April's Life Adventures

Leaving Blogger

2007-01-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

I wrote a whole post on this topic on my NEW SITE. I won't go into it totally but come visit me! Leave me a note to say you found me, update your sidebar links and lets get going! I really disliked the new blogger and that they forced us all to convert over to it. If I could have stayed with the old blogger, I would have stayed here probably.

For now, as I said on the new site, I have to leave my archives intact here or I would loose all comments. Someday soon however it will all be moved over to my new home, but for now enjoy.

May we all jump on the bandwagon and follow KAREN and JULIA over to wordpress. It is so user friendly that it makes me happy!

Options

2006-12-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the day that Blogger has chosen to force me into the Beta system. I am quite frustrated here, as I don't like using the Google system, but that is my downfall. I hope it proves to be a better system and as one of my new years resolutions is to be more positive, well there ya go another opportunity to think about the good side.

For now, let me tell you all about what has happened in the last 48 hours or so. Fabulous news all around so be patient with me, it will all come out.

Good News #1
I had sent the x-rays of my hip to a specialist in another state. I was hoping that I would be a candidate for a new type of hip resurfacing system. On Thursday afternoon we heard from him. He stated that I was NOT a candidate for his or ANY OTHER surgery at this time. He did not see any reason to replace my hip for any reason! Perhaps, years down the road it will still need to be done, but not for many years. He thinks that it is a detachment of some muscles or something that is causing my pain. Our new recommendation is that we have an MRI done, get some new medications and Physical Therapy, and then we may be able to have lots and lots of kids! Thats right people, the ban on a large family may be lifted!

Good news #2
We have a very likely renter for our Idaho House! We got the call this morning that there is a lady wanting to move in. She is already with the rental agency and just looking for a different house, so we know that she is responsible and pays her bills. We are so excited, it should go through just after the new year so YAY FOR US!

Good news #3
With our moving out of the Idaho house, the county lowered the taxes on the home because it was no longer our primary dwelling place. We knew that it was all taken out of our Escrow account, so I didn't think too hard on it when we moved. However, we have now received a surplus check from the mortgage company! Yay for late Christmas Presents!

Good news #4
Sultry Husband has always wanted a projector tv. I mean, the kind that is like a movie theater in your own home. Before Christmas, he found one for a steal because of a rebate offer. Now, we have ordered that TV that will be paid for with less than our mortgage rebate check! WHOO HOO! We will have some left to save for a rainy day, so don't be concerned with us "blowing" the unexpected income. This projector was something that we have wanted well, forever, and this was a deal that we seriously did not want to turn down.

Good news #5
Sultry Husband got a great review from his managers at work. Therefore, we really should be getting a raise. This would be the first of our working career ever. We will know in the next few days how much, but yay for our team and for SH finding a job that he loves and who appreciates his tallents!

Things are looking up for us, we have big plans for 2007, but over all I hope that it is the year of stability!

The pain of embarrassment

2006-12-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

This week, we have been away from home like many others we know. It has been the best Christmas Holiday! I got to see each and every one of my siblings, and we were also able to go visit Sultry Husband's parents. Seriously, it has been a fabulous trip. We are even extending by a day because of bad weather, but we are definitely not complaining.

Anyway, Sultry Husband's parents have a house with many many MANY stairs. Usually it isn't much of a problem because I don't mind that the kids get super tired after a day of going up and down and down then up. They usually zonk right out at bed time. Anyway, with my hip problems lately, I have been a little scared of the stairs. I did venture up but only when absolutely necessary. I really was being careful, but as you could imagine, me with my cane, and I was stupid and didn't put shoes on. My sock clad feet were just too slippery and I fell halfway down the stairs hitting my rear end and hip pretty hard.

Was I in pain, definitely. Am I still in pain, definitely. In fact, I have a nice purple and green bruise that circles from the front of my hip all the way around to the middle of my behind. I must admit however that I was more painfully embarrassed that I fell. It was very loud, and I was instantly surrounded by well meaning family members who wanted to make sure I was alright. I am glad that I am so loved, but I had to put on a brave face because I didn't want them to worry or make too big of a fuss over my incident.

Yes I will mend, I already feel much better than I did yesterday. I am also glad that I have one more day to recuperate before heading home in the morning. I just hope that I can get beyond my own feelings of weirdness to the point where I can just thank them for their kindness and loving embrace. They really do care about me, and perhaps I needed to fall and hurt myself just to have a reminder that even though I am the in-law here, I am still as loved and cared for as if I were their daughter. I love that about them.

Christmas makes me crazy!

2006-12-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

I, like about five billion other people, love Christmas. However, this year more than any other it is making me crazy! As usual, it is all about money heh. In the past, we haven't really had a good job so we were out of cash by December paying the evil heating bill. This year, where we have a real job and we live in the desert thus no heating bill, it should have been easy! Ya.. um... so I told you guys before about the renter situation in Idaho. No, we have not found new renters yet. However, we have found a way to go home after all! YAY for our team!

Ok, so on to my dilemma. I also teach Violin and Viola lessons. One of my favorite families has two students in my studio. The mother of this oh so awesome family offered to pay me for the entire month of January! That is five lessons for two people! Can you say Christmas Presents after all? I had blocked the idea of Christmas presents from my brain. I mean seriously, I didn't think that Sultry Husband could afford to get me anything, so I was prepared to deal with that. What I am not prepared to deal with is his new questions of "What can I get you for Christmas?" Not to mention, I now have to come up with something brilliant for him as well... so here is where you all come in. What are you asking for and what are you giving your husbands?

Help. hehe.

Dream House

2006-12-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

This was sent to us by a couple of friends, and lets just say that it is Sultry Husband's dream house. Personally, I think that our neighbors would kill us if we did something like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsPZ2b-S1sM&NR

So cool! Oh and by the way, this is totally real. They guy is an eletrical engineer. It takes 2 months and 86,000 lights to complete. We totally need to learn how to do that hehe.

A little bit of frazzle

2006-12-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

My little sister had her very first baby. It is a huge deal for all of us in the family, we have been waiting for this little one for quite some time. Anyway, in our church we give them a "blessing" which is quite a personal time, but we always welcome all of our friends and family to attend. So, the blessing date was this past Sunday, and of course we all had to be there!

One problem though, I had a concert to play in on Friday night, so the soonest we could leave was Saturday morning. The galloping goose can't be trusted on a drive like that anymore, so we went to rent a vehicle. It added about 45 minutes to our trip, quite worth it if you ask me, to get this car. However, when we arrived at the rental agency, they informed us that the car they had reserved for us had not shown up, it was a day late already. Ugh. We sat there for another 45 minutes while they tried to find us another vehicle. Their lot was totally empty. Eventually they found us a mini-van. So, we rented the van at the compact car rate and they even threw in a tank of gas because they felt so horrible about the incident. Aside from leaving two hours later than we wanted from the city, we were pretty happy. It ended up getting about 25 miles to the gallon so we were alright with the switch.

After leaving the rental agency, we drove all the way to Salt Lake. My parents still live there, and we stopped in with them for the evening. It had taken us about 5 hours to get there. The next day we rose early, drove another 5 hours to my sisters house. We arrived just in time for the blessing, then turned around and drove the 5 hours back to my parents house. Monday, we needed a little bit of fun, so SH, myself, and the kids went to a movie. Following that, we drove home... Straight home. It took us about 5 hours again. By the time I climbed into my bed on Monday night, I was frazzled and extremely tired. Was that the end? Never! Tuesday morning I had to drive back to St. George (1 1/2 hours away) to return the van. Bleh! Another three hour round trip!

I think I could stay in this house for a week and be happy. But of course I had violin lessons to teach, a house that looks like a tornado hit it, oh and I also missed the fungus dog's appointment with the vet on Tuesday. There is more to do than I could accomplish in a week if I worked 8 hours a day. I feel like I need a vacation from my trip.
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Oh and one more note on the weekend. Our renters in Idaho have moved out, the house is vacant and therefore we have to cover the entire mortgage on our own. In December. I knew that if we didn't find renters, I had to decide if I would rather go to the blessing or go home for Christmas. I am still hoping that we find renters soon, but every day that goes by without word from the property managers creates the more likelihood that I won't be going anywhere for the holiday. Am I sad about this? Yes. Do I regret going to my sisters this weekend? Never. It was worth it just to have her know that I made the effort just for her. One of those moments that she will remember. Every one of her siblings was there, no matter how far we all had to come. We gathered around one that we love, and that my friends is truly priceless.

Cute Family Moments

2006-11-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went into the Forrest and cut down our Christmas Tree! We had a blast, and since this house is the first that has ever had high ceilings, Sultry Husband was totally excited to get a huge monster. I mean a 12 foot tree! This thing takes up so much room! But I do have to admit that it is very beautiful. He also wanted to try all blue lights this year, so we did... However we did not buy enough lights to fill the monster, so this week we will be getting a few more :-)
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L had a very cute conversation with Daddy the other day. You know how three year old's can take themselves very serious, well this was important to her so she asked Daddy a question.

L: "Daddy, I like Jesus."
Daddy: "That is great L, its good to like Jesus."
L: "Daddy, can I still like Santa Clause?"
Daddy: "Yes."

Adorable I tell you!
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One not so cute moment this week, we found out what has been wrong with Copper our Golden Retriever. According to the vet "we have a fungus among us." Bleh! He has two very scaly looking itchy spots on his shoulders. We are now treating him with meds, but they told us to quarantine him. I mean, he can't be near our other dog or our kids. What am I supposed to do with a fungal dog at Christmas time?! We were supposed to be boarding him when we go up for Christmas and now I don't know what to do with him. Grumble. It is a very good thing that he is such a great dog. He needs all the positive points he can get!

Alone?

2006-11-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving was like many others for us, that is we could not go home. In our marriage, it is usually a choice between going home for a short weekend for Thanksgiving or going home for a longer stay at Christmas. Which one would you choose?

This year however, we are not surrounded by the myriad of wonderful friends that we had in Idaho. As Sultry Husband and I discussed our options about the celebration, we came upon a wonderful idea! You see, many of the people who work for SH's company have come to this small town far away from their families. Just like us. Why not invite a bunch of them over and have our own feast?!

Sultry Husband sent out a whole bunch of e-mail invitations to co-workers, and we ended up with five very enthusiastic people. Each was single, living down here without family, and choosing to go home at Christmas time, just like us.

The party was fabulous! First of all, our neighbor has a deep fryer that he uses each year and does anyone's turkey that would like... mmmm deep fried turkey that I didn't have to cook myself. I have to admit it was so delicious! I had heard from this neighbor that once you had tried a deep fried turkey, you would never go back. It is so true, that SH and I have thought about getting our own deep frier if we ever move away from here... of course, we had other side dishes, all in all we had way too much food.

The crazy part is that I had planned on making one pie. One of the guests was bringing a pie, so I thought two all together would be enough. I have to interject something here, I HATE and I really do mean can not stand the smell, touch, and especially the icky gross taste of pumpkin pie. SH and I are like minded in this, so we have never made one within this household before. M however, went to her kindergarten "Feast" on Wednesday and tasted the evil substance. She came home raving about how much she loved the pumpkin pie and it was now her new favorite treat and how she couldn't wait for our Thanksgiving so she could have more Pumpkin Pie. Ugh. I made a pumpkin pie that night. Then in the morning I made my traditional Apple Pie to die for. I had extra pie crust left so I got a little adventurous and decided to try making a banana cream pie complete with meringue on top. I was a little afraid, seeing as I have never ever made a meringue before. It was the talk of the party! Everyone loved it so much they all took some of it home afterwards!

We played games, we laughed, we talked. Real, adult conversation! There was only one awkward moment when one of the guests requested coffee with her pie. We explained that we aren't coffee drinkers, then she asked for Tea... uh sorry... Other than that, it was a fabulous and memorable holiday.

Oh and the best part... They all pitched in and cleaned my kitchen when the party was winding down. Today all I have to do is open my fridge and enjoy the left overs. No cleaning for me!

2006-11-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when kids don't feel very well, they want to snuggle. I knew that L had a bad cold so I set her up on the couch with a nice warm blanket. When I returned a few minuites later, Phnarph the ever snuggle happy corgi was curled up under one of the blankets.
I asked L why Phnarph was under her blanket and not her, to which she replied "Mommy, Phnarphie was cold". He was obviously not complaining about the pampering.

It's Here! IT'S HERE!

2006-11-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very special day! A little less than three years ago, Sultry Husband started a project. It was no ordinary project, it was to be an amazing journey full of ups and downs, but most of all it was the fulfillment of a dream.

Yesterday, Sultry Husband's first book came to us in the mail! He held the first copy. Then we went out to dinner (of course), and rounded out the evening with a few purchases. Namely a pen to sign the first copy for himself and the second copy for me, and a shadow box to hold the first ever copy of the first ever book published with my husband's name as the author! It won't hit the bookstores or amazon.com until later this month, but we have our first copies! You had better believe that I am excited!

So there you have it folks, for those who didn't know our last name until now, I am definitely not hiding it now heh, you also now know Sultry Husband's real name which is fine with me, but I will continue to call him Sultry Husband here.

Never in the history of the world could a wife be more proud of her husband than I am of Dave right now. He set a goal, I supported that goal, and we achieved it together.

Halloween

2006-11-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

Well, Happy Halloween everyone! A few days late anyway...

As usual, please forgive my blur of the kids faces, but I have to show off the costumes as usual. The funny thing about this year is that L was determined to be Big Bird. Again. We always let our kids decide what they want to be (with a little direction of course), so we allowed her to wear the favorite costume again. Totally cute as usual, and since we are in a new area, there was no way that anyone would know that it was a second year in a row costume. She also told me exactly what shapes she wanted her pumpkin to have on his face. I thought the square nose especially cool.
M on the other hand, wanted to be Superman. With some "gentle" prodding from me, she changed her mind enough to be Supergirl instead. I was a little afraid of letting my 6 year old be a man at school, I just think it would invite teasing. With her pumpkin, I had her draw the face she wanted on a piece of paper, then she helped me transfer it onto her pumpkin. I especially liked the three eyes, they are very scary.

I have to admit that I am quite proud of M's costume this year. I bought a pink dance outfit, then made the Supergirl insignia and I even made the cape! The pink that you see is actually the inside lining and the outside is a deep Burgundy. She still talks about how cool the cape was, and I must agree with her there... The first thing I have ever made from start to finish on my very own!

L totally out trick or treated M this year. She ran up to each door as fast as she could. They fought over who's turn it was to knock, but they would both yell the magic words together. At one house in particular, L said it was her turn to knock, but M had beaten her to it. The howl that came from L was scary enough to wake the dead! We kept asking the girls if they had enough of trick or treating, and always the answer was "NO!" Eventually, we cut off the candy flow and took them home. L took about five steps into the house and crumpled to the floor, fast asleep. Her bed was just too far to find. Poor Big Bird!

ARUGH!

2006-11-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

Curse you Blogger! I have a halloween post all written and ready to post, except for the fact that blogger won't let me post any pictures! I shall keep trying throughout the day, but I am so totally frustrated after spending over an hour trying to coax and prod the pictures to upload. Blogger even went as far as to tell me that the pictures were uploaded fine, I could click the "done" button and place them in the text, but when I did what I was supposed to do, I was rewarded with a blank blog instead of even the text I had written. I am done.

BRAAAAAAAAP, I love you!

2006-10-26T22:43:00.000-06:00

The animal sanctuary down here has a beautiful bird department. I love to visit there whenever I can, just to play with the various plumed creatures. Some of the larger ones frighten me, not because they are mean or anything, but because they are just so big! Anyway, the bird department has been getting a lot of animals lately. They are constantly turning poor birds away because they just don't have the room for them all. That is where we come in.

Sultry Husband was told that the sanctuary was starting a new program in which birds would be put into foster care. We signed right up. You see, we love parrots of all kinds, but they are a huge responsibility. Not only are we responsible for their care, but they can live up to 60 years as well! So, I would now like to introduce Jasper. She is a beautiful Amazon Grey Parrot who lost her home when her family divorced. She is beautiful! A little shy at first, and we need to work on her socialization skills, but she will be a great fit for us.

Sultry Husband went to pick her up, "Jasper do you want to come out?" followed by a very soft "noooooo" from the bird. Once she had been here for a few hours, the shy part of her personality was put away and her true character shone through as bright as ever. The phone rang and suddenly I hear this strange voice saying "Hello?", thank you Jasper. A few more quirky words and noises followed. The true Jasper moment happened a few hours later when Sultry Husband walked in with a soda. He suddenly heard a very loud "BRAAAAAAP!" this bird can belch! Sultry Husband laughed so hard! Then came the farts. Now to be clear, the bird isn't really farting and burping, she is only mimicking the sounds that she heard her former owners make. I think I need to catalogue Jaspers words and noises, although I don't know if I could ever remember them all. She is such a sweet bird, who is extremely entertaining at least! Only she could belch then say I love you in the same sentence. Go Jasper!

Book Club

2006-10-25T09:56:00.000-06:00

I am always and forever looking for people to discuss my favorite books with. I read like mad and love to talk about them afterward, so I decided to create a new blog called "April's Book Club". Check it out here. I also put a link on the right side of the blog under Book Club. Let me know if you would like to join it and I will put a link back to your original blog if you like! I hope this catches on because it sounds totally fun to me!

Amazing Kids

2006-10-20T11:21:00.000-06:00

Like Heather, I have realized that my posts have been a bit down lately. Therefore I refuse to post about my hip, I will update later, in a few days perhaps. For now, here is something really funny that happened.

When my brother was a young boy, he amazed his teachers by telling them all about the types of clouds. He knew the different types and recited them with accuracy. My mom was always pointing out different types and talking to us about them.

Last week, while M was at school it was very dark and stormy. The clouds were very dark and scary looking. A boy in her class was refusing to go outside for recess because for sure there was going to be a tornado. M walked up to him, put her hands on her hips and said,

"tornadoes happen when warm air rises and meets the cool air. Then it begins to spin and a funnel will form and come down to touch the ground. It is too cold here so there isn't any warm air to rise up to the clouds. There won't be a tornado."

She then took the boy by the hand and they ran outside to play, leaving her teacher shocked and amazed at my daughter. M watches "dragonfly TV" on PBS which is all about normal kids and science. About a month ago, they had an episode about tornadoes. She talked about them with her Dad as well, but I seriously didn't expect her to remember how they worked, let alone recite the correct facts to a classmate in kindergarten.

The story

2006-10-18T09:15:00.000-06:00

Several of you have asked me about why I need a new hip so young. Yes I am only 27 years old and yes I need a hip replacement or a hip restructuring. Here is the basic story.

When I was eleven years old I crashed my bike into a truck. My right leg was severely fractured (so much that you could see the bone sticking out), my left knee was broken as well. However, when I was asked about where I hurt, my answer was my left hip. It was fractured and dislocated. When the doctor went to put it back into place, it popped in extremely easy which made him uneasy. He said that the easier it goes in, the easier it could come back out again. I spent the entire summer in a hospital bed, in traction, then finally in a wheel chair, a walker, crutches, and a cane. Thankfully this happened just at the end of school, so I was home taught by my teacher for a month, and I had the summer to recover.

As the school year started again, I was back up on my feet and able to attend as usual. It was not until a year later in the seventh grade that I started having pain. Any time I ran, jumped, or did about anything active I would hurt for days afterward. I was pulled from the Gym program. I was told to choose activities that would not require me to run or exert myself in any way. I hated it. Eventually the pain increased, about the time I started high school. I would have to use a cane, and as I shared in earlier posts, the kids were not very kind to me about it. The curse of my life.

We went to specialists, we went to alternative medicine, we tried about everything we could think of to get me out of pain. When I was eighteen, my orthopedic surgeon told me the devastating news that sometime before I reached age thirty, I would need a total replacement.

I have made it almost ten years since that diagnosis, and it is only in the past eight months or so that I have really begun to hurt to the level that we know the replacement is looming. I have a procedure tomorrow to hopefully get me out of enough pain that we could try for one more child. I would happily spend the entire nine months in bed, in pain if it meant that I could have even one more choice spirit join my family. So that is our choice right now, we try to hold off the pain just long enough. I pray that we are blessed with one more because I know for sure it will be my last. And that just kills me.

All consuming thoughts

2006-10-17T10:02:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am having some major hip issues going on in my life right now. The time has come for a replacement of sorts. We thought at first that I would have a total hip replacement, but it looks like I may have a few other options. There is a new technique being perfected that is hip restructuring. We are excited about the concept and the hope that I could be pain free without a total hip!

That being said, the consuming thoughts are all about making the right decision. We are wading through so many documents about different procedures that it is easy to get bogged down. The worst came when I was reading in the physicians section of one of the websites, I ran across a procedure outline that tells how the entire thing is done step by step. After reading what would be done with my body, I felt very nauseated and had to lie down. I think that I will leave those sections to Sultry Husband hehe.

Anyway I have found that when you have a giant decision looming in the near future, it is hard to concentrate on anything else. How will this be paid for, how will we choose which procedure, how can I reduce the pain in the interim, how will we know which decision to make? I am glad that I have other more knowledgeable people in my court. I can make a list of questions and fire them off to a number of people who can interpret them for me. Most of all, right now I am thankful for my family members who care enough to help me through this, every daunting and overwhelming step at a time.

Update: The hopes of this morning have been dashed. I am a candidate for the surgery, but I was told that I would have to choose between having more children or having the surgery. Please don't tell me how lucky I am to have two kids already, I know that I am blessed. I just can't help but mourn for all of the children I wanted but will never have. Perhaps I am being over dramatic, but right now my thoughts are all consuming in a different direction than this morning.

Fearless?

2006-10-13T09:10:00.000-06:00

Time to update all of you on what happened to me last night. I arrived a few minutes early for rehearsal. There were only three people there! Suddenly I was terrified that they had all heard that I was running the rehearsal and decided not to show up. Can we say inferiority complex?

Fifteen minutes after the rehearsal was supposed to start, I had enough people to actually make it worth the effort. I sent the winds and brass to a sectional, while I worked with the strings. We are playing the Egmont overture by Beethoven, a piece that I have performed more times than I can remember. There is a very difficult section near the end that the strings always struggle with. Our director had been taking it at about half tempo (really slow) and planed on keeping it there for the performance. I asked him why, and he replied that he didn't think our string section could take it. That is where I come to the rescue! I got those strings going enough that they are now up to full tempo! I was extatic! I just gave them some clues to help and suddenly we were there, at the speed we wanted to be at. I can't wait to tell the director!

When I pulled the entire group together, I decided to tell a joke. It lightened the mood considerably, and helped me to bring them all to a happy place where we could actually get some work done.
Q: What do you do with a violist who can't count?
A: Take away their viola, give em' two sticks and send em' to the back.
Q: What if they still can't count?
A: Take away one stick and send them to the front.
*Insert happy sounds of laughter*

I did learn something about myself last night though. Strings I can handle like the back of my hand. I am a string player, and therefore I know how they think and how they function. Winds and Brass however, terrify me. I am intimidated when they look at me wrong, I think they are waiting for me to fail (although I know it wasn't the case). Throughout the rest of the rehearsal, things went really well though. I was scared of those mean ole' winds and brass, but I got through.

The best part of the evening was when we were all finished, packing up, and getting ready to leave. This old farmer guy who plays the trumpet in our group came up to me and said "I really like your conducting style". Said in a very simple, back country way of his but it made my night!

Now that I have substituted for K, I know he will ask me to do it again and again... I am actually going to suggest to him that I always handle the string sectional at the beginning. The director is not a string player and therefore gives very little direction to them other than to play in tune. I think that my idea could really shape the sections and help them to progress a little bit more... Just a thought though. But then, I am probably just getting ahead of myself. At least next time I fill in, I won't have a heart attack the week before. I can do this. I can!

Random Thursday

2006-10-12T08:34:00.000-06:00

This is just one of those days where there is way too much to share to make a single post about all of them, so I will do a random post with a lot of little things...
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The final edits have been approved, the cover art is fabulous, the author bio in the back is chosen, most of all Sultry Husband's book goes to printing this morning! We don't have a release date yet, sometime in November, but they are actually putting my husbands words into a book form today! Oh, and for all of those who have been asking, the title of the book is "Broken". It will be in many book stores as well as Amazon.com. So I will let ya'll know when it will actually be out so you can all go buy it! hehe.
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I get to volunteer in M's kindergarten class this morning. I am actually really excited! She was upset that I wouldn't be riding the bus with her, but I had to explain that they don't want me till 9:30, so she would have some time at school before I come. She will get over it.
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This evening I will be pretending to be the conductor of the Symphony. I am terrified. I also have been practicing like mad, so I am prepared. I have always been told that he who is prepared shall not fear... Well guess what folks, no matter how prepared I am, I fear!
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Sometime today we are getting a new bed. Our old one literally broke on us, so we decided to upgrade to a King Sized mattress! Whoo Hoo! Space here we come! We bought it last week, and it is being delivered sometime this afternoon.
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I went to an orthopedic specialist yesterday about my old hip injury. He took one look at the x-rays and pronounced what I already knew, yup I will be getting a hip replacement at some point. It has been giving me a lot more pain lately, the doc actually said that it is time to replace a hip when the patient can no longer walk a mile without pain. Well folks, if I walk a half a mile I end up crying because it hurts so bad. It is time, but I am choosing to wait. Why you ask? Because I am only 27, and hips will last at the most for 20 years. Therefore I need to limit how many replacements I will need in my life. Each time you have a replacement it gets more complicated and can take away from quality of life. Thus sayeth the doctors anyway, so they counseled me to wait as long as I can possibly stand it. He suggested some things to help me, one of which is to use my good ole' cane again. Ugg. That is the one thing that I really don't want to do. It brings a lot of attention to something I would rather hide from the world. At least the world who sees me face to face every day.

Oh and one more thing about my hip... Normal ball and socket joints are a nice round shape. Mine however is an octagon. So whenever you see a stop sign, think of me. It is what I am walking on. And I wondered why I hurt!
__________

My parents are coming for a visit this weekend! My girls are so excited, and to tell you the truth, so am I. It isn't as if it has been years since I have seen them, but company of any kind down here is something to get worked up about. The only problem is that I am hurting so bad that I know my house won't be clean enough. I know that my mom will spend the weekend helping me out cleaning my house to spotless perfection. It is just her thing. And I love her dearly for it. My dad will have a list of wonderful things to fix while he is here, my mom will clean like the wind, and we will go up to the mountains for one last smores roast before the snows come...
__________

Most of all life is busy, life is good, and life goes on.

Associate Conductor?

2006-10-05T22:37:00.000-06:00

The conductor of the symphony I am in is going in vacation for a week. I ran into him this afternoon and he asked me a question.

K: "April, you know how to conduct don't you?"
Me: "Yes, I have had some experience."
K: "I am going on vacation and I was hoping that you would run the rehearsal next week."
Me: "Uh, sure K I would be happy to." (Said while smiling at K, yet screaming inside with every fiber of my being NO! Don't do it!)

What was I thinking?!

Knock Knock

2006-10-03T16:09:00.000-06:00

A while back, I shared M's first joke with you all. L has now followed in her big sister's footprints and told Daddy her first joke this morning.

L: "Knock Knock!"

Daddy: "Who's there?"

L: "Dinosaur."

Daddy: "Dinosaur who?"

L: "RAWR!"

The Thief

2006-10-03T08:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday L came running inside to tell me something very important! She was huffing and puffing from the effort of running in to find me. And what was her very important message?

L: "Mommy! Mommy! Someone is stealing all of the leaves off of our trees!"

Me: "Oh L, that is why this time of year is called the Fall. It is time for the leaves to fall off the trees."

L: "NO! Mommy! I think it is the birds! They are stealing all the leaves off the trees! You have to tell them to stop!"

There was nothing that I could say that would comfort her about loosing the beautiful leaves... I love my kids. They bring laughter into my life even when they are just trying to understand the world around them.

Stolen from Sariah

2006-09-28T22:36:00.000-06:00

The other day Sariah wrote a post about her previous job experiences along with her current position as a wife and mother. I had to steal the idea so here we go on April's journey through employment.

____________________

At the ripe age of 11, I became a paper delivery specialist. I had to arise at 4:30 each morning to fold horrible papers that turned my hands completely black. An hour after beginning to fold my papers, I would be headed out the door on my trusty bike to deliver these horrible things to people's homes. One man whom I actually liked, gave me a $20 tip every month if I would put the paper between his storm door and front door. So worth the time. I was lucky that my mom would drive me on Sundays because lets face it people, Sunday papers have WAY too many adds for the poor paper delivery service!

____________________

In the 9th grade, some of the students in orchestra noticed that I could play better than they could. They asked me to teach them what I had learned from my private teachers. I was happy to oblige and thus I began to teach. I charged $5 for a half hour lesson. Not bad for a 14 year old kid.

____________________

At the age of 16, I decided to go get a real job. McDonalds here we come! I walked in and was hired on the spot. I worked every Friday and Saturday night till 2 am. I worked every day after school. I worked during most dances because my boss would "forget" to schedule me off as I requested. I hated every second of my 9 months there.

_____________________

Because I was so turned off by the food service profession, a friend of mine got me a job at a place called "Unabase Technologies". To this day, I have no idea what they really did. All I know is that I had a little pass to hang around my neck, which allowed me inside the building, and into my little cubicle. Do any of you remember when Snapple had that national campaign to give a friend a free snaple. All you had to do was call this 1-800 number and leave your friend's address. They would get a coupon for a free snapple. Ever wonder who had to listen to all of those messages? ME. That's right folks, I had to listen to all of you giving your addresses far to fast and sometimes just leaving obscenities. Occasionally however, I would have a "hang up" at which point I would input my own address into the blank form for that file. Heh, I had quite the collection of free snapples.

____________________

One of my all time favorite jobs was dropped into my lap by yet another friend. You see, my school district lost some funding and had to cut the elementary school music program. The parents were outraged. Thus the district made a compromise. They hired high school seniors like myself to teach elementary school music classes before and after school. They paid $13.00 an hour. I took on two schools, one before and one after. Not to mention the district would pay me for an hour of prep time per school. I wonder if they realized that I would use the same lesson plan for each school and thus get paid for two prep hours when I only needed one. So, I got paid for four hours a day when I was only doing the work of three hours. I made a lot of money that year and at the end of it all, I traded in my old viola and put all the rest of my hard earned money towards my new beautiful viola which was exactly what I needed as a music major! Unfortunately that job ended with the school year, and I was forced to find other employment for the summer.

_____________________

I knew that the change in my employment would come, so I planned ahead. My sister was involved in cosmetology school and the owner had been complaining for a while that she needed a personal assistant. Knowing that my teaching would end soon, I applied for the position in March. Therefore I worked two jobs for a while, loving every minute of each. I did all of the computer work and answered phones on occasion. I shared my office with the owner and became friends with her. She would come to me for advice on things that a high school senior really shouldn't have known. Things about life in general. The funny thing was that I usually seemed to be able to answer her questions fully and to her satisfaction. I loved my job again.

____________________

The first year of college I did not look for a job. My parents did their best to support me, but I found that my bank account was often empty. It never even occurred to me to look for work... I was having way too much fun! I was on a scholarship and the remains of my summer employment covered much of my rent. Food was the only problem... And I would "home shop" whenever I visited so my kitchen was usually stocked.

____________________

As I returned home for the summer months, I knew that I needed to find a job again. I decided to look within retail. A large department store in the mall called ZCMI was looking for makeup artists to work their counters. I told them of my limited experience in this area, but they took me on anyway. The line I worked was called "Roberto Bejon". This crazy Italian guy (Roberto himself) came into the store to train me on his product line. He worked with me for weeks to learn the techniques in make up application. I enjoyed most of my time there, but the main problem was that I had to be on my feet all day long. Man I was always in pain by the end of my shift!

____________________

The second year I decided to find a job. The first week of school, I found out that the music department was putting together a MIDI lab (computers and keyboards together). I happened to take several courses in High School that used the exact programs that the college was using. I volunteered my services in the setting up of the lab because he looked stressed out and frustrated with trying to figure out the process that I already knew. The professor hired me to be the MIDI lab specialist and one of three tutors available for drop in tutoring... (the other two were my dear friends Dana and Heather).... I loved that job...

___________________

The summer following my second year I was engaged to Sultry Husband. I knew that I needed to earn as much as I possibly could before our marriage in late July. I pulled some strings with the former employer at the hair school. She suggested I look up the high manager of Hair Cuts Plus, whom my sisters all knew anyway so there was another angle to get the job. As soon as I mentioned my last name on the phone to the high manager she hired me. Without knowing which location I would even go into. She found two locations that needed a receptionist. Between the two places I ended up working 6 days a week. It was insane, but great money! Not to mention free acrylic nails for my wedding ;-)

____________________

Since our marriage, I have worked in some weird places, and some not so weird places. My favorite is in my home, working as a mom. Followed closely by teaching students out of my home. Right now I have enough students that I will be putting any others onto a waiting list. My schedule is just too full! What a fantastic problem!

____________________

Last night at symphony practice, my director mentioned that we are having issues because of our size. We need a cello section, yet the only person who plays has not shown up for the past two concerts. He asked our Bass clarinet if she could read a cello part... To which she said absolutely not. She does not know how to transpose for her instrument. I do. Therefore, my latest position is that of Official Symphony Orchestrator. I will be changing parts around from time to time to fit our instrumentation. I am so excited! I finally get to use some of my orchestration skills that I learned in school! Yay for jobs falling in your lap... They have definitely been my favorite.

Shenay-nay Returns

2006-09-28T10:03:00.000-06:00

When I was a kid, my older siblings loved to watch a show called "In Living Color". In actuality it was a pretty racy show, I would never allow my kids to watch it, but there was one sketch that has stayed with me from those early years. Shenay-nay was a "lady" who had these HUGE lips. I mean, they looked like she kissed a curling iron they were so big. Her line was "I'll rock your world" which always made everyone laugh because she looked so stupid at the same time.

Anyway, I have a problem. I have chronic cold sores. Usually I can avoid them with constant chap stick and lots of water consumption, but occasionally they come back no matter what I do. Yesterday I felt the tingle and ran for my campho phenique and abreva tubes to no avail. They are here. When I say they, I mean four huge sores on my lips! I don't usually get them this bad, perhaps one at a time, but it has been over a year since I have had a sore, so I suppose my body is making up for lost time.

When Sultry Husband got home last night, he took one look at my face and kissed my forehead. I then looked at him and said "I'll rock your world" at which point we both dissolved into fits of giggles. At least I can still laugh, even if I do look stupid and swollen. I hope my poor violin students are half as forgiving as my dear husband.

New Member? I think not.

2006-09-27T08:43:00.000-06:00

When we moved down here so Sultry Husband could work at an animal sanctuary, my brother teased me that I would be getting five new animals. Namely dogs. I swore to myself and to him that this would not be the case. Two dogs and a parrot are enough for anyone right?

I have been told that the sanctuary has a new dog. Well they have more than 150 new dogs this week but that is a different much longer story. The one in particular is named "Belle". She is a two year old pembroke welsh corgi. The caregivers up there know my dogs (including Phnarph my corgi), and istantly contacted my husband to see if we wanted to adopt her. My heart completely sank. I have an insane draw to the corgi family. They are playfull, fun, and most of all they are great with kids. I never have to fear my kids being around a corgi.

We discussed adopting her for about 10 minuites. I don't want to run a farm so we are passing on her. It breaks my heart to see such a beautiful and perfect animal without a home... anyone want to adopt a fabulous sweetheart?

Philosophy

2006-09-26T09:39:00.000-06:00

I am feeling rather philosophical this morning, so I decided that I would look for a quote to match my mood... here is the first one I came across that struck me:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul.
And sings the tune
Without the words,
and never stops at all.

-Emily Dickenson

Yup that works.

Sultry Husband

2006-09-26T09:09:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite pictures of Sultry Husband. He is leading L down a path in Zion's National Park (our favorite local park at the moment).

Fun with fire

2006-09-22T11:51:00.000-06:00

Sometimes parenting is a tough gig. It’s not always easy to know ahead of time what your kids will find sad or upsetting. Consider a family campfire we had a couple days back. Up in the mountains, enjoying the crisp near-autumn air and gorgeous fall colors, roasting marshmallows over the flames. The kind of moments that make the rest of the week fade into the background.

So then, for extra laughs and to add to the magic of the memory, I tossed M’s favorite toy on the fire so we could all cackle gleefully while it burst into flames. And for some strange reason (hard to believe, I know) M had a problem with this! She even cried. I felt terrible. Who knew that kids liked their toys so much?

Okay, okay. Lest you hire a brute squad to send me to sleep with the fishes in the east river, I’ll explain that the cherished toy happened to be a piece of firewood. Yes, firewood. Our neighbor builds log beds and had given us some of the scrap pieces to burn. Some of these logs had worm tunnels in the wood, or “squiggly patterns” as M called them. And NO, we didn’t know she valued that particular chunk of squiggly patterned firewood as a playpiece until it was already in the fire going up in smoke. All kidding aside, we truly did feel bad. In her imaginitive child’s mind, Daddy had just torched what might have been the rocketship that carries her ponies to the moon for lunar picnics. Sigh. At least there was chocolate. That always helps. A little.

Desperate for change

2006-09-20T11:42:00.000-06:00

I have been disenchanted with my blog for a while now but I couldn't figure out why. Then today I started looking through other's blogs and realized that it was all because I was bored with my format. I think that the puke yellow was getting to me. I never liked that color but I loved the picture at the top. I decided to go with colors that make me happy and a format that I like, so here is my new attempt. The site will be changing over time to fit my personality more but for now this is what I have come up with... I know what I want to do with the site, now all that is left is to figure out how to do it :-)

New

2006-09-09T15:04:00.000-06:00

It seems that every time I turn around these days something new is happening. From kindergarten to birthdays. We have known for some time that M needed glasses. We held off for a while because we thought she wouldn't take good care of them.

I have memories of my first pair of glasses, I hated them. They were big, they were thick, and most of all they were heavy. I was determined to help M choose a pair of glasses that she could enjoy and look adorable in.

As we looked through the rows of glasses together, I kept picking them out and encouraging her to try them on. After some time, we both agreed upon a pair. We had to wait a week for the lenses to be placed within the new frames. I also purchased a new set for myself as it had been several years since my last pair. This time I chose red...

I placed them side by side for a picture when I realized that I basically bought her a small version of my own glasses. We do have similar face shapes but I still find the fact a bit amusing.

M's life in pictures continued

2006-09-06T17:14:00.000-06:00

This is my all time favorite picture of M. At this time in her life, we called her "The Shnook" which was short for "Shnookums". This picture was taken at 8 months old, the very first time she pushed up on her own.
Always smiling and clowning around. Shnook loved to play with us. Sultry Husband was making faces at her, so she made faces back at him.

Once she learned about grass, we couldn't keep her out of it.

As is typical of all first birthdays, we gave her a cake to demolish. There she was with her trademark huge smile and big shiny eyes just loving life.
At 14 months, she decided that it was time to walk. For those of you who know her story, this was a huge milestone in all of our lives, that she walked this early.
We are so grateful that our Shnook is part of our family. She is a bright star shining in our family. She has a love for life that can't be matched. I can't believe that she is 6 years old, it seems like yesterday that we were living with this little one. The years have flown by.

M, six years later

2006-09-06T09:35:00.000-06:00

Today is my beautiful daughter M's birthday. She is six years old! I wanted to do the typical post for her birthday sharing some of my favorite photo's of her as a little one, so I hope you will all enjoy some of my favorites.

The first time we were allowed to take her outside, we tried to put her in the swing... she didn't like it very much.

This has to be one of my favorite early pictures of M. I thought I was being all fancy with the basket and my plants...

She did finally learn to like the swings, although we never pushed her very high till she was much bigger.

I played around with black and whites on this one, a new way to look at my gorgeous baby. 10 months old here...

Of course we had to take her camping early. I attempted to keep her on that blue tarp and away from the dirt, but I bet you can guess how long that one lasted.

Alas blogger has decided that the picture uploading is at an end... I shall make a second post I think.

Missed Opportunity

2006-09-05T19:15:00.000-06:00

The evenings here have become very pleasant. The breeze picks up and the temperatures fall to a comfortable level. We have started walking after dinner and we have all enjoyed our time together. M picks flowers while L hugs her favorite stuffed animal and they both look for as many horses as we can find on our way. (There are actually quite a few horse corrals in the area so there are always plenty to find).

Today there was a small storm moving through the area, but we headed out for our walk anyway. It was a comfortable warm wind. After walking for about five minutes, we looked to the sky. Typically we find a hawk or two gliding through the skies searching for dinner, but this evening was different. My best guess is that there were some nice thermals caused by the storm, but we first saw five or six hawks. Then we kept looking, and suddenly there were ten soaring above our heads. As we opened our eyes further and really searched the sky's we noticed that there had to be more than fifty beautiful hawks soaring in the wind. Not one dove for the ground in search of the elusive field mouse, they were up in the sky to enjoy flight.

I turned around to get my camera to capture this amazing moment. Alas, when I arrived at home, I realized that the keys were still within Sultry Husband's pockets. By the time he returned home with the kids in tow, the hawks were well beyond the scope of my camera and the moment was lost. It reminded me of a post on Proud Mum's site recently. The moment is in my memory, I only wish I could share it with others... Frustration makes me want to carry my camera wherever I go. Perhaps the next time we have a storm rolling into the area, I will be prepared to capture these graceful animals.

New Car

2006-09-02T20:03:00.000-06:00

The Galloping Goose has devoured another alternator. This last week, she decided that two in a year were not nearly enough, so the third was replaced. We are tired of this little habit of our beloved goose, and therefore we have decided that it is time to replace her. We will still keep her around (mostly for Sultry Husband to drive to work), but I will be driving the new car.

Yup, that's right, we are researching new vehicles. Well, new to us anyway. We found some fabulous deals and were quite excited about what a nice car we could still find for under $10,000. That is when my bubble burst. I went to look into financing for our new wheels, when I was told of an obscure law that only exists within this state I live in. You see, Arizona decided somewhere along the line that if someone wanted to finance a car, it had to be worth more than $10,000. That's right, we have to spend more than that or we will not be able to get a loan. What is up with that?! It seems like they want to keep their pockets lined with our tax dollars, and therefore no one can buy a cheap car. Even if it is a cheap car located in Florida, Texas, or Georgia. Because we live 4 miles into this state, we are stuck living by their dumb old law.

Now more than ever, I wish we could afford to live across the border in Utah. We may look more into this before we buy a car that is more expensive than we need. Perhaps there is a great House waiting for us where the politicians don't decide what kind of car I can drive.

First Day

2006-08-22T08:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was M's first day of kindergarten! I welled up a little and thought I might cry, but I avoided the classic parental blunder. I did however, take a camera with me and snap a dozen or so pictures.

When I returned to the school to pick her up, she scowled at me and asked, "Mommy, why didn't you let me stay longer?!" followed closely by "Did I miss cyberchase?" (*her favorite PBS kids show). I had to inform her that yes she did in fact miss her show, but that it would be on again in the late afternoon. I was a little sad that there was not even a "Hi Mom," or "I missed you so much mommy", or best yet "Don't make me go again because I want to stay home with you forever because I love you so much and can't stand to be away!" harrumph.

This morning was her first time to get on the school bus. I hope that all goes well and that she can find her classroom again by herself. I am discovering that I am a worrier. Did I prepare her enough to go off on her own like this? Did I baby her too much so she depends on me? Umm, somehow I think the answer is no. After all, I didn't let her stay there long enough yesterday now did I?

The Rainbow Bridge

2006-08-11T18:56:00.000-06:00

Sultry Husband works for an animal sanctuary. They are a home for around 1500 animals at any given time. They have their own language for things, some are quite interesting, and one in particular was meant to provide those who cared for the animals with some sort of comfort durring a difficult time. At one point it was decided that when the animals died, they did not just turn to dust, but they "crossed over the rainbow bridge". They have a beautiful animal cemetery on the property where the animals who cross the bridge then reside. It is a place of peace and beauty actually.

On to the rest of my story. There were two crows who lived at the sanctuary because they could no longer support themselves in the wild. Their names were "Forever" and "Nevermore". I actually liked to visit the crows just because of their names. "Nevermore" died a few days ago. My husband came home and told me about it. I was a little sad about this because now "Forever" will be alone and the name is not nearly so cool without her companion.

As Sultry Husband told me that "Nevermore" crossed over the rainbow bridge, M asked what that meant. We then told her that the bird died. She then decided to explain it to her younger sister L. She said, "Nevermore died because he crashed into the Rainbow Bridge." I think I liked her version better.

Awe

2006-08-10T08:05:00.000-06:00

Last night I played in a concert. It went pretty well, not our best, but pretty good. I was actually feeling somewhat disgusted with the mistakes the group was making... There was a ray of light however, we are playing the music from Pirates of the Caribbean. My kids were there in the front row. They looked pretty bored through most of the concert (as usual), but when we started playing the fast paced exciting music from Pirates, they perked up. In fact, L started dancing. M danced as well, but the most memorable moment was when I looked down at her from my place in the orchestra and she was staring at me with a huge grin on her face. She was so excited about the music that she was looking at me in awe. She didn't realize that mommy's music could be so fun! For the first time, M seemed to get it. I will remember the look on her face forever for it is one that means so much to me. For she was excited about something I was part of... It may not have been the best concert of my life, but M's reaction to that song will not leave my thoughts any time soon.

Crack of Dawn

2006-08-05T07:46:00.000-06:00

I just have to pose a question to the cosmos this morning. It is very early, I am writing this on Sultry Husband's handy work laptop computer because there is someone sleeping in every room in my house. I have company this weekend. I am always happy to have company, but it does put very important question into my brain...

Why is it that when I go visit someone, I am always up at the crack of dawn to make sure that my kids are not waking up anyone who does not desire to be awaken. Especially my host family. However, when I have company come, I am still the first one up with everyone else's kids, providing them with the opportunity to sleep in as they desire. Why is it that I never get the extra sleep that is supposed to come with vacations or from having company? I am starting to think that it does not exist.

I can't see him!

2006-08-04T09:13:00.000-06:00

As I am sure all of you remember, Sultry Husband is in the play "Fiddler on the roof". It opened last night. It is actually fantastic, especially for a small community production. The dancing is far from flawless, but the acting is stellar and the vocal talents in this small area are actually pretty impressive.

I took the girls to see "daddies play" on Wednesday night. It was the dress rehearsal, but they invited family members to come and see the play for free that night. We have family coming in town to see it on Saturday, so I thought it best to take the girls on the free night.

The make-up ladies put stage make-up on all the men. It is helpful from the far distances of the auditorium, but the most amusing is that they glued a goatee on SH's face. To make him look more like a sinister Russian constable. My girls were not prepared for this. As he strutted on stage for the first time and I pointed him out to the girls M shouted out "Where is he?! I can't see him!" at which point the other audience members chuckled.

Later in the show, when his big scene was upon us, (he sings a great vocal solo), he stood in the middle of the stage doing the song and dance that he had been practicing over and over. They recognized the song, they recognized the moves he was making, but at that point L said "it sounds like my Daddy, but I don't see him!" As I explained make-up to my three year old, she seemed to understand a bit better...

They managed to make it a little over halfway through the play before they both fell fast asleep. They didn't even budge as the audience started clapping for the curtain call. It was at this point that I realized that I was in trouble. I was planning to meet SH in the foyer after the show, but just how was I supposed to carry all of our stuff, and two sleeping kids?! I found myself sitting right where I was until he came in the auditorium to find us. It was a fun night, and our girls now understand that Daddy can play a bad guy really well!

Picture Issues

2006-08-01T08:25:00.000-06:00

I really wanted to add a few pictures to the post from yesterday, but blogger wouldn't let me add them... therefore I am adding them to a different post today, lets hope it works.

When my sister was married here, they went onto the middle of the beautiful lawn to get the shot of them in front. On my day however, they had just put a special fertelizer on the lawn. It would have turned the bottom of my dress blue. We had to be content to a sidewalk shot.

Because I am a musician, I decided that the one time in my life that I would get a set of acrylic nails would be for my wedding. I loved having them on, but it felt forign! I removed them just after the second reception in California. I couldn't do anything without the wory that I would damage them in some way. They just weren't me, although they were beautiful. I always loved this picture. It was candid in every way. Sultry Husband literally swept me off my feet into this kiss. The photographer was right there ready to snap it, and I am so glad that he did. It shows the spontanious and passionate nature of my new husband...

On this Day

2006-07-31T13:18:00.000-06:00

On this day, at this very moment, 7 years ago, I was eating lunch. It was a chicken salad sandwich, a salad, and a chocolate delicacy for desert. Around me were all the people who cared most about me in the world, including most of all, my brand new husband. We sat next to each other, giddy with excitement for what we had just accomplished, and of course, looking forward to that evening and the festivities.

As I look back on that beautiful day, I remember many things. The beautiful surprise at the reception when my new husband surprised me by singing a song titled "Perhaps Love". The new brother-in-law turned waitor who brought us goodies and drinks while we stood in the reception line. Dancing with my Dad to the song "butterfly kisses" hoping that I could refrain from crying, even as I watched the tears pouring down his cheeks. Cutting our cake and realizing that even though fondant frosting looks beautiful, it does not taste very good. But most of all, I remember being hopelessly in love.

Most of all as I look back on this day, I realize how much more I love my husband now. The love is a deeper more abiding and eternal type of love. He is my best friend, he is my love, he is my Sultry Husband.

Blackout

2006-07-27T10:59:00.000-06:00

As I was placing the last dish in the dishwasher, I heard it. Silence. Nothing in the house was running. The TV was off, the dish washer was not washing, and most of all the air conditioning was not pushing cool air through the house. The power was out. I thought it a minor inconvenience, I would have to cook dinner on the camping stove in the back yard, but it would be doable.

I had forgotten how hot it is down here. Within minutes, the temperature in the house climbed by at least ten degrees. At first, we tried to keep the doors and windows shut tight but eventually we did have to open everything we could in hopes that we would catch some sort of cross breeze.

As Sultry Husband and I prepared for bed, we checked on the girls who were sleeping fitfully. Their room was an oven! As we walked into our room, we suddenly knew that none of us would be sleeping in our beds. A slumber party in the living room became necessary. Not a great night's sleep, but at least the power was restored late this morning. It was a good thing too, because I don't know what we would have done to survive if it were several days.

It takes examples like this one to remind me how much I rely on technology down here in the desert. I found myself thinking that if only we had the air conditioning last night, we could have played more games and been happy through the evening. Instead we sat around feeling hot, damp, and miserable. I hope they have the problem sorted out, I don't want to experience another night like that one!

Promises

2006-07-25T07:36:00.000-06:00

We feel that it is very important to keep our promises. Especially to our children. Friday evening, the kids asked to go swimming in the local pool. We told them that we could go on Saturday. The problem was, by Saturday afternoon there were very dark clouds and scary lightening. We had to back out on our promise to take them, explaining that the weather was a problem. It was a great teaching opportunity, as we were able to talk about lightening and the dangers therein.

We also promised that if the weather was better on Monday, we could go swimming. All weekend, the girls talked about how we were going swimming on Monday. They were worked up into a frenzy of excitement. It was all they talked about. As Monday evening rolled around, we heard the ominous sounds of thunder. It was far in the distance, so we thought that we would go to the pool and ask them if they were allowing people to swim. Apparently they were, but they were also watching the clouds to see if they would get any closer. If they did, we would be pulled from the pool.

The kids were determined, so we paid our fee and entered the watery bliss. We swam, we played in the kiddie pool, we pretended to have a lemonade stand, all in the first 45 minutes. At that time, the clouds had become so dark and ominous that the lightening was quite close. The pool personal pulled us all out of the water. Some people waited off to the side, just in case they would allow us back in. We however, decided to head home. The wind had picked up and it was feeling cold. Normally I would probably have considered the money wasted, but we did not. For you see, we kept our promise, our girls were able to go swimming, even if only for a short time.

Not long after we arrived home, the storm broke. It rained hard enough to remind me of a Phoenix monsoon! Not once since we have lived here have we seen rain like this. I always find storms like this amazing and a little strange. We opened our garage door and sat in camping chairs while watching the storm. It didn't take long before the water was seeping into the garage far enough that we had to protect the boxes within by closing the door again. The kids were amazed by the storm and M ended the evening by saying "I am glad we went swimming, but I am even more glad that we didn't die in the lightening". I found her words quite poetic actually. At least we were able to keep our promise.

Modesty

2006-07-20T17:09:00.000-06:00

I was always taught that if you teach your children about modesty while they are young, it makes it easier for them to make correct choices as they grow older. We have taken it upon ourselves to introduce our girls into the world of modesty. I believe especially in one piece bathing suits. It is a personal choice that we have made and I do not look down upon anyone who chooses otherwise.

This is becoming a problem with M. In the wonderful park that I found, there is a sprinkler type of fountain that is provided for the children to play in. They love to run around in the spray and there are always friends to play with. I always prepare for the park by either putting the girls in their swimming suits or just letting them run through in their clothes. Right now, I can control what the girls wear because I am the boss. If they don't like it, we can go home.

What I can't control is the other parents. People who think that it is alright for a 7 year old girl to be running around without a shirt on. As I said before, I do not judge the choices that the parents have made. I am mostly just frustrated in the mixed messages it is sending to my girls. L who is only 3 after all, tries to take her shirt off the second she sees even the little boys running around naked, its just her age. But M on the other hand, came to me very upset about the little girl who was older than her without a shirt. She said, "Mommy! That girl is not being modest!" right in front of the other parents. I was embarrassed to say the least. I think that I need to teach her more about keeping her mouth shut and being non judgmental... She told me that she didn't want to be this girl's friend because she was naked, I then explained that we can be everyone's friend regardless of how they dressed. She didn't quite get it. I don't know if I was clear enough, but she would not play with this particular girl. She seemed very uncomfortable around her. I wonder what kind of messages I am really sending. Am I, while trying to teach certain principles, creating unnecessary trauma?

The sleep deprived household

2006-07-19T07:51:00.000-06:00

Sultry Husband is in a musical right now called "fiddler on the roof". I can't wait to see the production, it should be a good one. My main problem with this thing is that the rehearsals are at 6 am. Who in their right mind would put rehearsals in the morning?! The director claims that it is to make it easier for people who work to make the practices, but many of them sleep in then say "oh, sorry, I didn't hear my alarm." So, I really don't see the point.

SH has to be up by 5 or so to make it into town by 6. He has been going to bed early so he would feel rested for the day, but of course, he doesn't feel rested. Neither do I. It isn't that I get up with him, its that I wake up with the alarm, several times in fact (by the time he stops hitting snooze), I see the bathroom light on as he showers, I hear him getting dressed, I see the lights come on in the house as he prepares to leave. I am not the only one who can see and hear him. This morning, L climbed out of bed when Daddy arose. She cried when I told her that it was still way too early to be out of bed. She didn't understand why Daddy could be up and she could not.

After repeated attempts to get her back into bed, I realized that there would be no extra sleep to be had in this house today. She is grumpy and throwing tantrums. I am grumpy and want to throw a tantrum. Most of all, I want to go back to bed. Man, I can't wait for this play to be over and done with!

The end of our journey

2006-07-16T07:58:00.000-06:00

July 5 Day 7

The morning of July 5 brought a beautiful dawn. We arose at our usual time feeling very rested and excited. Today we were going on a Pioneer Trek! Our girls were actually reluctant to leave Grandma's house and the fabulous back yard. They had been ever so patient so far with all the driving. It was time yet again to drive. At least this time it was only about an hour or so away.

As we passed Park City Utah, I pointed out all the ski jumping hills left over from the Olympics. My kids thought it was neat to see, and I imagined myself jumping off of one of those to soar through the air. Everything went well in my mind till I came to the landing. If I were ever to attempt that type of stunt, I think I would put on a parachute.

Our exit came up before us and we turned off the highway. Anxious to see this place where my parents were staying. There they were, sitting on the gate waiting for us to arrive. I found it very amusing to see my Mother sitting on a gate for some reason. Perhaps because she didn't seem the type to sit on a fence. But then, after spending time there on the mission with her and my Dad, I realized that it totally fit. This rural setting and my parents. They both seem so happy there. I have already blogged about our adventures on Trek, so feel free to read them again :-)

June 6 Day 8
Morning comes early in the mountains. A fantastic breakfast was cooked in a Dutch oven by my Dad. The kids were happy, I was happy, and Sultry Husband was happy. It was a great morning. We returned to the "depot" where we were able to shower before leaving for my parents home again. We discussed at length what we should do with our day. For at this point, we had the only free day of the adventure! We drove down the mountain, and decided upon hitting one of our favorite restaurants for lunch. This is a place that we have not been able to visit since leaving Idaho. We enjoyed ourselves, then realized how tired and worn out we really were. At which point, we went back to the house for a relaxing and carefree afternoon.

When I was 6 years old, my oldest sister entered into cosmetology school. Since that time, I have learned to really love and cherish having my hair styled. It is very relaxing and gives us all a chance to talk. I had two other sisters who followed the example of the eldest and therefore I have three sisters who are all fabulous hair dressers. At family get together, we usually have one day set aside for the hair party. As the evening approached, my sister arrived home from work. We started a short hair party, where she cut and colored my hair. It has been far too long! She also cut my girl's hair. I was in heaven.

June 7 Day 9
We arose early and repacked the car. This was to be the last leg of our journey. As we rented our car in Saint George, we could not take the usual turn off to get to the other side of the mountains and our faster way home. When we arrived, the kids really seemed to be frustrated with driving. SH had a fantastic idea, and we stopped to see Superman! I was a little nervous to see how my kids would react to the scary parts, but they were absolutely fine and they are still talking about it. M addresses Daddy as "Superman". It is very cute.

We finally pulled into our driveway around 10 pm. Our kids were asleep in the back, so we quietly carried them to their own beds. Our journey was completed. We survived, we conquered, we loved every minute. The next big trip is already in the works, for you see, we learned that driving long distances is not as bad as we thought it would be. The world is at our fingertips.

Continuing on our Journey

2006-07-12T08:46:00.000-06:00

July 2 Day 4
We awoke early as usual and hurried to get dressed and jump into the car. Waving goodbye to our friends, we headed down to my Brother's house for a few days. My girls were anxious to play with their cousins, and especially excited to go to church with them! "You mean, I get to go to class with my cousin?!" After church, the kids all played together while my Brother and Sister-in-Law made us a fantastic dinner. This crazy good spicy chicken...mmmmm...

July 3 Day 5
My poor brother had to work on Monday, so we headed off to an adventure without him. His family purchased season passes to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They also had a couple of guest passes, so we ended up only paying for the kids... yay for discounts! It was actually pretty difficult to hang on to our kids, as they are rarely in a crowd of that size. The cousins showed us around and we were able to see all of the amazing things there. And I swear that they knew the names of every single fish! We touched sting rays, we handled star fish, we saw sharks... We only left the aquarium for lunch, which was at this fantastic Mexican restaurant that was right on the water! Our table had these monster windows that the kids could look out of while we waited for our food. It was really fun to hear them squeal when they would find a sea lion in the water.

When we had visited every single aquarium attraction, and our feet were well worn out, we hopped back into the car after hugging our cousins good bye and started the drive over to fishermen's wharf in Monterey. There was a little traffic backed up to get through this smallish tunnel (it fit about 25 cars), which was built out of tile and concrete, so it was one that had a very nice echo. We opened up the sun roof to make it more fun for the kids, then bleeped the horn. We were bumper to bumper in there, still moving, but slowly. As we meeped along, other cars also began honking. M and L laughed so hard as every single car started honking because Daddy did. As we emerged from the tunnel, they asked if we could go back in.

A little while later, we arrived on Fisherman's wharf where we found pizza by the slice for me and the kids, and a very large sour dough breadbowl with clam chowder for Sultry Husband. We all tasted it and M actually seemed to like the taste... Silly girl! Then we went into my all time favorite store. One of the candy shops on the wharf actually has a taffy pulling machine and makes it's own candy! The girls each got to pick out something that they would like (L insisted on getting gummy sharks because we saw some sharks... M chose some sour fruits). My all time favorite? Caramel apples. There is just something about the tartness of the green apple inside that mixes so well with the sticky sweet of the outside. They have improved upon this carnival classic however, for they first dip the apple in caramel, then chocolate, then roll it in mini M'n'M's. The only thing better would be if they had dipped it in Canadian chocolate and then rolled it in Canadian smarties, but this was tasty just the same.

We finally climbed back into our car and started on our long journey for the night at about 7:30 pm. Which to us was actually 8:30 pm... Not a good omen. We drove and drove, the original plan was to get halfway to Utah by the time we stopped, but we only made it about a third of the way before we looked at the clock and it said 3 am. It was time again to find a small motel in a small town. Lovelock Nevada seems to have many charms, but the best of all was a clean room, with a very comfortable bed, and get this, a clean shower! I knew that the birthplace of my Grandfather would take care of me! It was a total accident that we stopped there!

July 4 Day 6
We awoke around 8. Thankfully, the girls had switched to California time while we were there and they let us sleep. SH was totally exhausted from the drive the night before (I slept for a few hours on the drive), so it was my turn to take the wheel. He napped for a few hours while I kept shushing the kids. We were trying to make it to Evanston Wy by nightfall so we could see some awesome fireworks, but somewhere along the road, we changed our plans. We would go no farther than my parents house (they are not there right now, but my sister is living there while they are gone). We surprised her, as I had forgotten to call and tell her of the change of plans. She still seemed happy to see us, and we all went to bed early without even missing the fireworks. There is just something about driving all day that makes you more tired than you were before. We fell into a blissful sleep in a very comfortable bed with clean sheets... See, I am learning to be less picky as we go! No really, it is a great bed, and a familiar place as I grew up there.

As usual, this has gotten away from me again... Way too long for a blog post! I will continue again tomorrow. For now, I am exhausted just remembering how exhausted I was!

Our Trip

2006-07-11T07:55:00.000-06:00

As I have been reading Julia's and ABQ Mommies blogs these past few days, I have realized that I need to give a day by day accounting of our trip as well. We did a LOT of driving, so not every day was fun filled and packed with adventures, but we did enjoy ourselves.

June 29 Day 1
Sultry Husband ran into work to drop off a few things and give our pets to the care givers. Copper didn't even seem to care, Phnarph was up for an adventure, but Tiki the parrot was incensed. We would find out just how angry he was later on. He was home by 3, the car was packed by 3:30 and we were off to Saint George to pick up the rental car.

I had reserved the car two weeks earlier, and the internet promised unlimited miles (which we definitely needed), and a cheap car. The first thing that the lady at the rental counter informed us, was that she had no car whatsoever that we could pick up! Not one! We would have to wait two hours for a car to come onto the lot, oh and she "could not" give us the unlimited miles we were promised. Um, hello? False advertising?

We walked up to another rental agency counter in the tiny airport, the lady felt very sorry for us and therefore, gave us the "reserved early" rate (we had reserved the car early, just not with her). She also gave us the rate for a compact car, even though she had to give us two upgrades because she didn't have one on the lot! So we ended up with a very nice car for a fabulous price... But you had better believe that soon the first rental agency will be getting an ear full. 5:00 pm, we are finally on the road to California. Drive on dear husband, for it will be a long night.

We drove until about 2 in the morning. We could go no further, but we had not banked on one thing... No motel in sight and Sultry Husband was really tired. We drove and drove hoping to find one, and finally, a sign. A cheap, terrible motel. But it was about the only thing we could find and we were tired. The mattress was hard as a rock, and the sheets and blankets felt greasy. We were only given a thin blanket on top of a sheet, so I froze all night...

June 30 Day 2
We were up by 6:30 am and I decided to take a shower. That is, until I saw the shower. It was a terrible concrete shower, the walls and floor were peeling and what did I see all over the floor of it? Black algae!!! Gross! I washed my hair in the sink.

Drive, drive, drive! As we approached Livermore California, we decided to take a favorite old highway instead of the larger and possibly faster way to Antioch. This is the wonderful time when we found the strawberries that we gobbled at a nearby park. M did the monkey bars for the first time, and I captured it on video. It was a favorite park from SH's childhood.

Later that afternoon, we stopped at a friend's house. This is where we would be staying for a few days. We had just enough time to wash up, change clothes, chat for a bit, then leave the kids with them for the evening as SH and I headed to the play. A fabulous show, we both loved it. Afterwards, we were invited to stay for the cast pizza party. SH was a resident celebrity... He was asked for his autograph over and over again. I almost laughed, but thankfully contained myself. We didn't leave the theater until about midnight (which is actually 1 am to us) and I was already moving on about 3 to 4 hours of sleep... urg. It was a fantastic night though, so I felt that the exhaustion was well worth it.

July 1 Day 3
We awoke to our children playing at about 8 am. Thankfully they had slept in a little for us. We both arose and entertained our children for a while. SH was so tired that he went back to bed at 9:30, and we decided that our day would be best spent taking turns for naps. The kids played in our friend's back yard and wading pool all morning, in heaven because they were not in the car... Around noon, it was my turn and I conked out for a couple of hours. At which point, M and L were getting a little stir crazy, but luckily, we had been invited to a pool party that afternoon, so we headed out. I was nervous for L because she doesn't swim well yet, and thus I shoved floaties on her arms. It is a long story, but I didn't swim. I was not feeling well, and lounging in the shade felt more comfortable, not to mention that I really would not have had time for a shower before the next performance of the play. L jumped in the pool over and over again, getting a false sense of security from the floaties. She would always bob right back to the surface... As I was loading up the car and caring for M, L told SH that she was "done". She was shivering so he took off the floaties and wrapped her in a towel. He put his shirt on and turned to say his goodbyes to our friends. He then heard a faint splash and turned around to assure himself of L's whereabouts. He didn't see her, so he ran for the pool. At the bottom, flailing and looking scared was L. Of course he jumped in, shirt and all to pull her out. She had swallowed a bit of water, but was unharmed. I freaked out when I was told about what had just happened, but she seemed fine, so we decided to play it cool so she would not be scared. I hugged her for an extra long time.

We then dropped L off with the babysitter, under strict orders to watch her like a hawk and make sure she was really alright. M was old enough to see the play, so she got to have a special outing with Mommy and Daddy. We had other friends and family coming that night. All told, we had 16 comp tickets... We didn't feel bad at all about this, it was our play after all! M loved it, and still talks about daddies play.

Thus ends the Antioch portion of our journey. This has become longer than it should have already. So I will share the other adventures another day... The play was a success and I got to eat strawberries. The trip was well worth it. Even if I did have to be exhausted.

Trek 2006 Pictures

2006-07-10T10:02:00.000-06:00

I tried and tried for the past few days, yet blogger has refused to allow me to post the pictures that I wanted to. This will be yet another attempt to get the pictures up.

This one, is by far my favorite. The girls tried on some old cowboy hats that were left behind by someone, and then decided that climbing up on the rail fence sounded like fun. They sat like this for about 15 minutes, which is a really long time for them! Just beyond them on the left is the handcarts used by the trekers. In the distance is an old "shearing shed" which was used to sheer the sheep for the summer months. It is no longer in use, but I thought that this picture was just the best!

As most of you know, my daughters love flowers. The meadow's provided ample opportunities to pick flower upon flower. The girls invented a new pretend game, called M and L's flower farm. When grandma walked up and asked what they were doing, M flung her arms around her and said "Oh, Grandma! Welcome to M and L's flower farm!" So cute!

This was our handcart for the trek. Daddy and Grandpa decided to give the girls a short ride in the cart, not usually permitted, but we allowed it just this once. L was pretty nervous so Grandma walked behind and held her hand. The night before, we loaded up all of our things and pulled the cart along the track. We stopped and our guides (grandma and grandpa) told us some pioneer stories. I think that my favorite moment was later on around the camp fire, M asked Grandma if she would tell us more stories... Then L asked for one with a "L pioneer girl" in it. I don't think that she understood that the stories we were telling were all true...

There are more stories and pictures of our adventure, that will hopefully be coming in the future... For now, blogger has decided that I have posted enough. Sometimes I get so frustrated with it! Ah well, at least our adventure was a fantastic success, and our kids are still talking about what Grandma and Grandpa are doing out there in the wilderness.

Home at Last!

2006-07-08T13:42:00.000-06:00

We have finally returned home after our wonderful vacation! All told, we put over 2,000 miles on our rental car. Here is my recap of the trip, which was a fabulous experience.

Starting out by driving up to Antioch California, we watched Sultry Husband's play on Friday night. It was an exciting yet overwhelming experience for him. That night was just the two of us, as he wanted to enjoy the play without any distractions. Saturday night we took M with us to see the play. She seemed to really enjoy it and talked about the many twists and turns within the plot for days afterward.

On our way into Antioch, we stopped in Brentwood. That town, above any other I have visited, has the best produce. It is all locally grown and sold at small fruit stands all along the road. We visited our old favorite stand for some strawberries, which I have to admit, are the best I have ever tasted.

The fruit is always allowed to vine ripen, and they were picked the very day that we purchased them. There has to be something about living in a place with such wonderful produce!

The next leg of our trip took us a little further south within California. We visited my Brother and his family. M and L absolutely loved playing with their cousins, in fact, they have taken to calling each other "cousin" because it is more fun to play with cousins than sisters... Interesting. Anyway, we spent a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but my camera didn't charge the day before... Therefore, the pictures will not be posted here. We borrowed my Brother's camera, but I have not had the chance to have them sent on to me yet. I will post a few when we get them.

My parents are serving a mission for our church. They are living up on a very huge ranch, and providing a way for the youth to go up and experience a real pioneer trek. For those readers who don't know what I am talking about, there is a long history of our church and handcart pioneers who traveled to Utah. There is way more history and experiences there than I could share, but there is a fantastic book for any who are interested called "Fire of the covenant" by Gerald Lund, if you are so inclined to learn a bit more... To make a long story short, we went up to the ranch, and went on a little mini trek with our girls. They loved the experience and our guides (my parents) told beautiful and poignant stories of the crossing of the pioneers. It was a fantastic experience, one that I hope to repeat again. I wanted to post a couple of pictures from the trek, but blogger doesn't seem to want to let me do it... Perhaps a post for another day.

Driving along for that many hours in a row, would have felt tedious if it were not for a few wonderful ideas we had. We purchased a portable DVD player that had two screens to attach to the backs of the two front seats. Both girls watched movies on their own screen. No fighting, no complaining about not being able to see, just happy girls. We also read a book. Sultry Husband would drive along as I read out loud to him. We didn't quite finish it, but we plan to in the next week or so. The miles seemed to just melt away before us.

It was a fantastic journey. The ease and happiness we felt along the way has brought us closer together as a family, and has definitely hit us with the travel bug. I wouldn't be surprised to see us packing up the car again in the near future... what will our next destination be? Unknown at the moment, but I will tell you this, Sultry Husband needs to acrue some more vacation days before we can hit the road... till then, we shall continue to enjoy fond memories of this road trip.

California Here We Come!

2006-06-29T08:25:00.000-06:00

Sultry Husband wrote a play that is being produced in Northern California. We head out this afternoon to start the long and arduous drive to get there. I had a friend ask me if I was excited for our trip, and I answered YES! and NO WAY! Why would I not be excited? Well you see, we have these two young girls who are also driving in the car with us. I am fearing the "Are we there yet?" questions and the ever present "I have to go potty!" right as we pass a rest stop sign. This will be the longest trip that we have ever taken with them.

I do have hope that it can be fun however. My amazing Brother does this type of trip all the time. When there is an important family function, he is always there, with his family... never mentioning how long the drive was. His kids don't seem to mind at all! I on the other hand, feel like a martyr for taking the girls with us so that M can see Daddy's play.

Lots of snacks, lots of toys, lots of prizes along the way... this shall prove an interesting challenge on my sanity. Wish us luck! We are off to see the play!

The Burrito Queen

2006-06-21T08:02:00.000-06:00

My adorable three-year-old daughter L has decided that she has a favorite food at last. It is the old standby of a burrito. I make them on a semi-regular basis, because SH loves them as well.

At first, L did not like it when I made this dish. However, as she witnessed her Daddy wolfing them down, she actually tried one. She has not stopped eating them since.

When I make them for Dinner, I try to make a few more than I think we will eat. This is due to the fact that she demands one for both Breakfast and Lunch! When she gets up before I do, she runs to the fridge and then brings the package of tortillas to me saying "I want a beeto". If I refuse, saying that they are not a breakfast food, there is trauma. Lots and lots of trauma.

I tried an experiment this week. I let her have a "Beeto" whenever she wants. I am afraid that I have created a monster. For you see, I must run to the store today, because she has consumed the last one, and I am out of ingredients to make more. I fear the trauma that will come at breakfast tomorrow if a "Beeto" is not waiting for her in the fridge.

Pirate Name

2006-06-16T08:40:00.000-06:00

I stole this idea from Julia... a fun quiz for sure!!! Now get to work you land lubbers!

My pirate name is:

Captain Anne Flint

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

The worth of a broken water toy

2006-06-15T10:16:00.000-06:00

Here in the desert, it is very hot. The kids really wanted to play in a sprinkler the other day, so we dug one out of a box for them. It was a giant beach ball that had water squirting out of three areas. Somehow, in the past year, the insides of it had come apart and the water then filled the ball instead of squirting out of one of the holes.

Phnarph had a great time with it, he would bark at it, then run up and drink from the "fountain"...
Later, L thought that this game of his looked like great fun, so she decided to join in...
It was a fun evening, and I just wanted to share the pictues...

A Fairy Tale

2006-06-12T09:45:00.000-06:00

As you all know, my husband is a story teller. He writes books, plays, screenplays, short stories, etc. From the time that my children were very small, he has been "telling" them stories. Creating tales of excitement from the most interesting creatures. Ready Made bed time stories.

This morning, L told her first story. Remember that she is three years old, so this is a bit of a milestone. It also took her about fifteen minutes to get through it...

"Once upon a time," L began.

"That's a great beginning L!" Daddy encouraged

"There was a princess."

At this point M interrupted with "L she needs to be a unicorn."

"M this is L's story, she can have whatever characters in it she wants." I tried to tell M that I really wanted to hear this L's way...

"The princess unicorn had a crown and a pretty dress."

"Are there any bad guys in this story L? I like bad guys." Daddy tried to encourage her to find some sort of conflict.

"The bad guys don't live in the castle. They live in the tunnel. And another princess unicorn who had a pretty dress was trying to get into the castle. So she knocked and knocked and then the door opened. The End."

Short, sweet, and totally adorable. We all clapped at the end, and she walked off feeling very proud of herself. I wonder how long it will take her to tell us story number two. I can't wait.

The Name Game

2006-06-10T19:21:00.000-06:00

I am not usually one for Meme's, especially after more than just a few people have done it... However, this one just seemed fun and I decided to join the band wagon after all... Thanks for starting this Karen :-)
Oh, and half of my answers had me laughing my head off, so feel free to make fun... My personal favorite was the Star wars name...

1. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your fatherÂs side, your favorite candy):

Elva Chocolate

2. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name followed by "izzle", first two or three letters of your [middle] name followed by "dizzle"):

Aizzle hardizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):

Lavender Horse

4. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your name- last 3 letters of motherÂs maiden name, first 3 letters of your [former] petÂs name repeated twice):

Apr-ite duk duk

5. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, the automobile you drive):

The Lavender Cavalier

I don't think I would have joined this if I couldn't laugh at myself. This is is just to comical to not pass on.

The Sneeze

2006-06-09T12:17:00.000-06:00

Daddy sat down on the couch to snuggle with L as she watched a PBS show. She snuggled down into his arm and they both enjoyed themselves... That is when Daddy sneezed.

L looked up at him and asked "Daddy, did you sneeze?"

"Yes L, I sneezed."

"I'm gonna make you all better."

At which point L ran off to the refrigerator and brought back a bag of baby carrots. Apparently she knows that sneezes mean that you are sick, and carrots have medicinal purposes. I love to see the mind of a child at work.

Ice Cream Yearnings

2006-06-08T07:25:00.000-06:00

I can be quite sentimental and silly at times. I am the first to admit that. However, I had an experience the other day that is almost difficult to explain. We found a fabulous mom and pop ice cream shop in the neighboring town. It takes about 15 minutes to drive there, so it is quite accessible. They make their own ice cream, I believe.

Anyway, we took the kids for an ice cream cone the other night. M chose chocolate (of course) and L chose "Pink"! Basically strawberry, but she went into the shop saying, "I want Pink"! As they gobbled up every drop of delicious ice cream, I noticed a distinct difference between them.

M ate her treat in a very fast, very messy manner that displayed no restraint or care for her appearance... She had chocolate ice cream all over her face and even a bit in her hair by the time she was done. L on the other hand, ate hers quite methodically and insisted on staying clean. In fact, she asked us to hold her cone at least half a dozen times, so she could clean her hands with a napkin. This ode to cleanliness only pertains to her hands however, as her face and hair also were decorated by the end. The main difference between them? M ate her ice cream cone in 10 minutes, while it took L at least twice that long to finish.

The strange part of the evening was when SH and I were laughing at the difference in the girls, I about started to cry. I want another one! I thought that the hormones only start making you wacky after you get pregnant?!

If you can't stand the Heat, get out of the Car!

2006-06-02T09:51:00.000-06:00

I had a friend in our town say that it feels like a pilgrimage to go into Walmart. We live an hour and a half from the closest one, so it is quite an ordeal to get low prices. I used to go about once a week, now it has fallen to once a month.

Food prices in our town are ridiculous. I can't stand spending $3 for a gallon of milk, when I know that if I had just gone to Walmart, I could have gotten it for $2.25. So, yesterday being payday and all the little one and I jumped into the car and drove down the highway. I left M home with Daddy, he can work from home and she is the one that can be entertained.

Anyway, the one flaw with my plan was that the Air Conditioning has not worked in my car for about a year. We have not had the funds to have it looked at, so we have just made due with no cool air. Yesterday however, the temperatures were over 100 degrees and my daughter and I definitely started feeling the effects. Even with the windows down, it was not a happy time.

I bought a cheap squirt bottle and some water. While driving, I drenched both of us over and over again to help us through the drive. Each time I looked back at the little one, her face was bright red and she looked miserable, so I sprayed her again. I stopped once and got some ice out of the cooler (its how I get the meat, milk, cheese, and any other fridge products home), and threw some ice down her back... I felt terrible!

When we finally pulled into our driveway again, we ran into the nice air conditioned house and just lay down under the vents. I don't plan to go to Walmart for quite some time, but we will be saving our pennies to fix the AC!

*EDIT* We took the car into a shop and had them look at the AC. They charged it up and put some dye into it so they can find out where the leak is. When it stops working, we are supposed to bring it back in. So far, it has been a week, and the AC works perfectly! What's up with that?

Friendship Trauma

2006-05-27T12:12:00.000-06:00

M found a spider this morning. She is very paranoid about them so she asked her Daddy to come and kill it. Being the ever dutiful and loving father that he is, the spider was soon nothing but a squished insect beneath the fly swatter.

Things should have returned to normal after that, but instead, L began to wail. For you see, Daddy had killed her "Spider friend". She did not understand how he could do a thing so cruel. How could Daddy kill her friend?!

As I rocked and attempted to console her over the loss of the spider, I could barely keep from laughing. Here we are, hours later, and she is still telling Daddy not to kill any more spider friends... I think that we will just have to kill them in secret from now on, for spiders have no place in my home!

Random Friday

2006-05-26T11:39:00.000-06:00

For some reason I am always afraid of doing a "random Friday" post. Probably because I feel like I am stealing the idea from Sariah. That said, I really don't think she will mind...

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Phnarph has a marking issue. Sultry Husband takes him to work from time to time (that is allowed when you work with animals all day), and the people there love him. The problem is how he likes to go around the office randomly marking desks. We don't understand this because he never marks things at home. Today, we are trying to teach him a lesson. Some of the people have suggested a particular method that will hopefully cure him of this nasty little habit. We cut cloth strips out of some cotton fabric that we then tied around his middle, covering his ... well you get the picture. When he goes to mark something, he then feels wet, which he does not like at all... So far so good. Perhaps by the end of the day, he will learn his lesson. For now SH has to change the cloth every hour or so... Somehow it just makes me laugh that we are putting diapers on our dog.

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I tease L about being my "L baby", because, well she is! As my youngest child, she will be my baby till I have another youngest. At three years old however, this is not acceptable. The game has evolved from there.
"How is my L baby?"
she then shouts "I NOT A BABY!"
to which I ask her "Oh you aren't? Then what are you?"
"I a L big girl!"

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M seems to think that she is a Unicorn. She runs around on all fours saying "NAY!" over and over again. If I ask her what she wants, she will paw at me and nay more. Makes me smile, as always. Here is the funny part, she has to have a tail. M stole one of Daddy's ties out of the closet and tied it around her waist to make a tail. I think that I need to find something other than a silk tie for her to use.

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I was asked the other day if I would like a small gift from a friend of mine. Books! Why does it now feel like waiting for Christmas to come? Oh I know, it's because the prospect of reading something new is so exciting to me... And seeing that my local library has about 40 books in it, this is the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time... Thank you friend, for making my day!

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We have found renters for our Idaho house... I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but we have a six month contract with them. Perhaps I can get a new car now after all!

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Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul.
And sings the tune
Without the words,
and never stops at all.
-Emily Dickinson

Dorquad

2006-05-24T07:47:00.000-06:00

Just before I started my sophomore year of High School, I had a sleep over with some friends. My sister had a friend and I also had one over. After a late night of giggles and makeovers, we awoke to an empty house, as my Mom had left for work early. As the four of us were eating breakfast, we noticed something strange. A roll of toilet paper came flying over the back fence and landed in a tree. We ran outside to see what was going on, when another roll came flying over the fence, followed by another, then another, and another. The war was on.

There was a new family in the house just behind us, who had four boys. Two of which were just younger than myself. They had also enjoyed a sleep over so there were four boys against four girls. We picked up the TP rolls and did what any sane teen-aged girls would do, we threw them back over the fence, into their much larger trees. The wind was on our side, so we were able to make an arch into the air that reached the very tip top of the tree. This game continued for about half an hour, the boys barely reaching our trees, and us retaliating in grand style, leaving beautiful trails of toilet paper so high up in the tree that they would have no hope of cleaning it up. This is when the real fun began.

The boys had planned this all out. The night before, they had shredded about 20 newspapers into teeny-tiny pieces and stuffed them into garbage sacks. They snuck up to the back fence and attempted to hoist them over. Our fence was 8 feet high, the wind as I stated before was on our side. As they attempted to dump the newspaper confetti onto our lawn, a miracle happened. The wind picked up just enough to blow all of the confetti onto the lawn of the boys! We won! The war was over, most of the toilet paper was in the high tree of the neighbors and the newspaper was blowing all over their lawn.

About this time, we returned into the house to finish our breakfast. We watched with delight as the boys attempted to clean up the mess before parents found out about their morning activities. I have to admit that I have a soft heart. Watching them and all of the work they had ahead of them made me feel terrible about the war we had participated in. I talked my sister and our friends into helping the boys clean up the mess.

When the clean up was completed, our girlfriends had gone home, it was down to the four boys, myself, and my sister. We did the only thing that felt natural at that point, we started a game of Volley Ball.

The neighbor boy caught my eye. Not in a romantic way at all, he was at least five inches shorter than I was and scrawny. Instead of relying on looks, he was really fun, he had a great sense of humor, and was actually insanely kind. I gave him the nick name of Dorquad. It started with Dork, then Dork-wad, and the final version of Dorquad lasted all through our high school years. He was my best friend who looked out for me and protected me from the brunt of the teasing that had plagued me for years. I was the only person on the planet allowed to use his nickname.

We attended dances together, we went on dates together (mostly when neither of us had a real date), I gave him rides to school an extra hour early so he could attend Jazz Band. We hung out each and every afternoon as we actually did complete our homework. He let me use his computer to write essays (I didn't have one). Other friends would join our group, and eventually leave it, but Dorkquad and I were always there.

As I left for college, we obviously drifted apart. We would see each other during the summer months, but it was never quite so magical as those three years of high school. He now lives a life very different from my own. He is not married, no kids, never went to college. I do however wonder from time to time how my friend Dorkquad is doing. I hope he is well, for he is the only reason why I survived High School.

Summer Flowers

2006-05-22T14:30:00.000-06:00

When I was a child, my family would make very frequent visits to Southern Utah to see my Grandparents. I loved those trips that were full of fun and laughter. I loved to see what they had done to their yard, what flowers were planted, what trees were bigger, etc. I remember my Grandmother loved Black Eye Susans. She had a very large group of them, here is a picture.

I also remember my Mom taking a few clippings of Grandma's flowers and planting them in her own yard. Whenever I would see these particular flowers, I would remember her. It is now my turn. I have moved to a similar area, dry and barren, and have now chosen to plant my own Black Eyed Susans. Sultry Husband had the idea, and therefore he planted some seeds for me a few months ago. We took them to the greenhouse at his new employment, and they helped them to flourish. I thought that the idea of planting this particular flower was brilliant on the side of my Husband, so he gets all the credit!

Here is a picture of my attempt at these flowers.

The blue butterfly in the picture was given to me by M for my birthday. L gave me a matching pink one that is further down in the planting bed. I am not usually one for garden gnomes or ornamental flowery weird things, but since my girls find such joy in seeing those butterflies, I decided that they could keep my flowers company.

Random Updates

2006-05-17T17:21:00.000-06:00

Bees. Our back door neighbor has finally moved her bees! They are now in the back of a 2 acre field! We were about to celebrate together by setting up the trampoline, when we noticed that there is one remaining box of bees... What's up with that?! Yes, she rid us of three huge hives, but she retained one of the smaller ones. She asked me on Sunday (before she moved them), if we had been having any problems that were Bee related. I know what she wanted to hear, that we had no problems and that we didn't mind the bees after all, but I was not about to let her off the hook! Not with my allergic daughter begging to play outside each and every day! I looked right at her and said "We don't allow the kids outside because of the Bees, but we have been finding at least two or three a day in the house." I said it in a nice way, but I couldn't just tell her that things were fine. I think that I finally made an impression on her because the three hives were moved the next evening. I will be baking her a plate of cookies to say thank you, which will give me a chance to ask her about the remaining hive. The only question remaining is will I catch this woman's bees with my honey?

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Mischief. My daughters are the queens of mischief. I know that you are all aware of this based on my previous posts, but what bothers me is that I can't seem to get it through to them that this does not make me happy! Today it was markers. Don't ask me where they got the marker because I swear that I threw them all away a month ago. Wherever they found it, they chose to put it to good use. Three stuffed animals, two walls, and two little girls were decorated with this evil piece of trash. The girls are currently scrubbing at their handy work after they were both scrubbed and scrubbed in the bath. No toys allowed in this one, just me, soap, and my not so soft scrub brush. I made sure that as I washed their pink faces, that I got some soap into their mouths as well. This was not to be a pleasant bath! I think that these two can give Julia's Dot a run for her money. I curse my mother-in-law for cursing me vicariously through my husband. She used to wish that he would someday get a child just like him... Well thanks, now I have two... At least they are cute, so I can't stay mad at them for long.

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Writing. As you all know, Sultry Husband traveled to California a few weeks ago. He was casting a play that he wrote! Yes, he was able to pick the cast for the first ever original play... We will be traveling to California in late June for the Premier, we are so excited! As for his book, we will be signing the contracts soon we hope. There were a couple of issues with the original that I believe have been ironed out, so we will be moving forward. He just had some pictures taken for his "About the Author" section in the back. They turned out great and we will be sending them along to the publisher. Things are progressing, finally!

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Homes. For the most part, things are good. We can't find a buyer for our Idaho house, so we have decided to rent it out. All we want is to have the mortgage covered, so things won't be quite so tight here financially. That will feel good. The problem is that I can already see way too many places for the funds to go once we have them available again. Just for example, our car's air conditioning has not worked in 2 years which was not a problem when we lived in Idaho... But today the temperature reached the high 90's... So we are in trouble. Oh, and the tires on the car are still the studded snow tires, (shhhh don't tell the cops! We would get a serious ticket if they stopped us... Just a few more weeks, I swear then we can get some tires!).

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School. I registered M for kindergarten this week... I can't say that the school system here is the best, but for now it is the only option we really have. I plan to do a lot of supplemental work with her on the side. She is already coloring pictures to give to all of her new friends. She wants to have a present for each of them when she starts class because she wants them to all be her friend and presents are how we do that... Seriously, she is so sweet that I can't stay mad at her! Ever!

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Teeth. I have a tooth ache. Make that three tooth aches. Two on the top and one at the bottom. I would love to go see a dentist, but our new insurance doesn't kick in till June 1st, so I have to make it that long. Oragel is my new best friend, that and tylonol... I can't drink unless it is through a straw that I stick clear back in my mouth. I have not slept through the night in a week. Ugh, come on June!

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I can't think of a good way to end this, so I will just do it. I will say what all writers say at the end of a book, story, essay, or whatever. The End.

Puddle jumpers

2006-05-10T15:47:00.000-06:00

As many of you have read, I recently took a trip to California. Since we live in the middle of nowhere, the closest airport is one of the puddle-jumping variety. You know, the type where all the airplanes are powered by a rubber band (which is wound up via the propellors before take off) and a couple of hamsters with spinning wheels sitting by in case of engine failure.

Yeah. So my first flight out, and the last flight home—before the connecting flights in Salt Lake City—I got to experience these eighth wonders of the world: flying high school science fair projects that double as passenger planes. On that last flight home, I was seated in the back lefthand side of the plane when the stewardess asked me to sit in the front righthand side to try and balance out the passengers.

Um, balance? Right away I could see the passenger weight distribution being accidentally skewed, which would result in first tipping, then nosediving, then a white-knuckled plunge into the bottom of the grand canyon. All because a few of us may have had a couple extra doughnuts that week and sat on the same side of the plane.

You can’t appreciate turbulence until you’ve sat in the front seat of a puddle jumper. Each bump, skip, and lurch feels as though the plane is getting ready to shed a few unnecessary appendages (wings, tail fin, fuselage…). And every time the plane slipped around the sky I checked the propellors out my window. I swear they wobbled. Oh, and the paint was peeling from the front of the plane. That always inspires confidence. Probably from the hamsters chewing off the dead bugs during their down time.

Home again

2006-05-09T10:48:00.000-06:00

Sultry Husband has been in California since last Thursday. I have missed him terribly, more so than other times when he has been away. It took me quite a while, and discussing the reasoning with my Mom. You see, there was a time when he was away from us for an entire month, but in that month I was at my parents house, hanging out with them. I missed Hubby for sure, but I didn't feel alone.

When I picked him up last night, I felt complete again. This trip, I was so very alone. I have no friends down here, and you can only connect with people for a short time over the phone. There is something to be said about close contact with loved ones. In my world, it is necessary.

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My kids went on a rampage this last weekend. They knew that it was just Mommy taking care of them, and thus they were more mischevious than usual. I didn't think that it would even be possible! Each time I went into the bathroom or took a shower, I feared what kind of mess I would come out and face. This is what my kitchen looked like after a 5 minuite bathroom trip...

The chair in the background is how they got on top of the stove to reach a 10 pound bag of flour, a 5 pound bag of sugar, a large container of cinnamon, 3 canisters of rice, Salt, and Pepper. They also got into the fridge and added an entire bottle of mustard... If you think the counter looks bad, you should have seen the floor. Not to mention they were covered...

Yesterday morning, they were watching PBS... I ran in for a shower. Halfway through, M began to pound on the door saying that L had broken the TV. I ran out, and sure enough, she had dumped a pitcher of lemonaide on the television and it would not turn on. I used my blow drier to dry it out a little, and about 3 hours later, it started working again. As I put them down for a "nap" or just some nice quiet time for me, I heard them giggling which is never a good sign. They had snuck into the bathroom, and both of them were covered from head to toe in toothpaste. I threw them in the bath, dried their hair afterward, and sent them back to bed in new clean clothes. I heard giggling again about ten minuites later, went in to check on them, and of course, they were both covered again from head to toe... this time it was athleetes foot powder... into the bathtub for a second time... I was not happy!

As I began to prepare for the hour and a half trip to pick up Daddy, I ran into the office to check his flight time again... to be on the safe side. I swear I was only away from them for about 3 minuites this time... the newly vacuumed family room floor was now covered in Parmesan Cheese and my sliding glass window was scribbled on with crayons. What is the fettish they now have with my kitchen?! And how many times can I give them time out's in a day, take away toys, etc? I refused to give them toys or crayons on the long drive to pick up Daddy... Strapped into car seats with no toys, they were so bored that they fell asleep! YAY! Finally I found my peace while I drove.

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When Sultry Husband returned, he began to talk about his old neighborhood (which happens to be where he was staying). He talked about his old haunts and how they were mostly the same, yet he had noticed some very interesting differences. It had become a little scary in his home town. The new beautiful high school in the area is such a scary place that there are very violent fights just about every day. Hubby had dreamed of someday going back there and raising our kids... obviously that is now out of the question. I ran across this funny saying and thought I would share it as well...

*California -156 years ago!*

*Do you know what happened this week back in 1850, in California?

California became a state.

The State had no electricity.

The State had no money.

Almost everyone spoke Spanish.

There were gun fights in the streets.

So basically, it was just like California today except the women had real breasts and men didn't hold hands.*

Anniversary

2006-05-07T08:32:00.000-06:00

They can be funny things Anniversaries. Most are good, birthdays, weddings, graduations... I have one today however I remember well, yet it was not a happy day. 16 years ago today, I crashed my bike into the back of a truck. I think that I have shared part of the story before, but it is time to tell more. I don't know everything that happened, I blacked out over and over, so my memory of the details may be a bit garbled, but I will do my best.

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I was 11 years old. I had been given a beautiful, fire engine red, ten speed bike for the previous Christmas. I loved it! I rode it all over the place, and I was never afraid to go anywhere. On this day, I had a softball practice down at the elementary school. I threw on my trusty ball hat, grabbed my backpack with my mit, a bottle of water, and my favorite bat. The fastest way there was through the "gully", which was actually just a very large hill that went down, then up the other side. If you gained enough speed and momentum on the downhill side, you could actually make it up the other without having to pedal very hard. I loved the rush that I got when I would move that fast.

As I started down the hill, I realized a mistake that I had made. My baseball hat was attempting to fly off my head. Being the resourceful kid that I was, I simply kept my head down and just watched the road immediately in front of me. What I didn't realize was that parked on the side of the road, within the pedestrian lane, was a truck. It had a camper on the back, the kind that has a vertical door in the middle. As I rode down that hill, I heard someone tell me something. Quietly, the word "swerve" was whispered into my ear. I listened, and seconds later, my head came into contact with the door on the camper. Little did I know, that if my head had hit any other part of that truck, even a few inches to either side, I would not have survived the impact.

My head hit the door, my right leg hit the bumper causing a bad break, my left knee also hit the bumper breaking it as well, but by far the most painful and serious injury was my left hip. It was rammed into the curved handle bars of my ten speed. This basically obliterated the hip socket. The recovery was long and arduous. I have a few good memories associated with the summer I spent in a hospital bed. For instance, the time my brother and I raced my wheelchair through the mall. Laughing and not caring what the onlookers thought. It was one of the few times of my life that I have truly not cared what others thought of me. The limp is less pronounced now than when I was in high school, thus the nickname of Gimpy.

Most of all, this "anniversary" reminds me that I have now lived more of my life with pain than without it. I am tired of hurting, and perhaps someday we will find a solution to the problem. I am told that I will need a total hip replacement someday, hopefully not soon, but I do hope that when I do get it, the pain will disappear all together. For now, I try to live through it and not let it rule my life. I can keep my chin up, and have empathy for anyone who lives with chronic pain. Things will look up and all will be well... I just know it. For now, I will say happy anniversary to me... Well, sort of happy anniversary anyway.

On this day

2006-05-02T09:44:00.000-06:00

On this day, I was served breakfast in bed. A nice bouquet of "weed flowers" were picked and placed in a nice vase. A party is slated for tonight, just us and the kids. My husband tries to tell me that I am getting old, I gently remind him that he will always be older than me. Somehow this day was more fun when I was younger...

On this day, nine years ago, I was on a bus. An Orchestra tour to San Fancisco. At midnight, I woke everyone up to tell them what day it was. They were not very happy with me.

On this day, ten years ago, I was on a bus. An Orchestra tour to Los Angeles. I woke everyone up at midnight to tell them what day it was. I know that they were not happy with me.

On this day, eleven years ago, I was on a bus. An Orchestra tour to San Francisco. I didn't even think about waking everyone up at midnight. I wouldn't figure out that trick till the next tour... I was depressed that I was away from home... Again.

On this day, twelve years ago, I was on a plane. An Orchestra tour to Los Angeles. It would be my second time ever going to Disney Land. I was invited to play with this orchestra even though I wasn't in High School yet. They needed fill in players, and I was just good enough to cut it. I met my first "TR" or Tour Romance this day. What kind of high school junior goes out with a freshman? At least I never kissed him... yucky!

On this day, eighteen years ago, I had a party. I won the game of pin the tail on the donkey, but my mom wouldn't let me have the prize because it was my party. I had to be a good host, she said. I just wanted the prize because I won.

On this day, twenty one years ago, I had a party. We went to the park, it was so cool! We had relay races down the twin slides. I never won though. Those stairs were hard to climb that fast, and my older sisters have much longer legs! The "make the bed fairy" began to show up. She would make my bed while I was in the shower or eating breakfast. I thought it was nice of her, when I asked my mom who she was... I was told that she was a special fairy who made people's beds on special days. Someday I wanted to meet her!

On this day, twenty seven years ago, I was born. The fifth of six children, I was surrounded by people who loved me. Happy birthday to ME!

L's famous last words

2006-04-28T12:49:00.000-06:00

Me: "L, stop licking the computer screen!"

L: "I'm cweening it!"

Me: "That is so gross, we don't lick things."

L: "But it was dirty!"

Me: "Then tell me and I will get a paper towel"

L: "But I wan to wick it!"

Me: "If you lick it again, you will have to leave this room."

L: "Go away Mommy! I... WAN... TO... WICK... DA... PUTER!" (insert deep breath's between each word).

We then left the room and the door was locked. A time out insued, through which she cried that she wanted to lick the computer. Eventually she was distracted by the playdough that I procured. Mommy won, I think.

Random Facts

2006-04-28T11:04:00.000-06:00

I wanted to do a meme today. Mostly because the inspiration for topics was just not there today, yet I wanted to post! Therefore I just went to Google and typed in "random meme". Here it is:

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE.

Heh, this should be fun!

Oasis part 2- Arizona's saving grace

2006-04-27T09:01:00.000-06:00

Last night we invited a new friend up to our oasis for the evening. We roasted hot dogs, made smores, and just had a very relaxing evening together. The interesting thing about our oasis, is that the trees and everything look almost exactly like the forest at the top of my blog. That wide angle picture that I had never seen before, looks like our new favorite place. Makes my blog fit my personality even more than I thought it did :-) .

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M has a rock collection. I can't remember if I mentioned that before, but I finally made her move it outside the house. She finds beautiful rocks everywhere she goes. She has begun something that I find quit amusing however, she now names many of the rocks that she brings home. Last night was no exception. Throughout the evening, she gathered rock after rock, stopping to show me how beautiful they all were. As the evening drew to a close and we informed her that it was time to go, she panicked begging for us to help her load her precious cargo into the car. We knew that there were far too many rocks to take them all, so we set a limit of five. She spent the next fifteen minutes deciding which rocks would stay in the woods and which she would bring home to her collection. She decided on one rock in particular that she named "my little stripester" or "stripy" for short.

As we pulled into our garage last night, M (who had fallen asleep on the drive home), begged to be allowed to sleep with her little stripester. It was so important to her that we allowed it. When she was younger, she used to sleep with books, then it was horses, and now rocks... What will she think of next?

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As I put the dogs out one more time last night, I noticed something on my patio. My dogs didn't even notice, I was glad because I don't know what they would have done to the poor thing. By the time I returned with the camera and a very tired Sultry Husband, he had gone into the grass a little. He is very camoufllaged so I highlighted him in the middle of the picture...

I actually felt bad that my kids were passed out asleep because I know how much they would have loved to see this guy. M would probably have named him Froggie or Hopper... At least I can show her the pictures.

Of hoses and grass and such

2006-04-25T16:52:00.000-06:00

Today we went to Saint George for some personal reasons. We left really early this morning so we could get back with enough time for Sultry Husband to get up to his office for some extra work. He is allowed to work from home, so he brought his laptop in the car as we drove, it was actually pretty cool that way.

On the way there however, the temperature gauge on the car began to climb. Way to high. It was decided that when we finally limped into town, we would take it to a mechanic to figure out what is wrong. Hubby dropped me and the kids off at the park first, that way the girls would not be stuck in a waiting room forever.

At first we had a lot of fun at the park. Lots of kids to play with, new slides to explore. Later on- about two hours later on- the girls were bored and Sultry Husband was still at the mechanic shop with the car. M, who loves horses, encouraged a group of about six little girls to pretend to be horses. They went out into the grass and before I could stop them, they had each taken a large bite! I ran over and explained that pretend horses eat pretend grass, but I was having a difficult time not laughing... M is a natural leader, but to get six girls from ages 3 to 7 to all eat a bite of grass is a feat in itself!

For the next half hour, they all crawled around the grass shouting "Nay!" at each other instead of words... That is what horses say after all!

The mechanic replaced the thermostat on our "Galloping Goose". On the long drive home the temperature was within normal parameters, so it looks like he did a good job. We were at the park for a total of three and a half hours today... Longer than I ever like to stay. When Daddy returned to pick us up the truly hilarious thing was that M asked him, "Daddy, why didn't you let me stay at the park long enough?" L was more than ready to leave... both of them fell asleep on the long drive home.

Blogger wierdness

2006-04-24T12:42:00.000-06:00

For whatever reason, Blogger would not let me post this morning. I wrote it up, saved it, then hit Post... at which time the page sat, and sat, and sat. I tried several times to figure out what happened, but gave up. Finally I was able to post again.

Feels like an attack of the SMETNA!

Oasis

2006-04-24T09:55:00.000-06:00

Even though Sultry Husband loves his job, the terrain where we live leaves a bit to be desired. He is a California boy after all, he needs green things to survive apparently.

Saturday afternoon we decided to explore a bit. We loaded up a bit of firewood, a picnic, and headed for the unknown. We had heard of a place called "Jacobs Lake" so we followed the signs and started to drive. We had never been there, so it took some time to find the actual lake, which was really just a pond that was even fenced off, so you can't even stick your toes into it. A strange place...

There was a good point to going up to Jacobs Lake though... We discovered a forest, I mean a real forest that only takes us about 30 minutes of driving to find! It was amazing. One minute you are looking out the window at desert terrain, complete with scrub oaks and sage brush. The next second you are in a dense pine forest!

We found a nice place to create a fire pit, cleared away the dry pine needles and started our fire. The girls ran around picking up huge pine cones and playing among the trees. It was a beautiful afternoon! Sultry Husband swears that we will go there at least twice a week... He has found his green oasis. It was a little strange at first to be the only people in this amazing forest. We could whoop and shout all we wanted and no one would hear us and be bothered.

My brother once told teased me about our camping practices on this blog... As he put it "Quit car campin' ya ninny"... I teased him back at the time, but I must now remind everyone that I have physical limitations that keep me from hiking back into the wilderness like I would enjoy... Therefore we are pretty limited to car camping as it were. This new place that we found is not well known, so the crowds are not present. Therefore, we can car camp and yet we can still be alone. It was very refreshing and put us all in a wonderful mood. We will visit Jacobs Lake again soon I am sure. Sultry Husband wants to go back this evening. I just laugh, nod my head, and know that we will go to the park instead.

Parks

2006-04-22T11:16:00.000-06:00

I found a new park the other day. M and L absolutely loved it! The place has no less than 8 slides! There is a company down here that makes rubber stamps for scrap-booking. This company is the second largest employer in the town, and therefore decided to give back to the community. The interesting thing is that the playground has a thick layer of rubber cast offs instead of gravel, dirt, or wood chips. The stuff is so cool! As you walk on it, the shreds of rubber give you the feeling of bouncing. It is red in color, so it really doesn't get hot, you can run on it bare foot and not feel a thing. Not to mention that it just looks neat.

M was trying to learn how to jump out of a swing... She did a face plant instead! The really cool part was that when she fell, she just jumped right up and ran off to play. No tears, no splinters, no scrapes, nada. This is the coolest park ever! I just wish it was close enough to walk to, but no, we have to drive for about 20 minutes to get there... If we had two cars, that wouldn't be a problem.

We have been considering entering the world of two car families, but now it actually looks like we still have to buy a new car... Only we will be replacing the old one that is breaking apart. (Sultry Husband is stuck about 1 1/2 hours away from home right now because he broke down... I have no way to rescue him...) He has this tendency to name our vehicles, and this one is "The Galloping Goose". He also decided that the car was a female. I don't really care one way or the other, I just laughed when he named it. Let us hope that the Galloping Goose can run just a little farther, she only has about 160,000 miles on her, and until we can either sell our house in Idaho or find renters to live in it, we are stuck paying double bills. This is no fun! I think that we all need a trip to the park if Daddy ever makes it home.

Random Monday

2006-04-17T12:12:00.000-06:00

I have a few things to share today, so I am stealing Sariah's random day ideas... Here goes.

********************

Last year, M discovered dandelions. She found them pretty and picked every one from our yard that she could find. I had mason jars full of them all over my kitchen for weeks. This year however, we have no grass and thus we have no dandelions to deal with either. I may not mind, but she definitely has a problem with this development.

While playing with her and L in the yard the other day, we discovered that some of the local weeds have flowers. Thus a new game was born. Pick as many flowering weeds as you can. They are "pretty" after all right? M has also discovered some weeds that she calls "Ticklers" because they are somewhat feathered on the top and she attempts to tickle all of us with them.

I was given a new vase as a housewarming gift on Friday... I wanted to go buy some beautiful cut flowers to put into it. M decided that weeds would be much better.

The funny thing is that I remember picking weed flowers for my mother when I was a young girl. I always picked the orange ones because my mom loves the color orange. For me, M picks purple and yellow...

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The Easter Bunny came this weekend. Because of our girl's horse fetish, and the fact that they already have many stuffed bunnies around the house, the girls were each given a stuffed unicorn instead of a rabbit this year.

They set them up this morning on the table in my Living Room... They had separated out the candy haul to chocolate eggs and jelly beans. I was told that one unicorn was the guard of the eggs and the other would protect the jelly beans. Too bad the big bad mommy knows how to circumvent the guardians...

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It is insanely windy again today. The corgi is confused with all the noise in the house so he keeps waking up from his nap to bark at the strange sounds... Wish I could comfort him, he is following me around like crazy today. Whenever I leave a room, he walks right in front of my feet. Only he walks slow so I will notice him. I am pretty tired of tripping over my new shadow. When I stop in a room for a while, he lays down for another nap. But you better believe that when I walk out of the room again, he is right there in front of my feet.

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Anyone who uses the phrase 'easy as taking candy from a baby' has never tried taking candy from a baby.
-Unknown

Just me

2006-04-13T14:53:00.000-06:00

I really wanted to post something wonderful today. The inspiration just wouldn't come. I wanted to write a poem or a story that people would find inspirational or funny- but then I remembered that I am not Julia. I wanted to write something that would make people think so I could sound intellectual and brilliant- but then I know that I am definitely not Karen. I wanted to find some idea that would generate lots and lots of comments and encourage people to laugh- but I will never be a Fourth Fret. I wanted to write something that would show how I care or how passionate I am about things- but I am not Heather. Perhaps I could write about life in dry and desolate places and make it actually sound appealing- oh no, I am definitely not Dana. I would love to write something that would lighten and brighten someone's day- but I will leave that job to Sariah.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
Henry David Thoreau

I can only be the person that I am, and today I feel that the person I see in the mirror is boring... Perhaps it is only because I am bored. I find that inspiration rarely comes on laundry day.

Shiver

2006-04-11T09:20:00.000-06:00

I was told as a child that teenagers could be very cruel to each other. I didn't really care then, but I learned how true it was later, just when my fragile self esteem should have been developing. At the start of Middle School, I had many friends. We all came from the same neighborhood, we were all the same age, and our parents were all friends. What I didn't know is that it was social suicide to take upper level classes. Honors classes. I would be forever labeled a geek and thus would be socially unacceptable. Honors English. I loved the class, but if I were to do it all over again, I would have suffered the boredom of the regular class level. The fact that I had a very pronounced limp did not help matters either. I was the perfect target.

As I walked towards my locker, a shiver ran down my spine. What would I find inside today? Would my tormenters provide me with yet another testament as to how unpopular I was? Or would I find the locker blistfully empty. If I could possibly carry all of my books in my bag, I would have done it, but the attempt earlier that week had created the need for my parents to buy a new bag. Sweat ran down into my palms making it difficult to open the lock. I asked my friend who's locker was next to mine if he saw anyone put something inside today. As always, he replied that he didn't see anything.

I twisted the numbers just wishing that for once that the anonymous letters would not be found inside. Letters with language so offensive and pictures drawn of me in derogetory positions were always included. These were signed always with pseudo names to avoid detection. I slowly lifted the latch and heard the familiar click. Taking a deep breath I swung the door open. My eyes beheld the same sight that had bombarded me for the past month. A note, covered in terrible names, pictures, and over all, wishes that I would jump off the top of the school building assaulted me.

As I quickly limped for the bathroom I felt cold inside. Shivers wracked my body as I attempted to stifle back all of the tears that ravished my senses. My mother had advised me that no matter what, I should not let them see me cry.

Even when the school counselor discovered who the culprits were, things did not improve. If anything, it made me feel worse because the very friends that I had known for my entire life, including the boy who's locker was next to mine, were involved. In fact they were the ones who started the entire thing. Eventually the notes did stop, upon the threat that they would be suspended. The looks and comments behind my back as I passed them in the halls were always present. They never once offered an apology, I never asked for one. We all grew up, High School was much the same, but eventually many of us moved away to college. Yet as we visit our parents back home in the old neighborhood, we will occasionally run into each other. Through the smiles and well wishes for each of our futures, patting each other's children on the heads with exclamations of "Oh what beautiful children!" I have a hard time suppressing the ever present shiver that comes from the knowledge that they never cared about me enough to say that they were sorry. Even if they didn't mean it.

Have I forgiven them? Yes, I suppose that I have. I stopped caring what those people thought of me long ago. I will however, never forget those terrible few months in which I was afraid to open my locker.

Weekly Anamnesis #18

Memories of the past and dreams for the future

2006-04-07T11:18:00.000-06:00

We were fresh out of college, in our first apartment that was not deemed "student housing." We were in a new city, in a new state, feeling every ounce of excitement and comfort. We had a nice patio out the back where we set up chairs and spent every evening gazing out at the stars and dreaming about what the future would hold for us. My husband looked over at me and laid the bomb of all time in my lap. "Wif, (he has called me wif since we were married...), I think that I want to become a writer. I want to write books, I have always loved writing but now I want to seek the knowledge that could lead me to write a novel." My jaw dropped and I asked him if he would quit his job or something drastic like that to pursue this new venue for his creativity. Many assurances later, and the idea in my head that we would not have to worry because he would only pursue this dream at night, when our child was in bed, so she would not miss out on "daddy time".

Eight months later, his first novel was completed. Each and every evening he spent at least two hours writing at his grandfather's desk (the only thing he inherited from him). While the book was good, it was far too long and he needed to learn a lot more before trying to market and sell a book.

It has now been almost four years since that day on our patio. The job that we started out with ended long ago, as did several others. We are now in yet another new city, but the difference is that this time, my husband loves his job and it plays to his strengths. It is a good fit finally. We have even better news however, Sultry Husband has received his first book deal! A publisher is interested in producing one of his books... This is totally huge for us! He finished writing the thing about a year and a half ago, it has taken this long to market and sell it to a publisher. My husband will have his name on the front cover of a book that he wrote! It is not the first novel that he wrote, but it is still from his brain and it showcases his talent. I always believed that the writing dream would come true, and it is time for that dream to begin. I am so proud of him!

Weather

2006-04-05T10:15:00.000-06:00

I didn't know that a freight train would run through my back yard and pummel my house. I didn't know that my garbage can would tip over. I didn't know that the wind could be so fierce out here. Eastern Idaho, (which boasts about wild windstorms), has nothing on this barren desert plateau.

What I find interesting about the weather is how often I find my mood shaped by it. Yesterday when it was beautiful and sunny, we played at the park and I found my general mood to be uplifted. Today, we are shrouded in a foggy gloom, thunder and lightening frighten my children, wind is wildly waving the poor branches of the local trees and causing my television antenna to quit working. Today it is snowing again, or is it hail? It is both. Today I find my emotions shrouded in that same gloom that I find outside. Today is the day that I wish this good for nothing town had a respectable library, for I would love to curl up with a good book and disappear into it's depths.

Today I wish I was still in Idaho.

Mom?

2006-04-03T11:11:00.000-06:00

My daughter L thinks that she is growing up so fast. She just had her third birthday last week... When I tell her to hold my hand, she rips it away and says in a very defiant tone "I can do it my-self" emphasis on the "my" part... I really don't think that just writing the word does it justice.

L also climbs on top of the bunk bed, I really wish that she wouldn't. The one time she will allow me to help her is when she is stuck up on top because she can't remember where the ladder is to climb back down. I suppose that her climbing habit isn't so bad. She wants to pick out her own clothes now, so they rarely match now... If she could get away with wearing a pretty dress every day of the week, she would. Not just play dresses out of durable cotton, oh no they aren't "pretty" enough. They must be frilly, full of lace and netting, and over all lots and lots of bows.

I enjoy calling her my baby... She is still my baby, she will be until I have another one. However when I say "and how is my L baby this morning?" she will look at me with a very deep frown, eyebrows scowling at me and say "I not a baby, I a big girl!" I have to work on remembering that one, she really doesn't like it.

There is one very sad part of her growing more independent though... She now calls me Mom. I love being Mommy, I have identified with that title very well... Being called Mom just makes me feel old (I know, I know, many of you are older... Especially my brother, now he is OLD!) I just find it a little sad to change the title. Perhaps one of these days she will realize that big girls use the toilet. That is the kind of growing up I can handle.

Coming Home

2006-03-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

A lady in the area stopped by to talk to me yesterday. She was not pleasant to talk to and made me want to run back to Idaho. The conversation was about her daughter in law (who lives next door to her), giving or not giving me a ride to the area Symphony practice. As soon as anyone hears that I play the viola, they practically jump on me to join this little group that does not have one. Long story, sort of, but I will attempt to keep it short.

"So when are you going to show up to practice?" she asks in a tone that suggests that I am a misbehaving child. Never mind that I didn't want to start anything too soon because my children have been having a difficult time adjusting. I think they are ready and have been planning to start the group that night.

"I was planning to go tonight. Oh and could you give me Shelly's number? I was hoping to ask her for a ride."

"Will she have to come all the way out here to pick you up?" she asks in yet another disapproving tone to her voice. It would only be about a three mile trip to pick me up, but I suppose that she felt that was too far to make Shelly travel. I would have liked to ask Shelly herself, but decided to just drive myself after all because I didn't want to deal with it.

I must interject here that my emotional state after this visit from the woman was extremely low. I had no desire to go to practice, I was so angry that I wanted to lash out at her. I held my tongue and decided not to hold this woman's actions against the group. In fact, she has nothing to do with them! Her daughter in law is involved, and I suppose that it gives her the right to scare off potential players right?

As I walked into practice, the director said "And here is April, our new VIOLA!" and there were actually cheers! These people needed a viola so terribly that they were clapping and whooping because I was even there. I felt like Norm on the Television show "Cheers". You know how it went, he walked into the bar and everyone shouted "Norm!"

The music they are playing for this upcoming concert, is a bit below my playing level. Some of my favorites that have memories from my past assiciated with them. I sight read and played at a higher level than many of the regular players. Really, I didn't care about that... I was home. My emotions were instantly sky high. The director made no less than ten or twelve comments through the night of how it was "mana from heaven to have a violist who can play". I think my ego was stroked a little bit there...

After the rehearsal, he cornered me and asked point blank if I was willing to join the group full time. I told him that I was and he exclaimed "Bless you girl!" I may not enjoy all of the people in my area, but I can enjoy one outing a week. I plan to take full advantage. The music has brought me home again.

Showers anyone?

2006-03-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

We stayed true to our new "happy to be here" plan this weekend. We explored the Animal Sanctuary again, choosing a different area. By far, my favorite place to hang out is called Feathered Friends. This building is home to all of the Birds.

They are always looking for volunteers to help clean up after the animals, but there are fun jobs too. We took the kids to help out and we were given the task of providing showers for some of the parrots! Basically, we use large misters to shoot a fine spray onto the birds as they preen, fluff up their feathers, and of course show off!

M and L absolutely had a wonderful time and so did we! Sultry Husband has decided that he will spend his lunch break handling a beautiful Blue Banded Macaw named Tarzan. He gave the girls each a feather of the most brilliant colors.

One of the most popular birds is the favorite of my girls as well. His name is Seppi, a beautiful white cockatoo. Seppi likes to say typical words like "Pretty Bird", and "Gimmie a cracker", but the most entertaining phrase he utters is "Help! Let me out!"

All in all, it was a wonderful day!

Life is Good

2006-03-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I have been all too down lately, so I am determined to turn things around. I will start by talking about many of the good things that have happened to us lately.

1. Sultry Husband's employer loves him.

In fact, he got a promotion of sorts yesterday. He won't be making more money yet, but he will be the only person writing a particular column. Which means more exposure for him and more opportunities to shine for the big bosses. YAY!

2. Sultry Husband loves his job.

This may not mean a whole lot to many of you out there, but it is a huge deal for us. You see, his father hated his profession all of his adult life (therefore Sultry Husband refused to go into a field just because he could make a lot of money). Anyway, we have tried for many years and finally we have found a profession and a job that he loves.

3. The snow is gone.

I find it odd that when we left Idaho, it was snowing. More like a blizzard. The entire drive to Salt Lake that night was in white out conditions, and we discussed more than once just getting a hotel for the night and waiting the storm out. Then when we get here, it is snowing. We have had two weeks of pure cold weather, but it is gone now! The sun is shinig, there is not a cloud in the sky. The snow is gone for good.

4. M is going to be featured on a Magazine cover.

Sultry Husband wrote an article and sent it to a magazine. It was all about a rodeo that was held at a super huge family reunion. The only thing was that there were no animals involved in the rodeo. Each kid had a stick horse to ride, and they went through all of the rodeo events, without any animals. Anyway, Sultry Husband's article was picked up by the magazine, and they asked us if we had any pictures from the event. By chance, I had taken quite a few with my digital camera, and I sent out a cry to all of my extended family looking for more pictures. The magazine decided to put a picture I took of M on the cover of the magazine!

5. I planted flowers on my Grandmother's grave.

We live over an hour and a half from the closest Walmart. It just so happens that the store is in a bordering town to my Grandmother's grave site. I really wanted to stop and see her while we were in town last night, and I bought some tulips in full bloom to plant. Since Grandpa died, no one really goes to see her anymore, therefore it is my turn to take care of her site. If planting a few flowers will make it more beautiful, I will do so. The grave was in disrepair... It was obviously not taken care of since Grandpa died, so I am now taking it upon myself. It will bloom again. My girls didn't understand why I cried after we planted the flowers, and I couldn't really explain it beyond saying that I loved my Grandmother very much, and this is my way of telling her that I miss her.

Life is indeed good. I just need to remind myself of it once in a while. If I start concentrating on all the things that are good about being in this place, perhaps I will stop focusing on how miserable the area is... At any rate, it is worth a shot.

The View

2006-03-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

We have a somewhat nice view from the front window. It overlooks fields as far as the eye can see. There are several large and interesting trees, which give the promise of shade when summer comes and they are full of leaves once again. Cows and Horses can be seen in the fields, and of course you can see the Cotton Tail and Jack Rabbits. Hawks and sparrows fill the sky down here, mostly because there are plenty of field mice to feast on.

The view from the back windows are very different. There is something on our neighbor's property that does not make me happy in the slightest. I am including a picture for illustration.

Just in case you don't know what these are, I will explain it to you. These are hives of bees that our neighbor is choosing to keep. I didn't think much of them when we moved in at first, but now that I am dive bombed by bees every time I set foot outside my back door, I am frustrated. I have a call in with our city government to find out if there is an ordinance against bees in a neighborhood like that. I sure hope so, because I doubt very much that they would be willing to move them just because I asked them to.

I am not really afraid of bees normally. What I am afraid of, is if one of my children or dogs got too close to one of those hives and were stung. The main problem is that M is extremely allergic to any kind of wasp or bee sting. She had a sting when she was a baby and it made her entire arm swell up and turn a bright red. We had to rush her to the Emergency Room for a shot. The closest hospital to us is now about 10 miles away. That makes me nervous all right. I have refused to set up the trampoline outside or even let the girls go out and play. I have to figure this out first. If the town has no laws against bees like this, I may just have to go over and have a chat with them. From my experience with people in this town so far, I think we would be more likely to move into a different house than to have people do something just to be nice.

Bad mommy or new makeup?

2006-03-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

This morning, I set out to put together our new dresser, seeing as our old one was a casualty to our move. The only real loss, but then it was a cheap and old dresser, so I am not complaining that we lost it. The new one however has way more parts than I expected, so it is taking quite some time to put it together right.

In the mean time L found a marker. It was a washable marker that I had put on top of the entertainment center to keep it out of the way of little fingers… obviously didn’t work. While I was engrossed in the many pages of directions that came with my new dresser, she was decorating her face.

The marker was a dark blue one, and it was everywhere. Especially her eyes and mouth. I almost laughed when I saw it, grabbed my camera, then put her in the bath tub. Where I have been scrubbing her for over half an hour. Most of the marker came right off because it was a washable one, but the stuff on and around her eyes only faded to a deep purple. I am in trouble. It looks like she has two black eyes. I used several different techniques to get it off of her arms and face, but everything I tried could not be used anywhere close to her eyes. Any ideas?

It is quite amusing however that she now has two black eyes. Ahh yes I can just see it now, my new neighbors will all be talking about this one! In Idaho, I would never have worried about it, because everyone knew me, and my friends would have laughed a good one as well. Here though, I am afraid of the appearance of evil I suppose. I am afraid of what these people who don’t know me will think when they see my almost three year old daughter with purple eyes? I wonder if anyone out in the middle of nowhere like we are would even bother to call child protective services on me… or would they just shoot me with a shotgun that they keep loaded on a rack over their fireplace?

I am lost

2006-03-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

We had a visitor on Sunday. They were a young couple in the area who wanted to "welcome" us to the neighborhood. I found myself just counting down the minutes till they would leave. I found them offensive, rude, and just plain ignorant. They were blunt in their observations and very quick to compare us to family members who obviously move better than we did. After all, we have been here a whole week now and I have not finished unpacking all of my boxes yet!

Ugh. I really wanted to become friends with these people. I am a people person, I need people, I need friends. This was one of my only hopes because they are one of the few young people around here. Here is an example of how the conversation went.

Me: "Sorry about the mess, I have been working on unpacking" (they surprised us with the visit, the living room was in chaos
Other couple: "My sister packed up an entire house in a day. Six hours after the move, she was completely unpacked and had dinner on the stove."
Me: "She must be very organized"
Other couple: "She is. She would have been done unpacking your house days ago."
Me: steaming inside because I choose to play with my children and help them adjust to a new place instead of working 12 hours a day unpacking.

Other couple: "So, how old are you?"
My Husband: "29", he said with a smile.
Other couple: "man, you're old. "
My Husband: attempting to laugh off the rude remark, changes the subject.

Other couple: "Where is the land you are buying?"
My Husband: "Just down the road a bit, on such and such road."
Other couple: "How much did you pay for it?"
My Husband: "A fair price"
Other couple: "How much is that?"
My Husband: "We are getting a good deal." (Obviously we don't want to tell them how much)

Other couple: "I have a very successful business"
Me: "Oh? What do you do?"
Other couple: "I have a shop that I have expanded three times, I am doing so well that I can't wait to expand again."
Me: "That sounds great, I am glad things are going well for you"
Other couple: "Oh they are" (didn't they just say that?)

Other couple: "So you went to school?"
My Husband: "Yes, my degree is in such and such"
Other couple: "Oh, well I didn't go to college but I am very successful in my business"

While I know that they were trying to be nice in coming over, I hope that I can somehow make it through the small town mentality and create friends. I choose to not be offended by anything they said, or the way they said things, but it was hard. I also know that if we become friends with these people, I can never ever tell them about my blog, and especially I can't let them read this post because it would probably offend them. Right now I really don't care much about that.

I want to go home.

Snow?

2006-03-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

This morning, we woke up to a couple of very disturbing things. First of all, we now live in Arizona, which is supposed to be a desert, yet we woke up to an inch of snow! We talked to our realtor up in Idaho and he says the the weather is gorgeous and sunny. Now that is just wrong! The snow followed us! It will be gone by tomorrow, but hey what the heck?!

The second issue comes from the previous renters of this little house we have here. I have never lived in a house that runs from Propane heat before, apparently you have to watch the tank... the renters obviously did not do that and we woke up to an ice box. Here it is, Saturday, and we have a propane emergency! The house was so cold, so we begged the company to come out and fill up the tank this morning. $500 buckos! We then ammended the request to mean that the tank would only be filled half way. Not quite so terrible, but still a lot of money!

This place is not only in the middle of nowhere, it is a money drain as well! At least, our phone is now hooked up and working... if I could only find my phone, it is in a box somewhere in the fray...

Things will work out, things will work out, things will work out, things will work out! (If I say it enough, it will right?)

We are here- but where is that?

2006-03-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

We have arived in our new home, all of our many boxes are in, and we have begun the process of unpacking. I have to admit that I have been feeling the culture shock. Of course, I miss my friends like crazy… I am alone here, literally. We have a few neighbors, but I have only met two people so far. I hope that changes soon. There are several things however that have completely freaked me out. Yesterday, I attempted to change the utilities into our name, turn on the phone, etc. I had to leave a freaking $100 deposit with the phone company to get them to turn on the phone here! That was the first insult. Followed closely by the new knowledge that the mail is not even delivered here to our home. No, I had to go to this dark, dingy, tiny little post office to get a PO Box! I didn’t know that there were places in this country that did not get mail delivered! Where am I?!

I am just frustrated right now… I am sure that we will grow to love it here, at least I hope we will. We live in a tiny little town, that is for sure, but who is to say that we won’t absolutely love it? I mean, it may be a small town, but we do have the internet, the phone will be turned on in a few more days, and we have the television. I was about to start bawling in front of my kids (who would have cried right along with me), if I hadn’t just logged onto the internet and remembered that this wide world is shrinking in terms of connections. I can continue to stay in touch with people over the internet, I can order things like toilet paper, paper towels, and diapers over the internet, and most of all I can drive an hour and a half if I really feel the need to drive in traffic again. Things will be fine for us. I just know it.

I will have to come back and read this post again if I feel overwhelmed… things will be fine. I know it.

Water Works

2006-03-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day in our church ward. They have really become a second family because our brothers and sisters are scattered by the four winds. I stood up in front of everyone today and instantly realized that it would be the very last time that I would see many of them. I couldn't stand it, I started to cry. Which made all of the other ladies cry, which made me cry harder. Now I have no problem with general crying once in a while, but now I just can't turn off the water works!

When I was a kid, I often had a hard time making close friends. I had many acquaintances, but few friends that I could truly count on. When we were married, we moved into a student ward where everyone was pretty preoccupied with going to college so I really didn't make many friends there... Then there was Scottsdale, a beautiful area, but the people there were really a lot older than we were, so it was hard to find common ground to base a friendship off of. I thought that I would be destined to live in obscurity forever. That is when I moved to the town I am in now. As we pulled the moving truck up to the house, we had several people come and greet us, asking if we needed help moving in... They made a few phone calls, and instantly we had a moving crew there to help us.

This area has been so good to our family. I have made friends here for the first time in so long that I find myself feeling emotions that I didn't have for any other place that we have lived. Never have I been so sad to leave a home, a place. Always before I have been more excited about the new adventure in our lives. I lived for change and I dealt with it quite well. Today however, with the big move looming over our heads, I find that I am brought to tears just by hearing songs on the radio.

Don't get me wrong, I am excited for the move... I know that we will thrive wherever we go, bloom where we are planted... I just find that for the first time, this move feels like we are leaving home instead of just leaving an area. Perhaps it is because we are leaving the first home that we have ever owned, but I think that it felt like home because I fell in love with the people. I will miss my friends.

It is almost over

2006-03-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

We have set a date for the big move... *drum roll please* we will be moving to our new home on MONDAY! Hurray! The time has come, let us roll out of this place... Things are extremely hectic and crazy around here this weekend, but I wanted to give an update as to our lives.

Sultry Husband has taken yet another run to the local dump to get rid of stuff. This time it was our oh so falling apart swing set. He snuck it into the van while I occupied the kids attention. That would have caused some real trauma... Packing up a few stuffed animals has proved eventful around here, so we could only imagine what throwing away their swing set would do to their delicate minds.

One addition we did to our yard during our tenure here, was to add a fire pit in the back yard. We have had many a smores roast back there during the summers. Last night, we decided to burn up a little of our wood pile. We bundled everyone up in coats, sweaters, hats, and boots... Then we headed outdoors for one last cookout. I almost cried! Just thinking about leaving the mountains around us for the desert was almost more than we could bare. This morning we were given a little gift however, snow. The wind is howling, there is an inch of snow on the ground where there was none yesterday, and it truly feels like the middle of winter all over again. What a wonderful sendoff Idaho is providing for us. I will happily turn my back on the cold harsh winters of Idaho for the hot dry desert of Utah/Arizona when it is this cold outside. There are no sentimental tears today...

On a happy note however, we called Sultry Husband's new work to explain that we will be arriving ahead of the actual schedule that they gave us, only to be told how excited that they are to have us. His boss even wrote him an e-mail today telling him what a great job he has been doing for them. Ahh it is nice to feel needed, and it is even better to be able to provide for our family while enjoying our job. It has been such a long time since we could say that!

It's all WAY too much!

2006-03-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

The past week has been nothing but hectic! Sultry Husband is working from home, so he actually has to work... I am packing everything in site. I am cleaning everything not in site. Most of all, I am loosing my mind.

The one time that I have a lot going on, I get a call from a local Symphony director asking me to play in a concert last minute as a substitute. His viola section ran into some problems and they were desperate. Now, this is not just some tiny little back woods orchestra... Oh no, this is a big time gig... A paid opportunity with a semi-professional level symphony. I had two rehearsals to learn the entire Tchaikovsky symphony number 5... Can you say OUCH?! Yet, I was so excited that they even asked me to fill in I jumped at the chance. So, here I was last weekend, painting by day, playing a symphony at night. We had one more performance last night that went quite well if I do say so myself.

This morning I took M to the doctors office for a check up, only to realize once I got there that I had the wrong week. Yup, you guessed it I showed up exactly a week early for the appointment. All wasn't lost though, I rushed home to help Sultry Husband prepare because we had a group of realtors coming by the house to walk through so they could show it to the public. Yup, about 20 people walking through my house that was SO not clean enough! I was attempting to stage the place and make it pretty but found myself frantically cleaning when they called an half hour early to say that they were on the way.

M has the flu, I have a bad cold...

So, the number one stress in life is supposed to be starting a new job, followed closely by a move... Why is it that we always seem to do both at the same time? At least for this move I am not pregnant, wish I were, but I have to be positive right? Here is the positive note to all of this, the house went on the market this afternoon!

Crayon is not my friend

2006-02-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my Mom and Dad came up to help us get the house ready to sell. My Dad loves his toys, and he happens to have a few that are quite helpful. One of which is his paint spray gun. We bought a few buckets of paint and proceeded to prep the house for the onslaught of color.

When we walked into the room that my daughters share, there was a gasp. Crayon. It covered the walls. I knew it was there, but had chosen to ignore it for a time in hopes that it would spontaneously disappear. It didn't, so we started to scrub. I had purchased many of the new Mr. Clean magic erasers which takes the evil waxy substance off of the walls, but it takes some scrubbing. It took three people over three hours to get the walls clean enough. We also went through thirteen magic erasers...

Why didn't we just paint over the evil mess you ask? I didn't know before, but I have acquired the knowledge that crayon will bleed through any paint that you put on the walls. Even if you put a primer on before the color, it will still take several coats to get it right. Scrub away my friend.

Sultry Husband's Dad also came up to help us out with the arduous task. He has a tendency to repeat himself when something hits him as interesting or annoying. Therefore I believe that he told me no less than two dozen times this weekend that I should lock the crayons up and throw away the key.

After all the hard work, I have made a personal goal. Crayons will still reside in my home, they will just be used under supervision at all times. M also understands that if she ever colors on the walls again, she will scrubbing them right along with me. And I might throw away all of her toys in frustration. Perhaps I wouldn't go that far but she would be in very deep doo doo!

We Did It!

2006-02-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

I don't have long, still not "home" so this will be fast.

WE GOT THE JOB!

Sultry Husband reports to work on Monday (well sort of, they are letting him work over the internet so he can help me sell our house). We are officially moving! Yay! Let the celebrations begin!

Southern Utah Adventures

2006-02-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

So, I joined Sultry Husband here in this little forgotten town on Sunday. At least, I thought that no one knew where this place was, I expected to be able to find a home for us in the first day or two here. Not so. There has been a housing boom in the area, and lots for sale have more than tripled in value over the past year. Therefore, people who bought a lot for $35,000 a year ago are now selling them for over $90,000 now. It makes me sick! How are middle class folks supposed to find a place to live? Property values are disgustingly high.

I looked at a nice home yesterday, it needs a lot of work to bring it out of the 50's, but overall it was a nice house. Good sized yard, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. All in all, the perfect house for us. The only drawback is that the people are asking $289,000 for the thing! There is no way that we could ever afford this place!

I did find a lot in a neighboring town that we could afford, however we would have to just stick a manufactured home on it. Now I have nothing against Manufactured homes, but I always pictured myself in a permanent house. Nothing fancy, just a nice place for me and my family to call home. I am afraid of the resale values of Manufactured homes, I would like this house to be an investment after all. Le sigh, I think that I just need to change my thinking on this a little bit. After all, a manufactured home may be all we can afford down here.

Aside from the housing crisis, I have come to love this little town. There is no snow, the cliffs are a beautiful vibrant red, the sunrise is one of the most stunning that I have seen, and most of all I love that Sultry Husband is enjoying his job. He will find out on Friday morning if he has an actual offer, but everything looks promising so far.

I must get back to my job of house hunting. I am visiting with my realtor again in about 20 minutes so I really need to dash. I just wanted to give you all an update from us. Signing off here in the Red Cliffs of Southern Utah. Small town with an out of control housing market.

Nausea and Sleep Deprivation

2006-02-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

So Sultry Husband began his new job yesterday. It is a very scary thing to start a new job in this world. Many fears and self doubts seem to creep their way forward. One of his formar employers once said "I never started a new job that I didn't want to quit my first week." We are sticking it out to say the least... The night before he started, he was up all night. Not with nerves, oh no, with nausea. He was sick all night long! Fortunately he was able to still show up the first day, but that really could have been bad. "I am so sorry new employer, I am calling in sick on the first day of my evaluation period. I really want the job though..." Somehow, that just sounds bad.

L decided that she was beyond sleep last night. Every half an hour she was up out of bed demanding something. Usually in a very whiny high pitched voice that drove sleep from me way to many times last night. The one up side to the sleepless night of mine, was that I was able to think about Sultry Husband and pray for him all night long. Hopefully persistance will win out on that end. Sultry Husband was able to sleep last night, and for that I am grateful. I mean, if my sleepless night gave him a moment of peace, it was well worth it.

There is one funny thing to relate however, a friend of ours put it in perspective when he said that "Your new town isn't exactly the end of the earth, but you can sure see it from there." Did I mention that we will have to drive over 90 minuites to get to a Wal Mart? Wow, that is moving to the sticks! A new adventure right?

It is time

2006-02-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! As I sit here writing this post, Sultry Husband has been at his new job for about an hour! I am so excited/nervous for him! I know that he will do well, he always does, but it makes him nervous to start a new job. Especially when it is one like this that he wants so terribly bad! I will keep you all posted on the progress of the next two weeks and how the evaluation is going. I will be joining him next tuesday, and I find myself counting down the days until I see him again! I hate to be apart!!!

In the mean time I will cheer him on in phone calls. I hope to hear from him at lunch time today, but he may be surrounded by everyone in the cafeteria (did I mention that it is a vegetarian cafeteria? I would not do well there).

Today the new adventure begins!

Conclusion

2006-01-31T09:56:00.000-07:00

My attempt at the Weekly Anamnesis #9 hosted by Natalie

Conclusion

I was having a difficult time deciding between which university to attend. Many had given me scholarship offers, a few were better than the rest. One thing was for sure however, I did not want to attend the University of Utah. It was way too close to home, I didn’t like some of the instructors that I had known over the years, and I definitely did not enjoy the orchestra director which was the most important part of my decision. I informed them in a nice, well written letter that I was not interested in accepting the scholarship offer at this time. I had one friend in particular that also did not plan to attend their university, but decided to lead them on for a while and make them think that she was.

That was in the middle of my Senior year of High School. I had many things to still look forward to in this, my last and most grand year of school. One of the events that had captured my attention and provided me with much anticipation was the State Solo and Ensemble competition. I had competed in the School, District, and Region competitions already with Superior marks in each. I was at the top of my game. Not only was I playing a very difficult piece on the violin, I was also competing in my new found love of the viola. I was doing double duty. Two competitions in one day. I was excited and terrified at the same time.

The viola performance went without a hitch. I knew that I would get stellar marks yet again. It was now time to tromp my way up to the violin competition room. As I mentally went over my extremely difficult piece again in my head, I looked into the room to see who would be acting as my Judge. It was him. The very orchestra director from the University of Utah that I could not stand! I sent in my rejection letter a few weeks before, being very careful to not mention anything about my true reasons for turning them down.

It was time. I entered the room with a calm feeling in my heart. I was ready for this, the most difficult piece I had ever played in competiton. I knew that I would play a flawless performance, and I have to admit that I did. My fingers glided with ease over the strings, creating a wonderful mixture of sound and emotion. Many people came to talk to me afterward and mentioned that they had never seen me play with such passion. I felt that the superior rating was in the bag. The only thing left to do was wait until the Judge tallied his marks for everyone.

The stern woman walked steadily towards the board. She had my fate in her hands… My heart was racing, I was so excited that I was about to receive the marks that I so deserved. My superior was about to be handed down. My friend, who actually had to stop in the middle of her performance, but had not turned down the offer, was awarded a superior marking. As I made my way through the crowd towards the board, I had no doubt that if she could get a superior for a very flawed performance I would get one. I, the very person who felt the music flow through her veins. The very person who had worked so hard towards this day with one goal in mind, was given a fair. My heart sank as I ran towards the girls bathroom to cry in piece without the prying eyes of the entire orchestra. I was devastated.

When the time came to get back on to the bus for the return trip, I was pulled aside by my orchestra teacher and friend. He talked with me about how I felt about my performance and the marks that I was given. He knew even before I opened my mouth that I was upset. The puffy red eyes told the story so well. He assured me of how proud he was of my efforts, and how he would have awarded me the superior rating. There was nothing he could do to change it however unfair and unjustified it was. Our only conclusion was that the Judge was getting back at me for not accepting his scholarship offer. I should have led him on I suppose, but then I always thought that honesty was the best policy. I still think so, even if my only superior that day was on the Viola.

The New Vacuum

2006-01-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

I was given a new vacuum for Christmas. I even posted about it once before today, saying how much I loved the silly thing. It sucks dirt out of my carpets that I didn't even know was there. It finds every fiber of dog hair and traps it in the lovely bagless container. That was until tonight.

My five year old daughter was supposed to be napping this afternoon. She wasn't. In fact, she had snuck out into the Kitchen and nabbed the oh so large plastic container of Garlic Powder. Of course, being ever so prone to mischief, she had to dump the entire thing out on the carpet and her bed. Yes, she got in trouble for this, but I don't need to go into that part of the story. The powder was not to big of a problem, not for the super vacuum!

I pulled it into her room, plugged it in, but didn't realize that I had placed it right on top of one of her miniature plastic horses. The second I turned the vacuum on, the horse was gone and all I knew was that there was suddenly a very loud Ka-Chunk sound coming from my beautiful vacuum, and a terrible smell emanating from it as well. I turned it off immediately as I realized that something was wrong. After taking out several screws, I found the offending horse, now mangled almost beyond recognition. I will be throwing it out before M sees the thing and gets upset...

"Where is my horse Mommy?""
"um, I don't know honey, maybe the monster under your bed ate it!"

Ok, so I wouldn't really say that to her, but I will be throwing it away before she finds it mangled. I am sure she won't miss it, the thing is one of about 12 or so that she has hidden all over the house. Back to the vacuum. I busted the belt and fried the motor. Ugh, I am leaving the day after tomorrow for the new job evaluation thingie with Sultry Husband and I really wanted to have a super clean house to come home to! The parts should be under warranty, but what do I tell the service center?

"So, how did the motor burn out?"
"I, uh, vacuumed up a horse."

I may just buy a new motor so I don't have to face the question. It will depend on how expensive the part is I suppose...

A Scantily Clad Story

2006-01-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

It is I, the Sultry Husband. In this, my inaugural post, I have decided to tell about my older brother’s shocking yet thankfully brief (no pun intended) career as an underwear model.

Yes, folks, my brother has displayed his unmentionable wardrobe items for all to see. A sad, sordid tale is this. But as the little brother, I must share what I can.

It was summer. A friend and I decided to swipe the car keys from my bro while he slumbered on after a late night. My friend was 13, I was 14, and my brother was 16 or 17.

We had a wild ride around the streets of my home town, grinding the gears of his beloved 1982 Dodge Colt. Good times. An illegal and underage joy ride in a jalopy of a beater-car with more heart to it than most girlfriends. Good times, good times.

But despite our greatest of care to avoid detection, my brother awoke from his slumber when we pulled the car back into the driveway. Bedecked in naught but cotton briefs, he threw up the blinds, opened his bedroom window (which was on the second story and which faced the street), and gave us a verbal thrashing--hardly called for, I say--seemingly oblivious of the fact that he wore nothing but whitey tighties.

Ladies gasped. Mothers threw black looks as they covered the eyes of their impressionable daughters. A local newspaper guy was standing by, took a few snapshots, the story got national coverage for a few weeks.

Okay, so perhaps there was not a newspaper guy. But there should have been. A scandal of these proportions should not have remained in obscurity for so long. But at last, a wrong has been made right and I have brought the truth forward for all to see.