A day in the life

Faith and Good Works

2012-01-10T06:10:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot about how what we believe translates into everyday life.

I believe that eating my daily recommendation of fruits and vegetables is something I should be doing. I believe that exercising will keep me healthy and strong. And I even believe that if my children do something I disagree with that I should love them into doing the thing that is right.

So why is it so easy to eat chocolate when I am hungry, get distracted with life at home instead of going for a walk and yell when we're late and that certain child will.not.get.her.shoes.on. ?

I suppose it is because living what we believe is not always easy.

I think it is easy to question our beliefs when we give into temptations. Speaking spiritually, when we do something that we know isn't in tune with what our Heavenly Father would have us do we may find ourselves begin to question what we know is true. Or perhaps worse: we may become complacent.

I have never questioned my faith in God. That has been a great blessing in my life. And yet, if I'm not careful I find myself in some state of complacency far too often. Yeah, yeah, I know I should eat a healthy lunch before I pop chocolate chips into my mouth. I'll just hurry and do it before anyone sees, because I know I'll eat my veggies. If the kids ate chocolate chips before lunch they wouldn't eat theirs, but I'm an adult and I... blah, blah, heard that one before.

I think the key to most of life's conundrums is diligence and consistency. Reading scriptures every day really isn't such a difficult thing if we have made it a priority in our lives and have made time for it. It's easy to think that we'll get to it after we check our e-mail, but unless we do those little things that matter most first we are treating vital things lightly.

After He is resurrected, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. (John 21) This is Peter the rock we are speaking about! An apostle who had gone through all manner of trials and tribulations in the name of the Lord. Of course Peter loved his Savior. What Jesus was asking Peter to do was to act on his love. To "feed my sheep." It wasn't enough just to feel something, to know something. Peter had denied Jesus thrice prior to his Crucifixion, denied although he did know and love his Savior. Believing isn't enough to change. Believing won't bring us salvation. We have to live what we believe. That is what Peter did from that moment on. He lived his religion and translated those beliefs into acts. That is how he became the rock.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:29 says, "If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments."

So how do I use this knowledge to keep those resolutions I made at the beginning of the year?

First I have to change. I have to believe that I can accomplish those things. I suppose before that I have to actually want to change. Not just wish it. I have to want to be healthier more than I want chocolate. Then, I make a specific plan as to how I am going to accomplish my goal. (I.e. stop buying chocolate, and when it shows up, have only one serving after I've had a healthy meal). I must be diligent and consistent from day to day.

Thankfully there's repentance, but if I really want these things out of life- to become more like Jesus Christ- then I have to translate these goals into daily living.

So here's a kick start from President Thomas S. Monson.

A thought of thankfulness

2011-11-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't written much since our big move.

I suppose I'm written out. I started a family newsletter that I try and send 3 to 4 times a month, and it just saps any creative energy I've got.

So I thought a post on gratitude would be in order. How better to do that than sharing some scriptures? This is from Psalms 107:

‎21 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

24 These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

31 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

It's so easy to take things for granted. How grateful I am for a reminder to thank the Lord for His marvelous

works in my life.

listening to train horns

2011-09-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm in a contemplative mood tonight.

Sometimes drastic life changes are beyond our control, and after the whirlwind lifts we wonder "what in the world just happened?"

A week or two ago I was taking out the garbage at night. I looked around me and thought, "Now how did I get here again?" Although my surroundings felt so very foreign at the time I felt peaceful and knew that everything was how it should be.

After all, we're here and we're going to make the best of it.

The most difficult, instant home-sick inducing thing is thinking of how so very far away I am from (seemingly) everything that helped to define my sense of 'me'. My ancestors walked over two thousand miles in all to get to Zion, and most of the family has been there ever since right down to me. And then I up and move off to the foreign reaches of the continent.

I was missing my family very much the other night, so I got onto google maps and took a tour of my childhood neighborhood. I felt strangely better dragging the mouse down that lane.

And those stars above me are the same that shine over my mountain valley hometown and all those people that I love.

Manly ratcheting roof straps

2011-08-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

We pulled into our new life last Friday amid tremendous claps of thunder and a leaky car roof. After fighting for survival on the freeway through the torrents and crazy semi-drivers, and plugging the water spouts in the car with diapers, we zipped right to our eldest daughter's new school to register her for class... which we thought started Monday. We soon came to find out it started last Wednesday.

It seems like a sort of dream waking up in some strange place, doesn't it.

Today the clouds finally parted and I was able to get a look around. I had prayed for mountains, and we have been blessed with more rolling hills than mountains. (I think there should be a federally mandated definition of 'mountains' so as not to confuse those from true mountain ranges).

It's hard not to calculate 'home' right back into the equation, but I'm trying to envision life here for the long term. It is nice to know we're not being held against our will, though!

In a few ways, it reminds me of Japan here. Rain. Humidity. Green. It is exciting to be in a new place. And, I've already been able to use my Japanese! (In Wal*Mart during a mad-crazy back-to-school buying frenzy).

The people here are very friendly and extremely courteous. We feel really blessed to be members of the LDS church. Anywhere in the world we may roam, we find loving and caring friends at church.

So, um, what now?!

2011-07-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

Big, LIFE ALTERING changes to come. Freaking out. Almost. Anyone have any advice for moving across the country site unseen?!

A short testimony

2011-06-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

So we are in a transitory phase in our lives. We've had some sudden potential opportunities come up. It almost feels like I am just watching someone else's life at the moment. I'm not sure why it is, at times, so difficult for me to internalize sudden changes, but I'm trying to remind myself that pretty soon life may become drastically different. Or not. And that may be just as tricky!

I suppose I'm in a contemplative mood. This is dangerous while blogging because I am given to stream of conscious-esque writing, which I end up deleting anyway. Recently there has been a string of tragic events in the lives of many of those around me that I love. It's almost shocking how many different people I know that have had something really devastating happen just this last week. I've found myself wishing that I could wave a magic wand and somehow make everything all right again. I've also found myself on my knees in prayer.

It is at times like these that I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that we are all children of our Father in Heaven, and that He knows and loves us each individually. I have felt His Spirit bear witness to me that this is true. I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can be healed from whatever tries our soul, from whatever torment or pain we experience in this life. I believe that if we turn to our Father in Heaven, come what may, that all these things shall give us experience, and shall be for our good.

Mosiah 16:9

9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

Mosiah 3:17

17 And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

John 14:27

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Slithery Encounter

2011-06-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today we went walking with our friends, the Yahnies*. Initially we went so we could find a letterbox at Parley's Nature Park, but the gate was locked due to the torrential river which was threatening life and limb. At times it is best to take precautions. Besides, I am partial to our lives and limbs.
So instead we decided to stroll along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and hike to the bridges that span the highways. We started down the lovely, paved path when Ls made a beeline right for a large stick. A stick that kind of looked like a... SNAKE!

After I shrieked a quick warning to absolutely not go near the stick snake, we all froze to make sure it wasn't really a snake after all. And then the stick slithered its tongue. EEEE! This thing was at least 3 1/2 feet long. And it was golden with black checkery marks. And it was slithery. And it was a snake.

After some research upon returning home, I discovered that there are 31 different species of snakes living here in our state. 7 of which are venomous. Of course I didn't know that at the time, and venomous or not I prefer not to share my immediate vicinity with them. Or any vicinity, actually. Besides, a one in 4ish chance it could be venomous is WAY too high for me.

Moving on with the story, we were, well, waiting for the snake to move on. Ls and the Yahnies' little gal tried to go inspect our slithery friend, but we moms said "No way." We gave the thing PLENTY of room. It didn't look like a pit viper to me, but I took a picture anyway just in case.

After our glorious bridges crossing experience, we came home quite exhausted but ready to find out what kind of snake it was. And thanks to the DNR we found out it was a gophersnake. Thank heaven it wasn't that Egyptian Cobra escapee from the Bronx Zoo out on the town again.

And, just in case you're curious, here's a quick and handy guide for what to do if you're bitten by a snake and how to tell venomous snakes from non-venomous ones. Not that you'll ever catch me close enough to one to find out.

*In order to protect the innocent, I purposely mis-spelled this name.

"I'm not about to go out and buy a snake for a pet. I mean, I may have faced a few fears but I'm not insane." -Kristin Davis

Fooshy Elevator Music

2011-04-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

Back in college our phone had "technical difficulties". Some may think "issues" would be a more fitting term.

This was in the days before widespread cell phone use. Back then cell phones plugged into car cigarette lighters and had their own battery cases attached. Those were corded, too. A former boss of mine told me she used to work with a crisis hotline and had to carry around a cell phone the size of a large brick and hold it with 2 hands back in the day. But I digress...

This was a land line. It plugged into the wall and had a long, knotted, twisty cord that tethered you in the kitchen. And it was beige. For reasons unbeknownst to me, there was some kind of radio interference and somehow it picked up the local soft rock station. So whenever we used the phone we would suddenly hear fooshy elevator music. Alas, the person on the other end of the line couldn't hear it. (I always thought it was some kind of conspiracy to up the station's listener count).

One day one of my best friends, Jessica, called me with wonderful news. She was getting married! She started giving details and was so exciting to tell me everything that I couldn't break in to tell her how hard I was trying not to laugh. Not that getting engaged is funny. No, I was very happy to hear that, of course, but there was this sappy love music playing over the phone the entire time. I have never had to bite my knuckles so hard to keep from breaking up. If only she could have heard that lovey music and known how elegantly it accentuated her news.

A recipe for health. Sort of. And a few secrets...

2011-04-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Quite often when the sickies come to stay at our house, I make a big pot of soup. We've been sick so often this season that if I had done that, we'd have eaten nothing but! This time around it's strep throat, AGAIN, mixed most probably with the common cold. Somehow I have escaped the strep and hope to stay that way.

Anyway.

Undeniably the worst part of soup for me is handling raw meat. (A side effect that never went away with my first pregnancy). Thankfully, today an epiphany came to me. And so, I give you this home made recipe:

Momma K's Quick Soup
1 large onion
4 carrots
3 stalks celery
1/2+ c. rice (I used par boiled today, but any kind will do)
8 - 10 cups of your favorite broth (I used chicken)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme (I mashed mine in a mortar and pestle)
1 tsp. minced garlic
Garlic powder, to taste
Thick sliced luncheon meat. I used Costco's roasted turkey lunch meat. Thick and yummy.

I think that this is all I used. I rarely use a recipe, I just throw things in as I go.

First, slice up the onion into very small square-lets. I suppose this would be called mincing them.
Saute in oil.
Throw in the rice.
Cut carrots, throw in, cut celery (including leaves), throw in.
Add broth, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and sprinkle the top with garlic powder, to taste.

When the rice is nearly done (check cooking times on the package. Different types cook for different amounts of time) chop up as much lunch meat as you want and throw it in.

Voila!

I added lime juice to ours, and I served with lime wedges and tortilla chips.

Another soup secret, if it's too hot, just sprinkle with a frozen vegetable such as peas or corn. This works well with chili, too.

And one more secret. We wash out glass containers (such as jelly, etc) with screw on lids and use them to put leftovers, such as soup, in. They are also handy when we make soup for others. No worrying about having to return anything!

And, for desert we had fruit salad. I just chopped up strawberries, bananas and apples, squeezed lime juice over it, and sprinkled with sugar. Stir and serve. (You can add any fruit you want, of course).

My wonderful vising teachers dropped off a sickness survival bag with all kinds of wonderful things, including Emergen-C. So, hopefully we'll be all recovered in no time!

Musings on One of the Best Days of the Year - April Fools!

2011-04-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

So, today is one of the best holidays ever. I have always loved April Fools' Day.

I can't describe the joy we had each year that Mom fell for the elastic-band-on-the-sprayer trick. (She would just stand there screaming and doing a little quick step and getting sprayed on until someone finally quit laughing long enough to turn off the faucet). She even admitted to me this morning how disappointed she was that she hadn't been sprayed yet today. Maybe one of my siblings that live closer will fulfill her secret wish.

Anyway.

Thank heavens for me Family Fun always has fun ideas to keep my unsuspecting loved ones on their toes. Like, for instance, this little gem:

"Easy to Grow - Fun to Eat"

Last year I made their faux-berry pie (shepherd's pie died with beat juice made to look like cream pie). I also had drinks that looked deceptively refreshing that were actually cups of jello with straws.

Alas. I didn't photo-document it.

This year I made up a fake parking ticket and stuck it on Mr. A.H.'s car. (I also got the idea from Family Fun, here, but made up my own to look similar to our local tickets. Not that I would know what they look like). He totally didn't even notice. But my sister did. She and her husband thought they had been cited. Until they noticed me filming them from the porch and snickering.

"YOU!"

Those were sis's exact words. :-)

And now. Some friendly guidelines for enjoying this most merry of occassions revenge free. (Hopefully!)

1. Don't do anything mean. Remember that golden rule!

2. Don't lie. In the words of Gram (roughly):
"If you've replaced the salt in the shaker with sugar, don't say, 'Would you like some salt?' Say, 'Would you like some of this?'" Jewels of wisdom.

3. Pre-planning pays. Don't be the one stuck running to the Dollar Store at midnight for fishing line and confetti. Save those last minute trips for Christmas Eve.

4. Don't break the law! Or else, you know. You're a law breaker. And we don't want that to spoil the fun.

5. If all else fails, you can always hide patiently behind the door for an unsuspecting victim.

So now if you'll excuse me, I'm totally going to go sign up for Chore Camp.

Doughnut Seeds look and taste strikingly similar to Honey Nut Cheerios.

My dear Japan

2011-03-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

I've been in shock for the last week or so. I just cannot believe what has happened to Japan. I am having a hard time imagining what the future may bring to this dear country, and an even harder time thinking of those wonderful people going through such trauma and devastation.

I am a better person because of the blessing I had of serving my mission in Japan. Those beautiful people taught me so much about civility, integrity, hard work, community and so many other things. I feel like Japan is my second home and its people, my people. My heart aches for them.

I have worried about loved ones over there. I have worried about the children of Japan. The elderly, all those in harm's way or who are suffering. I think of the mothers who have lost their sons and daughters. I think of the fathers trying so desperately to hold things together. Many hundreds of thousands are now homeless, with many hundreds of thousands more who have become nuclear refugees. I know there are many people there, even still more than a week after the earthquake, who do not have enough food and water. There are many people out in the bitter cold, without adequate shelter or the necessities of life. People that I love don't have immediate water supplies. I don't know if they are okay right now, and all I can do is send my pleas Heavenward for them.

I'm really at a loss for words.

So, my dear Japan, I am praying for you. Hang in there.

Swordlings

2011-03-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

This morning Mom knocked on our door with a forsythia bush in her arms. And a stylish haircut to match! She was such a sight with those long sticks darting every which way. She always wears sunglasses, even when speaking at the church at Gram's (her mother's) funeral. It's quintessential mom. Red hair and sunglasses.

Anyway, she handed the swordlings to me, and I pulled them into the house and tried to fit them into our pint sized kitchen. Really, the bush takes up the whole table, but Mom says you have to be dramatic in small rooms.

She had been down to the other apartments she owns and trimmed her forsythia and very kindly brought me the clippings. I put them into a pitcher with some rocks, trimmed them down, and hopefully we'll get some blooms soon. The kids think it's great. I just hope no one pokes their eyes out.

Some time after Mom's thoughtful gift I called her to say maybe I'd try to transplant them out into the yard in a few weeks.

Me: "I'll watch the blooms, then inspect the bottoms for roots. After that I'll plant them outside and they'll die of shock."

Mom: "That's a great idea! It'll be like a symbol of hope lost! A twig memorial!"

Until then, then!

Reflections on another's life well spent

2011-02-26T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today I bumped into a sweet lady and her daughter from Gram's ward. We had a nice little chat, it had been a long time since I had seen either of them. Since Gram has passed away, I have really been out of the loop! She held so many people together.

Afterwards, while driving home I thought about how incredibly grateful I am for my Grandmother. I am so grateful for all the years I had her here with me. I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with her, and the countless ways in which she blessed my life.

I remember several occassions of tearfully pleading with the Lord to spare her. I could not imagine my life without her here on this earth. She has been one of my greatest comforts, and certainly one of my greatest heroes and examples. I want to be just like her in so many ways.

When she passed away, something remarkable happened. I felt joyfully at peace. I felt grateful. And I felt like I had gained her for eternity, I had not lost her. I know where she is. She made it. She is a Saint, and I know she is about doing good in the next life, just as she did in this one. How very blessed I am to have her, and to keep her always.

Love is in the air. And so is gunsmoke.

2011-02-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

Last month my sweet cousin Em offered to watch the gals so Mr. AH and I could go out on a date. I don't think that Meemers has ever really been baby-sat, and the last time hubby and I went out it was grocery shopping with the small fries. (Which is perfectly fine. Family dates! Hurray!)

And now a word about guns.

The last time I shot a pistol I was 5. I couldn't even pull the trigger, and when my Dad did for me, the gun jumped back and hit me in the face. So naturally I haven't touched one since. (Not that I have an aversion, just mere coincidence). Until last night. Mr. AH and I went target shooting at an indoor range for our Valentine's date! Romance was just zipping through the air, as I'm sure you can imagine. Such ambiance!

It really was fun.

And loud.

And I think it may have set my natural heart rhythm slightly askew, but totally exciting regardless.

We shot a Glock (40 whatevers), and a .375 or something. They both had kick! I got shelled about a dozen times (hit by a flying bullet cartridge). The Glock spits a red hot one out every time you shoot. For a girl who is proud of her pellet gun (my only gun, other than my trusty daisy b-b), I really had a great time. And, for full disclosure, going to the range was totally my very own idea. (A side note to the gals: You should have heard the excitement in Mr. AH's voice when I suggested we do this for our date. Try it sometime).

Alas, we forgot our camera. No evidence of our exploits.

Anyway, so this got me thinking about other things that I would really like to try out. Maybe someday I'll take up archery! Sounds like fun to me...

“If you read a lot of books you are considered well read. But if you watch a lot of TV, you're not considered well viewed.” -Lily Tomlin

2011-01-29T20:12:00.000-08:00

I finished reading Condoleezza Rice's book, Extraordinary, Ordinary People last night. It was enjoyable, educational and insightful.

I was particularly fascinated by her insider's recounting of the fall of the Berlin wall, of segregated Birmingham through the eyes of a well-loved child, and making tough financial cuts while provost at Stanford.

A few weeks ago I read Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Ms. Wharton has been described as one of America's greatest writers. She was the first woman to win a Pulitzer for fiction. She is an extremely talented in her ability to tell it like it is. Her observations of the natural man are the best I've read. This book deals primarily with the disastrous consequences of completely bowing oneself to social expectation. I agree that we ought to make our own well informed decisions, but where the author and I differ greatly is that I believe we ought to make our decisions and then consult our Father in Heaven whether or not they are what he would have us do. If her main character had done this, his life would have been so much better! (And she probably wouldn't have won the Pulitzer). She is stating a message, a cautionary tale if you will. Well written, it really made me think. It certainly isn't my favorite book, but I do appreciate the fact that it caused me to reflect on life and things that I value.

I am currently reading Wild Nights (Nature Returns to the City) by Anne Matthews. I've just started it, but I LOVE IT. This non-fictional book is about wildlife returning to New York City. She writes about deer in Manhattan, a corn field growing in a median strip in upper Broadway, and my favorite so far "By 1999 coyotes and wild turkeys had began to roam Central Park. ("How did they get there?" demanded The Wall Street Journal. "Crosstown bus?"

Ms. Matthews divides her book into 3 sections, summarized by me as
1: nature's return to the modern city
2: the historic struggle of nature vs. man in NYC
3: possible outcomes of nature returning to the city

So far her writing is gripping, humorous and educational. She really knows how to tell a story, and I'm really enjoying it.

"Extraordinary, Ordinary People"

2011-01-24T20:12:00.000-08:00

I have been reading a lot lately.

I guess I've always been an avid reader, sometimes moreso than not. Anyway, I am currently reading Condoleezza Rice's memoir "Extraordinary, Ordinary People". It is fascinating, and I am really enjoying it. I put it on hold at the library as soon as I heard it was coming out, and just got it a few days ago. She is extraordinarly adroit at painting a picture of the segregated South without at all singing the victim. In fact, I'll quote her:

"All these elements - extended family, community, schools, and churches - conspired together to convince me and my peers that racism was "their" problem, not ours. Whatever feelings of insecurity or inadequacy black adults felt in the appalling and depressing circumstances of Jim Crow Birmingham, they did not transfer it to us. For the children of our little enclave, Titusville, the message was crystal clear: We love you and will give you everything we can to help you succeed. But there are no excuses and there is no place for victims."

I love this book so far, and recommend it highly. She is a fascinating person.

Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong!

2011-01-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

I grew up in the most beautiful place on earth. It used to be much more rural than it is now, but even so it is such a quaint, soul soothing area. Coming up and over the mountain highway and seeing that first view of my home town is a little glimpse of heaven.

As we were coming into town, I commented to Mr. A.H. how things had so drastically changed since I lived there. New buildings, new developments. It really feels a bit like Park City spilled over the mountains. I told him that when I was younger, we pretty much knew everyone. And, even if we didn't, it sure felt like we did because wherever we went people would wave. (There is something refreshing about rough old cowpokes throwing up their hand in a friendly greeting as they pass by in their 2 ton pickup).

Anyway. We stopped by a few stores before heading to Mom's. I had forgotten how hospitable and pleasant Heber is. We heard small town talk and uplifting greetings. Teenagers held the doors open for us. People buying their things would pause for a quick chat. Isn't is wonderful when people greet you, really wondering how you are doing? When they pause to hear the answer? Part of my soul still hangs out in Heber and I find it each time I go back. Sigh.

Thank Heavens Mom and the gang still live there. An anchor!

Time flies on wings of lightning

2010-12-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

I was browsing the top 100 albums at Amazon yesterday and came across The Band Perry. They've got a song with a gorgeous melody, however, I have wondered about the message it's trying to convey. What does "If I Die Young" really mean?

The tune itself is rich and flows easily. The vocals are outstanding, and I love the arrangement. It's just the lyrics. So, I turned to a source of many of today's answers: google. It turns out, a lot of other people wondered the same thing I did. Is this song about suicide?

I tried to find out what the band themselves had to say about it. (They wrote it). I couldn't find anything on their website or otherwise.

We never know when this life might end. Some have goodly, old lives watching their grandbabies, and even great grandbabies, grow up. Others are taken in infancy. One message this song may be sending is that we should enjoy each day, and love those around us, because we never know when that last day will be.

At some point or other I think it's only natural to ponder life, its duration. Mortality is such a fleeting thing, "...time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream" Jacob 7:26. I think it's true that "Time flies on wings of lightning".

It is an especially tender subject when we lose someone we love.

Sometimes we are faced with situations or events that seemingly lend themselves to impossible solutions. We can't find a way out, and may be tempted into thinking that the only true way to free ourselves is to leave this mortal life behind. This life is a time for us to prepare to meet God, and flippantly severing our gift of mortality in a moment of sorrow leaves only devastation for those left behind and uncertainty for the future. I think that one of the reasons the Lord arranged the necessity of sleep is because when we awake the next day it gives us perspective on the events of the days before. Sometimes we need to take a step back and separate ourselves from the situation in order to gain clarity. Suicide may be thought about and planned for years, but in its finality its consequences are eternal. Satan would have us believe there is no other way out. When we feel like we have no other options we can be sure that it is one of his evil snares. I know that through obedience to God's commandments we can find peace in this life, joy and rejoicing. Jesus Christ came down to this earth to atone for our sins, and only He can cleanse us from feelings of dispair.

This song really got me thinking. The topic of suicide is such a tender one. Two of our young, sweet neighbors ended their lives this way. I have known others that also chose this path, and I have seen the absolute devastation it brought their families. Sometimes these choices affect generations to come, with loved ones following the example set years before.

Many of us have wondered if those around us care. We may be hurt by the actions of others or by events beyond our control. "Wouldn't they be sorry if I were to die?" Perhaps they would reconsider their actions and how they had treated us if something were to befall us. But why should we feel like we have to control the consequences of other's actions against us? Thank heavens we can leave these things in the hands of God. He has numbered our days. He knows us perfectly and loves us perfectly regardless of who we are. We can change only ourselves, and sometimes we have to start by changing our perspectives.

Sometimes when something appeals to us we try to imagine that it's not what it really is. How expertly the devil wraps his vicious traps in the prettiest paper and adorns them with cloaks of splendor. So, regardless of what people may say the song means, I know I don't want my daughters listening to it and wondering.

This beautiful tune, misinterpreted or not, may be the last song some of their fans ever hear.

Let us rejoice in this beautiful life and be grateful for each moment we have. Let's get out there and bless others and love those around us!

And then...

2010-12-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

I was just reflecting over the year. There were a lot of blog-able things that should be mentioned:

First of all, Mr. A.H. was sprayed with a fire hose on the 4th of July. You should have seen his face! (He was in a tug-o-war game celebrating the independence of our country). Coincidentally, Nina and Ls were also sprayed, but had much less reactionary reactions.

Actually, that event was so memorable I can't recall what else should be mentioned.

Jalapenos and other household hazards

2010-10-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

I heard a few weeks ago on NPR that in Mexico, some people put cooking oil on their hands when handling chili peppers in order to protect themselves from the capsaicin. I have had unfortunate run-ins with this nefarious chili component in years past. I love making chili, so this easy remedy sounded like the answer to all of my pepper problems.

In fact, I tried it just after hearing about it. And sure enough, voila! it worked like a charm. I even put it through a truly rigorous trial and handled the peppers as I was cutting them! No burning! Success! That is, at least, until I washed my hands and handled the unwashed-jalapeno-cutting knife. :-(

So anyway, today I decided to make my signature chili. I always make a gigantic batch (8 cans of beans! 3 cans of tomatoes!) and therefore am not shy about adding plenty of jalapenos.

Today I searched the fridge and found only 1. :-( Oh well, it was nice and juicy and I just love that little zing! I neglected to use the oily hand method, and opted instead for a plastic bag. Unfortunately, this gave me less control of the knife, and as mentioned, the pepper was juicy and by the way, did you know that juicy peppers can squirt when cut?

"AUGH! Mr. A.H.! I just got squirted in the eyes with capsaicin!!!"

I ran to the sink and quickly doused myself with water. I could tell that my supportive and very sensitive husband was suppressing a laugh. I then ran to the bathroom sink, because of course that water is much better for this type of emergency. Mr. A.H. quickly followed. I looked up after my curative efforts and *FLASH* Mr. A.H. to the rescue!

Instant karma, however, is still alive and well:

Gram

2010-10-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

My sweet Gram passed away on October 13.

I'm sure that nothing I could think to write here would come close to expressing how terribly I miss her, or what an amazing woman she is. I find traces of her in most every aspect of my life. She really influenced me tremendously, and I am so grateful for her stalwart example.

Gram passed away one week after her 98th birthday. She was never one that I would refer to as 'old'. That just was not a word that came close to describing her. She was so full of vim, so active and hard working her entire life. She was always actively engaged in some good cause or other. She is so loved by all who know her.

My Gram is such a quick witted, funny person. She has the best memory of anyone I've ever known. She could still recite The Fox and the Crow, in French, that she learned more than 80 years ago in school. Her gems of wisdom continually come to mind as I go throughout the day. It has always been that way, I have always greatly admired her.

She always loved learning. A few nights before she passed away, she had seen a television program about molecular biology and mold and had called up my Mom to warn her that if she ever found mold on a loaf of bread, to throw it out because the whole thing would be contaminated!

I loved walking into her home. She was always so happy to see us, and always made us feel like we made her day just by being there. She would tell us stories about her life, the people she loved and knew, and she could remember the names of all involved! She remembered names of neighborhood figures she knew as a child, the grocer, her teachers, her friends and acquaintances. I am amazed by her brilliant mind!

I have so many stories I love and charish about her. I couldn't have asked her a better grandmother. In deed, she certainly was, and is, the best grandmother ever. I miss you, Gram.

So, I am like, totally related to Adam

2010-09-22T07:48:00.001-07:00

Our family has finally rejoined the microwave get-in-an-instant age of Internet. Mr. A.H. has signed us up for high speed (1.5!). We used to have only dial up, which carries its own mysterious physique. To quote a teenager whom I talked to a few years ago about our, ahem, slower connection of the past, "Dial up? They, like, still make that?"
Before I would turn on the computer and get it started, go get a snack, come back and tap my foot at the computer that was still loading, eat my snack, go get the newspaper and read it, log onto blogger, stare at the ceiling, go get a drink, do the laundry, chase children... you can see why I haven't written in a month. Who has that kind of time? NOT ME. We've had this Internet for 5 days and I've been on twice, and it is SO much faster. I can actually post pictures once again on the blog. (Coming soon).
Last night I thought, "Ooh, now's my chance to catch up on some genealogy!" So I signed up for the new family search and was amazed! How cool it is! And, I am happy to report that someone has traced my dad's mother's side of the family all the way back to Adam! True. I spent way too much time tracing it back by clicking arrows to verify family rumor that it has been done. It has. I discovered that I am related to Opchanacanough, the Indian chief that captured the Pilgrim John Smith (Jamestown) and was subsequently captured and murdered. I am also related to
Jehosephat, King Solomon, Bathsheba, David, Anna (the cousin of the Virgin Mary), plenty of Kings, princesses, sirs and on and on. Apparently, when you are related to an infamous Mormon historical figure (as I am related to John D. Lee of the Mountain Meadow Massacre fame- this has been verified by myself and other family historians), it is "easy" to find your roots.
I am, needless to say, skeptical of this all-the-way-to-Adam thing and have already found suspicious areas that need to be verified. (By the way, go ahead and look up Adam and Eve, at least through the John D. Lee line, and be amazed).
There are so many things I'd like to do, but Time! That precious commodity that flies on wings of lightning, laughing.
So it may be a while until I find out if it is true or not if I am actually related to Indian chiefs, kings, prophets and Adam. Wait. I think Adam has already claimed me. Good. One down...

Meemers

2010-08-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

Mr. A.H. and I are having a little quiet time at the children's hospital.

We're in the waiting room while little Meemers is in surgery. This is her 5th surgery. She is 5 months old.

The last 4 surgeries have gone well. We're grateful she has such a wonderful surgeon.

Our sweet little baby girl.

It's easy now to forget that when she was born she was hooked up to all kinds of things to make sure she was still breathing well and getting enough oxygen. We had to get up every 3 hours and suck her nose out with a machine, and then change the lead on her pulse oximiter. We didn't get a lot of sleep.

I still listen for her breathing at night. And I am grateful for every moment we have with her. She is so precious. And so funny! She started playing with the anaesthesiologist's face when he picked her up to take her back.

Sweet little Meemers.

Renraku

2010-06-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

* We don't have soda in our house very often. Like never. I thought that for this reason Ls would be tickled pink to have some. Instead, I caught her pouring orange pop into our recycle bin. I ruined her fun with a reprimand.

* NiNa just finished swimming lessons. She is part fish, you know.

* Meemers rolled over today for the first time! Ya~a~a~y! And, even better, I caught it on video. I have now caught all three of my daughter's first rolling over experiences. I think I must have a kind of soon-to-roll-over-ESP.

* And, speaking of ESP, both Gram and Mr. AH say I must have some kind of spider sense, as Mr. AH calls it, because I can always sense when there is a spider within close proximity to me (meaning anywhere within 40 yards). Just yesterday I was drying off from a shower when I felt someone watching me. Sure enough, the window was cracked just an inch and there was a big, hairy, hideous spider peeping at my hygienic activities. I did the most prudent thing I could think of, given that I was taken off guard and rather arachnophobic, and slammed that window shut. Unfortunately, it didn't expire the fellow. That had to wait until Mr. AH got home.

* Mr. AH is amazing and got a scholarship. :-)

* Gee, I thought there would be more to report. Meh.

Perhaps I can report back next time on the exciting exploits of our recent letterboxing. Cheerio!

Future (mis)adventures

2010-05-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

I've had misadventures in kite flying before, resulting in humiliation and physical harm.
This year, however, I have so far escaped injury and embarrassment. At least as far as kites go. How? I've not been able to get out much for some time.
Mr. Amazing Husband has been taking the girls out quite a bit while Meemers recovers from her surgeries. It's not quite house arrest, but we're not supposed to take her out in public until all this surgery business is over... at least until RSV season ends.
One day Mr. AH took the gals to the park with our dollar special and Ls's bi-plane kite for a good time. The wind was gusty, and soon the kites were torpedoing out of the sky, pieces scattering amuck. The girls came home frowning and jaded with this fabulous sport.
Perhaps, I think, I may try to remedy this.
I have read that as long as you get the dimensions right on a kite, it doesn't matter how big it is. I found instructions for a super-cool mini kite online, which I can't find now, but maybe if I gather up some of Mr. AH's engineering paper and some broom bristles I can figure it out! Voila!
(And by the way, I always wondered, why did I not have "economist paper" in college in which to work my equations? Admittedly, it was economical paper, but I digress...)
Maybe we could even trick/talk the neighbors into making kites, too, and we could have a huge neighborhood tournament just like in The Kite Runner! Except without the glass-coated string. Or the kite shredding. Or the running...

Recently... another catch-up

2010-05-29T22:50:00.001-07:00

Life is always pleasantly busy with a new babe in the house. And what joy! I love being a mom.

So anyway, I've been occupied with other important endeavors, so here are some handy bullet-point-news-in-brief from our household:

*WOE! The basil is dead! The birds have out-witted us again.

*Our curious hummingbird neighbor is back! We've had a few sightings in the last week.

*We had to evacuate our apartment... again... because our neighbors poisoned the apartment complex by using noxious chemicals near our heating system intake... again. (Different neighbors, same result: 3 days at Gram's). They moved out of state today. Unrelated, but appreciated all the same.

*Little Meemers is scheduled for surgery in a few days... her third.

*While at Gram's I got to hear lots of really interesting stories. She's 97 and has the best memory of anyone I've ever known. Seriously, she's amazing. It's so neat to chat with her, I've heard all about the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1916, life in the 20s, amazing pioneer stories... I am very fortunately blessed to have such a wonderful grandmother.

*NiNa's school had an art show, and one of her pieces was featured on the school-wide flyer. Our budding artist!

*I am recovering from a mysterious back injury.

*Ls has perfected her cute little dances. She does this bum wagging one that is hilarious. "What in the whole world!"

*We unwittingly had an all-corn dinner yesterday: Corn on the cob, corn chips, cornish game hens, followed by pop-corn. Lest this sound unhealthy I will point out that we also had salsa.

So ends this edition of catch-up. Meemers finally went to bed (so I don't have to type one-handed), but it's WAY past my bedtime.

Reflections on David

2010-05-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Lately I have really enjoyed reading the scriptures. We read from the Book of Mormon every night as a family, but recently I felt like I should have some personal study and read the story of David in the old testament. Then I decided that to really understand it, I should start with Saul. And then I figured that the book of Ruth was so close to all that Saul stuff that I might as well start there... but I digress. I've just finished reading about David's fall.

David was walking around on the roof one day and saw the beautiful, but married, Bath-sheba. Being a heroic, successful and popular king, perhaps he figured he could have what he wanted. He wanted her. In 2 Samuel 10:4 it says,

"And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned to her house."

Bath-sheba learns that she is pregnant, and she sends word to David. To summarize briefly, David decides to hide his sins instead of repenting. So, he has his servant Joab send Uriah, Bath-sheba's husband, off to a particularly dangerous war zone so that he will be conveniently killed.

In the Bible Dictionary we read this about David:

"Like Saul he was guilty of grave crimes; but unlike Saul, he was capable of true contrition and was therefore able to find forgiveness, except in the murder of Uriah. As a consequence David is still unforgiven, but he received a promise that the Lord would not leave his soul in hell. He will be resurrected at the end of the Millennium. Because of his transgressions, he has fallen from his exaltation."

David lost his exaltation forever. I find that a particularly tragic tale. Here was a man who lead what many consider to be the golden age of Israel. He united the tribes of the region into 1 nation and was recognized as the king throughout the country. His government was based upon religious principles, and, again quoting the Bible Dictionary he had "developed that conscious dependence upon God which was the secret of his strength throughout his life."

David is again mentioned in D&C 132:39.

"...and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord."

In Alma 42:18-19 we read:

"18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.

19 Now, if there was no law given—if a man murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?"

I believe that David suffered a spiritual death for his sins.

The man who slayed Goliath has fallen! The Lord's annointed to lead Israel! All the wonderful, righteous, heroic deeds that David performed throughout his life cannot erase his fall from exaltation. This is truly a very tragic cautionary tale.

In closing, I'll quote once again from the Bible Dictionary:

"David's life illustrates the need for all persons to endure in righteousness to the end. As a youth he is characterized as being a man after the Lord's "own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14); as a man he spoke by the Spirit and had many revelations. But he paid, and is paying, a heavy price for his disobedience to the commandments of God."

Currently

2010-03-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

I'm here at Meemer's and my current digs, the children's hospital. It is strange to wake up in a hospital. And, from Meemer's perspective, I'm sure it is strange to wake up with a plastic box tent over your head. Due to her nasal stents, she gets to spend time in an oxygen tent nowadays.
The first morning I woke up after I had the babe I was quite surprised to find myself in a hospital. Having just had major surgery. Being a new Mom again! (YAY!) Things went so completely un-according to the birth plan that I think I was caught off guard by the reality of it all. Traumatic c-sections do that to a person, I guess.
So the babe is doing well. They pretty much just do maintenance for RSV. There's not much you can do for a virus. It is comforting to be in a place where her oxygen levels can be tampered with.
She is so dang cute. I love that girl.
Her stents have turned out to be a major blessing as far as her RSV goes. Her nasal passage can't swell off, so she is easier to clean out. (We did a lot of booger sucking before this happened, and now it's even more). The nurses have said they wish all their patients had stents.
Her next surgery will probably have to be pushed back for several weeks, if not over a month, to give her time to heal and for the inflammation to go down in her lungs.
Anyway, blessings abound.

(And, PS, I'm sorry I don't have a cable to download any pictures. She is SO sweet. Babies are so fun).

Oh! Can lightning strike twice!

2010-03-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

I'm really not sure what to post. We've had some interesting trials pop up this last month, much overshadowed by phenomenal blessings. The best of which is that our daughter, Meemers (note: her nickname), was born a month ago. She is so beautiful. It is an amazing blessing holding such a perfect little soul.
We had some complications at birth resulting in an emergency c-section (because of me) and a rare-but-fixable-through-several-surgeries birth defect. (Meemers has already had one surgery at 2 days old and is in for at least 3 or 4 more in the next few months). I don't really like going into detail on a public blog. Here are a few tid-bits:

Meemers is so sweet! It's fun to see how every child is so different right from the start. I love how curious she is about the world around her.

My epidural failed me yet again right during my c-section surgery. I've had 2 emergency c-sections, and the epidurals failed during both of them. It hurt so bad I thought my heart would stop.

I am so grateful for good doctors and the NICU. And for children's hospitals.

It would sure be nice to meet a good anaesthesiologist for any future c-sections.

RSV really, really stinks.

We have the most amazing family, ward (our church group), friends and neighbors EVER. They have helped us out so much with babysitting, meals and emotional support.

A good laugh can definitely go bad after major abdominal (abominable) surgery. For a short whlie I thought people would think I lost my sense of humor because it hurt too bad to laugh. And I have the funniest husband, mother and kids around. Sounds funny, but ouch! Humor can hurt!

"Tis an ill wind that brings nobody any good"

2010-02-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

In the last 3 months I've had at least 7 illnesses. It all started with the flu. Thank heavens we all had our seasonal and swine flu shots! I think maybe my immune system took an extra hit after that one, because I've since had pneumonia twice, (which I currently am gettting over), numerous colds, a strange leg infection... I've been on 3 separate courses of antibiotics. It's really not so bad being pregnant, it has actually been pleasant. Being sick and pregnant is a little different, but I feel very fortunate that I haven't had to be hospitalized. It's scary getting sick when you've got asthma, let alone when you have asthma and are pregnant. It's a good time to count my blessings, for sure.
We are so excited for our little one to come. I hope she waits a few days until I've recovered, though!

I'm free! I'm free!

2010-01-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

Aah.

I'm not sure how to write up this post without sounding, well, unpatriotic and not very citizen-y. However, it sure feels nice to have less responsibilities.

I felt a deep sense of duty as far as trying to better our community and stand up for things that I believe in. So, a few years ago while at a caucus I accepted some political positions. I was the only one in attendance that wasn't moving, and as a result was elected as precinct chair, county delegate and state delegate. This translated into 5 to 6 important meetings a year, plus a few extras here and there. Then, a few months ago I was asked to serve as Legislative District Chair as well. This meant I was suddenly in charge of 25 voting precincts. This was a much busier task.

The other day I was trying to fill 5 vacant precinct chair positions. After looking over thousands of names, calling hundreds of people and leaving more messages than I can keep track of, I was a bit spent. So, when a few administrative glitches threw a monkey wrench in the works I decided that maybe it was time I re-evaluate my time. I was able to fill 4 of the 5 vacancies, which I feel pretty good about. However, I realized that I'm going to have a baby sometime in the next 3 weeks. When am I going to have time to run an entire Legislative caucus and hand out credentials before central committee meetings? Thank Heaven for my wonderful family. I resigned and feel much better.

I'm glad for the opportunities I had. I would definitely like to urge you all to get involved any way your circumstances allow. I don't think we should complain about the government if we aren't even exercising our right to vote. Even more so, I think most people would be quite shocked to find out how maddeningly persistent special interest groups are. They DO get involved, they DO run for offices, they DO voice their concerns and agendas to lawmakers, and the general public MAY NOT always agree with these agendas. So who cares if politics isn't your thing? Bettering your community is always a nice choice.

Humanitarian Aid for Haiti

2010-01-14T20:33:00.000-08:00

Haiti is in dire need of emergency aid. For those of you wondering what you can do, the best thing is to donate to either the Red Cross, or to my favorite, LDS Humanitarian Services. 100% of your donation goes to the cause when you donate through this organization. Everything is done by volunteer work. You can go here to donate:

http://give.lds.org/emergencyresponse

Visit the following article to find out more:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/

An early salute to the King

2010-01-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today NiNa was really excited to tell me about a wonderful, good man she learned about in kindergarten: Martin Luther King, Jr. So, although the official day of oberservance for this brave man is still a week and a half away, I thought I'd share my favorite NiNa quote on what she learned about him:

"He made a march with the people and said, 'That's not fair! That's not fair!'"

Adoption

2010-01-05T15:03:00.000-08:00

Some of our best friends are hoping to adopt.

They've got the cutest little 1 year old boy, and they are the sweetest parents.

For more information, click here:

www.somebodyismissing.blogspot.com

Refreshing!

2009-12-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

With how cold it has been lately, it's hard to believe that, technically, it's not really winter yet. Officially, the first day of winter begins on the 21st of December. Brrrr!

In honor of the recent cold snap, I wanted to share some funny frozen stories, but I couldn't think of any. (Other than the time my arm freezer-burn stuck to the shelf at the grocery store when I tried to get a package of peas). I'm sure there are plenty of bitter cold incidents that happened over the years that were humorous, but I can't think of any!

So, instead, I'll just share a cold memory:

When I was a kid I lived 1/4 a mile down a dirt road in the country. The bus came at 7:27, and we had to be out the door in time to get down to the stop. During the frigid months, we tried to time it so we spent the least amount of time possible out in the freeze. It wasn't uncommon to have sub zero (Ferenheit) temperatures up at our mountain valley bus stop. At least I didn't have to walk both ways up hill to get to school. ;-)

There's a sweet Norwegian woman that goes to church with us, Liv, whom I always think of when the weather turns less than pleasantly warm. One particularly chilly day, I saw her and said something like, "It's freezing!" and she replied, "Yes, isn't it refreshing?!"

Now that's a breath of fresh air!

The end of October

2009-11-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I have pondered this holiday on occassion. There are some obvious counterintuities about celebrating this pagan holiday. However, I have never dressed up on ventures for candy in order to display pagan beliefs. A lot of holidays have deviated from their original intent, and Halloween's evolvement is a fortunate one. I don't like the gory-scary-naughty-unpleasantries that some have come to associate with this time of year, but it's fun to have a night where we can dress up and 'play pretend' for a while. That's worth celebrating, right?

So here are 4 of my favorite things about Halloween (in no particular order):

1. Cute costumed kids. Isn't that the best part? This year Ls was a dragon, and NiNa a flamingo. CUTE.

2. Pumpkin carving. This is a favorite tradition of ours.

3. Decorating. We hang finger puppet monsters from the ceiling, put home made grocery bag ghosts all over the porch, we've got a bat mobile (a bunch of bats on a mobile I made. Get it? Ha, I know). I always rig the door so when you open it a bat comes down in your face, and this year I rigged a kitchen cupboard so a spider did the same.

4. I used to love scaring people. Not little kids, mind you. Growing up, it was a frequent occurence to hear, "BOO!" followed by, "AAAAIIEEEEE!" We'd all laugh and run to where the scream came from to find out what happened.

Ah, wonderful Halloween. And next comes Veteran's Day, and then Thanksgiving. What a great time of year!

"Julie & Julia" an overdue review

2009-10-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

I promised a review of "Julie & Julia" long ago. Alas, many of you have probably already seen it. So to be brief, I would have loved it, perhaps it would have been one of my favorite movies had it not been for all the foul language. :-( Perfect way to ruin a movie. There were parts I laughed so hard I cried, and it certainly inspired me to read Julia Child's My Life In France. (I loved it, by the way. Highly recommended. The ending was a bit slow, but she passed away before it was finished).

As part of a prize I won, I also received Julie Powell's "Julie and Julia", a mis-adventures-in- cooking book. I thought her idea of trying out all of Julia Child's recipes was ambitious, inspiring, interesting... and documenting it even better. I was very appalled, however, as I struggled through the first chapter and finally threw it down in disdain. It was littered with foul language and filthy speach. So sad. I gave it to my mom and she enjoyed it very much.

H1N1 Flu shot Fiasco. Or, my 15 minutes of anonymous fame.

2009-10-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Bright and early on Saturday morning, I drove to the downtown health clinic to dutifully get my swine flu shot. I left about 6:45 a.m. and neared the clinic by 6:5oish. There was an unanticipated amount of activity the closer I got to the clinic. Masses of people were walking towards it, and there wasn't any parking for blocks. Then the chaos started. People started jaywalking major roads against green lights to get to the clinic. Nevermind the risk of getting hit by a car, these people wanted shots! There was also gross violation of basic roadway laws, which tipped me off that this wasn't going to be fun. Then I saw the clinic. There must have been hundreds and hundreds of people in a jumbled line that stretched down the street. Although I had come prepared with a lawn chair, food and water and a newspaper, not to mention I was dressed for the arctic, I realized that there was no way I could stand in that line by myself.

What to do? Well, what any sensible person would. Send letters to the editor! (Just like Gram would).

I came home and fired off e-mails to as many applicable people I could think of, including Dr. David Sundwall, state Department of Health executive director.

Here's what I wrote:

Dear Dr. Sundwall, October 24, 2009

Today is the first available day I am eligible to get the H1N1 vaccination. I am 6 months pregnant, have asthma, and have a child who is allergic to eggs and can’t be vaccinated. I was astounded when I got to the downtown health clinic at 7:00 a.m. and there were already hundreds of people in line. There was no way I could stand in that line, by myself, and wait to be vaccinated. (I can’t stand for that long, and what if I had to go to the bathroom?! Getting there was hazardous, as well, as there were hordes of people jaywalking and vehicles disobeying traffic laws in order to get there faster). Perhaps there is a better way to organize a vaccination clinic.

I have a suggestion that I feel may help. Pre-registration. It would be nice if people could print out the forms necessary, or pick them up beforehand, and return them to the health department in which they wish the receive the shot. This could be done before flu shots are available. Then, the health department can determine the patient’s priority as far as how soon they can get the shot. The department could take down the person’s name and give them a number. Then, upon determining risk factors, could post in order the numbers representing patient’s available flu shot times. It would be like getting an appointment at a doctor’s office. This would reduce a lot of frustration on both the health clinic’s, and the patient’s, ends. I also believe it would be much more efficient and time saving.

Thank you for your consideration.
-K

Here's what he replied:

Thanks for sharing your experience, K. I related your plight in an interview with the SLTribune, ananymously of course, which was published in a front page article today. I'm sure we can do things better, and I wecome your suggestions. David

Hmm. I got this e-mail on Tuesday, yesterday, and had to look up the archive. Here's the link:

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_13634251?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com

I'll share a little of what was written about me:

__________________________________________________________
Sundwall himself witnessed Saturday's vaccination crowd at the 600 South clinic in Salt Lake City, where his daughter was among 500 people turned away. He received an e-mail from a frustrated asthmatic pregnant mother who has a baby at home. The woman's situation places her in three of the five target groups, yet she failed to get vaccinated after spending Saturday morning in line.
"Instead of just whining, she had an idea for pre-registering," Sundwall said. "We're learning on the job here. There has not been a mass vaccination like this since polio [in the mid-1950s]. We're taking notes, exploring ideas like registering so people in high-priority groups will get in."
__________________________________________________________

Yes, I was that "frustrated asthmatic pregnant mother". I was, however, mis-represented in that, as you'll note in my e-mail, I never said I had a baby at home. I have a 2 year old, yes, but I said I have an egg allergic child who can't get the shot. Also, I didn't stand in line nor say that I had. Oh well, I guess the news media likes drama.

We'll see if any good comes of this.

Random Recent-ness (or just plain current stream of conscious thoughts)

2009-10-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

1. It's a girl! (Come February). Hooray! I really am pregnant!

2. Yay!

3. I have finally admitted to myself that, yes, I am a news junkie. How did this happen?

4. Ls + brand new box of Cheerios = huge mess. Did I not see this coming when I heard her in the kitchen? (Oh I wish I could post pics).

5. My posture isn't so great. Any suggestions? I am even more aware of this seeing as my youngest sister has the "posture of a queen gliding into the room". (Yes, she was told this recently. I was witness. And it's true. I got the slouchy gene).

6. I don't like to tell people I don't know well that I'm involved in the Republican party. I'm not into cataloguing, preconceived notions, 'so this makes you this' type of stereotypes. I just want to help my community, and for me this is a good way to get involved.

7. Myanmar! Free Suu Kyi!

8. Isn't Elizabeth Smart the dearest? Bless her.

9. I can't wait for General Conference. Mr. AH and I believe conference should be like the Mormon Superbowl (in that we should put on a spread of lots of yummy food in accent to the great event. Although we have held this belief for many years, we have yet to actually do the necessary prep. Alas for frugality and a touch of poor planning).

Blessed children

2009-09-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

So - Ls keeps us pretty busy.

She is a dive-right-in-grab-it-quick-and-figure-it-out-herself type of girl. This energetic curiosity can definitely mean overtime parenting.

Today at church just before sacrament she was running up and down the ramp by the primary room with about 7 other little kids. I was chit-chatting when suddenly I heard a few other parents say, "Oh no! Ls!" I look up, and to my horror see 6 or 7 little tykes running out to the parking lot through the door that my Ls was holding wide open. !

Where did this kid come from? :-)

And she's so innocent. I'm sure plenty on her plate is pre-meditated, but she doesn't do things to be bad. She just wants to see what will happen. Busy, busy girl. She's a good exercise plan.

Anyway...

NiNa is having a great time at school and loves her teacher. She really lucked out and got a fabulous one. Just now she said, "Hey Momma, guess what! I was the first one at my school to have laser eyes!"

I asked what that meant.

"I don't know, my teacher just said, 'wow, NiNa, you are giving me laser eyes!'"

Not sure what that means. I take it as she was paying good attention. ?

She's so cute with her little pink back pack and braids. Aaw. I still can't believe she's in kindergarten. She seems so grown up - until she gets around the 1st graders. ;-) (She is the youngest, and probably shortest, in her class).

I'm all verklempt! Talk amongst yourselves.

2009-09-08T13:12:00.001-07:00

My little girl has embarked on her scholastic career.

And I don't know what to say about it.

I was pretty surprised I didn't cry when I dropped her off. She was so interested in the butterfly chrysalis her teacher was showing the class that she almost didn't see Mr. AH, Ls and me waving goodbye.

NiNa is now officially a kindergartener. !

I'm very impressed with her teacher, her school, the principal, the PTA, the programs... we really are very blessed to live where we do so she can attend the school she is at.

After we dropped her off, the school hosted a breakfast for the parents. Mr. AH and I chatted with friends we saw there while Ls chowed down on bagels. (They were good. Yum).

Mr. AH was so cute this morning. He really wanted to be there for NiNa's big day, and luckily things worked out. He looked as excited as NiNa. He gave her the sweetest Father's Blessing last night. I am so grateful for him, he is such a wonderful husband and father.

After dropping Mr. AH off at his lab, I decided to take Ls to the library. They were having book baby. I wanted to keep her busy because I knew she'd miss NiNa. And so did I. It was strange walking away from the school with NiNa still there. It was strange walking around the library without her. It is strange to think that I will be dropping her off and picking her up at school for the rest of the year. And, strangest of all, she will be in school for at least the next 13 years. No wonder growing up happens so fast.

And what did NiNa think of all this? She was beaming when I picked her up. She told me all about the things she learned, the friends she made and all about her wonderful day. And a few minutes ago, so came in and told me in her sweet little voice, "Mama, I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow."

Snippets of life

2009-08-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

So many blog-able things have happened lately, but getting on-line on our computer is a big pain! I mostly just read e-mail and other people's blogs.

Blog-able Story #1

On Monday morning the girls and I went to the library and had a hard time finding a parking spot. The place was packed! I pulled into a spot next to a VW with a woman in the passenger's seat. The spaces are narrow, and as I was getting the girls out of the car the VW woman got out, pushed her way past me and moved my door.

"I knew it! Your door dinged my door! I heard it from inside my car."

I felt terrible and apologized profusely. She was terse. I looked at the ding and rubbed away the dirt to find a tiny little spot, smaller than the size of this o. She told me it was very unfortunate. Again, I profusely apologized and tried to give her some money for a touch-up kit.

"Oh, that spot is too small to bother with a touch-up kit. It's just very unfortunate."

I promised to be much more cautious in the future. Just then, her two boys came out to their car, so I moved to the other side of mine so as not to be in the way. One of her boys was driving. As I looked down to buckle Ls into her stroller I heard, "SMACK CRUNCH!"

Her boy had just smashed into the car behind them, and the huge dent on their car was much worse than a ding in the paint. :-( Very unfortunate. I left before I could hear the aftermath.

Blog-able story #2

So about 3 months ago I started feeling very ill. I knew that I was pregnant, but this just seemed to be much worse than in the past. I just seemed to feel much more terrible than I had during the last 2 pregnancies. I figured I was just getting older and it would be harder to be pregnant now that I wasn't in my 20s anymore.

I lost my appetite, and one day during dinner I remarked to Mr. Amazing Husband, "It feels like there's a rock in my stomach." And then, the grand epiphany moment. Mr. AH said, "K, you say that every time your ulcers came back." Oh, duh to me. You'd think after all those ulcers I would recognize when they come back. I guess the pregnancy symptoms closely mock some of the ulcer ones. Thank heavens I just take some medication and three months later voila! I feel much better.

We've been able to see an ultrasound and hear the heartbeat. We are very, very excited and grateful. We were told we probably wouldn't be able to have any more children without expensive medical intervention. I'm glad Heavenly Father's plans were different.

Blog-able Story #3

This story also occurred on Monday. Mr. AH woke up early, he had started new classes and is gone almost the entire day. He couldn't find his keys and had looked everywhere. This was a problem, because there were keys to our apartment, his lab, and our car on them. I said a quick prayer asking where I should look. I got the impression to go out to our front door. I went out, opened the door, and there they were, sticking right in the handle.

We were very blessed and lucky for several reasons:
1. Those keys had been in the door since the previous day at 5:00.
2. We live on a busy, high pedestrian street where those keys would have been visible from the sidewalk.
3. There have been no less than 3 cars stolen from the 2 houses across the street from us.
4. Yikes! Strangers having the keys to our house? Yikes!

So thank Heavens for prayer. Yet another testament for its wonderfulness.

And to catch up, NiNa starts school in a few weeks. Sob. I'm really going to miss her while she's there. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. She is so sweet and cute, and she says the darndest things. Her laugh is so fun.

Our lives suddenly got much busier, and much more hectic, when Ls figured out how to hop over the gate to the kitchen. I didn't really have to baby-proof that much for NiNa. She never got into things or made big messes. Ls likes to do things on her own, explore, dive right in and grab anything she can find. So I find myself ever more occupied with safety. Admittedly, it is cute to see a tiny, petite little two year old climbing up the side of the food storage shelf so she can "eat gum!" Still...

Also, it took me some months to realize that because Ls had learned to jump over the gate that we didn't need to keep it up anymore. Brilliant, I know.

"Who's the wiser? Who's to know?"

2009-08-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was reading the paper and noticed a fun sounding short essay contest:

"What I learned from my own Julia Child."

I have always loved Julia Child, and essay writing is fun, so I entered. The prize? 4 winners would be selected to go to the pre-screening of the movie "Julie & Julia" and their essays would be printed in the paper.

I was very surprised to get a call about a week ago telling me that I was a winner! Valerie Phillips herself gave me a ring. My essay was printed in today's Deseret News, and it's also on Valerie's blog, Flavors.

Here's my essay:
____________________________________________________________
Growing up, in our house Julia Child was always queen of the culinary world. On Saturday mornings, Mom would shush us kids so she could glean any bit of wisdom from the greatest cook of all. We liked watching her too because of her great accent. We loved imitating her.

Inspired, Mom would whip up her own versions of greatness. She is an experimental cook, and was always coming up with some new culinary treat and chasing us around the kitchen with it. Her exotic creations included such dishes as “asparagus smothered in imported gorgonzola cheese atop a lightly toasted 7 grain bread” or “chocolate chili mole ala poultry.” Us kids, being so uncultured and ignorant of anything to do with the gastronomic scene, were often told by Mom that our “tastes had not yet matured.”

“Mayan kings used to love this!” she would say. “It was a great delicacy that only the elite royal class used to enjoy! Have a bite.” One day we were aghast to find a tray of cream cheese filled dates topped carefully with almonds. When we turned up our noses at it, she quickly chided, “Jesus used to eat this! It was one of his favorite treats! I can’t believe you would reject something that Jesus himself used to feast on!”

Aside from instilling a wariness of unknown dishes in us kids, Mom taught us one of the grandest lessons of cooking: you don’t need a recipe to make dinner. And, if your kids won’t touch it, tell them it was Caesar’s favorite dish.
____________________________________________________________

I have not exagerated anything to the least degree about Mom's cooking in this essay. We laugh about it all now, but she really did, and probably still does, say those things. I took her with me to the pre-screening. We had a fabulous time, and there were parts that I laughed so hard I cried. I am not supposed to critique the movie at all until it comes out on the 7th, so I'll give my impressions then.

Subtle? Maybe.

2009-07-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Technology is such a funny thing.
10 years ago, cell phones weren't all that accessible to most people. I remember my mom's first car phone. It plugged into the cigarette lighter and had a cord attached to a briefcase-sized battery. The phone itself was like a brick. That was probably 15 years ago. And it was expensive! I don't remember anyone ever actually using it.
Weren't the days when people went on vacation and you couldn't get ahold of them for 2 weeks nice? Yeah, not in the case of emergencies, but really it's hard to get away if you're connected to the world all the time.
We're not so much into cell phones. We've got a track phone for emergencies. It has come in quite handy at times, and we feel it's a necessity because of NiNa's food allergies. I'm glad other people have cell phones. It's nice to be able to get ahold of someone when they're at the grocery store. Still, I feel more free when I can go somewhere and not be reached. I know, it sounds funny, but there it is.
I bring this up because of the great conveniences we enjoy thanks to the Internet. (That was my original thought, and I got off on a tangent). It's really nice to keep in touch so easily. I love being able to just click off a message to anywhere in the world and have instant contact with someone. (Okay, not instant. We have dial up. It does make keeping in touch much easier, though). And it's really nice to read up on friends' blogs. At first I felt like things were much less personal that way, but honestly I feel like I know a lot of people better than I did before their blogs.
Which brings me to my last thought. It's kind of strange hearing big news over the Internet. I'm talking engagements, pregnancies, that kind of thing. Yeah, we can still call each other and say, "I'm pregnant! We're expecting a babe early this February!" Still, it is much easier and more convenient to just type it up in a blog. ;-)

Our little friend

2009-07-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

We have a hummingbird that hangs out at our place.

Hummingbirds are curious little guys, flitting around and zipping all over. Ours peeps in our kitchen window to see what we're up to and what we're having for dinner.

A few years ago I was fascinated to see him above our roof, darting wildly in all directions. I think he was catching mosquitoes. Yay for hummingbirds!

Before the kids were born I was rockclimbing with Mr. AH up in the canyon. I was probably about 35 feet off the ground when I heard a strange buzzing noise and a slight breeze next to my right ear. I turned around and there was the cutest little hummingbird just hanging out. He was so close I could have reached out and pet him. He stayed there for quite some time (at least 15 seconds, which is a long time for a hummingbird) and stared. He was probably wondering what in the world I was doing up there.

Another time shortly after Mr. AH and I were married we were camping up in Logan and a hummingbird visited our campsite. He hovered about 10 feet away and just looked at us for a while.

The last time I saw our little friend he was checking out the red and white flag we had on our porch. Hummingbirds are attracted to bright red colors. The little guy was fascinated.

Maybe someday we'll put up a feeder. They're high maintenance, which we don't have time for right now. I'm sure glad our little friend comes by anyway.

If you're interested in hummingbird feeders, check out the Auduban's link here.

A fish story

2009-06-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today we went down with our friend Lena to a 'community pond'. From what we could tell, this was the perfect place to fish:

- 3 acres of aquatic fun
- canoes are allowed
- the pond was just stocked with fish and was reported to be one of the best fishing spots around
- restrooms! yay!
- and finally, a playground for times of desperation

Also, it is handicap accessible, which was nice for Lena and her nifty wheelchair.

So we loaded up the canoe (and it made a buzzing sound, kind of like an exploding hive, the whole way down) and soon found ourselves with reels in hand waiting to snag the big one.

And wait we did.

At one point, we decided that our little lures weren't alluring enough, so Mr. AH set off to the local Wal-Mart (one block away. Ironic) and picked up some "fish crave this!" bait. Ha.

About this time, cousin Emily, River and Mocha (the dog) came. It was really nice to be outside, enjoying the weather and each other's company.

Too bad the fish wouldn't join us.

We did hear a kid down pond from us catch something. And then a few hours later a girl in a red camp chair across shore reeled in a large-ish one. Proof that at least something lived in this body of water.

And then, finally, all our waiting paid off. Lena felt a nibble and reeled in a beaut. It was a bass. A baby bass. About two and a half inches long.

Fish and chips, anyone?

shoganai

2009-06-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Life has been so busy lately, I haven't had time to wait for this dial up connection to post anything. (Really, I think I just haven't had patience. It's summer! Wheee! I'd much rather be running around outside than sitting in front of a computer screen).

And then the guilt comes. I love keeping in touch by reading blogs. It's so nice to just be able to click on a page and keep up on old friends (even if the pictures don't all pull up because of our aforementioned trial). I realize that I have suddenly become MIA as far as the blogosphere goes. Alas. Such conflict.

We could break down and go back to high speed, but that darn frugal side of me just can't imagine it. For now dial up is worth saving $50 a month. And contracts? Meh.

And speaking of all of this, I have been quite intrigued by all the goings on lately in the economy. I just can't bring myself to believe that no one really saw this coming. Sub prime loans in and of themselves were a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. It always seemed crazy to me to think that people would promote sliding interest rates. I have found myself praying for our leaders, our policy makers, right down to our Nation as a whole- for each one of us, that we will stand up for integrity and be honest in our dealings with one another. That is the only way we will really prosper. Otherwise, we're calculating all our gains on false grounds. I won't go into it, I usually just muse to myself.

Anyway, we have rented a canoe and will hopefully have some fish stories for you tomorrow! (Or whenever I actually post again... aah, summer).

sometimes

2009-04-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

When I was little my house was out in the country and there were fields that spread out to the base of the mountains. An irrigation ditch ran through those fields, and gigantic trees stetched up to the sky all along the banks of the lazy flowing water. Those trees must have been planted by the pioneers that settled my beautiful hometown mountain valley.
I loved to climb up into those trees and look up at the leaves blowing in the breeze. On hot summer days it was the perfect place to cool off and listen to the bubbling water.

That place is gone now. Except in my memory.

It's okay, though. I'm happy with the place I'm in now.

Oh short lived fame

2009-03-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

At least one or more people at a time have been sick at our place for the last month and a half.

Ugh.

NiNa had it the worst, she was sick for just about the entire last month and a half. Just when we thought she was getting better, she ended up in the emergency room.

3 double ear infections later (between both kid-os)...

We had something so nasty I won't even begin to describe it.

We did have a few cool things happen. NiNa, during one of her brief thought-she-was-well-again stints and I were interviewed for the 5:00 news. They were doing a story on food allergies, and we were asked for an interview by channel 4. NiNa was so cute later that night as we were watching it, she giggled every time they showed her.

When I got to the house where the interview was (they held it at another mom's house who has 2 kids with food allergies), the gal there had surprising news for me. (She's the president of the local FAAN chapter). She said, "Oh, have you checked out this month's such and such issue yet?" (I'm not mentioning the magazine or posting the link for the news interview. If you want to know what they are, just e-mail me. I don't want this blog to be traceable to where we live!)

Anyway, I said that no, I had not seen it.

"Well, you're in it!"

What? When did I ever submit anything to this magazine? I guess the group had submitted one of my recipes or something, and it was the main feature of the article.

Go figure. Guess we've had our 15 minutes of fame.

The most embarrassing thing... ever (or the best seat in the house)

2009-02-12T20:33:00.000-08:00

The other day I went to a baby shower which was held in the nursery at the church. When I got there, there were scores of people from India dressed to the nines in beautiful traditional clothing. The women were in colorful saris and the men were wearing impressive shirts. They were having a celebration of some sort in the cultural hall (aka the gym). There was exotic Indian music playing, and I'd say between one and two hundred people in attendance. It was quite obviously a private affair for which they had gotten permission to hold at the church.

Meanwhile we gals were having a great time in the nursery at the shower. Most of us had our kids there, and NiNa and Ls were laughing and playing. We had to keep the door shut so the kids wouldn't escape, though, and this proved to be difficult.

As I was chatting with someone, while holding a tippy pile of food on a wobbly plate, the door opened and Ls seized the opportunity and shot down the hall. It took me a second to set the plate down, and when I raced out the door I couldn't see her anywhere. I went down the hall and looked in the coat room: no Ls. The chapel: No Ls. The foyer? Nope.

Then a terrible thought crept into my mind... maybe she was running around in the gym.

They had a side door open, and I nonchalantly walked over and peered in. I scanned the room. No Ls. And what would I do if she was in there anyway? I couldn't run in and get her. They were right in the middle of live music, with a man up on the stage singing and NO! Ls STANDING RIGHT UP ON STAGE BESIDE HIM! The horror! I was mortified. There she was, all two and a half feet of her, staring up at the vocalist. I could have died. I'm sure I was quite a sight as my hand shot to my open mouth.

I raced around to the back of the stage just as they were announcing so-and-so who had just sang with 'an international guest member'. The singer himself brought Ls down to me, and luckily he was smiling.

good thing we have band-aids

2009-02-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

Our health insurance ended yesterday.

I realized this when NiNa nearly broke her nose this morning. And in the same morning not an hour before the nose incident, I had a freak accident with the shower's sliding glass door and nearly sliced my finger to the bone.

After these revolting developments, we say NO MORE ACCIDENTS! We'll just have to wait until we have insurance again.

Back from hiatus

2009-01-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

Writing blog entries just hasn’t been the same since Mr. AH was hit by a car. ;-)I had actually forgotten that that was the last entry I wrote, until someone pointed out how un-nice it is to leave everyone for so long on such a note. (I’ve just been WAY busy. Plus, we have slow, slow dial up. I know, lame. But hey, we’re all about saving denero).

So lots has happened worthy of note. Such as this:

We woke up one morning to find that the U’s ‘luxury’ golf cart had been stolen and parked right by our place. Our team had just played a certain team to the South (Ha ha, they got creamed) and we figure it was some kind of drab prank. The funny part was, 2 city police cars showed up along with a University one. The officers would get out of their cars, prod and poke at it, and then get back in their cars for a few minutes. Then they’d get back out, poke around, and get back in. Justice in motion! They couldn’t figure out how to get the thing started, so finally they gave up and called a tow truck. We’re still #1!

New Year’s was fun. We decided, as we have every year since having children, that there is no way we are going to stay up until the witching hour. So, we celebrated with Barbados, at 9:00. (WAY past the kid-o’s bedtime). For dinner Mr. AH had leftover fish tacos, NiNa had little Polskas, I had Yakisoba and mochi (YUM!!) and Ls had some of everyone’s. Fun had by all.

Our New Year’s tradition is one of my favorites. We always predict what the new year will bring, then we write down those predictions in a journal. We never let each other see what we’ve written. It is so fun to see what we had predicted from the year before and laugh at how wrong (or right) we were. Then we jot down what really happened.

Maybe my economics degree is paying off. Last year one of the things I wrote was:

“I think the economy will continue to struggle because of the sub-prime crisis. Some banks will fold and be taken over due to financial cover-ups. Gas will continue to go up as will inflation.”

The year before I correctly predicted Ls’s due date. Let’s not mention how many wrong predictions I made (plenty).

Anyway, we’re all alive and well. Even Mr. AH.

A bit Run Down

2008-11-25T18:58:00.000-08:00

Matt rides his bike nowadays, being a much cheaper form of transportation, and in his case it’s also very convenient. I like to meet him at the front door with a kiss when he gets home.

Today when I opened up the door the first thing Matt said to me was not the usual, “Well hello there!” It was, “I got hit by a car.”

What?

He walked in with a dazed looked, very much still in shock. He was still walking, yes this was good, and I didn’t notice any chunks taken out of him, but hit by a car?!!!

He had been coming down a steep hill, and ahead of him was a car in his bike lane. He slowed down, and the car moved left back into his lane. Matt proceeded forward, and the car, without signaling, turned left right into him. It knocked him down to the pavement, and from what I understand he landed on his backpack and hit his head, then rolled. Thank heavens he was wearing a helmet. (Yet another testimonial of why they should be worn by everyone).

I asked if he had gotten information from the driver.

No.

Had he called police?

No.

Could he describe the car?

Yes, but not the license plate.

I looked him over. He was holding his hand kind of funny, and it had abnormal bumps on it and he was bleeding in several spots. He knee was bloodied, his side looked like it had some swelling, his hip hurt and he was limping and he looked very much confused and still in total shock.

Early that morning as he was walking out the door I thought, “We should say a quick prayer together” as we very often do. Then I thought, “Nah, I don’t want to wake up the kids.” We do live in a very small apartment. I said a prayer after he left, and asked the Lord to bring him home safely to us. We are very blessed that He did. From now on, though, I am going to pray that he travels “without harm nor accident.”

After icing him up and assessing the situation (i.e. him talking me into not taking him right to the ER) I called his doctor and got him fit in for later in the afternoon. Then I called the police.

Unfortunately, because Matt told the driver he was okay (the adrenaline had kicked in, by the time he got home he obviously wasn’t as okay) there was nothing the police could have done. If he hadn’t said that, they would have searched down the driver and charged him with a hit and run. Apparently saying he was fine turned the accident into a “civil matter.”

I looked over my poor sweetie and started patching him up with bandages and kisses. Poor Matt.

His backpack got totally shredded. His helmet has a big gash in it. His palm pilot (in the bag) has a great big ding but still works. Fortunately, the backpack took the brunt of it. The officer said he was lucky he had it on and had rolled.

Later at the doctor he was told that he is a very lucky man. No apparent permanent damage- except to my peace of mind. Maybe biking season should be over; our SUV is nice and safe.

Pen Disaster Update

2008-11-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

For all of you concerned parents out there, poison control assured me that Amelia would be fine and that her life would not be ruined by this little incident. ;-)

And, ever more spectacularly, the pen came out of the towels! (They were new cream colored towels. It had to be the new towels and not our 10 year old ones, didn't it?) Hallelujah for borax and washing soda.

I have to admit as well, as soon as I saw Amelia I nearly burst out laughing. (Not at her, because of her). Sometimes it is SO hard not to laugh when kids do something like this. I didn't want to encourage her, after all. We do have lots of sparkle pens in the house!

The Great Pen Disaster of '08

2008-11-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

It's really a shame that I don't have a picture of this.

I was in the bathroom washing my hands, when Amelia quietly raced in and made a bee-line for the towels. I turned to see what the matter was.

She had maroon sparkle gel pen on about every available surface in her mouth. All over her teeth, all over her tongue, under her tongue, above her tongue, her tonsils... every single minute spot in her mouth was covered. (Not to mention her hands).

I grabbed a washclothe and started scrubbing.

Thankfully it came off easily, and after a thorough cleansing and tooth brushing, I gave her a big drink and sent her off to bed.

Later that night when Matt got home from work the hilarity of it all finally hit me. She got the whole dang ink reserve in her mouth. I don't think she'll make that mistake twice.

Coincidentally, the pens were made in China and there was no label about them being non-toxic. YIKES. They're a reliable (?) brand, pen-tech, but maybe we'll get her tested for lead for good measure.

Kids.

It's almost over! Finally!!!

2008-11-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

I went for a walk around the block a few days ago and found myself reading campaign signs: "Obama”
“Change”
“Obama”
“Obama”
I counted 12 Obama signs and 1 Obama bumper sticker as I walked around one block.
Then the next day I was driving home from the doctor’s office, not very far away, and counted (while still paying careful attention to the rules of the road) 21 Obama signs and 1 bumper sticker.
I did not, on either excursion, notice any McCain signs.
Then tonight I was trying to listen to the headlines on news and I couldn’t help laughing as I saw “Obama” signs being waved enthusiastically in the background. (The news station’s backdrop is a glass wall where passersby often wave.)
I should mention that I heard on the local NPR station that Obama signs have sold 3 to 1 here in this state. The signs are given for a ‘donation’ of $10 whereas McCain signs are $3.
At first thought, this may not seems so unusual. I think that many Americans are waiting for change, hopefully for the better, and have decided that our present Republican leaders have had much to do with our current state of affairs in the world, not to mention local economic conditions.
What struck me as funny about all of this is that this is a very RED state. I dare say this state is probably thought of as one of the most Republican states in the nation. However, the county I live in, which county holds the state capital, is very decidedly Democratic. I think most non-locals don’t realize this.
I have thought that perhaps, for some number of people, supporting Obama is kind of the trendy thing to do. He seems to have more of a presence, and hasn’t distanced himself through bitter politics like McCain has.
In the end there are certain moral beliefs which I hold that far outweigh many of my other political concerns and definitely influence my voting heavily, so for me deciding who to vote for is usually not difficult. Not until this year. I was still up the air until a week or two ago.
So, I’m going to get a good night’s rest so that tomorrow morning I can stand in line, with my 2 small children, for as long as I have to until I get my vote in.

Every Little Thing

2008-10-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today I was in the car listening to the ‘golden oldies’ station, and found myself singing along to a song by The Police.

I stopped.

The Police? On the GOLDEN OLDIES station?

That station used to be my guide in gauging when someone could be considered a ‘golden oldie’. If a popular song from your young life showed up on that particular station (which station was self proclaimed as ‘oldies’) then dat dat daa! That had to make you a classic as well.

Not long ago I was teasing Mom that I had heard The Who and Pink Floyd on the station. And now. Sigh.

I didn’t think this day would come for another 20 years.

Obviously I need a new litmus test. The ‘golden oldies’ station is clearly stream-lining.

Epinephrine, anaphylactic shock, and other unpleasantries

2008-10-07T20:07:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while when I was a kid, my mother would get an 'instant headache'. This usually happened when things were stressful and we were being noisy. Mom would afterward need some quiet because instant headaches were never pleasant.

Yesterday Amelia's allergist's nurse called and told us that we could start giving Amelia cooked milk (meaning dairy products cooked into something) and cheese. Cheese? I was surprised and somewhat apprehensive. For those of you who don't know, Amelia has multiple severe food allergies, and although she is still technically allergic to milk, she has clinically outgrown this allergy and is slowly working her way into trying different levels of dairy products which began with baked milk (i.e. in egg-less cakes).

Today while at the store, I picked up some string cheese, as this had been recommended. Matt was with us, and because we were running behind, upon returning home he ended up taking the car to work. (Our only car, we sold the other). After he left I got out the string cheese, said a prayer, and gave Amelia a little bite.

She loved it. And then her throat started to itch. I immediately gave her a dose of benedryl, and called her doctor but couldn't get through. Ellie started shrieking, and then I saw Amelia itching her throat. I got an instant headache.

I went in and got her medicine bag with her epi-pens. (Actually, they're twinjects. I like them better because there are 2 doses in each pen and it doesn't take as much force to inject them). Amelia noticed and starting running through the house, anywhere she could, to get away. I went and got an alcohol wipe and some bandages.

I watched her a little more, she told me her stomach hurt and I noticed she was wheezing with a slight cough. I wasn't sure if this was because of her running around trying to escape, or because she was in anaphylactic shock. I decided not to take any chances, a mistake could be deadly.

I caught her, gave her a toy, pinned her down, and while talking calmly to her gave her the shot. Epinephrine shots are no joke. You have to pinch little kids' skin so the needle doesn't hit the bone, jab the shot into the thigh, and then hold it in for 10 seconds. Try doing this to a poor, terrified little precious 4 year old daughter. I was worried she'd kick and the needle would come out too soon, or worse, rip, but it didn't. I was surprisingly calm and giving the actual shot wasn't so bad.

I called Matt, told him this was an emergency, and to come home immediately to take Amelia to the hospital. She didn't have any major symptoms, so I didn't call 911. I then called her doctor and got through, and she had Matt sit outside the emergency room with Amelia for a few hours.

Things are fine now, but I'll still go in and check on my sleeping angel. What a traumatic evening. No matter how difficult and hectic life becomes, some things can make your head spin and still stop everything else in a flash.

And when there's a moment of peace, I kneel down and thank my Heavenly Father for my precious blessings.

High on the Mountain Top!

2008-10-04T21:01:00.001-07:00

5 New Temples! YAY!

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/

Bringing in the Harvest!

2008-10-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago cousin Em and I helped Gram bring in the peach harvest. Here I am in the top of the tree (stradling branches that I'm not sure won't snap). Amelia and Emily are on ladders.

Here I am in my harvesting regalia, which I obviously save for special occassion only.

Amelia and Ellie had all the peaches they could eat, and man did I reap the whirlwind in Ellie's diapers the next day. I was reminded of that part in The Grapes of Wrath where they're all working in the orchards...

By the time all was said and done, Gram probably had about a thousand peaches in her utility room.

We took one huge bag home, and that next morning as Amelia said our breakfast prayer she pretty much summed it up, "Dear Heavenly Father, Oh, what are we going to do with all these peaches?"

We dried them.

Yay for Matt

2008-10-04T20:30:00.001-07:00

So yesterday I had a moment of economic clarity.

I cancelled our internet service.

We'll see how I survive on Net Zero dial up. ! Plus, we can get service at the library on our lap-top when we go.

I suppose that sometimes I have something to show for my economic degree. My mom laughed and reminded me about my t-shirt fiasco last year.

I had bought some really cute Halloween shirts in November, which were half off. I thought about what a great deal they were, until my economical side popped in for a visit.

"You know, you saved $5 off a $10 t-shirt. But at the interest rate you're getting, if you had left that $5 in the bank it would have earned enough interest to buy that shirt new next year, and you wouldn't have had to store it in the basement for 11 months."

I won't go into the whole cost effectiveness of my decisions. I just got those shirts out a few days ago, washed them, and thought only fleetingly of unpredictable inflationary factors.

Matt's in grad school now. He has his undergrad in biology, and is doing mechanical engineering for his masters. Consequently, he has to take some undergrad courses because he obviously didn't take any engineering classes for his biology degree. So life has been super busy, but he is loving his studies and was able to switch to a different department at work.

Now he works 3 to 9, so we don't see him much with him at school in the mornings, busy at lunch, and at work the rest of the day.

I am reminded through this sudden new schedule about God's love for us, and for the importance of cheerful patience. Lots of cheerful patience.

And, I am grateful for such a hard working husband. Yay for Matt.

Stilted

2008-09-27T19:44:00.001-07:00

There was a primary activity at This is the Place Heritage Park today.

Shortly after we got to the first cabin, Amelia ran over to one of the pioneers and asked if she could try the stilts:

She wobbled around a bit and was, as usual, super cute. As I watched her, I had a flashback to a lesser moment of glory from my childhood.

We had some scrap wood out in our barn, and I had decided that the only thing in the world worth doing that day was to build some stilts. How hard could it be? So, I got about the longest pieces of wood I could find, cut some triangular wooden foot rests, and found some old screws. I pounded and twisted those screws in until they were sticking out every which way while still holding the wood in place, and then I went and recruited my younger sister Eileen with my promises of sure fun.

I couldn't get up on the stilts well because I had placed the feet rests about 4 feet off the ground. (If I was going to walk on stilts, they were going to be stilts!) I climbed up some bails of hay and told my sister to kind of just hold the stilts while I got on. "That," I told her, "is the way you play with stilts". She dutifully did so, with the pointy screws sticking right at her, followed by my inevitable tumble towards her defenseless ankle.

Let's just say it did not end well... and that my sister may still harbor a bit of a grudge.

A sad, sad day- Zim's has gone away

2008-09-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

!

I have just had some of the shocking news of my life.

We all went downtown to buy some glow in the dark paint and some styrofoam balls. We're going to make stars, comets and planets to hang in the girls' room. As we walked up to the doors of one of my most beloved places on earth, Zim's, an ominous sign caught my eye: 'Going out of business'. Nevermind that everything in the store is 40% off, the mecca of all craft stores will soon be gone.

Some of my fondest memories as a child are when Mom would take us to Zim's and give us $10. We were free to roam the isles, dreaming of the fun things we could make with each item. We would carefully choose our treasures to buy. No trip was complete without beads, pipecleaners, google eyes and pom poms. That place was a wonderland of endless fun.

When I brought my treasures to the counter, the clerk mourned as she rang them up.
"Where else can you buy tiny baskets?" She rhetorically asked as she held up a basket the size of my pinky nail, "Nowhere! Who else sells these? No one!"

Gram put it well when she lamented, "Zim's is a historic landmark!" Oh historical preservation society, where art though?

Geography Quiz!

2008-09-21T19:47:00.001-07:00

Random places I'd like to know a little bit more about: (in no particular order, and this list is not all-inclusive)

Baku, and the Abseron Yasaqligi area of Azerbaijan

Arusha, Tanzania

Ufa, Russia

Gouyave, Grenada

Whangarei, New Zealand

Southampton, United Kingdom

Natitingou, Benin

Sitrah, Bahrain

Does anyone want to share what they know? Maybe we'll be lucky and find some people from these places who can tell us a bit about them. If it works out, perhaps we'll make this a regular topic.

"Talk is cheap - except when Congress does it." -Cullen Hightower

2008-09-20T12:00:00.001-07:00

So I'm a registered Republican.

I admit it. Here's my reasoning. In this state, you cannot vote in the Republican primaries unless you are a registered Republican. The Democrats have open primaries. (This isn't always the case, but has been of late). This way, depending on which race I'm interested in, I can vote Democratic or Republican. (We're talking about primaries here, in the general election you can vote for whoever you want to). I think that it's important to be involved. I am concerned about my community and want to have a say for what I think will or won't work.

I try to go the caucuses every year. This last year, I was the only one there in my precinct that wasn't going to move. (This is a heavily Democratic area, so not many people show up to Republican caucuses). Consequently, I was elected as precinct chair, county and state delegate. What does this mean? Political meetings, calls from those running for office, free t-shirts and an active hand in our democratic process.

I mostly agree with the state's Republican platform (before you knock it, you should read it). That said, now I can vent about what it means to be associated with any one party.

AUGH!!!

In my view, we should be electing those candidates who are best qualified to do the job. I think we should vote for someone based on shared ideals, morals, views and, MOST OF ALL in my mind, WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO while in office!

I will not vote for you because of party affiliation.

I will not vote for you because of your race, gender, religious affiliation or origin.

I will not vote for you because of your looks, your money, your associations, your status or where you shop for groceries!

Tell me what you are going to do for our community. Tell me what you plan to do about health care and education. What do you think about alternative energy? Do you think farm bills work? What about school vouchers? What do you think about bailing out private companies? Insurance companies?

I'm tired of name calling, mud slinging, propaganda, finger pointing and false camaraderie. Give me the meat!

I mean, really. Isn't government supposed to be bipartisan? Isn't right right? (Okay, I'm treading on thin ice now, but that's what I think). Let's just get along. I believe government should work with the people.

That's all.

"He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back." -Henri Matisse

2008-09-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

We went to the Monet to Picasso exhibit yesterday.

I am so inspired!

Some of my favorites were Giovanni Segantini's Pine Tree, Amedeo Modigliani's Portrait of a Woman, Auguste Rodin's The Thinker, Claude Monet's Wheat Field, and my very favorite was Gabrielle Munter's Future (Woman in Stockholm).

We also saw Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh and many more. It was thrilling.

I was especially excited to see some of Matisse's works. He didn't paint things as they were, he portrayed things as he "felt them". (That's my kind of style). Although his paintings aren't my favorites, he as an artist definitely is.

He lived a beautiful life full of trials. For instance, his wife and two of his children were arrested, tortured and deported during the Resistance. The thing that to me is most inspiring about him, is that despite the harsh realities of life, he looked for happiness and beauty. In the [translated] words of Marie Sellier, she said, "...because he seeks to transform all into joy, he finds happiness even within his misfortune."

In his own words:

"I desire an art of balance and purity which neither disturbs nor troubles. My wish is that the man who is tired, worn out, and overworked should taste peace and calm as he stands before one of my paintings."

As I looked at Interior with an Etruscan Vase, I certainly did feel at peace. Thank you, Mr. Matisse.

Lately . . . last July.

2008-09-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

While in New York we went to Howe Caverns with Mike.

Here Mike and I are doing a promotional photo shoot. We make compelling models.

Matt and the girls. Who were carried. By Matt.

Us on a boat in the cave! Cool. Even cooler? We took an elevator to get into the cave.

Now, what you can't tell in this photo is that my head was nearly knocked off by the outcropping of rock above me. You can see the terror on my face.

Amelia posing next to a giant brain formation. She is utterly fascinated by its beauty.

Me. In a cave.

Amelia on the love rock. Now she has to get married within a year. You can tell she's thrilled at the prospect.

Ellie kept trying to touch the cave wall. She just laughed a laughed. She's a hoot.

Cute! Matt and Ellie. This spot reminded me of the narrows. It was called "The Winding Way".

Afterwards we bought bags of dirt with gems and fossils and did some prospecting. We practically made a fortune.

The great garbage tragedy

2008-08-23T09:29:00.001-07:00

Scene 1: a lovely afternoon

I cooked a lovely herbed chicken with herbs from our very own garden. I threw the chicken package, along with some unsavory chicken refuse, into the garbage. There were also some rotten potatoes in there that I had found earlier in the day.

Scene 2: the next morning

Stinky kitchen garbage! Eww! This stuff is going out to the bin right now!

Scene 3: the tragedy

On the way out to the garbage, about the time I get into my newly cleaned living room, the sack spills over and stinky, rotting garbage slops all over the wood floor!

Scene 4: the bleaching

Oh the humanity!

Tune in next time for our upcoming thriller: Kinked neck!

Here Fishie Fishie Fishie!

2008-08-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

While we were in New York, we went on a fishing trip to Black Lake for a week. Me contemplating the wonders of the universe.

Black Lake is about 20 minutes from Canada near Odgensburg. It is beautiful country, known for good fishing. We stayed in a cute little cabin:

Here we are on the cabin's porch. Michael (Matt's brother) is on the left, and his mom is on the right.

And down below is Matt and Amelia outside with a spectacular view.

The weather in New York was beautiful. Very humid, but much cooler than back home.

Heading out to the boat to fish.

Here we are on the Party Barge! WooEEE! So fun. Take note of Matt's signature Bill Dance polarized fishing shades. Watch out fish!

Our captain.

And a few of our catches:Amelia caught this fish all by herself! She reeled it in and everything before anyone noticed. "Help! Look! I caught a big, spiky fish!"

She caught quite a few. What a cute little angler.

Mike caught a 20" Northern Pike! He caught dozens more fish than any of us, hands down. Here he is with 2 fish on 1 line. A sunny and a perch. He put us all to shame.

And here below (cough) is my (ahem) fish:

Marion also came with us. She's a friend of the family that used to go to the same branch. Here she is with Amelia.
She told us that this is her "dream home":
Where would you park?

We saw lots of cool things. Like this:

What the heck is this thing? We saw it frequently circling the lake.

_
Here's Amelia with another fish:

And

here is Ellie looking out for sharks.

What a fun, fun trip. Thanks Mom and Mike!

Lady Liberty on the Fourth of July

2008-07-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

New York: part 1

We had a red eye to New York which left at 12:01 a.m. on the 4th of July, with a 7 1/2 hour layover at JFK.

So, what more practical thing to do than zip out to see the Statue of Liberty?

I calculated travel time and feared we wouldn't make it back in time to catch our connecting flight, and every time I expressed such doubtful comments Matt sang, "My Country Tis of Thee!" Followed by, "Kathryn, be patriotic!"

Conveniently, JFK has a new Air Train that connects the airport to the subway system.

So, we got off our flight, hopped a train, got on the subway, navigated the underground and voila! There we were. I should mention that it was early in the morning and Matt had to carry both of the kid's heavy car seats all through the city. Classic. I wish I would have gotten a picture. (You can see the heavy car seats in the above picture on the bin seat thingy.

We also got to see Ellis Island, but only from the boat. We figured we didn't have enough time to go onto the islands. Matt's great (gr. gr.?) grandfather went through Ellis Island and even has a name plaque on the wall there.

After our cruise to Lady Liberty, we went to find a letterbox hidden in Battery Park. There was one problem, though. The park was completely gated off for an Independence Day concert. I had to talk my way past some security guards into a gated area. The first conversation was funny. Here's the gest of our conversation after I explained why I needed to get over to some trees:

Guard: "Ah ya gonna dig up da trees?"

Me explaining things: "Blah, Blah"

Guard: "Hey Maury! Dis lady's wit' an intanationawl owganahzayshon a lettaboxas an needs ta get ova ta dos trees."

Big burly guard escorts me so I can poke around in some trees. The box wasn't there. Then I realized it was probably in another part of the park, and after talking my way past some other guards, I found it!

I love New York. Especially the accents around Long Island and Manhatten.

After that we were back on the subway.

The subways are a bit dirty:

Then, after another bumpy flight, we made it to upstate New York and were reunited with Matt's brother and Mom.

So good to see them!

Next installment:

Area Attractions.

A return from hiatus

2008-07-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Time to break our long blog silence.

We've been in New York the last month, which I didn't mention because I didn't want to tip off any unsolicited and potentially ill intentioned inquirers. ;-)

We were supposed to be back last Thursday. Here's a quick run of why we weren't:

Us: Get in van and drive for over an hour an a half to an airport in Syracuse.

Airline lady: "Oh, it's too late, too late."

Me in my head: "NO!"

(We were a hour early, but maybe that wasn't enough?)

Airline lady: "You'll never make your connecting flight!"

Me: "Um, so are you saying that we didn't get here in time to catch our flight?"

Airline lady: "Your flight is still at JFK and its passengers haven't even loaded yet. It will never get here in time to pick you up for your connecting flight. Sorry. I have a 6:00 am tomorrow."

Me: :-(

We were told that the conflict arose from weather related delays, so the airline wouldn't compensate or pay for hotels. I asked nicely if she could fly us out Sunday instead of Friday (Matt had to be back to work on Friday because he was out of vacation days. When you're stuck in New York anyway and have to miss that one day of work, why not enjoy the weekend, too?) She said yes, and very compassionately re-routed us through Cincinnati instead of JFK for our return flight Sunday. So, we got an extra 3 days out in beautiful, green, WET New York.

FYI: Some lady the next airline worker down was going beserk over having to pay for a checked bag. She was screaming up and down as far as her angry octaves would carry her. She eventually got what she wanted, I guess.

It's not airline employee's fault when there are departmental or company-wide rules and regulations. I guess the squeeky wheel gets the grease.

However, after being told the airline doesn't compensate for weather related cancelations and delays, the nice woman behind the desk gave me a $100 flight voucher. It wasn't her fault our plane was late.

So, the moral of the story is:

When life gives you lemons, it doesn't hurt to be nice.

I'll tell you about some of our adventures when I find the camera and download our pictures.

"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am." - Toby & Eileen Green

2008-06-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, the girls and I chose a pew near the back, set down our bag, and went to get a drink of water. When we came back and sat down, we were surprised to see that a Great Dane had chosen a seat right next to us.

!!!

The sign out front says, "Visitors Welcome." I hope this dog felt at home.

It was really good throughout the whole service. (Good thing, too. That dog was a tall as the pew. It's the second largest dog I have ever seen). It had a service dog's shoulder strap, but its owner didn't appear to be blind, although she did have a PICC line. I said hi and started to chat with her, but everyone wanted to talk with her, so I didn't find out much.

Afterwards, Brother Merrill commented on how funny it is that Ellie growls. (She thinks it's funny to growl, and it is. At least it is when she does it).

The gal next to him, Sister Hogan, said, "Oh good, I thought that was the dog!"

So, if all dogs go to heaven, does that mean they're exempt from church?

Matt's Broccoli Slug

2008-06-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

I think Matt has a future in food-art. Matt didn't actually purposely sculp this little guy, but perhaps it can be credited to his subconscious genious.

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils ... - Louis Hector Berlioz

2008-06-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

I'm sick. Again.

Blech.

It's not so bad, though. I was supposed to get an upper GI (EGD) today. So I guess blowing my nose and moaning is better than swallowing a camera hose.

Now I have a whole extra month to look forward to it. :-

Recently

2008-06-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

We found the dream location for our future home. Location, location, location.

(Kennecott Copper Mine).

Ellie picked out the next set of tires for our car.

Enjoying the romantic vista.

Amelia ponders a future in agriculture.

Fresh air.

Getting acquainted with the local poultry.

Ellie and Matt rehearsing for their upcoming Tupperware® commercial. (Letterboxing at the farm!)

Ellie pondering the wonders of the universe while Matt tries to remember where we parked the car.

I made Mom a bead-woven library card holder for her birthday.

Freak Accident

2008-06-02T10:54:00.001-07:00

Matt had a freak accident the other day.

It was actually on the way home from our Moab trip.

We were headed home and stopped in Willard for some gas. I told Amelia she could pick out any drink she wanted, and she chose some fun fruit concoction. Matt took it out to the car for her while I used the facilities. When I got back out to the car, Matt had this shocked look on his face and was bleeding profusely from the nose.

I don't think he even knew what happened, but I asked anyway.

"What happened?!"

Apparently Matt had put a straw in Amelia's drink and was in the motion of passing it over to her when it happened. I should mention that this was probably the longest straw in the world comparable to a small hose. Matt thought it would add ease of drinking enjoyment for Amelia (she needed ease of drinkment any way we could supply. At that very gas station on the way to Moab she spilled an entire 32 oz berry flavored Gatorade. Our whole car smelled like artificial sweetener and fruit for the rest of the trip). Anyway, somehow in the act of passing the drink, the superlong straw jabbed up Matt's nose and stuck there. You can imagine the rest. Luckily we had a clean towel nearby.

I had to go back into the station to get Amelia another drink. The cashier couldn't stop laughing when she heard.

Gram thinks we have a pretty good lawsuit against the straw manufacturer. :-)

"How often misused words generate misleading thoughts." -Herbert Spencer

2008-05-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

I came down with a weird infection this last week. It mainly attacked my sinuses and throat, but kind of dripped into my lungs a bit. I'll spare you the icky details.

The worst thing about this is that I have lost my voice. I've never experienced this before. I can whisper, but when I try to talk, the pitch of my voice jumps all over and cracks, and at times stops altogether. This presents a problem when answering the phone. It has added 70 years to my phone voice, and I really creeped out my sister-in-law when she called earlier. I could tell she was somewhat mortified. I managed to creek out "this is Kathryn" and the trauma ended.

There are some benefits:

1. I can do a great mischievous laugh.
2. I have more empathy for pubescent boys (the whole voice cracking thing).
3. I have to choose my words wisely. It's a great life lesson.
4. I'm sure there are more benefits, but I can't think of them at the moment.

I just read some information about laryngitis from the Mayo clinic's website. It says don't whisper and don't clear your throat. Of course, upon learning this, I had an incredible urge to do both. And it can apparently last for weeks. It should be an interesting next few weeks. I just hope they don't call on me to read in church tomorrow.

Moab

2008-05-22T16:45:00.001-07:00

MOAB!
Thanks to Jessica and Ron for providing the pictures. We had camera issues.

After church a few weeks ago Matt stopped to pick up a packet about our Ward Campout Trip to Moab. Afterwards, he casually mentioned that "they asked me if I had any talents, and I said 'Kathryn plays the ukulele!'" :-O

I was quite surprised to hear this considering I could only play 3 songs:

Aloha Oe

Happy Birthday to You

A song I made up for Matt

So I decided I had better hurry up and learn how to play the ukulele.

I looked up some campfire songs and tried them all out on my 95 year old Gram, who was very encouraging. Gramps served an LDS mission to Hawaii back in the 20s and even learned Hawaiian, so I figured she'd be a good target audience.

"Ooh, learn 'On The Beach at Waikiki'. Honikaua wikiwiki means 'kiss me quickly!' you know."

Anytime I started playing 'Aloha Oe' Amelia would come running in singing and dancing.

So the day came and we met up with some of our best friends, Jessica and Ron, and headed down to Moab! Moab is beautiful in May, and we had a really fun time sneaking around downtown looking for a few letterboxes.

Then it was time for 'campfire hyjinx' (as stated in the flier from church) and I was first. I hoped everyone would be too busy roasting marshmallows to really pay any attention.

I played:

Oh I Wish I were a Little Bar of Soap (with added verses that I made up)

Ghost Chickens in the Sky

and someone requested Oh Susanna

A few fun talents went after me, and then a storm rolled in! Matt and I dashed the kids off to the tent, where moments later a gust of wind broke our tent pole. Amelia, Ellie and I ended up sleeping in the Tahoe while Matt roughed it out in the tent.

Post Storm.

The next day we went to Arches National Park.

Hiking in the Desert. I'm carrying Amelia on my back, and Matt is carrying Ellie in the snugli on his tummy.

God's creations are so amazing. I looked around in wonder and awe at all that was around us. Our favorite hike was Sand Dunes Arch.

Amelia on the trail at Sand Dune Arch.

We started at around 2:45, and thanks to the rock formations around us, the hike was shady and cool. (It was a hot day!) There was fine sand all along the trail, and we took off our shoes and Oh! did it feel good.

Sand Dune Arch. Pre-barefoot.

Amelia squeeled with delight and ran all over. Ron would pop up on a rock or behind a bush and say in a high voice, "Amelia!" and she would giggle and laugh.

We really had a good time. We love Jessica and Ron. We are so blessed to know them. You should check out their web site and get to know them, too.Jessica and Ron. They're trying to adopt, and they will be fabulous parents.

Delicate Arch.

Ho hum

2008-05-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't been in the blogging mood lately.

Maybe it's because the weather has suddenly turned so nice, I want to be outside!

Plus, our camera has decided it doesn't want to let the computer download pictures anymore.

>:-(

So, I can't show you a picture of my whacked hair do.

I got tired of long hair, so I went to a spa and had them cut it all off! And I'm not kidding. They took over a foot.

The last time I did something drastic with my hair was on my mission. I got out of the shower, my hair was down almost to my bum, and the thought of brushing it even just once more made me grab the scissors and snip! it was gone. I had accidentally angled the scissors up, and as a result I ended up with shoulder length hair. It's shorter now.

So I guess this counts as an entry. I'll tell you about MOAB in our next installment.

The food allergy saga continues!

2008-05-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

So we had some good
and some bad
news today.

Ellie and Amelia had an appointment with their allergist today. (Jan Broadbent- she is the best there is. We love her).

After all was said and done, it appears as if Ellie has no food allergies! (Maybe to eggs, but right now it doesn't appear so). When we got home I gave her some cheese. She was so cute, she kept saying, "MMM!" She can't have nuts, eggs or fish yet, but that's typical anyway for most kids her age.

Equally exciting for me, now I can eat anything I want! HA HAH! I had to avoid eating dairy, eggs, nuts, for a while fish, and soy while I was nursing Ellie until we found out for sure about her allergies.

We were hoping that Amelia had outgrown her peanut and milk allergies. She got a prick test, and the site where the peanuts was just swelled right up in itchy hives. :-( Bummer. The milk allergy looked clinically negative, but we followed up with a blood test- so we'll see. Keep your fingers crossed.

2008-04-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

"A flower is an educated weed."
-Luther Burbank

"I was determined to know beans." Henry David Thoreau in Walden

2008-04-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

We have a little garden.

It's 2 feet by about 5 feet. In this tiny space we have a patch of strawberries (which produced a whopping 15 strawberries last year. At least that's about how many we saved from the birds).

This year we have added a patch of daffodils that Gram gave us, 9 little pea plants that we hope will grow up the railing, various varieties of basil, some parsley, some chives, a pot full of radishes and a bucket of hot peppers.

Amelia helped by spreading dirt all around. She dug here, she dug there, she poured dirt in my lap. She loves being out in our little garden.

Ellie sat and babbled in Matt's lap as he weeded the strawberries.

When all our new seeds were in, we watered them. Then Matt noticed some curious on-lookers. He drew my attention to them. Behind us, some Robins were eagerly awaiting our departure. I shook my tiny garden shovel at them and shouted,

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, YOU BIRDS!"

Then I noticed that a woman on a bike was riding right by us.

Me, dirt all over my pants, waving a 4 inch garden shovel at a tree and shouting.

. . .

We prayed for our little garden after we finished getting it in. Hey, some of the seeds are 5 years old- it's going to need all the help it can get.

Jack and Jill: a cautionary tale

2008-04-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

I had a temporary lapse in good judgement yesterday.

I know, you're shocked.

Amelia and I learned how to make Japanese kites the other day, and I was aching to try them out. (I didn't realize I really would ache once I did.)

We went to aptly named Fault Line Park. It's up a STEEP hill, and the park is actually situated ON the fault line. I stood at the edge of the playground. (You can't see the hill below you unless you look straight down). There wasn't much wind. I tried running around, but nothing doing. Then I had the brilliant idea to run down the hill. I unwound the kite a bit and took off.

My legs were going almost as fast as they could go. I couldn't stop, and when I got near the bottom of the hill, (where there is a very flat, hard parking lot with lots of spiky gravel) it was so steep my feet stepped out into air. That fault line is really a cliff.

After my trip, I left Matt there with the girls. Towing our lifelessly droopy kites, and all bruised and bloody (but not broken) slowly made my way home.

Matt took pity on me and came home early to patch me up.

2008-04-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

"Before the curse of statistics fell upon mankind we lived a happy, innocent life, full of merriment and go, and informed by fairly good judgement."

-Hilaire Belloc

If you need a good laugh...

2008-04-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

I promised someone that needs a good laugh a funny story. So, for your reading enjoyment, I give you my most embarrassing moment.

An ill-fated gymnast

Just after my sophomore year in high school, I decided that I needed to escape to Japan to be an exchange student for the summer. Mom, to my surprise, agreed all too quickly and before I knew it, I was on my way to a tiny fishing village in South Western Japan called Mitsu. Coming from the arid and parched oasis of Utah, I had never experienced, had never even imagined, the choking effects humidity could have on an innocent desert dweller. (Or the disastrous effects it could have on straight hair.) Thus opens the setting for the most humiliating experience of my young life thus far.
The miserably hot, chokey weather was especially unfortunate seeing as I had only brought one pair of shorts with me. It was my favorite pair- my coral blue Hawaiian trunk bottoms. Even more unfortunate was the fact that I had ripped a huge gash in the rear of these beloved shorts at a student exchange conference in California preceding my departure to Mitsu.
Being the skilled seamstress that I was, and fortunately having all the necessary tools to repair the trunk bottoms, I whipped out my duct tape and slapped a few long pieces of it across my rear. (I was wearing them at the time.) Aside from occasionally sticking to my undies, if I wore my shirt un-tucked no one would notice!
The Japanese school year begins in April, and stops for a short 2 month break in July. I had arrived two weeks before the beginning of the break.

So, off to school I went! I got a uniform and everything.

Unfortunately, gym shorts were not part of the school issued attire. Before lunch we had gym class, and ours was the luxury of changing into our own gym clothes. It was all so exciting, I love gym! Kicking balls and throwing things, I loved all that running around. When I got there the class was working on volleyball. Being one of the taller among the students, (at a whopping 5’5”) I had a great time slamming balls and enjoying victory. This rotation ended two days later and gymnastics began next. Gymnastics? In high school?! This seemed pretty risky to me, but even the not so athletic girls seemed to be okay with it.

Now, I should mention that I was the first exchange student this school had had in 50 years (since World War II). I was the only exchange student in the entire school, and indeed the only American foreigner in much of the region round about. I was such a novelty, that upon my arrival I was asked to give a welcome speech the next day… in Japanese!!! (Which was marvelous, I’m sure. I’d had 2 years of high school Japanese, after all.) So you can imagine that all eyes were on me most of the time.

In the beginning, gymnastics was simple enough; handstands against the wall, that sort of thing.
“This isn’t so bad,” I said to myself, “I can handle this acrobat stuff.”
(Never mind the fact that I kept falling over.)
As I perfected my handstands, the gym teacher pulled out a little leap board thing and a short pummel horse.
“Heh, heh. It’s just an object lesson, for inspiration!” I thought.
The teacher explained that we would be doing hand springs next. Of course I understood none of this, so while the girls gathered round as the teacher explained, I was still feeling pretty good about my wall assisted hand stands. Then the teacher started motioning, bending forward, hands high in the air and speaking with sudden bursts of excitement. The girls lined up in front of the little spring board, the mini pummel horse behind it. Anxiety climbing ever higher, I crept to the back of the line and watched, horrified, as the first girl ran to the spring board, jumped, and did a little hand spring off the pummel horse. In shock I saw girl after girl run towards the death trap and land victoriously on the mat. Not always on their feet and many on their bottoms, but all undamaged and in one piece. I stood nervously as the first hand springers lined up again behind me. I haven’t always avoided perilous situations. However, I tend to avoid menacing hazards, so I attempted to not really move up with the line and just let those girls pass me. Alas, all to no avail. They politely shuffled me forward so I wouldn’t miss my turn.
Eminence closed in. As it was nearing my turn, a few of the not so athletic ones ran and sprung, without injury and seemingly effortlessly.
“I can do this,” I lied to myself.
Finally it was my turn, just me and my trusty Hawaiian short. I ran towards the spring board, hesitated, and sheepishly flew right past the dreaded death trap. The teacher had me go back and try it again.
I decided it would be much safer for me to do a tiny hand spring, so as I approached the spring board I readied myself to do the tiniest leap I could, lean onto the pummel, and just sort of roll back onto the mat.
Confident in my new plan to preserve my life, I ran towards the spring board.
I sprung from the springboard and
WHAM! My head pummeled the horse. I flipped backward, and slammed to the ground on my back. My shirt had flipped over my head in the process, and was now pinned to the ground exposing my blue sports bra to the entire class that had gathered around me. Oh! That I could bury myself under the mat and just wait for everyone to go away, but it hurt too much to move let alone burrow. I clawed at my pinned shirt to pull it back over my head. I did the best I could, sort of getting it at least to partially cover my bra, and looked up at the 20 students that had gathered around me. No one dared touch me, maybe they thought I was broken. A few students crouched down to see if I was still alive. I painfully sat up and strained to my feet to prove that what had just happened wasn’t nearly as painful as it had appeared. My shirt was still pulled up a little, and as I feebly got back to my feet, there exposed to the entire class was my coral blue duct taped Hawaiian trunk bottoms.

Funny, no one laughed as they all tucked in their shirts for the next jump.

chyoto ii desu ka?

2008-04-04T15:17:00.001-07:00

It has been almost 9 years since I left for Nagoya, Japan as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Until tonight, we haven't had a mission reunion for a while because our beloved President David F. Evans was called into the first quorum of the 70. He has been one busy guy!

So in honor of my reunion, I thought I'd reminisce a bit with a couple of funny mission stories.

When I was in Takabata, we had an investigator who wanted to know where the devil lives. I mixed up my Japanese and mistakenly answered, "Chugoku desu." My companion, Sister Bushman, gasped. I had just told Shuto Shimai that the devil lives in China. She didn't think that the Chinese would appreciate that answer. (In my defense, the word for 'hell,' jikoku, is very similar to the word for 'China').

Another time, while serving in Okazaki, my 2 Japanese companions and I were teaching a lesson to a lovely gal. A sweet, softspoken sister from the ward had accompanied us. We were kneeling around the typical Japanese low table when I noticed a very long legged cockroach had joined us. It was just running around, mere inches away, enjoying the atmosphere. I decided that I didn't want to ruin the spirit of the lesson by mentioning such an unpleasant distraction. Seconds later, Hashimoto Shimai screamed, "GOKIBURI!!!" (COCKROACH!) and everyone began shrieking and screaming. Everyone except the Sister from the ward. She very calmly went over and picked the little thing up gently in both hands, walked over to the sliding door, and shouted, "BE FREE!" as she flung it out.

Needless to say, by then the Spirit was gone.

My mission was filled with funny stories. I loved being a missionary!

Ellie's new found, um, freedom?

2008-03-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

Ellie learned how to crawl a few weeks ago... backwards. She would spot something that she wanted a few feet away and then, to her dismay, get farther and farther away. Needless to say this didn't bring the much anticipated sense of accomplishment that would normally accompany just acquired mobility.

Within the last few days she has figured out how to crawl, ever so cautiously and carefully, forward.
Now I find her in the dangdest places. I'm almost always within a few feet of her, but I'll turn my back for the slightest moment, and suddenly hear a disgusted protest.

"Aah!" Ellie is under the futon.

"Aah!" Ellie's legs are under the silverware cabinet.

"Aah!" How did you even get there?

Devil Nut

2008-03-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

We had a peanut incident yesterday.

Top o' the Morning to Ya!

2008-03-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Today, on one of my favorite days of the year, I'd like to share some Irish lore.

First of all, a toast to St. Patrick's Day*:
May God bring good health to your enemy's enemies.
*This toast shall use sparkling apple juice, seeing as St. Patrick's Day was once a religious holiday in which observers were to obstain from alcohol. Ironic, eh?

A saying:
A man that can't laugh at himself should be given a mirror.

(Some) Irish curses make me laugh:
May you be afflicted with the itch and have no nails to scratch with!

Here's a great curse from Nell Flaherty's drake:

May his spade never dig, may his sow never pig,
May each hair in his wig be well thrashed with a flail;
May his turkey not hatch, may the rats eat his meal.
May every old fairy from Cork to Dunleary
Dip him smug and airy in river or lake,
That the eel and the trout, they may dine on the snout
Of the monster that murdered Nell Flaherty's drake.

And how about some wise Irish Proverbs:

It is better to be a coward for a minute than dead the rest of your life.

He who has water and peat on his own farm has the world his own way.

And finally, a word on St. Patrick** himself.
**I learned the following from Carmel McCaffry and Leo Eaton's book, In Search of Ancient Ireland.

St. Patrick was born around 400 A.D. At this time, it was a common practice for Irish raiders to go across the sea and kidnap Brittains to sell into slavery. This was the fate of 16 year old Patrick who was snatched away to work on a sheep farm near the Wood of Fochlock overlooking the Killala bay (modern day Co. Mayo).

Although Patrick was the son of a deacon and the grandson of a Christian priest, he himself had strayed from his faith. In the dire circumstances of slavery, surrounded by an unfamiliar world of druids and paganism, Patrick prayed for comfort.

Patrick toiled for 6 years, and then one dark night comfort came as he was praying. In his Confession (one of only 2 surviving documents attributed to him) he says a voice came to him, "It is good that you pray and fast and soon you will go back to your homeland." Later he heard a voice telling him a ship was waiting for him to take him home. After traveling 200 difficult miles, he talked his way on board the ship which took him home.

"That's it?" you say? NO! His family was overjoyed to see him, and he studied dilligently and became a priest. Then the spirit of the Lord called him back to Ireland to convert the people to Christianity. He was a humble man, and rather than telling the Irish that their pagan beliefs were false, he bound common beliefs and meshed Christianity with their own practices. (The Irish at this time held many beliefs which were centered around the changing of the seasons).

So what about banishing the snakes from Ireland while on a hilltop? This is a myth (see what the history channel has to say). Apparently, there never were snakes in Ireland. (A place after me own heart).

It seems that different churches were trying to attract pilgrims to their parishes long after St. Patrick died. This was a way of gaining income. So, many myths about Patrick were made up in order to attract parishoners. I'm sure myths about him were made up for all kinds of reasons. I guess he makes for a good story!

And so, I'll leave you with one last bit of Irish lore:

Wisdom is the comb given to a man after he has lost his hair.
- Irish Saying

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here are some great St. Patrick's Day sites:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~julieann/st__patrick's_day.htm (this is a great site).

Irish Culture and Customs

St. Patrick: The Man and the Myth

An interview with Susan Marks

2008-03-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

After a surprise comment on my post, “The Home Legion!” by Susan Marks, author of Finding Betty Crocker, I decided that this gal not only wrote upstanding books, but was pretty personable as well. She graciously agreed to an interview, vie e-mail.

As for a bio, I thought an auto-bio would be most tasteful. In her own words:

When Susan Marks was a child she won a huge, pink Betty Crocker cake in a cakewalk, and she never fully recovered. Susan parleyed her love for cake, pop culture and women’s history into the book, Finding Betty Crocker and documentary film, The Betty Mystique.
Susan is also a writer/producer/director with her own production company, Lazy Susan Productions. She is currently writing a screenplay about a bridal shower that turns into a “freak show with punch and presents.” And Susan is dabbling in the dark side with her a new documentary film about dollhouse murders (currently in production). In 2007, Susan made Mpls./St. Paul magazine’s short list of “Five Local Filmmakers to Watch.” (She was the only female filmmaker to make the list.)

What was it about Betty Crocker that interested you for the subject of your book?

I used to be a tour guide for the Historic Milling district in Minneapolis (Minnesota Historical Society). I talked about Betty Crocker on my tours and everyone seemed to get excited when I mentioned that she was "born" in the milling district. At first, I really didn't get it. I kept thinking, "people are sure buying into this advertising - she isn't even a real person!" But then I realized there was a rich story that goes way beyond advertising. Betty had history.

As I read your book, it seemed to me that the voice behind Betty Crocker truly was concerned about her fellowman.

Do you mean "fellowwoman"? ;)
Hey, mass consumerism includes men too, right? :-)

It’s hard to forget that her primary reason for existence was to peddle flour. At one time she even had her own radio show in which she gave advice that seemingly conflicted at times. What is your opinion on corporate 'advice columns'? (For lack of a better term).

Yes Betty was a bundle of contradictions just like all of us. Her #1 purpose was to sell GMI products and that was no secret to consumers, but there was a human side that appealed to many because of the genuine advice given by real woman who worked at the Betty Crocker Kitchens. After World War Two, that personal touch faded due to the consumer products boom that swallowed the nation.

You work with various forms of media, including documentaries. What are the most fascinating aspects of this form of communication?

I really love working in documentaries because it is a challenge to fuse together a compelling story, music, and visuals. I love seeing it all come together.

What is your worst cooking disaster ever?

I made a chiffon cake (Betty Crocker recipe) and it turned out vile. Still not sure what I did wrong.

Are you a good cook? Any advice for the culinary inept?

I'm not a great cook. I have a 55 year stove/oven and that really holds me back.

You must have had to study areas other than General Mills in order to write your book. What do you think life was like for women going through WWII and all the baggage that came with it (such as rationing)?

Yes, I studied a lot of American Women's History as an undergrad and grad student. I devoted a whole chapter to WWII because it was such a rough time for women. The rationing points system wasn't as straightforward as one might think. Nothing was easy, some foods were discontinued in addition to rationing, child care was a huge issue, much was up in the air and unknown, families were torn apart and uprooted. I heard a woman who was a new bride in the war era say, "We never got used to it."

Betty Crocker's staff tried to help women who were depressed due to the stresses of the wartime era, but I won't spoil it, it's in the book!

I think that Julia Child would be a fascinating subject for a film. (Check out a brief bio at http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9246767 Did you know she was a spy living in China for the secret service? COOL!)

I didn't know this!

How do you choose your subjects?

I pick projects based on the fact that I can't get them out of my head.

You are working on a book about Band-Aid bandages. How interesting! Can you share any fascinating facts?

The band-aid book didn't turn out to be all the fascinating, mostly because Johnson and Johnson doesn't have an archive. They didn't save anything. I feel really lucky that General Mills did! Without their archive I wouldn't have such a rich story to tell in both my film and book.
But I can share that my current project, a documentary film on dollhouse crime scenes is pretty fascinating. Frances Glessner Lee, "the patron saint of forensics", created dollhouse murder scenes to help train detectives to interpret crime scenes in the 1930s and 1940s. The dollhouses are so well done that they are still used today in training homicide detectives and FBI agents.

So, there you go! Isn't Susan a fantastic person?

Thank you, Susan.

Hey, I didn't even know the guy

2008-03-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have been doing some geneological research and have learned some fascinating things.

I found out that I have an ancestor who was a Lady in Waiting to the Queen of England. She fell out of favor, however, when she backed out of an arranged royal marriage and ran off with a dashing young sailor. (Isn't that romantic? What a gal!) They later joined the LDS church and set sail for America.

I also have an ancestor who was a town crier in Glamorganshire, Wales. Some of his young sons were Colliers (coal miners). His wife passed away, and so did 5 or 6 of his children. He eventually emmigrated to America as well because of his new found faith.

Many of my ancestors helped to settle America in the 1600s. I wonder what life was like for them. (To find out more about your ancestors, go to www.familysearch.org. Be aware that you will be unable to find information about any living relatives).

I'm also related to John D. Lee, the only man executed for his connection with the Mountain Meadows massacre. He was my Great, Great, Great Grandfather. I won't go into that horrible tragedy, but will say that there is a hidden blessing in being related to an infamous figure- much of his family history is done. This brings me to an interesting thought. My Step-Grandmother's ancestor witnessed against John D. Lee in his trial. They didn't realize they would share common posterity generations away.

So here's the interesting thought:

Call yourself the 1st generation. Each generation you go back to doubles:

Generation Person Number in that group

1st . . . . .You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2nd . . . . Your Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3rd . . . . Your Grandparents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4th . . . . Your Great Grandparents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5th . . . . Your Gr. Gr. Grandparents . . . . . . . . . . . 16
6th . . . . Your Gr. Gr. Gr. Grandparents . . . . . . . . 32
7th . . . . Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Grandparents . . . . . . . . .64
8th . . . . Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Grandparents . . . . . . 128
9th . . . . Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Grandparents . . . . 256
10th . . . Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Grandparents . 512

So, that's (not counting you) a total of 1,022 people that you are directly descended from. It took over a thousand people over 9 generations to make you! And now, a sobering thought. 10 generations ago, there were 512 people walking around that you are now related to. Chances are, they all didn't know each other, nor had any idea that they would all one day share a common descendent generations later.

This made me want to even nicer to everyone around me. Because hey, there are 512 of us walking around today that will share a common Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. grandchild, and I don't want any of them to write something crummy about me in their memoirs for our posterity to read!

Just a thought.

I have been tagged

2008-03-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

So, I got tagged. Usually this would mean a call to the grafiti removal people from the city (which I've had to do recently, and already need to do again). This time the tag was more pleasant. It was from Ron and Jessica. So, here we go!

Six Things Everyone Should Accomplish Before They Turn 18*

*Not being the authority on the subject, this is purely opinion and does not constitute all inclusive wisdom. The following is presented in no particular order.

Clean up your filthy room. There will come a point when you realize that resistance to Mom's wisdom is futile.
Stop doing things to make everybody else happy. Do things because they are the right things to do.
You know that kid who sits alone at lunch every day? Go sit by them.
Firgure out where you stand, and promise yourself (and God) that you won't diverge from your principles. Making decisions ahead of time about what you will and won't do makes doing the right thing easier when the time comes.
Realize that you are a precious, precious person and that God loves you.
Take your little brother or sister along. Years from now you'll be grateful for the friendship of your family.

Cheesy? Maybe.

Alright Karen, The Merrills, Alyssa, the Bylunds, and Heidi- TAG! You're it!

Ode to Chindogu

2008-02-28T17:42:00.000-08:00

My latest read is The Big Bento Book of Unuseless Japanese Inventions by Kenji Kawakami. This book is filled with fabulous Chindogu (translated meaning 'unusual tool'). These inventions tackle everyday inconveniences by solving some of our most pressing modern annoyances. For instance, let's say you spot a cockroach in the corner but are squeemish about smashing the thing up close. Chindogu solved this problem by putting a retractable telescoping handle on a pair of slippers. Brilliant!

Check out this book and read all about the 'Walk 'n Wash', 'Temporary Ladies' Room Converter', 'Earplug Earrings', 'Portable Armrests', the 'Portable Parking Spot' and the 'Umbrella Brush' for "when washing the ceiling doesn't mean washing your hair" just to name a few. What a great book.

And so, in honor of Chindogu, I have created my own to add to the 'unuseless' foray of inventions.

Gum-Saver Hair Clip
The fashionable way to save that piece of chewing enjoyment.

And, for men, try the handsome
Gum-Saver Hat Clip

We all know the high cost of groceries nowadays can add up. In this time when every cent counts, shave pennies off your grocery bill by keeping your gum around longer. "How?" you ask? The Gum-Saver Hair Clip is the answer! Why gum up the bottom of your plate and risk losing your gum in the dishwasher? Simply place your gum on the holder while you eat, and after your meal enjoy that same old reliable stick you had before your chewing was interrupted.

It is not recommended to use the gum-saver clip outside on windy days.

"My Service"

2008-02-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

Today I complimented Amelia on her shoes:

Me: "Amelia, your shoes are so cute!"

A: "Thank you, My Service!"

"What did you just say?"

A: "Thank you My Service."

Me: "Did you just call me your 'Service'?"

"Yeah!"

Huh.

Strangely flattering. I guess she calls it like she see it.

What to do in the event of an Earthquake

2008-02-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday there was a 6.0 earthquake in Wells, Nevada which caused considerable damage.
(See http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008nsa9.php).
Thankfully there were no casualties. Although our family didn't feel it, (we are well over 100 miles away) it was felt in other areas of our neighborhood, and as far away as Idaho and California.

I lived in Japan for a few years. Japan lies on 4 tectonic plates, which is more than anywhere else in the world. (There are 7 major tectonic plates on earth.) So, you can imagine that earthquakes are no rare occurence. The first time I went I was an exchange student. I lived near Matsue in Shimane prefecture. I don't remember experiencing earthquakes then, but I was only there 6 weeks. When I returned to Japan as a missionary 5 years later, I had a much different experience.

This time I was living in Okazaki city (which is in Aichi prefecture). My missionary companion was chatting on the phone, and I was sitting by the portable heater across the room. All of a sudden, the whole building began to sway like a boat on a stormy sea. The hanging lights swung wildly banging the ceiling. It felt almost like sitting on shaking jello. No sooner had I realized what was happening than it was over. We thought it was fun and exciting, but chatting with locals the next day, we quickly learned that no one else held the same opinion.

There were dozens of earthquakes while I was there, but most were barely noticeable.

Some months after my first big earthquake, I was transfered from Okazaki to Takabata (near downtown Nagoya). Sister DiGidio and I were at the church with the Elders for district meeting. We were kneeling in prayer when another earthquake hit. This quake was much louder and rolling that the one I had experienced in Okazaki, and it lasted much longer. We were gathered around a ping pong table, which I didn't feel was exactly the strongest thing to protect us. Sister DiGidio didn't skip a beat. She just kept praying.

This quake was much stronger and had originated many, many miles away in Tottori.

So I thought it would be nice to share some earthquake safety information. I find this especially timely due to the fact that our old brick apartment is situated exactly on top of a fault along the Wasatch front.

Before a quake strikes, it is wise to have emergency kits for each member of your household. (See my blog about 72 hour kits. It was on Dec. 27, '07 along with information for how to store water). One of the most important things to have is water. The residents of Wells were left instantly without heat and water. What would you do in this situation? Remember that you are ultimately responsible for your own safety. Not the government, church groups or other organizations. So be prepared! You should also have a kit for your car including warm blankets, water and food. (There are other essential items you should have for your car, like a shovel in case you get stuck in the snow- but that's another topic).

Also, be sure and secure items in your home that may fall over during an earthquake such as televisions, computers, dressers and water heaters. I have listed some links at the end of the blog to help you get ready.

Okay, so the ground begins to shake, and you realize that you are in an earthquake. What do you do?

First of all, don't look up!! You may hear the sounds of glass breaking overhead, but injury can occur to your face and, worse, your eyes if falling glass hits you. Quickly drop to the ground and take cover under something sturdy. For example, get under a table and hold on firmly. You will be shaking around, so try and move with the quake. Stay away from windows or glass that may break (also mirrors and pictures). The exterior walls are the most dangerous, if you can't find a place to go, get to an interior wall and crouch down with your arms protecting your head.

If you're in bed when a quake strikes, stay in bed and cover yourself with a pillow.

During a quake, if you are inside, stay inside. If you're outside, stay outside. Most injuries from earthquakes are caused by falling debris. Stay away from tall, heavy furniture during a quake, hanging items, etc.

There is more information than I can list, so I will give you a fabulous link! Go to:

http://www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/step5.html

If you don't live in an earthquake-prone area, it is still a good idea to have disaster supply kits. You never know! And now, the other links I promised:

Here is a link from the Earthquake Country Alliance (from California) with some excellent information:
http://www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/seven_steps.html

Here's information to make your own car kit. It may not have everything you need, so please adjust accordingly.
http://drbenkim.com/emergency-car-kit.html

Here is some additional information for preparing for emergencies from the American Red Cross.
http://www.redcross.org/services/prepare/0,1082,0_91_,00.html

So, there you go. Let's prepare! Yay!

Letterboxing

2008-02-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

So we picked up another new hobby: LETTERBOXING! It is so much fun.

Letterboxing is kind of like geocaching, excepting that you don't need a GPS, and rather than trading trinkets, you stamp each other's logbooks. Clues lead you to the location of the letterbox. So far, the clues we have followed have all been in interesting places with a 'theme' for the letterbox. Written up on the clues have been descriptions of the area, a short history of the topic, or a story behind the stamp. The most interesting stamps are hand carved, which makes this not only a fun activity, but a unique art form as well.

All you need is your own logbook, something to write with, an inkpad, a trial name and your own personal stamp. Sometimes you will be instructed to take along a compass, and it's wise to have water as well. You can find clues at letterboxing.org or at atlasquest.com. I think there are other sites, but that's a good start. There are letterboxes all over the United States, and around the world as well! (Especially England where this got its start.)

We got together as a family and made up a design for our stamp. Then I carved it onto an eraser with an exacto knife. (If you want more detailed information, contact me and I'll let you know how to make up your own stamp).

One of the more exciting aspects of this pasttime is that you have to be stealthy about it. Many of these letterboxes are hidden in somewhat public areas. You can't just rush in and dig it up! This is a clandestine opperation!

So we convinced Jessica to go along with us on our first trip, which was at Wheeler Farm. We didn't realize that there was so much snow there, and of the 5 boxes hidden, we only found 1. But it was so thrilling to sneak through the woods and find it, just where the clue said it was! We've been again since then, and even met a fellow letterboxer through our last trip.

So, yay! Go letterboxing!

The Home Legion!

2008-02-13T11:47:00.001-08:00

I have been reading a thought-provoking book entitled Finding Betty Crocker, the Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food, by Susan Marks. Of course, Betty Crocker started off as a ficticious homemaker hocking Gold Medal Flour for the Washburn Crosby Company. Despite this foible, I have found it fascinating how a corporate spokesperson could improve the lives of so many women for so many decades. Enough about that, though. There was something in the book that I found fascinating. In 1944, when we were in the midst of World War II, "Betty" put together an "American Home Legion Program." It was free to join, and fellow legioneers received Betty's "Homemakers Creed."

" Homemakers Creed
Of the Home Legion

I believe
homemaking is a noble and challenging career.

I believe
homemaking is an art requiring many different skils.

I believe
homemaking requires the best of my efforts, my abilities, and my thinking.

I believe
home reflects the spirit of a homemaker.

I believe
home should be a place of peace, joy and contentment.

I believe
no task is too humble that contributes to the cleanliness, the order, the health, the well being of the household.

I believe
a homemaker must be true to the highest ideals of love, loyalty, service and religion.

I believe
home must be an influence for good in the neighborhood, the community, the country.

This is to verify that _______ is a member of the Home Legion dedicated to Good Homemaking for a Better World.

General Mills, Inc. Betty Crocker "

In an interview for Twin Cities magazine after Margaret Child Husted (the woman behind Betty Crocker) retired, she stated,

"It is very interesting to me to look back now and realize how concerned I was about the welfare of women as homemakers and their feelings of self-respect. Women needed a champion. Here were millions of them staying at home alone, doing a job with children, cooking, cleaning on minimal budgets - the whole depressing mess of it. They needed someone to remind them that they had value."

How very intriguing.

I am not of the opinion that one must be a stay at home mom to be a homemaker, nor do I believe that the role is reserved for women only. There are people of every walk of life making their homes places of refuge and love. I believe that this applies to the single working woman, the widower, the young mother, the couples and on and on. What a wonderful world it would be if we would focus our efforts on creating an uplifting home atmosphere. So, corporate though you are, I say to the Betty Crocker of yesteryear, more power to you!

You lost what?!

2008-02-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

Back in college I had to fill a biology requirement in order to graduate, so I took the academic obvious, "Discovering Nature."

Our professor donned a khaki fishing vest and started off lectures with Far Side comics on the overhead. She is my kind of gal. We learned about bugs, pond vermin and other such interesting need-knows. Usually I sat up front, but by a stroke of pure luck, the day I sat in the back one of the specimens she had brought to show on the projector had escaped.

"Oh, dear, oh dear," she said, looking under tupperwares of slimey creatures and flipping through lecture notes nonchalantly. The front row looked around at each other, at the floor, trying to figure out what she had lost.

"Oh no! Where could it be? You, on the front row, start looking around." By this time, the front row was squirming, and some of the girls looked rather poorly.

Finally, she sighed and said, "Oh well, I've still got one left. Too bad, though, this is the smaller one." With that, she plopped a big, fat leech onto the overhead. "They're not normally hairy, this one escaped halfway down the hall before I caught up to him!"

That's one of my best college memories. And, sadly, I remember stories like this better than I remember any coursework. At least I have a degree to prove I graduated.

Farewell

2008-02-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today was President Gordon B. Hinckley's funeral. President Hinckley was president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, of which I am a member. He was the prophet, and dearly loved. I shall always remember his sense of humor. How witty he was!

Near the end of his life, he was prescribed a cane by his doctor. It seems that he waved it around in greeting more than using it to walk. He just kind of carried it along.

President Hinckley was a man of great faith who truly embodied the very essence of hard work. He kept such a busy schedule even down to the very end. He cared greatly for all people everywhere. He established a perpetual education fund, enabling many who would otherwise not be able to pay for an education to be able to attend institutes of higher learning. He built temples all over the world to ensure that the Saints could attend the temple and obtain sacred ordinances. In the temple we can be married and sealed to our loved ones for not just time, but for all eternity. We believe that families are sacred, and that the bonds of love can last for eternity.

My grandmother grew up with President Hinckley. They lived close together, they were in the same ward. Gram's dad was the bishop, and President Hinckley's was the stake president. She also lived by President Hinckley's wife's home, Marjorie Pay. She said that the neighborhood would gather by her house to play night games, and that 'Gordy' would occassionally stop by to throw horse shoes. She told me a wonderful story that makes me smile whenever I think of it.

She was invited down to the Hinckley's apartment some few years back for lunch. Marjorie was giving the grand tour. She stopped at a hallway closet room and opened the doors. "Here," she said, "is Gordon's workroom." Gram described it as a small room where there would normally be a washer and dryer. There, lined up just so, were his tools all in order, and a small work table. Marjorie continued, "He likes to look at them every now and again."

He is now with his beloved Marjorie once again. After the funeral there lined the streets people waving white handkercheifs, some canes, as a farewell to him. God, be with you till we meet again, dear President Hinckley.

an atrocious recollection

2008-01-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday at church we were talking about the nature of God when someone made reference to Jonathan Edwards' sermon "Sinners in the hands of an angry God". In contrast to our belief, that God is our loving Father in Heaven, some believe that our God is angry, with fiery indignation for sinful man. In Edwards' own words:

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times so abominable in his eyes as the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.

The gal in church who brought this up made reference to the thinking (in other circles) that we are as evil spiders which the Lord holds over the fire ready to drop at any moment. I agree with Edwards' thinking in one respect: Spiders are evil.
I hate spiders. There's no way around it. I hate them.
Perhaps this began as a child when we moved to the country. They lurked at every turn in our old barn, they would spin their wide webs in the field, and horror of all horrors, made their way into the house on occasion. Being much afflicted with the loathsome creatures, I learned to keep a lookout for them.
Yet, alas, I was not to emerge unscathed by these awful vermin.
One morning I dreamed I was eating shredded wheat. Just as I swallowed a mouthful I was suddenly awakened from my sleep with the realization that I really was chewing something. I shot out of bed to the mirror. I opened my mouth, and there, to my utter horror, were long, twitching spider legs sticking out of my braces. SPIDER LEGS! IN MY MOUTH! AAAAAAUGH!
I never recovered from that harrowing experience.