Sneaky Joe Buck...

I have decided to sneak onto Kati's turf and let you all know how freaking amazing my wife is. She is incredible, and in a very credible way.

Can you say "Footloose" without laughing?

If you can, don't watch the following.

A study in period photography

I was messing around on photoshop today - and voila! Suddenly I have a replica 50's photo. I think I have a photo of my dad that looks very similar from when he was a young pup. I have so much fun on Photoshop. One day I might take the plunge and go to a photoshop convention. Until I look at the registration price . . . then again, maybe not.

Things my kids will remember . . .

People who have known me since before I was married are pretty blown away by the way my life has turned out. I'm not complaining. I love my life. It's just one of those things. The main reason they laugh out loud is this . . . For the rest of my life - I am thrown back to high school. Not just any high school I might add. Yup, good old AFHS. I'm pretty proud of the fact that I am now over all of the dumb adolescent inadequacies from which I suffered so painfully. It even took a few years of going to these games to FINALLY GET OVER MYSELF. I think I am finally cured. I can sit at a game and not even hate the cheerleaders. :) (Cheerleader moms on the other hand . . .) ANYWAY - my sons are going to grow up in the midst of all of this. If they like it or not, they are going to be subjected to the football season. So far so good. Ian likes to help Joe Buck paint the field - he even gets to ride on the bus with all of the players sometimes. They have taken him on as a mascot of sorts. (You know how teams nowadays have their little downs syndrome kid - that is my son. Except, well, he doesn't have downs syndrome. Of course. Wait.)

Anyway - after this exceptionally long post I will spare you by only posting a few pictures.
HAPPY FOOTBALL SEASON

Happy Birthday Jonas!

Some kids get basketballs. Some kids get trucks. Not you, my son. YOU get glasses for your first birthday. I am so sorry. But, we all think you look SO stinkin' cute! We love you,Baby Jonas!

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NASCAR 6.0, NFL 5.1 and Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,

Desperate.



DEAR DESPERATE,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.HTML and try to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1.

Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Farting and Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck!

Tech Support

The Best thing I Got All Summer

I am a dork. Because I love my library card. I had a hard time getting my can into the library to get a card because if I read a good book I want to OWN it - I don't want to take it back to the library. Lame. Well, I asked myself, what about all of those LAME books you've read? Good point. So, library card it is.

The OTHER thing that makes this so great is
THIS is awesome because I usually have NO IDEA what I should read. When I was younger my Dad had a FABULOUS library of classics. So when I discovered I loved reading - this is what I read. I love the classics - but, I always wondered, what else is out there? I branched out a bit - only to discover books don't necessarily have ratings. And for my young innocent adolescent mind - lets just say I was a little violated. But with Goodreads I can see what my friends are reading and how they liked them. If a book looks interesting I hop over to my library's website - request a copy - and they have it waiting for me to pick up at the front desk.

Don't you love technology?

My goal this year has been one book a month. I know, this is not necessarily a lofty goal. One wouldn't even call me an avid reader. But, reader nonetheless. So far I have missed one month.

Tell me what books you love - I'll add them to my long list of books I want to read!

Breakdown anyone?

Okay, so I've been having a few more of these than usual lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty easy going chica. Yet sadly, stress gets the better of me. Such was today. I ordered some books from Amazon this week and they were shipped on the 23. This is me checking my shipped status like 5 times a day. Phoenix to Ohio (don't ask me why) to Salt Lake City to American Fork (yeay) to yet another American Fork (waiting!) I even get the delivery in progress. Then suddenly out of NOWHERE my tracking page suddenly shows OHIO again. This is very upsetting because I am leaving for the week and I really REALLY REALLY wanted these books before I left. So, I'm bummed.

Then THIS happens . . . . I looked EVERYWHERE for a Banana Republic gift card my sister-in-law gave me for watching her kids. (I told her she REALLY didn't have to do that because it was SO easy and I know she would do the same for me - but she KNOWS how badly I need new clothing and was SO kind in giving me this $100 gift card) Well, couldn't find it. Searched all day. Nope. Maybe Joe Buck put it somewhere. Called him at school. Nope. At this point I am hyperventalating. Why can't ANYTHING in my life just WORK?? My life SUCKS! (I am actually okay now, I realize that I over reacted just a smidgeon . . . well, maybe more than that. A lot more.) I just didn't want to function. So I went on a drive to Sonic and purchased my favorite tasty beverage. Diet Coke with Vanilla. What size you ask? Better make it the 44 ouncer. (besides, I have an eternal coupon for Route 44 - 99 cents. Quick fix o-rama) Joe Buck comes home in one of his I-can't-focus-on-anything-until-I-find-what-is-lost moods. This is no fun for me because I am totally feeling good from my Diet Coke happiness and I just want my happy husband to say - It's okay, we'll find it later. But, no. He says like 4 words the entire 2 1/2 hours that he was home. I nearly forgot where he was and what he was doing - when suddenly he emerged from the bathroom holding this . . .



WHERE did he find it, you might ask?? Well, our 3 year old son has developed a fetish with our shredder. Joe dumped the entire contents of the shredder (which was full) into a bathtub of water. Of course. And sure enough. The plastic surfaces in a sea of pulp. Magnetic stripping? Gone. Of course. But, the card number was still intact - with a little bending and guessing. And Ta-da! After checking the number on the website to see if it really was okay - we found the card to have not $100 - but $200. I love my husband.

P.S. My books magically appeared in the mail today. Stupid tracking program anyway!

Super Fun Blog . . .

This is one I found, forgot about, thought "remember that one blog?", forgot about, then found randomly again. This lady lives a life that I dream about. Well, one of the lives I dream about! To live on a ranch, hours from anywhere - ride my horses, watch my hubbie and kids play with the cows - tend to my thriving garden - see miles and miles of grass. She makes it sound like the LIFE! Check her out!

www.thepioneerwoman.com

Christmas Card Preview!!

I have procrastinated making Christmas Cards for so long. I wanted to start in July! Well, I finally bit the bullet this week and I came up with these. What do you think? Any suggestions? What do YOU want to see on a unique card?

BTW

You Are Belle!

Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

I'm Belle. Sweet.

The Big Show

Well, obviously we have been a little busy. No new posts! Well, we just returned from a CRAZY FUN reunion in Boise Idaho. Doug and Tonia (Atwood) planned the whole sha-bang and it was FABULOUS!
These are pictures of the 4th of July party Doug planned and had in his back yard. AKA "The Big Show" . . . And, yes it lived up to its name.

Ian had SO MUCH fun on the blow up jumping thing . . .


Jonas just showed up with his hair . . .


Doug getting ready for the fireworks . . . Yes, actually, those ARE propane bottles. Of course.


This is part of the pre-show. Ummm, it is just over 16,000 fire crackers arranged and then doused with hairspray. Kids, don't try this at home - unless you are a crazy pyro looking for a thrill (or one for your 350 guests)


Truck load #1


Truck load #2


The man with the plan, a head light, and the ever important propane torches.


Pretty little ladies all in a row - off into the distance. And, yes, the grass has been scorched from the pre show. But, it was pretty cool.


AFTERMATH (well, part of it)



This 4th will go down in our books as one of the BEST!! Thanks Doug and Tonia! You guys are CRAZY AWESOME! We had a fabulous time!

Enough already!

Okay, enough with the ranting already, huh? Anyway, on a lighter note I have found a couple of new FUN things -

First of all I have to give credit to karenstips for this first one. If you have never heard of this blog - you are going to love it. This girl posts nearly everyday fun tips that she runs across or deals on the internet. Check it out. But, this is her latest and I LOVE it. It is called mamabargains. This is a GREAT site that has an AWESOME deal on something until it sells out - then they post another one.

The second thing I am so excited about is this . . .




Call me crazy, but I totally want to make a CRAZY retro apron. I love it. It just screams happy.

Let's be honest . . .

This blog is really meant for just useless shout outs and fun stuff. But, what are blogs for - if not to vent? So, here goes.

Umm . . Has anyone noticed that so-called 'constitutional rights' don't exist anymore? Well, I guess they do if you have money, an insane mortgage, 1.2 kids, and otherwise are just 'normal'. Does it bother any one else that Texas just came in and tore over 400 kids from their mothers? Why? Well, they were in danger of being married at a very young age. So let's take ALL of them. So, my question is . . are these infants and toddlers in IMMEDIATE risk of sexual abuse? I have yet to hear anything about that.

Please don't get me wrong - I am TOTALLY opposed and disgusted by the idea of old men marrying very young girls. And, yes, I DO believe there can be abuse in that situation. It is wrong. It is wrong. It is wrong. And it makes me sick. But those mothers don't love their children ANY LESS than I love my own or any less than you love your own kids. And, let me tell you - if someone were to come take my kids away because they didn't like how I lived my religion (which can happen, folks!) I really don't know what I would do. Obviously these Texas officials have thought this out previously - they sure acted really fast on this phone call they received - and everything went so 'smoothly'. They aren't too concerned about punishing those who have BROKEN the law - it looks like they just want break up of the whole religion. By the way - WHO exactly made that phone call? Ummmm - a hoax? Yeah, but that doesn't matter. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. If they planned this out so much - you would think they could actually come up with something that makes MORE sense. Like an investigation that puts those MEN behind bars. Doesn't that make a little more sense?

Since having sex with a minor IS illegal -

and BEING A MOTHER isn't.

For all of you unbelievers!

There are people out there who really don't know that Wii has seriously changed video gaming in a big way. Yes. I said it. I am a hater. I'll admit it. I am a video game hater. Was. I WAS a video game hater. Until Wii. Well, hold on to your pants everyone. Because they have done it again.



And if you are really thinking - "are they for real?" Yes. They are. It is freaking awesome. It comes out in May. If you still are a little leary - check out this link

It is pretty cool.

I'm sponsored by Allrecipes.com

Officially, I think. Everything I make comes from this website. It is fabulous. I usually would never post my latest experiments in food on my blog. Really. I have discovered that I CAN cook, and I am even a little bit good at it. But, I would NEVER presume to be a fabulous cook. However, I am going to brag a little about this TIKKA MASALA recipe that I found. No joke. This is ALMOST as good as the Bombay House. It was SO GOOD! Even Joe Buck couldn't stop saying 'wow'. Well, here it is . . .


I even made the Naan, which actually needs some improvement - next time. If you don't like spicy food or Indian food for that matter. Forget it. But, I was just WAY impressed with myself!

Tagged

Arianne has tagged me on "All Things Meme". Well, OF COURSE I have to play!

First, the rules

1. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
2. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment letting them know they've been tagged and to ask them to play along and to read your blog.

Here goes . . .
What I was doing ten years ago -
1. Graduating class of 1998. About now I was SO ready to get OUT of that place!
2. I drove a Ford Mustang - it was green - but, it was SWEEET.
3. Even though I drove a cool car - I didn't have any friends - weird. :)
4. College was really the last place that would accept my application because I was a sad, depressed teenager with no ambition and a cool car. (Is this depressing, or what!)
5. On my way to Snow College - I was to find out that, yes, out in the middle of nowhere you can STILL have a party college.

5 things on my to-do list today . . .

1. Should I start from the things I haven't done yet? Okay. Change Ian's diaper. This is my least favorite thing to do, every time I change him I ask him if he is ready to go in the potty. Nope. But soon, Ian. Soon.
2. Help my parents clean out their basement. This will basically be us standing around waiting for my parents to decide what SHOULD be thrown away - when it ALL should be thrown away.
3. Think of SOMETHING for dinner.
4. Plan what I'm going to do in my weekly humiliation experiment called Primary Chorister.
5. SLEEP. I love sleep.

Five snacks I enjoy . . .

1. French Fries. I love them. (I realize this is not a snack, but I love them.)
2. Cheese and Crackers. MMMmmMMMMmm
3. Toast. I wouldn't be able to live without toast.
4. Diet Coke.
5. Carrot sticks or Cucumbers

Five things I would do if I was a billionaire . . .

1. Buy a condo in Paris. I struggle with the location because there are SO many good ones. So, I've decided I don't care. As long as it as 12' ceilings, white mouldings, a FABULOUS view, and an art nouveau cast iron balcony. Oh, and right above an AMAZING bakery - so I can smell it every day.
2. Pay off all of the Mortgages in my family. Mortgages suck.
3. Travel. Travel. Travel. I don't aspire to be the MOST travelled person in the world. There are MANY places I don't really want to go. Antarctica for instance. No desire.
4. I have always wanted a Steinway Grand. No, I don't really play, WELL at any rate. But I have always been awed by them.
5. Of course I would have to have a PIANO room for my beautiful piano. So, I need a new house. I know exactly what I would build, too. Actually, it is not monstorous either. One of those houses that don't look like much from the outside - but inside is AMAZING.

Five of my bad habits

1. I realize this is gross. (Hence, BAD habits) I pick scabs. My scabs, Joe's scabs, Ians scabs even my sisters' scabs. I told you. Gross.
2. When I am reading a book - that is ALL I do. It leads to neglecting my poor children until I'm FINISHED already.
3. I'm stubborn when I KNOW I know the right way to do something. It takes a lot for me to not get involved.
4. I bite my nails.
5. I don't know why, but I have the HARDEST time hanging up wet towels - where they go. They usually end up over the door or over my bed post.

Five places I have lived

1. Pleasant Grove, Utah
2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. Allentown, Pennsylvania
4. Paris, France
5. Highland, Utah

Five jobs I have had

1. Bank Teller (Zions Bank)
2. Waitress (Diamond Lil's)
3. Rip-off artist(The Buckle) "That shirt look FABULOUS on you! Well, we have a layaway program where you can put that $120 T-shirt and get it later!"
4. Sales associate (Old Navy)
5. Sandwich artist (Subway)

I think that was the longest post I have ever written! I hope it wasn't too boring!

Do you think I look asian?

Thanks Arianne for posting your look a likes! How fun! Just in case anyone was wondering - Nope. Not one drop of Asian blood. Somehow, I look Asian anyway. (I'm okay with that! )

In high school Joe Buck always said I looked like the Asian chick on Karate Kid. I wasn't sure if he was complementing me or hard core bashing me to my face. Of course I assumed the latter - and thought he was a total jerk.

Great Idea!

I just bought Ian a bike - and I wish I hadn't. Because this is the neatest thing. Teach kids to ride a REAL bike from the beginning. This bike teaches them balance first. So, the transition to a bike with pedals is a snap. Not traumatic. I thought this was just awesome. Check out the website HERE for more info. The lady that designed and sells them is from Utah.

Another Crazy Thing . . .

I can't sleep. (Obviously). So, before I start watching Sense and Sensibility for the umpteenth time, I thought I would make a shout-out to everyone out there willing to help me. I have been thinking a lot lately about all of the good movies out there. Sure, the new ones - but mainly I've been thinking about all of those GREAT old movies. So, I have been wanting to get a list together of the BEST movies of all time. I want to start with the list and then possibly start an AWESOME movie collection. I'm looking MAINLY for movies that have a MORAL value. So that after you watch it you might think that you are a better person for watching. Or otherwise, you learned something. But, let's not limit it to heavy drama. I am also including some movies that will be around for a very long time.
NOTE: These will be movies I would like to show my children one day - so they are all to be CHILD/YOUNG ADULT WORTHY (yes, even limiting the PG-13's - and R's - yeah, sorry, none) With the exception of the MORAL type movies that I can have edited. (Schindler's list)

Okay, enough of the boring schematics - Here are a few of what I have jostling in my head right now. (In no particular order, of course)

Schindler's List (1993) (previously mentioned)
Charade (1963)
What's Up, Doc? (1972)
Crash (edited) (2005)
Gone With the Wind (1941)
Pride and Prejudice (1996)
Elizabeth (edited) (1998)
La Vita Bella (1998) (Life is Beautiful - in it's original Italian - yes, read the subtitles, dang it!)
The Sting (1973) (The pasties will have to be edited, of course :))
Amistad (edited) (1997)
The Mission (tribal nudity - may be edited or not) (1986)
Glory (1989)
Hamlet (edited) (1996)
Shawshank Redemption (edited) (1994)
Les Miserables (1998) (not the BEST version - but THAT version doesn't exist yet!)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1975)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) (And, if you thought it should be the Leo version - just stop reading this list right now)
Have you had enough of the French movies?
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Ben Hur (1959)

I'm sure I have more - but my brain has stopped ticking. PLEASE leave a comment for any additional movies you thing ought be on the list! (Even if I don't know you!)

THANK YOU!