The Gift of Today

Did you remember that this is the year we have an extra day??? You know how we always complain that we don't have time to do everything we want? Well, TODAY is your gift of an extra day....so this is the challenge....Do something today that you always say you don't have time to do....read that book....clean out that junk drawer......run that errand you keep forgetting to do....make that recipe.....make that scrapbook page you have been planning.....go somewhere fun with your kids....take a nap....oh, I don't know...think of something...

Then tell me about it...and post it on your blog....and I will randomly pick someone to win a nice fresh box of Thin Mint girl scout cookies, or if you prefer I have a nice little gift card to Cold Stone Creamery. Seriously....I will send it your way!

Go forth and DO!

and don't forget to comment and post!

Random Images

Instead of "Random Thoughts," I thought I would be creative and do "Random Images."

My cup runneth over with peas.......and

Lettuce. (I know, I know, I keep droning on about my garden but I am so happy with the fact that I haven't bought lettuce since OCTOBER last year-but I think it's days are numbered-the heat is coming.......!)

Bubba D's eagle project turned in last night! (doin' the happy dance)

Go check out Pioneer Woman Cooks....yummmmmmWho stole my ipod earphones????? C'mon, fess up!

And...tune in tomorrow for a challenge.........!!???

Family Reunions

Last week my BIL had to have a pretty major surgery (removing his kidney) and I have since reflected on our unique family reunions during hospitalizations.

Let me preface this by saying that we have never had any truly major tragedies in the extended family but we have had some pretty serious hospitalizations.

Whenever a member of the family is in the hospital (including giving birth) any family member within a 150 mile radius-if possible-gathers and we stake out a corner of the family waiting room for our little party. Years ago when my MIL had her fractured hip repaired, we had popcorn, soda, card games and had a riproaring good time visiting and telling jokes. When the surgeon (who I happened to work for) came out to tell us the status of our dear mother-he said, "hey, it's a party-can I come?"

Gathering like this during stressful times has brought a measure of comfort-my own Bubba D has had two major operations and having family there really helped-

But last week while we were waiting, dear old Grandpa dropped in and when he found out that the surgeon was the same one who had done surgery on him a few years back he said, "Oh that dang doctor messed me up turrible!" (he says at the top of his lungs)

My poor SIL's face goes pale. There is deathly silence.

"Yeah," he says, "messed me up so I can't do that sex thang anymore!" (he says at the top of his lungs)

The air whooshes out of everyone's lungs.

The color in my SIL's face comes back.

There is a loud explosion of laughter.

P.S. BIL's surgery went great!

P.P.S.S. Key: BIL-brother-in-law, SIL-sister-in-law, MIL-mother in law

Scenes from an Eagle Project

Setting up. Why is it we can never figure out how to work the audiovisual equipment? (but the kids can)

Gosh-I'm really enjoying the leadership part of all this...you there...go lift that box......

Two adorable little boy scouts doing their service.

Giving a speech about his project to the eager audience

Counting up those hygiene kits-have we got 100 yet?

That's right-sign your name-we need EVERY hour we can get!

Eagle project-done.

Paperwork completed?-yet another battle.

Sick

I'm taking a sick day since it seems all the germs my family has been incubating have descended upon me.....

The Big Day

It's here-It's here!

It's Eagle Project Day! Wish us luck....

Madwoman's Cleaning Tips of the Day

Ahh, It's Friday and of course our thoughts naturally turn to the time honored weekend tradition of............cleaning the house........ Years ago when I had a house full of teenagers and younger agers, we tried all sorts of tricks to get them to be excited about our Saturday morning cleanfest. Chore charts, picking the chore game... One of them was to let them play really loud music, the genre of their choice, usually rock....and then have them go at it. There's something about the loud thump of the drums and bass that got them going. I am sure people driving by our home every Saturday wondered why it thumped and rattled! (remember Chikitita from Abba, guys??)




Then they got the genius idea of mopping the floor in their socks. We have a house FULL of tile so it was really fun to get wet socks on and slip and slide all over the tile floor. The floor probably didn't get very clean but they had fun doing it. Fortunately we suffered no broken bones or sprains during this adventure. Recently while surfing the web, I came across this:

These are microfiber cleaning slippers. Sheesh-we had this idea years ago-just didn't have the microfiber addition......They even come in cute colors.....

Tip #2: We live in an area with very hard water (who doesn't these days?) and my mom told me about this stuff and it ROCKS!

We have no more unsightly water spots on our dishes and it keeps the dishwasher sparkling clean. The only disadvantage is that I have never seen it anywhere but Walmart so you have to gird up your loins and head over to Wally World to get it......

Now don't you feel ready to tackle the weekend chores? Are you motivated and ready to go?
(say yes)

Eaten your MUFAs today?

Wanna lose your muffin top?

Make sure you eat your MUFAs* today!

Somehow the magic of alliteration always makes me giggle so I thought that muffin top and MUFA (pronounced MOOFA) sounded funny.....(hence my title merry misadventures....yada yada yada)

Heck, any diet that tells you to eat a handful of chocolate chips for every meal can't be all bad, right?

small print: MOOFAS are mono-unsaturated fatty......something.....umm articles-actions? oh....acids....

Spud Alert

Hey-anyone in my local area who wants some starts for potatoes, just leave me a comment and we'll get together. I have a bunch left over from my plantings.......

Roller Coaster Ride

Dizzying heights,
Terrifying drops,
Crazy twists and turns,
Yep, that pretty much describes....
























My hormonal life......How come we women, starting at about the age of 9-13 get to experience these crazy ups and downs? Don't we have enough to deal with as it is?

I woke up this morning with a list of symptoms:

Achy head
Achy body
Achy bosom
Achy joints
Twinges of achiness in my gut
Achy life

I then looked at the calendar and groaned.......

I have had a short reprieve from these PMS-ish symptoms for about a year considering the fact that I have been:

Exercising on a regular basis
Eating healthy foods
Cutting back on sugar
Drinking plenty of water

So what's up with this? I was beginning to think I was nearing the end of this roller coaster ride of hormones since I just turned f-f-f-fifty.....but noooooooo. Maybe I will just reconsider my granolish ways.....

Will women get extra compensation in the next life for enduring hormones?

Illustration of a man's hormonal life......

















'Nuf said.

Confessions

I am a very, very bad mommy. I feel SO bad. I forgot to send Elder Steve a Valentine's package and he was the ONLY one in his apartment that didn't get anything. I really, really feel bad......

In order to repent, I sent him a VERY large package from Dear Elder.com....{sigh} I hope he forgives me.....

Signs of a Granola

Signs I may be a granola at heart........

I just finished a batch of this:

Whole grain, fresh ground flour bread.

I really like nuts and seeds!

I attended a natural cooking class last week and actually liked the food. They had a sauce made of soy milk and ground up cashews-very tasty!

One of my favorite stores:

I would like to shop at Whole Foods -but it is too far away

Whenever I feel like I am getting sick-I start guzzling this by the gallon: (it helps!)

I'm really into this gardening stuff. The grapevines just went in over the weekend and today the potatoes are getting planted.....My dream now is to have chickens...(ain't gonna happen where I live)

Muir Glen Organic fire roasted tomatoes are delish!

But then I start thinking about this:

Or this:

(you people in Utah are SO lucky-whenever I go-I buy at least 25 pounds of this stuff to haul home on the airplane!)

And I really can't bring myself to dress like this:

I guess I will go on blissfully living my life in a semi-granola state.

My AWARDS!

Because this is my blog and I can do what I want.....because this is the weekend and I CAN'T do what I want.....I present my latest blog awards....

Since this is what Bubba D's bathroom looks like most of the time....

I would sincerely like to thank all the people who read my blog on a daily basis.....(all 6 of them..). Thank you for making me what I am.........

Out of the Mouth of Babes

The other day Miss Z. and I had some visiting time. Since it was V day, we tried to come up with some ideas to share at school. So we made Violet Valentines and played in Grandma's Vegetable garden. Miss Z. was fascinated as I showed her the peas and how to pull the string and open up the pod and behold! There are peas inside......Later on as she was munching on some fresh Vegies for lunch she said, "

Grandma, where's the zipper for these peas?"

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning Alyssa says, "Look mom, the sky is pink for Valentine's Day!"

(Now I realize that the color doesn't look pink in the photo-but trust me-it WAS pink)



(Mom-be sure that Dad knows that Alyssa can look for the "color in the sky!")

Sex Education and Scripture Study

How's that for an eye-catching title?

(I read somewhere if you want people to read your blog, you have to have a catchy title)

You will understand the relationship of these two items when you get to the end.....

So....TL always waxes eloquent on how important it is to discuss the birds and bees with children so they can have a proper foundation....etc....etc..

So who always ends up doing the discussion?

Me.

Who talks to both boys and girls about these serious matters?

Me.

So why is it always me?

Now to part 2 of this discussion: We have tried to faithfully have a small family devotional each morning and read scriptures with our children....Now don't we all have a picture of an idyllic family...eagerly listening to the word of the Lord solemnly pronounced by their father???

This is the reality about 10 years ago.....

Or this one more recently:

Do they get anything out of this????

Now to tie these two topics together: A number of years ago, when our oldest was about 7-8 years old, we were dutifully having our morning devotional when our oldest daughter said out of the blue...

What's adultery?

Dad stops in mid sentence

I stop chewing my breakfast.

At least 8 pairs of little eyes look at me.

"Well, (I clear my throat) that's a very good question Jenny (she was known as Jenny then). Why don't we talk about it later."

In the mad rush of the morning I forget about the question in the midst of dressing and feeding little children, cleaning up messes, etc. etc. I was in the kitchen and this little person, with her hands on her hips, stomping her foot and shouting at the top of her lungs...

"MOM, what's adultery!?"

So I hustle her off to the other room where we have a nice discussion about what adultery is and the introduction of the birds and the bees.........

See what faithful scripture study can do for your family?

Scrambled Eggs

Remember that commercial years ago on TV?????

This is your brain.

This is your brain on drugs.

Well........

This is my brain.

This is my brain after Spanish class yesterday.

I felt like someone had stuck one of those immersion blenders in one ear and turned it on...We have a substitute this week for class and she is from Spain and speaks with a "Spanish" accent. This means that they use the "zeta" sound which sounds like "theta." Por ejemplo: Buenath tardeth clathe...... eeeek....... I sorta got used to it but she talked eloquently and rapidly non-stop in Spanish (i guess that's what Spanish class is all about, right?) and after class was over I staggered to my car and managed to drive home wondering how on earth I was going to figure out the homework.... I miss Senor B, at least he intersperces some English words in between all that Spanish....... Noth vemoth manana.....(nos vemos-we'll see you tomorrow)

1916

Recently my mom sent me an article with the 1916 Beehive requirements to earn awards. All teenage girls were considered Beehives until they graduated from high school. There were 373 requirements in order to receive awards.......I present 20 of these:

1. Care successfully for a hive of bees for one season and know their habits.
2. Give the distinguishing characteristics of 6 varieties of hen and cattle and tell the good and weak points of each.
3. Exterminate the mosquitos over an area of 1/2 mile square by pouring a little kerosene on the surface of all standing pools of water twice each month during April, May or June. Six girls may do this and each receive an award, or one girl can receive six awards.
4. Make two articles of underwear by hand.
5. Cover 25 miles on snowshoes in any six days.
6. Learn to float in Great Salt Lake and propel yourself 50 feet.
7. During three consecutive days abstain from candy, ice cream, commercially manufactured beverages and and chewing gum.
8. For one month masticate your food so thoroughly that it slips down without any visible effort at swallowing it.
9. Successfully put a new washer on a faucet.
10. Care for at least two kerosene lamps a day.
11. For three months take care of milk and cream from at least one cow and see that the pails, pans, strainer, and separator are thoroughly cleansed.
12. During two weeks keep the house free from flies or destroy at least 25 flies daily.
13. Have your toilet moved to an isolated place in the garden. Have a frame of chicken wire built about three feet away and plant quick growing vines such as cucumber or morning glories to screen it from observation.
14. Whitewash your toilet inside and out.
15. Know and describe three cries of a baby.
16. Without help or advice care for and harness a team at least five times; drive fifty miles during one season.
17. During 2 summer months clean ice chest thoroughly twice a week.
18. Discover ten reasons why the Columbine should be made the national flower.
19. Clear sage brush, etc. off of one-half acre of land.
20. Know 6 blazes used by Indians.

2008: I present ten requirements for today's Beehives:
1. Wash articles of underwear on a regular basis.
2. Abstain from candy, ice ream, commercially manufactured beverages and chewing gum for at least three consecutive hours.
3. Turn off lights in room after leaving it.
4. Learn to skillfully hide articles of clothing, trash and other items from mother in bedroom so that it seems to be clean.
5. Discover ten reasons why you need a cell phone, i-pod, new dress, etc. etc.
6. Masticate food while keeping mouth closed.
7. Put milk back in fridge after using it.
8. During the summer months thoroughly clean bathroom at least twice.
9. Learn to drive vehicle without hitting any standing or moving objects, at least five miles without causing a parent to scream.
10. Clear family room of articles of clothing, dirty dishes, shoes and backpacks.

Can't Sleep

About 3:00 AM poor Bubba D started hacking out a lung, so like the good mom I am, I got up to give him some cough medicine, and I haven't been able to sleep since. I could use the age-old remedy for insomniacs (reading the scriptures) but didn't. I have too many things rattling through my brain. I suppose I will hit the wall about 10 AM today, right about the time I need to be running the 10,000 errands on my list. So I am going to empty out my brain now-----

Look at what I grew! Now lest you think I purchased these at my local organic veggie market, I left plenty of dirt on them to prove that I just pulled them out of the ground. They actually tasted really good....(Jen, I opened up my aperture as far as it would go and I think it turned out pretty good-except the focus is off.....)(i'm also having issues with Photoshop-it won't save my edits-unsharpen mask didn't work on this one...)

I guess this is going down today......{sniff}

Shhhh..PLEASE don't tell my kids what I put in the banana bread yesterday....I actually snuck some whole grain barley into the spagetti sauce last night too. Maybe I can sell a bunch of books like Jessica Seinfeld!! (don't tell her but moms have been sneaking stuff into food for years-right?)

Well, I have a few more things rattling around in the brain but will save those for another post-another night of insomnia.......

New & Improved

Have you ever noticed that corporate America feels obligated to improve and update every product in our home on a regular basis? We have new and improved, fresh, clean smelling products that will make our life oh so much easier and those mundane tasks like scrubbing the toilet and tub just a dream job that we look forward to every day week?

So one of those oh so mundane tasks is defuzzing the legs and pits on a very regular basis. I have seen ads for these razors and thought, hey, why not? I'm game...

Well, I guess I am like most people and my legs and pits actually have CURVES so trying to maneuver this razor with the two puffy purple pillows on them is kinda difficult. I have to scrape the dang thing over my legs about five times and it STILL misses the stray strand now and then! And THEN there is this gooey stuff that is supposed to make it oh-so-easy to g.l.i.d.e the razor over your skin. Well, it's kinda like shaving with lightly scented snot ......ewww.. And then when the puffy purple pillows lose their lightly scented snot-like substance, well they petrify into hardened things that fall off into the tub and you can slip and slide on them.........Just give me the good ol' bic razor stolen from my husband...thank you very much.

Sooo...in an effort to do something new and improved in my kitchen....I decided today to tinker with the ol' sacred family recipe for banana bread. This is a tricky proposition so as not to offend the masses but I am making an effort these days to add more nutrition to the lives of dear family. So in went a bit of extra whole wheat flour, a dash of powdered milk for nutrition, and instead of sour cream, in went the plain low fat yogurt. Hmmm...the batter tasted pretty good.......the verdict?

I think you can see for yourself....Pure Bliss .....(p.s. if you squint real hard, you can just see a corner of his scout uniform.....)

p.p.s. Haven't heard from Elder Steve yet---but I heard from a member who said the missionaries were fine. I will be real glad to get that email next week!

p.p.s.s. Didja' notice my new trick....the strike out...my first html experience!! whoo hoo.

Worried Mom

I can't deny it.
I admit I am worried and nervous.
My son is in the middle of some of those red dots.
I can't call him...
I'm pretty sure he is okay...just got an email from a member who lives in the area who assures me all is well.
But today's weather may be a repeat of yesterday's.
So no news is good news, right?
I'll be okay.........

Not Somethin' You See Too Much in AZ

Scraping frost off the windshield!

Happy Frosty Feb. 5th!

Party update: If judging by the decibel level, it was a huge success...new party video game.....Band in a Box...comes with electronic drum set, guitar and microphone...uhhh...yeah...

Anniversary update: We saw Bucket List-good show-bought a new painting for our house.....

Sickness update: DIL is doing better, spent all afternoon yesterday with Bubba D and FIL at the doctor's office. Alyssa home sick yesterday too....I'm trying to run faster to keep away from the germs!

Leak update: Roof still leaking after 4 repair visits....Contractor personally comes over and crawls into attic to check source of leak...locates source...locates wet drywall in ceiling and pushes on it, causing more drywall to fall into bedroom and drywall to sag....promises to fix leak ASAP (before next rain???)

Today: Looking forward to going to Angie's yummy class!

How To Eat Cake

Hi-my name is Baby B. Due to the very public nature of the internet and my extreme cuteness, I am choosing to remain anonymous. Today I will demonstrate how to eat cake when you are one year old!

First I must examine cake and make sure it meets my exacting standards.

Then I must take a tiny taste to assess the sweetness and texture of the morsel.

Mmm...yes, I do think this meets my very high standards of sweetness and texture.

Using two hands assists in viewing the product and ensuring its quality.

Using two fists to bring the cake to my mouth
definitely enhances the tasting experience.

Drink only the purest water so as not to
contaminate the palate.

Yes, I think this is a quality product, now can I wash my hands???

*Blogger is driving me nuts-sorry for the BAD layout......