Chad's Birthday in Pictures

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?

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

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

... 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

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

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

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

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

(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

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..."

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

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....

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

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

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!

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...

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

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!

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

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!!!

...?

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

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

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.

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

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.