Last week, I was notified that an order I had placed for a Brady jersey had been cancelled because it was sold out. Nevermind that it took me over 2 weeks to tell me that! So, I found another one and purchased it right away. I paid extra for Priority Mail so that I would be CERTAIN it would be here in plenty of time for the game on Sunday. Yeah, I'm still waiting. I did confirm with the seller that it would be mailed immediately, they told me it would go out on Friday. Hmmm... Priority mail takes 2-3 business days (and is usually very fast). Even if it was on the slow side, it should have arrived here yesterday, at the latest. My mail came today - with no jersey.
I am not happy.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The New Schedule
This is Ryan's first week in his new position at work. He would have worked Mon-Fri, but seeing as how yesterday was his birthday, he opted to work Tues-Sat instead. :) So today was his first day!
He got off work about an hour later than his shift ended, so he came home right in the peak of commute time. But miraculously, it only took him just a few minutes more than an hour! We expected about a half hour longer than that. So it was a great first commute home.
For the next couple of weeks, we'll be just seeing how his schedule really is. We'll see when he has later meetings, when he has teleconferences (some which can be done while at home), etc.
We're so excited to have him home for dinner tonight! This is something we're going to be very glad to get used to. :)
He got off work about an hour later than his shift ended, so he came home right in the peak of commute time. But miraculously, it only took him just a few minutes more than an hour! We expected about a half hour longer than that. So it was a great first commute home.
For the next couple of weeks, we'll be just seeing how his schedule really is. We'll see when he has later meetings, when he has teleconferences (some which can be done while at home), etc.
We're so excited to have him home for dinner tonight! This is something we're going to be very glad to get used to. :)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby!
Today Ryan turns 34 - man, he's old! ;)
I decided to do something special for him today, so I made some connections and arranged for it to snow today!!! I know how much he loves the snow! Plus, that gave Cadi a day off from school so she could spend his birthday with him, too. Aren't I thoughtful? lol
Actually, the snow day kinda killed half of my plans. :S But that's okay. Ryan's been happy to have kind of a lazy day. We did venture out to they gym. :) Then we had salad for lunch and he is currently installing World of Warcraft on the home computer, which makes him happy. It realy doesn't sound terribly exciting to me, but he seems to be fine with it. We will be going out to dinner later, his choice. ;)
He received his big gift from me last week - some tools that he wanted. :) I have one more little thing to give him and he has a couple other gifts to open as well. Mostly, he just wanted to spend time together, so that's what we're doing. :)
Happy Birthday, Ryan!!! xxoo
I decided to do something special for him today, so I made some connections and arranged for it to snow today!!! I know how much he loves the snow! Plus, that gave Cadi a day off from school so she could spend his birthday with him, too. Aren't I thoughtful? lol
Actually, the snow day kinda killed half of my plans. :S But that's okay. Ryan's been happy to have kind of a lazy day. We did venture out to they gym. :) Then we had salad for lunch and he is currently installing World of Warcraft on the home computer, which makes him happy. It realy doesn't sound terribly exciting to me, but he seems to be fine with it. We will be going out to dinner later, his choice. ;)
He received his big gift from me last week - some tools that he wanted. :) I have one more little thing to give him and he has a couple other gifts to open as well. Mostly, he just wanted to spend time together, so that's what we're doing. :)
Happy Birthday, Ryan!!! xxoo
Dedication to President Hinckley
My friend shared this with me and I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share it with you.
Check out this video: Dedication to Gordon B. Hinckley
Check out this video: Dedication to Gordon B. Hinckley
Sunday, January 27, 2008
We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet
My heart is sad but my spirit is happy.
Today our beloved prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away. I will miss him! So, my heart is sad. But I KNOW where he is! I know that he is in the arms of his loving wife and welcomed home by his Savior, Lord, and Redeemer. So, my spirit is so happy for him!
President Hinckley's life was full of service. He loved the Lord above all else. He was obedient, he was faithful. He was admired and respected by so many people, even those not of our faith. He was an excellent example of one who lived in the world but not of it. He had integrity and humility, yet he was strong, he stood up for what he knew was right and true.
I am so very grateful that we were able to take Acadia to conference last October. I am so very grateful that she had the opportunity to sit in that great conference center with him and to sustain him as a prophet. I know that is an experience that she will never forget!
Tonight, I was attending a fireside where the stake was showing the dvd that had been made of the Handcart Trek that the youth had gone on in July of last year. Our stake president stood up in the middle of the fireside and the moment he stood at the pulpit, I knew. I knew that this is what he was going to tell us. I wanted to be wrong, but I knew. And when he said those words, that our prophet had just passed away, my heart dropped, the room gave one collective gasp. President Garner proceeded to remind us that it was because of President Hinckley that they were able to go on the trek last year. President Hinckley was so concerned for the youth - he loved them so much! He sent each ward and each stake extra money every year for the purpose of these types of activities to strengthen them.
At the end of our fireside, we changed the closing hymn to "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet" and sang it accapella. It was beautiful. I wanted to rush home to be with my family but I was also very grateful to be where I was - with these youth that the prophet loved so much, remembering an amazing experience that he provided for them.
I love President Gordon B. Hinckley! I am so grateful for the many things he has done for us. I am grateful for the peace and comfort that comes from knowing that there is a reason and order of all things. I know that President Hinckley is with Jesus Christ right now. And I know that we are not left alone. I know that we have other apostles who are also prophets and seers and who will lead the church until another is called to fill President Hinckley's place. And in a few short months, I will raise my hand and sustain the next prophet to be the President of our church.
I know that my Redeemer lives, Triumphant Savior, Son of God,
Victorious over pain and death, My King, my leader, and my Lord.
He lives, my one sure rock of faith, The one bright hope of men on earth,
The beacon to a better way, The light beyond the veil of death.
O, give me thy sweet spirit still, The peace that comes alone from thee,
The faith to walk the lonely road, That leads to thine eternity.
Hymn #135, "My Redeemer Lives", words by Gordon B. Hinckley
Today our beloved prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away. I will miss him! So, my heart is sad. But I KNOW where he is! I know that he is in the arms of his loving wife and welcomed home by his Savior, Lord, and Redeemer. So, my spirit is so happy for him!
President Hinckley's life was full of service. He loved the Lord above all else. He was obedient, he was faithful. He was admired and respected by so many people, even those not of our faith. He was an excellent example of one who lived in the world but not of it. He had integrity and humility, yet he was strong, he stood up for what he knew was right and true.
I am so very grateful that we were able to take Acadia to conference last October. I am so very grateful that she had the opportunity to sit in that great conference center with him and to sustain him as a prophet. I know that is an experience that she will never forget!
Tonight, I was attending a fireside where the stake was showing the dvd that had been made of the Handcart Trek that the youth had gone on in July of last year. Our stake president stood up in the middle of the fireside and the moment he stood at the pulpit, I knew. I knew that this is what he was going to tell us. I wanted to be wrong, but I knew. And when he said those words, that our prophet had just passed away, my heart dropped, the room gave one collective gasp. President Garner proceeded to remind us that it was because of President Hinckley that they were able to go on the trek last year. President Hinckley was so concerned for the youth - he loved them so much! He sent each ward and each stake extra money every year for the purpose of these types of activities to strengthen them.
At the end of our fireside, we changed the closing hymn to "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet" and sang it accapella. It was beautiful. I wanted to rush home to be with my family but I was also very grateful to be where I was - with these youth that the prophet loved so much, remembering an amazing experience that he provided for them.
I love President Gordon B. Hinckley! I am so grateful for the many things he has done for us. I am grateful for the peace and comfort that comes from knowing that there is a reason and order of all things. I know that President Hinckley is with Jesus Christ right now. And I know that we are not left alone. I know that we have other apostles who are also prophets and seers and who will lead the church until another is called to fill President Hinckley's place. And in a few short months, I will raise my hand and sustain the next prophet to be the President of our church.
I know that my Redeemer lives, Triumphant Savior, Son of God,
Victorious over pain and death, My King, my leader, and my Lord.
He lives, my one sure rock of faith, The one bright hope of men on earth,
The beacon to a better way, The light beyond the veil of death.
O, give me thy sweet spirit still, The peace that comes alone from thee,
The faith to walk the lonely road, That leads to thine eternity.
Hymn #135, "My Redeemer Lives", words by Gordon B. Hinckley
The Music Man
When I was young, our stake and ward often had performances: plays, skits, musicals, etc. I fondly remember attending a terrific performance of The Music Man. One of my favorite parts was the opening scene when the men on the train were talking about Harold Hill, they sang as they bounced up and down (since they were on the train), I just remember thinking that they did such a good job!
In the musical, the Music Man is a con man. He turns out good in the end (sorry to spoil it for you, lol) and it's a nice "feel good" story with lots of good, fun music (Hey you've got trouble - right here in River City! With a capital "T", that rhymes with "P", and that stands for pool!).
Well, we are fortunate to know our own "Music Man", except he isn't a con man. ;) There is a man in our ward that is very gifted musically and leads our congregation in singing hymns every week. Ever since Rori could really notice people around her, she has LOVED our Music Man. In fact, that's why we gave him that name, I'm not sure anyone else calls him that. But in our home and in our family, he is the Music Man.
But the Music Man is leaving! He has gotten a job in Seattle and this was his last week with us. I am so sad! And I know that if Rori understood it, she would be very sad, too! Our Music Man had many other talents and passions in addition to music but he will always be the Music Man to us. We wish him the best in Seattle!
In the musical, the Music Man is a con man. He turns out good in the end (sorry to spoil it for you, lol) and it's a nice "feel good" story with lots of good, fun music (Hey you've got trouble - right here in River City! With a capital "T", that rhymes with "P", and that stands for pool!).
Well, we are fortunate to know our own "Music Man", except he isn't a con man. ;) There is a man in our ward that is very gifted musically and leads our congregation in singing hymns every week. Ever since Rori could really notice people around her, she has LOVED our Music Man. In fact, that's why we gave him that name, I'm not sure anyone else calls him that. But in our home and in our family, he is the Music Man.
But the Music Man is leaving! He has gotten a job in Seattle and this was his last week with us. I am so sad! And I know that if Rori understood it, she would be very sad, too! Our Music Man had many other talents and passions in addition to music but he will always be the Music Man to us. We wish him the best in Seattle!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
You Are Cordially Invited...
To Acadia's very first piano recital!
Date: Saturay, January 26, 2008
Time: 11:00 am
What? That's past? Oh, well then let me take you back in time to the moment when Acadia made her musical debut. Keep arms and legs inside until we've come to a full and complete stop (and make sure the sound on your computer is on!)...
We are very proud of her! She was bummed that she made a couple of mistakes but I told her that every single person made some mistakes and what is important is that she kept going! I thought she did a great job!
(Incidentally, at the very beginning she is introducing the pieces she is about to play. The camcorder didn't do a very good job picking that up.)
After all of the performers played their pieces, their teacher presented the prize to the student(s) who had the most stickers. (Each week that a student does all of their practicing and completes the theory work and any other assignments she has given them, they get a sticker. She keeps track and the student with the most, wins.) There was a tie and Acadia was one of the winners! The winners get little mini busts of music composers and there are several different ones, so as they continue to win, they will add more to their collection. Acadia got Haydn today and it is already proudly displayed on her desk in her bedroom.
After the recital, which fortunately Ryan was able to take a long lunch for to attend, we took her out to lunch and let her choose the location. She chose "Boffin' Bo's", otherwise known as Boppin' Bo's. ;) It was yummy and I was really good, just ordering a cup of soup and a dinner salad... oh, and a milkshake - but I didn't get a huge sundae and a greasy sandwich and fries like I normally would! lol Ryan had to rush back off to work so he left while the girls and I paid. When we got to the car to come home, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers on Cadi's seat with a note from her Daddy. :) I hope to get a picture of Ryan and Acadia with the flowers, but for now, this will have to do.
I am really so proud of Acadia! She is doing so well with the piano, she really seems to have a natural talent for it and I'm so glad that she enjoys it so much and WANTS to play. I was also very proud of how she handled performing today! She wasn't really very nervous, a little, but not super. I think I would have been far more nervous than she seemed to be! I'm glad that she is getting this experience and I hope that as she continues down this path that she will also continue to perform and share her talents with others.
*A special Thank You to our dear friends, the Hoffmans, who came to support Acadia with only one hour's notice because I didn't think to call and invite them ahead of time! I promise that I will give more warning next time!
Date: Saturay, January 26, 2008
Time: 11:00 am
What? That's past? Oh, well then let me take you back in time to the moment when Acadia made her musical debut. Keep arms and legs inside until we've come to a full and complete stop (and make sure the sound on your computer is on!)...
We are very proud of her! She was bummed that she made a couple of mistakes but I told her that every single person made some mistakes and what is important is that she kept going! I thought she did a great job!
(Incidentally, at the very beginning she is introducing the pieces she is about to play. The camcorder didn't do a very good job picking that up.)
After all of the performers played their pieces, their teacher presented the prize to the student(s) who had the most stickers. (Each week that a student does all of their practicing and completes the theory work and any other assignments she has given them, they get a sticker. She keeps track and the student with the most, wins.) There was a tie and Acadia was one of the winners! The winners get little mini busts of music composers and there are several different ones, so as they continue to win, they will add more to their collection. Acadia got Haydn today and it is already proudly displayed on her desk in her bedroom.
After the recital, which fortunately Ryan was able to take a long lunch for to attend, we took her out to lunch and let her choose the location. She chose "Boffin' Bo's", otherwise known as Boppin' Bo's. ;) It was yummy and I was really good, just ordering a cup of soup and a dinner salad... oh, and a milkshake - but I didn't get a huge sundae and a greasy sandwich and fries like I normally would! lol Ryan had to rush back off to work so he left while the girls and I paid. When we got to the car to come home, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers on Cadi's seat with a note from her Daddy. :) I hope to get a picture of Ryan and Acadia with the flowers, but for now, this will have to do.
I am really so proud of Acadia! She is doing so well with the piano, she really seems to have a natural talent for it and I'm so glad that she enjoys it so much and WANTS to play. I was also very proud of how she handled performing today! She wasn't really very nervous, a little, but not super. I think I would have been far more nervous than she seemed to be! I'm glad that she is getting this experience and I hope that as she continues down this path that she will also continue to perform and share her talents with others.
*A special Thank You to our dear friends, the Hoffmans, who came to support Acadia with only one hour's notice because I didn't think to call and invite them ahead of time! I promise that I will give more warning next time!
Friday, January 25, 2008
E. T. Phone Home
I stepped into the kitchen to start making some lunch for Rori and myself and the phone rang. I answered, "Hello?" ... nothing... "Hello?"... nothing... (one last time) "Hello??"
I heard some crackling noise but nothing else. Hmmm. So I hung up.
I went back out to the family room to see how Rori was doing and found her with my cell phone in her hand. A ha! She had phoned home!!! lol
*This isn't the first time she has made a phone call on my cell phone. She has called my sister and at least one stranger. Won't her teenage years be fun? lol
I heard some crackling noise but nothing else. Hmmm. So I hung up.
I went back out to the family room to see how Rori was doing and found her with my cell phone in her hand. A ha! She had phoned home!!! lol
*This isn't the first time she has made a phone call on my cell phone. She has called my sister and at least one stranger. Won't her teenage years be fun? lol
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Yes, you could say that right now I've got a one track mind...
Or at least, close to it. But come on, it's just that time of year!!! And what a year it's been!
Today I got an e-mail from the on-line store that I purchased my New England Patriots Brady jersey from. You may recall, I ordered it 2 1/2 weeks ago. At that time, they had the shipping date as yesterday, which I was fine with, that would be enough time to get here before the Super Bowl. But today's e-mail told me that the jersey was sold out and so my order was cancelled!!! I was so mad that they waited until NOW to tell me! I immediately started searching the world-wide web to find a replacement to order but I couldn't find one! I was really upset and actually did start to cry. I couldn't believe it!
But then I found ONE available on e-bay. It's my size, still new, exactly the same as what I wanted, and I can have it next week - BEFORE Feb 3rd. WHEW! That was close.
Today I got an e-mail from the on-line store that I purchased my New England Patriots Brady jersey from. You may recall, I ordered it 2 1/2 weeks ago. At that time, they had the shipping date as yesterday, which I was fine with, that would be enough time to get here before the Super Bowl. But today's e-mail told me that the jersey was sold out and so my order was cancelled!!! I was so mad that they waited until NOW to tell me! I immediately started searching the world-wide web to find a replacement to order but I couldn't find one! I was really upset and actually did start to cry. I couldn't believe it!
But then I found ONE available on e-bay. It's my size, still new, exactly the same as what I wanted, and I can have it next week - BEFORE Feb 3rd. WHEW! That was close.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Chick Magnet
Months ago (almost a year!), Ryan's faithful "chick magnet" died. Dead. He fiddled with it a little, with no luck. We decided that we wanted to get a "new" (and by new, I mean new to us) car for him anyway so this just determined the timing of it. We did buy a car for him that we've been very happy with.
His old car, however, just sat there. Dead. In our driveway. We talked about fixing it and selling it, selling it without fixing it, fixing it and giving it away, or just donating it as is... but we never could decide what to do and so we did nothing. This week, one of Ryan's friends had his car stolen and didn't have the funds to get a new one. So, that determined the fate of the chick magnet. For the last two days, they have been working on it. Tonight - SUCCESS! The Chick Magnet is up and running and is out of our driveway! Yay!!!
I hope that it runs long enough to help out our friend! :)
His old car, however, just sat there. Dead. In our driveway. We talked about fixing it and selling it, selling it without fixing it, fixing it and giving it away, or just donating it as is... but we never could decide what to do and so we did nothing. This week, one of Ryan's friends had his car stolen and didn't have the funds to get a new one. So, that determined the fate of the chick magnet. For the last two days, they have been working on it. Tonight - SUCCESS! The Chick Magnet is up and running and is out of our driveway! Yay!!!
I hope that it runs long enough to help out our friend! :)
Monday, January 21, 2008
Enchanting
Today is a holiday, as I'm sure most of you are aware. Ryan hasn't started his new shift yet (NEXT WEEK! YAY!!!) so he had today off anyway but it was really nice to have Cadi home too!
We wanted to have family time today so we started by cleaning the house together. That was really nice! :) Then, while Rori napped, Ryan, Cadi, and I played xbox - and we were on the same team everytime, except once (Ryan kept trying to kill Cadi and I and we told him he was being a big meanie... then we killed him. lol). After Rori woke up, we went to the movie theater and finally saw the film, Enchanted. I was pretty sure we'd all like it, the commercials were all cute and everyone that I know who's seen it, really enjoyed it. And sure enough - we all really liked it. It is high on my list for purchase when it's made available. :)
Next is Family Home Evening. We're running a little behind tonight, we should be FINISHING FHE now and getting Cadi ready for bed, but hey- it's a holiday! Well really, we're just running behind. lol
Anyhow, we've had a really nice family day and are so excited to be getting more days similar to this once Ryan's on his new schedule and has Saturdays off! :D
We wanted to have family time today so we started by cleaning the house together. That was really nice! :) Then, while Rori napped, Ryan, Cadi, and I played xbox - and we were on the same team everytime, except once (Ryan kept trying to kill Cadi and I and we told him he was being a big meanie... then we killed him. lol). After Rori woke up, we went to the movie theater and finally saw the film, Enchanted. I was pretty sure we'd all like it, the commercials were all cute and everyone that I know who's seen it, really enjoyed it. And sure enough - we all really liked it. It is high on my list for purchase when it's made available. :)
Next is Family Home Evening. We're running a little behind tonight, we should be FINISHING FHE now and getting Cadi ready for bed, but hey- it's a holiday! Well really, we're just running behind. lol
Anyhow, we've had a really nice family day and are so excited to be getting more days similar to this once Ryan's on his new schedule and has Saturdays off! :D
Sunday, January 20, 2008
WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!
The Patriots are AFC Champions!!! STILL undefeated!!! 18-0 with just one more game to play.
Honestly, today's game really wasn't all that exciting and it certainly wasn't our best game. It was very cold with a pretty strong wind. There weren't very many big passes, though there were some good plays. Brady threw 3 (THREE!) interceptions! But we grabbed a couple interceptions ourselves and Maroney sure did have a great running game! The Chargers didn't score a single touchdown, they were forced to kick 4 field goals, instead. When all 60 minutes were up, the Chargers were on their way home and the Patriots were AFC Champions and on their way to the Super Bowl. We'll take it! :)
Here are a few pics, just for fun. :)
GO PATS!!!
Friday, January 18, 2008
My Girls, pt. 2
Last week, I found Rori with a piece of chocolate candy that she wasn't supposed to have. This is what she looked like...
Both of my girls love music. Rori keeps getting this hymnal out and just turns the pages, sometimes "singing" along.
Cadi is doing really well at the piano. I took this pic of her this morning for a school project.
She is growing up so fast! Today is her big class party and she wanted her hair wavy for it. She seemed pretty happy with how her hair turned out...
Looking at that picture makes me wonder where my little girl went!!!
Both of my girls love music. Rori keeps getting this hymnal out and just turns the pages, sometimes "singing" along.
Cadi is doing really well at the piano. I took this pic of her this morning for a school project.
She is growing up so fast! Today is her big class party and she wanted her hair wavy for it. She seemed pretty happy with how her hair turned out...
Looking at that picture makes me wonder where my little girl went!!!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
My Girls
Are so cute!!!
Acadia is very excited about her class party tomorrow. She has posted a little blog about it, so go check that out. :) It's going to be a really fun day at school, and not just because of the party! They start with Sharing Time (every Friday, but will be first thing this time because of the other things going on too), then have Art Appreciation (I think this is usually once a month, one of the student's aunt is a professional artist and comes in to do fun projects with them.), they also have P.E. tomorrow, and then there is the class party! She's taking her shower right now and wants me to make her hair "wavy" for tomorrow. lol
Rori is playing on an exercise mat and literally, every 15-20 seconds or so, is coming up to me to give me a kiss. She'll kiss whatever she can get, I try to actually give her a kiss but sometimes she'll just settle for my hand or arm. Then she waves and says, "bye-bye" as she goes back to the mat. lol When she's on the exercise mat, she looks like she's trying to do the splits! She stands up and then lets her feet slide apart until she falls down on her bum. lol
Acadia is very excited about her class party tomorrow. She has posted a little blog about it, so go check that out. :) It's going to be a really fun day at school, and not just because of the party! They start with Sharing Time (every Friday, but will be first thing this time because of the other things going on too), then have Art Appreciation (I think this is usually once a month, one of the student's aunt is a professional artist and comes in to do fun projects with them.), they also have P.E. tomorrow, and then there is the class party! She's taking her shower right now and wants me to make her hair "wavy" for tomorrow. lol
Rori is playing on an exercise mat and literally, every 15-20 seconds or so, is coming up to me to give me a kiss. She'll kiss whatever she can get, I try to actually give her a kiss but sometimes she'll just settle for my hand or arm. Then she waves and says, "bye-bye" as she goes back to the mat. lol When she's on the exercise mat, she looks like she's trying to do the splits! She stands up and then lets her feet slide apart until she falls down on her bum. lol
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Frankly My Dear...
I have a very important tip when watching an epic film like Gone With The Wind...
When you watch the movie, watch the first half first!!! lol
Neither Aimee or myself had seen the movie or read the book and that's really the main reason why we wanted to watch it. So Aimee put the movie in and we were kind of taken back at how it started right away with no credits or anything. Then as the movie went on, a couple parts really didn't seem to make sense and we were wondering if they'd be explained later. We knew it was a four hour movie so near the end of the first half we were thinking, there are two more hours? What else can there be? (Who is left to die!?!?! lol) And next thing we know it says, "THE END"!!!
WHAT?!?!?!? Where's the second half???
Aimee mentioned that it could have been a two sided disc, so we turned it over, hoping there was a second part of the movie. Oh yeah, there was another part alright... The first part! Including credits! lol
We sure did laugh at ourselves for watching the end first. I laughed so hard, I was crying! lol
Wow, watching the first part made understanding the second part a bit easier. ;)
I have mixed feelings about the movie. It was a bit depressing at the end; I was sad for how it ended! I wanted everyone to be well and happy. But that's just me. ;) As for Scarlett herself, while she is definitely strong, her priorities were pretty messed up. But after I watched the second half, I could understand more of where she was coming from. She was still pretty selfish and even when she did the right thing, it was still usually because of an alternate reason. But still, she was strong and she did help her family when they needed it. The thing that gets me is that she had so much MORE potential. She was so beautiful and if she had only thought a little more about others (sincerely), she would have been just as beautiful on the inside. But she was alone on the inside and in the end, was alone on the outside too. I'd like to think that she went back to Tara, got it and herself straightened out, and that Rhett came back and they lived happily ever after. I don't know if that's what happened but in my head, that is. :)
When you watch the movie, watch the first half first!!! lol
Neither Aimee or myself had seen the movie or read the book and that's really the main reason why we wanted to watch it. So Aimee put the movie in and we were kind of taken back at how it started right away with no credits or anything. Then as the movie went on, a couple parts really didn't seem to make sense and we were wondering if they'd be explained later. We knew it was a four hour movie so near the end of the first half we were thinking, there are two more hours? What else can there be? (Who is left to die!?!?! lol) And next thing we know it says, "THE END"!!!
WHAT?!?!?!? Where's the second half???
Aimee mentioned that it could have been a two sided disc, so we turned it over, hoping there was a second part of the movie. Oh yeah, there was another part alright... The first part! Including credits! lol
We sure did laugh at ourselves for watching the end first. I laughed so hard, I was crying! lol
Wow, watching the first part made understanding the second part a bit easier. ;)
I have mixed feelings about the movie. It was a bit depressing at the end; I was sad for how it ended! I wanted everyone to be well and happy. But that's just me. ;) As for Scarlett herself, while she is definitely strong, her priorities were pretty messed up. But after I watched the second half, I could understand more of where she was coming from. She was still pretty selfish and even when she did the right thing, it was still usually because of an alternate reason. But still, she was strong and she did help her family when they needed it. The thing that gets me is that she had so much MORE potential. She was so beautiful and if she had only thought a little more about others (sincerely), she would have been just as beautiful on the inside. But she was alone on the inside and in the end, was alone on the outside too. I'd like to think that she went back to Tara, got it and herself straightened out, and that Rhett came back and they lived happily ever after. I don't know if that's what happened but in my head, that is. :)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Pop Quiz
1. 5:08 is:
a) the time it takes me to run a mile
b) when I had dinner on the table last night
c) when I was woken up this morning by a text message to my cell phone from Cadi's school telling us that school was delayed for 2 hours.
d) all of the above
2. My plans today were to:
a) spend the morning at the gym
b) go visit my friend in Seattle
c) have brunch with Ryan
d) volunteer in Cadi's classroom
3. I got up and took my shower at:
a) 5:08
b) 7:00
c) 7:47
d) 8:30
4. I am now running how late:
a) 30 minutes
b) 1 hour
c) 2 hours
d) I'm not late
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Now, let's see how you did.
I cannot run a mile that fast - I'm pretty sure it would kill me if I tried. lol I was close to having dinner on the table around that time last night, but when I took it out of the oven I saw it needed to cook a little longer. Dinner was closer to 6pm. However...
The correct answer to question #1 is C... At 5:08am, I heard my cell phone chirpping at me. My cell phone is my alarm clock and I was thinking, "No way! It can't be 7 am already!!!" Well, it wasn't 7:00. It wasn't my alarm clock. It was a text message from Acadia's school telling us that school was having a 2 hour delay. (They have an emergency contact system - they e-mail us and text message both Ryan and myself so we know as soon as there are any emergencies or changes in their schedule.) I turned on the news, the roads are covered in ice.
The correct answer to question #2 is B... My plans today are to drive up to Seattle for a little GNO. I'm gonna stay with my friend and we're going to watch Gone With the Wind tonight because neither of us have seen it but one of our friends just named her daughter Scarlett since she loves the movie so much. So, we want to watch it. :) I'm excited! Ryan is manning the fort here with the girls and so I'm child-free! :D
The answer to #3 is C... After I saw why we were having a delay, I turned the news off and went back to sleep. Since we had a two-hour delay, when my real alarm went off at 7am, I didn't really do much more than turn it off. lol Finally, I woke up and realized it was much lighter outside than it normally was when I get up, I checked the time - 7:47am. Time to get up!!!
The answer to #4 is A... Since I had been planning on leaving sometime between 8:30 and 9:00, I'm really only running about 30 minutes late. I'm packed and the kids are up, Ryan's taking care of them. Cadi will be going out to the bus in another hour. It's all good. ;)
So, how did you do? If you got all 4 questions right, I'm worried that you're spying on me! If you got 3 questions right, we're meant to be soul mates. If you got 2 questions right, you were totally guessing. If you got 1 answer right, you need to work on your process of elimination a little better. And if you got none of those questions right, you totally need to read my blog more since you obviously don't know me! ;)
a) the time it takes me to run a mile
b) when I had dinner on the table last night
c) when I was woken up this morning by a text message to my cell phone from Cadi's school telling us that school was delayed for 2 hours.
d) all of the above
2. My plans today were to:
a) spend the morning at the gym
b) go visit my friend in Seattle
c) have brunch with Ryan
d) volunteer in Cadi's classroom
3. I got up and took my shower at:
a) 5:08
b) 7:00
c) 7:47
d) 8:30
4. I am now running how late:
a) 30 minutes
b) 1 hour
c) 2 hours
d) I'm not late
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Now, let's see how you did.
I cannot run a mile that fast - I'm pretty sure it would kill me if I tried. lol I was close to having dinner on the table around that time last night, but when I took it out of the oven I saw it needed to cook a little longer. Dinner was closer to 6pm. However...
The correct answer to question #1 is C... At 5:08am, I heard my cell phone chirpping at me. My cell phone is my alarm clock and I was thinking, "No way! It can't be 7 am already!!!" Well, it wasn't 7:00. It wasn't my alarm clock. It was a text message from Acadia's school telling us that school was having a 2 hour delay. (They have an emergency contact system - they e-mail us and text message both Ryan and myself so we know as soon as there are any emergencies or changes in their schedule.) I turned on the news, the roads are covered in ice.
The correct answer to question #2 is B... My plans today are to drive up to Seattle for a little GNO. I'm gonna stay with my friend and we're going to watch Gone With the Wind tonight because neither of us have seen it but one of our friends just named her daughter Scarlett since she loves the movie so much. So, we want to watch it. :) I'm excited! Ryan is manning the fort here with the girls and so I'm child-free! :D
The answer to #3 is C... After I saw why we were having a delay, I turned the news off and went back to sleep. Since we had a two-hour delay, when my real alarm went off at 7am, I didn't really do much more than turn it off. lol Finally, I woke up and realized it was much lighter outside than it normally was when I get up, I checked the time - 7:47am. Time to get up!!!
The answer to #4 is A... Since I had been planning on leaving sometime between 8:30 and 9:00, I'm really only running about 30 minutes late. I'm packed and the kids are up, Ryan's taking care of them. Cadi will be going out to the bus in another hour. It's all good. ;)
So, how did you do? If you got all 4 questions right, I'm worried that you're spying on me! If you got 3 questions right, we're meant to be soul mates. If you got 2 questions right, you were totally guessing. If you got 1 answer right, you need to work on your process of elimination a little better. And if you got none of those questions right, you totally need to read my blog more since you obviously don't know me! ;)
Monday, January 14, 2008
An end in sight...
I love my husband and I'm so glad that he likes to do the projects that we want done on our house, it really saves us money and gives him experience. BUT. He usually does the main part of the project and then leaves the "touch up" parts to be done "later". And usually... later never comes.
Tonight I'm excited though, because we have a friend who is going to be helping us finish all those little things and also help us with our upcoming big projects. He's been having a hard time finding work right now and we would really like to get some of these projects completed, so we're hiring him to help us out and we feel good knowing that it's helping him right now, too. Paying him will be worth it because there is just no way we'd be able to realistically finish everything that we'd like to have done. Ryan just doesn't have the time or experience to do it all, but our friend does - he has both! So, it's looking like things are finally gonna get moving around here.
First up: Insulation. Ryan bought enough rolls of insulation to lay under the flooring of our house but he hasn't had the time (or strong desire) to crawl down there and tack it up. But our friend is coming Wednesday morning to get started on it. We also want to add more insulation in the ceiling because there really isn't enough up there right now. I guess we'd better go buy it because he says he'd be happy to do that next. Those two things will really help us save some money in our heating and cooling. :)
Tonight I'm excited though, because we have a friend who is going to be helping us finish all those little things and also help us with our upcoming big projects. He's been having a hard time finding work right now and we would really like to get some of these projects completed, so we're hiring him to help us out and we feel good knowing that it's helping him right now, too. Paying him will be worth it because there is just no way we'd be able to realistically finish everything that we'd like to have done. Ryan just doesn't have the time or experience to do it all, but our friend does - he has both! So, it's looking like things are finally gonna get moving around here.
First up: Insulation. Ryan bought enough rolls of insulation to lay under the flooring of our house but he hasn't had the time (or strong desire) to crawl down there and tack it up. But our friend is coming Wednesday morning to get started on it. We also want to add more insulation in the ceiling because there really isn't enough up there right now. I guess we'd better go buy it because he says he'd be happy to do that next. Those two things will really help us save some money in our heating and cooling. :)
Sunday, January 13, 2008
17 Down... 2 More to Go
The Patriots played the Jaguars today and (surprise, surprise) THEY WON! Was there any doubt? lol
Two things I just want to make note of:
1) I LOVE how people just hate Belichick. lol
I love him, I love that he is NEVER satisfied by what our boys do. I LOVE that even when they make good plays - GREAT plays, like when they caused the Jags to fumble and recovered the ball for a turnover - he's sitting on the side lines with that same look on his face, shaking his head as if he's really upset with their performance! It cracks me up, everytime! lol
2) I also love how everyone talks about Brady and Moss...
Let me first be clear: Brady is DA BOMB! True dat.
(And let's give the boy props for breaking YET ANOTHER record today. He completed 92.9% of his passes (26 of 28), breaking the previous record of 88% (22 of 25) set by Phil Simms back in 1986.)
And Moss is simply FANTASTIC! No denying that.
But every game, the commentators say: If you want to beat the Patriots, you have to stop Moss; you can't let Brady get the ball to him. Let me just tell you, If you want to beat the Patriots, you have to do a heck of a lot more than just that!
In today's game, Moss had ONE play. That's right, ONE play. He caught one pass for 14 yards. The Jaguars succeeded in "stopping Moss". Brady didn't even attempt to throw Moss anything else simply because he was so well covered. But that's okay because the Patriots ROCK - not because they have one really great "go to" guy. They ROCK because they have a whole handful of "go to" guys! Infact, in the first Patriot drive of the game (which did result in a touchdown, woohoo!), Brady completed 5 for 5 receptions and each to a different receiver. What does that tell us? It tells us that you can take one of our best players out of the game altogether, that's okay - we've got plenty more to go to.
Like...
Welker (one of my personal favorites!)
Or Watson
Or Gaffney
Or Stallworth
And in case you thought we ONLY had a passing game, don't forget these guys:
Faulk
And Maroney
So if you want to beat MY Patriots... GOOD LUCK!!!! You're gonna need it!!! lol...
Two things I just want to make note of:
1) I LOVE how people just hate Belichick. lol
I love him, I love that he is NEVER satisfied by what our boys do. I LOVE that even when they make good plays - GREAT plays, like when they caused the Jags to fumble and recovered the ball for a turnover - he's sitting on the side lines with that same look on his face, shaking his head as if he's really upset with their performance! It cracks me up, everytime! lol
2) I also love how everyone talks about Brady and Moss...
Let me first be clear: Brady is DA BOMB! True dat.
(And let's give the boy props for breaking YET ANOTHER record today. He completed 92.9% of his passes (26 of 28), breaking the previous record of 88% (22 of 25) set by Phil Simms back in 1986.)
And Moss is simply FANTASTIC! No denying that.
But every game, the commentators say: If you want to beat the Patriots, you have to stop Moss; you can't let Brady get the ball to him. Let me just tell you, If you want to beat the Patriots, you have to do a heck of a lot more than just that!
In today's game, Moss had ONE play. That's right, ONE play. He caught one pass for 14 yards. The Jaguars succeeded in "stopping Moss". Brady didn't even attempt to throw Moss anything else simply because he was so well covered. But that's okay because the Patriots ROCK - not because they have one really great "go to" guy. They ROCK because they have a whole handful of "go to" guys! Infact, in the first Patriot drive of the game (which did result in a touchdown, woohoo!), Brady completed 5 for 5 receptions and each to a different receiver. What does that tell us? It tells us that you can take one of our best players out of the game altogether, that's okay - we've got plenty more to go to.
Like...
Welker (one of my personal favorites!)
Or Watson
Or Gaffney
Or Stallworth
And in case you thought we ONLY had a passing game, don't forget these guys:
Faulk
And Maroney
So if you want to beat MY Patriots... GOOD LUCK!!!! You're gonna need it!!! lol...
Friday, January 11, 2008
A Familiar Fondness
You know that feeling you get when you see, hear, smell, or taste something that just takes you back to some other time, years prior? There are parts of Portland that do that to me. It's always the same areas and it's always the same feeling. A "familiar fondness".
I grew up in Sacramento, California. We lived a couple of hours from the Bay Area, depending on traffic. I have many memories of going there and all of them are positive, happy memories. Going with family, on a school fieldtrip, or with a church youth group, and later on dates. :) There was more than just the beach. We would go to the museums, the piers, the Gunnysack outlets, the Oakland temple, aquariums, sandcastle building contests... and of course, the beach too. ;) As a young adult, I would go to Sausalito to visit a marine mammal rescue facility in hopes to work or even just volunteer there. I never did get that opportunity and I really don't remember why, but I did eventually get a job at Marine World Africa USA in Vallejo (which isn't QUITE the Bay Area but it was almost there! lol). While my job had nothing to do with the animals, since I was an employee, I could volunteer with the research animals. I did that as much as I could! I helped to feed mama dolphins and sat for hours documenting observations on the mom and babies.
Even though I have never had the desire to live in the Bay Area, I have always enjoyed visiting there!
There are a couple of areas in Portland that really remind me of the Bay Area. One is on the way to the temple and the other is on the way to Ryan's work. Both are green, tree covered hills with slight turns on the highway. Yesterday, I went down to the LDS bookstore, which is very close to the temple, and I thought about the Bay Area as I passed that particular spot. I even thought about blogging it. But then the tornado happened and "blew" (LOL, I crack myself up) that idea right out the window. ;) Today, Rori and I met Ryan for lunch near his work. Again, with the Bay Area memories and that "familiar fondness". :)
It's funny too, because when you think of the Bay Area, you think of... oh gee, maybe THE BAY, or the super steep streets and trolley cars, or Alcatraz Island and The Golden Gate Bridge, or Rice-a-Roni, or Full House (lol), or something like that. But for whatever reason, I always remember the lush, green, hilly areas, especially near Golden Gate Park. (Well, at least these particular areas in Portland make me think of that. There are other things that remind me of those other parts of the Bay Area, but that's another post for another time.) And with those thoughts, come a "familiar fondness" that I really enjoy. :)
I grew up in Sacramento, California. We lived a couple of hours from the Bay Area, depending on traffic. I have many memories of going there and all of them are positive, happy memories. Going with family, on a school fieldtrip, or with a church youth group, and later on dates. :) There was more than just the beach. We would go to the museums, the piers, the Gunnysack outlets, the Oakland temple, aquariums, sandcastle building contests... and of course, the beach too. ;) As a young adult, I would go to Sausalito to visit a marine mammal rescue facility in hopes to work or even just volunteer there. I never did get that opportunity and I really don't remember why, but I did eventually get a job at Marine World Africa USA in Vallejo (which isn't QUITE the Bay Area but it was almost there! lol). While my job had nothing to do with the animals, since I was an employee, I could volunteer with the research animals. I did that as much as I could! I helped to feed mama dolphins and sat for hours documenting observations on the mom and babies.
Even though I have never had the desire to live in the Bay Area, I have always enjoyed visiting there!
There are a couple of areas in Portland that really remind me of the Bay Area. One is on the way to the temple and the other is on the way to Ryan's work. Both are green, tree covered hills with slight turns on the highway. Yesterday, I went down to the LDS bookstore, which is very close to the temple, and I thought about the Bay Area as I passed that particular spot. I even thought about blogging it. But then the tornado happened and "blew" (LOL, I crack myself up) that idea right out the window. ;) Today, Rori and I met Ryan for lunch near his work. Again, with the Bay Area memories and that "familiar fondness". :)
It's funny too, because when you think of the Bay Area, you think of... oh gee, maybe THE BAY, or the super steep streets and trolley cars, or Alcatraz Island and The Golden Gate Bridge, or Rice-a-Roni, or Full House (lol), or something like that. But for whatever reason, I always remember the lush, green, hilly areas, especially near Golden Gate Park. (Well, at least these particular areas in Portland make me think of that. There are other things that remind me of those other parts of the Bay Area, but that's another post for another time.) And with those thoughts, come a "familiar fondness" that I really enjoy. :)
And then, the rainbow.
Today I happened to be driving up the exact same stretch of I-5 at the exact same time as I had been yesterday when I saw the storm clouds that moments later had become a tornado. This time, as I looked up at the clouds (not nearly as many and much whiter this time), there was a beautiful rainbow! It was right over the city!
Ryan gives the NorthWest a hard time sometimes because of the rain. I guess if you go to work before the sun comes up and leave after the sun's gone down, you really wouldn't know if there had been sun that day or not. He views the period of time from October to April as 6 months of rain. And that is so not true! There is a lot of rain. But it is not everday and aside from the actual dead of winter, it's not even most days! We have so many sunny days, and I'm not talking about "bright" days where it's still cloudy but so bright that it hurts your eyes. I mean honest-to-goodness, blue-sky, sun-shining-down-on-you sunny days! And there are also RAINBOWS!!! Lots of rainbows! I've seen full double rainbows and once, I saw a triple (though they weren't all full)! I love the rainbows! And I really don't mind the rain. Sure, sometimes it's annoying but mostly, I really enjoy it.
I know that to the people who are dealing with a real big mess right now, a rainbow isn't going to make it much better. But it sure did make me smile. :)
Ryan gives the NorthWest a hard time sometimes because of the rain. I guess if you go to work before the sun comes up and leave after the sun's gone down, you really wouldn't know if there had been sun that day or not. He views the period of time from October to April as 6 months of rain. And that is so not true! There is a lot of rain. But it is not everday and aside from the actual dead of winter, it's not even most days! We have so many sunny days, and I'm not talking about "bright" days where it's still cloudy but so bright that it hurts your eyes. I mean honest-to-goodness, blue-sky, sun-shining-down-on-you sunny days! And there are also RAINBOWS!!! Lots of rainbows! I've seen full double rainbows and once, I saw a triple (though they weren't all full)! I love the rainbows! And I really don't mind the rain. Sure, sometimes it's annoying but mostly, I really enjoy it.
I know that to the people who are dealing with a real big mess right now, a rainbow isn't going to make it much better. But it sure did make me smile. :)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Twist and Shout!
Okay, not so much shouting... but a heck of a lot of twisting!!!
Today started out pretty good. Ryan was staying home from work, sick. That part wasn't good but it was nice that he'd be around. Rori woke up doing great! She had been sick yesterday but she slept soundly for over 12 hours last night and I think that really helped her. I had a little headache, but other than that I felt great!
To give Ryan some quiet time to rest, Rori and I headed out to run errands. It was so nice and warm! We just wore sweatshirts and enjoyed our shopping. On the way back home, coming up from Portland, I saw some big, dark clouds over Vancouver. "Joy", I thought. Then I saw lightening - and a lot of it! Multiple strikes shooting straight down at the same time. Wow! If Ryan hadn't been sleeping, I would have called home to tell him because he loves a good lightening storm. I remember wishing I had my camera with me (as if I could have 1) taken a picture while driving, and 2) would have actually gotten a shot of the actual lightening strikes, lol).
Shortly after I got home, I saw that I had missed a call from my friend on my cell phone (Thanks for turning my ringer down without telling me, Honey!) so I called her back. "Oh, I was just calling to tell you about the tornados," she told me.
"WHAT?!?!? What tornados? Here???"
"Oh yeah!" She told me that we were under a tornado warning and that at least one had touched down, here in Vancouver! She saw that my car wasn't home and tried to call to let me know. Thankfully, I had been south instead of north, since that is where it had ended up going.
I should have turned the news on right then, I'm sure we had continual coverage seeing as how we NEVER get real tornados. We've had funnel clouds before, heck I've seen funnel clouds here... but we never get real, honest to goodness, categorized tornados. But by this time, my headache had turned into a migraine and I was in bad shape, and that was more important,so I just went to bed while Ryan watched Rori for me.
I finally got up about half an hour ago (my head still hurts but it's not as bad as before, thanks for asking ;) lol) and turned on the news. Sure enough, an F1 tornado touched down in Vancouver in at least 3 different locations. It's winds were 86-110 mph, the path was 2 miles long and 1/4 mile wide. Fortunately for us, it was all west and north of us. Unfortunately for those in those areas, thousands are out of power still because of it. :( There are a lot of home movies and pictures coming in, some are pretty impressive!
Acadia shared with us (maybe I'll have her post it in her blog too) that they were out at their lunch recess when the teachers started to yell at them to run inside. She said they were "herding" them and yelling, "Run, run, run!" She said she and her friends were thinking, "This must be serious, they NEVER tell us to run!" They were first guessing that their school was under "lock-down" but once inside, they were instructed to get on the ground with their heads on the floor and their hands over their heads, an exercise they've practiced before in "tornado drills", and they were told that there was a tornado in the area. She told me that a friend of hers was crying and I asked if she (Cadi) had been scared, she said yes. She said it kind of hurt to stay in that position, too. (I bet!) But she said that afterwards, the teachers talked to them about what had happened and assured them that the tornado had ended up being on the other side of town, but that they had needed to stay in that position just in case and kind of as another practice. I told her that since tornados are so unpredictable, it was really important for everyone to be careful because they can change directions and move so fast, you never know where they'll go next.
Fortunately, there have been no real injuries from the tornado but there has been a bit of damage. There was a boat house completely destroyed on Vancouver Lake, 90% the boats were destroyed too, it looks like. And there are lots of trees totally ripped out of the ground in the areas that were hit (several falling on cars or homes), as well as a lot of roofs stripped of their shingles, some with even the plywood torn off. (Mom, the pictures made me think of your house this weekend, the pictures from the air showed homes with large sections of just wood exposed and people were rushing to get tarps put over them before it got dark since we're expecting rain for the next few days still.) I don't envy them - especially since we JUST got our new roof put on!
Since no one got hurt, some of the stories that are coming out because of this are pretty entertaining. One man was working in some sort of construction, went to use the port-a-pot and as he was in it, the outhouse was lifted up and toppled over! Luckily, the guy had just been "finishing up" and was just "tossed" out the door before anything "unpleasant" got on him! (This guy headed home from work only to find a tree had fallen on his house! Double whammy, poor guy!) Other construction workers were digging a ditch when the tornado went right for them, they had to dive into the ditch they were digging to stay safe. One business put this on their billboard today, "Auntie Em It's a twister!" lol
So that was our excitment today! A tornado right here in Vancouver, WA!
Come on, Baby! Let's do the twist...
Today started out pretty good. Ryan was staying home from work, sick. That part wasn't good but it was nice that he'd be around. Rori woke up doing great! She had been sick yesterday but she slept soundly for over 12 hours last night and I think that really helped her. I had a little headache, but other than that I felt great!
To give Ryan some quiet time to rest, Rori and I headed out to run errands. It was so nice and warm! We just wore sweatshirts and enjoyed our shopping. On the way back home, coming up from Portland, I saw some big, dark clouds over Vancouver. "Joy", I thought. Then I saw lightening - and a lot of it! Multiple strikes shooting straight down at the same time. Wow! If Ryan hadn't been sleeping, I would have called home to tell him because he loves a good lightening storm. I remember wishing I had my camera with me (as if I could have 1) taken a picture while driving, and 2) would have actually gotten a shot of the actual lightening strikes, lol).
Shortly after I got home, I saw that I had missed a call from my friend on my cell phone (Thanks for turning my ringer down without telling me, Honey!) so I called her back. "Oh, I was just calling to tell you about the tornados," she told me.
"WHAT?!?!? What tornados? Here???"
"Oh yeah!" She told me that we were under a tornado warning and that at least one had touched down, here in Vancouver! She saw that my car wasn't home and tried to call to let me know. Thankfully, I had been south instead of north, since that is where it had ended up going.
I should have turned the news on right then, I'm sure we had continual coverage seeing as how we NEVER get real tornados. We've had funnel clouds before, heck I've seen funnel clouds here... but we never get real, honest to goodness, categorized tornados. But by this time, my headache had turned into a migraine and I was in bad shape, and that was more important,so I just went to bed while Ryan watched Rori for me.
I finally got up about half an hour ago (my head still hurts but it's not as bad as before, thanks for asking ;) lol) and turned on the news. Sure enough, an F1 tornado touched down in Vancouver in at least 3 different locations. It's winds were 86-110 mph, the path was 2 miles long and 1/4 mile wide. Fortunately for us, it was all west and north of us. Unfortunately for those in those areas, thousands are out of power still because of it. :( There are a lot of home movies and pictures coming in, some are pretty impressive!
Acadia shared with us (maybe I'll have her post it in her blog too) that they were out at their lunch recess when the teachers started to yell at them to run inside. She said they were "herding" them and yelling, "Run, run, run!" She said she and her friends were thinking, "This must be serious, they NEVER tell us to run!" They were first guessing that their school was under "lock-down" but once inside, they were instructed to get on the ground with their heads on the floor and their hands over their heads, an exercise they've practiced before in "tornado drills", and they were told that there was a tornado in the area. She told me that a friend of hers was crying and I asked if she (Cadi) had been scared, she said yes. She said it kind of hurt to stay in that position, too. (I bet!) But she said that afterwards, the teachers talked to them about what had happened and assured them that the tornado had ended up being on the other side of town, but that they had needed to stay in that position just in case and kind of as another practice. I told her that since tornados are so unpredictable, it was really important for everyone to be careful because they can change directions and move so fast, you never know where they'll go next.
Fortunately, there have been no real injuries from the tornado but there has been a bit of damage. There was a boat house completely destroyed on Vancouver Lake, 90% the boats were destroyed too, it looks like. And there are lots of trees totally ripped out of the ground in the areas that were hit (several falling on cars or homes), as well as a lot of roofs stripped of their shingles, some with even the plywood torn off. (Mom, the pictures made me think of your house this weekend, the pictures from the air showed homes with large sections of just wood exposed and people were rushing to get tarps put over them before it got dark since we're expecting rain for the next few days still.) I don't envy them - especially since we JUST got our new roof put on!
Since no one got hurt, some of the stories that are coming out because of this are pretty entertaining. One man was working in some sort of construction, went to use the port-a-pot and as he was in it, the outhouse was lifted up and toppled over! Luckily, the guy had just been "finishing up" and was just "tossed" out the door before anything "unpleasant" got on him! (This guy headed home from work only to find a tree had fallen on his house! Double whammy, poor guy!) Other construction workers were digging a ditch when the tornado went right for them, they had to dive into the ditch they were digging to stay safe. One business put this on their billboard today, "Auntie Em It's a twister!" lol
So that was our excitment today! A tornado right here in Vancouver, WA!
Come on, Baby! Let's do the twist...
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
It's Christmas all over again!
I know people feel bad when they don't get their gifts in the mail in time for Christmas but I have to tell you, that getting Christmas presents even after Christmas is over is FUN! :)
Yesterday, a package arrived from my sister. It was full of fun and thoughtful gifts that I know we'll all enjoy! (I've already snacked on the chocolate! ;) lol) Here are the girls with their gifts since they both loved them so much!
So, Thank you Miriam! :D
Yesterday, a package arrived from my sister. It was full of fun and thoughtful gifts that I know we'll all enjoy! (I've already snacked on the chocolate! ;) lol) Here are the girls with their gifts since they both loved them so much!
So, Thank you Miriam! :D
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
She's such a sweet little deer.
I promise to post some pics and fun stories about Cadi soon. She truly is equally fun and cute, but she's in school half the day and that leaves twice as much time to get good dirt on Rori as it does for Cadi. I'll work harder to get some good material for you soon. ;)
Rori has this cheap little Disney Princess vanity that I bought at a thrift store months ago for only $5. She loves to open up the mirrors and talk to it. Lately she has been pushing up this little box that holds her blocks, using that as a seat, and sits there in front of the mirror, reading books. I finally got a few pics and thought I'd share them...
If you will remember, Acadia got sick during the last couple days of school before the Winter Break. This was especially sad because it meant that she missed performing with her classmates in their musical. :( She was additionally bummed that she wouldn't be getting her reindeer antlers to keep like the other kids. When she went back to school on Monday, they had saved hers for her! She was very happy to get them, even if she didn't get to perform with everyone else.
Rori loved how they jingled and just likes playing with anything of Sister's anyway, so she had them on more than Cadi did yesterday! lol Cadi asked me to take this pic of Rori and since she's such a sweet little dear, I did. :)
Rori has this cheap little Disney Princess vanity that I bought at a thrift store months ago for only $5. She loves to open up the mirrors and talk to it. Lately she has been pushing up this little box that holds her blocks, using that as a seat, and sits there in front of the mirror, reading books. I finally got a few pics and thought I'd share them...
If you will remember, Acadia got sick during the last couple days of school before the Winter Break. This was especially sad because it meant that she missed performing with her classmates in their musical. :( She was additionally bummed that she wouldn't be getting her reindeer antlers to keep like the other kids. When she went back to school on Monday, they had saved hers for her! She was very happy to get them, even if she didn't get to perform with everyone else.
Rori loved how they jingled and just likes playing with anything of Sister's anyway, so she had them on more than Cadi did yesterday! lol Cadi asked me to take this pic of Rori and since she's such a sweet little dear, I did. :)
Monday, January 7, 2008
Mommy's Little Helper
One of Rori's favorite games is to unfold the laundry. As soon as she sees a nice, clean, folded pile of clothes, she makes a beeline for it and starts to toss the articles of clothes all around the room. Isn't she helpful??? ;)
Yesterday, she planted herself next to a pile of her sister's laundry and started to toss. Apparently, one particular item caught her interest and instead of tossing it, she tried to put it on... Her head!!!
Before I post the pics, let me re-emphasize: THE CLOTHES ARE CLEAN!!! lol
Yesterday, she planted herself next to a pile of her sister's laundry and started to toss. Apparently, one particular item caught her interest and instead of tossing it, she tried to put it on... Her head!!!
Before I post the pics, let me re-emphasize: THE CLOTHES ARE CLEAN!!! lol
Sunday, January 6, 2008
One Step Closer
Just about any LDS parent of a 17 month old can relate to the countdown to the 18 month mark. We are SO looking forward to having Rori in nursery at church! It will be so nice to get to hear and even participate in a lesson!!! Since Rori turns 18 months at the end of this month, we've decided to start getting her adjusted to it by taking her in early and staying with her. Ryan took her in today and said she did GREAT!
We knew she'd love the toys and kids, duh! ;) But I wasn't sure how she would do when it was time to quiet down and listen to the short little lesson time. But apparently, she did well! This is such a relief! And I really hope it lasts. lol
We still don't plan on ditching her early, not unless the nursery workers actually twist our arm and nearly force us too. ;) But at least we'll be able to have a peaceful and pleasant time with her in there instead of fighting her in class or in the halls. And come the end of the month, she'll be "legal" and we'll be FREE!!!!
*Now watch them call us to be Nursery Workers next month! :P
We knew she'd love the toys and kids, duh! ;) But I wasn't sure how she would do when it was time to quiet down and listen to the short little lesson time. But apparently, she did well! This is such a relief! And I really hope it lasts. lol
We still don't plan on ditching her early, not unless the nursery workers actually twist our arm and nearly force us too. ;) But at least we'll be able to have a peaceful and pleasant time with her in there instead of fighting her in class or in the halls. And come the end of the month, she'll be "legal" and we'll be FREE!!!!
*Now watch them call us to be Nursery Workers next month! :P
Saturday, January 5, 2008
For Love of the Game x 2
Inspired by Cadi's comments, I decided that I really wanted to order that Brady jersey that Ryan wanted to give me for Christmas. I went to my amazon account where I had it on my wish list and ordered it! Yay!!!
Just an hour or two later, I checked our e-mails and when I was in our "family" e-mail, I saw an order confirmation from the nfl.shop! Looks like great minds think alike!!! Ryan ordered me a Brady jersey today, too!!! But I got the better deal. lol So I'm hoping he can cancel his. Turns out his order is backordered so I'm thinking we should be able to cancel it without a problem... I HOPE!!!
We've been meaning to order it since Christmas so how crazy that we both, without talking to each other, decided to buy the jersey today! lol
Just an hour or two later, I checked our e-mails and when I was in our "family" e-mail, I saw an order confirmation from the nfl.shop! Looks like great minds think alike!!! Ryan ordered me a Brady jersey today, too!!! But I got the better deal. lol So I'm hoping he can cancel his. Turns out his order is backordered so I'm thinking we should be able to cancel it without a problem... I HOPE!!!
We've been meaning to order it since Christmas so how crazy that we both, without talking to each other, decided to buy the jersey today! lol
For Love of the Game
A conversation that took place 5 minutes ago...
Cadi: Mom, high school football is on.
Me: Thanks honey, I like football but I usually only watch pro football.
Cadi: I know, that's why I told you. I wanted to hear you say 'no' to football. It's every girl's dream to not have her mom so intense in football. Mom you are too in love with football!
ROFL!!!
Cadi: Mom, high school football is on.
Me: Thanks honey, I like football but I usually only watch pro football.
Cadi: I know, that's why I told you. I wanted to hear you say 'no' to football. It's every girl's dream to not have her mom so intense in football. Mom you are too in love with football!
ROFL!!!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Do your friends lift you up or drag you down?
Today the YW went ice skating and it was lots of fun! I let Cadi come because it had been so long since she had been ice skating and she really likes going. It was really fun to watch the girls skate, they were so sweet and kind, helping each other. Here are some fun pics (The lighting was awful, so the quality isn't so great, sorry about that!)...
Thursday, January 3, 2008
"It's no bad thing to celebrate a simple life." - Bilbo Baggins
Today is J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday! Of course, he's dead... but it's still his birthday! ;) lol
And to celebrate, I'm going to post exciting Tolkien news (Which really is old news now because it was announced a couple of weeks ago but I was too busy to post it back then.^^) ...
Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema, along with MGM Studios, are finally going to be making The Hobbit! They have been in negotiations for years about the rights to the movie and they just last month came to an agreement! There will be two movies, filmed back to back (the same way that The Lord of the Rings was) and then released one year apart. The first movie will be out in 2010 and the second in 2011!
We are SO EXCITED! Just recently, Acadia "read" The Hobbit. (She didn't really read it, she listened to the unabridged book on tape during a couple of road trips. But close enough, she listened to it all.) She had asked if there was a movie she could watch now, and while we had to tell her "not yet" at that point, now we can say, "There will be!"
I'd say that's a great birthday gift to all of us! :D
And to celebrate, I'm going to post exciting Tolkien news (Which really is old news now because it was announced a couple of weeks ago but I was too busy to post it back then.^^) ...
Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema, along with MGM Studios, are finally going to be making The Hobbit! They have been in negotiations for years about the rights to the movie and they just last month came to an agreement! There will be two movies, filmed back to back (the same way that The Lord of the Rings was) and then released one year apart. The first movie will be out in 2010 and the second in 2011!
We are SO EXCITED! Just recently, Acadia "read" The Hobbit. (She didn't really read it, she listened to the unabridged book on tape during a couple of road trips. But close enough, she listened to it all.) She had asked if there was a movie she could watch now, and while we had to tell her "not yet" at that point, now we can say, "There will be!"
I'd say that's a great birthday gift to all of us! :D
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
2007, The Condensed Version
I think I did this last year, perhaps it was the year before... but the idea is to repost the first sentence of each month of the past year. Now, it's not really a review of the year but it's still kinda fun... so here goes!
January: It's two days late... but I'm sharing anyway.
February: Quit all the whining and complaining... (uh, okay so no one has whined or complained - or even mentioned it... lol).
March: I compile family video each year to share with our family since we live so far away and they miss out on seeing our family grow.
April: It's funny how General Conference always seemed SO LONG when I was little, but now it feels way too short!
May: I'm fairly sure that everyone who reads my blog knows this already but just to be clear...I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
June: Crappy Day, literally.
July: I can hardly believe that in less than one month Aurora will be a year old!
August: When we were younger, we had "Reading Club".
September: Today Aurora got it into her head that we should remodel our bathroom.
October: Rori has a cold.
November: I sure do love this kid but man, does she make me work!
December: I really have been wanting to blog about our trip and all the fun stuff going on right now but it has been CRAZY!
And there you have it, 2007.
January: It's two days late... but I'm sharing anyway.
February: Quit all the whining and complaining... (uh, okay so no one has whined or complained - or even mentioned it... lol).
March: I compile family video each year to share with our family since we live so far away and they miss out on seeing our family grow.
April: It's funny how General Conference always seemed SO LONG when I was little, but now it feels way too short!
May: I'm fairly sure that everyone who reads my blog knows this already but just to be clear...I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
June: Crappy Day, literally.
July: I can hardly believe that in less than one month Aurora will be a year old!
August: When we were younger, we had "Reading Club".
September: Today Aurora got it into her head that we should remodel our bathroom.
October: Rori has a cold.
November: I sure do love this kid but man, does she make me work!
December: I really have been wanting to blog about our trip and all the fun stuff going on right now but it has been CRAZY!
And there you have it, 2007.
Happy New Year!
I don't know about you, but I'm really excited for 2008!
I do want to set goals and just haven't really sat down and written them out yet, so I think I'll do that here and now.
I really need to get back on the healthy wagon! I have been awful the last few months! So, today is a new day and it starts now! I'm going to exercise at least 5 times a week (at least 30 minutes of cardio each day). I'm going to drink 8 glasses of water every day. And I'm going to get back to planning and making healthy meals for my family each night.
While I'd like to physically get smaller, spiritually I want to GROW! My goals are to have personal prayers morning and night, read my scriptures daily, and read the Ensign every month, cover to cover. I also want to read the lessons for RS from the new Joseph Smith manual, even though I'm not attending RS right now.
Those are all things I should be doing anyway and really have no excuse for not being consistent with them already. (Isn't that usually the case?) I really do have other goals too, but I think I need to really focus on these first. Then when I have made these habits again, I can move on to more.
Wish me luck! And good luck to you, in whatever goals you may have set!
I do want to set goals and just haven't really sat down and written them out yet, so I think I'll do that here and now.
I really need to get back on the healthy wagon! I have been awful the last few months! So, today is a new day and it starts now! I'm going to exercise at least 5 times a week (at least 30 minutes of cardio each day). I'm going to drink 8 glasses of water every day. And I'm going to get back to planning and making healthy meals for my family each night.
While I'd like to physically get smaller, spiritually I want to GROW! My goals are to have personal prayers morning and night, read my scriptures daily, and read the Ensign every month, cover to cover. I also want to read the lessons for RS from the new Joseph Smith manual, even though I'm not attending RS right now.
Those are all things I should be doing anyway and really have no excuse for not being consistent with them already. (Isn't that usually the case?) I really do have other goals too, but I think I need to really focus on these first. Then when I have made these habits again, I can move on to more.
Wish me luck! And good luck to you, in whatever goals you may have set!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)