The Busiest Week of the Year

It's here. This is the busiest week of the year for us. We have 2 birthdays, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This year's birthdays are pretty special. Ronan turns 8 tomorrow and Jonah turns 12 on Wednesday. The baptism and ordination will take place on January 2 because we have Stake Baptism Day instead of individual days.

We started the week by making graham cracker "gingerbread" houses. The kids had fun with that. I had to rescue several houses several times from falling in. So far, they are staying up. The kids just want to eat them!!!

It's going to be a great week!!!!!

There is no way to catch up the past few months. I changed browsers and kind of forgot that I have a blog. Life is going fairly smoothly. We have had a few additions to our household in the past few weeks. Our niece (my side of the family), Amy, is living with us. She is 19. Then, the day before Thanksgiving, our other niece (Brian's side) got herself tossed in jail again. We are caring for her son until she is released. He was born the same day as Isabeau so we basically have twins!! There have been a few rough spots with adjusting to the changes. But it's all good now. His mom is supposed to be released Saturday so there will be another period of adjustment. She has a trial in February. We don't know what will happen then. It is a felony charge so she will probably spend some time behind bars again. I wish she would get her head on straight.

The Montana job is over. Now we just need to get paid. Ugh. Why do people have to be soooooo dishonest??? The work was done. It was approved. There is no problem. They just won't pay us. We were depending on that last payment to get through winter until the next projects start. Now we don't know where our paychecks are going to come from in January. It's going to take going to court to get the money out of the general contractor. We don't know if the owner is aware of the situation or not so we're not blaming him, it's all on the GC. It's so frustrating. Brian had to walk off the job for a few days last January to get paid but we didn't expect them to hold the final payment. We're not sure when the next projects will start. We're just waiting for the funding to get to the right bank accounts then we will get those going. They are mostly here in town so that will be nice for Brian to be home even though he is working.

Christmas is almost here. I've put the tree up and decorated but I'm just not feeling it a lot this year. Maybe it's because of the financial situation we're in. I *love* giving gifts for Christmas. I'm not so worried about getting but I'm so sad that I can't give like I usually do. I'm trying. I've done a bit of shopping with the kids but it's not all done. I need to get that taken care of and get presents under the tree. I'm hoping that the kids' excitement will help me. I am enjoying all of the Christmas music. One of our local stations plays Christmas music exclusively until after Christmas Day. The variety is amazing!! Our Ward Christmas program was this past Sunday. Our ward used only hymns for the music. It was very nice.

Now that I remember that I have a blog, I will try to keep it more up-to-date.

Catch Up!!!

It has been awhile since I've posted. It has been a busy, crazy summer!!!!!!! After our vacation to N. Idaho, Iwent to Dallas, TX, for Mary Kay Seminar and had a fabulous time!! As soon as I got home from that, I was hosting Education Week here at the University. On the last day of that, the dancers came for the Idaho International Dance and Music Festival. We hosted 4 ladies from Germany!! It was a great time!! Not even a week after they left our exchange student, Lukas, arrived from Germany!!! He has fit right into our family and it is going really well. He and Brandon get on superbly!! Before school started, we went up to Brian's project in Montana. WOW!!!!!! I haven't been there in 10 months and what a change!! The furniture is mostly in and they are supposed to be finished completely by September 15th!!!!! Hallelujah!! We spent the night in Montana and then went down into Yellowstone National Park for the day. We went a few places we've been before and several places we haven't been before! We rented 2 boats and went out on Yellowstone Lake. That was so much fun! We had dinner at Canyon Village and headed home. We saw quite a few bison, a couple of deer and some ground squirrels. That was it. I was surprized at how little wildlife we saw. We want to go back up to Mammoth in another month or so when the elk are in rut. It's exciting to see the males fight. And Lukas has never seen that before.
The boys all started school this week. Thank heaven!! Back to a schedule!! I'm already struggling with Ronan over homework. I don't know what to do with him. I'm trying to come up with a way to motivate Brandon to do better this year. I don't know what will happen there, either. Isabeau is anxious to start school but she doesn't go to kindergarten until next fall and I can't get her into preschool up at the university until January. Again, I don't know what I'm going to do to keep her busy!!
My Mary Kay business is going really well!! I've had several great weeks and the momentum is building for the holiday season.
We aren't sure at this point what our next project will be since the Monatana one is ending in a few weeks. I'll let you know when I know!!!!! I will also post pictures tomorrow. It's an early bedtime tonight so we can get up happy for Church tomorrow!!! :-)

Coeur d'Alene

We finally made it!!!! We were supposed to leave Saturday afternoon as soon as Brandon got back from the youth pioneer trek. We got a phone call from a friend who needed some help. So, our schedule got pushed back. We finally left town around 10pm (instead of 4-5pm). No big deal, it's only a 7 hour drive. Wrong!!!!!!

We got almost to the Montana border and Brian realized that we weren't getting the gas mileage he thought we would and we needed gas sooner than expected. Not an easy thing in the hinterlands of Idaho!!!!! We pulled off in a small town and found that none of the pumps took cards after hours. The station is set on a hill and so Brian turned the truck to head back to the road. He was almost ready to straighten the wheels when the 5th wheel shifted downhill. Right into the back window of the pickup. The window shattered into the cab and all over. It scared the boys!!!!! An hour later, we had used duct tape and garbage bags to close off the gaping hole. We'll have to get that fixed. :-( We finally found an all-night pump in another town.

One of the other things Brian noticed besides the poor gas mileage was that he couldn't go over 60-65 mph or the transmition started overheating. This is the first time we've pulled the 5th wheel with the truck. They've always used our business partner's truck before. So, we didn't make nearly the time we thought we would. We did get a nice surprize when we crossed from Montana back into Idaho. We gained an hour by switching to Pacific time!!! I had no idea CDA is Pacific time. Kind of weird but oh well.

We pulled into the RV park just after 8am. I knew Judy would be coming out of the water very soon so we pulled the bicycles out of the back and Jonah, Ronan and I headed to where the action was. I've never been here so I had no idea where I was going so it took me longer to find the finish of the swimming. By the time we found it, Judy was long gone. We went up the bike route to meet up with her friend, Mark. While we were talking with him, Judy came by and I got a great photo of her on her bike!!!! It was good.

We went back to the rv park and I slept for awhile. I knew it would be 5-6 hours on the bike route for Judy so I headed back to the park around 1pm. Jonah and I went to several different places on the route hoping to see her. I finally decided to go wait at the finish/transition point. I didn't wait very long before she came through!!! I got photos of her there and then as she was starting the run.

The family had Father's Day dinner at the rv and then went down to be at the finish line when Judy got there. Just as we were walking toward the finish, I heard Judy's name being called out. We missed her crossing the line!!!!!!!! But I got photos of her just after and that was good.

I certainly didn't do anything near what the athletes did but I got a great workout today. The route to the race area is up and down several hills. I made the trip twice today plus a bunch of riding around town. It was good!

Judy is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 140.6 miles in one day. I'm so proud of her and her determination and dedication!! Some day, when I grow up, I want to be just like my sister, Judy!!!!!!

Madsen cargo bikes

Okay. See the logo over there on the right side of the page for Madsen? They make cargo bikes and you can win one in July!! Just click on it, it will take you to their page. I would love to have one of these!!!!!!

One Month Later

And what a month it has been!!!!!!! We have found the cause of most of my headaches!!!!! Food allergies. Seems simple, doesn't it?? I would never have guessed that I shouldn't have been eating some of the things that the tests show I have intolerances to. Just to name a few- green beans, tapioca (do you know how many things tapioca is in???!!!!!!), apples, olives, turkey, broccoli (yeah, not crying over that one. LOL), walnuts, avocados, and the list goes on!!!!!! Some of my absolute favorite foods are on the list! It has been a difficult month as far as figuring out what I can/can't, should/shouldn't be eating. There are a lot of things that I can have on a rotating basis (one day out of 4). And there is a *ton* of foods I can have so I won't be starving anytime soon. :-) The test also showed intolerances to some food additives like polysorbate 80 and MSG. I have been doing a lot of label reading and it is shocking how much unnecessary junk goes into our food. I've also found why ibuprofen doesn't do anything for me- it's one of those intolerances I have. Weird.
I have found some wonderful foods (grains mostly) that I wouldn't have otherwise ever tried. Millet is a great substitute for rice (oh, did I mention I can't have rice?). Amaranth isn't my favorite grain although I'll eat it. Brian says it tastes like dirt! Quinoa is a fabulous grain! Teff has a different flavor and people either love it or hate it. I love it! There are a lot of foods in the health food section of our local grocery store that I'm getting to know and like. Almond milk is good although I'm not supposed to have the vanilla flavor. I'll have to check the chocolate. It probably has soy in it, which I shouldn't have. I've found that I get the worst headaches when I eat anything with soy.
One side benefit of this is that I've dropped another 8 pounds!!! Food allergies really can make you fat. It's a long explination on how it does that, so just trust me that it is so.
The only times I've had headaches in the past month is when I unknowingly (or knowingly) ate something with stuff I shouldn't have in it. Like the gravy at the restaurant. I went back after getting a huge headache and asked to see the ingredients list. Sure enough- wheat, dairy, soy, and some other stuff. Uh. Looks like salads for me!!!!!! I've eaten out several times and found that I can find something to eat in pretty much any restaurant except asian (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc). They almost always use soy sauce and MSG. I really like asian food, too. I might decide one day to deal with the headache but for now, I'll do without.

Why I carry a gun

I didn't write the following. I just read it, agree with it and wanted to send it on. It's a bit longer than my normal posts but keep reading!!! There were pictures with it. If you want to see them, I can email it to you. I don't know why the photos didn't come through but they didn't.


PEOPLE ASK WHY?
Why I Carry a Gun
My old grandpa said to me son,' there comes a time in every man's life when he stops bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps and usually it's when he becomes too old to take an ass whoopin'.
I don't carry a gun to kill people. I carry a gun to keep from being killed.
I don't carry a gun to scare people. I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.
I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid. I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.
I don't carry a gun because I'm evil. I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.
I don't carry a gun because I hate the government. I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.
I don't carry a gun because I'm angry. I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.
I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone. I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.
I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy. I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven, I want to be a cowboy.
I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man. I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.
I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate. I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.
I don't carry a gun because I love it. I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.

Police Protection is an oxymoron. Free citizens must protect themselves. Police do not protect you from crime, they usually just investigate the crime after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess.
Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take an ass whoopin'
......author unknown (but obviously brilliant)
**********************************************
A LITTLE GUN HISTORY
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own Government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars.
The first year results are now in:
List of 7 items:
Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent.
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent.
Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!
In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns! While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort, and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.
You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.
Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late! The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson. With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.

During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED! If you value your freedom, please spread this anti-gun control message to all of your friends.
The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.
SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN! SWITZERLAND'S GOVERNMENT TRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE. SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!
IT'S A NO BRAINER! DON'T LET OUR GOVERNMENT WASTE MILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AN EASY TARGET.

I'm a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment! If you are too, please pass this information on.

The Eyes have it

Brian went in for PRK surgery today. It's kind of like Lasik but way more painful. The results are better vision for both surgeries but they achieve it in different ways. I won't gross you out with details. :-)
The pain is more than he ever anticipated. Most of the problem lies with the way his body assimilates (is that the right word?) medication. Pain medication might work once if he takes a large enough dose (usually 2-4 times what we normal people take). Then the second time it doesn't work as well, if at all. The doctor gave him a prescription for 25mg of Demerol. He took 150mg before it did anything for him. :-( I talked to the pharmicist to make sure he wasn't overdosing and he's not. Yet. I called the doctor and told him what was happening because Brian was crying with the pain and this is a man who might cry at a chick-flick but not with pain! The doctor offered to prescribe a sleep medication with the hopes that he will sleep through the worst of the pain. So far it's working better. He's been quite drugged up all evening!!!! And I'm not ashamed to say I'm keeping him that way if at all possible!!! I hate not being able to do anything to stop the pain.
I called our neighbor and 2 of them came and gave Brian a wonderful blessing. I'm praying that he will sleep well tonight and feel much better in the morning.
Updates as they happen. Prayers would be appreciated.

Photo update

For those who haven't seen me since at least Christmas, here's a new photo update. Yep, gone red again. And I finally have glasses again, too (insurance is a great thing!!!). So, there you go. Now you won't be surprized if you come up to Amy's graduation in May. :-)

Life update

I was reminded tonight by my cousin that I hadn't updated my blog in a week or two. Life happens. Thank you, Becky!!!!! :-)
Everything is going pretty normal here. Brian is in Montana for the week, the boys are in school, Isabeau is trying to get more freedom as she has learned to ride a bike (with training wheels). She rolls around the house (we live on a corner), down to "the sisters" and across the street to a friends house. Now I just have to teach her to tell time so she knows when it's too early to go!!!!
I am in a group of ladies that do freezer meal swaps. Once a month the 10 of us make up 10 meals (each of us make 10 meals) and then swap with each other. Tomorrow is our swap so today I spent 4 hours making 10 pans of 3-cheese, sausage lasagna! I don't want to see lasagna for awhile now!!!!!! I've been doing this for several months and the few hours each month I spend is well worth it when I have 10 different meals ready to be heated and served on those busy days when I just can't fit anything else in! There is everything from breakfast burritos to enchiladas to soups to lasagna to mac and cheese. We have always had a good variety. There are certain rules we follow so noone feels like they have put more into it than someone else. It is working out very well. We commit to 3 months at a time so if someone needs to drop out, they can. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has done for this month!! I better drag those breakfast burritos out for tomorrow so I finish off last month's supply!!!

NOM #15

I was doing so well with my posts. Then dumb little things like 2 major headaches, getting spaced out on a new prescription and an ear infection come along and throw me off track!!!!
1.- I am optimistic that I will feel better and be able to get caught up with everything I *need* to do.
2.- I will be able to finish up my Mary Kay week on goal.
3.- I will never have to take Diclofenac again!!!!

NOM #14

Yep, a few more days missed. Brian and I went to Salt Lake City (actually West Valley City) for Career Conference with Mary Kay. I made the decision to not take my computer and was completely computer-free for a full 48 hours!!!!!!! That's unusual. :-)
It was a great weekend!!!! I truly enjoyed the conference. I learned a lot and got some new motivation to make some changes in my business to help it grow. I've got lots to do in the next few days! I'm grateful for a day off today to just relax, though.
After conference, we went to dinner with our friends, Tim & Holly. We try to see them whenever we are down there but it has been awhile. We had a fabulous dinner and talked for hours. Brian and I drove home after and didn't get in until almost 2am!!
Ward Conference was this morning. Because of our building schedule that meant getting to Church an hour earlier than usual. We made it on time!!!! Well, Brandon, Jonah and I made it on time. Brian and Isabeau weren't feeling well and I wanted to be able to pay attention to the meeting so I left Ronan home, too. Our Stake Presidency were the only ones who spoke. The first councilor spoke about traditions that we follow in the Church that aren't necessarily correct. Specifically pertaining to going to the Bishop for every thing instead of going to our other Priesthood leaders or the councilors. He showed us through scriptures that the Bishop is responsible for the "big" things but the councilors and other leaders can deal with the lesser issues.
Our 2nd councilor spoke about teaching our children and choosing the best things (re: Elder Oaks' talk "Good, Better, Best). It's something I have been thinking about a lot lately. I'm trying to see and seize opportunities to speak about Gospel principles with my children every chance I get.
President Wightman spoke about who we truly are. He spoke about how our body is not able to act on it's own. Our spirit was created to act. Our body was created to be acted on. Every person brings light and truth with them when they are born and if we follow who truly are (our Spirit) we will gain eternal life. There was a lot more but that is the gist of the message. It was wonderful!!!!!!
So I have lots to make a list with but just mentally put a number in front of each paragraph and that will be my list!
Oh, and on Wednesday I became a red-head again. :-) I'll have to post pictures. It's a really dark auburn color. I love it!!

NOM #13

1.- I got a call this evening to remind me about the cake I said I would do for the Relief Society dinner tomorrow. I'm very grateful it came tonight and not tomorrow!!!!! I actually have time to get it done. :-)
2.- My boys all have dentist appointments tomorrow. I'm slightly optimistic that nothing drastic will be found although Ronan was having some tooth pain today.
3.- I will go to bed early tonight!!!

NOM #12

Okay, so I missed several days. Oh well. I'm still very optimistic!!!! I've had a very busy couple of days and have gotten a lot done. Life is good!!!

1.- I was able to interview a really fabulous girl tonight!!! She would be a wonderful MK Consultant!!! We'll see if she wants to.
2.-Jonah didn't totally freak out when we got our allergy injections this morning!! When we were doing it before I had to almost hold him down to get him still enough for the nurse to give him the shot. Today, I went first and I honestly hardly felt the injection. I told Jonah that and he did really well about holding still without me holding on to him. I hope it's a big step towards him being able to deal with it on his own.
3.-The pile of snow in our front yard used to be about 7 feet tall (no kidding) and stretched all the way across our front yard. Now it's only about 2-3 feet tall and only about a 1/4 of our yard! :-) Spring is coming!!!!!!

NOM #11

I missed last night. oops. Oh well, on to tonight's list.

1.- I had a skin care class tonight that went really well. Everyone had fun and looked great!! Sales weren't fabulous but I got bookings and have people to contact for referrals so that is success in my book!
2.- I cleaned the house yesterday so I didn't have to worry about it today!! Yeah, me!!!!!!!!!
3.- Today is Pi day. Don't worry, I didn't know it until this week either. :-) No, I'm not forgetting the 'e' in it. It's Pi as in 3.14------ I don't know more numbers. So I picked up a pie on my way home from the skin care class. Yum!!!

NOM #10

I just want to go to bed so I'll be short tonight!

1.- I survived allergy testing!!!!!
2.- I'm only slightly allergic to horses and I'll be doing immunotherapy so that should help take care of it before I actually own horses. :-)
3.- I got all my patches sewn on to my Scout shirt *before* meeting tonight!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABEAU!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is Isabeau's 4th birthday!!! She has been so cute for the past while about telling us her birthday is in March. And to her it wasn't March until today! :-) We found a pair of Tinkerbell slippers for her. She loves Tinkerbell!!! She wanted a Tinkerbell cake but I didn't have that pan so we decided on a castle cake with a Tinkerbell figurine at the top. She chose pink and purple for the colors of the cake. I thought I was in a big hurry to get it done with everything I had to do so I did it a bit different than I normally would. I like how it turned out!!

We had French Toast for dinner at her request. I used some Apple Walnut bread and it was really yummy!!!!!!!

Brian was going to come home for the birthday party but decided he couldn't so we'll have her party tomorrow night when he gets home. She is totally fine with that and even told her Uncle Matt "no, my birthday is tomorrow". :-) I'm going to go get her presens tomorrow, too. Because she likes Tink so much, I'm going to get her new bedding with Tink on it. She saw it in the store yesterday and wanted to take it home. I love being able to get the kids things I know they want and will like!!!!!

NOM #9

Today has been really busy and good!!! I've gotten a lot of things accomplished so I feel the day has been successful!

1.- I made and decorated Isabeau's birthday cake.
2.- I had lunch with a new friend. I've known her since last October or so. We've done a few things together (I taught her the basics of jewelry making and she has taken off!!!) and some things as couples. I want to get to know her better. She had dental surgery last week so I took some homemade tomato soup over to share for lunch. It happens to be her favorite kind of soup so I'm glad that's what I chose to make!!!!!
3.- It might seem like a bad thing but my class that I had scheduled for today got rescheduled. It took a lot of pressure off me to get too many things done in too little time!!! I used some of that time to do some follow-up calls and got 4 new bookings!!!!!!! So it turned out to be an okay thing after all!

NOM #8

Some day I will get a full night's sleep. I really shouldn't complain. My kids have always been good sleepers (mostly from the time they were brought home from the hospital). The past several nights have been unusual in that two of the children have been restless. Last night, Ronan woke up again crying. I went in to check on him and this time, it was his legs. I think it was just growing pains that were intensified by dreams. I got him to take some ibuprofen, walk out to the living room, laid him on the sofa and put a hot pad under his legs. He went right back to sleep. That was at 4am. Needless to say, I had a hard time getting up this morning when my alarm went off. There is still hope for tonight!!!
Today's list-
1.- I got my Senior Consultant pin at my Mary Kay meeting. Finally!!!!!!! I've been working on it for long enough!
2.- Jonah started the 11 year old Scout program. I think he's going to really like it.
3.- I found a little Tinkerbell figure for on top of Isabeau's castle cake for her birthday tomorrow. Now I just have to find the castle cake pan. It's gone missing and I've looked all over the house for it!

NOM #7

I had a slow start today but better late than never!! :-) I got some paperwork taken care of that has been waiting a few weeks. I actually made dinner and ate before going to do a skin care class late this evening. I don't normally work on Monday's or start a class so late but it's what worked out. The kids got themselves to bed and everything worked out great!
Today's list-
1.- I got paperwork done and I'll be able to get my office area cleaned up tomorrow!!
2.- I had a fun class and found a new friend.
3.- I *will* get more sleep tonight!!!!!!!

Didn't happen

Well, I was very optimistic about getting some good sleep last night. Didn't happen. #4 woke up just after 11pm with very vivid dreams. She went back to sleep but woke up again 10 minutes later. Around 2:30am she was talking in her sleep. Then I heard #3 crying out. Went to find out what was going on and his stomach hurt. Got a bowl from the kitchen just in time to catch the. . . . .. well, he threw up. So, he came and slept on my bedroom floor for the rest of the night which was fine. I would rather be close than have him wake the other kids up. He was fine the rest of the night and went to school this morning. I think he ate too much meat last night and it just didn't sit well in his stomach.
So, I was not ready to get up this morning and now, despite going to the gym and having a good workout, I just want to go back to bed and sleep!!!!! Too much to do, though. I'll have to sleep tonight.

NOM #6

The time change threw us for a loop today. We were only about 1/2 an hour late for church. :-)
We've had a very nice day. Brian cooked ribs for dinner while Brandon took care of the potatoes and I made buttermilk cornbread. Yummy!!!!!

1.- I am optimistic that I will get a full 8 hours of sleep tonight with no children waking up. Oh yeah, that means I have to go to bed soon!!! LOL

2.- I will be able to go running at the gym tomorrow and not have any physical problems.

3.- All of my appointments for Mary Kay will hold this week so I can reach Star Consultant for the quarter!

NOM #5

It has been another fabulous day!!! My optimism level is going higher and life is good!

1.- My son will not get into an accident in our newly accquired (I didn't say new) M.A.V. (Suburban). Pictures coming later.
2.- My son will not get a ticket because he thinks he's cool in the aforementioned MAV.
3.- We will have a peaceful, wonderful Sabbath Day tomorrow!!

NOM #4?

I skipped a day so I think I'm on #4. :-)
Today has been absolutely fantastic!!!!!!! I love my jobs!! The kids were home from school because the end of the term was yesterday. They all did really well with getting along and letting us sleep in.
I'm in the middle of taking care of paperwork and cleaning in my office space that has been waiting for me. I got to sit down and start putting my business paperwork in order so I can take it to the accountant. I didn't realize until last week that it's not nice to take all the receipts, put them on the accountant's desk and let him figure it out. LOL So this year, I'm doing all the sorting, filing and organizing. It's not difficult but I've learned my lesson. This year I will do it once a month and keep on top of it! I've been really good about keeping my month-to-month stuff sorted but now I'm going back and categorizing and totalling and all that. Just 5 more months worth to do!!!
I got a phone call this morning. A woman had gotten on to the marykay.com website and got my name as an active consultant in the area. I went to her house to deliver the product she needed ($18 worth) and left with a $135 order!!!!! I made about $70 in half an hour LEGALLY!!!!!!! I took a current brochure back to her (silly me, I didn't take one with me) and she will be ordering more. I love it!!!!!
Then, this afternoon, another woman called me out of the blue. We met in December at a craft fair that I had a table at. She has been a Mary Kay consultant in the past and was thinking she might want to become one again. She wasn't sure so I just gave her the information and told her to call if she decided to. Well, today she called!!!! And I now have my first team member!!!!!!! I went out to her house this evening to get her consultant agreement taken care of and give her some other information. She is great and fun to be around. I'm really looking forward to working with her! I know that for now she just wants to do this very hobby-time and I'm glad to have her on my team!!!!!
After meeting with her, Brian and I went to Outback for dinner (thank you Mom and Dad for the gift card!!). We celebrated our anniversary a bit late this year. It was fabulous food and fast service. It was about 9pm when we got there so there weren't many orders going into the kitchen. :-)
It has been an incredibly fabulous day!!!!!!!
So, here's my list-

#1- I will enjoy another 17 fabulous years with Brian and they will be even better than the first 17!!
#2- I will continue to build my Mary Kay team and reach my goal of being a director by next year.
#3- Tomorrow will be just as great!!!!!

MRI results

The doctor's office called yesterday and the MRI results are ok. There's nothing out of the ordinary showing up. So, that's good that the absolute worst case scenario didn't happen.
Now I will be going in to get allergy testing done to see if it's something to do with that. I also need to go have my eyes checked and get a new prescription for glasses and contacts. I know I should have done all of that first instead of the MRI but that's just how my mind works- get the worst case out of the way and then it's not so bad to deal with.

He's Driving??!!!!???

Well, it happened. Brandon took, and passed, his driver's test. There are restrictions on it but he can drive on his own now. Wow. Weird. He was practically begging me to send him on some errand this afternoon when he got home from school. I have another 4.5 years before I have to go through this again!!!!!!!

NOM #3

Today has been better. Not perfect but better. #3 child went to school, #4 went to gymnastics and I managed to feel well enough to want to make dinner.
The best part about yesterday was that Brian called in the morning and said he was coming home to take care of us!! He wasn't going to be home until Friday but decided he needed to be home. I'm so appreciative of him!!!!!!! He has been running all the errands and letting me sleep when I need to. I thought he was just going to be home for the evening but he's not headed back to the job site until Sunday night (like usual). I love him so much!!!!!!!!!!
So, my list for today-

1.- Tomorrow I will feel totally well again (maybe not enough to go running :-( but well).
2.- I will not go crazy with Brian around for more than 2 days at a time. :-)
3.- Our children will remember their Dad reading to them (like he is right now).

Day 2- NOM (National Optimism Month)

My list for Day 2-

1.- I will feel better tomorrow and be able to do my daily routine.
2.- I will be able to get my 10 class week booked for my Mary Kay business.
3.- I will be able to send all of my kids to school on Thursday!!!!!!!

National Optimism Month

My sister said it's National Optimism Month and she is going to post 3 things each day that went well or she is optimistic about. I decided to join her so here is my first list.
1- I am optimistic that there isn't anything seriously wrong with me and that the MRI I had this morning will prove it.
2- I am optimistic that this cold that is going around (4 in our family so far) is going to be gone by tomorrow morning because I've been sucking on these darn zinc lozenges all day. They don't taste too bad actually.
3-I am optimistic that Brandon and Jonah will NOT get this cold and have to stay home from school.
There it is for today. I had my MRI this morning and then got to take Ronan and Isabeau to the dr. this afternoon. Ronan does NOT have strep, thankfully, and Isabeau's ears are NOT infected! We should all be up and running in the next day or so.
My Dad called this evening to let me know he had been talking with his sister about my headaches. Unknown to me or him, we have more history of headaches in the family than we thought. So maybe it is really just genetics and I'll just have to live with it. The next step for me, when the MRI results come back is to set up an appointment for allergy testing. My Aunt suggested that part of the history is sinus headaches. The headache I have today is definitely from my sinuses!!!! But normally, I don't think it is. We'll see if allergies have anything to do with it! Thank heaven we have insurance now!!!!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Today is our 17th wedding anniversary!! Since it's Sunday, we went out last night to celebrate. I reminded Brian that is was going to be crazy, busy but we went anyway. We had a good evening eating dinner and going to a movie with our friends, Ken and Shannon. Today is pretty low-key. We're going over to our friends home for dinner. They invited us without knowing it would be our anniversary. It's fine with us!!!!
17 years has gone by so quickly!! So much has happened, so many things have changed. And yet, we are still so in love!!! And better yet, we actually like each other! Brian has helped me be a better person, wife and mom. He's always been there for me to lean on when I need him. I know I haven't always been easy for him to live with but he's stuck with me and I am grateful.
I'll have to find our engagement photos and post them along with some new ones just to show the years. :-)
I am truly looking forward to the next 17 and the 17 after that and the 17 after that and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Proof

Well I got proof today that even our littlest children are influenced greatly by music. In Sacrament Meeting today, the topic was scripture study. Isabeau was sitting on the bench drawing and, obviously, listening. She looked up at me and said "I need scriptures for Scripture Power". She raised her hand over her head as she said it like she was lifting up a set of scriptures!! It was so cute!!!!! Then she went back to drawing. They sing a song in Primary called "Scripture Power". I don't know the words but I do know that the kids raise their scriptures every time the song says "scripture power". She's only been in Primary (sunbeams) for 6 weeks!! The power of music!!

Confessions

I did it. And I'm still alive (even though my stomach didn't feel great)! I ate chocolate and sugar.

I made some brownies at the request of my youngest. They were cooked perfectly this time (I usually end up cooking them just a little too long). They were gooey and. . . . well . .. . perfect. Just like I like them. So I ate one. It was delicious!!!!!!!! So far, so good. No cravings for more. I ate just one. And I ate it slowly and enjoyed it instead of scarfing it down. And the pan (an 8 X 8) is completely empty thanks to my children so there's no temptation to eat more this evening. I ate it in late afternoon so it's not sitting in my stomach once I head for bed and that's good. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Day 16

Well, it's not a big deal anymore. I have no cravings for sugar or chocolate. Very weird. Now I'm wondering 'if I eat some, would my cravings come back?' and 'if I eat some, is it even going to taste very good?' Plain fruit is very sweet now. Some of it is too sweet! So how would sugar taste?
Now the big question- do I dare? It's not that I want to go out and pork out on sugary stuff. That would mean a *major* headache. That I know. I want to change my eating habits and finish losing this weight. We've made some changes for dinner at home. I actually have a menu planned out a week in advance!! Is enjoying a little desert now and again going to totally derail my efforts? I don't know so I haven't yet. I just keep wondering. And wondering, and wondering and not doing anything about it. (sigh) Eating some sounds really good but would it really be?

One for the English gal

These photos are just for my dear sister-in-law Ruth. I bought a book called "Traditional British Cooking" after she and my brother were married. I figured I should know a bit about British cooking just in case. :-)

I told her I was cooking fish and chips for dinner. She was jealous. Then she told me about the brownies she baked after church today. Now I'm jealous. Tit for tat and now we're even. LOL

DAY 12

I am on a bit of a quest. Have I mentioned it?? After getting back from Dallas, I stepped on the scales and found I had gained back 7 pounds!!! I worked to get them off in the first place so seeing them back was not cool. I immediately started a 9 day body cleanse.
So it has been 12 days since then. I haven't had any refined sugar or chocolate in those days. Now it has become a bit of a quest to see how long I can go without. The really weird part is that I'm not craving it at all! Those of you who know me well, know that I can go through a pound box of See's Candies in a matter of. . .. well, I'm not going to say how quickly, it's embarassing. So for me to have absolutely no desire to even eat it is very, incredibly weird. It's so different from anything I've ever experienced! I understand the loss of craving part, my body flushed all the sugar out and doesn't crave it anymore. It's the lack of psychological craving that amazes me. I did get the munchies this evening but it wasn't for sweets. I had a bowl of granola and milk and was very satisfied.
I don't think I'll over-analyze this because the less I think about it, the longer it might last!!!!!

SnowFest 2009!!!!!!!

Our town has a SnowFest every January. It is held at one of the parks and includes everything from sleigh rides to sledding hills to hot cocoa! We had fun this year. It wasn't quite as cold as past years (a toasty 26F!!!). There was a bit of a wind but not too bad. The boys went sledding first thing. They left several of the sleds out in the yard and they have since been buried under snow. Those won't be seen 'til spring! So they only had one sled between them. Ronan decided to go down the hill penguin style! He must have had fun because he kept doing it! Then Isabeau decided to try it. She only got half way down the hill, then stood up and ran the rest of the way!

The sleigh rides are usually wagon rides but this year they actually had sleighs. I've never riden in one and I loved it! So much smoother than the wagons!

The city collects Christmas trees from anyone who wants to donate them after Christmas. They pile them all up in the middle of the baseball diamond at the park and light it on fire. The bonfire this year wasn't so good. I don't know if the wood was wet from all the snow we've had or what but it just wouldn't light. The torch guy stood there for 15-20 minutes with the propane trying to get it to light. There was a lot of smoke.

None of us did the polar bear swim this year. I've sort of committed to doing it next year. I think I'm crazy!!!!

New Hair!!

I got my hair cut short just before Thanksgiving but I haven't shown any photos. The family photos I have on here were taken before the cut. I just got a trim today and decided to take a photo. I love it!!!

A House of Order

No one ever said I was a great housekeeper and I've never claimed to be. With 4 kids and being a single mom all week there are just some things that I let go. Last night I reached a breaking point. I do get tired of living in disorder. It's always so much more peaceful when my house is in order.
So, this morning after getting the boys off to school, I set the timer for 30 minutes and started in on the living room. Even with a 5 minute break to help Isabeau with something, I was able to get everything picked up and mostly put away. There are a few things on my bed that need


attention so I left them out.

Enjoy the before and after photos!!

Dallas Vacation!!

Brian and I went to Dallas last week with the owners of the local lighting showroom. Brian has been working with them to supply the Montana job with the light fixtures. He had a certain lighting challenge that he just couldn't seem to solve so the owners invited him to go to the lighting show/market in Dallas.

It was a great trip!!!!!!! We left Thursday morning and came home Monday afternoon. We stayed at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Las Colinas. It was really nice. Everyone there was incredible! While the guys were at the lighting show, I got to wander around the World Trade Center. That is amazing! It's 15 floors of storefronts that manufactures have set up so buyers from places like Nordstrom's or Macy's or other stores can come in and decide what they want to bring in for the next season. Next to the WTC (across the street) there is a 'cash and carry' set up. It's more like a fair where vendors set up a temporary booth and hawk their wares. It was so much fun!!!!!! I got a bunch of nice jewelry, 2 purses, new luggage (since my old one broke on the way there), beads and stones to make some jewelry, cashmere scarves (for $15 each) and I can't remember what else! It took hours to wander through the whole place. You have to be careful in there, though. What looks like a great deal sometimes isn't.

Another day I went up to the 8th floor of the WTC. It's called Kid's World because all the kid's stuff manufacturers are set up there. Each shop only has one or two samples of each product so that buyers can see what they look like. After the buying season is done, the samples are sold. I got Isabeau some new dresses for really inexpensive!! They are European brand clothes so I'm pretty sure no one else in this town is going to have them!!! I just wish I could get ahold of them here in the States because they are so cute and great quality.

One night we all took a gondola ride around the canals of Las Colinas. There were 3 couples and we each had our own ride. Very romantic. The gondolier (I know I probably didn't spell that right) has a wonderful singing voice. He studied at SMU in Texas and performs on stage quite regularly. He's been doing the gondolas for about 5 years now and stays with it because he loves it. There were plenty of kissing bridges to go under! Brian and I were the last to go and it was late evening. Someday we'll have to go to Venice and experience the gondolas there!!

On Sunday, we went downtown Dallas and wandered around. We went to the Grassy Knoll. There were a bunch of people there. We had unknowingly gotten there just before a Pro-Israel Rally. We would have stayed to lend support but there were a *LOT* of police (including the mounted patrol) and we were told there was to be a counter-protest across the street. We didn't feel like getting caught in something ugly. It turned out to be very peaceful. There were only 4 or 5 anti-Israel protestors that showed up. We watched it all from the opposite side of Dealy Plaza, right next to where the mounted patrol was watching from. It felt pretty safe to have them right behind us!

It's always good to get home. We're back into the swing of things again with everyone's schedules. Brian is back up in Big Sky saving the world (at least that little part of it).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Today is Brian's 41st birthday. He wasn't going to be home until late tonight so I don't have anything planned. He went and got a hair cut and then went for a massage (I bought him a gift card for the spa a few weeks ago). So I hope he's having a good day!! I'll have to come up with something special to do with the chicken I took out of the freezer last night. :-)

Just when you thought you could breathe. . . . . .

the pressure is tightened just a little more. Brian came home unexpectedly last night. Someone's ego got in the way and the job payment wasn't deposited to the business. He had told that someone that he was leaving the job site if the money wasn't there. So he did.
Then he sprang another one on me. The owner wants the house done by March. <:-0 Brian wasn't expecting to be done until late summer. He let me know that there was going to be a LOT of overtime for him between now and the end of the project. Ugh. I suppose I should be used to him being gone. We've been doing this for 4 years already. And I can't count the number of trips he's made to Telluride when he was gone for up to 3 weeks. Well I suppose I can because he brought me a heart stone every time he went. :-) But you get the picture. He keeps reassuring me that everything will be fine when this is over. I'm not convinced. As far as I know, there aren't any other projects in the works and if he finishes this one 6 months sooner than expected where does the paycheck come from???? I'm not worried at this point, I'm just wondering what is going to happen. Don't count your chickens and all that I suppose.

Even more Peer Pressure!!!

Once again I have caved in to peer pressure. This time it was from my husband and he didn't really pressure me with so many words, just subtle ones. He was on Facebook looking to see if he could find old college and military friends. I was looking over his shoulder (kind of) and he got tired of my 'suggestions'. So he told me I should go looking on my own. :-) So I signed up. I have found a *lot* of friends I haven't seen or heard from in at least a decade (some I haven't seen in 2 decades!!). It's fun to reconnect but I'm finding that facebook sends a lot of email notices about every little activity that happens on your account.
I found our friend that helped set up Brian's marriage proposal to me. I found some dance team teammates, college roommate, old high school crushes and some people that I never cared if I saw ever again in my life (I didn't add them to my friends list, though).
So many memories!!!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

So I'm a few days late. Just trying to recover from the holidays! :-)
I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful new year. On New Year's Eve, we had friends and family over for a party. It didn't start very well. Then a crowd of teenagers came and things livened right up!!! We played a game called "Mafia" and then one called "Psychologist". Both are new to me and very fun!! The party was a great success after all.
New Year's day for me was spent at the local craft store where I joined in a big scrapbook party. It was fun. I didn't get much done but I enjoyed the day.
I don't know what this year holds for us. Brian's job should wrap up in late summer. We plan to buy a piece of property and start building a home once that has happened. We have a big year with the kids. Brandon turns 16, gets his driver's license and will be ordained a Priest. Yikes!!! Oh and he'll be able to date. Triple yikes!!!!!!!!! Jonah will turn 12 at the end of the year and be ordained a Deacon. That's kind of weird. Ronan turns 8 and will be baptized. And Isabeau started Sunbeams in Primary this week!!!! Big events for all of them!!