I had to laugh

This morning I attended seminary.  I attended seminary because I'm so sore from walking 4 miles yesterday that I can hardly walk.  Having 2 decent blisters on the back of each of my ankles doesn't help matter much either!  What bugs me about being sore is that I exercise . . . . and walking did me in!  I guess different motions definately effect you in different ways.

But I digress.  We have an awesome seminary teacher.  She is wonderful.  Spiritual.  Has great lessons.  Is humorous in the right places . . . . .etc. etc. etc.  There are a couple of her young students that have a hard time staying focused and/or awake during class.  The teacher did the smart thing and involved one of them by calling her up to the chalkboard to write down the rest of the classes responses to her questions.  SMART!  What was not smart though was forgetting that the "said student" was still at the board while she was giving a very spiritual lesson. 

While she was giving her very insightful lesson, the student was in the process of crafting a most magnificent anime drawing.  I'm not sure if the students were more involved in watching this drawing come to life, or if they were listening to the teacher.  I myself, found it totally funny, in a not-so-funny way.  I kept wondering why the teacher couldn't hear the chalk while it drew, and shaded, in a very irreverent way! 

At the end of the class, the teacher said . . . "where did _______ go?"  I pointed toward the board and it dawned on the teacher what had happened.  The look on the teacher's face was priceless.  All a person could do is laugh!!!!!

Twas the week after Christmas

'Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the house, nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.  The cookies I'd nibble, the eggnog I'd taste, all the holiday parties had gone to my waist.  When I got on the scales, there arose such a number!  yada, yada, yada. . . . . . . (actually the scale was kind to me, whew!)

Okay, Okay OKAY! I know it is the week after New Years, but the poem was so cute I just had to use it.
 
I was dreading the week after Christmas . . . . no piano lessons . . . . no appointments . . . . . nothing on the calendar . . . . . hubby was working . . . . . and no plans for anything.  Actually the week was rather pleasant.  I did a few things I'd been wanting to do, and Lincoln came home early so we could spend most nights away from the house.

We saw:
 

Kinda stupid, if you ask me . . . . but I think that was what they were going for :)

True Grit - - I could not figure out why they needed to remake John Wayne's version of this.  This movie is good, and violent . . . . and after listening to Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) speak, it made me feel as if I needed hearing aids.  McKay thought he was hard to understand also, making me feel much better.

The little girl was quite precocious, as she very well needed to be!  We tried to put the John Wayne version on our netflix list, and there is a long wait for it.  No surprises there!

Lincoln and I left McKay with his cousins and went out to dinner and a movie.  The scenery in this movie was awesome, and if it weren't for some twists and turns at the end of the movie, I'd have called this one a dud, but the ending made me want to watch it again.  I always enjoy Johnny Depp, though I could take or leave Angelina.

Last, but certainly not least, Lincoln and I went to the Kennedy Center to watch a Broadway quality rendition of South Pacific.  This however, is NOT the playbill from the Kennedy Center.  

The playbill from the Kennedy Center had a picture of : 

I was soooooooo disappointed that I didn't even scan it in to post!  I love Playbills for souvenirs . . . . . . I guess it has been 50 years since he was elected president and so he took over the cover . . . . . . 

Below are the actual actors in the play we saw.  I had a hard time getting over the Frenchman's bald head.  I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.  He had an awesome voice however, as did all of the actors and actresses.  TOTALLY FANTASTIC!  The play started at 1:30, and we didn't drive away from the Kennedy Center until 4:30.  The time flew past and I tried to savor every second of it.  We purchased these tickets over 2 months ago, and I've been anticipating it for so long.  It is quite enjoyable to watch a play that you know like the back of your hand and could sing every word to every song.   

 

A Grrrrrreaaaaat week!

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot, Happy New Year to all!!!  .....and to all a good diet.

Milk Math

I've made the switch . . . . . the switch from "non organic" milk to "organic" but not for the reasons you might expect.

First of all, I've never purchased "organic" products mainly because of principle.  The principle being that my dad, and grandpa, and great grandpa, and probably great great grandpa were all farmers.  I've seen the devastation that one little pest or one little weed can have on an entire crop.  I'm convinced if we didn't have pesticides and herbicides we would all starve!  Food would be in short supply, and much, much more expensive.  I'm willing to ingest a little of this stuff in order to eat. P.E.R.I.O.D!!!  I think a starving, bag of bones, environmentalist may even agree with me.  (probably won't happen in the near future though) 

I know you can't read these dates, but the
difference in expiration dates is amazing!!!

So why did I make this hated switch?  It's cheaper for us.  What?  Cheaper????  A few months ago I found out that because there are so few organic milk producers, and they have further to transport their product, they SUPER pasteurize it, meaning that when you buy it, the expiration date on it can be over a month away . . . . . The organic milk I bought a few days ago, doesn't expire until January 28th!!!  For most of you, expiration dates don't really matter a whole lot, but in our family of three, (two of which don't enjoy milk on anything other than cereal) they matter!  We will probably (bar baking, if I do any baking) not even get through the half gallon of milk I bought by January 28th.  So here is the math:

1 gallon of regular milk - approx $3.00+ with at least half of it thrown out at the expiration date making it necessary to buy  another gallon of regular milk at $3.00+ = $6.00 a month.

1/2 gallon of organic milk - approx $3.40+  (lasts over a month in my household)

Result:  ORGANIC MILK IS CHEAPER!!! 

And that, my friends is milk math!

The rest of the story

I had to giggle when someone commented on my "flashback friday" that she was impressed that I remembered my bus driver's name.  Our bus driver in our early years was unforgettable.  Anyone who rode that bus could not and would not forget her name.  I know her name, I know her last name, I know her husbands name.  One reason is that we lived in a very small community.  Carmela (Car) was not only our neighbor, but my mother's friend and Car and her husband were the only token non-Mormon's of the area.  They were catholic and as far as I know they did not practice their religion.  Quite an anomaly in a Mormon community!

Car is a very colorful person.  She was the only person I knew who could cuss and get away with it, she could talk your leg off, and she tormented the children and teenagers that she came in contact with.  I really should feel privileged to have been a target of her consternation. . . . . underneath it all I think she really liked us but just didn't know how to express it underneath all of her crustiness.  (she is really a softy I'm think'n)

Car and her husband kept peacocks.  We loved driving by her house because of the peacocks.  Seeing them with their tails all spread out in their finery was a treat.  We also hated driving by her house . . . . because Car had eAgLe EyEs.  The next time you saw her she'd say something like "you were driving kind of fast the other day weren't you?"  or "didn't you see the stop sign the last time you drove by?" and stuff like that.  It's as if she thought we were going to hit one of those precious peacocks or kill someone in our thriving metropolis of 50 (maybe 50) people! 

Car never waited for you at the bus stop.  If you weren't standing in line ready to get on it, she'd pass you by.  Even if she saw you running frantically to get there.  Even if you just had seconds to go before you made it to the bus stop . . . . . you'd be in her dust.  I saw her dust a few times!!  We watched for her bus like a hawk.  When it passed the corner about a half mile away, we'd yell, "the bus is coming!" and all head to the bus stop . . . . . too funny!

How many years did Car drive bus???  I'd say it might be into the 40's.  I know she drove bus before I rode it, and she was still driving it when my nieces and nephews rode it.  I didn't ride her bus all of my bus riding years . . . . my mom and dad drove bus and another dude "Manly" drove also . . . . . and yes I knew his name . . . . . he was our bishop!!!  (and we called him by his first name, ha!)

Flashback Friday

Do any of you watch "Hoarders"?  I've become addicted to it.  It is on A&E on Monday nights.  I DVR it and watch it while I'm eating my lunch on Tuesday.  Sometimes I wonder why I submit myself to food and "Hoarders" at the same time.  It is NOT a good combination! 

As a result of watching this show, I want to throw away everything I have in my house.  And even though my house is not anywhere I repeat anywhere near these poor people on hoarders, I think I do have hoarding tendencies.  I am emotionally attached to some things that are totally useless to me at this point in my life. 

I got this picture off of Google Images.   It is  representative
of my junk drawers.  When you look in here, don't you see
the MANY uses of all these items???

Yesterday, I decided to clean out three drawers (junk drawers) that don't see the light of day very often.  I can report that I got rid of a garbage bag full of stuff, but the drawers are still relatively full.  I need someone next to me asking why I keep some of this stuff!  Anyhow, while dejunking I came across a journaling jar.  You know the kind with little bits of paper in it that contain questions that should jog your memory and help you write a journal?  I've kept this jar around for a long time.  Every once in a while I open it and read a couple of the bits of paper, close it up, stash it in one of my junk drawers and then it doesn't see the light of day for another few years. 

Could I get rid of that baby?  Nooooooo, and why? you might ask.  It made it to the lips of the garbage bag, but I couldn't quite put it in because I thought of a use for it!  Oh my gosh!  How many times have I seen the people on "Hoarders" finding just-such-similar excuses!  It made me think of my hoarding tendencies again, for just one split second.  What was my excuse? my reason for keeping it?  Flashback Fridays!  I can now bore you all (my faithful readers which I'm sure are few) with tidbits from my past!

Of which I was going to do today.  But my mind wandered and has already spewed forth enough to call it quits for today  . . . . . and so until next Friday, I bid you adieu.

P.S.  I once read a dejunking book that said more than one junk drawer in a house was a sign of a sick mind . . . . . . that thought has haunted me ever since I read it . . . . . . how many junk drawers do you have, if any?

I rest my case

O Dear!  McKay is the subject of another post!  Hopefully he doesn't read this and forbid me to do anymore!

Last night I received a new toy via Fed-Ex.  This new toy needed to be connected to our Internet service which is encrypted with a 128 bit WEP key.  This isn't any ole simple password.  It is 25 characters long.   Example:  99D767BAC38EA23B0C0176D15 (this is NOT our WEP key!!!).  I asked McKay to run and get the WEP key for me.  I had printed it out for him so he could use it with his x-box and PSP.  He then informed me that he had it memorized!!!  MEMORIZED?????  What the heck?  He then proceeded to tell me the WEP key TWICE so that I could connect to the Internet.  Wallah, it worked!  Amazing.

Why is my post titled "I rest my case?"  WELL, this boy will not have any excuse when asked to study for an exam, or memorize a piano piece.  I know he has skills!

A couple of years ago, something similar happened.  He was whining, (always whining) about having to play the piano, and that "it is too hard."  Well, one day he pulled me into the family room and very proudly showed me how well he could play Guitar Hero.  This kid was playing on EXPERT with very close to 100% accuracy!!!   If you haven't seen this done, believe me . . . . . it is cRaZy hard!!!  I told him that his excuses for not being able to learn the notes on the piano were gone . . . .  kaput.  I'm not listening anymore.  If he can play Guitar Hero on expert with no errors he can learn to the play the piano!

I rest my case!

PS. . . . . do any of you use the word "kaput?"  I always do, and googled it to see if I was using it properly. 

kaput:  adjective (Informal) broken, finished, dead, destroyed, ruined, wrecked, undone, extinct, defunct, dead in the water (informal) His film career was kaput.

It's a German word.  I have German words pop into my mind quite often.  My mom's heritage is German, and I always wonder if these words have been passed through the generations kind-a without knowing it . . . . . . or do you all use them????  Wunderbar is another I use.  hmmmmmmm!

TAGGED! (sort-a)

I find myself leaving comments on other people's blogs that are "blog" worthy.  In other words, they are an epic!  The other day I found myself writing an extra long comment and thought to myself . . . . why don't you just write a post about this?  If I had a record of all my comments it would probably be a blog all on its own.

A fellow blogger asked What system do you use when meal-planning and grocery shopping?

My system isn't as involved as hers is but, a system it is!  I have a master list of meals that my family likes.  It has 52 items on it, but even with this list I still can't stick to it.  My family is constantly trying out the new recipes that I find.  Like my mother, I love to read recipe books.  sooooooo. . . . 

~I go through recipe books and pick menu items for a 2 week period, keeping in mind that some days will be "leftover" days.

~I jot down the ingredients for the recipes that I have chosen and check my shelves to see what I have on hand already.  My fellow blogger gets her family involved in this process, but I rarely do this.  If I waited around for my family to be present this would never happen!

~This step may be a little different  . . . . . but I keep a "master" grocery list of items that we use on a regular basis.  This is posted on my refrigerator.  It is in essence a map of the commissary.  As I use up grocery items, I highlight the item needed on my list.  I also highlight the grocery items that I will need as I come up with my menu.  My husband and children know that if they want an item to be included in my shopping that they can highlight or add an item to my grocery list.

~I don't plan for any specific breakfast items, lunch items or side dishes.  I just keep the basic favorites on hand and we go with them!

~When I finally get to the grocery store, my list helps me immensely.  I just go down the aisles and everything is listed as it occurs down the lane . . .  (if they'd stop changing things around!)

~I do try to make the meals first that have the most perishable foods in the recipes and have to make small runs to the store for the meals further down on the list. 

And Wallah!  There you have it!  I will ask the same question that was asked of me . . . . . What system do you use when meal-planning and grocery shopping?

Do you need a laugh?

I saw this on my friend's blog, and decided, hey! If this is posted on youtube it must be public domain, right?  :) 

I got a good laugh from it today, and what better way to start a day than with a good laugh?

This is our bishop (right before he became our bishop) and his daughter, the venue is Girl's Camp.  ENJOY!

Okay . . . . . I ran across a "nother" funny one.  ENJOY!

Ramblings

Now that school has started, it is official . . . . . Vacation is O-V-E-R!!!  We hit the ground running.  There was something to do almost everyday of the week and it was a fun week I have to say.  Here are some highlights . . . .

~McKay came home happy from school every day, he likes being back in the public school system.
~McKay got up every morning for seminary - - no complaints.
~Stamp club was fun!  It is always great to get together with the girls and stamp together.  For those of you who don't know . . . . I lead this group and am a stampin up! demonstrator, going on 9 months now.  What this means is I get most of my stampin stuff for free because stamp club is a "sure thing" sale . . . . . .
~Had a jewelry party.  It was a huge success and a total blast!  I'll be wearing a lot of new bling that I earned in hostess gifts in a few days.  (this'll be something new, as I have not worn any jewelry, e-v-e-r!!)
~Labor day weekend!  Woo Hoo!
~We hosted a "block" party in our neighborhood.  We had great food, and played games in the street until after dark with flashlights.  We have some great neighbors!
~After the official "hottest" summer on record since the 1980's, we are finally getting lower humidity and lower temperatures.  It has been feeling good outside the last couple of days.  (Oh Boy, it has been HOT and sticky!!!)
~We took our last swim in the neighborhood pool.  It closed yesterday for the year:(  Summer flies by so fast!

Catching A Break

I just read a friend's blog entitled "catching a break" and decided to title this post the same.  For all the rotten stuff that we have been going through lately with the  electric company, needing renters, new a/c units, hail storms and etc., something happened yesterday that restored my faith in human kind again.

Our townhouse sustained hail damage along with our main home.  The insurance claim on the townhouse only paid for the front portion of it to be re-sided.  When the contractors finished with the siding, Lincoln went over to inspect it.  He came home and told me that they had done the back side of it also.  The front side is two stories and the back side is THREE stories.  We immediately panicked thinking that the contractor would bill us for the back side and we talked about what we would do.  We hadn't ordered siding for the back, didn't ask them to do the back and didn't want to pay for the back. 

The contractor called to tell me that the work had been done, and I raised my concerns about the townhouse having had more work done on it than the insurance claim paid for.  He told me that he had decided to do the backside as a courtesy to us.  A WHAT?  I couldn't believe it!  He said that since we had two homes contracted with him and that 2 other homes in the townhouse neighborhood had hired them because of us that he wanted to do it for us.  WOW!  I definitely will give this company good word of mouth referrals!!!  This hail storm has truly been a blessing for us.

AMERICAN EAGLE REMODELING everyone!!!  How great is that????

More on Introversion

So my last post on introversion has gotten me a LOT of comments.  People that I didn't even know read my blog and have spoken about this to me.  Maybe there are more than 25% of us out there!  WOW!

More about what I've gleaned from the book (The Introvert Advantage, How to thrive in an Extrovert World):

Anyhow, being introverted does not mean that we are shy or backward.  What it does mean is that we need "alone time" to recharge our energy.  We stand back and take a look at things before we just barrel on through like a bull in a china shop.  We reflect a lot, and think a lot, and get our ducks in a row before speaking or acting.  We are easily over-stimulated compared to our counterparts, the extroverts, who need a lot to stimulate them . . . . . like river-rafting, or roller-coasters, or jumping out of perfectly good airplanes! 

I thought these lists were interesting:

Famous introverts:  Abraham Lincoln, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison, Grace Kelly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laura Bush, Bill Gates, Candice Bergen, Clint Eastwood, Charles Schulz, Steve Martin(really?), Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer.  Interesting egh?

Famous Characters that are introverts:  Owl, Piglet and Christopher Robin (in Winnie the Pooh), Radar (MASH), Jean-Luc Picard and Counselor Troi (Star Trek), Ally McBeal, Atticus Finsh (To Kill of Mockingbird).

Compare Katie Curic to Diane Sawyer . . . . . . a perfect example of opposites!

So being introverted doesn't mean you are a hermit, or a recluse, or don't like being around people, or can't be successful.  It just means you need to withdraw and refill or re-charge yourself every now and again.

So ask yourself. . . . . . are you and innie or an outie????  :)

My Birthday was . . . . .

yesterday and I spent it alone.  45 years young!  Now before you think that I was sad to be alone, think again!  I talked to my two sons, and one brother.  My mom and dad tried to get a hold of me, but their telephone number looked like a sales call, and so I didn't pick up, and didn't listen to their message until too late!  (dratted Texas number!!)  and almost 50 people wished me happy birthday on facebook (kinda fun!). 

I spent ALL day cleaning and decluttering my house.  It feels so good today, but I filled our 96-gallon trash can and pick-up isn't until Thursday.  More cleaning will have to wait until then.  I topped my day off by ordering take-out from Olive Garden, and broke with my tradition of having watermelon for my birthday cake and ordered myself a decadent slice of chocolate cake. 

On another note . . . . someone at church handed me a book called "The Introvert Advantage."  I am an introvert.  Throughout the ages introverts have been given a bad wrap . . . . . we are felt sorry for . . . . .we are encouraged to change . . . . . . but we introverts are totally happy in our world!  Can you be happy for us????  In this book, if I only read the preface, the book will all be worth it.  I had several AHA! moments.  I felt validated. 

Here are some points about us introverts that you might find interesting (and probably already know!)

~  there are only 25% of us in the population
~ we love being alone, and this is how we "charge our batteries"  (don't feel sorry for us when we are alone)
~ sometimes when we want to speak, our minds go totally blank
~ when we speak it may be haltingly and can't remember certain words (doesn't mean we are stupid!)
~ often write things down in order to remember the words we want to say
~ despite this, we are surprised when people tell us we are well spoken and concise
~ we need a long time to process things that happen to us
~ we have the courage to say unpopular things
~ when something major happens we need a long time to recover (took me a couple of years to recover from Halley's wedding and two weeks to recover from our cruise this year!)
~ we are often overlooked even though there is a quiet power within us
~ socializing is confusing, we are social chickens and would rather be at home snuggled in bed (with a good book! (I added the book part!)
~ we eat slowly, walk slowly and don't mind gaps in conversation and even being slower paced can accomplish everything we want to accomplish
~ we can often be found doing "lonely" things like blogging, e-mailing, scrapbooking and reading
~ a introvert who is married to an extrovert makes a great combination . . . . tis true! (but there aren't enough of us to go around, sorry!)

I can't wait to read more of this book!

What's this?

My blogger "editor" doesn't seem to be up and running this morning. It won't let me add pictures . . . . . so my post on Puerta Villarta will have to wait.

Lincoln and I did do something kind of fun last night. We had a formal military dinner night out. They don't come around very often and are nice to go to once in a while. It was kind of anti-climatic, after having spent last week dressing up and having great dinners, but-it-was-what-it-was!!

The food was good, it was fun meeting people, the entertainment was totally awesome, (the strolling strings) and it is always great to have a night out with Lincoln.

McKay went to the temple for baptism's last night.

Book club was suppossed to be last night, but I think they had it while I was away at cruise . . . . Is there a new book, any of you book clubbers????? :)

Have a great day!

Here We Go!

The first day of swim practice was yesterday, and I missed it!  I had card club (of which I am the demonstrator, so I couldn't miss that!)  Card club was a blast, and McKay had a great time at swim practice with his dad.  McKay wants to skip out on mutual tonight to go again.  I'm thinking I may let him . . . . time is short until the first swim meet!

On another note . . . . I think I have some kind of mental disorder.  Seriously!  I have become chronically early by at least a half hour (and sometimes an hour) to everything I go to.  Last night I showed up 40 minutes early to card club.  I showed up an hour early to book club and a half hour early for two other separate relief society events.  Am I just anticipating these events???  or am I losing it???  I need to start keeping a serious calendar and watch it like a hawk.  Goodness Gracious!!!!  I guess it is better being early than late!

A not so funny . . . funny

Did you ever think there would be a time when being a non-citizen was better than being one? These are CrAzY times . . . . . .

Wonderful Weekend

You know how some people have posts that are "Wordless Wednesday" or "Thankful Thursday" or "Flashback Friday"?  Well I should have one called "Wonderful Weekend!"  Now that the weather is nice we get the urge to go and DO something!  The weekends are so awesome because most of the time it is the only time we can spend together.  Here is what we did . . . .

1.  Friday - - an important day for me.  I had my 1-year follow-up and final appointment with my surgeon.  Everything is "holding up" okay!!!  (pun intended)!!!  YEAH!!!

2.  Friday night - - Lincoln has been salivating over some lettuce wraps that he had at P.F. Chang's on one of his TDYs.  We decided to travel to Annapolis and to P.F. Changs so the rest of us could give them a try.  There was an hour wait to get into the restaurant and it was fun to sit outdoors watching people and enjoying the fantastic weather.  The lettuce wraps were yummy and so was the rest of the food.  The best part was being with my two men! 

3.  Saturday . . . . Lincoln wanted to go see an art show, but ME . . . . . I wanted to do yard work!  I enjoy the yard but there are some things that Lincoln must do for me.  All morning we fertilized, pulled another 11 bags of yard waste off the yard, (those trees just keep producing "stuff") got the cars washed, mold washed off of the house (an ever present battle) and blew some more "tree stuff" off the roof of the house.  You wouldn't believe all the pollen we've been seeing this last 2 weeks.  Everything was GREEN!  There is a placard on one of the local car washes that says "green is NOT the color of your car!"

4.  In the afternoon, Lincoln was off to another TDY, and I decided that McKay and I were going to visit my mom and dad and my sister Trudy and her family.  So I called to make sure they were home.  Stopped and got a 20 piece chicken bucket, and headed to their house.  LOVE IT!!!  Family is awesome!

5.  We had my nephew, Noah over for a sleep-over.  That kid could be a comedian.  He has a funny way of telling stories!!  So cute!!! 

6.  Church was good . . . . . and then we had a fireside to prepare for the upcoming youth trek, where I passed Noah off to his mother. 

All in all a GREAT weekend . . . . . wonder what the next one has in store???   :)