One of a Kind

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I like to call it unique, not unpopular, as the reason that there is nobody with my name in the U.S. Statistically, according to the website, Maren in the 3176th most popular name in the U.S. I guess I'm one of a kind? (Now is that a good thing or a bad thing....hmmmm.....)

Thanks to my friend Shelby for giving me this idea. It was fun.

Dinner #4 (Or "The Yummy One!")

You guys, tonights dinner was YUMMY! My whole family loves it, and so do the neighbors! (They are the ones who gave me the recipe.) On the menu: Pizza rolls and salad. For the pizza rolls, you will need pizza dough. I have made these with homemade pizza dough, Jiffy brand (that's what tonight's was), and the kind that comes in a tube in the refrigerated section. It all just depends on how many additives you want in your pizza. Spread out the dough on a cutting board as if you were making a huge pizza. For three boxes of Jiffy, I rolled out 2 huge pizzas. For tonight's pizza, I used some leftover hamburger and mozzerella cheese. In the past I have used pepperoni, sausage, vegetables...really anything you like on your pizza. Put a little bit of red sauce (I use bottled spaghetti sauce) on the crust, then top with your favorite pizza ingredients.

Then roll it up jelly-roll style, as if you were making cinnamon rolls. Slice into 1 or 1 1/2 inch slices. Put on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven and cook until done, about 25 minutes. Serve with more red sauce and alfredo sauce on top or to dip in. YUMMY! I just served a simple salad on the side. My kids hate salad, so they had theirs with canned pears on the side.

The picture really doesn't do it justice. You have to taste it to believe it!

Well, this concludes this blog series for the week. I have enjoyed sharing my dinners with you and wish you all happy eating!

Dinner #3 (Or, "You Win Some and You Loose Some")

Oh yah...a real meal. Home-cooked goodness at its best! Kidding, more like "home-cooked goodness at its mediocreness." (Yes, mediocreness is a word, I'm sure of it.)

On the menu tonight:

Ham

Vegetable Shepherd's Pie

Corn

The ingredients for the shepherd's pie:

3 carrots

1 parsnip

1 onion

1 green pepper

3 stalks celery

some banana squash

Chop all of them up and cook in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Then add 1/2 a can of chicken stalk and a splash of apple juice. Add salt, pepper, a sprinkle of rosemary, and a tablespoon or so of brown sugar. Simmer 25 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Meanwhile, open 2 cans of sweet potatoes, drain almost all of the juice off, and whip up with some butter and a small squeeze of maple syrup.

Put cooked vegetables in a casserole dish and top with the mashed sweet potatoes. Either bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes, or put in microwave and heat until cooked through.

I served this with sliced deli ham, warmed in the microwave, and frozen corn, also warmed in the microwave.

This was an experimental dish, meaning I have never made this before. I saw a version of it in a cookbook I read for enjoyment once. But I didn't have all of the ingredients (meaning turnips. Who actually buys turnips? Yuck!) If you are not a sweet potatoe lover, this dish is definately not for you. It's not the best version of shepherd's pie. Two of my kids gave it a thumbs down, my husband and I thought it was just okay. If you choose to make this and you have a small family, half it! This made a HUGE casserole dish filled to the top! And I think we ate roughly an 1/8 of it! Lunches for the week!

After you chop everything, it really wasn't hard to make. But honestly, it wasn't super fantastic. Maybe tomorrow after it has a chance to sit overnight in the refrigerator it'll taste better.

Until tomorrow...

Dinner #2

First of all, someone (whose name will remain anonymous but begins with an R and ends with an N and has a B in the middle) implied that this was going to be a pretty boring blog series. Rmember, I didn't promise to entertain, just show how a real American family eats dinner. Informational blogging, if you will. Tonight's dinner is about as gourmet as last nights. I had very little time to make dinner. I'm afraid we have a version of this meal once a week.

On the menu: Chef's Salad and Muffins

I made the muffins in advance because dinner-time was going to be hectic. First of all, assemble the ingredients:

Zucchini/Pumpkin Muffins

1 c. sugar

2/3 c. vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

3 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix all ingredients, then split batter in half. Batter will be thick! To one bowl add 1 1/2 c. shredded zuchinni. To the other bowl add half of a 16 oz. can of plain pumpkin. Heat oven to 350 and put batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Then wait about 5 minutes before you need to eat dinner and scramble to put the salad together. In ours we had lettuce mix, shredded cheddar, prepackaged grilled chicken breast, and salad dressing. Pretty simple:

Mix it all together and you've got a dinner the whole family will enjoy!

My Son's Blogging Again!

My mom and I made PJ's for my teddy bear today! I have some just like them.

Dinner #1

If you all are sick to death of me, quit reading. If not, I have a treat for you! I admit that in my spare time I read cook books. The love of cook books began in college when I had to wait for an entire hour downtown for my bus to come to take me home. By then I was starving, of course poor, and desperate for anything that looked like food. So I would make my way into Crossroads Mall and look at cookbooks at the Dalton Bookstore. I haven't quit since.

Currently I'm browsing a cookbook from Princess Diana's personal chef. When there was a Princess Diana, anyway. Those British royalty sure do know how to eat fancy. But what about the typical American family? Well, my friends, I'm here to show you how they eat!

This week I'm starting a blog series entitled "Dinner at My Manor." Tune in each night to learn how to prepare typical American food. Typical for the us anyway. Here is dinner #1: hot dogs, pork and beans, onion rings (does it get any better than that? Tune in for tomorrow's edition to find out!).

Here are the basic ingredients. Pretty self-explanatory. Preheat your oven, slice hot dogs lengthwise, and warm up saurkraut and pork and beans. Toast buns, and spread with butter if desired.

Put onion rings in first, then broil hot dogs until desired doneness. Then plate it up as follows:

Enjoy a typical meal from the Lythgoe kitchen! Until tomorrow...

"How I Survived the 5th Grade But Not An Earthquake," dedicated to my Grandma

A few weeks ago a friend of mine challenged me to write a book. I told her no way, I just didn't have the time, what with raising kids, keeping up on laundry, reading the OT and, oh, yah, blogging. The mere thought overwhelmed me. Instead, she told me to just come up with a title and who I would dedicate the book to. The title (which is above) came easily. And, by the way, I came up with this title before the Nevada earthquake, promise.

Of course I would write the book about me. I'm not too good at making up people. And 5th grade was a year of change for me. Besides having that blasted maturation program to deal with, I got my first pair of very thick, very big glasses. Then my mom gave me a new "look." I'm sure she meant classy, but it turned out that I looked like a boy. I have not had short hair since. I did not have my ears pierced then, nor was I allowed to wear makeup, hence I looked like a boy. Plus I had freckles. Plus I slouched. Self-esteem = zero.

Meanwhile, as I was dealing with my boyish handsomeness, my grandmother predicted an earthquake. Not just any earthquake: the one that would put California into the ocean. She had dreams, premonitions, read about it being foretold in the scriptures and other books. "Put your valuables away" she cautioned, "make sure you have shoes right by your bed," she said. "Get your year's supply," "don't have anything around that could fall on you," "PRAY!" "Watch dogs: they seem to know beforehand when an earthquake will happen." (Incidently, at that time we didn't have a dog, so we had to watch the neighbors dogs.)

She knew the exact day of this earthquake. Which happened to be the day my dad was on a business trip to California, of all the luck. I wrote/worried about it constantly in my journal, as well as how awesome I looked.

As fate would have it, I made it through the maturation program, my hair eventually grew (although I think I was in 6th grade before I finally liked it), and though I hated the glasses, at least I could see. I sang in General Conference that year, boisting my self-esteem, and won 2nd place in our 5th grade classroom Christmas Craft Contest (the 1st place winner's mom totally made hers, it was so obvious. But I'm not bitter. Really.).

I never did make it through the earthquake, though. California is still attached to North America, my dad didn't so much as feel a bump that day. But we slept with our shoes by our beds anyway. And away from any windows. With our breakables boxed up. Praying the whole night long, and writing our good-byes in our journals.

And that's how I made it through the 5th grade but not through an earthquake.

The End.

My Son's Blog

My son reeeaally wants a blog! So, until he gets one, I told him he could post on mine. So here's what he would write if he had a blog:

My favorite movie is...hmmm...Pokemon. I love Pokemon because I have Pokemon cards. And I love Mom because she gave me a blog. [Ahhh!] And Dad didn't have to put me in time out. Well...he did have to do it once, but not twice! But I still love Dad. I hate school. It's because there's fire drills. And earthquakes drills. But I still like my teachers. I like my password in computers and I like my sharp glasses. And I like my house and I like my friends. I like my blog.

Have a good day!

Windfall

Don't you just love it when you get unexpected money? We just changed our car insurance and received a small amount back from the company. Not enough to live off or anything, but a small amount to spend. After paying the kids their allowance, buying mouthwash and vitamins, I had $20 left to spend. If you know me at all, you know that I NEVER. HAVE. CASH. EVVVVER. Or spending money, for that matter. So I made a mental list of what I could/should buy with it:

-pay my library fine
-pay the video store fine
-buy my son shoes because the poor boy only fits into his snow boots at the moment
-go to Target's sale racks and see what's available
-go to Olive Garden and get their black tie mousse cake (aka Heaven on Earth)
-save up to pay back the Tooth Fairy. We have three kids with lots of loose teeth at the moment

I ended up buying my son some shoes at Saver's (for $4!) and renting two videos so I could also go in to pay the video store fine.

I now have $10. My question is: What would you do with $10? My son said he would save it. What would you do?

Liz's Questionnaire

My sister Liz made up a questionnaire to answer on her blogsite. Because she's a blood-relative and all, I feel obligated to answer it. All in the name of support. Because I love her. A lot. Here goes:

What name did you wish you had when you were a kid? Something normal and popular, like Sydney or Heidi. No one had ever heard of a Maren before.

Would you rather go without brushing your teeth or wearing deodorant? Definately brushing my teeth. There's always gum or mints or not talking or not breathing on anyone, but sweating? Yuck!

In your opinion, what is your most annoying habit? Rubbing my tongue along my nice, shiny straight teeth. I know I haven't had braces for years, but seriously, I love having straight teeth! And I'm afraid I have something green and leafy stuck in them.

If bodysuits came back in style would you wear them? Absolutely not. Loved them the first time around, though.

If you were offered $300,000 to relive high school would you do it? Without hesitation. Especially if I could have the same exact friends. I couldn't have made it through high school without them!

Would you rather live without a cellphone or the internet? TV. If I had no cellphone, I would be afraid one of my kids needed me, and if I didn't have the internet I couldn't blog. Both of those situations would cause me great pain. But TV? Bye-bye!

What is one question you wish you could ask people but don't because it's not polite? How do you get your house to smell so nice?

Would you rather lose an arm or a leg? An arm. I really value walking.

If you could only listen to one band or singer for the rest of your life, who would it be? Tough one....Bon Jovi?

What do you do in the privacy of your home that you wouldn't do in public? Play Solitaire. I don't do it in public because it's not readily available.

Would you rather have a pretty face with a pudgy body or a so-so face with a perfect body? How about my current situation: so-so face with pudgy body? I'd pick so-so face with perfect body.

In front of a large crowd would you rather sing or dance? Sing! Can't carry a tune to save my life, but it's a whole lot better than my dancing!

How often do you weigh yourself? Every time I go to the gym (about 3 times a week)

Now it's your turn! I hope you'll answer these for me because I love finding out new things about old friends!

Beef: It's What's For Dinner

But what's for breakfast? Hmmmmm, how about..... Pringles Potato Chips, of course! This is what I witnessed this morning as I finished my shower and entered my kitchen. The kids helped themselves to breakfast! And they were so proud! "Mom! Potato chips only have 1 gram of sugar!" See if I teach them to read labels again...

LOL

When my sister (who shall remain anonymous to protect her identity) was younger, her goal in life was to be a professional circus laugher. She worked hard on this dream by laughing each and every night before she fell asleep. She laughed over and over and over and OVER again (I should know: I perhaps maybe shared a room with her).


So my question is, what makes you laugh? As a child it is so easy to laugh. Adults don't laugh as much. We need to fix that! So I've compiled a list of things that make me laugh. Please let me know what makes you laugh.



Here's my list of what makes me laugh:



- Looking back at your life and what you thought was "cool" at the time. Anybody remember mile high bangs, shoulder pads, and, my personal favorite: tight rolled pants?

-Events in your life that were horrible at the time, but that you can laugh at now. Example: the day (recently, I might add) that I went to the gym but was too lazy to put my jacket away in a cubby (yes, I can even find ways of being lazy at the gym). I flung it over the treadmill, which promptly ate my jacket. I've lost towels this way, but those are minor. I only have one gym jacket. So I pulled with all my might (with all my neighbors all of a sudden running very busily on their own treadmills, but they all had smiles on their faces), but could not get the jacket out. I finally had to have the guy behind the counter help me. Next time I see you I'll show you the holes and grease marks in my jacket. I laugh to myself every time I put my jacket on.

-When my kids do silly faces. The best is when my daughter crosses her eyes or when my son sticks his tongue out and pulls his mouth with only one hand, or when my son can't just do a silly face, he has to do a silly dance to go with his silly face.

-I laugh every time one of my sisters quote a movie line when they are talking. It's so random, but they'll even do it complete with any accents involved. I also love it when one of my sisters will say something sarcastic, and Jessica will retort: "Jealous?" (Example: before Jess was dating Brad, one of my sisters - who shall remain anonymous to protect her identity - pointed to a less-than-average looking (ugly) guy and said "I like your boyfriend." Jess immediately responded, "jealous?" I laugh just thinking about this.)

-Darin's "serious" jokes. Sometimes I can't tell if he's joking or not, he'll oh-so-honestly tell you his opinion about something. Sometimes he's so innocent looking that I just crack up.

So what makes you laugh?

I Really am Addicted

I just can't help myself! I MUST blog! So, in an effort to de-simplify my life, I decided to have two blogs. That's right: TWO.

I've decided lately to read the Old Testament. I have never done this in my life. At first I was going to just keep a diary of what I read on my computer, but the more I thought of it, the more I decided to post it on a blog. I am reading in no particular order, but I'm keeping my notes on my new blogsite. You can follow along, read about what I've learned, or skip it altogether. I just know I'll be more dedicated if I write it all down.

So, if you are interested, click on the link "My Journey Through the Old Testament" and enjoy the Old Testament with me!

Happy Presidents Day!

Hope you are all having a great day! This is the PERFECT weather for February, don't you think? The kids can go out and play ball, Darin washed my car (a thousand thank-you's to him!), no school or work for us today. Just hanging out and cleaning the house and getting things done! I love days like this!

Enjoy!

The Fix

After much determination,
And failed configuration,
My blog needed an operation
To fix the way it looked.


Jess and Brad came to the rescue,
And asked what on earth they could do
They pulled out their crayons and glue
Before I had to be booked.

They made my blog look cool, dude!
Not like a stubborn mule, dude!
It'll make you want to drool, dude!
They are so very kind.

I want to tell you in this letter,
Thanks for making my blog better,
You are a real trendsetter,
And are always on my mind.

Thanks!

Help!

I admit it: I'm codependent.

I just can't/won't do a lot of things on my own. Examples? (1) Clearing the table. I always ask for help. (2) Laundry. I always ask for help. (3) Cleaning the front room. I always ask for help.

And here I go again...

Will someone please hold my hand and walk me through changing the look of my blog?

I have been on this blasted computer for almost 2 hours (yes - TWO hours) and have completely ruined my blog! Where did the cute background go that I put in? Who knows! Where did my page elements go (you know, the menu ideas, the quote of the day, the other blogs to check out section)? Who knows! And how do I get them back? Who knows! Why do I all-of-a-sudden have Blog links thing-a-ma-bobs on my page that I can't get rid of? Who knows!

I am in the process of a melt-down, folks. I need serious intervention.

All I want is a cute blog! Is that too much to ask for? Who knows!

Don't Call Us. We'll Call You.

For those of you waiting with baited breath (Hi Jess) wondering if I got the job at Northridge High, you may let out a collective breath of relief. I did not get the job. I have to say that I am disappointed, but oh well, right? Looks like I'm staying at my ideal part-time job that I love for now. Really, that's not a bad thing. And I'll keep looking for the perfect full-time job that I'll love, too. It'll come along when it's supposed to.

How to Write a Love Story

I'm a big fan of romance novels. Not the kind that come in paperback with pictures of burly men on the cover with no shirts and wind blowing their hair around. I like the true love, clean, innocent love stories. And I've read enough to know how to write them. For your benefit, I have included a list of ten easy steps to include when you write your next novel.

Step 1 - Two good-looking characters (who do not realize how good-looking they are) are placed in similar situations. And they are not looking for love.
Example: Two college-age individuals happen to take the same institute class.

Step 2 - Something "coincidental" brings them together.
Example: The two individuals happen to sit next to each other in said institute class.

Step 3 - Either something humorous or something tragic unites them in a cause.
Example of tragedy: All of the girl's guy friends have embarked on missionary work. Who is she going to hang out with?
Example of humor: Another girl in class flirts with the guy and the guy will have none of it. The girl who is missing all of her guy friends is highly entertained and impressed with the guy.

Step 4 - The guy asks the girl out on a date.
Example: The guy drives by girl as she is walking to bus stop (her primary mode of transportation). Guy is driving nice sportscar. He asks her to go play tennis with him. She says yes, not because she knows a single thing about tennis, but because she really would like a ride in that car.

Step 5 - The girl and the guy start seeing characteristics that they like in each other.
Example: Girl is amazed with guy's patience in teaching her raquetball (that was plan B since it was raining outside, so tennis is out of the picture. Girl knows even less about raquetball than she does about tennis). Guy likes the girl's attitude.

Step 6 - As friendship deepens, sometime they've got to kiss.
Example: a nice place for this to take place is probably in the summertime on a ski lift at Alta. If deer are roaming mountains, it really helps the atmosphere.

Step 7 - Guy proposes.
Example: Christmas Eve is a great time for this to take place. Light the fireplace, have a basket of flowers come down from the ceiling with a ring in there, and have the radio play a great song in the background. Meanwhile, have the brother-in-law who was hiding to lower the basket and turn on the radio secretly and quietly run out the door. Oh, and include Chinese take-out on the table, preferably, Dinner #2 with extra S&S sauce and root beers from Chin-Wah.

Step 8 - Have a great wedding day.
Example: don't worry if your mom made the brides-maid dresses match the tablecloths, or you wore a very gaudy, elaborate wedding dress that all the old ladies in the temple loved. Just smile with those cricked teeth and have a fabulous day.

Step 9 - Add some stress, just for good measure.
Example: maybe throw in the drama of having triplets three months early and then no steady income for years.

Step 10 - Have tragedy pull couple closer together and fall deeper and deeper in love.
Example: couple has faith and hard work, and shows commitment to stay married and in love for eternity.

And they lived happily ever after.

Nevermind, Part II

Have I not learned my lesson?!? I. SHOULD. NOT. BRAG. After making you all feel slighted and insecure about your birth order, I decided to take a nap (those job interviews can really wear a woman out, I tell you). I set my alarm so I wouldn't be late for work. And I woke up 1/2 hour late for work. I ended up being 45 MINUTES LATE! And I had no valid excuse. "Ummm, so I slept in..." Yeah, not pretty.

Thankfully, I work with really great people who pretended not to be mad at me.

And that's what I get for telling you all that I am soooo smart.

The Statistics Prove It: I AM Smart!

I could not let this article slip by: "Big edge noted for firstborns." This was front page news, folks, in the Deseret Morning News this morning. I should make it clear that I am the oldest of seven children. The study says that firstborn children make more money, have more education, and have higher IQ's. I cannot, with a healthy conscience, refute these findings. I do have more education (but Jess is catching up), and it should be obvious about the IQ thing. (Just don't read my last post or anything.) And the money? The article clearly didn't say when I would make more money. I'm still holding out for that one.

You all know how I hate to brag, but I thought you should be aware of these findings. You learn something new everyday, don't ya?

Another ADD Moment

Oh you guys, something bad happened today. I mean it's good news, but I messed up. You see, I applied for a secretary job at Northridge High School the other day and they called me this morning to see if they could interview me. Good news, right? Here's the bad news: they called me on my cell phone, right as I was walking into my favorite Kung-Fu-for-an-hour class at the gym. Needless to say, I didn't have a pen and paper on me. The lady on the other line confirmed the appointment time and date, and I repeated it back to her. Then I hung up and promptly went to the front desk and asked for a post-it and wrote all the info down.

Here's what I wrote: Interview 9:15 Tuesday.

Sounds simple, right? But I swear in my mind I thought the lady said tomorrow. So, did I write down Tuesday because I honestly thought Tuesday is tomorrow (which I believe I did at the time), or is the interview next Tuesday? Tomorrow or Tuesday? Tomorrow or Tuesday?

I need your advice. Should I just show up tomorrow like I'm not a loser and hope that it really is tomorrow? Or should I call and confirm the appointment? I feel stupid doing that because the lady repeated it and I repeated it back to her.

Told you it was bad news. Help!

And the Winner Is...

Breathing.....eating....sleeping.....writing.....
Some things just come naturally. Some traditions, like opening presents on Christmas morning or going to church on Sunday, are so ingrained in us that we hardly question why we do them. Why does the Lythgoe family make brownies on Sunday? Because it's Sunday. Because we always do. Because....I don't know! But that's what we always do. Sunday is our brownie day.

Today we thought we would perform a little experiment (are you listening Brad? This is right up your alley, being a scientist and all). Two weeks ago Darin bought one brand of traditional fudge brownie mix, and this past week I bought another brand, also traditional fudge. Which brand is better? Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker? We've never actually cared as long as they were chocolately and rich and delicious, or on sale. So today we made up both brands. (Yes, two 9x13 pans of chocolately goodness was at our house for a short time!)

Which one was better? Hard to say. They were both good. However, Darin and I both agreed that Betty Crocker was a little bit better. It could be because we undercooked those brownies, but whatever the reason, they were more chocolately and rich and delicious. So, the next time you're at the old WalMart, and both brands are on sale for $1.98, I suggest going with Betty. She'll never let you down. Or buy both, and have brownies for dinner. Don't forget the milk, though. You'll need some nutrition for your brownie supper.

Enjoy!

How Do They Do That?

This morning at card swap, we all exchanged blog addresses. Turns out that all of us moms must want to brag about our families or something. Except I don't brag about my family; mostly I brag about myself. That was the startling reality I noticed as I looked at everybody's blogsites.

So in an effort to be less selfish, I'm going to brag about my kids. Without the pictures: I'm much too lazy to post pictures right now.

My Daughter - my daughter loves everything Hannah Montana and just recently (as of this morning) loves everything about the Suite Life of Zach and Cody. She's smart as a whip when it comes to math: ask her any math problem (except division and algebra...) and she'll answer you in her sleep. That's my girl!

My Son - the boy knows everything and then some about Pokemon. Don't ask him about it, though. You'll never hear the end of it! He's so passionate about things that he loves. He's also an excellent jumper and runner and yeller and talker. I couldn't live without him.

My Son - this boy of mine is hilarious. He can come up with funny things to say about any situation. He's great at quoting movie lines (his first quote: "Stuck in the mud you say?" from a Little People cartoon.) He can out-eat anybody when it comes to brownies and is a great reader.

Phew. Now I'm like everybody else. Just without the pictures. And without the cool blog backgrounds. How do you do that? Will somebody please let me know? I'm just stuck in the mud here with the one the blogsite let me choose from.

Now, about me...

They Love Me, They Really Love Me!

Have you ever been rejected? I have to admit, I don't have much experience in that area. I never had an official boyfriend before Darin, so I never had to break up with someone. I've never been fired from a job (I was given a warning once, when I worked at ShopKo, so I promptly quit before I got fired). I've never even been refused a credit card. I never tried out for any club in high school, never ran for class president or anything, so I was never rejected (if you don't try, you don't fail, right? That was my philosophy back then.)

I've failed at many things (sewing, losing weight, staying caught up on laundry, full-term pregnancy...the list could go on and on), but have rarely been fully rejected. So yesterday when I got the letter in the mail informing me that I didn't get the preschool job I applied for, I felt the awful weight of rejection. Granted, I would have turned it down anyway, because it just didn't feel right. But my ego would have preferred that I turn them down instead of the other way around. I tried to imagnie what went wrong. Did I ask them to repeat the question too many times? Is it because I didn't know what to put in the writing center if we were learning about trains? Is it because I didn't cry?

I told myself to buck up and move on. After all, if Mitt Romney could spend 30 million dollars of his own money and still be rejected by the American people, the lousy 10 dollars I spent on a food handler's permit was nothing. Rejection is okay. Yesterday I was thankful that the experience was over and that I can put this whole thing behind me and move on to the next full-time job quest.

So imagine my surprise when just 20 minutes ago they called me up and offered me a position! It wasn't the one I applied for, in fact it was just a part time job that I refused because I already love the part time job that I have. But they told me to apply again for a full time position when they have more available. They hired someone else who had her degree in education and had plenty of experience. But they still want to hire me. Eventually.

Thankfully, I guess I still don't have much experience in rejection. Unless I count the daily dinner routine: "Were having this for dinner? I hate it!" Or that one time in college when I tried to talk to a girl to be nice and she said "I didn't ask you to join my conversation, did I?" Or the time in Junior High when I was walking down the hall and someone made fun of my blue USA jacket that I got at Anderson Lumber. That really hurt.

Oh well. It happens to all of us. I guess I'm still human. And can't wait for the next big challenge.

Kids: They Grow Up Too Fast

It seems like just yesterday I brought my cute little babies home from the hospital, one by one. They were so frail, yet so loved.

And then, in the blink of an eye, they are 100. My how time flies. Everyone told me they grow up too fast. I now believe. They are so frail, and still so very loved.

Who am I kidding? Can you all tell it's 100 day at school? The kids were supposed to dress like they were 100 years old, and they will learn that you're never too old to learn. So we pulled out the walking sticks, spray painted their hair white, and called them 100. They went off to school walking very slowly.

They are anything but frail, but still SO VERY LOVED!

I'm a Believer

I've really enjoyed this last week hearing all the good that President Hinckley has done for the world. I'll admit that I cried (me, cry?) when I heard that he had died. But my first thought was how happy he must be being with his wife again. Then I cried more (big surprise).

Anyway, our fast and testimony meeting was filled with testimonies of Pres. Hinckley's divine calling. Most started out their testimony with the time that they saw him in person and how they knew that he was the prophet. It was a great meeting. It made me wonder, though: I've never seen President Hinckley in person! The man was everywhere, and I never saw him in real life. I've seen him on TV numerous times, read his books and articles, heard him on the radio. I've felt like I've known him personally, even. I'm convinced he knew me personally, anyway (that whole talk about "lower your voice a few decibals" was directly to me).

Having never seen him, though, I know he was a prophet of God. I sustained him, loved him, prayed for him, and did my best to follow him. There is no doubt in my mind that he was a true and living prophet of God.

Our new prophet, President Monson, I have met in person. My mom and I sat a few rows in front of him a few years back at a theater in Salt Lake. The play was The Music Man, and during intermission we stood to walk out and passed by him. There were, of course, throngs of people around him, which made the aisle very crowded. But when my mom and I walked passed, he looked directly at us. Met our eyes, even. It was a great experience.

I have to say, however, that even if I had never met President Monson before, I would still believe that he is our true and living prophet of God right now. I love that our Heavenly Father provides us with current direction and communication, and loves and cares about us enough to give us a prophet in these latter days. I'll sustain him, love him, pray for him, and do my best to follow him.

At Least I Didn't Cry

So today was the big day. Job interview at 9:30 am sharp. I drove through thick snow, wearing my newly ironed dress clothes, really, really excited about the opportunity to convince a lady named Judy that I could teach 4 year olds. I even hurried and got my Food Handler's Permit Friday just so I could come a little bit more qualified than when I applied. I was armed with faith, excitement, and all of your prayers.

And then I walked into the building. I felt sick. And not because I was nervous, either. I just didn't feel like this was right. But I went on with the interview. (Turns out Judy was just one of four people to interview me.) I think I even did good in the interview. I was positive, happy, and only answered a couple questions with "I don't know" (that's okay, right? I mean, if you were to talk about trains one day, what item would you put at the writing center? I don't know, crayons to color a train with?) We talked for 30 minutes and then Judy informed me that the position was located in Woods Cross. Twenty minutes from my house. Which is okay, I guess, but I was hoping it was 5 minutes from my house (where the interview took place) so I could spend more time with my kids.

So there you have it. After leaving, I still just felt wrong. I tried to convince myself that it was just the reality of a full-time position that made me feel bad. But I know it's not. This is not the job for me, which kind of stinks because I think I could really enjoy it.

I have thought all day about why I felt so good about it in the first place. I was so excited I think the whole world knew I had an interview. I was excited and looking forward to it clear up until I set foot into the building. So why did I feel so good and then one step later feel so bad? Maybe I had to show the Lord that I was willing to take the steps. I don't know.

Oh well. There will be other opportunities in the future that will work. I'll keep looking for them.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me.

The Right Stuff?

If you know me at all, you know that during my teenage years I had a small affection for a boy band by the name of New Kids on the Block (NKOTB). It was love at first song when I lay in bed one night with my headphones on listening to KISN 97. The station played a new song called "The Right Stuff". It was like nothing I had ever heard before. Positive, good beat, high falsetto (don't know if that's spelled right. I spelled it like it sounds...). Anyway, that song automatically became my new favorite song. I even wrote about it in my journal (of course, there wasn't much I didn't write in my journal in those days...).

Eventually I had every song memorized (still do..) and had my room wallpapered with posters of Danny, Donny, Jordan, Jonathon and Joey. I knew that Jordan was the good looking one who sang most of the songs, Jonathon was his good-looking shy brother who had anxiety, Donny was the good-looking bad boy, Joey was the good-looking youngest who happened to look like a kid in our ward (strangely, I didn't have a crush on him, though), and Danny was the good-looking one who had a steady girlfriend, but I just knew he would break up with her once he met me. I daydreamed about them, read about them, wrote about them, listened to them, went to their concert, was pretty much obsessed with them. I take full responsiblity for the fact that all of my younger sisters know everything about them, including the words to all their songs.


Rumor has it that they are staging a comeback. Yes, actually getting together to sing again. All I have to say is:

Nnnnnnooooooooo!!!!!!

This might come as a surprise, knowing how obsessed I was with them. But really, do they need to come out with new songs? Or even sing the old ones again? No. Doing so would simply ruin my childhood. You see, in my mind they were so perfect. The unbuttoned white shirt blowing in the fake wind was perfect. The matching outfits were perfect, even if it was them wearing suits, complete with matching cumberbuns, but no shirt. Even the earrings in Donny's ears were okay (the Prophet had not said it was wrong yet). They could do nothing wrong. They were clean cut boys who I was sure would be converted if they just knew about the gospel. And I would be willing to introduce them to it. Now I look back and smile. And then laugh hysterically. It's a part of my life that I wouldn't trade, but would never want to relive.

So let's just call enough enough and everybody move on and enjoy the memories. Let's please not go through a mid-life crises and wish you had millions of screaming women crying for joy when they see you. That part of life is over.

Debbie Gibson, however....

A Thousand Thank-yous!

This looking for a full-time job business is seriously taking a toll on my blogging time. But I just wanted to tell you all thank you for praying for me! I can definately tell. I got a job interview on Monday for that preschool teaching job I really want. Thank you for all of your support!