We Can Conquer The World

...

2012-01-07T18:00:00.003-05:00

Typing with one hand is going to greatly increase the amount of time it takes me to type this and the number of typos.

At some point in the last week or so, Charlie became a very needy baby. What happened?? I used to be able to put him in his swing or in the Boppy when he was sleeping and have an hour or two to do what I wanted. Lately, as soon as I put him down, he wakes up and demands to be held. He will usually fall right back to sleep once I pick him up. I can't wait for mom to get here and become the designated baby holder. I can't get anything done! I am bouncing him on my exercise ball (we bought one when I was pregnant to help relieve pelvic discomfort in the last few days... I don't think we ever really used it for that...) because he really likes it. It is how Chad and I spend a lot of our time these days, so I'm hoping it will result in me looking like the girl on the box. Ask me about my six-pack abs!

In other news, my medical tests came back normal (of course) - so they are sending me for a couple more, and then they might take my gall bladder out. They said they have to do all of these tests first for the insurance to pay for the gall bladder-ectomy. (I'm pretty sure that's the medical term.)

Also, I went back to work this last week because my kids have a concert this upcoming week and I wanted to make sure they are ready. (They will be fine.) I also taught the children's choirs and directed the pep band at 2 basketball games. It was exhausting. All I can say is, I am counting down the days to summer vacation!

Random Observation

2011-12-27T20:50:00.003-05:00

I have to update about Christmas sometime before I go back to work (or it'll never get done) but - the last few weeks have afforded me lots of evenings watching Wheel of Fortune. Like tonight. Chad is at work, Charlie is sleeping in his swing and Lady and I are just hanging out.

But - it's really awkward when someone thinks they know the answer to the puzzle, they excitedly exclaim that "I want to solve the puzzle!" and then they yell out something with a huge smile on their face, only to have Pat say "No - I'm sorry, that's incorrect." and you have to watch the smile slowly fade as the next person solves the puzzle instead. It makes me feel so bad for them! Here they are thinking they're going to win thousands of dollars or an awesome trip or something by solving the puzzle, only to find out that they aren't because they didn't actually know the answer to the puzzle. What a disappointment to have to awkwardly accept on national television!
_________________________________________
In other news - in case you missed out on the recent excitement, I ended up in Urgent Care on Thursday night for some severe abdominal pain on my right side. I was afraid it might be my appendix - as I have never felt anything like that before. My stomach had been dully aching basically since I came home from the hospital, and I hadn't been eating anything. It lasted about a half hour, so Chad convinced me to go to the doctor. One urine test, one blood draw, one CT scan, one XRay and 5 hours later, we were back home with no definitive answer as to what was wrong with me. We went to a specialist in Blackfoot the next day, who was sure the problem was with my gall bladder (common in post-partum women) so he ordered an ultrasound and a HIDA Scan. The earliest these could be done were today. Randomly, for the past few days, I have felt better than I've felt since leaving the hospital with Charlie. We are now waiting to hear back. It would be my luck that there will be absolutely nothing wrong with me. Not that that's a bad thing. It's just that I hardly ever go to the doctor for exactly this reason - things usually pass and then you're fine again. All these tests and carting Charlie around for them to find nothing wrong. That's part of why we waited so long to go to the hospital when I was in labor - I didn't want it to be false labor, or slow down, or stop, and get to the hospital only for them to tell me I wasn't really in labor, and to go home. So we'll see what happens. I am grateful for all of these doctors/specialists/technicians who are trying to help figure out what's wrong with me (if anything) but I will be glad to not be poked and prodded for a while.

Also - because I wasn't feeling well for the last 2 weeks, I hadn't really been eating anything. Therefore, Charlie wasn't really eating anything. So he hadn't gained back the weight he lost in the hospital. So he's being watched for weight gain. He was checked on Friday, put on a half formula diet, and then weighed again today. He gained 1 oz in those 4 days (not as much as they wanted). They're going to check him again on Friday.

*Sigh* For someone who has been relatively healthy their entire life, these last few days of tests and doctor visits have been exhausting.

Perks

2011-12-17T19:37:00.003-05:00

Other perks of no longer being pregnant:

Normal frequency of trips to the bathroom
I can fit into some of my clothes again
I can put on my own boots
I can sit cross-legged on the floor and not feel like I'm suffocating
NO MORE HEARTBURN!!!!
My belly doesn't itch (so much)
Oh yeah, and now I have a little person

Update:
Things are going well. I don't really know how to get Charlie onto a "schedule" for when I go back to work. Right now he eats and then sleeps until he's hungry again - which is anywhere from 2 - 5 hours. Last night he ate just after midnight, then not again until 5:30. (HALLELUJAH!) He slept again on and off until 7:30, then he ate at 10:30, then slept until 1:30 when I fed him again, and is asleep now. He even slept through some errands today. It was good to get out of the house, and today was actually unseasonably warm. But I don't like to take him out because it's just so cold! I don't even want to go out. Lady has adjusted extremely well to having him in the house. When he cries a lot (mostly when I'm changing his diaper) she goes and rings the bell to go outside. Ha. She sleeps through pretty much everything now, and only barks when she hears babies on TV. She sniffs him, but doesn't get too close, but also doesn't have a problem cuddling up with us in bed or when I'm nursing him.

We are going to try for church tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. I think he will be fine - I just hesitate to bring him because, obviously, I don't want him to get sick.

The Story

2011-12-13T15:27:00.008-05:00

(Feel free to skip this and get right to the baby pictures.)

My last pregnant picture: 38 1/2 weeks

On Friday, December 9th, I woke up around 1:00am with what turned out to be my first contraction. Between 2:00 and 3:00 am I was up a few more times with strong cramps in my belly. By 3:30 I decided to just get up and go watch TV. I had felt pains like these in the last few days, but they were never regular. I expected to get up and wait for them to go away, but this time they didn't! I started to get excited. I really didn't want to be induced, and I was 2 days over my due date, with an appointment for Monday, the 12th to see the doctor again and decide what to do if the baby hadn't come yet. Between 4:00 and 5:00 am I had about 4 or 5 more contractions. At about 5:30 Chad got up to see what I was up to. By now my contractions were about every 3 minutes as I paced back and forth in the kitchen. We downloaded a contraction tracker app (I know, cool, right?!) on Chad's phone. You press start and stop to time your contractions, and it would keep a running log of length of contractions and breaks in between - which was actually EXTREMELY helpful. I didn't have to worry about writing anything down or staring at the clock or anything. I highly recommend it if you're planning on having a baby anytime soon.

Anyways. We called the doctor's office to find out when they opened. We decided to wait until they opened at 8:00am, and be there first thing. Meanwhile, I paced a track through the house, walking the circle between the living room, tv room, bedroom, and kitchen. We were supposed to wait until my contractions were 2-5 minutes apart for 2 hours. Around 7:45 we started gathering up our stuff and making our way to the car. By now my contractions were about a minute and a half long at about a minute and a half apart.

We got to the doctor at 8:00 where I checked in and said I thought I was having a baby. They nicely checked me in and sat me in the waiting room for about 10 minutes. No hurry. Somebody finally came and got me, a midwife checked me, where it was determined that yes, I was in active labor at this point. Thank goodness because I was afraid they were going to tell me to go home and wait a few hours and come back. I was admitted to the hospital around 8:45 am, shown my lovely delivery room, and gave up all privacy for the next 2 days. (By the way - whose brilliant idea is it to ask you a billion health history questions while you're having contractions less than 2 minutes apart? It seems like they should have you fill that all out at one of your later doctor appointments so it's ready to go when you need it.) They ordered my epidural, but the anesthesiologist was busy with another mother, monitoring her for possible C-Section. So we waited. By the time he came in at 10:15 my contractions were almost back to back, and I admitted a 10 on the infamous pain chart. They put in my IV and finally put in the epidural. And, I know people say this all the time, but seriously - whoever invented the epidural has my eternal gratitude. It. Was. AWESOME. Within minutes, I was totally numb. Just like when they numb you up at the dentist, it felt like my legs were twice their normal size, and I had to keep looking to make sure they weren't. They insisted I would still be able to feel "pressure" and some temperature sensation, but I felt absolutely nothing. Apparently I'm pretty sensitive to pain medications. The weird part was when I tried to move my legs and they would flop randomly. It was pretty creepy. For about an hour and a half after that, Chad and I just sat around. We updated family, watched an episode of West Wing (Chad did - I fell asleep) and enjoyed drugged up delusion.

At 11:55 the doctor came in a broke my water, and we waited some more. Chad went home to check on the puppy, got called back because they were talking about having me start pushing, got back just in time for them to change their minds, and went back to check on the dog again. He got back around 2:00 and at 2:10 or 2:15 I started pushing. Baby was born at 3:01pm.

They handed me the baby right after he was born, and had Chad cut the umbilical cord. Then they took him away to weigh him, measure him, and clean him up. At which point it was determined he was 9 lbs. 7 oz. Thanks a lot Chad. After he was delivered, the nurses told me they kept thinking "Jeese! How big is this kid's head?!" because they kept telling me he was "almost here!" when apparently he wasn't.

With his daddy right after he was born:

My doctor took really good care of me, and came in just to deliver my baby. He was supposed to be out Christmas shopping with his family. Anyways. I was so surprised by how quickly everything went. I was really surprised to find my contractions close enough together to go to the doctor's office after only 5 hours. Well... it sounds a lot longer now, but it went by really fast.

Everything went well - baby was healthy and there were no complications for him or me. At some point after that, Chad went down to the nursery with the baby to videotape his first bath. They brought the baby back with a cute little hat.

At about 8:00pm we moved to a recovery room (apparently they were completely full Friday afternoon - so we had to wait longer than normal). I have to say - it is amazing that you can go through all of that and be walking only a few hours later.

They took my IV out at some point in the night. I was woken up at 6:40am for a blood draw. Chad went home for the night, and came back around 6:30 or 7:00 that morning. I took a bath in my jacuzzi tub (yay!) and got dressed in my regular clothes and felt 100 billion times better. We spent the day hanging out in the room, walking around the hospital, and trying to get used to our new baby. He spent most of his time in the nursery when he wasn't hungry. We went in to check on him and he was peacefully sleeping in a swing. So Chad went out and bought a swing. He does seem to enjoy it. At some point it was determined that the baby's blood sugar needed to be monitored, so they pricked his heel every time before they brought him to me to be fed. Poor little guy. That afternoon, our friends Nate and Kate came down from Rexburg to visit us. We had fun hanging around with them in our cramped little hospital room. The YW President I work with also came to visit.

Chad went home again Saturday night and came back around 8:00 Sunday morning. We watched the obligatory informational Infant CPR and Choking videos and the don't-shake-your-baby video. We spent the day trying to get ready to go home. I took another bath/shower and got dressed, did our checkout information, Chad took multiple trips to the car, and we were FINALLY ready to leave. By this time, I was ready to not be stuck in a little hospital room, on a hospital bed. I made a comment as we waited for Chad to pull up the car that the hospital was awfully quiet (although it was a Sunday afternoon). The CNA waiting with me said everyone was going home that day. They were full on Friday when I came in, and by the end of the day Sunday they were going to have 2 patients. Weird how that works out.

We got home at about 3:00 Sunday afternoon. Some people in our ward brought us a delicious dinner at 5:00 or 5:30. The hospital food was pretty good - and apparently Chad was getting jealous. He was happy for something a little more "home cooked" than a ham sandwich.

We went to the pediatrician yesterday, and everything is fine. I have been feeling really good too. I haven't been really sore or uncomfortable as I was promised I would be (especially after how big he was), and I'm attributing a lot of that to my awesome doctor. And the rest of it I am attributing, again, to the fact that my mom let me eat dirt when I was little. My immune system rocks. I am also wearing regular jeans again!!! YAYYYY! I really hated the whole "panel" deal which meant your jeans continued pretty much up to your armpits, which made everything more uncomfortable. At least for me.

And here we are - day 2 on our own of being a little family of 3. Chad went back to work yesterday, and is there now. Lady has been adjusting to having a baby in the house. She is a good dog - and I think that he wears her out more than anything. This is what she was doing last night when he was crying:

Charlie is a very happy baby so far. When he's not eating, he's sleeping. Like I said, he did cry for a little while last night, but eventually calmed right down and slept. He is sleeping now and has been for almost ... 5 hours?!! I guess I should wake him up and feed him. He is currently making little squeaks, but still sleeping. This is what he's doing now:
So, without further ado - here are some more pictures. Chad will have to get the videos ready so I can put them here too.

Still Waiting...

2011-11-29T15:36:00.004-05:00

As we wait for the baby, it looks like I will make it to December! Which is a good thing because that's kind of what I told the school to plan on - count me out for the month of December.

However, I have been thinking about ways to have a baby that wouldn't be any more weird than the current method -

1. Lay an egg like a bird: Lay an egg and carry it around for 9 months to incubate it. Wait for it to hatch.

2. Sneeze: Do you have a tissue? I just had a baby.

3. Vomit: Oooh... I don't feel so good...
"My baby was born covered in Spaghettio's - it was gross!"
"Yeah, well mine was covered in popcorn and chocolate pudding - and he was stuck in my throat for 10 hours before I could gag him out."

4. Belly button drawstring: I think it would be awesome if your belly button was just cinched closed with a drawstring. When your belly gets big enough, you just loosen the drawstring, open up the belly and pull the baby out.

5. Athena style: In Greek mythology, Zeus complains about a huge headache. He has Hephaestus take an axe to his head and split it open - revealing a fully grown and armored Athena.

Also - what if you grew a baby in your butt? I mean - it's not any weirder than growing one in your belly. Wouldn't it be weird if people's butts just got bigger and bigger until they had their baby. You really could NEVER ask someone if they were pregnant.

Anyway. I'm sure I'm going to have to settle for the good old-fashioned way. I just think it's weird.

Progress

2011-11-25T20:25:00.004-05:00

I have been working on getting everything ready for the baby to come, since that could be any day now. This has included a lot of buying and building home storage furniture (bookcases, drawers, etc.) and also buying a lot of Tupperware-type storage. But it needed to be done and things are looking a lot better - though there is still work to be done. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our nursery/guest room upstairs.

We still want to do some things like put up curtains and pictures, etc. but you should have seen it a week ago! I think it's so cute! And maybe going up and down those stairs will keep me in shape.

Building the crib:

Testing out the crib:

Panoramic:

Thanks for the crib mom and dad! It fits almost perfectly. And grandma's old chair is going to be a lovely place to rock the baby.

Well...

2011-11-23T19:11:00.005-05:00

Here I was thinking that I would have all of this free time this week to do things like post on my blog. I guess I didn't realize just how much still had to be done to get ready for this little one. I have been running errands, buying groceries, cleaning and organizing.

We are almost done organizing everything. We still have to find somewhere to put the instruments we have accumulated since we've been married. We have quite the collection - with nowhere to put it. Anyone want to build us a music room?! (Bruce Willis's home in Hailey - about 3 hours away - is on the market - we'll just buy that...) Anyway - I am surprised we have found places for the rest of the junk (Chad insists none of it is "junk") we have accumulated. The upstairs is looking cuter and cuter as a nursery. We got the crib last week, and Chad put it together Sunday afternoon.

After thinking I wasn't going to have a baby shower, I ended up having 4 - 2 planned, 2 surprise! One with Chad's family way back in August, one at work, one at work with my students, and one at church with the Young Women. I am grateful because we got many of the things we needed. With gift cards, I was able to purchase the rest of what I think we'll need, and I still have some money left over. I was telling mom - it's weird that something so small requires so much paraphernalia. It has been nice to have this week off to sleep and relax one last time before the baby comes. We went out to dinner the other night and are heading to a movie tonight (with a gift card to the cheap theaters from work that will expire Dec. 5th).

People keep saying that I must just want this baby out of me because I'm probably feeling so uncomfortable. I think carrying him around in my belly is a whole lot easier than having him not in my belly anymore. Then he will need a car seat, clothes, diapers, food, time, stroller, blankets, toys, etc. Even little things like tag-saling or grocery shopping will be a whole production. I'm not even that uncomfortable. Big, yes, but not really uncomfortable. (Besides the constant heartburn - which I have finally controlled with the discovery of Zantac75. Wahoo!) Plus, having the baby inside of me greatly reduces the chance that I will forget I have a child and leave him somewhere by accident.

Speaking of which - this pregnancy has been pretty easy. If it weren't for rising girth units, I wouldn't even know I was pregnant. I was never sick. I haven't been that tired, my back doesn't hurt and my belly doesn't feel that heavy. My biggest complaints are the heartburn and an itchy belly. And apparently the "stomach pains" that have been waking me up the last few nights are probably partial contractions. Who knew? Chad and I are hoping that an uneventful pregnancy will translate to an uneventful labor and delivery.

It will be interesting to see how the dog handles new competition for our attention. She starts whining/barking when she hears babies crying on TV. She's in for it. Maybe she knows already. She has been super snuggly the last few weeks.

I have a long-term sub lined up for school, but so far no luck with the Children's Choir. A student from BYU-I contacted me, and I got really excited, but I haven't heard from her since. Hopefully she doesn't back out.

As for Thanksgiving, Chad and I are staying home and enjoying a quiet, tiny dinner all to ourselves. We thought about heading to Chuck-A-Rama, and who knows, we might still end up there - but as of now, we're planning on eating at home. It is Chad's only day off (besides Sundays) from now until Christmas, and he wants to stay home and I'm okay with that.

I know I have updates from the last month and a half (Halloween!) - but somehow I don't have any pictures on this computer. So those will have to come later.

...Maybe my next post will be full of baby pictures!

Coming Soon -

2011-11-14T15:41:00.002-05:00

A new post to catch you up on all our goings on in the last month.

After this week, I get a full week of lovely vacation and no obligations. I have a lot of things planned to do that week to finish getting ready for this baby's arrival, so he can't come before that!

Individual Worth

2011-10-09T21:17:00.004-05:00

If you will recall, we were trying to sell our computer desk. We posted it on Craig's List in early July but never got any bites. We were asking $100, then $75. We asked around at church to see if anyone needed/wanted a desk, but again, no takers. So, after getting tired of it sitting in our front room for months, we finally broke down and took it to D.I. on Saturday.

The desk first joined our family shortly after we got married and moved to Rexburg. We bought it with wedding money. We paid about $180 for it. I think it may have been the first piece of furniture (maybe second to the kitchen table/chairs) Chad put together as a husband. It lived in our first little tiny apartment, and then moved across the street with us, and eventually made it down to our house. But with a baby on the way, it was time to retire it. It was a good piece of furniture, and we didn't want to get rid of it, but we just have no room anymore.

So - like I said - we took it to D.I. Then we parked and went in the store to look around, only to find our poor little desk already out on the floor for sale. They couldn't have waited until we left?

For the lowly price of:
Poor desk! You are worth so much more! Don't let anyone tell you different!

But, we did find a JCPenney Home Collection Queen size down comforter and duvet cover for $10.

Random Tidbits

2011-10-02T18:52:00.008-05:00

Hello all -
This weekend Erin and Bryce came up to Idaho! It's a sign of the Apocalypse. No - they were visiting Craters of the Moon and came by to see us. We had a "sleepover" with the boys so Erin and Bryce could have a semi-quiet night with Addy. The boys actually did really well and went right to bed. In the morning, they went over to the park with Lady while I made breakfast, then we ate breakfast and then it was time for Conference. In between sessions, the boys helped me pick zucchinis and then we went down to the river and walked the Greenbelt and fed the ducks.

Lady liked having friends to play with, but it wore her out. She slept for about 2 hours straight after they left. We got to see Addy (how did we not take any pictures of her?!) - the first Dickerson granddaughter. She is cute and tiny. It's hard to believe I will have one of my own in a few more weeks.

Playing store - Where I paid with a fake $5 bill and got two handfuls of wood chips. What a deal! (Will was licking a cut on his hand)

Today's zucchini harvest: 26
Zucchini harvest to date: 87

There were some monsters in the bunch.

Memorable quotes from this weekend:

Sawyer at a restaurant where he ordered broccoli with his kids meal: "I like broccoli because it's yummy and it's healthy for me." (Or something along those lines)

Will in the car trying to retell the "Golden Screw" story:

"Then he went to the top of the mountain and talked to a camel"
Erin: "A camel?!"
Will: "Yeah that's what you said"
Erin: "No, I said the Dalai Lama - Oh!!"

The boys wanted to play a game with the Wii Balance Board while they were here, but Chad couldn't get it to work. After trying everything we read in online forums, and a call to Nintendo Tech Support, we replaced our brand new out-of-the-package batteries with batteries out of other things that we knew were working, and somehow that fixed it. Anyways, so we got out the Wii Fit and updated our information.

Since September 25 last year, I have gained 34 pounds. I'm sure not all of that is "baby" weight since I'm sure I gained some on my own between September and March. But I have now graduated from "normal" to "overweight", and my Mii is nice and plump. Chad weighed himself and saw that he too had gained weight since last time he used the Wii Fit, albeit not 34 pounds. It inspired him to use the board to exercise. It inspired me to eat a cupcake.

Here are some pictures of random things:
This we found at the Dollar Tree. It made me laugh because I pictured a little cut of meat running around with a harness on - a la raw turkey running through the produce section like on that commercial.
Here is a picture of the little monkey we brought home to be friends with Lady when she was just a puppy. It was her first toy and she was deathly afraid of it for the longest time.
She has since warmed up to him and this is what he looks like today - a little over a year later:

Poor monkey... Since seeing Toy Story 3, whenever we give the dog a toy, all I can think of is the toys screaming at how they will get slobbered on, torn apart, chewed up and eventually destroyed by their new owner.

If you will recall, when we were in California, we went to a giant flea market thing, where we saw this sign:
at a booth run by Asian people. It made me giggle. As you can on the right hand side of the picture, they had slid the signs up under the mat they put down for a floor so that you couldn't see the "crearance" part - but I pulled it out and took a picture.

When we took Stephen back to school a couple of weeks ago, we were wandering around Broulim's where I spotted this sign which still makes me laugh:

And some gratuitous pictures of Lady sleeping - these were during the second session of Conference yesterday:

Tomorrow it's back to work! It's a short week though, because Thursday and Friday are In-Service days. So that's kind of nice. However, I don't know how to tactfully ask if I have to stay for full in-service days when I am only part-time. I know they're not adding in two "full-time" days of pay because I went to two "full-time" days of In-Service. I don't want to "get out" of anything - but I don't want to be working when I'm not getting paid. Well - it wouldn't be so bad if it was just full days of sitting and getting things done in your classroom - but it sounds like we will be in irrelevant workshops all day.

I love fall. I love summer too, but I love fall. Candy corn, caramel apples, pumpkins, corn mazes, hayrides, crisp air, crunchy leaves.... I just wish we were experiencing it in New England where fall is actually a season and not just a few weeks before winter sets in for the next 7 months.

Anyways - that's all from Idaho for now.

2011-09-22T22:06:00.001-05:00

Today's zucchini harvest: 22
Zucchini harvest to date: 61

I think we are falling behind for having something like 16 plants out there.
... They'd probably grow more if we actually watered them once in a while...

Update

2011-09-11T19:20:00.010-05:00

Hello everyone -
It's time for a quick update. This will mostly be based off of the pictures on my camera, because other than that, I don't have anything terribly exciting to tell you.

If you are wondering how my job is going - it's fine. I will be a lot less stressed when things have settled down. For example, right now we don't have the music we are going to play for our first concert because it is still in the process of being ordered. The children's choir will start next week. This Friday is the big rivalry football game.

All I can say is, I wish I was going to Connecticut tomorrow.

First things first. A few weekends ago Mollie came up to Idaho since we couldn't make it down to Utah to see her while she was there. She got a ride up with Aunt Karen on Saturday, and then rode the shuttle back early Monday morning. So on Sunday, we went to Yellowstone.

We saw painted pots, springs, and finished the afternoon at Old Faithful. I guess pictures of Old Faithful are on Mollie's camera because I don't seem to have any. We ate Subway and lots of snacks but didn't see very many animals. We saw some antelope on the way out, but that was pretty much it. Not even any buffalo.

One day, I was home doing I don't know what, when I thought the dog was being suspiciously quiet. I walked into the other room to find this:

The little puffball that used to be at the end of his hat is one of Lady's favorite toys. She'll carry it around in her mouth and spit it out at you when she wants to play. Dogs are silly.

Then, as I mentioned before, the van died at the high school after unloading all of the band equipment after the first football game a couple of weeks ago. Chad replaced the fuel filter, it worked for about a day and a half, and then quit again. A guy in our ward offered his help, having had replaced the fuel pump in his Suburban twice. He came over and tested some other things before deciding that it was, in fact, the fuel pump. So we went and bought a new one, and he put it in. Er, I mean, he "helped" Chad put it in. In the process, he told Chad that our van was definitely a female because of how stubborn she was with everything. Well - that means "his" name can't be Jermaine anymore. I think it should be LaFawnda. LaFawnda and Leonard - now there's a pair. Anyways - here's the offender.
But, $275 later and the van lives to see another day. We were planning on spending the weekend in Utah for Adelaide's baby blessing. Instead, we spent Friday night and Saturday fixing the van. We took the Subaru up to West Yellowstone to see Christian in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Playmill. The show was awesome and we were really glad we got to see it. As always, Christian set us up with good seats and treats. Thanks Christian! (He's in costume, by the way - this isn't his everyday wear)
We didn't feel confident taking the van down to Provo after it was immobile for about a week, and then we worked on it all evening/morning. Since we were planning on the baby blessing since about May, that was really disappointing. But I guess she got blessed even without us being there. Unfortunately, that means we still haven't seen the first Dickerson granddaughter and probably won't for quite a while. But I don't even know when we'll get to see Kyle and Jess's baby. That's what happens when babies are born hours away and you work full time.

On Monday, we decided to go to the State Fair. This was our sorry attempt to replace our trip to the Big E. No giant eclairs could be found. Nor clam fritters, nor giant cream puffs, nor Maine baked potatoes (or even Idaho baked potatoes, surprisingly), nor nasty maple candies, nor a giant building full of as-seen-on-TV products. We settled for teriyaki chicken bowls for lunch, and a Tiger's Ear (giant fried dough) from the Scouts booth. Chad said we had to be swindled before we could leave, and got talked into a reusable rubber lint roller thingy and a travel size one for $11. It seems to work pretty well, and didn't even seem that expensive. We do go through a lot of lint rollers, so it was even a useful purchase. While we were there, we saw this sign on the ticket booth for the rides:
You'll notice the "No pregnant or intoxicated people". Because we belong in the same group.

They also have a little petting zoo at the fair, where a pet store from Pocatello brings puppies to sell. They are always super cute, and sometimes they're really picky about who they let hold them. You have to look genuinely interested, because they don't want their little puppies being man-handled by a bunch of little kids. They let us see this little guy:

HOW CUTE IS HE?!!! And he's a dachsund/chihuahua mix so he probably won't get too much bigger. Just under $300. Sooooo tempting. Aunt Karen ran into us while we were ogling. In the end, we gave him back to the guy, and walked away.

And with that, we left the fair and came home - without incident, thank goodness. (2 years ago the brake booster went out on the van on our way to the fair)

This last week was more work for both of us. Chad's parents were here from Wednesday night to Saturday morning to bring Stephen back up to school.

Yesterday I was in Porter's just hanging around. When I walked in, there was a girl, about 10 years old, running around playing a harmonica. I found Chad and talked to him for a few minutes. The whole time this girl is playing the harmonica. And then I asked Chad if Porter's sells harmonicas. Why, yes, yes they do. She's going to buy that right? Probably not, he says. The lady at the register finishes checking out (where 10 feet away, her daughters are BOTH playing harmonicas now) and tells the girls to put their things down and come on because she's leaving. So the girls put their harmonicas back in the cases, and ditch them on a shelf in the toys/games and leave. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!?!?!?! And Chad isn't allowed to say anything to the customer because "That's rude". Really? It's rude for him to say "Uh, you opened that, slobbered all over it, you are old enough to know better, you're mother was standing around the whole time, and then you shove it back into the case, stuff it on a shelf somewhere and leave - I'm sorry, but you'll have to buy that." What is WITH parents these days? Are parents of this generation like this everywhere? Or is it just in this little Idaho/Utah bubble? It seems like parents take no responsibility for what their children are doing - and often leave them completely unsupervised. But I think it's worse when they ARE "supervising" their children and they might as well not be.

Chad tells me horror stories from work all the time where parents let their kids run around, break things, make a mess, slobber on stuff, and then they just put things back and leave the store. Why should they have to clean up after themselves? Or pay for what they broke/used/destroyed? But when I saw this in action, I was completely appalled. I just don't get it. When Chad made a comment to a lady at work that his kids weren't going to be like that, she said something along the lines of "Yeah, we'll see. Good luck with that." Why has this kind of parenting become socially acceptable? And, as grandma said, what's wrong with a little spanking every now and then? Anyways - sorry, that's my little rant for today. And I know I don't have any kids yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to walk into a store, hand my kid a stuffed animal off of the shelf, let them slobber all over it while I shop, and then put it back and walk out.

*Sigh* It's back to work for us tomorrow. The school is splitting my 35 student guitar class so I will now be teaching 5 classes. I am getting more anxious to have a baby. And more anxious that I can't stay home with him all day. (We are currently watching him rock my belly.)

Just Sayin'

2011-09-01T14:03:00.001-05:00

Not related to any specific example, but my experience in the last few months has taught me one thing is for sure.

You cannot teach those who do not want to learn.

When you're in the public school business, this is beyond frustrating.

Sigh

2011-08-27T13:59:00.003-05:00

Hello all -
I finished the week of teacher workdays, and with a few exceptions, I think I am ready for school to start. This last week was exhausting - meetings and in-services. Full days spent in meetings while stressing over the lack of time to do all of the other million things I needed to do before school starts. But I think I got pretty much everything done. And if there's a glitch or two within the first few days, that's to be expected.

Last night was the Pep Band's first performance at a football game. We weren't going to play this game because school hasn't even started yet, but last Saturday I started making phone calls, by Wednesday we were having rehearsals, and on Friday we had 25-30 kids ready to play the game. (I use the term "ready" quite loosely) We played the national anthem, the school fight song, Seven Nation Army and Louie, Louie. Obviously we will have to have more in our repertoire as the season goes on, but that was enough for the first game. I think it went well. It certainly could have been worse. The athletic director and other staff I have had to talk to to get to this game seem very supportive of the Pep Band, so hopefully we can only go up from here. Our team won, by the way, so that was an exciting start to the season.

Once we get into the swing of things, I think my schedule will calm down a bit. Luckily, I can do most of my prep work at home (score study, etc.) and I shouldn't have a ton of grading to do, except for midterm and final when they'll have written tests.

In other news, Jermaine is headed for the hospital soon. (or maybe the morgue...) On Wednesday, Chad got him home from work with a little bit of a struggle, and then on Thursday (Chad's day off) he wouldn't start. Chad spent the morning doing what he could to fix him. This included replacing the fuel filter. But alas, he could not be started. Later that day, Chad came to pick me up for lunch, and he was driving Jermaine! He started up just fine, and was doing well ever since. We drove him downtown with no issues, yesterday Chad drove him to work with no issues, and then we drove him (packed with instruments and stands) over to the football stadium (our "home" stadium is at the other high school in our district - about 10 minutes away) where we unloaded him, parked him, loaded him back up again, and drove him back to the school after the game. Chad had him parked up on the sidewalk to be closer to the building, and when everything was out of the car, he started him up again to go home. Except Jermaine wouldn't start. He put it in neutral and rolled down the slanted sidewalk back into the parking lot. We had Leonard there because we originally had to take 2 cars to the stadium because Chad got off work after I had to be there to meet kids. So I got in Leonard, and we pushed Jermaine home. Luckily we live really close to the school and it was 11:00 at night, so there was hardly any traffic. It was a little scary, and bumpy, and Jermaine's back bumper has a few scratches from Leonard's license plate, but we got home okay. So, if we want him fixed, we have to call AAA to have us towed to the garage, and then replacing the fuel pump (which people seem to think is the problem) will cost us $400-500. Who knows what's actually wrong with him. We were hoping the cars would hold out for another year while I worked my new job and saved the money for a car. The Subaru is running just fine after we took it in earlier this summer and had the spark plugs/wiring (or something) replaced - but the check engine light is still on. I'm not too worried about it, since when we took it in, they couldn't find anything life-threatening to fix. He's probably just requesting a breathing tube or oxygen tank or something, but he gets on just fine without one. We're trying to decide where we draw the line between paying $3o0-$500 every few months to keep the cars running, and just buying a new car and putting that money into payments. (I really wanted to pay for a car in cash... )

But what with that, and the baby on the way for which they are calculating we will owe around $4000 (plus who knows how much), we are quickly watching our expected "extra" money disappear. And it looks like we won't be headed to UT next weekend for the baby blessing... We are blessed though, that Jermaine made our trip to California/Utah and back, and to Yellowstone with Mollie - instead of stranding us somewhere along the way. Besides dying in the driveway, it probably couldn't have died closer to home. We do have the extra income, we just didn't want to have it spent as soon as it came in every month. And Chad and Lady and I are in good health and the house isn't falling apart, so things could be much worse.

In less depressing news, the baby is moving a lot now! His little jerks make my whole belly jiggle and that's kind of weird to watch. I had to go buy some new maternity work clothes and got lucky with 3 pairs of pants from Ross for $40. They all look pretty much the same, but at least I will know I'm wearing clean pants, even if no one else does. I packed away all of my non-maternity work clothes to make some space in the closet - I accumulated most of them after Christmas last year with shopping money from mom. It was sad to know they only got worn for a few months and then I had to replace my whole work wardrobe again. Being pregnant and having babies is expensive business!

Lady and I are currently lounging on the couch like the good ol' days. My side has been hurting since I woke up this morning - kind of like when you get a cramp when you're running or something - but it won't go away. I'm hoping laying still for a bit will do the trick.

Next week is the Eastern Idaho State Fair. We will have to see if we can squeeze in a trip to replace my lack of the Big E.

Piano lesson to teach in a few minutes. What I really wanna do is take a nap...

Summer is... Over.

2011-08-22T10:15:00.003-05:00

I am in mourning. Today is the first of a week of teacher work days/ in-service days. School starts next week. My summer is over.

I had to leave the puppy to come to work, and I felt so bad. I will miss the days of lazing around the house with her, watching TV, doing laundry, napping, and other such summertime activities. I always just let her in and out of the house on her tie-out leash - she'd mostly sleep on the porch all day. She won't be used to being stuck inside at home by herself for hours at a time... She's a good buddy.

I know, I know - leaving a baby is going to be 100 million times harder - but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Working Woman

2011-08-15T16:54:00.003-05:00

Hello all!
Since you last heard from me, we spent a lovely week in California visiting Chad's family. I think I have a total of 1 picture to document our time. We played games, ate good food, went to the mall, visited Wal-Mart and got many baby-related items. On our way home, we stopped in Provo to see Erin and my mom for a few days.

I interviewed for the job at Hillcrest on Friday morning, August 5th, before we got in the car and drove all day to get to California. On Thursday, August 11th, they called to offer me the job! I am officially a part-time band director at Hillcrest High School in Ammon, Idaho. This was bittersweet for us, because we had a trip planned for the second week of September to go back to Connecticut and see my family, visit the Big E and do other fall, New Englandy type things. Now I have to be teaching school. :o( No chocolate eclair for me. I was excited to go to Cape Cod, Lyman Orchards, Friendly's, XPect, the Goodspeed, and in general, enjoying the season of autumn which is nearly non-existent here, but as they say, life gets in the way.

The job at the high school is only part-time, which is good for me with a baby on the way. I will still have time to go to appointments, go shopping, etc during the second half of the day during which I will not be teaching. I will also be doing pep band which earns me an extra stipend. I am excited to be back at the school working with a lot of kids that I already know. I will be teaching Band, Jazz Band, Beginning Guitar and Percussion Ensemble. It is a lot less intimidating than a full-time teaching load. It is gratifying to finally be using my education and doing what I wanted to do since middle school. It's just weird that I'm going to be actually doing it. Being a band director was something I was going to do when I was all grown up. Wait a minute...

My life has become busy almost overnight.

I had new teacher orientation this morning, and then I went over to Hillcrest to see if I could get some keys and get into the building. The head custodian knows me from my student teaching (and happens to be the brother of a guy in my ward) so he set me up, and took me down to see the room. Holy cow, is there a lot of work to be done. Not that I'm surprised. So I will be spending most of my free time this week at the school. Next week begins teacher work days/in-service days, and then school starts on the 29th! I am excited to have a job, but I wish I had more time!! So between now and then I have to clean up the room, create syllabuses (syllabi?) for each class, pick music, decide how I'm going to grade each class, and decide classroom procedures. In addition to that, if you'll remember, I'm in the midst of choosing music for the children's choir and attending "open registration" days for that.

So, here I am, having been sitting at home all summer, with little to do and now I will be working 2 jobs. I have to say, I will miss the days of lazing around the house with the puppy. I was getting pretty good at it! And it will be hard to leave a new baby with a babysitter, if even only for 4 hours a day, 3 or 4 times a week. But at least I'm not driving to and from Rexburg to do it all. It will be nice to be able to come home and be somewhere close enough that I can run back over to the school if I need to.

Anyways, I am enjoying my last few moments of freedom where I can get them. And currently Judge Judy is on, so I bid you adieu. And perhaps I will enjoy what may be my last nap of the summer.

You GUYS!!!

2011-08-02T15:45:00.003-05:00

We will miss this this year, as we will be on our way home from California.
:o(

Oh, Idaho...

2011-08-01T16:34:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago, I received a letter from our power company stating that they are soon going to raise our rates. Of course, they were inviting public input on this process. However, I am sure that this will go about how our public meeting went before they raised our water rates. Everyone came to this huge town meeting, expressed how we were mad that because the city kept putting off it's payments, now we had to have a $10/mo. increase. The board listened to ideas to pro-rate or otherwise makeup the funding, said they would "take these into consideration" and then, obviously, the next month (and every month since) we all saw a $10/mo. increase on our bills. So - I know that when they say they will "do everything we can" to prevent rate increases, I know they're full of crap. So anyways, I wrote my letter explaining that the increase would not be financially easy for us (it's not huge, and we will be able to pay it, but I think it is beyond annoying to open bill after bill only to find that everyone's increasing their rates and we are not getting paid any more than we were before) and sent it off to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. I got an automated response letter along the lines of "Thank you for your input. We take all comments seriously. We provide you such awesome above-and-beyond service, I'm sure you will understand why we have to raise our rates for providing it." Pretty much what I expected.

Then today I got a more personalized letter from the "Executive Assistant" (uh... secretary?) at the Idaho Public Utilities Commission that tells me "We know what these increases due to families such as yours." DUE you?! If you're going to send me a consolation letter, at least use proper grammar. Now I REALLY don't want to give you my money.

*sigh* It is Idaho, after all.

Somebody's Sleepy...

2011-08-01T15:45:00.001-05:00

It is a rainy day here today - perfect day for a nap.

It is humid here today!

2011-07-31T17:07:00.001-05:00

The floor feels sticky, the sheets feel damp, the air feels thick.

I love it!!!

Purchases

2011-07-27T11:56:00.002-05:00

Now that we know we are having a boy, we can buy cute little boy things! (The pictures are a bit blurry, but you get the idea.) And we got them on super clearance at Sears and paid $12.00 for everything. So far they have the cheapest baby clothes we've found.

I also bought a Minkee blanket kit from Porter's, so now I can make one of those too! So SOFT!

Video Debut

2011-07-26T15:01:00.002-05:00

Introducing....

2011-07-26T14:56:00.002-05:00

Charles (Charlie) William Busath!!!

Little fingers in the center

Foot
Profile
Creepy baby

Video will be forthcoming - it is taking forever to upload/process.

Megan's Life Lessons

2011-07-24T22:17:00.003-05:00

1: Do not EVER wash a shirt or towel that someone has just worn to get their haircut with other laundry (namely your undergarments) because you will be ITCHY ITCHY ITCHY!!! (I hope only until you wash everything again.)

2: Maintaining a constant body weight/build is the easiest way to save money on clothes. I have clothes that I wore in 8th grade currently hanging in my closet. (Although I am slowly weeding them out because I recognize my 8th grade wardrobe needs to be updated, to, oh, I don't know, something a little less 10 years ago) Gaining baby weight is making it very hard for my old clothes to accommodate my growing belly - and I am having to spend money on new clothes. Which would be great - if I could wear them for more than just a couple of months.

3: Thank you mom and dad for making us do our chores or clean our rooms before we could go do anything we wanted to do. (Or at least it seemed that way.) It is a) a motivator to get my self-inflicted chores done now that I am taking care of a whole house and b) way better to come home to a clean home than a dirty one. Even if just cleaning up one mess/project before beginning another, or cleaning up the kitchen after you're done making cookies. Now if only I could teach this principle to Chad.....

4: Pictures/updates from our trip to Utah for Will and Sawyer's birthday are currently being processed by the in-house video editor.

5: Coming soon to a blog near you: Baby Busath makes his/her video debut!

P.S.

2011-07-21T15:00:00.002-05:00

In the realm of TMI - my belly button is getting shallower. I am not happy about this. I don't want an out-ie belly button!

Also - isn't it weird how a smell can bring back a memory more vividly than anything else? Remember that time I was sick on Chad's birthday, and spent the day barfing? Well, we had just put a new air freshener gel thingy in the toilet (thanks to BzzAgent). Several times that day it seemed like that "fresh clean scent" was the last little bit it took to push me over the edge and induce vomiting. Well - that was a while ago, so I thought maybe we could try putting another one in the toilet (because we still have several "uses" left, it was FREE, and it did keep the toilet clean and smelling nice - until I started associating that smell with vomit.) But I think I will have to scrape it out and throw it away because every time I walk in there, I can almost taste orange juice or ginger ale on it's way back up.

Finally, I am 99.9% positive we are having a boy. So if that ultrasound shows that we are having a girl, I will be 99.9% shocked.

News

2011-07-21T14:33:00.002-05:00

Hello all!
You are hearing from the new director of the East Idaho Children's Choir. There are 3 age groups and they each meet once a week, following the school calendar. (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Parent/Teacher Conferences mean there are no classes that week) We have 2 concerts - one in January and one in May and then have the summers free.

It is only 155 hours for the whole school year, but I am excited. I substituted for one of the classes when the previous director had a baby. It should be pretty fun. Plus, it brings in some extra cash!

No word on the high school part-time band director position.

P.S.

2011-07-18T16:28:00.001-05:00

A woman in my ward brought over a high chair and a Pack and Play that she no longer has a use for. This whole baby thing is starting to feel a little more real!

Megan's Book Review

2011-07-18T15:46:00.002-05:00

I have finally finished the interminable "Look Homeward, Angel" by Thomas Wolfe. Maybe my brain is too unsophisticated or immature to handle the epic writing of this book, but I found myself closing the 522 page beast thinking "What the heck was that?" The author had several favorite words that found their way into the story many times, including "inchoate". Everything was inchoate - spring, happiness, education. And his onomatopoeia for laughter was "Wah Wah". Now, who laughs like that? I'm pretty sure, even in the 1920s people did not laugh like that.

Supposedly the book is highly autobiographical, for which I pity the author. It sounds like a pretty dismal life - abusive and alcoholic father, loveless and penny-pinching mother, sickness, death, inescapable failure. The book follows the character Eugene Gant from birth to 19 years, at which point he seems to go crazy. And then his brother dies, and the book ends. Like I said - "What?"

If this were in a public school library, it would probably be censored or removed from the shelves thanks to the use of the terms "niggers" and "darkies" and to their little neighborhood as "Niggertown".

Anyway, there were, however, two passages that I actually found amusing.
One was his description of his father who used to tell them "When I was your age, I had milked four cows, done all the chores, and walked eight miles through the snow by this time." To which the author adds "Indeed, when he described his early schooling, he furnished a landscape that was constantly three feet deep in snow, and frozen hard. He seemed never to have attended school save under polar conditions." ... Dad, I'm looking your way...

The second was his description of a teacher at the university telling him that if he just quit cheating (he was not cheating, he was just better than everyone else at translating/reading in Latin) he wouldn't sound so pretentious, and he could actually take some pride in his work:

"But I think it's a pity, Mr. Gant," said the professor, gravely, "that you're willing to slide along this way. See here, my boy, you're capable of doing first-rate work. I can see that. Why don't you make an effort? Why don't you buckle down and really study, after this?"

Eugene stared at the man, with tears of anger in his eyes. He sputtered but could not speak. But suddenly, as he looked down into the knowing leer, the perfect and preposterous injustice of the thing -- like a caricature -- overcame him: he burst into an explosive laugh of rage and amusement which the teacher, no doubt, accepted as confession.

"Well, what do you say?" he asked. "Will you try?"
"All right! Yes!" the boy yelled. "I'll try it."

He bought at once a copy of the translation used by the class. Thereafter, when he read, faltering prettily here and there over a phrase, until his instructor should come to his aid, the satanic professor listened gravely and attentively, nodding his head in approval from time to time, and saying, with great satisfaction, when he had finished: "Good, Mr. Gant. Very Good. That shows what a little real work will do."

And privately, he would say: "You see the difference, don't you? I knew at once when you stopped using that pony. Your translation is not so smooth, but it's your own now. You're doing good work my boy, and you're getting something out of it. It's worth it, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Eugene gratefully, "it certainly is --"

... I'm looking at you, BYU-Idaho... or at least some of your professors.

Now, if those two excerpts make you think, oh, that doesn't seem that bad, trust me, it's like the trailer of a really bad movie - the only 2 good scenes are on the trailer and the rest is boring/trash. There are pages of "stream of consciousness" writing that make no sense at all.

I'd skip this one if I were you.

Freaky Friday

2011-07-16T11:47:00.002-05:00

So last night Chad and I went to the cannery to reinforce our emergency food supply. We got back around 7:45, had pizza and watched a movie. We went to bed around 10:45 with the dog asleep at the end of the bed. At about 3:00 she woke up and decided she didn't want to be in our room anymore. She might have been cold because we had the fan on blowing in cool air from outside and it got pretty chilly. Anyways, so she woke us both up, we put her in her cage in the kitchen, and then neither one of us could get back to sleep.

Sidenote: I have been feeling the baby move for about a week and a half now. At first, I thought it was just stomach gurgling but it persisted until I realized that must be the baby moving.

So I laid there feeling the baby squirm around for about an hour, with no luck falling asleep. Then I finally felt like I might be dozing off when we were both jolted back awake by one of the most awful sounds there is - a cat snarling in a fight with something (if it was 2 cats, one of them didn't cry at all) right outside our window. It scared us both half to death. You could hear it squeal as its body was thrown up against the house by who knows what. Now, I've heard cat fights before. The roaming cats in our neighborhood at home used to duke it out under the streetlight in the middle of the night. But if it hadn't been for the wall, we would have been 4 or 5 feet away from the whole thing. It was a pretty nasty sound and it took me another 30 minutes to fall back asleep after that. I half expected to find a dead cat in our flower bed when I got up this morning.

That's all. Pretty exciting, I know.

Bored

2011-07-14T15:52:00.002-05:00

Hello fellow bored internet surfers...
Chad is at work, Lady is laying out in the yard (her favorite pastime) and I am doing this.

As some of you may know, the final Harry Potter film comes out tonight. Some of the young women in my ward are going to the midnight showing. Chad and I thought about it except that he has to work tomorrow at 8:00am. But - this is kind of the end of an era! I feel like I grew up with Harry Potter. I read the books when I was little, and bought the later ones at midnight and stayed up all night reading them. We bought and brought one to Erin when she was in the hospital after having Will. Mollie and I drove to KMart at midnight only to find that we were pretty much the only ones there when they were obviously expecting a much bigger crowd, and it was... well, awkward. And Mollie freaked out because there was an employee dressed as a witch outside the store and she had just watched The Grudge with some friends.

The first book came out in 1998 when I was 10 and Harry was 11, finding out he was a wizard and getting his first invitation to Hogwarts. I think I even did a book report on one of the first books before they were huge.

Then the movies came out. The first movie came out the summer after 7th grade and had to have been one of my first boy-girl outings. I remember the 3 girls whispering about how we were going to sit so we didn't have to sit next to the boy we didn't want to sit next to. I have journal entries about the occasion! Several of the movies came out while I was in high school, 2 came out in college, and 2 have come out since then.

We grew up with Harry Potter! While I was going to high school, he was fighting evil things at Hogwarts. So when I see all these 15 year olds raving about the last Harry Potter, I get this odd sense of ownership - like they don't have any idea who Harry Potter is because they were 2 when the first book came out.

Anyways - I know that's dumb, but I was just thinking about how I could chronicle my life by who I saw the Harry Potter movies with.

That's my random thought of the day.

Also - I think it's stupid that people are holding their breath to find out who lives and who dies in the last movie. Uh... you could've read the book about 4 years ago - the cat's kind of out of the bag at this point. Was anyone wondering if Frodo completed his mission in The Lord of the Rings or if Alice ever made it out of Wonderland?

But Chad is among the movie-watchers who haven't read the books, and so he doesn't know what happens in the end. He has an idea, but doesn't know any of the specifics. So no spoilers in this household, please!

I think I should go mark this occasion with some butter beer (which, apparently, you can get at Harry Potter World at Universal Studios). Maybe I can wave my conducting baton around shouting "wingardium leviosa!" at things until something finally levitates. It could be awhile...

Update

2011-07-09T14:14:00.003-05:00

Hello all. I am trying to kill time for a few minutes. BYU-Idaho is hosting an alumni concert for anyone who ever played with the Symphony Orchestra, which happened to include me. We had a rehearsal this morning, this is our break for lunch, and we'll have one more rehearsal and then a concert this afternoon. It won't be anything stellar, but it's fun to play again.

Let's see - what's new? We decided to stay in town for the Fourth of July parade this year. (Last year we drove up to Rexburg's parade) The Idaho Falls parade was bigger, but kind of lame. Except for the fact that we got there about 1/2 an hour before the parade began, and with only two adults, were able to find a tiny spot in front of a local church. The church was offering free hot dogs, popcorn, cookies and punch!! FREE! and THEN as we got toward the end of the parade, they walked around with trays handing it out. And then we didn't even have to get up to get our free food! That was pretty awesome. I felt a little guilty that I had no intention of joining their church/congregation, but they didn't seem to care. But I'm not sure we'll be so lucky to get that spot next year. If we are in a parade-going mood next year, we will probably go back to Rexburg's. But anyway. After that we came home and took a nap, went to a neighbor's barbecue (where everything was delicious!) and then headed downtown. We walked around the greenbelt for a few minutes before realizing there wasn't much of anything there besides food - and since we bought tickets for dinner/fireworks later that night, we weren't in an eating mood. We went over to the Shilo and stuffed ourselves full of salad, cole slaw, veggies, fruit, rolls, hot dogs, brisket sandwiches, baked potatoes, soda, water, brownies, pie, and all the ice cream you could want. Plus we had a nice place to sit while we waited for the fireworks to start. We went last year after spending the previous year camped out along the greenbelt (just ask Mollie) only to find that we couldn't actually see anything from where we were. It has been totally worth our money. It's supposed to include a live orchestra concert before/after dinner, but you can't see anything from our table. After the fireworks show, we thought we might be sneaky and wait out the traffic. We walked over to Denny's (along with the rest of the crowd) and waited about 1/2 hour for some chips and water. P.S. - the chips and dip was gross... We got back to the car, and traffic had not died down at all - in fact, it might have been worse. Next year we will definitely skip the Denny's trip. We're better off just getting in the traffic and heading home as soon as they're over (what we did the year before). We finally got home around 12:00 or 12:30 and then spent an hour looking for my cell phone (which included searching the local park in our bathrobes with flashlights) until we eventually found it behind the couch on vibrate. It was a late night, but still fun.

Since then, not much has happened.

Random thoughts:
1. I wish I looked definitively pregnant. I am just fat enough that acquaintances wouldn't know if I was pregnant or had just put on some weight. I am glad I am not a whale, but the in-between stage is kind of awkward all the way around.

2. Pumping gas on a hot, dry summer day reminds me of being on vacation with my family. I felt like I needed to give myself some snack money. Which made me remember the time Evan ate the honey bun with wrapper attached, thinking it was frosting. "Honeybun, coming back!"

3. I remember when "Maverik" was the weird only-in-Utah gas station down the street from grandma's house. Now I get gas at the one by my house. Weird. Whatever happened to Citgo?

4. When people ask me what I'm "up to" these days, it is weird to say "nothing" and really mean nothing! Uh... just sitting at home growing a baby. What are you up to these days?

5. Apparently the church is more "strict" (as far as following the handbook/rules) in Connecticut than it is here. You would think it would be the other way around. Maybe just because local wards (ours, in particular) have been around for so long that they just kind of do things however they do them. When new wards are formed, they're probably more careful about following the rules.

6. I am counting down the days to my 3-foot long giant eclair from the Big E.

7. On Wednesday, Chad commemorated 10 years since he got back from his mission. He pointed out that he has a wife, house, full-time job, dog, baby on the way, and a current temple recommend - so that's doin' pretty good. I guess it is.

8. We built a shed, and it's almost done. We hung the doors on Wednesday and now Chad just has to shingle the roof. Once that is done, he will move a lot of his stuff out of the basement and into the man-shed, and then I can put kitchen stuff/non-baby stuff in the basement. We also dug up most of the yard that was weeds and have tried to plant grass. We planted our garden a couple of weeks ago (last week!?) and have little zucchini plants popping through the soil!!! It's pretty exciting to go out and see your seeds growing up into little plants that will eventually overtake us with zucchinis.

9. Rexburg has changed a lot even since we moved just a year ago. There is new housing going up everywhere, they're demolishing a bunch of stuff and changing names on things. Even campus is different with the new Manwaring Center and BYU-Idaho Center.

10. Time to go back to rehearsal.

Caution:

2011-07-03T18:22:00.006-05:00

silly post about my dog to follow. My mom has informed me that people don't care about your dog's birthday - people don't even really care about your kids' birthdays unless they're directly related (and even then...) BUT - with no kids yet and a cute little dog, we had to mark her 1st birthday somehow. So - if you are one of those who couldn't care less about our dog - skip this post. :o)

June 30th was Lady's first birthday! Does that mean she's no longer a "puppy"? She's just so small, you can hardly call her a dog. Anyway - we lazed around the house doing nothing much of anything until Chad got home.

Chad and I ran to the store to pick up a few things, got home, ate dinner, and went to the park. Lady loves to run - and she loves to play fetch. Chad is so happy to have a dog that will play fetch with him. We didn't even have to teach it to her! She just did it. Here are some pictures:

We played for about an hour, then went for a 1/2 hour walk around the park, then played for another 30 minutes-ish.

When we got home we had "cake". (Well, Lady had cake.) I made some dog-safe "ice cream" from a recipe I found online that consisted of yogurt, a banana, some peanut butter and some honey. I froze some in a mini cake tin and scooped it out for a birthday treat. (I can't believe she let me put that bow on her head for a few seconds to take the picture!!!)
Awwwwwww.........
Anyways - that was about the extent of Lady's birthday. And in case you are wondering, dogs can, apparently, get brain freeze. (P.S. Chad is currently tormenting the dog with a marionnette which she is deathly afraid of) The next day we gave her a big chunk of "ice cream" that was more frozen, and she licked away for a few minutes until she kind of staggered away and then broke out into uncontrollable shivering. It was pretty amusing. I have some extra but I give it to her in little pieces.

3 Years = 3 Busaths

2011-06-30T15:22:00.009-05:00

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary on Saturday, June 18th. We were on our way to Yellowstone (that's where we spent our honeymoon) and decided to stop at the Rexburg Temple to see if there were any brides out sharing our wedding day. (There weren't)
3 years ago:
We stopped and took some pictures.

And as you have guessed by now, we are having a baby! Here I am trying in vain to show a little pregnant belly. (I'm not really noticeably pregnant yet)

So we drove up to Yellowstone, and although it was chilly, we had a good time. Dogs are only allowed on the trails/boardwalks around Old Faithful - although people will be sure to give you dirty looks and mutter things like "There are signs all over the park that say No Dogs" (even though you're not the only one with a dog) - so that's where we went.

Now: (me looking oh-so-attractive)Then:

We got back to West Yellowstone with time to see a show at the Playmill where Christian is working this summer. We saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. (I had never seen it) The show was really fun, and the perfect ending to a perfect anniversary.

SOOOOO
The baby!!
We have known about this baby since the end of March, and it has been hard to keep it a secret what with the other pregnancies in the family. We told our families on Mother's Day and made it public at Girls Camp last week. We are excited to find out if we're having a boy or a girl - I have an appointment for July 26th! To answer everyone's favorite question (How have you been feeling?) I have been fine - I didn't have any morning sickness. I was a very picky eater, though, and was tired all the time. Those two short bouts with sickness you may have heard about were unrelated - one was food, and the other was an overactive gag reflex.

I have recently regained my energy and am happy to be keeping up with dishes and laundry and errands again. I've read that by now, the baby can hear what's going on, and you can get them used to sounds before they're even born. We're thinking about making the dog bark at me for a few minutes every night so the baby learns to sleep through it. Maybe I should bust out those bagpipes too. :o)

The baby is due December 7th and we are excited - but we'll be more excited when we know the sex, when I actually start looking pregnant and when we can feel the baby start to move. (Any day now!)

Megan's Summer Reading List:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - pretty much what you would expect from Jane Austen. Girl likes boy. Boy likes some other girl. In the end girl ends up with boy.... I guess I could be one of her characters because that pretty much describes my relationship with Chad.
Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky - not what I was expecting at all. Guy murders two women and then spends the next 600 pages feeling guilty and going crazy until he turns himself in.
Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe - Just barely started this book - the jury's still out.

It's Late But...

2011-06-25T23:48:00.003-05:00

Tonight we mourn the loss of a beloved family pet. Tank passed away sometime today or last night. As I was cleaning up the house today, I noticed he was sitting in one corner of the tank and not really moving anywhere, but I thought nothing of it. Then I sat down tonight to play the piano and Chad pointed out that it looked like he was watching me play. He was in the exact same position I noticed him in earlier today. I reached in and touched him and he didn't move. I turned him upside down and his neck twitched a little so we thought he might be hanging by a thread. About half an hour later we were still trying to decide if he was dead or not, so I was slowly stretching out his head, and it pulled back into the shell. I definitely felt it pull out of my fingers. So again, we thought he might be barely alive. We called a 24 hour pet clinic, and took him over around 9:00pm. As we filled out the paperwork, they took him in the back and determined that he was, in fact, dead. The assistant said something about the corneal reflexes being the last thing to go and he didn't have any. Which I'm pretty sure is code for "I poked him in the eye, and he still didn't move." So, we took our little turtle home, set him up in a little cardboard box, buried him in the garden and sang Taps. We would have had him for 1 year as of July 24th. We have quite the pet graveyard going on, what with the baby bird, my little Pig-Pig and now Tank. Fish was flushed. But in 3 years, we have lost 4 little animals. Hopefully humans are a little more hearty....

We will miss you Tank!
When we first brought him home (about the size of a quarter):
Post-mortem:

(Other updates to follow tomorrow)

What's That...?

2011-06-20T10:32:00.002-05:00

Random Pictures

2011-06-02T20:10:00.011-05:00

Please note: This is the 4th post for today - make sure you catch them all!

Here are some random pictures from the last little while. (From my cell phone - sorry for bad quality)

These tulips finally bloomed and they were HUGE. They are all pretty much all wilted now, but our lilac bushes are finally showing signs of life.

I love these pink/white ones with the yellow center. If I had done my wedding in tulips, it would've been these.

I ran into one of the young women from my ward at Porter's on Saturday. She was telling me earlier about how she got her nails painted at this place in the mall. It sounded like fun (and I was ready for an excuse to spoil myself), so I convinced her to go with me and get manicures. My nail polish was called Princesses Rule. Obviously. It is probably most commonly sported by 5 year old girls, but I thought it was pretty. So - for my... 4th manicure ever. (senior prom, wedding, birthday with Mollie)

On Memorial Day we were bored and anxious to get out of the house, so we took Lady down to the river for a change of scenery. The river has flooded its banks because of all the rain and snow we've gotten, and is only supposed to rise even more before it starts to recede.

But that means the ducks and geese are enjoying the new giant puddle they have to float in.
Look at all of these goslings!!!

We were going to the Farmer's Market last Saturday when this drove by:

... Not something you see every day. Or maybe in Idaho, it is. When we stopped at a stoplight, we could hear them bleating. It made us giggle.

Lady took us for a ride the other day. It was nice to not have to drive.

And some gratuitous pictures of Lady sleeping/being cute.

Some Easter Pictures

2011-06-02T19:59:00.003-05:00

The spread: glazed ham, green bean casserole, au gratin potatoes, rolls, jell-o and deviled eggs. I was particularly pleased with my deviled eggs because I had never made them before, and they tasted just like the way mom makes them.

There was only one casualty that weekend. I kept smelling something but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Chad had moved the timer to a burner that hadn't quite cooled yet. Still functional though! And Chad's dad was able to get all of the melted plastic off the stove top - so no harm done!

Things I didn't get pictures of: playing disc golf at the park, dying Easter eggs, playing games after dinner.

Chad's Birthday in Pictures

2011-06-02T19:47:00.006-05:00

I finally have some time and the required equipment to post pictures of the things that have passed us by.

Here are pictures of Chad's birthday:

(I made the third layer into cupcakes for Chad to share with a guy at work who loves German Chocolate cake)

Schoooool's Out... For... Ever?

2011-06-02T18:44:00.009-05:00

A week ago today was the last day of school. It looks like I won't be going back to school in the fall for the first time in... 18 years. I'm kind of looking forward to it. And if we ever have a chance to travel, we can do it whenever we want - not during school vacations. I'm thinking a trip to Connecticut for the Big E is in my future - I have a standing date with a 3 foot long chocolate eclair.

In other news - that means it is FINALLY SUMMER!!!!! I have been dreaming about this moment for months now. Thankfully we have had some nice weather recently (though not today) and Lady and I have spent the days in and out of the house, laying in the yard (even getting a tiny bit sunburned!) and propping open all of the windows that aren't painted shut. I have already read my first book of the summer (Mansfield Park) and am looking for others. So far I mostly stick with Jane Austen and other Classics because sometimes "New York Times Bestsellers" are nothing I would ever buy. Any suggestions? (I'm not really into science fiction or fantasy.) I am armed and dangerous with a public library card.

I spent the last 3 days cleaning, doing dishes, washing laundry and putting it away. It feels good to finally have some housework under control for the first time in months. (Everything except the bathroom (and the yard) which are Chad's job)

Also - shortly after Chad's birthday, these items arrived in the mail. I guess senior discounts are closer than we think...

One Year Ago

2011-05-25T10:27:00.003-05:00

I meant to post this on May 20th, but I was too busy being lazy that day. Let's pretend it's May 20th.

A year ago today (after a lovely whirlwind trip to Florida) we signed the closing papers on our very own home. We both worked in Idaho Falls, but still lived in Rexburg, so we went to Olive Garden for dinner and then drove back to our little apartment above Porter's until Sunday the 23rd (?) when we moved in. We still had a week left of school after that, and then Chad's parents came to help us get settled in.

This year we sat inside (it was rainy or chilly, or both - I don't remember now) and drank Martinelli's to celebrate our one year anniversary of home ownership. There's still a lot we would like to do if we had unlimited funds (fence, extra bathroom, possibly an addition, garage, shed, patio/deck - wouldn't that be nice?!) but alas, our little home will have to do for now. At least we got it painted. The extra bathroom sure would come in handy though, because next time people visit, we might have to rent a Port-A-Potty. Although, I heard on the Today Show that adding a bathroom is never a good investment because you won't get as much for it when you sell as it cost you to put it in. Maybe we'll just add plumbing and put a toilet in the corner of our bedroom.

Right now we'll just be happy if we can conquer the dandelions that are rapidly overtaking our yard. In the scriptures it says that God cursed the ground with weeds when Adam and Eve were booted out of the Garden. I fully blame Eve for the abundant dandelions in my yard.

Anyways - here are a couple of pictures:

A year ago: (the lawn and sandbox look a LOT better)

Today:

... don't mind the dead Christmas tree laying over there like a beached whale...

We love our little home.

Explanation

2011-05-23T15:24:00.002-05:00

... I know my complaining about my "job" must make me sound like a wanny (which apparently is not a real word).

And maybe you're thinking I'm sounding like many of my generation who think they are "entitled" to things.
But. I worked my butt off in high school. I got good ACT scores. I got good grades and good scholarships in college to graduate at the top of my class, magna cum laude, so I could eventually be the best teacher I could be. I never did anything if it was less than my best. I scored high on my Praxis test and received my state teaching certificate. So yeah, I feel like I am "entitled" to a little respect from a bunch of 15 year olds, and maybe even (heaven forbid) an adult every once in while.

Crazy, I know.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

2011-05-23T09:53:00.002-05:00

4 more days, including today.

I took Thursday and Friday off because there wasn't anything for me to be doing. There isn't anything for me to be doing right now either, but here I am at work.

On Thursday I found out that I officially do not have a job next year. You can imagine my reaction.

I took pretty much everything home out of my "office" over the last couple of weeks so that on the last day of school I can just leave. Also - a lot of it was stuff that I never used. I had my career portfolio, my student teaching portfolio, my resource binder (everything I need to know about teaching band) and a bunch of other things. So I took them all home. I knew my office would be used as a practice room (which it always is) while I was gone, and I didn't want there to be anything left that kids could possibly screw with. I was assured that if anyone was in my "office" while I was gone, they would be supervised. I knew that was a bunch of crap, because every time my "office" is used while I'm gone, kids find a way to make a mess. And generally? I like the kids I work with. But not when they're idiots. And for some reason, they spend a lot of time being idiots. Especially when there isn't an adult around.

These are the things I left in my office: My old laptop, in its case (it's passworded), a blanket, and an open sleeve of saltine crackers in the top drawer of my desk. I should have known they would be rifling through my desk. So when I came in this morning, I opened my drawer to find saltine crackers scattered and smashed all on the inside of my desk. Seriously? I was pretty angry. And since I know there won't be any consequences for anyone even if I did make an issue out of it, I can't say anything to them. What I want to say is, "Thanks a lot for smashing crackers all over the inside of my desk. Why do you have to be so dumb?" But my guess the response will be about like when, at the beginning of the year, I had to tell a bunch of idiot boys "Thanks for throwing a penny at my face. It's a good thing you missed. Who threw it?" (by the way, I knew who threw it - and they weren't man enough to say they did) and they all stared at me for a few seconds before the teacher, and the class moved on. Nobody was disciplined and the problem continued throughout the rest of the year. Just last month when a teacher covering the same class was also hit in the head with a penny, the students responsible got Saturday detention, or in-school suspension or something. Apparently I'm not important enough for kids to actually get in trouble for being jerks to me. THAT'S why I hate this job. I have no authority to do anything. I've been reassured that I would be backed up if I ever need to discipline anyone, but that has not been my experience. Mostly it gets ignored, or the students' word is taken over mine. THAT'S why I hate this job.

Let's ask any other teacher in the school to put 10-12 teenage boys in their office unsupervised for 90 minutes and see what they say. But I'm not a teacher, so why would I care? Like I have anything in my office I wouldn't want people to mess with. Except that I am a certified teacher in the state of Idaho, and if you give me a space and say it's my personal space at work, then I expect you to stay out of it. At least I had enough foresight to remove anything valuable (my clarinet, or guitar, and every other personal item) but I honestly did not even think saltines would be an issue. It didn't even cross my mind.

So, Hallelujah, I don't have a job next year.

I was thinking - maybe I don't want to post this publicly on the internet, lest a future employer find it and think I hate kids. But I think they would understand my issue with having them make a mess out of my personal things/space. I don't think it's an unreasonable request for students to respect my property.

Things They Should Bring Back

2011-05-18T10:25:00.003-05:00

1. Planters PB Crisps - I had a dream about these a few weeks ago, and tried to describe them to Chad. He kept telling me I was thinking of Circus Peanuts. No way. I began to think I had just conjured them up in my childhood imagination, but after a quick google search, there they were.

2. 3D Doritos - Best. Chips. Ever.

3. Crest Whitening Expressions Fresh Citrus Breeze Toothpaste - They still make the vanilla and cinnamon kinds, but they discontinued the orange one. Aquafresh attempts to make an "orange" toothpaste, but it is gross.

4. Tamagotchis - I could really use one to soak up some of my boredom right about now. Nothin' like waiting for the little alien to hatch and grow up, and then cleaning the poop off of the screen. In 4th grade, our class had to be told to leave our Tamagotchis (not cell phones) in our backpacks and please turn the sound off so they wouldn't be beeping at us all day.

(I found this picture on a "Top ten terrible tech products" list. They obviously don't know what they're talking about.)

5. Warheads - Not that I really want some, but what happened to these? Do they still make them? We used to save up our allowance to buy them because you weren't cool unless you had Warheads. The lemon ones were the worst. Sometimes I'd rinse off the sour part and eat the candy.
(P.S. Remember when dipping your lollipop in water was the only way to eat a lollipop? Kids are weird.)

That's all I can think of. What would you add?

Stake Conference

2011-05-17T11:26:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, we had Stake Conference. For any of you non-LDS people out there, it's just like a regional church meeting. They have a special meeting Saturday night just for the adults in the area. President Clark is our Area Seventy (Harvard guy at BYU-I) so he came to speak. He did sort of a discussion, as he was fond of doing at BYU-I as well.

He draws this picture on the board, and apparently I was the only one in the congregation immature enough to catch the giggles. He added "of Gospel" to the left hand side before I could get a picture. But it's still funny.

His point was how if we have high standards of our children, and we enforce them with low love, we get poor results. We only want to enforce high standards with high love. But for some reason he had to abbreviate "standards" to "STD's" which makes it a whole different kind of chart.

Wildlife

2011-05-17T11:10:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, Chad and I were feeling the itch to get out of Idaho Falls. The weather was pretty good, so we went for a drive up and around the foothills east of Ammon (where a body was found last year around this time... right before we closed on our house...).

On our drive, we saw a bald eagle swoop down and pick at some road kill. Seriously! Right in front of us! It was pretty awesome. I have never seen one so close before (except maybe at a zoo or something)Then a couple of deer ran across the road right in front of the car. I told Chad I don't think I had ever had that happen to me before. We weren't so close that we had to slam on the brakes or anything, but we got to watch them bound across the street. The first one tried to jump the barbed wire fence on the other side and didn't quite make it, getting his hind legs caught before awkwardly tumbling to the ground, getting up and running off. The second one made it look like a piece of cake.

Maybe you should come to Idaho sometime to see for yourself!! If you go to Yellowstone, a buffalo might walk right by your window (as happened to us last summer). And you might get attacked by a bear, but such is the price of enjoying the great outdoors...

On our drive, we ended up in Swan Valley where there's a little gas station that sells scoops of square ice cream. I was not impressed with the ice cream - I don't know if it's something about the square scoop, but the ice cream was really frozen - like, had ice crystals in it. Personally, I like my ice cream creamy.

Doesn't Idaho sound like such a nice place to visit???

The Birthday Boy

2011-05-16T09:52:00.004-05:00

(pictures to follow)

Thanks in large part to me, Chad had a pretty lame birthday weekend.

When he got off work on Friday, he had to drive straight over to a local middle school where one of the choirs was performing, and I had to accompany them. That took until about 7:00. We came home and Chad opened his gift from me (in the back of the Subaru because I couldn't move it). I got him a 12" compound sliding miter saw with laser guide because he has been talking about one for a long time. More specifically "one that can cut angles". I had been watching them since January, and this seemed like a good deal at Harbor Freight. So now he can build all sorts of who-knows-what. (Let me just say, I did not realize what a beast that machine is...)
Other awesome gifts Chad got:
The seasons of News Radio on DVD from his parents and Kari & Eric.
Something from my parents that has yet to arrive in the mail.
Lego Creator set from the couple we went out with on Saturday.

After that, we went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner, because Chad likes it and it's the only time I will let him go. He had a yummy steak and even yummier garlic mashed potatoes. (I may have sampled). I had fried "Fish 'N' Chips". I don't have nice things to say about my dinner. There may have been a Bloom N Onion involved, but just typing those words makes my stomach turn.

We got home and tried to watch a movie, but I promptly fell asleep. Chad woke me up around 11 or midnight when it was over. It was then that I remembered I was supposed to at least bake the cake of his birthday cake that night. I had completely forgotten about it. I wanted to bring the cake to Rexburg when we met up with some friends of ours, but if I got up early, I could still make it in the morning before we left. So we went to bed.

I got up Saturday morning, and became painfully aware that I was not feeling good. I watched the clock tick by the minutes and eventually pass the 8:00 mark which would have been the latest I could have started the cake to have it ready for that afternoon. I was sick all day, and blamed it on my unhealthy dinner the night before. Chad mowed the lawn. (It was a BEAUTIFUL morning.) Around 10:45, it was time to leave for Rexburg. We had been planning this outing for a month, and we had a coupon that expired the next day, so we had to go. It was really fun despite the horrendous stomach cramps. We went bowling at Fat Cats with our college couple friend whom we don't see very often since we moved. (They are having a baby in October!! They took care of PigPig several times while we were out of town.) Anyways, we got 2 hours of bowling, shoes, large pizza and two pitchers of soda for $25. It was really fun to bowl and catch up. My scores were pretty lame (70's - 80's), except my last game when I got a 146!!

I was feeling pretty good by the time we left Fat Cats (around 3:00) but the car ride back to Ammon didn't do me any favors. I slept most of the rest of the evening/night. Pretty much from 4 or 5-ish to 8:00 the next morning. Somewhere in there it was discovered that I had a fever, so it was decided I should stay home from church the next day. (Remember that whole "stay-out-of-contact-with-people-for-24-hours-if-you've-had-a-fever" thing that nobody follows anymore? Maybe that was just our school system, but it probably helped contain some contamination.)

We spent the morning being lazy and watching The West Wing. I tried to eat a few things, which made my stomach rumble. I don't know what's going on in there. We took Lady out to the park since she had been cooped up inside with us all weekend. When we got home, we took another nap, and then I took on the task of completing Chad's birthday weekend extraordinaire by baking his cake. I finally got it done around 10:00 and he blew out candles, ate a small piece, and went to bed.

I have been feeling pretty good, but then I'll eat something and wonder if it will upset the fragile equilibrium of my stomach. I have been really cautious because I'll take a bite of something and almost immediately get a slight stomach cramp if it doesn't agree with me.

So on a weekend when I should have been catering to him, he had to wait on me. It was pretty lame.

But I guess he still turned 31 anyway, so it was a success. (He thinks he's so old because he's 31 and doesn't have any kids yet. Most of the husbands out of our married friends are 24-26ish. He complains that kids he went to high school with have 2 or 3 kids by now. I told him he shouldn't have robbed the cradle if he wanted a honeymoon baby... I also tell him he should be grateful he's 31 but at least he has a house, a full time job and a wife - and eventually he will have kids running around breaking things and bugging him for money) Also - 31 didn't seem so old until I started putting candles on the cake. Holy cow.

In other news, Outback Steakhouse has officially made my list of foods I can't eat now because the last time I tasted them, they were on their way back up. I just barely tried hot cocoa again, after a near-10 year ban was lifted. However, flavored hot cocoa (raspberry, etc.) is still on the list. I have never eaten another of my mom's sugar cookies after I got sick eating them when I was 7 or 8. Boiled shrimp made the list Christmas of 2000 or 2001. Who knows how long this embargo will last. I don't know if I would be happy or sad if that happened to something like donuts. I really like donuts. More than I should. I don't know if I would be happy that I wouldn't swoon in the bakery section anymore, or if I would be sad to never taste another donut...

Anywho... So here I am at school. The problem is, I usually bring a lunch so I don't have to try to get home and back in the 35 minutes they give us for lunch. But, if I don't know what my stomach can handle, I can't anticipate what I'm going to want to eat for lunch. So I have to go home for lunch. Which is stressful because the parking lot is a mess (the kids can leave for lunch) and I have to rush.

Seriously, though, I feel like I slept all weekend, and I could've slept more if I didn't have to get up and go to work this morning.

Can you tell I'm bored? This has been a long boring post about my stomach. Sorry about that.

I hope this post finds your stomach in better shape than mine.

Neighborly Advice

2011-05-13T11:45:00.004-05:00

Hello friends,

I have a question for you...

As you know, we got our little puppy last summer, and she is almost a year old now. We want to put up a fence so badly because she LOVES running around and being outside. She's a mini herding dog. We had to settle for a long tie-out leash instead, because we can't trust her to not leave the yard. (She ran half way down the block chasing a car the other day...)

I had her on her leash out in the yard yesterday because the weather was nice. We were just sitting on a blanket in the front yard, waiting for Chad to get home. Chad pulled up, and about the same time, a neighbor's dog comes running into the yard. Chad let Lady and this other dog smell each other, but the hair on Lady's back was standing straight up, so it wasn't a friendly encounter. Or at least Lady was threatened. So we tried to chase the dog off, but it wouldn't go. This is the same dog that has been in our yard several times before. Several times it has been right up on our front step, clawing at our front door. Several times it has run inside our house when we try to get out to shoo it off our property. This dog is probably about Lady's age, but is a much bigger breed, and is the kind of dog that would destroy your house. So we have not been happy with it.

But yesterday it runs into the yard and terrorizes Lady who's on a leash, outside with me. I don't know what would have happened if I wasn't outside. I grabbed Lady and took her in the house, and I honestly thought she was going to have a heart attack. She was barking and whining and making awful noises like she was dying. She was loud. Chad spent about 10 minutes chasing the other dog off. He eventually had to go to the person's front door (she's a few years younger than me) and tell her that her dog was out in our yard, and it's tried to get in our house a couple of times, and apparently he was pretty blunt about it.* (I would be too if I had to spend 10 minutes after I just got home from work chasing someone else's stupid dog around.)

* We had to say something a few weeks ago when the dog was on our front step scratching up our front door, and trying to get in our house right after Lady was spayed and could have hurt herself going crazy over this other dog. The response we got then was that the dog had broken off of it's leash twice that week. Okay, fine.

Her response this time was apparently an eye roll as if to say "Again?" and an "Oh - yeah, I thought I heard something..." But this time the dog didn't break off it's leash - she just lets it out and thinks it will stay in their (unfenced) yard. Then about 1o minutes later you hear her open the door "Honeeey? Honnneeey?"

This is the same dog we had to go canvas the neighborhood to find when it was a puppy because it wandered off. So this makes 7 or 8 times that it's been out running around the neighborhood that we know of.

So - we don't know what to do. We don't want to be the mean neighbors, but they should keep their dog on a leash when they let it out. What if I had had a baby on that blanket out on my front lawn? And here comes this giant bumbling dog.

Chad has now spoken to them twice. If it hurts my dog who is in my yard on a leash, wouldn't they have to pay for that?

Granted, theirs is not the only dog who regularly gets out and roams the neighborhood. A neighbor down the street has two little dust mop dogs that are frequently pooping in our yard, and the other day there was a little gray terrier I had never even seen before sniffing around on our porch. Last summer before we got Lady there was a bull mastiff in the yard.
(I don't know if you know just how big those dogs are - but here's a picture)

And maybe their owners would say "Oh, they would never hurt anyone or another dog" But how do I know that? When they come charging into my yard, or when they're big enough to put a saddle on, I'm going to be concerned. I watched a dog at puppy training class attack another dog while we were all standing around. The trainer got there in a split second and there was no physical harm done, but still. Dogs are still unpredictable. Big dogs even more so. And if you can't control it even when you DO have it on a leash, there's a problem.

I don't want them to have their dog taken away, and I don't even want them to get rid of it - but is it too much to ask to put it on a leash or in a cage?!

And there are cats ALL OVER the neighborhood. But that's a different story.

SO. What do we do? (There's a post on Craigslist today from our town advertising a very similar-sounding dog for sale - I'm suspicious that it's the same dog....)

"I Forgot My Teddy Bear..." ... "No, Really..."

2011-05-10T09:59:00.002-05:00

There are many other things I have yet to blog about, but I want to put up pictures too, and currently my camera is at home.

So last night was my last choir concert with Hillcrest High School. I only played for 9 out of the 17 songs. We got close to the end, when I turned the page in my folder and realized I didn't have the music for the next song. It is published in a book, and I never made copies - I always just used the book. And I forgot to bring the book out on stage with me. And my stupid brain told me I needed my keys to get to where the book was (not true). So everyone had to wait while I got my keys from Chad and ran back to the choir room and grabbed the book. If I hadn't thought I needed my keys, I probably could have run and gotten it and been back before anyone even thought something was up. So that was stupid.

But it's over.

A few more performances this year -

a Senior Awards Night tomorrow night
concert with a community choir Friday night
chorus concert on the 18th
possibly Baccalaureate (non-denominational church service for the seniors) on the 20th
possibly graduation on the 24th.

Then I'm done.

I'm SOOOO looking forward to this SUMMER!!!! I wish we had time/money to go visit Connecticut when it's nice out and not have to run to a wedding or reception and then fly back home. But it sounds like my family (or at least my mom) will be here for a good chunk of the next few months, so that will be fun.

In the past when people would ask me what my favorite season was, I could never decide. Summer meant free time and warm weather, but fall meant pumpkins and apple cider. Winter meant Christmas and family, and spring was my birthday, and the smell of plants and flowers. However, living in Idaho where there are essentially 2 seasons - cold and hot - has made up my mind. I choose the hot. (I'm still wearing long johns and sweaters pretty much every day - although we're supposed to be in the 70's by the end of the week!!!!!!!) Summer cannot come soon enough.

Also - neither the choir room nor my "office" have any windows.... that's depressing.

Picture

2011-05-02T14:51:00.003-05:00

Chad's mom had this picture on her camera when she came to visit for Easter. We thought it was funny, so she e-mailed it to us when they got back home.

How often do you see a squirrel like this?

... Just sun bathing... :o)

... Riiiiight....

2011-05-02T09:52:00.002-05:00

I just looked at the district's proposed budget cuts for next year.

As I've said, I've already been told I probably won't have a job next year.

However, the district information says they're planning on cutting 2 full time equivalent classified positions at the high school level (one from Hillcrest, one from Bonneville), for a total savings of $50,000. This will probably include me. I just calculated my annual salary and it comes out to a whopping $8,627. If they think cutting me is going to solve their problem, they're going to be about $17,000 short. If they cut my job, they're still going to have to cut another one to make up for how crappily I already get paid. I sure hope they're not paying $17,000/year for my crappy benefits...

Just sayin'. I wonder if anyone has even looked at that.

Update

2011-04-29T12:44:00.005-05:00

I feel like I have been really busy these last couple of weeks, but if you asked me what I've been doing, I don't think I could tell you.

School will be over in less than 4 weeks! It sounds like I won't have a job next year, so we'll see what happens.
I was looking through my school bag when I found a fortune cookie fortune from Panda Express from who-knows how long ago. It says "Avoid unchallenging occupations - they waste your talents." So true, Panda. So true.

Chad's family was here for Easter - and I owe you an update about that, but I don't have time right now. A good time was had by all. (I think)

I wish it would quit snowing here. We woke up this morning to 2 inches plus a nice layer of ice all over the car. I better not still be scraping my car in May.

... I really really really want to go somewhere warm and tropical.

Oh - and there was a district budget meeting last night at the elementary school just down the street from our house. It was a required public hearing - they weren't actually going to announce what they have decided to cut. We went over for about 20 minutes, and listened to a teacher in charge of the music/PE program at the elementary schools explain how awesome their program is. (Yes, music and PE are one position at the elementary schools). It really annoyed me. I spent high school going to Board of Ed meetings asking them to not cut the drama program. And I, of all people, do think music is important. But these people were just up there going "we're so important - feel guilty if you even THINK about cutting us." I was like that in high school, but there's more to it. The fact of the matter is, they have to make cuts. If that means making the PE/Music teaching a part-time position at the elementary level, they're going to do it. If that means the kids only have music once a month, they're going to do it. If that means they have a regular classroom teacher teach her own classes music and PE, then they're going to do it.

Obviously EVERYONE thinks what they do is important, or they wouldn't do it. And nobody wants to lose their job. I understand that. But education in Idaho sucks right now, and if they're mandated by the state to cut so many positions or so much money, then they're going to do it. And like I said, I love music, but they will NEVER cut math, or science or English before they cut music. They will make music an after school club. They will encourage kids to join community choirs (many of them already have). They will hire someone part-time.

This teacher was the only person we heard speak the whole time we were there. She and her colleagues (about 20 elementary PE/Music teachers) drafted this letter and read it to the Board of Ed. She tried to tell the board how important their recorder program was because after learning the recorder, a kid can pick up a saxophone and play right off the bat, and be ready for the band program. Which is stretching the truth quite a bit.

I think music in public education is important, but there are ways to incorporate it without having a full-time music teacher (at the elementary level). There are other ways to get kids music - they can take private lessons, or join a church choir, or join a community choir, or an after school club.

Listening to this woman blast the Board of Ed for cutting a program they hadn't cut yet was really frustrating. It made me want to go up there and say "You know what? Obviously I want to keep my job just like everyone else. But I understand you have to cut 1 classified position from our school, and I'm the newest classified position. And the current teacher can do my job and you don't have to pay her any extra for it. So I'll make it easy for you - just cut my job and move on to the next thing."

They were hoping the public hearing would provide the community the opportunity to give input on ways to make cuts without cutting important programs, but all it was was a "Don't cut MY job!" -fest.

All these parents show up to support their various causes, and I think - if we all just paid even $5 more in taxes, we wouldn't have this problem. But nobody would ever give up their precious money to taxes. Even if it paid for better schools, better roads, and better public services. When it comes down to it, the problem is money. And people don't want to part with it.

Random Thoughts

2011-04-14T22:48:00.003-05:00

Tonight I went over to the church to help put together hygiene kits. As we worked, I overheard two women talking about how they had cottage cheese and fruit for various meals throughout the day. And I wondered to myself, at what age do the cottage cheese taste buds develop? It seems like everyone over the age of 40 eats cottage cheese with their fruit. And my mouth just can't get past the texture. Is there going to be a point in my life when I will suddenly lose my aversion to cottage cheese, and eat it whenever I have any kind of fruit? Just wondering.

Also - when did it become socially acceptable to clip your fingernails wherever and whenever you want? I have noticed this social faux pas (or maybe it's not a faux pas?!) on several occasions now. Sacrament meeting, school, meetings, ward parties/dinners. I understand if something happens and you chip a nail or have a jagged part for one reason or another and you want to just take care of it quickly. (Even so - shouldn't you at LEAST use a garbage can?) I just have a problem with people clipping their fingernails in public places, and letting their clippings fly around the room willy-nilly. I don't understand why people want to clip their fingernails in public anyway. Isn't that a personal grooming habit that should happen in the privacy of your own home? And just because they're your baby's fingernail clippings doesn't make it any less gross.

Do you want to open a hymn book in Sacrament Meeting to have someone's bodily substance fall out on your lap?! Me neither! So please! If we must do it in public, let's not clip our fingernails anywhere but into a garbage can.

Also - I think we have the sweetest dog that ever lived. I can't believe how cuddly she is, and how cute she is when she's tired/sleeping. I'm glad I have her to keep me company.

And mom and dad, I think you should come visit us this summer. We could go to Yellowstone! And, if you come in the summer, it might not snow!

And what's in the Dickerson water?! Sheesh! Two babies within months of each other! Mom and dad will DOUBLE their grandchildren! We're happy for Erin and Bryce having a girl! Congrats Kyle & Jess!

... And I guess now I'm going to bed. Can you tell I'm bored?

Story Time!

2011-04-10T19:47:00.002-05:00

Last night in the middle of the night, I was feeling a little uncomfortable, so I decided to roll over on my other side. My rolling over must have awakened the Sleeping Giant (aka Chad) and he grunted to acknowledge my presence. 0.2 seconds later I was met by a swift elbow to my eye. It wasn't that hard, just enough to hurt and render me completely and fully awake.

Then the following conversation took place:

Me: (moan) Ow! You just elbowed me in the eye.
Sleeping Giant: No I didn't.
Me: Yes you did! I rolled over and you elbowed me in the eye.
SG: Megan, there's no way I elbowed you in the eye! (He's yelling now)
Me: (I'm yelling now) So I elbowed mySELF in the eye?!
SG: (yelling again) You must have, because I didn't do anything!!!
Me: Are you serious?
SG: (still yelling at me) You must have rolled into your fingers or something because I DID NOT hit you!
Me: And somehow I elbowed myself in the eye?
SG: I guess so.
(or something along these lines - it was late)

And Chad's brother Stephen stayed with us last night, and I was afraid he was going to wake up and wonder why the heck we were yelling at each other in the middle of the night.

And he rolls over in a huff, mad at me for accusing him of elbowing me in the eye, and goes back to sleep.

And I roll back over the other way and can't believe HE just elbowed ME in the eye and now HE'S mad at ME?!!!

So this morning, he comes up to me and hugs me and apologizes for yelling at me in the middle of the night after he elbowed me in the eye. He said he was still half asleep and wasn't thinking straight. Which is true.

And now I giggle every time I think about it. He was SO adamant that I had, indeed, OBVIOUSLY elbowed MYSELF in the eye.

On This Day Last Year...

2011-04-09T15:00:00.001-05:00

I graduated from BYU-I. Crazy that's it's been a year. Crazy that's it's only been ONE YEAR. That sure was a slow year.

Also -
THIS IS MY 200TH BLOG POST!!! WOOOO!!!!

Gas and Milk Guzzlers

2011-04-08T14:38:00.002-05:00

Hello all.
Chad was just telling me that he was watching something on the news that explained that gas prices are going up because of unrest in Africa and the Middle East. Suuuure.... Also, because they create a special blend of gas to be used in warmer weather (summer) and it's more expensive.
I think this is just a bunch of crap. Like the year we got married and gas was up to $4.00+/gallon and then the gas companies had record profits.

When we were in Utah, Erin sent us to get the cheapest gallon of milk we could find. We were shocked to find it at just under $2.50/gallon. We buy our milk at WalMart and it's $1.68 ($1.86?) /gallon. We thought it was a crazy Utah thing. Then we went to buy milk when we got back from Utah, only to find that our WalMart milk was also up to $2.43/gallon. Seemingly OVERNIGHT. What happened?!!

Chad says maybe it's because of the political unrest in their pastures, and also because the cows are putting out a special blend of "summer" milk that costs more.

And I just found out I owe the government $210. Because I have so much extra money floating around.

Sheesh.

It's Spring Break!

2011-04-05T10:35:00.009-05:00

and that means it's time to catch up on the blogging. Luckily, I have lots to blog about, what with the last week including Locks of Love, my birthday, and Lady's trip to the vet.

Friday was my birthday!!! I was up at 7:00 and couldn't go back to sleep, so Chad suggested we just go ahead and open presents. Since we were headed to Utah right when he got home from work, this seemed like the only time. (Hence the pajamas)

From Mollie: Lady was intrigued by the singing hamster. Gift card for FOOD!!! We do love food!

From Chad: The current out-of-the-vault Disney movie!

From Chad's parents: Gardening book

From mom and dad:

Birthstone necklace with the Crown of Scotland (?)

T-Shirt Blanket!!!

Bagpipes?!!! Straight to me from Scotland! Pretty awesome, mom!! I have learned several songs on the Practice Chanter included, but am having trouble getting the bag to hold air. I think the valve on the Blowpipe (that keeps air from flowing back out) isn't tight enough, and I might order one that's a little plug to replace it. (The current one is a little flap of rubber that doesn't seem to seal well.)

From Chad - My final gift!! A web book! I wasn't as excited as Chad wanted me to be, but I am excited! I am using it RIGHT NOW! It is pretty awesome - and it's nice to have something so small and light to replace my laptop.

After this, I went to school and it was time for Locks of Love.
Here are the pictures! (I look a little better showered and contact-ed, no?)
Before:

After:

The haircut is cute. The stylist wanted to "backcomb" it (code for rat) even after I said it would be weird, so that's what you see here. It's fun and I like it short, but that style made me feel a little too Utah. So now I'm trying to figure out how to make it look decent without a lot of work. Meh. I'm not too concerned about it. It's just hair and it'll grow back, and in just a few months it will be at the awkward in-between length that I hate.

Anyways! Right after school on Friday, I came home to pack up the van and get ready to take the puppy and head down to Provo. Chad came home after work and we left around 6:00. The drive was good and easy and without incident (thankfully!). This was Lady's first long trip in the car. On the way down, she mostly sat on my lap, and had a hard time relaxing. But she didn't whine or bark or anything obnoxious.

We got to Erin's around 10:00 and the partying began. She definitely spoiled us. We had breakfast burritos on Saturday morning, Cafe Rio salads for dinner that night, stuffed French toast for breakfast Sunday, and some more Cafe Rio salad for dinner Sunday night, with cream cheese pie for dessert/my birthday. Everything was DELICIOUS! We played with the boys and they played with the puppy. Sawyer spent the weekend writing little scribbles on stuff and telling me they were for me and I had to take them home. He was pretty cute.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL on Saturday - brushing up on 70 degrees. And then that night it got really windy, and by Sunday morning there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground. Boo.

Erin took me shopping for my birthday on Saturday, but we came out unsuccessful. So I left with a little birthday moo-lah and I was planning on spending it yesterday while Lady was at the vet, but never got that far.

Anyways, Lady was awesome the whole time we were there. (Except for some barking when we tried to put her in her cage in the bathroom Friday night) She was really nice with the boys, and didn't make any messes in the house. She didn't chew anything up or eat anything she wasn't supposed to (except maybe random things she found under the boys' chairs at the kitchen table). She really didn't like Bryce for some reason though, and barked at him pretty much anytime he came into the room.

Then it was time to head back to Idaho. This is what we ran into just north of Salt Lake.

... Yuck.
Lady was even better in the car on the way back. She did this for a little while.

Haha. I think this next picture is pretty funny. Apparently I caught her mid-blink. But she looks old and wise.

She did this most of the way.

Then yesterday was the big day for Lady.
Before:

After:

I felt so guilty for dropping her off at the vet. We ended up paying full price (not getting a discount through the Humane Society - long story - there may be an angry letter involved...) She seemed to do well though. When she got home, she was really sleepy and cold. We set her up on the bed with her bed, my robe and a rice sack. She slept pretty much the whole rest of the day. She's actually been sleeping most of today too. I think she's still a little sore. She jumped off the bed when Chad got home from work yesterday and then regretted it.

That little dark spot on her shaved belly (that kind of lines up with the seam on my jeans) is the only incision. She has maybe 3 really tight and tiny stitches, and they will dissolve.

She's been a really good dog, and she keeps me company.

Now I have the rest of the week to do pretty much what I want, and I couldn't be happier about that. I can't wait for warm weather!! Idaho's not too bad in the summer, but winters really suck.

Also, I wish I lived closer to family, because a 4 hour drive is pretty lame.

Birthday Dinner

2011-03-31T12:02:00.002-05:00

Because he is working late tonight and we are leaving right after he gets off work on Friday to head to Provo, Chad took me out for my birthday dinner last night.

I wanted to try something new, so we headed downtown. We hardly ever eat downtown because we don't feel like driving all the way over there. However, we have heard good things about a couple of Chinese food places. So we went to The Yummy House. And, well, it was yummy!!

I ordered the General's Chicken (I think) and Chad got Honey Sesame Chicken (SO GOOD). Each $8.95 plate came with a spring roll, soup, a giant scoop of fried rice and a giant scoop of lo mein. Also, weird little cuts of chilled barbecued pork. That was a new one for us. I told Chad to take a picture, but it's on his phone and I'm at school. It was a ton of food and we had lots to take home. My mouth is watering just to remember I brought some for lunch today. Yummmm....

Anyways. We ordered potstickers as an appetizer and everything was surprisingly good. We have tried to find decent Chinese food in Idaho before (that was before Panda Express moved in) and have been largely unsuccessful.

Then I got a fortune cookie that said something along the lines of "Watch out for strangers - one will soon become your best friend." So I'm a little concerned about that.

Poor Puppy

2011-03-29T13:35:00.002-05:00

Hello all.
Today we called and scheduled Lady to be spayed and microchipped. After this, we are hoping we will be done with major expenses for the dog. But we don't want her to get knocked up by some roaming dog (of which there are many in our neighborhood) and then have little puppies that we don't know how to take care of. (Although, she would have adorable puppies) Also because Bob Barker asked me so nicely at the end of every episode of Price Is Right to "Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered."

The microchipping is to help increase the chances that you get your dog back if it is lost or stolen. It can't track your dog, but if your dog is picked up by animal control or taken to a vet or humane society, they scan it for a microchip, which identifies the dog as yours.

How long before kids have microchips?

Anyways. Poor dog has no idea what will befall her on Monday. We drop her off between 7:30 and 9:00 am, and pick her up after 2:00 before 5:00pm.

We decided this coming Monday would be the best because it will be my spring break, and then I can spend all day with her, and all week at home to make sure she's not chewing out her stitches or anything. I've heard recovery is pretty easy though. They pretty much know what they should and shouldn't do as far as exercise and movement go.

We're taking her to a vet that's highly recommended by the other dog owners in our training classes at PetSmart. Hopefully all goes well!

Really?

2011-03-29T10:47:00.002-05:00

Dear Pizza Pie Cafe, (formerly known as Craigo's)
We tried to give you our business last night, only to find that you closed at 8:00pm. Really? Not only that, but you close at 9:00 on Friday and Saturdays!!

Your Rexburg counterpart is open until 10 on weekdays and 11 on weekends. And your information online says you're open until 9:00 on weekdays and 10:00 on weekends.

So, needless to say, we think it's stupid that you close at 8:00. Nobody can even come in after a movie or concert. How much business are you gonna lose?

Just sayin'.

Sincerely,
Megan and Chad

Giant Cupcake

2011-03-25T10:24:00.004-05:00

When Chad was working at the Rexburg Porters, they carried giant cupcake pans for a while. Chad bought me one, and yesterday I used it for the second time. Sure am getting my money's worth out of that $30-something pan.

The Relief Society had a birthday dinner last night, and asked everyone to bring 6 cupcakes. The probably with everyone bringing 6 cupcakes is that: 1) A cake mix makes at least 12 cupcakes, so everyone will have to make at least that many and leave the rest at home - and 2) If everyone brings 6 cupcakes, then everyone will have to eat or take home 6 cupcakes. But that's not the point.

I saw this as the perfect opportunity to use my giant cupcake pan. I looked online and found these:

Giant Cupcake liners!! - which I did not have time to order for this occasion, but I probably will be purchasing in the future.

So, after a little more internet sleuthing, I found an idea to melt chocolate candy wafers and mold them in the cupcake pan. Somebody else suggested molding it around the outside of the pan so that you don't have to trim the cake down to fit inside. Chad tried that while I was at work. His came out really chunky looking, but was easy to get off the pan because he did it over Saran Wrap. So I broke it up into pieces and tried it when I got home from work. It was a little better, but I ditched the Saran Wrap and then couldn't get it off of the cake pan when it was done. So we had the brilliant idea to run some hot water on the inside of the pan, in hopes that it would melt the chocolate enough to release it from the pan. I grabbed the chocolate to slide it off, and it was already melted through. It was looking like I was going to have to give up on the giant cupcake liner. But I read a few more reviews online, and decided to try one last time. I melted the chocolate (for the 3rd time now) and brushed it on the inside of the pan (which I had let chill in the freezer) with a silicone pastry brush. Then I put it back in the freezer. (Instead of the refrigerator) I did 2 layers, and didn't bother to brush a base on it. I thought it might be easier to get out of the pan if it was just a ring. I took it out of the freezer the last time, and heard little popping like ice being dropped into a cup of water. I tipped over the pan and the mold fell out perfectly in my hand. IT FINALLY WORKED!!!!

So I was really excited. Here is the finished product:

So I took it over to the Relief Society thing and set it on the table with the other cupcakes. After everyone had gotten their cupcakes, there were still a bunch left over, including mine. Because, who's going to take it and just dig in? Which was fine. It was more for the novelty. But with all these extra cupcakes sitting around, they decided to take mine in the kitchen and cut it up. By the time they were offering people "pieces of the giant cupcake" (which, I wouldn't even want - it's just regular cake, and the presentation would be terrible) everyone had already eaten their cupcakes. So I'm pretty sure my cupcake got mangled and then thrown out. I avoided the kitchen so I didn't have to know, and just grabbed my tray and left. These pictures are all that remain of my lovely giant cupcake.

Anyways, I think it came out pretty awesome!! I wasted a lot of cake, frosting and chocolate in the process, but it still looks pretty cool. Next time my game plan will be a little more refined. And hopefully it won't take me so long.

The Countdown

2011-03-24T11:16:00.002-05:00

As some of you already know, since high school, I have donated my hair to Locks of Love 3 or 4 times. I rarely get my hair cut otherwise. So, it's that time again!

When I was student teaching, they did an assembly at the school and cut a bunch of kids' hair. I found out they have been doing that assembly for several years. I decided to wait to cut my hair until the assembly - and the date has been set - Friday, April 1st. Conveniently also my birfday.

So - say goodbye to these locks of love. Hopefully it won't look terrible.

Can't Sleep, Clown'll Eat Me

2011-03-22T10:01:00.002-05:00

This has been happening more and more frequently, and I'm tired of it - I wake up somewhere in the middle of the night (1, 2, 3:00 am) and can't fall back asleep. Last night it was the lovely hour from 1:30 - 2:30. I guess I should be grateful it was only an hour - sometimes it's longer.

And this brings on the unflattering problem of sleep envy. As I lay there in bed not being able to sleep, I listen to Chad and the dog sleeping soundly, dreaming about sugarplums and fairies, and all other sorts of good things. And then every little creak in the house makes me think someone's breaking in, or something's about to catch fire or cave in on us. Then, worst of all, the snoring starts. Chad will claim that he doesn't snore, but I have assured him on more than one occasion that he does. He says it's only when he sleeps on his back. I know better than that. Sorry, honey, but you snore. Blame it on the position of your body, blame it on the weather, blame it on the lower altitude of sleeping on the ground floor, but whatever you say, you snore.

So I'm laying there having sleep envy, wondering why I can't sleep, thoughts about things going on this week racing through my head, and I start to hear Chad's breathing get heavier. The onset of snoring. I strategically position my appendages near his body so that when the full-on snoring commences, I can jerk him enough to wake him up and make it stop. Then the amateur snoring begins. For those of you unfamiliar with this process, amateur snoring is that half-hearted snoring that sounds like wind or some other kind of whistling. So I lay there listening to what sounds like a tiny cat trapped up Chad's nose, meowing at me every time he breathes in. Annoying, and warranting a few nudges, but not too bad. And then it progresses into professional snoring. We're playing with the big boys now. This is the snoring that sounds like there's a little farm tractor driving across the pillow. How does that NOT wake him up?! I slide my arm under his pillow and give a healthy push under his head. Then there is that awkward moment that interrupts the snore - The little snore yelling at you for interrupting it's groove. He smacks his lips, I nudge a few more times, and he rolls over - still half asleep. Ah. Now I can get some sleep. I get comfortable, stretch out, pull up the covers, close my eyes and hope for sweet surrender to my subconscious, when I hear this little clicking noise. I don't know if any of you have experienced this little phenomenon, but somewhere mid-inhale there's a little click in the nose. Like a flap being opened and closed. So I lay there some more listening to the maddeningly slow ticking of his internal clock, and resolve to advise Mollie to find out if someone snores before she considers marrying them.

But how do you tell, you ask? Sit someplace quiet (movie, concert, play, Sacrament Meeting) and listen to their breathing pattern. Half the time he will probably fall asleep in at least one of said events, and then it's really easy to tell if he snores. But I can always hear Chad breathe. I don't get that. I can be nearly imperceptible when I breathe - provided I don't have a sinus infection. There's no whistling, or breeze in the trees. Just sweet silence as my body quietly goes about the task of keeping me alive.

*Sigh* All I can say is, I better get some sleep tonight.

2011-03-20T20:58:00.002-05:00

Dear friends and family,
We are celebrating a new addition to our family.

Our old vacuum was done in by really dirty carpet in our first two apartments, and perhaps a lot of feathers from our leaking comforter. As a result, the carpets in our house have probably never been appropriately vacuumed. Every time I vacuumed, it smelled really bad, and the floor left no indication that a vacuum had ever crossed over it. We did take it to be "fixed" about 6 months ago, but it didn't really help.

I came home on Thursday to find this little gem parked in the middle of the front room with a note that said:

Let's make a deal,
You need a new vacuum
And I need a floor to clean.
Can I stay? Please?
- Riccar

P.S. I was as expensive as you thought.
(and then scribbled in handwriting is a ^n't after "was")

If it were up to me, we wouldn't have bought a new vacuum. This is what happens when Chad has a morning off from work. But, he reminded me that last time I vacuumed, I was close to letting out some words not quite fit for puppy ears, and I conceded that we do in fact need a new vacuum.

I vacuumed the front room, and the carpet looks GREAT!! I went over everything for about 1/2 hour before I stopped hearing it sucking up a lot of dirt. Tomorrow I vacuum the bedroom!!! I'm excited!

I know, slow news day at the Busath household...

Breaking News

2011-03-12T00:19:00.003-05:00

I just beat Mollie and Erin in a game of online Scrabble.
I don't even like Scrabble - I wanted to play Boggle.

I used all of my letters and had a 33 point word!

2011-03-10T12:36:00.003-05:00

Can I just say how grateful I am for doctors and the gift of modern medicine???!

Yesterday I took a sick day off from work because my head thing had not improved. We fit in a visit to the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics and a nasal spray (no!!!) for a sinus infection. She also told me to start taking Zyrtec-D to help clear the swelling and congestion inside my face.

I took my first doses last night around 8:00, slept really really good, woke up feeling well-rested (hasn't happened in a LONG time), and feeling like I could breathe!! There was one moment when I got out of the shower this morning where I felt like I was going to pass out or throw up, and had to sit down on the side of the tub. But other than that, I felt really good. It's a miracle!! I still have a very slight headache, but nothing like it was.

If my choices are to feel like my head is going to explode, or take a giant horse pill antibiotic and spray something up my nose (at least it smells good!) then I guess I'll take the pills and spray.

So, the long and short of it is that I am feeling about 100 billion times better. That's just an approximation.

Thank you Doctor!!!

...?

2011-03-08T12:15:00.003-05:00

Some of you whom I have talked to over the phone know that I have had a little bit of a cold thing for about 2 weeks now. It started as a sore throat from breathing cold, dry air at night and progressed into a nose and cough thing. I don't feel like I caught it, per se, although I guess that's possible. Anyway, so I have been drinking Sunny D (for my Vitamin C) like crazy and I thought that I was on the mend. It's usually worse in the mornings, but coughing hasn't woken me up in the middle of the night for a while now.

But I've had a pretty consistent headache for going on 3 days now. I thought it was a sinus thing, but this doesn't feel like the pressure-y kind of sinus headache. It feels like I've been punched in the face a bunch of times. Just really sore and achy. Similar (but not as intense) as the pain I felt when I got braces, or had my wisdom teeth pulled. It feels like I have a fever, but according to the thermometer, I don't. Also, I think I must be grinding my teeth at night, because my whole jaw is sore, all the way up to my temples. Tonight I'm going to try to wear my mouth guard/positioner thing I got from the orthodontist and see if that helps.

Anyways - sorry for the health post, but I want you to feel sorry for me.
________________________________________

In other news, for months I had been wearing the earrings I got when I got my ears pierced. Because they are small and have the rounded backs, I could wear them overnight and not have to worry about taking them out. Then one day I was frantically taking a shower and getting dressed (I was late for something) when I realized one of my earrings was about to fall out because the back was missing. I looked all over and couldn't find it. This has happened before - usually when I'm drying my hair and I bump my earring one too many times. If I don't realize it right when it happens, I have pretty much no hope of ever finding the back. Anyways, so this time I had given up and decided it must have gone down the shower drain, and retired the pair of earrings to my jewelry box.

(Caution: this is a gross story)
The other night Lady was sleeping on our bed, but decided she wanted to get up at 6:30. So Chad put her in her cage and came back to bed. She apparently got up at 6:30 because she had to go out. She pooped in her cage instead. As I was cleaning up the poop, I saw something shiny. Upon further inspection, it was the BACK TO MY EARRING!!! I don't know where she found it, but, of course, she ate it. And there it was. It's a miracle! I saved the back to my earring, but it sits on a napkin on the kitchen counter, because I don't know if I can ever wear something on my head that was found in poop. I know, I'm a germ-o-phobe.

So anyways. Now you know.

...I wanna go home and sleep until this head thing fixes itself.

Minute To Win It & Operation: Easy Candy

2011-03-07T11:10:00.004-05:00

As some of you already know, Chad and I were headed to Utah on Saturday anyway, so when I found out Minute To Win It was holding an open casting call in West Jordan, we decided we'd stop by.

We left around 6:30 (by the time we got gas and everything) and got to the audition site around 10:00. Auditions were from 11-3. There weren't as many people there as we expected there to be, so we decided to hang around.

The kid in front of us in line didn't even know what he was standing in line for. His friend told him he should go get in line because he lived right across the street.

Anyway. So we waited in the cold and wind until around 11:00 when they let a bunch of people in. A guy from KSL came around and handed out application forms. So we're all standing around in the cold, frantically trying to scrounge up pens and writing surfaces. I could barely write because my hands were so cold. Little did we know, we would have PLENTY of time to fill out those papers. (Questions included: what is your most embarrassing moment, what is one interesting thing about yourself that we wouldn't know by looking at you, what would you do with the money, is there someone in your family that you would give money to, what do you do for work, etc. etc.)

We moved up the line a little bit, and then waited for a while longer. We got inside around... 11:30? Where we were directed to a large conference room (set up like a lecture hall). Here we watched clips of previous episodes of Minute to Win It, and played a few Minute To Win It games. We waited for our numbers to be called.

They called numbers 10 at a time and then you waited in the hallway. When the producers were ready for you, you walked into a little room, stood in front of a banquet table where a producer was sitting and told about yourself. In the conference room, they made it sound like you better talk fast because they weren't going to listen to your sob stories and you only got 20 seconds. They also advised not to talk about how much you love the show, or what you would do with the money (since you don't have it yet).

The guy that went first was the one who didn't even know what the show was about. But he was an ex-Marine (or something) and came home and got a job with the government, but didn't like that he wasn't helping the vets, so he quit that job and is going back to school for Dental Assisting or something. Chad said he played hockey and that's about all I remember. I don't know what I said, but apparently it wasn't anything the producer cared about. I was so self-conscious that he was looking at me so unenthused about whatever I was saying. I swear you could hear crickets in the background. And I was talking really fast, because, like I said, that was the impression they gave. It probably didn't help that my voice is scratchy and cracks all the time because I've been sick for the last week and a half. Then the other people in our group were a whole Latino family. The mom stayed home with the kids. They had twin 10 year old girls, and 3 or 4 boys with them. The dad was a truck driver but hurt his knee and has been unemployed and is now going back to school. And, in case you're wondering, he makes sure he "wins" at everything he does. Okay, Charlie Sheen. Apparently part of their strategy was to also make sure the producer knew that the kids all thought the games looked easy.

So, he collected our application papers, we kept our numbers, and that was that. I wondered if it was one of those interview strategies where it's not what you say but how you say it. I wondered if there was one thing they were looking for - someone who pulled out a picture, or knelt down to talk to the producer (who was seated and we were all standing) or who knows what. But that was the extent of the audition. We were done around 2:00. Luckily we still had time to complete Operation: Easy Candy. We drove down to Erin's, and finding that they weren't home, let ourselves in through the garage (bet you wish you hadn't handed out that keycode, huh?). I brought pre-measured amounts of all the ingredients and made Easy Candy. They all got home just a few minutes after we got into the house. We didn't fool them by parking the van out front....

Anyways, we ate Subway for lunch, played soccer with the boys in the backyard (during which, a misdirected ball hit Sawyer in the face. It may or may not have been kicked by my foot... which caused him to hate me for about an hour.) Then we walked over to the church and helped Erin & Bryce clean the building. Will was watching Chad and I clean the glass doors, so I told him that we have to clean them because people put their fingers or hands on the glass. So from then on, he was very conscious of where he put his hands on the doors. And he was ranting the whole time about how "someone needs to tell the people that they can't put their hands on the glass to the doors, because then we have to clean it!" He was also pretty mad that he and Chad cleaned the drinking fountains and then the boys playing basketball came out and used them. It was kind of amusing. Oh - and mom, you will be proud to know that I taught Erin how to properly install a roll of paper towels. I was surprised I remembered!

We left for Idaho around 6:30, and got back about 11:00. The drive wasn't bad at all, and the weather was good. It was a fun quick trip. I just wish I hadn't had to teach YW the next day. But thanks to a large amount of announcements and interruptions, the lesson was only about 1/2 hour long. And that's about how long it needed to be with the topic of "Encouraging Enjoyable Family Activities".

So, the people at Minute To Win It said they would be making callbacks anywhere between 1 week and 6 months from the audition day. Don't hold your breath, people! We didn't have a sob story (and I don't mean that condescendingly - some people have really sad lives) or a "we'll get engaged on the show" story and we weren't scantily clad, and we weren't unemployed. So I'm pretty sure our chances are slim to none. But I will let you know if, by some miracle, we get a call back.

Answering Machine: Unanswered

2011-03-05T00:23:00.004-05:00

I told you that we pulled out the old phone from my grandma. It still had messages on it!
These are the last few messages this phone took for my grandma before she moved to Summerfield. I'm not sure who made the outgoing message - maybe you can enlighten me?
And listen for grandma's voice at the end of the first message.

Kinda cool.

2011-03-03T00:06:00.005-05:00

I know it's late, and I should be getting to bed, but tonight we mourn the loss of our beta fish, affectionately known as "Fish".

(This appears to be the only picture I have. I was taking a picture of something else, and there he was smiling for the camera in the background - right after I brought him home)

I bought him for myself two years ago just before we moved above Porter's. It was the end of the semester, and I was celebrating a good grade on one of my finals. If I'm not mistaken, it was the same semester I got my wisdom teeth out.

He has been looking kind of bad for a while now, and I got online and read that putting them in fresh water that wasn't so deep can help. So we tried that. Apparently it was the straw that broke the camel's back. When we got back from our 10 minute trip to Walmart, he was bug-eyed on the bottom of the bowl with his mouth wide open and food floating out of it - looking like, well, a dead fish. It was a long time coming, and though we will miss our little fish, I am glad he is out of his misery and I can have my counter space back.

Although, if Finding Nemo has taught me anything it's that our fish is now enjoying the vast expanse of the open sea. I'm pretty sure when I flush my toilet in Ammon, Idaho, it goes directly out into the Pacific Ocean - it really is a miracle of modern plumbing.

Land Lubbers

2011-03-02T13:51:00.002-05:00

Although we don't have everything set up yet, I'm so excited about this! We are getting a "land" line!

We decided that we were not too keen on everyone we know (from doctors to (Chad's) clients) having our cell phone numbers. Also, my cell phone number is a long distance call for anyone here calling from their land line. And people see my phone number and think I'm a telemarketer. So we went to Verizon to add another cell phone to our plan ($10/mo) with a local number to become our home phone. We were all set up and ready to go when the associate asked us if anyone had told us about their new home phone. It's a little box that looks like a router. You plug it into the wall and then you can plug any phone into it. So it really is like having a home phone! It's still only $10/mo. with no set-up fee (normally $25 but I got it waived for being a "state employee"). This is much cheaper than the $80 set up fee for a real land line, and then the cheapest price we could get (in a bundle) would be $25/mo after that. We pulled out the phone we swiped from Grandma's back porch when things were being gathered up to go to D.I. and are now just waiting for our box to come in the mail.

Since the box is portable, you can bring your phone connection anywhere, as long as you have an outlet. And, yes, if you're going to do that, you might as well get a cell phone. This is probably a step back as far as the advancement of technology goes, but I'm so excited to have a home phone and an answering machine! Another perk is that it's just a Verizon number, so it won't cost us any minutes if Verizon people call our house phone.

I know, you're probably thinking "Why didn't you just change your number?" Because I don't want to. And anyone who I want to call me on my cell phone is on Verizon, so it doesn't matter if it's long-distance. I was telling Mollie that when we first got cell phones, the only people that had your number were people that you wanted to have your number. When your cell phone rang, you knew it was someone you were going to want to talk to. It'd be nice to get back to that. It's somewhat inhibiting to feel obligated to answer every phone call you ever get (without knowing who it is) because they're calling a phone you carry around in your pocket wherever you go. And this way, if we don't recognize a number and wait for the answering machine to pick up, we can still pick up when we hear who it is. Instead of waiting for them to leave a voice mail, and then having to call in and listen to the message and calling them back a few minutes after they've just called you. And having a home phone gives you an option to call when someone's not answering their cell phone because it got left on silent, or is dead.

I know, I know. My logic may not make a ton of sense, but there's some psychological relief and excitement that comes from having a home phone. I'll let you know the number when we get our box.

P.S. I just ate a peanut butter sandwich on big fluffy white bread. It was deliciously chewy.

Cooking Adventures

2011-02-25T11:43:00.003-05:00

So yesterday I tried my hand at brisket.

There was a slow-cooker recipe in my Better Homes & Gardens cook book. I went out and bought all of the ingredients, and was ready to go. I got everything in the crock pot and it smelled YUMMY!!! I went to work, and when I got home, it smelled even better. I made the sauce, and when Chad got home from work, I had dinner on the table.

So now it was time to try this brisket. I was unimpressed at first, but the sauce (made from the marinade and some added ingredients) added a TON of flavor - sweet and spicy. It was delicious. And if it was beef, and I was eating it, then that's saying something!

I asked Chad how it measured up to his memory and he said "I don't know - that was 10 years ago. But this is good!"

I even got a facebook status

It was pretty tasty, and I might have to make it again sometime.

2011-02-23T11:54:00.002-05:00

Just a quick video from when Lady was teeny tiny. AWWWWWW.....

Christmas

2011-02-23T11:43:00.003-05:00

I know I need to provide a real update on Christmas in Connecticut, but I thought I would at least post the few pictures I had on my cell phone from the trip.

Finally in Connecticut! Bradley International Airport after traveling ALL day. Trying to stall since the fam wasn't there yet.

Late one night, this is what Mollie opened her bedroom door to.

Back in Utah, when we got on the shuttle to go back to our car, I thought - is that all OURS?! And so it is. We try to pack light.

Adventures in Cooking

2011-02-22T13:13:00.003-05:00

We have eaten a lot of boxed meals over the past few months, because, well, they're much easier than actually cooking. You empty all of the ingredients into an 8x8 baking dish, pop it into the oven, and Voila! Dinner is served!

But we decided we need to eat real food, and more meat in particular. Sometimes we have chicken (in the form of nuggets, pre-made cordon bleu, or grilled tenderloins) and sometimes we have hot dogs (on buns or in mac & cheese), but that is pretty much the extent of our meat eating, and I'm not sure hot dogs even count... We have a lot of room for improvement. So I planned a menu and made a shopping list. I have lots of meals to make now, but because most of the recipes make 4-6 servings, if I make dinner every night, we will run out of Tupperware (and room in the fridge) to store leftovers in. So right now we are on an every other night basis. (Not that I don't provide dinner of some sort every night, but not a big involved meal - perhaps one of those boxed dealies, or soup)

On Sunday night I made Spinach Stuffed Shells. Chad had never had stuffed shells before (who knew?!) and was pretty skeptical the whole time I was making it. But the dish turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. Although, I think I prefer mom's spinach-less stuffed shells, which I think I will make next time.

Future meals include some oldies but goodies - mom's (White) Chicken Enchiladas, taco salad, crock-pot ribs, and Erin's recipe for Beef Stroganoff.

My second new meal this week is Brisket. Chad had it on his mission and fell in love, so I am going to try to make a crockpot version. It's a surprise though so don't tell him! (Don't worry, he doesn't bother to read my blog.)

But, in other food news, we bought a freezer! (YAY!) This is something we've been looking at for a while, when we found out how cheap a 5.0 cubic foot freezer is. So we bought one this past weekend. We put it in the basement at the foot of the stairs. Now we can buy stuff on sale or in bulk and have somewhere to put it - extra bread, stuff we grow in the garden, meat, etc. Any of you who have seen our fridge/freezer combo know that this is a good thing. Maybe I will try freezing some of the extra portions of the meals I make this week.

2011-02-22T12:39:00.003-05:00

Hello dear blog readers,
I have several posts to update you with, but first, (this is random) I was going through some files on my computer and came across our gift list from our wedding.

There were little x's next to a bunch of the names, which I assume is to account for a thank you note being sent. However, I am remembering that I put Chad in charge of sending thank you notes to his family, and many of those names do not have little x's next to them. So if you are bored enough to have found our blog, and haven't written us off because you are so offended that we didn't send you a thank you note, THANK YOU for everything you gave us. I have a detailed list of what everyone gave us, so I can even thank you for your specific gift. And I can tell you where it is in my house or what we spent the money on. Sorry Chad never got around to writing those thank you notes. But your contribution to our brand new beginnings as a married couple have helped us get to where we are now - in a lovely little home, complete with washer and dryer, piano and puppy.

Anywho.

A few weeks ago, BYU-I held an open house night for the new BYU-I Center for all alumni. I got Chad to work his schedule around it, so we got to go. The new auditorium is rumored to be the largest college facility that isn't a sports arena. It seats 15,000. One level seats the total number of people that fit in the Hart Auditorium. (This is where Commencement was.) AND you don't have to sit in bleachers! I was sad that I missed playing at the dedication by 1 year.

Here are some pictures from my cell phone:
The stage

The view from the bottom

The view from the top

It is pretty awesome. They're hosting a Women's Conference there next Saturday that I'm hoping to go to, and then I'll get to see it in action. Interesting fact: their broadcasting cameras are hand-me-downs from the Conference Center in Salt Lake.

In addition to this auditorium, they built 10 new basketball courts, a suspended indoor track, a new cafeteria/dining area, new bookstore, new cafe, skywalk between this building and the old gym, and a skywalk between the new M.C. (Student Center) and the library. Apparently they did not build any new parking though, so those 15,000 people that show up for an event in the BYU-I Center will have to do a lot of walking. That was silly.

Also, hanging in one of the upstairs hallways of the new auditorium was this familiar painting:

I didn't know it was Mormon folk art.

2011-02-14T12:55:00.002-05:00

First of all, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! ... I think my regular background is particularly festive today.

Second of all, I was talking to Chad last night (after he talked to his dad who is a school teacher in the state of California) and I came to a realization.

When you're a child, your teachers are pretty much the coolest people ever. I'm thinking of the time Mollie cried when her first (?) grade teacher wasn't there on the first day of school because she had a baby, and instead had a long-term sub for a while. I'm thinking of my first grade teacher who was nothing but nice, and always had cool crafts for us to do. I'm thinking of my second grade teacher who I was scared of, but who convinced the whole class that getting a drink from the drinking fountain at the back of the classroom was a coveted reward for winning Bingo. I'm thinking of my fifth grade teacher who always made us laugh, my seventh grade science teacher who made science fun, and countless high school teachers who were good at their jobs. There are some teachers that you wouldn't care if you never saw again, but they were still teachers. I guess what I'm saying is, it was kind of implied that your teachers were good people. They devoted their lives to teaching little (and sometimes not-so-little) kids. They must be good people. They enforced right and wrong in their classrooms (some better than others) although I didn't always think they were very fair.

And going to an LDS school only heightened the expectation of moral behavior from your teachers/professors.

And yet, now a certified teacher myself, I find that teachers are not always the irreproachable people I used to think they were. I guess you expect some amount of unfairness as a child and teenager, but you would never think your teachers would break the law, or skirt responsibility, or defend immoral or unethical behavior. And yet they do. I know they're "just people", but something tells me that a teacher should be held to a higher standard. If they're going to be the example for their students, then they should behave like it, no?
They should abide by their classroom rules if they expect students to also. They should model the attitudes and behaviors they expect from their students.

When did "being a good teacher" come to mean "being friends with my students."? The best teachers I ever had were the ones who pushed me to work harder, even when I didn't want to. They were not necessarily the ones I wanted to chat with after school. I liked some of my other teachers as people, but they were lack-luster teachers. Similarly, it seems that some teachers are afraid to pass responsibility to the students for fear of parental backlash. There are some downright crappy teachers out there. It frustrates me as a certified teacher that can't find a job. And once they get a job and survive the first few years, nothing can touch them. They have to be certifiably crazy (Mr. Kos, anyone?) before they lose their job. I'm all for protecting teachers from baseless accusations, but with such complete job protection, there is so much room for ineffective teaching. If the country got serious about education and weeded out all of the "here's-a-handout-I-printed-off-of-the-internet" teachers, I wonder how many would be left?

I just think that teaching can be a rewarding career. As a teacher you have a huge responsibility over the students with whom you associate. You can change lives for better or for worse, and you have an incredible opportunity to make a difference. Am I just naive?

I recognize that circumstances and life are not always perfect, but can't we do better? Shouldn't we expect a little more?

...Becoming an educator and working at a school is like working at your favorite restaurant. Once you know what goes on behind the scenes, you never want to eat there again.

Just sayin'.

Back!

2011-01-31T12:44:00.008-05:00

I am finally back online after having been denied access for a while now. Again, the second "free" program I downloaded to connect to the internet through my phone was only "free" for so long before it started locking me out of anything that required a password to login to. (Blog, e-mail, bank accounts, etc.) So I finally gave in and bought the $9.99 app and am now a free woman.

I don't have much to blog about as of lately. I guess I should, at some point, update about Christmas. Maybe tomorrow - I don't have my camera here with me today.

Work has been work. And that's all I have to say about that.

In other news - if you haven't heard already, I have been called as the 1st Counselor in the Young Women Presidency for our ward. However, this means that when I accompany the girls to the temple, they try to get me to do baptisms because they think I'm one of them. As far as I know, I am still the YW Music Specialist - to help them prepare for singing in Sacrament Meeting, etc.

So being the 1st Counselor means that one of my responsibilities is being the liaison between our Ward Girls Camp Directors (who knew?!) and the YW Presidency. Which means I went to the Girls Camp Kick-Off Meeting last night. And any of you who know me and Girls Camp - we're like this.

So anyways. I'm getting excited about Girls Camp - although it will be completely different. Camp this year is just on a ward level. I learned last night that most of the leaders want to get the Certification done before camp so they can have more "free time" at camp. What? I think they would be shocked by the strict schedule we kept at Girls Camp. Also - this is like real camping. Tents and no flush toilets or showers. No wonder it's hard to get the girls to want to go to camp here. They have some really nice church-owned "campgrounds" with cabins and bathrooms and such, but they're apparently something like $300/night and are booked as soon as the website opens for the season. And we're doing a bunch of fundraisers so the girls don't have to pay the $50 fee to go. So it's different. I have to say, apparently we had a pretty cushy deal at Camp Bonnie Brae, with it's yurts (and cabins not pictured here) and cots,

lodge, (dining hall, and newer even bigger lodge)

and lakefront property.

But it sounds like we also did more "work" too. Scheduled activities/firesides/devotionals/certification/etc.

So I'm excited for camp, except that it will be considerably less comfortable than Bonnie Brae. Sleeping on the ground, in regular tents, campfire meals for a week straight; and this time not showering is not just a dare, but a requirement. Eew. Besides when I was a kid, I have never gone more than a day without showering. Any avid campers out there have suggestions?

And it will probably get significantly cold overnight (and who are we kidding - probably during the day too!) , even though camp is in June. And that means I either need to bring a LOT of blankets, or I need a new sleeping bag.
(Mom - where did we get those lovely black sleeping bags you and dad have - the ones with the nylon exterior and green plaid interior? And don't tell me a tag sale. Because I've been using those for years, and that would just creep me out. )

Is it frowned upon to bring an air mattress?

And, can I bring Lady? Because that would be cute!!
Speaking of, Lady had her 7 month birthday yesterday. Aw.
_________________________________________

Chad and I tried to make chocolate chip cookies yesterday but this is how they came out.

Little puddles of cookie dough. Does anyone know why? Is it an altitude thing? Or an oven thing?

Also - these flashcards that we found at the Dollar Tree make me giggle. TMI Pooh, TMI.

Dog

2011-01-09T15:34:00.002-05:00

I bought a bag of bone-shaped dog biscuits last time I went to the store, because I was still feeling guilty for leaving Lady for so long. So when I'm feeling particularly generous, I give her a biscuit. She usually takes it and runs into another room. Today I decided to watch her to see what she does with them. I watched her run into the front room, jump up on the chair, scratch at the back of the cushion, drop her bone and nudge her head over it. She buried her biscuit in the chair.

Since discovering this little trick, I have also found a biscuit in the couch. I gave it to her and have been watching her try to find a new place to hide it. Chad's shoe, a box under the guest bed, and the sofa in the guest bed are all popular hiding places. And then sometime when we're not doing anything, she'll run into the room with a treat that she previously stashed somewhere.

I have never seen a real life dog that actually buried their bones. Where do they learn that?! And why do they do it!?

New Post

2011-01-08T18:08:00.004-05:00

Well, as you may have noticed, I have changed the title of my blog.

"College Life" was no longer accurate after I graduated in April 2010, and "Post College Life" divided my life into "college" and "post-college". Well, I'm hoping there will be more to it than that, so this new title comes from our wedding song, You and I (as sung by Michael Buble).

And now you know.

I think these pictures speak for themselves....

2011-01-03T09:12:00.008-05:00

Goodbye 2010

2010-12-31T20:37:00.003-05:00

Dear 2010,
I can't believe you are leaving already. It seems like yesterday we were student teaching together. Then we graduated college, got a job, and bought a house! We went to Florida to see the launch of NASA STS-132. You helped Chad and I celebrate two years of marriage. You brought me my beloved Pig-Pig, and then took him back less than 3 months later. Together we all planted and tended our first garden, and bought a cute little puppy. You have been a good friend. And although we will never see each other again, I will always remember you for the good times. Thanks for everything. I hope your replacement is just as good to us as you have been.

Much love,
Megan

Christmas Caroling

2010-12-22T21:46:00.000-05:00

Lady likes to sing duets with me.

Gross!

2010-12-11T12:53:00.001-05:00

So apparently puppies lose their puppy teeth. We've already found one in the carpet.
The milk bottle she chews on is streaked with blood, so I looked in her mouth and sure enough, one of her teeth is flapping around in there like a weeble wobble. EEEEEEW!

Weekend Update

2010-11-13T15:43:00.019-05:00

Summer is officially over, and, unfortunately, I'm pretty sure fall is too. It snowed on Monday and it stuck. I have lots of updates to make. I have been pretty much MIA because we only have internet on our phones now. The "free" program that was connecting out computers to the internet through our phones stopped working on my computer because my trial was over. So Chad finally got me a new program which I am using now.

As you may or may not know, we planted a garden this summer. We dug up the ground, made little rows, and planted seeds. (Mollie - ECS chorus song coming to mind... "step by step, row by row... gonna make my garden grow. All I need is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground.") We planted 3 rows of corn, 1 row of pumpkins, 1 row of cucumbers, 1 row of zucchinis and 1 row of carrots. As you may recall, we were soon overwhelmed by zucchinis. We kept a tally on the white board in our kitchen and counted (give or take a few) 119 zucchinis for the season. That's from 5 plants. With some strategic anonymous drop-offs, we were able to get rid of pretty much all of them. I brought a box to Relief Society several times, Chad took some to work, I gave some to the teachers at school, we brought a box to a ward activity, we made bread out of some and gave it away, we left some in somebody's car because their door was open in the church parking lot, and with that, we used up our 119 zucchinis. Here is a particularly large zucchini that I found several days after I thought an early frost had killed all of our zucchini plants.

We got some carrots too. Luckily Lady likes carrots, and she ate several right out of the ground. We picked the last of our carrots for the season and made glazed carrots when Chad's mom and brothers came over for dinner a couple of weeks ago. They were good! Look at these carrots!

We got some yummy cherry tomatoes from the plants the Holmans gave us. Our pumpkin plants died (frost) before the pumpkins could turn orange, so we got a whole bunch of green pumpkins. Our corn came in really late, and consequently didn't get eaten. It also seemed to have a fair amount of bugs in the husks, which was not particularly appetizing.

We finished painting the house in late October when we had unseasonably warm temperatures (70s) for about a week. We gave back the ladder we borrowed, and then found a small triangle on the house that was missed. Guess it'll have to wait until next summer. Hopefully, since we didn't notice it for about a month, nobody else will either.

How is the dog, you ask? Well we enrolled her in a puppy training class. It is 8 weeks long and is guaranteed for life. So if your dog ever doesn't do the things they were supposed to have learned in the class, you can take them back to any PetSmart in the country for more "free" training.

Here is her first day of school picture on the front step. We only wish we had a little tiny backpack to put on her.

She has learned sit, lay down, high five, roll over, take it (when you are offering a treat she has to be calm and given permission to eat it), leave it (when you drop something on the floor, or don't want her to eat something off of the ground), come when called (works about 80% of the time unless what she's smelling or has in her mouth is more exciting than you are), drop it, stay, sit for a greeting (sitting down and being calm before anyone new wants to pet her) and she's supposed to learn how to walk on a loose leash. We have the most trouble with this one because I am not patient enough to stop and wait for her to calm down every time she walks in front of me when we are out for a walk. One day it literally took me an hour to walk the length of our yard. On the retractable leash she gets in front of me but rarely pulls at the end of the leash. However, for the class, she's supposed to walk beside you (never in front of you) without ever pulling on her leash. This is pretty much impossible to me with an energetic puppy that wants to smell everyone and everything she sees on a walk. So... graduation is in three weeks (it's supposed to be this week but the trainer is out of town) and we'll see if she does it by then. The problem is that when she doesn't do it, I get in trouble. Chad and I don't really know if we care that she walks in front of us, but in dog training, it's a thing. In our spare time at home, I have also taught her to come close the drawers and cabinet doors in the kitchen when they're open. That's one of my favorite tricks. She is also house broken and rings a bell we have hanging on the door if she needs to go out. However, she has learned that ringing the bell also gets her outside (in a cage, but still) so sometimes she doesn't go and we bring her back in. She sleeps in our bed (I know, I know - you don't have to tell me how spoiled she is, etc. etc.) and if she has to go out at night, she walks to the corner of the bed and scratches her collar so the tags jingle. (Which usually wakes us up.) If that doesn't wake us up, she walks all over our bodies and comes and licks our faces. She's a pretty good dog, and we like her.

A lot of times she sleeps all the way under the covers (we assume she must get cold) and we can slide out of the bed in the morning without her noticing.

Can you spy the puppy? I believe she is under the white circle with blue polka dots that's directly to the right of the corner of the pillow.

And sometimes she sleeps longways between us, with her head on my pillow.

And she keeps us entertained too. She likes to play with (chew up) cardboard boxes, so I gave her an old tissue box and went to use the bathroom. When I came out, this is what I found.

Hahahahaha....
She had been running into the cabinets because she couldn't see, but when she heard my voice, she froze and waited for me to rescue her.

She also "helps" clean the dishes, though I make Chad hold her now whenever I'm emptying or loading the dishwasher.

And she loves to snuggle.

In other news - the driver's side door on the van quit working on Monday night, of course in the middle of the snow storm. It was dark and we couldn't see anything wrong with it, so Chad just kept trying to slam it shut, which, surprisingly, did not work. So we covered it up with a tarp for the night and took it to a mechanic the next day. They said it wasn't a mechanical problem and it would have to go to a body shop. We took it to a body shop here in town (with a big fancy office and lot) that said it would need new hinges on the door, and probably a new latch, which would cost us about $300. Not too bad. He said he would call around to see if they could find the hinges on a junked van, and he'd call us back. By Thursday he hadn't called, so we took it to a different place. The guy there (more of a hole-in-the-wall type of place) told us it didn't need new hinges, he could weld it back together and have it back to us the next day. DING DING DING, WE HAVE A WINNER! And he did! He welded the hinge back to the pillar (I think is what they call it), put on a new latch, and evened out the metal that got mangled when Chad tried to slam it shut so many times. It looks great. And it works better than it ever has since we've had it. And! It only cost us $125! The guy that fixed it said that bigger places like the first place we took it sometimes say they're going to call you back and then they never do because they don't want to bother with such a little job. And they try to upsell you on something you don't need but you don't know that you don't need. (new hinges) So - Classic Auto in Idaho Falls, Idaho - thanks for fixing our car and being honest about it! They also said that if the door starts to sag again, just bring it in and they'll adjust it for free.

(If you've found this by googling "Classic Auto in Idaho Falls, Idaho", I hope you take your car to them - they seem pretty good. Our guy's name was Brewster.)

So, with a new hip, Jermaine is mobile again.

A while ago, our ward had a "Harvest Hoedown" for adults 18 and older. This included dinner, relay races, line dancing, and pictures. We were supposed to dress up in the "Western" theme - here are our pictures.

Also - with the aforementioned snow, we built a snowman. Chad has never built a real snowman because the snow in Idaho is usually too dry. But it was perfect on Monday, so we built a lovely snowman - that morphed into a snowbear when we couldn't get his nose (a pinecone) to stick without a giant glob of snow behind it.

I told Chad we would take some pictures in the morning, but to take one with his phone right when we finished it, "just in case". It's a good thing too. We built this great big snowbear and when we got home a couple of hours later, someone had knocked it down. Hence the previous post. We went to a friend's birthday party on Tuesday night and were telling our sob story when one of the husbands of one of the girl's friends said "Hahaha - that's funny!". And I had to restrain myself from punching him in the face. I'm not joking, one of these days we will build a big snowman around a steel pole. Then when someone tries to kick it over, they'll break their foot. And I will have no sympathy.

And I guess that's about it from here. Hopefully I will have a few videos to post soon - Chad has been extra busy at work, and with his film "business", so he hasn't been able to do things as quickly as he would like.

Add to "Dead To Me"

2010-11-09T00:31:00.001-05:00

anyone who has ever destroyed, is currently destroying, or will in the future destroy a snowman they did not build.

Old Pictures

2010-11-08T13:21:00.003-05:00

I was bored and looking through some old pictures on my computer when I found this gem from a couple of years ago.

I don't know why we're eating grapes off of the floor. But I sure am glad we're doing it in our underwear.
We love you Will!

Dead To Me

2010-11-01T17:19:00.003-05:00

As a Dickerson, it is my solemn responsibility to keep a detailed list of all of the people and places that have, in some way, wronged me or my family. Fondly labeled the "Dead To Me" List, it helps me keep track of all of the people and places now undeserving of my company and business.

Let it be known that today I add WalMart's after-Halloween candy sale to the list.

After complaining about having no trick-or-treaters and a plethora of candy, we ended up giving most of it away to Chad's brothers and Sunday School class, leaving us with only a few pieces for ourselves; which should be fine, but, as a Dickerson, it is also my solemn responsibility to seek out clearance candy and purchase it in ridiculously large amounts.

Today after school, I decided to make a quick stop at WalMart, check out the deals, and pick up some candy with the money mom sent me for this purpose. (I don't like her famous sugar cookies because when I was little I liked them so much that I ate them until I threw up.) They had surprisingly little to choose from, but I found some favorites and headed for the checkout. I had: a bag of Kit Kats, a bag of Twix, a bag of Snickers and a bag of Peanut M&Ms. I get up to the checkout to watch my goodies ring up at full price.
"These aren't half price?"
The teenage checker replies "Uh... they said some of the chocolate was on sale and some of it wasn't."
::eye roll::
"Well, I don't want any that isn't half price."
"Okay.
....
"Looks like it's just the Kit Kats then."

Are you kidding me?

So I bought my Kit Kats for $1.33 leaving me plenty of change to spare, and left the store, walking out past all of the orange boxes of Halloween candy with little stickers that say "50% off" from which my abandoned candy had been taken.
Let it be known that I do not even like Kit Kats that much.

So WalMart after-Halloween candy sale - you are officially dead to me. Whose brilliant idea was it to put some of the candy on sale and some of it not? Because it was not very brilliant. And it has earned you a spot on my Dead To Me List.

I could go to Target, but I hear their candy is only 30% off, and as far as I'm concerned... that's not even a sale.

Puppy

2010-09-02T11:16:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned - we got a puppy! She's a toy Australian Shepherd. We've named her Lady. Her father's name was Frankie Blue Eyes, so her full registered name is Luck Be a Lady - Lady for short. Aren't we so clever?

She has kept us busy and wakes us up multiple times a night to go out. However - she is getting better - and last night she didn't have any "accidents" in her kennel! She went out every time! The past couple of nights she's only woken us up 3 times - around midnight, 3:00am and 6:00am. She's a little cuddle bug and we love her. Here are some pictures:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Update

2010-08-17T23:23:00.003-05:00

Just so you know - we got Germaine working again, and all seems to be well for a while.

Also - are you sitting down? - this may be a shocker - but - we bought a dog. Well, we put a deposit on a dog.
Call it a replacement for Pig-Pig or a substitute for a baby or a guard dog or whatever you want to call it - but before you judge us, just look at her!

Who could walk away from a face like that?!

It's a bad picture - but you can look up others online. She's a Toy Australian Shepherd and we get to bring her home next Friday. She'll grow up to be less than 13" tall.

This is getting ridiculous...

2010-08-17T14:40:00.003-05:00

Well, I went out on Saturday morning and bought myself an alternator for Leonard.

I brought it home, and called dad to help me put it in. He didn't answer because he was out chopping something up with the chainsaw. I called mom, and it wasn't long before my neighbor was coming up over the lawn asking me what I needed help with. I told him I was replacing the alternator. He came over, took a look, and said "Lemme go get ma tools."

So a couple of hours later, everything was finished. I participated by handing over tools, and holding onto screws/bolts. I wanted to tell Chad that I was so good at it, I didn't even get my hands dirty. But I couldn't take that much credit, so I told him our neighbor did it for me.

We got the alternator put in, plugged in and tightened down. We went to start up the car, and nothing happened. However, on Monday we went out and double-checked everything, tightened everything again, and this time it WORKED!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

Leonard lives to see another day.

However, in an unfair turn of events, Chad's car won't start.
He drove to work, and when he got in it to come home for lunch, it wouldn't start. It was Leonard to the rescue. We got over there, jumped the van (which Chad refers to as Germaine - some reference to one of the Jackson 5 and his flattop) and drove it home. He turned it off in the driveway, and couldn't start it again.
So there Germaine sits.

We're going to try cleaning off the battery terminals when Chad gets home from work later tonight. Since we just bought the battery in Jan 09 (when it died at Aunt Karen's during the infamous Idaho Christmas Expedition), we're hoping it's just a bad connection. So help me if it's the alternator. It would not be NEARLY as quick or easy to fix as it was on the Subaru. You can't even see it when you look in the engine compartment.

So - that's the update from here. Someone do a rain dance or something to appease the Gods for us.

Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T14:30:00.007-05:00

Well, Friday the 13th probably can't be any worse than Thursday the 12th, so I'm not too worried about today.

I don't know what we did to anger the powers that be, but apparently it was something.

Chad had the day off yesterday. I had to run off to an appointment at 10:00, so I got up and got dressed, and was headed out the door, when I noticed that Pig-Pig was sitting with his nose in the corner of his cage. He doesn't usually do that. I thought it was funny because he looked like he was in time-out for something. I called Chad in to look at him, and then I reached in to pick him up. He didn't struggle at all, whereas usually he tries to run out of my hands when I reach in to grab him. We noticed that his eyes were a little crusty, and I knew something wasn't right. But I put him back in the cage and headed off to my appointment. On my way there, the check engine light in the Subaru came on, as well as the ABS light and the "At Oil Temp" light. None of the gauges on the dashboard were working (speedometer, odometer, etc.). The radio wasn't working. So I called Chad, thinking that the battery cable might need to be jiggled. When I came out to get back in the car on my way home, it wouldn't catch, and eventually just clicked, as if the battery were completely dead. So Chad came over, we went and borrowed jumper cables from a guy that worked at Walgreens (we were trying to buy some, but they don't carry them) and jumped the car. It seemed to be fine, so I drove it home. However, I noticed that the gauges still weren't working, and when I flipped on the windshield wipers after running through a sprinkler, it took probably a full 30 seconds for them to come up and go back down again. The car was also running kind of weird, sounding like it wasn't switching over to the next gear smoothly. But I got home, and was idling in the driveway when it died. I hadn't even put it in park, it just turned itself off. And there it sits. In the driveway. Chad's dad thinks it's a problem with the alternator. I so hope we get to replace it, because I hear they're pretty cheap. But at least we have some tax money left, and it shouldn't be a huge deal if it does need to be replaced.

Anyways, but getting home meant coming back to my sick little Pig-Pig. I picked him up and cuddled him up in a towel, and held him on the bed while I watched TV and Chad mowed the lawn. He hardly moved at all, except to cuddle up under my chin. To make me feel better, Chad made an appointment at a vet that told him they treated guinea pigs. At about 2:00 we drove over there and got him checked out. The vet didn't know much about guinea pigs - which is understandable - but then, don't tell us you treat guinea pigs. He checked his lungs, and his temperature, and his weight and came up with the conclusion that there was nothing medically wrong with him. $50 later, we left under the impression that we were overreacting pet-parents, and that he was just a little under the weather, and with some antibacterial drops over the next week, he would be back to his good old self. So we took him home, cleaned his cage, gave him fresh food, and left to go up to Rexburg to help our friends move. This was probably around 3:00 or 3:30.

We didn't get back until around 8:00 after stopping at the pet store to buy some vitamin C drops for Pig-Pig's water. When we got home, he was laying along the side of his cage with his nose in the corner. It didn't take more than a millisecond of touching him for me to recognize the stiffness that sets in when a little animal dies. We had lots of pets when we were little - and we buried lots of pets. He felt like a rock covered in fur. Poor little guy. So we don't know what happened to him - how he got sick, or what he got sick with, but he died sometime between 3:00 and 8:00 when we got home. I only had him for about 4 months! I only have about 6 pictures total because I was expecting to have him a lot longer than that. Luckily Chad was playing with the camera on his new phone and got a few pictures just a couple of days ago.

He was so cute!

So we went to Porter's to buy a box to bury him in. It was black and white, so we colored some of the flowers, laid him in it on top of the old sweater he liked to hide in, and buried it in the yard, next to the baby bird.

We loved our little Pig-Pig and we will miss him.

_________________________________

In other less sad news, we bought a piano with our tax credit money. I have enjoyed playing it and being able to practice things here at home. It's been a long time since I could practice/play the piano in my own home.
For the last few months, we had been keeping an eye on this piano at a local piano store. We finally decided to just go for it.

__________________________________

Also our garden is finally producing some vegetables. We planted carrots and cucumbers (for Pig-Pig), zucchinis, pumpkins, and corn. The pumpkin vines are spreading out nicely and we're glad we followed the directions to plant them far away from other things. The cucumbers struggled and out of 5 mounds, we got two plants that are only now starting to come back. The neighbor said the other neighbor's cats will eat them and that's probably what happened. But the zucchinis are doing really well, and we have tons of little zucchinis. The things is - I don't particularly like zucchini. I planted some so I could make zucchini bread, because I like zucchini bread. But it is becoming obvious that we are going to have a lot more than I'm going to know what to do with. And feeding them to Pig-Pig is no longer an option, so - does anyone want some zucchinis in a couple of weeks?

I don't know if I'm really a gardening person, but it is nice to finally have something to show for it.

Anyways, I guess that's all for now. I should be out painting the house, but I threw away my paintbrush (it was from the dollar store - and it worked just fine!) because it was getting crusty. But without the Subaru, I can't just go over to the dollar store and get a new one. Until next time, dear blog readers ...

Mr. Observant

2010-07-28T19:27:00.003-05:00

Hello dear readers.

The other day, I was cleaning up the house when Chad got home from work. He was walking by the bathroom, so I asked him to hand me my towel that was in there, so I could replace it with a clean one. He says "Ooh - identical towels!"

At which point he admits that for the 2+ years we've been married, he never knew I had two of the exact same towel. (The embroidered ones mom gave us) He thought I was just using the same one over and over and over again.

... I wonder if he knows I have a twin...

Calling all Readers!

2010-07-23T11:22:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone!
I need your help with easy potato recipes.
A while back, some guy pulled up to the house while we were out doing yard work. He started talking to us like he knew us, so we felt obligated to buy some of his potatoes. When he left, he made a comment about how he knew we'd want some potatoes this year since we bought some last year. That's when the jig was up. He thought we were the same people who lived here last year, and came to sell us his wares. I swear he was just driving around looking for people outside to talk into buying some potatoes.

Anyway, so we have a box of potatoes in the basement that I don't know what to do with, besides eat baked potatoes, and that gets old after awhile. We were thinking about chopping up some of them and putting them in the freezer for instant hashbrowns.... would that work?

Recipes Wanted!
Please reply.

P.S. I don't know if it shows up on your computer, but on my computer, there's a little white dot in the middle of the ocean on my "Visitor Map" to the right. I wonder who is checking up on me from the middle of nowhere.

Celebrate!

2010-07-17T11:30:00.003-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!!!

I wish we could be there to eat cake and celebrate with you! I can't believe you're big enough for SCHOOL already!!

Have a great day! Uncle Chad's computer is being fixed, but we'll post a video for you as soon as he gets it back. (hopefully Monday)

Beep Beep ba-Beep - This Just In

2010-07-12T22:58:00.003-05:00

Saturday evening, we decided to move around some furniture in the front room. The room is awkwardly wide with the door right in the middle of the wall, so the furniture (along the walls) is awkwardly far apart. So we tried to rearrange (unsuccessfully - because something didn't fit where we wanted it to by 1/2 inch.). In trying to move grandma's couch, I kicked it by accident, and nabbed by toenail. My big toe nail bent backwards and ripped along one side. Bet I made ya cringe just now.

Anyway, I quickly bandaged it up because I didn't want to look at it anymore, and I'm hoping it will grow itself out and I won't have to touch it. *shudder* Gross.

2010-07-10T15:12:00.004-05:00

Hello friends,
I have to get back to my weeds, but for your viewing pleasure, I thought I'd provide a picture of the bedspread we just bought.
I did the laundry yesterday and was finally fed up with the fact that nothing on our bed matches. The sheets were baby blue, the duvet cover was tan striped over a pink comforter, with matching shams, but then my pillow case was orange and Chad's were black.
I wanted something colorful since we don't have anything in this whole house (except maybe my KitchenAid and dishes) that has ANY color. We've wanted to paint, but haven't committed to anything because our furniture is all mismatched anyway. So I settled on a bedspread.

We don't have the shams yet because they're $13.50 each!

There were some others I liked, but they were too expensive.

I know... You should come see it IN PERSON! Wouldn't that be fun?!!

But, as I said before, I have to get back to my weeds. Have a good Saturday!

I'm Official!!

2010-07-06T19:26:00.002-05:00

This came in the mail about a week ago, thanks to mom.

And this came in the mail today!

:o(

2010-06-30T12:34:00.002-05:00

I could've maybe had a job teaching band at a junior high. Unfortunately the day I found out about it, they filled it. Waaah.

P.S. I was just looking online to see what other areas were looking for music teachers. There's a position open in a town called "Middleton" (too far away - near Boise) looking for a middle school band teacher. These are the requirements listed:

No experience required

Bachelors degree preferred

WHAT?!!!

Catching Up

2010-06-28T14:40:00.019-05:00

So - I owe you a few updates - I thought I had to start with my birthday, but it appears that I've already written about that.

First on the list is Easter. As previously mentioned, the Easter Bunny was able to find me in our little apartment in Rexburg. We decorated (monster) eggs on Saturday night (I think) and then there was an Easter Egg hunt ready for me on Sunday morning.
Note from The Bunny.

Money Egg!!

Pretty good hiding place, eh?

The Eggs:

Hanging out in the fridge. It made me laugh every time I forgot they were in there and opened the fridge.

And I made Easter dinner:

2) So next on that list is graduation! I am a college graduate!!!! Apparently the only pictures I have are from Mollie's graduation. (?) Anyways - we went down to Provo for Mollie's graduation and took some pictures together.
Mollie.
The Y and the Y of I.
I thought there were a billion of these - how come I only have 2?
See ya later alligator. We're officially smart now. Goodbye BYU.

After graduation, we went to Winger's to celebrate. After Mollie's graduation, we went to KFC to get something quick because Chad and I had to get back to Rexburg. But the night before we went to a big Chinese Buffet and it was yummy.

Also - Chad gave me my living, breathing graduation gift of a GUINEA PIG!!! He is so cute, and I love him. After days of calling him Pig-Pig, we have decided that that will just have to be his name. He has thick fuzzy hair (teddy breed, we think) which made us think perhaps he's an African-American guinea pig and we considered names like Jamal, or Tupac. Then we noticed that one of his feet is white skinned and white furred, and the other is black skinned and black furred, which made us consider MJ. But in the end, we settled on Pig-Pig. And a pig-pig he is!

3) The first weekend in May, I had to go to Coeur d'Alene to accompany a couple of students who were auditioning for all-state. It's usually held in Boise, (about 5 hours away) and Mrs. Blackburn usually plays, but since they moved it to Coeur d'Alene, she wasn't able to go. The district paid more than enough for our gas and hotel, so I don't think it cost us anything. It was a really fun trip. We got into Coeur d'Alene with enough time to spend the afternoon/evening in Spokane (about 20 minutes away). We found Riverfront Park, and had a lot of fun. We took pictures with the carousel (we are too cheap to ride), went mini-golfing, watched an IMAX movie about the Hubble, rode the gondola across the falls, and ate dinner at Panda Express in the mall across the street.
View from our room in Coeur d'Alene.
Look! It kind of looks like I'm riding it.
Both of us.
Now THAT'S a wagon!
Mini golfing.
Eating nachos before the IMAX. Yum!
View over the falls from our gondola.

On Saturday, we went explored Coeur d'Alene a little bit, and then went over to the high school for the auditions. The girls I accompanied did well, but not as well as they would have liked. We headed out after the auditions, and spent a night in Missoula where we found a Mexican restaurant that served mole. (which is supposed to have a little "accent aigu" over the e) Chad used to have it on his mission, and hasn't had it since. Mole refers to the chocolate peanut butter sauce they put over/cook meat in. EEEW. But he was happy.

View of the drive between Coeur d'Alene and Missoula.
Gift shop we stopped at.
Missoula.

4) Later in the month of May, we went to Florida with the family. (Of which trip Mollie and Erin already have posts)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010:
Our trip began by getting up at 4:00am to walk to the 5:00 shuttle that leaves from campus, riding it to the airport, and arriving around 10:00, meeting up with Mollie, boarding our flight around noon, switching planes in Kansas City, and then arriving in Orlando around 10:30 pm, after which we wait for Erin, Mollie, Bryce and the boys (who were on a later flight) to arrive before mom and dad pick us all up. It was a LOOOONG day.

The main purpose of the trip was to see one of the last manned missions launch from Kennedy Space Center.
We also included a trip to Disney World and Gatorland.
For the rest of the itinerary, see Erin's blog.

Here are some of the pictures we took:

Thursday, May 13, 2010 - Disney World - Chad's Birthday!

Downtown Disney - different day
That stage over there is where we played in high school.
Apparently those are all of the pictures I have from Disney World. What?

Friday, May 14, 2010 - Day at Kennedy Space Center - Shuttle Launch
Getting ready for the launch countdown.
Chad meets an astronaut! (or more likely, a 14 year old working for minimum wage)
After the launch, we tried to cool off with some Italian Ice. Guess what color Chad and Mollie had...
The van that takes the astronauts to the shuttle - they call it the Astrovan!!
Bus tour - Sunday
Vehicle Assembly Building - Where they prepare the shuttle for its mission
Newspaper from the moon landing.

Pictures from Gatorland and other excursions must be on Chad's camera - or a different memory card.

Highlights of the trip:
1) seeing the launch
2) Disney World
3) Gatorland
4) awesome house we stayed in
5) Happening upon a Friendly's and eating dinner there

Other pictures:
Florida Beach
Tram at the airport
Will at the airport waiting to board the plane.

5) When we got home from Florida, we were EXHAUSTED. We were supposed to drive straight back to Rexburg and be at work the next morning, but due to tornado warnings in the Denver airport, and lengthy delays, we didn't get back into Salt Lake until... 10:00-ish? We stayed at a hotel in Logan and drove the rest the next morning before making it to work for a half day. That afternoon we did a walk through on our home and the next day we closed! We are homeowners!!!

Sandbox, garden, and clothesline.
Remodeled kitchen
New mailbox! No more going to the post office to check the mail! WAHOO!
Lilac bush. One of two. It is now completely brown, but it looked pretty when this picture was taken.
Chad with the monster weed. I'm not sure it's a weed, but he was proud of himself for cutting it down. So weed it is.

Anyways! Now you are ALLLLLL updated. There will be a few more inside/outside before/after pictures coming up. But for now, take a break from reading my boring blog.

(There mom - can I please no longer be lame??)

To My Sisters

2010-06-14T13:09:00.001-05:00

This is to get back at Mollie.

Neener Neener Neener.