The Joke's on Me

For a few days, and what seems like a full week or more, I've been hearing a little chirp in my office at work. It reminded me of a chime on a sports wristwatch. Very short and not too loud. After I heard it a few times, I looked around for something electronic that would emit this beep. Not one to bring lots of electronic items to work, I didn't have that much to look through. I really thought it was coming from my phone. Coincidentally, we just had a massive overhaul on our voicemail program last weekend. So after a couple days of beeping and finding nothing, I called Alan, the phone IT guy, and he came up. Of course, when someone is waiting to hear a beep, a beep never happens. Just as he was leaving, we heard it. He seemed sure that that noise wasn't from a phone. He nicely agreed that I should clean up my desk and see if there's something needing fresh batteries.

So I threw out lots of papers this morning, took batteries out of my minicassette recorder. I didn't find anything. I started wondering if my mouse (not cordless) had batteries in it. Duh. I moved things around in my office to see if I could move the noise to farther away. Nothing worked. I finally thought to unplug my phone to see if I could prove that it was the phone after all. About three minutes after I disconnected it, I heard the chirp again!

Of course by this time, I had told a couple people in my area about it. One had even heard the noise. But they didn't seem too worried or interested.

Suddenly, two co-workers, I'll call them Rick and Adam, walk into my office and shut the door behind them. They said they had an intervention for me. Rick walks over to my bookshelf and reaches up and under it and pulls something off the back of it. It's called an ANNOYATRON. Looks like a circuit board, about the size of a credit card. It emits a chirping noise every 2 to 8 minutes at random intervals. His brother in law planted one on him and totally freaked him out for a few days. So of course he had to join the fun. He is pure evil I tell you.

I googled it and they are cheap. If you want to toy with someone's mind, they're only $9.99.

Love Notes and Validation

Alicia has been having fun lately writing little notes to me. It's great because she practices her writing and spelling, and I usually get a nice note that makes me feel great. I need to post a picture of some of them--just so you know I'm not making it up.

Here is her text from my two favorites so far:
1. I love you Dar. I like you Dad. (I asked Jim, "Did you spank her today?" "No.")

2. I love you.
Thank you for dinnir.
I like you.
I want you to be my mom forever. (We'll need to discuss this...)
I want to be nice to you.
I am loving and kind.
I clean up after school + hang up my coat and do my reading.
I think you are the best mom in the world that I now.
I want to get you a Christmas presents.
I like the coler red to.
Love Alicia

One of my friends wondered if Alicia was buttering me up for Christmas. I know she can be sneaky, but I think she's just being sweet here. I'll enjoy it while it lasts. May we all have love notes and the happiness they bring. :)

Christmas Shopping Lists

Shelly suggested that I share my 6 year-old's Christmas list--complete with her spelling. This is actually her second list, she revised the original right after a Wal-mart "Kids Holiday Book" arrived in the mail. Sadly I can only intercept mail on Saturdays.

Upon being presented with this second list, I asked, "But what if I'm done with your shopping already from your first list?" She smiled a airy smile and cheerfully replied, "Then you can just get some more from this list."

(my comments are in here)

Crismas list
stuff dogs
fariy
barbies 8 (&) barbie hosue
littleest pet shops
littleest pet shop digital planner (digital what? she's 6!)
pony doll
ponyvile sweet sundae amusement park
swim to me puppy
cook up some fun (actually, this was the headline. the product is "Cupcake maker with bonus")
shimmer shop
walk and wag pluto
beauty salon vanty

I guess the good news is I can get everything at Wal-mart. ;)

Oh, and a few favorite items from Kate's list:
scittles--big pack
polly pokets--cute one (not more of those ugly ones)
candy--succers
cd--I'll pick the songs
close--High school musical (as in, things you wear)
pickle jar--big one 54 oz. (I kid you not)

Happy Holiday shopping. I guess I should start now... let the headache begin.

Our Little "Singer"

Last night I got home from work and found our youngest sitting on the couch on some pillows, with the Children's Songbook plopped open on her lap. She was singing away. We talked for just a minute about her day at school. I went into the kitchen and she resumed singing. A couple minutes later, Jim came downstairs and walked over to me, saying, "Sorry." I had no idea what for until he pulled the earplugs out of his ears and put them on the counter. "I couldn't take it anymore," he confessed rather quietly. Apparently our little singer had been going for quite some time. And she really doesn't know the songs, so she reads the lyrics and makes up her own happy, high- and off-pitched tunes. She's sweet and we hope not to squelch her. But the choir concert next month might be pretty interesting. :)

These are a Few of My Favorite S Things

My niece's blog recently had a list of her 10 favorite things that start with the letter L. I made a comment there and "earned the privilege" of receiving a letter from her to make my own list. Mine is S. So I'm playing along.

Here's my list of my 10 favorite S things...

1. Sisters. All seven of them. Great friends, examples and pals. I miss them all and wish they lived closer.
2. Savior. What a friend we have in Jesus. I am amazed by his sacrifice for me, and for all of us, and look forward to having an opportunity to thank him for everything.
3. Sweets. Chocolate is my drug of choice, but sugar in general hits the spot for me.
4. Sports. I love football, basketball, golf, skiing, jogging…not so much swimming.
5. Silliness. From the Zorro, Fletch and Airplane movies, to making up silly songs as a child, to rowdy cheers on the team bus in high school and at football games, to just plain acting goofy after midnight. I miss being silly now that I’m a grown-up and a mom.
6. Shelly. My best friend, help, confidante, lunch pal, save-my-baconer, woommate, best cleaner in the world, decorator, shopping consultant, cheerleader, babysitter, etc. You're the best!
7. Seasons. I love them all. Fall is my favorite, sorry S. Perhaps it has something to do with September—a great time of year for apples, autumn and football!
8. Songs. I am not a singer, but I love hearing good music. I used to be way more current with tunes. Alas, I am getting older and want things gentler. A few favorites of late: the Wicked soundtrack, Enya, Carrie Newcomer, Motabs, Norah Jones, Fergie, Sara Evans, Annie Lennox, Sara Bareilles, etc.
9. Sleep. I appreciate this more than ever before. A nurse in my ward told me that the one night of the year when Americans have the fewest heart attacks happens to be the night Daylight Savings time ends (Fall back). Get your sleep!
10. Senses—sight, sound, taste, smell, touch. What a great gift we have—our bodies. We should take better care of them. And last but not least…
11. My Sweet (Baby) James. He’s hardly a baby, unless he’s ill, but my honey is a tremendous example to me. He is loyal, adoring, service-minded, strong, loving, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent and helps old ladies across the street.

Chilling at the Bowling Alley

Bowlin'

This was taken before I got into my groove. :P

Bowling a la Deuce

We finally went bowling in memory of Deuce after having postponed it for over a month. It wasn't our best day out, but most of us had fun and no one was injured. Here's Jim's form.

Birthday Cake Cheer 9.30.08

The Green Cube

Me "in my element." I won the opportunity to drive this car during September--it was a contest they are doing all year long at work. I also got a $100 gas card and $100 cash (to cover the taxes). It was fun to drive something new for a month. The girls loved opening all the windows... And, yes, I've caught Jim's disease and I'm now blinking in many photos. It helps when he doesn't say when he's taking the pictures...

Sicko

Last week I had that sinking feeling, along with a scratchy throat that said, "Uh oh, you are sick!" Over the next couple days, my voice went south for the winter, my head stuffed up like a Christmas goose, and I developed a dry cough that is mighty irritating. I had tons to do at work so I made it in every day, though Thursday I missed more than half a day. Ironically, I was well enough to attend our Health Fair at work Wednesday, where I learned even more about orthotic insoles and watched people play Wii bowling and some balance game. But I digress.

Jim has taken care of me, fetching me a bottle of water here and making me a cup of soup there. But for the most part, I managed to get my own meds, herbs, tissues, etc. On the contrary, when he is sick, he stays in bed and can't even move. We call this a man cold. Have you seen the mancold video? If not, here it is. I think it's funny.

> http://glumbert.com/wii/view.php?name=mancold

So, here are my deep thoughts on sickness.

1. Don't assume one full box of tissues is enough.
2. Don't underestimate the power of real herbal ephedra as a decongestant. (I saved it from when we could buy it legally.)
3. Don't take the blame when your obnoxious co-worker says you made him sick.
4. Don't go to bed with a price on your head.
5. Lying in the bathtub in lukewarm water is a BAD time to discover that "someone" turned down the hot water heater. Luckily my sweet husband microwaved water by the mixing bowl-ful and brought it to me to keep me from getting a worse chill. I felt like someone in a Jane Austen novel. or not.
6. It's amazing what self control I have eating good foods when I'm sick, and how that all goes out the window when I'm feeling a bit bettah.
7. I can sing tenor and bass without a problem. On a parallel note, our FHE songs sounded worse than normal last night...
8. Chicken soup is more than just for the soul!

Alright, I'm just rambling. Have a great and healthy day!

Interpreting the Scriptures

This morning, we were reading scriptures with the girls, and Lee Lee read 2 Nephi 21:5 thusly:

"And righteousness shall be the griddle of his lions..."

Guess those lions better watch it, or they'll be served on toast! It was very cute and I had a big grin on my face.

Becky had her own scripture funny last week. We encourage her to break bigger words into chunks instead of guessing them by looking at the first two letters. So she carefully read without batting an eye, "Dam...ass..kis".

Right! It's Damascus, moving on!

Staying until the end

Yesterday I left work early and drove up to Orem to watch Kenny's JV football game, something I have done about 5 times this season. Chances are always better that he will get to play in a JV game rather than varsity. He was in for three or four kickoffs, and his team was up 18-7 with about five minutes left. I had already talked myself into staying just a "little bit longer" a few times, knowing that the dinner schedule would be tight with Jim watching girls and running Jon to his FB practice, and me having YW.

Just then, I saw Kenny go in at corner, and right off the bat, the play came his way. For a split second I thought he was beaten, but then he reached out and tackled the receiver and stripped the ball simultaneously, then wrapped up the loose ball on the ground for a Springville recovery. He was elated and I was too. He got all kinds of high fives from teammates on the sidelines.

Springville didn't do much with the possession and ended up punting. Mt. View had the ball deep in their own territory. They threw an out to the receiver on Kenny's side, who looked to pitch it to another guy running by-- a hook and ladder--a play they had scored on in the first half. Kenny was covering the pitch guy and the pitch went bad. He scooped it up and ran it in for a TOUCHDOWN! I had the camera up by my eye when it all happened, AND my phone rang right when the play started. I told Jim "Hold on!" and put the phone down while this play transpired. He heard some cheering and me hollering. Then I screamed at him, "Kenny just scored a touchdown!" It was very cool. I wish I had a better picture of it. You can see him at the back of the end zone (#89).

Kenny had a great night, reliving his shining moments and getting praised by teammates and coaches alike. I was psyched to have been there and seen it. Dinner turned out fine--I talked Jim through it.

Hair Issues

I took this picture after one of Kenny's football games. I couldn't resist. I felt like yelling at my imaginary friend, "Hey, comb over here!" If only I had an imaginary friend...

Becky had a bad hair day recently. For some reason, she decided to put it in a knot/bun on top of her head, a la the way a lady in our ward often wears her hair. But she grew increasingly frustrated with it. I told her to leave the bathroom, eat breakfast, then try it again. Notably frustrated, she complied then went back at it later. Right after we finished reading scriptures all together, Jim asked her, "What is going on with your hair?" She promptly burst into tears, ran upstairs ranting about "stupid hair" and "hate my family." Dad got a lesson in tact, but I had to chuckle when she was out of earshot. Luckily Shelly showed all the girls a new 'do that is cute and semi-easy. We hope to avoid hair-related tears at least until they are 12.

Password Panic

I hate passwords. I had to change two passwords in the past two days, and now I can't remember what's what. And my bank isn't helping me remember. They just tell me that my login failed and try again later, moron. Luckily, Shelly emailed me the login and password to this here fine site so I could "remember" it (aka look it up). In a meeting this morning at work, our boss encouraged us to change our passwords often. The MAC users don't have to, but the PC users do every six months, and your password has to contain a capital letter, numeral, symbol and something in Swahili. Honestly. So I'm thinking most of us have a secret list of all of our passwords hidden somewhere so in case they have a brain cramp, they aren't completely useless. Am I right?

My first deep thought on the anniversary of my natal experience

Wow! What a great present! I was surprised and excited to "unwrap" this one. Thanks for the great comments that were already there waiting for me too. That's so cool. I only got a quick tutorial, but I figured I'd try to do something here.

I don't feel old, but I feel older. I don't feel young, but I feel immature sometimes. I am happy, I am blessed, I am loved and that makes all the difference in the world to me. My senior quote in the high school yearbook was "A friend is a present you give to yourself." I still believe this, and today, and every day, I have LOTS of presents.

Thanks, ever'body!

(She labeled it deep thoughts, didn't she?)

Happy Birthday Dar!

This is one of my birthday gifts to Dar. I'm not sure she is really going to appreciate it, but I thought that if I got a blog all set up for her and ready to use, that she might actually enjoy it.

Lots of love from Shelly!