Peer Pressure

So the MP3 player I got stopped working after about 10 minutes of use. Not cool. So I gave in to all the peer pressure and went and got myself an iPod touch. Can I work it? Uh, no. I finally managed to get my music downloaded and I can listen to it, but somehow I got multiple copies of many songs and I don't know how to get rid of the duplicates. Also not sure how the Wi-Fi works. I guess the only thing to do is to ask all the young-uns (that would be ALL OF THEM) at my office how to work the thing. I'm stumped. But I must say, it is a fun little toy.

Taylor left for girls camp bright and early this morning, so she doesn't know about the new toy. It will be fun to rub it in when she gets back, by which time I hope to know how to work the dang thing.

I justified the purchase to Lane by telling him that I was only thinking of him and his needs. He can play games on it while we are on the plane to our cruise. Yeah - I'm a giver.

And Baby Makes 3

My neice Kassie had her baby today. He's so cute! He's a nice-sized healthy baby, only 3 days early.


Way back when I had my first baby, my sister-in-law Michelle was kind enough to go and get me some dinner since Taylor was born after the hospital cafeteria had closed. She probably doesn't even remember doing it, but it meant a lot to me. I had gone all day long with nothing to eat and that Subway sandwich that she got me tasted so good after such an eventful day. So today I got to repay that favor, albeit to another person. I had told Kassie about Michelle getting me that sandwich that day, and promised her that I would bring her whatever she wanted when her baby came. A burrito from Cafe Rio was what she wanted, and I was happy to deliver it to her - and one for her husband too.


How exciting a new baby is! I thought about them all day at work and couldn't wait until the day was over and I could go see him. He is just perfect - no misshapen head or anything. Kassie even looked pretty good and said that everything had gone pretty well overall. I got to stay and visit with them for about 45 minutes and hold the baby for a lot of that time. He was awake and so sweet and looking all around. If his face brushed against my arm just right, he would turn his face in and open his mouth looking for something to eat. It was so cute and touched my heart, remembering when my babies were that small.


"The best days are the days that babies come," said Melanie Hamilton Wilkes in "Gone with the Wind." Truer words were never spoken.


Congratulations to Kassie, Jesse and little baby Emmett.

Really

Stuff costs too much. I know this because I am one of the cheapest people alive. Gas should cost $2.29 per gallon. I think that's a fair price. Ground beef should cost $1.49 per pound. I'm just sayin'.


I am on this kick again (or should I say still?) because I spent last evening on the quest for a new MP3 player. Despite everyone telling me I really, REALLY, need an Ipod Touch, I thought about it and decided I really, REALLY don't. Mostly because I really, REALLY can't bring myself to pay that much for a stupid music player. I know, an Ipod is much more than just a music player, but I really only NEED a music player. And when I can get what I need for $50-ish, why would I pay $200? I just couldn't do it. I tried - I really did. Lane even told me to go ahead and get one. Certainly Taylor was pushing me to get one. But my ultra cheapskate side won out and I just got a regular old player. I'm so boring.


I'm still looking for the Free Computer Store and the Free Couch Store, so maybe the Free Ipod Store is somewhere closeby those. If you locate any of the above stores, let me know. I've been looking for them for a really long time.


My college grammar/usage professor would be so appalled. He was of the opinion that the word "really" should be banned from the English lexicon. The above entry, I'm pretty sure, is the reason why.

Just do it!

Still no pictures. I have the best of intentions every day. But one thing leads to another . . . and, well . . . let's just say that I started the laundry on Saturday and finished it today. No, there wasn't any more laundry than ususal, just more interruptions. And that's the way things seem to go these days. My best laid plans get off track, and suddenly it's bedtime and there are no pictures and no blog.




Instead I have been spending time at the pool with my kids, happily reading my George Washington biography while they have their fun in the pool. It is very relaxing to sit there and read. If I tried to do that at home, I would be distracted by household chores (like laundry!) . . . or the phone . . . or the TV . . . or any number of shiny things that frequently divert my attention. So I have opted for a messy house while I enjoy my book and some much desired fresh air, a desire that comes from being cooped up all day in a window-less office.




On the positive side, I cruise in about 140 days or so. I don't care if that sounds like a long time, it's something for me to look forward to. I am still searching for airfare which I am hoping will drop some. It has been the same price for quite a while now, so maybe I should just jump on it lest it rise instead of fall. Sure as I book it, it will go on sale for $99 each way. That's my luck, and what happened last year when we went to New Orleans. I paid about $100 per person more than my brothers did when they booked their flights. I need to simply accept that I just never have good luck with such things. The cruise is set for Nov 15 - 20, for anyone who wants to join us. The more the merrier. We are going to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Grand Caymen is absolutely beautiful. Cozumel is only OK, but it's the gateway to Tulum which is a must see. Our tour to Tulum is already arranged (we've been once before but are going again). So see - it's all set and you know you want to come with. JUST DO IT!!!

and THIS is the reason I don't blog

Pictures. Or the lack thereof. I forget to take pictures. After 365 days of taking pictures, now I forget. I have the memory and attention span of a 2 year old.



Anyway, it isn't so much laziness or a lack of time that keeps me from blogging. It's the fact that I forget to take a picture and somehow figure that I can't POSSIBLY post a blog without a picture of some sort. So forgive me for not having a picture. I'm forgetful. Like everything else, I chose to blame it on being 40. You know, you can't really get away with that excuse until you are at least 40, so I'm going to take advantage.


We got a new fridge last week. The old one, which it turns out was 14 years old, had started to leak from the freezer, freeze things in the fridge, and the door no longer shut all the way. Yeah, we probably could have gimped it along, but I wanted to get a new one. Finding the fridge that I wanted and which would fit in our small "fridge" space was no easy feat, and we have been looking for said fridge for about 2 months. I finally found what I wanted at Best Buy, and then at Home Depot. But Home Depot said they would deliver it for free and haul away the old one. So we got our pretty new fridge. It's one of those french door types with the freezer on the bottom. White. I know, stainless is all the rage, but I really like white. And my dishwasher is white, so I'm on my way to having a matching kitchen! Whoo hoo!




I'm still liking my new job. My days are going by faster and I had a very productive meeting with my supervisor today where he addressed many of my questions about where I should focus my time. I like my supervisor - he is very kind and encouraging, while at the same time encouraging me to increase my productivity as I learn more about what I'm doing. I attended my mandatory Harrassment Training, which sounds more like they teach us how to harrass than how to not. I even got a diploma recognizing my completion of Harrassment Training. The HR Director joked that we should all run back and proudly hang the diploma in our cubicles. Since my cubicle is still devoid of any adornment other than one family picture, I did hang it up just to have something on the wall. It is really quite naked and boring in my cubicle. I keep intending to bring stuff, but, since I'm Forty and Forgettful (see, I told you I would use it!) it still hasn't happened. I do finally have a name plate, though. So anyone walking by will know that it is "Lari Funk - Contents Pricing Specialist" who has the most boring cubicle in the history of cubicles. And they will also know that "Lari Funk - Contents Pricing Specialist" is the only employee nerdy enough to hang up her Harrassment Training diploma.



We also had a Pricing Division barbeque last week which would have been great if it hadn't been so darn cold outside. All the new people, including myself, were re-introduced to the Pricing Division, so after this amount of time (4 weeks) and numerous introductions, I am starting to learn who people are and whether they are Contents or Structure people (I am Contents). It helps when we bump into each other in the break room and are forced to make small talk while we cook our lunches.




I am still enjoying my books. The one I'm reading at work is more of a historical novel, reads like a novel but the characters in it are the people from the Colonial/Revolutionary time: John Adams, Ben Franklin, etc. It is very interesting to read and really mind-blowing to consider how much research the author must have done. My other book, the biography on George Washinton, is also enjoyable. I took the kids to the pool yesterday and read for almost 2 hours while they swam. It was very relaxing, and I'm anxious to do it again. I'm almost half way through with the biography, but only on about pg. 90 of the novel because I only get in about 15 minutes at a time.

And that's why I don't read

I helped with a baby shower for my neice Kassie on Saturday, which of course, meant I had to break out the Cupcake Book and try something new. I don't remember what this one was called, so I called it Triple Chocolate Mint: 1) chocolate cake, 2) mini chocolate chips on top, 3) white chocolate in the frosting. There is mint in both the cake and the frosting - YUM! I made some more of the Key Lime Pie cupcakes, too.




Since I am still kinda (well . . . really) intimidated by my co-workers, I generally eat lunch alone at my desk. Lunch usually consists of something Stouffers or dinner leftovers, accompanied by carrot sticks and butterscotch pudding. (Ask Lane - I'm the kind of person who will eat the same thing OVER and OVER, never branching out, until I get really sick of it, and then I move on to the next thing.) Since 30 minutes is a lot of time to eat, I have taken a book along to read. This is quite momentous. I don't think I have read more than a few entire books since college, or at least since children.




I used to love to read. I read all the time. I used to read Gone with the Wind at least once a year. Then I went to BYU. It ruined me for reading. Between my history major, which required SO MUCH reading, and my English minor, which truly ruined me for "literature," I just haven't read much. I read the Ensign, and the Book of Mormon (just don't ask how long it took me to finish it). But to just sit and read a book? Yeah, I don't do that.




Until I started reading this book during my lunch break. Generally I don't read fiction when I do read, tending toward non-fiction, and mostly biographies. This book I'm reading was loaned to me by Lane's dad, who told me I would "love it." I'm not far into it (30 minutes a day isn't very long) but I am really enjoying it. It is a historical novel, about the time leading up to the Revolutionary War. I really look forward every day to my few minutes reading. But as I read along, one passage or another will get me curious and then when I get home I have to go get out my old history text books to read up on this or that. In fact, it so wet my appetite for information on the Founding Fathers that I took the kids to the library tonight and got myself a book (biography, of course!) on George Washington, which I haven't been able to put down since I've been home. I even rode my dusty exercise bike so I could justify just a little more time reading! Perhaps a 17 year break is adequate and my love of reading could possibly return.





So since I've been so enjoying this book I borrowed from Lane's parents, it only makes sense that I, in all my clutzy glory, would ruin the book. I don't mean ruin the story or ruin the ending. I mean actually ruin the book. Every morning I pack my bag with my book, my lunch, and my water bottle. Monday morning when I got to work, and unpacked my bag, I found that I hadn't capped my water bottle tightly and my bag was fully of water. The book, which was at the bottom of my bag, had been sitting in a puddle for I don't know how long. I was sick. It's bad enough to ruin a book, but to ruin someone else's book is awful.




So I quickly looked the book up on my favorite website of all time, Amazon.com, and found that I can get it without any problem. So to my dear father-in-law: You will be getting a new book. It kinda works out anyway, because I am enjoying the book so much I think I would like to have a copy to keep, even a warped copy. See what happens when I read?

Davy Jones

My friend Jennifer and I have a long-abiding love for the Monkees. I don't remember when we discovered them, but we loved them and the TV show used to come on channel 13 during our lunch hour in high school. As if we needed one more excuse to cut class in high school, we would come home to eat lunch and watch the Monkees. And, of course, as any true Monkees fan, we had our crushes on Davy Jones.




So Jennifer sent me a Facebook message last week that Davy Jones would be performing at the Scera Shell and did I want to go? Heck yeah! She asked how expensive of a ticket I wanted, and I told her to just get whatever. So she sent me back a message a few days later that she had gotten the tickets, but only General Admission was still availble. Are you kidding me? Who else around here even knows who Davy Jones is? I remember listening to their music back in high school, and even then people would ask, Who are the Monkees? Is that the band David Cassidy was in? Ouch.




So we went last night with our GA tickets, and found ourselves - did I mention I am 40? - as some of the youngest in the crowd. That was weird. There were a few younger, but only a few, not counting the grandchildren brought by the old folks. Seriously. It was Geriatric Central. Ok, not quite geriatric, but there was a whole lot of gray hair around.


Senior Citizens aside, I had a great time, sang along to all the songs, which are actually on my MP3 playlist. No really, I still listen to the Monkees all the time. Who wouldn't?

A 64 year old, less heart-throb inducing, Davy Jones. He still put on a good show.

Jennifer and I waiting for the show to begin. Apparenty I had left my lipstick at home. Looking pretty washed out.

Hike (yes, I went on a hike)

Last summer I went on a hike. It nearly killed me. It was so sad. I made that same hike to the G a whole bunch of times my senior year and I don't remember almost dying. So I decided at that time that I need to go on more hikes, but I need to work up to going to the G again. Plus it can't be a family hike because it's too much for Addie. So I declared Monday to be Family Hike Day and we hiked to the waterfall in Battle Creek Canyon. This too is a hike I made many times back in the day, and so I described it to Lane as "more of a mountain stroll than a real hike."



Evidently being 40 causes memory problems. I was winded just walking up to the trail head. I had to stop and reconsider if it was ok for Addie (cuz it's just easier to blame it on her than to admit my own weakness). But we trudged on. This was no stroll. It may have been for 16 year old legs, but for 40 year old legs it was tough - not G mountain tough, but Lari tough. Luckily, having Addie along makes it so I could call for frequent rest breaks without sounding like I was the one who needed it. Eventually, we made it to the waterfall. It really only took 30-40 minutes even with our frequent breaks. It was a good hike and I'm ready to go again next Satruday. No, really. I'm going again on Saturday. Stop laughing.

This is the view back at the valley from the waterfall.

Even after I told Jack not to get wet because the water was super cold, he had to stick his hand in anyway. "Ahhh!" he shouted. "That's COLD!" Really. If only someone had warned him.

Addie was terribly proud of making it up the huge mountain (she thought we hiked to the top of the mountain - meaning Timp) she couldn't help but smile.

I managed to get a smile out of Taylor - somehow. She didn't want to come on the hike. And she was even madder when I told her no Ipods were allowed during Family Fun.

It took no more than 15 minutes - probably more like 10 - to get back down the mountain. We passed a lot of people heading up. It was a good hike. Only someone as pathetic as me would be so happy about such a small accomplishment.