Day 22 - Take Out

Take out is many things.  It is a life saver, a treat, a comfort, a necessity, a luxuary and a bargain.  Yesterday, I went by Tia Rosas and had my lunch/dinner.  It was about 2:30 pm on a Friday and I knew that we weren't going out.  Josh had baseball practice and Brett had a Birthday party.  So, I stopped by to splurge on Tia Rosas.  Actually it was only $5.26.  (Chips are $1 which really gets me, but I can't NOT have chips.)  The shrimp taco is my favorite and  I could literally drink the Green salsa. All is good, when Tia Rosas's is part of the day.

Saturday Morning and Brett had ball practice.  Josh was complaining that he was starving and could not live another minute without food.  So McDonald's we went!  Sausage McMuffin with Cheese no egg is $1. He was satisfied and so was I.  I love Take out!!!

Day 21 - Deadlines

Deadlines...everyone has them.  Sometimes, if they are really important they can be called "Drop Dead Dates," which really makes it seem worse.  When I look back and see how I got to this place, it always starts with the word, "Sure, I can do that."    My Grandma Crockett who lived until she was 104 told me one time that her secret to longevity was, reading, eating chocolate everyday and saying "No."  This however is easier for some people but apparently not for me. 

This week and next week I have a few Deadlines, with a few Drop Deads thrown in there.  I think I am pretty lucky that I don't live with deadlines every day, because my stomach and my house can't handle them.  I look at my poor floor and wonder when I will get to it.  It is calling me every day, but not until after a few deadlines have past, will I be able to breathe and mop.

Sleep also seems to be fitful when deadlines loom.  I wake up and start thinking of everything I need to do.  It is not like I can actually DO much about it at 2 in the morning.  But none the less, I still do.  My deadline that I am looking forward to is Spring Break.  Then, I will  have crossed off all the things that are on my mind right now and I can relax and do something fun.

In the meantime, I will try to stop reaching for the chocolate (well maybe only 1 a day per Grandma Crockett), make a plan and take it day by day until March 12th is here. 

Day 20 - UPS Day

Today is actually President's day and we celebrated it by waking up early and going to family day at UPS.  We arrived there by 8:00 am and the boys munched on some Rice Krispie squares and Capri Sun's (a step up from donuts for breakfast). There were a lot of kids diligently making posters to hold up and wave when all the UPS drivers were leaving for the day.

The Safety Motto for UPS is "The Most Important Stop of the Day is pulling into your own Driveway."  They invited the families down to tour the facility.  It was fun to see our family picture up on the wall with other families.  They want to stress the importance of safe driving!

After watching the drivers meet for a meeting and head out of the hub for the day, we took a tour of the facility which was fun.  The highlight for the kids was seeing where there Dad "works" and watching all of those big trucks head out.

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Day 19 - Rainy Saturday

This weekend Mike went down to Rocky Point with his Brother and friends to golf for the weekend.  The boys and I had a fun weekend together, even though it rained.  We started off by taking Brett to his baseball practice that lasted for about an hour and a half.  It hadn't started raining yet, but it was blowing and sprinkling.  Josh and I (well mostly I) headed for the truck to get out of the weather and watched Spider Man in the back of the truck while we waited for Brett.  During one of the scary parts, Josh grabbed my hand for a little comfort.  After a minute, I realized what he had done so I snapped a picture of it.  They grow up so quickly and soon he will be too big to hold on to me during the scary parts. 

After Baseball, we headed home because it was really starting to blow around.  Leaves were scattered all around the lawn and street as a result of the Frozen Ficuses from the hard freeze we had a couple of weeks ago..  When we got out of the car, Josh grabbed a rake and started raking leaves.  I pretty much ignored him, because I thought it was a lost cause.   There was a storm brewing you know.  The next time I checked on him, I noticed our neighbor across the street had his Green Barrel out and a rake as well.  I told Brett to get a jacket on and go help with the leaves.  By the time I got out there, the neighbor had his wife helping too. After another 5 minutes we had 3 more neighborhood kids come down to help as well and we got about 3 Green barrels filled with leaves, just in time for it to start raining!

For dinner, Brett had been craving Panda Express so we hit that and then we saw "Never say Never" with Justin Beiber.  Surprise!  I really liked it!  Josh whistled the whole movie and Brett kept on commenting that he couldn't believe he hadn't been formally trained.  I told him that he might not have, but he practiced everyday!!  Jury is still out if he got the message.  What a great Saturday, a little work and a little play.  It was perfect!

Day 18 - Spots

Sorry, the last two posts I left in Edit Mode and did not publish, so I posted 16, 17 and 18 at the same time. 

Today, I went to the Dermatologist to do a "Spot" Check. otherwise known as a mole check but I like the word "Spot" much better.  I have a Spot on my back that has changed and I was worried about it, so I made an appointment.  I did the whole body look-see which was a little weird, but I was glad I did it.  The two places I was worried about ended up just being really just a cosmetic nuisance, so I had the Dr. freeze those puppies off.  I did however have a "Spot" that was suspicious that I would have never noticed.  The Dr. didn't like the look of it so she scraped it off and it is being sent in to be tested.  I was really glad I made the appointment.  Everyone needs to make a Spot Check appointment, you never know what they will find!

Also today, we had our house repainted.  After 13 years, it was time for a spruce up.  The painters started this morning and were finished by four o'clock, just in time for the rain that is forecasted for tomorrow.  Tonight at dinner (Peter Piper Pizza) as I was ready to leave, I picked up my bag and found a "Spot" on it.  What the heck!!  I first thought it was food, but on further inspection I noticed the spot looked like my new house paint color.  Oh My.  This is serious, very serious..  I don't want to ruin my bag, it was a special gift from Mike this Christmas. I really hope I can get it out without damaging the leather!! 

As I reflected on the severity of the two types of spots today, I was proud of myself that I had made my Dr.'s appointment a priority.  I was successful in removing a spot that could have caused me damage.   The other spot on my new bag, if I get it out or not, we will see.  But I am sure, life will go on.

Here is a picture of my Spot on the Bag, I think I will spare you a picture of the other Spots. 

Day 17 - GIrl Scout Cookies

Oh yeah!!  I have been sick the last couple of days and have tried to feel sorry for myself.  I have received some sympathy from some co-workers and family (although my kids didn't seem to be too sympathetic..weird..)  but today I felt better, I finally wanted to eat again and this has been my breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Some days, that is just how it goes.

The thin mints are gone and now I am working on the Samoas..

Day 16 - Informercials

Everyone likes to watch infomercials.  You usually watch them and say, "Cool!"  Also, if you watch it long enough you might be tempted to buy it, but only a select few actually go to the effort to make that call.  My husband is one of those select few.  I realized his fondness for infomercials early on in our marriage when he bought the "Flobee."  This is a hair cutting tool that you attach to your vacuum.  I only wish I was kidding.  He thought that it would be cool to give himself a haircut and save money.  He tried to give his brother a haircut with it, but no one trusted it.  Surprise.

Since then we received some good and some not so good products like dehydrator, vitamins, food slicer, ab-rocker, some fake tanning stuff for me and most recently the Xpress Redi Set Go!  These suckers can cook a steak in 8 minutes and also makes omelets like a dream.  The kicker is that they were buy one get one free so we have two!   Why two?  Just in case we need a quick birthday present, we are covered.  Here is Brett opening up our newest kitchen appliance.

Sunday, we christened this little machine by making Stuffed French Toast it was really good!!  

Day 15 WNE-123

Tonight at my Mom's house, my brother, sister (Cynthia) and I were telling stories from when we were growing up.  Some of the grandkids were listening in and thought some of the stories were amusing and some were boring.  But we enjoyed it!!  Somehow the conversation came around to me and my driving habits.  My driving record was not pretty from about 16 years old to 21.  I think I got at least 5 tickets and was involved in 3 accidents.  It was a miracle my parents continued to let me drive.  I am surprised that I was able to get insured actually!!

  My first car was a purple Cadillac with zebra interior, I inherited it from my Granny.  The back of that thing was so roomy, we could fit at least 8 people in the back (of course they were sitting on the floor and on each other's laps, but we all made it to McDonald's for lunch!!  I had to park this car in a separate parking lot from the rest of the cars at school, because the car was so low it wouldn't make it over the speed bumps!

My second car was a Datsun 200 SX. it's nick name was Winnie (WNE-123 was the license plate number).  It was a hand me down from my Dad.   This car had a stick shift.  I of course provided lessons to all my friends on how to drive a stick.   Stalling at the intersection was always fun times.  My sister Karen and I shared this car.  I remember once when I came home with the car, I was planning on heading out again and Karen took the keys to head out herself.  I started running after her, reminding her that it was my turn for the car.  She didn't really care, because she had the keys.  She jumped in the car to take off and I sprawled out on the hood of the car and held on to prove my point.  Well, she was a little crazy and she could care less that I was on the hood of the car.  She took off down the street with me on top of the carl.  Well, I quickly turned my pleading to, "It's my turn" to "Stop the car!!"  Before she went down the busy street, she finally stopped the car to let me off.  She waited for me to get off the hood, then went on her merry way.  

That is just one of many,many stories of Winnie, after I graduated from High School, the car got passed down to Karen, then to Cynthia, then it went to Pam (Jeff's wife) after they were married.   Mike had the job of selling the car.  He sold it to a deserving little family and as they were about to take off, he told them to wait and had the idea of saving the license plate.  My Mom had it framed and put in our childhood room.  Well that room eventually got redecorated and I became the proud owner of the license plate.  I am sure I have a picture of the car somewhere, but for right now, here is a picture of the plate.  Memories...

Day 14 - Reflection

Today started with a funeral.  It seems like any time I attend a funeral, I take the opportunity to reflect on my own life.  At this particular funeral, I did not know the young man, but I do know his family.  I brought Scott with me, he is a friend of our family who Mike had worked with in the Priest quorum.  He has since moved away from our ward.  The Father of the young man who passed away, had been Scott's home teacher for years.  When I picked him up for the funeral, he had told me this was his first funeral he had ever attended and he was nervous.  I told him that it will be similar to a church service and also it is different from other funerals because it is so positive because the gospel explains the plan of salvation.  We know what happens when we pass away from this earthly life and the promise of being together with your family is an eternal truth.

The hymn that we sang at the end of the service was, "I Believe in Christ."  The last verse stood out for me. 

I believe in Christ, he stands supreme!
From him I'll gain my fondest dream,
And while I strive through grief and pain.
His voice is heard "Ye shall obtain."
I believe in Christ, so come what may.
With him I'll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men. 

Day 13 - HomeRun

Day 13.  I love the number thirteen.  I got married on the 13th, I am sure not many people do that!!  I also think the engineers shouldn't avoid Floor # 13 in Hotels or Buildings.  Obviously there is a floor 13 stories high, but "they" think they can pacify the patrons on the13th story by calling it 14.  Whatever.  Sooo, on Day 13 of my 30 day blog fest,  I was able to go to Brett's school and tell him he made the baseball team he had tried out for.  He has been so sad for about 5 days because he was told he didn't make it.  Well, after some clarification as to where his loyalties lie (i.e. Little League vs. Legacy League) he was happily accepted on the team. 

I pulled him out of class, trying not to smile.  He asked what was up and I handed him the phone.  His Dad was on the other line and broke the good news to him.  He was super happy, he had practiced very hard for the last month and really wanted it.  I wanted him to remember this day, so I am glad I can document it and his happy face.

Congrats Brett!!  You earned this place on the team!

Day 12- Yin and Yang

Some days are good and some days are bad.  Today is one of those days that are both, which is really not so uncommon.  This morning was great because I got to sleep in 40 minutes longer than usual, the kids got up and breakfast went smoothly.  Then it turned ugly when Brett decided his pencil swap with Josh the night before needed to be amended.  Really??  A fight over who has which pencil?  I tried to put everyone in separate corners and tabled the discussion until after school.  Luckily, they were all smiles and back to friends a few minutes before they were ready to catch the carpool. 

The next few hours were blissful.  I got to exercises and meet up with some friends to see a movie.  How cool is it to see a movie in the morning, LOVE IT!!  After the movie, I  rushed off to get the kids to a dentist appointment.  So far so good.  I should have gone straight home after the dentist, but I pushed my luck and decided to do a few errands. 

We stopped at Barnes and Noble which can be enjoyable, but Josh kept trying to lose me.  That kid never stays next to me.  He is a doddler and a dodger.  Trying to find him in the stacks of books is a lost cause.  When it was time to leave, Josh insisted on buying a book 5 inches thick entitled, "America, A  Patriots History."  I told him it was a Grandpa book and he couldn't read it.  Heck, I can't read it either.  He opened the book and started reading the words that were familiar to him like, "come" and "this" Brett meanwhile was on the floor reading a $20 Coffee table book about Baseball Stadiums.  He was convincing me that he would pay half, if I could pay the other half.  Sorry, nice try.

We then went to AJ's to find a treat.  Brett and Josh began performing Karate on each other which is perfectly normal behavior, until someone gets hurt.  I bought some yummy chocolates to try to ease the pain, Josh accepted the offering while Brett insisted I use the money for a better offering which of course involved Chicken Nuggets. 

Next stop Walmart.  The car ride involved bickering, fighting, back to friends again.  They can switch so quickly back and forth it drives me crazy.  I promised a quick trip to Walmart and I also promised some new pencils.  Of course when we first get there, Josh wants to go straight to the pencil aisle.  I am not fighting this power struggle, so I send his brother with him.  When I meet up with them 15 minutes later, they aren't where they are supposed to be, but have veered to the boys section where they have a handful of clothes in there arms.  Again, another whine-fest ensues and we head to the counter with a few tears.  Finally, we check out and head home.  This car ride home is fun because Josh doesn't want to sit in a seat, he rather sit in the very back.  We wait for about 5 minutes until he decides he rather go home with me buckled in, rather than wait on the curb outside WalMart until someone he recognizes can give him a ride home.  (I know that was bad, but hey, I gave him a choice!)

We finally get home and the peace comes back when Dad arrived about an hour later. The boys head outside to practice Fly balls and I got in my car and headed to Costco.  I found Bliss again, perusing the books there, since my Barnes and Noble stop didn't yield any peaceful browsing time.

I guess all days have the good and bad, tomorrow, we will see.  It is a Friday, so hopefully it is filled with more GOOD!!

Day 11 - Christmas Concert

I love the School Christmas Concert because it really gets you in the mood for Christmas. Even though it is always a hectic time of year, its nice to finally sit down for a little while and hear some Christmas Music. The boy's are usually singing the Christmas songs around the house a few weeks prior to the concert, so it is nice to hear what the songs are really supposed to sound like.

After the concert, Grandma gave the boys some Christmas treats. They each got one of those big long tubes filled with M & M's. Of course as we are ready to take the pictures after the concert, the treats become props.

Almost perfect by the end there. Of course Josh is not as a happy posing for a picture if he can't have any fun.  By the way, Josh's suit jacket is, of coure, Brett's from when he was eight.  He was determined to wear it to the Christmas Concert so he could dress up.  Josh can't wait to be big, this growing up business is taking longer than he can possibly stand. 

Day 10 - Happy

 

Today my nails made me happy. Funny how little things can affect our mood for the whole day. Last night I cruised the cosmetic section at CVS becuase I had $9.50 in extra bucks to spend. CVS had these 75% off stickers on discountinued cosmetic items and I got a few gems. I picked up a Sally Hansen Nail Laquer Pen, I couldn't pass it up. I used it this morning in my car on my way to school and painted one hand. What could be better than painting your nails in the car? No mess, easy and it made me happy. When I got to work, I quickly painted the other hand and stuck the Nail pen in my purse. Perfect.

On my way home I snapped this picture. As I looked at it on the computer I noticed my rings. My wedding ring makes me smile, not only because it is from a pawn shop, but it reminds me of an eager 22 year old guy who wanted to buy me a ring without any input from me. He also wanted to pay cash. I even remember the pawn shop "Owing" this 22 year old guy a favor. Strange story for another time. On my middle finger is a ring I received from my parents when I was 17 years old on my birthday. I remember asking for a gold ring, I didn't really have any thing in particular in mind, I knew I just wanted it simple. These rings have never left my fingers since the day I received them, and that makes me happy.

Day 9 - Triple Stack

Brett had a piano recital this weekend. He participated in the Dueling Piano's which is a performance by a group of kids playing the same song together in duets. He of course did not want to do it when his piano teacher (who is also his Aunt) suggested it to him. I told him that he had to have the experience at least once. So he practiced for a month on his songs and had to attend 4 practices. The final product was on Saturday at Mountain View. He was pretty excited to perform on the stage. After the recital he got to pick where he wanted to eat. He picked In and Out, which was better than McDonalds!

As we walked in, he announced he wanted a triple with cheese. I was sure he wouldn't finish it and I was right, but he did better than I thought. He left about 1/4 of it. Congrats Brett on finishing something you necessarily didn't want to do. That in itself is quite an accomplishment!!

ENJOY YOUR HAMBURGER!!

Day 8 - Sunday

Sunday is my day I do indexing. Our Bishop gave us a goal of 50 names a week. Today with the Super Bowl, it took a little longer to get my batch of 50 done. I also went to church, played ping-pong in between, made dinner, made banana bread, had dinner, cleaned up, watched some Super Bowl, went by my parents house for a little bit and started a movie with the kids. I just finished my batch at 9:25pm. At least it is done and I feel good!

Have a great week everyone!!

Day 7 - Grateful

I have been sitting at my computer for an hour trying to update the Little League Website. My husband had volunteered me to run it. I am glad he thinks I can do it, he has the utmost confidence in me. I usually can figure computer stuff out, but I have been having a hard time with this one. I even got an "Expert" opinion on what to do, but this expert was way out of my league. He talked in Computer speak and I tried to keep up. So with confidence, I sat down to tinker with the updates and, the session with the computer genius was lost on me. I am stuck. So, while I ponder what to do next, I will talk about my morning at our Relief Society Conference.

I was a little late getting there, because I was waiting for Josh to get up. On Saturdays, I hate to wake him up if he doesn't need to be anywhere. Mike and Brett were already off to baseball practice and I was going to drop Josh off at his friends house until he was ready for his baseball practice at 10:30.

Anyway, I was able to attend three mini classes. The first was on Parenting: Sink or Swim, which was taught by the lovely and talented Kelli Brown. It was a great lesson of course and I was reminded to stick in there and don't let the little things get in the way of the big picture. Her advice was to pick your battles and always be your child's biggest cheerleader. I love to get parenting tips, it always makes me want to try harder to prepare my kids the best I can. Thanks Kelli!

The second class was on "Creative ways to cheer and brighten someones day". The ladies who taught it were ultra creative and it was fun to see new ideas for gift giving. They did stress the importance of showing someone you care by making your gifts meaningful. The way you do this is by showing you Feel the way others feel, also giving should always be free, (no need for a response from the person you gifted) and always try to have an element of sacrifice, to show it is truly from the heart.

The third class was on Gratitude. Pres. Monson has stressed the importance of living a life filled with Gratitude. If you are always looking for things in your life to be grateful for, your mindset will change and in turn, your life can change. This speaker also stressed the importance of Giving and also Receiving Gratitude. We did an exercise that was really amazing. The speaker wanted each of us to take five minutes and write a Thank you note. This Thank You note was to ourselves. We were to write it as if Heavenly Father was writing it for us. She asked us to ponder and pray for a few moments, then begin to write. It was a very moving experience writing a Thank you note to yourself. The teacher was demonstrating how much our Heavenly Father loves us right now, not our perfect selves which we hope one day we will become, but ourselves today, flaws and all. This exercise really brought to my mind how much my Heavenly Father loves me and is grateful for me, today.

I am glad that I was able to go to the RS conference this morning, it has helped me to become a better person than I was yesterday. And for that I am Grateful.

Day 6 - Surprise

Brett has a friend who had a birthday the other day. He wanted to give him a fun gift so he decorated a big box and filled it with tissue paper. Inside the gift, he put a couple of dollar store presents as decoy gifts. His friend, RJ, really wanted a Tornado necklace, just like Brett has. Brett taped the necklace on the bottom of the box underneath some paper. RJ was really surprised, although he liked the dollar gifts too (If I got silly string as a 12 year old I would be happy!)

Brett was more excited for RJ to open his present, he even wanted us to videotape it.
Please excuse the pics because I misplaced/can't find/lost my camera, so for right now I have to use my phone. It doesn't take the best pictures but it will have to do until I find/buy a camera!

Brett and his Decorated Birthday Present

 

Brett and RJ with matching necklaces :)

Day 5- Winter Break

It's hard to believe I haven't blogged about the last few months, so I am glad I can catch up and I won't even feel guilty about it! :)

For Winter Break we were lucky enough to travel to Florida. Our friend, Heidi, opened her house to us so we could spend some quality time with her family. They recently moved to Orlando to be closer to Heidi's Mom and sisters after her husband passed away about a year ago. We miss them and can't wait till we get to go back!!

On the plane ride over there, most everyone we talked with was headed to one place...Harry Potter Adventure! That was our main stop as well. It is in the Adventureland part of Universal Studios. The park itself was kind of crowded, but not bad. When we arrived at the Harry Potter portion of the park it was PACKED! It was soo worth it though.

There are three rides that make up the Harry Potter experience, The Dueling Dragons which was the big roller coaster, The Hippogriff roller coaster, which is a smaller roller coaster, then the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which was inside the Hogwarts Castle. This one was by far the best, the line was long, just over an hour. Of course there was Hogsmead, with all the shops.. It was so cool!


Entering the park


Hogwarts Ride



Owl Post at Hogsmead

Hipogriff

Entering Hogwarts


Hogsmead

Brett picking out his wand at Olivanders!

Butter Beer- The best drink I have ever had..Seriously, it was so tasty!

Hogwarts Express

The boys think they are clever!


This is the type of Rollercoaster that Brett wanted to ride. Mike and I took turns going with him, because I have a limit!

Josh chilling with me while we wait for Brett.

The boys catching a wave.


We visited two beaches while we were there, Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach. My favorite was Cocoa, the boys like Daytona. They like the fact that you can drive on the beach. It is quite convenient to have your car right there. You don't have to drag all your stuff with you. Jacob was able to hang with us that day, his Mom let him go a half day to school. We played in the sand and had Burger King, what could be better?? The water was so warm and no seaweed. It was heaven.









In Orlando, there is the world's largest McDonalds. It had a Peter Piper Pizza theme, with arcade games that spit out tickets. They had a prize counter to cash in your tickets. They also had a small bowling area. The menu was different too, they had an omelet station and an ice cream bar. I got a Turkey wrap with a Spinach tortilla. Nice!





Of course we had to get up close and personal with some alligators while we were there. Wow, it was so cool to see those suckers up close. We took an airboat ride and our guide was really good in finding the hiding places.



The Alligators don't even touch the Cattle.



While we were in Cocoa beach, we stopped by the Ron Jon Shop to see this famous surf shop.



The boys also visited a Miniature Golf place. The allure to this spot was that the hazards were filled with Alligators! Yikes..They were actually baby alligators about three feet long. You could even feed the alligators by putting a hot dog on the end of a fishing pole for $3. The boys were game to do it. Not me though!






We ended up at Downtown Disney to end the trip. I begged the boys to go to another Amusement park, but they just wanted to hang out and play with Jacob. I at least got a couple of pictures next to Mickey, that IS why people go to Orlando after all.