Me and My Musings
Framed Tile
Sick at the House
Other News
Etagere
Dan and Kristin Wedding
Cedar Breaks
Our Visit to Oregon
Arches National Park
Christmas 2008
Happy Birthday Vanessa
Disneyworld
Camping 2008
Seattle Trip
Las Vegas Pictures
Elsa's Blessing
Cougar 5K
About My Husband
PR: Hacienda
Nerdy Indulgence
Mark's 10K
MOF Mini Swap
Wrapping Paper Tag
Sarah Tagged Me
Mark's Race
Cruise Highlights
New Levels of Geekhood
Christmas at Our House
Happy 10th
New Aunt
I Am One Cool Mom
Holiday Candies
Christmas Decorating
Thanksgiving Weekend
Happy Birthday
Halloween 2006
Favorite Quote
Brief Notoriety
Operation Mistborn
Mark's Triathalon
Back from DC Wedding
Is There a Doc in the House?
It's Official
Being an Answer to Prayers
Car of Happiness
Meeting Online Friends
Kids Need Their Daddy, Too
Moving Day is Here!
Birthday Boy
Se7ens Meme
In Memory of Grandma
Care and Feeding of Introverts
From Milkmaid to Doctor's Wife
Fri Favorites: Music to Write to
Mark's Brownie Points (03/16/06)
OK, Maybe It IS This Easy (03/12/06)
Yesterday's Surprise Visitor (03/08/06)
On Boredom...Yawn...Moving On (03/07/06)
Writing Has Ruined Me as a Reader (03/02/06)
Getting in Touch with My Inner Geek (02/27/06)
Valentine's at our house (02/15/06)
Why I'm Glad I Only Teach Webelos (02/10/06)
I have two of the coolest brothers ever! Yay! (02/08/06)
Dallin the Cutie-Pie (02/06/06)
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01/05/10 In a desperate attempt to release my anxious house-buying/selling energy (and not wanting to get burned out with packing/cleaning), I've been making pretty things to give away. The craft blogs I've recently discovered have really been fun to look at and get ideas from. Here's a sampling. Gift box for a friend's birthday. I think my favoritist color combination of all time is blue and yellow. It just makes me happy to look at.
Birthday card invitation for Amber's birthday party next week. I also bought cheapo picture notebooks and replaced the existing covers with ones matching her party's 'Winter Wonderland' theme.
Thank you gifts for my kids' teachers at school. I'm doing this now since we're moving soon, and I usually give them an end of the year gift, but we won't be here in May to do it (they've had my kids for most of the year, so they deserve it). I got the idea from brown paper packages. In my pre-packing decluttering I filled the boxes with not only paper clips, but an odd assortment of things that I hope their teachers can find uses for...
Christmas coupon book for Amber. Since she got a camera from her grandmother, I thought I'd include some coupons to print off her pictures, as well as for picture frames, and other things.
______________________________________________ A Few Images of Christmas 12/30/09
Some surprises from Germany. Thanks Casey and Katie!
Every year I grow some amaryllis:
Making the gingerbread house:
Carter's Christmas present to me that he made himself (it has a little lid):
The boys got a ton of legos and other building toys, so have been busy constructing:
___________________________________ Christmas 2009 12/26/09 Christmas Eve dinner with the Christensons. Mark made the entire dinner and he went all out.
A little Christmas program:
Christmas Morning:
After the damage is done:
__________________________________ Christmas Lights at Temple Square 12/23/09 Last night Mark and I took the kids to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. It's really spectacular if you've never been. The last time we went was when Carter (or was it Spencer?) was still in a stroller, so it's been a while. It was fun. We came home and had hot chocolate afterward, and the kids fell into bed tired but happy.
__________________________________ 13th Anniversary 12/21/09 Yep, thirteen years. We got massages at a local spa, ate dinner at a fancy schmancy restaurant, then went to see Avatar (which was spectacular by the way). It was a fun day! And a nice celebration of sticking with it through thick and thin. I _________________________________ 12/09/09 When I was visiting my family this past summer, I was able to go through some of my Grandma Kennington's old things to see if there was anything I wanted (she passed away a few years ago). I found an unusual piece of artwork that I instantly loved. It's a glazed tile--although when you tap it, it sounds like metal--made by a Pierre Freimont (if you know anything about him, let me know! Google reveals nothing to me). Unfortunately, the frame it was in was truly hideous and worn and just made the tile look faded and tired. Today I got the newly framed tile back from the store and am happy with the results. Voila:
Trust me, it's even way cooler in person. _________________________________ Sick at the Christenson Household 10/21/09 We aren't 100% sure it's the swine flu because we didn't offically get tested or anything, but Mark thinks we probably have it since it's the only flu really going around. Carter got it first on Friday with a fever and fatigue, and Friday night started getting chest pains and shortness of breath. Saturday I started to feel crappy. Sunday afternoon Amber started feeling bad. So we've holed up here at home with no church, no school and lots of movies and Wii. Lots of laying around and sleeping. They've been watching movies and playing games on Mark's plamsa TV he just bought. Maybe I'll post a picture. But you already know what a TV looks like. It's big. And it's nice. And the kids have been pretty good about it and now they're big enough to not destroy electronic equipment we don't have to store the DVD player and etc in the closet anymore. ________________________________ No, We Didn't Get That House and Other News 09/28/09 Well, the Mapleton foreclosure house was on a fast-track sale by the bank and since we didn't get our Orem home sold in time, the bank wouldn't take our bid, which means that we didn't get it. House Remodeling Our home is still for sale, but in the meantime Mark and I are updating the house, which includes: * the upstairs bathrooms with new flooring, new lights, new paint, new fixtures, new cabinets * new doors throughout the house to replace the 70's honey-colored lame ones there now * new lights throughout the house, but especially in the bedrooms, hallways, and dining rooms * updating the basement, including removing all the wood paneling and the tile cieling, putting in new lights and new carpet, and painting * updating the main floor bathroom with new vanity and toilet, replacing the carpet with tile and the lights * removing the hideous wallpaper in the laundry room, repainting, replacing the carpet with tile * (not sure yet?) new kitchen cabinets and floor We hope that these updates will make this home more competitive in today's market. If it doesn't sell in the next month, we'll probably put it up again in the spring when real estate generally moves faster. I'll post pictures when there's something to post, which should be soon. Sick Kitty In other news our cat Panda got really sick this weekend and I took him into the Urgent Pet Care Clinic in Orem Sunday morning (yes he was in that bad of shape). Our normally frisky, friendly kitty would lay down in the same spot for hours and not move or meow and Sunday morning he was declining rapidly. Fortunately the vet was able to fix him and he's going to be spending a couple of days there until he's better. He had a urinary tract blockage and it was making him very sick. We hope to have him home soon all better and happy again. Stupid Toilets So two of the toilets in our house are wall-mounted. In some ways it's great because they're less likely to leak, you can clean under them, and they're generally hassle free. Except when you want to replace them. The two we have in the upstairs bathrooms are Goldenrod Yellow and Sky Blue. Bleh. So I've been trying to find a replacement, which hasn't been easy. I found one for what I thought was a good price at a Plumber's Surplus website and I just got it via UPS today. But it was only the tank. I didn't know the bowl came seperately. Grrr. Stupid wall-mounted toilets are expensive. Don't get one. Ever. Real Estate Search Mark is out this afternoon with our realtor looking at other houses in the area to see if we can find another house like the Mapleton foreclosure. There were some in Provo, Springville, and Mapleton and we hope to find something comparable. If not, we'll just keep looking and continue getting our Orem house ready to sell. We had always planned on this house to be temporary. We bought it with the plan in mind to remodel and re-sell it (for a profit, but alas, the market didn't cooperate). The one good thing about today's real estate market is that we can find some beautiful homes for really amazing prices. We've been looking at places slightly bigger, nicer, and on bigger lots. Now that Mark's been in his job for a while we have a better idea of the kind of house we can afford, and we'd really like to upgrade if we can. We'll see how it goes, but in all likelihood we probably won't be able to sell this one until summer, and we'll move then when school is out. ___________________________________ Pictures from Yakima 11/20/09 Over at the Shameless Sniggers Carrie posted pictures from when I was at her house. There's one with me and her silly silly silly little boys, as well as the valances I whipped up for her.
__________________________________ é·ta·gère: a stand with a series of open shelves for small objects, bric-a-brac, etc 11/17/09 Two posts in one day! Yeah. Don't get used to it. This is my new é·ta·gère:
I found it at an antiques shop. I don't usually care for antiques, sorting through old crap doesn't appeal to me, but it's impossible to find anything like this for the price I got for this! I was super happy to find it and it's my birthday present to me. The sewing room upstairs gets the most sunlight from any other window in the house, and I can keep it open all the time. Since it's out of the way it's where I nurse new, transplanted, or sick plants to health. I keep my African violets here and swap them out when they're blooming. Also, for my birthday, I spent some of my money on: http://www.thelittlesoapmaker.com/ This is a place Carried took me to while I was in Yakima. I bought some soap for myself and it smells divine! Get some for yourself, too. Also, they sold these flowers there that were fake but looked real! I'm regretting I didn't get a bunch, but oh well. __________________________________ Yakima, Washington 11/17/09 First off: Happy Birthday to me today! Shh. I'm not telling you how old I am. Don't ask. This weekend I visited my sister Carrie in Yakima, Washington! I didn't bring my camera because, hey, I can't take good pictures like her and she had a camera there, anyway. Alas, she took, I think, one picture so I don't really have a record of my activities there. Unless receipts count. I bought some fabric for a quilt. I bought goat's milk soap that smells divine. I bought fabric and rods to make curtains for her living room. And I bought them lunch at a FABULOUS Mexican restaurant there that was oh so yummy. All in all it was a relaxing weekend without kids. Well, MY kids, anyway. Dallin and Justin are still little and therefore into everything, but they were hilariously adorable. My sister and I watched movies. Hung out. Gabbed and gabbed and gabbed. It was a nice weekend. _______________________________ 09/01/09 Ok they were married back in June, but I'm still catching up from our summer activities. Here's the happy couple:
The brothers.
The family.
My adorable children.
These poor boys were so bored the whole time we were at the temple.
At the reception--all the Christenson cousins.
Carter was helping at the reception gathering the gifts that people brought.
________________________________ 08/15/09 In July Mark and I went to the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City for a couple of days to watch a couple of plays and have some adult time alone together. It was a great trip filled with excellent plays and beautiful scenery. One morning we visited Cedar Breaks and hiked the trail there. The view there is simply amazing.
A rare sight: a picture with ME in it! It was kind of cold that morning, hence the jacket, but since it is Utah in July it didn't stay cool for long.
The wildflowers were spectacular, as well, several varieties were in bloom, including this lupine (purple) and columbine (white).
__________________________________ 08/11/09 On August 1, I loaded my kids into the minivan and we headed to Oregon to visit my family. Saturday night we went to the Malheur County Fair. My brother Conrad and his family came with us and we reminiced about bringing animals to the fair, the ribbons we got, spending the $2 show cash on ice cream and hamburgers, and how worthless we thought the showmanship contest was. Here's the kids petting some calves that were on display. With them is their little cousin Athena.
All of us walking between the livestock sheds (mom was taking the picture).
Petting the sheep.
The following Monday we left to spend a couple of days at my Aunt Charlotte's house in John Day. It was so fun to visit their family! One afternoon we loaded up our cars with our kids, dinner, and swimming stuff, and drove into the mountains to Magone Lake. The kids spent hours swimming, playing in the sand/dirt/mud, and jumping into the water.
I picked Mark up from the airport on Wednesday afternoon, we lazied around Ontario, watched the Harry Potter movie while mom took the kids to G-Force, and generall didn't do much for the next day since it was rainy all day. On Friday we went to my brother's home in Boise so that Mark could go to Emmet where he had his triathalon the next morning. We headed home soon after lunch. It was a great trip. _________________________________ 04/18/09 I know I've been away for a while. I was taking an unoffical break from blogging. Mostly because I was tired of it, partly because my life has been pretty dull for the last few months. But now there's fun things to post. Gardening stuff will be soon as the weather improves. This week Mark, me and the kids, and Mark's parents came with us to Moab, Utah, where we broke in Mark's new Jeep and took in the beautiful sights of Arches National Park. We drove down Thursday night right after work through snow and sleet. The pass that took the highway through Price was closed so we ended up taking an hour detour. We were already behind schedule so that put us in Moab at about 11pm. We found our condo pretty easily and fell into bed. The next morning we went straight to Arches. Our first stop: the Windows arches.
After a bunch of climbing around and looking at another arch nearby, we stopped for lunch then took the dirt road to Eye of the Whale arch--you needed 4-wheel drive to take this road and Mark was ready to try out the Jeep.
The kids loved playing in the sand.
Then, it was the hike to Delicate Arch! The hike takes one across slickrock, up hills, around ledges, and into the bowl upon which this beautiful arch sits.
Friday we started with several hours of 4-wheeling, breaking in Mark's new Jeep across rocky, sandy, and rough terrain.
A candid shot of Mark as we just finished traversing some sand dunes (I often have to take candid shots of him, he doesn't like his picture taken--my excuse is different, there's no one to take pictures of me).
Then we spent the afternoon in the Firey Furnace climbing through slot canyons and finding hidden arches there.
On Saturday morning we went to the Devil's Garden area and visited Landscape Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Tunnel Arch. By then the children were dragging their feet and after a picnic lunch headed home. What a fun weekend! ________________________________ 01/12/09 Christmas was great this year. It's so much fun to watch kids when they open presents. They had a lot of fun:
The boys got scooters from their Grandma Christenson and Amber got an American Girl doll. They got lots of crafty supplies from Grandma Kennington and books, games, clothes (from BYU), movies, puzzles, and puppets from their parents. They were all properly appreciative. But unfortunately Mark left right after opening gifts to go to work and while the kids played I was left with this mess:
On Christmas Even we hosted dinner for Mark's family, and everyone was there to enjoy our very scrumptious tenderloin that we made (we get better at making it every year, I swear). I've been busy with painting projects, and will post pictures as soon as they're done, as well as Amber's birthday surprises. ___________________________________ 11/18/08 Yesterday was my birthday. It was a pleasant day, the weather was clear, if cold, and my kids were all helpful and nice. In the morning I dropped my boys off at their friend's house and I went shopping! I bought myself some shoes and a new bike:
The color is called Root Beer (haha). It's a men's bike, but it's the right size for me. Strangely enough, about 90% of the women's bikes weren't big enough for me. It has a nice comfy seat and I can sit upright on it and it rides like a dream. I'm quite pleased with it. Even if it is an odd color. All of my birthday money was pooled into this, so I didn't really get anything else except some books from Aunt Raylene (which I've already read since Sunday! Thanks! I love them), and gift card to Amazon.com from my brother Casey (still deciding what to get with that...) Mark had a late meeting, but was wonderful and brought me home some flowers and dinner for everyone. Yay! I Didn't have to cook.
Amber cleaned the kitchen, Spencer picked me flowers from my own yard, and Carter agonized over what he should get me but I told him I would consider it a birthday present if he were a good boy all day (he didn't buy that, he didn't see how it could be a birthday present). I got cards, messages, and calls from friends and family all day.
All in all, it was a nice day.
_________________________________ Updates and Excuses 10/06/08 *Embarassed laugh* Wow. It's been two months since I last posted. My bad. Well. I will endeavor to catch people up on what's been going on around here and try again to keep current. New Computer/New Desk The first thing that caused my delinquency is the fact that we got a new laptop. This was clear back in June, but over the months I've gotten used to using it more and more. We have it in the living room where I can surf/write/play/watch movies on it while in the same room with the kids. I've gotten so used to it that I don't use the desktop much anymore, it's just not as convenient. The problem? All my blogging, writing, and photo editing programs are on that computer. I have been sooooo lazy about transferring over everything to the laptop because I knew it would be a hassle (and it was). But now everything is where it will be used so I can do my blogging updates regularly, without the excuse of not using the desktop anymore. Of course, having another computer means having another desk. Mark got it for me for Mother's Day and I LOVE it!
School School began at the end of August and Amber is in the 4th grade and Carter is in Kindergarten. Aren't they just the most good looking kids you ever saw?
Carter's Teeth Carter lost his first tooth just a week ago, and then a couple of days later lost his second!
Gardening This year has been very successful! We've been swimming in tomatoes, which I've been canning. I grew my first watermelon this year and it was delicious!
A few of the carrots got HUGE! My kids eat them as snacks they are so tasty!
_______________________________ Disneyworld: DownTown Disney and Epcot's the World of Tomorrow 08/05/08 We spend a few hours in DownTown Disney one evening as we waited for our dinner reservation at the tasty Fulton's Crabhouse to come. In the meantime, we shopped. A lot. Including at the amazing Lego store (the girl next to Amber is made of legos!). The kids have been playing non-stop with the legos we bought there since we got home.
We spent the morning at the newly re-vamped World of Tomorrow in Epot, where there were a ton of hands on activities for kids.
As well as a ride in The Land about conservation. I was drooling over their fancy greenhouse things they were doing. What a cool way to grow lettuce!
___________________________________ Disneyworld Trip: Hollywood Studios 08/01/08 I don't have many pictures from Hollywood Studios to post. This place has a bunch of rides and it's hard to take pictures during that. Esp during the Rockin' Rollercoaster that goes from 0-60 in, like, 2 seconds. I love that ride. At the entrance:
These aren't statues, there were really guys walking around as stormtroopers. Carter was scared of them, but agreed to stand there so I could take a picture (look at his face! "Mom, are you sure this is ok? These kinds of guys are mean, aren't they?")
And Carter on a speeder. This place was heaven for him. We got him a Star Wars t-shirt here that says "Rebel Alliance" and had to spend time explaining what that means. Haha.
___________________________________ Disneyworld Trip: Magic Kingdom 07/30/08 Our longest day was the second day. The Magic Kingdom opened early for those staying in a Disney resort so we get there at 8am and stayed there through the night fireworks until 11pm. It was a long day, but the kids loved this park the best. Their favorite rides were here (Amber's was the Thunder Mountain Railroad and Carter's was Space Mountain). We did several rides twice, here. One of the few pictures with me in it:
The jungle cruise ride:
The Buzz Lightyear ride was way fun. You got to shoot things from your little vehicle.
And, of course, the carousel:
___________________________________ Disneyworld Trip: Animal Kingdom 07/29/08 We just got back from our fabulous Disney vacation last night. This week I'll post pictures. Today's feature is the Animal Kingdom. It has some fun rides and shows, including the new Expedition Everest rollercoaster that Carter loved (it was a great ride!). There was a walking tour of some of the animals, including tigers and other African beasties.
Carter played with everything he could get his hands on.
The Safari ride was the first we took and there were lots of animals to see.
There was a petting zoo with goats and sheep. Carter loved the baby goats.
Unfortunately Animal Kingdomw as cut short that first day due to a thunderstorm late in the afternoon (we came back on Sunday to finish off the rides before we went back to finish Epcot). Fortunately, I was prepared with ponchos for everyone. Although they took up a lot of room in my purse, they were worth of the effort of toting around. They came in handy often. The tropical storms off the coast proved to be a nuisance, but it wasn't too bad with a couple of late afternoon thunderstorms we waited out in our cozy hotel room.
________________________________________________ Camping with Grandma & Grandpa 07/21/08
We found a Geocache not far from where we were camped.
Trial Lake in the Uinta Mountains
Roasting marshmallows
________________________________________________ 05/27/08 Last night we got home from a 4-day trip to Seattle for Mark's brother's wedding. On Friday we went to the Seattle Center and played in the park:
And went to the Experience Music Project and visited the Science Fiction Museums. They were way fun!
On Saturday was the wedding at the Seattle Temple.
Picture of all the Christenson cousins:
On Sunday we went to church. Afterward we went to Discovery Park and visited the lighthouse and beach:
On Monday we went to the pier where we visited the Aquarium, shopped, rode the merry-go-round, and ate yummy food.
It was a full weekend! _______________________________________________ Yes, I'm Lame, I Know OR Here's Pictures (finally) 04/21/08 These are from our Las Vegas trip from last week. It's just been busy around here and I've been too lazy to post. I promise to do better. (Just been a little bored with blogging lately, I guess, and busy with spring gardening and other sundry things.) Mark's friend and his family live there so we went during Amber's spring break. They took us on a hike to Red Rock, a popular hiking destination south of the city. Here's a really interesting slot canyon:
And a cool groove in the rock the boys could sit in:
A boulder we climbed on top of:
Some Indian Paintbrush along the trail!
One morning we went to a local outdoor mall and played in their cool playground. They had astroturf! No real grass anywhere.
___________________________________ 03/03/08 Gosh, I'm such a loser lately at posting in a timely fashion. Elsa was blessed, what, 2 weeks ago and I'm only getting around to posting these pictures? Sheesh. Here's the proud parents with their sweet, sleepy, little Elsa:
Auntie Vanessa gets to hold her:
The boy cousins crowd around her Royal Sweetness:
Napping with Uncle Jeff:
The kids playing with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Brielle:
Carrie taking a silly picture of the Kennington sisters:
___________________________________ Happy Birth Day Elsa 12/31/07 Today we went to see my new neice, Elsa. She's a perfect little baby with a sweet pixie face and a couple of tired parents (hehe). Here's Amber holding her at the hospital:
You can read her birth story here: http://www.caseyreddkennington.com/
___________________________________ Christmas 2007 12/26/07 What a great Christmas we had this year! It began with a nice dinner at our house with all of Mark's family--all of his siblings were here! See our china and settings all prettied up?
And everyone eating and having a good time? The menu: steak, crab, salad, bread, and other yummies.
Then on Christmas morning we opened presents.
Spencer loved his new Lightening McQueen coloring book.
Then in the afternoon we went to Mark's parents' house and ate a simple dinner and played games and generally had a nice day. ___________________________________ Fancy New Table 12/23/07 We're hosting Christmas Eve dinner this year with Mark's family and my brother Casey (Mark's brother is even coming down from Washington with his girlfriend...) It's going to be a big deal with all those people here. We realized that we need to have a place for all of them to sit! We were planning on getting one eventually, but what better reason than a big family dinner. Yep, we got a new dining room table.
Surprisingly we weren't able to find a large selection of dining room tables that were longer than 110", until we went to Ethan Allen, which had about 6 to choose from. We chose this one because the top it just beautiful.
It's 126" long (it has two leaves) and then there's 12 chairs that come with it, but they have yet to be delivered. At least we have enough folding chairs to substiute for the time being. We still have the informal dining table off the kitchen that we use for everyday eating, but this will be the formal dining room for when we entertain. Eventually we'll install hardwood floors, and new chandeler, re-paint, and get a china cabinet; but for now we'll just admire the lovely new table. ___________________________________ New Toy and the Kitty's New Favorite Nap Spot 12/06/07 For my birthday this yearI pooled all my birthday money and got myself this:
It's a quilt frame. It's a large hoop that swivels 360 degrees! And it adjusts up and down and stuff. I'm excited to try it out! I just got it because it had to be special ordered, but it was worth the wait. Panda, our cat, has really taken to the Christmas Tree.
It's his new favorite nap spot. I think he likes it because it's close to a heating vent and the kids don't see him under there to bother him. __________________________________ Camera and Floor 11/28/07 Mark surprised me today with a new camera! You see, yesterday he mentioned to me, "You need to take a picture of the new floor." I laughed at him. "You're teasing me, right?" His reply was a confused smile. He had forgotten the camera was busted and realized that waiting wasn't really an option. So he went to Best Buy today and bought a new Canon Elph (7.1 Mega pixels!) and brought it home and surprised me. Here is my happy face:
In other news: the floor is FINISHED.
As well as the casing, molding (including crown molding), new curtains, pictures hung, AND furniture moved into the room.
Yea, verily, thou shoudst be mightily impressed. That curtain behind the dark brown sofa is to hide the current state of the fireplace--that is to say, it still sports a gaping hole and we don't plan on doing anything with it until January. At the soonest. Be patient with us, we're a little sick of working on this room. ___________________________________ Famiy Fun This Weekend 11/12/07 Phew! What a weekend! My parents had come down, as well as my brother Conrad and his wife, to come see my sister-in-law Katie's art show. She's a BFA major at BYU and her final show was this week. So we went together to see it. Her theme was on "Treastures of a Child" and it was great because not only were the visuals nice (I mean, who doesn't like nature?), but the texture and smell really added to the overall feel.
Katie's artwork website is here and her husband's blog is here. ____________________________________ 10/21/07 For the past year I've been teaching the CTR 6 class in Primary. They're a fun bunch of kids, and I'm going to miss them. But this week I got a calling that beats all others. The kind of calling that's fun, and it's to interact with some of the easiest-to-please people in the world: 8-year-old girls. Yes, I'm the Activity Days leader, and I'll teach the 8-9 year old girls (the 10-11 are in another group since there's so many of them), two times a month at my house for an hour (how easy is THAT?). Amber is in my group, which will be fun. I'm really excited about this calling! ___________________________________ Tagged By Brielle 10/09/07 Five things I
was doing 10 years ago: Five things on my "to do" list today: Five things I would do if I were a millionaire: Five things I'll never wear again: My five favorite toys: ________________________________________________ 10/02/07 For Homecoming Week (two weeks ago) at BYU they had lots of activities, and one of them was a 5k run, which Mark and my brother Casey ran in. Mark was pretty proud of himself when he brought home a medal for 3rd place in his age group. Congratulations!
___________________________________ 09/17/07 This is just the current meme going around. I was hoping to tag Brielle, Carrie, and Sarah! And to whoever else wants to. Make sure to comment so I can come see it. What is his name? Mark How long have you been together? Married for almost 11 years. How long did you date? It was four months after we met when he proposed. How old is he? 33 Who eats more? Him Who said I love you first? I did. Who is taller? He is. Who sings better? Him Who is smarter? I'm smart myself, but he's much smarter than I am. Whose temper is worse? I'm more easily excitable in general. Who does the laundry? I do. Who does the dishes? Me. Occasionally he does when I'm overloaded, which I greatly appreciate. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Him Who pays the bills? He does Who mows the lawn? I do Who cooks dinner? I do Who drives when you are together? Me when it's my car, him when it's in his. Who is more stubborn? Heh. That's a toss-up Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me Whose parents do you see the most? His Who kissed who first? He kissed me Who asked who out? Our first date was a blind date, so neither, but he asked the second time. Who proposed? Him Who is more sensitive? Me Who has more friends? Me Who has more siblings? We both have 4 Who wears the pants in the family? Him, even though we have a pretty equitable relationship. _______________________________________________ Puerto Rico Trip: Hacienda Buena Vista 09/09/07 A few miles north of Ponce is the Hacienda Buena Vista (Good View Plantation). We went there for the English speaking tour and saw lots of interesting things, as well as learned about how this plantation used to be run. Here's the main house, which now is used as a museum:
The hacienda grew mostly cocoa and coffee beans. Here's one of the machines they used to process the coffee:
The machines in the hacienda were power via water. There's a stream further north, and they created canals that ran water through their machines to run them.
We saw a lot of neat things on this tour, including a variety of spider that makes the strongest webs in the world (it was amazing!), mango trees dropping their fruit, a tarantula nest in a tree, coffee trees/beans, cocoa trees/beans--it was fun to walk around the 'jungle' with a knowledgable tour gruide. ________________________________________________ Ug. 08/19/07 Sick. So sick. Sick for four stinking days with a nasty flu bug. Will it never end? In the meantime Mark is at work and the children have been running amuk through the house for four days watching too much TV, eating string cheese and granola bars for lunch, while I lay in bed wondering why it isn't over yet. As of this morning I'm feeling a litte better (the constant headache is ebbing away finally) but I have church today and a Primary lesson to plan for. I should have called my teaching companion, but I didn't get up until 10am this morning and church is in three hours. Doesn't seem fair to foist it off on her on such short notice. I'll just need to pray a lot that I make it through Sacrament Meeting without Mark and that my Primary kids are good. _________________________________________________ My Nerdy Indulgence Is Cancelled 06/17/07 It was time. It was a fun run I had, and I met lots of cool people, and got to play some fun games, but it's time to cancel the World of Warcraft account. /cries When Mark brought it up today I was surprisingly unresistant to the idea. Sure my friends on there will be disappointed that I'm leaving, and I'm going to miss them and the deliciousness of ganking alliance, so I have mixed feelings about leaving. But like all good runs, it must come to an end, a chapter to close, and move on. I've got other things to spend my time doing. /thanks friends for the fun _________________________________
05/14/07 He ran it on Saturday. The kids and I went to watch, and his mom and dad came down, too.
It began at the very nice Timpanogos Park up Provo Canyon, went up to Bridal Veil falls on the paved trail, then wound back.
Fortunately the park has a playground to keep the kids happy while we waited for Mark to finish his run. __________________________________ 04/23/07 The MOFs are my online friends, whom I've met on a private board. Some of us organized a mini swap (for those of us crafty ones, we made stuff). What I made for R___ in Washington:
What she sent for me and my kids:
Lots of fun books and coloring books. Carter spent all afternoon coloring in the pirate book (and he never does that).
A pirate map which Carter carried around all day. A My Little Pony which Amber commandeered.
Amber LOVES this flower. It has a place of honor in her bedroom.
And a pin-the-patch on the pirate game.
There was also an assortment of treats and other little goodies. _________________________________ Crafty Tip of the Day: Wrapping Paper Tag 04/03/07 I've discovered a new love for tags. Once I figured out that I could make a pocket and tuck notes in it, it's become my favorite way to wish someone a happy birthday or other event that involves a gift. The only problem? It needs to match the wrapping paper, and sometimes you just don't have the right paper or color on hand. No problem! Use a scrap of wrapping paper to make your tag! For example:
Voila! It's great because it's simple to make (looks harder than it really is), uses less paper, doesn't have to be fancy to look cute, and doesn't require that superfluous envelope. ___________________________________ Sarah Tagged Me 03/17/07 Ten interesting things about myself: 1. I keep an extra toothbrush and toothpaste in the basement bathroom for those nights when I stay up late playing on the computer and need to brush my teeth before going to bed, but don't want to wake up Mark. 2. My favorite crafting supply: paper (esp. patterned paper). 3. I go through my kids' rooms about once a month to clear out trash, old toys, and sort through everything. I can't stand how messy they get. 4. I make macaroni and cheese for the kids only on the nights when Mark and I go out to eat. So when I start making it, the first things the kids ask is, "Which one of the sitters is coming?" They love their babysitters. 5. I write book reviews for www.timewastersguide.com. Most of them get posted here, too. 6. When I was in high school I used to host Mystery Science Theater 3000 viewings at my house with my friends. Now that I'm an adult, I host Rifftrax parties. May the tradition continue! 7. For the first time ever, I pruned fruit trees this year. 8. I'm not a fan of chenille. 9. This coming June I'm vacationing in Puerto Rico for the second time. 10. I hate phoning people (other than family). The whole concept bothers me, I get all sweaty and nervous. So I've been sweaty and nervous a lot lately since I've been calling a lot of contractors for bids on roofing, removing conrete, delivering dumpsters, replacing the fence, delivering compost. Ok, I didn't mind the compost call. I was happy to make that one. _________________________________ 03/15/07 It was last Saturday. He ran a 5k in Provo, and did pretty well. It was cold and the kids complained about me dragging them out there, but there were things to play on, so they were OK.
_________________________________ 01/29/07 Horray! We're home! We had a great time in Mexico. Here's a recap: Day 1: We flew from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles in the morning, arriving not long after lunch. From there we took a bus provided by the cruiseship and arrived at the terminal. There was a looong line as we waited to board the ship and find our stateroom. Day 2: We spent the day at sea. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy and somewhat gloomy day, but we still had fun. We saw a movie. Mark worked out the gym (almost everyday). Ate yummy food.
Day 3: Another day at sea. We fiddled around. Saw a few shows. Shopped a little at the on-board stores. It was formal night, so we dressed up and ate at the fancy Italian restaurant, at which I had my first taste of caviar. It was gross.
Day 4: Today we arrived in Puerto Vallarta. We took a catamaran to Manjuitas, where we snorkeled in a protected cove in some nice, clear water. Then we boated over to Yelapas, which is a quaint town right on the beach. We hiked to a waterfall...
...then played on the beach.
We fortunately had enough time after to shop for souvenirs. It was overcast, but an otherwise beautiful day. Day 5: Arrived in Mazatlan and took the excursion bus to an Hacienda in the foothills of the Sierra Madre. It used to be a cactus farm (for making tequila). We rode on horseback, visited a quaint little church, and ate the best meal on the entire trip! The sun finally came out today, and it was clear and sunny.
Day 6: Arrived in Cabo San Lucas and immediately began the excursion on a real sailing ship built in the 1880s. It was very neat!
They also took us snorkeling. The water was colder and little more rough than in Manjuitas, but the aquatic life was great. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day.
Day 7: Spent the day at sea on our way back to Los Angeles. Mostly took naps and read books and laid out in the sun. Day 8: Arrived in Los Angeles (the temperature in the mid-60s), almost missed our flight, but thankfully didn't. Made it home (it was 32 in Salt Lake City--brrrr) to find the house in one piece and the kids just fine. It was a great trip, but it's good to be home. ____________________________________ Achieving New Levels of Geekhood 01/03/07 Hello, my name is Vanessa [Everyone say: "Hi, Vanessa"] and I'm addicted to World of Warcraft. Mark got an account a few months ago and after watching him play...a lot...I broke down and made my own character. Meet Kayrene, the human mage:
We have lots of fun and adventures together. But I really need to slow down a little, now that it's in my system. Too much playing leads to neglected household and family. *sigh*
_________________________________
12/28/06 Phew! It love Christmas, but it's so busy (a reason why I haven't posted in the last week....). We had a great Christmas, with lots of presents, parties, and yummy food. In anticipation of Christmas, the kids were all silly. In order to keep them out of trouble (particularly Amber once she was out of school) we got crafty. Here we are in our homemade Elf Hats:
Christmas morning we opened presents before Mark had to head off to work. Here's Spencer on his fabulous new train sit-n-ride, courtesy of Grandma Kennington:
Carter got a pirate ship, and Amber loved helping him play with it.
Post-unwrapping disaster. About 10 minutes later their other grandma came with another load of presents. I didn't get that picture, but the room was waaaayyyy worse than this after all that unwrapping an stuff.
________________________________ Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary 12/21/06 ....to us!
We were married in the Boise, Idaho, temple on December 21, 1996. It's been a full ten years, with finishing college, medical school, moving four times, and having three children. Here's to another happy ten years! __________________________________ 12/20/06 Yesterday my brother and his wife had their first child. Welcome to world, little Athena! Horray!!!
__________________________________ 12/19/06 I love Christmas. I love shopping for my kids for Christmas, I keep the list simple and have fun deciding what they would like best. In preparation for the big day I've been assembling toys, that way I don't have to spend several hours Christmas morning putting things together, and then they get to play with their new toys right away. This year, I've put together a train set for Spencer--the boy loves trains. For the past few years we've been collecting track, trains, and buildings for birthdays/Christmas. This year I got some more track, a building, and have put everything together to make a 'permenant' track. I looked at a bunch of different options to do this. My father-in-law built the boys a table that's the perfect size. For the top there's particle board that you can remove. I'm attaching the track to one of the boards so we can remove it when the boys aren't playing with it, because they use the table for other things, too. I didn't want to glue the track to the board. In the future as they get more track or buildings, or decide to keep the track loose, I wanted to be able to remove the pieces with the least damage. One option was to use tacks (with a machine, and turn the backs under so it will lay flat on the table--because there are stablizing bars under the top). In the end I decided to bolt the pieces, making sure to avoid the stablizing bars that run under the top. I drilled holes and used bolts/nuts to attach the pieces to the board. Here it is in progress:
Yeah, it's a big sawdusty mess. And I swear I use that powerdrill more often than Mark. He was joking that I played with the train track more often than the boys because it was taking me so long to put together. Oh yea, that was a riot. Here's the finished product:
You think Spencer will like it? It's hiding in my craft room right now, and on Christmas Eve we'll sneak it downstairs and cover it with wrapping paper and ribbon. I can't wait to see Spencer's face. It's not super fancy with lots of bridges and buildings, but the boys will still like it. I love Christmas. It gives me the exuse to do fun stuff like this. __________________________________ 12/11/06 Every year at Christmas Mark makes candies to give out to friends and family. He starts planning it in November, buys supplies, and spends several weeks in December making them. It's a whole big process. He buys the good chocolate (usually Callebaut), almond slivers, alcohol (amaretto, orange liquer, vanilla extract ;) and etc. He takes over my kitchen and the fridge, but when it's done it's a delight. Here's Mark getting the toffee and caramels ready to dip:
Dipping the caramel truffles:
Amber sneaking a taste of the leftover dipping chocolate:
Finished!
From top to bottom (then on the right top to bottom): Caramel Truffles Here's one of his favorite candy-making books (it has tempering instructions and recipies): ______________________________________________ 12/01/06 I love decorating for Christmas. It's so festive and pretty and I love all the lights. This year we bought our first fake tree and I love it! (Especially that it's pre-lit.)
Here's the fireplace stockings. I made them myself. Sorry you can't see anything really close up, though, but I wanted to get the room effect. Even then, you're still missing a few other decorations around the room. (By the way, I think that fireplace is ugly and the wood paneling--they will have to go, soon.)
My centerpiece on my kitchen table. The amaryllis was bigger, but Spencer snapped off the tip. I hope it will be ok.
I also have a goofy quilted wall hanging I made several years ago with material given to me, but I'm not going to show you because I want to replace it with something snazzy. But that's for next year. __________________________________ Nessa Update 12/02/06 Just for fun I thought I'd answer a few questions from an email I got. 1. What is your occupation? Domestic
engineer, technical writer. __________________________________ 11/28/06 For Thanksgiving Mark and I drove the kids up to Oregon to visit my parents. We ate lots of food. The children (particularly Spencer) nearly destroyed the house (sorry, Mom!). We shopped. We layed around. A good time was had by all.
Two of my brothers and their wives were there to eat turkey with us. My sister, other brother, and their families were spending time with their in-laws this year, so it wasn't a full house, but it was still nice.
The only grandchildren there, my kids ate in the living room because the kitchen table was too small. They mostly spent the time playing around instead of eating.
My mother is a great cook, and as usual, the food was fabulous! I didn't cook anything (except the freezer jam I brought), but I did a bunch of cleaning. I probably could have done more to help, but there's something about going home where one's muscles turn to jell-o and you find yourself sleeping more than usual, as though you spend those few days catching up on several month's worth of less sleep. __________________________________
Happy Birthday to Me
I got those platic continers w/drawers from Target. They hold my stamps (they have removable lids, so the stamps and pad are completely contained to keep them from drying out). Other drawers contain tools, embellishments, stickers, stencils, and etc. The cube shelves are from a craft store. I may get one more to put under the third set of shelves, but that's for another day. The containers on the top of the drawers hold my paper, sorted by color as well as some of my favorite crafty magazines. I got those from the Oriental Trading Company catalog.
Eventually I want to make a fabric pocket thingy to hang from the blue shelf to contain scissors and other handy things. I will probably eventually put the yellow shelf on the wall...when I get around to drilling holes for the drywall brackets. The table used to be our kitchen table, but I have commandeered it for my craft room when we bought a new, bigger table. I've seen fancier craft rooms, but this is just right. Too much stuff and I try to do too many different things. I want to have time for quilting, writing, and reading, too, not just paper crafting. __________________________________ Offically Going on a Trip 11/13/06 /Nessa dances Mark booked our plane tickets and cruise tickets. It's our 10th anniversary present to ourselves. It's for seven days and we leave Los Angeles and cruise south to Puerto Villarta, Cabo San Lucas, etc, where it will be warm and sunny, while back home in Utah it will continue to be chilly January weather. We even have someone coming to watch the kids. Second honeymoon here we come. __________________________________ New Dinnerware 11/12/06 After nearly ten years of marriage we finally bought new dishes this week. We had the same cheap set of plates, bowls, and cups from when we were first married, and while they held up well over the years, several pieces are in dinnerware heaven, while the rest have suffered chips and cracks. So without further ado, I present my new dishes (I am soooo excited): After looking around in several stores, at Corelle, Mikasa, Ikea, Pottery Barn, and etc., these were the plates I fell in love with (we got them at Macey's). We bought four sets of this ivory color and another four sets in the tan, so I could be all snazzy and mix and match. We even got some matching serving dishes. Yay! ___________________________________ Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween! 10/31/06 It's my father-in-law's birthday today. We celebrated it on Saturday, and since it was his 60th, my mother-in-law threw a big party. A costume party! Here's Mark (Neo) and me (Venus):
The kids camped out in grandma's room, watching videos and eating popcorn. They made an appearance during dinner and when there were treats to be had. Amber (veteranarian), Carter (Obi-Wan Kinobe), and Spencer (doctor) were all dressed up, too.
_________________________________________ 10/30/06
There was a 'home show' for a local company that makes vinyl letters for dome decoration and I loved this the moment I saw it, laughing out loud. It's now posted over the window in the boys' room. ___________________________________ 10/19/06 Brandon Sanderson, the author of Mistborn: The Final Empire, has taken note of the mistcloak I made. Check out his blog to see. P.S. I often use 'Nessa' as my screen name, so he really is referring to me, it's just my alter-ego ;) ____________________________________ 10/10/06 'Shrain' is one of my TWG friends and one day while we were chatting she was lamenting her lack of a truly righteous Halloween costume. She wants to be a Mistborn noblewoman from the book and it's not a popular costume (yet) so it's not available for purchase. Not having the time or ability she was sure she couldn't make one. So she asked me and I said yes. Perhaps it was out of a sense of self-punishment that I accepted (as I'm learning because it's been hard!), perhaps it was of a desire to make something unique, but mostly because I wanted to see for myself what the Mistborn cloak would look like in real life, having imagined it from the book. We chatted, we planned, we drew pictures. Here's Shrain's rendition:
The description from the book says: "...dark grey cloak. Large and enveloping, the cloak wasn't constructed from a single piece of cloth--rather, it was made up of hundreds of long, ribbonlike strips. They were sewn together at the shoulders and across the chest, but mostly hung separate from one another, like overlapping streamers" (page 86). The point of the cloak was so that the Mistborn could travel at night in obsecurity, and to set them apart from others (Mistborns have a powerful magic that others would want to avoid). Hundreds of streamers is a lot, sewing them together at the shoulder was rather unfeasable with the budget and time alloted for completion. Heck, I want it to look authentic, but it doesn't have to be that authentic. Anyway, so because grey is not a common fabric color, I was limited to a few things:
Left ---> right Also included will be wooden toggle buttons. (Sorry for the terrible picture.)
The buttons have to be wood because Mistborns can't wear metal. You have to read the book to find out why! After buying the fabric, I cut it into lengths, also basting the silky stuff because it unravels easily.
Next I began sewing the grey streamers to the yoke (the top layer).
Then I created the sleeves (which have their own little streamers), attached streamers to the underarm, and added the hood:
I think the fabric for the hood is the
perfect shade and I love the swirly pattern. Unfortunately, the
fabric was from a previous project and is no longer available at
the store, otherwise I would have used more of it on the streamers.
So all the streamers are on and trimmed
and the whipstitching to the yoke is finished.
And here's the finished product:
Now I just need to mail it off to Shrain, so she'll have it in time for Halloween! Updated: See pictures of Shrain wearing the cloak! (Scroll down...) __________________________________________________ My Cool, Programing-Savvy Brother 10/02/06 Conrad helped me with the programming so that a little butterfly icon shows up on the URL and in the favorites menu next to my webpage.
Isn't that cool? ___________________________________ Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" is Very Funny 09/22/06 See it on YouTube. And yes, that's Donny Osmond doing the nerdy dance in the background. Me and My Musings archives correlation: Getting in Touch with My Inner-Geek __________________________________ 09/10/06 Yesterday's race wasn't his first sprint triathalon, but it was the first one I went to. Naturally, I took pictures. First, the swim:
They all enter the water one at a time, instead of in a big group. Everyone is timed individually. Next is the bike:
Then the run, and here he is at the finish line:
I'll post his results later. But for now, I've realized why I haven't gone to many of his races. It means getting the kids up at the crack of dawn, waiting around and keeping them happy during the race, and dealing with their crankiness for the rest of the day because they're tired. Grr. ___________________________________ 09/03/06 Mark and I flew in this afternoon, arriving in Salt Lake at about 12:45 pm, which left us the rest of the day to pick up the kids, unpack, and relax. And catch up on things, like my online friends and etc. A quick recap: Pre-trip: Dropped off kids. (And looking back on the trip, we are sooooo glad we decided to leave them back in Utah with family.) Day 1, Tuesday: Left home at 6:30 am and flew to Philadelphia. Arrived three hours late due to bad weather. Met up with family in airport (whom we traveled with the entire trip: my parents, my siblings, and their spouses). Got rental car and drove to hotel in Washington DC, but the bad weather turned a 2-hour drive into a 3-hour drive. Fell into bed at 2am. Day 2, Wednesday: Slept in. Late. Got ready and left for DC temple. Wedding at 1pm. Wedding lunch at delish Italian restaurant. Naps. TV. Bed.
Carrie was the official wedding photographer, and a much better picture-taker than I am. Her pictures turned out great (too bad I don't have any to post here, at the moment). Day 3, Thursday: Sightseeing in DC included the White House, Smithsonian, National Archives, and surrounding environs. Ate a fancy steak dinner at Mike's, a local restaurant.
Day 4, Friday: Rain. Gales of rain. Dang you Ernesto! *shakes fist* Still saw Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials. Drove to Philadelphia and got there later than planned. Ate seafood for dinner. Went to bed early.
Day 5, Saturday: I am cursing Ernesto. Toured historic Philadelphia with a broken umbrella, a rain poncho, and soaking shoes/pants. Ate delish Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Drove to Reading, PA, for reception. More rain. Lots of unusual Easterners. Day 6, Sunday: Sunny. Left bright and early. Got home without a hitch. My plants are still alive (I worry when I leave my babies behind). Yay! The children, of course, behaved badly all afternoon, but that's to be expected. It'll take a day or two for things to get back to normal.
Oh, and I can't resist this picture of a cleome (a.k.a. spider plant) I took at the Washington DC temple grounds. They were huge and beautiful. They never grow that big out here in Utah. I was impressed. ______________________________________________ Off to DC 08/29/06 Mark and I are off to DC for my brother's wedding (our present for the happy couple is the quilt). We leave bright and early tomorrow, but when I get back I promise to post pictures and have a bunch of book reviews for you. _________________________________ Is There a Doctor in the House? 07/24/06 So two weeks ago me and the kids had a little virus. Nothing really bad, mostly congestion and coughs and we were pretty much over it since early this past week. Strange to have colds in the height of summer, and we have no idea where we got it from, but whatever. Except for Amber, whose cold migrated to her lung. I wasn't aware of this, of course, and only knew that her lethargy continued and her cough was getting worse. So Saturday morning, while I'm outside with the boys, Mark shows up with a green prescription sheet--for Amber. He had checked her out and diagnosed her with 'walking pnemonia'. Nothing serious, but required antibiotics. So I went to the store, and she's been taking her medicine and is doing much better. If he hadn't been here, I would have likey waited to see how it progressed (would she have gotten worse? would she have gotten better on her own?) and either had to take her to the emergency room or waited to take her to the pediatrician Monday morning. But all of that is irrelavent because Mark was here. It sure is nice to have someone around who can do stuff like that. ______________________________________________ 07/21/06 Last week Mark checked out of his residency and brought home the certificate from the U. I took it to get framed and here it is, it all its fancy glory:
Yay, yay, yay, YAY! Certificate of completion of residency. Happiness! __________________________________ Being an Answer to Someone's Prayers 07/14/06 I'll start with a story. In my old neighborhood I had some friends, a couple. Their daughter and mine are the same age, and through Church callings and playdates, I got to know this family relatively well. I enjoyed spending time with them and my kids loved their kids. It was good all around. The mother was recently sick, but after a correct diagnosis was making a recovery and getting her life on track. But in the meantime, it's difficult to run a household when you don't feel well, especially for an extended period of time. This means her house had been primarily 'run' by her two children and a husband with a busy workload. I'm sure you can imagine the results. Two summers ago Mark was gone a lot. He had a rotten schedule, including quite a few overnight shifts that meant he came home in the morning wanting to sleep until afternoon. Everything conspired against me: I couldn't stay home because the kids were too noisy, but I didn't have anywhere to go to spend the afternoons while he slept. Enter the neighborhood family. We practically lived at their house every afternoon for a few weeks. It was hot, I was bored, and I was itching to help my friend to get her house back in order. I approached her. She knew my organizational forte, and to my surprise, she accepted my offer to help. She didn't try to make excuses, she simply said something to the effect of, "How do we start?" I don't know what it was that overcame me for those two weeks. I became superhuman, my fingers itched to move and organize and purge, my stamina was incredible. In short, I worked hard over those weeks, jump-starting them on a project that had waited to be done for a long time. They were ecstatic with the results. Fast forward to this past May. Me and my kids visited for one last playdate before we moved. The husband thanked me again for my service of that summer nearly two years before. I hadn't really thought of it as a service at the time—it was just something that needed to be done. He then went on to tell me something that I've been thinking about ever since. He told me that the week before I came and offered to help with the house, that he and his wife had prayed. They had all these things to do, but didn't know where or how to start. They asked the Lord for help. So He sent me. It still gives me goose bumps to think that. That these faithful, wonderful, loving people asked for help and the Lord decided that "Vanessa can do it." But there's more to it than that. He softened my heart so I would have the charity to offer. He gave me the drive and the stamina to do it—at a level I haven't had since. I look back on those days with wonder, knowing what I know now, and I can't help but be grateful for this experience. I'm grateful to know that what had seemed to me like a superfluous talent was a talent that the Lord deemed good enough to help two of His faithful children. I'm grateful to have been blessed with those charitable feelings—and it was a blessing—so I would be willing to help. But I'm most grateful that I was able to do a good turn for this family. That when they asked for help, the Lord sent me because He knew what it meant to me to be able to do it. Because, you see, that family was the answer to the secret prayers of my heart, that I would find friends in a new place—and they had the charity to offer a friendship I was only too willing to accept. __________________________________ 07/10/06 Doesn't it look like a happy car, sitting in its very own garage?
We bought it last Thursday after waiting TWO YEARS! Yes, I drove three little kids around in the back seat of a Honda Civic for that long. But it was worth it to finally have this! It's a brand-spanking-new Dodge Grand Caravan with leather interior and power doors and all sorts of fun features. (No, I'm not trying to brag, I'm just ecstatically happy!) I even like the color very much. I thought it looked sporty. Well, as sporty as a minivan can get. Might as well get a sporty-looking mommy car, if one can. Mark has announced that no more big purchases for me for a while. Hey, I can do that. If I feel the need to shop, I can just sit in my new car and watch DVDs instead. ;) _________________________________ 07/03/06 Mark thinks it's weird. But, then again, he doesn't have friends that he's met online. Today I met "Shrain":
And later this week I have a playdate scheduled with other online friends. We're getting together at a local park so our kids can play and so we can chat. And so I can actually meet them in person. This is fun. Usually I would think this is strange, but these people are my friends. I've spent a good deal of time talking to them and I know they're normal (mostly ;). It's a way for me to have adult conversation when I'm stuck at home all day with my kids. Otherwise, I would probably lose my mind. _________________________________ 06/16/06 Mark has been out of town for the past two weeks, having slept in his house for only three nights of those weeks. He's finishing up his residency, and the hours are so bad that it isn't worth the commute to the new house so he's staying with his parents. My children only know that daddy isn't at home, without really understanding why. Every day Carter asks where daddy is. I tell him, "Daddy is at work." "We need to get him home," Carter informs me, quite seriously. I agree, kid. Dads are important, even though everyone stresses about the importance of the mother in the life of children, particularly young children. Which brings me to Father's Day. My Dad and my husband are important fathers in my life. They provide stability for their children, making it possible for their wives to stay at home with their children, a thing that has grown increasing difficult in the society in which we live. Children need fathers to be active with them, show them how to play. Kids need their dads to teach them about how to work and what it means to have integrity in interacting with the people around them. Kids need their dads to teach them about faith in God and what it means to be a responsibile person. Thanks Dad and Mark for being such great examples. _________________________________ The Monitor Has Arrived! 06/14/06 Now I have some major catching up to do. I will be blogging more frequently now that I can actually see what I'm doing. Plus, I'll be finishing up the final chapters in my story to send out to my readers. Soon, I promise! It's a pretty monitor. It's big and the best thing is that I can see! My eyes are having a hard time adjusting because of the high quality of the image--particularly compared to what I was seeing before. I am quite pleased. ___________________________________ 05/31/06 I'll be scarce for the next few days to a week. Starting Thursday the movers are coming to pack up my house, and that includes the computer. They'll load the truck on Friday and take us to to our new house on Saturday. Horray! We're all very excited, including Carter, who asks about once an hour when we're moving to our new house. He told me to make sure that we take his blanket, too. And, of course, his Buzz Lightyear and swords. In the meantime, you can again admire pictures of the house we're moving to. But I just wanted to say, "Goodbye House!"
We've enjoyed living in your happy walls during Mark's residency. I've enjoyed puttering around in your yard and adding flowers to your borders. We'll miss the changes we've made to the inside, including the basement family room, re-painting, and re-finishing the floors.
Goodbye flowers--my little babies. You are still small, but in a few years you'll be big and beautiful. I went to all the work of tilling, composting, amending, and planting, only to see you taken care of by another as you reach maturity. Stay healthy.
Goodbye roses. I planted all you all by myself, and wish I could take you with me, but I know the new owners will love you. I'm glad you bloomed for me before I left. __________________________________ 05/30/06 Mark's birthday was on Sunday. Here he is sitting with Spencer (who turned two a week ago) getting ready to blow out the candles on his ice cream pie.
Opening the gigantic card Amber made for his birthday.
_________________________________ 05/29/06 Nettie tagged me. 7 things I want to do before I die: Publish a book 7 things I cannot do: Draw 7 things that attracted me to my spouse: His Peter Pan smile 7 things I say often: Knock it off! 7 books I love (other than my top ten): Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale 7 movies I could watch over and over: Sense and Sensibility _____________________________________ 05/27/06 Grandma died a few months ago. She was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery, not far from where I live, so I took the kids and went to visit her this morning.
Those are flowers from my very own garden, by the way. I thought they looked nice, so I took a big bunch of them for Grandma. We miss Grandma. Here's the site at the cemetery:
Isn't it a pretty little spot? It's right there between those two trees, next to her mother and father. My kids were being a little silly, considering the location and the reason for the visit (Memorial Day being on Monday), but Grandma wouldn't have minded. She would have just laughed, delighted at their antics, and wouldn't have been bothered a bit.
__________________________________ The Proper Care and Feeding of Introverts 05/26/06 See the Six LDS Writers and a Frog blog where Sariah Salisbury Wilson explains what makes introverts good writers (scroll down to the April 15th entry). This describes me. I am a typical introvert. __________________________________ 05/13/06 I get to spend half of Mother's Day without Mark because he'll be post call and will spend the morning sleeping. And we have church in the morning, which means I get to take the three tornados to church by myself. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike going by myself? He will need to make it up to me. So Mark asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day and I couldn't think of a thing for a long time, because, well, I'll be getting a new house in less than a month and a new car in about two months. What could I want that would be greater than that? So I settled for a new set of cups for the kitchen and tossed out the random set we had been collecting. Now they all match. I sent a card to my mom for Mother's Day and I hope she gets it on time, because sometimes stuff I send her gets to her inconveniently late. I'm not so good about all the mushy stuff about thanking my mom for being so cool and great and all that. But she is, you know. My mom is cool. When I was a freshman in high school (very many years ago) my mother got a computer. Growing up on a farm meant we didn't have much money, but she thought it was important enough and bought an IBM 286, when PCs were still very new. (Phew, that was a long time ago.) MS Word was still in DOS. I remember the black screen and the green/white words. Anyway, back to mom. The point of telling you about the computer is that she can do anything. She builds computers. She teaches Photoshop and web design at the high school. She can garden--our house is an oasis of beautiful flowers in the middle of Oregon desert country. She was camp director for girl's camp for several years. She's been president of each organization in the church that she could be president for. She does the farm's taxes (yikes!). And wow can she cook! I could go on. I'm telling you, she's a Renaissance Woman in every sense of the word. If she's interested in something she'll do what it takes to learn about it until she's satisfied. This is part of what makes her a great mom, because she was interested in what we kids were interested in, too. She has always supported my siblings and I in whatever we do and loved us no matter what. Thanks, Mom. _______________________________ 05/11/06 So my friend Shelah set herself a New Year's goal to read 50 books this year. It's not even June and she's halfway through. But then, so am I. Technically I didn't make the goal, knowing how it would annoy Mark, who considers me too much of a bookworm as it is. You can see how many books I've read this year, so far. But then I realized, there are some books I've read this year that I can't put on the list, and I'm wondering if I can still count them toward my non-goal. Let me explain. I'm a member of a writer's group. I have been reading their stories, and if you count their stories and other pre-published ones I've reviewed for feedback, it comes so far to the grand total of four since the beginning of the year. So can I count them, Shelah, huh? _____________________________________________ Babysitter Woes 05/04/06 So my mother-in-law called up on Sunday asking Mark and I to do some family names at the temple this week--baptisms specifically. The only day we could do it is Thursday (today) so we scheduled a time to go with Mark's brother and his wife for the afternoon. I was on the phone for three hours Tuesday finding a babysitter for my boys, but finally I found one! Then, they called last night and canceled because she went to the emergency room with chest pain. Gah! You'd think that wanting to go to the temple--to do something good and worthy--would mean I would have a little less trouble finding someone to watch my boys so I could go. I guess this is why I don't go so often, because every time I plan to go something comes up to make it impossible. So wish me luck or say a prayer--whatever your inclination--that I'll find someone last minute to watch my boys so I can go this afternoon. Edit: I found someone! Horray! Now I just hope no one decides to cancel at the last minute... __________________________________ Mornings and I Are Not the Best of Friends 05/03/06 Benjamin Franklin's time-honored dictum notwithstanding, I'm not very good at the whole early-rising routine. This wasn't always true. Growing up on a farm early mornings were a requirement--cows need to be milked when they need to be milked, and not any later. When I first left for BYU I scheduled all my classes in the morning, starting at 8am. Then my sophomore year I got a job as an on-campus building security guard and it all turned to heck. As a security guard I had wacked-out hours. I started it in the middle of the semester, so I couldn't change my class schedule, so a typical day went something like: 8am-12pm classes, lunch, homework, dinner, go to bed at 5pm, wake up at 12am, get to work by 1 am, home at 5:30am, shower, quick nap, class at 8am. This went on for the 18 months I had the job, to one degree or another. Don't get me wrong, I loved that job. It was great for me, I even lost weight because of all the walking and inconsistent mealtimes, turning me into a svelte co-ed. My grades didn't suffer...much. But any semblance of a normal sleeping schedule was ruined for me. Less than two years after I quit that job I had my first baby, and as any parent knows, that's a recipe for disaster in the sleep category. Mix those two together and the result is a Vanessa who can no longer stand early mornings. It doesn't help that my second born is an early riser (6:30 am or so) when I would like to sleep until 8am because I was up until...um...late the night before. You ask, "Why are you staying up so late when you know he'll be up that early?" Why? I'm stupid, I guess. I just get wired and restless starting around 9pm. That's the golden time for me, when the house is quiet and I can actually finish a thought without being interrupted. It's my best writing time, my best cleaning time, my best crafting time. Unfortunately, it's not the best way to manage time as a mother and housewife. Still, somehow it works for me, even if I sometimes wake up cranky the next morning. __________________________________ 04/29/06 Mark's uncle sent some pictures he took from when we were visiting southern Utah in April. This means you get a rare treat: I'm actually in the pictures!
________________________________ 04/28/06 Some of my favorite movies of all time: Sense and Sensibility Ladyhawke Strictly Ballroom Some Like it Hot Gilda Babe Rear Window Cold Comfort Farm Serenity Man from Snowy River __________________________________ From Milkmaid to Doctor's Wife 04/25/06 I grew up on a farm. Here's a picture of the milking barn and some tractors:
This is inside the milking parlor:
I know, not a particularly attractive place. There's my grandpa being debonair, and the cows hooked up to the machines. Here's a four-year-old Amber helping her grandpa (my dad) feed the calves:
I used to do stuff like this (feed the animals, milk cows, etc) everyday for years. Now when I visit, my kids think it's a treat, but all I remember is that it was a chore! Here's a pasture on the hill where the heifers stay 'til they're old enough to breed and be milked:
It's technically desert. Eastern Oregon gets about 11-12" of rain per year so it's dry and everything must be irrigated. That pond you see in the picture is man-made. Here's a haystack:
An old haystack, that is. Dad actually keeps the good hay in the shed, so this hay was probably rained on in the field (after it was cut) before it was baled and will be fed to the heifers on the hill (the best hay is saved for the lactating cows). It was just kind of a cool picture. And yes, the sky really is that blue during the summer. If you really want to see 'big sky' country, visit eastern Oregon. Now that I've shown you where I grew up, I'll be able to explain better about how it was quite a change of lifestyle to become a doctor's wife. But that's for another day, today's post is already too long for me. _____________________________________________ Six Weird Things You May Not Know About Me 04/22/06 This meme has been making the rounds and I'm finally jumping on the bandwagon. * I'm impatient about opening presents. When I have birthday cash early, I spend it and start using the items right away instead of waiting until my birthday. Same goes for Christmas. No one really cares what I got anyway. * When I was pregnant with Spencer and desperate for something sweet, I would mix up cake batter and eat it uncooked. * I like gardening without gloves. It gets dirt under my fingernails, and stains my knuckles brown, but there's nothing like the feeling of earth in your hands. I love it. * I like glass. Glass bottles, glass cups, glass plates, glass vases. Colored, clear, opaque. It's all lovely to me. I like to decorate with it. I love to drink from glass cups. But it isn't practical in a household with small children, so I have to hold myself back. Ok, maybe this isn't so weird as much as impractical. * I sometimes drink milk straight from the jug. * I have my hair cut about twice a year. ________________________________________________ New Avatar 04/21/06 You like it? It's better than the goofy picture I had of myself. And it matches the website! Yay! You can make your own on Yahoo. ___________________________________ 04/20/06 Yesterday I said that it takes a 'special' kind of ambition to become a doctor. I think it does because of all that being a doctor entails. This is why I'm glad it's my husband who's the doctor and not me. I could probably handle the blood. Maybe needles (I would have to get sensitized). But there are a few things I would never be able to cope with, and would therefore make a terrible doctor. 1. It's just soooo gross. For instance, rectal exams. Enough said. 2. Doctors don't just deal with the patients, they deal with the families. Let's say your patient is on his deathbed and the family is squabbling about whether to take him off life-support. There's all sorts of issues there. And what if a family member is in the medical profession? We won't go there, it's just too much trouble to deal with. 3. Lack of sleep when you're on night shift. 4. I would never learn all the medications out there on the market. And not just their names (each drug having three: chemical, generic, and non-generic), but drug interactions, dosages, and etc. I've forgotten my age before, how could I remember all that? It's crazy! 5. Billing. What a nightmare. There are others, but I'm sure you get my point. I appreciate what he goes through to bring home the bacon. _________________________________ Things I Love About My Husband 04/19/06 Posting this for no particular reason
other than I feel like it. * In no way is he a slacker. It takes a special kind of ambition to go through medical school and become a doctor. It's not for wimps. This ambition spills into other aspects of his life, as well. For instance, we just bought a home that's a fixer-upper, and yes, he plans on doing a great deal of the work himself. And he will do it--it won't stay half-done, never to be finished. * He doesn't mind going clothes shopping with me (much). * He loves chocolate, more than even I do--and that's saying a lot. We're not talking the cheapo Hershey's stuff, either. He likes the fancy kind, which means I get fancy chocolates, too. * He makes wicked-good toffee and truffles. Who couldn't love a man who can make fancy chocolates by hand? * He's frugal, but not so much so that he doesn't let me buy a pretty skirt now and then. It's because of him that our budget isn't out of control. * He keeps himself in shape. There's no flab on my husband, but neither is he a skinny runt. He's just right. * He puts up with my hobbies and my kazillion projects. He's even talking about me having my own craft room in our next house. Isn't that great? * He likes my cooking, but still considers it his duty to give me a break from it every once-in-a-while and takes me out to eat. * He built our computer and maintains it himself. It's because of him that I am never without the Internet for long, and for that he will never be without kisses and backrubs. __________________________________ Friday Favorites: Music to Write to 04/14/06 Some of the music I listen to while writing, to put me in the 'mood': ColdPlay: White Shadows, Square One, Low, Talk, What If, Speed of Sound, Clocks, Yellow, The Scientist Maroon 5: Tangled, Harder to Breathe, Not Coming Home, Through with You, She Will Be Loved, The Killers: On Top, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, Midnight Show, Somebody Told Me Morrisy: How Soon Is Now Shakira: Whenever Wherever No Doubt: Hella Girl, It's My Life Norah Jones: The Nearness of You, Don't Know Why, Come Away with Me Sting: Desert Rose, A Thousand Years, If I Ever Lose My Faith in You, Brand New Day U2: Gone, Beautiful Day, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Electrical Storm, Staring at the Sun Creed: Hide, Stand Here With Me, With Arms Wide Open Wow, I look back at that list and it appears rather ecclectic. Heh. _________________________________ 04/09/06 Mark, Amber, myself, Mark's sister, her husband, and their little boy--we all went to St. George for a quick weekend trip to get out of Salt Lake and enjoy sunny southern Utah. It was a short trip, but nice. The first day we went to Zion National Park. Here's Mark and Amber on the trail to the Emerald Pools:
Here I am at the Weeping Wall. You can't see the water falling down, but it is there behind me, I promise (you'll see it better in a picture below...).
A very pretty waterfall at the Emerald Pools:
Mark and Amber on the Hidden Canyon trail. It was quite a hike (labeled 'strenuous'), but Amber did splendidly. This little nook of the canyon was very pretty and the temperature quite a bit cooler than the first part of the hike, which was quite exposed.
Here's our littlest hiker (don't you just want to squinch those cheeks?) at the Weeping Wall. He hardly ever complained and was happy as could be:
Here's Amber (isn't she a cutie?) standing next to some petroglyphs in Snow Canyon, near St. George. Mark's uncle, who lives nearby, showed us several very neat places.
All in all it was a good trip. I got a little sunburned, our car broke down on the way home, and we arrived to find our basement (mildly) flooded. But at least we could get away for a few days. _________________________________ 03/24/06 The following are my top ten favorite fiction novels of all time, in order. They are the books I would chose to take on that hypothetical desert isle should I ever be abandoned on one. I know I could read them more than once--and I have. My choices are based on the stories that have captured my imagination and in which the characters are most memorable. And by the way, they are all very well written. 1. In Pursuit of the Green Lion by Judith Merkle Riley 2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 3. Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman 4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 5. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley 6. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith 7. The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart 8. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein 9. The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan 10. Holes by Louis Sachar ______________________________ 03/22/06 (See How Mark and I Met before reading this.) Brandi, Joseph (Brandi's sometimes boyfriend), Mark, Justin (Mark's friend from high school and roommate), and Jared (Joseph's roommate) planned to go to Mexico during spring break between BYU's semesters. Justin got engaged so dropped out at the last minute and because of that Mark was having second thoughts about going. When Brandi told me about the trip I expressed interest. At the same time Joseph knew a couple of Swedish girls who wanted to come, but Brandi was against it (her words: "I'm not going with some girls who are going to lounge around in bikinis in front of Joseph"). When Mark found out I wanted to go, he told Joseph that he would come only if I was given the fifth seat in the car. It was decided. The five of us crowded into Brandi's pink car and drove the 12 hours to San Diego. From there we took the trolley to the border and walked across, then took a bus down to Ensenada. I will never forget that trip. We had so much fun. Shopping, bumming at the beach, taking silly pictures, drinking virgin strawberry daiquiris at bars. Unfortunately, Brandi and Joseph had a falling out during the trip, and on the pre-determined departure date Joseph and Jared decided they wanted to stay another day. Mark, Brandi, and I left to visit Brandi's parents in San Diego, who took us to the beach, we ate dinner at their house, and watched TV. It was in front of the Sanchez TV, on their couch, watching "Chicago Hope", that Mark held my hand for the first time. Less than a month later he kissed me and a romance was born. Nine months later we came back to San Diego for our honeymoon. ____________________________________________ 03/21/06 In honor of it being ten years since the day Mark and I met, I'm going to tell a little story. It was my sophomore year at BYU and I had moved off campus into an apartment called "the Loft" with five other girls I didn't know. One of them was Brandi Sanchez--her mother Caucasian, her father Mexican. Brandi lives a bright life, full of blinding color. Her car was pink. Her hair was pinker. Her clothes a swirling rainbow (mixed with black here and there). She owned a rabbit and a curtain of beads draped her bedroom door. She was a fashion design major, the last of a dying breed at BYU, when the major would dissolve the year she graduated. Somehow this unconventional woman knew
quiet, mild-mannered Mark (it's a strange, convoluted story of Freshman
year and mutual acquaintances, so I won't bore you with it). Mark bought tickets to a choral/symphony concert at BYU and called me up the night before to confirm the time. I remember asking him what he looked like and he said, "Six feet tall, dark hair, and about 200 pounds." Huh? What? I whispered these stats to Brandi who was close-by and she laughed. "He's definitely not fat." I realized right off the bat he was a tease. I could handle that. My dad and three brothers are merciless teases. In fact Mark is a pretty trim guy, and even after nine years of marriage he keeps himself in good shape, a fact he's proud of. So the time was set and the next evening I dressed in my pink floral dress (Brandi told me he liked very feminine dresses) and curled my hair. I was waiting on the couch, reading, when the doorbell rang. "Come in!" The door opened a crack and he stuck his head in hesitantly. Strange, but cute. Brandi wasn't there to introduce us, so we introduced ourselves and left. Who's this skinny guy? I wondered to myself. He wasn't flustered, or chatty, or awkward. Usually guys are self-conscious on blind dates. Either he was unconcerned or he hid his fear very well. After the concert we went for ice cream, talked, and then he took me home. Pretty tame, typical date. When Brandi asked me how it went the first thing I said was, "He didn't say anything stupid." Which was a first with my dates. My dates were usually dorky on some fundamental level or scared of me. Or both. Mark was none of this. He was smart, self-confident, and not scared of me a whit. I admit it took a few dates for the guy to grow on me. Not long after the first date, we went to see Brandi's friend perform in his band. There was no hand holding, much less kissing, even after 'dating' for a month. And then, there was the trip to Ensenada, Mexico. (Read about it tomorrow!) ____________________________________________ 03/17/06 Here are some of my favorite websites, in no particular order. Brandon Sanderson (fantasy author) The Intergalactic Medicine Show Home Solutions Do-It-Yourself Projects Christy's Once a Month Cooking _____________________________________________ 03/16/06 Mark showed up after work with flowers yesterday. For no reason. The only time of year that I require flowers from him is on my birthday, which is when it's cold and gloomy outside and I want something pretty and delicate and am missing my garden. So naturally it was a surprise for him to bring these home for me. And I'm enjoying them, although I have to keep them out of the reach of little boy fingers.
_____________________________________________ 03/12/06 The woman who came to see my tornado-thrashed house on Tuesday came back with her husband on Thursday to see it again. He talked to Mark Friday and said they would come by this week with an offer. I mean, wow. Is it really supposed to be this easy? When we were living in St. Louis we owned a humble little condominium. We wanted to build some equity while Mark was in medical school instead of sinking the money into rent. When it came time for Mark to graduate, I knew we would have to think about selling the condo. I didn't look forward to it. But then I attended some of the condo association meetings and met a nice guy who owned several of the condos and rented them out. He was interested in buying mine. He made an offer, at a price we wanted, and it all went smoothly. Are we twice charmed, or what? Grandpa Redd would call it the result of hard work and clean living. _____________________________________________ 03/08/06 Mark and I are planning on putting up
the house for sale in a month or so. We're going the 'for sale by
owner' route and have been putting the word out before it's official,
in the hopes we won't have to put it on the market. __________________________ 03/07/06 I promise, I don't have ADD. I'm a very focused individual. I get projects done, even if I have twelve going at the same time. But doing the same thing all the time, with no challenge, I eventually lose interest. My mother has the same issue. We were talking the other day about how she's been assigned to implement new programs over the years (several in church and at work). This is hard work, requiring creativity, focus, and smarts. But...once the process is running smoothly her interest wanes and she eventually moves on to something else. She doesn't stick around to make things bigger or tweak the project into never-ending perfection. Why bother when you're bored with it? I compare this to my Internet habits. There were several online boards I used to frequent. They were interesting for the first month or two, but then....yawn...I move on. There were blogs I used to visit everyday, but after weeks of the same old...yawn...I move on. (I mean, really, some people can yammer on about nothing.) Is this a symptom of a bigger issue? Has our culture of constant stimulation ruined my ability to stay focused? No. I don't think so. I am brief by nature. I don't spend a lot of time on one project; I finish it up, despite all its imperfections, and call it 'good enough.' I have 3-minute conversations on the phone with my husband. When my boss needs something done fast, she knows I can deliver the goods. And once I've learned everything I can or have exhausted the entertainment value of a thing, I move on to something else. I don't waste my time if something holds no challenge for me. My brevity is what makes me a good technical writer. This may also explain why my blogs are short. I show you what I want, explain quickly, finish up, and move on. Kind of the hit and run of writing. That's me. __________________________ Writing Has Ruined Me as a Reader 03/02/06 You may have noticed that some of my recent book reports are 'how to' books on writing. I've really enjoyed these (and other 'how to write') books and found them helpful and insightful as I learn to hone my style and the various aspects of writing a well-crafted story. So where's the problem? They have ruined me as a reader. No longer can I just read a story for the sake of entertainment. Instead I pick at it, finding its flaws. I notice characterization and wonder how I would do it differently. I critique plot points in stories and why the writer put in specific scenes (often wondering why they're even necessary---get on with the story, for heaven's sake!). I notice well-turned phrases more readily and write them down. I notice word usage. I notice how a writer tells/shows a character's feelings. I notice the details of dialogue when I should just be reading it to enjoy it. As I was reading The Book of Mormon yesterday I found myself doing it again! I'm ruined! _________________________________ 02/28/06 Mark doesn't much care for how much time I spend writing. I'm not going to be specific how many hours I spend each day, since he reads this blog, so you'll just have to remain in the dark on that. He'd rather I spent my time cleaning, or playing with the boys, or whatever. He's been grudgingly tolerant. But sometimes he surprises me. Case in point, 'the muse' he and my daughter gave me for Christmas:
Yes, it's a glass dragon. In my geekier high school days I would actually buy stuff like this. I still have a pewter dragon and sundry fantasy-ish figures hidden away from sight (hm, I ought to get them out...). You see, it's him who calls this 'the muse,' a title which hadn't occured to me, and it's been given a place of honor on the computer desk, which he keeps devoid of any kind of clutter. That's when I realized his grudging tolerance is perhaps more conflicting. That he thinks it would be great if I did publish the story, but doesn't want me to be encouraged to take time away from him and the house and family. Isn't that sweet? __________________________________ Getting in Touch with My Inner-Geek 02/27/06 Mark announced to me today that he's discovered I was more of a nerd than he first realized. I must usually hide it really well. I mean, we've been married for 9 years, you'd think that we couldn't surprise each other with things like that. So, yeah, sure, I have geek tendencies. So what? 1. I like sci fi/fantasy. I read Orson Scott Card and anything with magic in it. I mean, I read a lot of fantasy, like about 75% of everything I read is speculative fiction. I just happen to like it. 2. I find nerds hilarious. Some people are annoyed by them, but I enjoy conversations with them. I find them amusing and entertaining. 3. I love sci fi/fantasy movies. Star Wars. Serenity. Lord of the Rings. Harry Potter. Ladyhawke. 4. Yes, I was the editor of a speculative fiction magazine in college. I admit it. Do you have any idea how much time I spent there? It was like a part-time job near the end. Ok, I'll stop now before people start wondering how geeky I really am. I'm not quite ready to come out of the closet, although I've read about someone who is. __________________________________ 02/22/06 The top 10 reasons why geeks make great fathers. Now Mark knows quite well that he isn't 100% geek, but he has geek tendencies and I am totally saying that this isn't a bad thing. Some of my best friends are geeks (including my brothers!) and there is something reassuring about their intelligence and the way they take pleasure in the world around them (most particularly their delight in anything that requires electricity or building anything complicated enough to require instructions). I appreciate geeks on so many levels. They make webpages cool. They do all that CGI stuff in movies. They write some fantastic sci fi/fantasy. I could go on. What's not to love? _________________________________ 02/19/06 Why is it when Mark is at home cleaning/fixing/doing something, I feel the need to be doing something, too? Today Mark was shoveling the driveway and I didn't feel justified in sitting on the couch reading, so I cleaned the kitchen. It's not like I'm lazy. I mean, sure the house isn't pristine, but I don't sit around all day eating bonbons. I've already shoveled the driveway twice this week, cleaned up a flour mess the boys made in the basement (don't ask), washed the basement carpet, and all sorts of other and sundry errands and tasks, including about 8 hours of paid-for work. So why did I feel guilty? I guess sometimes I get the impression that Mark thinks I don't do everything I could around here, so whenever he's doing something I feel like I have to be, too. I don't keep the house immaculate. I spend untold hours on the computer every week writing my story, as well as reading novels, and other crafty hobbies. I am a busy person by nature--if I'm not doing something I go crazy. But I can't spend all my time cleaning and making everything perfect. It would drive me nuts. So there it is. I shouldn't feel guilty. __________________________________ 02/15/06 For Mark, Valentine's = Romance Overload. It's less than two months from our anniversary, which is about as much romance as he can handle in a 12-month period. And after having been married to the guy for 9 years I've come to realize that Valentine's is just another trumped-up holiday. But I still do a little something for him. Usually it's a couple of days of gifts and a lovey-dovey card. This year Mark asked me, "What do you want?" Usually I would say, "Oh, I don't need anything" or "Surprise me." This year I just said, "Get me the Serenity DVD." So he did. And I'm happy. Just so you know, I love this movie. I watched it at my mother's house during Christmas and resolved to have a copy of my own. But our budget being what it is, I can't just spend stuff on myself willy-nilly. I had to wait for an 'occasion'. I've already watched it twice and seen all the special features. __________________________________ Why I'm Glad I Only Teach Webelos 02/10/06 So I'm a cub scout den leader and am sometimes cranky about it. Well, I have repented. Tonight, as part of their arrow of light award, we visited a boy scout winter camp. They were planning to spend the night in a snow cave up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I visited the snow cave, crawling on my hands and knees to get in it. Saw where they had to use the 'facilities'. It was freezing cold! There were piles of snow everywhere, taller than I am. I was thinking, this is nuts! They have to do this? I am soooo glad I'm only a Webelos leader. As we were leaving, the boys in my den were all excited that they got to do it in two years. Okay. I'm glad they're excited. I sure as heck wouldn't be. ____________________________________ I have two of the coolest brothers ever! Yay! 02/08/06 Casey helped me with the home page, adding the code so that it displays a new quote every day! Thanks! Conrad coded this page so everyone can add comments! (It's over there on the right side of the page.) Thanks! How about I add a few more exclamation points!!!! ___________________________________ 02/06/06
Isn't he a sweetie? ________________________________ 02/03/06 Announcing Dallin Snider, my new nephew, the son of my baby sister Carrie. It's all very exciting!
Born 5 weeks early, he's 5 lbs 11 oz, which is a pretty good size for being that early. He has to spend a few days in the hospital until he bulks up a little, but he's a strong kid. We're excited he's here. _________________________________________ 01/29 Just for fun I'm posting this meme for today. In case anyone cares. Four Jobs
I’ve Had in My Life: Four Movies I Could Watch Over and
Over, and Have: Four Places I Have Lived: Four TV Shows I Love To Watch: Four Places I Have Been On Vacation: Four Websites I Visit Daily: Four Favorite Foods: Four Places I Would Rather Be Right
Now: __________________________________________ 01/17 Today I bought myself a carpet cleaner. I know, I know, not all that exciting, but it is for me. I worked hard hours doing technical writing in my 'free time' to earn the moolah for the thing and I'm happy to have it. No more weeks old chocolate milk stains on the family room floor! Yeah, baby!
By the way, it's a Hoover. __________________________________________ 01/14 This week and last Mark pulled up the carpet in the living room and hallways. Then he rented a belt sander and sanded the floor. Our house is now all dusty. Then we lived at my mother-in-law's while he put down the polyurethane. Now it's a beautiful floor.
I'm very pleased with how it turned out. It makes the room look lots cleaner. We also re-painted the room and de-cluttered a little bit. If only we could afford an area rug! Oh well, there's no point in buying one if we're just moving in a few months. |
||
Mark 
Mark is taking me out to lunch today since he has work tonight,
while a neighbor takes the boys for a couple of hours. Yesterday
my mother-in-law took me out to lunch. Mark got me a couple of hours
at a day spa (massage and etc) and with my birthday money I got
myself craft organizing supplies.
