Happy Feet :)

This year for family pictures I perused the world wide web for ideas. I LOVED the pictures that had bare feet. I knew immediately though that my family of mostly men would probably balk at this. They were good sports, although we found out our feet are not used to walking on sharp terrain. Above is what I think is the cutest picture of Halley, Justin, Chancy and McKay's feet. Usually during picture time, there is one person who just can't hold it together and we have sad faces to deal with. This year I thought that this wouldn't be a problem whatsoever. Well one of us got our fingers squished and had a hard time producing a happy face. Kiersten did her best to coax a happy face out of mister squished fingers and had no choice except to take a picture of our "happy feet."

Can you guess whose feet are whom's? (correct english?) Anyhow, I thought I had them right in my mind until I clicked on the picture for a closer view . . . . any guesses?

One for the boys

Things I've learned by being outnumbered by boys:

1. Never call underwear "panties."
2. They can wear holes in jeans in one day.
3. They can wear the same gym uniform all year without bringing it home once to wash.
4. Socks can get dirty in perfectly clean shoes, how do they do this?
5. Farting is funny business.
6. Although I've tried to teach them better words than "fart" to use, they still use the word.
7. They are very quietly stubborn. (I have quiet boys)
8. They love guns, we've worn out a couple of BB guns.
9. The only toys we need are guns, swords and matchbox cars.
10. Squirrel's are fun to torment. My boys have tried to trap them with all sorts of interesting items. They have even eaten squirrel.
11. They never grow up, men are still little boys.
12. They love their mothers
13. As moms we think we have the corner on mood swings, but boys get "testy" too.

I may add to the list as I think of more . . . . what have your boys taught you?

Politically speaking

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE politics! I am in hog heaven right now, with talk radio and all the talk about candidates and such. Some of my most lively conversations have been with my father who is voting opposite of me. We will cancel out each others votes . . . . no mom, will cancel out his vote and we'll get one-up for my candidate!:)

So . . . the Gallup poll called me last night, yes I am a member of the Gallup poll. I accepted this poll because I thought I would love to have my political views heard. Then I got barraged with a bunch of polls about where do you shop? what kind of coffee do you drink? Soda anyone? and then their questions are so frustrating . . . there isn't an option EVER for "I don't want ANY of the options you are offering me." They just assume you fall in to the categories they prescribe for you . . . . An example:

Last night I got my first honest to goodness political poll, and I thought "my voice will be heard!" The last question stopped me short though . . . . it was about religion. "Do you consider yourself, protestant, catholic, jewish, muslim, etc. etc. or non affiliated." What? what do I say? They didn't give me the proper category! This is exactly what frustrates me about their polls . . . why isn't there a "None of the above"? But not even "none of the above" fits here. So, I told the poll taker my concerns . . . . . I said, "I know you would consider me a protestant, but I don't consider me a protestant." "What are you?" he said. "LDS" I said. "Huh?" he replied . . . . . "Mormon" I responded. "Oh." he said and quickly ended the phone call . . . . I'm sure he was done with the questions . . . . pretty sure that is.

Can you believe?

Today was such a busy (lazy*) day that I didn't get my head put on straight and get the things done I needed to do. Stupid things I did today:

1. I FORGOT I was starting a new piano student today while I was away being busy (lazy*). Thankfully they were late (I think) because they were standing at the door knocking as I drove up! How embarassing! I didn't have all my ducks in a row, and had to use the restroom before I could teach . . . . . I made a WONDERFUL 1st impression! (Sarcasm)

2. I Didn't get dinner ready which is a must on mutual night. I decided that since I was taking the kids to mutual that I would just stop and get something to eat for all of us. On the way to eat, Chancy said, "Mom, why are you driving us to mutual?" "Because you need to go to mutual," was my response. "But, mom, I have my own driver's license now, you don't need to go." "Oh, yeah" I said, "what am I doing driving you to mutual?" After getting something to eat, we swung by the house to let me off so the boys could go to mutual.

I don't even have blondeness to blame this on . . . . my apologies to all of you blondes out there!

*lazy - - I was really out to lunch with friends and it ended up being a LONG lunch. I enjoyed the long lunch, but it was long, nonetheless.

ponderings

Here is another one of our family pictures . . . maybe I'll share them piece by piece with you! Looking at this picture makes me think of Lincoln's fastly coming separation with our family. I can't decide to be sad and sorrowful, or irritated and grateful. I guess it is pretty natural (from talking to other women who have been through a deployment) that we start to get irritated at one another. It helps the parting go easier. With the irritation comes the gratefulness for the time away from each other . . . sad but true. We have had one bit of good news though, although it could change like the wind, just like every other decision the military makes. Lincoln will be leaving for training the day after Thanksgiving, but before his actual deployment to the middle east he will get to come home for Christmas break. He informs me that he will be going in to the office during part of that time, however . . . . don't you think they could just do without him, since they were going to have to anyway? I guess they could say the same about us though, couldn't we just do without him since we were anyway . . . okay, I better stop now, I'm starting to sound like a whiner, and I was going to be a BIG GIRL about all of this.

Primarily Sunday . . .

Today was our ward's primary program. This is the 1st year I haven't had anybody in the primary program, or didn't have something to do with a primary program as a leader for quite a few years. It felt good to sit and watch all the primary kids and the proud parents and leaders watching their kids and just be a spectator. McKay had a few jealous 11-year old boys pulling faces at him the whole time. They looked pretty funny up there thinking they were being sly. I shouldn't love being out of primary too much . . . you never know what is in store for you!

Tagged by Stephanie S.

My 8 favorite TV Shows
I don't watch much TV-and don't keep track of many shows that come on but these are some I enjoy if it just so happens they are on.
1. Survivor
2. The Amazing Race
3. Wife Swap
4. Super Nanny
5. Everyone Loves Raymond
6. I'm running out of shows
7. Any old movie
8. Any home/garden network show

8 favorite Restaurants
1. Panera
2. Olive Garden
3. Noodles and Co.
4. Macaroni Grill
5. Rita's (not a Restaurant)
6. Wow 8 is a lot!
7. Chipotles
8. The Mexico

8 things that happened yesterday
1. Gave 5 piano lessons
2. Chatted on the phone with a friend
3. Went for a drive in the Miata to clean out its exhaust system
4. Went and failed emissions on said Miata for the 2nd time! Arghh
5. Received bad news about townhouse - real estate market is falling and dead (which I already knew).
6. Read a book.
7. Made dinner for the family
8. Went out to dinner with some gals from the ward.

8 things I look forward to
1. Today - no piano lessons or any other scheduled event
2. Tomorrow - Lincoln will be home!
3. Next Week - Halloween
4. The next 7 or 8 months flying by so Lincoln will be home again.
5. Boy, it would be easier to tell you what I'm not looking forward to!
6. The Election on the 4th of Nov.
7. Grandkids (not happening soon)
8. Spring

8 things on my wish list
1. Baby Grand piano
2. My wishes are kind-of personal
3. Can't really put them
4. On a list like this
5. Peace
6. Goodwill
7. Love
8. Kindness

8 people I tag
Well the last 6 people I tagged, only 1 answered and she isn't blogging anymore, so this seems kind-of futile but I'll give it a shot: Ceci, Lora, Hope, Jackie, Emma, Baxter, Halley, Mom. Good luck, 8 is definitely enough!

If you feel so inclined . . . .

I know this is probably in poor taste, BUT . . . . as some of you know Halley is going to go to Europe this spring with the singing group she is in and NEEDS to make some money in order to go. Here is an order form for some Christmas CDs. I believe the top one "Carol of Joy" is the CD her group put out and the others are past year CDs. Sooooo, if you feel so inclined, she would love the support, and you'll love the music. At the bottom is a place for the name of the "singer" you would like to support. Halley King is the name! I don't know if you can print this, but if you are interested I could send you the original pdf file. . . . . . . I think I'll order mine tomorrow!

To blog or not to blog

I have been contemplating this thing we call blogging. Don't worry, I'm not quiting. I just thought I'd tease you with the title of this post! I'm addicted to blogging. I confess. I have to get my blog fix several times a day. Here are my reasons for my addiction:

1. I have always been a journal keeper. This has been a really fun way of putting our doings, comings, and goings down on paper . . . . well cyber paper.

2. My family. I have brothers in Oregon and a daughter in Utah and even family that live right by me that I'm sure love to see what is going on in our life.

3. My parents. I love my parents to death. I feel so guilty that I don't call them more and chat on the phone. They can have access to me through my blog, and I through theirs. It keeps them updated on my family and it got our family donuts! (just kidding, but TRUE)

4. My family. (I know, a repeat) I LOVE having access to my family, especially the ones across the country and getting little peeks into their lives. I have gone 4 years without talking to my brother George, but yesterday he commented on my blog . . . . a little bit of heaven on earth. Thanks Geo!

5. Extended family. We have been kind-of cut-off from extended family, but through my cousin Becky's blog, I know a little of what is going on and have seen pictures of my new little cousin's baby . . . although we don't know her name yet, I'm sure we'll be finding out soon!

6. Extended family. (Yes, another repeat) Steph and Mickel. I LOVE your blog. The first time I commented on their blog and signed it your cousin Tina, they didn't know who the heck I was. Now they know who the heck I am. Love you guys!

7. Church family. There are several sisters in our ward that blog. It has united us in a way that we wouldn't have united otherwise. We all have busy lives, varying ages, varying children's ages, because face it, we are drawn to those we have most in common with. I am finding out I have a lot in common with them, and would have never known it. There is one sister in particular that I would have never gotten to know if it hadn't been for blogging. I cherish our friendship. (I'll have to do a post on why I don't make a good friend sometime later!)

8. Comments. I'll admit, comments should go further up on the scale of why I write a blog. It does matter to me how many comments I get (if any). I know it is a two-way street. And I know the golden rule. I know what goes around comes around. So when you see my comment, know, I'd love one back!

See ya in blog land!

Need Parenting advice! Help!

On Saturday I had Lincoln take the door off of one of my son's rooms as a disciplinary action. He is REALLY stretching our brains to find some sort of discipline action short of taking him behind the woodpile with a belt. He didn't say a word, not a word about the door being gone. He is quietly stubborn, just like his mother. Last night, he came and got the hammer and nails and said he was hanging pictures in his room. This was plausible as his room had just been painted and all the nail holes had been covered up. I didn't question his pounding until this morning. Yes, he did hang pictures, two of them. One of them was a picture of Christ. One must wonder, did he ask "What would Jesus do?" as he hammered his next item. Rather expertly hung is a very thick quilt over the door (well. . . . the opening where the door is supposed to go) of his room!! Got to recognize the ingenuity, but what to do? Your advice please?

Sunday Musings

I know it is Monday, but I'm going to tell you what I was musing about YESTERDAY! Yesterday, when I got up and started planning for the day I had to think about the differences between this Sunday and last Sunday.

Last Sunday my house was FULL to the brim with my family. I had Halley and Ryan, the usual Chancy and McKay and I had talked Justin into spending the weekend with us and of course, myself to get up and out the door for church. (Lincoln, being in the bishopric is long gone by the time the rest of us get up!) I took a shower first and then warned everyone to make it quick in the shower or someone would be on the tail-end without hot water. We got to church without a hitch, even though we ended up having three vehicles there! Being the church organist, I am late if I don't get to church 15 minutes early and so I got the privilege of driving myself to church and worrying about whether or not everyone else would get there by start time. What a joy it was to be able to use the long bench in church and look over my brood. They each have varying degrees of excitability about even being in church. Even with that thought brewing in my mind "It is what it is" as a good friend of mine has taught me to say.

In contrast, yesterday morning when I got up, there were only three of us. We had plenty of hot water, got to church in only two vehicles (counting Lincoln's earlier arrival), and used the short bench with plenty of room leftover. I don't care how much you prepare yourself for an empty nest . . . . a full nest is much funner and fulfilling . . . . I look forward to the next time, but will live in the present. The present is calling my name VERY loudly and will not be ignored!

Flower Power!

Today was the Guard Halloween Party on the base. Chief Master Sergeants are in charge of the party so Lincoln needed to get there early to help decorate. When I came in I went to the bathroom to change and a lady came in and saw me in my costume and said "You must be Chief's Wife." I thought it was funny because she hooked us up before seeing us together. . . . Anyway, we had fun and were a hit in our Hippie costumes. Everyone wanted pictures with us.
McKay got to work (or play) in the spook alley. I didn't see much of him at the party, but he had a really good time. Chancy went to the party, but didn't dress up. Isn't it a bummer to get older?

The End

Today Halley and Ryan went home. Tears were shed and today was a downer day. A withdrawal day. We had a great time while they were here! But we will all miss Halley greatly. It was fun to get to know Ryan more. It seemed weird to wash sheets, and towels and let McKay back into his room. He didn't complain one little bit having to sleep on the couch for a over a week. They made it home safely, so all is well. Love you both!

Three Generation Fun

A little while back my mother posted on her blog "The Two Old Crows" her making donuts with my sister's children, her "other" grandchildren, and I was sooooo jealous! I got on the phone and told her she NEEDED to come up and do that with my children also. With Halley and Ryan here, it was a perfect time to make donuts, actually spudnuts, because they are made with potato. While waiting for the dough to rise, we played a game . . . the time went fast . . . Below are my mother's georgeous hands cutting the softest dough you can imagine. . . it felt silky . . .

Above is Halley cutting spudnuts and below Ryan is getting in on the action.I really liked the picture above, because not only does it show our spudnuts but it also shows both of my parents hands. A happy accident.Above are the spudnuts in their uncooked pillowy "raising" state. MMMMMMmmmmm.
Above, McKay getting the spudnuts to be dropped in the oil, Ryan dropped them in and . . . below, dad supervised, a most important job!
Above and below, mom deepfrying the spudnuts!

Halley glazing the spudnuts (with glaze I made lest you think I was just sitting around on my thumbs!)Oooooeeyyyyy Gooooey spudnuts . . . . . . . . They really melt in your mouth . . . . . light and fluffy! For the recipe, click on "Our Family Recipes" in the sidebar. These are well worth making! Don't these look good? It didn't take us long to eat most of them. I had three and a "hole" and some of us had 5 or 6 of them for sure. No dinner tonight, we are all on a sugar high!

My Warriors

One of the things Halley and Ryan wanted to do while here was go out paintballing. We borrowed gear and Bishop Volk's back yard (I say this loosely, because its not really HIS yard, it is just behind his house!). Fun in my opinion is not having a paintball hit me, but it must be fun, because Halley, Ryan and Lincoln went out again yesterday morning for more torture, (I mean fun). Here are the warriors getting suited up. This is Halley, Ryan, Steve, Ceci and Baxter. You see all those paintball boxes? That represents 6000 paintballs, which have all been used now! Ceci, Chancy and Baxter. Doesn't Ceci look a little nervous?
Here is the group except Lincoln, who must have been taking the picture. Halley, Baxter, Steve, Justin, Chancy, Ryan, McKay and Ceci.
McKay, Showing off his wound! He says he had the worst wound!
Justin, Showing off his paint on his head and beard. I just posted this picture because I can't believe I have a child with so much facial hair! He can grow this beard in 1 week. The proof is that he has guard every week and has to shave it every week!

Savoring

Halley and Ryan have been here this past week and we have been savoring every minute! I've already shed a few tears thinking about her going back to Utah, but have 1-1/2 days more left, so I can't get teary eyed yet! Yesterday we went to the temple. It was so nice to be there with a daughter and her husband. My heart just swelled with joy. We've been playing games, paint balling, getting family pictures and just plain enjoying each other. Kiersten took some great pictures of us! This one is one of my favorites, along with the new header photo.

Quirks

Quirk (kwûrk) n. 1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy: "Every man had his own quirks and twists" Harriet Beecher Stowe.

RULES:-
Link the person who tagged you (Chrissy, has a private blog, no reason to link!)
List 6 of your quirks
Tag 6 other bloggers by linking them
List the rules on your blog

This is a hard one for me!

1. When I am eating I always leave at least one bite of food on my plate.
2. I've changed this about myself but it is hard . . . . I used to always leave something behind in about every container I would use . . . If I needed marshmellows, I'd use all but a few and put it back in the cupboard. If I needed bbq sauce I'd use all but a little and put it in the fridge. Etc. etc. etc. I guess this gives me an illusion of having plenty.
3. When making a point, I wag my finger at whomever I'm speaking to.
4. I've noticed, that when I get upset I've started wagging my head also, a totally southern Maryland thing.
5. I've added a few interesting inflections in my speech. I've had a couple people ask me if I'm from Minnesota . . . Watch the following you-tube video for an example!
6. I've got this quirky thing going on that I can't do anything in the morning without first checking my blog to see if anyone has updated!

Since I can't figure out how to link anybody to the blog (Chrissy, I'd love a tutorial) I tag, Sylvia, Mom, Trudy, Kiersten, Lora, and McKay!

Minnesota Accent

Looking for something to read?

I've read a few good books lately and wanted to pass them on to you: Warning: for a VERY conservative reader, you will find stuff you don't like in the first two, but I've just given up my idea of finding a perfectly pure book. SORRY!

Into Thin Air is a story of several groups of climbers that set out to climb Mt. Everest. It soon turns into a nightmare of bad weather and bad decisions where a lot of them end up losing their lives. This is non-fiction and is my kind of story (though I wish it had never happened) - - trial and triumph, well . . .triumph for some . . . A VERY worthwhile read! I have no idea why this section is underlined:)

Escape is the story of a lady who escaped from the FLDS group that has been so much in the news recently. It was interesting to read about one of the splinter groups of our religion. They are VERY far away from being anything like our religion. It is unbelievable what this woman has gone through in her life, it makes me thankful to be me and born into the situation I was born into. Birth alone, defines a LOT of stuff for a person.

This book is one I am currently reading. I haven't finished yet, it written for a younger audience, it has been very engaging so far. The hero in this story is striving to be the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest. I'm enjoying a lot so far.

At Stephanie's Request . . . .

By request . . . . I will post some pictures of our projects. These are pretty funky pictures because the rooms are still a mess and I needed to take pictures that didn't show the mess, hopefully it will all pull together before H&R get here!

Above: Chancy's room, while in process of being painted . . . . his room is a complete disaster, and I will not clean it to get a picture and so this gives you an idea of the colors he used. He painted the ceiling blue too, and so the room is kind of dark, he likes it though.

Above is a shot of McKay's ceiling, again because there isn't a clean view to take a shot of. Again, this gives you an idea of the colors used.

Above is one side of the bathroom, the flooring is leftovers from the kitchen, it looks nice, and the colors are the same as the bedroom. Below is the other side of the bathroom and the new sink and counter top! It looks nicer in person . . .
The counter top and new faucet . . . I went shopping for new towels and tooth brush holder also. Fun, Fun.

Bit by the bug

The townhouse that we freshened up got us into the mood of doing a little more on our own home. The impending visit of Halley and Ryan, got me to looking around the room they will be staying in and I announced that I was going to paint that room before they came. Things started snowballing after that. Chancy said that he would like to paint his room also. We went to the store and purchased paint, and he got his room done in record time. I taped, he painted, we make a good team!

BACKGROUND: Lincoln hates anything but white walls. Well, after 24 years of white walls, we didn't even consult him about the color of Chancy's room. So Chancy is now sporting a two-toned blue and brown room (wish I could find the paint color names, I'm sure they are more festive than blue and brown).

Lincoln didn't have a cow when we painted Chancy's room, so McKay and I went shopping the next day. I was proud of my little guy, he didn't go with the threatened black and red and chose a lovely color of pine needle and honeysuckle bloom (I have the paint swatches for these!) for his room. McKay has the master bedroom (don't ask how this happened) and so of course, we needed to redo the bathroom also! The bathroom is getting fresh paint, new floor, new counter top, new caulking in the shower and a new toilet lid (couldn't leave out that detail). What a difference a freshening up makes. We are NOT finished however, the countdown on Halley's arrival is making me nervous. Things are REALLY a mess at the present . . . . I wonder what project will be next?

Modern day miracle

This week I've read two (count em) two accounts of a modern day miracle, the soup that keeps giving . . . one in a book called "Peace Like a River" and in this blog . . . http://singhappy2.blogspot.com/2008/09/soup-that-kept-on-giving.html. Well, yesterday, I had my own miracle, except for the fact that I was praying that my soup would disappear not multiply itself!

I make dinner in the early afternoon, because in the afternoon I teach piano lessons. Dinner is done and ready when I get done teaching . . . .here is what happened . . . I made a SMALL batch of soup hoping that when everyone was done eating they would be complaining that they were still hungry, and thus the end of our perpetual leftover feast. When I opened the SMALL batch of soup, the rice had done its work and my soup had grown by exponential bounds! I had to pull out a bigger pot and add chicken stock to make my soup, well . . . . . soup. SOOOO guess what is for dinner tonight? . . . . yep, pork-rice soup is making another appearance!

Sylvia, can I borrow your dog?

The perpetual leftover

Is your house like this? Sometimes it seems we have leftovers that keep going and going and going just like the Ever Ready Bunny. On Sunday, our dinner debuted as pork roast, on Monday, it kept it's original form as pork roast and we ate it again. On Tuesday, the chicken pasta salad that was on my menu list became pork pasta salad. I thought I could get it past my children, but they were on to me! Today I just finished making what was suppossed to be chicken noodle soup, but what did it morph into? Pork-rice soup, because I had some fried rice from chinese take-out last week in the fridge. I wonder if my kids will recognize the pork and the fried rice in its new form?

Just recently I learned the definition of "soul food." It is food that is made from the heart without a recipe. According to this definition, I've been making soul food for my family since it's beginnings in 1984, we just didn't know it!