Perfectly Content

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

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

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!

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

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

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.

Cuter By The Minute