtub because you have had the joy of doing it BEFORE and have evidently built up super human immunity.

Changes

It is officially Fall. I love this time of the year. I love the way the air smells (like football games and jackets), I love the colors (as you can tell from my new paint choices down below), and I love the CHANGES (school, wardrobe, temperature).

President Monson said in General Conference last week that nothing is as constant as change. Ain't that the truth. With the economy trying to find it's balance, politicians making a$$es of themselves to get my vote, and with some friends losing jobs and others unable to get them in the first place, it isn't hard to forget that some change is unwelcome and difficult. It is times like these where I cling desperately to my faith that everything is going to be "okay." I heard or read a quote somewhere that said, "Everything is going to be alright in the end. If it isn't alright, it isn't the end." I know that things will work out. We have known that times are going to get rough before they get better. The leaders of the church have been counselling us to get out of debt, keep emergency food and supplies on hand, and strengthen our families against the evils of the world. It's go time, for sure.


Some change makes us stretch ourselves a little and ultimately (hopefully) makes us better people. I was called today to be the secretary in the stake Young Women's Presidency. The only YW calling I have ever had was the Stake YW Camp Music Specialist. All of my other callings have either been in music or in Primary. I am looking forward to working with the new presidency and seeing what new challenges will be in store for me. I am assuming that I now get to go to Girls Camp, Dances, and Firesides. If nothing else, I am proof to these girls that a big clueless teen can become a big clueless adult who at least functions in society and has friends. I will miss being in primary and being reminded week after week of how simple the gospel is and seeing the simple faith of these little kids who have not yet been jaded by life and temptation and failure. But I hope to be able to do some good with the girls who are struggling to find a testimony of their own.

Some change is painful. Jaren's face was changed today when he was bit in nursery. Ouch. I guess this is karma coming back to get me. I remember biting a girl when I was older than nursery age. I also remember getting to come home and bite a piece of soap. A Christmas Story has very personal meaning to me. (It was soap poisoning...) The poor mom of the boy was just in tears. My heart went out to her. I would feel the same way if Jaren had laid into someone. I don't blame anyone. It's hard to see the bright red spot on his cheek, but it happens. It didn't break the skin, so it should go away after a few days. He snuggled with me in the kitchen for a few minutes while I put ice on it, then he went back to nursery. What a trooper.




Some change is welcome. Like the change from my regular routine. Yesterday Brian and I went to the temple for our ward temple day. It was so nice to be there with all faces that I love and recognize. It was neat to see everyone and know that through our callings we are all serving each other, and that if one person wasn't there or doing their part that things wouldn't run as smoothly as they could. It was great to be reminded of why we are here on this earth and what our goals should be. It puts all the other changes of the world into perspective and helps us to "carry on" through the ups and downs of life. I was reminded that fear is the absence of faith. If my focus is on things of eternal nature I will be able to rise above the temporal challenges and everything will be okay because I will doing what is important. I need to serve more, pray more, and have faith.

Change is good. :)

The Big Reveal - Part II

On to the kitchen and dining room!!


When you open the front door, a little hallway leads to past the stairs on the left, the new living room on the right, back to the kitchen. The kitchen is along the back of the house. To the right of the kitchen is the new music room/office and to the left of the kitchen is the room where we used to have the TV and old gross couch. There was a breakfast nook there where we had our small table. On the far side of that room on the far left of the house is a pantry, bathroom, and laundry room. One of the biggest things keeping us back from doing any sort of room switch sooner was the fact that the linoleum from the kitchen extended into the little breakfast nook, then there was carpet for the area where we had the couch and TV. To make that area into a dining room would mean the table would be on half carpet, half linoleum. Blech. So here are some before pictures. I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel because I didn't really take many good before pictures. So these are just random ones that showed how the room was set up. And yes, my kitchen was lime green. I loved it. I had the color picked before we even moved in. The color makes me happy. But it was not really a color you could extend into the dining room without it starting to look like overkill. So it's gone.

BEFORE

The lime green walls, with the scripture I had in vinyl letters above the sink. That thing took FOREVER to get off.

The yucky couch, with the pile of shoes, bags, coats, and everything else in the corner. That door leads to the garage. We park in there, so that is the door that we use the most often.The breakfast nook. You can see where the TV was here in this picture. Behind Joelle are sliding doors to the backyard.

Looking from the TV area into the kitchen. Don't mind the mess. It usually looks that bad. I have gotten used to it.

AFTER

The kitchen is now a warm reddish/orange. My designer recommended a color that wasn't so bright, but I was sold on this. I had lime green before, remember? I'm not afraid of color. This is the view as you come down the hall from the front door.

The orange really makes the cabinet color look warm.This is standing in the entry way to the music room, looking into the kitchen.
Standing in the kitchen, looking into the dining room. The color going down the entire wall really unifies the space. That is the light fixture that used to be in the room where the piano is now. After many trips to Ace Hardware, I rewired it and hung it myself. Go me! There is a regular flush mount light in the music room now. Also done by me. The table really goes well in here and we can fit people all the way around it. There is even plenty of room to use the leaf on Thanksgiving! That cabinet in the back corner has all of my sewing stuff in it. It was SO easy to pull it out really quick this weekend to do a few little projects. We still need drapes in this room -- I am thinking offwhite with a band of khaki or green along the bottom.

The hutch. The hutch that no one could really get to an enjoy in the other room because the room was too small. That is my great grandmother's china. I am so excited that it can be shown off now.

A closeup of the re-covered chairs. They used to be white. And cloth. A horrible combo for a dining room with kids. This fabric has an orange stripe in it that I used for the kitchen walls. This is also the fabric above the sink and covering the chain on the dining room lamp. And the chairs are covered in the oh-so-chic spill proof vinyl.

Thanks for visiting!

The Big Reveal Part I

We have been working HARD. My body is tired, my brain is tired, and my bank account is spent. I spent most of my "free time" last week pulling up carpet, moving things into the garage and other rooms, painting, and purchasing laminate and underlayment. I was determined to do this all in an orderly fashion so my family wasn't walking on subfloor for weeks and weeks if this took longer than I thought it would. But it was still crazy chaos as my counters were taken over by books, music, tools, and whatever else needed to be up off of the floors. On Thursday night our friend Brian came over to help hang the TV on the wall -- the first step to the big rearrange. On Friday he came over again to help us get started on the floors. Saturday morning my friend Jeanette came and picked up all three kid (what a saint she is), and she dropped off her husband to help. Later my brother John showed up. We were in business. We got the front hallway, the kitchen, and the dining room area done that night. With the help of a neighbor we got the huge heavy hutch moved so we could start the other side of the house. We took Sunday off. On Monday I started the day by ripping up the last of the carpet (by myself, thankyouverymuch), pulling up the tacks, staples, and baseboards, and rolling out the underlayment. John came over at about 1:00 and the two of us got the bulk of the remaining work done. By the time Brian got home from work they just had the tricky fireplace pieces to do and the finishing touches.

We still need to put up baseboards and transition pieces. We started doing the transition pieces Monday night but we were all so spent mentally and physically that we thought we should take a little break from it. Besides, if you cross your eyes and look at the walls it LOOKS like there is baseboard there because that part of the wall is still white and the rest is painted. Hee hee!

Now I just have to put everything BACK. I have been holding off on posting pictures until things were more put together. But I am realizing that this is a marathon, and not a sprint. And despite wanting everything done NOW, time and money don't really allow for that. So allow me to introduce you to our "new" downstairs. At least two rooms of it.

The Family Room

When we first bought the house I was thrilled that we had a front room for the piano and nicer furniture, and a back room where we could put another couch and the TV. Since I teach piano lessons I wanted a place to do my thing that wouldn't interfere too much with the rest of the family. But as our family grew and we settled into the home I realized that that arrangement wasn't working any more. We didn't all fit on one couch to watch TV and the space was so small that we couldn't have anyone over to cheer for BYU football or play the Wii. So we moved the TV to the front room and found another place for the piano.

BEFORE

This room never got fully painted. I started with a golden yellow, but it ended up looking greenish in some light and so I stopped and never started again. The carpet in this room was in fairly good shape, but it was abysmal in the back of the house, so it all had to go. Those windows look out on the street. The entry to the house is on the other side of that little wall on the right. The wall in the third picture is the wall along the hallway that leads from the front door to the back part of the house and the kitchen. We joke that the color looked like baby poop. It looked great in some light and just gross in others.

AFTER

The walls are now a nice buttery cream color. The tape is still up there from painting. I guess I should take that down tonight. The first picture is standing by the front door, looking into the living room. On the "to do" list is a nice plush rug to go in here so we have a place to lay down and watch tv and wrestle with the kids. The next picture is taken from the hall, looking straight in. I am not sure if we are going to keep the shelves and cabinet on each side of the fireplace, but they are serving a good purpose right now, so until I know what to do, they are staying. Stacey is coming for dinner this weekend and you can be sure I will be asking for her advice.

This is standing in the corner by the fireplace, looking into the front hall. We have replaced the poop brown with one that looks like melted Hersheys bars. yum. The little bookshelf by the chair will be painted black at some point. It will also be organzied. Eventually. Brian is thrilled that he can not sit in the recliner and watch TV. Bring on the fall sports!

This is the "old" dining room. We bought a table and chair set several years ago for the dining room and it took up so much of the space that we could never actually EAT there. So I used it for my computer. And sewing. And to pile up junk. NOW it's my music room/office. One wall still needs to be painted -- I ran out of paint. And we will be moving the light into the other room over the table and replacing it with a light fixture that people won't bonk their heads on. I really think this may become my favorite room. I love having a desk for all my stuff that ISN'T the kitchen counter.

The black bookshelves on either side of the piano were the maple ones from the "before" pictures. I love having all of my music at arms reach. And now the top of my piano isn't piled high with all of the things I need for lessons. I am on the hunt for the "perfect" drapes for each room. I may end up just making them.

Next -- the kitchen and dining room.

And so it begins...

School Pictures

Yesterday (okay, it was two days ago, but Blogger was being difficult) was school picture day for my girls. We took the time Sunday night to blowdry Jillise's hair after her shower so it would look nice and smooth in the morning, outfits were carefully chosen and laid out. Joelle took a bath in the morning (one of the joys of afternoon kindergarten) and we dried and curled her hair so it would look just right. All so we can have these precious early years saved forever in the immortal school picture. Never mind that we never blowdry Jillise's hair -- she always goes to bed with it wet and then it dries in all sorts of strange ways while she sleeps. And that Joelle's hair is normally in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. I think we want to remember what COULD have been -- had we actually been on the ball ALL the time, instead of just on school picture day.

Thinking about school pictures made me want to dig up all of my old school pics. Whew -- not a pretty sight, I tell you. But since my blog could use a boost in entertainment value lately, here they are for your viewing pleasure.

Preschool

I was REALLY cute. My only memory from preschool was the large crinoline dress up skirt that I LOVED to play with. I think I even got pretty nasty if other girls tried to get to it first. Notice my awesome Winnie the Pooh jumper. Boy, those characters have staying power, don't they?

Kindergarten

My mom likes to tell the story about how on my first day of kindergarten I was so independent that I wouldn't even let her walk me into my classroom. I was still really cute. And I highly doubt my hair ever looked that good -- especially since it doesn't hold a curl well.

1st Grade

This picture was the topic of much discussion at my house growing up. If you look at my smile, it is a wall of gums. There are no teeth showing. No one (including myself) can replicate that look. I have no idea how (let alone WHY) I smiled that way.

2nd Grade

Look at this very cool yellow blouse. This style is popular again. Maybe not in yellow fabric with white polka dots, but the tuxedo style. I don't think that hair will ever be back in style though. Let's hope not.

3rd Grade

I this is where I start to look more like me as a grown up, and not like me as a kid. Well, me if I weighed next to nothing so you could see my jawbone and cheekbones again. Notice the curled hair. I probably slept in spongie rollers or something. We have alot of pictures around this time where I had slept in braids and had super wavy hair. The Okinawans were obsessed with our (mine and my sister Megan's) hair. It was long and blond and they were NOT afraid to just come up to us on the streets and run their fingers through it while chattering to their friends. Not the most comforting thing for a nine year old to experience.

4th Grade

Ah, the growing out of the bangs. This means we have also entered the age of the headgear AND
the reading glasses. And full on lerpy, teeth-to-big-for-your-face and growing too fast awkwardness. I used to try to "accidentally" leave my headgear at home. My mom was nice enough to bring it to school for me. I didn't stand a chance. It is impossible to look cool with wire coming out of your mouth, connected to a sweaty grayish blue strip of fabric behind your neck. Add the purplish blue 80s frame glasses and you have a WINNER. One reason I have for getting along with my parents is that they are the keeper of those pictures and I never want them leaked to the general public. Any strides I have made toward coolness in the past 24 years will be washed away with the posting of one little picture. Actually, I think it's a home movie. Even worse. Oh, and I don't know what happened to the individual school picture. Or why I am looking sideways in this. I am sad that they have gone to composite class pictures. I think you can see so much more personality in these large group shots. And for the record, this is also the age when I stopped doing homework and was grounded for AN ENTIRE MARKING PERIOD for bad grades. I was one of those "not living up to her potential" kids. And my mom's idea of grounding meant no TV or friends or phone. I spent alot of time in my room and practicing the piano. I think this is also the year that Rusty (I'm pretty sure he is the boy in the front row right in front of the girl in the green plaid) brought me various weeds and wildflowers wrapped in toilet paper and asked me to be his girlfriend. I wasn't flattered. I seem to also recall him riding his bike to my house. I was NOT interested. And on another note, notice the large class size. Larger than our classes today. And all my class pictures are like this. Granted - we were all military brats and if we screwed up they kicked us out of school. But still...

5th Grade

This looks like the braid waves making an appearance. And look, I was kind of tan. Just kinda. Let's see... in 5th grade I remember starting to like boys. Just not Rusty. I loved to ride my bike. I was in ballet and piano. I think this might have been the year we visited Korea as a family and even MORE old women approached me on the street to run their hands through my hair. And I do remember that shirt. And in the class picture I am wearing awesome pink jelly shoes. I am true child of the 80s.

6th Grade

Oh, man. This is the beginning of the end. I got my hair cut into this very stylish, feathered mullet, probably in protest of foreign women wanting to touch my head. I loved it. And sadly, this is not the worst style to adorn my head in the upcoming few years. We moved from Okinawa the middle of my 6th grade year. It was really hard. I moved from a little bubble of an airbase to a place where I was the racial minority in my classroom. I had been spared from having to be super fashion conscious in Okinawa because our shopping options were really limited. So when we got back to the states I was faced with the harsh reality that I was NOT cool. And to top it off, I got the hairstyle that you see up there PERMED. I was Little Orphan Annie. Who ever says reverse discrimination doesn't happen should visit the inner city schools in Southern Virginia. I just had a HORRIBLE rest of 6th grade. And from that point on, I just really wanted to wear whatever I needed to wear and look the way I thought I needed to look to fit in. This frustrated my parents to no end. I don't think they ever "got it." Clothes were clothes, a label means nothing. And there is a big part of me that got that. But another part of me thought that (bad hair aside) if I just wore a Limited t-shirt with the square label on the front, down at the bottom of the shirt (remember those? They had some funky person drawn or something??) that life would be peachy. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to deal with this with my kids. I don't ever want them to be picked on just because they have no fashion sense, but I don't want them to BECOME the teaser because everything comes so easily to them. I'm sure it's a fine line we will walk for the rest of their lives at home. So, yeah. That about sums up 6th grade. Oh, and I had a crush on a boy named Dana on my class in Okinawa. But some kid named Elliott had a crush on me. He was probably as cool in Okinawa as I was in Norfolk, VA. Which was not cool at ALL. Now is probably some super successful business man or doctor or something...

Sixth grade is also the year that we got new swings on the playground in Okinawa. They had these really long, thick red rope handles instead of the chains. You could twist those handles up by sitting or laying on the swing and turning around and around. Then you could let go and go for the ride of your life. We used to have contests at lunch to see who could get the most twists. A kid named Paul Hand (I should look him up on Facebook) was out to set the record. I don't even remember how many times he got that thing twisted. He was laying on his belly on the swing and he spun around forever before it came to rest. When he stood up, all the whites of his eyes had turned blood red. All of the spinning and pressure had burst all the blood vessels in his eyes. I think we all turned and ran at that point.

So, that's it! I can't find my junior high school pictures. But they ain't pretty. And those of you on Facebook have seen my high school pictures. If you aren't on Facebook yet, this may very well be your excuse to start. You don't want to miss those suckers...

Open Invitation

Anyone wanna come over and play next week? It'll be a party...

What I've Been Up To

We have been really busy. We are rearranging, repainting, reflooring, and rejuvinating our entire downstairs. Nothing will be left untouched -- except the bathroom. Stay tuned...

End of Day One

Jillise survived her first day of second grade. I don't know that I can say the same for myself. I am BEAT. I got up at 6:00 to put the failed sticky buns in the oven and shower. Got the kids up and ready and Jillise and Grayson were at school by 7:35 (school starts at 7:45 -- yes, you may feel sorry for us). Came home and put dinner in the crockpot, cleaned the kitchen, did laundry, hemmed soccer clothes, made beds, wrote a blog post, and tried to be productive. Then we did lunch and brought Jaren to Michelle's house so Joelle and I could go officially meet her teacher. Her teacher is fabulous. A wonderful, loving grandma woman who will be perfect for my little Joellie. By the time we got back we had 20 minutes before we turned around to pick up Jillise. We got home at 2:30.

At 3:00 my first piano student came. Had a total of four. Jillise left for soccer at 4:45 (again, Michelle saved the day). At 5:00 when I was done with piano I loaded up the other kids and dragged them to the soccer field. Jillise's practice was done at 6:00 - the same time Joelle's starts.

Brian met us at the field at 6:30 to bring Jillise and a very VERY crabby Jaren home. Now everyone is fed and in bed. And I need to clean up so we can start again tomorrow. Minus the soccer, though. Thank goodness.

Second Grade

Jillise is off. With very few tears, I might add. Just a few right when I woke her up. And to be honest, *I* felt like crying when my alarm went off that early, too.

Brian caught the late bus into work so he could be here to say goodbye this morning. It was nice to have us all up and together. I tried to make the yummy butterscotch rolls we had at our Relief Society retreat but they didn't turn out very well so the girls had frozen waffles. Oh, well.

I think we are in for a good year. Jillise has a few girlfriends in her class this year and she got a really good teacher. I think she is more excited than scared or nervous and she eagerly hopped out of the car and ran in with her friend Grayson at dropoff, so that is a REALLY good sign.

Joelle starts kindergarten this year, but she doesn't really get into the swing of things until next week. We go for a one on one "meet the teacher" today, then half of her class will go on Thursday, and the other half on Friday. Then on Monday everyone is there and the poor teacher starts thinking that early retirement is a great thing.

It is oddly quiet now. It is only 8:20 and I am showered and dressed and my kitchen is clean. Today I start my piano lesson schedule and both girls have soccer so the next thing on my to-do list is to get dinner in the crockpot. I am also on a sewing roll -- I hemmed five pairs of jeans yesterday for the girls and today I am altering soccer clothes so Joelle doesn't trip on the bottom of the pants and Jillise isn't constantly trying to keep her pants up while running. I'll have after school updates later!