I'm Sad

Ahhh. . . Netflix.  What would we do on Sunday afternoons without you?


We binge watch TV on Sunday afternoons.  We don't get to watch a lot of TV during the week with everything going on, so Sunday is Our Day.   We squeeze in whatever is on the DVR and whatever is our current passion on Netflix.

Chuck was our passion.

But now its over.

And I'm sad.

I have no recollection of Chuck being on TV.  But apparently it started in about 2007 and ran for 5 seasons. 5 glorious seasons. 

But now its over.

And I'm really sad.

We started watching it on a whim after we finished something else.  Life, I think.  Preceeded by The Glades. 

But now its over.

And I'm really, super sad.

I really enjoyed The Glades.  It was a good murder/crime type show.  Life was good.  Another murder/crime type show.  But Chuck was easily the best.  

But now its over.

And I'm really, really, super sad.

And Chuck himself, as Addie (always the Disney princess) pointed out to us, is also Flynn Ryder.  Another reason to love him.  I mean, to love the show.

But now its over.

And I'm really, really, super, duper sad.





P.S.  I may have a deep and abiding crush on Flynn Ryder.

MC Clap Yo Handz

The Geek Hierarchy as found on Pinterest

The Princess subway art, again as found on Pinterest

Burton Guster's nicknames

Whether found on Pinterest or not, I did all the typesetting, etc myself.  The top 2 were easy, the nicknames, not so much.  It took quite some time to track down the Psych font and get everything to work out with justified margins and spacing.  I wanted to incorporate a pineapple somehow, but I just couldn't get it to work out right.  

And why is MC Clap Yo Handz so big?  Because it's my favorite, that's why.

My art, my way.

I'll need more flannel

 Jack playing the bells

For Christmas Eve it is our custom to have a musical presentation by each of the kids.  Typically, that means that Jack has to do more presentations since he can play more stuff.  Weird thing, he "accidentally" left his trombone at school rendering him unable to play that instrument for Christmas Eve.  As punishment, I had him do a vocal number with Addie.  I think he won't "forget" his trombone again.

 Addie and Jack singing "Silent Night," Taylor accompanying

 Addie on the piano

 It is another of our custom that the gifts between the kids be homemade.  Supposedly by them.  Meaning:  Mom makes the gifts.

Jack "made" for Taylor a full list of all the Burton Guster nicknames from Psych. Taylor loves Psych.  Actually, we all love Psych, but Taylor loves it extra much.

 Addie printed off some Disney Princess coloring pages. Taylor still loves to color.  Shhh, don't tell.

 Addie "made" print of the Geek Hierarchy for Jack. She found it on Pinterest.

 Taylor made (no, really. She actually did this on her own) bowls with Jack's and Addie's names on them.

Apparently not photographed is the Princess subway art type thing that Jack "made" for Addie.  I'll have to include it in another post.  It turned out really cute.  Another Pinterest find.

Actually, Pinterest was my best friend this Christmas.  For once I actually made some stuff I had pinned, and it even turned out!

 Addie in her Christmas pajamas, with doll pajamas to match.

 Doll clothes I made . . .

  . . . and more doll clothes that I made (Pinterest) . . .

  . . . and an apron and chef's hat (Pinterest)  . . .

  . . . and still more that I made . . .

 . . . and yet even more that I made.

I sewed more this Christmas than I have in recent memory.  I had all kinds of fun, paced myself well, and got it all done with time to spare.  In fact, the matching doll pajamas weren't part of the original plan, I just found myself with extra time.  Crazy!

 Taylor asleep

 Jack playing a new video game

 I made this Christmas tree skirt.  I had been thinking about it in my head for a year, but couldn't figure out how to get the angles right so it would actually make a circle. So I asked Jack.  He figured it out in about 2 minutes.  It was embarrassing.

 Again the doll apron and hat

And finally, the doll sleeping bags and pillows I made.  (Pinterest)

I also sewed aprons for both my girls.  Addie's, of course, matches her doll's.  And I made some oven mitts to match Taylor's apron.  I used up tons of my fabric scraps, so that's always good. 

Jack does stuff just to get under my skin.  He argues with me for no reason.  He, in short, pokes me with a sharp stick just to get a reaction.  Case in point: Who would EVER eat a Kit Kat like that?  It's just wrong beyond words.  Just looking at the photo is painful.

Lane is officially a graduate of U of Phx.  It's been a long, long journey filled with plenty of weeping, wailing (Statistics) and gnashing of teeth (Photoshop).  As it turns out, the timing was perfect since the job he went back to school to be eligible for became available in December.  He applied, interviewed, and was offered the job.  He is now the Plant Hygienist.  I'm not entirely sure what that means in English, but I know it means this:  He can get up with me at 4:45 am and go with me to the gym.  And he get to have an office with real walls and everything (he calls it a closet).   Funny how it all timed out so perfectly.  Further evidence of how blessed we are.

During the Christmas break while I was off work I sewed up a baby quilt for a friend who had her first baby.  It turned really cute.  Cute enough that the new mom was impressed with all the hard work I had gone to to make something so nice.  Truth be told:  5 hours of work, including the time spent shopping and cutting out the squares. It's the worlds easiest and most forgiving quilt. 

The Favorite Family Quilt is dying, so I guess I'll make this type of quilt to replace it.  Maybe more than one since everyone fights over the Favorite Family Quilt at Sunday Afternoon Nap Time.

There is still time for Panic

 This dog is hillarious.  He loves this stupid squeaker toy that Santa brought him last Christmas.  It's really hard to take him seriously when he is squeaking like crazy.  The kids (and Lane) love to throw it for him to fetch because he can't stop (or start) very well on the wood floor.   He slides into stuff when he can't stop or looks somewhat like a cartoon character when he tries to go fetch: his little feet are moving wildly, but he doesn't go anywhere.  It's so much fun to watch.  The dumb dog has now decided our wood pile is his personal chew toy and has dragged wood all over the yard to gnaw on.    Well, I guess that's better than digging.  He gets upset when I'm in my sewing room and barks at me through the window.  I think he's freaked out because I'm underground.  Who knows?  I think our dog has serious mental problems.  We've already established he has some degree of separation anxiety.  And then there's the whole cowardly thing which I've addressed at length.  Its also fun to put Taylor on the speaker phone.  He can't figure it out.  He must be thinking, "Where is she?  I can hear her, but I can't find her.  And I need her to pet me."  He looks all over.  Stupid, cowardly dog.  But we love him.

 The week before Thanksgiving was the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert in SLC.  Sadly, Taylor couldn't get away from school to come with us.  We went up early enough we had time to visit the City Creek Center and Temple Square.  They had some lights on at Temple Square.  We took Trax up and back, which is so much better than trying to drive around downtown this time of year. 

The first 2 years we went to this concert they did the same story and music, albeit with different backgrounds.  This was a different program altogether.  I liked the story better.  The other one was a little bit depressing, even though it ended happy. This was a happier story and the music was amazing.  Of course there are always some familiar favorites thrown in, and they always end with the wildly popular Sarajevo (their version of Carol of the Bells).  Hearing it on the radio or Spotify just isn't nearly the same as seeing it live.  For anyone who has never been to this concert, I would highly recommend it.  We enjoy it so much!  It's a perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

 After Thanksgiving we got our tree decorated.  I didn't get as many new ornaments this year as last, to Lane's delight.  There was brief speculation we were going to add another Christmas tree, making 5, but that didn't work out.  Again, to Lane's delight. 

I got a "Texas" ornament as my souvenier from my trip to Texas last July with Jack for FCCLA. 

 I fell in love with this one, the game Sorry, when I saw it in the Hallmark catalog that gets mailed out in July.  Yes, July.  Yes, Hallmark catalog.  It's one of my favorite pieces of mail in the year.  I spend waaaayyyyy too much time going through the catalog, dog-earing pages and making careful notes. 

Another Hallmark special: Olaf.  I loved the movie (although it's no Tangled) and Olaf made me laugh ("I don't have a skull.  Or bones.").  So it seemed a good addition. 



Although I have taken on quite a few sewing projects this year, and it is December 12, I have paced myself better this year than in years past and am on track to finish up on time as planned.  I may even have time to squeeze in one or two more things, as long as they are small. 

No Full-Blown-Christmas Panic this year.

Well, not yet.

But its only December 12.

Family Pictures

 

Isn't she cute?

Taylor was home recently for Fall Break and so we got some family pictures done. Thanks so much to Brandon and McKenzie Clark and Nanette Clark for sparing some time on a lovely Sunday afternoon to get this done for us.

Brandon was falling out of a tree while trying to shade the sun for the picture. It provided for excellent entertainment.

 She's so pretty.

I guess this is his official family picture shirt.  He's worn it more than once.  We're so proud of him.


Lane finally, FINALLY, finished up his degree.  It has been a long road for him, but now its done.   Which means he can't use "I have homework" as an excuse to get out doing stuff he doesn't want to do anymore.  That came in handy for him.   But what a relief for both of us to have that out of the way and done.  Now we are hoping that the degree will open up some new doors for him.

The Marching Band season is finally winding down.  The Band leaves for their Tour this week. This year they are going to Disneyland.  Since we are terrible, non-Disney parents, this is Jack's first trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, and he is super excited to go.  In their last competition of the season, the drumline took First Place against 9 other bands.  The Marching Band took 3rd place overall.  He was beyond thrilled with the 1st place win.  Winter Drumline starts up in November, so he will have a little break before he's back at it again.  But thankfully, Winter Drumline doesn't take up nearly as much time.  3 of his school classes are band stuff:  Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and Percussion.  So yeah, music is a big part of his life.  He is really enjoying the independence that a Drivers License brings, and so am I.  Its so nice not to have to drive him around so much.  In fact, now I make him drive me around.

Addie is turning 12 at the end of this week and had her last day in Primary on Sunday, which happened to be our Primary Program.  What a nice week to have be the last one.  So she is off to Young Women starting on Sunday.  Then at the first of the year she will be part of our Sunday School class.  She wasn't too happy with that realization.

Taylor is busy at USU with 18 credits this semester.  She got a job at Kohls up in Logan and started this week.  My hope is that she won't spend her entire salary on boots.  Sadly, the job will prevent her from being at home as much over the holidays, but we are grateful she found a good job, so we will just enjoy whatever time we do get to spend together.

It is now time to start making Christmas plans.  I did very few projects last Christmas, and with my chauffeuring hours cut way down, and no longer being in Scouts, I think I might be able to take on some projects this year.  I have been pinning away like a crazy person on Pinterest, finding ways to use up my piles and piles of scrap fabric. I always prefer to make gifts rather than buy them, as much as possible.  I'm not sure the receivers have that same preference, but I guess that's the price they have to pay for the joy of knowing me.  Unfortunately, everything comes with a price.  But this price, for my poor loved ones, may be too high.  Well, at least they are kind about it.  To my face, anyway. 

I'm Only Human

There is a Murphy's Law that says "If everything seems to be going well, you obviously don't know what the heck is going on." Knowing this, I've been waiting for some sort of catastrophe because things have been going really well lately.  Really well.  Unbelievably well. 

Scary well.


I knew it when I went to Stake Conference on Saturday night.  A member of our stake presidency gave an amazing talk . . . so amazing it touched my very soul and made feel a "hmmmm. . . . "

I knew it when I went to Regional Conference on Sunday morning and Elder Scott spoke on prayer. 

The details of my trial don't matter.  What matters is the following:

1) The Lord knows me so well that one of the ways He manifests His love is by sending little events in preparation for what is looming.  Sometimes they are subtle, but sometimes, like now, they are huge and hard to miss. I am grateful for my knowledge and testimony of this Gospel so I could recognize the preparation and warning that was given to me, and hopefully be that much more ready to deal with the fallout.

2) The Lord has blessed me with a tremendous support system in the way of a loving family and compassionate friends.  They bear me up when I am weak. 


3) The Lord sends tender mercies to help me cope.  One of those tender mercies came this week in the form of  2 songs that played on the radio as I drove to work one morning this week:

"Human"

 by Christina Perri

'Cause I'm only human
And I bleed when I fall down
I'm only human
And I crash and I break down

 . . . .

I can do it
I can do it
I'll get through it

It may sound stupid now, but that song was what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it.  It reminded me that because I am only human, I need to rely on and put my faith in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

"I'm Already There"

by Lonestar

I'm already there
Take a look around
I'm the sunshine in your hair
I'm the shadow on the ground
I'm the whisper in the wind
And I'll be there until the end
Can you feel the love that we share
Oh I'm already there

And this song was to remind me that He is always with me, His love surrounds me.

So while I work my way through this current course of events, I am praying.  A lot.  And I am learning some important lessons along the way.  Lessons about pride.  And about love.  And about patience.  And most definitely about faith.  I guess those are all things I need to do some serious work on.

In the meantime, I'll just take it one day at a time, and hope that each day will be a little better than the one before.

 

The Love of a Good (but cowardly) Dog

Despite our best intentions we haven't gotten out for our Saturday morning hikes this summer.  We finally made the time for it the last 2 weeks and went up in the PG foothills, taking Rex along.  The first time we went, Lane got brave since there was no one around and let Rex off the leash.  I expected the dog to bolt.  But I was once again wrong with regards to this dog and he stayed right in line.  He meandered off the trail a to explore, but always stayed close by.  He insisted on being the leader of us and he would always look back to make sure we were still there and safe.  In some places where the trail is narrow and we can't walk side by side (that means I'm in the back because I'm slow), Rex would walk all the way back to me to make sure I was still safe too.  It really made my heart fill with love to know that he cared.

 

 Me and Rex

North Utah Valley from the foothills

But this week I remembered that our dog is not brave. Not even a little bit brave.  So I have decided that instead of Rex looking back to make sure we are safe, I think he is actually looking back to make sure we are still there to protect him, perhaps even from his own shadow.  Our dog is a bit of a coward, but he does love his People.

We took a longer hike this week, about 2 1/2 miles on this favorite trail of ours.  Rex was still so well behaved I was more than a little bit shocked.  Once again I'll have to credit Lane for knowing what he's talking about.  He's done a better job of training the dog than I thought he did.

We got the good news - the very good news - this week that Lane only has 2 classes to go.  Each class lasts 5 weeks so he should be done by October (fingers crossed for no surprises!).  What a relief it will be to have that journey complete.

We are gearing up for the start of another school year.  I got the fees paid and the clothes bought. We got the kids rooms cleared out and all the old stuff tossed or taken to DI.  We are moving into my favorite time of year, which means I had better start gathering my jars for all the applesaucing and tomato souping/saucing that is coming.  Oh, and grape jamming and juicing.  I have done several batches of berry jam over the summer to replenish that supply.  Its still shocking to me how much jam we go through in a year.  I somewhat suspect that Camaron is breaking into my house and stealing jam.  He knows the garage code.  Its a reasonable assumption given how fast we go through jam.

So here we go back into the busy time of year, after a mostly relaxed summer.  I have started filling things in on the calendar and its filling up quickly.  Sadly, the Legacy Music Alliance where Jack has been taking his trombone lessons has indefinitely suspended the music lessons due to lack of funding.  Although this will be one less thing on the schedule, it has been so beneficial to have those extra lessons.  I'm sad to see it end.  And Addie will be turning 12 in a few months so she will be a little busier as she starts participating in the youth programs.  And of course I'll go back to missing Taylor desperately.

Soon it will be just me and Lane and Rex rambling around this old house.  We'll have to invest in some rocking chairs for the porch so we can really live it up.