Piece of Mind

A Dose of Cuteness

2012-02-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

Readers of this blog will remember that I had kidney stones over Thanksgiving. There are about 10 days that are pretty much a black hole in my memory. So you will forgive me for posting these pictures from Thanksgiving a little late.

It looks like my family had a really great Thanksgiving. I wish I had been there... and not drugged up and asleep on a couch somewhere.

Some Things That May Surprise You

2012-02-03T12:38:00.002-08:00

Surprise #1) I bought a "pioneer picture" this week. I justified it because it goes along with a Relief Society activity I'm in charge of and it will be a great visual aid. But to be perfectly honest, I've always secretly liked it. And it's of pioneers. Who knew?

Surprise #2) I subscribe to People magazine. As in, it comes to my house once a week. After I moved into my own apartment, I was buying People as a treat at the end of every work week. But I quickly discovered that if you're buying a magazine every week at the grocery store, you're overspending on celebrity gossip. So eventually I had to put my pride aside and actually subscribe to the magazine. It's much cheaper that way.

So there you have it. Two random and somewhat contradictory things you may or may not have known about me. Happy Friday to all!

More Weekend Pics

2012-01-31T08:49:00.001-08:00

A couple of pics from the weekend that weren't taken with a cell phone! Enjoy!

Weekend Adventure

2012-01-30T10:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wish my nephews were cuter and more fun to be around.

Kidding, kidding. How could that even be possible?

Tricia and I "ran away" to Idaho this weekend. We did lots of fun things, like packing for a pretend trip to Disneyland. We called people "stinker pot" and giggled. And we had hamburgers and milkshakes.

Add that to the fact that I got to see my best friends from high school (who are still my best friends!) and it was a very refreshing weekend.

This Would Only Happen to Me

2012-01-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

This morning a co-worker mentioned they wished they had a screwdriver to hang some new shelves. As fate would have it, I have a screwdriver in the trunk of my car so I went to get it. Somehow during the complicated process of removing the screwdriver from my tool kit, I gashed my thumb. Really bad. It bled for about 30 minutes and I had to make a run to Smiths for first aid supplies.

I don't think I'll be texting for awhile. And I know I won't be foolish enough to lend someone a screwdriver ever, ever again! These are the kinds of things that only happen to me.

Neil Diamond Day

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

January 24, 2012 was another great Neil Diamond Day! Happy 71st birthday to an icon. We celebrated at my Dad's house with cheese fondue, a chocolate fountain, donuts and a viewing of the final scene of The Jazz Singer. Long Live Neil Diamond.

Possible Josh Groban Sighting

2012-01-23T13:28:00.001-08:00

I'm sitting in my office this afternoon, minding my own business, when a guy walks by outside my window. I am 99.9% sure it was Josh Groban. But what was he doing on 4th East in Salt Lake City? And why didn't he come into say hello?

I Enjoy Being a Girl

2012-01-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

This post is probably not for the faint of heart. Yesterday was not my best day. On the orneriness scale of 1 to 10, I was definitely not at a 1.

Some examples. I got the hospital bill for the pelvic exam that was done when I went to the ER with kidney stones back in December. ER doctors should not give pelvic exams. Ever. And now I have to pay the hospital money for inflicting this barbaric form of torture on me? That's just not right.

Also, after a LONG day at work, I sat in stop-and-go traffic on the freeway for what seemed like years. I went to Panda Express to grab takeout as my reward for surviving the day. But by the time I got home (keep in mind that Panda is less than a mile from my house) I couldn't stand the thought of eating chow mien or orange chicken. I didn't even want it in my house but, since I am most certainly not pregnant, I couldn't justify throwing out the Chinese food I had just bought myself five minutes ago. So then I was mad at my dinner, which is completely understandable and reasonable, right? RIGHT???

I was glad I went to Panda Express though because I saw my third grade teacher. She has not aged a bit in 25 years. It kind of freaked me out. I wanted to show her how much my handwriting has improved since I was in third grade... which probably would have freaked her out. All in all, it was a strange day. I'm not sorry that it's over.

The Joys of Being a Homeowner

2012-01-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

Tyler and Bryce have taken their responsibilities pretty seriously since their parents bought them a nice house. They get the mail, help mow the lawn and (apparently) clear the snow out of the rain gutters. I love this picture.

Bryce recently confessed to me that sometimes when he's in bed and his Mom and Dad think he's asleep, his eyes are open and he's awake. (In fact, he even took the phone and went in his bedroom and closed the door before he told me this.) His revelation came as a complete shock to me. I know Ty and Jess have been wondering who eats all their string cheese and unwraps Christmas presents in the middle of the night.

A Call For Help

2012-01-18T09:17:00.001-08:00

So the next Relief Society activity I am in charge of is the birthday party in March. We are going to do the "purse-suit of happiness" activity* that I know a lot of wards have done where all the sisters bring their purses. If you have been to one of these activities, I would love to hear about what you did and what you liked or didn't like. Thanks!

*Disclaimer: I didn't come up with the title of this activity. But I'm willing to run with it. Plus... I have a ton of purses/bags/backpacks... so our decorating budget will be next to nothing and we can spend more on treats!

Directionally Challenged

2012-01-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

Freeways I needed to be on to make it to a meeting today:
I-15 Southbound
I-215 Eastbound

Freeways I was actually on today:
I-15 Southbound
I-80 Eastbound
I-215 Westbound
I-15 Northbound

The moral of the story is that I-215 and I-80 are not the same. Not even a little bit. And I should never leave my house!

We Bought a Zoo

2012-01-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

I watched a really great movie last night. Tricia and I went to see "We Bought a Zoo" primarily because Matt Damon was in it and it was PG. No plot? No problem if I get to look at Matt for a couple of hours.

But it did have a plot. And I really enjoyed the movie. I am going to recommend it to anyone who has lost their Mom to cancer - or if you know someone who has. The movie made a lot of sense to me.

I also really liked one of the themes of the movie, which was that sometimes all it takes is 20 seconds of courage to make something really great happen. Twenty seconds of courage... I can (maybe) do that.

Little Miss Lauren

2012-01-04T07:20:00.000-08:00

Last night I kicked Tay and Heather out of their house so Lauren and I could have some play time. One of our favorite games involved me holding the rolling pin that Lauren handed me while she danced to the music from one of her toys. (Hey, holding the rolling pin is a very important job.) At one point, I set down the rolling pin and started dancing with Lauren. At the end of the song, she walked over to the rolling pin and handed it back to me with a look that clearly said, "You're really better at holding this."

The truth hurts sometimes.

One More Thing

2012-01-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention one of my most important accomplishments of 2011 - I was not ticketed for jaywalking. See, I live across the street from the police station and I'm always dashing across to pay my utility bill, drop a book at the library, do my visiting teaching etc. I live in constant fear that some bored cop will decide to be a smart alec and write me up for jaywalking. I'm probably tempting fate by posting this online. Hmmm.

You're also probably wondering if I've done anymore of the exercise DVD's I checked out from the library. I have! This morning I popped in the Zumba DVD. I quickly learned I'd made two mistakes in the selection process.

Mistake #1: I got the "advanced" tape intended for people who had already learned the steps in the "introduction to zumba" tape that I apparently missed.

Mistake #2: The DVD was in Spanish.

In spite of these two errors, I loved the tape. I picked the steps up pretty quickly and, besides, I think you burn twice as many calories when you're always double-stepping to get back on the right (as in correct) foot. I can't wait to try it again sometime soon. And believe it or not... I mean that!

2011: A Year In Review

2011-12-29T14:38:00.001-08:00

Wow. Another year has come and gone. I've been trying to think if I've shown any personal growth this past year. I'm going to be honest with you - that's a negative! The good news is that leaves me lots of room for improvement in 2012.

The other piece of good news is that (as is my custom) I did not make any resolutions for 2011. So technically, I am not a failure! Instead, at the end of each year, I like to reflect on some of the things I did accomplish in the past 12 months and take a moment to be grateful for the good things in my life.

This year I:
* Enjoyed lots of time with my family. We were able to be all together for Tanner's blessing, Tricia's graduation, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. What luck!

* Decided it was time to buy a new car - and bought one.

* Went to the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City for the first time. Fell in love with the outdoor theater.

* Loved my nephews. Big time.

* And my niece. Just as much!

* Went to three new-to-me temples: Rexburg, Idaho Falls and St. Louis Missouri.

* Did away with my long-time rule that I would go out at least once with anyone who had the guts to ask me (as long as I wasn't afraid for my life). It was a good rule in my college years. But I'm not 21 anymore. I have a masters degree and a career. And I'm not going to Marie Callender's with crazies anymore.

*Went to Tricia's college graduation. I may never have to proof-read another research paper for English 2010. Wahoo!!!

*Moved out of The Pink Office that has been my work space for the past 8 years. Staked my claim on an empty "partner's office," moved in quietly on a holiday weekend and didn't get kicked out.

*Went on my first cruise. Lounged on the desk and read my murder mystery. Lounged on the beach in the Bahamas. Hiked Mayan ruins in Mexico. Lounged some more at the buffet.

* Stood by a stingray and swam with dolphins in the Grand Caymans.

*Went ziplining in Honduras. Yes, that makes me cool.

I believe it was the playwright Samuel Beckett who said, "Go ahead and fail. Try again. And fail better." I love that. It's become my motto in 2011 and I'm going to hold onto it for 2012. Here's to a year of failing better.

More Christmas Pics

2011-12-28T15:37:00.001-08:00

Do you think Mary and Joseph wore pillow cases and pulled each other's hair while the shepherds looked on? I've always wondered that.

Tyson, Jess, Harry & David Chocolates, Bryce, Tyler and Tanner on Christmas Eve.

Sisters, sisters... there were never such devoted sisters.

Christmas morning!

Tis the Season

2011-12-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

My family had a wonderful Christmas this year. First of all, how could we not with this adorable child among us? Tanner was so cute as Santa's Helper. He's 10 months old and just as good natured as can be.

All of my siblings were able to be at Dad's house for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning this year. We had some good times! One of my favorites was getting sucked into watching really bad Christmas music videos on Christmas Eve. Who told Justin Beiber and Boyz II Men they should do a duet together? That was a really bad idea.

Another favorite moment was going to church with my family. I liked watching all of the beaming grandparents take any excuse to carry a grandchild out into the hall.

The Christmas highlight that made me laugh the hardest was when Tricia asked Tyler what his favorite gift was. He answered very matter-of-factly, "All of them that were for me." Duh. I also liked Bryce's "guess" that Santa had brought him a Lightning McQueen tent with a train inside and a stocking with his name on it and a wrapped present. And there might be a pink tent for Lauren! Sure, we hadn't technically been down to the tree yet. But Bryce's, ahem, prediction was a little too accurate to be just a guess.

Takin' it to the Club

2011-12-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Question: Does anyone actually feel like this when they do aerobics? Because I sure don't.

But thanks in no small part to your gentle emails and texts yesterday, I did check out some new exercise videos from the library. Even more monumental, I did a 45 minute cardio dance routine last night. While I will not be "taking my new moves to the club" as the instructor so enthusiastically admonished me to do, I had no problem dancing up a storm in the privacy of my living room.

If it's wrong to love expressions like "Let's add some sass to this grapevine" or "Now it's time to funk it up"... then I don't want to be right.

Now My Laziness Can Be Your Fault

2011-12-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am going to the library to check out some workout DVD's. I am going to work out tonight.

I am putting this in writing so you all will call and harass me if I don't follow through. Which (somehow) means it will be YOUR fault if my laziness gets the better of me.

Christmas Update

2011-12-20T08:00:00.001-08:00

Tyler: We're coming on Thursday. Does Grandpa have sausage?

Me: Yes, Grandpa has sausage in his fridge.

Tyler: Does Grandpa have enough sausage?

Me: Well, now, I don't know.

Getting excited for Christmas. The Relief Society dinners, work parties and other "events" are pretty much over. I went to see "The Christmas Carol" at the new theater in Centerville last week. And Friday night I curled up on the couch and watched "White Christmas." So, as long as Grandpa has enough sausage for Christmas morning, I think the real magic of Christmas is about to begin.

I've Heard It Both Ways

2011-12-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

So I've become a little bit addicted to the TV show "Psych." It's about a guy who pretends to be psychic and works with the Santa Barbara police department to solve strange crimes. Psychic Detective Shawn Spencer is obnoxious. But the writers on the show come up with some comic gems that are just too good to ignore.

One of my favorite lines was the Psych commentary on Facebook as "A place to share intimate details of your life with people you would avoid talking to on the street." As Gus would say, "I hear that."

Reasons Why Life is Good

2011-12-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

So Tyler and I have spent a lot of time together on the phone recently. In the past few days, he has come up with a solution to the "yucky tummy" he experienced at Thanksgiving. His plan for Christmas is to eat less candy and more sausage. I'm interested to see how that works out for him.

He also told me yesterday that he didn't want to be a shepherd in the little Nativity I want to put together for Christmas Eve. He wants to be a Wise Man, with his brother Bryce and (wait for it) Grandpa to back him up. Something tells me he just might get his Christmas wish. Love this kid to pieces!

Reasons I Have Been a Slacker

2011-12-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

Missed this blog? (Yeah right.) But here are some of the reasons I have not been posting updates recently. In no particular order.

* I had kidney stones. I spent Thanksgiving in the Emergency Room and followed up with two more ER visits that next week for stronger drugs. I passed the last of my two "pebbles" last weekend and am now pretty much back to my real life. But I'm still mad I missed a trip to Las Vegas to visit family and a weekend in Boise that I had really been looking forward to.

* Davis County was hit with the biggest windstorm we've seen in the past 213 years and we were all without power for days.

* I suffered the most severe heartbreak of my 32 years (call me for details - it's not really blog material!!!) and temporarily lost all ability to function as a normal human being.

* I'm in charge of my ward's Relief Society Dinner next week. We expect about 125 women to attend. Does anyone know how many Texas Sheet Cakes it will take to feed 125 women? Keep in mind we're also serving peppermint ice cream with chocolate syrup with dessert!

Last, but certainly not least, last week I called Chilis to make a to-go order. At the end of the call (as is customary) the Chilis employee went to confirm my order. She started out with what I had called the Buffalo Chicken Ranch sandwich... but what she called the Buffalo Whatever sandwich. I have spent a considerable amount of time since then pondering why you would even bother to confirm someone's order if you were going to refer to the Buffalo Whatever sandwich.

Reality Check

2011-11-10T06:56:00.001-08:00

Last night I caught a glimpse of myself in a flannel nightgown, knee socks, glasses, messy ponytail, carrying a plate of cheese and crackers, with toothpaste on my chin to dry out a ginormous zit.

And I marveled yet again that I'm not dating anyone.

Tyler is 5

2011-11-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

Adventures in Babysitting

2011-11-03T07:39:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I got to spend some one-on-one time with Miss Lauren. Tay has continued his winning streak on local radio stations and he and Heather were able to take an over night trip to a nearby ski resort.

Mostly these days, Lauren likes to walk from room to room with a huge smile on her face and something (anything) in her hand. She also specializes in being impossibly cute. We had a lot of fun together on Girls Night. The only rough spot was the diaper-and-a-half she had in the middle of the night that was bad enough I decided to throw her pj's straight in the trash. She more than made up for it though by falling asleep with me on the couch right after.

I bought Lauren the outfit she is wearing in this picture mostly because I have an outfit just like it (except for the skinny jeans... don't worry, mine are a more "relaxed" fit). She looks way cuter in hers. Good thing I like her so much or I might be a little jealous.

Now That's Scary

2011-10-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

Last night I wandered into the Halloween Boo-Tique at the mall, wondering if they might have a fun costume I could wear to work. They really didn't have anything in the "adult women" section that any woman I know would wear to work. Whoops.

I'm An Adult, Dang It

2011-10-17T15:13:00.001-07:00

I was checking in at a doctor's office last week and the receptionist asked if I had brought someone over 18 with me to sign the paperwork. I had to tell her I was PLENTY old enough to sign my own forms. I really don't get why this happens to me so often.

A Very Merry Un-Birthday

2011-09-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

One of our vendors at work just dropped off a caramel apple to wish me a happy birthday. Which is great - except that my birthday is in February.

It kind of makes me wonder if it's a poison apple and someone is actually trying to kill me. But it's a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory caramel apple with white chocolate and cinnamon. So I'm willing to take my chances.

If You Like My Family - You Will LOVE This Post

2011-09-15T09:08:00.001-07:00

My family all gathered in Farmington for Labor Day weekend. It was wonderful! Get ready for an overload of pictures.
Traci & Tanner at Lauren's birthday party.

Lauren would gladly have spent all afternoon hitting the sprinklers with Heather walking behind.

With our cousin Kristi, who joined us at the party.

Uncle Tay with Tanner. Can you tell these two are related? I can just see them a year from now, watching random You Tube videos together for days at a time.

Sunday morning with the grandkids. The only way I know to get my Dad to jump into a photo shoot willingly is to clump these four kids together. And Tyler and Bryce insisted that the beach balls be part of the pictures. Why not?

The Girls.

You know when you put four kids in Grandpa's wagon with the pumpkin patch in the background and you just KNOW you're going to be able to get them all to look at the camera with happy smiles on their faces at the same moment in time? Yeah right!

Tanner was so done with pictures. I don't blame him.

Wow. Only Tay would think to do this.

Slightly more appropriate!

Why do I look like I'm posing for a senior picture and I snatched up some unwilling baby off the street to sit with me? Can anyone answer that?

Grandpa and the boys like to eat donuts for breakfast. They ride in the orange car (look, ma, no carseats) to the gas station down the street and buy Hostess donuts, with Tyler and Bryce wearing Krispy Kreme hats. It's pretty classic. My favorite thing about this picture is that it's pitch black outside. Tyler and Bryce must have been ready for donuts before the crack of dawn.

Summer Fun With Ty & Jess

2011-09-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

Did you wake up this morning wondering how Ty & Jess and The Boys have been spending their summer? Well, I'll tell you. They have been loving the fact that they have a house with a YARD. They have been camping at the sand dunes. And they have been wearing buckets on their heads.

Do you think these two like each other? I do.

Jess's birthday. I don't think she often wears tierras around the house. But she might. I know I would if I lived with these four!

For The Fans

2011-09-12T11:24:00.001-07:00

I went to Vernal this weekend to visit Tricia. We had a lot of fun - watched a lot of movies - and ate a lot of good food. My kind of sister time! I also took some pictures of the school where Tricia is teaching and her new apartment. She loved that I was taking pictures like a crazy person every time she turned around... but I told her they were for "the fans." And so, dear Tricia Fans, here are some photos!

Tricia outside Eagle View Elementary.

The Super Cute Classroom where Tricia teaches 6th grade. Our stated reason for going to the school was so that I could help her get some stuff ready for this week. But really we both knew I was there to play with her Smart Board, her iPad and explore the school library. Very helpful of me.

Outside Tricia's townhouse. It's very nice.

What's black and white and red all over? Tricia's bedroom!

The kitchen. A great place to eat cinnamon rolls and strawberries... I'm just saying.

Lauren Is One!

2011-09-09T12:15:00.001-07:00

My cutest (and only) niece is one! We celebrated Lauren's first birthday on Saturday with a party at Tay and Heather's house. Per Tyler and Bryce's request, we had cupcakes with sprinkles, presents, balloons and a slip-n-slide. Tyler informed me as we were leaving that he was "very impressed with the party." So I'd say it was a success.

What a Diva!

Practically Perfect in Every Way

2011-09-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

Last night I saw "Mary Poppins" at Capitol Theater. It was wonderful! The sets, the songs, the lighting - a spectacular display of musical theater at its finest. (Does that sound too much like an ad? Get your tickets NOW at arttix.org.)

The play made me want to tap dance in a musical. And I kind of wish I knew how to fly.

Which got me to thinking... Someone should open a theater where, after the show, audience members can hop on stage and be a part of the experience. You could teach people 32 counts of a dance sequence and plop them in the middle of a favorite song. Or project the script on a screen (think karaoke-style) and people could act out scenes on set with the performers. It would be like an amusement park for people who always wanted to be on Broadway but don't have the time or (ahem) talent. I really think there's a market for this! Someone should take this idea and run with it. It's a gold mine. We can share the profits 50/50.

I Hate Buying Toilet Paper

2011-09-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

I don't like to buy toilet paper. To the point that I can't make eye contact when I am walking through a grocery store with TP in my cart. I might go so far as to say that this is one of the weirdest things about me - and there are a lot of idiosyncrasies to choose from!

Spoon Full of Sugar

2011-08-22T10:54:00.001-07:00

My family once talked about what our "dream concerts" would be. Like if Rascal Flatts opened for the Beatles. Or REO Speedwagon opened for Elton John. (That would be Tay's dream concert, by the way, not mine.) Something to think about. What would your dream concert be?

I have to say that my dream concert for the Summer of 2011 would be if Sara Bareilles opened for Sugarland. And she did! At Usana. On Saturday night. It was awesome!

My friend Sara introduced me to Sara Bareilles when I stayed with her on a trip to New York. (Introduced me to her music. Not the real Sara B. Although I know we would all be good friends if we actually knew each other. And Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland would probably want to hang with us too.) So listening to Sara Bareilles always reminds me of being with Sara in Manhattan and what a great time we had.

Listening to Sara Bareilles perform live did not disappoint. I love her voice, love her emotion, love her lyrics. I mean really. Don't you wish you could write lyrics like, "You sound so innocent, all full of good intent, swear you know best. But you expect me to jump up onboard with you and ride off into your delusional sunset." And then you could introduce the song at a concert by saying "This is for all the girls out there who have a d-bag in their life they need to get rid of." Pure genius. I would sell my soul to the devil to be able to write things like that.

Moving on... Sugarland was amazing as well. Very upbeat, very raw, very real. I was on my feet the whole night and didn't want to leave when the concert was over. If they came back tonight - or every night this week - I would be there.

Love This Kid

2011-08-22T10:48:00.001-07:00

Love this kid! She is cute in her "eat seat," cute when she's crawling, cute when she's playing and cute when she's screaming bloody murder. (For the first hour, then it starts to wear on you.) So glad Tay & Heather moved to Farmington and we get to play more regularly.

Seattle

2011-08-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

Tricia and I were able to make a quick trip to Seattle last weekend. We had our traditional banana splits with Patsy, Hal, Jilene and Mike (aunts and uncles) at Shari's on Friday night. Saturday morning we went to Pike Place Market with Jilene. You can tell by the picture below that the market was crowded with tourists. (Said snobbishly. Technically Tricia and I are not tourists, since we have family in Seattle and We Belong.) But I never pass up an opportunity to watch hot guys throw fish at each other. We had lunch at Ivar's on the waterfront. There is nothing better than eating fish and chips from Ivar's in downtown Seattle, sitting on the water and throwing fries at the ever-present seagulls.

Well, ok, there is ONE thing better than lunch at Ivar's. And that is a family picnic later that night! Saturday night we were joined at a park in Redmond with a wide assortment of our aunts, uncles, cousins and related kiddos. We lucked out because our Uncle Barry from Texas happened to be visiting Seattle that weekend as well. It was great to see everyone - and laugh hysterically at cousin Kimmy's stories, as I always do. Thanks to everyone who made time to spend with us last weekend!

Parable of the Parking Lot

2011-08-17T08:40:00.001-07:00

Last night I was pulling into the parking lot at Albertsons... I mean A Fresh Market, since that is what we are calling it these days. Anyway, there was a shopping cart someone had left out in the middle of the lot. From the corner of my eye, I saw a woman walking in that direction with her cart. I had the thought, "Yes, because two carts left out in the middle of a parking lot is better than one. Just because somebody else did it, doesn't make it right. Why can't you just return your cart?"

And then the woman pushed both carts to the designated "cart return" area. And I felt really stupid.

So I would like to apologize to Parking Lot Lady for my snap judgment. She is clearly a much better person than I will ever be. And since I am offering up apologies, I would also like to say sorry to a guy I work with. When I saw him walking through a grocery store parking lot on Monday, I thought about how fantastic it would be to run him over with my car. What, you've never had a co-worker you wished would suffer an unfortunate accident? Come on now.

The moral of the story is that I am not as nice a person as I would like to be. But maybe I can try harder to "focus on the positive" today.

Shakespeare Festival

2011-08-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, my friend (and college roommate) Teri suggested that we were the World's Worst English Majors since we had never been to the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. I conceded that she was probably right - and we decided to visit the Shakespeare Festival this summer to correct this horrible wrong.

We drove to Cedar City on Friday afternoon and watched "Romeo & Juliet" that night. I loved the outdoor theater (which is a replica of The Globe) and the acting and staging were amazing. I may have cried a little at the end of the play.

The next afternoon, we saw a matinee performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." So funny! We had such a good time at the festival and I'm thinking this may become an annual tradition. It was fun to embrace my inner "English major nerd" and spend a weekend talking about books and Shakespeare and why junior high teachers who insist on having their students diagram sentences should be drug out into the street and shot. (Diagram that sentence, I dare you!)

I laughed, I cried... Thanks Teri for a great adventure!

Pioneer Day

2011-07-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

One thing I am known for is my love of pioneer stories. Ok, that's not even a little bit true. I am actually known as the girl who visibly cringes anytime someone starts to talk about the Martin & Willie handcart company. Am I a bad person? Probably. But that's not really the point of this post.

In Utah, we celebrate the 24th of July as the day that the Mormon Pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The fact that I do not love, love pioneer stories does not stop me from celebrating Pioneer Day. This year, I went to the Bountiful Parade. (It helped that my apartment is along the parade route and all I had to do was walk outside my front door.) I also went to see the final Harry Potter movie. I may have even made the comparison that Harry Potter, like each of us, is a pioneer in his own right. And that, my friends, is how Pioneer Day is done.

Before and After

2011-07-26T15:14:00.001-07:00

It's Almost Like I Died and Went to Heaven (almost)
Several weeks ago, the air conditioner in my office went out. I was "temporarily" moved to an empty office across the hall while the air conditioner was being replaced.

Unfortunately for my boss, I fell in love with my "temporary" office. It's big. It has a nice layout. It's not pink. And it has a HUGE table that people can actually sit down at if they want to talk to me about a project (which happens, oh let's say, 50 times a day). And did I mention... it's empty? I was told that I had to move back into my office after the a/c was fixed. But since no one ever came to carry my big, heavy computer back across the hall... and since I couldn't possibly move my computer back myself... I quietly began to move my things into my new office. I finished up last Friday. I even got brave and hung things on the walls.

Here is a before shot of how the "empty office now known as Traci's office" was decorated before I moved in. What is that a picture of anyway? Birds maybe?

And here is an after photo. Cute, functional and exceptionally well organized. I think I'm going to like it here. Until I get kicked out (or fired) anyway!

A Strange Coincidence

2011-07-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Number of light bulbs I have changed this week: 3.

Number of times this week I wished I had a roommate: also 3.

Coincidence? Probably not.

And, yes, I am wearing a pink tiara in this picture. It seemed appropriate.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

2011-07-11T11:22:00.001-07:00

Is there's one thing I love to do, it's celebrate made-up holidays with trips to the dollar store. This year, the Cutest Sisters Club decided to celebrate Christmas in July! We made sugar cookies and drank frozen hot chocolate. We opened presents under the tree. And of course we listened to Christmas music and did some caroling. They don't call us the Cutest Sisters Club for no reason... Ok, so maybe we call ourselves that. But the title is well-deserved.

Cassi & Liz trying to contain their excitement while rolling out sugar cookie dough.

Tricia's really mad that she blinked in this shot. I think maybe she was afraid that Cassi was about to smack her with a rolling pin. I don't know why she would think that!

I am clearly thrilled with this fishing pole. Little did I know that also in this bag was a Criminal Profiling Kit. I cannot wait to witness a crime and provide the police with a first-rate sketch of the perpetrator.

Cassi's new apron went great with her slippers. If Home Depot ever decides to hire Christmas Elves, I don't think anyone would be more qualified.

Tricia with her new kites and water bottle! Score!

And what Christmas in July celebration would be complete without an inflatable pink flamingo? Thanks, girls, for a fantastic holiday!

For Anyone Keeping Track...

2011-07-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have now attended sessions in all the operating temples in Utah, Idaho and Missouri.

My total temple count = 21. Temples currently in operation = 134.

Meet Me In St. Louis

2011-07-05T07:16:00.001-07:00

I spent this weekend in Missouri with my cousin Kristi and my Uncle Garf. Talk about a fun-filled couple of days.

We went to the temple in St. Louis in Friday night, followed by burgers at Steak and Shake. On Saturday, we went to the local farmers market, then got ready for the day. We saw the Winston Churchill Memorial in Fulton and the State Capital Building in Jefferson City. We also shared a banana split at Central Dairy, home of the LARGEST banana splits in Jeff City... or anywhere else in the world. Seriously, we had chocolate, spumoni and mint chocolate chip ice cream topped with hot fudge, strawberry sauce and walnuts. I wasn't sure we were going to be able to eat it all, but you should never doubt the Thomas Family when ice cream is involved. Go Team!

After we had recovered from the ice cream, we drove to Herman and toured two wineries. The nice thing about wineries in the midwest on hot, humid days is that wine cellars are deliciously cool! The gift shops also have fun tee shirts with sayings like "I wine constantly." I got a kick out of that. We had dinner in Herman on the Missouri River.

Sunday we went to church and Kristi and Garf showed me around Mexico, Missouri. I got beat soundly in a game of gin rummy. And Kristi taught me to make frozen hot chocolate, which is now a new favorite. It was a FANTASTIC weekend. Thanks for a fun trip!

My New Car

2011-06-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

Funny story. Last summer I may have been VERY lost on my way to a concert at a large, well-known, easily accessible venue in Salt Lake City. Hearing the story later, my brother Tyson suggested it was time for me to invest in a GPS. (He even taught his four year-old son to say clever things like "Aunt Traci wants a GPS for Christmas.") My reply to Ty was something along the lines of "If I'm going to buy a GPS, I may as well just buy a new car." Does that make any sense? Not really. Keep in mind I was pretty traumatized from being so lost on the way to the Brad Paisley concert the night before.

True to form, two weeks ago I bought a GPS. It was on a great Fathers Day sale. I would have bought one for my Dad - but he pretty much IS a GPS. So I bought one for myself instead. And then I bought a new car the next weekend to put it in. Go figure.

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to my Dad!

Thanks for coming over yesterday to replace my flat tire. And thanks for bringing me cherry sours because you knew I had recently adopted the philosophy that a house is not a home without a bag of cherry sours.

Thanks for always giving me directions to unfamiliar locations and for acting like "Is that MY north or YOUR north?" is a legitimate question.

Thanks for always having cans of Minute Maid Light juices in your kitchen, because they're my favorite. And peanuts for Ty, yogurt-covered pretzels for Jess, Pringles for Tay, Nutter Butters for Heather, frozen pizza for Biz, and corndogs, gum, waffles, Tootsie Rolls and doughnuts for Tyler and Bryce.

Thanks for buying $25 flip flops for "the grand guys" without batting an eye... and full size candy bars because they NEEDED chocolate. (Even though you would never consider paying $25 for a pair of shoes for yourself - but for a 3 year-old's flip flops, that is a perfectly reasonable price. We'll talk about your clothing choices another day.)

Thanks for taking us all to dinner, picking up the check, and always telling the server that's why we bring you along. It's not the ONLY reason we bring you along. But it doesn't hurt either.

Thanks Dad! Have a happy day.

Tricia's Exciting News

2011-06-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

Tricia has accepted a 6th grade teaching position at Eagle View Elementary for next fall. We are really excited for her! The school is in Roosevelt, Utah... which is near Vernal... which is near, well, it's a couple of hours from Salt Lake. Tricia is busy planning lessons and I am busy planning Girls Weekends in Vernal. Yay hurray!!!
Love this picture of Biz leading the rising generation. Classic.

So proud!!!

Biz and Dad. How cute is that?

And a couple of bonus pics. Here is one of Tyler and Tanner where Tyler is smiling. You saw it here first!

And one of Bryce enjoying his birthday present. Can you believe this little "angel" is three years old? He recently learned that you can delay a family drive from Prescott, Arizona to Wendell, Idaho by over 5 hours if you shove a pencil down the van's ignition and the lead breaks off. Way to go, Mr. Bryce!

Life's Like That

2011-06-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

The other day I bought flowers at the grocery store. I was not having my best day ever and I thought fresh flowers would be fun. As I was filling the vase (my favorite vase) with water, it shattered in the kitchen sink. I was not happy. I cleaned up the mess, then put the flowers in a second vase. By the time I got the vase on my table, the water had turned red from, you guessed it, blood. My blood from the "owies" I sustained while picking up the bits of shattered glass. By this point, I was REALLY not happy. Here I was, trying to do something nice for myself on a rough day and I ended up breaking my once-favorite vase and nearly bleeding to death.

Don't you love days (and weeks... and months...) like this? Days like yesterday, where my bad day at work was followed by a screw in my front tire and a city-wide power outage where no businesses had air conditioning or were able to use their cash registers. You can't do anything right. You're still bleeding from picking up the pieces from one disaster and turn around to find yourself facing another. You know you are destined to spend your entire life buying presents for other people's weddings and baby showers. And you're tired.

Yeah, I love days like that. I'm glad I have this blog as a reminder that sometimes I do fun things. I go on cruises and play with my nieces and nephews and I have a masters degree. And I know that a little bit of gratitude can go a long way. But wow. I'm not going to pretend that I never have days where my "it's ok, let's cheer up" flowers end up in a vase filled with blood. Because sometimes life is just like that!

Have You Ever???

2011-06-08T11:55:00.001-07:00

Have you ever???

1) Tried a sunless tanning lotion, broken out in hives and still been happy with the results because the faint "golden glow" you've wanted your whole life is SO worth an itchy rash?

2) Accidentally stolen bananas from an out-of-state grocery store where you really had no way of correcting your mistake?

3) Straightened the shirt collar of a co-worker during a meeting when you were the only girl in the room? Then had a moment of absolute terror where you realized that everyone was staring at you and apparently guys don't appreciate helpfulness like that?

4) Put on a temporary tattoo of Thomas The Train just because you could after spending the day with your nephews at "A Day Out With Thomas," then forgotten all about it at 3 o'clock in the morning when you stumbled out of bed to use the bathroom and completely freaked out over the large and very vivid blue, black and red "bruise" you had somehow acquired?

Yeah, I haven't either. But if I had... I can only imagine how embarrassed I would feel right about now.

Little Ones I Like A Lot

2011-05-26T09:43:00.001-07:00

Tyler

Bryce

Lauren

Tanner

Rexburg and Idaho Falls

2011-05-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took a "temple trip" to Rexburg and Idaho Falls. I drove to Rexburg after work on Friday, checked into my hotel, and went to Costa Vida to grab some dinner. Costa Vida was a very popular date destination in Rexburg on a Friday evening. The line was pretty long, so I amused myself with an activity I made up called "First Date: Last Date or Eternal Mate?" It's a pretty complicated game, but basically it involved watching couples who were clearly on their first date and trying to decide if the girl was thinking their first date was also going to be their last date... or if she was thinking she had found her eternal mate. I like to think my "rate of accuracy" in this guessing game has to to be at least 95%.

I went to the Rexburg Temple on Saturday morning, then drove to Idaho Falls and did a session there. My parents were married in the Idaho Falls Temple and my Grandma and Grandpa Thomas used to serve there, so it was neat to be there.

After the session, I tried to find the house my family lived in when we lived in Idaho Falls. I was in Kindergarten, so my memories of this house include the playroom under the stairs, my pink flowered wall paper, and the Church of the Nazarene parking lot across the street where I learned to ride my bike. I was excited to see the house had been well kept up. And somehow I really liked the pickup with camper shell parked out front. I thought it added to the overall affect.

I stood across the street from the house and took some pictures, then drove around the corner and took some pictures of the backyard that I thought my Dad might be interested in. I had Miranda Lambert's CD with "The House That Built Me" in my car as an explanation if anyone was wondering why some girl with Utah license plates on her car was walking around taking cell phone pictures of a random house in Idaho Falls. But no one asked. So I took my pictures, then hopped back in my car and came home. It was a fun little weekend trip down memory lane.

The Letdown Post

2011-05-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've been reluctant to write a new post since I can't start it with a sentence like, "Spent today lying on the beach in the Caribbean. Just ate goat cheese souffle for dinner. Now I'm off to a comedy show before the musical and ice cream under the stars." Yep, this post is going to be a letdown. But please enjoy the picture of Biz on our zipline adventure in Honduras. Sigh... My real life is kind of boring.

But here are some recent "announcements" from our family.

1) Ty and Jess are moving to Mountain Home, Idaho. (Motto: At least it's not Oklahoma!) Ty will be working in Human Resources for Marathon Cheese. My nephews will still be in weekend driving distance for me, so I think everyone is happy with this arrangement.

2) Tricia graduated from Utah State last weekend. We had a fun family day in Logan. However, I got a worse sunburn from a lunch picnic in Logan than I did during my week in the tropics. This did not go unnoticed by my loving friends and co-workers. So it goes.

3) My two-year old nephew (Bryce) has started calling me Traci Girl. It's really weird.

4) I've read a couple of books the past few weeks that have been amazing. I don't know how I missed "The Book Thief" when it came out a few years ago. It's a Holocaust novel set in Germany and narrated by death. Powerful. I also read E.M. Forster's "A Room With a View." Very Jane Austen-like but with more of a bite. I liked it. Not sure where it's been all my life.

Princess Cays Bahamas

2011-05-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

Before I forget, here are a couple of pictures from our dolphin adventure in the Cayman Islands that Tricia scanned in.

Tricia and Cappy. What a fun moment!

And here we are with the sting ray. I'm still surprised that I voluntarily walked in the pool and got this close to a sting ray. People do strange things on vacation.

So I don't have any actual pictures from our Beach Day in the Bahamas. We didn't bring the camera because it was just one more thing to keep track of on the beach. But I stole this one from someone else's website and I feel it is an accurate representation of Princess Cays in the Bahamas. We got lots of sun and spent lots of time jumping waves in the ocean. There was also a BBQ where I enjoyed some amazing grilled chicken and a triple chocolate chip cookie. We sat in lounge chairs in the shade and I took a little nap in the tropical breeze. Did I want to leave the Bahamas? NO. I would probably still be there if Tricia hadn't dragged me back to the boat.

Cozumel Mexico

2011-05-09T07:21:00.001-07:00

Next stop - Cozumel Mexico. At this port, Tricia and I went to explore the Mayan ruins of Tulum. Our guide kept telling us what a nice day it was. But he was lying. It had to be about 200 degrees with the humidity. We walked a lot, it was HOT, and we saw some very cool things. Tricia outside the gift shop.

The Mayan Calendar. This circular calendar "runs out" in 2012. Our guide gave us a very long explanation about how the Mayans didn't really think the world was going to end in 2012 and Hollywood has it wrong. I didn't understand any of it. But I thought the calendar was really pretty. Stay tuned to see if the world does or does not end in 2012.

Mayan ruins in Tulum. I think our guide wanted to make sure we got our money's worth out of the "guided tour." He just kept talking and talking, when all we really wanted to do was explore. How cool are these ruins?

I felt like I had walked onto the set of "The Testaments" when I saw this building. "The Testaments" is a movie produced by the LDS Church that is set in Book of Mormon times. This temple sat on the top of a hill and I really thought it was cool.

Wow. Humidity does wicked awesome things to my hair! But what a pretty view!

After our tour in Tulum, we boarded the "ferry" for our ride back to Cozumel. The wind was blowing like crazy, and this 30 minute boat ride turned into a horrible experience. Have you ever ridden the Tidal Wave ride at Lagoon? The ferry was like being on the Tidal Wave. But it was real. And it just kept on going and going. About midway through the trip, the boat's crew started handing out barf bags right and left. Let's just say I needed mine about 20 seconds quicker than I got it. I was sick the rest of the night and spent the evening in bed, cursing the room because it wouldn't stop moving. No shows that night for me, no buffet, no karaoke. But I felt great when I woke up the next morning. So all's well that ends well.

Roatan Honduras

2011-05-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

Our next stop on the cruise was the island of Roatan in Honduras. I think this was our favorite day. We had chosen to do a tour that was not operated by the cruise line and we saw quite a bit of the island. Alvin, our driver, informed us that our first stop would be a beer run. Yippee. Some of our new friends on the tour enjoyed their 75 cent beers. Tricia and I enjoyed our 50 cent bottles of water. (Things are dirt cheap in Honduras grocery stores. Can you believe we got two one-litre bottles of water for only $1.00? On vacation? Yeah, I couldn't either.) And Alvin, the driver, enjoyed a Gatorade.
Scenic overview. Also, throughout our trip, people kept asking if Biz and I were twins. Why would they think that? When we told them we weren't twins, they would automatically assume Tricia was older. They believed that she was 22. They had a hard time believing that I was 32. A really hard time.

Tricia looks very natural holding this monkey.

I do not. I was terrified. Obviously! Have you ever seen a worse picture of me? Don't answer that.

This is the area where we went zip-lining. What an adventure! I loved the jungle views. We did ten different "rides" from one platform to another. We kept climbing higher and higher to do the next run. It was very cool.

After the zip line, we went to West End Beach for the rest of the afternoon. These next few pictures are a good summary of what I believe heaven must look like. A quiet beach with crystal clear water.

Palm trees and chairs.

And brightly colored flowers. Loved our day in Roatan.

Free The Chickens

2011-05-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am interrupting my cruise summary for an important announcement.

This morning I received an email with the subject line "Free Chicken Survey." It seems to me that there are 3 possible interpretations of this intriguing message.

1) I could take a survey about chickens at no cost.
2) I could win free chicken by participating in a short survey.
3) I could take a survey asking for my feelings about freeing the chickens.

I like to think that option #3 is correct, so I didn't open the email. Run, chickens, run! Be free.

Grand Caymans

2011-05-04T14:42:00.001-07:00

Our first "port day" was the Cayman Islands. After a delightful breakfast of yogurt, fresh pineapple, french toast, sausage, cold cereal and pastries (for me anyway - I'm a good breakfast eater!) we disembarked in Georgetown.

Tortuga Rum! I was looking all over the place for Captain Jack Sparrow. No such luck.

Today we went to the Sea Turtle Farms and then crossed the street for our dolphin encounter. I am sad that the pictures I have of Biz and I with our friend Cappy the dolphin are hard copies and I can't post them online. I also have a picture of us holding a sting ray. Yep, I did it. Yay for me. And I have the photo to prove it. But you'll have to see it in person sometime unless I get crazy and scan it in or something.

The Turtle Farm had over 6,000 sea turtles. Wow. They were huge.

We got to hold one of the smaller turtles. It was very casual, not like it would be in the US where there would be tons of signs about turtle preservation and safety, not to mention a multitude of friendly yet vigilant guides to help you in the turtle exploration process. Nope. In the Caymans, it was more like... just stick your hand in the pool, grab a turtle and go. Tricia and I got some help from a friendly 10 year old who was quicker in this process than we were!

I think he really likes me.

More turtles.

After our dolphin swim, we were able to explore a few areas close to the port. Interesting fact about the Cayman Islands. Their #1 money-maker is tourism. But banking is a close 2nd. You know in the movies when people talk about wiring large sums of money to the Cayman Islands for safe keeping? I guess that really happens. Something to do with their tax laws... or lack thereof. Anyway, there were lots of banks in the area. I was on the lookout for George Clooney, but again, no luck.

Caribbean Cruise - Day One

2011-05-03T15:12:00.001-07:00

Biz and I took a dream vacation last week. We sailed on the Crown Princess to the West Caribbean. Yay for Tricia's college graduation!!! I can't wait for her to go back to get her Masters so we can go again.

Day One was Easter Sunday, which we spent at sea. The ship left from Fort Lauderdale and our first stop was the Cayman Islands. We spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday exploring the ship, eating a ton and enjoying the different activities that were everywhere on board.

Our stateroom. I was excited that our names were on the door. We belong! It's official.

You can't cruise without fun fruity drinks. Tricia and her Strawberry Daiquiri (non-alcoholic, of course).

My Fruity Rita. Loved the hint of grapefruit juice and the super fun glass. Tricia was disappointed that I ordered my drink frozen and not "on the rocks." Because non-drinkers only get so many chances in life to say "on the rocks" and not look like a complete dork. But I wanted frozen!

The Easter decor on the ship was... shall we say... interesting?

Another word might be creepy - or garish. But still picture-worthy.

An explanation. Growing up, we always got a box of our favorite cereal with our Easter Baskets. And traditionally, at least one of those baskets was hidden in the laundry room. My Dad sent Tricia and I with small boxes of cereal for our Easter treats. We couldn't resist taking photos outside the ship's laundromat. Happy Easter! Thanks Dad for being so thoughtful.

I could easily spend EVERY Sunday morning for the rest of my life sitting on a comfy deck chair, reading a murder mystery and overlooking the ocean.

Tricia looking like a model on the Caribbean Sea. If this picture doesn't make you want to book a cruise right this second, I really don't know what would.

Better Late Than Never

2011-04-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I had a "rush" project come in at work. I dropped everything to complete the report in a somewhat frantic 45 minutes. After the project was complete, I began to sort out the mess that had become my desk to get back to what I expected to be doing this morning. But before I got back to work, I took my "to do" list and wrote down the project I had just finished, complete with the little star I use to designate a project as "urgent." I then dutifully crossed off the report from my list. Does anyone else write things down on a list AFTER they are already finished, just to have the satisfaction of crossing them off?

Family Fun

2011-04-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

My nephew Tanner was blessed on Sunday. We were all able to be in Wendell for the blessing. It was great to have some family time. Here are some of my favorite photos.

Tyler and Lauren - we're so glad he'll acknowledge her now! He was very cute with her and would talk to her in a soft, sweet voice. However, he was concerned that she wanted to put EVERYTHING in her mouth. Don't worry buddy. She'll outgrow it in a year or two... just like you did!

Me and my friend Sara with Baby Lauren. Sara lives in Boise and came up on Saturday so we could have some girl time. Thanks Sara! It was so good to see you. We should go hot-tubbing in Jerome more often. And we have got to get ourselves some of those cute tights! Grandpa with the four kids. Be glad these photos aren't videos or you would be able to hear me shrieking, "Stop the cuteness. Just make it stop" in the background. That wouldn't be annoying at all!

Still killing me with the cuteness.

Family shot of Ty, Jess, Tyler, Bryce and Tanner.

Tay and Heather with Lauren.

Outside the church. We made it through Sacrament Meeting without any major incidents. We did get a chuckle out of the boys' observation that the wheat bread used in the Sacrament was actually "chocolate bread." Bryce also grabbed for the water tray and Uncle Taylor wasn't quite quick enough to stop the spillage. But overall, we did pretty well! Group shot. This was the point in the day when Bryce was tired of taking pictures and started taking his shirt off. He's a true Thomas. I guarantee that Dad, Ty, and Taylor weren't much behind him. We are not a family that loves to stay in our church clothes one second longer than necessary. But notice that they are all wearing suit jackets for this one small moment in time! What a great day.

So cute. Bryce was REALLY done by this point.

There She Goes Again

2011-04-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

I got home from going to dinner with my family last night, kicked off my shoes, and saw this: a hole in my sock. I kind of have a thing for socks - I don't like it when my socks have holes, when anyone else's socks have holes, or when people (and you know who you are) make "inappropriate sock choices" such as wearing white socks with dress pants. It's a weird pet peeve and I can totally admit it. But knowing that it's not really that big a deal does not keep me from getting fired up about it on a regular basis. I quickly removed my socks last night and threw them in the trash. But it got me thinking about some of my other quirks. Here is my list of Things You Do NOT Want To Get Me Started Talking About.

Socks. Clearly.

Clean Flicks (I hate edited movies. Either watch the movie or don't. But don't pick and choose the parts you want to watch so the movie conforms to your standards. Producers and writers have an artistic right to present a film the way they want it to be viewed. I think you get my point here.)

Bad Christmas Music

Target vs Walmart

Public Education

Ok, that's all I can think of for now. But there are more. This post will probably be continued at a later date.

Send In The Crazy Clowns

2011-04-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

As a little bit of background to this post, you should know that I joined another online dating site. I know, I know. I swore I would never make that mistake again. I'm a hypocrite. Not only that - I'm a hypocrite who apparently likes to torture herself. Which is the very worst kind of hypocrite. With that said... the good news for you is that I am again finding myself with some absolutely hilarious material. Take this email I just received. It was the very first contact of any sort from this young man and he chose to end it this way, "Let me know if you would like to spend the rest of your life with me." Very casual. Very smooth. Not "Let me know if you'd like to chat" or even "Let me know if you might want to get together sometime." But "Let me know if you would like to spend the rest of your life with me." Sure, ok. Why not?

Question: Am I Too Old To Take Up Professional Irish Dancing?

2011-04-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

Has anyone been wondering if Lauren is still cute? I think the following two pictures speak for themselves...

Heck yes she is!!!

We hung out at my Dad's house on Saturday night. Lauren has a little bit of a cold and I kept her entertained by singing Primary songs. She's young enough that she doesn't know that Aunt Traci is making up half of the words and shamelessly combining verses where needed. She was also too young to enjoy the peach cobbler I made. Ok, so I can't really take credit for the mix I added 6 tablespoons of melted butter to - but the cobbler was delicious!

Also "delicious" this weekend - River Dance!!! Tricia and I went with two of our friends (also sisters, how cute are we?) on Friday night to see River Dance. Loved the dancing, loved the singing, loved the costumes, loved the instruments. I pretty much want to be in River Dance. If they ever have an opening for a redhead with many years of clogging experience (and if they don't care that I am 30+ years old and marginally talented on a good day) I will definitely be trying out.

Saturday and Sunday I watched General Conference. It was wonderful to hear messages from church leaders. My overall impression from Conference was that I need to be committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I need to do the best I can at "the basics" every single day and make choices that bring me closer to Him. Oh, and it would help if I could be nicer to people and happier in my day-to-day decisions. The great thing about Conference is that it makes me believe I can do those things. So here we go!!!

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

2011-03-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last week I got a notice on my front door about Scouting For Food. I looked through my cupboards but I don't keep a lot of canned foods around. (Cooking for one is an interesting thing. Sometimes I eat pretty well. And sometimes I don't. But I digress.) Because I wanted to support the food drive, I went to the grocery store and picked up some cans to donate. When I was growing up, I must have thought food drives were a good way to get rid of items I didn't really like from our pantry. I remember always feeling generous as I "donated" our cans of chili and canned corn. So when I went to the store to get some canned foods, I specifically picked up things I don't really like and would never eat, just because I thought it was funny. You can see where this is going. The Scouts never came by to pick up my bag of canned foods. I now have a large bag of chili and canned corn in my entry way. Do I take it to the food bank? Save it for the next food drive? Learn to love eating chili? It's really a dilemma for me.

Random Things That Made Me Smile

2011-03-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

*This Picture.

*Looking at optional "shore excursions" for the Caribbean cruise my sister and I are going on next month.

*BYU plays Florida tonight. Can't wait. Go Cougars!!!

*YouTube videos: "Elephant Medley" from Moulin Rouge and the theme song from the "Jeeves and Wooster" Masterpiece Theater episodes.

I Need a Nap

2011-03-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I got lost driving from Farmington to Riverdale. (There's lost and then there is Traci-Lost. This was a bad case of Traci-Lost.) I make that trip every couple of weeks... so it makes sense that I would get a little turned around. Or a lot turned around. I finally had to pull into a parking lot, call my Dad, tell him the cross streets I could see and have him get me back to familiar territory. At one point, his directions were, "If you hit Wyoming, you're going the wrong way." And that was helpful information at that point in time.

Today is not going much better. The cashier at Starbucks (it was a "caramel apple cider" morning for sure) told me my dress would be really cute and stylish... if it were longer. Yeah whatever. I'm probably lucky I made it from my office to Starbucks and back. Who cares what I'm wearing?

Please DON'T tell me to find joy in the journey. I'm not buying it today!

A Post For Smart People

2011-03-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

In a meeting this morning, a contest was announced where the prize is an Amazon Kindle. Someone in the meeting mentioned that Kindle screens are black and white, which makes it difficult to see the pictures in magazine articles. My boss's response was, "This is for smart people. People who read." Ouch. Even the English major in me thought that was a little harsh!

Beyond Help

2011-03-14T11:05:00.001-07:00

I went to Home Depot on Friday. I always feel like an impostor at Home Depot... like everyone there knows and cares that I couldn't fix a broken sprinkler head if my life depended on it. (I also feel that way in fabric stores. So what if I don't sew or paint or own a vinyl cutter. Judge me.) It's like everyone in those orange aprons is just waiting for me to burst into tears and run screaming from the store. Which isn't entirely fair, since that only happened one time, and I have made several successful trips to Home Depot since.

After I left Home Depot with my newly-purchased garage door opener, I popped into Kohls, Seagull Book and Fashion Bug. I don't feel out of place at any of those stores. It would probably be better for my bank account if I did.

In Which You Will Learn that I am Crazy

2011-03-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

There is a large, gray, unmarked van parked outside of my window. I'm sure the driver is here to deliver sandwiches or something equally mundane. But having that van parked outside my office makes me feel like I'm about to be swept onto the set of an action movie. Pretty soon me and Matt Damon are going to be driving down back alleys with shots flying and plunging off bridges and stuff. I just know it.

The Man With the Yellow Hat

2011-03-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

When I watched my nephews last month, we read stories at bedtime. One of their favorites is about Curious George and Thanksgiving. At a certain point in the story, Bryce would ask me what I was thankful for and I was supposed to point to something in the picture, like the turkey or the apple pie. So I guess it shouldn't have surprised me when Bryce's bedtime prayer that night, in its entirety, was "Thank you for the Man With The Yellow Hat. Amen"

In that spirit.... today I am thankful for a working water heater (since mine has been broken for the past couple of days and I have been semi-homeless). I'm thankful for a new CD I picked up that surprised me with some really great songs that haven't been on the radio. I'm also thankful for argyle socks, string cheese and amazing sales on baby clothes at Old Navy. And, of course, I'm thankful for apple pie and the Man With The Yellow Hat.

To Me, From Me

2011-03-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

I bought my birthday present last night. It's a 32 inch Sony TV. I really like it. I set it up all by myself too. Well, mostly by myself. I did make 2 phone calls for tech support. (Thanks Tay and Dad!) But I was the only one in the room, so I'm counting that as getting it to work all by myself.

Little White Lie

2011-02-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Tay and Heather created matching shirts for me and Lauren. Mine says, "I'm as cute as my niece." Not really! But they made for a fun little photo shoot.

A Sad Story

2011-02-25T12:39:00.000-08:00

7:18 a.m. Received text from our receptionist. She was going to be late to work. Could I cover the phones until she got there?

7:19 a.m. Pulled curlers from my hair and threw on a skirt.

7:25 a.m. Driving to work. Notice I have a small run in my nylons.

7:58 a.m. Arrive at work. Answer phones and stare at the run in my nylons. Not a big deal, no one will notice. Except I can't handle it.

9:30 a.m. Quick trip to Smiths Marketplace. Return to work and change into new nylons in the bathroom.

2:30 p.m. Glance down, notice a GINORMOUS run down my entire left leg. My brand new pair of nylons was seriously shredded to pieces. Think about pulling my old pair of nylons from the garbage because they're in way better shape than the ones I just spent $5 on. Decide against it. Curse the man (obviously it was a man) who invented nylons in the first place.

5:30 p.m. Home at last. Rip nylons into a million tiny bits. Smile. Actually that was $5 well spent.

Birthday Recap

2011-02-18T09:23:00.001-08:00

4 Siblings +
3 Nephews +
2 Best Friends From High School +
1 Niece +
= A "Perfect 10" Birthday Weekend

I had a lot of fun on my birthday. The day before, I was able to meet up with Ashlee and Sara and spend Sunday afternoon with them. On Monday, I had pizza and cupcakes with Tyler and Bryce in Wendell for lunch. Then I drove back home and was able to have dinner with Dad, Biz, Tay, Heather and Lauren. What a great (if somewhat exhausting!) day.

Baby Tanner. He is just as soft and sweet as he looks.

Bryce LOVES Tanner. (Tyler isn't sure yet. But he's trying.)

The Boys.

I call this picture "Don't Hate Jess Because She's Beautiful at 39 Weeks Pregnant. And Her Boys Look Adorable in Their Matching Church Clothes While Clutching Their Copies of the Book of Mormon. Really, Don't Hate Her."

Ashlee made this bag. Doesn't it look just like me? I love it. I hung it on a chair in my kitchen to snap this photo - and it goes so well with my kitchen table (which I also love) that I haven't taken it down yet. It's just waiting in the kitchen for our first adventure together.

When I got back to my apartment after spending a few days in Idaho, I had an amazing surprise. Dad and Biz had decorated for my birthday. The sign says, "Great party. Too bad you missed it." That is too bad! It looks like a good, good time.

My "Happi Birthday Traci" poster. With hearts! Too cute! I have to say, a brightly decorated kitchen was EXACTLY what I needed after a 3 hour drive on my birthday. Thanks guys!

One last birthday shot. This is me and Lauren. I have two pictures in this same pose: one where I look cute and one where Lauren ISN'T sticking out her tongue. I chose to post the one where I look cute. Sorry sweetheart. It's my birthday. And you look cute doing anything!

Introducing Tanner Young Thomas

2011-02-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

Tanner was born February 10th at 8:28 p.m. Tanner and Jess are both doing great! Tanner is 6 lbs 13 oz and 20 inches long. This is the only photo I have for now - but I promise that a lifetime of pics is to follow!

I am in Wendell hanging out with Tyler and Bryce while Jess is in the hospital. We are having a lot of fun riding bikes, eating cookies (shhh... don't tell) and watching Curious George. We went to visit Tanner at the hospital this morning. We stopped at Walmart yesterday (yes, Walmart - Jerome doesn't have a Target) and the boys got to pick out a present for their new baby brother. Tyler picked a teddy bear and Bryce picked a Sesame Street plate. Which means Tyler ended up with a teddy bear and an Elmo plate and Bryce got a teddy bear and a Sesame Street plate. They were both excited to give their presents to Tanner this morning.

So far "the babysitter" is doing great. Don't tell Ty and Jess... but I was pretty sure I had locked us out of the apartment at one point. Thank goodness I found the key. Then late last night, I decided to run the dishwasher. Unfortunately, the dish soap I grabbed was REGULAR dish soap, not dishwasher detergent. Turned into a little bit of a bubbly mess in the kitchen. I panicked for a minute, but all's well that ends well. In case anyone ever makes such a mistake, the solution I found online (and one I can now vouch for) was to scoop out as much water as possible, then pour a cup of cooking oil into the dishwasher with a handful of table salt layered on top to dissolve the bubbles. Run the dishwasher for a minute with the cooking oil... then rewash the whole load using dishwasher detergent. In the future, I think I'll just start with the right detergent in the first place and skip the scooping and salting steps. But live and learn! As a side note, I was more than a little nervous to run the washing machine last night after the dishwasher disaster! But I really needed to wash the towels I'd used to mop out the dishwasher and eliminate the evidence of the dumb thing I'd done.

At least Tanner has arrived safe and well. And Tyler and Bryce are still in one piece. That's what's important, right?

Taking Time

2011-02-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

The guy who does our landscaping at work brought roses around today for all the girls in the office. The smell of roses will always remind me of my Grandpa Thomas and his rose garden. I think all of the cousins have memories of going to Fred Meyer with Grandpa for their annual plant sale. And when we were in American Falls on a Sunday, Grandpa would let us pick a rose as a "corsage" we could wear to church. (Grandma was left with the more difficult task of pinning the roses on our dresses.) My pink rose today reminded me of family and how lucky I am to be a part of MY family.

What a Week

2011-02-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

I got a pedicure last night. Hot pink toes seemed like the perfect antidote to a week of bitter cold and emotional meltdowns.

I had no idea after I left my singles ward last month (I'm not supposed to say I got kicked out of the ward for being old... but why tiptoe around the truth) that my Boy-Girl experiences would only get worse. How is that even possible, you ask. Let me tell you about my week.

I heard through the grapevine that a guy I had dinner with a few weeks ago decided not to ask me out again because I like fruit. And he has anxiety about eating fruit. So obviously, that was not going to work out well long term.

A work associate offered to set me up with his "one single friend left," who happens to be 24 years old. He thought I'd make an awesome cougar. I'm not sure about his judgement though, because he also mentioned that the outfit I was wearing yesterday was a cross between a kindergarten teacher and a hooker. And it gets better. Because when I diplomatically said "no" to the 24 year-old, he offered to give me the phone number of one of his insurance clients, an almost-divorced Argentinean with three kids who owns a jewelry store and (get this) a healthy cigarettes establishment. ??? Because the "jewelry store/tobacco shop owner" thing would go well with the "school teacher/lady of the night" look I have going on here.

Also this week I was approached by two high school age guys who led off with their GPA's and ACT scores. One of them was hopeful that he'd qualify for a full ride scholarship to Utah State. It took ALL of my self-control not to embarrass him in front of his buddy and be like, "Wow, a full ride? I had a full ride to Utah State. In 1997."

Now, this is my blog, so I would be totally within my rights to leave it at that. I am surrounded by guys who are exceedingly lame. End of story. But in the interest of full disclosure, I will state that also this week I totally freaked out on a good friend who happens to be a boy. I cried, made sweeping accusations, said words I don't typically say, and made threats of violence I had every intention of carrying out. If you've ever seen me get good and ticked before, you know exactly what kind of scene I'm talking about. If you haven't... thank your lucky stars.

So what's a girl to do? My temporary solution last night was a hot pink pedicure, a ten pound pork burrito and an early bedtime. I've also set a goal not to throw knives at people. Already the world seems like a better place!

Things I Learned This Weekend

2011-01-31T10:48:00.000-08:00

1) The BYU Ballroom Dance Team is phenomenal. There's a reason they have been undefeated national champions since 1982.

2) Girls in their 30's who look like they are 20 should not sit alone in Sacrament Meeting in a new ward right in front of "Priest Row" at the back of the chapel. They will be a distraction from the worship service for these good young men. If they only knew how old I was, I'm guessing they would not be quite so interested in my black boots.

3) Two year-olds are the best people to talk to on the phone. On Sunday, my conversation with my nephew Bryce started like this, "Hi Traci. I'm naked." Where do you go from there?

Thoughts on Pages

2011-01-26T14:53:00.001-08:00

You know those moments when you're having a conversation with someone and what you hear yourself saying and what you really want to be saying are two totally different things? I had one of those today.

Speaker #1 (Not Me): You and I are just on different pages.

Speaker #2 (Me): I know.

In a perfect world, where things come out exactly the way you want them to and you don't have to worry about other people's feelings and things, I would have said, "Ok. But I have a degree in English and a Masters in reading and literacy. I am practically an EXPERT in pages. I am on the right page! You are on the wrong page! I am right. You are wrong. Stop being an idiot. Turn the freaking page and get on with it."

Thank you for listening to my self-absorbed rant. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Happy Neil Diamond Day!

2011-01-24T10:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Neil Diamond! It's the big 7-0 for Neil today.

They grow up so fast.

And The Neil Diamond Birthday Club could not be more proud! Long Live Brother Neil!

I'm Such a Girl

2011-01-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

Last night around eight o'clock, I realized I had absolutely nothing to wear to work today. Not only that, there was nothing I owned that I could possibly wear outside of my apartment ever again. I was going to have to "call in ugly" to work today. And every day until I lost my job, which would inevitably lead to a downward cycle of despair. I would withdraw from society and eat nothing but cold cereal and Oreos, doomed to live out the rest of my days in ugly-bitter loneliness. And I was certain, in the end, I was going to be eaten by wolves.

After an undetermined amount of time, I was able to dry my tears, pull myself off the heap of ill-fitting sweaters and pants on my bedroom floor, gather what precious little was left of my courage... and make a desperate trip to Kohls.

Pair of cords from the clearance rack: $10.80
Turquoise vest (also on clearance): $13.20

Not being eaten by wolves: Priceless

Corduroy Cutie Pie

2011-01-21T08:28:00.001-08:00

A picture is worth 1,000 words on this one. What a cutie!!!

Baby's First Christmas

2011-01-13T08:21:00.001-08:00

Brace yourself for the cuteness that was Lauren at Christmas Time. Are you ready for this?

Tilt and Smile

2011-01-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

I had to get my picture taken today to complete my passport application. The photographer/postal employee had a hard time getting me positioned just right. He kept wanting me to look straight at the camera. Anyone who has ever seen a picture of me will know that this is not physically possible for me. If I'm posing for a picture, I simply must tilt my head to a really weird angle before I can smile. My brothers and sister have teased me for years about this phenomenon. They call it The Classic or The Tilt and Smile. But I can't help it. I really can't.

I did try my very, very best today. I'll be interested to get my passport to see how the picture turned out!

The Kind of Person I Am

2011-01-11T11:55:00.001-08:00

I got a Lifesaver Story Book in my Christmas stocking. So last night I put a roll of lifesavers in my purse. I remember thinking, "I'd like to be the kind of person who always has lifesavers in her purse."

But I'm not. I'm actually the kind of person who can eat a roll of lifesavers in about 30 seconds if she knows they're in her purse. Good to know.

Something You Never Want to Hear On a Date

2011-01-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

You know your dinner date is NOT going well when your date says to you, "I seem to be doing all the talking and you seem to be doing all the eating."

In my defense, he had been outlining in great detail a sci-fi TV series I had never seen and will never see. I was merely doing my best to clear my plate so the server would bring the check and put me out of my misery.

My 2010

2011-01-03T10:44:00.001-08:00

I don't make New Years resolutions. I like to leave goal-setting and progress-making to other, more motivated people. But I do like to take a minute at the beginning of each new year and reflect on some of the things that happened the year before. Where have I been in the past year? What have I done?

In that spirit, here are the "retroactive resolutions" I would make for 2010.

Earn my insurance license
Go parasailing in San Diego and shopping at the Mall of America in Minneapolis
Win big (we're talking over $16 here) in Vegas
Cross-stitch Christmas presents for some close friends
Make my office at work a Typewriter Free Zone - FINALLY!!!
Read good books ("Mockingjay," "These Is My Words" and "The Forgotten Garden" were some of my favorites)
Play the Tabernacle Organ
Accomplish my goal of attending a session at each of the temples in Utah. (New temples I visited this year: Manti, Oquirrh Mountain, St. George, Monticello and San Diego)

So that's it. I didn't lose 10 pounds this year. Sometimes I exercised more and sometimes I exercised a whole lot less. I didn't get a new job, although I sure as heck thought about it. I lived alone in my two-bedroom apartment and I loved it. I cried with friends who lost their Mom to cancer the Sunday before Christmas. I watched The Racecar Movie (also known as Cars) with my nephews 197 times. I welcomed a darling new niece to the family. I ran my car into a cement wall and somehow walked away with a scratch on my face, $564 in damage to my car, and tires that stayed in alignment through it all. (I consequently became a Honda Driver For Life.) I taught Relief Society, did my visiting teaching, and was released on the last Sunday of the year from the calling that has defined me for the past three years. I saw Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Lady A in concert. I opened my heart... had it smashed... and repeated the cycle with the Same Dumb Boy more times that I'm willing to admit. I learned to make decent sugar cookies. I'm older, wiser, more exhausted and way more fun than I've ever been before. And I'm smiling as I skip my way into 2011, ready to do it all again.

One Stop Shop

2010-12-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

As my family was leaving the new Brick Oven in Layton yesterday, my brother pointed out the irony of this building. One half of the store is a Missionary Mall. The other side is Ari Diamonds. I suppose the idea is that you pick up your shoes and ties from the missionary mall, put in your two years, and then come back to the same store for your engagement ring. It's quick, it's convenient, it's one stop shopping at it's finest.

Only in Utah.

Drivers Like Me - an Update

2010-12-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hello friends. You may remember that earlier this year, a not-so-friendly police officer scolded me for a slightly illegal left turn and suggested that "Drivers like me cause thousands of accidents every year." These words turned out to be prophetic.

Last Thursday, as I was driving home from work, I ended up taking a little detour to get out of the way of some emergency vehicles. While turning right at an unfamiliar intersection to get back to my freeway entrance, the sun was in my eyes and I managed to smack right into a cement barricade that separates the on-ramp from a side street. I hit the lower edge of the abutment, then my car slid up the ramp until it completely high-centered and all four of my tires were in the air. It's the kind of thing you would laugh at if you were driving by during rush hour (as many people were) and wonder "How in the world did that happen?" It's also the kind of thing that is not so funny when it happens to you!

The next few (seconds, minutes, hours - I really couldn't say) are kind of a blur. I know my cheek was bleeding and I had a killer headache and it was freezing cold until some friendly firefighters stopped to divert traffic and helped me into their nice, warm truck. I remember they talked about football and Space Burgers in Pocatello and one of the firemen made everything better by reminding me that "Stuff happens. Today it happened to you."

I also know my Dad and sister AND the tow truck got there before the police did. Which turned out great, because the fire fighters said that since there hadn't been any damage to city property... and since my car had been towed... and since they were going to take off... I could go too. (Translation: No Ticket!) So that was really nice.

I went to visit my poor car the next day at the shop. I felt really guilty. My Civic has always been so good to me - and what did I do? I drove it into a cement wall. Really, I felt horrible. I was pretty sure I had done so much damage that they were going to have to total my car. But the mechanic said the radiator was going to have to be replaced for sure (I guess it's not good when there's a huge hole even the untrained eye can see) and obviously some work to the underside of my car. But the shop has worked their magic and apparently I can pick up my car this very afternoon.

So that's the story. You heard it here first. As I told my co-workers when I made it into work Friday afternoon - we're not really laughing at this yet. The ONLY acceptable response at this point is, "We're glad you're all right."

And I am glad - and slightly amazed - that things turned out as well as they did.

Some People

2010-12-08T14:39:00.001-08:00

There are some people who should NEVER be allowed to sit by each other in sacrament meeting. See picture below if you have any questions about who I might be referring to!

2010-12-08

2010-12-08T14:38:00.001-08:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Soul Friends

2010-12-01T11:55:00.001-08:00

Last night I went to dinner with a group of single girls. Of course, the conversation soon turned to boys and relationships we are in, want to be in, or need to get out of.

One of the girls made this comment about an ex-boyfriend. "I felt like we were soul friends, just not soul mates." The other girls nodded like she had just said something very profound. Not me. I'm still puzzled. Soul friends. What? What does that even mean? I googled soul friends and found this creepy picture. It kind of sums up the way I feel about that expression.

In other news, when I returned to work on Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend, I was a little concerned about how I might be treated. Boise State had lost to Nevada... BYU lost to the U. It was NOT a good sports weekend for me. But my friend at work (who I have given a fair share of grief for being a Utah fan) put things in perspective for me. He said, "I can't even talk trash to you because the Utes played so badly." We then went on to celebrate that the Jazz beat the Lakers and we could both be happy about that. Agreed. We may not be "soul friends" but it makes me happy to have friends who get it!

Perfectly Content

2010-11-24T07:31:00.001-08:00

So I have a bag of Raspberry Milano cookies on my desk this morning. (Thanks Tricia! What a great way to start the morning.) The writing on the bag is encouraging me to "indulge in a little raspberry romance." And you know what? I think I will!

Contentment. It's a funny thing. Last night all my big important plans got cancelled due to "The Blizzard" that people in Salt Lake have been talking about for days. They closed my office down early so everyone could get home before the storm hit. After a brief stop at Little Caesars Pizza, I went home and climbed into my warmest pajama pants and a sweatshirt. Pulled my hair into a ponytail and put my glasses on. Then I proceeded to eat my $5 pizza, read People magazine, watch TV and pack for Thanksgiving Weekend. Didn't see anyone, talk to anyone, go anywhere or do anything. And I couldn't have been happier. That's contentment.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Playing Catch Up

2010-11-17T13:33:00.001-08:00

Here are a few highlights from the last month or so. Enjoy!
Tyler celebrated his 4th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. We had pizza and breadsticks, rode the rides, shot baskets, and played with water guns. Oh, and Aunt Traci played a few rounds of skee ball and TOTALLY took the 6-year old next to her to school.

Tyler got a new bike for his birthday. You should see the kid ride. No training wheels. And he's four years old. It's amazing.

Bryce got a new bike. It took him about 30 seconds to learn how to ride it. For the rest of the weekend, every conversation included the words, "My new bike." He kept telling me I couldn't ride it. But when I asked him if Baby Lauren could ride it, he said yes. What's up with that?

Lauren and I spent some quality time together. Here I am telling her she can ALWAYS have another cookie. And that if she ever feels like she doesn't have enough shoes, all she has to do is ask.

Lauren was an owl for Halloween. Heather made this costume (that's right, Heather is SuperMom) from Taylor's old corduroy pants. Could Lauren be any cuter? No. I think Tay and Heather chose an owl costume because Lauren likes to sleep during the day and is wide awake at night. Here she is flapping her wings.

Trunk-or-treating with the world's cutest soccer balls. A parking lot full of ward members passing out candy is pretty much Tyler and Bryce's dream come true.

Tyler and Bryce were introduced to Rice Krispy Treat Pumpkins. Anyone familiar with this Thomas Family Treat is probably wondering, "Where are the candy corn for the eyes and nose?" Well, I'll tell you. After a "quick trip" to Twin Falls turned into an all day event at Costco getting new tires on Ty and Jess's minivan - it seemed like the chocolate chips we already had were a way better idea than making one more stop for candy corn. I don't think the boys minded though. Tyler was pretty good at helping me decorate. Bryce was mostly interested in eating as many chocolate chips as he could before the bag disappeared.

My cousin Nathan got married to Erin in Minnesota. This picture is from the wedding breakfast.

Doing the Happy Dance

2010-11-16T10:36:00.001-08:00

I passed! As many of you know, I have been frantically studying for my insurance license exam. Today was the big day - and I passed the test. Yeah hurray!!! Maybe I will now be able to find the mental energy to become a regular blogger again. We'll see...

Also, if anyone is curious, newborn pigs up to the age of 30 days are NOT covered for accidental drowning by a Farm policy. After 30 days, there will be coverage. I'm sure this will be the last day that I will be able to recall such fascinating and relevant information. So let's get that down in writing now.

Happy Birthday Tyler!

2010-11-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

So I've been a bit lazy in the blogging department lately. My bad. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post these pictures of Tyler and Bryce. We are celebrating Tyler's 4th birthday today. Lunch at Chuck E. Cheese followed by a stop at the "doughnut factory" otherwise known at Krispy Kreme.

Fall In Minnesota

2010-10-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings from St. Paul! My Dad and I are in the Twin Cities for my cousin Nathan's wedding. The wedding was last night at Lake Como. The ceremony was beautiful. And so was the setting! Before the wedding, my Dad and I walked around the lake, which was probably about a mile. Perfect for a barefoot stroll in the grass. (Barefoot because the heels I was wearing for the wedding were not walking shoes. But the path along the lake was so pretty, I couldn't resist!) I fell in love with all the old houses along the lake.

Wedding breakfast this morning, then it's off to the Mall of America for some serious shopping. Don't worry - I brought good shoes for that. Happy weekend!

Thoughts on Online Dating

2010-10-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

Confession. A couple of months ago, I signed up with LDS Singles.com, a dating website geared towards members of the LDS Church. I’ve always been opposed to dating websites on principle, but I was bored. And I know there are people out there who have had positive experiences with online dating. I figured that as long as I kept my expectations low (which they were) and my head on straight (which I always do) it couldn’t hurt. And maybe I would meet a fun boy or two to have dinner with. That was the idea.

So I wrote up a profile, posted some pictures and paid my money. It took me a couple of tries, but after a week or so I felt like I had a pretty accurate, if somewhat vague, snapshot of who I am and what I stand for.

Unfortunately, writing my profile and picking out pictures was the fun part. The “flirts” I sent out were never responded to. And the “flirts” I received primarily came from 50 year olds on the other side of the world who didn’t speak a lot of English.

Not that there haven’t been some entertaining moments. There have. Here are a few highlights of the e-mails I have received in the past couple of months.

I practice a unique and special blend of martial arts and the priesthood.
Are you looking for a hand to hold?
do you know of anyone that knows how to replace a window regulator for a Honda Accord by chance? ive bought the part online and by Saturday or Monday could have someone install it for me. Let me know if you do,id greatly appreciate it

Turns out, online dating is pretty much the same as my real life experiences. The boys I think look interesting couldn’t be less interested in me. And the boys who may be interested in me are, in a word, weird.

So what have I learned in the past couple of months? I like me. I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with me and if I was just cuter, skinnier, funnier, smarter or more righteous… I could find a man. I think it’s just not my time. And I’m ok with that. So if anyone is looking for me, you will probably find me dancing like an idiot at a country concert, out to dinner with friends, chasing my nephews around the park, doing my visiting teaching, or studying for my insurance license. I’m not at home crying into my pillow. And I’m also not on LDS Singles.com. Been there, done that, so not interested.