Word of the Year 2015

Hello?
Blogging was a dismal failure last year.
So was my word of the year.
But...
I am trying again!

BE: This is the word that seems to fit this year! I like it!

"Try a little harder to BE a little better"

~Gordon B. Hinckley

Life, According to Shane

Yesterday when I picked Shane up after school,

he asked me why I always look like I'm sick when I come to get him.

 

???

 

Me: "What do you mean?"

Shane: "You never get dressed or do your hair or anything."

 

???

 

Later, I was telling the fam what he had said.

In an attempt to clarify his position, he said I always wear my pajamas to pick him up...

 

???

 

In my defense, I have been sick, but I have NEVER, EVER gone to pick him up in my pajamas!!!

And yesterday I had done my hair & put on makeup & thought I looked alright.

What a blow to my self-esteem! :)

 

What Shane thinks I dress like:

 

 

How Shane thinks I should dress everyday:

 

(Last month, he asked me why I don't dress up like the Principal, Mrs. K.)

I did ask her (she's a friend) if she could tone it down a little...she's making me look bad!



 

What I think I look like:

What I actually look like:



(Jeans and a shirt...my usual apparel. And crocs...)

 

Maybe I do need to step up my game a little, get in touch with my

inner June Cleaver.

 

I've got it! I'll throw on a pair of pearls when I pick him up today!!!

 

Note to Shane: I think you should ride the bus home after school. Just sayin'. 

Well Then...

Birds hate me.

No, really...

It's a proven fact.

First, there were the Robins that started chirping. The chirping started every day, as soon as there was even a hint of light in the sky, and ended never every evening when the sun went down.

It was incessant, and nearly enough to drive me insane!

Now, I normally enjoy birds.

But this was a little much.

5 AM is not a good time for me!

Add to that the latest insult:

We have a cherry tree. A little over a week ago, it was loaded with sweet, juicy, nearly-ripened cherries. We had eaten a few handfuls of cherries and were anxiously awaiting them to be fully ripened.

Saturday evening, things were looking good...

Tree still loaded with fruit.

Monday evening, I walked over to check the fruit trees...

My jaw literally dropped to the ground and I gasped!

The cherry tree was picked clean.

Every. Single. Cherry.

I was so mad!

Those stinkin' birds!!!

I knew we'd lose some cherries to the birds~ but had no clue they would eat every single cherry!!!

I guess I should have been tipped off when I saw the Starling hopping around on the the back lawn with a cherry in his mouth. I'm sure he was taunting me.

I think every bird in the county was perched in our tree, having a sweet little feast. There was quite a variety of birds, which at any other time would have been awesome...

But this time, I was just too mad!

The apricots and peaches are still looking good, but I'm sure the squirrels will probably get to them.

I'm not sure there's even any point to growing my own fruit.

I guess at least the birds won't go hungry.



Is It Spring Yet?

I guess not.

7 more inches of snow last night.

We're all getting anxious to take our new (to us) trailer on an excursion.

There's just one tiiiiny little problem:

But~Only 35 days until SPRING BREAK!

Note to husband  self: If the house you are interested in buying comes with a snow-blower...

Just sayin'...just sayin'

Dare I?

This set of dish towels has been languishing in the bottom of my cedar chest for nearly 30 years.

 My mother made these for me 30+ years ago.

I'm thinking it's high time they saw the light of day!

I'm just not sure I can bring myself to actually use them~ but it seems a shame for them to just sit in the bottom of my cedar chest.
(With another set of dish towels, and several sets of pillowcases!)

I figure they will either just rot away...

Or I can put them to use and enjoy them!

I have thought about framing them...but I would have to cut them down, and I'm not sure I want to do that~ they are nice, big towels!

  Right now, they are just sitting, waiting for me to decide...

Such a dilemma!

My Take on the Ornament Wreath

Way back in October, Rick & the boys went on a little camping/hunting expedition.

That left me to my own devices.

Emily came over for the weekend and we decided to try our hand at making Ornament Wreaths.

I know you've seen these all over the Internet the last few years. There are lots of handy tutorials (Cherie's Tutorial) & some very lovely wreaths that have been crafted.

These are a little different though. I hope you enjoy!

First of all, you start out with a wire hanger.

You untwist the top where the hook is...blah,blah,blah (I'm getting to the good part)

Then you shape the wire into a roundish shape & begin stringing the ornaments on.

This is after, of course, you have hot glued all the tops to the ornaments so they don't pop off.

Part way through, you notice your daughter's wreath is looking pretty good.

Your wreath, however, is looking pretty...ummm...interesting.

Just forge on! It will be fine. It will look so pretty when it's done.

There's nothing glitter and a bow can't fix.

(These are the things you repeat to yourself in your head)

If the ornaments need to be repositioned a bit, very carefully move them around.

No matter how carefully you do this, you will still hear this lovely sound:

"Snap! Plop! Wobble-Wobble-Wobble!"

(That's the sound of the ornaments popping off, and then rolling across the floor)

The little cap thingies stayed firmly attached to the ornaments...hot glue kinda does that, but the hole where the hook/wire goes kept snapping open.

Once you have the ornaments all on the wire, and you have it looking like you want it (whatever),

twist the two ends of the wire together. This will be somewhat difficult. More ornaments will pop off.

Do not curse!

Just laugh. Laughing is good.

There will be glitter and broken ornaments strung everywhere.

Your daughter's wreath will look much better than yours.

The more you try to fix yours, the more you curse laugh.

Daughter will laugh too.

See...good mother/daughter bonding moment.

I'm all about creating memories.

Add a pretty red and gold ribbon, then hang it on the door so you can admire your beautiful handiwork:

What the??? 

I know, right?

I have found a couple of things that make it look better.

1.Perspective:

 See? Pretty.

2. Lighting:

Perfect!!!

The Best Laid Plans...

So...how's everyone doing?

Are you like me? Up to your eyeballs in Christmas projects & preparations?

This is one project I am G.L.A.D. to have finally finished...

and it's not even Christmas related!

(Why do teachers plan big projects for students in December? I know school must go on...but why not wait until say...March for this one, hmmm?)

Last week was Wax Museum for Shane's class. He's been working hard since early November on this project.

We finished the report (he wrote, I typed) and I simply had to make a Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls Jersey for him. ('Cause the only ones you can buy are very expensive).

T-shirt, Iron on's. Easy Peasy.

Attempt # 1



White shirt is scorching a bit. Grrrr! I realize I should have used a pressing cloth. Too late now!

Some "minor" scorching can be overlooked, right?

But wait~ not only did I scorch the shirt...I also put the wrong word on the back. The back of the Jersey should have the player's name..."Jordan".... Dang!

And there is just that minor incident of the backwards "B". I like to call it artistic. I was hoping Shane wouldn't notice. Frantically run to JoAnn's to get more iron-on's.

Which brings us to attempt #2:

Emily had a black t-shirt that she let me use. I had to pick out the sleeves and then wash and dry it.

By this time, it's about 1:00 in the morning. Then I get to work with the iron-on's. And I use a pressing cloth this time, just to be safe.

The numbers would not stick. It was a mess! They adhered to the backing paper...not so much to the shirt, though.

 So much for the easy peasy project. It's gonna be an all nighter.

Emily & I run to Wal-mart for more shirts and more iron-on's. I hate iron-on's.

I have to unpick the sleeves, then launder the shirt. This is getting ridiculous!

Finally! We have a winner. It only took me until 3:40 AM to get this easy project done.

Here's the front of the shirt. At 3:20 AM I realized I could only do the red outlining on one side of the shirt, since it had to dry for 4 hours. So only the front got outlined.

And here's the star of the Wax Museum

He looks exactly like Michael Jordan too.

Except he's short

He has hair

And, uh...he's white.

But other than that, he looks exactly like Michael Jordan, right?

All that matters is that the project got done. On time. And Shane had fun & was happy.

Christmas projects? Not going so well.

I've decided to give up baking~ so now I have to come up with another Neighbor Gift idea.

(I am really thinking it might be the altitude here. I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies last night. I've been making these for years. They are sorta my specialty. They came out thin & flat...my baking confidence is shattered!)

Can't find the stuff to make the teacher gifts I wanted to make...it might be a mug/ornament/candle gift after all.

Have a few people that are difficult to buy gifts for (mom & dad...I'm talking about you!)

But...The tree is up, I hope to finish up the shopping by Saturday...and I have not been sick (hope I didn't just jinx myself)!

Hope everything is going fantastically in your neck of the woods!

Well, Hello!



Hey there, October! When did you get here?

Perhaps while we were enjoying sunny, warm (snow-free) SoCal?

(Disneyland Highlights, anyone?)

This is typically my favorite time of year...

But not this year~ no siree!!!

I'm digging in my heels! I'm not ready for it to be Fall yet!

And why is there snow? Where is Fall anyway? And in that same vein...where the heck did my summer go? 

School year has not gotten off to a good start...(17 year old Not. Doing. Well.)

I don't want to deal with another cold and flu season. Or really, life for that matter (I mean, while I'm complaining, might as well get it all out there, right?)

And who is supposed to be in charge of the unpacking?  (Ann?)

I want my mommy. Or Summer. Or both!

Never Say Never

A few things I said I would never do, and then did anyway!

1. I will Never get my hair cut at SuperCuts again.

I've said this more than once.

But this time I really mean it!

Pretty sure I look like this:

Alright, I might be exaggerating, but only slightly.

My hair is not quite that short.

But the bangs...yeah, pretty much look like that.

And it's longer on one side than the other.

And the back is kinda messed up.

I paid good money to have my hair cut.

I could have just let Shane cut it for free!

I knew as soon as I heard "whack-whack" instead of "snip-snip" that I was in

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

No more SuperCuts! I mean it this time!

2. I will Never wear Crocs.

I'm sorry.

I have had foot problems for years.

I have swelling in the bottom of my foot, which feels like I am walking on a large marble.

I have a really hard time finding shoes that feel good on my foot.

I wear flip-flops almost all the time. Closed shoes are usually really painful for me to wear.

 When Rick and I went to Disneyland for 5 minutes last Spring (I'm working on getting over it, okay?)

Emily convinced me to try wearing Crocs. She had recently bought a pair for work & thought they were super comfortable.

I was mortified to even think about putting those ugly things on my feet!!!

Uh...they are really comfortable. Ugly~ yes, but comfortable!

Embarrassingly, I wear them All. The. Time.

I wear black ones though...so they aren't as ugly, right?

Right?

I'm sorry.

Here's partly why I have foot problems. I have both my mom & my grandma to thank for this!

3. I will Never  put a picture of my ugly foot on my blog.

No explanation needed.

(I'm actually really self-conscious about my feet~ so we'll call this Free Therapy!)

Rick & I are headed out with the 2 boys on a little Vacay.

Here's what I plan on doing:

I probably won't get through all of them.

But then again, maybe I will!



Of All the Rotten Luck!

I don't know if I can even bear to write this.

I've been

Sick

Again

(I know, right?)

But don't worry, it gets better.

Much, much better.

Or perhaps I should say worse.

Much, much worse...

But let's start at the beginning, shall we?

The beginning of this tale was quite a while ago.

An idyllic start to any story, really.

(Ignore my mullet, please)

 April 11th, 1986

That's 25 years ago, in case you don't want to do the math.

 This year, we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary.

That's a big deal, right?

 My grandma made my wedding dress. She made the whole bodice out of a sheet first, so she could make sure it fit properly.

(Please also ignore the blue tuxes. Ack! And the mother's dresses were burgundy, not red).

 So...How to celebrate?

Our Anniversary happened to fall during Spring Break, so we decided it was the perfect time to go on a little vacation. Plus, our kids are old enough that we didn't have to farm them out. Perfect!

We tossed around ideas for a few months. It had to be a trip that fit in our time frame and budget.

Originally, we decided to spend the week in St. George (where we spent our honeymoon). But at the last minute, Rick decided that Disneyland was feasible AND would be lots of fun too!

April is a crazy month for us around here. The week before we left was insane! I helped with Shane's field trip & we celebrated Shane's birthday a few days early, since it was during the week we would be gone.

But finally~ we are packed and headed out the door!

We drove to St. George & spent the night there.

The next morning, on the way to California, I mentioned that my throat felt kinda "scratchy".

I really thought I was having just some allergy symptoms.

Added allergy medicine to my list of items I still needed to grab at the store.

Next day...Disneyland!!!

So. Much. Fun!

I had been in a little bit of a funk because I had wanted to do something different. But once we got there, it was awesome. I had forgotten how much I LOVE Disneyland!

 First ride we got on was Space Mountain.

You need to know that I have not always been a fan of rides. There are still some I won't ride. (Splash Mountain~ I've ridden a couple of times & I hate it! And I won't even attempt Tower of Terror!!!)

As we were waiting in line, I was feeling a little nervous. What if I was back to the "not liking rides". That would make for one boring trip!

Rick asked if I was nervous...and I quipped that I was more worried about how many people had touched the railing that I kept touching as we waited in line!

And this was true! I had decided I didn't want to carry a bag with me~ so I had left my hand sanitizer back at the hotel...and I was freaking out a little, for real!

Truth be told, I joke about being a germaphobe, but I really have been a little overboard lately...so going without sanitizer was kinda like therapy! :)

All in all, we had a great day! Have I mentioned that I really LOVE Disneyland?

Such a magical place.

We spend the day there~ and leave around dinner time. We have 4 days to spend in Disneyland, so plenty of time to shop and see the shows and ride everything a few times...

Day 2...

California Adventure

I'm feeling a little "off".  Have kind of a sore throat.

We ride a few rides.

It's kinda cold.

In fact~ I am rather chilled.

We have lunch.

Rick eats part of my hamburger because I can't eat it all.

I tell him he probably shouldn't eat it.

"What if I'm sick"?

We head over to see the Aladdin show.

Afterwards, we are trying to decide what to do next.

I'm so darn cold!

Rick suggests we go back to the hotel and rest and get warm & then come back that evening for the show we wanted to see.

I'm thinking I kind of feel like I did the day I came down with the flu...

Back at the hotel~ I can't get warm.

Starting to realize I am sick.

I have a fever and chills & a sore throat. But I'm determined to be better by morning.

Load up on ibuprofen.

6:00 AM~ Still feeling like crap. We decide to pack it up and head home. :(

I don't even argue. I am feeling pretty rotten.

I doze off and on all the way to St. George. Throat is really hurting now.

In St. George, we decide to find an Urgent Care. Hoping I can get an antibiotic and feel better in a day or so & we can salvage our weekend.

Dr. confirms that I am indeed sick!

I have tonsillitis from strep.

Really? First off~ I never get strep. Haven't had it for years!

And 45 year old women don't typically get tonsillitis. It's more common in kids and young adults.

Lucky me!

Have no clue where I picked this up!

Doctor assures me that tonsillitis resolves pretty quickly & I should be feeling better in 1-2 days (liar!)

We decide to get a hotel and stay in St. George for the weekend.

I spend the evening propped up in bed~ with Rick bringing me ice cream, and hot chocolate and ice water and soup...anything to help soothe my throat.

Maybe the trip will be okay, after all. I'm sure I'll be feeling better in 24 hours.

NOT!

I actually got worse over the next 24 hours!

So, after a miserable night of not sleeping~ (In fact, I didn't sleep for 4 days...stupid, swollen tonsils!)

We decide to just pack it home.

Where I spent the remainder of the weekend feeling pretty miserable! Took the whole 10 days on the antibiotic for me to start feeling better...and a few days after that before I was feeling mostly normal.

Stupid tonsillitis! Stupid tonsils! Bleh!!!

I still have a stupid cough. I think I'll have that For.Ev.Er.

(And oddly, Rick did not get sick.)

Shane has been sick, too. But with some stomach bug that lasts a couple of weeks! Nothing related to my illness. But I better not get it!!!  He had to have some testing done because we didn't know what was wrong with him. He is finally starting to feel better the last couple of days.  He has had a really bad stomach ache & the occasional (every 2-3 days) pukies and poopies. Been such a fun couple of weeks! NOT!!!

We did no shopping in Disneyland. I did not buy one souvenir, or pin, or anything! I had my eye on a couple of shops & knew a few things I wanted to get for the kids...lot of good that did me.

I did take a few pictures. Maybe I could salvage something from that?

Nope~ they are all crappy! Even the ones I asked someone else to take.

When I looked at the pictures~ and they were so bad...I cried a little!

Now, I know this isn't that big of a deal.

 But it is really just such a huge disappointment for us.

Kinda hard not to feel a little sad about it.

I ruined our whole trip!

Honestly, we haven't even talked about it.

Rick finally said something a couple of days ago~ about being disappointed.

I told him~ "I can't even think about it, it just makes me so upset!"

Then we had a good laugh about it. :)

Sweetest thing he said to me when I was feeling bad that we had to come home?

"It doesn't matter~ we have our whole lives ahead of us."

(Which apparently, I will be sick for)

There will be other trips.

Other celebrations.

Much more life to live!

I found this cute figurine online~ when I was torturing myself by looking at the Disney store, seeing all the things I could have bought!

It's just the sort of thing I was looking for.

And it would be perfect too...

If we had spent more than 5 minutes in Disneyland!!!

So, there you have it. My tale of woe.

Sympathy encouraged and accepted. :) 



4 Squared

A long, long, long, long, long, long, long time ago...
Lesa tagged me on her blog...
And I'm just barely getting around to getting it done...
'Cause we were sick, and all...
We're better now (thank you very much)...
And I'm tired of whining about that anyway...
Because there's lots of other stuff that is more important to whine about...
Kidding...
But I do have other stuff to blog...
But it will have to wait because...
MY LIFE IS CRAZY RIGHT NOW!!!

Now...to the "4's"...

1.  Four Places I Go

*  The school
*  The grocery store :(
*  Church
*  Crazy (that counts, right?)

2.  Four Favorite Smells

*  Freshly cut hay
*  Lilacs, hyacinths, roses
*  Baking...anything
*  Autumn

3.  Four Favorite TV Shows/Movies

*  "24" (Only have 2 more seasons to watch!)
*  "American Idol"
*  "Sabrina" (1995 w/ Harrison Ford & Julia Ormond)
*  "Beauty & The Beast" (Disney)

4.  Four Recommendations

*  Be kind to yourself!
*  Be "fully present" in your life
*  Netflix. Seriously~ it's awesome
*  This Lotion Bar.  I LOVE this stuff

Wasn't that just the most fascinating thing you've read lately?
Gripping, really.

I'm supposed to tag 4 others...
So I choose... (again, with the ...'s?)
Jenny
Monica
Rachelle (Private Blog)
Shae

Happy Weekend~

I Need an Intervention!

A vacation?

Medication?

How about a Dr. Pepper and a nice, warm bath & we'll call it good? And maybe throw in some non-sick kids for good measure? That would really sweeten the deal for me!

Hold on! I'm gonna ramble!!! (And maybe whine) You have been warned.

Remember I was whining about being sick???

We have been sick almost constantly since mid February. I really am at my wit's end.
I tied a knot in the end of my rope weeks ago!!!

Yesterday was the first day in 2 weeks that I have felt like I was finally mostly better!
I still have a little cough~ but the fatigue seems to have finally abated!!! Yay!

The boys are still sick, though. Shane has a pretty nasty cough & they both have upper respiratory symptoms, had low grade fevers…as well as fatigue. So kinda like an Influenza but not really.

Spencer has been sick since last Monday, and he has been sick so much the last month and a half that he is failing school. So that is causing a huge amount of stress. (Mostly for me). I am trying to work with the administration & his teachers… but the end of the term is Friday. And I think this may be contributing to him being sick…I think he might be um…embellishing a little? But I was sick for 2 weeks, so who knows?

We've all 3 had similar symptoms. I was on an antibiotic for possible sinus infection and some stuff in my lungs…I was feeling better after a couple of days on the meds, but had the lingering fatigue until Monday. Seriously, was barely functioning. So, I'm thinking we have a strain of Influenza??? (Kind of wishing I had gone to medical school, ya know?) Our symptoms have been similar enough that I think we've had the same thing…but Shane & I have developed complications? Mostly I am telling myself that we've had the same virus because I have totally been freaking out about getting sick! I am a little bit of a germaphobe, but this go round I have been really having a lot of anxiety about it!

Plus~ my kids are driving me nuts because they do not wash their hands, or use hand sanitizer. I am constantly hounding them about sanitation, so they think I am CraZy! They say I have "Sick Sense" instead of "Sixth Sense". And instead of dead people... I see germs!!!! Yeah, they are hilarious, aren't they?



But seriously, if I get sick again…it might just be the thing that finally plunges me over the edge of sanity. Have I mentioned I'm having a little anxiety here????? I can't even tell you how many tubs of Clorox wipes I have gone through! (It's an embarrassing amount!) I am wiping down my house Every. Single. Day. (maybe more than once, but I'm admitting to nothing!) Maybe I am a little CraZy!!!???

Anyhoo…

I called the Doctor today to see what she recommended. She asked me to bring them in to be seen.

Shane: she's worried about the cough. Sounds a little like Whooping Cough. (cringe).
His immunizations are current, but he is due for a booster around 5th grade/10 yrs. old and immunity to Pertussis wanes around 11 yrs. old or so. Lovely. She starts him on Zithromax and wants him home from school for at least 2 days. After that he can go back as soon as he feels up to it. I am hoping the meds do the trick and he'll be feeling better sooner than later. Personally, I don't think he has Whooping Cough. But I do think he has a lung infection of some sort, just like I had. On a side note~ his best buddy has also been sick with the same symptoms, but has recovered just fine. No nasty cough for him~ lucky!

Spencer: He seems to be getting better. His respiratory symptoms have improved somewhat & then have "flat lined". She thinks he should be feeling better by Friday. If not, he gets a round of antibiotics too. She also mentioned the "M" word. As in MONO. (Cringe again). Although I think he's just suffering from the same fatigue that has had me down for 2 weeks. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

So, I'm sure you won't be surprised that I just wanted to cry after we left the Doctor's office. I'm not dealing well with the illnesses here, people!!! And on top of that, I had to go to the store, go pick up Shane's prescription, and run a few other errands….so I didn't get my house wiped down today so I am freaking out about that!!!! Sigh. Kinda hating life right now!!!

Started Shane on the meds tonight. Doctored him up with Advil & some Triaminic, and some Mucinex (we're like a walking pharmacy around here!) I thought he had eaten recently enough that he could take the antibiotic…20 minutes later he is crying because he has a bad stomach ache and feels like he's going to throw up. LOVELY!!!

He has finally settled down and is sleeping on the office floor. Thank heavens. Tomorrow night I'll make sure he takes his meds with food and milk. He'll have a smaller dose too, so hopefully he'll be fine!!! So other than the stomach pain, love Zithromax because it's 5 days & you're done!

To top off my day~ when I was picking up the Z-pack from the pharmacy, I asked if they had any recommendations for strengthening the immune system. And I got a 7 minute lecture from the pharmacist about eating healthy and exercising regularly. He actually was quite rude. I kept my cool~ but really wanted to reach across the counter and choke him. I assume that because I'm a little pudgy & I looked like crap (Hello??? Does he have any clue what kind of day/week/month I've had???) That he figured I needed a lecture? I was so MAD! I burst in to tears as soon as I left the store. Really? Like I needed that today!!! I just wanted a recommendation for a good multi-vitamin or something!!! He really said to me: "Ya know, don't feed them McDonald's for dinner every night". Ha! We had Panda!!! So there!!! (And grabbing dinner tonight pretty much saved the little bit of sanity I'm hanging on to!) Good thing I like the pharmacy techs… Cause the pharmacist? Not. So. Much.

The good news for today is that no one else in the family has gotten sick. I'm crossing my fingers that that is a good sign!

Rick's business partner is sick though~ I told Rick that if he had the same thing we've had, to just lie to me about it! 'Cause if he got sick from us, then there is absolutely no point to hand washing/sanitizing/wiping every surface of my house down with Clorox wipes multiple times a day. Really~ I am the most anal person in the world about the sanitizing/washing/cleaning/germ thing. Just ask my kids! Honestly, I don't know how Spencer got sick from me, either. Oh man~ this stuff is just making me CraZy!!!

And…I'm done!
Thanks for coming along on my ride of insanity!

P.S. Daylight Savings Time...also driving me nuts!

And, my thoughts and prayers for the people in Japan, what a devastation for them. (And trying to not freak out about the nuclear/radiation stuff going on. I watch way too much "24").

Optical Illusions

Optical Illusions...do you like them?

Can you see the illusions?

Some people can't~

Optical illusions are sometimes used in brain injury rehabilitation~ especially if the the patient has vision problems such as depth perception or problems discerning field/foreground.

Curtis has vision problems from his car accident. He has learned to adapt really well! In fact, I'm amazed at how well he has been able to learn to live with this disability.

Can you see the old woman?

Can you see the young woman?

Do you see a man's face?
The word "Liar"?

According to Wikepedia:
•An optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a percept that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source. ...


•the use of shapes, colour, and line distortions which trick the eye and brain. When viewing confusing images, our brain can sometimes interpret visual information and cues incorrectly,or at other times our brains fill in the missing pieces.


Sometimes, our brains can play tricks on us!
 
Cherie has a great blog, Bakow Babble  that most of you probably already read.
A while back, she posted about her word of the year.
And then she posted a cute word strip under her header...
So cute! So clever!
Uh...it's misspelled! (Go ahead, go look again and then come right back, okay?) Bakow Babble...
 
So...I figured she would eventually figure it out. 
 
Then, I was reading this blog: Meanwhile Back at the Gusty Ridge Ranch and Keely posted the word strip that she had made for Cherie...
It was misspelled there too!!! (Alright...go take a peak...here's the link to the post...Gusty Ridge Ranch)
 
ACK!!! (Cherie and Keely...do not freak out!!!) :)
 
Still, I figured someone was bound to figure it out!
I contemplated kindly mentioning it to Cherie...but decided not to.  (Good thing!)
 
I decided just to ignore it!!! But every time I read Cherie's blog...there it was! This giant, misspelled word!!! I couldn't ignore it! It wouldn't go away...it seemed to get bigger and bigger every time I visited her blog!!! (Edgar Allan Poe ish?)...
 
A few days ago, I was reading blogs when Emily came home from work.
She sat down and asked me what I was doin'.
 
Seeing my opportunity, I quickly pulled up Cherie's blog and asked Emily;
 
"Do you see anything wrong on this page?"
 
"No, Mother. It looks fine to me." (Her calling me Mother should have been the first clue!)
 
"Really? Nothing?" 
She looks again.
 
"Nope, nothing. Nothing wrong here. Nopeity. Nope. Nope." (Okay, she didn't really say it like that~ I'm taking some creative liberties here!)
 
"Ha! That word is misspelled!!!" (I point to the word on the screen)
 
"Uh...mom? What do you think it says?" (Warning! Danger ahead!!!!)
 
"STRENGTH" (clearly misspelled, I think to myself)
 
"Mom, that word says STRETCH."
 
*Blink*
 
*Blink*
 
"Oh."
 
So...I am wondering if Keely will make me a cool word strip? But first I have to change my word of the year from CONNECT to
 

I*D*I*E*T

(What do you mean I misspelled it?)

 

(And my brain still tries to read that word as Strength!!! Maybe I need vision therapy?)



Places I Should Avoid

I had to run a few errands last week.

Had to get a birthday present for my nephew.
He loves dinosaurs, so I found this cute little Triceratops at Toys R Us.

I may have spent a little too much time looking at toys there. But I exercised amazing restraint and only purchased what I went for. 

I also wanted to get a dinosaur book...so of course I had to to go Barnes and Noble.

I already know that I should avoid book stores!



 Found the perfect book...I might go back and get myself a Triceratops! I think he is so dang cute!

I was doing fine in the bookstore...I looked at a few books but then put them down and headed for the children's section.

That's when things got a little dicey!

I love children's books!!!

First book that caught my eye was "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Wright Penn. I have these on my list to purchase~ but not right now. I contemplated...picked it up and looked at it...set it back down...walked away.

Came back...thought about it some more.

Nope! Not today!

Then I found the paperback section.
Oh my!

This is the alternate dinosaur book I had picked out.

I guess I accidentally forgot to put it back!

 

Then there was this little book. I used to sing this song to Shane when he was little.

"I Love You a Bushel and a Peck" from the musical "Guys and Dolls".

I didn't know it had been made into a children's book~ so of course I had to buy it!

Shane is still young enough that he'll let me read stuff like this to him.

He did roll his eyes at first~ but then he got right down on the floor with me as I read to him.

Fun memory for us!

(He was my fussiest baby, so I sang to him A LOT!)

This book also caught my eye.

I read it last night. To myself!

It's really a cute little story.

Maybe I can get Shane to read it with me.



I have boxes and boxes and boxes of books sitting in my garage, waiting to be unpacked.

I love books!!!

Maybe I should just stick with the library from now on?

Making a Good First Impression

No pictures for this one.
You can thank me later.
You will thank me...And uh, proceed at your own risk!

Shane had his first basketball game last week.
There I was, sitting on the bleachers, minding my own business when I noticed a cute, little, dark-haired girl, maybe about 4 years old, staring at me. She watched me for a minute, I smiled, she wandered off.

Pretty soon, she was back. She sat down by her mom in front of me. Next thing I know, she has turned around and slid really close to me. She leans in and in a whispery voice asks me...

"Do you have a baby growing in your tummy?" (Gulp, really? I look pregnant to this little girl? What the heck???)

*I make a mental note to add a girdle body shaper to my shopping list.

Swallowing  hard, I hesitantly answer;

"No".

Then, she reaches up, touches my...um..."chest" and quickly quips back;

"Then why are your boobs so big?"

I'll wait until you finish laughing.

Good news, I guess I don't look pregnant...?

And now I know what kind of first impression I make on people. I mean, 4 year olds pretty much call it like it is, right?

The little cutie's brother is on Shane's team.
You'll understand what I mean when I say I am not looking forward to attending Shane's games for the next 8 weeks.
I'm just thankful no one else overheard our conversation.
I think I am scarred for life!

By the way~ my answer was;

"I don't know".

I thought it was a pretty good comeback!
This week, I think I'll just send Rick to the game...I'll be busy trying to find a plastic surgeon.

Thanksgiving Bloopers

Things were going well enough until:

Oh yes, I did! And trust me, it's not that easy to do, either! I had 10 or so of these banners I was making. Obviously they weren't as easy to throw together as I had anticipated.

And then there was this:

What is it? Well, a perfectly set, Jell-O Salad.  Why would I consider this a "blooper"?

Well, Jell-O and I do not get along. (click the link to read more) I think this is the first Jell-O I have ever made that actually turned out. And, it was good! Trust me, I'd already started writing the blog post about the failed Jell-O attempt. That's how confident I was that it wouldn't turn out!  It's Jell-O, people! With stuff in it! These kinds of recipes never work out for me...and I mean Never. So, I'm sure it was a lucky fluke for me.

And, I have to admit that even though I was proud of myself...part of me was secretly disappointed because the epic failure was going to make such a great blog post!

Plus, now what am I supposed to do? Can I still call myself a Jell-O making failure?

Find the recipe here:

Cranberry Salad

Part of a Virtual  Progressive Thanksgiving Dinner

Oh, and P.S. I forgot to add..."I got the laryngitis"! What is it with me and being sick for the Holidays? This means we won't be sick for Christmas, though. Right? Right???

Random Whining Ranting



It's been quite a week~ Oh boy! Has it been quite a week!!!

First. I hate the time change. Hate it.  Spring, Fall, doesn't matter...I hate it.  Really throws off my groove, or my chi, or whatever!  I hate it even more after living in Arizona for 4 years~ they have no such barbaric practices there.  It was lovely!!! Really, why must we do this???

In the last week...

My husband has switched jobs.
He is temporarily working from home.  He is on the computer. A lot. Get my drift???
He's much happier now, so that is a good thing! But he's gone a lot more right now (except for the whole at home/on my the computer thing).

Our ward was split. We are still teaching Primary~ yay!!! I've really been enjoying Primary. I team teach with Rick...even better!

Rick's younger sister and her son were in a terrible car accident. Thankfully, they are both okay.
He had minor injuries, but she got broken up pretty badly.  She'll be recovering for a while.  She's pretty darn lucky! (I know she's not feeling too lucky right now, her injuries are catastrophic, but could have been so much worse). She broke her pelvis/hip/sacrum area in several places. OUCH!!! The doctors are optimistic that she will make a full recovery~ it will just take time.

My Emily has had a rough few days. She had a trip to the ER for chest/arm pain. She's also seen a chiropractor, a massage therapist and our regular family doctor this week.  (The chest/arm pain has just gotten worse since Monday. Her heart is okay~ it looks like it is probably muscle related). She is just in a lot of pain right now, kind of inconclusive as to why.  Hopefully the current treatment will help everything settle down.  And unrelated to all that...She will be going for a follow up visit to her cardiologist on Monday. She has an irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) and low blood pressure. She's had this since she was 13~ but it has gotten worse. She had to wear a heart monitor for 2 weeks & we'll be doing the follow up for that. Hopefully with some treatment options to get her feeling better. (That's why she had to be evaluated in the ER earlier this week, just to rule out that her heart was not causing the pain).

My house is in utter chaos...I don't function well when my environment is out of control! :) 
Let me tell ya, I am beyond ornery and  I have been so stressed the past few days...I had a complete emotional breakdown because I had to buy a new cell phone!  I was crying about a cell phone, for Pete's Sake!!! It was just one more thing that I did not want to have to deal with, ya know??? I'm fine now. And I did get a new phone. :)

I still have a Halloween post or two to do. I realize that it's way past Halloween right now, but I'm finishing them up anyway! Hopefully this weekend some time.

And on a little more serious note: Thanks for all the kind comments on my last post about my sister-in-law, Amy.  I was trying to thank everyone "personally", but got a little waylaid with all the dramatics of the week.  So please know that I appreciate each of you for your kindness.

Next week is bound to be better, right?  Hey~ at least there's not another time change for another 6 months or so!  I should be fully recovered by then.

Right now I think I am going to go relax in a nice warm tub and then go to bed. 'Cause I think I need a time out.  I am a little irritable. (Might be a gross understatement). Oh...someone beat me to it. There goes all the hot water.... :)

Whining Over