Stephens Family Blog

Fudgy Cola Cake by Paula Deen

2011-07-17T19:29:00.003-06:00

Sooooo good!

For best results, use the real Coca-Cola with *real* sugar (not HFCS). It's the kind in the glass bottles from Mexico at the grocery store.

FUDGY COLA CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 cup cola flavored carbonated beverage

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 13x9x2 inch baking pan (I used Pam, it's fine).

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in cola, buttermilk and beaten eggs. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil (be sure to keep stirring or the eggs will end up scrambling a little... I didn't and ended up having to strain it when it was done). Stir in vanilla.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Pour Fudgy Cola Icing over warm cake.

FUDGY COLA ICING

1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tablespoons cola-flavored carbonated beverage

1 (16 oz) box of confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, combine melted butter cocoa powder and cola. Using an electric mixer, gradually beat in confectioners sugar.

Well, Hello Again! :)

2009-05-07T12:09:00.007-06:00

My word! It has been a really long time since I posted anything. I've been doing Facebook lately, since it's so much simpler -- and I'm all about simplicity these days!

I'll start with something easy - pictures!

Grayson with my car and the new Scentsy ad on the back!

Easter Pictures!

Grayson and Greg, with Grayson in his new climbing harness and Rock Climber shirt

Cake I made for Easter with ganache and Piroette cookies around it. Fun stuff!

New Video from Expedition Bible! The Jesus Tomb Unmasked:

2009-05-07T10:21:00.005-06:00

So, I was trying to upload the video, but it didn't quite work. If you go to the website below, you can watch the trailer and the whole video.

http://www.expeditionbible.com/thejesustombunmaskedtrailer.html

Enjoy!

12 Days of Christmas

2008-12-25T13:02:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A United House (not my post, but an excellent one!)

2008-11-06T23:01:00.003-07:00

The following was on Beth Moore's Living Proof blog. I have to say I agree wholeheartedly!

To my beloved Sisters who I esteem so highly and consistently find to be part of the solution to our problems in the Church rather than the cause,

Please join me in praying for our President-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and his precious daughters, Sasha and Malia. Go with me before the Throne of our sovereign God and ask Him to grant wisdom from above to President-elect Obama and the indwelling presence and power of Jesus Christ. In the words of the Apostle Paul, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior..."

Please also join me in the active and deliberate pursuit of unity and purity in the Body of Christ at this historical time in our country. I implore you in Jesus' Name to have zero tolerance for prejudice whether it is regarding party-affiliation, color (whether you are Black, White, or Brown), economics or the like. Disagreement is not sin. Prejudice is. Satan has plotted events and planted attitudes that, should he be
successful, will result in havoc. We must not stand for his schemes or cooperate in a single way. We would severely displease God and invite untold chastisement upon Christ's Church in our nation. Speak clearly to your children and graciously but emphatically draw a line in your work places and social circles regarding your stand against prejudice of any kind.

"Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.'" (Matthew 12:25) A united house stands. A divided house falls. The
devil has much to gain. But he also has much to lose.

We are the Body of Jesus Christ and we have an opportunity to show His character. This is our watch. We stand for what is right not from our feet but from our knees.

I humble myself before you and make these pleas under such bold direction of God that I could not resist it nor disobey it. He made it a fire in my bones.

I love and esteem you so much. Shoulder to shoulder, Dear Siestas. Let's leave not one inch for the enemy to come between us.

"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve Him shoulder to shoulder." Zephaniah 3:9
Posted by Beth at 6:42 AM

I'm a blog slacker...

2008-08-28T23:33:00.004-06:00

...but this video is too cute not to share! I was going to post some wedding pictures, since Greg and I just celebrated our 6th anniversary last Sunday! :) However, that would involve scanning them, but I am just too sleepy right now....zzzz....

Fireproof

2008-08-27T21:00:00.005-06:00

Just found out about this new movie with Kirk Cameron (remember Growing Pains?) I don't think he's the best actor, but it looks kind of good! The soundtrack includes music from Third Day and Casting Crowns.

Herding Cats

2008-08-18T18:51:00.004-06:00

I stole this from my friend Sharmilla's FaceBook page! :) Enjoy!

Beans, Bug Bombs & a New Job!

2008-08-14T09:38:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, I made a recipe that turned out wonderfully! They're like baked beans on steroids! Someone has been making these for church potlucks lately (haven't figured out who), but they are so delicious. And, I'm not a big fan of baked beans. Grayson loves them, and he's been asking me to make some. So, I surfed the internet and found this recipe. Since they have meat in them, we used them for a main course, and had fresh grilled corn with them.:

Calico Beans
10-12 slices of bacon, browned
1 pound lean ground beef, browned
1 cup chopped onion, sauteed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. dry mustard
2 cans of baked beans
1 can lima beans, drained and rinsed
1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup of ketchup (possibly more)
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vinegar

Brown bacon, ground beef, and sautee onions. Combine everything in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 5 hours. You could also omit the meats if desired. YUM!

Also, our house has gotten a little bit "buggy" this summer. We have more creepy crawlers around here than I care to mention! So, we decided it was time to do bug bombs. They're just aerosol cans of bug spray that you set up all around your house. All the windows have to be closed, and fans off. When we lived in our basement apartment in Brigham, we did them about every 6 months to control the bug population. Basically, you get ready to evacuate your home for 2-3 hours, put your loved ones in the car, set them all off, and run for dear life. When you return, you throw all the windows open, and as the label says, your house will smell "fresh". I tried a different (cheaper) brand this time, and oh, did it ever smell! We aired out the house, but the bug spray smell still lingering in the air in some areas. We haven't noticed any creepy crawlers yet, so maybe it worked!

As of this morning, I've accepted a position at a law firm, LeBaron & Jensen P.C., in Layton! I believe I will be starting on Monday. They'd like to get me trained on some things, and then move me to their Ogden office within 3 to 6 months. Once that happens, there will be very little commuting, and I'll get to come home at lunchtime! Hooray! I was looking at taking a job in SLC, but decided that I'd rather not add 2 hours of commuting to my workday. I miss spending time with Grayson as it is. The job sounds like a great fit, and I'll be doing lots of things that I haven't done before. Hooray!

What I've Been Up To...

2008-08-12T18:44:00.004-06:00

Since the unfortunate RIF (reduction in force) at the bank, I've been home! I've been such a blog slacker, too.

Here's what I've been up to!:

Playing with Grayson!:

Grayson and I have gotten in a bunch of fun mommy/son time! I've been trying to think of fun things that we normally don't do, or have much time for. We've been on a couple of picnics, some good walks, trips to parks, etc. Fun stuff!

Learning to coupon!:
My friend Stephanie, the Grocery Shopping Diva and I went on an outing to Smiths. We had been to a coupon seminar put on by the Standard Examiner back in May, but I really hadn't put what I'd learned into practice yet. I got my coupon binder put together, and cut my coupons every Sunday (5 newspapers worth), but hadn't actually used them! We made grocery lists, pulled out our coupons, and headed to the store. Smith's was having a sale where you bought 10 participating items and got $5 off. With coupons, some of those items were FREE!! I stocked up on bleach, Windex, toilet bowl cleaner, salad dressings, heartburn medicine, and multiple other things. I got about $180 worth of groceries for just over $50! I could not believe it! Now, I just need to keep up with doing that every week. There is a great website called Pinching Your Pennies, and they actually have printable shopping lists that you can get for the stores you go to! So, it's a lot less work than you'd think. Thanks Stephanie for the shopping trip!

Job hunting, of course!:
I feel like I've applied for at least 100 jobs! I had an interview with a recruiter last Thursday, and applied for a job (through the recruiting firm) at Ernst & Young. It sounds like an awesome job, and exactly what I want to do. The only drawback is that it's in Salt Lake. But, it's at the Gateway, so it would be an easy commute via FrontRunner and Trax. I was also offered a job with a law firm, but it would be a pay cut. I'm thinking about possibly taking it.

Grilling!:
We bought a gas grill a few months ago, and now I have some time to play with it! We've been cooking on it quite a lot this summer, and it helps to keep the house cooler. We did turkey burgers one night last week, and they were delicious! I mixed the ground turkey meat with a packet of ranch dressing. Yum!

Being domestic!:
Ok, I had grand ideas of all the Martha Stewart-ish stuff I'd do while I have some time off. Well, I did make some homemade granola yesterday! I think it is going to become a favorite. It's super-easy too. All the laundry is done (FlyLady habit for the month), bathrooms are nice and clean, and I've been de-cluttering for 15 minutes at a time. Grayson is not used to having me here, so everytime I start something, he calls me to come and play! :) I am really hoping to get some sewing done! I made a curtain for our sliding glass doors a few months ago, and I've got coordinating fabrics to sew a valance for the kitchen window, and pillows for the couch.

Got a mani/pedi!
Ok, just kidding! I did get gel nails on again, since I thought they'd look professional for interviews. It's been forever since I'd had them done. And, I gave myself a home pedicure! I'm still trying to figure out how some gals do such cute toenails! Emily, you're going to have to give me some pointers!

Changed a tire!
DMIL Sharon had a flat tire on her car on Monday morning, so we set out to put on the donut, and get her car over to Les Schwab. I was praying not to mess up my newly done nails (LOL). The most trouble we had was getting the stinking wheel cover off! Oh my gosh! Why do they make them so difficult? I swear, Sharon worked for 45 minutes trying to loosen nuts which we finally figured out were decorative. I finally pryed the dang thing off with the tire iron, and we changed the tire in just a few minutes. Go us! And, no nails were sacrificed in the changing of the tire. Then, it took an hour of waiting at Les Schwab for the professionals to fix the tire.

Resting!
I feel like I've been super lazy since I've been off! Grayson usually takes a nap every day, so I've been napping right along with him! It seemed like after so many months (years?) of go, go, go, I was just physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. So, I'm going to get in all the resting that I can! :)

More Fun Pictures...

2008-08-12T18:16:00.008-06:00

Here are a few more fun pictures! These are from the 4th of July, taken by our friend Phil Reyes. Thanks Phil! Aren't these great!?

Grayson (standing) playing with Tyler and Everett. I could not get the boy to put on his swimsuit, so he "swam" in his regular clothes, and we put him in his trunks and t-shirt for the fireworks afterward.

My cute, ever-youthful mother-in-law, Sharon

Sharon with Greg in the background

Good pic of Greg...

Random Pics

2008-08-03T00:26:00.005-06:00

I've been meaning to post some fun pictures for SO long, and just haven't gotten them off the camera(s)! So, this post is devoted to fun, but random pics of my cute family!:

Here is Grayson with Teddy, and Teddy is balancing part of a cereal bar on his snout!

Greg, on a hike up Ben Lomond Peak (I hope that's right) It was a long hike - he left home before noon, and didn't get back 'til after 9!

Grandma Sharon, Grayson and Uncle Jeff in Park City

Grayson and Uncle Jeff in Park City!

These are from when we painted Grayson's room. He was begging to paint, and so I gave him a roller and let him work on a section of the wall. He painted quite a bit!

He put all that paint on the wall - can you believe it?!

Officially Job Hunting!

2008-08-01T18:10:00.003-06:00

Yep, that's right, I'm job hunting.

It was a very un-fun day. This morning at work, we had a mandatory staff meeting. The mood was somber, and the president announced that due to the current economic situation, etc., the bank needed to reorganize and make some cutbacks. Some would be changing jobs, some would have to go part-time, some would have a reduction in wages, and some would be laid off.

Then, we were told that our managers would meet with everyone individually, to see how they fit into the new organization chart (or not). When I was called in, mine was one of the jobs to be cut. I was told that today would be my last day. It took most of the rest of the day to get things squared away, write some quick instructions for various things, and pack up a year's worth of stuff that had accumulated in my desk.

I'm disappointed, of course, but kind of excited at the same time to see what's out there. When God closes a door he opens another! I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what kind of job would be best suited to me, so I'm hopeful.

When I got home today and Greg met me at the door with a hug, I started bawling. I was fine today until someone asked me how I was or gave me a hug, but otherwise I've kept my composure pretty well. Grayson asked why I was crying. I explained to him what had happened. He's just excited that I'll be home to play for a while! Just about every night he asks, "Is it your day to stay tomorrow?" He's such a sweet little guy.

Greg and I went on an impromptu date tonight to Red Lobster, since he thought it would be good to get away and talk. It was wonderful to have a nice 'grown up' dinner, and talk about things. I might have spent the evening wallowing in self pity had we not gone out, so I'm grateful for that!

Oh, yes, and if anyone has any leads on any jobs I should check out (Executive Assistant, Administrative Assistant, Office Administrator/Manager, Legal Assistant, etc.), please let me know!

Grayson's Room Re-do....Almost Done!

2008-07-29T23:04:00.010-06:00

I think we just about have Grayson's room re-done! Here are a few more pictures in addition to my older post. I could have sworn I had some new ones of Grayson to post, but they must be on another camera, darn it.:

We've struggled a lot with getting Grayson to sleep in his big boy bed! So, we finally took the crib mattress and put it under the loft bed in the "nook" with lots of pillows around it. He loves it! He did sleep in the big boy bed last night, though. We are making progress!

The bookshelf in the "nook". The current favorites are the Sweet Pickles books I had when I was little. Anyone remember those?

The long awaited IKEA armoire! Greg put it together Saturday afternoon while Grayson and I went to Everett's birthday party. Go Daddy! :) To the right is the chest of drawers that I need to empty and take to Meghan!

This is the circa 1940 Coca Cola cooler that belonged to my dad's family! I've got sewing supplies in there, but I love how it looks in Grayson's "Americana" room. Grayson told me last week he doesn't like it, so I may have to find another place for it!

This is the old, 1970s, gold crushed velvet rocking loveseat! I haven't put a slipcover over it yet, because it seems to work with the decor so far!

Tag, You're It!

2008-07-29T22:31:00.003-06:00

My friend Stephanie, the Grocery Shopping Diva, tagged me today. Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Here are six random things about myself:
1. I tend to stay up way too late! It seems like I’m more energetic later at night, so when Grayson goes to sleep, I try to do as much as I can.

2. I’m going to be taking MCAS (Microsoft Certified Application Specialist) tests in 5 different Microsoft programs, sometime before next June! Is that nuts or what? I really need to start studying for those. If anyone’s taken those and has good tips, let me know!!

3. I spent a good bit of time at work today coloring! I’m color coding a bunch of files for my boss. The easiest/best way turned out to be coloring the very top of the tab on the file. Fun stuff.

4. I’m in the process of doing some decluttering at home. It’s very cleansing to get rid of stuff we don’t need! Here’s a great site if you’ve struggled with CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome) – http://www.flylady.net/

5. I love to bake, but rarely have the time to do much.

6. I need a vacation!

Now I tag: Emily, Janis, Lisa, Venessa, Rachel, and Michelle!

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

2008-07-20T23:18:00.006-06:00

Is anyone else as thrilled as I am to see that Mulder and Scully are finally back for another film?! I can't hardly wait until Friday to see the movie!

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Greg's a Journeyman Machinist! / Fun Recipes

2008-07-15T23:27:00.008-06:00

Greg came home from work yesterday and he had, in hand, his long-awaited Journeyman Certificate in Machining! I can't tell you exactly what he's had to do, but he's been working on it for his entire career as a machinist - about 5 years now! Basically, he's had to put in so many hours on different types of machines, etc.

He currently works for Petersen, Inc., but I've been encouraging him to try for positions elsewhere, since he's reached the rank of an advanced machinist, and should be eligible for corresponding pay increases. He's been waiting to get his Journeyman status before checking into anything else, so HOORAY!

Another thing that I keep meaning to post about -- I've been finding such fun recipes on the Living Proof blog! There are a bunch of really good ones - I just wish I had time to try them all! If you want to check them out, most of the recipes are on posts called "Tuesday's Common Meal". This one looks really yummy and simple:

Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti
2 cups cooked Chicken
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup finely diced Green Pepper
1/2 cup finely diced Onion
1-4 oz jar diced Pimientos, drained
3 cups dry Spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
2 cups reserved Chicken Broth (from pot)
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (for the top of the casserole)

Directions:
Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick enough meat off the bones to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar. Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil)

Melissa’s Notes: What sets this recipe above the average chicken spaghetti recipe is that 1) the spaghetti is cooked in the chicken broth not water 2) the chicken broth is not from a can but is reserved from the actual pot the chicken was boiled in. In my opinion, this recipe lacks without these two elements. The chicken spaghetti feeds approximately 6 people.

Picnics, Playgrounds and Summer Fun!

2008-07-14T11:06:00.002-06:00

Over the weekend, we had a company summer party to attend, so that was a big part of our Saturday. Greg ended up working some overtime, but showed up briefly to enjoy the delicious BBQ from Famous Dave’s!

I made banana pudding to take, which turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself! I haven’t made it in quite some time, so I forgot how fragile it is! The meringue broke away from the sides of the dish before we got to the party, so it wasn’t beautiful! The custard spilled in my clean car, too - darn it. I don’t know how all those southern ladies make this to take to church potlucks all summer without breaking it. Maybe someday I’ll know the secret! Here’s the recipe, straight from the back of the Nilla Wafer box:

Original Nilla Banana Pudding

3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup
all-purpose flour
Dash salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2
teaspoon vanilla extract
45 NILLA Wafers, divided
5 ripe bananas, sliced
(about 3 1/2 cups), divided Additional NILLA Wafers and banana slices, for
garnish

1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

2. Reserve 10 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard on bottom of 1 1/2-quart casserole; cover with a layer of wafers and a layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make a total of 3 layers of each, ending with custard.

3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading evenly to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges.

4. Bake at 350°F in top half of oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Cool slightly or refrigerate. Garnish with additional wafers and banana slices just before serving.

Makes 8 servings

Grayson played and played at the party, and I thought surely he’d worn himself out for a good, long nap. I was ready for a nap, too! He zonked out in the car shortly after we left the party, but was wide awake once I’d carried him from the car to his bed. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t get him to nap anymore. Sharon gets him to nap every day somehow.

Greg worked a good bit of the day Saturday, and then we went to Mimi’s Café to celebrate my mom’s birthday. If you haven’t been to Mimi’s, I highly recommend it! It’s kind of a New Orleans inspired place, and I’ve never tasted anything there that wasn’t excellent. I had a crab soufflé, and it was soooo good! We stuffed ourselves, and then none of us wanted birthday cake afterward!

On Sunday, we went to church in the park with a picnic following that. Our church started kind of a summer tradition a few years ago. It seems like the air conditioning had broken down, and it got too hot to meet in the church, so we started meeting at a park under a pavilion instead. The kids have a big, group Sunday school lesson in another area of the park, and they love getting to play afterward. It’s so nice and cool, and everyone brings a dish for lunch. It’s been such a great thing, that we’ve just continued it in the summertime. Grayson had lots of fun playing with friends, and got plenty of time in on the playground equipment and slides! It was fun to have a relaxing lunch with friends and talk.

Also, this weekend we made a good stab at de-cluttering some closets at our house. Grayson’s closet had a ton of baby stuff in it, some of which I want to keep and store in case we have another baby. I was able to get all that out, and put into a big, sturdy tote for safekeeping. Then, we started a huge box of things to take to the thrift store. It amazes me how much we’ve taken out, and how much we still have in our closets! We are seriously, so blessed! (LOL!) In case you don’t know, that’s a reference to this spoof blog: www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com It is a hoot!

Happy Summer!

A little bit of house hunting...

2008-07-03T20:05:00.004-06:00

We just went to look at a house tonight! Crazy, I know. We've not been looking to move, but just happened to notice a few houses on the market near my parents' house, and started thinking about how nice it would be to have some more space.

One afternoon last week, my parents' realtor had been in the neighborhood, and dropped by their house. Grayson had wanted to go to GrandMary's, so we just happened to come over at the same time.

It's funny, but at that point, I wasn't even thinking about house-hunting, but selling candles! I asked their realtor if he'd be interested in using a Scentsy warmer at his open houses. I told him that I would put some special pricing together for him for purchasing closing gifts. I've been meaning to talk to the realtors I know since I started selling them, but just haven't made the time. The realtor said he would be happy to, so I brought one over with some scents to try. (Side note - he and his wife LOVE THEM! Woohoo!)

Over last weekend, Greg and I dropped into the open house that was just around the corner from our house. (It was the tiny little condo that I mentioned in the last post.) The same realtor was doing the open house!

After looking at it, Greg and I started talking about looking at some of the townhouses near my parents, so I gave the realtor a call the other day, and he was able to arrange for us to see one tonight.

Here's a link to the cute house we saw! It's not huge, but has a lot more space, and an unfinished basement. If we bought it, we would need to immediately finish it so that Sharon (my dear mother-in-law who also lives with us) could have some space of her own. It also has a fenced backyard that is shared with the townhouse next door. It looks like the neighbors have small children, too! The little park (GrandMary's park) is right across the street. It couldn't be in a more perfect spot!

So, long story short, the realtor is going to do some research and crunch some numbers for us! It looks like this could be a definite possibility. Greg's also really excited about the prospect of having a garage and room to store all his climbing gear and outdoorsy stuff.

If we did it, there is a bunch that needs to be done at our house before I'd want to show it -- mainly painting. Greg gets so, SO stressed out about painting for some reason. When I painted Grayson's room, I basically piled most everything in the middle of the room or in the closet, put plastic over it, and then painted. No big deal, right? He thinks that everything ought to be moved out of the room before you even think about painting. I think he may have to go somewhere while we paint the rest of the house, or he'll seriously have a canary about the whole thing! Isn't it funny how differently we think?

So, keep us in your prayers while decisions are made. This has to be a God-thing, with all the weird coincidences lately!

Too-Short Weekend

2008-06-29T23:19:00.008-06:00

Is anyone else just disgusted about how quickly summer weekends seem to pass? I'm really glad that we have a longer weekend coming up!

We've got a seemingly endless list of "to-dos" here at our house, and strangely, the list never gets any shorter. When we painted Grayson's room a couple months ago, my mom bought an armoire for his room from IKEA, and we STILL haven't put it together. Now, if it were just up to me, I'd have it together by now. But, it just happens to be extremely heavy, so I need Greg's help. Every time I ask him about it, he says something like, "Oh yeah, we should plan to do that next weekend. I'm going for a hike."

Now, I'm feeling really guilty, because I told my friend Meghan I'd give her Grayson's old chest of drawers for her little boy James as soon as we had the armoire together (that was a good month ago)! We are definitely putting it together next weekend.

Saturday morning, Greg decided he needed to go to REI for a couple of things, and Grayson wanted to go with him. So, I got a whole bunch of stuff done! I started making a coupon binder, did all the laundry, cleaned and reorganized our big desk, made a ton of Scentsy samples, and got rid of some old stuff we've been storing. Then, Greg called and said that he'd decided to take Grayson to Hogle Zoo since they were nearby. I was slightly disappointed, since this was the second trip to the zoo I've missed; but I got tons of stuff done! Isn't it amazing what you can get done when everyone leaves?!

Then, Saturday afternoon, Greg decided that we should go see the new Indiana Jones movie before it leaves the theaters. It was really good! My parents watched Grayson, and he had a fun time at their house. We haven't been to a movie since before Grayson was born, if you can believe that! We do watch plenty of movies, just haven't made it to the theater.

We were thinking of going to see WALL-E, and take Grayson with us, but decided that we should preview it before taking him. The things they are putting "G" ratings on these days aren't necessarily good for kids to see! I loved the movie Enchanted, but I definitely didn't want Grayson seeing parts of it - particularly the shower scene, and some of the scary parts. Why a shower scene in a kid's movie, for pete's sake!? Granted, they didn't show anything, but it was a bit too suggestive. If you've seen WALL-E, please let me know what you think!

Today, we went to church, came home, and then noticed an Open House that was happening at some condos that were just built nearby our house. We've been wanting to check them out. Not that we would buy one, but it's good to check out what we'll be competing against when we sell our house. My parent's realtor was the one running the open house, so we went to check it out. It was teeny! Not even big enough to "whoop a cat in"! They have three bedrooms but they are very small. The kitchen and "living room" were together, and it was so, so, cramped. They do have a 1 car garage, which is nice. I think there's something like 700 square feet on each level. They are going for right around $150K. Unbelievable! That seems like a lot for such a small place to me, especially in this market.

So, that got us thinking about how much we could sell ours for. It's not huge, but I definitely prefer it over the one we saw, and it is bigger with a finished basement, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, etc. Greg wants to look into buying a house in the area where my parents are. There are newer three-level twin homes, which are very spacious; and there are quite a few up for sale right now. We'll have to see. It would be neat to have some more room, and Grayson would love to live right next to GrandMary and PaPaw.

So, that's my weekend story! Way too short, but we're looking forward to a fun 4th of July next weekend.

Dogs vs. Cats

2008-06-17T12:20:00.002-06:00

Saw this today in a newsletter - too funny!

DOG DIARY
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Ran back and forth in the hall! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play tug! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

CAT DIARY
Day 983 of my captivity
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape.

In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am.

They continue to pick me up and handle me, an obvious attempt to subvert me. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the owner of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.

The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released – and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.

Tonight I will again lay on their heads while they sleep and hope to smother them.

The Outback Family

2008-06-11T19:06:00.006-06:00

Guess what I got?! It's a 2000 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport! We'd been looking for something to replace my Grand Am, and I found this cute little car on KSL Classifieds. I used to have a cranberry-colored 1993 Impreza sedan, from about 1994-2000, and it was totaled in a wreck. It was the best car! So, this one is bringing back some good memories of the old one! :)

So, now we have TWO Subaru Outbacks - this one, and Greg's 2005 Outback Wagon, which is the bigger "family car". Grayson calls the other one "Subie", so when we got this one last Friday, I asked him what we would call it. He's named it "Subie Green". I really was trying to get a picture of both of them together, but it's next to impossible with our schedules.

Since Friday, I've been working to get it detailed and clean. It was fairly clean when I bought it, but just needed a little TLC! I bought new windshield wipers and replaced them all, new floormats, new windshield (old one wouldn't have passed inspection), and of course, a yummy Scentsy Car Candle! Now, I've just got to get the windows tinted and figure out how to use my iPod with the neat stereo it has, and I think I'll be all set!

Oh, yes, and I need to sell my old car! Here's the KSL listing!

47 Questions

2008-06-06T10:00:00.003-06:00

This is from an e-mail that my cute friend Lisa sent, and I thought it would make a good blog entry. Feel free to “tag” yourself to complete it!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No, although several people in my family have my middle name – Suzanne.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Yesterday.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Yes, usually.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
One - Grayson who is 3 ½ years old already!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Absolutely!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Not a lot.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Maybe.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
The Kashi kind with strawberries, or Grape Nuts.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Yes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Praline Pecan, or Birthday Cake (has cake pieces and frosting in it)

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Hair.

15. RED OR PINK?
Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I wish I had cute feet! I see all these cute sandals, but they would show too much of my ugly toes.

17. WHOM DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My Grandma – wish she could have lived to see Grayson!

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Of course!

19. WHAT COLOR TROUSERS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black and black.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
A sourdough breakfast sandwich from Carl’s Jr.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The SWOT (Special Work Out Team) boys talking about a dumb realtor who told them it’s illegal to sell property in Utah if you’re not a realtor.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Plum.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
New paint, bleach, laundry right out of the dryer, a whole bunch of Scentsy smells.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
The rep from the printing place that does the bank’s business cards.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yes!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
I’m not really a sports watcher! Can’t think of a good answer for this one.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Various shades of brown – currently have some caramel highlights.

28. EYE COLOR?
Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yes.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Authentic Mexican or Italian.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings, of course.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
P.S. I Love You – it was very good! Also has Jeffrey Dean Morgan in it (the late Denny Duquette from Grey’s Anatomy)

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
A pink, black and white print. Shouldn’t this question go with the trouser/socks questions?

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
My coloring is winter-ish, but I like summer.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Both!

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Anything rich and chocolaty.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Who knows!

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Who knows?

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Richard Iwosaki and
Become a Better You by Joel Osteeen
(I have a bad habit of reading multiple books at the same time)

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
What mouse pad? I’ve not had a mouse pad ever since optical mice came out! Makes for less clutter on the desktop, too!

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
We don’t really have TV (no cable). I went to a coupon seminar with Stephanie, Stacy and Jessica, so didn't watch anything. It was very informative! I'll have to do another post about it.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Rain.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Rolling Stones

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Washington, D.C.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Too many to list!

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Knoxville, Tennessee

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING ON THEIR BLOG?
Everyone who has time!

Intervention!

2008-05-31T21:32:00.003-06:00

Today we went out to my dear mother-in-law’s storage bay to get the aforementioned 1970’s gold crushed velvet rocking loveseat (see last post) for Grayson’s room, and I realized that an intervention needs to happen! No, no, not for me...

Sharon needed to look for a couple of things from the RV-sized storage bay, and so I was helping to look through some of the items she had out there. On a shelf, there was a jar labeled “Get Well Pills – Take as often as needed”, and it was filled with Skittles – OLD Skittles. I said, “Oh, that’s cute. What are those from?” She said, “Oh, that’s from when Greg had his car accident, and Betsey McCarley (a good family friend) brought a whole basket of stuff like that.”

Hmmm…Greg’s car accident happened in December of 1990! Those Skittles could have graduated by now (18 years old)! Is there a Skittles museum we could send them to? I’m guessing the reason those didn’t get eaten was because Greg’s mouth was wired shut for a few weeks (sorry I missed that), and Sharon is hypoglycemic (can’t have much sugar).

Then, a little bit later, I bumped into a canister, and it fell over. You know those big ones that they have at Christmastime with the three flavors of popcorn in them? It had blue geese on it (remember when people used to do their kitchens in those? – like 1987?). When the canister fell, it made kind of a noise like it had birdseed in it. She’s got an Americana one that she keeps birdseed in, so I said, “Oh, I think I found some birdseed.” Nope. We opened it, and it was popcorn – three flavors, and about half full! I guess birds might eat that. On second thought, I like birds.

Oh, I love my dear mother-in-law, but why, oh why is she keeping that stuff?!

The other contents of the storage bay are mostly things that could be gotten rid of – old skis (I teased her that we could take them to Applebee’s to hang on their skiing wall), old house decorations (a macrame wall hanging - remember those?), old stuff that needs fixing, old stuff that most likely won’t be used ever again, etc.

So, I’ve concluded that we need an intervention to: 1) bring a large dumpster to the storage bay and put all the trash in it; 2)have a giant yard sale; 3)donate everything else that's not wanted or needed. I’m sure we could get the stuff that’s actually needed into a closet-sized storage unit; or store it at my parents’ house in their basement or something. I just don’t want to think about how much it’s costing her to rent that place! So, this summer we are definitely going to get out there and do some work.

Anyone interested in some yard-sailing? Petrified food? Come on over!

And lastly, I couldn't sign off without a picture of this lovely sofa -- Grayson really likes it. It rocks, and it is pretty comfy! I'll have to find a fun slipcover for it, or cover it up with lots of pillows. We'll have to see what it looks like in the room, I guess.

Grayson's Room Re-do & Big Boy Bed

2008-05-31T12:47:00.017-06:00

So, we painted Grayson's room two weekends ago, and we're still trying to get it all together! I wish I had a few hours to work on it, interrupted, but you know how that goes when you have a little one!

These pictures look quite boring, but I've been hanging stuff up. There's the cutest white shelf that Stephanie gave us before Grayson was born (thanks Stephanie!) that I still need to hang up. She made it as a first project when she got her nail gun! :) I can't decide where to put it, and I don't want to make any more holes in the wall than necessary!

We painted with the textured Ralph Lauren River Rock paint in a kind of paper bag color. Then, we left all the trim and the doors cream-colored. I really like how it turned out! Now, for the rest of the house. I love the fresh paint smell. I wish Scentsy made a fresh paint scent!

Grayson's door

The star-shaped window treatment things I got from Terry's Village, with a white, sheer swag thing from WalMart

Grayson's new IKEA loft bed!

Teddy and Puppy resting in the new bed

Grayson with Bob, our "timeshare" cat who came over to visit (and nap in the new bed)

Oh, Bob!

The "nook" under the new bed! There are some lights under it.

I love this rocking chair from the Cracker Barrel, but I think we are going to store it and put a small loveseat that we already have in the "nook". It's gold crushed velvet, and it rocks -- so '70s! Yes, I will find a slipcover. :)

This is the IKEA "Leksvik" armoire that my mom bought for Grayson's room! Thanks Mom!

We bought it last weekend, and all I can say is "Leksvik" must translate into "freaking heavy". We haven't put it together yet, because Greg said we need a handtruck to get it out of my mom's SUV. You should have seen us getting it off the shelf onto the cart, and then out of the store and into the Blazer. Hopefully Greg will put it together this weekend!

So, that's it so far for the room! I will post some more pictures when it's totally together. Um, give me 6 months or so...

Pray for the Chapman Family

2008-05-23T18:59:00.004-06:00

This is just incredibly sad...

NASHVILLE, TN...5/21/08... At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters.

More than five years ago, Chapman and his wife MaryBeth founded The Shaohannah’s Hope Ministry after bringing their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah, home from China. The ministry’s goal is to help families reduce the financial barrier of adoption, and has provided grants to over 1700 families wishing to adopt orphans from around the world. Chapman is a five-time GRAMMY ® winner and 54-time Dove Award winning artist who has sold over 10 million albums and garnered 44 No. 1 singles.

I've Got Geese Like a River...

2008-05-19T13:08:00.005-06:00

This was too funny... My mom has every other Monday off, and today she and my dad took Grayson to Brigham City on a little outing, and she called me from Wal-Mart.

My mom: "We're in Wal-Mart. You've got to hear what Grayson's singing!"

Grayson (singing at the top of his lungs): "I've got geese like a river, I've got geese like a river, I've got geese like a river in my soul!!!" [Just in case you don't know the tune, it's "peace" like a river!]

Oh, I'm still giggling! My co-workers are going to wonder what I'm on! :)

Mother's Day Visitors!

2008-05-18T23:43:00.005-06:00

We have had a busy couple of weeks!

My sister-in-law, Kenna, and her two little boys came from California and stayed with us for a couple of weeks. and then my brother-in-law Jeff flew in from Florida and was here for a few days. It was fun having them! We missed having Chad (Kenna's husband) here because he was working on a remote construction project.

We got to do a bunch of fun things while they were here! We rode the FrontRunner (commuter train) from Ogden to Farmington; went to the Union Station train museum, picknicked at the park in Huntsville, visited Hogle Zoo, went to the Dinosaur Park, etc., etc. The boys wore each other (and us) out. You'd think two weeks would be enough, but we still didn't do all the fun things we had planned.

I think Grayson is really missing having his cousins here! They really shared the toys well for two 3 1/2 year-olds and a 1 1/2 year old! And, in case you're wondering, they did drink all the milk, but we just kept running over to Smith's for more! :)

Here are some pictures....enjoy! Sorry the captions are a little hard to read!

Oh Boy x Three!

2008-05-13T23:08:00.004-06:00

It has been forever since I've done a blog entry! But, I have a good reason for my absence. Kenna, my sister-in-law, and her two boys arrived on Sunday the 4th, and then Jeff, my brother-in-law, arrived on the 7th. So, all the "kids" were here for Sharon's Mother's Day!

The boys are having so much fun together. Jonathon is 3 1/2, just 5 weeks older than Grayson. Isaac is 1 1/2, and loves trying everything that the big boys are doing.

Cute cousins - Jonathon and Grayson

At SLC International - Kenna, Isaac, Jonathon and Grayson

I think my favorite part is listening in on their funny conversations. They were playing with the doctor kit the other afternoon, and it went something like this:

Grayson: Here’s some medicine (handing Jonathon the toy medicine bottle from the doctor kit)

Jonathon: I’m not sick.

Grayson: I heard you cough.

Jonathon: No! I’m not sick!! (almost crying) I don’t want to take medicine!

Grayson: It will help you feel better!

Jonathon: Noooo!! Mommy!!

It's been so much fun having them here. I'm sure that Grayson is going to really miss having someone around the house to play with! And Jonathon has decided that he really likes the our neighbor cat, Bob. He may try to pack him in the suitcase when they go home, so we'll have to keep an eye on him....

I've got tons more fun pictures to post, but they will have to wait 'til another day. All of them are on our big computer downstairs (where the guests are sleeping right now).

Good night!

Mandles Candles...for Manly Men

2008-04-24T23:24:00.003-06:00

I couldn't figure out how to add this video from YouTube to my blog, but here's a link to it - it's hysterical!:

Mandles Candes

Oh, When Will We Be Well?!?

2008-04-21T23:01:00.003-06:00

It seems like all of 2008, there's been a cloud of sickness hanging over our house! We've all had colds, flu, pinkeye, etc. Greg had bronchitis, and so did my mother-in-law, Sharon; I've had shingles... the list goes on and on.

Friday morning, I woke up to the sound of Grayson coughing - a deep chest cough. About as soon as I got up from the bed to check on him, I started coughing, too. Ugh...

So, that afternoon we were off to the doctor's office...again! We both got prescriptions for Zithromax (my favorite antibiotic - it works fast, and you only have to take it for 5 days) for bronchitis, and the doctor advised Mucinex for me and some Robitussin for Grayson. Grayson seems to be feeling lots better. Kids are usually so resilient when it comes to being sick! I am feeling better than I did on Friday, but still can't stop coughing. The doctor told me to get a lot of rest; but I don't know how you're supposed to do that with a three-year old, and working full-time! I'd try and take a couple of sick days, but seriously, I have so much to do at work. And most everything has a deadline, too. We have had some changes recently that have taken some pressure off of me, so that's a good thing. Maybe this is a sign that I need to slow down! :)

The agenda for the weekend, which did not get done, included painting Grayson's room and finding a mattress for a big-boy bed. Ordinarily, it wouldn't matter a whole lot, and we'd just put it off until the next weekend.

However, my cute sister-in-law Kenna and her boys, Jonathon and Isaac are coming for a visit in a couple of weeks! Yay! Hence, we are trying to figure out where everyone will sleep. We've been meaning to get a big-boy bed for Grayson for quite some time now, but it seems like things keep coming up (like the flu, etc.)!

Grayson looked out the window this morning and asked if Jonathon would be here today. Not quite - they're coming on May 4th, and staying for a couple of weeks. Chad (Kenna's hubby) is going on a business trip to Florida, so Kenna and the boys are coming to play with us for a while!

Grayson has been excited, but he said something so funny tonight. He said, "Mommy, I don't know if I want them to come." I asked him why not, and he said, "They'll drink all the milk!" I assured him that we would be sure to have plenty of milk in the house for everyone! We get milk delivered by Winder Dairy. Sometimes I'll add an extra quart to our order if we're getting low, or we'll just grab some at the store. (If you've not tried Winder, it's really good, fresh milk, and they don't give their cows any hormones, either.) There have been a couple of times when we've run out on Tuesday afternoon, and the milk man comes early morning on Wednesday, so maybe that's what brought that on. I had no idea the trauma that having no milk for a bedtime snack could cause! Aren't kids so funny!?

Speaking of milk, Stephanie sent me this funny commercial. Drink your milk!

The Old Homestead

2008-04-19T22:41:00.006-06:00

Recently, my parents' realtor with Coldwell Banker called them to let them know their old house of 28 years was on the market again! My parents moved about 2 years ago to a new condo, and they live 7 blocks from us. It's good for them to be so close.

The older couple who bought it live in Florida, and wanted this house for their summer vacation home (weird, I know).

So, I just thought it would be interesting to see what they'd done to the inside. My parents' old neighbors told them about all the renovations that seemed to be going on. The old neighbors don't like these new neighbors, by the way; and they're glad they only live there part of the year. The husband actually shot one of the neighborhood cats! (Didn't kill it, but still...)

They did resurface the cabinets in the kitchen and added some molding. It looks like they left the old cabinet hardware on, too! I don't think it looks too much better than before. That is a LOT of white! They did leave up the wallpaper border I put up about 10 years ago. It's kind of oddly decorated. My mom did a much better job with decorating than this! The basement still has the ugly faux stone wall and shiny paneling, so they didn't do anything with that, for sure.

Maybe I'm overly critcal because I watch too many real estate and home design shows! (Ok, no one look at my house, please...it's a work in progress!)

Anyway, it's already under contract, so someone must have seen past the '80s furniture and the cheap-looking lamps. It really is a great house - just needs some work! :) And, maybe Christopher Lowell could stop by and help with the design.

I would love to move back (or closer) to Brigham City someday! It really is a great place to live, and you feel like you can go for a walk without getting mugged. The neighborhood we're in in Ogden is OK, but I haven't felt that comfortable here yet. If we go for walks, we drive to a nicer neighborhood! Ha ha!

Link to see This Old House

How Many of Me?

2008-04-16T22:54:00.002-06:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
442
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Wow - I wish that I could send a few of me to work, have at least 15 of me cleaning, painting and doing other projects at home... That's reasonable, isn't it?

There are 90 Greg Stephens - not quite as common.

The same website says there are 0 (zero) people in the U.S. named Grayson Stephens! Apparently we picked a really unique name!

(Belated) Easter Fun!

2008-04-10T19:37:00.010-06:00

Finally, here are some pictures from Easter! Grayson's Sunday School class sang some fun Easter songs at church. I forgot to bring my camera, so Stacy took these for me. Thanks Stacy!

Here are some pictures from the fun Easter egg hunt later that day at Josh and Sharmilla's! Grayson had lots of fun, but got tired of hunting for eggs, and decided to mow the lawn instead. He's such a good worker!

Tagged!

2008-04-10T19:21:00.002-06:00

My cute friend Stephanie tagged me. It's a tag about Greg and I, so here goes...

How long have you been together? We were married August 24, 2002; so it will be 6 years in August!

How long did you date? First date was March 17, 2001; so it was a year and about 6 months

How old is he? 35

Who said ‘I love you’ first? I think he did, but I don't remember.

Who is taller? Greg

Who is smarter? Greg is, for sure - he does calculus for fun!

Who does the laundry? We both do, but I'm picky about mine, so he just does his. I try to get to it if I can, and I usually end up folding and putting his away.

Who does the dishes? We both load the dishwasher, but I'm always the one who starts it, unless I ask him to do it. When there are dishes that need hand-washing, I usually do it.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Greg

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who mows the lawn? Um....what lawn? It would be me, but Sharon (my dear mother-in-law) usually beats me to it. We have the cutest little push lawnmower, since we didn't need an actual lawnmower. It works really well! We have a postage-stamp sized lawn at our condo; and about a fourth of it is covered by a slab of concrete.

Who cooks dinner? Me. If he cooks, we're having something from Chili's, Applebee's, Jim's Burgers, Rancheritos or The Pie. :) He really can cook, though.

Who is more stubborn? Most definitely Greg!

Who kissed who first? Greg, but not 'til the 3rd or 4th date.

Who asked who out? He did.

Who proposed? He did.

Who is more sensitive? Me.

New Kitchen Gadgets!

2008-03-26T12:00:00.007-06:00

My name is Laura, and I'm a kitchen gadget-aholic.

I had to share this really neat dish I bought online from Lee Daniels Pottery. She makes some beautiful things! Can you guess what this is?

It's a French butter keeper! I've been looking for one of these for a while now, and this one was too cute to pass up! We had a butter dish that came with our set of dishes from our wedding, but it was constantly in my way, and looked gross after a couple of uses. This one matches another piece of pottery that's on my counter top. You put the butter in the part of the dish that fits on top, and put a little cold water in the bottom of the dish. The water seals out the air, and keeps the butter fresh!

Oh, and we're getting a new fridge today! I'm so excited. The one we currently have is almond colored, and it came with our house. It's got to be 15=20 years old. Our condo was a rental before, and I'm fairly sure that the owners bought this used fridge just to throw in for the renters. It's been OK, but if it weren't for the child lock on the bottom part, it would lose a LOT of cold air. The door doesn't shut tight without it. As for the freezer, it's teeny, and it's a nightmare to find anything that you put in. There are no shelves, and no ice maker!

When we got our tax refund recently, Greg and I were talking about what he wanted to do with it. I was assuming he'd want to put it all toward paying off his car. He surprised me by saying that he thought we should use part of it for a new fridge.

At that point, he was suffering from the flu and bronchitis; and taking the "good" kind of cough syrup. Greg generally hasn't been one to want to spend money on house stuff, so of course, I went to Home Depot's website and ordered one immediately before he changed his mind!
It's a stainless steel Maytag with ice and water through the door! I've not had an ice maker in my married life, so it's going to be great! Filling ice trays is probably my most dreaded kitchen chore. Anyone need some ice trays? Anyone?

Would you like to come over for a nice, cold glass of ice water? I might even be able to find something yummy in the fridge!

Digi-Crop Night!

2008-03-26T00:50:00.002-06:00

I haven't written anything in soooooo long! Everyone in my house has been sick with bronchitis and the flu. I thought I'd escaped it, but of course, I came down with some yucky bug as well. Currently, I think I have a sinus infection. It started out feeling like a toothache, and now my face hurts from my forehead down to my cheekbones. I've discovered that Mucinex works really well! I highly recommend it for the head cold crud.

Now on to more fun stuff...

Stacy, Stephanie and I had a fun digital scrapbooking party last Saturday night at Stacy's house. We had such a good time, and the kids all played really well together while we shared PhotoShop tips and tricks and created new pages. We have got to do that again sometime!

Here's what I came up with! Yes, I realize I'm a couple of holidays behind! I bought this paper from ScrapGirls.com to make Grayson's valentines for PlaySchool this year. So fun! :)

Easter Eggs!

2008-03-20T18:31:00.001-06:00

If this is your widget, log in to CafeMom to access additional controls.

My Weekend Story / I See Sick People...

2008-03-10T01:06:00.006-06:00

When I was in first grade, every Monday we would have to write a story about what happened over the weekend. My mom still has a bunch of them, and they are hilarious to read now! So, that's where the title came from. Oh, and also, everyone at my house is sick!

On Friday, I skipped out of work just a little early, and when I came home, Grayson was just waking up from his nap. I gave him a big hug, and he coughed like he was about to throw up, and he said his tummy didn't feel good. We parked in the bathroom for a while, and he did throw up, just a little. We finally got his stomach settled, but the rest of the weekend, he's had a cough and runny nose.

Sharon caught the same bug (she brought it from Florida), and she has been so sick. I'm really worried about her! I think she's finally on the mend.

Greg caught the bug too, and he rarely gets sick. I don't know why I don't have it! I did start taking some immune system vitamins that I bought from my chiropractor's office, so I think those are helping.

Saturday, Grayson got a little stir-crazy from staying inside. He was begging to put on his coat and go out into the backyard for a while, so I gave in. I thought I'd clean up the kitchen a little bit. I thought he was just going to play on his big toy and slide down the slide. I looked out in a couple of minutes, and there was my boy, digging in the mud! He was playing with his trucks that had been left out in the snow. They were finally uncovered!

You can't tell it from this picture, but he got soooooo muddy. He'd just started playing, so I decided he might as well play a while. He was going to be dirty either way! When he came in, I just took all the muddy clothes off of him, and we practically gave him a bath in the sink. I was glad that everything, including his cute new shoes, came clean in the wash!

On Saturday night, Greg went to sleep early, so I rented a movie from Movielink called Sydney White with Amanda Bynes. It was so cute! It's a definite chick flick, but very fun. It even has John Schneider (remember Bo Duke, Dukes of Hazzard?) as the cute dad.

Sunday, I was supposed to help with Sunday school, but Grayson was still coughing, sneezing, etc., and I didn't want to spread the bug around, of course. So, we stayed home and made waffles, and watched Mary Poppins and Bob the Builder for the 147th time! :) He also took a good nap both Saturday and Sunday, which meant that I got a good nap, too! YAY!

Sunday night, we were feeling pretty lazy, and so we got takeout from Applebee's (their Oriental Chicken Salad was soooo good).

Then, I finished off the weekend by FINALLY re-doing my blog! I was getting tired of the old, snowy theme. I used digital scrapbook paper that I bought from ScrapGirls.com! They have so much fun stuff. This is the same collection I used to make decorations for Grayson's third birthday party. I probably used $50 worth of ink printing everything, but it was fun! I got the instructions from SJH Blog Design (under my "Fun Blogs"). I think I may have to change the background a bit, since I notice it's hard to read some of the things on the sidebar now.

That's my Weekend Story, and I'm sticking to it!

Oh, and Happy Daylight Savings Time - ugh!

For that Hard-to-Buy-For Person on Your Gift List...

2008-03-09T23:39:00.005-06:00

My sister-in-law, Kenna just forwarded us this link. Too funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D99NHb6B03s

Greg wants one, of course!

Pictures from Sunny Florida!

2008-03-06T22:43:00.010-07:00

Wouldn't it be fun to be there right now?!

My mother-in-law, Sharon went on a short trip over last weekend to visit her son Jeff in Florida. Jeff shared some pictures with us:

Jeff and Sharon

Shane, Jeff and Sharon

Some water, a palm tree...

Jeff and his new Audi...

Ummm...this picture speaks for itself, I guess...

Oh yeah, and they met Barry Manilow while taking a water taxi to lunch last Saturday! They didn't realize it was him, and he didn't break into a rousing rendition of Copacabana (love that song!). Sharon said that he and a couple other people sat down near them, and they struck up a conversation. He told them he'd just recently moved from Las Vegas. He still has a show there, at the Hilton, so he must fly back and forth, I guess. Sharon said that he seemed so familiar, she thought she knew him from somewhere. Then, when they finally got off the boat, it struck them who it was! Gosh, isn't it awful when you bump into a celebrity and you can't remember who they are?

Jack Bowser

2008-03-06T22:30:00.003-07:00

Just a little update on little Jack Bowser (it's a play on Jack Bauer, from 24, in case you didn't catch that!).

We decided that the first place his people would look for him would probably be the nearest animal shelter. Since we really didn't have time to launch a campaign of flyers, we decided that would be the best thing to do.

So, I took him to the animal shelter near the Ogden Dinosaur Park and Rainbow Gardens. They scanned him to see if he had a chip implanted, but unfortunately, they didn't find anything. I think that's great that we have that technology now - we'll definitely have that done when we get a puppy of our own.

The people there are so nice - I know they'll take great care of the little guy. They also have the "Tiffany Adoption Center", for pets that go unclaimed. I'm sure he won't be there very long!

Don't You Need a Little Dog?

2008-03-03T18:06:00.008-07:00

I came home from work today, and Grayson came running to the door to meet me. "We got you a present!!!" he said. "Come and see!"

So, I walked in, and there was this little bitty dog in the kitchen, fenced in with one of the baby gates. We think he is a Miniature Doberman. We're calling him Jack Bowser. He is very sweet and playful, and seems to be house trained.

Greg went for a run today, and found him at the MTC park in Ogden, just a short distance from our house. He was all by himself, no tags or anything, so Greg brought him home. What was he thinking? We can't have a dog in a townhouse! I'm sure someone paid good money for him, so hopefully we will locate his owner......soon! Honestly, I would love to be able to keep him, but we just aren't able to.

If you would like him, please let me know! If we don't find the owner, you may be the lucky winner!

My Middle Name

2008-02-28T20:31:00.005-07:00

My friend Stephanie tagged me with this one! Here are the rules. You must post the rules before you give your answers. You must list something about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details). My middle name is Suzanne.

S – OK, another shameless plug for my business….I just started selling Scentsy products back in late October! It is so much fun. It practically sells itself! If you'd be interested in having a party, or just learning more about it, please let me know! You can have a party at your home, or a "Basket Party". I have two kits of small testers, catalogs, etc.; that you can easily take to work, school, church, show to neighbors, etc. Another idea I recently heard of was of someone who had a party at their condo association's clubhouse. The hostess rewards are awesome!

U – Uggghh is for how I’m feeling this week! I am ready for a serious vacation. I’ve been fighting off a cold, trying to get over shingles, and Grayson has been waking up somewhere between 3 and 5 AM all week. I’ve still not taken any PTO days, though! :) Too much to do!

Z – My favorite animal is a Zebra. OK, it’s really not, but what else am I going to come up with for Z? Zappos.com is a great place to buy shoes!

A – I work for America West Bank! I’m the Legal Assistant to the President/CEO/Founder of the bank. It is really a fun place to work, and there’s rarely a dull moment. I do foreclosures, collections, office supply ordering, printer/fax/copier fixing, setting up for meetings, catering, the newsletter, Sam’s Club runs, ordering gifts, office administration types of things, fridge cleaning (OK, I took this one upon myself – could not stand the stinky fridge any longer!)

N – Like Stephanie, I’m also a nerd! Greg is a nerd, too. He likes to do calculus for fun.

N – I’m a neat freak! I recently bought a Swiffer WetJet, and I LOVE it! It cleans really well, and it’s small enough that I can store it in the space by our fridge. I can mop every day now! Grayson loves to use it, too. He mostly likes to spray the cleaner out of it. :) He loves to help me clean, so I certainly don’t want to discourage that!

E – is for eyes – I may get to have Lasik surgery done within the next year or so! Yay! I am really freaked out about it though, because I can’t stand the thought of anyone or anything touching my eyes! It took me years and multiple visits to the eye doctor to finally get contacts because of my phobia; even though I would have been much less nerdy-looking in high school without the thick glasses! Is there some way they can put you out for that surgery? Valium please.

I have to tag 7 people, one for each letter of my middle name.....So, Emily, Natalie, Rachel, Sarah, Kathleen, Scott, Sharmilla,.... you're it! Hopefully I don't forget to let you all know! :)

Scattergories!

2008-02-28T14:25:00.002-07:00

I saw this on Stephanie’s blog and couldn’t resist the urge to do my own! It is harder than it looks!

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up!

You CAN'T use your own name for the boy/girl . . . . . .

1.What is your name? Laura

2. 4 letter word: Live

3. Vehicle: Lexus

4. City: Louisville, KY

5. Boy Name: Larry

6. Girl Name: Lauren

7. Occupation: Lawyer

8. Celebrity: Liv Tyler

9. Food: Lasagna

10. Something Found in a Bathroom: Laundry

11. Reason for Being Late: Lost

12. Cartoon Character: Larry the Cucumber

13. Something you shout: Loser!!

14. Animal: Lamb

15. Body part: Liver

16. Word to describe you: Loving

New Use for Handcuffs! (G-rated)

2008-02-25T22:42:00.003-07:00

I've wanted to try this on many occasions!

What's Your True Color?

2008-02-23T20:48:00.002-07:00

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Black

Your color is black. The color of night. Serene and mysterious, black conjures up images of elegant evening gowns, dashing tuxedos, and gleaming limousines. Traditionally a symbol of success, black also represents power and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Not surprisingly, you tend to set challenging goals for yourself and do whatever it takes to achieve them — your strength of character is second to none. This unfaltering determination, along with your natural elegance, impresses people. But keep in mind that your personality might be intimidating to some. Try to temper your demanding side with a little softness — trust us, it won't kill you. Overall, though, black is the color of professionalism and achievement, which means it's clearly the color for you.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Hmmm...it isn't the color I would have picked, but I kind of like the description! :)

Sunflower Cake!

2008-02-23T20:24:00.005-07:00

Greg took Grayson on a little father-son outing this afternoon so that I could do some things at home that have been neglected.

Well, I probably should have made better use of my time. I was supposed to be shampooing the carpets, and making a trip to Home Depot to get paint samples, but, I made a cake!

Oh well, I love to bake, and it's been a while since I've had a few minutes to do something fun!

Enjoy! I wish I could upload a slice for you! Heaven knows we don't need to eat this thing...

The 100 Things Challenge

2008-02-22T12:51:00.003-07:00

The challenge was to come up with 100 things about myself that people may or may not know.

1. I wish I were a little more OCD and super-organized, but I would probably have to be committed!
2. Would like to be a stay-at-home mom someday, but think I would be freaked out to actually do it.
3. I love the X-Files, and wish that I hadn’t seen all the episodes already.
4. Didn’t ever really go camping until I was in my 20s.
5. I can’ t stand it when people don’t make full use of turn lanes, and bring traffic to a standstill while they wait to turn – what is up with those people?!?!
6. I am fond of Far Side cartoons.
7. I prefer silver to gold.
8. I’m pretty much clueless about most movies that are out.
9. Don’t have cable, but my favorite shows to watch when I can are on HGTV, DIY and TLC.
10. My favorite kind of pie is pecan.
11. I hang my clothes warm, right out of the dryer.
12. I don’t like to iron.
13. I enjoy doing laundry, it makes me feel productive.
14. I would prefer not to have anything on my kitchen counters except canisters, coffee maker, etc. (like that’s going to happen!)
15. I’m really particular about fridge magnets.
16. I have terrible eyesight, and would like to get Lasik surgery.
17. I have a paralegal certificate.
18. I suffer from persistent heartburn two or more days a week.
19. I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico! (just kidding)
20. I love lavender roses.
21. I like just about every Ralph Lauren perfume! Blue is my current favorite.
22. I am WAAAAY to busy for my own good.
23. I'm the President-Elect of the Wasatch Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals, and scared to death that I have to be the President starting in July!
24. I love my Scentsy business, and hope it grows enough so that I can pay off all my debts and possibly turn it into a full-time thing someday.
25. I just had a new consultant sign up last week - yay!!
26. I recently went to small claims court (for work) and got a bench warrant against someone -- so exciting! Didn't get to follow through on that one, since the person filed BK, and you can't collect anything from them after that.
27. I love to go to Tai Pan and IKEA.
28. I wish I could spend more time with Grayson and Greg right now.
29. I love to give gifts!
30. I went to Utah State University for a couple of years. Wish I had graduated, but at that point, I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do.
31. I'd like to go back to school.
32. My birthday is next week!
33. I stay up too late, and don't get enough sleep.
34. I am sometimes too permissive with Grayson - he's such a sweet little guy that it's hard not to let him have what he wants sometimes. It's that guilty working mom thing!
35. I wish I had normal hair! It's way too thick, and takes a lot of time to get it to look good.
36. I hope to be as good at digital scrapbooking as Stephanie someday!
37. I love to listen to Sean Hannity! Used to listen a lot, but can't in my current office.
38. I am a neat freak. You wouldn't know it by looking at my house!
39. I can't stand clutter, but seem to have a lot of it! I'm following Stephanie's advice though, and getting rid of things I don't need, don't use, or don't love! :) I got rid of a TON of old cookbooks that I love, but don't use or need.
40. I want to paint every room in my house! It's over 10 years old, and has not ever been painted (except during construction).
41. I love dogs!
42. I am not a cat person.
43. I hate having stuff in my car, and I try to take everything out when I get out.
44. I like it when people leave comments on my blog, and feel like such a loser when no one does! 45. I have a LOT of gray hair for a person of my age!
46. I have a huge list of home improvement projects that I want to do.
47. I've had three surgeries on my toes!
48. I am losing weight since I stopped drinking Diet Coke (and stopped eating breakfast, and going out to lunch…).
49. I like to drive, especially when it's someone else’s car! :)
50. My first car was a baby blue, 1978 Pontiac Firebird that my grandpa worked on. It was his last project before he died – he always had an old car to tinker with. I miss that old car! :)
51. Um, I wrecked that car; 7 days after I got my driver’s license. It was totaled, but my dad had it fixed. Thanks for not killing me, Dad!
52. I haven't been to a wedding in forever! Receptions, yes; weddings, no. Someone I know needs to get married. Seriously.
53. I can't wait for the new season of Grey's Anatomy. Seriously!
54. I love Dixie Grill! I could really go for a Bleu Bacon Burger and their yummy iced tea right now!
55. I love to sing in the car.
56. I wish I had brothers and sisters!
57. I hope to have another baby someday. I don't want Grayson to be an only child.
58. I've never had real sushi (only the vegetable kind), but really want to try it.
59. I have a crush on Patrick Dempsey (who doesn't!?) I even thought he was cute in Can't Buy Me Love. I think Greg looks a little like him when his hair gets a bit shaggy. :)
60. I also find Dwight Schrute attractive. (ha ha!)
60. I love Ugly Betty! I really identify with her!
61. My favorite place to buy wreaths is Lyle Dabb Farms in Harrisville. My mom calls it “The Weed Store”!
62. I like a wide variety of music.
63. I love to learn new computer programs. I’m currently working on learning HTML so that I can make my blog and Scentsy website look cool!
64. I love to learn all kinds of new things!
65. I love chocolate!
66. I’m a hard worker.
67. I’m very handy, and can fix lots of things.
68. I love power tools!
69. I really would like to have a nail gun.
70. I would like to go to Miracle Hot Springs in Idaho, and stay in a yurt over a weekend.
71. I’m a nerd.
72. I have the best-ever recipe for zucchini bread, if you ever need a recipe for zucchini bread!
73. I’m very detail-oriented.
74. I have an office supply fetish.
75. I’m very particular about the placement of things on my desk – they have to be just so before I start working in the morning, and before I leave.
76. I compulsively clean and put things in order.
77. I’m always wiping down countertops – can’t stand it when they’re dirty!
78. I generally don’t like to go shopping for clothes, shoes, etc, just since I need tall sizes. I love to shop online, though!
79. I used to like to go shopping “just for fun” before Grayson, but now it’s just too hard, and takes too much precious time!
80. Eddie Bauer is my favorite place to buy clothes!
81. I can’t stand to shop in places that only carry petite and regular sizes. What the crap are they thinking?!! There are so many tall people these days!
82. I do love an occasional trip to Park City to the outlet stores!
83. I feel lucky to live so close to Park City.
84. I have an aversion to WalMart! I do like the one in Perry and the one in Syracuse. They are nice, clean, and new.
85. I don’t really care for Fords.
86. I’d like to have a Volkswagen Jetta someday!
87. Actually, I’d love having a car that doesn’t break down on a monthly basis…
88. I abhor rudeness.
89. I think child molesters should be hanged by the “you-know-what”.
90. People who abuse animals should be arbitrarily shot.
91. I wish there was some invention to dump 5 gallons of paint on those who choose to do graffiti on other people’s property.
92. I love to go out with friends whenever I can.
93. I love chick flicks! Rarely get to watch them, so that makes them even better!
94. I like to blog! It’s a great way to share pictures, happenings, and stray thoughts without sending e-mails that you’re not sure people will want.
95. My favorite class in high school was band! Mr. Qualls was really fun.
96. I used to play the clarinet. I have one now, but I’m not sure if I could still play it. I haven’t played since before I graduated!
97. I was in marching band, pep band, concert band, clarinet choir….
98. I own a shirt that says "JV Marching Band" on the front, and “Band Geek” on the back!
99. I had Representative Rob Bishop as a teacher in high school! He was also a great teacher.
100. I am so glad to have this project done!

Grayson's Haircut!

2008-02-21T23:52:00.004-07:00

Grayson and I got haircuts on Tuesday night. He was such a big boy, that I just had to share.

He loves to go to Tiffani's house (our hair lady), mostly because she has such fun toys. She has two boys that are in the "tweens", so she still has lots of good boy toys! He played quietly until it was time to get his hair cut, and then I helped him climb up onto the booster seat. He sat still during his haircut and styling, and couldn't have been more well behaved! (Proud mom moment! :) )

Grayson has had several haircuts so far, but this was the first really big one. More of his cute blonde curls fell on the floor than I was ready to part with! He looks like such a big kid now!

Grayson always wants me to do something funny with his hair when we wash it, and then he wants to see it in the mirror.

Having his bedtime snack of yogurt after his bath.

He's growing up too fast! I don't know what we're going to do with this boy! :)

Pictures from Tennessee

2008-02-18T23:37:00.008-07:00

The Bailey "Kids" - Larry, Pat (Loy), Beverly (White) and Harry Bailey

My mom and dad just returned from their trip to Knoxville on Saturday. Although it was a sad occasion, they had a nice time catching up with family.

We had them take our newer digital camera with a 4GB memory card, just so they could take all kinds of pictures. I haven't been to Tennessee since my Grandmother Bailey died, in about 1993, so I really wanted some pictures! Apparently, they had a hard time figuring out how to use the camera. I guess I should have given better lessons!

I have some cousins who got some more pictures of their trip, so hopefully they will share!

My Aunt Beverly, who looks so much like a young version of my Grandmother! Her beautiful daughter Jennifer (picture behind her) is the lead in her East Tennessee State University's production of Grease this spring! Go Jennifer!

This is my Uncle Harry! He's a funny guy! The oldest of the four siblings, and still just as sharp as a tack. : )

My cute Aunt Pat

My dad - looks a lot like his siblings!

Aunt Beverly's cute little Pickenese, Picabo, apparently exiled to another room...

My Very Educational Post on Shingles...

2008-02-16T20:14:00.004-07:00

No, not this kind...I wish these were the shingles of our brand-new house, but alas, no...

Somehow, amidst the stress and exhaustion of the last week and a half or so, I came down with Shingles! I haven't felt particularly stressed, but there has been a lot going on. In particular, the untimely death of my aunt, and making all the arrangements for my parents to get to the funeral, and their little dog to be taken care of. Also, I tend to try to do more than is humanly possible, which is pretty silly of me.

So, last Sunday, I noticed this mosquito bite kind of bump on my back. I didn't think much of it until some of the same kind of bumps started to form on my left leg. I racked my brain trying to figure out what I had done different recently that could be irritating my skin (laundry detergent? soap? lotion? pantyhose?) Along with the bumps, I have had this itching, aching, burning tingling feeling on my left side; even where there are no bumps.

On Wednesday, I happened to have an appointment with my chiropractor, Dr. Jolley. I'd made that appointment because I had this ache in my lower back and down my legs. I thought I had a pinched nerve or something. He took one look at the bumps, and told me it was Shingles, and to get to my family doctor ASAP. I wasn't able to get in until Friday, and decided that I was in too much pain, so I made a quick trip to the InstaCare in Layton. The doctor I saw gave me two types of medicine to help the Shingles go dormant.

What are Shingles? Well, if you have had chicken pox, you can get Shingles. The virus lives in your body once the pox go away. It can appear any time and without warning, but usually when a person is overly tired or stressed. The virus travels through your nerves, so it causes nerve pain. I've read that after the bumps go away, you can still have nerve pain. In some people, it goes away and doesn't come back, and in others, it can recur and recur.

I've been concerned about passing the chicken pox virus along to someone who hasn't had it. Everyone who I work with and my family with has had it, and Grayson has been immunized, so I'm trying to keep myself home while I've got the dreaded bumps.

It is really annoying, and I hope it goes away soon! I am actually starting to feel better, but am still quite tired. I'm kind of proud that I made it to work each day this week, and only took a few hours off on Friday. I've got so much to do that I just couldn't miss a day.

Sharon, my mother-in-law and the "Queen of All Things of Natural Healing", did some research and found a bunch of vitamins and supplements that will help Shingles. I did have a few things on hand, so I've been taking them. One of the things that's supposed to help the pain is cayenne pepper or capsaicin. I still need to make a trip to the health food store!

So, if you happen to get some mysterious red bumps, my advice is to go to the doctor immediately! Don't suffer any longer than you have to.

This concludes my Public Service Announcement. Now, back to regularly scheduled programming...

The Life I Planned

2008-02-12T00:31:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite poems from my very favorite author/speaker/teacher, Beth Moore. When I ran across it, it reminded me of my aunt (and myself, too!). Enjoy...and, grab a tissue!

The Life I Planned

Has someone seen the life I planned?
It seems to be misplaced
I've looked in every corner
It's lost without a trace.

I've found one I don't recognize
Things missing that were dear
Promises I'd hoped to keep
And dreams I dreamed aren't here.

Faces I had planned to see
Hands I planned to hold
Now absent in the pictures
Not the way I told.

Has someone seen the life I planned?
Did it get thrown away?
God took my hand from searching
Then I heard him say,

"Child, your ears have never heard
Your eyes have never seen
Eternal plans I have for you
Are more than you could dream.

You long to walk by sight
But I'm teaching eyes to see.
I know what I am doing
'Til then, you must believe."

He's done so much, I felt ashamed
To know he heard my moans
To think i'd trade in all He's done
For plans made on my own.

I wept over his faithfulness
And how He'd proved himself
How he'd gone beyond my dreams
And said to Him myself,

"No, my ears have never heard
My eyes have never seen
Eternal plans You have for me
Are more than I could dream.

Yes, I long to walk by sight
But you're teaching eyes to see
You know what You are doing
'Til then, I must believe."

I felt His great compassion
Mercy unrestrained
He let me mourn my losses
And showed to me my gains.

I offered Him my future
And released to Him my past
I traded in my dreams
For a plan He said would last.

I get no glimpse ahead
No certainties at all
Except the presence of the One
Who will not let me fall.

Are you also searching
for a life you planned yourself?
Have you looked in every corner?
Have you checked on every shelf?

Child you ears have never heard
Your eyes have never seen
Eternal plans He has for you
Are more than you could dream.

Perhaps you long to walk by faith
But He's teaching eyes to see
He knows what he is doing
Child, step out and believe.

But, as it is written,
"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
Nor the heart of man imagined,
What God has prepared for those who love him."
1 Corinthians 2:9 esv

Great Aunt Jean

2008-02-09T23:33:00.001-07:00

Sad news...

On Thursday, my mom got a call from her sister-in-law, telling her that her sister, Norma Jean, had passed away. A neighbor of hers got concerned about not seeing her for a while; and called paramedics. They believe she had suffered a heart attack, and died in her home.

A link to the obituary: Norma Jean Newman Orten

Aunt Jean got to come out to see us around this time last year. She had retired, so she stayed with my mom and dad for 8 weeks, and we got to spend a lot of time with her. Grayson got quite attached to his Great Aunt Jean. Each time we saw her, she'd ask him, "Grayson, what's my name?"; and he'd answer, "Great Aunt Jean!" One of those times, I think he said, "Don't you remember? You're Great Aunt Jean!"

For weeks after she left to return to Tennessee, Grayson would ask, "Where's Great Aunt Jean?" He still calls the bedroom where she stayed her room, and often asked when she was coming back to visit. Since we found out the sad news, I talked to Grayson and explained that she's gone to heaven, and we will see her again when we get there. When he said his prayers the other night, he asked Jesus to say "hi" to his Great Aunt Jean.

It was wonderful to get to know her. Of course, I've known her all my life, but we lived 2000 miles away. We moved from Knoxville, Tennessee when I was two; so I didn't grow up having her around. We'd talk on the phone occasionally, and we'd see her when we visited Tennessee, but it never seemed like we had enough time to get to know each other.

She was the oldest of three siblings (Frank, my uncle; and Mary, my mom) and was born in New Market, Tennessee. She was always a bookworm and eager to learn. She went to the University of Tennessee and became a Registered Nurse.

Aunt Jean had retired from nursing just about five years ago. She worked in nursing homes at the latter part of her career. The patients she cared for and the people she worked with were very important to her. She was married for a time, but was not able to have any children of her own.

Great Aunt Jean's 66th birthday party, in February 2007 at my parents' house:

We love you Great Aunt Jean!

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
John 11:25-26.

Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, God has prepared for those who seek after Him!
1 Corinthians 2:9.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-01-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

My friend Janis tagged me! So, here goes:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: (Jan 1998)I would have been managing the Subway in Brigham City; contemplating a job change. In the fall of 1998 was when I started working for Flying J, and was there for 8 ½ years!

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Clear off our old desk, post it on KSL classifieds! Anyone need a desk?
2. Try to find a bread machine (I really want one! Used to have one, but yard-saled it.
3. Get Scentsy orders placed & miscellaneous business stuff.
4. Vacuum, for heaven’s sake!
5. Get a grocery shopping trip in, so that my family doesn't starve!

Snacks I enjoy:
1. Anything chocolate…
2. Cottage cheese with pepper, seasoned salt & Fritos
3. Fluffy Stuff (thanks Emily!)
4. Popcorn
5. Veggies with homemade ranch dressing (yum!)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Pay off all debts of family and friends (oh, and mine, too)
2. Start some kind of a foundation to help people get out of debt and financially independent; help them start businesses or learn needed job skills.
3. Start my own bakery! (Maybe I can do that before I’m a billionaire)
4. Of course, give over and above 10% to church.
5. Put into investments and bank, and live off the interest.

3 of my bad habits:
1. Putting stuff off.
2. Being too much of a perfectionist.
3. Not finishing projects at home (maybe that has to do with #1, too!)

5 places I have lived:
1. Knoxville, TN
2. Brigham City, UT
3. Logan, UT
4. Ogden, UT
5. (that’s all! No #5)

5 jobs I have had:
1. Church Secretary
2. Sandwich Artist/Subway Manager
3. Restaurant Manager
4. Executive Assistant
5. Legal Assistant

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I LOVE to bake and cook. I really would like to have some kind of a bakery/chocolate shop one day!

2. I would love to get some training in interior design! I think I have good taste, but I’m just not sure where to start with decorating sometimes. I love the shows on HGTV and DIY, and could watch them all the time (if we had cable…it’s probably a good thing we don’t!)

3. I once made a sandwich for Harrison Ford ! Six-inch turkey on wheat, with only cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomato on it – pretty plain!

4. When I was around Jr. High age, I loved the Monkees and had all their tapes, and watched the re-runs of their show (I'm not as old as they are, by the way!). What do you mean they weren't a real band??

5. If there’s something mechanical that needs to be done around the house or at work, I usually can figure it out! I’ve replaced ballasts in light fixtures, put in a new disposal, etc.

The Great Snow of 2008!

2008-01-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

Grayson's Birthday Party!

2008-01-21T00:30:00.001-07:00

We had Grayson's birthday party on January 5th! It was very fun, and we had a lot of friends there! Thanks everyone for coming, and for all the fun gifts!

My Baby is THREE!!

2008-01-02T23:11:00.001-07:00

Where did the time go?!

It doesn't seem like it could be three years since we brought our sweet little baby boy home from the hospital!

Grayson was born on December 31, 2004, at about 10:45 p.m. He came about three weeks early! His due date was January 22nd, but I started to have some strange pains, and he wasn't moving much, so we went to the hospital on New Year's Eve in a blizzard.

After the nurses put some monitors on me, they realized something serious was going on, and called my doctor. When he got there, he said that the baby needed to come out immediately - he was in distress! He told us that if we had waited much longer to come to the hospital, he may not have made it. It was totally God at work in the situation. I'm usually inclined to "tough it out" before going to the doctor, but something told me that I needed to get to the hospital.

So, Grayson Scott Stephens was born! Shortly after, and while I was still under anesthesia, the doctors decided that he needed to go to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden. We were in Tremonton, about 50 miles away. LifeFlight started to Tremonton, but the weather conditions were so bad that they had to land and bring an ambulance instead. I got to see him for a few minutes, but they took him via the ambulance as soon as they could. The LifeFlight people are just wonderful! I hope you never need their services, but if you do, you're in very good hands!

To make a very long story short, Grayson spent the next 11 days getting stronger, taking more formula each day, and getting held by us as much as possible! He was connected to all kinds of monitors, and an IV for a while. I got to have a room in the maternity ward of the hospital, and got to recover from my c-section a bit while he was there.

When he finally got to come home, we were so glad! We could hold him for unlimited periods of time, without having to worry about monitors hooked up to him.

Today, Grayson is a healthy, energetic, 30 pound three-year old! He is so smart, and he likes to sing and make up little songs of his own. Earlier, he was singing "Happy Birthday to Jesus, Happy Birthday to Jesus, and thanks for the snow!" this afternoon. He cracks me up!

He's such a joy! We thank God for him, and we are so happy to celebrate his third birthday!

Happy Birthday Grayson! :) Love, Mom and Dad

Happy New Year / California Dreamin'

2008-01-02T00:05:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great first day of 2008!

We napped, washed clothes, went grocery shopping, cleaned, and I cooked a Rachel Ray recipe (Fajita Beef Pie) for dinner. It was yummy, if I do say so myself! Kenna actually made it for us last week, and it was so good, I had to try it! Greg went snowshoeing, and missed the "work" parts of the day! :)

Ok, so I finally got some pictures off the camera, and onto the computer! Yay! Now, I'm going to have to figure out how to do one of those slide show things. Pointers, anyone?

Here are some pictures from our Christmas trip! We were sad that Uncle Jeff had to work and couldn't join us!

Opening presents the night before our trip at GrandMary and Pa-paw's house:

Dinnertime with THREE boys - oh my! Grayson, Jonathon and Isaac:

Baking cookies! Grandma Sharon, Grayson, Jonathon and Aunt Kenna: Three boys looking out the window! Jonathon, Josiah (another cousin) and Grayson. They are all just too stinkin' cute!: Greg and Grayson, going down the hill! ...and with Mom...

More snowy fun! Did I mention this is California?! A foot of snow!

The house that Chad and Kenna built!:

A family shot...

Grandma Sharon, Jonathon, Laura, Grayson and Greg. We really tried to get Isaac in there, but it was a futile effort to get them all together, looking at the camera!

California Christmas!

2007-12-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

We're here! At Chad and Kenna's, that is. (Kenna is Greg's little sister, for those of you who don't know).

We began our journey at 8AM on Saturday morning, stayed in Susanville, California that night, and then made it to Ruth, California by Sunday afternoon. It was a pretty good, but long trip! Grayson was a pretty good little traveler! We brought along our portable DVD player and some fun DVDs, including The Polar Express, some VeggieTales, and a few others. I think it would have been a much longer trip if we'd not had that.

Ruth is a three-hour drive away from Redding, and pretty much anything else! There is a little store in Ruth, but we hear the prices are sky-high, and it's a place to go when you absolutely have to have something that can't wait for a trip to town. There's a town an hour away from here called Hayfork, and they have a little grocery store, but the prices are also pretty high, and there's not a lot of selection. So, Chad and Kenna do most of their shopping in Redding. I don't know what I'd do if I had to go that far to get anywhere! It is just gorgeous out here in the mountains, and very peaceful. I'll have to post some pictures later!

We had a really fun Christmas, and the boys got lots of fun presents, including trains, planes and trucks....their favorite things! We had Christmas in Utah with my parents last Friday night, and Grayson got more fun stuff! I bought a laptop for Greg and I, and he was pretty surprised to get that! We didn't have time to set it up yet, so that will be a fun thing to do when we get home.

The boys, Grayson and Jonathon, made some cookies this morning! With the mommys' help, of course! They had lots of fun!

Also, Uncle Chad built a railing for their staircase, which was Kenna's Christmas present! It is really beautiful! He and Kenna have done most of the building of their house, and there are still some things "under construction". It is amazing, though!

We hope everyone had a great Christmas! See you all soon!

TGIF!

2007-12-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

So, it's 11:58 p.m., and I am so, so glad that the day is almost over!

Why? Well, for starters, I've had one of the worst colds ever, since Sunday - ick! Grayson and Sharon have both had it, and now it's my turn! It really ganged up on me, too. I've been on a steady regimen of Mucinex, Airborne, multi-vitamins, and a nightly dose of the good cough syrup that helps you sleep when you have a cough. Sharon even made me a couple of rounds of the "Stephens Family Cold Remedy", which consists of fresh lemon juice, raw honey, and scotch (or some sort of alcohol). I'm not someone who drinks anything much stronger than Diet Coke, but that stuff really helps! : )

Then, this morning there was some sort of alarm clock malfunction. Grayson likes to play with my clock, so I bet he's the culprit. I woke up this morning, shortly after Greg got to bed (he works graveyards), and noticed that my clock read 7:30! I'm supposed to be to work at 8 in Layton, so I hurried through a shower, threw on some makeup, etc. etc. I went to wake Grayson up, and opened his blinds. It was dark-thirty outside! I reasoned that it couldn't possibly be 8:00, so I went to check another clock. Oh, it was only 6 a.m.! So, I set a timer for 30 minutes and took a nap on the couch. I REALLY wanted to call in sick, because I am, but I have just over 40 hours of PTO (paid time off), and I'm saving it for California next week. (Yay!!)

So, I made it through another day at work with my cold! It really does seem to be getting better. Hopefully I don't overdose on Airborne before it's over with. I did go to see a doctor today, just to make sure that I didn't have something that required antibiotics. The strep test came back negative, so I'm good! That was my lunch break, so I didn't have time to do my last-minute shopping! Maybe tomorrow.

Then, my boss asked me to run an errand for him. (He's a great boss, by the way!) The errand entailed stopping in South Ogden, in the Uintah area, on my way home to get some documents signed. No big deal, I thought. I could leave work a little early, beat some of the afternoon traffic, and maybe get home a little earlier than usual. Sounds great! Well, I left at 4:30, and it was just starting to hail. I don't think it had snowed a bit up until then. Before I could get from Target in Layton to Highway 89, it was a full on BLIZZARD! I even had to roll down the driver's side window a couple of times, because the snow kept building up so much that I couldn't see out. Traffic was moving at a snail's pace.

Well, I knew exactly where to turn off Highway 89 to get to the address, and I started driving up a hill, trying to read the snow-covered street signs in an unfamiliar area. Even my trusty MapQuest map couldn't help me now! I'd talked to the woman on the phone whose home I was going to, and I remembered her saying that her house was about as far as you could go up that road. Ahead of me, there was another car stuck in the middle of the road, wheels spinning. So, I chickened out and turned around! I called the lady to let her know it was just to snowy for my car to make it up to her house, and she completely understood. It turns out that she and her husband own a business somewhere in downtown Ogden, and I could go there to drop of the documents tomorrow. (Wish I had known that before!!)

So, I started on my way home, and Grayson and I had an appointment at my hair lady Tiffani's house at 6:00. There was plenty of time, or so I thought. It took an eon to drive the rest of the way home! I finally picked up Grayson, and at 5:55, we were off to Tiffani's. We got there, after getting stuck on a couple of hills at 6:30! Woohoo! At least our hair looks good! That was a fun part of my day.

Then, we got back home at 8:30ish, I think. We'd ordered pizza, and it took about 45 minutes to come. Grayson was loving this - getting to stay up late, eat pizza, and watch the Polar Express! Maybe he'll have some good naps on our trip out to Aunt Kenna's!

Oh, and to top the day off, I started to get all of our laundry washed, since we need to get packed to leave on Saturday morning. Grayson and I put on our PJs as soon as we got home, and I gathered up all the laundry. After I started the first load, I remembered that I left my cell phone in the pocket of my sweater! A sweater that had been in the washer for at least 20 minutes. Arrgh!! I got it out, and it is (of course) not working. And, of course, it is only about 6 months old!

So....I'm off to sleep. Here's to a better day tomorrow! :)

Christmas Edition of Getting to Know You

2007-12-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? - Wrapping Paper, but sometimes gift bags, if I'm feeling lazy or the gift is oddly shaped!

2. Real tree or artificial? - You know, I've been married for 5 years and we haven't actually bought a tree! I am looking forward to the day when we'll have a house with enough room for a "standard-sized" tree. They seem to get better every year, though! I have my eye on one that's artificial, pre-lit, and it spins around! My friend Sharmilla has one, and it's so gorgeous! We do have a set of 5 Gatlinburg trees (the tall, skinny ones) that we put on the stairs of our front porch.

3. When do you put up the tree? - I always have to decorate first Saturday in December.

4. When do you take the tree down? - New Years Day

5. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate? - Can I get a Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks instead?

6. Favorite gift received as a child? - socks for my doll, Amy :) (I was about 4, and asked for them!)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? - We have a toy one for Grayson, but not a fancy one yet. A friend of mine sets up her nativity scene under her tree. When her kids do good things, they get to put some hay in the manger. Then, on Christmas morning, she puts baby Jesus in the manger! I think that is such a cool thing - we will have to find one and start that tradition.

9. Easiest person to buy for? - My little guy, Grayson. Although, he's asked for a remote-control garbage truck for Christmas. Where on earth are we going to find that?!

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? - I would have to say some awful earrings that my dad bought, which were broken when he bought them. He has good intentions, but he doesn't Christmas shop! :)

11. Mail or email Christmas card? - We have been awful about this! I'd really love to send out a Christmas card with a nice family photo, but haven’t ever done it! I'm such a perfectionist that if I can't do something just the way I want to do it, it doesn't get done. I did send out a few the first year we were married, though.

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? - I've not ever bought anything before December! I have, however, started baking things the day after Thanksgiving. I love to bake lots of stuff for Christmas and give it to friends and neighbors. I used to do a TON, but that was before Grayson! :)

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? - I have given stuff away to the Salvation Army, but I don't ever think I've re-gifted any Christmas presents.

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? - Holiday Cherry Salad! It's got cherry pie filling, Cool Whip, cream cheese, pineapple, nuts,... I'm sure it's really bad for you, but it is so good! It's Edna Kilgore's recipe (she was kind of my "adopted" Grandma here in Utah). She now lives in Alabama, and has Alzheimer's. It's so sad, but the recipe always makes me think of her.

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? - Clear!

16. Favorite Christmas song? - Mary, Did You Know?

17. Favorite Holiday Show/Movie? - It's a Wonderful Life. Oddly enough, I have an uncle, Harry Bailey, and my mom is Mary Bailey! :)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? - I guess the preferred thing would be to stay home, but we are going to my sister-in-law's house this year! It should be really fun to get our little ones together - I can't wait!

19. Favorite thing to do this time of year? - I love going to the Christmas Eve service at church, singing Christmas carols, etc. Also, last year we did a progressive dinner where we went to one house for appetizers, one house for dinner, and then to church for dessert. It was so much fun, and a tour of Christmas lights at the same time!

20. Can you name Santa's reindeer? - "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen... but do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer..."

21. Do you have an angel on top or a star? - nothing yet...see #2

22. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? - Christmas morning!

23. Most annoying thing about this time of year? - the commercialism, lack of focus on what the season is all about, not enough time to do all of the things that I'd like to do!

Math 9-1-1

2007-12-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

My friend Stacy just sent me this funny clip from Leno! I know I've felt this way about math before!

I can't believe that 4 year-olds have math homework now! That's just a year older than Grayson! I guess we'll have to get started on that. He likes to count, but he says 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10. We keep reminding him that 5, 6 & 7 are feeling left out!

Random Acts of Snowmen...

2007-12-07T23:35:00.001-07:00

Tonight, Sharon, Grayson and I went to Chili's to get dinner. (Greg is working tonight, but don't worry, we got him something too!) As we were leaving, we noticed that one of the neighbor kids had made a cute snowman out in one of the common areas.

I have been telling Grayson for weeks that when it snows we're going to go out and make a snowman. Last weekend, it snowed, but the snow was so dry that it just wouldn't stick together -- that good old Utah "powder'! I thought that we might be able to do it later on, but we got busy with things, and it got late, and eventually most of it had melted. There was one night we could have made one, but I ended up having to work late. I felt so bad for not getting his snowman made!

This afternoon it snowed some really great snowman snow! So, when we saw the snowman out in the common area, I promised Grayson that we will make one tomorrow. It was already pretty dark and cold outside, not to mention close to Grayson's usual bath and bedtime.

When we got back from getting our take-out at Chili's, we saw the most adorable little snowman on our front porch! Then, I looked at the porches of the rest of the condos in our building, and they all had snowmen, too!

I was almost in tears! (I know, dumb thing to cry over, but it meant a lot to me!) Grayson just giggled and smiled about them. He had to go and look at each one. We are going to have to write a thank-you note to the little boy who put them together for us. This is one of those things that's like a "hug from God"! He knew how much I really wanted Grayson to have a snowman, as silly a request as that is!

Here are some pictures of our little friend!:

The neighbors' snowmen! There was one on every porch!

Grayson checking out the snowman:

Grand-Sharon and Grayson, admiring the snowman:

Our Porch is All Decked Out!

2007-12-04T00:35:00.000-07:00

It's a little Martha Stewart meets the Griswolds...don't you think?! I was so excited to finally get this done that I had to post some pictures. It's only 12:30 a.m.!

I even found this cool gadget at Home Depot for $10 that turns your lights on at dusk and off at dawn. We'll have to see how that works. It can even be set to turn off after 2, 4, 6 or 8 hours.

There are some Gatlinburg trees over to the left of the porch - they are hard to see because there are no lights on them yet. Our front porch is so bright now!

Evergreen garland around the porch railing

This is about all I've done inside! I've got my Rustic Star Scentsy warmer on top of the armoire with the "Blue Christmas" scent in it. At least it smells like Christmas! Our walls really aren't mustard yellow like they appear! : )

Sock Monkeys!

2007-12-03T00:49:00.000-07:00

My incredibly crafty (in a good way) friend Stephanie just made a cute sock monkey (see her blog)! I did a quick Google search, and found all kinds of monkeys. The kids who get these may need some therapy later in life:

Mr. T

Princess Leia

Spock Monkey

Geisha Monkey

Ballerina Monkey

Zombie Monkey

Who's Coming to Town???

2007-11-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Stephanie sent me this clip from Letterman. It's about an ad that the Cache Valley Mall in Logan ran in the Herald Journal about a special Christmas visitor...

Too funny! I wonder if whoever made that mistake still has a job. I don't know how recent this is, but about 5 years ago, they ran a full-page ad in the Logan newspaper with "Cache Valley Mall Welcomes Satan".

Yes, I know, it doesn't match!

2007-11-25T22:46:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I made a new banner for the blog, and I wasn't thinking about matching with the Pizam background. I'm afraid if I switch to another background, it's going to wipe out all my links and things that are there. I guess I could just make a new banner. Any suggestions?

Grayson's Cute Country Cousins!

2007-11-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Grayson's cute cousins, Jonathon (3 years old yesterday) and Isaac (turned 1 in September). Oh, and also their Mommy Kenna and Daddy Chad!

We are going to visit them for Christmas! I can't wait to get a picture of all three of them together!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

2007-11-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

By the way, has anyone ever tried/seen a Turducken? I just ran across this - oh my gosh! Just hope you don't have any vegetarians coming to dinner! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Co1Ecv_8g

A Brief Rant...

2007-11-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

This happened last Friday, but I am still steamed about it. Greg went to “Champs!” in North Ogden to get some dinner. We’d just gotten haircuts that afternoon, and were on our way home. We were driving separately, so I took Grayson home while he stopped. He ordered the food, and then gave the cashier his debit card to pay. He was asked for his ID, so he presented his driver’s license. He’s not had a new picture in a few years. I think the last one was in 2002ish.

Anyway, if you know Greg, you know that he used to have long hair – very long, and a beard. He cut the hair after he got his machinist certification and was interviewing for jobs. He grew it long again, but about a year ago he cut it short again, and has kept it short. He also has shaved off his beard. So, you’d think he’d look more respectable now, wouldn’t you?

Well, the cashier at “Champs!” told him that he did not look like his driver’s license, and would not accept his debit card! Can you believe it? SERIOUSLY!! You would think the maroon could tell it was him, just with less hair! Seriously.

So, Greg just left there, without anything. I was going to call “Champs!” when he got home and complain, but he said that the manager was already aware of the situation, and it wouldn’t do any good to complain further. I asked if I could employ my paralegal skills to write them a nasty letter, but Greg won’t let me. Dang it. I was even going to ask my boss if I could use the law firm letterhead!

Greg said he was going to pull out his Concealed Carry Permit as another form of ID, but at that point, he'd decided they weren't getting his business. That would have been pretty funny. I think it's got a newer picture on it, though.

The bad part about this is that they really have good food! But, on the grounds of bad service, I refuse to go back there. We will just drive to Brigham City to Dixie Grill! :)

Picture of Greg, so you can see the clean-cut-ness:

Thanks-giving...

2007-11-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

I just got this e-mail, and thought it was pretty cool!:

Something cool that Xerox is doing:

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com, you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services. How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! This is a great site. Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them.

Missing Co-Worker...

2007-11-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

So, I have this co-worker who is often out of the office. The story is that he sometimes works from home, or he's often on the road visiting clients or other locations, etc.

Anyway, a couple of us have noticed that instead of straigntening up his desk before leaving, and turning off the light, he will leave items strewn across the desk, leave the light on, and just close and lock his door. Now, to the casual observer, it would probably look like he is still in the office. They'd say, "Oh, he must be in a meeting", or "I bet he's just stepped out for a few minutes."

Last Thursday, he left at about 2:00, but again, he left his light on and items placed strategically on his desk; with the door closed. On Friday morning, the lights were still on. Hmmm...did he stay late and come in early? Pull an all-nighter?

Emily and I found this ideal Christmas gift for those who want to appear to be at work all the time, but can actually enjoy time away from the office:

Tips from the George Costanza "School of Business"

1 - Never walk without a document in your hands:
People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they're heading for the cafeteria. People with a newspaper in their hand look like they're heading for the toilet. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

2 - Use computers to look busy:
Any time you use a computer, it looks like "work" to the casual observer. You can send and receive personal e-mail, chat and generally have a blast without doing anything remotely related to work. These aren't exactly the societal benefits that the proponents of the computer revolution would like to talk about but they're not bad either. When you get caught by your boss -and you "will" get caught -- your best defense is to claim you're teaching yourself to use new software, thus saving valuable training dollars.

3 - Messy desk:
Top management can get away with a clean desk. For the rest of us, it looks like we're not working hard enough. Build huge piles of documents around your workspace. To the observer, last year's work looks the same as today's work; it's volume that counts. Pile them high and wide. If you know somebody is coming to your cubicle, bury the document you'll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when he/she arrives.

4 - Voice Mail:
Never answer your phone if you have voice mail. People don't call you just because they want to give you something for nothing - they call because they want YOU to do work for THEM. That's no way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail. If somebody leaves a voice mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour when you know they're not there - it looks like you're hardworking and conscientious even though you're being a devious weasel.

5 - Looking Impatient and Annoyed:
One should also always try to look impatient and annoyed to give your bosses the impression that you are always busy.

6 - Leave the office late:
Always leave the office late, especially when the boss is still around. You could read magazines and storybooks that you always wanted to read but have no time until late before leaving. Make sure you walk past the boss' room on your way out. Send important emails at unearthly hours (e.g. 9:35pm, 7:05am, etc.) and during public holidays.

7 - Creative Sighing for Effect:
Sigh loudly when there are many people around, giving the impression that you are under extreme pressure.

8 - Stacking Strategy:
It is not enough to pile lots of documents on the table. Put lots of books on the floor etc. (thick computer manuals are the best).

9 - Build Vocabulary:
Read up on some computer magazines and pick out all the jargon and new products. Use the phrases freely when in conversation with bosses. Remember: They don't have to understand what you say, but you sure sound impressive.

GrandMary's Park

2007-11-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today, we went to "GrandMary's Park", as Grayson calls it. In the townhouses where my parents live, they have two park areas, which are quite nice and big, with plenty of room to run around. Grayson likes to ride in his wagon to the park and play.

I was trying to take a good picture of Grayson in his wagon here, and he tried to hide! I was going for a Christmas card shot! Ok , so we haven't sent out Christmas cards in about 3 years (we're really bad), but maybe this year.

GrandMary's House

Now, with tunes!

2007-11-16T00:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am so hooked on this blogging thing now! I figured out tonight how to add music! This is just too fun. Well, it is 12:30, and I am going to sleep now. Enjoy the tunes! : )

Playschool Fun!

2007-11-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

This fall, Grayson has started Playschool!

Karen Holder from our church is the teacher, and she is wonderful! She teaches Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-11, and only asks that the parents help on a rotating schedule and provide a snack. I think there are 9 kids this year! They range in age from 2 1/2 through 5-ish (whenever they start Kindergarten). Mrs. Karen is a wonderful lady, and the kids all love her. Grayson is learning SO much!

Here are some pictures of Grayson and his Playschool friends:

This is from the field trip to the orchard and the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago:

Ahh...a cold, refreshing beverage after Playschool at our favorite eatery -- DIXIE GRILL! Yum!

Thanks Esther! Where's my chicken and fries?

Shadow and Bob

2007-11-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

We now have two cats! Well, kind of.

We call them our "timeshare" cats. Their names are Shadow and Bob. They are both very pretty cats! Shadow is a female with grey and white with some stripe-patterns; and Bob is a male with orange and white with some stripes. Even his eyes are orange. They actually belong to our next-door neighbor Macy, and her little girl Mia.

Bob is very friendly, and likes to come into the house whenever our door is open and he happens to be outside. He comes right in and makes himself at home on our sofa. He doesn't mind at all when Grayson pats him and tries to pick him up. Grayson sings to him, "Bob the kitty..." (to the tune of Bob the Builder). Shadow is a little more skittish, but she'll come up to the doors and look in quite often.

Grayson just LOVES the cats! I'm not much of a cat person. I've had cats, but I'm mildly allergic, and having cat hair all over the place would drive me over the edge. Not that my house is as clean as I'd like to have it, but I don't need any more things to clean, thank you. So, I really do not want a cat!

The "timeshares" are just fine though -- we don't feed them, take them to the vet, have to care for them for the next fifteen years... none of that! But if we want to cuddle with a kitty, they are sitting on our front porch!

So, Grayson has been saying he wants a cat, but I've been trying to steer him in the direction of a small dog, like a nice schnauzer or cute little shih-tzu. Greg, of course, would like to have a Lab.

The other night, we were over at my mom's house, and Grayson went with my mom to take her pomeranian, Ginger, for a walk. When they came back in, Grayson asked, "Does she meow?" My mom explained that only cats meow, dogs bark. He said "I want a doggie that meows."

That is going to be hard to find!

(I don't have any pictures of the cats, just yet, but I thought this one was sufficiently cute):