I have nothing to say

I had lunch today with some old high school friends. There were 4 of us: Jennifer, Nichole, Danna and me. It's fun to get together with old friends and catch up. I keep up with Nichole because she lives in my ward, but Jennifer lives only a few blocks away but our paths don't cross as often as you would think (this is the same Jennifer who gave us the replacement Christmas stockings). Danna and I have had all kinds of fun catching up through the miracle of Facebook. It is fun to remenisce (that's not spelled right) and see where our lives have taken us.

I got Christmas all put away tonight. Whew - what a chore, and boy am I glad it's done. The big problem, though, is now I can see how dirty my carpet is. The chores just never end . . .

Yes, I am that stupid!

Since I hate everything in my house, Lane took pity on me and bought me a new couch. I have wanted a sectional for downstairs to replace the vile couch that I sincerely think is a health hazard. So we go to the store - the same store furniture store I visit faithfully every week or so just to stroke the microfiber sofas and sigh. So we found a sectional we both loved, not too big, and has an awesome huge ottoman. Who needs to measure? All sectionals come in 3 pices and none of the 3 pieces are very big, so no problem getting it in the house and down the stairs. You know what they say about people who assume . . . You guessed right. They couldn't get it downstairs. Turns out that since this sectional is "small," it only comes in 2 pieces, and the long side it just too dang long. Hmm. What to do, what to do. We could put it in our upstairs family room, except that the upstairs family room was designed by some moron who apparently thought that there would never be furniture in the room. The fireplace is right in the middle of the wall, there are 3 doorways, plus a stairway (which creates an odd little nook, impossible to work with). So NOW we decide to measure. Turns out the sectional will fit in the room, miracle of miracles! All I have to do is dismantle my computer desk and "home office" (I use that term loosely), move all that downstairs with the old upstairs family room couch to make room for the new couch. Normally this is only a minor inconvenience, no big deal. But today was no normal day. The couch was delivered around 2:30 or so, it took about an hour to decide it wasn't fitting downstairs, so now it's 3:30-ish, and I'm expecting a houseful of family at 4:30. Not cool! Thanks to my mother-in-law and Lane's grandma, we got it mostly pulled together before the rest of the family arrived. That left the downstairs a huge computer/home office/couch in the middle of the floor disaster. The kids were playing PS2, sitting on the couch about 18 inches from the TV. But now, 11:00 p.m., I have it mostly cleaned up and tolerable. It was supposed to be a seamless couch transition that in no way impacted the fact I had company coming. Everyone I told the story to tonight said, "why didn't you just measure it while you were at the store?" and I had only one answer: BECAUSE I AM JUST THAT STUPID!

It's Over - Bring on the New Year

I am so ready to put Christmas away. I'm like a little kid - short attention span, ready to move on to the next thing. I love Christmas as much as the next guy, but as soon as it's done, I'm ready to put it all away. I would have taken it down on the 26th if it was up to me. So I guess I'll get it taken down and put away on Tuesday. We have the last of the Christmas parties tomorrow so I have to leave it up for that.

I always love New Years. It is always a new beginning (of course, the new beginning is over and done with by mid-January). Like everyone else, I swear I will lose the weight this year, this year will be different, and so on. Unfortunately, I have no will power and am still looking for a way to lose weight without actually sacrificing anything. I don't want to give up my soda, or eating out, or chocolate . . . I don't want to get up early and exercise . . . And yet I wonder why I am not losing weight!?! I hate to be a defeatist, so maybe this year will be different, maybe I will grow a spine, maybe I will suddenly become a morning person. Who knows? But I do know that I will not be giving up my soda. I have to have one vice. (Yeah right, only one!)

Chrismas

Another Christmas is over so quickly! We had a great Christmas, all the kids seemed to be happy. I think Taylor was really thinking this would be the year that Santa would save her from being "the only person in the WHOLE junior high without a cell phone," but alas, Santa failed her yet again. I kept warning her that there would be no cell phone, but I think she thought I was kidding. She did get a new digital camera, and I'm hoping that softened the blow a little bit. Addie was thrilled to pieces with her new Hannah Montana slippers, because she felt like she was now too big for Dora slippers. We got a fun new game for the Wii. It's called "Outdoor Adventures" and you play it with a pad, kind of like a DDR pad, but it has more arrows. It's a pretty fun game. We also got Lego Batman and Guitar Hero for the PS2, so poor Jack is so overwhelmed he doesn't even know where to begin! Too many games!! We had my parents, Lane's grandma and Jesse and Kassie (my niece and her husband) here for Christmas Eve, and that was fun to have such a large crowd. Lane cooked up a turkey for dinner and we watched the Red Ryder BB Gun movie, opened presents and played Wii. Christmas morning we opened presents and lazed around all day. We got a little more snow, not a lot. Apparently the predicted Christmas Day storm hit Salt Lake hard, and parts of Utah county hard, but somehow skipped right over PG. Doesn't matter - we get stuck at the bottom of the driveway everytime we leave the house. Lane has started a fire for me almost every day, and not once has he burned up anything! My friend Jennifer gave us some extra Christmas stockings, with a warning that they WILL BURN if they come into contact with fire. Luckily, Lane has a good sense of humor about it, and we have all had a good laugh.

Jack and Addie went out to enjoy the snow today since the sun was shining. It keeps trying to snow a little bit, but mostly is nice out, but it is cold. I wonder how long Addie will stay out - hopefully she will come in when she gets cold and not try to do too much.

We had a good party last night with my family. We always do a white elephant game, and this year Lane and I ended up with a tube of lotion called "Udder Butter" and a bottle of "Naval Jelly." Don't really know what that is, but I always want to have something to re-use in next year's game, so that will be perfect. The coasters made their 3rd appearance this year, and my brother Troy got a whole big bag of used, much too small Tshirts, which is perfect for him. It's part of a family joke. My sister Mie who lives in Wisconsin and obviously wasn't at the party sent out a couple of Macadamia Nut boxes to get into the rotation. Another family joke. One year, MANY years ago, Sabrina gave Mie a gift in a Macadamia Nut candy box. You know, the kind from Hawaii. Anyway, Sabrina (I forget the reason) wrote a note to Mie in the top of the box. So after that, and the fact that a Macadamia Nut box will always stand out, it became a contest to see who would end up with the Macadamia nut box. It disappeared once or twice, but eventually found its way back. So who ever ends up with the Macadamia Nut box has to write what they got, from whom and the year in the lid of the box. It is stupid, I know, but one of those silly little things that makes Christmas Christmas. I think Lane's family in Colorado has a similar thing going with some green glassware or something. It's those little silly things that are unique to a family that make holidays so much fun. My sister Sabrina takes her family out for Chinese food on christmas eve thanks to the Red Ryder BB gun movie. I think that's hilarious.

Holy crap! We have a lot of snow! It started snowing about 9 am, and hasn't let up. It started with HUGE snowflakes, then smaller, now they are big again, but not as big. I have no idea how much snow there is, because all I can see is white and I have no landmark for comparison. Lane took me to work and came back for me, thank goodness, because I would hate to be out in it. We saw a rear end wreck and another car slide all the way across the road and yet another car spin around 360 degrees - I thought that one would go through the fence and into the emply canal. Our UPS driver at work got stuck in it. It's crazy. I don't remember when last we had snow like this, and I think it's supposed to last into tomorrow. We saw a bunch of really happy kids on our way home. They were sledding at the church and having a great time! I posted a picture from several hours ago, it's lots worse now, and I don't think the photograph gives a true appreciation of how much snow it is.

The other pictures are from our family Christmas party last night with Lane's extended family. Lots of family members were missing because they live out of state, and they were missed. It was a much smaller group than we have had for some time. We have my family Christmas party tonight. Luckily, 3 of us live close by. Troy lives in Sandy, so I expect he won't make the trip in this weather, but he surprised me on Friday, so we'll see.

Naughty or Naughtier!!

I had a terrible kid day today. I would think they woud be extra good, hoping Santa will be good to them. But they were positively rotten to the core - refusing to do their jobs, or if they did do their jobs, it was a very, very poor attempt. Oh - the screaming and yelling, and I think perhaps my head spun around a few times. It is really exhausting to have the repeat the same arguments every Saturday.

SO, SO cold today. It tried to snow a little, but mostly just blew around and didn't stick. I think more snow is expected tomorrow, so luckily we don't have to travel far for the family party.

Taylor finished the hats she has made to donate to the local Women's Shelter, so we can cross off another value in her Personal Progress. Next she is going to sew a "modest outfit." We are hoping to get that done over the Christmas break.

Happy Anniversary Sam & Jer!

Today was my parents' 50th anniversary. Holy crap - that's a long time! They made a reservation at Los Hermanos and the four children who live here, and their spouses, plus Kassie and Jesse (representing Mie's family) joined them for dinner. It was a lot of fun to have us all together without the distraction of kids. I was especially glad that Troy and Cris made it down from Sandy. We had a snow storm today with high winds, and I was sure that the point of the mountain would be a mess and they would stay home. Even on the news, the weatherman said to just stay home today. The weather outside was frightful!

I helped with Jack's class Christmas party today. When I went into the school at 2:00 the weather was clear, but cold, and when I came out the wind was blowing very hard and there was about an inch of snow. I wasn't sure I was going to make it home. I had to go up a hill, and the car was having a tough time. I finally made it, but couldn't get up the driveway, AGAIN, and so I woke Lane up because I was worried about the car getting stuck out on the road. Taylor came up from the bus stop just then, she was freezing because the wind was blowing up her skirt, and apparently she didn't have the good sense to wear tights or nylons. More snow is expected nearly every day for the next week, inlcuding fresh snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

Let It Snow

We got a ton of snow today! It feels all wonderful and Christmas-y now. I had planned on meeting a friend for lunch, but didn't want to drive to Lehi in the snow so we postponed it. Even though I was at work for only 3 hours, I had to brush off a lot of snow to come home. I made 3 attempts, but couldn't get up the driveway, so I left the van parked out front for Lane to take care of when he got up. I was briefly stuck at the bottom of driveway, and thought I would have to go find a neighbor to help me, but after a few tries I got un-stuck. We got all the neighbor gifts delivered tonight - I should say, I sat in the warm car while Jack delivered the neighbor gifts. I got a few more gifts wrapped, got our family picture (from May) finally put in frame, and started making the grocery shopping list. I'm trying really hard to remember everything in one trip so I don't have to go back. It's pointless, I know, because something(s) will inevitably be forgotten, and I'll have to go back - numerous times - despite my best intentions.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

THE BAD - So sure enough, my microwave is not working. Not all the time, anyway. I couldn't heat water for hot chocolate last night or this morning, but it melted butter just fine when I was cooking dinner, but did not cook my pan of vegetables. I guess that means it's on it's last legs. It was a wedding gift, so I guess it's time. Luckily microwaves don't cost much. I told the kids it was going out, and their response was, "What??? No more popcorn??" So you can see what's important to them.

I got a letter from our medical insurance today saying that I needed to call them and explain the third party responsibility for a claim for Addie on May 19. The only thing that happened on May 19 was her heart surgery, so I can't see where there would be any 3rd party responsibility. So I called them and they said they took care of it, but told me that they had recieved a diagnosis code consistent with things like a car accident or work related injury where someone else is or can be at fault. I have no idea where that came from, but the guy on the phone said he would fix it. I guess it's just a clerical error or something. I'm SO GLAD I worked at Dr. Clark's office for that 9 months or so - I learned a lot about insurance that has come in so handy with having a sick child.

THE GOOD - Today I finished up my mom's gift and Grandma Wilson's gift. That's been mostly done for a while, just the finishing touches needed done, so it's good to have that done and out of the way.

THE UGLY - I left my cell phone home today by accident and it's set to alarm when I need to go pick up Addie from school. Needless to say, I forgot to pick up Addie from school. I felt so bad, I was screaming at drivers as I drove up to get her, thinking I was the worst mother in the world (I was 25 minutes late!) I went into the school to get her, and found her in the office waiting, with 7 OTHER KIDS!! That made me feel better - I wasn't the only forgetful parent!

Sucks to be Me

So since we blew the money we had set aside on a new camcorder, it only makes sense that our freezer went out yesterday. Crap! What timing, huh? We ran out today to get a new one, and luckily it's freezing here so hopefully we won't lose our meat. Apparently, I have purchased a lot of chicken. Stupid chest freezers, everything falls to the bottom so you don't know what you have, so of course you buy more! We had the good sense this time to buy an upright freezer. So everything is in coolers in the garage and I'll go load it all back up before I go to bed. I just can't believe the timing. Luckily, Lane gets an extra check in January so that will take care of it, but still! Now, I think my microwave is going, too! And sometimes my dryer makes a funny noise . . .

We got a bunch of snow today, so it finally feels Christmas-y. I even managed to walk with Calvin down for our morning "coffee" without falling down. Just ask him - I fall A LOT! Sometimes I don't even need snow - I inexplicably fell down in the movie theater when we went to see HSM3, and I think I threw out a hip or something, because I was gimpy for almost 2 weeks - and had a big old bruise on my big old butt!

I finished up through 1991 in Lane's Grandma Funk's journal. She was such an amazing person.

It's a Wonderful Life

Can you believe I have never seen "It's a Wonderful Life" from beginning to end? Every year I see bits and pieces, but never the whole thing. Grandma Wilson brought it for family night. What a great show I have been missing out on! The kids were all bugged because it was in black and white, but after a while, they too were all into it, even Addie. Lane didn't complain too much, but if it had been a musical . . . Grandma and I are trying to convince him that we need to watch "Singing in the Rain" for family night sometime. Recently we made him sit through "Sound of Music" and you wouldn't believe the moaning and groaning every time they sang. I made Jack watch "Hello Dolly" once, and he still refers to that as his worst punishment ever.

Flu, Cameras, and Bare Naked Ladies, Oh My!

Lane finally got his dose of the stomach flu thing, so it has been all the way through the family now and we should be in the clear for a healthy holiday (cross your fingers!). I got my new stockings to replace the 2 that Lane burned up, so we are just about ready for the big day. Last night Lane and I went out and got us a new camcorder. We got the one we have when Taylor was a baby (or maybe I was still pregnant?), so it is pretty old. Our batteries won't hold a charge, and we are having a hard time finding replacement batteries. The store yesterday was really surprised that anyone would have a camera that old! So we got a new one, and now we have to figure out how to work the dang thing. That should use up all the remaining time until Christmas.

The kids and I lazed around all day today, got in 2 episodes of Mythbusters - including a really fun holiday episode. Starting next Sunday is one family party after another, so I guess I better finish up all my loose ends this week!

The Wedding Singer is on TV. I'm not sure why, but I watch it every single time it's on. I guess it's the good old 80s music. Speaking of music, you must hear the Bare Naked Ladies version of Auld Lang Syne. It's the best one I've ever heard.

Taylor's Choir

Tonight was Taylor's choir concert at school. They did a very nice job. After that we went to Taco Amigo for a treat, and apparenty half the choir had the same idea. It was funny to watch kids come in, one after another, all dressed the same. I worked really hard today and got all my 2009 lists made up for the primary president to look over. I've been putting that off since early November, and then I ran out of printer ink. Can you believe Christmas is only 2 weeks away? I thought I had it all under control, until I looked at the calendar today and realized all the loose ends that are still . . . well, loose. I did manage today to get the bills paid and my checkbook caught up. That, next to laundry, is the chore that I hate the very most. As long as I have checks left, I still have money, right?

Mommy, I'm Sick

It started with Addie, then moved on to Jack. Now I don't feel so good, and Lane says he's getting the body aches. Not fun! I guess we might as well get it all over with before Christmas. I had to take Jack to piano at 3:30, but after that I just laid around the rest of the day, and dozed a little bit. Hopefully that long rest will help me along. Our elementary school does a really fun fundraiser, a breakfast with Santa, and that is on Saturday morning. The kids would be very upset if we didn't go, so we need to be better by then. I've been eating an orange every day - all that vitamin C should help, right?

Me Thinks about MEE Thinks

There's a book called "MEE Thinks" by Mary Ellen Edmunds (MEE) that is so fun. If you haven't read it or own it, you should. It would make a great Christmas gift. It's short little chapters that start out "I've been thinking a lot about . . ." and then she goes on to talk about something serious or silly, depending on the topic. It's perfect bathroom reading for those who read in the bathroom. Of course, I don't read in the bathroom, and whoever said I do is a liar!! Okay, so truly that's the only place that I can read because (occasionally) my time in there is un-interrupted. Sorry, back to less disgusing things, I highly recommend the book. I got mine at Seagull Book for Mother's Day, and I've read through it, in pieces, a couple of times. I've read some of Mary Ellen Edmunds other books, and always enjoy her stuff. She has another book, I forget the title, but it's something about not ever having enough of what you don't need. It is really inspirational about getting priorities right.

So today I got up to the part in Grandma Funk's journal where Lane came home from his mission. That was fun to read about and re-live. What an exciting day that was! Now I guess I'll have to go read back in my own journal about that. Lane and I started dating in May of 1989, so that's almost 20 years ago! That's crazy!

Sunrise, Sunset

Funny, funny. I was looking through some old pictures and found this old family picture. It must have been about 1990. The two little girls are married now and the two baby boys on their mothers laps are on missions. Holy crap, where has the time gone? My sister Mie, (white sweater with a red shirt underneath) came up with a good idea a bunch of years ago. Every year at Christmas time she gives us a topic to write on that then goes into our family history books. We've done memories of each set of grandparents, a favorite meal, a favorite vacation, etc. This year we are doing a favorite "fad" from our childhood/youth. One of the suggestions she gave was our old Atari Pong game. That's all it played - just pong. But it was AWESOME in whatever year that must have been, late 70's I'm guessing. It's especially funny compared to the games of today. I got our family an updated pong game for Christmas a year ago, and guess what - I still suck.

No Mythbusters, Extra Fire

The kids looked so nice for church today, I couldn't resist taking their picture. I've not been a very consistent picture taker, so I'm trying to work on that. Jack gave a talk in primary today and Addie was chosen to be Mary when they were singing Christmas songs in primary.

Even though we had no Mythbusters to watch, we laid around and watched "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (not sure how many "mads"). That's such a funny show. Lane made us french toast for dinner, and burned up one of my hot pads in the process. (I don't know how). If that's not bad enough, he burned up 2 of my brand-new Christmas sockings, "hung from the chimney with care," when he lit a fire the other night (again, I don't know how). He's been banned from all things where he could burn up more of my stuff!!

I made super yummy cookies today. I found some peppermint chips at the store and made the recipe on the package. They are so good! They made the house smell wonderful . . . until Lane the pyro filled the air with the smell of burnt oven mit.

Addie at the Ward Christmas Party. She told Santa she wanted a "toy horse." Upon futher investigation, that means a rocking horse, and I've never heard her mention that, EVER!!

Busy Day

We had our ward Christmas party this morning. They did a breakfast instead of the usual dinner, so it was a fun change. After that I headed to the grocery store. Then came home and got busy cleaning this dirty house! Luckily, the kids had done their jobs while I was shopping, so at least part of the house was clean. I had Lane pull out the fridge and stove and cleaned back there. That was truly frightening! It hasn't been done since we moved here and had new floor laid in the kitchen. Ick! Thank goodness it's done now. I got the kitchen scoured and the floor mopped, washed the walls, and scrubbed up some fingernail polish on the carpet (that would be Addie's doing), then moved on to the heaps of laundry. Now at 10:00 p.m. I only have one load to go, and that's just towels. I worked with Taylor on her Personal Progress and got a hat knitted. Amongst that craziness, Lane took me out for dinner - Ribs! Yummy. Then we stopped at the used game store and got a new game and a controller thingy for the Wii. It feels good at the end of the day to have gotten so much done. Since we got impatient and watched our recorded Mythbusters earlier in the week, we don't have any left to watch tomorrow. Kinda bummed about that. We've been watching recorded Mythbusters on Sunday afternoons for so long, it will feel really weird to not.

The Sound of Music

Tonight was the Young Women's Evening of Excellence at our ward. They had a nice program of short talks and musical numbers. Taylor sang a solo, "To Become Like Him" by Jenny Phillips, and she did a fantastic job. I didn't know she was singing, hadn't even heard her practicing her song so it was a nice surprise to hear her sing, and hear it for the first time like everyone else. I don't know where she comes from, since neither Lane nor I can sing at all. I love to hear her sing.


Addie slept this morning until nearly 8, so I had already decided to keep her home from school. She was still not quite right, and grumpy, when she came downstairs, and wanted to be held. After I loved her some, I put her on the couch with a warm blanket and she threw up. After that she seemed to be better, but didn't want to eat anything. When we came back from the church this evening, she had fallen asleep so Lane carried her up to bed and she felt hot. I expect she'll wake up some time during the night so I'll dose her with tylenol then. Poor little thing. I guess she'll be home again tomorrow.

This week has gone by so fast! Christmas will be here before I know it!

See Grandma work, funny funny grandma

Since Taylor and Addie spent the afternoon/ evening at Grandma Sam's, and Lane was sleeping, Jack and I broke the Sunday tradition and watched 2 recorded episodes of Mythbusters. Turns out you can polish poop. Who knew? I've been typing up Lane's Grandma Funk's journals. She is really funny because she gives very little detail, but does write daily. An entry for late summer/early fall (harvest time) reads like this: "Got up, bottled tomatoes, pickles, and froze corn. Had breakfast. . ." Honestly, the things that woman could accomplish in a day! Another entry I just typed was "Worked the early shift at the temple. Had an interesting day." THAT'S IT!! I would love to know why it was interesting! Or she'll say so-and-so had surgery, but never tell you why. I get a real kick out of it, and I'm constantly asking Lane if he knows the rest of the story, but he doesn't know. She was forever baking-and-taking. Again, funny because she'll write "Baked an apple pie and took it over to so-and-so because she has a broken leg." It makes it sound like that's the only logical solution, to take them a pie. Anyway, I don't mean any of that to sound harsh because I really love typing these journals. I'm learning a lot about Grandma, even if she doesn't write much, and about the rest of the family. She inspires me to be as giving and kind as she was.

Addie came home from Grandma Sam's and told me she doesn't feel well. I hope this isn't the beginning of the flu season at our house. She doesn't have a fever, but she doesn't look good either.

Lane and Jack playing Lego Indiana Jones on Thanksgiving

Addie in her Indian costume she made at Kindergarten. She was so cute!

The Nutcracker

I'm slowly figuring this thing out, with some help from my SIL Leslie (THANK YOU!!). Turns out I'm dumber than I thought.

I took my girls to see The Nutcracker ballet tonight, put on by a local dance studio. Taylor could take it our leave it, but Addie was all caught up in it, didn't fidgit, didn't bug me . . . just watched it and loved it. It was a really good production, especially considering that it's just a local group. I was impressed.

Lane & Jack stayed home from the ballet and worked on Christmas gifts. Each of the kids is supposed to make his/her gifts to give the family, so Lane and Jack worked on that. We were all cold when we got back from the ballet, so we cooked up some hot chocolate, made fun of men in tights, had a good laugh because Jack didn't know why men in tights is offensive, and got them sent off to bed. The house is quiet now, so I get a chance to get caught up on a few things and stare at my Christmas tree. I am still a child at heart when it comes to Christmas lights, and I could sit and stare at Christmas lights for hours. I think it's called ADD.

Since it appears that I'm the only person left in the world without a blog, I've decided to give into the peer pressure and creat one. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something interesting to say. My lack of interesting-ness is what has kept me from setting up a blog before now, but I do enjoy reading other people's stuff, so here goes . . .