Things I may have heard myself say this week...

• Don't jump up and down in the bathtub, you will break something you need to keep.
• Don't lick the table, especially somewhere in public.
• How come you can remember the song for the Coco Puffs commercial but you can't remember your math facts.
• Don't lick me!
• Don't lick the dog!
• I think she threw the poop over the gate into the kitchen, and some got into my shoe.
• Dude! (yelled at top volume at the four rows of people sitting behind us at the Depeche Mode concert, but aimed primarily at our neighbors that just happened to be sitting behind us.)
• Tough noogies, you get new teachers anyway!
• Primary... YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!
• I live nursery every day!
• No more sugar for you... EVER!!!

Amen!

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning
Commentary.

My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees .
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it, It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu .. If people want a church, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke;it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham 's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina ) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'
In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem ( Dr Spock 's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on
your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they
will think of you for sending it .
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back an d complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein

100 things I love

1. New music
2. My family
3. Sisters
4. Grapes
5. Depeche Mode
6. Laughing so hard I cry
7. moving
8. nail polish
9. lotion
10. piano music
11. red hair
12. apples
13. Mexican food
14. gum
15. purses and shoes that match
16. high heels
17. fall
18. the sun
19. traveling
20. chick flicks
21. long fingernails
22. cameras
23. friends, old and new
24. garden tomatoes
25. children's clothing
26. re-reading books
27. movies
28. facebook
29. new followers
30. new under ware
31. money
32. blue
33. email
34. find it games
35. clean teeth
36. socks
37. driving
38. TV
39. cooking shows
40. sci-fi
41. fantasy novels
42. peanut butter
43. English muffins
44. making lists
45. being healthy
46. peach rings
47. cashews
48. sleep
49. falling asleep reading
50. church
51. mascara
52. lipstick
53. pie
54. cooking
55. my ipod
56. jewelry
57. old photos
58. clean carpets
59. calculators
60. sharpies
61. milk
62. smiles
63. Italian food
64. sunglasses
65. flowers for no reason
66. cream cheese frosting
67. thanksgiving
68. dressing up
69. perfume
70. magazines
71. new recipes
72. lasik
73. Target
74. shopping
75. Tears for Fears
76. pumpkins
77. Kings of Leon
78. a clean house
79. pay day
80. comments
81. riding in a jeep with the top down (the jeeps top, not mine)
82. this song
83. and this one
84. and to many others to list
85. random Fridays
86. ice cream
87. Alton Brown
88. dogs
89. wild flowers
90. camping
91. NYC
92. vacations (as opposed to trips, a vacation that involves bringing children along is just a trip)
93. live theatre
94. modern medicine
95. manicures
96. soft chairs
97. bare feet
98. My parents
99. green eyes
100. My amazing husband!

Wordless wednesday

On Target

I LOVE this store, seriously I could just about live there. It has everything, and it has the added convenience of being located just a 5 minute drive from my house. The people that work there recognize me on site (the ones that have worked there more than 5 minutes anyway), they are always friendly, and their prices aren't too bad. I do however have one large complaint. Every time I go through the check out line and have finished my purchase I feel like they can't get me out of the line quick enough.

I don't know if I expressed that correctly.

Here let me explain...

I went there on Saturday

(twice, and S went once. Note to self: check pantry before running to store for cake making supplies)

I got what I needed, and was asked by someone if there was anything that they could help me find at least once.

I stood in fairly short line that was moving pretty quickly despite the full cart of the woman in front of me.

I was greeted warmly by the person who was ringing me up.

I was not offered a credit card for my purchase of 5 bags of powered sugar, or the cocoa I purchased on the second trip.

(It is always a good trip when NOT offered a credit card)

I paid for my purchase and before I could be handed my receipt the checker was already greeting a ringing up the next person in line.

I was trying to gather my bags and there was already one sitting there for the person in line behind me.

Is it just me?

Am I the only one that find this to be extremely impolite?

This happens every time too!

I have been tempted to go an complain to the management, but I have a feeling that the management is the one forcing them to do this. In this rushed society we live in more and more stores are doing this, but I have to admit that as much as I love this store, they are definitely the worse!

That is however my only complaint about this place.

Other than that I absolutely love it!

By the way, do not tell me to go here, I am completely boycotting this store because well...

I have my reasons.

A Weekend Away

We had a great time this weekend, we ate a lot, we talked a lot, we laughed a lot. We got to hang out with these people...

Brian, and Marley, Kirk and Alissa, Dave and Chris, Travis and Ashlee, S and Me.

We also saw something that we haven't see for quite a while... and I have NEVER seen in August...

Yep, thats right,

SNOW!

Big, heavy, wet, flakes.

SUCKS huh!

It only did this for a couple of hours on Saturday morning and we were tucked away in a nice warm "cabin". After that it looked like this for the rest of the weekend.

We took advantage of the nice weather to enjoy some of the scenery...

We stayed here the second night...

I wouldn't give it the greatest review but it was nice to get away.

There was some amazing scenery there too...

I have to admit that I have never liked the idea of living in a small town but, after this weekend I may have to change my mind.

That is, until we wanted to go to a movie, and we had exactly two choices.

To top it all off we had a free babysitter for the weekend.

Now if that isn't spoiled I don't know what is!

(school starts in 4 days!!!!! Depeche Mode in 5!!!!!!!!.... Not that I am counting.)

Wordless wednesday

8/15/09

Thank you Mr. Senator

Watch this!

Random Friday with tunes

I hate staying up late, I really do... no really! When we got married my husband made me feel like I was some kind of weirdo because I went to bed before ten o'clock. For some reason I have cultivated the habit of staying up late. Then because I stayed up late I need a nap to get me through the day, then I have to stay up late because I had a nap and I am not tired.

I know vicious circle.

---------

I went to a wedding reception tonight.

Have I ever let any of you know my theory on engagement? Well here it is...

Engagement (as a Mormon) is like someone handing you a plate full of chocolate chip cookies, they are warm and gooey and smell awesome because someone just pulled them out of the oven. You can see the cookies, you can smell the cookies, and occasionally you can pick up a few crumbs and lick them off of your finger, but don't you dare eat the cookies. All your life you have been told not to eat the cookies! Engagement is bad because the cookies are sitting right there in front of you, they are not locked away in the cookie jar. THEY ARE RIGHT THERE!!!!

Anyway that is why my husband says engagement is hell!

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Can I tell you how much I love finally having a doggy door!

Love it!

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I have to give a big shout out to Sher for helping me with my blog! She came over and helped me figure out all the stuff I am not smart enough to do myself!

THANK YOU SHER!!!!!

YOU ROCK!

-------

S and I are going out of town... yes that is right we are leaving... without kids... without kids.... did I mention that the kids are not coming?

WELL THEY ARE NOT!!!!!

We are going on our annual cabin (yeah right is it a cabin if it has a huge kitchen and 7 bedrooms?) weekend with his high school friends. My parents are watching the girls and I am very excited! It is a fun filled weekend of laying around and being lazy with a bunch of other people that are laying around and being lazy too. It is awesome because if I am laying around being lazy with other people that are doing the same thing than no one judges me and there is no guilt!

Awesome huh!

We also binge on everything we can get our hands on... woo hoo Jelly Bellys here I come!

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Anyway every one have a good weekend and I will be back with you all on Monday!

---------

(Hey Terresa I am sorry I am going to miss meeting you on Friday, have fun anyway!)

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Here are the tunes

1. I Caught Myself- Paramore

2. Desperate Guys- The Faint

3. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage- Panic! At the Disco

4. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic- The Police

5. Died in Your Arms- Cutting Crew

6. Our Lips are Sealed- The Go Go's

7. Sitting Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Pocket- Primitive Radio Gods

8. Send Me on My Way- Rusted Root

9. Somebody To Love- Queen

10. Galileo- Indigo Girls

Bonus:

On My Way- Billy Boy on Poison

Help, I'm Alive- Metric

21 Guns- Green Day

Say It- Blue October

Black Heart Inertia- Incubus

Pardon Me- Incubus

Love Letter to Japan- The Bird and the Bee

(found this here and now its here, anyway I fell in love!)

Wordless Wednesday

Aaahhhh Memories #2

Several years ago The Bug came to the realization that boys and girls are different. The great part about that particular memory is that I was there to witness and remember it for posterity. When she was about 6 years old we were spending a Sunday afternoon at Grandmas house. Present among the party were my husbands brother, his wife, and their four boys. Their youngest (We will call him Bubba for now) was having his diaper changed in the other room when The Bug sauntered in and discovered that boys have different equipment than anyone she had ever seen. She had probably only ever seen herself and her sister before this point so she didn't have a huge basis for comparison. She stared open-mouthed for a minute until my SIL noticed and made a comment about it. The Bug asked what IT was, and was told. She then proceeded to go on her merry way as if nothing had happened. Well, my SIL let me know about the exchange so that I could cover the bases later, and then we let it drop. The next day we were getting ready for school and I casually brought the subject back up. This is the conversation that ensued:

Me: So you walked in on Jill when she was changing Bubbah yesterday huh?

Bug: Yeah mom it was weird!

Me: What do you mean... weird?

Bug: He was weird down there (pointing)

Me: (trying to keep a straight face) uummm no honey that isn't weird it is just what boys look like.

Bug:...... really? (Like she thinks I am pulling a fast one on her!)

Me: Yep, all boys look like that.

Bug: ALL BOYS!

Me: Yep. All boys, dad has one too!

Bug: (Eyes the size of dinner plates) REALLY, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT!

This is the point where I lost it! I ask you, is there anyone out there that could have maintained their composure after hearing a statement like that?

(S just happened to be in the shower at the same time and I was very tempted to say, "go right on in". I spared him the humiliation though, I am so nice.)

Misleading...

I am afraid that my last post was a little misleading. I am afraid I give people the impression that I hate my life and hate being a parent. Some have even got the impression that parenthood has made me miserable. I would like to dispel this myth. I love my life! I love my children! I love my husband! I am one of the luckiest people I know, because I have everything I always wanted and prayed for. I think people hear each other complain occasionally and assume that whatever they are complaining about is what they hate about life. Sometimes even the things we love make us crazy. People frequently think that marriage and kids should equal "happily ever after", well it doesn't.

Marriage is work!

If you start out your marriage assuming that the hard part is over you are sadly mistaken. Children have a way of making your marriage even more work and if you don't already have a firm foundation in your marriage then they can certainly rip it apart. I think the fact that I am still married to the amazing man that I fell in love with 16 years ago proves that we do have a firm foundation, not only that but we continue to work on that foundation so that it will not crumble away from lack of care. Neither my husband or I are not perfect, and if there are those out there that have assumed that we think we are, then they have mislead themselves, because we never claimed to be. I have had a difficult life since becoming a mother, but that doesn't mean that I do not enjoy being one.

If you want to know how I really feel about my children read this and this!

It does not make me unhappy!

In fact it is the most amazing thing I have ever done it my life. It has taught me more and brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined. There is a line in my Patriarchal blessing that says "The greatest blessing that women have been given upon this earth is to be able to create children. You will never realize what love really is, until you have a child of your own as part of your own body." The most amazing gift I have ever been given is my children.

That doesn't mean that I don't get frustrated, every parent does!

My children have never been easy to take care of.

I have had an infant for 11 years now.

I get exhausted,

stressed,

frustrated,

angry,

and depressed

on a daily basis, but these feelings are fleeting. The feelings that last are the ones of

joy,

satisfaction,

love,

and contentment, but

No one feels content while trying to remove bodily fluids from their carpet!

I would ask this of those that expect me to enjoy every minute of every day...

Do you do the same?

Don't you get angry sometimes?

Don't you want to scream "Why me"?

I think the normal people are the ones that do want that question answered sometimes. If you don't then well.... I guess you are a stronger person than I am, but that doesn't make you better than me it just means you have different weaknesses.

Maybe pride is one if them!

I guess what I am trying to say is, don't judge me from one post. Don't assume you know me because we see each other for a couple of hours every few months. Everyone struggles, and just because I have a celestial child living in my home with me doesn't mean that it is easy to remember that all the time!

Just tell me why...

There are times in my life when my faith really waivers. They are not in the big moments in my life, but in the times that seem to last for days when in fact they are only just moments. Sometimes I just don't understand why it has to be this hard! I have been changing diapers for 11 years now. Anyone who says that having a "celestial child" is always a blessing has obviously never had to change a diaper on a pre-pubescent. There are times when I just can't stand the thought of one more "blow out", or one more nose bleed, caused by the finger buried up to the knuckle inside the nose. When I am kneeling on the floor with the spot cleaner trying in vain to clean the poop out of the carpet, or kneeling over my child trying to keep her from blowing blood all over the place, she doesn't seem very celestial to me. I know it isn't her fault, I know I am not being punished, but sometimes it is hard to remember that. I do frequently feel like I am being punished for something that I did in my past. I do feel like if she has enough control to eat, or walk up the stairs she should have enough control to keep her fingers out of her nose or out of her diaper. There are those out there that have said to me, "if you just tell her no enough she will eventually catch on" well... if you think that is all it takes... YOU TRY IT! I don't think it is fair to tell people that they are special people because they have been given a special needs child. Our Heavenly Father feels the same about all his children he doesn't feel that I am any more special than anyone else, so why did he feel that I am good enough to deal with this kind of stress on a daily basis. Sometimes I just need to know why!

Wordless Wednesday

Aaahhhh Memories #1

I realized the other day that if I don't start writing down the funny stories I have rattling around in my head they will be forgotten or mis-remembered. So I am going to start logging them for posterity... oh and because I think all two of you that read this will find them funny too.

I think I have mentioned that my dear hubby and I used to live in a smallish community in upstate New York. Well while residing in this very picturesque "village" we made some very good friends, including with the youth of the ward that we lived in. S was the Young Men's President, and I was first counselor in Young Women's. For those that aren't familiar with those terms, we worked with the youth in our church, that is ages 12 to 18. One of our greatest supporters and best shoulders to cry on was the woman that I worked the most closely with Kathy. She was everybody's mom. She had a very innocent and sweet demeanor and just did every thing possible to take care of and love everyone she ever met. Easily the sweetest person I ever met! The type of person who was "grandmotherly" before she ever had grandchildren. We had dinner at her home... often! It was like a little bit of home to have Kathy invite you over to Sunday dinner.

Well we were all sitting around her table one Sunday evening, and by all I mean every one we probably knew in this small town, including probably all 6 missionaries that were assigned to the area. Kathy was walking behind each person ladling out pieces of chicken onto each individual plate. She got to S and said "OK, S what do you want... you look like a breast man to me." We paused... and completely out of habit, I looked down at my own 36D's (pre-child baring too). S turned the color of a ripe tomato, and so did Kathy. The flush that went over her face however, was nothing compared to the verbal response that she tried to cover up with.

"I mean....

OH...

UM....

that is not ....

he he!"

I haven't seen anyone so embarrassed in my entire life.

It was beautiful!

S in his diplomatic way said "I'll have a wing please" which got us going even more. The only disappointing part about it was that only about a third of the people there heard what happened and the rest of them couldn't understand why the rest of us were beet red, crying with mirth, and spurting milk through our noses.

Kathy, my NY mommy

Menu Monday

Everyone please check out this post today! It made me cry!

(not that that is difficult lately)

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp Cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp nutmeg

Mix first 4 ingredients until well blended, add remaining and bake at 350° for about 45 minutes.

This is the simplest recipe for zucchini bread, however you do need to watch the time because that isn't exact it is an estimate, I honestly can't remember how long I bake it every time and I forget to write it down.

As part of menu Monday I am also posting my latest attempts at cake...

So attempt #2 was pretty and had some piping work on it but it wasn't the greatest tasting, it was a basic yellow cake with white chocolate pudding filling. It had a chocolate butter cream frosting and basic butter cream frosting for the piping. It was my first try at piping and I obviously need a lot of practice.

Attempt #3 didn't get many points for technical merit but it was kind of pretty. I did make the chocolate curls on top, you can't see the white ones that well but they looked a lot better than the dark ones. The best part about this one was what S said about it.

"I usually am not much of a chocolate cake fan, but I have to say that is the best cake I have ever eaten!"

It was devils food cake that I made with cake flour instead of just all purpose. It had a basic butter cream frosting, I have to admit it was spectacular!