Lane & Lari Funk Family

Vote Lari for Mean Mom!!

2012-02-07T20:27:00.002-07:00

Jack had to do a Recycling presentation for his FCCLA conference on Monday. He chose to do Plarn, which is yarn made out of plastic grocery bags. He convinced Taylor to loom a hat out of said Plarn, which we stupily forgot to include in the photograph.

He did pretty well at the conference, considering neither one of us fully understood the instructions and judging criteria. He scored in the Silver range, and was given much helpful feedback so he can improve his presentation when he takes it to the state FCCLA conference. I am so impressed that he chose to be a part of this group, I didn't push him . . . or even give him a gentle nudge. He just came home one day early in the school year and announced he wanted to join FCCLA. And as far as I can tell, he's had a good experience and says he will participate again next year. Maybe he is not my son after all. I was too big a baby to ever do anything when I was in school. It's one of my many, many regrets.

It's getting to be time to psych myself up to do the taxes. I have all my paperwork now, I just have to do it. It's not a job that I enjoy - even less so than doing my checkbook, which is saying a lot - but I know I have money coming back so I better get to it soon. Taylor has a W2 this year. And since I'm auditioning for the Mean Mother title, I will make her do it herself. On paper. With a pencil. I am just that cruel. Maybe, if I'm feeling a little bit generous, I'll give her a calculator. My Mean Dad made me do my own taxes when I got my first job at 16. On paper. With a pencil. (Never mind that was the Way-Old days before Turbo Tax). Once I got done being mad about it, it was one of the best things I ever learned how to do. Yes, it was in fact the EZ form, but I was able to keep doing my own taxes - on paper, with a pencil - up until the time we bought our first house in 1996.

That should pretty much give me the title of Mean Mother. That and I took her phone away for not paying her bill. That was pretty mean too. And it's probably pretty mean to keep telling her she'll thank me one day.

I'm Calling it Mexicali Chicken and Rice

2012-01-04T18:07:00.003-07:00

I took a whole week off work during Christmas break. I don't think I cooked a single meal between Dec. 26th and New Years Day. I had really good intentions. I did. I also had a bunch of restaurant gift cards. You do the math.

So I'm back to work and back to cooking dinner. Today was scheduled for those Buffalo Chicken/Bacon/Ranch wraps that we love, but I saw a recipe somewhere (not sure if it was email, Pinterest or where) and it sounded so good so I decided to bump the wraps in favor of something that can both thrill and terrify my family: New Recipe Night.

It is important to know that I refuse to buy things that I won't use up before it expires, or even worse, ever use again period. If I can't think in my mind where to find it at Macey's, I won't buy it. If I have never, ever heard of it, I won't buy it. If it requires a mid-week grocery store run, I won't buy it. This leads to a fair amount of substituting and improvising. Sometimes it works better than others.

So since I don't know what tonight's recipe was supposed to taste like, I have declared my substitutions/improvisions to be perfect. And who's going to argue with me? Exactly.

It is also important to note that this recipe exceeded my 30 minute meal rule (not by much) and required grilling (meaning Lane had to help. I'm not allowed to touch the BBQ). And I'm not sure what to call it since it isn't the same as the recipe, which means I am free to call it whatever the heck I want to. I'll have to think on that for a minute.

So here we go.

I started last night by marinating the chicken. It was supposed to be a store-bought marinade, but as I stated before that would require a mid-week grocery run. I also prefer to make my own stuff, whenever possible. So this is actually a fajita marinade, and I had almost 3 pounds of chicken to do:

1/2 c lime juice

2/3 c water

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c soy sauce

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 t salt

1 t cayenne pepper

1 t ground black pepper

The recipe says to marinade for at least 2 hours. Grill the chicken.

While the chicken is grilling, start the rice.

2 T butter

2 c long grain rice (not instant)

2 T dried onion flakes

1 pkg taco seasoning

4 cups chicken broth

1 8 oz can of tomato sauce

Melt the butter, and sear the rice in the melted butter for a minute or so. Add the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. (Why did I write that? Everyone knows how to make rice on the stovetop, right?)

While the rice is cooking, start the cheese sauce.

2 T butter

2 T flour

1/4 t salt

1 c milk

1 c shredded cheese

Melt the butter. Blend in the flour and salt very, VERY well (stir constantly for at least a minute). Add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in melted cheese.

Next time I make this sauce, I will add some canned green chilis. I think that would add tremendous flavor. And maybe a dash of tabasco as well.

To serve: place rice on the plate, top with grilled chicken. Drizzle cheese sauce on the chicken and top with chopped tomatoes or pico.

ALWAYS use pico if you have a choice. And you do have a choice. Pico is super easy. I didn't have any green onions, so again, you improvise. All food of this genre MUST. HAVE. PICO. It's just a rule.

One more Christmas project. I made this for my neice, and aside from the fact that I clearly can't sew ruffles in a straight line, I totally love it. I'll be making one for myself soon.

Part IV

2011-12-29T17:34:00.001-07:00

Once done with zigzagging both long twisty ruffles, fine the center of each piece and mark it with a pin.

Line up the two pin markings and pin the two pieces together.

Sew the two pieces together so the don't shift around when you wear your new scarf.

I didn't want to use myself for a model, so this is Addie's monkey, his name is Number One (seriously, I didn't make that up) modeling the new scarf. This is so easy, a beginning sewer can do it, and it's a fun way to use up your old tshirts. It took less than an hour, start to finish, including taking the pictures.

Now send me pictures of the scarf you make!

Part III

2011-12-29T17:23:00.002-07:00

So now if you hold up one end of the "C," you have a long, twisty ruffle. You can now take out the pins so you have 6 ruffles.

Take two ruffles and pin them together at the ends. Right and wrong sides don't matter since most tshirts don't have right and wrong sides. It doesn't matter if you pin the C's going the same way or opposite. It's just a long, twisty, very forgiving ruffle so don't sweat the small stuff.

If you don't want to sew this, you can use some fabric glue and glue 3 of the C pieces together. Then layer the 2 long twisty ruffles around your neck and tie however you want. That's the Pinterst version. But if you can sew, by all means, continue:

You will sew 3 ruffles together, so you end up with 2 really long twisty ruffles. I sew them together at a 1/4" seam allowance and then I trim that down by half. My OCD requires that I zigzag the seam, but you may do as your level OCD dictates.

Now for the fun part. Set your machine to a zigzag stitch and zigzag over the edge (meaning the needle runs off the fabric - I let my fabric run through at the pressure foot slit) and stretch the fabric as it feeds through. You don't need to jerk it, or use muscle to stretch it, or anything like that. Just a little resistance on the stretch of the fabric will do just fine.

That little bit of resistance causes the knit fabric to curl up so nicely!

So here are my 2 long twisty ruffles. The one on the right has been zigzagged. The one on the left has not. You can see what a difference the zigzagging makes!

Part II

2011-12-29T17:18:00.002-07:00

Now is a good time to put some pins in (between the large and small circles) to keep the fabric from shifting when you cut it out.

So go ahead and cut out the large circles.

Now it's time to cut out the small circles. These aren't going to remain "donuts," so you can make a cut from the outside edge (large circle) to the inside circle. It doesn't matter where.

When you get to the small circle line, cut around that circle so you have your donut shape, or "C" shape since it now has a cut in it.

Scarf - Sewing optional, but strongly suggested (Part I)

2011-12-29T17:03:00.003-07:00

There is really nothing all that unique or special about me, so I don't generally share my little tricks that I learn because I have an irrational fear that that if everyone knows my secret tricks that I will be even less unique and special. But at the behest of my sister Mie, due to my really bad written instructions, I give you a Pinterest scarf with my own little flair.

So what you need is a tshirt UNPRINTED (mine is one that Jack has outgrown, size youth XL), something round to use for a pattern (I used an embroidery hoop, about 10" in diameter), a fabric marking pen or chalk, scissors, and something to measure with (ruler, tape measure).

So I can get 3 of my embroidery hoops out of the shirt. I have traced around the hoop with my fabric marking pen. Sorry it doesn't show up well, I should have used a white shirt for this. :)

Then you will measure from the circle you just drew 3" inside, making a smaller circle. There is nothing magical about the 3", that's just the width I chose for the scarf. You can make it fatter or thinner, depending on your preference. So now you have the large circle (the one you drew first) and a smaller circle inside of that.

Repeat for all your circles, so you have donut shapes on all. This will now make 6 circles since there are two layers of fabric (the front of the shirt and the back)

Christmas

2011-12-28T19:35:00.002-07:00

I made cupcakes. There is a reason I make cupcakes: you can't really screw them up too much. For our Christmas Eve dinner, I got this brilliant idea that I could make a layer cake. Guess what? I can't.

My beautiful Red Velvet Christmas layer cake collapsed on me (stupid round top!) I had enough time (and surprisingly, enough red food coloring) to make a second Red Velvet cake, although just a boring old rectangle one in my boring old rectangle pan. And so I will stick with cupcakes.

My sister Mie made sock monkeys for my kids. They could not be more perfectly suited to my kids! Taylor's is all green and purple and has a music player and headphones. Jacks is Mario, perfectly fashioned right down to the hat and moustache. Addie's is all girly and sparkly. I think they were the favorite gifts on Christmas.

Taylor also got dishes for her cedar chest, clothes and an iTunes card.

Jack got a Nerf game for the Wii, a remote control helicopter and a suit.

Addie got a new doll stroller, clothes, and other small stuff.

Lane got tired of me complaining that I don't have any decent serving dishes and totally surprised me with some nice ones from Crate & Barrel and some new exercise clothes (which is a good thing since old tshirts around my house are an endangered species!)

Things that have been keeping me busy . . .

2011-12-28T19:25:00.002-07:00

I almost made it through Christmas without having a Full Blown Christmas meltdown, but didn't quite make it (see Red Velvet Cake above). I took on my usual Too Many projects, but managed to get them all done without totally freaking out. So here are a few of the things I made:

This skirt is for Addie. I had plenty of fabric left from my ruffle skirt experiment, so I whipped this up. Other than the fact that it totally needs to be ironed, it turned out really cute, and super floofly which is just what Addie loves. I also made her another skirt from some of her old jeans and another fabric remnant and a belted oversized shirt, from yet another remnant. My pack-rat tendencies finally pay off!!

This I made for my neice Kassie. I saw it on Pinterest and loved it. I actually had to break down and pay for a pattern, but it wasn't much.

Double Chocolate cupcakes with mint buttercream frosting, topped with crushed candy canes. I never got one for myself. I hope they were good.

Another Pinterest find. Excuse the photo, I was taking it myself in my bathroom mirror. I cut up one of my old red tshirts to get this, and it's actually pretty cool. I cut up another old red tshirt for another scarf, but haven't yet photographed it. I like both of them so well, that I have gifted them to some other people, whether they want them or not. Old tshirts are no longer safe at my house - anything that looks old and ratty or too small becomes mine to do with as I choose. If you have too many old tshirts at your house, I will gladly take them off your hands!

Preference

2011-12-28T19:21:00.002-07:00

Taylor finally got to go to a date-dance at the high school. That whole Waiting-til-She-Was-16 thing nearly killed her. Stupid summer birthday. She invited a boy to Girl's Preference and she said they had a really great time.

We found her what I consider to be The Perfect Dress at Nordstrom for a reasonable price. It fit her just right and was long enough in the skirt, high enough in the neckline, and had sleeves. That is a pretty tough combination to find these days.

The cutest thing ever? Oh yes, I think so.

2011-11-30T20:32:00.002-07:00

I saw a skirt similar to this on Pinterest, but again the instructions were lacking clarity for this old addled brain. It took me several sheets of paper, a calculator, and an embroidery hoop to get it all figured out, but it ended up working just like I thought it would, with a minor exception. Evidently I have lost some pounds/inches since the last time I used the pattern that I was using as a guide and thus the skirt is a little baggier than I intended. It's all good, though, since I got the fabric from the dollar bin at Walmart since I was experimenting, so this experiment only cost me $6. And now that I have it figured out, I will try again with accurate measurements and a fabric that I actually like. All in all, I would call the experiment a sucess, since I really like the floofyness of the skirt. I am, after all, a girly girl at heart.

I made a coconut cream pie for Thanksgiving. Sure, I used instant pudding, but it's the first time I've made coconut cream and I did toast the coconut all by myself. Note to self: DO NOT multitask when toasting coconut. It goes from not-even-a-little-bit toasted to WHOA-I-let-that-go-too-long in an instant.

Much to Lane's chagrin, I only did one apple pie instead of the two I had told him I would do. Now I owe him an apple pie since Jack almost single-handedly polished it off.

So, are you ready for THE CUTEST THING EVER???

Here it is:

I guess Hallmark started a Fisher Price series that I was unaware of. This is the 2011 ornament. I played with this when I was a little girl for hours and hours and hours. It was my favorite. So Hallmark has reproduced it in an ornament with all the details exactly perfect. It opens up, the car is in the driveway, all the people are just how they should be, and the doorbell even rings! The cutest thing ever!!!

Continued

2011-11-30T20:24:00.002-07:00

Here are two of my Scarletts. I'm not entirely sure why Lane took the pictures he did.

And of course the Fra-Gee-Lay ornament. Yes, it opens, and yes, there's a Major Award inside.

Tree #2 - Lane's Tree. He likes white trees so we got this one a few years ago. The lights on it are more pastel-y and I really like the way it looks. This is the tree where we put the homemade ornaments, since it is in the family room where we spend most of our time. Hallmark may have my money, but the homemade ornaments have my heart.

And this year we have expanded to Tree #3. I got if for less than $10 on Kohl's clearance last year, and the downstairs family room really needed a tree too. I have to start out small and warm Lane up slowly to the idea of 3 full size trees. 'Cuz it's comin', baby. You know it's coming.

It's pretty much like Porn to me. And to Shauna.

2011-11-08T19:30:00.004-07:00

Here we are at the 2nd Annual Shake Rattle and Run 5k sponsored by my friend Kendall. It's all just for fun, no "good cause," other than having a good time. He had a 5k for anyone who wanted to do it and a 1/2 k for the kids. This worked out perfectly because Addie has wanted to do a 5k with us, which just ain't happenin', and this was not only a short distance but also FREE (I do love me some free outdoor fun!), and also she could wear her Halloween costume. Lane did the 1/2k with her, and I think they may have been the last ones in, but you would never know that from how excited she was to finish.

Lane sat with Addie while Jack and I took off on the 5k. Jack went almost 1/2 way before giving up. I didn't finish because it got too dark for my comfort zone, but I did about 2.8 miles, according to Kendall's best guess. He had my time recorded at 40 minutes, but I don't know what it really was since I visited with Lane and Addie and ate a donut before I went and checked in, so 35-ish minutes maybe? This will go down in my running history as the Bloody Toe race since I sliced my toe open and bloodied up my lovely white running shoes due to poor toenail trimming.

I have finally discovered my own form of Porn - Pinterest. It's all craftiness and food and homemade wonderfulness galore. I've tried out a few things I've found on there, these cupcakes being one of them. Clearly I need to work on my piping skills, but you get the idea nonetheless. I took some to work and no one there seemed to mind that I'm piping-challenged. I really need to suck it up and take a class.

Addie had her birthday on Halloween and she had asked for a new Barbie with a horse, so that's what she got. The grandma's etc. came through with lots of clothes so her diva-ness was satisfied with both toys and clothes.

This is more Pinterest fun. I found a skirt on there that I really liked, but the posting was from a catalog, but then the poster had provided instructions for her own version of the catalog skirt. So I followed her instructions and it was really pretty blah, and not at all flattering on me, even though it looked just like her sample skirt (although not hideous orange). So I stomped around the house in frustration for a little while before I remembered that the pure genius of stretch knit fabrics is . . . wait for it . . . the STRETCH!!! So I zigzagged around the edges again, this time s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it out as I went and, just as I expected, the knit curled right up. This little revelation, albeit delayed, made all the difference in the world and I have to say - I'm lovin' the new skirt. It's incredibly comfortable, as stretch knit tends to be. So yeah, I'm pretty much all that.

Apple-palooza

2011-10-17T20:36:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I tried out a Snickerdoodle cupcake that I found on Pinterest. It was only ok, I didn't love it. I may try it again with a different frosting, this is cream cheese.

So October (or at least, every other October) at our house means apples, and apples, and more apples, and still more apples. Our apple trees are Rome and they seem to be perfect for just about everything. We have a bumper crop again this year, so we'll be busy on Saturdays for the forseeable future. My kids, as you can guess, are thrilled.

On Saturday, I baked 3 apple pies. I love the way the apples look when I'm cinamonning them up for the filling, and the sugar makes the apple juices start to run . . .

Here is my first kettle-ful of apples, which I obviously filled a little too full. Few things in the world smell as good as apples slow cooking on the stove on the fall. It is all terribly homey and cozy.

And then the apples cook down to a golden delightfulness that looks gorgeous in mason jars and makes me feel all domestic and Mama Hen-ish.

And then the apple pie sits on the counter taunting me while I clean up the apple mess (it looked like an apple explosion mess) and make dinner, adding even more to the domestic queen feeling I had going. I made up a huge pot of chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles for dinner and some cheddar garlic biscuits.

I love fall.

I love all the football (college, of course. I can live without the NFL), the crisp air, the autumn leaves. I love getting out my sweatshirts and sweaters and putting the extra blanket back on my bed. I love having soup for dinner, and baked potatoes, and chili with breadsticks, and stew. I love having to wear my super soft little socks on my feet when I lay around on Sunday afternoons. I love filling up all those empty mason jars that have been accumulating over the year. I love making Christmas plans, thinking about what to make (or buy if I can't come up with something good to make) for each person on my list. I love sipping hot chocolate while we watch Psych and Mythbusters on the DVR.

It's a precious time of year, the twinkling of an eye that passes far too quickly, the time between the start of fall and the annual Full Blown Christmas Panic that arrives around Thanksgiving. No matter what the song may say, this is the most wonderful time of the year.

. . . and still more, but I think this is it

2011-09-11T14:48:00.002-06:00

These pictures are from the bike tour Jack and I took at Half Moon Cay:

There's a stingray in the water

More beautiful beach and tourquoise water

Me riding on my bike/death trap. Luckily the ride was mostly along level ground, because I found out that my brakes were . . . well, lacking.

One of the places we stopped for a breather. Lots of mosquitos in this area of the island.

Jack on our ride.

Overall, we had a good time on the ride. It was short, only an hour and 15 minutes start to finish, including selecting a bike and finding a helmet to fit, and too many (in my opinion) breaks. The island was beautiful, the ride was just right challenging-wise, but I wish is had been longer and our tour guide had been more interesting. She had clearly memorized her script and acted like showing us around was a huge annoyance she wanted to get out of the way. In the past we have had really great tour guides, so this was a disappointment. There was also a bike/hike combo tour that I think I would do instead if I could do it over.

. . . from Jack's camera and Lane's phone

2011-09-11T14:41:00.001-06:00

Sorry to subject you to more Funk Family Fun, but apparently not only did Jack have pictures, but so did Lane. So sorry it's out of order, but that's just sort of how I roll.

Some of Jack's Circle C (Camp Carnival) group playing mini golf

Jack playing in the ocean in Miami

Addie playing in the ocean in Miami. She thinks she's a mermaid, maybe?

Taylor, me and Addie in Miami

Taylor in Miami

Nassau

2011-09-11T10:37:00.002-06:00

I did not love Nassau. No, I did not love Nassau. It was so hot and humid, but I expected that. I didn't like the way we were constantly confronted (yes, I do mean confronted) by hair-braiders and taxi drivers. I was incredibly annoyed that the stores didn't open until 10. If I was to go back, I would only do a shore excursion and skip the shopping/tourist area altogether. Yuck.

We are missing Jack in the above picture because he went on a snorkeling tour with Lane's sister Michelle and her husband and daughter. He had a great time and it worked out well since it was his birthday that day. He's 13!

Jack with his birthday cake and hat at dinner that night.

Lane and me and Grandma with our dining room servers, Elizabeth and Tri. They were excellent!

Half Moon Cay

2011-09-11T10:30:00.002-06:00

Half Moon Cay (part of the Bahamas) is by far the most beautiful beach I have even been to. The water was perfect. The temperature of the water was perfect. The beach was fine sand, no rocks anywhere. I am not typically a water person, and I never wanted to leave this beach. I highly, HIGHLY, recommend a cruise stop here. It's even better than 7 Mile Beach at Grand Cayman.

It was Space Alien night at Addie's Camp Carnival.

Jack and I took a bicycle tour of the island before going to the beach, but those pictures are on Jack's camera and so will have to be another post. After all, his camera is ALL THE WAY upstairs.

Grand Turk

2011-09-11T10:25:00.002-06:00

Nope, that's not my attempt to be artistic. That's what happens to my camera lens in humidity. And humid it was!

The water was unbelievably clear. I'm not sure how far down that starfish is, but the water was so clear and tourquoise! Beautiful!

Jack kissing the stingray at Gibbs Cay, Grand Turk.

. . . and then kissing the barb.

Jack also did some snorkeling at Gibbs Cay and had so much fun he went again when we got to Nassau.

Camp Carnival had a pirate themed party and Addie made herself a pirate hat. She had a great time in the Camp Carnival for her age, as did Jack. Taylor . . . not so much.

Formal Night

2011-09-11T10:15:00.002-06:00

I don't know why he looks like that. Maybe it's because he had finally eaten himself into a stupor. Even though he ordered two entrees every night for dinner, he still stopped by the buffet ON HIS WAY to dinner for a pre-dinner meal.

It was Grandma's birthday, so they brought her some cake with a candle in and made her a birthday hat/bow from a dinner napkin. She's 81 years young and still going strong.

Waiting for the show to start in the lounge. Despite being formal night, I changed out of my dress right after dinner for much more comfortable lounging attire, and my jacket since it was always cold in the lounge.

Addie and Lane being silly while we were in the lounge.

This day was a full day at sea, and we had the pleasure of a rocking ship all day long. I don't know if it was from Hurricane Katia or what, but there were pretty big swells coming at the front of the ship all day, all night, and some of the next morning. It was pretty ferocious, and although I didn't get sick, Taylor and my MIL did and the ship quickly sold out of motion sickness medication and bracelets. Everyone walked around like drunk people and even the crew members we spoke to said it was pretty bad. Luckily, the rest of the cruise was fine.

Miami and Boarding Day

2011-09-11T10:03:00.003-06:00

We got off on our trip at the unholy hour of 4 am, when we left our house to drive to the airport for our early, early flight at 6:20. The flight was pretty empty and we actually landed a little early in Dallas. Since I have never once left the Dallas airport on time, I expected this trip to be no different, and in fact we left about 10 minutes late, which is far better than what I'm used to (anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours). So we were close to on time when we arrived at Fort Lauderdale and arranged for 2 mini vans to take us to Miami Beach.

After checking in at our hotel and settling in some, we took the short walk down to Johnny Rockets for dinner. It was an extra hot day in Miami, but the food was good as always and Ocean Drive was hopping.

After dinner we took all the kids out to the beach for the rest of the evening before turning in. My kids had a great time playing around in the water.

We played in the water for a little while the next morning before heading to the Port of Miami. Carnival changes the boarding procedure every time we go, and although it was slightly confusing, the lines moved very quickly and we were on board with minimal aggravation.

Jack and Addie at dinner. Why is Jack drinking hot chocolate? I don't even question him anymore.

Taylor and Don, my FIL, at dinner

Lane dancing with Addie at the Camp Carnival Welcom Aboard family party, where Lane won the coveted "Solid Gold Ship on a Stick" trophy for being the Best Dancing Dad. No really. I'm serious. I have the trophy to prove it. Clearly Addie is having a blast.

They were showing a Journey concert on the big movie screen that evening so we watched it for a little while.

He did it. He really, really did it.

2011-08-30T19:11:00.003-06:00

We ran/walked/ran again the Sunlight Over Africa 5k on Saturday. We had a good time (even Lane, though he refuses to admit it), and I managed to beat my Strawberry Days time by 2 1/2 minutes, which is shocking considering we had to go up Battle Creek from Locust to our church. That's a beast of a hill! But we didn't finish last (nearly last is NOT last) and I had a lot of fun doing it. I ran almost 2 miles straight and felt great. We lost Lane along the way and I was pretty sure he had either gone home or to his Grandma's, whose house is along the course. I'm proud to admit he did neither, though he does admit he considered it.

Jack and I coming down the home stretch

Sorry, I know pictures like this should not be for public viewing, but you take a risk by reading my blog and this time it didn't pay off well for you, did it?

Lane came along not too long after us. The event organizer refused to let him walk across the finish line, so she ran along with him until he was done.

Almost there . . .

All of us at the end. Lane is enjoying a peach, and still giving me the stink eye. I warned him I was going to sign him up. It's his own fault he didn't take me seriously. He should know better by now.

Can Someone Please Rescue Taylor?

2011-08-20T21:05:00.003-06:00

So I finally walked ALL THE WAY upstairs to get my camera and download the latest round of pcitures. So here goes catch-up time:

Jack and his cousin Henson on during the closing ceremonies of Timberline. Jack had a great experience. Henson was serving on the Staff, which Jack hopes to do next year.

Addie at PCMC, waiting to see her cardiologist, Dr. Day a few weeks ago.

Last week I invited my dad to join us for our Saturday morning hike, and he accepted the invitation. Since his knows all the trails here-abouts, I told him to lead the way. He took us up Grove Creek Canyon (not to be confused with Battle Creek Canyon). I've never been up this trail before, and I really enjoyed it. Again, there was a waterfall, and I guess there is an even better waterfall if we had gone further. We spent about an hour hiking around, which all of us enjoyed. Except Taylor, of course. Sadly, she has been cursed with cruel parents who rudely wake her up early on a Saturday morning for Family Fun. I've been told that no one else's parents would do anything so outrageous and if she could find the number she would report us to child welfare sevices. She even ignored the long-standing family rule of No Electronic Devices During Family Fun and brought her ipod along anyway.

My dad sent Jack and Lane up a little trail to see where it went. Apparently, it went no where.

This is my dad who was kind enough to take us on a fun little explore. And to the best of my knowledge, he hasn't had a heart attack. So we'll take him again.

A Girl Needs to Plan Ahead

2011-08-18T20:52:00.003-06:00

531.08 miles.

That's how far I have walked/run/hiked since May 10. If I do say so myself, that's a long way.

It has been a good thing, this Healthy Employee program at my work. I can always get someone to go out walking/running/hiking with me. And even Lane has stopped complaining. Don't get me wrong - he's still not embracing it - but he has stopped whining about it. Did I say whining? What I meant was joining in reluctantly.

My visiting teachers have allowed me to join them for a 5:00 am walk to the water tank 3 times a week. That's a big hill! And 5:00 is really early. But I'll keep going as long as they will let me . . . it's a good walk.

So school is about to start. I am so ready. Despite all my best intentions to buy everthing so I don't have to go back to Walmart, I'm pretty sure I'll end up going back to Walmart. I hate Walmart. Or, I should say, I hate the Lindon Walmart. It is worth my time and gas to drive to the one in Cedar Hills where they generally have more than 2 cashiers working. More than once I have given up in frustration, handing all my stuff to that cashier who does nothing but oversee the self-checkout and storm out of the store telling that cashier person that I was going to Target. I think I can probably drive to the Target in American Fork and still get done faster than at the Lindon Walmart. Ok, Walmart vent over. I feel better.

Vacation is in 16 days. 5 of those days are weekends, and they go by fast. 3 of those days are Fridays, and they also go by fast. 1 day is the last day of summer vacation - fast. 1 day is the first day of school, 2 days really because of the A day B day thing - fast. So really it's like 5 days away. (Seinfeld)

I still need to get Lane a new Hawaiian shirt, which he will gripe about but still wear because he knows it isn't worth the fight. Jack thinks he wants a Hawaiian shirt too. Yes, I have started packing and making lists . . . and thinking about where to go next year!

I find myself these days compelled to sing "Sunrise, Sunset"

2011-07-28T21:37:00.003-06:00

We took a hike to the G. Not everyone was happy about it.

Not naming any names, of course, but there may have been some members of the family who complained. Perhaps some members of the family complained the entire way.

But just look at the view (north) . . .

and this view (south) . . . We could even see the windmills in Spanish Fork.

Jennefer D. may be glad to know that this year's hike was much, MUCH better than that one on July 24th a few years ago, when I laid down in the dirt at the base of the G feeling like I just might die. Yes, this hike was pure joy. I think I may be slightly stronger and have a slightly larger lung capacity than I had then.

Lane left his sunglasses up there. He didn't remember until we were more than halfway down, and somehow didn't feel like going back up to fetch them. So I guess I owe him new sunglasses. He was a good sport to go; he's never been there before. I told him he is truly a Viking now. He only grunted at me.

We are now the somewhat-proud-mostly-bewildered parents of a dating daughter. That's weird. Really weird. She hasn't got her drivers license yet, but she is driving pretty well and is now just working on hours. She has even got a job to start next week. Am I freaking out? Why, yes. Thanks for asking.

There was NO sign saying "Only 1 per person"

2011-07-17T21:37:00.003-06:00

In an effort to control any potential flooding this spring, Pleasant Grove City ran a huge pipe from the retention basin at the top of Grove Creek Drive, down the middle of the road, and emptying into the Murdock Canal. Although it was an inconvenience to me to have to drive all the way down to 500 East and over to 1100 North to backtrack to my parents house, which is located about 1 block north of where this pipe was, it did made a nice little attraction for us. We would walk down to check out the water several times each week, which is a little over a mile walk in each direction. It was pretty cool to see the water shooting out of this pipe. Seriously - Shooting - it was moving with a lot of force.

The pipe is still going down the middle of the road, but it is no longer moving water, and they have opened up the portions at the intersections so I don't have to take the scenic route to my parents house anymore. But we do miss seeing that water shooting out. And kudos to PG City - if there was any flooding, I never saw it. And I survived the minor inconveniece.

This is the pipe, looking up from the canal towards the mountains. The city built a few little walk ways over the pipes so people could cross from one side of the road to the other.

Our walks on the canal also provide us with occassional little treasures, like this giant puff. I guess it doesn't look so gian in a photograph, but it is WAY HUGER than a regular dandylion puff. The stems are thick and it makes them hard to pick without disturbing the puff, so it's just easier to have Addie blow it directly off the stem in the ground. They are so big it takes several blows to get the job done.

A few Saturdays ago, we took a family hike along a section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail over in Orem. It was a fun little hike, I don't know how far we went, or even how long we were there. It is apparently quite a popular trail - the parking lot was full, and we saw other hikers, bikers and even joggers while we were out.

I don't know why Jack is smiling like that.

Looking back towards the north from somewhere along the trail . . .

I neglected to take any photos of the Steel Days 5k I participated in with my old and dear friend Jennifer. We entered ourselves in the walkers division (which my kids thought was quite amazing, that there was a division just for Walkers, with a capital W, and how did Jennifer qualify for it?) figuring we could walk pretty fast. Especially for the Over 40 crowd.

Well, I guess we don't walk so fast, or maybe the walkers didn't confine themselves to walking only . . . I don't know how it all worked out, but we didn't finish quite as quickly as I had hoped. We came in just over 50 minutes, and the ladies at the scoring table just wrote down our numbers, and didn't scan the bar codes on our bibs. We thought that was weird, but figured that maybe we were so slow there was just no longer a point in scanning. We had our fresh fruit and water and left.

Later Jennifer found the standings on the AF website, and it listed names and times for everyone, except us. Even people who came in after us had times listed. I know we didn't win, but it would still be nice to have some evidence that we participated.

Jennifer says we didn't get counted because I ate two bananas.

I think we didn't get counted because I made a few snarky comments.

In any event, we were really there. And if I should do it again next year, I'm willing to bet that I will still eat two bananas and still make snarky comments. It's just who I am. :)

See Lari Run

2011-06-24T18:35:00.003-06:00

43:38

It won't set any land-speed records.

But I still think I'm all that.

I had told Lane to meet me at the finish line at 8:15 because that was the absolute soonest I would be there. The ABSOLUTE soonest. I really figured I would be closer to an hour.

As Kassie and I approached the finish line, and I could see the time clock, I was really blown away that I was under 45 minutes.

Jack got tired of being slow with Kassie and I, so the last few blocks he ran ahead. He finished at 42:48.

I had to give myself a hand for a race completed.

I would totally do it again. I WILL do it again. I just have to find another one that fits my schedule, doesn't cost to much, and doesn't require me to travel very far.

I was surprised at the number of people who walked the entire way. I never thought about entering a 5k before I could "run." Everyone should do it - it really is a lot of fun.

It was fun to see some people I know there: Kendall, one of my best cheerleaders through my C25k training, my visiting teacher Lynn (count it - we chatted!), and Krista - same time next year, my friend!

I also need to thank Lady Gaga "Bad Romance," U2 "Beautiful Day," Maroon 5 "Harder to Breathe," Charlie Daniels Band "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," Pink "Perfect" and "So What," Journey "Seperate Ways," Hairspray "Good Morning Baltimore," Ryan Shupe "Even Superman," The Killers "Spaceman," and, of course, the Beatles (how's that for an eclectic play list?) for making each running session go by faster.

Thanks also to Kendall, Molly and Stephanie (I did apologize for the "stupid" remark, but I had to rescind it after hearing about the Ragnar thing), Kassie for not bailing on me, Jennefer, Danna, Craig, Kari and all the others who wouldn't let me give up on myself. It isn't a huge thing, my 43:38, but I'm as proud as if I had won the whole dang thing.

So who's joining me for the next one?

Family Day Hike

2011-06-11T18:41:00.002-06:00

Pleasant Grove City Recreation does an amazing job of keeping this city recreated, in my opinion. Even though this isn't quite the one-horse town I grew up in, it is still no metropolis and I think our recreation department is awesome. They offer a huge variety of programs for an affordable price. I can't think of a bad experience I have ever had with them - except maybe that creative writing class my mom made me take when I was little. But certainly as a grown up, I think they are the best.

For a few years they have offered a Family Day Hike and Breakfast and I've always wanted to go. The stars have never aligned on the scheduled date so we have never gone. This year, we did get the perfect alignment, so we went.

I need to mention that it is more suited to families with kids younger than mine, but we still had a good time. They had a door prize for every family, and the breakfast was actually better than I had expected. I had just figured on something like muffins and juice/milk, which they did have, but they also had a variety of fresh fruits and even hot scones. We ate pretty quickly since I didn't have little kids who needed help, and off we went on the hike up to the waterfall (the 1st waterfall in Battle Creek Canyon, for you locals).

Since we were among the first to head up the trail, the rec dept workers were still getting some game stations set up where the kids could stop and do different sorts of little games. I'm not sure what the games were, but they were all going strong on our way back down the hill and the kids all seemed to be having a lot of fun.

So to make a long story even longer, my point is that if you haven't participated in the Family Day Hike and Breakfast, you should. Especially if you have small-ish children. They hold it in June and there is no charge, which makes it even better!

Taylor and Jack just starting out on the hike. Taylor was NOT in the mood for family fun.

Addie was really proud that she made it all the way up. We did this hike last summer, but she was faster this time, and Taylor and Dad didn't finish, but she did!

Jack and Addie in front of the waterfall.

Ummm . . . did Jack finally pass me up in height?

The theme this year was "Up," so they released a bunch of balloons. We didn't see it until they got pretty far up in the sky and kinda dispersed out.

So who is ready to go on this hike with us? It doesn't take very long, isn't very steep, and isn't very far up the canyon. Let me know - I'll go anytime.

For Stephanie

2011-06-05T17:49:00.003-06:00

It came to me in the middle of the night. Sometimes great epiphanies come to me that way, but the problem is that when I wake up I can't remember the epiphany, just that I had one. But somehow this one stayed with me.

Remember the missing roll recipe? It finally dawned on me that it's a Taste of Home recipe. Not only that, I even remembered the name of the rolls. And so I give you:

Potluck Pan Rolls Recipe

Ingredients

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
1-1/2 cups warm water (110° to 115°), divided
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1/4 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
5-1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/2 cup water. Add the butter, eggs, milk powder, salt, 3 cups flour and remaining sugar and water. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
Punch dough down. Divide into 27 pieces; shape into balls. Place 18 balls in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan and remaining balls in a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Bake at 375° for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Yield: 27 rolls.

If I want to make bread bowls, I just follow the same recipe but only divide the dough into about 8 parts and bake them on a baking sheet for a little bit longer.

Enjoy!!

Buffalo Chicken and Ranch Wraps

2011-06-01T18:06:00.002-06:00

For a change, I'll write about something other than my running, and go back to my constant fall-back: FOOD.

There is a website called allrecipes.com that I use all the time to find whatever recipe I think I might want to try out. I have also subscribed to their service that sends recipes to my email box every few days, and many of them have been wonderful! Tonight I tried out Buffalo Chicken and Ranch Wraps. YUMMY! Not only that, it was also fast and easy and got it all done and on the table at our normal time, even though I worked all day.

Here it is:

1 pound thin-sliced bacon
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup Buffalo wing sauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
12 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup diced fresh tomato
3/4 cup ranch dressing, divided

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble when cool.
Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings, and cook and stir the chicken breast chunks until browned, about 10 minutes. Cover the skillet and allow chicken to continue cooking until no longer pink inside and the juices run clear, about 10 more minutes. Stir in the Buffalo sauce and melted butter until chicken is thoroughly coated. Stir in the crumbled bacon. Keep the mixture warm.
Heat the tortillas, one at a time, in a large ungreased skillet over medium heat until they begin to form air bubbles and small brown spots. Fill each each warmed tortilla with about 1/3 cup of the chicken filling and a tablespoon or so of tomatoes; sprinkle the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing. Wrap the tortilla around the filling; serve warm.

I prefer to make my own sauces whenever possible, so I made my own Buffalo Sauce to use in the recipe. Also from allrecipes.com:

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup hot pepper sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons honey

Combine the butter, hot sauce, ketchup, and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Use as a sauce for cooked chicken wings or pieces.

Everyone ate it all up, and I hurried and set some aside for Lane's lunch, otherwise there would have been no leftovers. If I was to make it again, I would amp up the "zippiness" a little bit. I do like my Tabasco. It is a perfect warm weather dinner, although my kitchen did get a little warm while I was cooking. And then there is always the problem of the stale bacon smell that sticks around . . . and sticks around . . .

But my windows are open, so hopefully it will not be so bad.

HEY - did I mention . . .?

2011-05-29T21:12:00.002-06:00

Easter morning, all fancied-up in clothes from Grandpa and Grandma Funk. Aren't they pretty?

Addie at the piano recital - "Old MacDonald"

Taylor - Medley from "Pirates of the Carribbean "

Jack - Theme from "The Office"

Yes, I know I'm slow on the Easter pictures. But the camera was WAY upstairs. Sometimes - just sometimes - I get lazy. The recital pictures are only about a week old, so I'm getting better.

The school year is winding down. I am always glad for the end of school because it means a little freedom from the structure and fights about homework (Addie), bedtime (also Addie), "you are not wearing THAT to school" (again, Addie), piano lessons (Jack & Addie), over-scheduled evenings (all 5 of us). This gladness last only until about June 20, by which time I have gotten over myself and want them back in school because they are driving me crazy.

Our pool pass last year was a tremendous way to release all our aggravations. I could sit and read my book quietly (note to self: get more books) while the 3 aggitators had their fun. The 2011 pool pass has been purchased and we are now just waiting for 1) the pool to open, and 2) the rain to stop, PLEASE stop, so we can get on with our lives. Come sit by me if you see me at the pool. I'll be in the lounge chair in the shade reading a good book and pretending I didn't see whatever it was that Jack just did.

I also announce with great braggery (don't think that's a word, but it suits my intended meaning) that my running is still on, and on Friday completed 25 minutes of non-stop running. I'll admit, the last 3-4 minutes were tough. And I am still on a treadmill. I do set the treadmill on a slight incline to try to compensate, even in a small way, for the fact that it is a treadmill. Anyway, 25 minutes of running comes out to almost 1.75 miles. The C25k training is nearly complete. I have proudly completed Week 6, and the training finishes up at Week 9 with a 30 minute run, so you can see, I've nearly done it. If it would ever stop raining, I will try running outside and see how much time I lose. I'm pretty sure I can't do 1.75 miles outside, but I am interested to see what I can do. And if I've learned anything at all since I started this Odyssey, it's that I can do more than I think I can.

Plus I've lost 2 more pounds.

Xactware also has a contest going. Anyone who walks or runs 647 miles by September 15th-ish(I forget the exact date) will be entered in a drawing for Disneyland tickets (I think they said that is the distance to Disneyland, or something like that). I am on track to meet that, walking/running a little over 80 miles so far. Unfortunately, today I will come up WAY short, thanks again to the non-stop rain, so I'll have to make that up somewhere. Hey - I got in 7 miles on a Saturday just from doing yardwork, housework, grocery shopping, and 2 trips to Home Depot.

Did I mention I ran for 25 minutes?

Kassie is trying to bail out on her promise to run the 5k with me. Don't let her.

I have found a good replacement roll recipe since I lost mine. I'll post it soon for Stephanie (and anyone else who cares). I would post it now, but it's WAY upstairs.

I should also apologize to Stephanie and Molly for calling them stupid.

Did I mention I ran for 25 minutes?

"That Doesn't Make Any Sense"

2011-05-16T18:36:00.002-06:00

I have learned something about myself.

At the time of my last posting, I was pretty much swearing off this 5k training. I had reached my limit, could go no further, was as discouraged as I have ever been in my life. But then a funny thing happened. I somehow got a second wind.

I realized that if I stopped the running at this point, after 4 painful (PAINFUL) months, 4 long (LONG) months of moving from running for 1 minute (which was hard) to 5 minutes (which was still hard), I would no longer be able to run for 5 minutes. Confused? I know. I'm an irrational person. As I tried to explain to a co-worker, "If I quit now I won't be able to do it anymore." His rational response? "That doesn't make any sense. If you hate doing something, stop doing it." But as I continued to (irrationally) explain, "Yeah, but then I won't be able to do it anymore."
He shook his head and walked away.

I set the treadmill to random hills. I set my max speed. The fastest I can walk is 3.8 mph, after that I have to run. So just for kicks and giggles I set the max speed to 4.4 and the "random" speeds had me run for 8 minutes. 8 minutes? Are you kidding? And the total run time for the session added up to 21 minutes. What??? Well, let me tell you, nothing encourages this old gal like a success, and that was a HUGE success.

I continued on like that for a while, even beating my 8 minutes with an 8.5 minute run on another "random" day. This gave me the courage to get back to the C25k training. So I bravely picked up where I had left off: the Dreaded Week 5.

It wasn't the beginning of Week 5 that I dreaded so much - (3 5 minute runs divided with 2 3 minute walks, then 2 8 minute runs with a 5 minute walk) - it was the last day of Week 5, which I did today: a 20 minute run, no walking. YIKES!!! I have been really dreading this since I saw it was part of the training. I can NEVER do that, I thought. NEVER.

Well, since Week 5 Days 1 and 2 turned out to be too easy (how is that possible?) I took on Week 5 Day 3 today. If nothing else, I have learned this about myself: If I tell myself, "Well, let's just do the 8 minutes and see how it goes after that," I wll have enough energy to do 8 minutes and no more. So I went to the gym today knowing it was all or nothing. I had to do all 20 minutes or die trying.

I did the 20 minutes. I did it. I really, seriously did it.

I didn't die. I didn't even want to die. I wasn't breathless. I didn't need to call 911. I didn't collapse on the floor. My shins didn't scream out for relief. I didn't cry. I didn't throw out a hip. I didn't bleed out my eyes . . . or my ears. My hair didn't fall out. I didn't call for a wheelchair.

I stretched, and stepped off the treadmill. That was it.

Who have I become? How is it that I reached a place where the thought of not running is more painful than the actual running?

And I have signed up for the 5k.

It doesn't make any sense.

Not feelin' the Love

2011-04-26T20:08:00.004-06:00

I hate running. No, I mean it. I realllllly HATE running. With the white hot passion of a thousand suns, I hate running. I only started out on this odyssey because some stupid ladies I know (Stephanie and Molly) inspired me . . . thanks a lot for that. (They aren't really stupid, but I have to rationalize my behavior at their expense.)

I have sincerely hoped over the course of the last 13 weeks that the love of running would come. I kept waiting . . . and hoping . . . Maybe I don't love it because of the shin splints, I would think. Or maybe because I can't run very far. Or maybe because I feel stupid with all the skinny, beautiful people around. Maybe next week I'll love it, I would think/hope. But after 3 months, I'm still not feelin' the love.

Life is too short to do stuff I hate (except laundry, which I haven't found a cure for).

So it is time to re-evaluate the goal(s):

1. Establish a regular routine of exercise. Done. I have gone to the gym at least 3 times a week since I started this madness in January. Sometimes 4 times. Except the week I got sick. On the off days I usually do something less complicated at home, such as a yoga video or weights. I've been a diligent girl. The routine of exercise need not, of course, be running. It's all about simply being active. And the best exercise is the one you will actually do, right?

2. Learn to (love to) run. Done . . . partly. My running has improved, without a doubt. I can run a 5 minute stretch. It has taken me 13 weeks to get this far, so I'm clearly moving at a snail's pace, but it is quite a magnificent accomplishment for a recovering couch potato. However, as I stated, the "love" part has not taken root, and I still hate every single step.

3. Run the Strawberry Days 5k. This is iffy at best. As I stated above, I still HATE running. The 5k was supposed to be the crowning achievement of the 5k training, so if I stop the official training, what's the point of the 5k?

4. Lose weight. The underlying goal of all of this was to lose a few (who am I kidding? More than a few) pounds. In this aspect, the 5k training has pretty much been a failure. After 3 months I have lost exactly 2 pounds and 1.5 inches. Not exactly the sort of thing to keep a gal movitated, you know?

So what to do now? Now Lari takes her well established 3 day routine and tries to find something she actually likes to do. Like weights. I like weights. Or yoga. I think I like that. Or walking on the treadmill on a pre-programmed workout that goes fast and slow, incline and flat, and does include some running.

The pattern is set. Now I just gotta find the love.

Coach Owen would be so disappointed

2011-04-11T20:04:00.003-06:00

I have given up on locating the Free Dining Room Table Store, so I decided to just buy a new set. I wanted a square table, but not counter-height. You wouldn't think that would be a hard thing to find, but it is. I was only able to locate one, at 4 Chairs Furniture in Lindon. But they charge - are you ready for this - $1170 for JUST THE TABLE!!! That didn't include any chairs, and that was just the raw table, too - not finished, not stained. I almost laughed right out loud at the poor sales girl, who unfortunately didn't know she was dealing with the Cheapest Person Alive. So I gave up on finding a square table, and decided to just find a regular set that I liked. I didn't want it to look anything like my set that I've had for 18 years. I didn't want it to have a glass top (who wants to look at their fat thighs while they eat? NOT ME!). I don't like upholstered chairs (I spill). So I found one I liked at RC Wiley. It was just sitting innocently in the showroom, looking all pretty and calling my name. I sat down on a chair to make sure I liked it, and noticed a seam going down the center of the table, but not the normal direction . . . the other direction. Could it be possible? I actually climbed under the table to inspect it further, and sure enough, it opened out the long way. I hunted down a salesperson (yes, I actually had to go find a salesperso at RCW - must have been a busy day!) and asked about the leaf, and he confirmed my dream-come-true: it opened to a square. It takes up more space than I am used to in my kitchen, but I really like the square shape so we're just gonna have to deal with it. Below shows the leaf removed, plus the accurate color of paint (it's green, I promise) on my walls (above has weird late-afternoon light) plus the new valances that I made:

So now Lari is a happy girl to have found the table I wanted, although not at the Free Dining Room Table Store, for which I will continue to search.

Stephanie asked me for my dinner roll recipe, so naturally I have lost it. I brought it down to my desk as a reminder to post it. But since I lack the gene that enables a person to keep a clean desk, I have lost said recipe. It is quite tragic, because it's my best one. I tried a different roll recipe on Conference Sunday that requires the dough to be refrigerated for an hour. I can't work with refrigerated dough because I have an allergic reaction to cold (seriously - I'm not making that up) and when my hands get all cold like that, they get red and swollen and itchy and no homemade roll is worth that. So I have to either find my roll recipe or find another one that will work.

My attempts at running are improving. Tomorrow I am hoping to finish up what has become a 4 week series of Week 3. With help from several people who have helped me identify the many things I was doing wrong, I am improving and may just be ready for Week 4. At least I'll give it a try. I did Week 4 once before, before I got sick for a week, so I'll try it again and hope for the best. You wouldn't think that running would be rocket science, but I have found it to be exactly that. It must come from a lifetime of avoiding all exercise. Apparenlty helping out at 1 track meet my sophomore year in high school in an attempt to curry favor with my French teacher (who was the track coach) wasn't adequate in gaining knowledge of running and all things run-related.

And the French hasn't really stuck with me either. Unless I want to say, "Speak slowly. I don't speak French well," or - and equally helpful -"Your duck is in the garbage can."

Note To Self - Buy More Frozen Peas

2011-03-23T21:02:00.003-06:00

It hurts. It hurts so much. Why, oh why, must it hurt soooooo much?

Shouldn't this whole running thing be getting better by now? Then why is it getting harder? Why at about week 8 or so (I know my C25K says week 3 - that's just how pathetic I am) are my shin splints back with such a vengence? Is it possible that some people just aren't built for running and are, in fact, built for simply sitting around eating rice krispy treats and watching TV?

Did I mention that it hurts?

And I'm down to my last 2 bags of frozen vegetables.

I barely completed my session tonight. Even with telling myself, "Come on, you big Fatty. You can do an extra half lap. It's only a half lap. Not even a full lap extra. Just a half." I was positive. I had a good vibe. But the vibe did not communicate itsself to my shins and I was actually gritting my teath and willing the tears not to fall as I finished up my 3 minutes. Even Addie could tell I was dying. Today the heart and lungs were willing, but the legs couldn't do it. If I could just get my heart/lungs and legs on the same page, I would be doing just fine.

I ordered myself a book from Amazon and it arrived a few days ago. It's a book, called "Lost Moon" that I've wanted to read for a while, but the PG Library doesn't have it. So I ordered it up on Amazon for about $7 including shipping.

"Lost Moon" is the story of Apollo 13 written by James Lovell. I have seen Apollo 13 the movie so many times I can nearly recite it and I never miss a documentary (if I know it's on) that has to do with the moon landings. Some people may call it an obsession. Of course, I know that it's perfectly normal. Anyone who doesn't share my passion is misguided. It's as simple as that.

So imagine the thrill in my heart when my book arrived, hardbound and in lovely condition, and I found it was autographed. There was no mention of an autograph on the Amazon description. Sure, it says "To Eddie - James Lovell", but I don't care. What a happy surprise!

My inbox is open to any and all suggestions to help my ailing shins. I'm pretty sure a long foot rub would heal everything, but so far Lane is unwilling to help me out. Says he doesn't "do feet." Maybe I'll just break out my last box of samoas. It's not quite the same, but it's the best I've got.

Bee in my Bonnet

2011-03-13T22:08:00.003-06:00

Sick.

It hits all of us about this time each year. It got me earlier in the week, but thanks to something or other (right or wrong, I'm blaming it on my increased activity) it wasn't as bad as usual and has mostly passed by. Whew. That's one less thing.

But the down days have taken their toll and I haven't strapped on my running shoes in over a week. Therefore, instead of repeating week 4 a second time, I'm opting to go back to week 3. Hopefully a week of laying around drinking Nyquil hasn't set me back farther than that and I'll be able to resume my "training" with little difficulty. Keep your fingers crossed.

Some people have asked me what I've been doing. It is actually called "Couch to 5K" (http://c25kapp.com). It's an ipod app, but I assume there is something equivalent for other platforms. The point of it is to take a recovering couch potato like myself and over the course of 9 weeks (unless you are a repeater, like myself) take you from almost no running at all to a 5k. My plan is that my first 5K attempt will the Strawberry Days 5k in mid-June, unless some miracle makes me feel prepared to do one sooner than that. But what better time to do an initial humiliation in front of complete strangers as well as life-long friends and acquaintances than at my hometown festival? If I time it right, I can pass out right in front of our traditional seats in front of PG Printers and just have my family drag me into the shop before they call 9-11.

In other mundane news, I got a "bee in my bonnet" yesterday and convinced my kids to paint my kitchen chairs and table, and - even more miraculously - convinced Lane to paint the kitchen. Said painting also required a coat of primer since the Peanut Brittle color I had picked out about 2-ish years ago was kinda dark. This color is called "Spring Bud" and is a green shade (citrus-y, if I had to choose a word) and it is not far from a white. It's subtle, but fresh and clean. I'm painting the white part of my dining room set a barn red, leaving the wood parts alone. I think (read: hope) that the two colors will look as good together as they do in my head. Also, being the cheapest person alive has make finding/buying curtains an excercise in futility so I found some fabric and I'll sew up my own valances. Sometimes ya just need a change, ya know?

We were invited to dinner at Kassie & Jesse's house tonight. That was a lot of fun. Dinner was fabulous, the baby was adorable (he's sick too, poor guy!), and we played some fun games.

Got my bills paid tonight and my checkbook all caught up. I wonder if the day will ever come that I don't absolutely detest that little chore. I hate it. Always have. I guess I always will.

Will trade cupcakes for accounting service.

Why it's important to read the label

2011-03-02T20:59:00.002-07:00

Here is what I learned today:

1) Allow for a recovery day between C25K sessions. Having such successful runs the last two sessions have made me cocky and so I went to run again today. This overly optimistic activity is why I'm sitting here now, with bags of frozen corn on my shins, wallowing in self-pity in the knowledge that I was able to complete only 2 minutes of my last 5 minute run. This is what I get for allowing an 8 year old to convince me to go again with "You can do it, Mommy! I know you can!" Now I know that she's a liar.

2) Normally one of my favorite songs, "Beautiful Day" by U2 is a truly craptastic song for running when you just want to die and there is nothing beautiful about the day at all. Except the Beautiful People at the gym who run lap after effortless lap. I hate them. I hate them all. I need to thank Pink and Fallout Boy for getting me through most of my run, but "Beautiful Day" may have to be removed from the playlist.

3) Samoas make EVERYTHING better. Everything. Every single little thing.

4) I read the label for Nutter Butters and since it turns out they have both fiber and protein, I'm now considering them a household staple and a health food. I suggest you do the same.

. . . of echocardiograms and Brinner

2011-02-23T20:44:00.002-07:00

We had a follow up visit at PCMC today. Upon arrival, we were informed that we were scheduled for an echocardiogram, which was news to me. Either they told me and I forgot (likely) or they forgot to tell me. Either way, it was a surprise. I've mentioned before that the echocardiograms are always crazy-making because they always result in our cardiologist saying, "Hmmm. . . ." or "Wasn't expecting that" or "That's unusual." But I told Addie to make sure her heart behaved and we went for the echo. Everything seemed to be going along just fine. The technician told us he was going to show the report to the radiologist and he would be right back (this is usual). But when he came back he said he had to take more pictures. Lane and I looked at each other, thinking "Well, here we go again," but luckily it turned out to be nothing. We saw Dr. Day and he was very pleased with her progress since he last saw her and commented that he is pleased that she has adjusted to using the oxygen at night because it helps her so much and commented that he thinks it is a good idea to continue the coumadin. It doesn't sound like that will be ending any time soon. But things could certainly be worse. It was a very good trip today and we all came home happy. Especially Addie who got to go spend the afternoon at Grandma's house.

I had cub scout Blue and Gold banquet tonight. 4 of my 6 boys were there and they all got some awards. I was even surprised to receive a new patch for my shirt ( I LOVE getting new stuff for my shirt!). It's a quality unit patch - not sure what that means, but HEY - I got something new for my shirt!!! I don't know where it goes, so if anyone knows, please pass the info along.

I am still running 3 times a week. I got a little cocky on Monday when I surprised myself by ending the session with a full five minute run (it was supposed to be 3 minutes - I decided to see if I could do 4 . . . then 5!) So my next running session went like this: warm up, 3 minute run, 90 second walk, 5 minute run, 2 minute walk, 3 minute run, 90 second walk, 5 minute run, cool down. Before Monday I thought there was no way I could do it, I would just repeat week 3 a second time. But after I ran for 5 WHOLE MINUTES, I changed my mind and decided I was up for the challenge. That's where the cocky comes in. 90 seconds is not enough recovery for a 5 minute run, at least not for this fat old gal. I managed along ok, at an EXTREMELY slow pace (I was getting lapped by old people walking - while I was RUNNING!) until the last series. I just couldn't start running again after only 90 seconds, so I was forced to cheat. The 90 second walk turned into a 2 1/2 minute walk and a final 4 minute run instead.

Although I have lived to tell the tale, I was really panting when I finished. And my apologies to all the unfortunate souls who were witness to the pathetic spectacle: I'll do better next time.

It probably wasn't the best idea to run at 7:30 (instead of 8:00, as usual) when I was all tanked up on fried eggs, sausage and bacon (aka BRINNER). There's a chance that better digestion and less fat intake could have brought a better result. It's just a thought.

Are we done YET?

2011-02-16T21:06:00.003-07:00

I'm pretty much over winter by January 1. Truth be told, I'm over it before then, but it kinda fits in nicely with the whole Christmas ambiance thing. By the time January is over, and we get teased by the Annual February Thaw, I am WAY over winter. But it always comes to rear it's ugly head again . . . and again in March . . . again in April . . . and at least one last gasp in May just to show who's really in control. Sometimes it goes on into June. If it isn't snow in June, then it's rain . . . and rain . . . and still more rain. Don't even bother with the whole "but we need the water" concept. I'm bored with that.

Some years ago my mom took me to see "Camelot" up in SLC (with Robert Goulet, no less), and it was then that I decided that I need to live in Camelot. Who wouldn't want to live there?

"A law was made a distant moon ago here:

July and August cannot be too hot.

And there's a legal limit to the snow here

In Camelot.

The winter is forbidden til December

and exits March the second on the dot.

By order summer lingers through September

in Camelot.

. . .

The rain may never fall til after sundown.

By eight the morning fog must disappear.

I short there's simply not

A more congenial spot

For happlily-ever-aftering

than here in Camelot."

Yeah, I gotta move there. Particularly on a typical February/Utah day like this that started off so beautifully sunny and warm and ended so nasty and windy and cold. It is for this very reason that this is part of of my homepage. Lane and I sat at this very beach just last November, although it seems like a lifetime ago.

Must get back to 7 Mile Beach.

Soon.

Disability Awareness

2011-02-09T21:30:00.002-07:00

Isn't it pretty? There is actually a patch and pin too, but I couldn't find pictures of those. I found out about the patch at a Roundtable Meeting and decided we were going to earn it. Little did I know, how much blood, sweat and tears was going into earning it. I shouldn't say that. It's not quite blood, but there was sweat and there were lots of tears.

First, let me say I don't like to ask for help. I know that other people are busy with their own lives and fitting in "helping Lari out" can be an annoying burden. But, darn it, I was committed to earning this award but I couldn't do it on my own. I have no disability qualifications - well, not the required disabilities, anyway. I have plenty of things that could probably count as a disability of one sort or another. For instance, have you seen me throw? Or run?

Anway, I had to ask for help. There was no getting around it. Thank goodness for good friends. The three people I asked for help each said yes without any sort of hesitation, even from my life-long friend Nichole who is, and has always been, a crier. Thanks Nichole. I know that was hard for you, but I know 6 little boys who have a greater appreciation now for your sweet little angel. And to my friend Camie, who managed to get there to help me out tonigh despite me telling her the wrong address and the wrong day, a heartfelt thank you. And, of course, to Marilyn, who herself was born to be a Den Leader - thank you for your help.

Somehow my 6 little scouts, bundles of perpetual motion that they are, managed to sit there politely and respectfully and listen to the lesson. I was so impressed with them. Whoever says they will never serve in a scout position doesn't know what they are missing out on. To be involved in the life of a cub scout is truly a gift.

See Lari run. Funny, funny, Lari.

2011-02-08T21:10:00.003-07:00

Addie called to come home from school yesterday afternoon. Since I was at work, I called my parents to see if they were available to go pick her up. They were, so they went and got her and took her to their house. Around 2:30 my mom called to say that Addie had a fever of 102. I told her I would call the doctor and see what he recommended.

I called my doctor and he said he wanted to see her. Her temperature was 103 when they took it there at the doctors office, but she wasn't acting very sick. The doctor looked her over and pronounced it a virus. Lots of rest, he said. Watch to see it doesn't turn into anything more serious.

She was also scheduled for another blood draw for her coumadin, so we got that done since we were right there by the hospital. Poor thing, has had to have her blood drawn so often - sometimes once a week, sometimes every other week - and she has been so brave. They called me with results today. Her PT/INR level has been consistent for a while now, so we don't have to have another draw for 3 weeks! Wahoo!

I kept her home from school today, and I stayed home with her. Her fever was low-grade and she played and was quite herself all day. She ate good today, so hopefully there will be no fever tomorrow and she can go back to school. She was climing the walls a little bit from being inside all day long.

So I went for my run tonight. My shins are doing so much better - it's quite miraculous really. I wasn't dreading the run, and curious to find out how these old shins held up after the TLC I've been giving them. I got to the gym with Jack and started up my ipod app only to find out that my ipod battery was at critical level. Yikes! How did that happen? The optimist in me said that I had enough power to do my little-bitty run. Um . . . not so much. Half way through the first song, it went kaput. Great. Now how was I supposed to know when to walk and when to run? What was I supposed to use as a pacesetter? I didn't even have a watch on to time myself.

I knew that my runs now last for about 3/4 of a lap. But since 3/4 of a lap is hard to keep track of, I opted to do a 1 lap run, 1 lap walk. (Stop laughing!) Well, what do you know? I did my 1 lap run and didn't die. My shins were not screaming out for relief. My last lap I even did an extra 1/4 just for kicks and giggles. And do you know what? I could have kept going. I wanted to keep going. I should have kept going. But it was 9:00 and time to get Jack to bed. So I stopped.

While my 1 lap run is barely noteworthy, it is a milestone to me. After all, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Or lap.

Why not red?

2011-02-06T20:55:00.002-07:00

Thanks in part to some new running shoes (a thoughtful birthday gift from Lane) my screaming shins have pretty much stopped screaming. I have completed 2 weeks of my Couch25k training and am still alive to tell the tale. Every time I complete my run/walk (which to be honest is really more of a shuffle/walk) I feel like I have accomplished something huge. I have never been a runner at all (ask anyone who has ever had the misfortune to see me run) so to do this is a huge accomplishment. The run/walk is now up to almost 2.5 miles - an on a track, not a treadmill. It's true that some other people on the track can walk as fast as I run/shuffle. It's also true that I determine my distance from a pedometer that counts my steps, rather than my distance because my run/shuffle stride is so short that I figured I would get discouraged if I counted my actual distance. I am working on lengthening out my stride now that my shins are recovering. And so far none of the friends whom I run into at the gym have snickered about my form to my face. And most importantly, I'm still sticking with it. Commitment to any form of exercise has always been, and continues to be, an enormous challenge.

I got a new scout shirt for my birthday. The one I had I got as a hand-me-down about 7 years ago and it has never fit well. So I spent the Super Bowl today getting all my patches moved from my old shirt onto my new shirt. It's a tedious task, so it's good to have it out of the way. Since I was at it, I sewed Jack's merit badge patches onto his sash thing. Not sure what it's called. He has another Court of Honor coming up this month and should be advanced to First Class, which means another pin for me - as always, it's all about me.

I also got a new phone last week. I like the new phone, but dislike tremendously the learning curve of getting a new phone. I got a new phone back in October - a touch screen/non-Smart Phone type that I kept for a week and returned because I hated it. This one is much better. Except that nothing on the LG phone is where it was on my Samsung phone. Go figure. Don't even get me started on the ringtone fiasco. I have opted to settle for Coldplay while I am figuring out how to get my Friday Night Lights theme song on there again. And this new phone isn't red. All phones should have a Red option. It's just a good policy. Black phones are boring. Silver phones are boring. This one has orange on the slide-out keyboard, but orange isn't red, and the face is still black. Boring. So very boring.

Stunned, I tell you

2011-01-29T21:54:00.001-07:00

I've been a pretty good girl lately, so I treated myself to a Baking Day today.

This is Pina Colada. It starts with a yellow cake mix . . then a little crushed pineapple . . . then frost with whipped cream and top with coconut. If only there was a little steel drum music in the background it would all be perfect.

I've been summoning up my courage for a long time to try this one out. It is a French Toast cupcake. Seriously. And it tastes exactly like french toast. The frosting is a maple buttercream concoction that is a perfect compliment to the cupcake and makes it taste exactly like french toast. It's a little bit freaky. Topped with crisp bacon crumbles - how can you go wrong? It's another keeper.

I finally made time to try out my new pasta machine. Pasta dough is super, super easy and then after kneading you just divide the dough into four balls and roll each one through the machine. Each ball takes 7 times through the pasta machine - starting first on a thick setting and working down to paper thin. After it's at it final thin-ness, it goes through the cutting mechanism. Although it is really a 2 person job, it was so totally easy. The pasta was so delightfully thin it dried super fast and is now in the fridge awaiting next week's chicken noodle soup dinner. I paid about $40 for this genius machine (totally worth it) and I got it from Overstock.com. If you were thinking of getting a pasta machine, think no more my friend. Get one. Get one now. Or come over and play with mine. You will be stunned at how easy fresh pasta can be.

I need more

2011-01-21T22:21:00.004-07:00

I have 10 pairs of pajamas. Is that a lot?

I would wear pajamas 24/7 if I could get away with it. I change into my jammies as soon as I know I'm in for the day. I love pajamas and if I know myself at all, and I like to think that I do, I will get even more pajamas. For instance, I only have 2 pairs of red pajamas and I really don't think that's enough.

I also have 10 watches, but I think that's enough for now. Especially since only 2 of them are working. I do have room for 1 more watch if, and only if, I can find a Monopoly faced watch like I had in 1987. Unfortunately, since I am now . . . um . . . slightly older than I was in 1987, and since Armitron no longer makes that watch, it has become a (gulp) "vintage collectors item" (ouch) when I look it up on Ebay or Amazon and costs more than I am willing to pay. It's a very insulting and painful thing when items when your youth become "vintage" and/or "collector" items.

I also don't have enough shoes, but what woman does? I have a picture of a pair of really great red pumps in my head, and as yet I've been unable to find them. Probably because I'm looking for them at the ever-elusive free shoe store (coincidentally located next to the also elusive free couch store, free computer store, and recently added free dining room table store). In addition to the red pumps, I also need a pair of brown slip on flats/loafers, black espidrilles (well, espedrilles in any color really - how can you go wrong), and a pair of silver something-or-other would probably be fun. All I know for sure is that I simply don't have enough shoes. Gotta get more.

There is also a slight possibility I may have a few too many lipsticks. Doesn't matter. Must get more.

I also think I need more dishes. I do not need more mugs. Why must all dinnerware sets come with mugs? Just wondering.

227 Days to Paradise

2011-01-19T20:21:00.003-07:00

I'm cruising in 227 days.

Do you have any idea how important it is to have something sun shiny and beachy to look forward to when each new day only brings various shades of gray?

January is the very worst month of the year. No question about it. There's the post-holiday blues, which is about the only thing blue during the month, and the endless gray weather. Snow can only stay pretty around here for a short time before it is all uglied-up by car exhaust and other nasty pollutants. Then since birthdays are no fun anymore, I have that to dread all month too.

I shouldn't say dread. I'm not THAT person. I don't dread my birthday. I don't really mind getting older, although I must say 40 was hard to swallow. I just wish that there were a few more viable birthday activities than are available in January.

So back to happier thoughts - did I mention I was cruising in 227 days? We are thankfully going back to Miami this time. I heart South Beach!! I even branched out and booked us on one of the bigger ships. All the times we have gone we've gone on a different ship, but always the same class/size of ship, which certainly has its benefits. On Boarding Day, while everyone else is wandering around with their little maps and confused expressions, we know exactly where everything is since the layout of the ships we have been on is practically idential. It's nice to not have to waste 2 days figuring out where the elevator is.

We are stopping at Grand Turk (Turks & Caicos) and then have 2 different stops at the Bahamas. We've never had 3 stops before, and we've never been to these islands either. New ship, new stops . . . It should be a great cruise.

We have a party of 13 this time. We are taking our kids and some of Lane's family is coming as well.

I even found me a screaming deal on airfare. I don't usually book air this far out, but I do love me a screaming deal and I couldn't pass it up.

The mouse who has invaded our house is still at large. He comes out once in a while to taunt us, then quickly scurries away, nimbly missing all the traps we have carefully placed. I hate mice. And I certainly don't remember inviting him in.

But I Don't Wanna

2011-01-11T18:54:00.003-07:00

Since it turns out I can't spend my earthly days doing only things I want to do, I have resolved to do one thing every day that fits into the "But I don't wanna" category. Yesterday I mopped. I don't like to mop. I really, really, don't like to mop. Almost as much as I don't like to do laundry. Almost, but not quite. Laundry still wins. Today I washed dishes by hand. My kids have a terrible habit of leaving piles of dishes that won't fit into the dishwasher piled on the counter. And the dishes we have that can't go in the dishwasher - like my stoneware pans, baking mats, and baggies (yes, I wash baggies) - yeah, they leave those too. So rather than having my usual screaming rant, I just washed the dishes. Strangely, there is a good deal of satisfaction that comes with accomplishing something from the "But I Don't Wanna" category, once you get past the "But I Don't Wanna" argument with yourself. I waste far too much time every day having that argument with myself - from the time the alarm goes off in the morning (and I hit snooze 3 times as part of the argument) to when I go to bed knowing I should read my scriptures - and sometimes I actually do. If this old dog could just learn some new tricks, I would probably find surplus hours in my day from not having that argument.

Just When You Thought We Couldn't Get Any White-Trashier

2011-01-03T20:50:00.004-07:00

I was privileged to enjoy one last day of Holiday Pay today thanks to a perfect alignment in the Universe of New Years Day falling on a weekend. And I embraced it, baby, I embraced it. I got lots done. Lots of those little annoying things that just sit around . . . day after day . . . not getting done. And some of those things that I still do every week but wish they would just go away. Like laundry. But in honor of my last day of Holiday Pay for a little while, I cooked/baked. What a delightful break from the hurriedness of the holidays and the different-but-still-hurried hurriedness of normal days.

I decided this morning that chicken noodle soup sounded good since it's been so darn cold. Then, I realized that since I had ALL DAY LONG I could also bake some bread or rolls for a change. THEN I realized that if I was making soup anyway, why not bread bowls? And since I had ALL DAY LONG, why not make noodles?

Noodles aren't hard to make. Hard to roll out, sure - but not hard to make. My shoulders and arms were sore after rolling out a double batch of noodles, and Lane conveniently showed up to help me after I was done rolling it. He did help me with the cutting though. As a delicately lay the noodles down on my baking racks to dry, I realized that a double batch was far too much to fit on the racks. Hence, the birth of "Hillbillly Pasta Racks:"

Oh yeah. 3 coat hangers full. It was white-trashiness at it's finest. But, hey, it worked, Perfectly in fact. Hmmm. Pay $10+ for an authentic pasta rack or pay $0 for a coat hanger. Well, I think we all know how that decision is going to come out.

My bread bowls turned out quite perfectly. If anything, they were a little shallow, but for me they were great. Nothing beats warm, homemade bread on a cold day.

There's room for one in the downstairs family room

2010-12-27T20:04:00.002-07:00

There were three things Jack wanted for Christmas: Legos (as always), a camera, and an iPod touch. Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. No iPod this year. Santa's pockets aren't quite that deep, so Jack will probably have to buy his own like Taylor did.

I had worked really hard to try to convince Taylor she wasn't getting anything at all because she's been bad, but since she has actually not been all THAT bad, Santa came through with a few things, including the iTunes gift card, which was the only thing she had said she wanted. She also got a beautiful cedar chest that my dad built for her.

Addie wanted it all: Barbies, American Girl dolls . . . more barbies, more dolls . . . and a Snuggie. Our Santa is a sucker for a deal, so she got a knock-off Snuggie and a knock-off American Girl doll. She's too young yet to read/care about labels, which is just as well since our Santa isn't much for labels. She also got a scooter, which she promptly fell off on her way to her friend's house and skinned her knee. She is not the most graceful child in the world.

Jack got one of those paddles with the little ball on a string, which kept him and us quite entertained all morning, since he is not good at it. The little ball lit up when it got hit (it didn't light up a lot since Jack was mostly flailing about rather than hitting it) but it looked pretty cool.

The kids even played a board game nicely together . . . for a little while. Before the game ended Taylor got bored and quit. Her punishment for ruining it for everyone was that she had to clean it all up. I guess she didn't learn her lesson, because she pulled the same stunt the next day.

Me . . . well, I was just happy to stay home all day in my jammies. I didn't shower. I didn't even brush my hair. I refused to let the guilt of family obligation get to me about going out for the traditional round of visiting. I stayed home and ate chocolate, played with my kids, laughed at Jack when he hit himself with the paddle ball thingy, enjoyed the fire in the fireplace (a real wood fire, not a modern gas fire), took a nap, and made the very un-Christmas-y dinner of Navajo Tacos. It was as perfect a Christmas as I have ever had, as an adult at least. The only thing thing that could have made it more perfect was if that nasty snow snorm of Tuesday could have come on Christmas morning. A snow storm quickly changes from nasty to beautiful when you don't have to go out in it.

And now that Christmas is over, I have the itch to get it all put away quickly. That's tomorrow's project. And then I'm off to Walmart to see if I can find a screamin' deal on Christmas Tree #3.

Finally . . . pictures

2010-12-21T19:03:00.002-07:00

Primary Children's always has the best trees. Lots of the people who buy trees from the Festival of Trees donate them back to the hospital for the children to enjoy. This one is right inside the front doors, just outside the cafeteria. If it doesn't show up well, it is Horton (Hears a Who) climbing on the tree, and the tree is bent over from his weight. It is so cute and a great way to greet all the children (and adults) who come through. We took these pictures on Monday, the 13th, when we were there for a regular appointment. Although I had my camera on Cath Lab day, I failed to take a single photograph.

Everything went perfectly well at Cath Lab on Monday. The cardiologist opted to not close the fenestration after all, since the clots appear to have dissolved and the pressure in her heart was slightly elevated (the fenestration helps keeps the pressures lower). Since they didn't close that up, the procedure only took an hour. They are keeping her on the coumadin a little while at least, and at our follow up visit in February they will likely prescribe an additional medication to help with the pressure in her heart (she's already on one) or put her on oxygen at night.

Addie is not a good waker-upper from anesthesia. As soon as I was able to be with her she was crying and wanting to go home immediately! The anesthesiologist had given her some anti-nausea medication and she was able to keep her juice down for a change, and then moved on to some graham crackers, which she also kept down. As soon as she had eaten a few crackers she perked right up and asked for pizza! So we ordered her some pizza and sprite from the cafeteria and she ate all of my fries (Lane went and got me a cheeseburger) while she waited. She then proceded to eat her entire pizza and goldfish crackers before we left at 3:00. She was in a much better mood after she ate and was back to her usual Ray of Sunshine self.

Another tree by the elevator.

This what happens when you don't download pictures from your camera for a long time. This is Tree Decorating Day, which was apparently a Sunday. I chose this picture because it shows off how tall Jack has grown.

Tonight's dinner. I can't resist photographing a lovely, golden piece of chicken. This is called Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken (or something like that). It was really good. Recipe below. And remember, chicken must always be served with carrots. I'm pretty sure it's a rule.

3/4 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/8 t paprika

1/4 t garlic powder

1/8 t onion powder

1/4 t dried thyme

1/4 t dried parsley

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

2 T butter

1 T olive oil

2 t garlic powder

3 T lime juice

In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, 1/4 t garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle generously over both sides of the chicken. Heat butter and olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with 2 t garlic powder and lime juice. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce.

Another old picture from November. Jack did this pizza all by himself - dough included. He's getting to be quite the chef. If only I could get Taylor to cook something besides Ramen and baked potatoes . . .

Waiting

2010-12-20T10:59:00.002-07:00

So while we wait today at PCMC, I thought I might as well make good use of my time sitting here doing nothing.

For anyone who has never had the opportunity to come to PCMC for a same day surgery, the whole process of simply checking in can be quite an ordeal.

We got a call this morning to come as soon as we could since the first case had been cancelled. We were already on the road by the time of the phone call, but still in PG city limits. Luckily both traffic and weather cooperated and we were here by 8:15. I had anticipated that since they were waiting on us, the whole check-in process would be expidited. I was wrong. First you have to check in on a computer and take a pager (there are never any pagers). Then wait for your pager to beep, or your name to be called (still don't understand the pager concept since the check in desk is about 3 feet away). We waited 20 minutes to check in, even though I told them that we had been summoned early. Once called to the check in desk, Lane and I both get stickers with Addie's name on them and wristbands, also with her name on them. Then we go back to the waiting area and wait some more.

Eventually, our name gets called to go to a pre-op room. Addie gets weighed and measured and her vitals taken. She changes into hospital jammies. Then we wait.

After a while the surgeon or doctor comes by to visit and re-explain what they are going to do and answer any questions. Then we wait.

Then a nurse practitioner comes and explains everything again and answers any questions again. When she is done, she takes us to the OTHER pre-op room. And we wait.

The anesthesiolist comes and speaks to us in Pre-Op #2. Today we were blessed with an exceptionally personable anesthesiologist. He was very thorough and spoke as much to Addie as he did to us. He even offered her the choice of going to sleep with the mask on (which she HATES!!) or having an IV placed. She chose the IV, and I wasn't surprised at all. She has had that mask on so many times and I think it is actually the scariest part of the whole experience for her. They have never given her a choice before. The anesthesiologst went to order the IV placed, and when he came back he said that the nurse practitioner didn't give her a choice because "what 8 year old child would want a poke instead of a mask?" Well, like the anesthesiologist said, kids who have been through a lot of this sort of stuff have been poked a lot and it isn't nearly as scary as that mask, with which they are not as familiar. I was so glad that she got to choose. I think it is very helpful in this sort of a situtation, when the child feels that everything is being done TO them, to let them have some control. I think it helps them feel not so helpless.

So she got her IV placed, and off we went to the cath lab. She started to cry a little bit when we reached the part where we can't go any further with her. The nurses were so sweet and let her hold her babies that we had brought with us.

And now we wait again.

We didn't have any breakfast this morning since Addie was fasting. We figured we would eat after her procedure started. We walked away from her at 10:02.

The cafeteria closes from 10:00 to 11:00 to make the change from breakfast to lunch. Naturally.

And so we wait.

About $15 for a good one

2010-12-09T20:02:00.003-07:00

. . . and back again we go to Primary Childrens. I got a phone call today from PCMC to schedule Addie for cardiac catheter lab on December 16. I'm glad they could fit us in before the year was out since our out of pocket max is just about met. So we have a regular follow up appointment on Monday, and then back we go again on the 16th for cath lab. Although I knew we would have to do cath lab, I had somehow forgotten about it - probably due to all the other stuff going on in recent months.

Whenever Addie goes for an echo, Dr. Day always goes "Hmmmm. That's weird." And it's pretty much the same whenever she goes to cath lab. "Hmmm. Didn't expect to see THAT." Dr. Day always shows us the film (?) from the cath and last time he showed 2 films. Silly doctor, he said to us "See that?" (Yeah, it's like looking at an ultrasound - nothing recognizable). "Uh huh," we always say. And then he goes on to explain why it is out of the ordinary. It happens every single time and we've just come to expect it as our normal.

I have reached Full Blown Christmas Panic early this year, as I expected I would. I should be able knock off quite a bit of it this weekend, or at least that is my plan which is sure to be foiled. It is the constant and unexpected foiling of my grand master plan that has put me in this position of Full Blown Christmas Panic a full week earlier than usual. And my Christmas cards aren't even mailed yet!!! One of these years I'm just going to go buy Christmas Cards like everyone else. What is wrong with me that I self-sabatoge with too many projects? I really should seek professional help.

I am in the middle (and by middle, I mean almost the end) of my quarterly pricing review at work. This means that I have to research all of my assigned items and verify that the published pricing is still accurate from the previous quarter. For the most part, I have items to research that are fun to look up - dishes, cooking and baking stuff, home decor, massage items, Christmas trees and decorations, . . . you know, fun stuff. I even have to do research on things like blood pressure monitors and bathroom scales that, while not exactly fun, isn't objectionable. Good stuff. Fun times. I also have really awful stuff (by my own infalable estimation). Baseball cards. Hospital beds. Handheld urinals. Yes, that's handheld urinals. Not so much fun. Not fun at all, in fact. But I can tell you when you are, or are not, getting a good deal next time you need to buy one. 'Cause you just never know when you are gonna need one.

Cruise - Part II

2010-11-23T19:38:00.004-07:00

We took another trip to Tulum. When the ship docked at Cozumel, it was raining. When we went to meet the ferry to take us over to Playa del Carmen, it rained even harder. It let up some once we got over there, but rained again as we drove to Tulum. Happily, it stopped raining for exactly the amount of time we were at Tulum. When we left, it started to rain again, and contined to rain as we crossed on the ferry. (NOTE: Take Bonine before taking the ferry at Cozumel.) We were among the first getting off the ship, and almost the last getting back on. It make for a frantic day of rushing around and we didn't even get a chance to shop for a single souvenir in Mexico.

Although we had scheduled to go again with Helaman, we were instead met by Helaman son-in-law, Carlos. He did a good tour for us, which was different enough from Helaman's tour of 3 years ago to make me feel like it was all brand new. Tulum is still breathtaking, not only in the ruins themselves, but also the way it sits up on the cliff overlooking the ocean.

These stairs down to the beach were washed out on our last visit from a recent hurricane.

The next day we had a day at sea, so I killed some time trying to get a picture of me and Lane. He kept pulling faces - but none so funny as this one. I laughed and laughed until I cried. The ship photographer took a pretty funny one of him at dinner one night, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay $20 for it. We laughed thinking about what the cashiers reaction would have been if we had taken it up to purchase. Still - it wasn't as good as this one. I don't care what anyone says. I'm blowing it up and putting it on my desk. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Yep. That's champagne. One of my frustrations this cruise was that instead of giving away their "Ship on a Stick" trophies like they have in years past to winners of various games, this year they only gave away champagne. I'll have to write a letter to Carnival about that because I refuse to believe that we were the only 6 non-drinkers on the entire ship. And I wanted another trophy! Anyway, I have a bottle of champagne now (yes, we brought it home), and my friend Jennifer has one too. We would have had a 3rd if not robbed in one competition! It still hurts.

The other good thing about this picture is photographic evidence of Lane in a Hawaiian print shirt. He actually has 3 of them and he will only consent to wearing them on the cruise ship. He does it under duress and only to please me. But whatever it takes, you know?

Cruise - Part I

2010-11-23T19:26:00.002-07:00

Oh, the silky, soft sand of the Carribbean islands. Our first stop on our trip was at Grand Cayman. We've been there before, 2 years ago, and we did the Stingray thing. This time we visited 7 Mile Beach and paid nearly $40 for a mediocre lunch. The day was warm enough, not hot, and we enjoyed a long walk on the beach and some souvenir shopping around town. There were 4 cruise ships there that day, so it was crowded downtown and the streets and sidewalks are narrow and the car traffic is always heavy so getting around town is a bit frustrating when your life-long philosophy is that crowds should be avoided.

Please don't notice that I still have old nail polish on my toes. I'm so ashamed.

The silky soft sand of the Carribbean islands is accompanied by crystal clear water. It's my Happy Place.

The water is too shallow for cruise ships to come all the way in to a pier, so they anchor a ways out and transport passengers in and back by tender. This is Lane and I headed back to the ship on the tender. This is also one of the few decent photographs of Lane before he decided to be non-cooperative in photo-taking.

This is our ship as we approached it on the tender. And we were one of the smallest ships there that day. You can see another tender alongside the ship.

Looking back over the back edge of the ship. I'm surprised this turned out this well since the sun was bright in my face and I couldn't really see what I was doing.

Baptism

2010-11-08T22:05:00.003-07:00

Addie was baptized on Saturday. How is it possible that 8 years have passed since those early, scary days of her life? We went through weeks of agony, wondering if we would even be able to bring our baby home, and now here we are, 8 years later, with a beautiful girl who is too healthy for her own good. You would never know there was anything wrong with her - and sometimes we manage to forget. What a blessing she has always been to us.

So it was with great pride and gratitude that I helped her change into her white clothes to be baptized. She, too, was very excited about the whole thing. She smiled at everyone who came to share her special day, and listened reverently to the speakers.

When her turn came to be baptized, I walked with her into the changing room, and opened the door to the font, where her dad was waiting. It was at this point that she fell apart. I don't know if she was overcome by the magnitude of being baptized . . . or feeling the spirit . . . or just plain scared. But she cried. And cried. I hugged her tight and told her how much we love her. Finally she nodded that she was ready, and off she went to be baptized. Poor Lane - it must have seemed like an eternity that he was standing there, wondering what was going on.

It is sort of a sad thing to have the last one baptized. It is such an exciting day: a day they are old enough to always remember, a day they have been anticipating since they were in nursery.

This was especially important to me because Addie never had a Blessing Day. This was her first Big Day in the world of Mormon milestones. She was blessed the same day she was born. Lane and his dad gave her a blessing and they were the only ones in attendance. We had received permission from our bishop to give her the blessing there at PCMC because her prognosis was so precarious, we wanted to get her on record . . . just in case. They couldn't even put their hands on her head - they had to do her foot because it was the only part of her tiny body not hooked up to something.

Well, after some pretty scary days and nights over the course of those 7 weeks in November and December, we were able to bring her home and she has thrived and been amazingly healthy. I think she only ever had 1 ear infection and rarely got sick (other than a few occurances of RSV and croup). She still doesn't get sick with all the stuff going around as much as the rest of us do. There is no logical explanation for it - we were told she would always be small-ish and sickly looking. My faith tells me it comes from the words of the blessing given that Halloween afternoon, 8 years ago; words of a blessing I never heard with my ears . . . but felt with my heart.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2010-10-28T20:57:00.002-06:00

Christmas starts in 3 days. Oh, I know, there are some of you out there foolish enough to think that we still have Thanksgiving. We do have Thanksgiving, but just as the Bloomin' Onion is the tasty appetizer for a terrific steak dinner, Thanksgiving is the tasty appetizer for Christmas.

So as I gear up for my favorite time of the year (if only someone could do something about the dreadful cold and snow!), I share my top ten favorite things about the Holidays:

1. The busy-ness. I like to be, shall we say, anxiously engaged in a good cause. I love making gifts, even if I typically take on too much. It all gets done in time. Despite my best efforts, there always ends up being "just one more thing" and somehow it gets me all jazzed.

2. 24 Hours of a Christmas Story. Yes, I watch it over, and over. Or at least it's on in the background while I clean up the schrapnel from Christmas morning and slip into my Christmas Day Goodie induced coma.

3. Being able to freely use the phrase "Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins" and have people knod knowingly instead of looking at me quizically.

4. Christmas Trees. We have graduated from 1 tree to 2, and I'm seriously thinking that we might just need 3. Yes, I'm almost possitive that we need 3. Christmas trees must always have multi-colored lights, and lots of 'em. Not a big fan of the clear/white lights. If your tree doesn't have AT LEAST 6 strings of lights on it, you're not trying hard enough. Get it together. You shame yourself.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas. It almost makes me cry every year. I love his Christmas tree.

6. Getting out the Christmas stuff. My kids still think this is tremendous fun, and it is, because they have been around now for enough Christmases that the ornaments and other decorations have meaning to them too. We have to discuss almost every ornament before it goes on the tree. Lots of memories there. We are getting so many ornaments now, that a 3rd tree perhaps could be a necessity. See how I rationalize?

7. Christmas Cards. I love the newsletters. Keep sending them! I know some people don't like them, but I do. I read them all, and after Christmas they all go into an album. Except the 2009 cards, which are still in the cardholder on the entryway table where they have sat since last Christmas. Don't worry - they'll get into the album eventually!

8. Video Games. There aren't a lot of video games that I play, but I will play at Christmas because once the gifts are open, there isn't a lot to do. The void left in my life from 2 months of Christmas Panic needs to be filled, and mindless video games seems a good way to fill it.

9. Our collection of Christmas books. It all began with one of our most treasured Christmas items: A lovely hardbound copy of "Polar Express," a gift from Greg and Tara many years ago. It has a special place under the Christmas tree, front and center, with nothing stacked on top of it. Over the years, mostly thanks to Scholastic Book orders coming home from school, we have added and added to our Christmas book collection which goes under the tree with, but NEVER on top of, Polar Express. We get at least 1 new book each year but I have become more discriminating in recent years and get nice ones from Seagull Book. Who knew that such a simple thing could turn into one of our family's most important traditions? This, more than anything else, has shown me that traditions are mostly not planned things; they just happen accidentally, and that's what makes them so precious.

10. Christmas morning. As we all stagger in on Christmas morning, eyes not fully open and no one quite able to walk in a straight line, it's fun to see how everyone reacts. Taylor is now old enough that she curls up on one end of the couch and pretends she's going back to sleep. Jack sits as patiently as he can, acting like he doesn't care much one way or the other, but in the end unable to contain his own excitement. Addie is still young enough that she just bounces non-stop until we have the camera ready and can begin the official Present Opening. Everyone is in their brand new cookie pants that were a gift on Christmas Eve, there is a fire in the fireplace, and Christmas music is playing.

I can't wait.

Where is that ship?

2010-10-25T20:30:00.002-06:00

I finally got the last of Addie's medical bills paid off tonight. That was almost $900 I wasn't planning on spending this close to our vacation and Christmas, but we got it paid and it's good to have that over with. We meet again with the cardiologist on December 13 so we are hoping that if he needs to do anything else anytime soon, he can do it before the end of the year so we won't have to put out much more money on her this year. I didn't opt to use the insurance offered at my job during 2010 because it didn't make much financial sense to, but because of the increase in out of pocket expenses in our plan for 2011, I think I'll opt in. Hopefully the one will pay whatever the other one doesn't. I really do hate to complain much about the cost of insurance and copays/coinsurance, because we take out lots more in benefits than we pay in to the system. We're just glad we've always been blessed with really good insurance.

I got a little bit of Christmas shopping done this weekend (a few more checkmarks on my far-too-blank list) and have most of the Christmas sewing cut out during the BYU football game. I don't enjoy the cutting out very much, but it is nice to have it out of the way so I can just sew and sew and sew. Until I run out of thread and have to make a trip out. Only to come home and realize that I was also out of elastic. So I run out again. And the I discover that I don't have enough interfacing. So I run out again. Hopefully I have averted this disaster by buying extra elastic and thread when I purchased my fabric and made a special effort not to plan on sewing anything that requires interfacing. But there will still be something, and I will have to run out to Walmart for that one stupid thing, and stand in that long line, and listen to the unknown and unseen child in the distance who always seems to be screaming.

The September-ish October weather has rudely changed to October-ish October weather. I expect there will be snow soon and I have to drive in it now all the way over to 800 North. Bleh. If there is anything I hate more than driving (and believe me, there are few things I hate more than driving) it is driving in snow. I really need to have my ship come in so I can hire a chauffeur. I've been waiting for that dang ship for a long time now, so I think I'm due. Overdue.

Will trade cupcakes for driving service.

Rambling

2010-10-18T21:12:00.002-06:00

I have nothing of any consequence to blog about (do I ever, really?) but since it's been a week since my last post I feel compelled to say something. So here's the rambling musings of Lari:

I made THE. MOST. GORGEOUS tomato sauce ever on Saturday. So pretty, in fact, that we are not allowed to eat it. It's only for display purposes. Everyone who makes the error of coming to the house is forced to admire said tomato sauce while I gush about it's absolute lovliness. It happened by accident, to tell the truth, but there it is and now that I know I can make gorgeous tomato sauce I will only make gorgeous tomato sauce even though it took the whole live-long day to simmer and I only got 2 quarts. I don't care. Totally worth it.

Christmas is coming. Coming soon. Coming very soon. Have I made the prototype of my Christmas card? No. Do I even have a design in mind? No. Have I made the list of gifts? Kinda sorta: the list is made with all the names of people I need to gift and a few, very few, even have notes by their names. Even fewer have checkmarks next to them indicating the gift has been made or purchased. October is nearly gone - Christmas Panic will be coming early this year. I may start to freak out the day after Halloween when the Christmas music starts. In fact, I think I will plan on freaking out, that way it won't come as a surprise.

Finally - my 15 micro-seconds of fame

2010-10-10T18:12:00.003-06:00

KSL news was at my office recently to do a story in conjunction with the Herriman fire insurance claims. Unbeknownst to me, I made it into the clip. Well, the back of me made it into the clip. I was probably the token female since there are only 2 of us on the entire 4th floor. But here it is - it sort of explains what my company does:

http://ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12707617

In other boring news, we are anxiously lasting out these last 5 weeks until our cruise. We booked it a year ago, so it seems like it has been coming forever! At the 30 day mark I start piling clothes, etc to go into the suitcase and make lists of lists of lists so I don't forget anything. It seems like a long time coming this year, but hopefully that will make it even that much better. So while you are are cold and miserable here in November, think of me fondly while I am soaking up the sun in the Carribbean.

It only took me a year

2010-10-02T20:46:00.002-06:00

Since it's been a full year since Jack left Cub Scouts, I thought maybe it was finally time to organize his stuff into a display. I decided it had been sitting in a neat pile in my sewing room long enough. So I finally went and got a shadow box to put it in, and then left it sitting all neatly arranged ON TOP OF the shadow box for about 2 weeks in my kitchen. So in the spirit of family service as mentioned in Conference today, I finally got it done. No, it isn't well centered. Yes, I probably could have arranged the Webelos pins in a more balanced fashion. Yes, it would probably look better if I had spray painted the frame navy blue. No, I don't think that's all his belt loops - he was forever taking them on and off his belt so I'm actually happy we have retained this many. Yes, I am proud of my former Cub scout and his achievements and glad that we have a visible reminder to those 3 really fun years.

In other musings, despite my last posting, I really do consider myself a reasonably intelligent person. For the most part. Early mornings excluded, of course. I can get around a computer fairly adeptly. I understand most of the computer jargon. I can figure lots of things out through trial and error . . . and error . . . and error. I'm not my mother who firmly believes she can singlehandedly bring down the entire internet. I'm not my sister who recently learned how to open an email but still can't send one. Nor am I the compuer whiz that my father, brothers and other sister are. But I do ok. I manage. And I have chosen to surround myself with family and friends who know how to fix what I break.

But that blasted iTunes is seriously the bane of my existence. I'm pretty sure the program changes format every single time I access it. There is no other program that I have ever used (and I'm running Vista on this computer, people!) that befuddles me like iTunes. I worked with PeachTree accounting software at a job a long time ago that was pretty messed up. But seriously, iTunes confounds me. Even my more-techno-savvy-than-me kids hate it. LOVE the iPod, DESTEST iTunes. Surely there is someone out there that gets it - surely there are a lot of people out there who get it. One of you needs to volunteer to come to my house once a week for iPod maintenance.

"Will trade cupcakes for iPod servicing"

Maybe I should hang a sign in my front window. But then some 8 year old child would show up, get everything perfectly synced and running and charged in 5 minutes and then my feelings would be hurt.

And I am a really good pouter. It's an art form mastered by Walkers. Lane knows when it's coming. He'll say, "Oh great. Here come the Walker eyebrows." I don't know how to explain it because it isn't a learned behavior. It's a gift. Addie has it. I don't think I've seen Taylor do a good Walker pout. Jack doesn't pout because he's pretty much happy all the time. The best Walker pout I've seen belongs to Calvin's daughter Marissa. She had it mastered as a two year old and has refined it since. Luckily, no one has seen it in a long time because she is quite smitten and recently engaged so she smiles all the time.

How did we get here? Oh yeah. iTunes.

Did you see at the end of conference today the app mentioned? It's called Mormon Channel (this is probably old news to everybody but me. I don't browse iTunes/App Store because of the aforementioned iTunes hating). But I did download that today which is handy because it has audio sciptures and all the Ensigns, not just the Conferece editions like my other LDS app. Plus it's FREE. I love free stuff.

Stupid

2010-09-30T21:49:00.003-06:00

Wanna know how stupid I am? Well, figure how stupid you already KNOW I am, and then know I am even stupider than that.

I go to work at 8:00 am. For a few days I have been expecting a new computer, and the IT guy came and delivered it this morning. I don't remember what time, but somewhere between 9 and 10. So he got the new computer all hooked up and I began resetting my personal settings, such as wallpaper (a tranquil beach scene) and transferring my personal files from the network.

As the morning wore on, I was stunned at how slowing it was going by. I was plenty busy, time should not have been dragging. I was starving by 11 and I don't usually eat until 1. By the time 1 finally rolled around, after what seemed like the longest morning EVER, I went to the break room to cook my lunch and was surprised that no one else was in there. There is usually at least one other person in there cooking their lunch. So I cooked my lunch and went back to my desk. I read my book while I eat and was surprised when I was notified of a team meeting in my supervisor's office. Again, I was surprised that a meeting would be held during the hours between 12 - 2, since that's when people have their lunches . . . but whatever. I left my lunch on my desk and went to the meeting.

When the meeting was over, I went back to my lunch and my book and then back to work. Later, I sent an email to a co-worker and he never responded. AGAIN I was surprised because he usually responds pretty fast. Hmmm . . . I thought. He must have gone home early today.

I leave work at 4:30. Today I needed to be sure to leave on time because Taylor was at home watching Addie until I got home and she wanted to go to the JV football game and I needed to take Addie to American Fork hopsital for another blood draw. So at 4:20 I was winding things up . . . completing the days work so I could leave right on time. It was at this time I got a curious text from Taylor: "Where r u?" What the heck was she taking about? I had told her this morning that I would be home at 4:45.

So to make a long story even longer, it was at this time that I decided to look at my watch instead of the time on the computer. While the computer clock showed 4:20, my watch showed 5:20!

Suddenly, the whole day made sense. I didn't eat lunch at 1:00 as usual - I ate lunch at 2:00! No wonder the morning had dragged on for so long! I never look at my watch at work, since it's handier to look at the clock so conveniently placed in the lower right corner of my computer monitor. So I raced home and got Taylor to her game and Addie to the hospital, where I was pleased to find out that we didn't have to wait at all. And, the silver lining to the whole thing is that I can leave early tomorrow!

Except that knowing myself as I do, I will forget to change my computer clock and I'll still end up being there an extra hour! I am so stupid!

We won't die immediately

2010-09-25T20:42:00.004-06:00

The fruits of my labors.

What sort of demented world do we live in that I actually ENJOY canning? There was almost no worse chore in kid-dom than the annual canning. It was truly excrutiating. The kind of chore that parents invent for the sole purpose of torturing children. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason my mom did it.

But somewhere along the way, when it became MY fruit and MY food storage, it wasn't quite so bad. Even back in the years when I didn't have kids to help me (and by help, of course I mean complain).

I remember the peach canning of 2002, when my mother-in-law and Lane's grandma showed up and my front porch unexpectedly and unannounced because they thought I might just need some help with the canning. And did I ever! For whatever reason I had a huge crop of peaches, no help, and was 6 months pregnant with Addie. My feet and ankles were swollen so huge that the skin actually hurt, and my MIL pointed out that I could peel the peaches sitting down. Hmmm . . . what a concept. I had never thought of that before and it worked great and kept me off my giant, elephant feet. I will never forget that peach canning episode because of their kindness in helping me. I doubt I would ever have gotten it done alone, and even if I had, it may not have been a good thing, since I was put on bed rest shortly thereafter, followed by Addie's far-too-soon arrival on Halloween.

But I digress. Every single time I lift the sealed jars out of the water-bath canner, it warms my heart because everything looks so pretty. There is almost no color as gorgeous as the golden color of freshly processed peaches. And my heart warms even more when the jars are cool and I move them onto the shelves and say out loud to myself, or anyone who happens to be wandering by, "We won't die immediately."

Sometimes I just go in and look at it. Okay, I frequently go in and look at it. It is all really pretty on the shelves, even prettier with the knowledge that we, in fact, won't die immediately. With all the peaches, tomatoes, applesauce, and purchased canned goods, we would linger for a few months, at least, as long as we were careful.

At our old house, I kept close track of some things, such as toothpaste, shampoo, and other non-food items to make sure we always had a years supply. I don't know where or when I got off track. Maybe it is just a simple matter of having more kids . . . or older kids . . . or not paying attention . . . but we don't have a years supply of anything anymore. Except salt. I'm pretty sure I have a years supply of salt. What can I say - it was on a screaming deal at Maceys once. I do love me a screaming deal.

So since I haven't tortured my kids sufficiently with the annual canning (they think I have, but I'm pretty sure they are WRONG), for Family Home Evening this week we are evaluating our years supply. I attended a really great class once and the book has a chart for calculating food and non-food storage, as well as recipes that use typical food storage items. Again, way back when I was a better woman than I am now, I used to make at least one of those meals every week so we could learn what we liked and what we would rather die than eat. I found out we don't like lentils. I don't recall what I did with all those lentils I had stored, but I no longer store lentils. I think that given the choice between lentils and certain starvation - well, let's just say that it would require some careful consideration.

I have again gone off on a tangent (look! something shiny!). Since I bought a juicer last year, I juiced my grapes this year. I have always given them away before, but manned up and juiced them for once. I should have bought a juicer years ago! What a wonderful little contraption that is! (Ok, in the interest of full disclosure, I know these are not new and my mom used to borrow my Aunt Della's to do the grape jelly. However, that memory, as mentioned above, is still somehow associated with childhood abuse and torture.) The beautiful purple color of freshly processed grape juice almost rivals the golden color of the peaches. If you take 1/3 cup of the grape juice (concentrate? I guess?) and add it to a full can of ginger ale - that is one tasty treat. It may just replace my "cocktail" of 1/2 freshly squeezed lime mixed with a can of ginger ale. So since grape juice is so good, and I was terribly bored of bottling peaches, I figured, Hey, lets just toss the peaches in the juicer and see what happens. I did it with apples last year, although the apples didn't produce a lot of juice for the work invested. But since peaches are juicier, I decided to give it a try. I haven't tried out the peach juice yet, because at 1/3 cup at a time, we are still working through the open quart jar in the fridge.

I don't do stewed tomatoes anymore, just tomato sauce and it has changed my life. I don't enjoy the whole blanching process very much and my kids are freaked out by the fibrous, stringy tomato bits that wind up in soups and chili over the winter. So I sauce them. It's a much better way to go.

So to sum up: enjoy the canning . . . won't die immediately . . . a thousand points of light. . .

On my Honor

2010-09-15T21:17:00.003-06:00

On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Whew. That's a lot longer than the Cub Scout Oath. If my Webelos have to learn it, I will learn it.

I don't understand why people don't want to serve in Scouts. It is, in my humble opinion, the best job there is in the church. Sure, it is challenging if you have a ton of boys, but for the most part it is just the best place to be. I have spent time in all 3 dens, but my experience so far in Webelos is the best one yet. My boys are the best, and I hope they enjoy their time in Webelos as much as I will.

Birthdays, Cupcakes & Clots

2010-09-13T15:23:00.005-06:00

We had a family barbeque in honor of Lane's grandma's 80th birthday. We had the REAL big family do at the family reunion in July, but this was her real birthday so we wanted to do something. Of course that meant that I had to bake cupcakes. I tried out a new one - Sour Cream Blueberry - which turned out pretty good, but again nothing to write home about. The looked pretty with the fresh blueberries, though.

I tried again with the Rootbeer Float cupcakes, this time using the good, expensive Root Beer, not Shasta like last time (what was I thinking?) They definetly turned out better than the Shasta ones, but I'm still not loving them. I'm thinking of trying it with different sodas. I'm not a root beer lover, so maybe that's the problem.

Jack had his birthday on Thursday. He got new Legos and fishing stuff for his weekend fishing trip with his dad. Apparently, they had a great time fishing and caught lots. Earlier in the week, Jack had his interview with the bishop and will be ordained a Deacon on Sunday, the 18th. PLEASE everyone say a prayer that he doesn't drop an entire tray of water on someone's lap. PLEASE!! I am actually begging.

Then today we had our follow up appointment at PCMC. To catch up, Addie had her regular check up on August 30th. She was scheduled for an echocardiogram, which always makes us nervous because every time she has one, the doctor says "Hmmmm." And then we have something new to deal with. Sure enough, at this echo, the radiologist said "Hmmmm." And then they said that Addie might have a blood clot. They were almost sure it wasn't, but just to be sure they wanted to do another procedure called a trans-esophogeal echocardiogram where they put her under general anesthesia and then go down her throat to get a better look at her heart.

So she came through the TEE today like a trooper, threw up once coming out of anesthesia - she's done that before. Then our cardiologist came by and said that the good news was that what they had seen on the first echo WAS NOT a clot! Whoo hoo! That's one less thing to worry about, right? Nope. They found two other things that probably are clots. So given that blood clots are not unusual for someone with Addie's history, and given that I have had blood clots and both of my parents have had blood clots, I'm thinking it's a safe bet that it's clots. We are waiting for blood test results tomorrow, but probably they will have to start treating her with coumadin since the daily aspirin isn't doing the job. I'll have to start wrapping her in bubble wrap to send her to school - she is very clumsy and falls down a lot. Her teacher will just love it if she starts spurting blood every time she skins her knee!

Our cardiologist said that they will probably also have to do another procedure if she is prone to clots, but it is just done in the cardiac catheter lab, not technically a surgery, so we'll see about that one when we get blood test results.

The Company Party

2010-08-31T20:08:00.003-06:00

My company had a summer party on the 21st up at Sundance. I've never worked for a company large enough to have a summer party like this so it was quite a treat. They had crafts going on for the kids, horseback riding, mountain bike riding, inflatable bouncy things, and we could ride the ski lift. So we rode up the ski lift, it took about a half hour to go up. I rode with Jack and Taylor and Lane rode with Addie. Evidently, Addie found the ride to be very scary and cried most of the way up. Once we were up there, we looked around some and followed a trail around a little bit. I took some pictures of the kids and the scenery and found out today when I downloaded the pictures that I had the camera on the wrong setting. Luckily, Lane discovered my mistake when I handed the camera off to him, so only the first few pictures are bad.

Coming back down the lift I rode with Lane and Addie, and sent Jack and Taylor ahead of us. This calmed Addie down quite a bit and she had fun on the ride back down. It seemed to be the really steep parts like this that she found upsetting. That's Jack and Taylor right ahead of us. Or should I say below us?

They had a whole bunch of the inflatable bouncy things, and Jack and Addie bounced forever. Taylor finally had to give in and bounce too, but I was under strict orders that that there should be no photographic evidence of it. We should have known better than to let Addie bounce so long. It was so hot and she did too much, and when we went to have dinner she didn't feel good, and looked even worse. As she rested and cooled down some, she felt better. Sundance catered a nice barbeque for us.

For the final event of the night, Xactware had Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band do a concert. It was so good, and everyone had the best time! What a great company I work for!

Back to school and Baking Day

2010-08-31T19:59:00.001-06:00

The first day of school! It's the most wonderful day of the year! Again, Taylor didn't want her picture taken, but the other two think it's the best thing ever to have "The First Day of School" picture taken.

I was lucky enough on Saturday to get to have a baking day. I baked 2 dozen rolls, pretzels, and 6 dozen lime cupcakes. I love baking days! The cupcakes lasted until Monday evening, the pretzels lasted until Sunday afternoon, and the rolls were gone by Saturday night.

I also rounded up a few tomatoes from a friend, and managed to get 4 1/2 quarts of tomato sauce done. My tomatoes are mostly all still green, but even still my garden just didn't produce as well as it has in years past. If you know of surplus tomatoes, I will gladly take them!

Raspberry Lemonade & Pink Velvet

2010-08-21T13:11:00.003-06:00

This is my regular pink lemonade cupcake, but I decided to be a little crazy and add raspberry extract to the frosting. It was ok . . . pretty good I guess, but not nearly as spectacular as it was in my head. I think I'll try it again, a different sort of way, and see if I can make it as spectacular as I think it should be.

This is my pink velvet. I make it from scratch and it is so good! It's not at all heavy or dense like some scratch cakes are. I think I've shared the recipe before, but in case I haven't:

Pink Velvet Cupcakes:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/8 t pink paste food coloring (I have also used regular food coloring, but now that I have some paste, I like it better)
3 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (I NEVER buy buttermilk for anything - shhh, don't tell - but you can quickly sour milk by putting 1 T vinegar in a 1 cup and adding enough milk to fill it. Yeah, I cheat)

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and food coloring until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately wth the butter milk and beating well after each addition.

Fill paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 until done. (The recipe says 23 - 25 minutes, but that's just crazy. Mine are done in 15-17 minutes.)

I have frosted them with white chocolate mousse frosting as well as plain whipped cream. I believe that all cupcakes need to be sprinkled with something, so I used sugar crystals, and then white chocolate chips just to dress it up and because there must ALWAYS be chocolate somewhere.

I found a shirt at Kohls that said "Cupcakes make me smile," but unfortunately it didn't come in size fat so I had to take a pass. Bummer. But one of my aprons is all cupcaked-out - like my blog wallpaper, so I guess it's ok.

White Trash

2010-08-09T21:23:00.001-06:00

We live on White Trash Lane. So after 6+ years here, I have decided to truly embrace my own White Trashiness and watch Wipe Out. It has become a huge pasttime for us around here, thanks to the beauty of the DVR. We get our popcorn, chips, soda and bunch up on the couch and laugh until we cry, or wet ourselves, whichever comes first. So much do we enjoy our Wipe Out time, that I found a Wipe Out game for the Wii that everyone has had a great time with. Sometimes they have to pause the game for a minute to catch their breath from laughing so hard. Me - I don't play the video game. I watch and I laugh, but I don't play. I was not blessed with the gift that would allow me to play video games that require 2 controllers. Can't do it. I'm far too spastic, I guess. But everyone else is having a great time. I'm having a great time too, just in an observational/supervisory role.

I sit here tonight $200 poorer. That's what it cost for Taylor's high school fees. And she isn't even doing anything extracurricular! That's just all the regular stuff! Oh, I know, I complain about it every year, just as my mother complained about it every year, and just as my kids will complain about it when they are the parents. $200 is actully less than what I was expecting, so I guess it isn't so bad, and that does include her yearbook. I still have her school shopping to do; Jack and Addie are both done.

And speaking of Jack - I took him to Kohls to get his clothes, and after much wandering around finally found the "young men's" department. Yeah, everytihng was too small. So off we went to the MENS department. MENS?!? Are you kidding? He isn't quite 12 yet! The pants in the boys/young mens dept fit his waist but were too short. The pants in the mens dept were too big in the waist but the right length. There is no inbetween. I managed to find him 3 pairs of pants (because that's ALL THEY HAD with a 29 waist), but he will have to wear a belt or the will quite literally fall off. I teased him about being too thin and too tall, and he respoinded with "What do you want me to do? Eat non-stop and just sit around?" I told him that's pretty much what he does now, and it doesn't seem to make any difference. I expect I will have to go back to Kohls at Christmas and completely replace the 3 pairs I bought. I don't think they will still be long enough by then. I need a 28 waist and a 31 lenghth, if anyone knows where I can find such a thing. The shirts I got for him are Mens Medium and fit perfectly. Again, he's 12. ALMOST.

Thunderstorms

2010-08-04T21:36:00.003-06:00

I really adore summer thunderstorms. Way back in the olden days when I was a kid, we all would go sit on the front porch, (which faces west) and watch the storms roll in from the south. The view of the lake was somewhat less obstructed back then, and watching the lightning dance over the lake was a real treat. So whenever the thunder begins, some one in the family says "SHHHH!" an then we listen to the thunder, and then in something resembling unity: "Ooooooh!" It's weird, but it's what we do.

Occasionally, there is a storm in the middle of the night - like last night. Ok, maybe not the middle of the night, but if I'm still sleeping, it's "the middle of the night." Around 5 it woke me up. My first thought was, wow! that's good thunder! That was followed by, No . . . that can't be thunder. There isn't any pause between. So I went to investigate. (It is important to note that my bedroom is in the basement.) Not only did it prove to be thunder, but it was THE BEST thunder, accompanied by THE BEST lightning. It was HUGE bolts of lightning, seeming to touch the ground over in Saratoga Springs, and the accompanying thunder crashes were so loud! The whole sky would light up when the lightning would strike, and the thunder just rolled and rolled . . . like one on top of another. It was a thunder storm that hasn't been equaled by these eyes in quite some time. Eventually the skies opend up, and did it rain! I sat and watched all this majesty for about 45 minutes and then went back to bed, only to get up again a half hour later to get ready for work.

Then it all started up again this afternoon. It rained hard again, with some hail, and the thunder was again magnificent. The lightning wasn't quite as good, but it also wasn't as dark. I love the storms! Our plans to go to the pool after dinner were spoiled, but that's ok when the trade-off is so worth it.

Taylor and Jack (mostly Jack) made tacos for dinner. I must say, it is pretty great to come home and have dinner at least started.

I finished another book. That makes 2. Oh yeah, count them, baby. 2 books. Since June. If you really want to be generous, I listened to "The Magician's Nephew" at work today. There are a few books (mostly The Lord of the Ring series and Harry Potter) on the network at work, but luckily they also have the Narnia series. I'm already getting tired of my music, and the network music, and the pandora.com music . . . I just needed a change, and I do like the Narnia books so it worked out good. So if you count that, it's a whopping 3 books. I have 2 books loaded up on the ipod to listen to tomorrow. The book I just finished is "Gods and Angels" by Jeff Shaara. It was really good to begin with, but towards the end (the war chapters) it got a little too . . . um, what's the word . . . detailed? I don't know what I mean. I love the Civil War period as much as the next guy, but it just really seemed to bog down in military strategy, which I didn't care much for.

2010-07-29T22:22:00.002-06:00

I really, Really, REALLY love cupcakes. Moreso even than cake - I know, it's weird. I have always loved cupcakes, ever since I can remember. And a truly great cupcake can make my heart leap with joy - again, I know, weird.

These are my Pioneer Day cupcakes. Nothing fancy, though, no time and no fancy ingredients. I did make the cake part into a funfetti and threw some more sprinkles on top so it looks more "gourmet" than it actually was.

Taylor had her birthday on Monday. 15. Holy crap - how did that happen? She is reading the Utah State Driver's Manual so she can go get her permit hopefully next week. HOLY CRAP!!! My baby?!? DRIVING!?!

Wisdom Teeth and Bubbles

2010-07-20T19:47:00.003-06:00

Taylor had her wisdom teeth out on Monday. She was all worked up into a dither that it was the end of the world, only to find out that it wasn't so bad after all. She has gotten along so far very well, no swelling or bruising, minimal pain. The thing that seems to pain her the most is that she can't have any popcorn! I'm glad that the teeth pulling won't interfere with her highly anticipated birthday on Monday. She's been counting days since about March.

Look what I get to do! My favorite days are days when there is decent fabric in Walmart's $1 bin. Now I can sew and sew . . . Addie has informed me that she only wants dresses for 2nd grade. I don't know about ONLY, but I can make her several dresses for about $3 each.

I got these cute lanters from Avon. They looked cute in the brochure, but they are even cuter than I thought. They don't give off much light, but they are fun when Lane and I sit out on the back porch in the evening with our coctails. There was 3 in the package and I have 6 hooks, so I need to order 3 more.

Addie ran out of bubbles, so she mixed dish soap in water in her bubbles container, and it makes the best bubbles! They are huge and don't pop very quickly. This one sat on the grass long enough for me to take 4 pictures, including me moving around between shots. I don't know what her portions are of soap to water, but I guess she's just a bubble genius. Jack is a paper genius, and I guess we are still waiting to see what genius Taylor is. She makes really good microwave popcorn . . . Does that count?

Farewell, Jake

2010-07-15T19:23:00.004-06:00

He lived a good life. At least that's what I keep telling myself. He lived a good life.

We got Jake 12 years ago in May. He was a little black ball of fur, cuter than just about any puppy ever. We were homeowners, we needed a dog. Taylor was almost 3, I was expecting Jack. The little ball of fur grew quickly into a larger ball of fur and turned into a wonderful family dog. I remember when I had a job where I would type at night, I would let Jake in the house and he would just sit at my feet while I did my job. I'll never forget how he reacted when Lane took him to get fixed. He was so mad at Lane and wouldn't have anything to do with him for about 2 weeks. He was such a great family dog, and would let the kids maul him, climb on him, tug his ears and his stump of a tail with tremendous patience. And this dog was either to dumb, or too well behaved, to ever leave our non-fenced yard. We didn't keep him chained or kenneled - I guess he just didn't have anywhere else to go.

But of late he was getting up very slowly; his hips seemed to be arthritic. He had unexplained lumps under his skin. He could no longer hear. Sometimes he wouldn't get up at all when we were in the yard. He just stayed in the on the grass in the shade, or in the former flower bed where the dirt has, over the course of the years, become hollowed out in the shape of his body. We knew the end was coming, and had agreed that it would be cruel to make him go through another winter.

But yesterday evening the plan changed. We were in the backyard doing a little yard work, and I went to the front yard for the aforementioned herb trimming. As ususal, Jake followed me to the front yard, and then he just kept going. Jake never, NEVER, wanders off. He has been well-trained to stay close by, and he always has. He wandered down to the end of the driveway, and I called to him to come back, which of course he couldn't hear. I sent Addie after him, figuring he would see her and follow her back. He saw her, but kept walking away. I told Addie to go get Lane and I went after the dog myself. I wasn't wearing any shoes, and the dog had a pretty good lead on me. I finally caught up with him, and (foolishly) grabbed his collar from behind. This startled Jake, and he turned toward me, intending to bite. He didn't bite, but he startled me and I let go of his collar. I don't know how I would have dragged him back - I'm not strong enough. Lane came quickly and Jake had walked ahead again. Lane caught up to him, and he also statled him, causing Jake to show his teeth and growl at Lane. Lane, too, was quite shocked by this reaction, as well as the fact that Jake had wandered off in the first place. But Lane got Jake home, and safely in the backyard, and we realized that this was not a good omen.

I have frequently heard of dogs wandering off to die, and that's the first thing I thought of when Jake took off. We can't bear to tie him up after all these years of being free to roam, and we certainly can't have him wandering off again to bite someone or get hit by a car. We had to do the difficult thing. Knowing it has to be done someday, and knowing it has to be done NOW are two different things, and my heart was broken. Lane told me he would make the arrangements in the morning and he would get his friend to go with him, in case Lane couldn't do it alone.

I secretly hoped that Jake would die peacefully in the night, but I checked this morning and he was still alive. He was curled up in a ball, and didn't stir when I went outside, and so I had to look close. I went off to work with a sad heart.

Later in the morning I got a text telling me it was all taken care of, and then I broke down. I'm so glad to have a job where I don't have to talk to people, because it took me almost a half hour to pull myself together. The kids right now are doing ok, I'm not sure if they fully realize what happened. Taylor is at Trek and doesn't even know. I'm so sad. My head knows it was the right thing to do although my heart is aching.

He lived a good life.

Thanks Tonya!

2010-07-14T21:46:00.002-06:00

Lane is the gardener in the family. I have great plans every April. I imagine myself dressed in overalls, holding a hoe, farming the backyard. No one is more enthusiastic than me when we go to the nursery to buy the plant starts. I am ready! Nothing can diminish my excitement. I oversee all the planting, frequently telling Lane what he is doing wrong (he ignores me) and shouting out orders of what we have forgotten to do, declaring that he better get his rear and gear so we won't forget next season. I diligently go and check on the plants as they grow, watch as Lane carefully waters everything and makes adjustments as needed. I am involved and helping . . . .

And then June turns into July. July is hot. Gardening is no longer fun - it becomes a chore, and I DON'T LIKE CHORES! Luckily, I had the good sense to marry a man who will do the chore, with a smile on his face. He enjoys the yard work, for the most part, and puts up with me telling him how he's done it all wrong.

There are 2 things that I do (sort of) take care of myself in the yard. One is the roses. I dead-head/prune the roses with some degree of regularity, although not often enough. And even then I don't clean up after myself. I leave all the cut stuff in a neat little pile on the grass for someone else, meaning my kids, to come pick up. The other is my herbs. I stay on top of them pretty well. That's what the THANKS TONYA! is for. I took Tonya's herb class a lot of years ago and have been hooked on fresh herbs ever since. There is nothing like just walking out in the yard and cutting fresh stuff.

But today, since Lane was home, he was kind enough to cut my dill and my cilantro for me. I bundled them up to dry so I can have them during the winter. (Have you checked the price of spices lately?!?)

I even found 1 cucumber in the garden.

After I took the photos I remembered the ones in the front yard needed to be cut, too, so I also have rosemary and oregano drying.

Taylor is gone off to Trek, and it never ceases to amaze me how the absense of just one person can be so noticeable in our house. I miss her. We went to the pool for a while tonight without her, which also felt strange. She'll be home on Saturday, and then Jack leave on Monday for a week at Clear Creek.

Catching Up

2010-07-11T22:29:00.002-06:00

So it appears I have somewhat fallen behind in my blogging duties. I'm not altogether sure how that happened, but it did and I guess that means I have been busy. With what, I'm not sure, but somehow I have managed to stay busy.

At my new job, we have a team meeting every other Friday. It is with great pleasure and pride that I annouce that for the first time I finally understood ALL of what was discussed at the meeting. It was a terribly proud moment. The first meeting may as well have all been spoken in another language because I didn't have a clue what they were talking about. It's a good feeling to start to feel "clued in."

It's hard to believe that June is gone and July is slipping away so quickly. Kassie and Jesse's little baby is still the cutest little thing ever, and I'm sure I'm still his favorite. I'm trying to convince Kassie that they need to go on a date so I can have the baby all to myself. He's so cute!

I downloaded what few pictures I had on my camera tonight so here's what I have:

This is the Pleasant Grove High School band approaching on beautiful Main Street, Pleasant Grove during the Strawberry Days parade. Then, as my luck always goes, the batteries in my camera died.

We went to Lane's family reunion out near Duchesne. I CAMPED!! I was in a nice trailer with hookups, but still. . . . It was really a nice place. I would go back there. There was a really large group, about 120 people I'm told. The picture above is Lane playing a game, in which he beat his little brother. That's always a sweet victory. That's his little brother Greg next to Lane in the tan shorts and blue sweatshirt.

This part of a log, with leaves in it for "sails," kept Jack amused the whole time we were there. No kidding. I hardly ever saw him. He and his cousins just kept floating these "boats" down the stream over and over and over . . . Hey - whatever it takes to keep him amused, and at least he wasn't bugging me!

So far this summer we have made a lot of trips to the pool where the kids play and I read my book. Yes, still reading. I finished my George Washington book which has been returned to the library and replaced with another book by somebody Shaara who wrote the book I read at work during my lunch break. The one at book is about the pre-Revolutionary time period, and the one I read at work is pre-Civil War.

Taylor and I also managed to get all her sewing done for Trek. She leaves on Wednesday morning. She did 2 of the skirts and her apron and I think has discovered that sewing can be kind of fun. At least I hope so. She didn't complain at all, except when she had to unpick, and that didn't happen too often.

Tomorrow is Lane's BIG 40th birthday. He's not fun to tease about it because he doesn't seem to care all that much. But if you should run into him, be sure to remind him that he's over the hill now.

Peer Pressure

2010-06-29T22:17:00.003-06:00

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

2010-06-28T22:59:00.003-06:00

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

2010-06-25T22:15:00.003-06:00

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!

2010-06-23T22:00:00.003-06:00

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

2010-06-18T21:44:00.002-06:00

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

2010-06-09T21:08:00.004-06:00

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

2010-06-01T21:05:00.003-06:00

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)

2010-06-01T20:47:00.002-06:00

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.

The first day of school

2010-05-24T21:58:00.002-06:00

Starting a new job is always a scary thing. I always feel like somehow I will be so inept that they will wonder whatever possessed them to offer me a job in the first place, and then promptly let me go. I haven't had a "first day" in about 15 years. It's scary. It's nerve-wracking. It will keep a person up all night, much like the night before the first day of school. I had carefully planned out what to wear. I guess somehow that I figured if I looked good, it would hide all my insecurities and ineptitude. I don't know if I looked good, but I did feel mostly confident, and only a little shaky, as I walked up to the buidling this morning. Luckily, there were 4 of us in training/orientation today, all in different departments. It all went smoothly, everyone was very kind and welcomed us warmly. I signed all the documents, got my picture taken for my ID badge (wow! I've never had an ID badge before!), recieved orientation and a tour of the facility, and then sent off to our various departments. My trainer was so nice and patient. She even invited me to have lunch with her. My supervisor stopped by a few times to make sure I was doing ok and not too overwhelmed. I smiled politely and said everything was fine, but was still overwhelmed. He asked if I had any questions, to which I replied no, because honestly, I don't know enough yet to know what I don't know. I have my own little cubicle, second on the left on the middle row. It's pretty naked and sterile compared to everyone else's which are decorated with family pictures, vacation pictures, and BYU stuff. The day went by pretty fast and I was on my way home. What a delight to walk in at 5:15 to the smell of dinner cooking (that would be Lane's doing) and a clean house. I was able to just sit down and enjoy dinner and family home evening without doing a single thing myself. Then I changed into my jammies and settled in for the evening. It was a much better first day than I was expecting. No one called me names, or threw rotten food at me. No one yet has discovered my ineptitude, so here's to hoping I can keep my own little can of crazy bottled up long enough to learn the job. Because, believe me, that can of crazy will burst open sooner or later. And if I can win them over before that happens, they will call me "quirky" instead of crazy.

2 of my favorite things

2010-05-22T21:34:00.002-06:00

Clearly one of my favorite things in the world is cupcakes. No secret there. Another non-secret is my affection for Dr. Pepper. What could possibly be better than the marriage of those two favorite things? Seriously - it's a Dr. Pepper cupcake. I promise. The cake is made from scratch and has (again, not kidding) 2 1/4 cups of Dr. Pepper. I was really surprised that these turned out so well. I was quite skeptical when I read the recipe. But all that soda served a great purpose in making the cupcakes super moist. They definitely taste more chocolate than DP, but there's a hint of it there. Really yummy, and a definite keeper.

Aunt Della

2010-05-21T22:55:00.002-06:00

Every family has that Aunt who is the "go-to" aunt. The Aunt who always knows what's up. The Aunt who always asks what's going on in your life and actually listens to the answer - AND remembers to follow up the next time she sees you. The Aunt who, when there is a question about this-or-that in the famiy history, always knows the answers. You know who I'm talking about. You have one in your family, too.

Mine is called Aunt Della, and she died today. The news came as quite a shock to me, although her health has been poor for some time. And you know - if not for obvious things like the oxygen tank she sometimes had - you would never know there was anything wrong with her. She was not a complainer. She always looked as good as she could. She was always dressed nicely, and her hair was always done. At least that was the case when I saw her. Anyway, her health has been a trial for some time, and now it is a comfort to know that she is at peace. As I thought about her today, I couldn't help but think about what a glorious reunion it must have been when she was again with her parents. But my heart aches for her husband and her eight children, who were not quite prepared for this loss. My heart also aches for my dad who lost his little sister today, and also for all the people who have known and loved her, and for her grandchildren who are too small to remember how wonderful their grandma was. It's a sad, sad day for the Walker Clan. But again, what a scene it must be in the hereafter as Aunt Della is reuinted with all those who have gone on before. What comfort the Gospel brings.

Fully Outfitted

2010-05-19T21:20:00.002-06:00

Since I tend to buy myself the same clothes over and over . . . and they are pretty much the same BORING clothes, I took my niece Kassie shopping. I've told her before that I need her to dress me. They were having an extra 30% off sale at Kohls, so we went over and she dressed me. She forces me to get outside myself and buy things that are not so blah, and I must say she did a good job. There was only one thing that she had picked out that I didn't like, even when I tried it on. So now I am fully outfitted to go to a new job where my typical jeans and tshirts simply will not do. I will even have to toss out a few old things from my closet to make room for the new - another good thing. I have way too many clothes that I don't wear. And every time I clean out my closet I hang on to certain things because I'm just sure that I WILL wear it . . . someday . . . some time. Really? Some of that stuff I've had for years and years. And it doesn't even fit. But I've convinced myself that I will fit into it again. Never mind the fact that if I am able to fit into it again, I probably won't want to wear it because it will be sadly out of date. Remember what I said about getting attached to inanimate objects?

Change

2010-05-18T21:27:00.003-06:00

I don't like change. I like things consistent, predictable. As Lane puts it, I can be spontaneous - as long as it is carefully planned out ahead of time. I like to know what is coming. When I drive to a store, for instance, I always park in the same place. Not necessarily the same spot, but the same place (row 9 at Walmart, facing west) because then I know there is no danger of me wandering the parking lot looking for my misplaced car. Knowing this about myself, I am now suffering some degree of trauma as I leave the job I have had for 14 years for a brand new job where I know nothing and no one (eek! or where to park!). It is hard to believe that so many years have passed at PG Printers. When I went to work there, Taylor wasn't quite a year old and she played (or cried) in her little playpen while I worked. All my kids were raised in the back corner of the print shop - watching movies or whatever show happened to be on KBYU. Jack became a master of paper design and construction while there. But now that all 3 are in school full-time, it is time for me to also go back to work full-time. The good thing about Lane working grave yard is that he will be home when they come home from school, here when they are sick. I don't think I would even consider getting a full-time job yet if not for that security. So off I will go on Monday morning; from a job where I am comfortable and where I know what to expect to a job where I really know nothing. This job will be quite a departure from my well-entrenched world of typesetting and design, QuarkXpress, PhotoShop and InDesign. Well, it's time. I am comfortable with my decision - just a little nervous about the unknown.

I will be working at XactWare on 8th North in Orem not far from the former Osmond studios. It's a 12 minute drive (yep -timed it right away!) and a beautiful, fancy building, not at all what I am used to (you know what I mean, those of you who have visited the shop). My title is Content Research Analyst. Keep your fingers crossed for me as I embark on a new adventure bright and early Monday morning - and hope I remember where I left the car.

Think Pink

2010-05-15T23:13:00.001-06:00

Another baking day for Lari. Is there a better way to spend a Saturday? No, I don't think so. Between bakings I had to run here, there, and everywhere, but still got it all done. Except the laundry. But I could have done that if I had tried at all. I pretty much ignored it hoping it would go away on it's own. It didn't.

So the first thing I started was the bread, of course, since it takes the longest. I went with a french artisan bread today. I still can't shape it very well. Thankfully the shape doesn't affect the taste. It turned out good and disappeared quickly.

In my cooking school book I got at the Taste of Home cooking school I attended, there was a recipe for pink velvet cupcakes. I have been aching to try it ever since. On a whim, I decided to make the pink velvets into minis. I am now prepared to toss out my other other from-scratch white cake recipe - this one is perfect! I didn't put enough color in it, so it is still pretty white. I forgot to get heavy cream at the store for the ganache frosting, so I went with a white chocolate mousse frosting instead. If the frosting looks lumpy, that's because it is. I left chunks of white chocolate in it, which it turns out I didn't care for. I'll melt all the chocolate next time.

But these were by far the best of the day. Another recipe from my cupcake class - Pink Lemonade with pink lemonade cream frosting. So good! Almost as good as the key lime. I sprinkled them with clear sugar crystals, which made them pretty and sparkly, but I think next time I'll add fresh lemon zest to the tops like with the key lime. These were so yummy! What is with the cupcake lady that she would even think of such things? I was hoping to make a Dr. Pepper cupcake today. I saw a recipe on Facebook (cuz of course I'm a fan of Dr. Pepper), and I thought I had gotten everything from the store, but I forgot to get unsweetened chocolate. So that will have to wait until the next round.

I saw the most beautiful Ford Mustang at the hardware store today. I can't stop thinking about it. In my Happy Place I drive a Mustang convertible. Not a new one, as pretty as they are. I want an old one. 60's old. I forget what the good years were, between '65 and '68 or something. The car in the parking lot was exactly what I would want - the right year and everything. It was a pretty bronz-y brown color, not what I would choose, but it was still pretty. The owner of the car came out of the store while we were admiring his car, and we complimented him on it, which I'm sure he gets all the time with a car like that. Maybe someday . . .

Piano Recital

2010-05-13T20:58:00.002-06:00

Tonight was our annual piano recital. Taylor played "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic

Addie played "Old MacDonald" in her very first recital

Jack played the main theme from "Star Wars"

Everyone did a great job. We got to the recital hall a little early so we browsed around and got some new music books. It's always fun to have something new to play. Addie was funny. The piano teacher interrupted the order of pianists just before Addie because someone had come in late. Mrs. Peay stood and asked Addie (who was already on her way to the piano) to wait for the other girl to play, but Addie was already in the zone and just pushed the Mrs. Peay aside on her way to the piano. She didn't hear anything about the other little girl. Addie played her little song and came back to sit with us wondering why we were all laughing so hard. Even when we tried to explain it to her, she didn't get it because she had missed the whole thing. She just knew that it was her turn to play and she was ready to do it. Just like everything with her - Don't get in her way! She's gonna do what she's gonna do, like it or not. See why I'm afraid for her teen years?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

2010-05-12T21:07:00.002-06:00

Oh baby. This is so rich and delightful. You gotta have a milk chaser, though. It's a chocolate cupcake with a WHOLE ENTIRE peanut butter cup in the middle. The recipe suggested either peanut butter frosting or chocolate buttercream. I let Taylor choose, and she said chocolate. I didn't have any peanut butter chips on hand, per the recipe's suggestion, but I did have a mix of semi-sweet and peanut butter, which worked great. YUM. Some of Taylor's friends were here this evening and they ate quite a few of them. Mmmm . . . I heart cupcakes.

I got all my stuff (I hope) copied over to my external drive and the old computer is shut down for the last time. I must admit, I had an irresistible urge to give the old monitor and gentle pat for serving well. The poor dumb computer, as it shut down, went through it's automatic updates. I guess she doesn't understand that it really isn't necessary. Because I don't trust that I got off everything I need, I'll just set it off in a corner for a week or two while I discover what I'm still missing. If I don't need it in the next couple of weeks, I guess I don't need it. But it is a little sad, as her power lights blink off for the lat time. She has served me very well.

I can get strangely attached to inanimate objects. I remember when Lane and I traded in our 1987 Ford Bronco II for a newer truck. That was the first automobile we had bought as a married couple, in fact, the first major purchase we had made as a married couple, and it made my heart twinge just a little as we left it at the car lot and drove away. It's my mom's fault. She gets really attached to cars. There was Big Red, our old red and white suburban that drove our family to family reunions near and far, and luckily my parents had the good sense to get rid of it just before I got my drivers license so I never had to drive the beast, but it nearly killed my mother to give it up. She loved that car. Big Red was replaced by the Silver Bullet, a silver Chev Celebrity which was the car I got to drive. By then everyone was pretty much gone from home except me, and my parents only needed one car. Being last priority, I hardly ever got to drive anywhere. They would even drive me to my job at Subway in Orem and then come and pick me up. (It makes one wonder why I don't like to drive now). I remember once I got to take the car to my summer home ec class, and I was the one volunteered to go to Harts and get drinks. I'm not sure why it was that I went alone to fetch at least 5-6 drinks. It must have made sense at the time. But, sure enough, when I pulled back into the HS parking lot and got the car stopped, I spilled all the drinks trying to get them out of the car. My day at summer home ec that day was spent learning how to clean soda out of velour upholstery. Not one of my best moments.

And now I bid a fond farewell to my 2004 desktop computer, with her loud whirring CD-ROM and even louder fan, her slow speeds and her frequent freezes. And off we go on a new journey with a newer computer that will take up much less space on my desk. For most people that would be a good thing, but for me, who has never at any time in my life been able to keep a neat clean desk, it's just more room for me to pile my crap. Here we go.

Root Beer? Really?

2010-05-10T19:19:00.003-06:00

So I had to go out and buy the cupcake recipe book from the cupcake class I recently attended. It has such crazy cupcakes in it; I can't wait to try them. For my first attempts, I went with Root Beer Float and Key Lime. The Root Beer float wasn't as popular as the Key Lime. I never tried it out myself - kinda freaked out by it, I'll be honest. The cake is nothing but a cake mix and root beer. Yeah, I know, crazy. I foolishly got Shasta root beer cuz I figured I didn't need "good" root beer since it was being mixed in. I think it would have been better if I had gotten good root beer, and I will try it again with A&W. There is root beer extract in the frosting.

The Key Lime is SO GOOD!! There is key lime juice in the batter and the filling, and then the frosting (whipped cream) is sprinkled with fresh lime zest. I could just sit and sniff it all day, it smells so yummy and fresh. The lady who wrote the recipe book says this is the most popular of all her cupcakes, and I can see/taste why.

Now that I am a Woman of a Certain Age, I had to go for my first mamogram today. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, and was over in less than 10 minutes. Sure, I can think of lots of better ways to spend 10 minutes, but I can also think of a lot of worse ways to spend 10 minutes. It really isn't fair that men don't have to go through any of the miserable and humiliating things we women have to go through. I like to think that somehow in the eternities they will get their due.

I think my computer is really just about dead. Is 25 minutes a long time to launch internet explorer? I think it is. Sometimes it seems to just get stuck, but not hung, and my only option is to turn the whole thing off, I can't exit properly. Then the re-boot takes so long that the whole process is just frustrating, and I start to say bad words and throw things again. So I'm in the process of making sure the laptop has all the right programs and data, and I'll just shut down the old desktop and cover it lovingly with a sheet and attach a toe tag. Naturally, when I put my printer driver CD in to install it on the laptop, it came up with a message saying that the printer won't work with Vista. (Insert bad words and throwing things here). Luckily, and yet surprisingly, I had the good sense to go to the HP website and found that I could still get the drivers, and the printer is working just fine. It's a miracle!

Sunday I got released from the primary presidency and called again to Cub Scouts. I haven't been told yet which den, but it doesn't really matter. Between my experience serving in Cubs and my experience as a Cub Mom, I am familiar with all 3 dens and am just happy to serve. Cub Scouts is really a fun calling, despite what other people say. It's good to be back.

It's not my fault

2010-05-06T22:34:00.004-06:00

And the good news is that I'm not crazy after all, nor is my computer as bad off as last night. I really can blame it on the internet. I got a facebook message today that one of my favorite sites, and the one I was trying to access last night when the computer kept hanging, had some troubles. FANTASTIC! It is always so comforting to know that I'm not the one to blame. Some people had their computers get infected by trying to access the site. Luckily, my Norton kept that from happening! So I'm up and running today at my usual slow speed. But I've gotten used to the slowness now. How sad is that?

Taylor had her final choir concert tonight. The choirs were great, as always. Several students spoke and dedicated the final number, You Raise Me Up, to someone inspirational in their lives. Taylor spoke (this was news to me) and said nice words about how Addie inspires her. Guess who left Addie at home? Yeah. Great mom I am. In my defense, I had to quickly drop in at a wedding reception on my way to the concert and didn't really want to deal with her and Jack. If Taylor had just told me what was going on, I certainly would have changed the plan. But she didn't tell. That's not helpful.

The wedding reception I went to was for my lifelong friend Nichole's son. Holy crap! How is it that she has a son old enough to get married? It's crazy. We just ran in and out, and really only visited with Nichole since her son doesn't really know me. But it looked like a beautiful reception and Nichole looked beautiful. What a proud day for her and her husband Brian. Congratulations to them.

It turns out that having a 14-year-old around the house is trouble enough, but having a smitten 14 year old is a minefield. We have made it our goal to do everything we can to ruin her life (or so she seems to think). I expect it will get worse before it gets better. And she's the GOOD kid. Addie is already a drama queen. I shudder to think what she will be like as a teenager!

The Weak Link

2010-05-05T21:57:00.004-06:00

So I almost kicked in my computer tonight. It was running PAINFULLY slow, even for the low standards I have with this computer which is 6 years old. It kept hanging, and I would re-boot, and then it would hang. So I got mad, and felt it necessary to throw something. I wisely opted not to throw the CPU (although it might have helped both me and the computer), so I threw a toy on the floor instead. After the 4th re-boot, I decided that maybe the life of that computer has come to an end, and decided to use my laptop instead.

Well, what do you know? The laptop, which certainly does not have any memory problems, is also running very slowly. That leads me, a self-descibed techno-idiot, to believe that the weak link is not necessarily my aged computer. In fact, in all the time I have taken so far to type this blog entry, my email still hasn't come up. Me thinks there is something wrong with my connection somewhere. Maybe the problem is my modem? I don't know, I just don't like it when things don't work the way I think they should. It drives me crazy and forces me to have to throw things and say bad words.

Grande Concert

2010-04-29T21:36:00.003-06:00

Tonight was the "Grande Concert" at PGJHS. This is different than the regular choir concerts in that the advanced bands and orchestras participated, and they charged admission as a fundraiser. They had the jazz band, orchestra, percussion band, symphonic band, and both choirs present a few numbers each. They did an EXCELLENT job, not just by junior high standards, but a really excellent job. The money I paid for admission was well worth the evening's entertainment.

That's Taylor (with the Chamber choir) on the back row with the super shiny necklace on.

Again, the Chamber choir. Taylor is on the back row, right hand side, scratching her nose. It amazes me that they got so many boys to participate in a junior high choir. But, I must add, I think the choir instructor is amazing. He looks like he's about 15 himself. The kids all love him and they always perform a "fun" song along with their show numbers.

For the finale, they had all the bands and orchestra and choir perform a number. It was beautiful and gave me goosebumps. What a tribute to the amazing music instructors at PGJHS! I hope the ones at the high school are as great!

Of dead cats and other things

2010-04-27T19:30:00.003-06:00

And so today we'll visit the backyard . . .

My parents planted quite a few rosebushes around the yard. There is even one that they tell me is over 100 years old that they rescued and transplanted a long time ago when some building in town was being torn down . . . or something like that. This one I can see through the kitchen window when I'm sitting at the table, and it always lifts my spirits. However, it is painful to prune because it has GINORMOUS thorns. I have had a tear in my flesh more than once from this beast, but we still keep it around.

Our raspberries are thriving. We got enough off the plants last year (their first year) to mix in with strawberry jam. I'm hoping for enough this year to make some raspberry jam, or at least mix in with the blackberries. We have 3 plants, one died shortly after planing last year. We should get one or two more, but we may have waited too long. We'll see if there are any left when we go to get the vegetable starts in a few weeks.

The apple tree is really starting to leaf out. This should be the "off" year for apples, which is fine because I've still got tons of applesauce from last year. There are no blossoms at this point, so if we don't have blossoms, we won't have apples, so I should know relatively soon what sort of apple crop we'll have, or not have.

Today I walked to work. I do this on occassion. It's easy to do in the spring before it gets too hot. It's almost exactly 2 miles one way. Walking to work is easy, downhill all the way, and still early enough in the day that it isn't hot and awful, even in the summer. It's quite pleasant to walk down. Everything is still pretty quiet, and I have time to think and reminisce. I go past the high school, which was a happy time. There used to be some lilac bushes at the house just west of the high school on Battle Creek (no longer there, it's a parking lot) that smelled so sweet! I go past that place where Locust meets Battle Creek, where I somehow still remember passing when walking to the pool with my friends (don't know why - that's the LONG way), and there was a dead cat kinda behind a bush. The bush is gone, but for some reason, I still remember that. Then there's the Old Grove Ward building, which was torn down a few years ago to make way for the New Grove Ward building. The old one was very old and had lots of stairs and strange little rooms. The new one looks just like every other church. Anyway, there are some shade trees there, and people start saving spaces for the Strawberry Days Parade (on a Saturday) on the Sunday prior. That gets on my nerves. There are some really old houses on my walk down Battle Creek that have surely been here since the town was settled. My dad always refers to them by who used to live there back in the 40s or 50s. I always nod my head and pretend to know exactly who he's talking about. Then there is the until-recently Community Center, previously Pleasant Grove Junior High (the current one was built in the late 70s or early 80s), and it was the High School before that. The main building was torn down and the building that remains is the school gym. I remember going to the old school when it was the junior high with my mom to do newspaper stuff. I was either not in school at all or in kindergarten and that's why I had to tag along. I don't remember much about the school, but it was a 2-story school, and it seems like there was a big, wide staircase that led to the upper level just inside the front doors. Next to this is the former Recreation Center, where my mom forced me to take all manner of classes during the summer time. I specifically remember taking a dance class that was followed by a recital and one of our dances was to the "Baby Elephant Walk" and we wore lavender culottes and flowered shirts. We also had to take writing classes, ceramic classes, drawing classes, and always swimming lessons. So as I think about the Good Ole Days and other happy things, my walk to work is a pleasant time. It takes me about 35 minutes to walk it.

Walking home is not so much fun. I don't dwell on happy thoughts walking home. Mostly it is thoughts of why was I so stupid as to walk down in the first place? What am I making for dinner? What else do I have to do when I get home? Should walking uphill be this hard? Why don't we live in a flatter town? Why am I still thinking about that dead cat?

It also takes me about 35 minutes to walk home, which surprised me at first until I realized that sheer anger at having made such a stupid decision to walk to work is driving me to just get it over with as quickly as possible. Then the next day I have shin splints and I don't walk again for about 2 weeks when the shin splints are healed, and I wake up thinking "What a nice day to walk to work!"

Spring

2010-04-26T21:18:00.003-06:00

I sauntered around the yard today, taking in the sun and looking over what is going on with my plants. I was pleased to see that everything has survived the winter, and seems to be thriving this spring.

This is our little sapling peach tree in the front yard. It has some pretty blossoms on it. I don't recall what sort of peach tree it is, but must be an early something-or-other, because the peach trees in the back yard (Hale, I think??) don't have any blossoms at all yet.

The strawberries are springing to life again. Not a ton of blossoms yet . . . we'll take what we can get. We need to move the plants to another spot in the yard where they will do better. Not sure yet where that spot is, so they will stay here in the front yard until we find a good place. Maybe the neighbor kids will stay out of them for a change, but probably not.

This is one of my favorite herbs - oregano. I think it has a really pretty leaf and smells OH. SO. DELICIOUS. It is really starting to spread out.

Chives. I planted these last spring and kept forgetting they were there and the kids weeded them up more than once. I'm really glad to see they are still there! Past experience tells me these will really spread out and take over if I'm not careful. But they have a really pretty purple flower if I let them flower. You can see a bud on the ground that I cut off today. I generally don't allow them to flower. If they are flowering, you can be assured it's because I've gotten lazy.

English thyme in the foreground (it's really huge and needs to be divided. If you need/want some thyme, PLEASE come get some of mine), then the rosemary, then the oregano. The chives are behind the oregano, but don't show up well. I really believe that my yard should work for me, not the other way around, and that's why I grow herbs in the front yard where more normal people would plant flowers. What do flowers have to offer me? I can't mix them into bread, pizza sauce or a marinade now can I?

In another part of the front yard, where I think I have finally killed the parsley, there is a little plant growing. It's probably a weed, but doesn't really look weed-ish. I haven't dug it up yet because I wanted to wait to see if it turns into something. I expect it will just turn into a bigger weed, but just in case, we'll leave it there for the time being.

We had hoagies for ddinner tonight. It was just the right thing on a nice warm day like today. I made the hoagie rolls, and mixed in, of course, garlic and fresh chives. They turned out really good, but needed more garlic. I think I would baste them with a garlic/butter mix while baking rather than add more garlic to the dough. I'll report back when I have tried that out.

In other boring news, I served as a delegate at the Utah County Republican Convention on Saturday. I had really studied up on the candidates in all the races, and went to the convention on Saturday with my mind made up in all the races except 2. I was able to find both of the candidates in one of my "open" races, and spoke to both of them about a few things, but still hadn't made up my mind until they gave their speeches. My other "open" race I just couldn't decide, both candidates were so evenly matched. I finally chose one, but felt confident that the other one would do an excellent job as well. Well, 2 of the races, 2 of the races I felt were the most important, didn't go my way. In each, one of the candidates earned enough delegate votes to not have to have a primary race and left the candidate I thought was the best out in the cold. I felt badly for them, because they had campaigned well and, in my opinion, were well suited for the job.

I have never served as a delegate before, and this was quite an interesting experience. I would do it again in a minute, and also encourage others to do it. I learned a lot and made some new friends along the way.

It's gotta be the shoes

2010-04-22T21:31:00.003-06:00

I have been somewhat down in the dumps lately. There have just been a lot of things not go my way, leading to a series of disappointments. Apparently, although I have tried very hard to get the word out that IT'S ALL ABOUT ME, there are some people who still are unaware. So I took a few days to mope around and feel sorry for myself and pout. OK. Maybe more than a few days. But I am feeling better and getting over myself a little bit. I attibute this upswing to a few things:

1) A kind and understanding husband. After all these years he knows when to back off and let me go through whatever I'm going through. And when I dump all my angst on him, he is kind enough to just let me vent and not try to fix it or tell me what I should do. I know what I should do, but sometimes I just want to unload.

2) A sunshiny day. Yes, we started the day with snow on the ground, but it warmed up so nicely and I took a 30 minute walk in the sun while Taylor was at piano. I walked almost down to the Walmart in Cedar Hills from the piano teachers house. It is about 1.5 miles round trip. The beauty of walking in Cedar Hills, or Pleasant Grove for that matter, is that no where is level. You have to exert some effort at least one way. It's tough to wallow in self-pity when hoofing it up a hill. And there is great sense of accomplishment when you reach the top of the hill and look back at how far you came. Walking alone outside is also very good for clearing my mind, and probably the best medicine for being stuck in a funk.

3) Red toenails. I had a friend once tell me to always keep my toenails painted "hooker red" (her term) because it will always cheer you up. You know what? She's right. It is indeed a very happy thing to look down and see that "screaming red" (my term). I can't help but smile.

4) Really great shoes. I don't know what it is that makes shoe shopping so therapeutic. After walking outside today, I decided to top off my happy feeling with new shoes. I went out to Kohls knowing exactly what I wanted. Bright red pumps. (I love all things red.) There was a pair of such red pumps at Kohls, and for only $18. Size 9. I can occassionally pull of an 8.5, if I'm lucky, but not a 9. I tried them on hoping they were a small 9, but alas, they were far to big. So the only logical thing to do when I couldn't have the shoes I loved was to get 2 pairs of shoes I liked. 2 pairs of espedrilles, and Lari is a happy gal again.

5) An evening of playing with kids. Sure, it was Mario Kart, but it was fun and we all laughed and had a good time. I even won a race or two. Okay, one. But it was by a good margin.

18 years . . . Almost

2010-04-17T22:16:00.002-06:00

Next week is our wedding anniversary. Since schedules prevent us from getting away next weekend, we skipped town this weekend. Well, not for the whole weekend, but for Friday night anyway. It was heavenly to get away. We had the best time and returned home rejuvenated. 18 years . . . where has the time gone?

Since I came home so rejuvenated, I decided to get some cleaning done. I got myself a Swiffer sweeper. I have a tendency to avoid commercialy-trendy things such as Swiffers, but now with so much "wood" flooring I thought it might be handy. I had read on the internet about the Swiffer Vac, and found that although everyone loves them, the battery life is short. I knew, since I am so darn cheap, that that would not do. So I went for the Swiffer Sweeper - low tech. I set my expectations at "LOW," since I didn't think it would do any better than my trusty broom, but it so did! I was really surprised. It didn't pick up every little thing, but it picked up most, and the rest I just pushed into the dust pan. I was very pleasantly surprised. However, I am still cheap, so I looked up on the internet what I can use instead of buying the disposable cloths, and found that the most favored thing (at least on the site I was looking at) was flannel, cut to the right size, and zigzagged to prevent fraying. Heaven knows I have enough flannely lying around, so I'll give that a try. The Swiffer kit also came with 1 wet pad for mopping. It did a great job on the family room floor, which wasn't very dirty, but couldn't handle my kitchen floor, which was truly awful. So I tossed out the Swiffer pad, and replaced it with one of our clean dusting cloths (essentially, an extra large wash-cloth). I decided to mix up a new concoction for mopping my floor, and I liked it better, which is saying something because I really like the other one. I sprayed the floor as I went along, and it turned out perfectly. I don't think the kitchen floor has looked that clean and shiny since it was put in. So thumbs up to the Swiffer Sweeper! And yes, if you were wondering, I do mix most of my own cleaners. I will list my recipes below if anyone cares.

I also managed to get most of the laundry done, the kitchen cleaned (I even pulled out the stove and cleaned behind it!), the bathrooms cleaned, including a long-overdue shower scrubbing. I hate grout.

Pergo/Laminate Cleaner #1 (works great - I've used this mixture for YEARS)
1 part water
1 part vinegar
1 part rubbing alcohol
few drops of dishwashing soap (like Dawn)
Combine in a spray bottle and use as a "spray as you go" floor cleaner

Pergo/Laminate Cleaner #2 (also designed for real wood floors)
My spray bottle is 28 oz, so this is portioned for that size bottle
1 Tablespoon Murphy's Oil Soap (the real oil soap, not the ready-mop stuff)
28 oz water
Combine in a spray bottle and use as a "spray as you go" floor cleaner

Although #1 doesn't streak much, #2 left no streaks at all, and doesn't leave a "vinegar" smell in the air. While I don't mind the smell of vinegar, other people seem to. Go figure.

Finally!

2010-04-11T20:51:00.006-06:00

A perfect world is one free of carpeting. I don't like the way it feels on my bare feet. A medium shag (which is what I have/had) makes me think of all the sweaty feet that have walked across that 20+ year old piece of carpet. Yes, I said 20+ years. I'm sorry, but carpet just should not last that long. Despite what my parents would have you believe, that beige sculptured shag was put in in November 1988, just before I came home for Thanksgiving break from my freshman year at Snow College. Ick. And in the 6 years we have been here, we have lived with the intention of replacing it at our earliest opportunity and have made little to no effort to keep it clean. Double Ick. Don't even get me started on the carpet and linoleum that are original to the house, constructed in 1971. I'm working on it, OK? And we are down to just 2 bedrooms and the laundry room that are in that category.

I finally got the money saved up and set aside for the new flooring, (after having to spend the saved money on a new freezer, save it again only to have to spend it on new tires, and save it again) and we got it laid this week. A former co-worker of mine told me that Sam's Club was the cheapest place to get it, and she and her husband had laid it themselves and it wasn't that hard. If they could do it, why couldn't we?

Famous last words. First of all, we (Lane, my dad, and I) were all rookies at this job. The first problem we discovered was that we didn't have the proper tool for cutting out the bottoms of the door jams for the flooring to slide under. Off to Home Depot Lane went to buy the necessary tool (not really a bad thing, since there are few things Lane enjoys more than a new power tool). Naturally, once he got it home and went to cut the first door jam, he dropped the tool (a Dremel) on the floor, breaking the blade. Back to Home Depot Lane went to buy a new blade.

So my dad set to work cutting all the door jams, Lane cut the floor pieces and I snapped them into place. Even with all 3 of us working, the whole project took a lot longer than we had anticipated. I expected that all the pieces would just have to be snapped into place with the tongue and groove on the one side, not realizing that there was tongue and groove on 2 sides so after it was snapped in place, it still had to be banged into the groove on the other edge.

We worked all Wednesday and got the room about 2/3 done. Our knees hurt. We ran out of flooring, so we went back to Sams on Thursday to get 2 more boxes. We worked all Thursday and got the rest of the flooring done. Our knees were red and swollen and it brought tears to our eyes every time we had to kneel, even with a towel or pillow underneath. Friday we had to do the baseboard, trim and T-mouldings in the doorways. We got the whole thing finished up on Friday night at about 7:00. Our knees, I'm convinced, were bloody stumps begging for relief.

As the 5 of us stood around admiring the beautiful new floor, we all commented how it looked like all the walls had moved out about a foot. The whole room seemed bigger, but we figured once we got all the furniture back in place it would look more normal. Nope. The room still seems bigger. Substantiall bigger. And somehow my giant couch got smaller.

This is the hallway between the family room and the kitchen. The laundry room will be the next room to be done. Unless the other car needs new tires, or the fridge goes out, or any of the other things that will prevent me from saving up the money.

Things we have learned:

1) When starting a new project such as this, start with a small, square-ish room. DON'T pick the largest area of the house, especially if it includes lots of obtstacles such as 4 doorways and a fireplace.

2) Don't rely on the math you learned at Pleasant Grove High School to calculate the square footage. If that's the only math you know, add at least 2 boxes to make up for your mathmatical deficiencies.

3) Buy knee pads. I know you think you are still somewhat young and tough. YOU AREN'T. You are old and broken-down, and $10 for knee pads is a small price to pay.

4) Anticipate that if you need 8 lengths of Monterrey Maple quarter round, Home Depot will only have 7. And if you think that the other Home Depot in American Fork will have more, you will be wrong.

5) If your husband shouts that he hates the floor and wants a divorce, he really doesn't. He just needs more power tools.

Panda Express Today

2010-04-01T21:55:00.002-06:00

So after spending a whole lot of meal prep time trying to be Cafe Rio, today I decided to be Panda Express. This all happened because I had some extra ham around that needed to be used up, and of course the only logical thing to do with leftover ham is ham fried rice. As much as I love ham fried rice, it just isn't a meal (at least not with Jack living here) so I decided to do Sweet and Sour pork to serve with the ham fried rice. Naturally that meant that I had no pork in the freezer. So we had sweet and sour chicken instead.

Here is all the good stuff ready and waiting to go into the rice. I've always been told that ham fried rice is something you make from leftover rice, but that begs the question: Who ever has leftover rice? NEVER around here. So while I cooked up the rice, I got my onions, ham, eggs, mushrooms (not shown) and peas (also not shown) ready to go. It sure looks pretty all piled up.

Rather than using my bottled sweet and sour sauce, of which I only have one quart left, I went ahead and made new. I found a recipe on the Taste of Home website that sounded just like what I wanted for the chicken breading, etc. Since I was using twice as much chicken as in the recipe, I decided I better make twice as much sauce. Whoa! It made ALOT of sauce. I bet we didn't even use all that was in the original recipe. That's ok. It's in the freezer for next time since this is a recipe I will definitely make again.

Mmmm . . . I AM Panda Express. Except it's chicken, not pork. The breading turned out perfectly crunchy, the chicken was tender (4 minutes per side in the oil, not 3 like the recipe said) and it was just heavenly. I have never battered and fried anything in my life, so I'm really delighted (and surprised) that it turned out so well on the first try. So much for healthy eating, but in my defense, I did use canola oil for frying.

I went to get my hair cut and colored today, and told Katie that last time she colored it it was a little more orange-y than I liked. So she fixed me up red, Red, RED! You'll see me coming from a mile away. You know that commercial where the ultra boring lady says, "I've been told that beige and predictable suits my lifestyle"? I am totally beige and predictable about just about everything EXCEPT my hair. Bring on the color - the bolder the better!