Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Christmas Report and Mexico Preview
One of the highlights for me was a moment I shared with Wendy: We were on the upper level of our hotel pool, overlooking the older girls and James building a sandcastle as the sun set. The temperature was perfect and the scenery breathtaking, along with the lulling sound of waves crashing. Before long, Wendy pointed out the first star. I took that opportunuty to teach her about wishing on the first star, you know, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." Once she had the words down, she made her wish and asked me if I had made a wish too. I told her that I wasn't sure what to wish for, and her reply was, "Well Mom, sometimes I'm a little naughty, so I think you should make a wish that I won't be naughty any more." And she was serious.
We got home on Christmas Eve and headed to my Mom and Dad's house to spend Christmas with the family. I was a little nervous that since the trip was over and everyone else would have a lot more presents, the kids might regret our decision to take a trip. After the gift opening was done, Wendy remarked at how many presents she got, and Christine said she got everything from her list except the Ferrari (maybe next year). Once we got home I asked them if they were still happy about our choice, and their response was a resounding "YES!" I'm so happy they share my love of travel. Stay tuned for pictures.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Let the Winter Begin
Winter Storm Warning now in effect until 5 am MST Tuesday...
... Blizzard Warning in effect from 5 am to 11 PM MST Tuesday...
* Winds/visibility... sustained winds at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to
40 mph will increase during the day Tuesday. Widespread zero
visibilities are forecast by Tuesday due to snow and blowing
snow.
* snow accumulations... additional accumulations of 3 to 6 inches are
forecast.
* Impacts... life threatening conditions will occur through
Tuesday. Whiteout conditions will disorient travelers or those
stepping a short way from warm and dry shelter. Power outages
may also occur.
Precautionary/preparedness actions... A Blizzard Warning means sever
winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing
snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to
whiteout conditions... making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel.
If you must travel... have a winter survival kit with you. If you get
stranded... stay with your vehicle.
I really hope I can get to the store tomorrow to buy a turkey and everything that goes with it. Otherwise I will have about 20 hungry people hanging out at my house. I guess I will go pack my winter survival kit.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Two years later
Our town is small enough that we don’t have a single pet store. We do, however, have pets. One day about two years ago, Christine and Amber were cleaning out the mouse cage when they informed me we were out of bedding. I asked if they meant we were almost out of bedding. But no, they assured me we were completely out. What did they expect me to do? The nearest pet store is 35 miles away, and I was in no position to go there right that minute. Then I thought of a local store called CAL Ranch (I have no idea what the CAL stands for). So, I went down there to see if they had any mouse bedding. They had a collection of stuff from camping gear to sprinkler system parts to cowboy/girl clothing plus a large assortment of animal paraphernalia, so I started looking in that section. I found cow colostrum (I’m not kidding), animal birthing tools, salt licks, horse tack, baby chicks, and large animal feed, but nothing for mice (with the exception of mouse traps, mouse poison, and mouse-looking toys for dogs.). So, I decided to go ask one of the cashiers. This is how the conversation went,
“Hello, do you have any pine bedding?”
“Why, yes, we do.”
“How much does it cost?”
“Ten dollars.” Ten dollars seemed a bit expensive, but what was my choice? So I said, “OK, I’ll take it.” After I paid for it, the lady said, “I’ll call someone to help you load It.” ……Load it? I need a man to help me load it? What did I just buy, and will it fit in my car? All of these questions and more were going through my mind at this point. So I followed the man outside, looking all the while like I knew what to expect, and this is what I saw: a shrink-wrapped package of pine bedding the size and weight of my six year old, with a picture of a horse on the front. It did fit into the back of my minivan, and in two years we have barely made a dent in it. I’m sure it will outlive the mice, but it’s good to know that for ten dollars you can get a lifetime supply.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
I've Arrived...Somewhere
I couldn't help but think back to some very difficult dining out experiences in the past. The most memorable of which was when we just had one baby, and James and I took turns, one of us eating while the other stood outside in the rain holding and comforting a VERY fussy Christine. Another when the childless couple sitting at the booth next to us informed me that my child wouldn't stop staring at them and could I please make her stop, as if being stared at was the worst thing that had happened to them all week. I can't count the number of times I've left a fine meal to change an extremely messy diaper in an extremely small, confined space, or left the restaurant soaking wet from some one's spilled water, and mainly just feeling like I wanted to pull out all of my hair by the time we were done eating. This was such a different experience, and I loved it. Now if I could somehow get them to pay too...
Saturday, August 21, 2010
We Will Move Faster if We Hurry Less
"When you get up in the morning, before you suffer yourselves to eat one mouthful of food,...bow down before the Lord, ask Him to forgive your sins, and protect you throughout the day, to preserve you from temptation and all evil, to guide your steps aright, that you may do something that day that shall be beneficial to the kingdom of God on the earth."
"Does our sense of urgency, initially fed by noble purposefulness, morph into mere busyness?"
"When we plan some time for contemplation and renewal, we will feel drawn to our work instead of driven to it."
"Be still, and know that I am God"
It is always good to be reminded that our to-do list, while noble, is not the sole purpose of our days. Now, I think I'll go do yoga.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
...And Jack makes seven
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The problem with camping...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Compliments to the Chef
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
How old am I?
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Highlights of my 5-mile run in 25+mph winds
- Hurdling tumbleweeds
- Drool flying out the side of my mouth. I am slightly congested, so I had to breathe through my mouth. The wind dried out my mouth signaling the production of more saliva...
- At the right angle, the force of the wind on my eyelashes would press my eyes wide open.
- If I played Enya on my ipod and closed my eyes, I could almost pretend the roaring sound was the ocean.
- The permanent damage to my eyes from blowing dust.
- The downhill part of my run also happened to be downwind, so I felt really fast, which is rare for me.
- The best part of all was my hair after I finished.
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Serious Concerns of a Four-Year-Old
Just as a side note, after Wendy said that, Nicole asked me if God knows how to make bread...
Monday, May 3, 2010
Church Dialog
"It's about flowers..."
"It's a surprise..."
"You're the prettiest Mom in church."
All of this was whispered into my ear while I was trying to listen to the speaker. What a nice thing to hear instead.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Weather Around Here
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Michael Jackson Comes Out of Hiding
After I got married, James wouldn't let me buy any of his music because he didn't want to take part in funding the bad things that money would be spent on. Shortly after MJ died, a box set of his music arrived in the mail. Thank you James. As soon as I played the music, Wendy became a fast fan. She would tote around the book that came with the set and ask me several questions about him every day. She even asked me if he went to heaven...luckily that's not for me to decide! Soon she had a few of his facts memorized and was singing the words to his songs. Since the only button she knows how to push on the CD player is the play button, we would often listen to the same disk four times in a day, until I got so sick of it, I went and changed the disk. Still, she requested it every time we put in music, which, around here, is a lot! After a while, everyone (except Wendy) got so sick of it (we also got tired since you can't listen to his music without dancing), we had to ban it for a month. That month is up and just today we have listened to two disks. She just can't get enough. It is a funny sight to see her singing and dancing to music that was popular when I was a kid. Get ready for a dance duet, Wendy and I and the return of the "Beat it" dance from years and years ago, and long live Michael Jackson!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Blizzard to Garden in Two Days
By Thursday it was 70 and I was planting peas, carrots, spinach, kale, and radishes. The raspberries are hoed (is that a word??) and mulched, the strawberries are trimmed, and all of the fruit trees pruned. Yay for spring. I even went on my first run of the season Saturday. It was great! It's amazing what two days and some sunshine can do to a person's disposition! I can already taste the first fresh salad and peas of spring. I can only guess that those first settlers came in spring and got so attatched to the area by winter that they just couldn't leave, but spent the whole winter hunkered down, thinking about spring. Who knows what they ate to survive that first winter...still, they stayed.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Twenty questions from each kid and one from me
My question came from the post-surgery literature, the section that tells you the things you are supposed to monitor: (1)loss of appetite, (2)refusal to drink water, (3)weakness, (4)depression, (5)vomiting, (6)diarrhea. They all seem fairly clear except number 4-I'm not sure how to tell if Boots is depressed. What exactly does a depressed cat look like? I decided to do some research, and here's what I found: "Has your normally friendly cat started to hide under beds, cower in corners, and generally avoid interaction?" OK, I guess that would be obvious. Now, here's what you're supposed to do if your cat is showing signs of depression: "A vet visit is a must! Your vet will help try and figure out what's causing, and how to help treat your kitty's depression. Sometimes medication for a period of time can be of help." I had no idea. I would love to sit in on one of those evaluations where the vet "tries to figure out what's causing...your kitty's depression". But, for now, I'm off to check the litter box for diarrhea.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
What's For Dinner?
Said little Sallyann Mackay?
It's something very new
It's Lentil Sweet Potato Stew
Man, I'd have to say,
It has a lot of vitamin A.
Today you have to try it.
It's a wonderful thing to add to your diet.
This is a poem Christine wrote after asking me that very question, and she's right, it does have a lot of vitamin A. I would share the recipe, but let's just say it wasn't a hit. God's help was called into action in the dinner prayer, "Please bless that this food will taste better than it looks." That prayer was left unanswered.