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Showing posts from July, 2008

Random Ramblings

To a long day: Goodbye long day I'm not sad to say That I'm glad to see you go away It's been nice and it's been fun But now I'll just have to run You've worn me out you've worn me through And now it's time to be done with you I've packed that box I've packed that bag I'm starting to feel like an old old hag Next time you come be sure to remember Unwelcome guests foul up my temper Goodbye long day I'm happy to say It's nice to see you go away I think my theme for August will be poetry. Anyone want to join in?

Life Lesson

On Sunday our teacher read to us from a James E. Talmage book and what I got out of it was this simple comparison; Belief is to Faith as Knowledge is to Wisdom. I like it. Belief is the easy part, just as knowledge is, it’s when you act upon your belief or knowledge that you truly gain. Only through our actions are we able to learn wisdom, only when we act upon our beliefs are we able to gain faith. I may say, “I believe in God” as I sit at my kitchen table and type. But what does that gain me? What do I receive from that statement? It is only when we take the steps that we receive a confirmation of that belief that whereby we are able to gain faith. Let’s take the story of Esther as an example. She had a strong belief in God, but her faith came through her action. Often times our faith is strengthened through the difficult trials of life. Esther literally risked her life for that faith showed that she was more than just a believer. It is the same with knowledge, we may know from

Quirkinesses :)

O.k. I’ve been tagged and I have to tell 6 Quirky things about me. Since I've been called 'weird' all my life this one shouldn't be to hard for me. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure how the tagging thing goes but I guess at the end I have to list some people who get tagged and then you are supposed to blog the same topic. Get it? Got it? Good. 1. I make up my own phrases like 'That's as easy as burning toast.' It works for me and it makes people chuckle so I'm okay with it. 2. I am completely in love with Reese's Pieces and can down a big bag of them by myself if I'm not careful. 3. I can pop nearly every joint in my body. Let me list... my neck, my ears (that's not a joint, but I can), my wrists, my fingers, my knees, my upper back, my lower back, my hips, my toes, my ankles, and my left shoulder oh and there's this little thing I can do with the innards of my neck that makes it pop. 4. I only like my cheeseburgers plain. That

Packing Updates.

I am sitting on a fold out chair with my bum barely in it (actually I think my tailbone is the only thing holding me here), I have a big box marked 'BOX 25 BAKING PANS' that my feet are propped up on and the laptop is sitting neatly in my.... well.... lap. I am facing an open window and I'm not very comfortable. So why am I here? Because it's the only place I can get a connection to the internet (yes I'm hijacking) our kitchen table has been moved into the living room so we could eat a nice dinner with guests and since we're gonna have to move it again in a few days I guess we figured it's not worth putting back where it belongs. I have dust all over my skirt and feet. I've got my hair pulled off my face (prettily though so don't worry) and I've been sweating madly. Today is our first 'get it done' packing day. We are on box 33 and have already begun the arguing about what's really important. He doesn't think the 50 odd elep

Memories of Cannwin

This is bordering on chain blogging (that's kinda like those chain emails you get that you really want to shoot the person who sent them to you) but it sounded fun. An entire blog devoted to the wonderful things I've done in your lives :) who can complain. Besides which, it takes up a Saturday blog. So, do I have any news? Well, maybe a little. Robert had his last day of work yesterday so we will really be dissecting the house this next week. Laptops are so nice aren't they. It means we can pack the home PC and not worry about missing out on anything cause we have this little thing to keep us company. Anyway, enjoy all your memories of me: 1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! 2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I&#

Lawsuit in Utah

This is hilarious, so of course I had to share: The suit claims that Hudgens’ team leader, Joshua Christopherson, asked for volunteers in May for “a new motivational exercise,” which he did not describe. Hudgens, who was 26 at the time, volunteered in order to “prove his loyalty and determination,” the suit claims. Christopherson led the sales team to the top of a hill near the office and told Hudgens to lie down with his head downhill, the suit claims. Christopherson then told the rest of the team to hold Hudgens by the arms and legs. “At the conclusion of his abusive demonstration, Christopherson told the team that he wanted them to work as hard on making sales as Chad had worked to breathe while he was being waterboarded,” the suit alleges If you didn't know, waterboarding is when you pour large quantities of water into someone's mouth and nose to simulate drowning (or something like that) it's considered a form of torture.

The Vacation From Hell

Have you ever had one of those vacations, the ones where you need another week to recuperate? Where you wish you'd never gotten in the car or packed the suitcase? I once took the 'short cut' my brother in law had recommended (remember what I said about short cuts?), it wasn't as short as he thought, in fact it pretty much ended at this big lake called Powell. The problem was I wanted to be at the opposite end of the lake, so I had to back track at least 4 hours, with 2 kids in the car. The lady in front of me on my latest overseas flight had two small children with her. The older one kept bouncing across the seats and the baby screamed for nearly the entire flight. The flight attendant was horrible to her and kept telling her to keep the kids under control and quiet. By the end of the flight I could see the tell-tale signs of a mother on the edge. My heart went out to her even as I swore I'd never fly overseas with my own. But if you think that's bad keep readin

Photography

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When I was in 8th grade we studied the Great Depression and in our History book they had this picture. I remember that day, it's an odd thing to remember, but there you go. I, however, know that the reason I remember it was because it was my first time ever being really taken by a photograph. The moment when I realized how amazing a picture was. As if that day (Black Tuesday) of fear and excitement and trepidation and everything else was captured forever in a single image. All those lives of all those people that would be forever altered by that newspaper they are reading frozen in time. The other thing that really impressed me about this picture was the guy right next to the one holding the paper. He's not looking at the paper, he's looking at the camera. I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but I absolutely fell in love with him when I saw this photo. I've often wondered who he was, what happened to him, whether he survived. I will admit that I photocopied this

Tuesday Tell All Toipic: Pioneer Spirit

A pioneer is defined as "one who is the first to do something," or "one who opens up the way for others." Using this definition, tell us about pioneers in your family. When I was a teenager my father used to do work for an organization called VOCA that would send him all over the world, Mongolia, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, as a canning consultant. Then a wonderful and exciting thing happened. Our church closed a large quantity of it's canneries and my dad was able to buy the equipment for an excellent price. This gave him the opportunity to start his own non-profit organization called Worldwide Canneries . It is the culmination of a lifetime's worth of knowledge and a desire to do good in the world. He still works with VOCA and some other large groups, but Worldwide Canneries is his own. So what does my father do? He goes to poor countries and communities and teaches them how to can food. What they do with this food depends largely on them, in Africa he ta

You Don't Love Me!

Have you ever heard these words from your child? "You don't love me!" "You hate me!" "You want me to cry because you don't care!" Sound familiar? Have you ever just wanted to scream, "That's right, I hate you, that's why I've got these damn stretch marks all over my belly. I hated you so much I just had to carry you around in my belly for 9 months, gaining pound after pound after pound." I have a friend whose first pregnancy was twins, in her last month or so she had to go down and get steroid shots in her rear end, because the babies lungs weren't developed enough. With my last child I went for nearly six weeks with him 'dropped.' He was literally laying on my pelvic bone (from the inside) for a month and a half. I have another friend who was bed ridden nearly the entirety of her pregnancy because her body wanted to kick the baby out. Do kids have any concept of what it is that we do for them, why we

To Wallk through the Valley of Death

Have you ever really thought about what it means to give life? The actual act of bringing a child into the world? Far beyond the pain and exhaustion and relief there is something very amazing going on. I am reminded of a quote that my mother always uses: "Mother, who willingly made that personal journey into the valley of the shadow of death to give us birth, deserves our undying gratitude." Thomas S. Monson It is true that delivering a child is one of the most arduous tasks human kind is called upon to do. Until very recently, indeed in some countries still, this has demanded great numbers of lives both of mother's and infants. It is without question that a woman is closest to death when she is giving life. It is commonly believed that there is but one time in our existence on this Earth that we are close to the spirit world and that is death. Bu

Certain Inalienable Rights

For in a republic, who is "the Country"? Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant — merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. Who, then, is "the country?" Is it the newspaper? Is it the pulpit? Is it the school-superintendent? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it; they have not command, they have only their little share in the command. They are but one in the thousand; it is in the thousand that command is lodged; they must determine what is right and what is wrong; they must decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country; in a republic it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn a

Confession

It's time to come out of the closet, to make a confession. Everyone better sit down... I'm a Democrat. I'm a conservative but a democratic one. I'm anti-abortion, pro-marriage amendment. Anti-capital punishment, pro-gun control. I was anti-going into Iraq, but now I'm pro-finishing what we've started. I'm pro-taxes on the top 1%, pro-government health insurance. I'm anti-ANWR drilling, pro-alternative fuels. And my family doesn't have a clue. My sister will be shocked, my dad might keel over, my friends might stop speaking to me but it's time I stop hiding it from everyone. I like Obama. I like the environment and I don't mind trying to protect it. I like embracing culture and diversity. I like peace. I like the idea of a government who lifts it's people so that the people can lift their government. I believe that the job of the government is to sustain and protect it's people. So today I have decided it's time to show my true blu

Dinar… not Dinner, D-I-N-A-R

When Robert was in Iraq we put a little money into what could be termed as a ‘high risk investment,’ we bought some Iraqi money or Dinar. $750 worth or 1 million Dinar (yes, it’s true I’m a millionaire) the reason this is high risk is because the country is so unstable that the finances could utterly collapse, they could change currency or something like an all out civil war could occur (that’s why we only have $750 worth, it was to risky to buy anymore). Anyway, we haven’t thought about the money in more than passing for several years, on occasion I’ll have to get into my jewelry box and will grumble at the large wad of useless paper stuffed inside, but we usually don’t eve think about it. Until we saw this headline in our newspaper: IN IRAQ, CASH IS A WEAPON Iraq officials dish out dinars on the streets as part of major internal investment program. To say that we groaned would be an under statement. It goes against everything I ever learned about economics (which is really not

Lois Lane has Dogs

Five of them actually, or at least there were five dogs with her yesterday when I talked to her. Yes, that's right, I talked to Lois Lane, (well the actress Margot Kidder who played Lois Lane) up at Pine Creek. Do you guys remember Pine Creek? It's that place up in the mountains that we like to go picnic at. So.... anyway, yesterday we headed up and someone was in our usual spot, we grumbled a little but moved back down the road to a smaller spot. Not more than ten minutes went by when the adjoining picnic area was taken by some other people with several large dogs. We noticed this because the kids have an abnormal fear of the canine species, but the lady assured me that the dogs were nice and 'only growled when they wanted to be chased.' I thanked her, chatted a little more about dogs and kids and then went on back to my own relaxation. Well, it was not soon after that when we realized the people who had taken our usual spot went to church with us, so we went d

Apply Within

I need a job. Robert will be starting Law School in less than a month and it states in his contract that he can't work more than 20 hours a week (and in his Freshman year he's not supposed to work at all). So it falls to me to bring in some money. I haven't had a job in six years. Secretly I'd love to be able to support the family with my writing, I'm not so convinced that's a feasible plan yet, so it's back to the grindstone. I'm really nervous. It's not like I haven't been doing the toughest job in the world. No one yells at me for screwing up in my current work. The worst that happens is they refuse to eat their dinner or maybe once in a while try to hit me. They can't fire me though, they can't call me at home and yell at me for making a mistake (I've had that happen before). Kids aren't as intimidating as a boss, at least not anymore. I suppose if you really look at it, I have the same responsibilities, now, without the pay.

Packing Woes

Trying to pack with kids in the house is like trying to shoot a target with your foot in the way. "What are my books doing in that box?" "I'm packing them." "WHAT! NOOOOOOOOO. Please, Mommy, please I love those books, don't take them away." "I'm not taking them away, I'm putting them in a box until we get to South Dakota." "But I love them." For the love! This entire process is becoming painful, I think I'd rather shoot a target with my foot in the way. And then, to top that all off the 'What's in that box?' has spread to my husband. This was a common problem the last time we packed. Each box filled was followed by the other person checking the garbage or 'give away' boxes. He thinks I don't need things I really do, and that he needs things he really doesn't. ;) Like those books we bought at the Library book sale that no one has so much as opened since we got them, over a year ago. "

Tuesday Tell All Topic: American

25 Images that come to mind when I think of America: 1. Fireworks on the 4th (bombs bursting in air). 2. Turkey, cranberry sauce and hot pies at Thanksgiving. 3. Rocky Mountains climbing ever upwards. 4. Windows thrown open to catch a breeze. 5. Planes crashing into the Twin Towers. 6. Basketball games. 7. Bull riding and rodeo's. 8. Cowboy hats and Wranglers. 9. Native American Pow-Wow's (worth going to BTW). 10. Arizona! scorching hot cement and great shopping. 11. Church on Sunday's. 12. Segregation 13. Integration 14. Abraham Lincoln 15. 4th grade State History 16. Lee Greenwood "Proud to be an American" 17. Country music 18. Barbecues on Memorial Day and Labor Day 19. Road trips 20. Those nasty cars that for sure didn't pass inspection and insist on depositing their smog into your car. 21. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. 22. National Treasure (the first one) 23. High School Graduation and that first day of Summer. 24. The American Flag 25. Fre

South Dakota Part 3: Signs Along the Way

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The Adventures of Cannwin. Welcome and enjoy the ride. Although I didn't get to stop at Little Big Horn (note the light) I just had to get a picture. While we were out of the car photographing, probably 5 minutes max, about 20 mosquito's got into the car and sent my daughter into a fit. She was beside herself with fear over the 'bloodsucking' bugs. It was really overkill and we might have lied a bit when we said they went to sleep at night and only came out at dusk. The rest of the trip she kept asking, "Is it dusk yet?" Now someone tell me what's wrong with this picture... I want you to figure it out. I think I'll give you all 24 hours. It took me a bit to catch it myself, but when I did, oh, the laughter. We drove 1800 miles in 4 days, with three kids under 7 years old. 'nuf said. It says 'WALL DRUG 150 MILES'. Now who puts a billboard up 150 miles from their store? I'll tell you who, these guys: We counted these, in one direct

Choir Girl

I'm pretty sure that when I introduced myself I didn't mention how old my kids were. Well, my oldest (a daughter) is seven turning eight this year and is about the most precocious creature I've ever met. A great example of this is her hearty participation in the choir at church. Several months ago the choir leader announced that anyone was welcome to come no matter how old they were. My darling little girl looked up into my eyes with hope. "Mom! Does that mean me ?" So she started going. Now every Sunday after church a friend of ours (whose also in the choir) will watch out for her and bring her home. Yesterday they sang and I nearly burst with pride and love. There are around 10-15 people in our little choir (I didn't count, I'm estimating here) and she is the youngest member by about 20 years. I would have paid money for a picture of that, but I'm left with a mere memory that I'd love for you to imagine to yourselves. It wa

South Dakota Part 2: Gas Prices

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How much does your gas cost? I'm paying $4.09 a gallon. My mom told me a rumor she heard recently, that when the diesel prices (in the US) hit $5.00 a gallon the truck driver's (that would be the lorries for all you Europeans) are going to strike. Nice, I guess that's one more reason to have a year supply of food. But, really, in the US we don't have much to complain about, compared to some other countries . Then I went to South Dakota and I noticed something very odd about their gas prices, lets see if you can catch it. Did you see it? Well, I'll tell you just in case. The Super Unleaded is cheaper than the Regular! Now I want to know what the heck's that about. How come my state doesn't have that going on? It wasn't just at this gas station either, it was everyone we went to. Our little car's never had it so good. In all honesty, though, I don't watch gas prices. It's just not worth it, I have to buy the stuff anyway, why fret about it? I r

Hello Again or South Dakota Part 1

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Whew, I'm back and I can now tell you all about South Dakota. I have so much to talk about that I was going over in my head how I was going to blog it all. Well, I've decided that you lucky folks will be getting more than one blog about South Dakota, and try to stick to one topic at a time. Key word: TRY. First off, South Dakota is a lot busier than I expected. Hello, what a tourist spot, and can I recommend not going to Mt. Rushmore on July 3rd. It was insane, we're talking no parking... zippo, nothing, null, nada... 2 miles of hiking parking. So we just drove past and I was sad, but we went back through on our way home, so then I was happy. We saw license plates from 38 states, and 3 Canadian Provinces (yes, we were keeping track). So, when I say the place was popular, I'm not joking. Anyway, I'm going to break my own rules and give you some pictures of my kids. I just died when I realized I'd caught this, so I have to show you. Day 1 of our trip: A

Happy 4th of July!

Our hotel has a computer, but it's supposed to be for 'business use only.' This is business isn't it? Wow this place is flat! Coming from a home grown Rocky Mountain girl I'm not so sure I can handle this, I suppose I'll have to. I've been taking pictures like mad for all of you. Hope everyone has a spectacular fireworks show to go to. See you all on Monday!

A Soldier’s Wife

Being the wife of a soldier is no easy task. I have endured things I never imagined would be asked of me. First and foremost, sending my husband to war. This was extremely difficult, and I would not wish it on my worst enemy, but it is not where the greatest of our sacrifices have come. No, my gift to this country is not in watching for days on end as the news recounted stories of wounded soldier's, each time wondering if it were my own. It was difficult beyond measure, to be sure, when my husband was sent into Fallujah . These things have not gone unmarked in my heart. It is, however, easier to endure the obvious, because it is just that, an enemy before you to attack full on without regret. But when Ralexwin missed his daughter's first steps or his son's, I cried. When I was alone to battle a son who would not talk, my heart nearly burst from pain. My trials came from nights when I would wake from nightmares and have n

Tuesday Tell All Topic: Touch (ha! say that ten times fast)

This is my first TTA entry. See previous post to learn more, and if you want to join the group it's over in my list of blogs (which you should all go check out... especially Baldy's Blog) Anyway here we go. One of my favorite authors is Brandon Sanderson, he's great and the worlds he creates are amazing. In his book Elantris, he describes a world where the magic has broken and those who once wielded it are now doomed to an eternity of pain. They don't heal from their wounds, they don't die. The first sensations of a stubbed toe, or a sliced finger stays with them forever. Building upon each other until at last the person's mind cracks. The other day I stubbed my toe pretty bad, I though at first that it might be broken (I'm a little more confident today that it's not... but we'll see) and the pain was enough to make me nauseous. It made me remember that book.. What would it be like to feel that immediate pain forever? The power that comes with feelin