cheese pizza vs. nacho salad

Some days have better stories than others.

Rachael and her two kids go to the library at the same time as Ella and I. This was a happy circumstance, not planned at all. Ella and Jacob are very excited to be at the library together, and spend the next little bit picking out movies and books together. They have to get the exact same movie, and when Ella couldn't find a dinosaur book like Jacob had, she was very sad.

Before we went to the library, Rachael told me her boys usually pick about five books each. I thought, "Wow! That's a lot of books!" At the library, I watched as Drew kept handing books to his mother. There was no way this was about five books each. But at checkout, she had thirteen articles: one book for herself, two movies, and five books for each boy. How did she do that?!!!

Ella finally lost all of the little tutu pieces. I told her she would either have to do without or chose one of her big ones. She refused to do either. Instead, she ran into my bathroom crying and pointing at my shower curtain. Oh yeah. I had forgotten than we had "washed" one little piece before she went to school.

I got to Hale Centre Theatre early for my class, and stopped in to talk to Cat. She told me how to do my hair for the upcoming audition. She also told me what to wear, and what not to wear. And after all of the fashion advice, she went into the box office and found out how many people are auditioning for the show. It's like having a personal assistant! The discussion turned to how it isn't good for everyone to sound the same. The box office staffed agreed with me. I said, "If everyone sounded like Cat, Cat wouldn't be special anymore." Cat says, "My mom says I'm always "special"" We just had to tease her about the quotes around "special".

Joshua got home from school yesterday very excited. He got to serve lunch and he told me all about it. "I counted how many students got cheese pizza for lunch today...280." "What were you serving?" "Nacho salad. And only 37 kids got the nacho salad." "So, you were bored?" "Kind of." "What did you have for lunch?" "Cheese pizza."

Some days have better stories than others.

A Fish Story

When David and I were first married, we had a small fish bowl and three fish. Bert, Ernie and Algie. ( He was an algae eater). Bert didn't last very long, he was, after all, a goldfish, and a 10 cent feeder fish at that. Ernie seemed sad, so David and I went out and bought him some new friends: Sherbet and Malt. Malt also didn't last very long, but I don't think Sherbet and Ernie cared much about him anyway. Sherbet and Ernie took to swimming really fast around the bowl in circles, and every so often they would run into Algie as they went by. Algie, being an algae eater, was generally stuck to the side of the bowl. This seemed like a game to those of us watching. Circle, circle, slam!!! Circle, circle, slam!!! Eventually, Algie would give up trying to cling to the bowl and start circling with Sherbet and Ernie. It was NASCAR for fishes.

This couldn't last forever, because as with all creatures, if you get slammed up against the side of a fish bowl often enough, it's going to do some damage. Yes, poor Algie died. Sherbet and Ernie were left circling the bowl with no one to slam into. Circle, circle,...Circle, circle...

Not long after this, being a 10 cent feeder himself, Ernie died. Sherbet was left alone in the bowl. He swam rather aimlessly for a couple of days and then he went belly up, too. David and I think he died of loneliness.

The moral of this story is: "Fish are friends, not food!"



Disclaimer: Believe it if you wish, David and I know the truth.

Kate Voegel

I just bought a new cd (I love that I can get on itunes and download a cd, and not have to wait for two weeks to have it arrive in the mail from Amazon, although don't get me wrong I love Amazon, and usually it would arrive in two days, but this particular cd was on backorder, and they didn't have the mp3 option anymore, but that's okay because itunes lowered the price on the full album to what the mp3 price had been at Amazon when I first thought about buying it on Wednesday morning, so I'm awfully glad that I took some time to think about it and didn't actually purchase it until Saturday because it saved me two dollars on the download option, and even though I prefer the hard copy of the cd, in this case I didn't mind, I just made a folder and then burned a back up copy of my own, and who needs another another cd hanging around feeling left out because it doesn't fit into any of the three, yes three, cd cases that we have in the living room. *grin*)

It's a singer named Kate Voegel. (Maybe I should say "artist" or even "musician", after all she doesn't seem to be just a singer, she does all of her own piano playing, and I learned this because I first heard her while I was watching an episode of "One Tree Hill" last week, which is one of my favorite guilty pleasures, but when I can find such fabulous music by watching a show maybe I shouldn't feel guilty about it at all, except that I know I'm not watching the show for the music, I'm afraid to admit that I watch the show for the cute guys, yes I know I have a problem, but it's my problem and I like it, so tough to anyone who is going to mock me about this, and I'm sure there are those, Esther, who will really want to.)

My favorite track is "Kindly Unspoken". (I wish I could come up with such wonderfully, poetic names for my songs, but truthfully, I've not been writing songs at all the last couple of weeks, because the definition of a song is a piece that has been written for voice, and I've had no singing to speak of, it's all been strictly piano solos, and although I love my piano solos, I do miss composing songs, just that lyrics have been escaping me the last three weeks, everything I've come up with has been stupid and shallow, so David says I need to find myself a lyricist, and he's probably right, but I don't want to deal with a partner right now, I've done that before, and it's not that easy, but that's okay because I do love my piano pieces, I think I've said that recently, and when I can listen to such wonderfully, poetic songs like Kate Voegel's song, "Kindly Unspoken", I can be happy in knowing that if I don't give up, and I haven't given up, the words will come back to me eventually.)

More Sorrow

Yes, I watched the news last night. My children asked lots of questions, David and I answered them as best we could.

What I Learned

There are things I know for certain about myself. I am vain, fairly self-centered, very self-righteous, sometimes rude, sometimes sarcastic while trying to be funny, and occasionally moody. This is beginning to sound like a Charlie Brown song. "You're stupid, self-centered and moody. I'm moody?" On the other hand, there are good qualities about me, too, but for the purpose of this blog I'm not going to go into them now.



Somehow, in all of this self-acknowledgement, I never thought of myself as a murmurer. But, I think I am. In fact, I think I am a champion, Laman and Lemuel quality, murmurer. When did this happen? Why did I never see it before? There may be answers to these questions, but I'm not certain they matter so much. What matters now, is what am I going to do about it?



What am I going to do about it?



I am going to speak with more caution. I am going to decide if I really want to be the "complainer" or the "victim". (Emphatic NO! to both!) And I'm going to start right now. To those who have had to listen to me murmur: I apologize. To those who I have murmured about: I apologize fervently. To myself: There is no time like the present to make a change.

Quiet Morning

I love being up early. My children are all still asleep, even the dog leaves me alone. My house is completely quiet. I hear the whoosh of the air as the heater turns itself on, and I know the house is getting itself ready for the kids to be awake. I am, too.

I'll take a few minutes and read my scriptures, say my prayers, and maybe ponder over what today will bring. I'll warm up my body with some stretches or some crunches, or maybe some blankets. I'll drink some water and listen to some music. I'll compose my blog, and occasionally take time to write in my journal as well.

I can hear the first sounds of stirring in the boys room. They won't be up for about an hour, but Josh will start moving around in his bed pretty soon. The dog has decided to wander the halls. He hasn't asked to go out yet, and that's okay, he will when he needs to.

In the meanwhile, I have the morning to myself.

If Sleeping Beauty ever wore a snow suit...

The story goes like this...

On Wednesday Ella brought home a note from preschool that told her wonderful, not slacker, parents that Friday was to be Olympic day. In other words, she needed to have appropriate outdoor wear in order to participate.





Of course, David and I got right on the ball and ran to Walmart to pick up Ella some really cute snow clothes. Actually, we didn't.

Late Thursday night, after I was in bed, we remembered that she needed clothes for the next morning. So, David, being the less slacker of the two of us, ran to the store and found this darling pink and yellow concoction of a snowsuit.

Pictures just for Rachael

Yes, Esther, those are your nylons Drew has wrapped around his neck.

Drew is completely devastated to have to ride in Aunt Patti's van. Can you tell?

Tax Rebate

"What I want to spend my tax rebate on..."

1. Gilmore Girls, the seven season set
2. New clothes
3. Going out with my husband, i.e. movie tickets, show tickets, dinners, maybe a hotel
4. Paint for my family room
5. A family vacation (the Nauvoo trip could be back on!)

"What I'm going to spend my tax rebate on..."

1. Bills.

Things you hope to never say to your children...at least more than once

"Don't put butter in the VCR!"

"Why are you coloring on the ceiling?"

"Please don't eat the dog food...again."

"You're brother is not a trampoline."

"Paste is not a food group."

"Who's footprints are on the ceiling?"

"Don't Bite the Dog!"

"Please don't lick your sister."

"Who left a red crayon in the laundry?"

"Who cut the blanket?

Again

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Another bright, young, very talented actor...dead. Apparent drug overdose.

A flurry of thoughts accompanied the news, swirling around my head, falling away one by one until only two remained: "What a waste" and "Fame and Fortune aren't everything".

I feel like this is a warning tale for those young people who think being rich and famous will solve all of their problems. I don't think it does. I think it makes some things far worse. Maybe it skews all of a persons priorities, making them susceptible to malignant outside influences. Maybe it just makes it far to easy to obtain harmful substances.

I've blogged about waste before. This morning it seems appropriate to post it again.

September 25
What a waste
I just finished watching a movie starring River Phoenix.

When I was 13 years old I had a mad teenage crush on him. He was young, just my age in fact, and so talented! And really cute. Of course, that was the most important thing to me at 13.
Being an average-type person, I don't really understand what happened, but somewhere between 13 and 23 he got very messed up. He died at 23 of a drug overdose.
Even now, as a watch his movies, I think, what a waste! Imagine what remarkable things he could have done if he had given himself the chance. What would his life have been like if he had been more centered, less self-destructive, more average?

Am I, as a parent, giving my kids the chance to be remarkable while still keeping them centered? Or, am I asking for too much without being the support system that can keep them grounded? Sometimes it's difficult to remember that although I might wish differently, they have the right to choose their own way. Even the best parents in the world can have a wayward child. In the end, the only thing for a loving parent to do is teach them the best we can now, pray for them all along the way, and hope that when they look back on their own lives they won't feel like it's all been a waste.

A Story

On occasion, Michelle, Kelly and I used to play over at Michelle's house. Her mom had a jukebox, complete with 70's flashing lights, upstairs in the bedroom. This was our favorite place to play BeeGee's music. And we did. A lot. But downstairs, in the basement, was the real treasure. Sister Oviatt had an old 45 record player complete with a bunch of old records! The three of us spent hours in the basement, playing records and learning all the lyrics. This is when I first learned "Purple People Eater" (which I later found the sheet music for in my father's collection), "Witch Doctor", and most importantly "Dawn". To this day I still remember all of the words. And though I have this song on a fabulous cd (The Very Best of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons) nothing can ever replace the memory of when I first heard it. It was scratchy. It was perfect.

Extreme Makeover...Me Edition

No, I am not planning on shaving my head bald, totally re-doing my wardrobe and moving to Calcutta. (Although a whole new wardrobe would be cool) What I want is to find some peace and quiet.

I'm a mother with four kids. I'm not sure literal peace and quiet are possible, except, of course, for those two mornings a week when all of the kids are at school. And even then, if I have Drakkin that morning, quiet isn't always on the schedule. So, if a literal peace isn't on the menu, what am I going to do?

I can find a figurative peace. I can quiet my mind.

My mind is always going about a million miles an hour. Nothing travels faster than thought, not even light. My thoughts can flit from one end of the universe to the other in time so fast it's unmeasurable. They can amble down the street and hike a mountain before I can blink. And yet, there are times when I can feel them slow down to take in something new, learn, grow, become.

I want to become something more.

I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a friend and a teacher. I am a maid, a chauffer, a cook, an accompanist, a singer, a reader, a homemaker, a seamtress, a knitter, a writer, a composer, a sister, an aunt, a favorite aunt, a niece...when do I get to be just me? If I wait for my world full of people and things to tell me "Now is the time" I don't think it will ever happen. I think I have to take the time. I think I need to forcibly wrest a few minutes out of my schedule and use it to relfect, ponder, meditate even. Maybe then I can find that peace and quiet I so crave.

And maybe, just maybe, if I can do this every day, or nearly every day, I can find the person I'm meant to be somewhere in the tumult. Maybe I'll find that I don't need an extreme hairdo, or a new wardrobe, or to move to Calcutta to be something more. Maybe I'll find I am more, and have just forgotten it. I'll bet that's the secret. We are all more. But for some reason, we don't remember, or we haven't discovered it yet, or life has beaten it out of us. Well, I'm taking it back.

Extreme Me! Real Me! True Me! Don't fret! I'm coming!

Puccini in My Head

First things first.

I'm writing this late Saturday night, but I'm not going to post until tomorrow morning. I figured if I did it this way, I could sleep in a little. 9:00 church is great, except when you've gone to the opera the night before.

I just got back from the opera (duh). My sisters and I, and Sarah, too, because Grandma had another function to go to and couldn't use her own ticket, any by default it ended up in Sarah's hand, went to see the Utah Opera production of 'Tosca' tonight.

I love Puccini. I find the melodies more beautiful and expressive than a sigh. They entrench themselves in my mind and won't let go for many days. The funny thing is, I really don't mind. I would rather have Puccini running through my brain than almost anything else. And the best part is, I wasn't disappointed in tonight's performance.

The villian was so villianous. His voice was gorgeous and his acting wasn't bad, which for an opera singer is saying a lot. By the end of the first act I really wanted to booo! every time I saw him. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, depending upon your point of view, that sort of reaction is very much frowned upon in the opera.

The soprano was glorious! I didn't want to scratch her throat out when she sang the high notes. In fact, I could have listened to her sing a bunch more of them. And the suicide! The magenta cape she was wearing billowed out behind her as she threw herself off the building (onto a crash mat I suspect, because she looked plenty healthy for the curtain calls).

But the best of all was the leading man. He acted! He SANG! He sounded a lot like Pavoratti! He received many 'bravos' and curtain calls. Each and every one of them were richly deserved. I would like to hear him perform with the Utah Opera again someday.

Puccini is in my head. I'll probably dream it tonight. And if I'm lucky, tomorrow night, too.

Welcome to my neighborhood

It was a beautiful day.

When I got home from watching 'Gilmore Girls' with Rachael and Esther, I took off my coat, hung it up, put on a sweater, took off my shoes, put on my slippers and sat down to entertain all sorts of neighbors, in the form of lessons, who would parade through my home throughout the afternoon.

I should learn the trolley song on the piano.

Sorrow

My aunt Shirley died yesterday.

She's been sick for a while now, so it wasn't unexpected. Still, it's harder than I thought it would be.

It was quite an experience

Last night I took my kids to see "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" at West Jordan High School. It's one of the kids favorite shows, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to let them see it again. Besides, our tickets were free because I had loaned set pieces to Kelly.

Everything started out so well...

They used the lemonade stand as a ticket booth, which I thought was really clever. The cast photos were adorable. They had live music, which I think is always preferable, and it was Kelly at the piano which means it was excellent (except for that one page turn). The set was gorgeous, pulled straight out of the comic strip, and I was so jealous imagining what we could have done with a set like that.

Then Charlie Brown came on.

I was awash with emotion watching this poor round-headed kid murder the role. (Not what you were expecting me to say, is it!) He couldn't act at all, not even Keanu Reeves style, and I kept thinking about Joel. Joel...who only had a pretend kite (this kid had a real one) and yet was more believable than last nights poor imitation. The other characters weren't as bad. But when the show is called "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" having a not so stellar Charlie Brown really hurts. I now understand why Cory was so hesitant to go forward until we had a Charlie, and I'm even more grateful that Joel was willing to step in and perform.

Lucy and Sally were darling, little girls.

But, and this is a big but, they weren't my Lucy and Sally. If I take them one at a time, starting with Sally, I'll admite freely and easily that she was good. She had the younger sister whiney thing down. I remember when we started rehearsals and Kate was worried that Sally would end up sounding just like Lucy, and so she worked out a different sort of character, a character that would distinguish herself from the other female lead. And it worked. Well, a young, mostly inexperienced actress wouldn't recognize that she was pretty much just like the other character. The biggest differences, besides one was in blue, and the other in pink, came because the director, who happened to be Kelly, stole many things about Kate's performance and gave them to his Sally. "Gatorade! Is it in you?"

Lucy was also good. But everything can be summed up in one quick statement: She wasn't Cat. She spoke her lines well. Her physicality was delightful. She even had character quirks, which you don't find in younger performer very often. Her face was expressive. I was ready to believe. Then...the singing happened. She sings really well and they were lucky to have her, but there is just no way to compete. And though I acknowledge this is in no way a competition, in my heart no one will ever be Lucy but Cat. One last note: I was amazed at how much of Cat's performance I did see in this young lady who never saw our show. I wonder if Kelly had anything to do with that. *duh*

Schroeder is one of my voice students.

He sang really well, and I'm not the least bit prejudice about that. And to his credit, he did act. The entire show he was never once out of character. He made a character choice and he stuck to it. Too bad he was flaming. That's all I have to say about that.

A note about some brilliant direction. Other than stealing bits from an excellent and remorable production, which to me only seems smart, there was one moment that really stands out. Even this morning, nearly 12 hours later, I'm still laughing when I think about it. "Beethoven Day" was beautifully sung (see above), but when Linus put his blanket on a pole, and started waving it back and forth behind the cast, the backlight went red, and everyone did a strange lopsided march, I started truly laughing for the first time that night. It was fabulous! And it wasn't a straight line...

Linus was about the same age as our Linus.

When we lost so many of our cast members before rehearsals had even begun, I would never have dared to imagine that we would end up with performers so talented. Sam, however, was a wild card right from the start. He was an unproven commodity. And he was so much younger than everyone else. But there was this learning curve. Call it a "Sam Curve" if you like, I know Kate does. The result was that Sam was brilliant! I can still see the start of "The Glee Club" when Cat has Sam from one side, and Kate has Sam from the other, and the poor kid is nearly leveled trying to keep himself upright in the face of these two very strong-willed, and much shorter than him girls. In retrospect, I think working with so many outstanding performers makes you raise your own game. Last nights poor Linus didn't have that opportunity. And it showed.

Snoopy had a receding hairline.

Seriously. The poor kid is in high school and had a receding hairline. Still, he was by far the best actor in the bunch, the songs just weren't his range at all. He would have made a great Charlie Brown, or even Schroeder, whose songs are written for Bari/Tenor. Snoopy is a high tenor, and he wasn't. But, every kid can't grow up to be Nick. How did we get Nick? Oh yeah. Our director brought him over from the actors program at the U of U. He was amazing. He could sing, he tried to dance (hard enough that it showed), he could really act. Snoopy can make or break the show, and our Snoopy made it.

In the end, my kids enjoyed themselves.

I suppose that's what matters. They aren't critical enough yet to feel about the show the same way I do. And for that, I'm grateful. One of these days they are going to grow out of the childlike innocence that lets them enjoy mediocre performances. Or maybe not. After all, I still enjoyed myself as well. There were enough well acted, well blocked, well sung moments for me to feel like it was worth my time. It just wasn't our show. And the truth is, sometimes when you bring together a bunch of unknown elements, throw in some unusual casting choices, and a fabulous music director, mix well with amazing acting and stellar singing, and top it off with some straight lines, you get magic.

Besides...millions of little kids do it every day!

Lunch

I love Tuesdays for one very good reason. "One Tree Hill" comes on Tuesday night. Just kidding. Although I do love "One Tree Hill", and I know I shouldn't, Tuesday is all about lunch. Everything divides itself into two categories; before lunch and after lunch.

A sampling:
Before lunch - ballet
After lunch - lessons
Before lunch - dishes
After lunch - laundry
Before lunch - bluegrass
After lunch - George Winston

Lunchtime converstion is always stimulating and worthwhile. Even when it's silly. Maybe especially when it's silly. After all, conversation with adults is very important to a stay-at-home mother. Nearly four year olds don't hold intense conversations.

Another sampling:

-The Napoleon joke really was funny every time.
-Keanu Reeves may not have an act button, but he sure is cute.
-Speaking of Sandra Bullock, I'll be watching "Premonition" with the stupid ending this weekend.
-I think we should see "Joseph" no matter what she says. After all, who is she to tell us how to support our friends?
-And really, something completely inane after "Closetland" may be a great idea.

Lunch itself is food. Sometimes good, sometimes not as good, but when eaten with friends, it doesn't really matter. It's the ritual of gathering, of sharing a few moments out of our busy lives that's important. I know how busy we all are, and therefore, I have alot to be grateful for.

A final sampling:

-Thank you for sharing molten chocolate cake and ice cream.
-Thank you for always being excited to see me. I'm always excited to see you!
-Thank you for sharing stories of your life and being willing to listen to stories of mine.
-Thank you for acceptance, honesty and unconditional friendship.
-THANK YOU!!!

Sarah

I think my 12 year old must have had a terrible day yesterday.

She slept in. I know she didn't wake up until 6:45, because I woke up and asked David if Sarah had left for school yet, and he woke up and realized she hadn't. So, instead of 30 minutes to get ready, she had 3. She made it, though.

Some stupid boy called her ugly. Instead of crying, which is what I surely would have done, she told him off. "That was unkind, rude, and in my opinion should be illegal. And if you ever say anything like that to me again, I will tell the teacher!" Way to stand up for yourself!

Ella cracked her forehead while David and I were out for dinner. It bled. A lot, I guess. Sarah's always been so good about not calling us while we're out, so when the phone rings, we know it's an emergency. She felt so guilty about it, it was our anniversary date, but neither of us wanted her to. We've always told her not to call unless...well, this was the unless. David and I spent some time trying to let Sarah know we weren't mad at her for calling.

After a day like this, I might have been curled up in the corner, or I might have been pounding on the piano with all my might. The latter being the more likely scenario. Well, I went to sleep to the strains of "Man from Snowy River", "Moon River", and whatever else Sarah is working on these days.

I'm proud of her.

Reminiscing

Today is my 14th anniversary.

It took me 20 minutes to get dressed that morning (I had planned for at least an hour, so I had time to wait, which is always a lovely thing on a wedding morning...not!)

David drove us to the temple in the truck, Cal was it's name.

We were told the four most important words in a marriage are "You May Be Right". "I May Be Crazy" nearly always follows those words, at least for us. *grin*

All four parents were remarkably happy. My Dad cried at Shauna's wedding, he cheered at mine.

The Hutches loved me right from the start!

I ignored the rules of reception line etiquette as I traveled down the line, refusing to talk and accept congratulations, insisting everyong come in out of the cold. It was January after all, and mostly, I wanted to dance with my new husband.

I took off my shoes, of course, because that's what I do. Rachael had tennis shoes on for hers, didn't she?

I don't remember eating anything that night, which is too bad, because I do remember looking at the spread, and it looked fabulous!

Someone put jello on the windshield of the truck. Real, liquified, and not set yet, jello. And then they took the windshield wipers. I remember being really ticked off, because that's just mean. It wasn't funny at all. Wow! I'm stilled ticked off about it.

Anna Rogers caught the bouquet. She's not married yet, wasn't even remotely close to the next one to get married, so I think Mythbusters should come out and do a story on it.

Families are Forever

David and I were priviledged to attend a sealing yesterday at the Salt Lake Temple. His niece, Tara, and her husband, Burke, have been working on adopting a lovely little girl. They were her foster parents from the day she was born. They named her. They've raised her. She calls them mommy and daddy. Just this week the adoption finally went through. And yesterday they were sealed as a family.

The older two children, Whitney and James, got to be there as well. Whitney is nearly 11, and very grownup. She and London wanted matching dresses, of course. Isn't that what sisters do? Tara couldn't refuse a request like that. I know that I wouldn't have been able to. James, who is around 6, started giggling into his hand when his new little sister started screaming for her daddy. This is a happy family. *grin*

I, too, am a member of a happy family. My boys fought all morning. Ella ate an entire Symphony bar (a large one) by herself...at least we hope she did and it wasn't the dog. Sarah is...well...Sarah is busy. I didn't see her that much yesterday. David and I did get to spend most of the day together. In other words, I'm grateful for forever. I think it's going to take that long to get my kids to clean their rooms.

Fez

What's in Fez? I don't know. Isn't Fez a hat?

I watched Gilmore Girls with Rachael yesterday. I cannot even begin to describe how relaxed that made me the rest of the day. I would start to get stressed and then..."Do I look shorter? I feel shorter."

I started teaching two new students yesterday, which means I started at 1:30 and taught straight through until 5:30. It's only 5:30 because one of my students had surgery this month, but she'll be back next month and then things will probably go until 6:00. "What do you think about Luke? You cannot date Luke, because then you'll break up and we won't be able to eat here anymore!"

Drewser was about the cutest kid in the entire would yesterday. He kept handing me my keys trying to get me to take him home with me. "What about a motorcycle? If you're going to throw your life away for a boy he should at least have a motorcycle!"

Even at the bishopric party last night, when things got deadly dull..."Poor ugly baby! Doesn't even know it's ugly!" We're hoping she'll improve with time.

My advice for the day? When things feel incredibly stressed, take a break, it's only 45 minutes an episode, and watch Gilmore Girls. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll laugh some more.

Gratitude

David gave a Family Home Evening lesson on gratitude this week, and it got me thinking. Am I really grateful for everything I've been blessed with? Do I show that gratitude? Am I even aware of all that I've been given? I don't think I can answer yes to any of those questions, most especially the third one.

I read an article that stated that people who kept gratitude journals were happier than people who didn't. It's true! I kept a gratitude journal a few years back, and now, I find that even the act of re-reading what I was grateful for two years ago makes me smile. I think it's time to start again.

1. Last night we had family scripture reading. Benjamin has misplaced his scriptures, yet again, and thus, didn't have them last night. Joshua asked how much new scriptures cost, and we told him. "Darn! I can't afford that!" was his reply.

2. Again last night, when it was Benjamin's turn to read, both Sarah and Joshua were anxious to let him read from their scriptures. All my kids were willing to share. *grin*

3. Even though I added three new students in the last week or so, I managed to turn one down yesterday.

4. Audio books are a wonderful thing. I managed to clean my house and listen to a book (A Great and Terrible Beauty) all at the same time. Whoever decided to put books into audio form is a genius!

5. I actually got to bed before 10:30 last night. The kids were all bathed and in bed by 9:30, the house was quiet, there was nothing worthwhile on TV, and I was tired. And I got a good night's sleep because of it.

Five Gratitudes. Five things to keep me going if today gets rough. Five reasons to smile and say "Thank You". Try it. Being grateful is addictive...in a good way.

When the Snow Squeeks

Once There Was a Snowman, Snowman, Snowman

Once There Was a Snowman, Tall, Tall, Tall

In the sun he melted, melted, melted


In the sun he melted Small, Small, Small
(or doing the limbo, same diff)

Then he started leaning, leaning, leaning (Because he leaned.)

Then he started leaning, Until a crazy kid knocked him over. (He didn't really)

One more thing

Three reasons Rachael needs a dog.

Okay, it's only one, or maybe it's a thousand. A picture is worth that much, right?

Three Things

Why Three instead of Four?

1. I'm being a rebel.
2. Four is too many this early in the morning
3. My quotemaker is still three.

Three places I've visited

1. Hawaii, many times *sigh*
2. Disneyland, especially with the kids *laugh*
3. Yellowstone, camping is fun *grin*

Three jobs I currently have

1. Voice teacher
2. Stay-at-home mom
3. Internationally renowned chef (just kidding! Short order cook is more like it!)

Three Favorite Movies

1. Singing in the Rain
2. Joe vs. the Volcano
3. Hairspray , this is subject to change without notice

Three places I went to college

1. BYU-Hawaii, Laie Campus
2. Ricks College, Rexburg, ID (before it was BYU-Idaho)
3. University of Utah

Three books I want to read this year

1. Les Miserables
2. The entire Chronicles of Narnia
3. Does it really matter? I'll read more than a hundred other books anyway.

Three TV shows I love and really shouldn't

1. Beauty and the Geek
2. America's Next Top Model
3. One Tree Hill

Three web sites I love

1. My blog!
2. Good Reads
3. Amazon

Three foods I could eat every day (but won't, because I'm an adult)

1. wontons
2. ice cream
3. pizza

Three actors I have a crush on

1. Matt Damon
2. Hugh Jackman
3. Scott Bakula

Three year old sings:

"Stop! Telling me what to do-o!
Don't! Treat me like a child of two-o!"

(check out the teddy bear flash player if you don't know what this song sounds like)

Three things I am grateful for

1. My close family (yes, all of you!)
2. My extended family (yes, all of you, too!)
3. Good Friends

Futhermore

A while back I blogged "10 Things I Would Recommend". Well, I think I've changed my mind. Not that I wouldn't recommend any of those other things, but rather that I needed a blog for this morning, and this one presented itself. I also don't have 10 new things, just things I would recommend in addition to what I already posted.

11. Full Body Massage. Seriously. Give my sister-in-law, Danna, a call and schedule yourself for an hour of uhhhhh. I got one yesterday, and I slept like a baby last night. Really, it's a wonderful thing. She even used lavender scented oil for me.

12. A really great haircut. Most of us spend our lives having adequate haircuts. Haircuts with little or no style, shelving layers, cut that are bad for our faces, with no good color, haircuts that leave us uninspired (think how many ponytail days you've had in the last month). Find yourself a great stylist and pay the extra money to get a great haircut. You won't regret it. By the way, my stylists name is Cindy Johnson. She just had a darling baby girl, but she is working again.

13. Lunch menu at Appleby's. I'm going there today with my girlfriends, and I am so excited! Reasonably priced, delicious choices, good company...lunch doesn't get better than that.

14. Learn to say 'no'. I must apologize to my husband. David, I'm sorry. I didn't add one new student, I added three. You just heard the last one...

So maybe this isn't so much a list of recommendations as a list of things that I've done in the last week. I also watched "Doctor Who", "Quantum Leap" and "Firefly". Sci-fi is cool.

Nothing to say

I did finish my song last week. It's not the greatest thing I've ever written, but it's done, and it's mine, and after a couple of years of nothing, I'm proud of it.

I'm trying to write my Relief Society lesson and nothing is coming.

I've got to start a new song in the next day or two and nothing sounds good.

I tried to think of things I'm grateful for and nothing came to mind. (This doesn't mean I'm not grateful, I just can't seem to be specific this morning.)

I did finish my song last week *grin*. It's not the greatest thing I've ever written, but it's done, and it's mine, and after a couple of years of nothing, I'm proud of it. In fact, I'm grateful for it.

That's not nothing.

Yes, it's love

I just adore Jason Robert Brown. Not for his stunning good looks or stellar personality, I'm not sure either of those exist, after all, I've never met the guy. It's his music. Ahhhh! I could listen to his music every day. It's funny, it's heart felt, it's real, it actually means something, and in this time of meaningless drivel that record producers call music I find it an oasis.

There are other real musicians out there. I can listen to Billy Joel until the cows come home. I think Sting is a poet as well as a musician (have you really listened to "Fields of Gold?"). And speaking of poets, Paul Simon has got to be one of the best. George Winston manages to extract sounds from a piano that I didn't think were even possible. He's another one of my "listen to him every day" composers.

A real musician is not just a singer. A real musician is not just an intrumentalist, whether piano, guitar, or anything else. A real musician has something more. Something that makes them a lasting commodity. Something...

I'm always on the look out for new musicians to love. Leave me ideas! Loan me cd's! I promise I'll listen with an open mind! And maybe, just maybe, if it touches my heart, I'll add them to my list of "real musicians".

Composing

Another resolution this year has to do with my composing. I used to compose music all the time. I have a couple albums worth of music that I wrote either by myself or with a partner. The only problem is, I haven't composed, at all, in a couple of years. And I really miss it.

One of my friends, I think it was Kate, told me a story of how Michael McLean would compose a song every day, good or bad, just to get the creative juices flowing. I may have messed up all the details of that story, maybe it wasn't Kate, maybe it wasn't Michael McLean, but the point is the same. I've got to get the creativity back.

Unfortunately, I don't have time in my schedule to sit down and compose an entire song every day. The demands of kids, lessons, babysitting, and life in general are too overwhelming. But I can find a few minutes nearly every day. And thus, the resolution is:

• Compose a new song once a week.
• The song need not be perfect: good, bad or ugly works.
• The song need not be religious in nature.
• The song need not have lyrics, which makes it not a song at all, but rather a piece.
• My week will end on Sunday.

I'm rather happy with this, except for one thing. Tomorrow is Sunday, my new song is begging for a third verse, and I am completely stuck. At least there's a new song to be begging...

Popcorn

Yesterday I finished an amazing book, "The Photograph" by Virginia Ellis. I would recommend it for anyone. It deals with two women, Ruth and Maddy, who are left to deal with some pretty awful things while their men go off to fight World War II. It's told from both viewpoints, alternating from one to the other, but I was never confused about who was speaking. I do own a copy of this book, purchased at library sale for 50 cents, and if anyone wants to borrow it, let me know. Please! Borrow my book! I want to be able to discuss this book with someone!

My family, minus Sarah who was babysitting, sat down to watch our weekly episode of "Doctor Who" last night. David and I purchased the dvds of the third new season for the family, but we don't know when the fourth will be available, if ever, so we are rationing out what we've got. All the kids, even Ella, love Doctor Who. And I must admit, the idea of a time and space traveling alien is very intriguing. I think, if he were real, that I just might go. Well, at least for a trip or two. Somehow, that knowledge makes watching the series a little bit better. And so far, I'm enjoying the third season, in spite of all the negative reviews I read about it before I found it to purchase. Why do I like things other people don't? Hmmm....that's a blog for another day.

I finally watched the movie "Stardust" last night. I enjoyed it. I loved Claire Danes. I thought Michelle Pfeiffer was deliciously wicked. I was curious as to why Rupert Everett was only on for two minutes. I didn't care so much for Robert DiNero. Wow. His name is Spanish for money... Back to the point, overall I liked the movie. The dead brothers cracked me up. Tristan's evolution was well portrayed. The special effects were good. It didn't follow the book.

Stardust is one of those books that I read and really enjoyed last summer. It's a strange book to read, it doesn't flow as well as some others, it's not very fleshed out as far as a story goes, but all in all, it's a great little book. And while I could see the reasons for changing the ending, it didn't make me so happy. I liked the story the way the book ended. Why do movie producers, writers, directors, editors, think they know better than the original author?

Which brings me to "The Golden Compass." I liked the book. I really did. I found it well written and entertaining. I have heard all the furor surrounding the author's claim of "anti-Narnia" and "atheism" and I just don't care. It's fiction. Get over it. I love fantasy stories, and this one was no exception. In fact, David and the boys listened to it this last summer while I was in Hawaii. And they loved it.

The movie of "The Golden Compass" was disappointing. There were parts I liked. The children playing with their daemons, Nicole Kidman's wardrobe, Daniel Craig, maybe I should repeat that, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliot was perfectly cast as Lee Scoresby, and a bunch of other little things. Sadly, it wasn't enough to take away the fact that the movie was very long, and really quite boring. And the end was wrong. It drove my boys nuts. All they could talk about for an hour after the movie was over was how Roger was supposed to die. I tried to justify it for them, I really did, but all my excuses came out shallow and wrong.

Leave my good books alone!

I'm very afraid for the movie adaptation of "Twilight"...

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Rachael...she's having a baby. I guess that means congratulations to Dave, too.

Congratulations to Cat...she made callbacks!

Congratulations to anyone who made it through New Years alive...more or less.

Congratulations to David...you got the tree down without killing any kids.

Congratulations to me...I stood up for myself and refused to take a non-paying position just to boost my ego.

Congratulations to you...not for any particular reason...doesn't it feel good?

Resolutions

This is another "duh" topic for the beginning of a new year. Tough. Deal with it.

My resolutions so far are quite simple.

1. Lose 10 pounds.
2. Read Les Miserables.

I think everyone in this country has the first goal, or maybe something similar to it. I'm given to understand that weight loss is the most popular New Year's Resolution. Being that it's so popular, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and try it out this year.

I've had a copy of Les Miserables since I was 21. I've read the first couple hundred pages maybe 5 or 6 times. I'm finally going to read the entire book. Still, I'm giving myself the entire year to accomplish this. The plan goes like this: read three books, read one or two chapters in Les Miserables, read two books, read two pages...

I'm certain that I'll think of more things I want to resolve as the week goes along. After all, setting goals and trying to improve ourselves shouldn't be a one day a year activity. It should be something that can happen any day, any time, whenever we finally get motivated. Maybe I'll be motivated tomorrow, or the next day, or even next month...I'm not so sure I'm motivated right now!

Happy New Year!

Seems like a really "duh" title for the first blog of a new year, but there you go. It is, after all, a new year, and I do wish you happiness.

David and I went off to Laughing Stock tonight. We enjoyed it so much that we are talking about trying to do it again next year, or this year, as the case may be. It certainly helps that Sarah is old enough to babysit at home, but not old enough to run off to a party of her own. *grin*

The kids stayed home and celebrated in their own way. I found out, after the fact of course, that this included; playing chase with the dog in the house, making way too much noise (no big deal), and the grand finale...wait for it...drum roll...shaking up cans of red cream soda and exploding them in my kitchen at 12:00. Hmmm. They said they cleaned up ("and Chubs helped!"), but the floor is still suspiciously sticky. Oh well. They'll have to mop in the morning.

Laughing Stock went a little over time tonight. Initially, David and I were going to try to make it home to cheer in the new year with the kids. I certainly wouldn't have allowed red cream soda fountains, so I'm thinking they didn't mind so much. Anyway, we kissed in the new year at the stoplight at 4700 so. and I-215. Three minutes later we celebrated with the kids.

Well, my family is all set to try on 2008 for size. We have lots of big plans, lots of little plans, and lots of no plans at all. Mostly, I hope we're happy. And in that spirit, I wish you all...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!