The Tag

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Ugh, I was struggling with mono, laying on the bed with my 3 year old, watching Arthur, Sesame Street, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility. My oldest was at BYU, four were in Robson, Taylor and Mesa High, and Holly was on the bed with me. It wasn't the most productive year of my life, but happily, it is behind me!

What were you doing 1 year ago?

I was a brand new YW president and feeling very inadequate and overwhelmed. Haha...some things never change! I'm taking it in stride a bit better these days.

Five snacks you enjoy.

Don't laugh.

1. Dry roasted, unsalted almonds (or other nuts...love cashews as well.)
2. Peanut butter sandwiches, or preferrably, a toasted, single piece of ww bread with peanut butter melting on it. Some kind of yummy jam.
3. Toast with butter and sugar/cinnamon.
4. Sweet&Salty granola bars.
5. Popcorn a la Holly.

Five songs you know all the words to.

1. Grandpa's Farm
2. When the Thunder Crashes
3. Almost all the Monkees songs: Hey, Hey We're The Monkees, Last Train to Clarksville, I'm a Believer, etc. etc.
4. There's A Kind of Hush
5. Jumbo Elephant

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire.

1. Find some way to feed starving children somewhere.
2. Fund a cure for cancer. (yeah, I know, a million wouldn't touch it, but I'd try.)
3. Hire someone to tear out my lawn and put in new sod. (Thus removing all the weeds from my grass.)
4. Buy 3 new cars with zero miles on them. Nothing that fancy, just new.
5. Try not to change my lifestyle....pretty much life as usual.

Five bad habits. Only five? Ah, there are so many to choose from.

1. Procrastination. Especially phone calls.
2. Going to bed without washing my face. I always brush my teeth, though, if that makes the gag reflex stop for you.
3. Walking around in my pajamas as long as possible in the mornings before I have to get ready to go somewhere. I inevitably leave the getting ready a tad too long and have to rush.
4. Staying up too late, getting up too late.
5. Not planning dinner ahead of time. I'm working on that one. Still. Did much better this week! Yeah for me.

Does this all add up to L-A-Z-Y? I'm really not lazy...maybe just wannabe lazy?

Five things you like to do.

1. Hang out with my family. Joy and Rejoicing!
2. Sit on my front porch and watch it rain.
3. Work in my yard.
4. Read
5. Get pedicures, play the piano, shop (sometimes) and go to church. Sorry that was cheating, but I couldn't leave some of those out. Again hard to choose only five.

Five things you will never wear again.

1. U-Knits. Oh heavens, remember those???? How embarrassing.
2. Polyester Pant Suits. Only the aged will remember, but they were the only "suit"able replacements for wearing dresses to school. Actually at the time they were pretty stylin', but I don't want to go back there.
3. Size small anything. Boohoo.
4. Saddle shoes.
5. Ribbons in my hair. Kinda too old, dang it.

Five favorite toys.

1. Computer. Although we have a love/hate relationship, I adore keeping in touch with my missionary, my family, and my friends via its fab magic. I love that I don't have to use carbon paper and white-out anymore.
2. Piano.
3. My garden scissors and pruners. :)
4. Lawn Mower
5. iPod

Where will you be in ten years?

Good question. Maybe in Mongolia on a mission. Who knows? Hopefully wherever I am it will be in good health and with my best friend/husband, surrounded by my kids and grandkids. Do ya'll want to go on a mission with me?

I'm Baaaack!

Well, I'm back in town, but having a hard time getting back in the saddle. Two weeks of no responsibility did wonders, but um, I really don't want to be responsible again. I thought I'd come back rarin' to go, but instead, I've been reading Harry Potter. I was quite behind, and the vaca seemed the perfect time to catch up. The problem is, HP just pulled me back in, and I have two more volumes to go!!! I so need to paint, clean, iron, do YW stuff, yard work, etc. Ah well, I suppose it will wait for me...I just need a wand to charm my chores to do themselves.

Fossilized Potato

I don't know what I was thinking. Obviously I wasn't thinking. I guess because I cooked rice in the microwave for 20 minutes the day before, I was still in the mode. At any rate, when I put my lunch in the microwave (yes, a nice, clean, normal potato) instead of setting it for the usual three minutes, I set it for 20. After 14 minutes, I had completely forgotten about it and was in the other room, but Holly and Kylie were in the kitchen and suddenly became aware of white smoke pouring out of the microwave. The ensuing ruckus captured my undivided attention, and we opened the microwave door to stop the microwave, opened windows, and carefully moved the smoking object outside with the aid of tongs. Think of the most acrid, awful smell you can conjure up in your mind, multiply it by approximately 2,498 and it will come close to the scent we are sporting in our kitchen these days. The poor potato is charred black clear through. The picture doesn't really do it justice. The black part that fell off was the inside of the skin that was over the black body of the potato. The most surprising thing was that it weighs about as much as a feather now. All the moisture is sucked out of it and it feels a little bit like black Styrofoam. Pretty cool, but awfully scary, and endlessly stupid. I can't even tell you how hard it has been to get rid of the smell. We made a quick trip to the store for some Febreze plug-ins, and gradually we are getting back to normal, unless, of course we use the microwave. I fear we will stink forever. Just thought I'd make you all feel really good about your cooking skills. Have a great day!

Think Blue

There is probably nothing I like better than a baby. Being a granny is such an opportunity to get to hold babies again! We just got the news today that a new baby BOY is joining the fam via the Bartles. It is so fun to know what gender to expect! We can start saying "he" instead of "the baby." Just had to share that happy news. He's due to arrive Dec. 13....what a great Christmas gift!

The Pantry

My, oh my, I'm feeling good tonight. I just finished cleaning up my pantry. It is far from perfect, but it is organized and straight and it hasn't been for...quite some time now. Somehow I conjured up in my mind that it would take hours and hours to deal with it, so I haven't attempted it. Tonight I just had to organize the paper plates and cups and utinsils so I could make room for a new item, and one thing just led to another. I have to admit, the obsessive/compulsive streak in me just loves putting all the green beans together, lining up the soup in flavors, arranging the baking goods so you can actually see what is there, and {drumroll} discarding the chips and crackers that have two stale bites left in the bag. Mr. Monk would definitely be proud. The ice cream cones and crackers are conveniently located on the bottom shelf so the grandkids can reach them. I'm so proud of me! It didn't even take that long. I think I need to attack a few other projects this week which have been procrastinated because I think they are going to take gobs of time. Maybe my recipe/computer adventure, my curtains, Eric's missionary scrapbook {it would be nice to get that done before he arrives back home, don't you think?}, my abandoned painting projects, etc., etc. Any bets on how long my organized pantry will last? It is really a shame it wasn't cleaned up before my company came. My bad.

Ok, I know it has been forever since I posted. There are reasons for this.

A. My computer is in a room occupied by my very cherished visitors so I'm trying not to invade their privacy too much. :)

B. My life just isn't that interesting!

However, my world rocked this morning when my tile guys announced "we are done." Wahoo! One more step accomplished on the way to restoration of usage of the master bathroom. Now all we need are sinks and toilets! Minor details, eh? I will post a picture when....I don't know when, but hopefully soon! In the meantime, I have a lot of nail holes to putty and sand.

The Perfect Storm/Packaging

It is true that chaos attracts more chaos. Remember that movie a few years ago about a big storm on the ocean or something (never saw it) where many different conditions came together to create that "perfect storm"? Well, the perfect storm arrived at our house this week. Remodeling, car issues, people moving, not moving, plumbing issues, painting, furniture delivery (fun, btw), YW, VT, etc. have made a happy chaos over in these parts. We are determined to keep our sense of humor and happy countenances though.

A lingering (and unrelated) issue with me is the innate inability I seem to have been born with to open things that are packaged. Even simple things like cereal boxes and cake mixes give me trouble. Even if I manage to get it open, chances are it is upside down. Yesterday I wanted to give my granddaughter a cheese stick and by the time I figured out how to peel it open, she wasn't interested any more. You know those bags that are sealed on top and then have zip locks for after you have opened it? Not my friends. Who invented "child-proof" lids, anyhow? It doesn't stop the kids, only me. I have to hand the bottle to the children to open it. And how about the lids that are put on at the factory by a big machine, and then they expect me to twist them off? Puh-leeeeeease. And how did my mirror arrive in the mail yesterday with the box so taped up that you would think the keys to the kingdom were inside, cushioned with half of the world's Styrofoam sheeting (which disintegrated into a hideous mess as I removed it), and the heavy wood frame was damaged/cracked/crushed. Was someone shipping an elephant in the box which happened to be on top of my mirror? The words "open here" are completely frustrating to me. It is just as hard "there" as anywhere else for me, but everyone around me zips the corner off and has the contents eaten before I find my scissors. I guess my husband's old saying "It's not what you want but what you get that makes you fat" could actually bless my life...I can't get the package open. I suppose I'll just maintain my friendship with my scissors and pocket knife and move on.