When you don't have plans.....

When you are the parent of small children, and your spouse is gone, there isn't too much to do. I don't have to worry about making a decent dinner. I still make something, but not as much as I would normally. I don't have to worry about what the house looks like....well, I still worry, but I do it when I can rather than worry about if he might get upset. Which he rarely does. One of the things that is so nice about him. We don't have any kind of schedule. In fact, at this moment, it is 9:17 in the morning and all of us are in our pj's. The kids are watching Super Why and so far this morning I've spent 45 minutes reading a book, then I checked my email, checked ebay (working on Andrews bday present), went to the gap to make sure I still wanted everything in my basket, and then checked my blogs. No one has eaten. I have a Wii Fit that I need to try, but so far I've only opened it up and looked at it. Hopefully I'll get to it this morning. I have recipe cards that I want to make, and the stuff is still sitting on my dining room table. I want to read my book, cross stitch, sit around and just do laundry today. Maybe vacuum. I'll probably take the kids to either the pool or the park. Yesterday we spent a lot of time at Target. I haven't been there in months. It was nice to not have to hurry home or have anything that I had to do. If my kids didn't need to get out and play, I would be content to just stay here all day in my pj's, getting things that I want to do, done. Heck, I might not even shower. I love summer for these reasons. When Andrew will start school, things won't be so lax around here. Which reminds me, I keep forgetting his school supply list every time we go to a store. I hope your summer is as lazy as mine. I love this kind of summer!!! How is your summer going??

Shaky

There was an earthquake at home today. A 5.4. I know that to most of you that means nothing. But for me just the thought of an earthquake I have to sit down. The epicenter wasn't very far from my parents house either. It wasn't a rolling one, apparently, it was a quick jolt type one. You can tell the difference pretty easily. Anyway, thankfully it seems that there isn't any major damage. I remember hearing about the HUGE earthquakes in Japan and China. I cannot imagine that. Our buildings in So Cal are built to withstand earthquakes, whereas the buildings in Japan and China are not. Many are actually built on rollers, and sway. I've been on a fourth floor during an earthquake, and it sure feels stronger than when you're on the bottom floor. I hope none of you ever have to experience something like a big earthquake. They just really suck.

Only in the South

I'm sitting at my computer, while watching the news (not on purpose) and I overhear that our Governor is having shoulder surgery. And the newscaster said that this Governor would have to refrain from strenuous activity such as basketball, golf, SHOOTING, and NASCAR driving. What?? I don't know much about our Governor, but I doubt many Governors get behind the wheel of a Nascar racing car. But then again, who knows.

All alone

Matt left today, after sacrament meeting at church. He sang in church today with some other guys. It was kind of funny because he sang the wrong verse on his solo. No one noticed except for me and I think the missionaries.

So, we are without our dad for a month. Andrew had a hard time of it when he first left, but Lucy was more concerned with going to class. And now I'm watching the new Pride and Prejudice. Andrew is having a popsicle. Lucy is sleeping. And there is a HUGE storm brewing outside. I'm always nervous when we have a lot of lightning and wind. There is a huge tree about ten feet from our house, and if the wind ever got strong enough, or if it got hit......the kids room is the closest. It just makes me nervous. And I'm also worried about Matt driving all alone. Logically, I know he's a good driver, and that he'll be fine. But I'm still anxious about it. We've been invited to a friends house for dinner, so that is something to look forward to. Sometimes rainy Sundays can be really long.....maybe I'll make cookies........

Evil Bookstores

Well, they really aren't evil. But those darn bargain book sections just get me every time. Matt needed a few things from B&N. We don't have a Borders around here. So, I called up my trusty late night shopper friend (who's going to do that when you're gone????) and we headed over. I found Matt's insanely-expensive-for-how-tiny-they-are medical books. Then of course, I had to go and browse the cheap books. I did buy one book for Andrew for his birthday. And I got something for Lucy too. I also found me a French Verb review book which I really need. My tenses are a disaster, and the books I have just aren't doing it for me. I found a nice book of staff paper, which I will eventually use when I go back to school and take my music classes. (cause I will go back) I found a few other books, and I'm really excited to read them. I'm trying to make my stack of books smaller, not larger. And if you're connected with me on goodreads, you would know that I have been reading. Just not as much as I have in the past. Anyway, I'm working on my reading. I am now determined to not go back to that store as they want to suck me dry. And I didn't even get the Merde book that I've been wanting.....maybe next year when I allow myself to go back.......(I think it might still be trying to make up for the two and a half years of only having aafes bookstores to shop in, and walking into a store like B&N or Borders is just so exhilarating I can hardly stand it. Or maybe it's just my lack of self control. Who knows.)

This saves me

When we lived in Germany, my kids were really little. I also taught piano. And was home a lot without Matt as he was gone a lot performing all over the place. A lot of my students were siblings. Which was great. The parents would bring all of them at the same time and the ones that weren't getting a lesson would play with my kids. It was fabulous. Then I got an idea of having some of the older girls, but not old enough to babysit without me there, to come over and play with my kids so that I could get things done. I would pay them, not as much as a regular sitter, but still to a ten year old that really doesn't get to earn money, it was cool for them. I wasn't really able to do this in Texas because I didn't know a lot of girls that were around that age. Well, now that we're here in North Carolina, I have found more!! They are sisters, one is 8 and the other is 10 or 11. They are here right now playing with my kids and hopefully getting them to clean up their room a little more. This really helped save me in Germany. And with Matt leaving this weekend, this will probably save me for this month. Not exactly what I'll do this morning, but I have about 5 things that I want to do. I'm going to do this once a week while Matt is gone. And I know it will be well worth the money!!!!

Go read these

There is an awesome post on Feminist Mormon Housewives today. Go here to read it. What I love about it, is how this can happen in any social situation. PTA, FRG, or just in your neighborhood, not just in a church setting. It makes you think more about what you say. I LOVED it.

Another great post is this one on Rocks in my Dryer. Being the oldest of six kids, I can understand where this mother of so many is coming from. Every Thursday she has a guest poster talking about her perspective in her life. She's had one from a mother with autistic children, a mother that has lost a baby, and a few others. I think one was a military wife too. I LOVE how this lets you see into another perspective and gets you out of your own little box. It really opens your eyes.

In other news, Matt leaves this weekend for a whole month. He will be doing a rotation at another military post. Good things of him leaving: don't have to share car or computer for a month. (well, I hope he doesn't take the computer) Bad things: I'm all alone all day every day with my kids. With no help. We will be going to the pool and the park and maybe going to DC to see friends and my brother. He will also miss Andrews first day of real school. But we will survive. Because honestly, a month goes by fast. He isn't deployed, so that is also a good thing. And how many other wives out there have had to be on their own for those long fifteen month deployments??? Yeah, I have nothing to whine about. And please understand (for those of you not in the military) why I may have little to no empathy when your husbands leave for a few days or maybe as much as a week. For us, it's a normal thing, and rather than whining, we just do it. Well, most of us just do it. There are the few that whine. (thank goodness I don't know any of those wives right now. I knew one in Germany, and boy, I wanted to give her a good kick. Anne, you know who I'm talking about......) So, no sympathy for me. Don't need it. Just keep my kids for me once or twice so that I can keep my sanity. :) Have a good Thursday!!

Yay!!!

My brother (not the red haired one, but the married one) called me today, and told me he might be in Washington DC next month. A friend is moving out there, and asked him to drive out there with him. I am very excited because I haven't seen this brother for 18 months. I didn't think I would see him for a while. Unfortunately, his wife wouldn't be going with him, because I still haven't met her yet. Can't have everything I guess. The kids are already excited to go to the museums with him. To be honest, so am I. And maybe we'll get to do a few things that Camille and I weren't able to do. She wanted to go and see the DC temple. But we didn't. Kinda feel bad about that one. Anyway, wanted to share some good news!!!! Can you tell my family doesn't visit very much???

Have you ever heard of this happening???

My phone rang yesterday and when I saw who was calling I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Because it was my dad. And usually when he calls me, someone has died. So I really didn't want to answer but I did. Luckily, this time, no one died. But he called to tell me about my brother. The one with the red hair. He hasn't made too good of choices in his life, and he doesn't have a consistent way to get a hold of him. So we rarely talk. We have so little in common. It's kind of sad. But there is a whole history. ANYWAY.....he had been pitching in a baseball game on Sunday either in or near the Rose Bowl, and mid-pitch, his arm broke. His arm went limp and he went down. Paramedics rushed over and took him to the nearest hospital. Which you know where that's at if you know where the Rose Bowl is. The kind of break he had was a spiral break. Which I know nothing about. But when I told Matt, he said "oohh, yeah, that's not good." His arm requires much more than a simple setting of the bone and a cast for a few weeks. He needed surgery to repair it. Which they did. Talked to him a little on the phone tonight. I guess he'll be out of the hospital tomorrow. This is going to cost him a fortune. It will take 3 to 6 months to completely heal. The boy already has a hard time keeping a job for longer than a few months. I don't know what he's been doing, but he can't do much anymore. The guy that had asked him to come and play has some insurance, but my dad isn't sure how much it's really going to pay. I feel bad for my brother because of the break and that whole thing, but I don't feel bad about his bad choices in life that keep him from keeping a job. In some ways, he is the product of my parents ignorance. They just didn't know enough, weren't aware, and honestly, weren't paying him enough attention to really push to find out what was going on with him. So now he is an adult, that doesn't socialize well, that has convinced himself that things that really happened didn't, and overall is just a disaster. And whats really sad, is that after him, I'm my parents other difficult child. Yeah, me with my squeaky clean record. Me with only staying out after curfew and not having a perfectly clean room. Which just kills me. And I'm still not easy for them. My mom has no idea why we just don't want to talk to her all the time and ask her for advice. Yeah, no thanks. Cause she has been so empathetic our whole lives. (said VERY sarcastically) So, yeah. My brothers arm broke mid pitch. How crazy is that? Note to self: never become so strong that my muscles break my bone in the middle of doing something. (I really don't know exactly what causes a spiral break, and even if I did look it up, I wouldn't understand it anyway.)

Birthdays

I've been looking all over Ebay for the kids birthday gifts. And all over the internet. Andrews leapster died, so we're going to get him another one, with a few games. There are a ton on Ebay, but I'm just watching a few to see what they are going for right now. At Walmart, for just the actual system, it's $50. And each game is about $20. Not sure what we'll get yet, but I'm hoping for a system with a few games. For Lucy, I want to get her a play kitchen. But the ones I like are WAY too expensive. So, I was looking into some smaller things, and I found this on the Land of Nod. I love it! It is small, easily put away, and it comes with the cutest wooden cooking things. I'm trying to convince Matt it is a better choice than getting some plastic kitchen thing. I'm trying to get toys that will last a while, and not have just cheap stuff around the house. (need to go through and throw stuff away too) So, I thought it would be good to get some wooden play food. And Melissa and Doug have some play food that I was thinking about getting. But then I found this website. I love this place! The shipping is pretty reasonable, and they have the coolest toys. And they are German toys!!! I fell in love with German toys when we lived there. I was thinking about sending some friends that still live there some money so they could get me some cool stuff. But now I don't have to. I love the wooden play food on this website. I'm going to order a fairly large order, and then save half of it for Christmas for Lucy. And get Andrew a marble run. Because when we were in DC, he found one at a gift shop, and really wanted it, but I knew I could get a better one online. So, I convinced him to get something else. And I found this. Only $3 more than the plastic one he wanted, but made of bamboo and much cooler because it comes with wooden marbles, not glass ones.

I spent a lot of time yesterday morning searching around for this stuff. I found some of the wooden food on ebay, but it was actually cheaper on this website. Can you tell I'm excited about it? We have some wooden blocks that I bought in Germany, and we love them. I also bought some at Tuesday Morning. They have buckets of blocks that are German made, and we love them! And they'll last forever.

I also sent an email to their grandparents, telling them what we're doing, and letting them know they are welcome to contribute to what we're getting them. Or get them something that goes along with it. No one has said anything, but that's ok. It was just a suggestion. Hopefully they don't take offense. I did say that if they didn't want to contribute, or get something that goes along with it, to please remember that we move a lot, and that stuffed animals take up a lot of space and just get full of dust mites. I really hate stuffed animals. No kid needs more than one or two. And the last ones his mom sent shed dark fuzz all over the place. We threw those out pretty quick. If his mom has a problem, I'll just tell her that Matt was the one who told me to just throw them out. (he did) Sometimes I feel like I'm walking on eggshells with his parents because someone as outgoing and opinionated as I am just kind of rubs them the wrong way. Heaven forbid someone actually says what they think.

Do you like what we're getting the kids? Leapsters are awesome. We had one, but Lucy got to my Mrs. Meyers cleaner and sprayed it all over it. And I'm talking half the bottle. I had to rinse it off to get it all off. So, it died. We only have two games for it. (darn games are so expensive) Hopefully I'll find a good deal on Ebay.

The ghetto Walmart

So, you know when the Walmart you're at is ghetto, when EVERY SINGLE DVD is locked up behind glass. All except the little kids ones. And the $5 ones.

My best friend the elliptical

I have been working out on the elliptical this week. I do it for half an hour. After nine minutes I do it going backwards for a minute. Then I do another nine minutes...you get the idea. I really like it. The hardest part is getting my kids dressed and ready and getting there. Because they don't always like going to the neighborhood center. I don't blame them. It can't be easy. I am so excited for school to start so that after I drop off Andrew I can walk right over to the center and exercise super early. Well, for me it would be super early. And Matt lost my Billy Blanks DVD. Hopefully he'll find it tomorrow because he didn't want me to buy another one last night. Taebo really kicks my butt. It helps me to be more coordinated and I sweat like crazy. The elliptical also gets me sweating like crazy. But I'm getting old because my hip hurts when I walk home. And speaking of old, I keep seeing these lighter colored hairs in my hair. Wondering if they are blond hairs or gray hairs. I am determined to keep going with my exercise. It is so hard for me to keep going because I see very little results. I don't feel that different during the day. It isn't a stress relief for me. It is almost tortuous. But if I'm ever going to see any change in my body I gotta keep going. My goals are a slightly firmer bum and tummy. Not asking a lot. I'll check back in a month. We'll see where I'm at. So, the elliptical and I are going to be very good friends. Maybe someday I'll actually run.....

Great post

I just read this post on From the Frontlines. I'm not much of a political person, but I have become a little more so as a military wife. (although my daily duties of being a mom kind of get in the way of reading everything about everything online) This is a great post. If you have thoughts on the war, or being less of an oil consuming country, you should read this. I loved it. Or even if you don't. It might give you some ideas that you haven't thought about yet.

Lazy day

Today is our lazy day. For the last three days, we've been fairly busy. Monday was laundry day, and I was pretty busy the whole day. I made quinoa lasagna for dinner, and since it makes so much, I invited a family over that is leaving soon AND knows what quinoa is so that I don't have convince them to eat it. While they were here, the phone rang. It was some other friends that wanted to come over and play the Wii. (yes, we have one now) So, we said, sure come on over, and I started to make peanut butter cookies. It was an unexpected party at our house. Luckily, most of the places people were was fairly clean and picked up. Oh, and that morning, I had gone to the neighborhood center and done half an hour on the elliptical, and about 10 minutes on the treadmill. (I think I'm getting old because after doing the elliptical for that long and moving to the treadmill, my hip starts to hurt.) Tuesday morning, I did Pilate's at home. Andrew had a doctors appointment that day (physical for school). After that we decided to go over to the pool and called some friends to see if they wanted to come too. It ended up that both dads came home from work as we were leaving, and so it was fun to finally have the dads with us at the pool. By the time we left the pool it was dinner time. So, we all went out to dinner. Yesterday we went to the neighborhood center again, but picked up a friend and her kids because she wanted to go to the step class but didn't have her car that day. (no, i didn't go to the step class. not coordinated enough for public display) But I did do the elliptical. Dropped them off at their house, came home, got showered (hair dryer died AGAIN) dressed, and picked them up again to go to the free lunch over at the elementary school. (this is the coolest thing. for a month during the summer, two elementary schools have free lunches for kids from 2 to 18, and I an have one too, and it's only $3. lucky for me, one of the schools is just down the street so we can walk if we wanted to) We met other friends there, and on the way home, said friends son asked if they could come and play at our house. They ended up at our house until 4pm!! Which was great for the kids and for me. My friend blogged on my computer while she talked to me and helped to keep me focused on cleaning up my house. Matt was in the Labor and Delivery room all day, so I knew I wouldn't have to worry about him eating dinner so we had our leftover quinoa lasagna. Before that we ran to the PX to find me yet another hair dryer. Since the kids had gone to bed late two nights in a row, they were in bed on time last night. Lucy put herself to bed ( I LOVE that about that girl) before we even said family prayers. So after being super busy these last few days, we aren't going to be busy today at all. In fact, I haven't even showered so far, or gotten dressed, or eaten breakfast. And neither have the kids. (they aren't hungry first thing in the morning. they would rather wait to eat) All I have to do today is the laundry, and either clean up my room or clean the bathrooms. Both need to be done, so we'll see which actually happens. I need to call my babysitter for tomorrow night to tell her what time to be here. I have to get to the store either today or tomorrow as we're going to a friends house and we're providing the rib eye steaks. (they've done the meat every other time) And those friends are also moving. And Matt and I are going out tomorrow night because he'll be gone on our anniversary. He'll be gone for four weeks. We haven't been apart for this long since he was in basic and AIT. He's been gone a week at a time, but not four weeks straight in a row. I already have plans to keep my sanity!!! I'm going to ask two girls to come over and play with the kids for a few hours a week so that I can get things done. The girls are 8 and around 10 or 11 and I will pay them a little something. I've done this before and it is awesome. It helps me be productive and gives the kids someone else to play with. I am not usually so busy. Our days are pretty laid back with trips to the park and the pool. Sometimes over to friends houses. So I am very glad today that we can have a lazy day. But we'll probably still go to the school lunch. Because the kids eat free, and if I get my act together and get me some cash (I hardly have cash on me anymore) I can eat too. And today is the good day to eat. I hope your Thursday is a lazy day too.

It is working!!!!

I'm sure I have mentioned my two favorite books, Without Offense and How to Hug a Porcupine at least 10 or more times on my blog. And I really love them. Well, here comes more of it.

I have been listening to my book on CD, Without Offense, for a while. I've gotten all the way through it (listening to each CD numerous times before moving on to the next one) and each one was more enlightening than the other. When I "read" these two books, my thinking usually revolves around two different relationships in my life: me and my mother and me and my husband. In the first relationship, it helps me to see where things went wrong. Pinpoint why I struggle with the things I do. Then it helps me to see a way to get past those things and move on to something better. In the second relationship, I can see what I have been doing wrong and what I need to do to change things. I feel that if I know the reasons behind certain of my behaviors, then I can change my thinking to where it should be rather than just sitting around being angry all the time. There isn't much I can do about the first relationship. I live 3,000 miles from her, and talk a few times a month. It would be totally different if we still lived in California and I had to deal with her on a daily basis.

The other night I was talking to Matt about these two books, and he had said he would be willing to read/listen to them. I'll have to kind of push him to do it because he won't take the initiative, but with gentle persuasion I think he will do it. I also explained some of the things I have been learning and how I was trying to make a few changes. I then asked if he could notice a difference in me. And he said yes!!!!! He followed that with "because you're not angry all the time anymore."

The key for me so far has been just a few major things. The first is that I've been more consistent at reading my scriptures. Next, I'm trying really hard to take my love to my husband and take my frustrations to God. So that no matter what that person does, they know that I still love them. It isn't as if I don't speak up and call him on things that he shouldn't be doing or don't get ticked off at him. I just have cut back on those things and tried really hard on just changing myself.

The fact that he has noticed that I have changed has been incredibly motivating. I am more determined that I will continue to listen and read and to implement more change as time goes on. And, of course, get him to listen/read too. Because I'm not the only one that needs to work on some things.:)

For Shell

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELL!!!

She turns 30 today. You can go here to tell her joyeux anniversaire yourself. Photo from here.

My kind of Wonder Woman

***This is an entry into Scribbits Write-Away contest***
***You can find the details to this months contest here***

I had a mom that everyone thought was a Wonder Woman. At least to my child's eyes. She canned, made her own bread, made most things from scratch. Took a woodworking class and built a table, benches, and ultimately an entertainment center. She could sew anything from a tablecloth to an ornate wedding dress. She had a degree in fashion design. On top of which she had six kids. Gave birth to all of us without any meds. Kept her house clean, active at church, got us to our activities. A long time ago, I stopped trying to live up to that.

For a long time, people expected me to be like her. And when I got married and started to have kids, I knew that being that kind of Wonder Woman was not going to work for me. Mostly because the things that got put aside at the expense at doing all these other things.

So, I am not that kind of wonder woman. My home has never been spotless. I have never baked a loaf of bread in my life. I refuse to learn how to sew. I don't care if the bathroom is cleaned perfectly. I don't worry about whether or not the floor has been vacuumed that day.

I have found that there is something better in life. More than having a perfectly clean house, or matching furniture. More than canning or doing all the things that my mother felt were the things she had to do to be a good mom. There IS value in all the things I mentioned, and our talents are so important. But they are not the priority. I would rather that my kids remembered that I was willing to listen and to talk to them. I would rather they knew I loved them no matter what. I would rather have a good relationship with them regardless of their choices in life because I think those types of things matter in the long run. When judgment day comes, we will not be asked if we baked our own bread, mopped our floors every day and always got the laundry done. I think we'll be asked about how we treated people, and what kind of relationships we had. What we spent our time on. If we happily served people around us. If we were willing to set aside the daily stuff for things that were more important. So while I struggle daily to do the things my mother seemed to do without any problem (and can't seem to understand why I cannot/won't do those same things) I work more on my inside. I work on those other things too, but they come as a result of me changing my insides. I want people to see my Wonder Woman-ness in how I relate to my kids, my husband, and those around me. To me, a Wonder Woman is a woman that as her children grow she continues to have a working relationship with them. One that doesn't judge and criticize (not even in her head) from the moment she is with you, to when she leaves. One that you feel safe with. If I can accomplish that before I die, my life will not be wasted.

Pictures of my craftiness

So, do you remember a while back when I was really excited about what I had done for Andrews teachers? Well, now that I can upload pictures, here is a little of what I did. I had a card that I made at a friends stamping thing, so I used the same idea, with different colors and stamps and this is what it came out to be.

The big pieces of paper on the sides of these boxes were actually huge stickers. Well, adhesive mats is what I think they are really called. But they are just a huge sticker. I cut one in half for the short sides of the box.

I have a ton of tags already done. So I just pop one out, stamp it, and attatch. Easy as pie. And using hemp twine really makes it look cool. Sorry the picture isn't very good. I took it in my car where there wasn't very good lighting.

Here is the other box that I did.

It may seem so simple to all of you really crafty people out there, but this was pretty good for me. I'm working on becoming more crafty. Maybe next years teachers will have an even craftier gift.

If you love chocolate

You must go and look at my bloggy friends blog. You will be drooling by the end of it. I wish that guy were my brother in law.....

I LOVE Etsy

So, I could spend HOURS looking through everything on Etsy. It is so easy to lose track of time when you're on there.

I've been wanting to get some calling cards or mommy cards as some are calling them. I meet a lot of people, and usually I am needing to give someone my phone number or email. So, I found these and I think they are awesome!! I got this to put them in so they won't be a mess in my purse.

I would have gotten more of the calling/mommy cards, but we're moving. And these ones I can just fill in my information rather than have it already printed. When we move and we will be in one place for longer than a year, I think I'll get some made with my information on them. But these will work for now. And everyone will think I'm super cool for even having them. I know it doesn't really matter if they think I'm cool. But I like to think I'm cool.

Happy Anniversary to us

So, I was just sitting here and I realized that we have now been in the Army for five years. That is such a long time! July 9th is the day Matt entered basic training. So, almost to the day. Our actual anniversary is this month also, and we'll be married for 7 years. So crazy. Anyway, back to our Army anniversary....

In the last five years I have learned a ton about this military life that I had no idea about before. It isn't as bad or as scary as you might think. There are some really good benefits. Some awesome people are in the military. Moving around a lot can be a good thing. LDS members of the military are great. Well, most of the time. Having friends that live all over the place is also great. The PX and the commissary can be really awesome.

There are some not good parts of the military. Like rarely seeing the same doctor when you go to a military hospital. Or the really slow speed limits on post. Then there are those that join the military because they got their girlfriend pregnant so they get married and move on post and they are totally clueless about everything. There is the rampant problem of incredibly dirty mouths. People use the "f" word like a verb sometimes. There are those whiny wives of some military members that just don't get that the military is nothing like anything else. And of course deployments.

All in all, it was a great thing for us to join the Army. It isn't for everyone. And sadly, some don't know that until they join and they are stuck for the next four years.

Anyway, happy anniversary to us.

A few things

Burn Notice was great!! I went over to Rachel's to watch it and we both really really liked it. Nothing is different, and the story is going in a pretty good direction. It is going to kill me to have to wait until next Thursday.

I tried something new today. Well, not really new, but I haven't done it in a long time. I did not wash my hair today. I have always been a wash my hair every day kind of girl, but I thought I would try it today to see how much of my prep time was cut down. The last time I didn't wash my hair every day was back when Lucy was an infant and I had Andrew as a toddler and I was darn lucky to even get a shower every other day. So, today I showered, but didn't wash the hair. It is ok so far. I'll have to think about if I want to make this a regular thing.

Do you ever want to get inside someones head to know what they are REALLY thinking about you?? Cause I've made a friend that I would really like to know what she really thinks of me. I'm assuming she likes me because she still talks to me and invites us over. But we are SO different. Just would like to see what she thinks.

It poured again tonight. Thunder and lightning and the whole thing. It gets oppressively humid before the heavens open like that. It is so humid here and in Texas that when I go back to California, I feel dry. Go figure. I also get sick every time, but who knows where that comes from. (maybe from all the old yucky things in my mom's house she likes to call antiques???)

We should know where we're going to move sometime in August or September. There are a few places in the states that I would like to go. But I really want to go back to Germany. I would much rather be there when/if Matt deploys. He's not much of a traveler (although if we go we've talked about how we'll actually take a German class this time) but I would be able to go to France as many times as I want. And Poland. And hop on a ryanair flight and go visit my friend in Northern Ireland. And to the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, maybe even Egypt. Anyway, I'm really starting to wonder where we'll be going next.

I think that's all. Now I'm off to organize and clean up our office. Because it is an absolute disaster. I'm hoping I can get it cleaned up completely so that I can start working on my Christmas presents. And then my Christmas cards. Because if I don't start now, it just won't happen. Yeah, I'm that unorganized.

Are your DVR's set??

Burn Notice is back! And it's on tonight on USA at 10. I will be up if anyone wants to come over and watch the beautifulness with me. And bring a snack.:)

Overhaul

My blog is in desperate need of an overhaul. From updating my links, possibly having an actual background, and other miscellaneous stuff. So, I am going to be working on that in the next few days. And if you have cool stuff on your blog and I try to figure it out and can't do it, well, then you might find a lot of emails from me in your inbox. Or a lot of comments on your last post. Cause I can do a lot on the computer, but there comes a point when I just can't figure it out by myself anymore. If you know of great places to get free wallpaper for blogs, let me know. I'll be looking around myself too.

Just Done

We have had SO MANY thunderstorms here lately. We have one about once a week. We have constant severe weather warnings, and sometimes it rains as much as an inch in one hour. We get a few days respite between storms, but then another one comes. I hate the tornado watches. We haven't had one in a long time, but I still get anxious when we have storms. I miss days and days and days of sun and no rain. I miss it a lot. I miss being warm all year round, and never really having a winter coat because there wasn't much of a winter. I miss wearing flip flops at Christmas time. Some people love the seasons and love the cool weather. I am not one of them. So, if anyone can take our share of some of these storms, that would be great. Although we've been in a drought. Well, if we could have rain without all the wind, thunder and lightning, I think I could handle it a bit better. Any takers?????

La Tour

So, did you know I'm a closet Tour de France fan? OK, mostly Matt is because he likes to watch the riders. I watch it because I like to see France. And I like to see all the french companies advertising. Like Vittel (greatest water ever!!), Champion (love this supermarche), Credit Lyonais, Caisse D'Epargne, and more that I can't think of right now. And next Monday's stage starts in Pau!!! (you pronounce it like po) Which I am excited about. I served there for six weeks on my mission. I remember one year, they had a stage ending in Nancy, where my brother Marshall spent six weeks of his mission. Where we went to visit him twice. Anyway, they had an aerial shot of Place Stanislaus. Which I have been to. And it was just cool to see it on TV. Another cool thing about le Tour, is that occasionally, it has a few stages ending or starting in other countries. Two years ago, they had a stage that ended in Karlsruhe, Germany and Matt and several of his friends from the chorus rode down to see the race end there. It was about 35k south of us, and they rode there and back. It was one of the few things that he really wanted to do while we were in Germany. And I was glad he did it. So, now we watch each stage every day. Well, today we didn't because Matt was exhausted. But I'm sure tomorrow we will. And I will be watching next Monday too. The most exciting part of the stages are the end, when someone tries to break away from the Pelleton and people really start to step it up. And then they crash. But not every time. Anyway, it's fun to watch. Vive la tour!!!

Yes, I'll take some cheese with my whine.......

So, I've been trying to refrain from complaining about my church calling. The Sunday before last was pretty bad, and today wasn't any better. I am trying SO hard to be helpful and not have a stinky attitude. I even take a break during the senior primary sharing time and go have a snack in the foyer and just breathe or read or just let go of my frustration. But I just don't know how long this is going to work!!! I DON'T want to be primary president, especially because I move in six months, and they should have someone that will be there for much longer. Sigh. I'll have to figure out something else that will help me. I mean, I just play the piano. I have no meetings, no other responsibility other than playing the piano.

I'm thinking that today was extra bad because Andrew was kind of stinky during sacrament meeting. He made a few bad choices, I took the color wonder marker from him and he proceeded to punch me. Then, walking him out to the foyer, he tries to bite my hand. Oh well. Next Sunday will hopefully be better. And we won't sit right next to his and Lucy's friends. Because then all we hear the whole time is how they want to sit together. OK, I'm done whining. I feel better now. Thanks for listening....

Edited: Ok, want to clarify that I am NOT the new president. Just saying that I do not want that calling because I know what goes into it. And because I find that when I'm complaining about someone else in a calling, I get that calling. So, still the primary pianist, NOT the president. Our bishopric isn't that on top of things.....

Our Memorial Day

Finally, here are some Memorial Day pictures. I will be posting a lot more on our family blog if you're interested in seeing more. Anyway......

These are a few pictures of the cemetery that we went to that day. It was the first time I had ever seen that Spanish moss stuff. We went with some friends down there. We also had laid some flowers on some graves. We found a whole bunch of Holmes's and Matt laid down several of our flowers there. What was interesting is how many confederate soldiers were buried there. And so many World War II soldiers also.

I don't know how well you can read this, but this person was born in Scotland in 1774. Died September 24 1848. At least I think that's what it says. And even when you're standing right next to this gravestone, it's really hard to read.

These types of gravestones were just so sad to me. Either their family doesn't know about it, they've all moved, or everyone has passed on and there isn't anyone to take care of it. This was the first time I had ever done this on Memorial Day. And even though we'll be moving a lot, I will find a cemetery (military posts usually have one if there isn't a city one) and we'll be doing this every year if I have anything to do with it.

A bit of DC for you

I love this picture of the kids and I. It looks like I'm telling them some fascinating information about the Washington Monument. But in reality, I think we're just looking at the clouds or trying to find the duck. We are sitting with our feet in the water at the World War II memorial.

We had a long, fun day today. And we had a fun evening last night too. My kids are pooped, I'm a bit pooped, and Matt is always ready for bed. He needs his eight hours or else he is just not a nice person to be around. But I'm planning on posting a lot this weekend. Most likely Sunday as tomorrow I have a ton of house stuff to do. Hope you all had a great Fourth of July.

Actually

So, last night I could not keep my eye's open, and went to bed more than an hour before I normally do. And slept for a long time. So, I might be able to get up at the same time, but that night I crash. Oh well. And since I plan on doing very little today, I am hoping to have many pictures posted on this blog and my family blog.

Since it is our nations birthday, I thought I would share a really cool book that I got when we were in DC. It is called America A Patriotic Primer by Lynne Cheney. But what sold me on the book were the illustrations. Those were done by Robin Preiss Glasser. They are awesome. They have facts about our country for each letter of the alphabet and I love to look at the pictures in the book. They are awesome. They have done some other books together. I'm pretty sure I saw them there but I only have so much money. Anyway, if you want a book that teaches your kids about the history of our country and has awesome pictures, this is the book. I think I got it at the National Archives little gift shop. So I paid full price. But I really think it is worth it. I want to get their other books now.

We are going to a friends house this afternoon. Last year we went to a friends house too, but without Matt. He had to study. This year he gets to come with us. And the three years before last year we got to go and see him perform. I kind of miss that. That was always a lot of fun to do. I'm glad to be able to have him with us this time. Have a happy fourth!

A little disturbing

I'm always amazed at my ability to stay up late, and still get up at the same time almost every day without feeling completely exhausted. I stayed up late to finish a book that I had started earlier in the evening and I really enjoyed the book. But I should totally be sleeping right now. I just don't want to. Does anyone else find that disturbing??? Perhaps if I slept more, and exercised regularly I could get rid of a few area's that I don't particularly like. But I don't know if I can give up the sound of quiet. I'll try again next week to go to bed earlier and exercise. We'll see if I can manage to do it. And by the way, the book I read was a great, light, and easy read. And fascinating all at the same time. Now I'm off to bed......

It worked!!

So, still trying to figure out how to do this, but I was finally able to upload pictures!! Hooray!! These are a few pictures of what we did on Memorial Day. We went to the old cemetary downtown and put flowers on graves. We also saw some confederate soldier graves and some Revolutionary era graves. It was pretty cool. OK, now I'm off to figure out how to work this new thing.