Girl Scout Cookie Sales Underway!

Time for the annual Girl Scout cookie drive. Ressa has been on the phone making calls, and talking constantly about it. We found the solution to reaching the goal of 130 boxes sold per girl, set by the troop leaders. We sent the order form with Joey to school and he has sold boxes like wildfire. I just hope these kids come through with the money when the cookies come in. He claims most of them work jobs and have "lots of money." Mark bought about 40 boxes and is certain he can sell them at work. Heaven help us if they don't all sell and we're stuck with them at home. Yikes! Ressa's now up to 139 boxes sold. Pretty exciting. That gets her a patch and some fun prize stuff.

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END...

OK, well not really. But after such a picture-perfect day on Saturday (I have to be honest), Sunday was a day from "h-e-double toothpicks" as the kids will sometimes say. It was a day that is hopefully never repeated...but I'm not that naive. Austin was teasing Joey mercilously. Joey was yelling at him and at us parents to do something. The girls and boys were waiting on us parents as we fixed lunch. Us parents yell upstairs at the boys to STOP IT! Joey is shouting even louder now for Austin to SHUT UP! Austin revs up the teasing a couple notches right into Joey's face.... Joey shouts downstairs, "I'm ready to hit this guy!!!" Mark exasperated at having no effect on either of them yells, "Go ahead!" Joey socks him in the arm and now the teaser has transformed into the martyr. Crying that violence is never the answer, "because Dr. Laura said that," but oblivious to the effects that his joking Spanish accent and hand-in-the-face-waving has on a boy 4 years older. I can't hardly believe these are the same two I wrote about on Saturday. Well, gradually the tension died down. Austin invited me to play Scrabble.....and one by one, Ressa and Joey joined in and we had a great game. Dang if I haven't lost my touch. Austin got 1st, Joey 2nd, Mom came in last and Ressa migrated over to what Melody was playing. Mark was catching up on Mythbusters, his favorite show for the "macho intellectual guy." As the kids were all laying around me with a foot in my lap to massage, a back facing me to scratch...I grabbed the nearest New Era magazine that had an article on the cover entitled, "Too Much Teasing." I read it outloud and it had some application to all parties involved. I had the boys apologize and recommited some to more patience/understanding, and others to showing more respect and tidiness when sharing a room with a more organized person. We had a family prayer together and the wild day ended. Chances are today will be much better! Time to figure out what's for dinner and what's for "family night!"

Austin's (not so secret) Admirers & Joey's Work Ethic

A girl from church seems to have quite a crush on him. Here they are at the Halloween party of 2005.

He's known her for almost seven years. The whole thing was much cuter (from my point of view) a few years ago when they were 8 and 9. She was having her 8th birthday at Knott's Berry Farm with her family and could invite anybody she wanted to join her and her family. She picked Austin! So he tagged along with her and her mother all day and had a great time.

She's a cute girl, very into soccer and other sports, but I'll be danged if the only thing she knows how to do lately is dial up our number! At least once a day! Sometimes two or three times. And heaven help us if it's the weekend and she's doing the sleep over thing with her giggly girlfriends. Then you have all of them taking a turn dialing Austin---each taking a turn saying they are the other girl. Then there are all the questions they ask like: "Do you like her? Why do you like her? Do you like pie? What are you doing? What are you doing now? Why did you say that? You did? You didn't" .....and so it goes. Now I'll admit I remember doing some of this stuff when I was 12, but I recall it was more of a "crank calling" game. My friend and I certainly didn't hang around on the phone to hear a reply. Way too embarrassing! These girls all want to get to talk to Austin for a while. I don't know, but I'm not liking it too much. These girls are way too forward in my book! Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye----I'm not kidding, but the phone has rang two different times for Austin in the time I've spent writing this!!!

Austin is quite a kid though. He will be entering high school in the fall this year. The high school sent a letter today saying that his standardized test scores were so high, they waived his need to take any further tests...just needs an interview and they will put him in Honors/A.P. classes in the high school. He likes the idea that a grade in those classes gets one extra point, ie. an A = 5. Don't want him overloaded so we'll proceed lightly.

Joey was amazing all of us today. He's the only one in the house who gets up at 6:30 on a Saturday and runs 7 miles. He also does all of his own laundry on a regular basis and never has to be reminded about it. He gets back, lifts weights, and then cleaned out every square inch of the van. He pulled all the seats out of it, vacuumed each one, scrubbed the floor mats. It looked absolutely fabulous! He never tires from hard work. I am very proud of them both!!!

I Walked in on a Crime-in-Progress!

Sometime in early December I had stopped by my favorite frozen yogurt establishment for my usual. I remember it seemed as though the typical store demographics had changed just briefly as I noticed three black guys inside, big football player types in their 20s. They all appeared to be indecisive as they held back from getting close enough to the counter to actually place their order. What makes me remember this occasion what the spine-chilling fear I felt when I opened the door and all three of them turned quickly and stared back at me as though I had done something to offend them by entering the store. I remember feeling very scared from that moment on as all eyes and angry expressions were on me. I wanted so badly to run back out and leave, but I was afraid of angering them any further. I saw the little 5'3" 100 lb. girl behind the counter and felt scared for her too. Usually there are two workers---either she's alone or the other girl is hanging out in the back. I was afraid to walk out and leave her alone, but I was afraid to be there. I decided to just act like normal and place my order. I smiled and asked the guys if they wanted to go first. They motioned, "Just go." So I did, while they hung back, leaning with their elbows propped on a metal bar, looking at each other. When I was done, I was torn between wanting to get out of there and back to my car as fast as I could and feeling like I should park myself at a little table in there and not leave the girl alone. Fear got the best of me---I got out of there and hoped beyond hope that there really was somebody in the back with her.

Flash forward to yesterday. My favorite frozen yogurt store has security cameras installed and a counter-top device for detecting fake money. I asked my friend, the owner, what it was for. She replied that there had been so many occasions recently where people tried to pay with fake $20s. They make a deposit, the bank catches it, destroys it and deducts it from their deposit. Then she mentioned one particular occasion last month when just one girl was working and three big guys came in, each trying to buy the smallest $1.50 item with their own $20 bill. She said the girl could tell the paper didn't feel right and she was trying to gently tell them she couldn't accept it, when a customer walked in. (THAT WAS ME!) She was so glad for the distraction of me coming in. But apparently after I left they continued to pressure her and she went ahead and served them up, returning each of them change for their $20. (Mark had a brilliant idea---why not serve them up free and refuse to take their money.) I just knew something bad was up that day. It was the way they all three turned their bodies completely around to stare at me when I opened the door. Customers generally are so focused on choosing their flavor they don't even look behind them. I knew these guys weren't there for the ice cream. Scary!

I remember the type of car and which state's license plate they had. I remember noticing it because it was the only car in the parking lot and as I drove away that day I thought....ok, maybe they're just vacationing from ___ and don't know how to act California style: calm, cool and collected. Should I bother telling the owner those details or is it too late now to matter?

CLICK HERE FOR WOMENS CONFERENCE!

URGENT MESSAGE SISTERS!!! I just checked and it seems that the website opened up much sooner this year for our annual BYU trip to Womens Conference. I signed myself up and used my area code and home phone number for the "session link." Use the same session link girls and they'll put us in rooms right by each other. I chose the housing, signature card, and the 5pm luau. Don't want anything interfering with the concert!

What I Learned in Nutrition Yesterday...

Teacher says, there is no reason to buy vitamins that give you higher than 100% of your "recommended daily allowance." Anything above and beyond is wasting money and it goes right down the drain (down the toilet, more accurately). It is impossible for vitamins to give you energy. Only calories give you energy. Getting higher than the 100% dose recommended is either washed down the toilet or is stored in your body and can reach toxic levels, (if a person is taking a very high dose of certain vitamins and/or minerals) thus putting a greater strain on the liver and kidneys, endangering a person's health.

Quotes for Weight Watchers...

I heard these at the meeting last week and find them to be very thought-provoking.

"Nothing changes, when nothing changes."

"If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got!"

Loving Cousin's Lamentations Spark Debate!

My dear, sweet loving cousin from Colorado posted this well-thought-out comment back in the archives, but it's a debate he wants....so we throw it to the forefront. I'm now refering to the comment below. I reposted it here for the reader to truly experience the "gut punching," that I did. Here it is:

(I TOOK THE LIBERTY OF INSERTING MY OWN COMMENTS AND REACTIONS INTO CUZ KEV'S THEORIES/COMMENTS. MY COMMENTS ARE IN BLUE.)

Ok. I really love this kind of stuff. The more controversial the subject matter the better, so I do have something to say about this. Forgive me you guys, but this is a political issue as well as a religious one and I always feel prompted to jump right out there and project my opinion on issues of this nature. Bear in mind that this is not meant to judge what you did (YES IT IS!) by dropping the class. You did what you had to do, which is fine, but you also allowed your personal beliefs to get in the way of your education in a fantastic subject. (I BEG TO DIFFER!) I think maybe the author/instructor misnamed the chapter and that is what set you off on it. (NICE TRY BUT NOT A CHANCE...I READ THE CHAPTER...IT WAS NUTS!) A more proper title might have been, "Religious beliefs of America and the World", (IF THAT'S THE CASE, I'M MOVING TO MARS!) which may have come across a bit less assaultive. Anything that lends itself to a faith belief is considered a religion, including witchcraft, wiccan, paganism and shamanism. (I LEARNED ABOUT SHAMANS ON LAW & ORDER ALREADY.) And it depends on who is doing the determination as to where it ranks in society. All through history there is evidence of cultures having a belief system in place that includes one or more higher powers. (THAT RIGHT THERE--- IS EVIDENCE TO ME THERE THERE IS ONE.) Shamanism is typical of our own native American tribes. Some have been determined to have been misunderstood physical abilities such as witchcraft. (ARE YOU REFERING TO THOSE WHO HAD HALLUCINATIONS FROM EATING THE MOLDY BREAD THAT WERE FOUND TO BE WITCHES?) The ones with more than one higher power was labeled as paganistic. The idea behind the class was to teach you about the vast diversity in different cultures and within each culture. It would seem that those subjects were part of the history of such. Now, I dont mean to upset anyone, (YEAH RIGHT!) especially Darla, but this is why a seperation of church and state has any importance at all. The 80% of Americans that do believe in God enjoy the freedom to pursue that belief, (AND THAT BELIEF BRINGS US JOY, HAPPINESS, PEACE, COMFORT, BLESSINGS AND HOPE) but outside of that you must also maintain your perspective on the environment (1. I KNOW THE AIR IS SMOGGY IN THE SUMMER, CLEAN IN THE WINTER, 2. I'LL NEVER GO BACK TO THE AROMA OF TACOMA! HOW'S THAT?) and obvious circumstances that surround you in your life and all aspects of where we live today. That means you should keep an open mind to all subject matter available to you in the pursuit of your education and stay focused on that while you are there, then apply your sense of spirituality to it for yourself. (THAT'S WHAT I DO...I HAVE SOME CHOICE AS TO MY CLASSES THOUGH.) Your beliefs say that God created all of this and the Bible tells you how he did it. (THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARY GIVE US EVERY SINGLE MICROSCOPIC DETAIL. THERE IS EVIDENCE AS TO EVOLUTIONAL THEORY. GOD WORKS THROUGH NATURAL LAWS. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF IT ALL. ALL THINGS IN NATURE ARE EVIDENCE OF A GOD---EVEN A CUT HEALING WITHIN DAYS IS MIRACULOUS!!) To many, His method sounds farfetched at best. Maybe its the method that the story was being told for the simplicity of the day that brings that opinion. In any event, you believe that He did it that way. (I DON'T CLAIM TO KNOW HOW HE DID IT. I JUST FIND IT MUCH EASIER TO BELIEVE THAT HE DID DO IT---RATHER THAN BELIEVING THAT ALL THINGS GOT HERE FROM A BIG BANG. I'VE SEEN THE AFTERMATH OF AN EXPLOSION AND IT'S NOTHING LIKE THIS BEAUTIFUL EARTH WE LIVE ON). Ok, so now we live in a day that has many wonderful technologies that go straight to the subatomic level of explaining how things happen. The story just got more detailed is all. Science can tell you exactly how God did it. Thats how it should be looked at. (YES, I ABSOLUTELY AGREE AND LOVE STUDYING SCIENCE!!!) I guess my point is that you were made with an empty head to start with (I BEG YOUR PARDON! I'LL TELL YOUR MOTHER ON YOU!---HAHA!) but have the capacity to absorb and learn so much in your lifetime. (OK, I'M WITH YOU AGAIN.) He made you this way and intended for you to do so and didnt limit you on how much you could learn. You insert your own limitations. It sounds to me as if your teacher wasnt including modern mainstream religions in her book, (NOPE, NOT A ONE! I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE ANYTHING IN THERE EVEN CLOSE TO THE GOD I KNOW AND LOVE) but isnt anthropology a study of ancient societies and their beliefs? (THIS CLASS WAS SPECIFICALLY "SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN AMERICA") I think you should have stuck with the class and saw how it turned out or called the teacher and got some clarification first. I'm not trying to lecture, (YOU ARE TOO!) I hope, but please dont be angry with me. (HMMMM....I'LL THINK ABOUT THAT...)Sometimes you have to take a deep breath and press onward to learn new things. (YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN ME LAST SEMESTER. DON'T TELL ME I DON'T LEARN NEW THINGS...GOT THE HIGHEST SCORE IN BOTH CLASSES I MIGHT ADD......again.) Especially when they come close enough to bring out the fear factor. After that infamous bike ride 35 some odd years ago, I seriously doubt that you fear much these days, LOL, (JUST COMMENTS LIKE THIS ONE! HAHA!) but why do you think you dropped the class? (SEE BELOW...) Knowing where some of that stuff came from might give you insight to not be so concerned over it as a threat to your own beliefs, (NOT A THREAT TO MY BELIEF, BUT I FEEL IT TO BE OFFENSIVE TO GOD, AS IT IS SOMETHING THAT SENDS PEOPLE IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM HIM...ALL CHEAP SUBSTITUTES FOR TURNING TO GOD IN PRAYER & ASKING FOR HIS HELP....ie. voodoo, psychics, palm readers, sorcery, curses, spells, etc.) besides, youre pretty well grounded. I love reading up on stuff like that. Of course, I love science-fiction, fantasy and occult literature. I can sit in a dark room on Friday the 13th on a full moon during a blackout with a raging lightning storm outside and watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and love every second of it. (I'M BETTING YOU'RE ALONE ON THOSE OCCASIONS...) The Amityville Horror too! The Ring, (MY 15 YR. OLD SON WAS TRAUMATIZED FOR 2 WEEKS AFTER SEEING THAT AND COULDN'T SLEEP FOR NIGHTS----WASN'T WORTH IT! NEVER ASKED TO SEE A HORROR FLICK AGAIN! THINGS THAT ARE FROM GOD RESULT IN PEACE, COMFORT, HAPPINESS, JOY & GOOD WORKS.) The Grudge, hell, you name it. But its kinda cool to have some background knowledge of where some of that stuff comes from (ALLOW ME TO SPELL IT OUT, IN THE WORDS OF THE SNL "CHURCH LADY" S-A-T-A-N!) and also that it wont exist for you unless you believe in it and go looking for it. (I BELIEVE IT EXISTS IN THE WORLD WHETHER ANYONE WANTS TO BELIEVE IT OR LOOK FOR IT....JUST TUNE IN TO THE NEWS! I PROMISE YOU'LL SEE EVIL REARING ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN AND AGAIN.) But, history is good too. Alot more boring, but good. You'll get brought up to date on all the wars, mass murders by radical regimes, hurricanes that killed millions, typhoons, 9-11, volcanic eruptions, rise and fall of different civilizations, basically all there is to know about how violent we as a people are. (THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAID.) Youre also gonna learn about how old the world is and how it became the way it is today. They may hit on the evolution of living species and systems on the planet. Bear in mind, these subjects are going to be from scientifically studied and proven points and facts based on the concept of tested knowledge, rational thought, common sense and a multitude of other factors, therefore, the Biblical possibility most likely will not be brought up because its not Bible study, its school, so dont get upset. (UPSET? I LOVED EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY LAST SEMESTER! THEY DID BRING UP GOD AND SAID THAT THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT FOUND THE GENETIC CODE CONSISTS OF 30,000 GENES. SAME WITH THE MOUSE AND THEY'RE ALL IDENTICAL TO THE HUMAN'S EXCEPT FOR 300! THE TEACHER SUGGESTED THAT IS EVIDENCE TO MANY THAT THERE IS ONE MASTER CREATOR AND THAT IS WHY ALL CREATIONS ARE SO SIMILAR IN MAKE UP.) In the other class you would have learned about all the things they believed in that drove different societies to do what they did. Maybe you should consider taking them both. Hope I didnt enrage the troops with this one. (PROBABLY NOT, JUST ME FOR A LITTLE BIT....I FEEL BETTER NOW... HAHAHA!) Love you all.........Kev.

I had a feeling my Colorado cousin might be most disappointed in my "duck and run" approach to Anthropology, as he was most excited about my taking it. Actually, he and my husband (Mark, at first) were tied as to their enthusiasm with my taking the course. Well, cousin, you are certainly related to "Papa"/Uncle Dave if debating issues is what you love best.

As I understand it, I'm being accused of allowing my personal beliefs to pull my head into the sand and refuse to educate myself on witches, wickans, wackos, snake handlers, and other rare America oddities. Well, now how can that be? Take a look at me last Halloween. Just how much closer do I need to get to the subject? Do I look scared?

Talk about people being afraid of something, my husband and kids were afraid of ME that night! Unfortunately as the years go by, it's easier trying to perfect the witch costume, rather than the other top girly favorite, the Fairy Princess. Even so, my husband begged me to never do the witch thing again, but promised he'd be thrilled with my costume efforts going in any direction other than that one! (For the record, those aren't my real eyebrows----or I'd have a couple hours blocked out at the salon for waxing ASAP!)

BACK ON TOPIC....

I learned something from attending the funeral of one of the kindest, elderly men you could ever meet named Oren Maxwell. His middle-aged son mentioned that whenever an issue arose when they were kids, their dad would open the scriptures and say, "We'll let's see what the Lord has to say about it..." He would then read a passage from the Bible and make it clear to his children that he didn't make up "the rules."

That was about ten years and I've been doing the same with my kids ever since. So, forgive me, but I will proceed to talk to my dear cousin like I would to my kids, by saying: "Let's see what the good Lord says on the subject:"

Romans 16:19 "For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but I would have you be wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil."

Galatians 5:19-23 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

When the school gives me the choice, I will not be choosing to intentionally educate myself on subjects that conflict with my feeling "love, joy, peace, goodness," etc. and just remain... "simple concerning evil."

Confidential to Kevin: All right cousin, go ahead and toss something back. I've got my baseball glove on now, and I'm ready! Still love you...wouldn't trade you for anything....might trade out some of your movies though...that's all : D

And You Thought YOUR Day Was Bad...

Last night, my poor little Melody came in our room in the middle of the night, not feeling too good. She will usually have a complaint of some kind as an excuse for why she "needs" to sleep in our bed. So we're all sleeping until all of a sudden, Melody sits up in the dark and screams, "MOMMY!!!" I immediately sit up too and look in her direction, right in time to catch her "projectile offering" precisely on my right eyeball before I even had time to blink! It was like acid on my eye. My face and hair were simply unlucky targets there in the dark. Needless to say, Mark moved on into Melody's bed, while Melody and I spent from 4-5:30am showering, hair washing, sheets changing, etc. etc! So, if it's true what they say about germs passing most easily through eye contact, I'm doomed to have the flu also. Joey's home with us today. His school is having one of those unexplained "non-student days." I'll keep my fingers crossed that this doesn't develop into anything. But it will serve me right for putting off my flu shot until it was too late this year. Oops!

You Can't Afford NOT to Play "The Grocery Game!"

You'll have to double-click on this picture to see it larger, but the point is how much I saved last night at Ralph's! I'm not trying to brag. I'm just trying to share my secrets for stockpiling groceries on hand for a fraction of the retail price. The grocery bill came out to $239, then after club card, coupons, my 5% certificate, and another little savings coupon from my "Entertainment Book" the total came down to $101! I almost squealed at the 58% savings! It's like having a 2nd, tax-free job.

The secret, folks, is at www.thegrocerygame.com. They charge your credit card $5/month to get the list every week that pertains to the store of YOUR CHOICE in YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD! You cut the Sunday coupon inserts and remove coupons for anything you'd be willing to ever use/eat/try. You can't be too brand loyal for this to work for you. The best part about this shopping trip were the Ocean Spray cranberry juices and the Country Crock spreadable butter sticks. The store had them all priced at $.99 each. I had several $.50 off coupons. So the store then doubles the coupon, and in the end, THEY PAID ME $.01 FOR EACH ITEM I BOUGHT! ($.99 minus $1.00) I LOVE THAT! They don't call me "1 coupon queen" for nothin'.

My Children's Grandma and Great Grandma...on Daddy's side.

Aren't they cute! They both stand about 5'1" in this picture. These pictures were taken in 1985 in New Zealand of my husband's mother, Mary and her mother, Blanche Fox. They were 58 and 85 in these pictures. Great-grandma Fox didn't start traveling the world until she was 75. This mother-daughter team traveled together in their senior years to Sweden to visit Mark, around Europe, and to New Zealand, among other destinations. Great-grandma Fox died in 1996. Mary is having her 80th birthday this week and has traveled in the last few years to Ireland, Nova Scotia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, and Spain. I hope to be that active when I'm that age!

Here they are when they were younger: Mary at high school graduation, and Blanche in her 20s.

We Had SNOW Yesterday!

They said it was the first time in 10 years! You should have heard the excitement when Joey came back from seminary class and collected this actual snowball from off my car windshield. Here's the view of our front yard from out the upstairs window. If you look real close you'll see a smattering of white across the grass. What a thrill! I had to get out the camera. I knew you'd all have to see it to believe it! Here's the neighbors yard across the street. There must be an inch or two in their front planter! haha! (Cousin Kevin in Denver is probably thinking this is nothing about now after his experience with snow lately!) Here's a shot of our little lower roof from the upstairs window. Check out the icy snowflakes! Very cool! Our high was the same as Kevin's all day, according to the "Weather Pixies." Amazing!

Oops! Spoke Too Soon About the Job!

Actually Ashley spoke too soon, telling Joey the first male manager he spoke to was very happy with him and interested in hiring him...and that he had the job. Well, Monday I took Joey down there for his second interview with this woman. Afterwards, she argued with Ashley that Joey was not "smiley or bubbly enough" for the job. She was bothered that he only spoke to her when spoken to. She told him a lot of people get angry in there alot (uh....maybe HE doesn't want to work there, huh?) and she asked him how he would handle that. He said, "I have three younger siblings at home and this happens all the time. I try to calm them down and then solve the problem. Sounds right to me. It seems that these two fellows at left came in applied right after Joey and one of them got the job.

In the same way it was expressed in the movie, "Uncle Buck," when he said, "I don't want to see a seven year old who isn't a silly heart."........Well, I don't think I want an almost 17 year old who is overly smiley and bubbly! Especially in a restaurant. If I spotted a male character overly smiley and bubbly and a little light in his loafers, my first thought would be that I prefer that he not breathe within 5 feet of my plate. Joey looked around and noticed before he walked out of there Monday that there were no guys working in the place at all.

I assured him that there are far more appropriate positions for the man who is not smiley and bubbly. How's this one? Maybe we'll look more into Police Explorers since that's where his interest lies.

Goodbye Anthropology....Hello History!

Well, sorry to disappoint in case anyone was really looking forward to me sharing quips and quotes from Anthropology. Well, it's not going to happen this semester anyway. I had all my books shipped to my house and after reading through the textbook for that class, I couldn't drop it fast enough. The class, I mean....well, book too!

For starters, the teacher wrote the textbook, which isn't necessarily a problem. I saw that last semester too. But what really got me was when I flipped over to the chapter on "Religion in America." The entire chapter was about witchcraft, wiccan, paganism, and shamans. Now I've seen polls that show 80% of Americans believe in Jesus Christ and celebrate Christmas. If this teacher thinks that she's educating on religious beliefs in America, she's off her nut I'd say. The textbook's only reference to Christianity in America is a small section on the tiny group of "Snake Handlers" out in the Appalachians somewhere. Oh yeah, now THAT'S representative! These classes are running about $100 per class. The books are also about $100 per class. There's no way I'm going to pour money down the drain being assigned all kinds of papers on witchcraft. No, thanks. And if the teacher wrote this textbook, common sense tells me she's best to be avoided!

So, thankfully there were 2 spots left in a good ol' history class called: "World History: 1500 to present." Talks about the rise of the West and the "West vs. the rest" dialectic. Sounds like cowboys and Indians to me....BRING IT ON! Now this, I can sit through. The other, not a chance I could even pretend to get into it! This just means an extra trip down to the college bookstore to stand in the refund line and then buy up the books for this new class. Easier than sitting through Anthropology, from what I've seen so far.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA!

Today, January 7th, 1918 is my grandpa's birthday. His name was David Adams and he lived a well-lived life. He was highly motivated and dreamed of achieving greatness. And he did, in many different ways. He was an inventor, an artist, a machinist, and a manager. He loved the Bible, talking about the Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings, and he actively prayed and maintained a "prayer list" for the people in his church. He taught me many things and was a strong, moral standard for all that is good and right. He would have been 89 today.

He was kind and loving to my children and always spent time teaching Joey how to do yardwork. There are pictures of him pushing Joey around his backyard on a dollie. Papa had a little corner, obscure wall on the laundry porch of his home where he would etch a tiny mark for every cricket that Joey would catch and show Papa. They'd count up the little tick marks all the time and laugh about how many crickets were in the yard. Papa and Grammy would take the boys to the park often and show them great times. Grammy really favored this picture of Papa that she took at Irvine Park on one of their many trips there. The huge, regional park was on the outskirts of their town, so they bought an annual pass and spent lots of time there together and with the great-grandkids.

Papa came up to my house in Washington back in 1995 and worked so hard to bring my backyard to perfection. Nobody asked him to. He fought a brave battle with melanoma and past away peacefully in September 1997. I miss him often. The picture above is of he and my Grammy with their first child, Davie, born in 1942. Love you Papa!

My Son Joins the Work Force!

He's growing up way too fast. Turning 17 in 3 mos---I can't believe it! Ashley had told Joey she'd try to get him a job at the restaurant where she has waitressed for 2 years, if he was interested. Out of the blue today, they called and said they had an opening for a host, and two waitresses there that each wanted their brothers to get the job. Manager said the first one there gets the job. Joey got ready, Mark ironed his shirt, and Joey had the tie in place before the rest of us downstairs had a clue what was going on!

As Mark and Joey were running out the door, Austin pretended to cry and whimpered, "Ohh, my brother's growing up....boo hoo......" Your brother? My child! My little Joe Joe. It was a strange feeling like the unstoppable wheels of time began turning several revolutions, a little faster than normal.

Joey beat the other guy and met the general manager. They scheduled him for an interview Monday. Later, we got a call informing Joey that they were impressed with him and that he had the job. The interview is just a necessary formality, they told him. He's so excited.

So Joey will be the host and do the seating and greeting along with a lot of bussing tables. He's had plenty of practice here at home. You should have seen his expression when he realized he gets one free meal there during his shift. Yeah, I can only imagine what he'll be dining on, on a regular basis!

Stoddart Women...Anyone...Help Me Out Here!

The Ball reunion is around the corner scheduled for July 27th and 28th (Fri/Sat) in So. Cal. this summer. The committee is looking to me for direction and ideas since I (and you all) are the only ones in the area of the reunion willing to lend a hand....right? Well there is Marilyn & Dale, but they're probably dancing in the streets knowing they don't have a park here this time and get to sit back and relax. hahaha! There is dad's cousin who's a patriarch in the Costa Mesa area. Ladies, I'm afraid, logistically, IT'S US ALL IN IT TOGETHER!

I've put a couple polls on the Ball website to solve the mystery of 1) how many are coming and 2) what do they want to do. I've heard estimates that about 150 will be in attendence. From my experience at the reunions I recall about 50 under age 14, 50 between the ages of 15-50 and about 50 aged 50+. What is your recollection?

Here's what I've come up with so far:

Friday Idea #1:

• Meet at Irvine Park from 2-5pm for playing and fun and with chips, dips, snacks, water bottles provided by the committee.
• Orange Stake Center from 6-9pm for a program and dinner. (We charge everybody $5/person ahead of time for Grinders, etc.) or (We charge everybody $10/person ahead of time for BBQ chicken salad, Chinese Chicken salad, rolls, dessert, from Claim Jumper) or (Everybody brings their own food and sits in their own little groups.)
• We play some reunion games, display pictures, have some individuals picked out to read a few sentences and ask "Who Am I?" Do that with a number of different teens and adults to teach about the ancestors.

Saturday Idea #1:

• We spend the day at Corona Del Mar, reserving 5 firepits and cook a meal (lunch or dinner) of hot dogs, boiled corn on the cob, s'mores, and 99 cent store Shasta sodas (charging ahead of time $5/person for the meal). I get the kids started on straightening hangers for marshmallows and hot dogs right away. Last ward beach trip, our bishop filled a large 5-gal insulated water jug with boiling water and filled it with hot dogs he cooked at home. They were handed out in a jiffy.
• Or we spend the day at Corona Del Mar, everyone does their own thing about food and the committee rents or otherwise gets ahold of some awnings to put out there for all the old people...and what about lawn chairs. People travelling from out of town aren't likely to pack chairs.
• Or we go to Knott's purchasing discounted tickets ahead of time and have the entire group order and wear identical reunion shirts there. The banquet area requires paying for food per person of around $17 for the full lunch or $12 for the full breakfast. I put that email out and got one "no" and everybody else went dead frozen and didn't respond.
• Or one of us knows somebody with a huge community pool and clubhouse that we could use that has plenty of chairs around for at least 80 while the others are swimming.
• Or we go to Huntington Beach? Or Balboa Pier near that parking lot down by A Street with the little playground.
• Anybody know of a beach with picnic tables?
• Aunt Marilyn mentioned a park right on the beach at Dana Point that might be used.
• Guasti Park here in my town is huge with a fishing lake, pedal boat lake, swimming pool, swimming beach, big playgrounds, covered pavillions with 10-30 picnic tables we could rent. Drawback, it might be 90 degrees though. It's only about $200 to rent.

HELP ME---the committee's "knocking on my door!"

Little Miss Mackenzie

Isn't she cute. This is my step-daughter Ashley's baby girl. So in a roundabout way, she makes me a Gramma. She's 8 months old, constantly smiling and happy. A perfect baby!

100 Things About Me

My sister did this on her blogsite and it was so fun to read. I can never turn my back on a challenge (unless it has to do with laundry :D ). Let's see what I come up with.

1. I am 40 years old.
2. I have 2 sons, 2 daughters, 1 step-son, 2 step-daughters (one who has a daughter), and a former foster daughter who still calls me Mom.
3. I have lived in California and Washington.
4. I have been married twice.
5. I don't like knowing I've been the second wife to both husbands.
6. I love riding the ferry to Balboa.
7. I love the bean tostadas at Mario's in Huntington Beach.
8. I loved spending the night at my Grandma's house every Christmas night from about age 16 to 21.
9. I always loved playing piano better than singing because I didn't have to look into everyone's eyes or have people staring at me.
10. If I can play a song, only looking at my fingers once or twice, I think I'm playing well.
11. I love to drive to wherever I can see fall colors in the tree leaves.
12. I once chopped down a perfectly good pine tree from my front yard to be our Christmas tree one year, just because it looked so perfect.
13. I hate driving on black ice in Utah at night.
14. I love the fried chicken dinner at Mrs. Knotts Restaurant.
15. As a teen, my favorite group was Culture Club until I saw the lead singer pictured on the album cover. I denied I ever liked them after that.
16. I fall in love with my husband all over again, every time he plays piano and sings "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by heart, to me.
17. I love cookouts around a bonfire at the beach.
18. I hate when the smoke from that bonfire is blowing in my direction.
19. I loved skating at the roller rink every Friday night as a young teen.
20. I love the BBQ chicken salad at Claim Jumper.
21. I love the Thai Chicken Wraps at Mimi's Cafe. (Go easy on the Thai sauce or you'll be sorry.)
22. I love my mom and how she always laughs at my jokes.
23. I love my dad and the quiet, sure family pride that exudes from him.
24. I love my brothers and the way they used to listen to my stories and believe everything make-believe that I told them.
25. I love my sisters and the way we used to play "apartment" with our dolls.
26. I love my sisters for being so patient and making an effort to try and sing every song I asked them to sing the melody to, so I could harmonize to it.
27. I love when my husband comes home earlier than usual.
28. I love to tap dance in my kitchen when any catchy tune comes over the tv or radio.
29. I love knowing I'll never wear braces again.
30. I don't like being a jack of all trades, master of none.
31. I love my Father in Heaven for healing my body from every deadly ailment I've ever contracted.
32. I love my Father in Heaven for blessing me with amazing parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
33. I love the Neilson's for taking me in when I separated from my first husband.
34. I love my Aunt Val for loaning me money without question, when I was desperate. (I paid her back.)
35. I loved riding on Grammy's banana-seat bike with my older male cousin driving all wild and crazy. He faced forward, and I faced back. Nothing smooth about that ride off curbs, sidewalks..FUN!
36. I love Quan's Chinese food in Orange.
37. I love when my children raise their tiny hand and sneak in a little wave at me during performances.
38. I love singing Christmas songs from September to December every year in the Cantata practices at my church.
39. I love when my husband brings me flowers.
40. I love our "date night" if I've spent time looking/talking across a table from my husband interacting without interuptions...unlike at home :D
41. I love watching scary, suspenseful movies that are rated PG-13. (R is too scary!)
42. I love the memory of sneaking out with my Grammy at 10pm, unknown to my Papa, and seeing Friday the 13th at Lakewood Center when I was 17.
43. I love remembering how Grammy looked with her huge bouffant, in the 3-d glasses that night, laughing so hard every time a killing happened, which those around us found both disturbing and upsetting. (I was laughing at Grammy, myself).
44. I love taking the kids to ride the ponies at Irvine Park.
45. I love the looks on my girls' faces when they see me come down the slide behind them at parks.
46. I love the looks on my boys' faces when they see me throw a football, putting a nice spin on it.
47. I love driving vacation trips.
48. I love eating with my husband at Pei Wei.
49. I loved the way my first husband insisted that we turn the decorating of the Christmas tree into a Decorating Party with "party platters" of shrimp, sandwiches, fruit, and veges purchased special from the store for just the 3 of us.
50. I love driving.
51. I love driving a 5-speed.
52. I love returning to college.
53. I love to and need to constantly be learning new things.
54. I love playing trivia games to learn stuff---because I rarely know the answers.
55. I wish I could connect which artists sing which songs. I never can.
56. I love family reunions.
57. I love when my kids do their chores without an argument.
58. I loved when I returned from my honeymoon to find my mom cleaned my house perfectly!
59. I entered every audition I heard about in high school.
60. I felt like an idiot when that audition came about and I had to sing without music.
61. I saw a murdered woman out my bedroom window when I was 8.
62. I always wanted to go to BYU since I was a young teen.
63. I was terrified of going to BYU and being away from my family when I was 18.
64. I bought my first car at 19, a new '85 Nissan Pulsar at 15.75% interest since I had no credit.
65. I did not like New York and all the garbage on the sidewalks there.
66. I slept through my only Broadway show, "42nd Street" in 1985.
67. I was prepped for an emergency hysterectomy in 1990. Good Lord healed me from a staph infection.
68. I had cancer in 1993. Good Lord healed me from Hodgkin's disease.
69. I had a sweet baby boy in 1993.
70. I love listening to 40's music.
71. I love picturing my Grammy and Papa dancing together in their living room, when I listen to 40's music.
72. I had a recurrance of a mass in my chest and under my arm in 2004. The good Lord healed me again, sparing me from a bone marrow transplant.
73. I love watching my kids play sports.
74. I love seeing my kids in their Sunday clothes sitting all prim and proper (sometimes) in church, down the row from me.
75. I love D'Elia's Grinders in Riverside.
76. I love staying in hotels with my family.
77. I love going to BYU Women's Conference with my mom and sisters.
78. I love the "Girls Night Out" sleepovers with my mom and sisters.
79. I love how my sisters are all fantastic housekeepers and such an example to me.
80. I love when my little grandchild, Mackenzie smiles and giggles at me.
81. I love talking to my mom, Grammy and sisters on the phone.
82. I love visiting my friend Arlene and picking up from wherever we left off and talking for hours.
83. I love heading off on a date night with my husband and he tells the kids we're going one place, but he actually takes me up to "Inspiration Point" in our town. (Too much info??)
84. I hate the expression, "Mother of all _____" because I remember how it originated with Saddam Hussein at the start of the Gulf War. (Mother of all wars--then everybody used it).
85. I love setting an exercise goal and completing it.
86. I love surprising my family with a picnic at the park for dinner, when they least expect it.
87. I regret blind-folding my husband for his birthday and driving him 20 miles to a special restaurant, since he became dizzy, car-sick and was disoriented for a day afterwards!
88. I love when I visit the temple often.
89. I love discovering ancestors and more about my family's past.
90. I don't like camping.
91. I hate bugs, especially anything that buzzes or stings.
92. I hated getting a wasp caught in my blouse (in back) and 12 stings to show for it.
93. I've been bit by a black widow spider.
94. I've been stung by a hornet on my leg.
95. I wish I didn't love the frosting on store-bought cakes.
96. I love Law & Order, Criminal Intent and SVU. I don't like Mythbusters, but my husband does.
97. I pray everyday.
98. I know prayer works.
99. I love family gatherings.
100. I hope to live to 100.

Something New & Fun!

My son, Joey has observed my efforts at weight loss over the years, and he has been campaigning hard for me to try his method for over a year. He thinks women being consigned to a maximum of a 2 lb. loss per week is "dumb." Joey's advice is: "Just run! All you need to do is start running. There are no fat joggers out there." And my reply is always, "I'm not a runner--never have been, never will be." Well, hearing my sister's charge to me last Saturday that we better both have a 2 lb. loss this week, motivated me to give Joey's strategy a chance. So last night I went out around 8pm in my sweatshirt, sweats, and tennies (as my mom would say). I had my earbuds and my little radio, along with my talking pedometer. You could say I was "wired for success!" I had measured out 2 miles inside my neighborhood and did it! I don't know if the moon was out last night, but it sure seemed like it. Listening to my radio tuned to a classic rock station, it kept be pumped up enough to keep going.

It felt so great to be out in the cool air. The doctor gave my heart an A+ (next to 35 yr. olds) last spring when I did my stress echocardiogram, so I have no need to fear jogging. I jogged and walked fast and jogged and walked fast until I made the 2 miles in exactly 30 minutes. No, I'm no Olympic hopeful...

I felt great after that. This morning I was down 2 lbs. from the morning before which I could get really used to! I also realized that little jaunt woke up muscles in my leg that hadn't been exercised in a while. I think Joey was a little concerned when it was dark and I announced I was really going to do it. It was cute how he wanted to know my exact route before I left. It seemed like he felt better knowing exactly what I was up to in case I collapsed or something and didn't return...

It's freezing outside right now. The chill in the air is really chilly, for lack of a better word. Supposed to get some rain tonight. The kids have been loving to play with the new neighbor kids next door. They're good kids, very well-behaved and they love skating, riding bikes, and talking on walkie-talkies, as they run around the houses together. Everybody just came in and the girls just have to put their cheeks against my cheek to show me how cold it is. So cute!

"LOOK TOWARD HEAVEN IN 2007"

My grandpa (Papa) used to come up with a rhyming motto for each new year. I can remember him saying "Feeling Alive in '95," the year he was going to focus on exercise. Then there was "Going to Heaven in '97" and I can hear Grammy responding quickly to that with, "David, DON'T SAY THAT!!" Sadly, he didn't know he was sick at that time, but it was the year of his passing, in September. I asked Joey to help me come up with a rhyming theme for this year. I liked his best.

Well, if you were at our house on New Year's Eve, this is what you would have seen most of the day. We have here the Law & Order crew who didn't miss too many episodes of the Law & Order/Criminal Intent marathon, sacked out across my bed for much of the day. It sounds so sweet when my sister talks about her two boys (ages 7 & 5) wanting to watch TV on her bed. Well, when my two boys want to watch TV on my bed, it usually means there's no room for me! A motley crew, they are (with the pillows and covers going every which way and the girls parking a baby quilt on Mark. I feel very brave putting this one on)... See for yourself:

So I'm resigned to the blog to add more to my "parents' gossip corner," as Joey likes to refer to this. I tell him I'm a family historian hard at work and someday he'll appreciate all these little quips and quotes I'm including.....if he doesn't, I know his wife and kids will :D

Last summer I read about a lady who made her own calendars and I thought it was such a great idea I've been doing it ever since. Every two months I buy a big white poster board. Then you basically block off 3" squares for the days, decorate it with stickers and wah-lah! You have a calendar you can actually write things on. I put it up on the door out to the garage and it's in everybody's view. With six people there's alot of activities. I go to the scrapbook section at Wal-Mart and find stickers that have to do with what's going on that particular month. January is when the boys have basketball games every Thursday night from about 7-9pm. Those are lots of fun! I just love to get out and cheer them on! I might have gotten a little carried away with the February decor, but I had extra space. Of course the 14th is Valentine's Day and the 13th is our 8th wedding anniversary. I put "gift box" stickers where there are birthdays. Feels good getting the new one up right away.