Lockdown

Lockdown - The confinement of students to their classroom for all or most of the day as a temporary security measure.

February 27, 2009

Yes, I had to change the definition a little bit since it referred to "prisoners" and "cells" that didn't quite fit this event. It was like a knife through my heart to hear Taylor call me today and say "Mom, you have to come and pick me up. The school is on lockdown. There has been a shooting." I thought she meant a shooting at the school, but it was a shooting in the area. I couldn't even get into the school parking lot, so this is taken with my phone as I sat on 100 East. The cars were backed up forever long. What a zoo!


At first they had hundreds of parents lined up outside the school to check out their students. We have to show picture ID to check kids out now, so needless to say the whole process was moving nowhere fast. I hadn't thought to bring a jacket and I had Addie with me since Lane wasn't home. After a while, a school official came out and told the parents that if we knew where our kids were (they were all in their last period classrooms) we could go get them. At first that just added to my frustration because I didn't know Taylor's schedule. After a minute or so, I remembered that when she had called me I had asked her "Where are you right now?" and she told me that she was TA'ing. Once I remembered that, I just went into the school and got her and it didn't take too long. I'm so glad that somehow I had remembered to ask her that, and then glad that somehow I remembered that I had asked her. I would have been there forever! Taylor, naturally, reminds me that it wouldn't have mattered because if only she had had a cell phone, I could have called her and asked where she was. Ouch. That will give a well-meaning parent a lot of guilt. I wish I had taken a picture of the school parking lot. There were parents everywhere, and the cars were stuck in there like some sort of a puzzle. I don't know how any of them got out once they were in. They were parked at all sorts of weird angles and sometimes in the middle of the road. It was a huge mess. Let's just hope that never happens again! Mount Mahogany, one of the elementary schools listed in the story, is the school we went to at our old house. I can't imagine if all of the kids had been in lockdown! This is happy valley, for crying out loud!


Below is the article from KSL.com. What a scary thing to have happen in this one-horse town.

PLEASANT GROVE— One man is dead and another man is under arrest after a shooting in Pleasant Grove. Police have released the name of the victim. He is 45-year-old Jeffrey Boyd Ackerman.

Police have shut down 1100 North between 1300 West and 2000 West in Pleasant Grove as they gather evidence and interview witnesses to the shooting. The road is expected to remain closed until about 6 p.m.
Around 12:45 Friday afternoon witnesses heard two men arguing and heard gunshots.
One homeowner looked out his window and saw Ackerman chasing another man through his yard. They ran across the street into a field.
Police say the man being chased turned around and shot Ackerman three to four times in the stomach and chest. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police say the men know each other, but they don't know why the shooting happened.
Lt. Michael Smith of the Pleasant Grove Police Department said, "We know the male, the victim, was in his driveway loading some 4-wheelers to go ride for the weekend. Gunshots were heard outside the house by his father. That's all we know at this time."
Around 2 p.m., police arrested the suspected shooter a couple of blocks away, at 100 North and 100 East in American Fork. He is 25 years old. They have not released his name.
Police say he did try to run from them.
Before officers arrested him, someone at a nearby medical clinic saw the suspect standing near a car. The witness told police the suspect raised his hands in the air and said, "I didn't do it."
Police found a gun, a .45 automatic, on the hood of a car parked at that clinic.
As the shooting and arrest unfolded, three schools in the area were put under lockdown for a couple of hours.
Police asked Pleasant Grove Jr. High, Mt. Mahogany Elementary and Manila Elementary not to transport students with buses. Students were held at the school until parents or their usual rides arrived. Students who usually walk called their parents.
Police could stay on scene for some time. The crime scene is spread out because the two men involved in this were running through the neighborhood.

Butcher

Butcher - to massacre; to do sloppy work.

February 26, 2009

Lo these many years, my rose bushes have been neglected - growing as tall as me or taller. I usually gently prune them in the spring, after they have started to bud and it's too late to do a very thorough pruning. Then when the fall comes around, I just can't get up the energy to get it done. At my friend Danna's prodding, I got out in the warm-ish sunshine today and "pruned" them, of course, using "prune" in the most generous sense. My pruners wouldn't even cut through these poor, neglected bushes. I had to get out Lane's big tree loppers to cut through. Naturally, I was careful about myself and only suffered a one "thorn rip" on the back of my right hand. Everyone cross your fingers and hope my carlessness won't end up killing the roses. If the roses should die, let's all blame Danna.



I found little buds on my apple trees today, the red bush that I don't know what it is is turning more red (not brown) and I think I found some beginnings of crocusses or something shooting up in the front yard. I thought I got all the bulbs dug up, but every year I get a few that had been missed. My thyme is looking wonderful! but my rosemary not so much. I might have to replace that one if it doesn't start to green up soon! I also found several little parsley plants coming back that I thought I had killed. That plant just won't die! I like parsley, but wanted to move it from the spot where I had first planted it, and it just keeps coming back!!


I had parent teacher confereces for Taylor today. Actually, they call them student-led conferences in this case and all of her reports were excellent. Somehow she was marked absent today in her first period class, so we had to go get that taken care of. Her teacher knows she was there, and she said she must have marked Taylor instead of the next person down the roll by accident. I get an email AND a phone call when she is absent. I love that for my kids, but I am really glad email wasn't around when I was skipping school. And the school computer called to report absences around 4:00, before my parents were home from work, so that was easy enough to intercept. Now the computer doesn't call until about 8:00. Sure makes it harder for these kids to skip class these days!


PS - add dijon mustard to the list of things to remind me to buy if you see me at the store.

Synchronize

Synchronize - To occur at the same time; to operate in unison.

February 25, 2009

Another DDR throwdown. I went for a walk while Taylor was at piano again today. Those hills out in Cedar Hills can be killers! I didn't cover as much ground today, but I also didn't get shin splints, so I guess that's the trade off. So we played DDR tonight to give me some extra exercise. We haven't played for a while, so it was fun to play again. Taylor is really good and easily beats the rest of us. Everyone still plays beginner and she plays the next level up, I forget what it's called since I don't play it. I tried once, and I think I'm too old or something because I swear I threw out my hip. I don't try anymore.

I have to go to Taylor's Student Led Conference tomorrow. This is a form of parent-teacher conference. I only ever hear good things about her. Her grades are excellent and would be all straight As, if not for science and history which she doesn't enjoy, therefore doesn't spend a lot of time and effort on. She wants to take Honors English next year, so we'll have to get an application from her English teacher tomorrow, since she needs teacher approval. How crazy that starting next year she is working for HS graduation credits. That just blows my mind.

Pensive

Pensive - Inclined to thought; thoughtful.

February 24, 2009

My serious child. I was trying to make her laugh and get a giggly picture, but somehow this is what I got. Taylor is quite thoughtful, both meaning that she is kind as well as insightful. She has always been this way. Jack is always surrounded by a circus, but Taylor has always been much more calm and deliberate.


I didn't accomplish a whole lot today. I did get my work done and got the primary newsletter and the city newsletter done. I played Wii Fit with the kids, and I guess it's doing some good for me - my Wii Fit age was 35! I don't really know what that means, but considering that on my WF attempt, my age was 49, I think I'm improving! I have been my real age before (once), and most of the time between 42-46, but I have never been younger and so that gave me a little boost of happiness. It's always nice to see progress of some sort. We still have so much fun with that "game."

Taylor is sick now. I think she is doing better tonight. She was home from school today and had to miss her New Beginnings. But she had a fever and that nasty cough that Addie had, and Jack had. So everyone in the family has now had this cold/flu thing except me. So I'm just waiting for my turn. I'm sure it will hit at the least opportune time.

Flavorful & Burn

Flavorful - full of flavor; delectable.

February 22, 2009

Late yesterday it finally dawned on me that I had no picture for the day, so I had to take another dinner picture. On my viewer on my camera it didn't look very good, so I was glad to see when I uploaded it that the colors were so pretty and the olive oil and vinegar made everything so shiny! This is one of my most favorite things to eat. It is healthy (how unlike me!) and super fast. It is THE BEST in the summer and late fall when the garden is over flowing and you can make everything fresh from your very own garden. I chop up a cucumber, tomatoes (grape tomatoes in this instance) and onion. This time I used green onions, but I frequently use very thinly sliced red onion. Then I drizzle the whole thing with extra virgin olive oil, rice wine vinegar, fresh ground pepper and course sea salt. So yummy! I have my friend, Trevor, to thank for this recipe.

Burn - An injury produced by fire, heat or steam.

February 23, 2009

I spent the whole afternoon making dinner for today. Our Monday dinner is like unto anyone else's Sunday dinner, a very big deal. I had planned on making chicken enchiladas. I wasn't very happy with the enchilada sauce I mixed up last time I made enchiladas, so I went with a cream sauce this time. This involved the making of a rue, which always scares me because it always tastes so flour-y. I was told recently to stir the butter and flour constantly for a least one full minute and it would help with that. So I did that, stirred it constantly, and it was looking beautiful. You must understand that sour cream is a staple of mine, and I ALWAYS have it on hand. Except today. I don't remember when I used it up, but I was out. So there I am with a beautiful rue, waiting for sour cream. I have no sour cream. I had to substitute (YIKES!), so I threw in some Cream of Chicken soup and finished the recipe as outlined. It turned out really good - really thick and tasty and I was pleased. I also made up some pico de gallo. Another one of my staples is green chilies - so naturally I was out of those too. Therefore my pico was a little bit bland, but still yummy. I added some extra garlic to try to compensate some in the flavor, but it was still a little bland. We also had green salad, and I planned to make some ranch dressing, but as stated before, NO SOUR CREAM!!! I actually had cream cheese on hand, but no sour cream. How crazy is that?? So I told you that long story just to tell you this one: I burned my hand. Somehow, getting the enchiladas out of the oven I got my hand too close to the 2nd pan when I was removing the first. Stupid! It hurt for quite a long time for such a small burn, and I got some neosporin on it quickly, too. See - it's true. No good deed ever goes unpunished.

So the moral of all this is that if any of you see me at the grocery store this weekend, please, please, PLEASE make sure that sour cream and green chilies are in my basket.

Expectation

Idiosyncrasy - A peculiarity, as of behavior.

February 20, 2009

Happy Birthday, Joe!!

Expectation - Something expected; the hope for good to come.

February 21, 2009

Jack had a good basketball game today. Only one more game to go, then we start into baseball in April, I think. I really enjoyed watching him play baseball last year, but it sure was COLD up through the middle of June. I'm hoping for better this year.

I had a lucky Walmart day yesterday. They were clearing out a bunch of toys and got a lot of stuff for just a couple of bucks each. Christmas is coming, you know!

I didn't accomplish much of what I had intended today. I did get all the laundry done (YAY!!), the grocery shopping done, and the dishes done, but that's pretty much it. We made a trip down to the Stouffers Thrift Store in Springville, and they didn't have any chicken pot pies. I was very disappointed, but they did have green pepper steak, another favorite of mine. That Thrift Store is very handy and one of the great perks for employees. I also tossed some Nestle Treasures in with my stuff. Shhh . . . I don't think Lane knows about that one. I want to keep them to myself!

Delicious

Delicious - Extremely enjoyable and pleasant to the taste.

February 19, 2009

Tonight's dinner - chicken baked in barbeque sauce (homemade!), smothered in BACON, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, and green onions, served with rice and steamed carrots. Yum!


It's been one of those weeks again, so I have hardly cooked at all. I had chicken thawed for today, and a 2 hour break between all the things we had going on so I cooked dinner. I even made my own barbeque sauce, which didn't look or smell that great when I was mixing it up, but as the chicken was baking, it filled the house with the most wonderful smell! I had just a tiny bit of pepper jack cheese left, so I grated it up and added it with the cheddar cheese, and what a difference it made! I am a huge fan of pepper jack cheese, and was really surprised at how much flavor it added for having used so little cheese. I love fresh steamed carrots with butter and then some rice, and it was just a perfect dinner. The sun was shining today, for a change, and it was even kind of warm. I still haven't seen a crocus, though. I dug up all the ones in my yard, so I'll have to enjoy them from other people's yards. I don't do flowers so much. My yard needs to work for me, not the other way around - hence the herbs and such. I have a couple of rose bushes, and I always plant 2 bright red geraniums that satisfy my need for something bright and colorful. If I was to plant any other flowers, I would like to have Lily of the Valley (do they grow here?) or bleeding hearts. We had some bleeding hearts at our old house that were so pretty. But they need shade, and I'm not sure I have a place for them here where the dog won't dig them up. He thinks he is the King of all shady places in the yard. Speaking of the dog, the sun was shining today and the snow in the backyard is mostly gone, so the dog spent the afternoon basking in the sun up on the hill. It was funny to watch him roll around some and do his little doggie routine to scratch and all that. Mostly it was just nice to see him moving around. He's getting pretty old and slow some days. Just like me.

Balance

Balance - A state of equilibrium.

February 18, 2009

We are having so much fun with the wii fit! Wii sports and wii play are fun, but not like the wii fit! So much fun! If you don't have one, I highly recommend it. I got ours from amazon.com and it was cheaper than anywhere else I could find it, including the shipping.

Addie was still home from school today. She still had a slight fever and that chest-y, but not croup-y, cough is still hanging around. I did put her in her own bed tonight, though, with 2, count them, 2 humidifiers going and she is propped up on 3 pillows. She is really missing school so hopefully we can get her back to school soon. I realize that I am over-protective with her, but I just can't help myself.

I managed to scrap 6 more pages of my 365 photos. I have gotten so behind! I know that I will lose my motivation to do it at all if I get too far behind.

Taylor brought home her registration packet for 9th grade today. How weird is that? I had to sign the seminary form at church 2 weeks ago and that seemed so strange that she is old enough for seminary next year. So then to add to that, she brings home her registration packed today that includes the list of requirements for HS graduation. How did my baby get so big?? How did I get so old and gray? I can't do anything about the old, but it's long past time to get some color on this hair. Hmmm. . . . what color? I think I'll go red again. I always wished I had red hair. Curly red hair. And blue eyes. I guess it's true . . . the grass is always greener on the other side.

Skit

Skit - A short play.

February 17, 2009

We had our last Blue & Gold Banquet tonight. Those 3 years went fast! To make it extra special, Jack worked really hard and earned his Webelos Badge and was presented with it at the Banquet. The Webelos did a cute little Yankee Doodle skit (the theme was America) and Jack was the poodle. He is working so hard to earn the activity pins. He has a goal to get all 20, and I hope he can. He really loves scouts and he has always had the best leaders who share his enthusiasm.

I kept Addie home from school today. She has a low fever and a cough, but thankfully not that croup-y cough anymore. Now her nose has started to run and her left eye is draining and was stuck shut this morning. I may keep her home again tomorrow. But it's one more night on the couch for me!

We got a little snow today, nothing much and it didn't stick to the roads much.

Croup

Fever - Abnormally high body temperature.

Feburary 16, 2009

Addie laying around today while she had a fever. Her cheeks and chin are even red.

Croup - A spasmodic laryngitis, especially of children, marked by a loud, harsh cough and difficulty breathing.

February 15, 2009

I've had my first parental bout with croup. I don't know how Taylor and Jack got along never getting croup, nor how Addie has gotten along for this long. Everything was fine when I put her to bed Saturday night. Around 1:00 a.m. Jack came to my room and told me that Addie was crying and her throat hurt. So I went to her room and sure enough, she was crying. Then she coughed. I have never heard my kids cough like that, so I immediately knew it was croup. So I checked her for a fever while my mind is racing trying to remember what you do for croup. Cold night air! So I told her to get some clothes on, we were going outside and she was only wearing a night shirt. So she got up and was putting on her pants and then she said that she couldn't breathe. Okay, that's ALL I needed to hear. Forget the pants! We are going to the ER. Still in pajamas myself, I threw her in the car and we were off to the hospital. For those of you who don't know, Addie's oxygen saturation always runs low because of her heart problems, and although we are used to that fact, the hospital personnel are not. So while I am filling out triage forms, the nurse puts the oxygen monitor on Addie's finger and, although I tried to explain, they are taking us back to the ER immediately and hooking her up to oxygen. Addie was crying and thrashing around because she doesn't want oxygen and she doesn't like it when doctors or nurses wear masks. There was no consoling her or reasoning with her. They finally got her settled down enough (they gave up on the oxygen) and gave her a tube blowing cool mist to open her airways. The doctor checked her out, sure enough, it's croup. It didn't affect her oxygen level though, she stayed at her typical 85% and her heart sounded good and her lungs were clear. They gave her some tylenol and some sort of steriod to open her airways. We were there for about 2 hours and then they sent us home with another dose of the steriod. So we got home around 3:30 and she fell asleep immediately. It took me a while to settle in and go to sleep, and naturally church is at 9, so I skipped church. She got along mostly ok on Sunday. She slept some here and there and her fever stayed down. When she's sick I have her sleep in Lane's recliner, so she can breathe better from being a little more upright, but she doesn't like to be alone so I have to sleep on the couch. Today she said she felt good and so I sent her over to my parents house since there was no school. My mom called me at about 11 and said that Addie didn't feel good and she was feverish again. So I picked her up and brought her home, and she laid around for most of the afternoon. At about 5:00 she perked up and wanted to play. This evening she was her normal cheerful self again, and she's asleep now in Lane's recliner again with the humidifier blowing. And so I guess I'm on the couch again. Thankfully this new couch is much more comfortable than the old one, and if I push the giant ottoman up next to the couch, it's even reasonable wide. I think I'll keep her home from school tomorrow, just for good measure. The doctor told me she could go if she felt up to it, but I think one more day at home will be best. Oh, the fun of a sick child. I thought that by now Addie would be past the croup-age, but he told me that kids still get it up until about age 10, and considering how many times she has been intubated, and that that leaves scaring behind every time, it's amazing she has never had croup before. It is truly a miracle to me that with all the problems she has, how healthy she has been. She has only had one ear infection ever, she hardly ever throws up, and is just generally in good health. If not for the whole heart thing, she would probably be our healthiest kid. It just shows how much we have been blessed.

Flame

Jack's basketball game today. All I had with me was my phone, hence the blurry pictures. He had a really good game today. In the top picture he is the one inbounding the ball, in the bottom picture he is the one with his hands on his hips. I don't know why he's standing like that. He is starting to have more fun playing the game since he's getting more into it and understanding more of the fundamentals of the game.

Flame - to burn with a bright light.

February 14, 2009

As a passionate hater of all things Valentines Day, I wanted to steer clear of anything of that genre. Since it is cold and snowy today, Lane built me a roaring fire. There is just nothing like a good fire on a cold day!

It snowed on and off all day, accumulated some but not too bad. But it was VERY cold!! My parents came over tonight to watch the BYU basketball game, since I have the mtn. channel and they don't. I made some chili and some yummy breadsticks, and then with the fire burning it was all very cozy.

So to check off my list of housecleaning from yesterday: YES, I cleaned out the fridge. I took out all the shelves and washed them off and tossed out all the fuzzy food that had gotten pushed to the back. I washed off all my cupboards with Murphy's Oil Soap. This is no easy feat - I have about 55 cupboard doors. I got most of the laundry done in one day. I hate laundry so it almost always takes me the entire weekend (spilling over into Monday) to get it done. The kitchen floor did get mopped, although I didn't do it. Jack did it and he did an ok job. I didn't get the curtains down for washing, nor the walls and banisters wiped down. I hadn't been planning on my parents coming over so I like to think I WOULD HAVE gotten to it. The kids are playing Wii Fit, and my turn is coming up so I'll go play now that my work is done.

Opposite

Opposite - Being the other of two complementary or mutually exclusive things.

February 13, 2004

This is my photo entry for February. The theme is "Opposites Attract," so I'm going with black and white. Yeah, I know, it's a stretch. Jack didn't get it either.


Thank goodness that this long, crazy week is over. You know, I am the type of person who only wants to do what I want to do. I never want to do the un-fun things. This week was full of un-fun things and I'm just really glad to be done with it. I have been really tired, REALLY tired, all week and generally I'm not a tired-ish person. Sure, I hate getting up in the morning, and that first 30 minutes can be really ugly. But I'm not usually tired all day long like this week. I hope I'm not getting sick. I just don't have time for that kind of nonsense. I think that the weather is to blame. Everything is just so gray and blah. Usually in February we get a nice thaw for a few days when the sun shines and temperatures are spring-like. Of course, that makes going back to typical February weather even more depressing, but we haven't had that thaw yet. It would just be so nice to see the sun, see that first purple crocus trying to push through the ground . . . but so far, nothing.


But speaking of things I don't want to do, I've really got to dig in and do some thorough housecleaning tomorrow. Everything is so messy. I will never be accused of being a neat freak, but it really needs to be done. I keep putting it off, but I think it has reached the point where I just can't put it off any longer. Now watch, next time I blog I will be forced to report that I found some good excuse to not do anything. If I can just get the fridge cleaned out, even if I do nothing else, I will at least have the biggest, nastiest of the jobs done so I guess I'll aim for at least that. I need to take down a bunch of curtains and wash them, so I can probably handle that since I'm doing laundry anyway. I need to scrub grout on the bathroom tile floor - HATE that!! And of course, my personal favorite job to ignore until it passes the point of embarassing - mopping the kitchen!! I am starting to stick to the floor in a few places, so I guess it's time. Boo hoo for me. And, based on the picture above, I evidently need to wash the piano keys.

Green

Green - The color between yellow and blue in the spectrum.

February 12, 2009

I finally had to break into my emergency stash of pictures - leftovers from other days that I didn't use. Which works out kinda good, because it's good to see some green since everything outside is white and shades of gray. It was raining/snowing all day again, the clouds are low so visibility is poor, and it's just dreary as dreary can be. So it is nice to see something in a different color.


We went to the Draper Temple open house. The church really has this open house thing down to an art form! It was so slick and easy! I guess they are using several church buildings up in Draper for the open house. So when I requested tickets on the website, it assigned me to the "Blue" chapel and gave me directions to that chapel. So you go to the chapel at your assigned time and watch a short video on the importance of temples and the history of the Draper area. Then they load you up on a bus, which takes you up to the temple and all the outdoor walkways are covered with those white tents so you hardly even have to step outside in the weather. The temple, of course, was gorgeous and really impressed my kids. Jack's eyes were huge! I was really surprised at how much smaller all the rooms are compared to the Timp Temple. The endowment rooms are much smaller, the chapel also. You can spend as much time in the temple as you want, I suppose, but mostly they keep you moving along. After you leave the temple, you walk through another white tent thing to the church building that is on the temple site and they have the cultural hall all decorated pretty and piano or harp music playing. They served cookies and bottled water, and then you get back on your bus to go back to the church where your car is. It took us about 1 hour from start to finish, and I'm so glad we went. Now my kids are excited about the open house at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. I'm not sure when that will be, but the exterior of that temple looks finished. It's weird that as you drive on Bangerter Highway (probably I-15 too) if you are in the right spot, you can see all 3 temples at once. I guess that means that the work is being done since the demand for temples here is so great. I guess I need to get busy and be better about doing my part.

Pathway

Pathway - A route along which something travels or progresses.
February 11, 2009

I took Taylor to piano this afternoon, and it was far to cold to walk around the neighborhood like I did last week, so I drove down to the local park hoping to find something interesting to photograph. The park is right next to the school, and school was just letting out and I didn't want to look like some sort of freak photographing the children, so I needed to find something in the opposite direction of the schoool. I noticed this set of footprints in the snow and decided that maybe it would look good. It was hard to tell on the little view thing on my camera because it's so small and it was so bright outside, but I think it turned out ok. But since I couldn't tell how it looked, and didn't want to get accused of stalking children, I drove up to a church in Cedar Hills that sits way up on the bench to see if I could get something good there.

This didn't turn out as good as I had hoped, but luckily the storm had cleared out the air, so you can see the temple and on down to Utah Lake. There are above ground utility wires out here, and that's just never pretty to look at.

We are still having a good time on the Wii Fit. Taylor is a total pro on the hula hoop and Jack is just having fun with everything. I used my pedometer today and went about a mile and a half on the jogging thing. I've tried out 2 of the yoga things so far - the easiest 2, mind you.

Tomorrow we are going up to the Draper Temple open house. The kids are excited because we are taking them out of school a little bit early. I hope they have a good experience.

Herbs

Dormant - Asleep; a state of inactivity or rest.

February 10, 2009

We got some more fresh snow today, not too much and it melted off the roads pretty quickly (at least where I was - I heard it was not so good for others!). I had intended to photograph my rosemary today, but it was much browner than I had anticipated, and the creeping thyme still has a little color to it. Besides, to photograph the rosemary I would have had to kneel in the snow, and I wasn't too crazy about that idea. The creeping thyme is so pretty in the summer, I think I could have a whole big area covered with it. I like oregano and majoram because at our old house they had started to creep up the foundation of the house and that looked really neat. My plants here aren't big enough to do that yet. I guess that's the difference between a southern exposure versus a western exposure. Anyway, if you don't have herbs in your garden, you should - even if your garden is nothing but a sunny kitchen window. I love fresh herbs in the summer, and I can almost always use rosemary fresh year round. At the end of the summer I dry a bunch of stuff, (thyme, basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, & majoram) and have it to use all winter long. I haven't bought these items from the store in years! All are perennial expept the basil, and cilantro, but strangely my cilantro keeps coming back. I haven't had good luck with dill since we've moved, but I'll keep trying. Dill is so tempermental. I had to dig up my chives last year to make room for pumpkins and never got them replanted, but I will this spring. They grow like crazy and we just love them on or in almost everything. I tried garlic once at our old house, and that turned out nicely. I haven't tried it again because I haven't remembered. I'll have to give that another go this spring. Here it is February already - it's almost time to start thinking about the garden. Here's to hoping that my dill will grow, I will get a decent apple crop, and the neighbor kids will stay out of my strawberries!

Texture & Build

Build - To erect by uniting materials into a composite whole; to fashion or create; to develop or add to.

February 9, 2009

One of Jack's many creations that I am always finding laying around the house. Honestly, I hope that boy grows up to be an engineer. He just loves this stuff!

Texture - The look, surface, or feel of something.

February 8, 2009

This is the brick wall surrounding our wood burning stove. It is very colorful brick, and sentimental because my dad built it.

We are scheduled to go to the Draper Temple open house on Thursday at 3:00. So in light of that, we had a FHE lesson tonight on temples. Grandma Wilson is back from her trip to Florida so we got to hear about her trip. Turns out it was cold in Orlando! She had a great time and enjoyed spending some time with Greg and Tara and their kids at Disney.

Jack and I have been working hard and have almost all of his requirements done for his Webelos badge. The Blue & Gold banquet is next Tues., and he so wants to get it at the banquet. There are only 3 things left, so I think we can pull it off. We got more snow today. It has been snowing on and off all day, and the wind blew a lot, so it didn't stick too much.

Variety

Variety - The state or character of being varied or various; a number of different kinds; an assortment.

February 7, 2009

Just showing off a few of the things I use at work - a variety of paper colors and textures, not to mention an endless variety of ink colors. It make for a very colorful job (or at least it can be when were aren't stuck in a brown & pink rut). As I mentioned in my 25 things, I just love paper. I'm all over any project that can be done with paper. I'm not so much into complicating it with brads and clips and all that, but something that I can do with paper, my printer, my pastels, and maybe some crayons (especially if it's a linen paper), and I'm in heaven. I know the one thing that's all fanned out looks like the samples at the paint store, but that is actually ink colors. So it's always fun when someone says, "I don't know, what colors of ____ do you have?" Then I throw that thing and them it fun to watch their face. As for our pink and brown rut, I am really looking forward to moving on. We don't seem so much to be moving away from the browns yet, but instead of so much pink, we are seeing aqua with the brown, and also shades of orange with the brown. At least it's a change. I didn't think we would ever get out of the hunter green and burgandy, then it moved on to blues and pinks. It's all very cyclical, and someday maybe even peach and teal will make a comeback.

(not too bad for a phone pic, huh?)

Rainy Days and Bacon

Delightful - Extremely pleasing.

February 6, 2009

This one is for Danna, for introducing me to such a delightful treat, and because "everything should taste like bacon." Strange as it may seem, my friend Danna and I can chat endlessly on the virtues of bacon. I had no idea a bacon seasoning existed. But now that I do know, I imagine it will end up on most everything we eat.




Sorry this picture is so dark. This morning was cold and rainy, so we really bundled Addie up for her walk to school. So far so good with her health this winter. Not even so much as a cold. That's a miracle considering the germ factory that is public school. We are keeping our fingers crossed that any illnesses she gets may be minor. I'm pretty sure she is past the RSV age, but just when we think we are in the clear with her, she throws us a curve ball. Speaking of which, we got her check up scheduled for May up at Primary Childrens. She is scheduled for an echo again, which always seems to be where the weird stuff shows up. So hopefully all will go perfectly and we'll have a few hospital-free years. That would be amazing! And I'm sure our insurance company would love us.

Parent Teacher Conference

Sustenance - maintenance of life or health; that which sustains, as food.

February 4, 2009

My dinner. I love baked potatoes with bacon, butter and green onion. It has to be real butter, though. Margarine has no place on a baked potato, nor on homemade bread. It's heavenly. Steamed carrots and some V8 fusion, and I'm happy! I just LOVE baked potatoes - that's real comfort food! I also love funeral potatoes. It's Jack's favorite food in the whole world. I make funeral potatoes when Lane won't be eating dinner with us (he doesn't care for them) and the 4 of us (mostly Jack) can easily polish off a pan of funeral potatoes. YUMMY!

Hot - of a relatively temperature; burning to the taste or touch.

February 5, 2009

There is a chance I over complicate things (SURPRISE!!) since I've been thinking all week long of something to go with our Thursday theme of hot, and coming up empty. So while eating dinner I mentioned to Taylor that I couldn't think of anything, and she said, "What . . . like hot chocolate?" DUH!!! We are passionate about our hot chocolate around our house - my cupboard is full of different flavors and we drink it all the time. I don't know why I didn't think of it myself.

So yesterday was parent teacher conference at the elementary school. Jack got a great reaport, his academics are perfect. If he could just learn to control his talking! He is doing better, though, and his teacher says that she can tell he is really trying. Addie also got a good report. She is reading slightly better than her level, and she really loves school. When Jack was in kindergarten, he would write in his school journal every day about "pla stashn." It cracked us up that he had such a one track mind. Now we find out that Addie writes every day in her school journal about her "baby sister Hannah." So I explained to the teacher that there is no baby sister, and she laughed but said that kindergarteners frequently write about imaginary friends. After we all had a good laugh, Addie still thought she was pretty funny and kept reminding us about her "pretent baby sister Hannah." I bet kindergarten teachers find out a lot of family secrets in those school journals.

Prize

Prize - An award or something given to the winner of a contest; something exceptional or outstanding.

February 3, 2009

I won 2nd prize in the photo contest at Maceys! I would never have known about the contest nor had the courage to enter without the support and inspiration of my girls - Tammy, Danna and Kym. I would also like to thank all the little people . . . and kodak . . . Seriously, I know it isn't a big deal to anyone but me - I'm kinda proud of myself. The photo I entered was the crayons (Januray 27) for the January theme of "New."


I did 20 minutes of yoga today as well as 1 mile power walk. I am so terrible at yoga! My cousin Jennefer would be so ashamed! I have no sense of balance at all. I fall over a lot. But I guess if I can stick with it maybe there is a little hope for me.

Goal

Goal - an object toward which one strives.

February 2, 2009

Jack is working on his Webelos badge, so he is cooking dinner this week. Today he made spaghetti. He did a good job, but overcooked the noodles a little bit. He just loves scouts! I hope he can keep that level of enthusiasm clear through his Eagle. I know, I know, wishful thinking. He has really good scout leaders right now who keep it fun for the boys so they want to do their requirements. I did manage to get my exercising in today, hence the top picture. I just wish I had more will power to be more consistent about it.

Flame

Flame - to burn with a bright light.

February 1, 2009

Since I have to make my own birthday cake, I didn't get to it until today. So during half time of the Super Bowl, we lit the candles and sang happy birthday to me. Whoopee. I'm stinkin' old! I did watch the Super Bowl. I didn't intend to, but I did and it turned out to be a good game. I got in a good nap today, which meant I missed at least one episode of our Mythbusters Marathon (probably more like 2 episodes), but we didn't get through all of our recorded episodes because of the Super Bowl, nor did we watch Friday's Monk or Psych. Maybe I can find a way to justify doing that for FHE tomorrow night. My kids are out of school tomorrow - AGAIN! It seems like they sure get a lot of days off. More days than I got off when I was a kid. What's up with that?