Friday, January 30, 2009

Haircut and stuff


It may not look like it, but I had many inches of my hair removed this week. My favorite part was after Sumer cut a chunk off and Coop came in. He said, "Your hair looks different. Let me see. Yep, it looks longer". Phew! He hates it when I cut my hair.
Speaking of, Coop is feeling much better. He still has the nagging cough but his boundless, tiring energy has returned. So, he & Kurt took off for UT today for my niece Brinlee's baptism. I'm supposed to be catching up with my homework. Shhhhh.

Can I rage for just a second? I am so incredibly sick of recent celebrities who call Mormon's names. Tom Hanks thinks we are "un-American" (he did slightly recant..only slightly though). Samuel Jackson says we are "misinformed". Misinformed and un-American about what? Voting our conscience? Taking a stand without calling people names? Using our democratic political process responsibly? Because we don't follow every whim the world deems the new "right"? Well, Mr. Jackson & Mr. Hanks, I won't be apologizing for my beliefs. If I were to change my mind every time a celebrity announced the new moral line in the sand, I'd have perpetual whiplash.

Done. For now.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Just Rest


2:30 pm: Cooper fast asleep.

If you know him, you know that is NOT normal! No, it's not. He's sick. I hate it when my kids are sick. Do I coddle him, smother him, treat him, play with him, or will that make being home so much fun that he won't ever want to leave? No, I have him lay down and rest. I make him hot cocoa and soup. I hug him. I worry.

Get well my little guy.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Product Review

Meet the Hoover All-Terrain Steam Cleaner, a.k.a my new best friend. Our carpets are disgusting, but we haven't really had the $$ to clean them (except the one time we rented that monstrous contraption which cost over $100 and took 2 days to use). Then, Kurt's parents got us this carpet cleaner and it is FANTASTIC! I give it 5 stars out of 5 stars. I would suggest reading the instructions in full before attempting to clean the carpet. When I did the boys rooms it seems I only rinsed the carpet. For those of you who have been to my home, I included photo's of my living room carpet so you can be amazed and in awe. That will be $2 please.




Monday, January 12, 2009

Internal Chatter: Grocery Shopping


I love Mondays..I've stated it before. The type A personality that has swallowed me whole loves routine and Mondays bring back routine. In the morning, after exercising, I create THE LIST. I love creating the list and looking at my dinner schedule and thinking about those extra essentials we've run out of. My grocery run includes 2 stops: Costco & Walmart. I make sure my Costco coupons are reading to go, in the order of what I want the most and what I need the least, I gather my coat and THE LIST and excitedly head out the door. Except every once in a great while, I forget THE LIST and find it resting on my desk where I left it at the beginning of my excursion. Today was one of those days...of course I didn't know it until I was in the parking lot of Costco. I took deep breaths and started to recreate THE LIST in my mind..which isn't fully functioning in the memory department.



Then I zip to get gas if I need it. Today I ran into an old family friend. Kurt. But he was too busy on his pay-as-you-go cell phone to give me the time of day. Secret: I was super excited to run into him...I find that odd since I see him every day and only hope he has somewhere to be every once in awhile.


Walmart. Do any of us like to admit we shop there? I don't, but a girls got to do what a girls got to do. It seems that always one wheel on the cart makes an annoying squeaky sound and that every time you turn down an aisle there is someone parked right in the center of it. Come On people...pick a side. Then, when I'm trying to race through the person hygiene section so no one will catch me buying stuff...2 people block me in and I run into someone who I'm friendly with but not THAT friendly with.


The grocery section is awesome. I try to have sympathy for the mother with the screaming infant who you hear no matter what aisle you are in, but really I just feel bad for the infant.


For me, the most crucial section of the store are the check out lanes. There are certain clerks I try to avoid. There is the gal who is unbelievably slow. No...seriously, it's like watching slow motion and it takes everything I have to not just grab a can, slide it across the scanner, and say, "See...how hard is that?". Then there's the gal who is a chatterbox. I like some conversation just as much as the next person, but I don't need to know you are depressed (you think I'm joking..I'm not) or how you just can't keep weight on no matter how hard you try or how you really should be on break (these all came from the same clerk at different times). Last, but certainly not least, is the guy who keeps a folded rag next to the register so he can dab is dripping nose after each swipe of an item. GO HOME.



Once I've made it through the gauntlet, I joyfully drive home. Grocery shopping (the end result..just like exercise) makes me happy for a few reasons. There is something about opening the fridge or the cupboard and seeing them full of food that balances out the fear you face during times of unemployment. Shelter: check. Water: check: Food: check. I also love to hear my boys come home from school and exclaim, "Yes! Groceries". Finally, I remember doing the same thing when my mom went shopping and then trying not to let Randy know about all the goodies hidden throughout the kitchen.


Ahhh...another grocery day come & gone. All is well. All is well.


Monday, January 5, 2009

Celebrate

I decided tonight was a great night to celebrate. It's cold and the streets are filled with snow creating a warm circumstance for getting comfortable with family.

I set the table with my favorite tableware which happens to be white plates with red trim, the red trim encasing gold stars. I bought them at Target at least 12 years ago on an after Christmas clearance sale. My mom bought the goblets years later to match. What goes better with fun, festive dinner than candlelight and non-alcoholic bubbly?

And nothing is better than the company of my boys...all 3 of them. They are much less energetic at the dinner table and we can have delightful conversation, even if the discussion turns to topics I deem "gross".

Sometimes one small child gets the camera and takes pictures of what he thinks are the most important objects surrounding us. He is also the small child who loves to see a fancy set dinner table and immediately creates name tags for the dinner guests.
Today is a day to celebrate, even if the boys had to go back to school and my eliptical machine broke. We were together. We ate, we sang, we listened, we read, we prayed. Celebrate.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Secret Santa Strikes Again!


He did it again. Secret Santa stealthily left a bundle of gifts on our doorstep Christmas Eve. Boy does Santa know us. He is very generous as well. It seems Santa knows Cooper better than I do because Cooper went wild over the Bakugan (pronounced bock-oo-gone) game he received. I had never even heard of Bakugan. I could have sworn it's a middle Eastern country.
Hunter, to his most inner central delight, received a gift certificate to Gandolphos...one of the best sub places ever. When he speaks of it, his tone becomes hushed and reverent.
Kurt & I received a gift card to Walmart (I had a fabulous grocery trip) and to Whitewater Pizza & Pasta (same as McKenzie River). I LOVE that place. When my relative girls used to live here, it was "our place".
So thank you Santa of the secret order. We love our surprise Christmas gifts!