My Own Brand of Crazy

Wise Men

2011-12-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

The beads and the ribbons, the baubles and balls,
are all a distraction from real Christmas calls.

It's not about presents and bows and the wrappings,
It's not about trees and stockings and trappings.

It's not about hours spent finding gifts for family and friends.
It's about minutes spent caring for the unnoticed, unloved and uncared for He sends.

Are we being WISE MEN?

Have a wonderful week!

Truth is.........

2011-12-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

Truth is.......it's National Cupcake Day and somehow, I forgot. That's just NOT right!
Truth is.......I just STARTED Christmas shopping.

Truth is.......just need to put a few more ornaments on the tree and it is done and that ~~damn~~ ladder that has been in the MIDDLE of the family room can be put away.

Truth is......I ordered Christmas cards at MIDNIGHT on Saturday. I think they get here next Tuesday.

Truth is......I don't have time to care.

Truth is......Trammell and Jen (the sutnningly beautiful fiancee) arrive tomorrow, so NOTHING else matters.

Truth is......every single year, I get to about the 15th and wish that we had JUST ONE EXTRA week to get ready for Christmas. Why can't we turn back the hands of time?

Truth is......every single year, I swear that NEXT year will be different. Guess what? It won't!

My Top 10 Excellent seasonal carols:

2011-12-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Are you feeling a little bit like the Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge?Here are some Christmas Carols to lighten the mood, put things in perspective and help you feel more "peace on earth, goodwill toward men."
1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?

2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are

3. Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....

6. Paranoia --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting You on an Open Fire

8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?
10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

Of course, I didn't make these up. I'm NOT that creative. However, it IS quite possible that someone has been spying on me and my behavior inspired some of these carols.

Roosters, Hens, Chickens But Not...............

2011-12-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

What? It's Tuesday? It's December 12th?

I am SO not ready for Christmas. But at least I have some Christmas RaNDoM for you!

And if you can't get enough RaNDoM, go on over to Stacy's. She's got MORE than enough for everyone. She's the Hostess of RaNDoM!

* It wouldn't be Christmas without the sound of an ornament falling from 10 feet and shattering!

And of course, it has to be one filled with some kind of toxic liquid.

I should have called Hazmat. Who knows what they put in those snow globes.

* Yep, I did it!

The ladder has been poised in the family room for two weeks.

The tree has been lit and bedecked with beads and bows,

but nary an ornament has found it's way on the tree.

I STARTED decorating it last night.........in a skirt.

Yea me!

* I was unwrapping ornaments and came across this -

WTH? A rooster in a canoe? This is HIDEOUS? WHO brought this in to the house?
One look at the underside of the canoe and I saw "Garrett 2010"
I marched into my office, where Parker was taking a test.
"This is horrible! Why did Garrett pick this for his ornament last year? He is NEVER allowed to pick ornaments again."
"Mom, you are disturbing the testing center. Please!"

* Several ornaments later. I unwrapped this -

Oh my gosh! What is wrong with my children?
I looked at the bottom of the ~~cock's~~ rooster's feet and saw "Parker 2010."

I march in to ~~my office~~ the "testing center" and proclaimed,
"YOU are not allowed to buy any ornaments either!"
"Mom, it's cool! What did Trammell buy?"
"I don't know, but it was probably something mature!"

Trammell 2010

* Not mature, but WAY more classy! Who can argue with a colorful glass ~~cock~~ rooster.

I marched in to my own office one more time.

"What is wrong with you guys? This isn't holidayish? This is ridiculous! Don't think I don't know EXACTLY what you boys were thinking."

It's times like this that being the only child home is SO much fun!
"What?"

"You all bought roosters. That's NOT funny!"

"But mom, we're the ~~cocks~~ Coxes!"

Merry Christmas from the ~~Cocks~~ Coxes!

Let My People Go!

2011-12-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned, Parker got sick of sitting in boring classes.
He applied for early graduation............2 1/2 months past the deadline.

I feel a little bit like my life has turned into the Ferris Bueller movie!

One of the requirements is that HE had to write a paragraph detailing why he should be allowed to graduate.

Another requirement is to have your parents write a paragraph explaining why they support the decision for the student to graduate early.

Here is mine -
"We mostly support Parker’s desire to graduate early. I kind of want him to stay because it’s six hours of free babysitting and I know where he is during the day. But you and I both know that he is just there killing time with stoners, losers and tramps.

Seriously, the school was phenomenal when Trammell attended. And then I blamed Garrett’s intelligence and study skills when it seemed he wasn’t getting the same quality education that Trammell received. But now, I realize that I need to apologize to Garrett. The school has slipped. Parker is bored out of his skull. He’s no dummy. He wants to maintain straight A’s and he wants to be in a stimulating atmosphere. He loves his AP classes. But he has enough smarts to realize that taking ALL AP classes would cut into longboarding time and any kind of social life.

Every day is a battle to get him to go to the “regular” classes. The students are unmotivated. The teachers are disorganized and undemanding. When he gets to class and he is one of just a few kids who have actually done the homework, he is disgusted that the teacher then allows the kids to spend the class period completing the homework that he responsibly completed last night. He spends those periods surfing the web for airfares to longboard races and designing custom boards. Why not let him do that in the comfort of his own home?

Our relationship with the high school is no longer mutally beneficial. He isn’t learning anything. It’s time to move on.......or I could just excuse him from all the useless classes on a daily basis. It's up to you.

Sincerely,
Gina Cox"

The Blessings of the Temple

2011-12-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

I am speaking in church today about the blessings of the temple.
They are too numerous to mention in my 7 minute talk, but I love the temple because it brings me peace and perspective.

The temple is where we can be sealed to our spouse and to our family so that we can be together for eternity.

The temple is all about Christ and helps me be less selfish and more charitable.......and I can ALWAYS use a little reminder of that!

If you have ever wondered why Mormons even have temples or what they do there, check out this video.

SOMEONE!

2011-12-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

SOMEONE is hosting a little bit of fun!Mrs. 4444 is the QUEEN of Friday Fragments!

Go pay her a little visit!

* Meanwhile - can SOMEONE tell me why this was the LONGEST week known to man,
but it is already mid December and I haven't gotten ANYTHING done?
Is anyone else having technical difficulties with their calendar?

* SOMEONE is a little bit excited about getting married.
He's been engaged for 10 days and they have -
reserved the temple (okay that was done a month before they got engaged),
reserved the location for the reception,
planned and paid for the honeymoon,
hired a photographer,
and hired a videographer.

I should have had them organize my Christmas!
And maybe it would be done!

* Meanwhile, the youngest Cox is missing school today.
But it's for a important reason.
He's at the State Cheerleading Competition.
SOMEONE has to support the cheerleaders!

* SOMEONE at our house has not even started Christmas shopping.
But I that someone is going to start AND FINISH it today/tonight.

* Where are those Christmas elves?
I need them to come on over and decorate the house!
More than decorate, SOMEONE needs to put away the bubble wrap, bins, paper, and bows that are ALL over the floor.
And for heaven's sake, can SOMEONE put away the ladder that has dominated the family room for two weeks?
But before you put it away, go ahead and decorate the tree.
Evidently, it's not going to decorate itself.

* Just for the record -
I would prefer that ALL my storage bins match and are of a neutral non-holiday color - like blue or gray.
SOMEONE thought it would be a good idea to have orange bins with black lids for Halloween decor and red bins with green lids for Christmas decor and spring green for Easter.
Well, it WOULD be a good idea unless SOMEONE puts the Glitter Corn in a red bin with a green lid.
Glitter Corn is NOT a Christmas decoration! What color would a Thanksgiving bin be?

* Oh, I have HIGH hopes for this weekend..........
like cleaning the house,
writing a talk for church,
getting in the Christmas SPIRIT,
finishing the Christmas decorations,
Christmas shopping,
making Christmas cookies and maybe trying my hand at some toffee and other candy.
Don't distract me!!!!!

Have a great weekend!

Class Act

2011-12-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Congrats to my little brother for being nominated AND being awarded the University of Illinois Medical Center's "Class Act" Award.This is a HUGE deal!
The Class Act Award recipients are people working in the Medical Center that have demonstrated values and service recognized as being exemplary.
The criteria for this award: This employee is a role model who continuously demonstrates exceptional competence and compassion in the performance of his/her job responsibilities...an outstanding example of the University of Illinois Medical Center’s five values: Integrity, Innovation, Service Excellence, Safety, and Accountability.

Chief of Staff, ER physician and the "class act."

Jared: "I am still trying to figure out how this happened. Paperwork mix up?

This is the first time a Resident has received the award.
And it's the first time someone from the Emergency Department has received the award.

Normally, when someone new or a resident is nominated, it's brushed off.
This award is for someone who has a history of excellence and has made a difference, not just in their department but in the entire organization.

Here are some of the comments from his nomination:
“Throughout his shift in the Emergency Department, Dr. Marcucci spends as much time as needed with each of his many patients. He makes sure each patient had a clear understanding of the care they are receiving while in the ER and the plan of care as far as discharge or hospital admission.
Dr. Marcucci is very approachable and has a professional attitude. He listens attentively to anyone who speaks to him. Everyone who worked in the ER is equally as impressed with Dr. Marcucci as I am.

But the events that happened at the end of his shift, make Dr. Marcucci so deserving of the Class Act Award. I received a patient at 05:40am who was in quite a bit of pain. Dr. Marcucci's shift was to end at 6 am. I asked if he could order pain medication for the patient before he left. Not only did Dr. Marcucci immediately order pain medications for this patient but he stayed until 8:30am caring for this patient. I accessed the patient's port-a-cath to administer fluids and pain meds. The patient needed a CT scan of her chest and the port-a-cath had to be removed. Dr. Marcucci started a peripheral line using ultrasound to locate the vein.
Dr. Marcucci explained all the procedure to the patient; he explained the need for admission to the hospital and our plans to control her pain while she remained in the ER. The patient was very appreciative of the care she received from Dr. Marcucci. Dr. Marcucci truly embodies the values of UIMC. His dedication to his patients well being and his profession is genuine.”

The following remarks are summarized by John Williams MD. He incorporated his comments and other comments from various attending physicians and nurses in the ED.

Jared is an intelligent and outgoing resident who is thorough, energetic, genuine and unusually compassionate. Jared’s significant life experiences have given him a sense of perspective beyond his years. In a discipline where the physicians pride themselves on being patient advocates, Jared clearly goes the extra 2 miles. He routinely stays late after the end of his shift to address patients’ needs and assist them in ways both clinical and personal. In fact, he has been known to come in early for shifts in order to go upstairs and see patients he cared for previously in the ED.

Jared is sensitive to the patient’s perspective: he’s committed to ensuring that the patient is well cared for both medically and emotionally. Jared is humble and conscientious, showing a level of empathy that is rare in young doctors of his age. Jared is aware of the many factors affecting illness that others often brush aside.

Jared is friendly and outgoing, and goes beyond being a “team member” by personally engaging with and assisting other individuals no matter their role. He reaches out personally to everyone, it seems, including the entire ED team. As an example, our Emergency Department PharmD and our regular APN in Fast Track both commented on how he introduced himself at their first meeting and made them feel welcome from the beginning and offered his help to them.

Jared always seems to have keen insight into patients’ family and social conditions that ultimately affect their health care. This is a rare trait among young physicians. Our attending physicians agree that he is an astute clinician, keen observer, and an excellent patient listener with a “heart of gold”—an unusual combination. His sense of humor is refreshing and uplifting to those with whom he works. He’s eager to learn and strives to improve his medical care. What is more, he is eager to share his energy and talents, and we are much richer for it.

Congrats Bro! You ROCK!

Gina

Can it Get More Random?

2011-12-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

It doesn't matter that the Christmas tree still only has 5 decorations on it and the ladder is STILL in the middle of the family room.Life goes on.
RaNDoM goes on.
In fact, RaNDoM REIGNS!
If you don't believe me,
go see the queen of RaNDoM

Stacy knows RaNDoM!
I'm pretty well acquainted with it myself!

* And now, just FYI -
REAL cowBOYS do NOT wear earrings.
It's not up for debate.
They just don't.
* Yesterday at 2:30 pm, I drove into my neighborhood.
The thermometer in my car read 14 degrees (the high of the day).
By the time I got to my house 1.8 miles later,
the thermometer read 9 degrees.
Wow, that high was short lived.

* I didn't mind that it was so cold because -
the sun was out,
the sky was bright blue,
and I was wearing these -

Yep - my friend Margaret spied them in a shop window in London. When she stopped short on the sidewalk and gasped, the man right behind her, who ran into her, thought she was hurt. As he started to apologize for injuring her, she explained, "Oh no. Those gloves are so cute, I have to go into that store and get them for my friend." He thought she was crazy.

Thank you Margaret!

* I was feeling so sick last night. I have had a headache for seven days. I felt nauseous and every time I bent over to pick something up, I thought I might throw up. Plus it sounded like there was an erupting volcano in my stomach. So instead of having chili and cornbread for dinner,
I had candy and cookies.

* Who was the CUTEST indian in Romania on Thanksgiving?

Hands down, it's that cute missionary in the front row with a hot pink head band and a floppy feather. Only Garrett would look good in hot pink!

* Parker does not let the snow stop him.

Yes, that is a snowy, icy street in our neighborhood.

Yes, he is on a longboard.

Yes, he is stupid.

Have a RaNDoM TueSDaY!
Gina

What Could Go Wrong?

2011-12-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

It was nice to have Trammell home for Thanksgiving weekend.
It was nice to have Parker home.......wait, he lives here.
Kind of.

The older the kids get, the less you see them.
It's not that hard to say goodbye when they leave for college because they are NEVER home their senior year.
And Parker is no exception.

But he was around more this weekend.
And so, what do you do when the family gets together and you want to have some good ole bonding time?
WORK IN THE YARD.
Okay, so *I* wasn't home.
I'm not stupid!
I heard "work" and I suddenly had to run some errands.
I think I went to the grocery store because there was NO FOOD in the house after Thanksgiving. ;)
But Brian told the boys he just needed an hour or so to gather up the fallen leaves and pine needles.
They had bagged up ten 40 gallon trash bags and still had several to go.
Boredom set in.
Boredom is BAD!
Boredom is dangerous!
But you've gotta love kids who can make work ~~lethal~~ fun.
Why BAG the leaves when you can BURN them?

Is that even legal?
What could go wrong?
Really........what could go right?

Just as I pulled up, a neighbor girl came running down the street to say that some neighbors up the hill had just called them and asked if our house was on fire. They could see the flames and were getting ready to call 911.
Luckily, no one was injured and no property was damaged. Everyone just smelled like a forest fire.

Gina

God Has a Plan

2011-12-04T08:53:00.001-07:00

I went to the funeral of my friend, Jane yesterday.
It was beautiful.
All six of her children delivered wonderful tributes to their mother.
She left behind an amazing legacy.

Her family is sad. They will miss her deeply.
But they feel comfort. They feel peace.

What give people the strength to carry on after the death of a loved one?
It is the knowledge that there IS a God and He has a plan.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Gina

Two Parties & a Funeral

2011-12-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

Is it seriously Friday?
Well, according to Mrs. 4444 it is.

I need five more days. We have a crazy weekend and I need it to be Monday so I can get ready for Friday. Can you believe I am saying that? What is WRONG with me?

Don’t answer that.

· Priorities for today –

o Order Funeral Flowers

o Make a Christmas Carol Trivia Game

o Buy Christmas presents for the Company #1 Christmas Party.

o Write a letter to the school administration saying I support Parker graduating early.

· Yeah, the Christmas Party for Company #1 is tomorrow. It was supposed to be at MY HOUSE. It was supposed to be TONIGHT. Yep – Company #1 Friday and Company #2 Saturday night. My house isn’t even decorated for Christmas……….unless you count a tree with 5 decorations and a ladder in the middle of the room as festive.

· Luckily, I talked Company #2 into having their Christmas party in January. And then I moved Company #1 to Saturday………and out of my house. Phew! Now, I’m only in charge of games and presents. I can do this!!!!

· Would you ever order this – for a funeral?

I hope not.

· Trammell is over-the-top goofy in love. Yesterday, I spoke with him three times.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, my beautiful fiancée and I are driving to………..”

“We are talking about dates for the Colorado and Minnesota open houses, do you think…. Oh here….you can talk to my beautiful fiancée.”

I love it!

· Parker may or may not graduate a semester early. Yeah, we know the deadline to make that decision was 2 ½ months ago. At the time, he didn’t think he would graduate because 1) he was still 16 and didn’t want to start college in January as a brand new 17 year old. 2) he thought 2^nd semester would be “fun.” Having all your college apps turned in, knowing your grades don’t really count for much, hanging out with all of your friends sounded kind of appealing. But now that he’s bored out of his skull………it doesn’t sound THAT fun.

Well, I've got to get to work on these priorities!
Happy Weekending!
Gina

I Won! I WON!

2011-12-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Oops! I thought I posted this last week.
What the heck was I doing?
Shopping for diamonds?
Making pies?
Roasting turkey?
Who doesn't like to win?
I LOVE to win!

My dear friend Andrea over at Maybe it's just me..... gave me this happy little award!

and I get to pass it on to five blogging friends who keep me entertained.
Ooooo............such power!

Without further ado -
* Julianna - over at Surviving Boys.
She's a newlywed with a teen boy and two youngers who regales us with stories about work, domestic life and romance <- if you count working on home improvement projects together as romantic. She's UBER talented. She made her own wedding dress!

* Danelle - over at Outnumbered.
She's a mom of all boys. And they keep me almost as entertained as they keep her! Her photography is beautiful. Go for the pictures. Stay for the writing.

* Mama Badger - over at Out of the Boondocks.
She might have the two cutest little boys in the universe. They are dolls.
And she almost has me convinced that living in the midwest might be fun.

* Andrea - over at The Sock Monkey Mom.
She's an "old" blogger with a "new" blog. She's a great writer and always has something fun going on.

* Stef - over at Oops...there goes my mind.
She has a pack of funny kids and a humorous husband as well.
She always entertains and lightens my day!

Congrats girlies!
Go forth and treat some of your favorite bloggers with an award!

Gina

All That Glitters Part Two

2011-11-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

She said YES!

Trammell and Jen are ENGAGED!
I'm so excited!!!! Where do I start?

Romance at it's best -
Plan A -
Trammell and Jen were going to fly to Minneapolis on December 17th where sometime during the 4 day stay, Trammell would have a formal talk with Jen's father and ask permission to marry his daughter.
Then when Jen came to visit us in Denver, Trammell would propose on New Year's Eve.

Trammell came home for Thanksgiving and 30 seconds after he stepped off the plane,
we went to our favorite family jeweler - Trice Jewelers - to meet with Ralph.
IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!
And then Trammell was even more excited.........as if that was possible.

Ralph said that he could have the diamond set and the ring sized by the next day if Trammell wanted to.
But, with Jen off at home and the engagement not for more than a month, what was the hurry?
For the next two days, Trammell kept saying, "We should have told him to have it ready now!"

We went to pick up the ring on Friday - Best. Black. Friday. Shopping. Ever!
And then for the next two days, Trammell opened the ring box every 15 minutes to look at the ring.

We all knew that Plan A was going out the window!

Plan B -
Jen and Trammell go to Minneapolis on December 17th.
Corner her dad sometime and propose sometime, somewhere in Minneapolis before returning to Denver on the 23rd.
But Trammell kept looking at that ring and thinking of beautiful Jen.

By Sunday, we were on to Plan C -
Trammell texted Jen's father and knowing that Sunday was a busy day for him, asked him to call him at his convenience........anytime between now and when Trammell would get on the plane to go back to school at 6:30 pm or anytime after 8:30.
Jen's father called right as Brian pulled up to the curb at the airport to drop Tram off.
So that Trammell wouldn't have to have this conversation with "There is no parking in the red zone" in the background, AND to give Trammell some privacy (I so wouldn't have done that!), Brian went in the airport and sat in the terminal and left Trammell in the car in the parking lot to "chat."

Trammell had a prepared speech.
He never really got to give it.
The Kerrs knew this was coming.
Trammell did insist on telling Jen's father how amazing Jen is and how in love with her he is.
Permission granted!

Trammell got on the plane with the ring...........
although security did spot it in his backpack and ask what it was.
Then he had to wait 24 long, painful hours until Monday night.

You see, there is some history with the Monday night after Thanksgiving.
Last Thanksgiving, Trammell spent the holiday thinking.
He was "friends" with two girls.........Jen and someone else.
He knew he couldn't date two girls.
He thought about the two girls and tried to figure out who he should date and who he should "give up."

When he got back to school on that Monday after Thanksgiving,
he called Jen up and asked her to go for a drive.
They drove around and talked.......
and then he said..........
"I really like you. I don't want to hurt you. Please don't like me anymore."
She wasn't happy.

He dated the other girl.
He wasn't happy.
They broke up in the Spring.
Trammell went off to Arkansas to work for the summer..........
but he started calling Jen all the time and chatting.
And the phone calls got more frequent.
And by the time summer was over,
he could hardly wait to get back to school and date someone who had become his best friend.

So now, the Monday after Thanksgiving 2011,
Trammell called Jen and asked her to go on a drive.
And they drove to Sundance ski resort and they got out of the car and walked around.
And then Trammell reminded Jen of that painful conversation last year............
and then he told her he didn't want her to NOT like him.
He got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
And he gave her the ring

AND SHE SAID YES!

And they are getting married Saturday, April 21st at 3 pm in the Salt Lake Temple.
Come ON! They are first borns! Trammell reserved the time at the temple weeks ago!

We LOVE Jen and we are thrilled and so excited to have her in our family!!!!
I'm giddy! I might be a little bit more excited than the bride and groom-to-be.
But maybe not.

Gina

All That Glitters

2011-11-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Yea for Tuesday!
Yea for RaNDoM!
Yea for Stacy!

Go pay her a visit.......click the linky......I dare you. NOT NOW!
Click it AFTER you've read and commented.
*Guess what I found?

The GLITTER CORN?
Now I can have Thanksgiving.
Did I miss it?

Does this look like Christmas ornaments and a tree skirt?

Unfortunately, I know who put it in a Christmas box.
I know exactly what they were thinking.
I was thinking wrong.

* A repairman was supposed to come fix my oven sometime between 1-5 pm yesterday.
Guess what time he came?
NEVER!
Yeah - I hurried home and hung out ALL AFTERNOON.
I called twice - once when I first got home because I saw his number on caller ID (even though he was supposed to call my cell) and was afraid I missed him.
Nope. The record showed that he hadn't called nor come to the house yet and I was still on the schedule.

Then at 5:20, I called and lo and behold the record showed that he did come by.
Well.........which is it? He came by or he didn't?
The "specialist" then said the record showed that he didn't come by but had typed in 1:44 as an "estimated time of arrival."
Um........no..........he didn't arrive. EVER.
I spent from 5:20 to 5:50 bouncing around "Press 8 to talk to a mornon and Press 3 if you are tearing your hair out" and listening to on hold music.

* While waiting patiently for the Oven Guy,
I did manage to clean up the aftermath of Thanksgiving, put the beads and bows on the tree so that it can be ornamentized, and finish the Christmas village set up......all while scaling the 12 foot ladder in a skirt.
The Oven Guy SHOULD have been here!
It was quite a show!

* I have some VERY exciting news (and it's not about the ovens)
But it DEMANDS it's own post.
Come back tomorrow.
How's that for a tease?

* I'm so excited I forgot all the RaNDoM.
Oh and if you are a super smarty pants,
Don't give away my totally top secret already announced to the world excitement.
Just look smug.

Gina

So Sad

2011-11-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have a lot to talk about.........
lots of fun stories, lots of exciting things happening around here and lots of crazy.

But it wouldn't be right to move on so quickly without an acknowledgment.

Last night, I was typing emails to missionaries on my computer when I heard Brian on the phone.
He sounded serious and slightly panicked or upset.
I went in the kitchen just as he hung up
to tell me that a dear friend, Jane Baer was in an automobile accident and died.

I'm not sure where to start.
Jane is the beautiful mother of six grown children and a grandmother to about 40.
But she has been one of my mom's best friends and the Baers and the Marcuccis have been friends for nearly 40 years.
Our moms parented together, served in church together, ran the swim team together, laughed and cried together.
IF my parents died when I was younger, my parent's will stated that we would go live with the Baers.
They were those kind of friends.

Her influence has been profound.

Jane and Mark have been serving as the Matron and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Denver Temple for the last 2 1/2 years.
Besides seing her at church and social occasions, I saw Jane every Thursday at the temple.
It wasn't uncommon for Mark to come looking for her ....
only to find her comparing notes with me about my kids and her kids and grandkids.
She always took an interest in EVERYTHING we did.
They were at ALL the important events for our family.
She and Mark were some of the first people to come over after my brother died in the Spring.

I cannot express how much I, and my extended family love the Baers.
There are not enough words to share all the wonderful qualities Jane possessed, how much we love her and how much we will miss her.

She was a constant Christlike example of charity and love.
She cared.
She was generous.
She was an amazingly supportive friend.

It is a wonderful thing to see all the posts on her children's Facebook pages.
The kind words do not exaggerate her beauty, grace and Christlike qualities nor do they do her justice.
She was an angel here on earth and she will be greatly missed!

One Night at Costco

2011-11-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Take a little walk through my world.
Parker and I went to Costco. Real quick. To pick up one thing.
We were there about 20 minutes.

* "Mom, you can get me a lynx for Christmas."
"A lynx? A live lynx? Yeah, you can can't on that happening."
"All I know is that it's the coolest cat in the world."

Do the sell lynxes (what's the plural of lynx?) at Costco?

* Oh yeah, for youth group, we're getting gingerbread house kits and making them and blowing them up."
"Whose idea was that?"
"Think about it."

I don't have to think about it

* "Arrgghhh.......they only have off brand french fried onions and now all they have is low sodium soy sauce. What kind of place is this? They are letting me down!"
"Face it Mom. We're just skinny people in a fat man's world."

That explains a lot!

* "Why do you keep stopping the cart and writing?
Are you seriously writing down everything I say?
Without me, you would have NO blog.
I should get paid!"

No. *I* should get paid!

Gina

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:14:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!
Gina

I Hope That's NOT Leather on Those Fat Calves!

2011-11-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

Happy almost Thanksgiving!
Before I tackle all of those Thanksgiving recipes, I've got to clear my head of all the RaNDoM.
Luckily, Miss Stacy has invited everyone over to her place for ~~turkey~~ RaNDoMNeSS at it's finest.

* I love people who bring me cookies.

* Did you know that every year American women’s calves get fatter.

Yep, it’s true.

The boot salesman at Nordstrom told me………..

as he was taking in my boots.

I had a hard time finding boots because of everyone else’s fat calves.

Thanks a lot guys!

* West Hollywood or some city near West Hollywood voted to ban all clothing made of fur and any clothing made from animals……including wool.

Thank heavens sequins haven't been banned!

*I don’t see myself ever riding a motorcycle.

They don’t have cup holders.

*The other night, I was sitting at my desk.

I hear a little bell: “ding ding.”

And then from around the corner Parker shot out and squirted me with a squirt bottle.

I totally freaked out!
We have a family rule that NO MATTER WHAT, you can’t squirt your mom.

She can squirt you.

But you NEVER squirt mom…….even if her hair is on fire.

This was a direct violation and I was NOT happy.

In order to not get killed, he admitted that it was for AP Psych.

The kids had the assignment to see how long it would take to condition a family member.

Experiment OVER in my house!

Ten minutes later,

I heard the bell: “ding ding”

And I jumped and yelled, “NO!”

One time!
I was conditioned in ONE experience.

I wonder how the kid fared who was trying to condition his mom to make him a sandwich every time he rang the bell?

*TRAMMELL comes home for Thanksgiving today!

Today!
He’s on the plane RIGHT NOW!

Yippee!

*I sent a Thanksgiving/Pre-Christmas package to Garrett in Romania about 6 weeks ago.

It had all the fixings for green bean casserole, a two foot tree, battery operated lights, ornaments, two chocolate advent calendars, candy, and who knows what else…..all crammed in one of those “if it fits, it ships” boxes.

But on the customs form, I said it was socks.

I hope he got it.

Have a fabulous and RaNDoM TueSDaY!
Gina

The Search for the White Lanterns

2011-11-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, Brian and I went to IKEA for something. I don’t even remember what it was but I’m sure it was important.

As we stepped off the escalator, we immediately saw several pallets full of these –

I stood and stared.

Brian saw my eyes glaze over and asked,
"Did you want to get one of those?”
“No, I might need 18 or 20.”
“Well, did you want to get one so that you will remember and when you decide, you can come back and get them?”
“No. I will put it on Pinterest.”

And we went on our merry way.

But then, I mentioned it to Margaret,

and in the role of a good friend who is looking out for your best interests,
she sent me into a panic.

“You have to go right back and get them now!”

“Why?”
“Because if you don’t get them now, they will all be gone.”

She picked me up the next evening to go and buy the lanterns.

We arrived and when we got to the top of the escalator………

THERE WERE NO WHITE LANTERNS!!!!!

That's when I started whining like a three year old who had missed her nap.

To soothe me and prevent me from knocking over the lantern display in a temper tantrum, Margaret assured me that we would find them.

WE dug through the black and silver ones that were left

and found TWO.
I will leave you to guess what happens when you dig around those boxes and they are just resting on top of the lantern lids with nothing to stabilize them.

Then we we went on a "treasure hunt" and searched ALL the displays throughout the store and took them off tables

and book shelves.
We found FIVE more.

Then we came up with the brilliant idea to ask for help.
The first five teenagers we approached a) didn't know what lanterns were. b) didn't know how we would find out if there were any in the store and c) were stupid.

Then we ran into this man

who for some reason did not want his picture taken. So we did not take his picture.
He is the "Closet Planner." He has this computer that you can plug the dimensions of your closet into and he can help you plan out the racks and shelves and bins, etc.
BUT, we asked him if he could use his MAGIC computer to tell us if there were any WHITE lanterns left in the store.
That's the crazy thing about computers.
Not only could it calculate closet square footage, the MAGIC computer told us that there were 94 white lanterns somewhere in the store.
But it's not THAT smart, cuz it couldn't tell us where.

So, we went through the store a SECOND time.
And we asked every employee who we ran into.

It was like looking for a needle or needles in a haystack.
Come on people!
There are 94 lanterns all piled up together.
How hard can they be to find?
Pretty darn hard.

Finally, one really nice girl took us on an "employee shortcut" and told us to NEVER take the shortcut without an employee with us until we needed to five minutes later by ourselves.

She directed us to Homewares or Glassware or something and actually walked us to this guy -

who showed us EXACTLY where the 94 white lanterns were.
We jumped up and down and cheered......as the employees backed away.

Then we bought 18, 20, 25.

Phew!!!!!
If you ever need to borrow white lanterns.
I know where you can get some!
But there are only 69 left!
Kidding! You can borrow mine!
Gina

Miracles: Big and Small

2011-11-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

You know I believe in miracles.
I love to find miracles and I see them happen every day.
I try to share them here every once in awhile.
I HAVE to share Friday's miracle.

I was driving from an appointment back to the office.
It was only a 10 minute drive max and I was in a hurry.
For some reason ;), I had a feeling I should call my friend Amber.

"Hey Amber! How's it going?"
"Well, it's been a rough morning."
"What happened?"

Amber had just gotten off the phone with her son TYLER (Yes! <- the OTHER half of the Bonehead Brothers! Garrett's twin by another mother. The EXTRA son who LIVED here for nearly two years. And by HERE, I mean IN THIS house 24/7)

Tyler's been serving his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Ukraine for the last 19 months.

Missionaries only call home on Christmas and Mother's Day
And it's not one of those holidays.
So it can't be good!

Amber explained that a few months ago,
Tyler mentioned that he was "itching."
It was a casual mention that he didn't know what was wrong but he was constantly scratching.
The end.

But when he called Friday,
he told them that he was itching day and night for almost six months and that it was so bad he was awake most of the night scratching.
His skin is raw and he is trying to survive on 3-4 hours of sleep a night.
He has gone to the doctor in the Ukraine.
They couldn't find anything and they hinted that perhaps it was mental.

The adult leaders recommended he come to the mission office and call home and prepare his family that he might be sent home early. No one in Ukraine could explain this itching and they asked Tyler to meet with a psychologist.

He told his mom it was NOT mental.
He has the language down.
He loves his mission.
He feels great mentally.
They are teaching more people than ever
and he DOESN'T want to come home.

But he can't survive on 3 hours a sleep.
And he can't continue to scratch his skin off.

Amber told all of this to me.
Hmmmm...........I was skeptical.
I knew there was more to it.
It wasn't mental.
I didn't tell her I would, but immediately after hanging up,
I called my brother.

I knew he was working in the Pediatric ICU.
I NEVER call him when I know he is at work.
I KNOW he can't answer his phone.
But I called.

He answered with, "Is it emergent?"
"No. But Tyler has............."
I told him everything in less than 30 seconds and he said, "It's Scabies. I'll call you back."

In a whirlwind of events and phone calls at 2 am,
My brother spoke with the leaders in the mission office, Tyler's parents, Tyler, a doctor in the Ukraine and a pharmacist.
Long story, but it IS scabies.
They are unfamiliar with scabies in the Ukraine.
It can be easily and quickly treated.
There is NO reason to "live" with it. And there is NO reason for Tyler to come home.

Within 24 hours, he went from miserable and returning early from his mission to ecstatic and ready to ROCK the last five months in the Ukraine.

Why did I call Amber at a random time when it was not convenient and I didn't have time to talk?
Why did Amber tell me the whole story instead of just saying everything was fine?
Why did Jared answer the phone even though he was in a meeting with his attending?
How did Jared know without seeing Tyler and from my extremely limited description what it was?
How did they get all those people on an international conference call?
How is it that the ONE pharmacy that has the scabies medication is JUST DOWN THE STREET from Tyler's apartment?

God's hand is in the miracles.
We can be instruments in his hands.

I know miracles happen every day.
We just have to notice them.

Have a fabulous Sunday!
Gina

Occupy Crazyville!

2011-11-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Crazy Town!
Do you wanna occupy us?

Come on over. Bring cupcakes!
If you wanna get really crazy, join in the Friday Fragmenting Fun!

Go see Mrs. 4444. She started all the Fragmenting!

* Oh shoot! I forgot to care about Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher.

* Parker had a great idea.
"I'm going to start Occupy Grandview." <- That's his high school.
"I'm going to go into the counseling office and find out the top 1% (he's only in the top 5%) of the kids in my class and insist on redistribution of grades. Their points on tests and homework should be redistributed to the rest of us. It's not fair that they get all of the A's."

It's almost as good an idea as Occupy Wall Street.....but somehow LESS ridiculous.

* I overheard this conversation between Parker and his friend.
Friend: "Hey Parker, want to go see Dierks Bentley Saturday?"
Parker: "Not really. But how much is it?"
Friend: "Like $40."
Parker: "Wanna go see Ben Carson Saturday?"
Friend: "How much is it?"
Parker: "$5"
Friend: "Wait. I don't even know who that is."
Parker: "He's a famous neurologist. It's a lecture from 9:30 to 12:30."
Friend: "Uh, then, no."

Now we know where Parker will be Saturday AM.

* The other night I went to Costco.
I was cute.
I wore my cape.

The 20 something year old checker said:

"I like your......ummm......(kind of motions to the cape)...."

"My cape?"

"Yeah.....you look like.........ummm.........Nancy Drew."

"Oh thanks. I thought you were going to say Sherlock Holmes."

"I was but I didn't want you to feel bad."

What?

"Parker, guess what? The checker just said I looked like Nancy Drew but......"

He cut me off, "Nancy Drew? You look like Sherlock Holmes."

He's grounded.

He obviously doesn't care if I feel bad.

* Look what I bought at IKEA last night -

25 of them............because you never know when you might need them.

And searching IKEA for them is a whole different post!

* Margaret wanted to stop at McDonalds for a McRib sandwich.

She NEVER eats McDonalds food..........only during McRib season.

Yes. There's a season.

Anyway, there are only 6 days left of McRib season and then I guess, they run out.

I don't know how you run out of processed meat but whatever.

Parker was making fun of her for eating the McRib and she asked him if he had ever had one.

"No. But there are more than 70 ingredients in that thing."
"But it's soooo good. you have to try it."

"No. There's actually an ingredient in the McRib that they use in yoga mats."

Do you think he made that up?

Where would he get that?

* Oh my gosh! He's NOT lying!

The McRib Sandwich and a Yoga Mat What Do They Have in Common

I never believe my kids.

I checked it out and he's right!

Have a great weekend!

Go get yourself a McRib!

Gina

Truth is......

2011-11-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

Truth is..........I am SOOOOO excited for Thanksgiving.I was not so excited on Tuesday.
Then my friend called and invited us to her house and it was an answer to ~~an unsaid~~ prayer.
Yippee!!!!

Truth is..........I don't get Occupy Wall Street, ~~Oakland~~, Berkely, Portland, Denver.

Truth is..........I want to start getting out the Christmas stuff. I think I will start setting up the EPIC Christmas village this weekend. It only takes three days to set up.
Who has three days?
Truth is.........Retailers are RUINING Black Friday by opening on Thanksgiving.........even if they don't open until 9 pm. It's Thursday! Not Friday!!! Is there NO DOWN TIME in America?

Truth is.........Parker REALLY wants these Muno (from Yo Gabba Gabba) for skating.

He's disappointed because they only come in kids' sizes.

Truth is.........I checked, they do come in adult sizes! Christmas!

Truth is........that's it for today. I'm going to Ikea to buy 20 little white lanterns. They are WAY CUTE!
Gina

CAN I GET SOME HELP HERE?

2011-11-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah!
It's RaNDoM!
And have I got RaNDoM for you!

* Did you know that Q comes BEFORE R
Evidently I am having a hard time with that because I always open the "R" file cabinet, am shocked that I can't find the "Q" files and have to sing "O, P, Q, R" of the alphabet song to myself.

* My co workers are horrified by my eating habits.
Breakfast - half a sleeve of Ritz crackers and a Coke.
Mid Morning Snack - A Sees Pecan Truffle.
Lunch - Lays Potato Chips and some Hostess Crumb mini donuts and a Coke.
I DID have a nutritious dinner at IKEA at 7:30.

* A man at work does Weight Watchers.
He explained the "point system" to me.
He gets 40 points a day.
He said I would probably get 25-30 points a day.
Those mini donuts would be 17 of those points.
I'm glad I'm not doing Weight Watchers!

* My family thinks I am crazy because I clean the house BEFORE the house cleaner comes.
She only comes every other week.
So we do have to clean toilets and vacuum ourselves.
But it drives them nutty when I rush around cleaning the night before.
I explained that if *we* didn't pick up the nine pairs of shoes scattered on the laundry room floor, she wouldn't be able to mop the floor.
She's only there for a limited time.
If she spends all that time picking up, straightening desks and making beds,
WHO IS GOING TO CLEAN THE TOILETS?
You get this right?

* Text from Parker:
"I think I'll take a rain check on English."
Arrrggghhhh
I called him.
"Why aren't you going to English?"
"We have a substitute for the 17th time."
"You can't miss English 27 times!"
"Wow! I've missed it 3 times. There's a huge difference between 3 and 27."

He has a point.
I might be exaggerating.
But we sure TALK about missing English a lot!

* I had a dream last night that I was writing blog topics on scraps of paper at a high school baseball.
The kids were angry because the cafeteria ladies were running the concession stand.
I thought it was cool because we got these big crockery/cafeteria style bowls of nacho cheese.
Oh and.........the game was at 7:15 in the morning.
I have problems!!!!!!

If this was RaNDoM enough for you........head on over and see Stacy.
Happy Tuesday!
Gina

New Math Stinks!

2011-11-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

p = 6 or 2 or 1 or whatever!

Parker is in Calculus.
Maybe he should go back to Geometry.
Yesterday, *I* made this.

In light of the fact that no one will LET me hoard, I went on the proactive and started a friendly discussion.
"Okay, there are three of us. Each of us gets a third of the pie."
"No"
"Yeah"
"No"
"Uh huh!"
We're mature over here.

"Mom, it's not going to be like that. You won't ever eat a third. You are just trying to hoard your part."
Am I REALLY that transparent?
He's right. I won't eat a third.
I will eat ONE piece.

And we all sat down and had one piece together - a 1/8 of a pie piece.
Some of us had whipped cream and some of us had ice cream AND whipped cream.
And then, Parker had a second piece. with two more scoops of ice cream.
There was approximately half the pie left.

Here's where the math gets tricky
.
"Okay there's only half the pie left and you had a second piece Parker."
"No. There are three of us and there is a half of a pie left. So we each just ate 1/6."
"Except we didn't. You ate more."
"Mom, there are three of us. We each ate some pie and now their is half left, therefore we each ate 1/6 and going by your rule that we each get 1/3, we each get to eat 1/3 of what is left or 1/6 of the pie."

What kind of math is that?

Gina

The Sting of the Scorpion

2011-11-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share this little video with you. I like it.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Gina

Don't Read This if You are My Child

2011-11-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

Don't you LOVE Fridays?
Don't you love Friday Fragments?

Don't you love Mrs. 4444?
Well go tell her!

* So when I was first brought in to ~~wreak havoc~~ help at Brian's work,
we were all trying to "perfect" a process.
I kept finding myself explaining the ultimate process by saying, "In my fantasies............"
Evidently, my coworkers don't fantasize about work and file folders and Sharpies.
Hmmmm.........Interesting.........

* All of my kids (all boys 23, 20 and 17) still sleep with their baby blankets.
Don't tell anyone.
Oh........my phone is ringing.
They're ticked!
They're furious at me for telling.
Trammell DID NOT take his blanket on his mission.
Neither did Garrett.
So they don't HAVE to have them. They just like them........a lot.

* Isn't this a cute picture?

Thanks Facebook!

* Text message from Parker -
"There's a sub in writing. I'm not going."

Three minutes later -
"The teacher's here.
I'll go.
But I'm not happy about it."

He has such a HARD life!

* We made our first batch of Christmas cookies Sunday.
Three dozen "Mexican Wedding Cookies," "Russian Tea Cakes," "Sand Tarts," "Butterballs," whatever you want to call them.

Sunday, I ate none. Zero.
Monday, I may have had two.
Brian and Parker ate ALL of the cookies except for three.
I pointed out that I hadn't had any (okay, not any, but only two) and so they said I could have the last three on the plate.
Tuesday the cookies sat untouched.
Wednesday the cookies sat untouched.
I came home from work and eyed them.
Their siren song was calling me.
But I was saving them ~~for the millennium~~ for later.
And then Brian came home and ate them.
Just popped them in his mouth like that.
"You can't hoard cookies!"
"But those were mine!"
"They sat there for two days. You can't hoard cookies!"

* I made him take me to the bakery and I bought two big cookies:
one pumpkin and one molasses.
I ate half of the pumpkin Wednesday night.
I ate the other half this Thursday afternoon.
I am hoarding the molasses one.
I can hoard cookies if I want.

* If today wasn't Friday,
I would die.
That's how tired I am.
I still might die.
We have a birthday party, a bridal shower, a wedding, a missionary farewell and two wedding receptions this weekend.
When do we get to sleep?

Who needs sleep? Have a great weekend!
Gina

Parenting: Not for the Faint of Heart

2011-11-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

You all KNOW that October 8th was a pretty BIG day (specifically midnight), right?I really don't have to explain.

But just in case............
I'll share the following.

Text convo with a 17 year old boy on October 7th.

Him: "I have an appointment tonight."

Me: thinking........with who? Teachers and coaches don't meet at night. What time? With who? It's Monday night. Church leaders don't meet with people on Monday night.

What I texted: "With who? I don't understand."

Wow! I'm a mom! Did I just ADMIT that I don't know something?
Why do I feel like I am walking into a trap?
Him: "COD3"

Duh! Of course!
COD3= MW3 = Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.

And if it goes on sale at midnight, what time should you buy it?
Seriously? Do you even have to think about it?
MIDNIGHT!

First, you pay $5 three months in advance to "Reserve" your copy.
Then, you go to the store at 6 pm during the day before the midnight release and PRE-PAY.
Finally, you go back at 9:30 when it's 34 degrees and snowing and you sit OUTSIDE the store with 299 ~~other idiots~~ of your friends until the clock strikes 12.

And then, once you get your hot little hands on the game, do you come home and go to bed because it is a school night and you have to get up at 5:15?

Another STUPID question.
NO!

You MUST open it and start killing people immediately.

Because Parker is soooo responsible, he limited his play to an hour: 12:19 to 1:19 am and he still got up at 5:15 and went to seminary and then a full day of school and then lacrosse weight lifting and then long boarding.

All I can say is that I am thankful that THIS YEAR, he has his license because the last time Call of Duty came out, he didn't.
So *I* was the fool making three trips with him to the video game store.
I am so glad that I am no longer the "fool." ;)

Gina

Caramel Apples, Glitter Corn and Getting Ready for Christmas

2011-11-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

* Come here my little pretty!
Who would like a caramel apple?

How about...............

a CARAMEL ONION?

It was part of an object lesson in my seminary (6 am Bible study class for high schoolers) class yesterday.
I doubt they will ask me to substitute again.

I was nice though. I gave the ~~victim~~ a bottle of water, a trash can to spit the onion into and a REAL caramel apple.

* That was pretty RaNDoM!
And if you want some more RaNDoM, read on.
If you want EVEN MORE,
go see

She's the best Randomizer this side of............well I don't know where she lives.
Go see for yourself.

* We aren't celebrating Thanksgiving this year.
We can't.
I can't find the glitter corn.

Seriously, you can't just expect me to go on!

No holiday table decor is complete without Glitter Corn.

Thanksgiving is cancelled.

* I know WHERE the glitter corn is.

It's SOMEWHERE in the storage room in the basement.

I can "see" myself gently sliding ears of glitter corn into gallon size ziploc bags.

Then my vision gets blurry.

But.....everything is well organized in the basement.

We have the January decor bin, the Valentine decor bin, the 2 Easter bins, the 3 Fall decor bins which are separate from the 3 Halloween bins and the 15 Christmas bins (not including the Snow Village stuff).

There is no separate Thanksgiving bin.

And it's not in the Fall decor bins.

Arrggghhhh!

Do you think it's in the Shorts - size 29-30 bin or the Jeans - size 32 bin?

* I am mailing Garrett's Christmas package to Romania today.

I already sent the Thanksgiving/Getting ready for Christmas package.

That package contained a two foot tree with decorations, battery powered lights, two stockings, Christmas candy, 2 chocolate Advent calendars and all the makings for Green Bean Casserole.

Yes, I really did send 2 cans of green beans, a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and French Fried Onions to Romania.

What?

* Do you think I can get all of this

in here?

Yes. Yes I can. Except for the two mini candy canes that somehow didn't make it in.

Well, speaking of shoving.
I've shoved enough RaNDoM into this little post.
And it's time for me to shove off.
Happy Tuesday!
Happy RaNDoM!
Gina

Queen for the Day

2011-11-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

Brian and I were asked to be the judges for the annual Mr. Crowfoot pageant at the singles' ward (a Mormon congregation full of NOTHING but single young men and women ages 19-30)
I have to admit that I didn't want to go.
It was Friday.
It had been a LONG week.
It was cold and I was tired.
The bed was calling my name.

But we traipsed down to the church
AND BOY AM I GLAD I DID!

Nothing will make you laugh harder than boys....
except for boys in costumes doing ridiculous things.

There were 12 contestants competing in 3 categories: Active Wear, Formal Wear and Talent.
In the active wear competition, we had guys showing off their calves, their soccer prowess, martial arts moves and of course their big guns.

Later in the talent section, we were able to see a full demonstration of this young man's ~~nunchuck~~ martial arts skills.

Here are all the young men in their "formal wear". Some had interesting definitions of formal wear. There was the contestant dressed completely in thrift store duds include a pair of red and white saddle oxfords.

There was a contestant dressed like Elvis dressed like Uncle Sam (?). And there was a young man dressed in his father's tuxedo from about 40 years ago. It fit.

And then............there was the talent.

I must admit that I missed parts of some of the acts...........because I was laughing so hard, my head was down on the table.

There was some piano playing, some serenading

and LOTS of dancing.
I think a couple of the contestants will be meeting with their Bishop this week. The moves left us wondering just WHERE they had learned their moves. I've never seen Brian laugh so hard - at the grimaces of the Bishop- and at the fact that he (Brian) no longer had ecclesiastical responsibility for ANY of these people.

And finally, two young men did a parity of Danny Kaye and Bing Cosby performing "Sisters" in White Christmas.

And of course, there was a winner - complete with a sash AND a purple and pink crown.
Oh.........their mom's must be so proud!

Gina

The Lord Knows and Loves You!

2011-11-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Lord is in the details. He knows you and He cares about you and the things that you care about.
Even the little things.

I am substituting for seminary tomorrow.
(Seminary is the early morning Bible study class that Mormon high schoolers attend before school. Early - as in 6 am early.)
I wasn't worried about substituting for seminary because
1) I LOVE teenagers.
2) I LOVE teaching.
3) I taught early morning seminary for 5 years.
and 4) I am BRILLIANT! I kept ALL five years of lessons! I had them on my computer and transferred them to memory sticks so that I ~~could sell them~~ always have them in case I needed them.

After an extremely long week,
I came home from work on Friday and thought I should get my lesson together.
My obvious first stop would be to review the lesson material I used when I taught this lesson last time.
I keep my memory sticks right here -

Right here! Wait! Where are they?

That empty corner of my center desk drawer sent my mind into a panic.

They were here for the last two years. They were here!

Where could they be?

Usually, I freak out.

Usually, I would start tearing through every drawer in the household.

Usually, I would cry.

But I was too tired.

And I knew that if I started, 1) I wouldn't be able to stop, 2) I wouldn't find them and 3) it wouldn't solve anything.

I told myself that I wouldn't ever be teaching seminary again and I didn't REALLY need them.

Wow - maybe I'm starting to think rationally in my old age.

So I did nothing.

Not nothing.

I DID ask Parker and Brian if by any chance they had seen them.

No and No.

Seriously, there is no reason for anyone to have seen them or used them or taken them.

And I did say a prayer that I would find them.

I was sad that 5 years and untold hours of work were GONE,

but really, screaming and yelling and weeping and wailing wouldn't bring them back.

Brian suggested that maybe, just maybe, he had copied them onto a memory stick of his (he taught seminary for a year and I SHARED! I know!!! It totally goes against my 3 year old self).

I check his 15 memory sticks and no, no seminary files.

Oh well.

I convinced myself to just let it go and not waste time being angry or disappointed.

Yesterday, we went to the Cub Scout Pancake Breakfast at McDonalds.

All of the little Cub Scouts were working hard to raise money.

Most of the ward showed up between 9 and 11.

Brian and I went at 8.

There weren't as many people there but we chatted with them.

As I was leaving, I stopped by a friend's table to say hello.

He mentioned that he heard that I was teaching Seminary on Monday.

Because he was an ex-Seminary teacher, he would appreciate my plight.

I told him about the missing lessons and my resignation.

He replied, "Really? Are you sure they are gone? When I copied all of the Pioneer Trek pictures and video this summer, I was given a memory stick full of stuff. I didn't look at everything but I just dragged the contents of the whole stick onto my computer and saved it. I think there were some seminary lessons on there."

"Oh yeah. There probably were. Those were Brian's from the year that he taught."

"Hmmm...I think there were a lot of files though. I could check when I get home."

"Thanks. If you have time to look, that would be great. I never gave Brian all of my files. Just one year. So I doubt it's what I am looking for. Thanks though."

Last night we came home and there was an email from my friend.

He had checked his computer and found 250 MB of seminary info.

He uploaded it to a location where I could look at it and see if it was the missing files and upload it back onto my computer.

It was 800 seminary lessons, scripture mastery resources, skits, handouts, commentary and hours and hours of work.

I don't know how he got all of those files.

I don't know where the memory sticks are.

It doesn't matter.

What matters is that even though I am one, teeny, tiny, insignificant person on this whole big earth,

the Lord KNOWS me.

He CARES about what I care about.

He wants to help me.........even with things that aren't essential to my eternal salvation.

He wants me to be happy.

And when I try to submit to His will and have done ALL I can do, He will do what I can't do for myself.

Thank you Heavenly Father! Thank you is not enough, but thank you!

Gina

Snow, Texting & a Male Beauty Pageant

2011-11-04T15:13:00.001-06:00

Ahh Mrs. 4444, how we love you!
By ~~Monday afternoon, Wednesday,~~ Friday, my head is just spinning with Fragments.
Thank you for letting us get them all out!

Go on over to Half Past Kissin' Time and pay her a visit. You can DeFrag too!

* We had a snow day on Wednesday.

Well, at least SOME of us had a snow day.
Parker slept until noon and then got up and shoveled just enough snow off the driveway to be able to longboard. He has his priorities.
Some of us slept in until 7:30 am <- I know! Totally decadent and then went to work.

* I was so excited that Cars2 was coming out on Tuesday.

Not that I was buying a copy. The only one who would care in my life is Gabriel – my 2 ½ year old nephew. Because we had already discussed the impending release, I called him first thing Tuesday morning.

Gabriel’s mom – “Oh hey…….what’s going on with you?”
Me: “Well I was actually calling to talk to the baby. I wanted to see if he was watching Cars2.”
Gabriel’s MEAN mom – “Well….I would let you talk to him, but he’s in time out. I’ll have to have him call you back.”

What?
They ‘ll have to move back ASAP. Things have obviously spiraled out of control. Who is in charge there?

* Text conversations with a certain 17 year old

“On a scale of 1 to 8 how much do you want to excuse me from 4th (period)?”

"None. None at all."

“Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that 1 meant a lot. So does 0 mean you already excused me?”
I did not even respond.

* Is the whole world crazy?
Don't answer that.
I DO NOT care about Kim Kardashian.
I don't know WHO the Kardashians are or how they got famous enough for their own show.
I don't know their names - except for Kim.
I have never watched their show.
I did not know about her wedding nor who she married.
And so, SURPRISE! I do not care about her divorce.
I'll go crawl back under my rock now.

* You will be jealous of my weekend.
Brian and I are going to judge a MALE beauty pageant tonight.
Yes, there are several categories.
Yes, there is a talent competition.......and evening wear.
Yes, there will be stories!

Have a great weekend!
Gina

Start Your Crock Pots!

2011-11-03T09:52:00.000-06:00

Mark your calendars!
It's a magical moment at the Coxes.
I'm cooking!
And it's not even Sunday!

I am a good cook.
But every since Trammell left, followed by Garrett,
there is no one to cook for.
No one is EVER home.

It seems like all the days I feel motivated and chop and slice and dice
and sweat over a hot stove, no one shows up!
There's work and lacrosse practice and church and late meetings.

But I'm optimistic.
I'm busting out the crock pot for some Barbeque Pork Sandwiches!
Here's all the ingredients you will need.

Oops - not all, I forgot to "display" the garlic powder. Don't leave that out!

Do you think this 4 lb Pork Butt will feed 3?
Oh and you can borrow my vinegar if you need to.
I have a little bit extra.
And I'm bummed about those WHOLE WHEAT rolls.
That's what I get for shopping at the "healthy" grocery store.
I asked if they had anything with bleached flour and refined sugar.
They didn't.

Here's today's recipe, provided by my good friend Cathy.

Tangy Barbeque Pork Sandwiches

1 C Ketchup
1 C BBQ Sauce - any brand, any flavor
1 C Onion - just chop a whole medium onion, you don't need to measure
3 C Celery - chopped
1 C Water
2 T Brown Sugar
2 T Worchestershire Sauce
2 T Vinegar
1 t Chili Powder
1 t Salt
1/2 t Garlic Powder
1/2 t Pepper
3-4 lb Pork Roast (trim off excess fat)
Buns or Rolls

Mix all the ingredients (except the roast) in the crock pot.
Place the roast in and cover with sauce.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4
Take the meat out and shred it. Put the sauce in a sauce pan and thicken it with 2 T cornstarch and 1/2 C cold water. Return meat and sauce back to crock pot and serve.

Yummy!

Halloween Aftermath

2011-11-01T15:37:00.001-06:00

Boooooo for Halloween!
And I don't mean that in a spooky, scary kind of Boo.
I mean it in a bad, it stunk, kind of Boo.

At least it's Tuesday!
And thank heavens for Stacy who is generous enough to host all of the tired ghosts and goblins over at her place. She'll take your left over candy too!

Click on over and pay her a visit!
It's time to get RaNDoM!

* We had 2 - TWO Trick or Treaters.
TWO!
TWO!
And they were friends who called and asked if they could come over.
Is our neighborhood dead?

* I used to give out full size candy bars, but because all of our trick or treaters have evidently grown up and gone to college, I bought a 5 pound bag of mini candy bars and planned to be generous to those who did come.

* The two who came were 2 1/2 and a 11 month old.
I let the 2 1/2 year old pick out 13 mini candy bars to "share" with her sister.

* While the adults in the household had a boring Halloween of watching Monday Night Football, answering emails and ironing sheets, the children had a ball!

* Garrett - who is serving a two year mission in Romania went to Dracula's castle....the real Dracula....if there was one. No really, he went to the castle in Transylvania that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula!

* Trammell called at 3 pm wondering what he could be for Halloween
1) You are 22.
2) It's 3 pm on Halloween Day
Really?
Plus he wanted ideas for couple's costumes.
Bride and Groom?
Cat and Mouse?
Devil and Angel?
He liked the Devil and Angel idea.

* He called back an hour later.
"Do know how trampy devil costumes are these days?"
He decided on this

Hey - they had a good time!

* Parker had previously gone to parties dressed like this -

He makes a pretty cute cowboy doesn't he!

* Anyway, he was sick of being a cowboy, I guess and he decided to go as a "longboarder."
Maybe because it is easier to get around the neighborhood on a longboard than on an invisible horse.

* He came home with this -

* He weighed it.

In 2 hours, he collected 10 pounds of candy.

It was a Happy Halloween for him!

Ours was boring.

I will be eating leftover mini candy bars until Christmas!

But I'm not complaining!

Gina

Stephanie, Beautiful Stephanie!

2011-10-31T14:58:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween and Welcome to My Blog!

And now that you have been welcomed, I'm going to send you away~
away to a wonderful photographer who tells the story in words and pictures better than I ever could.

This is the photographer's post about my widowed sister-in-law.
Stephanie's Story

Take some tissues.
And it's okay if you just want to put your head down on your desk and sob.
I did.

Friday Fragments

2011-10-28T16:16:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday!

Happy Fragmenting!
Get on over to Half Past Kissin' Time and thank Mrs. 4444 for hosting the weekly festivities!

*If your name is Earlene, and you send me an email message entitled "Hey Handsome......, and it goes to my Spam, I most likely won't opening it. Sorry Earlene!

*Airport Security - Thank you SO much for letting this slip by in Parker's carryon.

I don't know what I would have done if it had been confiscated.

*My 2 1/2 year old nephew called today.

I thought MY end of the conversation was clear. But somehow things went sideways.

"Hi Nana!"

"Oh hi baby! Guess what? Cars 2 is coming out on video in a few days. Not today. Not today. But pretty soon you will be able to watch Cars 2 at your house!"

He immediately dropped the phone and went in search of his mother, yelling:
"Nana said that I can have a Cars 2 party with a cake!"

* I've been wanting to make my friend Laura's Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting since I read about them. If I don't get to make them this weekend, I might throw a tantrum!!! Warning: It won't be pretty!

* Don't be jealous of my weekend plans.

I am going to the grocery store to replace all the expired dairy products and pick up some other necessary supplies including Halloween candy.

I think I'm the only person in America who hasn't bought a single bag of Halloween candy.

* I just spaced out and caught myself staring out the window at the fluttering fall leaves for 2 full minutes.

It's time to move on! Have a great weekend!

Truth is.........If it Wasn't MY Idea, it Was Negligent!

2011-10-27T06:54:00.000-06:00

My sister in law took my sweet, naughty, super smart 2 1/2 year old nephew to Hcsub Snedrag the other day.
Truth is.......I am spelling it backwards on purpose!

I knew it wasn't Disneyland but I thought it was along the lines as Six Flags.
Truth is........it looks like it's about 1/2 step up from a travelling carnival.

But it does sound like something my nephew would like.
Truth is.........he HATED it.

Me sister in law sent me this still shot.

Truth is......I was a little bit worried that he was on the ride alone. But hey, it's only like 2 feet off the ground. What could go wrong.

Then she sent me this video

Truth is...........the ride is goes 8 feet in the air! WHO let's their "baby" go on this ride.

I called me sister in law.

Truth is..........my nephew answered "Hi Nana!"

Who is running this house?
Truth is........I think we all know.

I didn't think he would know what I was talking about if I asked him how he liked Hcsub Snedrag. So I asked, "Did you have fun going to the park and going on the rides?"

Truth is.........he still didn't know what I was talking about.

"You know! The place where you sit on the seat and there is a seat belt and the seat goes up in the air?"

Truth is..........he answered, "No, no seat belt."

"What? There was NO SEAT BELT?"

"No."

"Your mom is negligent! Can you say negligent?"

"Yes!"

"Say negligent."

"No. I'm playing cars."

Truth is........there was a seat belt.

Still! Who let's their "baby" ride on that kind of death machine?

Truth is.............I probably would have let my 2 1/2 year old ride that ride too.

I LOVE "Truth is........Thursday!"

Go on over to Surviving Boys and join in the fun.

Truth is...........Juliana is awesome for sponsoring it!

REVENGE IS SWEET!

2011-10-25T10:30:00.001-06:00

Today I am blogging live from Trammell's Sex and Gender class. It doesn't get more exciting than this! If it's not exciting enough, you can go see Miss Stacy's and hang out.

* Trammell wanted to ditch his Psychological Writing class but I wouldn't let him! Cuz I'm the mom and I know what's best! At least it was best for him....not necessarily for me! He spent the entire period hacking my blog and composing yesterday's lovely guest post. He's grounded now.

* We're talking about maxi pads right now and Premenstrual symptoms.
You should be here!

* Aside from this current discussion, we have had so much fun visiting Trammell at our Alma mater.

* We went to the football game Saturday. There were 9 of us spread throughout the 47,000 seat stadium. By half time, we were all on the third row of the end zone. As proof that we are so much more mature than we were when we originally college students, everyone pooled their money together to convince Parker to jump the railing, run up to a cheerleader, plant a kiss and get back without being thrown out or arrested. He wouldn't do it for $86. Where is his sense of his adventure?

* We went to brunch with Trammell's girlfriend's family and spent two hours laughing at the kids' expense. I think we're going to have a lot of fun.

* We went to the bookstore, the cafeteria (where the food is MORE expensive and LESS appealing than it was 25 years ago) and attended class. Parker had meetings with counselors in the Neuroscience department and Admissions. We ate wings twice and lots of ice cream. And I bought two mint brownies, never opened the bag and threw them out two days later.

*Oh wait! The teacher just asked how we should talk to our children about impending puberty. THIS is my favorite topic to discuss with my children. I am SURE Trammell wants me to participate in this part of the class.

* Yep, I was right. I said that it's important to be open with children and start young in discussions on sex and development. Then I cited my awesome parenting skills of barging into Trammell's room when he was younger and asking, "Do you have any hair yet." Why is Trammell red? He is soooo glad he invited me to class. Revenge is sweet....especially pubic revenge (I meant to leave the "l" out).

* But all good things must come to an end. Brian and I leave this afternoon. Parker comes home tomorrow. Denver is awaiting us with threats of 16 degrees and snow tomorrow. I better enjoy the last few hours of blue skies, a beautiful campus with hundreds of 150 year old trees in all their autumnal glory, and the campus candy store.

Happy Tuesday!

WARNING: THIS BLOG HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN

2011-10-24T12:39:00.001-06:00

Dear Readers:
This blog has been shut down due to blatant Cyber Child Abuse. Cyber Child Abuse (CCA) is a common, modern form of child abuse in which parents abuse their own children through blogs, and other social media. CCA is disgusting to the Department of Information and the Bureau of Internet Content Regulation and Morality, and to society. Common forms of CCA towards children include: generating false stories, overexaggerating stories, or the telling of stories against a childs will. CCA is a form of familial treason. It has come to the attention of the BICRM that this blogger has been in violation of the terms of agreement of blogspot.com and of the Department of Information. The said blogger has abused her children in the utmost form of all possible violations. Upon further review it has been determined that this blog must be deleted in order to protect the privacy and rights of the bloggers children. By law, the said blogger must face either/or a six (6) month prison sentence, or pay a fine of up to $25,000 USD to the abused party, which, in the case of CCA is the bloggers children. According to BICRM code, all accused parties are guilty until proven innocent.
For more information, please visit the following link:
http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=13495
If you have been exploited by this blogger, please report to 303-250-8161
In order to protect the privacy of the bloggers children, we ask that readers: 1) remove incriminating or villainizing stories from their memory, 2) leave a kind, loving, caring comment about them in the bloggers comment box, and 3) disassociate themselves from the blogger.

Truth is..............I'm excited about so much!

2011-10-20T16:22:00.001-06:00

Truth is...........I LOVE Julianna over at Surviving Boys and I look forward to playing Truth is..... every Thursday. Don't be shy. Go pay her a visit!

Truth is...........I don't think I've made a single meal all week. And I had such good intentions. I had the ingredients for Chichen Caccitore, Pot Roast and Sweet and Spicy Pork Ribs just waiting to be thrown in the crock pot. Fail!

Truth is..........I went to my LAST Parent Teacher Conferences EVER yesterday and I cannot describe my joy. I almost did a jig in the school parking lot.

Truth is..........I am SOOOO excited to go to Provo tomorrow and see Trammell.

Truth is.........next week is Parker's fall break so we are going to Provo to see Trammell and so that Parker can hang out at BYU and meet with some admissions and advisement counselors.

Truth is.........who cares about Parker checking out the campus? He's been there a million times. The REAL truth is we are going to hang with Trammell AND meet Trammell's girlfriend's parents who happen to visiting at the same time. It IS Parent's Weekend. Are you good with word problems? Trammell's girlfriend's parents are the same people as Garrett's girlfirend's parents. Go figure! We're also going to a football game, seeing old friends and eating mint brownies. It's going to be an awesome weekend!

Wordy Wednesday - Longboard Extravaganza

2011-10-19T15:31:00.000-06:00

Some people participate in Wordless Wednesday.
Like 362 people.
*I* am never without words.

So I present Wordy Wednesday -

This weekend, Parker wanted to ~~kill himself~~ go to a longboard race.
Because we are ~~crazy,~~ good parents, we let him.
But we accompanied him so we could scrape him off the ground and sign the hospital intake forms.

Good news - He did not die!

Parker is the one in the back........coming around the "deadly" corner.

This is the corner where one kid may have broken his hip, and three others sustained major road rash.....not including the riders (with good aim) who just plain old flew off their boards and onto the grass. Obviously, it was the prime location from which to watch the race.

Ahhhh........one more turn and then the finish line. forget the race! Look at that view in the background!

There were multiple heats. I was hoping Parker would lose in the first one and not continue to advance. Unfortunately, my wishes did not come true. Fortunately, Parker did not kill himself. He didn't even crash. And he won new wheels! It was a successful Saturday!

My niece Xan is also ~~stupid~~ a longboarder. She is attending college in Idaho where they evidently don't have enough death defying activities. So, she organized her very own longboard race.

Look how many ~~fools~~ longboarders showed up! She had 40 participants and 50 spectators and she solicited $4,000 in prizes to give away.

She even set up barriers so that people wouldn't fly off the course and roll down a cliff.

Go Xan!

So all in all, the longboard festivities were very successful.

See why I needed to use my words?

Happy Birthday PK!

2011-10-18T06:33:00.000-06:00

It's everyone's favorite RaNDoM day!
Get on over to Stacy's and link up,
She's the Queen of RaNDoM!

* Guess who is having a RaNDoM birthday over here at Crazyville?

Yep - Tiny Baby/Sir Bubs/Stinky Pete/Bubsy/PK/Parker turns 17 today!

Happy 17th to Parker!

* I tried to get him to cuddle with me last night.
"Come on! I will NEVER be able to cuddle with a 16 year old again!"
He assured me that I would be able to cuddle with a 16 year old grandchild.
Really? I'll be ancient. No one wants to cuddle with their grandma!

* So if you are working, how do you get ANYTHING done?
Just wondering.

* Also, if you are wondering what the weather is like elsewhere in the world,
particularly in Brasov, Romania, it looks like this -

Good thing Garrett got his new winter coat! It's currently 3 pm there and a toasty 35.

* Today is the FIRST meeting for the High School Four Square Club.
According to Parker, "It's a big deal!"
He has the Foursquare balls and the masking tape to mask off the tennis courts after school.
Can't they just come home and do homework?

*Well, I must go search for the inflatable birthday cake. I looked high and low and couldn't find it!

Come on! There's only so many places to store a 4 foot cake!

Too Much Time on His Hands

2011-10-14T07:40:00.001-06:00

Phew! We made it to Friday!
It was questionable for a little while.

And Mrs. 4444 makes Friday even more fun by letting us all hang out at her place.
Get your fragments together and go on over and jump into the fray.

* You want to be in our family.
You know you do!
If you still aren't sure, well eavesdrop on these conversations -

* "How are your grades?"
"Good."
"Okay, what are your grades?"
"All A's except for an 89% in one."
"Well, don't be thinking you have straight A's because you are smart. It's because that school's stupid! It's a SCHOOL FOR ANTS!"

We know how to build self esteem here!

* Someone (at the school for ants) has too much time on his hands!
"What did you do at school today?"
"Start a club."
"You did not! What club?"
"Yeah I did. THE FIRST EVER FOURSQUARE CLUB! We got a sponsor. I made flyers. I'm making posters tomorrow. The first meeting is on my birthday and it's the first club involving a ball to be approved."
"Nuh uh."
"Yeah.........the Ping Pong Club didn't get approved. The Dodgeball Club didn't get approved."

He's serious guys. I would show you the flyers he took to school today, if I knew how to cut and paste them on to here.

* "So help me, I don't want to see another girl wearing legging on campus."
"Why not?"
"They are disgusting! Do girls think that wearing leggings hides everything? They are horrible. You can see every bulge. How would they like it if I wore leggings and they could see ALL MY JUNK? I'm half tempted to do it."

Please don't!

* Tiny Baby's College Prep Writing teacher spent half the class period lecturing the kids about how they aren't putting any effort into their essays and this last batch was the worst she has ever seen. More than half the class failed. After 20 minutes of berating (and no one listening), she passed back the essays.
Tiny Baby got a 98%.
His response: "I'm going to go ask her if I can take this class Independent Study or something because it's a waste of my time. And besides, I'd be doing her a favor. There are too many kids in the class."

Yeah - he needs more time to make posters for the Foursquare Club!

That's it. That's all I got.
I'm off to work!
Have a great Friday!

Truth is

2011-10-13T16:56:00.000-06:00

Truth is.......I've been wanting play along with the lovely Julianna over at Surviving Boys
ever since she started this little feature!

Truth is.......I can't make the button work without jacking up the rest of the post, so you'll have to click on the "Surviving Boys link to go visit her! It's worth it though!"

Truth is.......three weeks ago, I went into Brian's office to "help out" and now I can't get out!

Truth is.......I'm working there full time.

Truth is........today, the executive team approved of me working there.

Truth is.......how would they NOT approve of me working there. Who else are they going to get to work for FREE?

Truth is........I hate WalMart! I try to limit my ~~frustration~~ trips, but I feel a moral obligation to my checking account. Some of the prices are too low to just go to other stores and throw money away.

Truth is........I will NEVER go to Dollar Palace.

Truth is........I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday, I can hardly stand it.

What? No Posts?

2011-10-12T16:56:00.000-06:00

It's Wednesday already!
I didn't post any RaNDoM TueSDaY THouGHTS.......and not because I was short of random!
I didn't post opinions about Rev Robert Jeffress calling my religion a cult.....and not because I don't have an opinion.
And I didn't post anything about my weekend.......and not because I sat around!

Brian and I went to San Jose to see THE NEW BABY (and all these other people)

Yes! We got to hang out with Johnna Justin and her sweet brothers and beautiful mother, Stephanie, her awesome family, my parents, my brother Jared and his family and my brother, Jenner.

It was awesome!
I took 0 pictures.

But there was lots of picture taking and I will share when I get them.

All the girls (plus Brian) went and had a massage.

We shopped in Willow Glen and Los Gatos.

We went to church and my brother blessed the baby.

We made lots of food.

We enjoyed wonderful desserts brought over by my sister-in-law's friend. (Seriously, she has a friend who brought over a lemon cake, a Texas Sheet Cake and apple crisp all for Sunday night dessert)

We sat around and chatted.

We laughed.

We pretended the baby was a baby doll and dressed her and redressed her with dresses and headbands and mini Ugg boots and teeny tiny bracelets, and faux fur coats, and polka dot vests, and pink leggings. I am sure she loved it!

A good time was had by all!

Off My Show

2011-10-07T07:32:00.000-06:00

"Off My Show" - If my life was a television show or a broadway production (wait! it's not?) these are things that would not be allowed on stage or on camera. They are usually things that were only mildly annoying or maybe okay or maybe good or even great until, one day, I woke up and I was over it.

Someone who is NOT off my show: the wonderful Mrs. 4444 over at Half Past Kissin' Time!
She's the one who lets us all come over and frag on Fridays.

She's cool that way!
Things that are off my show -

* Cake Pops
They WERE totally cool, delicious and slightly mysterious. I loved them for a time. But it's time to move on. It's time for people to make something else. May I suggest we move on to mini-pies or tarts?

* Pepsi
I like Coke. It used to be that if I went somewhere that didn't carry Coke, I would order Pepsi.
Not anymore! I have standards!
If they don't have Coke, I'll take WATER (or I pick up my Coke before going there or I don't go there - yeah - I have issues.)
Don't say that I should be having water anyway. Don't say it!

* Bon Appetit magazine
One of my favorite activities was to pull up to the bar (in my kitchen) with a nice snack and an ice cold Coke and drool my way through this magazine. Seriously, reading about food is right up there with EATING it........almost better.

Anyway, Bon Appetit has outgrown me. I'm looking for REAL food: food with ingredients that are sold at my store, can be made in a reasonable amount of time and will actually taste good.

Who wants to make/eat
Matcha & Pistachio Halibut
Arctic Char Gravlax with White Grapefruit
Smoked Haddock Chowder
Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots
Roasted Cauliflower (yes) with Date Syrup (never mind)
or even Tangerine Souffle with Citrus Coulis?

If you do, go get the October 2011 issue.

* Bare midriffs
Oh you didn't know they were coming back in did you?
Yep.
Shirts are getting shorter.
And it's not totally back in yet but I'm here to tell you it's out!
It's off my show.
I don't want to see anyone's bare stomach

* Political statements on Facebook
I have "friends" who post 3-4 totally one-sided, unconfirmed, completely biased statistics and "facts" in their stati <- plural for status, every day.
I'm not sure why I care, but I'm defriending them.

* 85 degree weather.
It's October!
I want fall weather.

Have a great and wonderful weekend!

Cops VS Spiders

2011-10-06T06:52:00.000-06:00

Text conversation from yesterday -

"Hey - there's a cop in the neighborhood
and a silver dollar size spider crawled into the pantry."

"What are you more afraid of?"

"The spider. We have to get rid of all the food in the pantry now. I don't want to reach into the CheezIt box and end up dead."

Well.........there ya go!

A is for Academic

2011-10-05T06:49:00.000-06:00

Last week I ~~dragged, bribed, threatened, cajoled~~ made Parker go to his Academic Letter Ceremony.
There was much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.
And he DID have a point.

"Mom.........this is a complete waste of time. I've gone every other year. I can just pick up my letter and certificate in the Activities Office."

"No. We are going."

"Mom, this is the dumbest thing ever! It's a punishment to have to dress up and go back to school at night. If they really wanted to reward us for academic excellence, they would let us STAY HOME and make all the kids who didn't get good grades go back to the school."

He DOES have a point.
You go to all your classes ~~almost~~ every day.
You do all the homework, study for tests and get good grades.
And then you have to stop ~~long boarding~~ doing homework, put on nice clothes and GO BACK to the school?

We did compromise.
He didn't dress up.
And he brought home 6 cookies.

Just two more semesters of awesome grades and he can go to ANOTHER awards ceremony!

Receiving his certificate

Paying attention so parents can take pictures

Parker and Brittany (who he has been in class with since kindergarten) serving cookies and punch

Parker flashing the 2012 sign. I'm going to break those fingers before the end of the year!

High Fiving Glitter and Danger!

2011-10-04T14:31:00.000-06:00

Yep! It's Tuesday!

It's time for some RaNDoM!

And since my life is CoMPLeTeLY RaNDOM, I like Tuesday!

I also like Stacy who is the permanent substitute hostess!

Go see her, thank her for hostessing and link up!

You know you have RaNDoM!

* I don't know why I find this hilarious.
I just do.

* This weekend, I made this little arrangement on my dining room table.

Yeah - it's pretty festive.

How about those cool glitter bones.

Yeah - I glitterized an entire skeleton.

* Why are hotels SO expensive?

Or is it that I'm SO cheap?

Probably the latter.

I just don't think Hampton Inn should be $179 a night.

* Parker +

(it's a helmet cam)

= IMMINENT DEATH

Really!

Watch this video!

It's short I swear!

And It makes me laugh almost as much as the high five someone with a chair sign.

Have a great and RaNDoM TueSDaY!

Nuggets of Wisdom!

2011-10-03T09:12:00.000-06:00

The best part of the weekend?
No, it wasn't the food.
It was the four hours of listening to inspired church leaders on Saturday and Sunday!

Wow!
There were so many nuggets of truth.
Going back through my notes, almost every speaker inspired me some way.
I can't wait until the talks are published in The Ensign next month!

But I might not be able to wait.
And you can check out some of the talks here.

Here are a few of the gems I picked up -

"Scriptures are tools to help us be successful in life.
They are stalwart friends not limited by geography or calendar.
Scriptures can calm an agitated soul."

Richard G Scott

"Seek for wisdom instead of power"

Barbara Thompson

"Service is doing the right thing at the right time; without delay.

Love all but never forget the one."

Jose Alonso

" We are nothing, but to God, we are everything."

Dieter Uchtdorf

"Let us be as quick to kneel as we are to text.

We must dedicate our time to the things that matter most."

Ian Ardern

"In the information age - the message of the Gospel is a pearl of great price."

L. Tom Perry

And those were just a few thoughts from Saturday!

Each talk was inspirational.

There is no way that I can pick a favorite.

Here's to the Weekend!

2011-09-30T08:07:00.000-06:00

Let's kick off the weekend!
One of the best parts of the weekend is hangin' out with Mrs. 4444 at Half Past Kissn' Time.
She lets us de-frag!

Go on over and say "hi" and link up! Everybody's doing it!

* I didn't even get to blog yesterday. I went to my husband's office and worked a FULL day!
I got paid the same amount as if I had stayed home.
I got paid the equivalent of what I contributed.

* I sure am bossy!

* Tuesday, Brian went by Panera and picked up some chicken noodle soup for a sick employee. He brought home some sourdough bread for himself and then slid a cookie out of the bag that he bought for me.

and said.............."Let the hoarding begin."

What is he talking about?

It's Friday, and this is on the counter -

Yeah..........I'm hoarding it.

No.......I won't finish it.

No.........I won't share.

Yeah.......I will probably throw it out tomorrow,

* Brian is going to Utah today to spend the weekend with Trammell. No fair!!!!
Oh look! Here's a blurry picture of Trammell and his friend Jen watching the sunrise on Mt Timpanogos
pirated from Facebook.

* My new favorite cleaning tool -

I was so excited to try it out on some lime deposits, I cleaned six toilets.

That's a LOT excitement!

You can get them at Home Depot or WalMart.

* I've listened to Rihanna's song "Cheers (Drink to That)" five times in a row.

It's the line "Cheers to the freakin weekend" that I sing along with.

Since I don't drink whiskey, I changed "Let the Jameson sink in" to "Let the Limeade sink in"

Shirley Temple is too many syllables! ;)

"Life's too short to be sitting round miserable.

People gonna talk whether you doing bad or good."

Thanks Rihanna!

* However, I DO NOT approve of Rihanna's recent escapades while filming her new music video.

She asked a farmer if she could film her video on his farm in Ireland.

But when things got a little wild and she took off her top and bra and romped through the fields topless, the farmer kicked her and her entire crew off the farm.

Right on!

* Trammell called for the Family Chex Mix recipe.

It was easier just to make it than to explain that I don't measure ANYTHING.

I told him I would make it and send it with Brian.

I hope Brian's suitcase doesn't smell like garlic and Worchestershire sauce!

Cheers! Have a great weekend!

Church on TV

2011-09-28T08:14:00.000-06:00

Twice a year, we don't go to church.
Church comes to us!
Via our TV!

It's called General Conference and it's one of the highlights of my year.
On the first weekend in April and the first weekend of October, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints holds its Semi-Annual Generl Conferences and broadcasts it worldwide from Salt Lake City in 93 languages.

I'm Mormon.
And there are roughly 14.1 million of us who will tune in this Saturday and Sunday.

I love conference because we get to lounge around in our pajamas and eat shrimp, mini sausages, 7 layer dip, veggies and dip and Chex mix.
It's better than the Super Bowl!
But it's not all about the food.
The best part of watching conference is the inspirational messages from all of the speakers.
They are truly inspired!

They are awesome!
Even thought I take notes, I still miss a lot of golden nuggets.
Luckily, all the talks are published after Conference and we can read and re-read them.
But it's a weekend not to be missed!

Dazed and Confused!

2011-09-27T14:53:00.000-06:00

Seriously! What time is it???

I almost missed the whole RaNDoM THouGHT TueSDaY because I was working for free.
But it's never really too late to hook up with Stacy

And jump on the RaNDoM train!
* Yeah, I went into Brian's office today to "help" with a file.
Can't go into a ton of detail because of HIPAA regulations.
But it was the big 1,200 page+ file.
Each document has to be sorted in to specific categories and then re-sorted in to subcategories and copied.
Easy! Right?
It would be except that it is the first file *I* have ever been asked to deal with since I was trained on how to do it in JUNE!

For some reason, my super large brain doesn't remember jack from June.

And seriously, why couldn't they have given me a 50 page file for my first file?
* Parker has been begging for "comfort food."
I love comfort food except that it's been 85 degrees everyday for the last week.
The only thing that would bring me comfort is a popsicle!
Anyway, being the super nice mom that I am,
last night, I made this -

Yummy Stovetop Chili Mac

We followed Martha's recipe except we added a can of kidney beans (for EXTRA protein) and we added our family's secret ingredient - Lowrey's Season Salt. It goes on EVERYTHING except for maybe ice cream or cupcakes.

* I'm sick of the news!
I used to be in the news business.
We were told to just report the facts.
Now, the newscasters go ahead and speculate and give us their opinion.
I don't want their opinion.
I just want the facts.
And even when they are dealing with facts.........they just give you the ones that will skew your thoughts toward THEIR opionion.
Just the facts!
* All week, I have been confused about what the date is.
All day yesterday, I thought today would be the 30th.
But then, I was pretty sure that October 1st was sometime this weekend.
I just couldn't work it out in my mind.
Yeah, I could have looked at a calendar, or the bottom of my computer screen.
Whatever.
What IS the date?
* Congratulations to Parker for getting his third academic letter for his performance in school last year!
Woo hoo!
Well, that's it.
Someone is at the door!
Have a great what's left of Tuesday!
It's Tuesday right?

How Old Are You When You Learn to Share?

2011-09-26T12:41:00.000-06:00

I will let you be a fly on the wall.
A fly on the wall of our kitchen where TWO people had THIS conversation last night.
About THIS

Person A: What are you doing with MY ice cream?
Person B: I'm going to eat some.
Person A: You can't. It's MINE!
Person B: Seriously? It's been in here for two weeks and you haven't touched it.
Person A: Yes I did. I had some.
Person B: Yeah, two weeks ago. You aren't going to eat the anymore so I'm going to have some.
Person A: No! I'm going to eat it.
Person B: When?
Person A: Sometime.
Person B: Now?
Person A: No. Sometime. Put it back.
Person B: This is ridiculous. You aren't going to eat it. It's just going to sit in there.
Person A: So. It's mine. Eat the other ice cream. There are two other kinds in there. Eat those. That one is mine.
Person B: Wow!
Person A: PUT IT BACK! You can't have it.

You will NEVER guess who is the parent and who is the child!

Forget-Me-Not

2011-09-25T09:49:00.000-06:00

Last night, I dragged myself to the annual Women's Broadcast.
I hated to stop what I was doing, get into a skirt and leave the comfort of home and family.
But of course, once I got there, I was richly rewarded.

Isn't life always that way?
You have to sacrifice something!

My favorite talk of the night was by President Dieter Uchtdorf, counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

President Uchtdorf gave us five things to "Forget not"

1) Forget not to be patient with yourself!
God is fully aware that we are not perfect. He also fully aware that the people who we think are perfect, are not.
We compare our weaknesses to other people's strengths when we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to others at all.
Be thankful for the small successes.

2) Forget not the differerence between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.
Staying up into the wee hours comforting a small child who had a nightmare is a good sacrifice.
Staying up all night stitching hot pads for each sister in our Relief Society lesson is a foolish sacrifice.

I couldn't help myself -

I'm teaching Relief Society today, on an entirely different topic, but.......

3) Forget not to be happy now. President Uchtdorf pointed out that like in the story of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factor", many people are looking for the Golden Ticket. We are so intent on searching for the "one" thing that will supposedly make us happy that we forget the everyday joys.

"There is nothing wrong with righteous yearnings, but we cannot put our life on hold and miss the blessings we do have. Don't close your eyes or hearts to the beauties of everyday life."

4) Forget not the "why" of the Gospel.

We sometimes see the Gospel as a long list of "To-do's" We focus on the what the Lord wants us to do and how it needs to be done, but we for get the "why."

See out the joy of the why.

5) Forget not that the Lord loves you.

This talk was an excellent reminder of so many things!
I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Excuses, Glitter and Candy!

2011-09-23T11:03:00.000-06:00

Thank heavens it's Friday!
Thanks heavens for Mrs. 4444!

She reallly is the BEST hostess! Get on over and visit her!

It's been a fragmented week!

* We FINALLY got around to getting Parker's senior pictures.

With the first one, we took advantage of early bird specials and had the pictures taken in early June.

With the second one, he was one of the photographer's "models" and had preliminary pics taken in February to convince his classmates to go to that photographer.

With the third and final one........we forgot to care.
Hey........the DEADLINE to turn them in isn't until NEXT Friday!

* Parker needed to take a note to school explaining why he, as one of the student body officers didn't attend the Homecoming Dance -

What I wrote:
"Parker did not attend the Homecoming Dance because it is not a wholesome activity."

What I should have written:
"Parker did not attend the Homecoming Dance because in his words, "If you aren't going to 'grind,' why go?"
Why would he choose to go somewhere with trashy music, half dressed girls and teens simulating sex on the dance floor?"

*Getting ready for Halloween.

EVERYTHING is better with glitter!

I'm finishing up this little glitterizing bones project today.

* The back seat of Parker's car -

Yes, that's 12 pounds of candy back there.
WHY?

* Because we don't have enough candy IN our house?

The CORNacopia of candy from last weekend's aMAIZEing CORN party.

And the year round CANDY cupboard.

Don't judge! You all know YOU have a candy cupboard....okay, maybe a candy drawer.

Anybody want some candy?

Have a great weekend.

What's REALLY Important

2011-09-22T09:57:00.000-06:00

Everyone is up in arms about the NEW Facebook.
Of course, I saw all the status updates: "I hate the new Facebook" or "This is confusing."
I had to laugh when several national news stations covered the angry response to the new Facebook.
And the fact that it made the front page of the newspaper this morning made me laugh.

Then........I saw this........

Sometimes it's hard to remember what is REALLY important!