lake powell... nice friends and me

Years ago Eva took dance at a little studio near our house.  She danced with a few adorable girls and while they danced, us moms chatted.  The studio closed but we kept in touch.  Sometimes we have playdates so the little girls can play.  Sometimes we go to a late show so the big girls can play.  

These nice, cute moms happen to be generous, too.  And that is why we got to take the trip in the first place.

I have never claimed to be "with it" so it may be silly to say that I am totally out of it.  I had no idea that people surfed behind boats these days.  It was awesome.  

"Beach Barbie" surfing behind their boat.  It was so fun to watch.  

I knew about wake boarding.  But obviously not as much as these guys.

Michelle braving the cold water.  I think screaming made the water warmer.

Michelle's photogenic family.

(Michelle, I will get these to you as soon as I stop being lazy).

This crack was one of the best parts.  We climbed up into this long space.   We ended up in this huge crack.  The walls went up so far.  I'm not doing it justice.  I'll just say it was awesome.

This is my first time at Texas Hold 'em.  Karl and I were the last two in.  I always have beginners luck.  Then, as soon as I learn the rules and start thinking, I totally lose.  Just the way it goes.

The last day I finally braved the water.  Surfing is a lot more gentle than wake boarding (and a billion times more gentle than Flowrider!).  The falls are easy (as I demonstrated many times) and that is why I dared do it in my expecting state.  Don't judge, I promise I was really careful. 

I wish I would have taken more photos of the everyday stuff.  Like the wrestling matches or dinners or the girls playing or the kids all lined up in their sleeping bags.  Because those were some of the most memorable.  But since my memory seems to be going, I wish I had the photos to ensure those memories last.  

Lake Powell, recorded.  

(unless I end up recording the thimble story, the one that makes me chuckle every time I think about it).

my little less obvious thanksgiving list

Inspired:

At Art Weekend, the screen printing teacher mentioned an artist named Lotta Jansdotter.

I got a few books from the library and I am in love.

I love her simple, easy style.

My library didn't have the last book that I have here. It's in Japanese. Which makes me think that maybe if she is so popular in Japan, then I can't help it if I like her. It is just my genetics.

Indulged:

Costco has these right now. Loc Maria Crepe cookie things.

"Crispy Biscuits Enrobed with Belgian Milk Chocolate"

Enrobed. Doesn't that just sound delicious?

I bought the box yesterday and did the ultimate glutton thing to do. I opened the gift box as soon as I got in the car. A gift to me.

I don't think I have ever been so tempted by a treat. Seriously. I'm pretty sure I heard them say, "I love you, too."

So, today, I bagged some up and gave some away. Even if I kept the whole box, it would have only lasted me two days.

I am using my two ounces of self control to not go grab one right now.

I'll just have a couple, or 46.

Totally grateful:

In disposable flip flops, in freezing weather, at midnight, sporting new, shiny red holiday-ish polish.

Looking for a treat after midnight and ending up at 24 hour Winco. And can't help but be practical and pick up a few bargain groceries along the way.

Laughing the whole time.

So glad I have someone that will be a little unconventional with me. And love it.

I keep thinking about how grateful I am for these things.

Oh, and, today, my (a little more conventional) friend asked me what time I go to bed. I was too embarrassed to give a straightforward answer. Just said, "Oh, pretty late." And then kind of changed the subject.

morning

I knew that Eva starting school in the morning was going to shake my world a little. I was going to embrace it. I even signed up for an early morning circuit class. I had this fantastic image of me being all exercised and ready when my kids got up.

Let's just say, it's not working out so well. I get up. The only thing I feel is sleepy. I get Eva up. The only thing she feels is sleepy. I pull her clothes on her in her complete floppy sleepiness.

Oh, and the circuit thing? My body is just not programmed to function that early. I feel nauseous, I feel sleepy, I feel cold, and well, mostly just sleepy. I even tried breakfast because the happy skinny perky healthy circuit lady said to. Second week of circuit, while doing crunches on that giant bouncy ball/ torturing myself, someone mentions that their friend doesn't feel well and that she feels like she is doing to throw up. At the mention of the word, yep, I booked it to the bathroom and lost the whole banana. Sorry for the TMI, but I am figuring if you are reading my blog, you are probably a mom, or are my friend, or something else that makes you strong enough to handle it.

In conclusion, whenever I think about my extreme un-fondness for mornings, it reminds me of the Garfield cartoons that I used to read as a kid.

Oh, and blog? Well that is a late night thing for me. And when I am trying to be a morning person, that means I get sleepy at night. And if by chance I can stay up, thanks to a fabulous mid afternoon nap or something like that, I have to do boring things like laundry. Blog in the morning Well, my mind doesn't function in the morning. Not even enough to do laundry. And I would just write about how I wish I was asleep or something like that.

Still figuring things out...

who has a picture of her mom laughing her head off?

I do.  And I love it.

Thanks, Justin Hackworth.

He is doing this project called 30 Strangers and I saw something on it when I was looking at blogs and avoiding all the things that I should have been doing.  Well, my procrastination/terrible housekeeping skills paid off.  I knew they would, someday.  We were so lucky to be one of the 30.  His focus was moms and daughters, as many generations as we could.  Check him out, I think his stuff is pretty amazing.

I take so so so many photos.  It was kind of fun to be on this side of the camera.  Not like watch your kids on the roller coaster fun or out to lunch with the girls fun.  This was a fun that I have never experienced.  Yes, I was hoping he was going to make me look like a super model (you're lying if you say you haven't secretly hoped that before).  Yes, he made me look like me, instead.  Yes, I understand that is perfectly alright.  He had some major make-you-feel-comfortable-in-front-of-the-camera-skills.  I didn't know photographers were this good.  Like, my wedding photographer?  During my bridal shoot I told him I didn't want to sit the victorian looking chaise lounge that the pulled out. If you know me, you know it doesn't suit me.  He kicked the thing across the floor and said, "Who is the photographer here?" Uh.  I don't know.  The scary guy that just kicked the chair?  Maybe it is because  I took my kids to Target to get their photos.  With Justin?  He knew just what to say to make Eva stop doing the fakey smile.  He didn't make us hold any fakey flowers or tilt our head like we were posing for the D package.  I walked away all feeling all giddy and super impressed. 

These are the photos he posted (in order of my favorite):

Oh, and to top it off?  After the shoot we walked over and got some gelato and sweet Eva picked me some flowers.  Lucky, huh?

Go Murray! Go Scarf! Go Hair! Go China!

A while back Eva and Katie went to a little cheer clinic that the Murray cheerleaders put. They had two practices, sat together for the first half of the basketball game and then did a cheer and a little dance during half time. She loved it. Driving home from the first practice, Eva was saying one of the cheers and couldn't remember the words. I helped her out. She was amazed that I knew the words. Well, Eva, Mommy wasn't always that old lady that just cleans your house and drives you around. I love it that when I amaze you and you think I am a genius. From what I hear, it won't be for long. So, I am enjoying it while it lasts.

Unrelated #1:

to short. Not to heavy, but still warm. A great punch of color for my mostly neutrals wardrobe. Went with everything. Always got compliments wearing this thing. This is the only picture I can find of it, Eva is wearing it because it was fu-reeeee-zing and Mom let her out in a flimsy coat (uh, parenting mistake # one billion and three?). I didn't know I would need a picture of it for this tribute of sorts.

I loved this scarf. I lost this scarf. Went to the rec center. Didn't want to wear it after exercising. Too hot. Carelessly stuck in/on my bag. Gone. So sad. So so sad.

Just a scarf, right? That is what I thought. I have had two dreams that I have found that scarf. I wake up and go check the places that I see in my dreams. Sorry, cold neck. But I guess that is your choice that you would rather be cold than wear an ugly scarf.

Unrelated #2:

I love Samuel's hair like this.

He does not. He started complaining, "I don't want my hair to grow!" He even woke up in the middle of the night upset about it. He is obsessed with girls having long hair and boys having short hair.

I finally took him to get it cut. He was so excited. He didn't even know I was taking him to the Disneyland of salons. Cookie Cutters is insane. They get to choose a movie, choose a car to sit in, they get a sucker and a balloon when they are done, and they have a slide for the kid to play on while Mom pays. Amazing. Totally worth my $8 (with my coupon). See photo number 2? If I ever were to become a hair cutter person, is it rude to ask you to remind me to not wear little cap sleeves? Just wondering.

Okay. So the REAL reason I took him to get his shag chopped off is because Karl and his dad are going to China and the wives are tagging along. My mom is so nice to watch Eva and Samuel. I am so lucky to have such great, free babysitting. But, I would be terrible if the same thing happened again!

I have been to China twice before. Once, when I was a college student, I carried everything in my backpack, and 8 of us would cram into a rat infested hostel (not hotel) room just to save what I am sure is the equivalent of like two dollars. The second time we were going to move there so we spent most of the time looking for an apartment. My "roughing it" days are over and we aren't looking for a place to live this time (or ever, again).  

Seems like a lot of people have gone there lately (I mean Amy and T and any other friends). Anything suggestions on things I should (or shouldn't) do? We are going to Beijing and Changchun.  This time I do plan on having more than two dollars. Hmmm, maybe I can find a cute new scarf.

Too Short

Fantastic friend, Kristi, picked up some jeans at one of those sales you pick stuff up even if there is a chance that it might not fit just because it is a great deal. Lucky for me, they were labeled "short" and therefore too short for not "short" Kristi. Unlucky for me, I am too short for the "short" jeans. 

Benefits of being short:

-You can get more comfortable in small spaces like in the airline seats.

-In the dating years, the short guys are not out of the question (even though I ended up with someone like a foot taller than me).

-You probably hit your head less.

-You can sleep on your queen size bed in any direction (I don't know why you would want to, but I am running out of benefits).

Non-benefits of being short:

-People think you're a kid (try being a teacher and not daring to teach above 3rd grade) when you really need the respect of an adult.

-Anything above the 1st shelf, or in the very front of the 2nd shelf is unavailable without the help of your super tall IKEA step stool or your taller husband.

-When you are cutting vegetables (which are still not organic) in the kitchen, you sometimes stand on your toes so you can get better leverage and you don't even realize it until husband points, laughs, and says, "Are you standing on your toes?"  What of it?

-Sometimes, at the grocery store, you want something but you can't reach it. If someone that is tall and looks really nice isn't around, you just think, "forget it" and walk away feeling too short.

-You can't see over stuff (couldn't see a thing at the University of Texas football games except the hat the guy in front of me was wearing. Good thing it was fascinating... completely covered in beer bottle caps).

-Gaining 5 pounds means you have to wear your fat jeans (less place for the weight to get distributed).

-And speaking of jeans, they are so so so hard to find!

Where do these guys get their jeans? No, really.

I'm Back

I finally finished. This is what kept me away from blogging:

I make calendars every year. This is the only time I get the scrapbooking bug out of me. Yes, Christmas is over and I just barely finished my mom's. Good thing she understands. Note to self: start earlier next year. Another note to self: stop ignoring the resolutions to start earlier the next year. Abbi, I posted a picture of your little one's pages so you can see them.

My favorite part of the project was how the flower tabs turned out.

Back to blogging and back to posting my everyday adventures:

Like my new gloves?

I guess Samuel does, too:

At 4 a.m. he wakes up and goes into the bathroom. He then comes to me and is mad because his hair is sticking up. I had to spray it and comb it. He kept pointing out parts that were sticking up so I had to comb it some more. Yep, at 4 a.m.. Then he goes right back to sleep.

Reason #563 I Heart Being a Packrat...

Mix Tapes.

Look what I found in all my stuff. What a great trip down memory lane. It is broken. Sad. T? (or anyone for that matter because I am just about positve that ya'll have better playlists than I do) I need some serious music help and my mix tape won't play anymore.

Jury Duty

I have jury duty selection tomorrow. I faxed the judge to try and get out of it. It was declined. I have gotten all kinds of advice on how to get out of it and have even researched it on line. Yuck. I hate having to waste precious babysitting time on that. A couple of people suggested just walking in there with Samuel and Eva. Can you imagine? I would just be like, "Oh, don't mind them, they are really supportive of me fulfilling my civic duties." I better go to bed, I wonder if they will let me go because I am asleep when they are trying to talk to me...

The tag game, de-mystified...

I am new at the blog thing and wondered how someone can be "it" when it is just a blog. Now I know.

A side note: My posts can be classified long, longer and longest. Just as a warning, this is probably a "longest." I know time is precious so I just thought I should warn.

10 Years Ago
I have repressed a couple of years of my life within the last 10 years, so is that the real 10 or 10 non-repressed years? Assuming it is the real 10...
-April, 1998. Although this is not a repressed year, I am having a hard time remembering...
-Okay, hooray for journals! (I know, I know, that word is so pre-blog). I was in my second area (of three) on my mission in Nagoya, Japan.
-I kept carbon copies (yeah, carbon paper is this stuff that people used to use to make copies) of letters I wrote to family and friends. I wrote so much (some things never change). Okay, this is going to make it long but I just found something that made me laugh. I am quoting one of my letters, "On Monday we had apt. checks~ I didn't clean anything before they came because I didn't want to seem like I was fooling anyone... well, as the President's wife (I had three mission presidents, this was the second set) had me scrubbing the wall she told me it is good practice for me for when I get married because one of the most important things for a woman is a clean kitchen (I might have just found that so funny because I just took off the front of my oven door, which wasn't a simple task, so I could get the drip that had been on the inside of the glass for that last year and a half. I also found a sticker, a chocolate wrapper, a magnet, and a couple other things that fit in the little slots in the front of the door. Hmmm, how did they get there? No matter that the real garbage can was just 4 feet away, right?) I told her I would find a husband that likes to clean (man, I was gutsy not to mention naive). She said there aren't husbands like that- from what she expressed I'm lucky if I find one that will even clean with me (just for the record, Karl did help me get the door off the oven. I know it might have been his desire to not have a broken oven door that he would have to fix, but he did help me in the cleaning process). "
-So, apparently 10 years ago I was planning on finding a husband that cleans.

Things on my to do list Monday -
-I was going to put off doing this but then Monday would pass and then I would have thought up some really fantastic looking "to do's" for next Monday so I just hurried and did it today. Just to keep things real, you know, like in my mission apt. check.
- Clean some more because I didn't end up finding a husband that cleans (Karl, I know you clean but I think 10 years ago I was thinking more along the line of a husband that clean everything. I don't want you to think I am down playing what you clean)- I should vacuum and fold laundry.
-Wash out a strawberry container for Eva to take to pre school for their pretend store day.
-Oh no, I left my planner at my parents house and it had my to do list in it and I seriously can't remember. Well, here is a new one for my list...
-Find planner. Dang it.

What would I do if I suddenly had a billion dollars -
-Buy a new planner in case mine is really really lost. One with a tiny tracking system so I don't have to panic and freeze up everytime I lose mine.
-Buy a house in a neighborhood with sidewalks and other moms that stay at home (we don't have either in my neighborhood and I really wish we did).
-When I bought my new how it would have a big space to store all my stuff. So then I would...
-Buy more stuff- I like kitchen gadgets (like choppers "as seen on TV" that don't really work- but I won't care because I am a billionaire and have room to store it), clothes, shoes, craft stuff.
-Buy a new TV, I hear they came out with these things called flat screens and Tivo. Wow, I would like some of that technology.
-Go on a huge cooking/eating tour of the world and blog the whole thing.
-I would probably want to do something for other people. Really service-y. I would ask Courtney for ideas.
-Buy a new car because mine is dirty.
-For the first years of our marriage we mostly lived on no income or my teacher income. I always thought that once we had "real" income it would feel like so much money. But it doesn't. Should I become a billionaire, would I think, "I used to think that a billion was so much. Now, a kabillion would really be a lot."

-3 of my bad habits - Do I have to tell?
1 - Staying up late and blogging and answering simple questions with really long stories and even quoting my mission letters.
2 - I procrastinate. Some say they work better under pressure. I just work under pressure.
3 - I am indecisive. I had a really hard time deciding on which bad habits to share.

Places I have lived:
SLC, UT
Murray UT
Logan, UT (college)
Moscow, Russia (taught English)
Ghuanzhou, China (taught English again)
Seto, Meito, and Kanazawa, Japan (mission)
Austin, TX (Karl's school)
Berkeley, CA (Karl's internship)
Smithfield, UT (I was roomies with Karl's Grandma Gutke while Karl was in TX for a quarter and I was at USU)
Chicago, IL (more of Karl's school)
Santa Clara, CA (another one of Karl's internships)
and full circle back to SLC!

Jobs I have had:
-A little bit of baby sitting (I sucked, I would never have hired me. I was the youngest of four kids and had no business watching other peoples' kids. Um maybe I should have had someone show me how to change a diaper before the parents left)
-Bussing tables at Italian Village
-Gap kids (Excited about my employee discount, I spent more than I made there)
-Police Cadet
-Running my dad's go-cart track out at Salt Air (but mostly just riding the go-carts around and around and working on my tan- we liked tans back before blogs and SPF).
-Office person at a lame insurance place in TX.
-Bath and Body works and a clothes store in Berkeley (once again, really excited about the employee discount) -Teacher assistant at a Montessori school.
-3 rd grade teacher in Chicago until I was a...
-Mom! (I still am a mom)

5 Things (most)People don't know about me:
1 - Since I feel like I have posted everything about me I am wondering if there is anything left that people don't know about me, hey, I bet you didn't know that.
2 - I like to watch infomercials.
3 - Back before life got hard, I used to think that it was easy.
4 - I love sleep, I love naps, I love dreams, I love watching my kids sleep.
5 - Like Annie, I really like stuff clean and neat, and people probably don't know that about me because I hardly every have my house, car, yard, etc. clean and neat.

So that's all folks. Enough about me - I am tagging you. Michelle F. and Paula.

Mission Reunion!

We don't have many mission reunions because President Evans lives in Tokyo so I was really excited. I only recognized a handful of the missionaries. I think it is because a) President Evans went to Japan for the last half of my mission so most of the missionaries there served after I was done or b) because I am getting old. Sister Evans is an amazing person and one of my favorite memories is taking her to the little Japanese grocery store when she first arrived to help her get her groceries. Samuel was at my parents house with a fever, poor guy. It was so weirdly quiet and calm to just have one kid there.

a great way to celebrate

Lunch with friends. Lunch with THESE friends. I love it. I love them.

The Relief Society dinner is always around my birthday. This night is was on my birthday.

I thought the aprons were very cute and the dinner was lovely.