ABC tag

The rules are :
1. To each letter of the alphabet, write a word connected to you
2. Tag 6 people to do this next.

A - Alive.
B - Believing.
C - Cute. (I say cute because people always say, "Oh, you're so cute" I think Goofy better suited though.)
D - Determined, definitely.
E - Ernestine (my middle name)
F - Family...the most important thing
G - Girlie
H - Hyper
I - Ice cold. I'm freezing all the time!
J - Jon (you can't have one of us without the other)
K - Kind.
L - LOL...I'm always cracking up.
M - Music (once again, you can't have one without the other)
N - Nerdy. Yes, I said it. I'm really quite nerdy...but that's the new cool, in case you were wondering.
O - Outstanding handwriting...unless I'm writing in a chart, then I'm just as bad as the doctors. LOL
P - Professional Appeal writer
Q - Quint (my brother-in-law)...can't think of anything else for Q
R - Reader of all things that are good.
S - Superbad..um, ya.
T - Twilight...I just love those books!
U - Unwavering in my faith.
V - Va va voom lipstick...hehe
W - Weirdo (self professed...um, ya)
X - Xcited, a lot of the time.
Y - You! You are all a part of me somehow, thanks for that.
Z - Zippie.

Ok, so now I tag, Julie, Wendy, Heather, Vickie, Stacey, Teri

Have fun guys! :)

Clothing exchange

The Relief Society in my old ward just did this and it makes a load of sense to me. Not to mention that I've heard a lot of my friends lately say something along the lines of "I need a new ward robe or I need to get a new outfit". So, I was thinking, what if we did a clothing exchange? We could take clothes we didn't want anymore (taking into account stains and holes...and not bringing those items, of course) or things that we can't fit into anymore (unfortunately I have a few items like that...ok, A LOT of items like that) and put them in a pile. Then anyone can rummage through the stuff and pick what they want to take home. If we get a large enough group of gals who are willing to sort through their crap (treasure) then maybe we can actually do some good here. There's bound to be something for everyone and what no one wants we'll just take to the DI, or Goodwill.

What do you think? Is this a good idea? Am I crazy for even thinking it?

Grocery deals ending today. Sorry! :(

Here's what I got tonight:

10 bags of Betty Crocker cookie mix
1 gallon milk (filler)
1 loaf bread (filler)
10 tubs Betty Crocker frosting
3 lbs bananas
1 1/2 pouds apples
1 package Peeps (bluck)
10 boxes Chex mix cereal bars
10 Pillbury Cresant rolls (refrigerated)
1 12 count eggs

I should have spent $130.35. With my coupons and store coupons I paid $3.59. That's less than 1 gallon of milk people! Not my best ever haul, but not bad either.

I promise to go through the ad early this week so I can say what deals I'm getting for you all. I've been so swamped that I've not gotten around to getting this done lately. Sorry. From a glance, I can see that Albertson's has some really good deals going on now...so check that out and see what you can find.

My romantic husband

Last night while waiting for all the kids to take baths and brush their teeth, I decided to sit down and read some Mansfield Park. Then I decided that I would listen to music at the same time (ya, I'm talented like that), but decided that All American Rejects probably wouldn't set the mood for Mansfield and Edmund...so I started browsing through my iPod for the right mood. I was going to go for something like "Clair de lune", but then came across something entirely new to me. Jon must have put a new song on for me, I thought, so I opened up the single to give it a quick listen to see if it was something that would be suitable for reading.

It certainly was.

However, that wasn't what grabbed my attention. The song is "I'd Rather Be With You" by Joshua Radin from the album Simple Times. I gave it a listen and then another. It is very, very sweet.

Jon put this sweet tune on my iPod just for me and it gave me chills. If you haven't already heard this song, look it up (someday I'll get fancy enough to actually add the video into my post, but I've still no clue how to do this). So I sauntered into the bedroom where Jon was watching an episode of some show where they were crashing school busses (I know). Here's our conversation:

me: Jon, that was so sweet of you to put this great song on my iPod. I love it! Thank you! (then I even lean over and kiss him and rub his shoulder)

him: Um, I did? What song is it?

me: Are you serious? Did I just give you an opportunity to be completely romantic and reply something along the lines of, "Of couse, I love you. I meant the song to be especially for you." But, no. (I should note that while I'm on this little rant he can't keep a grin from spreading across his face.)

pause

me: Let me give you another opportunity, honey. We'll start over.

pause

me: Oh honey, thank you so much for putting this sweet song on my iPod! I love it. I can't believe you did this for only me and thought of me the whole time and that you were just showing how much you love me!

him: Ya, ya. I thought you might like it.


So there you have it. My husband is completely romantic...especially when prompted or told what to say. :)

How could I have missed this for so long?

Drum roll please....

SPAM! Wham! SPAM!

I've never tried SPAM before yesterday. I know, how can I be Mormon and not have tried SPAM?!!? I'll remind you that I am a convert to the church people. I know, how could I have grown up in the projects and not have tried SPAM?!?!? To that I have no answer.

Well, I can't say that I got the full effect because I tried the 50% less sodium, less fat kind, but that counts, right? I tried it because....you guessed it - I got it for free.

I must confess, having never prepared Spam before I was a little surprised by the vast amount of ways it can be prepared. More importantly, however, I decided the way I would try it first was to have it on bread with cheese and mayo.

I was informed after I had already prepared the sandwich that I should have fried it first...at least according to Jon. So here's how it went:

me: Hum...it's not as salty as I expected (probably because I got the less sodium kind, duh). It sort of has the consistency of mashed potatoes, or something mushy mushy...which again wasn't expected.

me (after another bite): This is surprisingly...enjoyable! LOL I don't understand what I was so afraid of!

Then...after eating 1/2 of the sandwich, I had to convince Jon to eat the other half. Why? Because that stuff is rich! I couldn't eat anymore (it might have had something to do with the fact that I had eaten - single handedly - half a bag of Lays potato chips, too).

So there you have it. If you haven't already tried SPAM, you should - it's surprisingly good! I could be the new spokesperson for SPAM.

An the Oscar goes to....

Who cares? Just kidding. I watched the Oscars only for the purpose of seeing the man to the left. I'm pathetic...I realize this. He looked stunning, of course. I'm not sure, but he may have even washed his hair for the big event (it's sad that that can't be either confirmed or denied). Regardless, he's beautiful.

But...did anyone see Hugh Jackman? Whoa. He's definitely a sight for sore eyes...man, what a hunk!

Oh, and Ben Stiller...amazingly funny! Check out youtube for his performance...just too awesome.

Also, I have to say that I want to see Slumdog Millionaire. I won't watch it because of the "R" rating, but maybe someday I'll get lucky and they'll edit it for TV.

That's my only review. Sheri did a much more thorough review and she's pretty awesome.

Besides getting caught up on Lost, I've read some today and stayed in bed. It's definitely not the office that's gotten me sick...it's the kids. They tend to do that sort of thing. I am starting to get a little worried about Sam's face now though. It's been wiped, cleaned, snotted on so much over the last few days that it's literally raw and bleeding in places. Poor little thing...she's a mess.

Well, enough for now. I hope you are all well and in good spirits.

A sore throat

(Note, the title of this post was previously "A sore throat and stinky carpet"...however, I've been informed that the meaning behind it could mean something entirely different...and MY innocent mind didn't even conjour up such a thing...so it's now changed so EVERYONE can feel better about it.)

I'm not sure whether or not I have a sore throat because the kids have been sick this week and now I'm getting it, or if it's because of being at the office all day yesterday.

Sometime between Friday evening and early Monday morning 1 week ago, a pipe burst at our office. How it burst is still unknown, but the damages are EXTREMELY horrible. The water continuiously ran until our suite was completely submerged in water, the entire length of the suite below us also completely submerged, and it was beginning to seep down to the 6th floor as well. So...even though we just went through an office remodel...we get to do it again! The carpets are completely ruined, of course, and the walls up to about waist high are torn out waiting to be replaced as well. All of our drug stock was completely ruined because of moisture. Fortunately, all the computers survived, but we lost a lot of stuff. It's really too bad.

Worse still, though...the 7th floor moved over here last year from another building because the floor above them over there flooded and thus flooded their floor. I bet they seriously consider a one room house next time. LOL Pretty awful.

Anyway, the office stinks. Really bad...although I was told that it aired out quite a bit over the few days before I came in. There were these HUGE fans and some sort of air quality devices running all day and it was really loud and crazy at the office yesterday - not just yesterday but all week actually.

Ok, kids are waking up and want food. I guess I better feed them.

Great Quotes

So, I was browsing around the Lex forum (I'm a complete Twilight nerd)...and found a thread about quotes...here's some great ones:

"It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." Somerset Maugham

"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly. I said I don't know." Mark Twain

"Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places." E. Joseph Cossman

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." Miss Piggy

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." Unknown

"You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself. " Sam Levenson

Ode to Jon

Ode to Jon

Since it's Jon's 35th Birthday today and he's officially decrepit....I thought I'd give you 35 facts you may or may not have known about the man I love...I'm going to try to get really creative here.

Here goes:

1. He's brilliant. Really and truly brilliant.
2. He's been going to school now for 14 years, at least 1 class per term.
3. Can you tell he never gives up?^^^
4. He plays this game “Old McDonald” with the kids where he takes their hand and makes them rub his beard, which tickles, and then pulls their arm up and tickles their armpits with said beard. You'd just have to see it. So funny.
5. He often wears these flamer pajama pants...they literally have flames on them and I hate them.
6. He's totally awesome at Rock Band II. He could so totally play on Expert, but doesn't usually.
7. He once said another woman's name in bed while sleeping. Ya...it woke me right up! He said, “That woman!” I woke up and said, “excuse me?”, and he replied, “Jackie! That woman has no style.” Um...ok. (We watched earlier in the evening a documentary on Jackie Kennedy...I guess he wasn't impressed with her choice of evening wear that night or something.)
8. He never complains about having to hold my stuff while shopping.
9. He is an avid cartoon watcher/critic.
10. He draws really well.
11. He hates pot roast, which is really too bad because that's one of my favorites.
12. When we were dating he said he wanted to have 8 children! Now he's not sure he wants one...and we have three!
13. He loves to play video games.
14. He's thrifty.
15. He makes some really mean crepes. I mean they blow your mind and curl your toes. So good.
16. He loves all animals. Really loves them...and tries to bring them home with him.
17. He likes peppermint ice cream. Ew
18. He's a huge pack rat! Like big time.
19. He's very loyal.
20. A lot of people call him Richard, in fact, quite a few of his patients think that's his real name. (Long story.)
21. He's a twitcher. He'll be sitting perfectly still and then all of a sudden,#(Q@*&(*#!
22. He's learning to play the guitar.
23. He let me paint his finger nails – once.
24. He loves God. He has one of the kindest, sweetest spirits I know.
25. He can't hold still when he really gets to laughing. I don't know if I can describe it...maybe a cross between someone having a seizure or being tazered.
26. He's super funny.
27. He LOVES that Mountain Dew they have at Taco Bell, but since we don't drink caffeine anymore, we can't even go to Taco Bell because of the reminder/temptation.
28. He still holds a grudge against me for biting him in the back...when I was 2!
29. He's only barfed once since we've been married. I told him not to eat that cheese burger if it tasted bad...he didn't listen.
30. He's a good singer...sometimes.
31. He's really good at board games, but hardly ever plays them. :(
32. He's never “cut the cord” on any of our children. He never felt the need.
33. He's an EXTREME germ-a-phobe. Seriously. Won't even take a drink after me. Weird.
34. He hardly sleeps. He goes to bed sometimes as late as 1am and then gets up every day at 5:30am...crazy.
35. He's my favorite person in the whole world.

Suspicious behavior

I got a phone call today from the school nurse. It seems I can't go more than 2 weeks at a time before getting one of those dreaded calls. Apparently, Austin's stomach hurt and the nurse took his temperature and he had a fever, albeit slight. I talked with him briefly and he told me how he was so sad that his friend wasn't going to be able to come home after school with him today as planned because he was just too sick. I figure, if the kid knows this, he must really be not well.

I picked him up.

He complains a little in the car, and when we get home rushes into the house and IMMEDIATELY goes into his newly cleaned room and shuts his door. I'm thinking, whoa...going to lay down and actually get some rest without being told...that's a new one. It was only a fleeting thought because before I even make it down the hall I hear banging coming from his room. That banging can only be associated with wall ball. Humph.

I wonder, how can someone go from being so bummed and sick one minute to running all over and playing the next? I've seen it before, but this was record time.

I advise the little twit that he should not be playing around, but laying down and resting. He gripes but does lay down on the couch to watch some cartoons.

Once his brother got home from preschool, all bets were off and he's back to playing and jumping around and behaving like his normal crazy self. At least he got an hour of rest before Alex got home and then I made them both quite down and relax to watch a movie with me while Sam was napping. By watching the movie I mean that they watched the movie and I fell asleep. LOL

Kids, mine specifically, drive me nuts some days.

Boy's room

I spent hours today, after the boys "cleaned" their room, cleaning the boy's room. I tell you what, I was brutal. I felt like I had no choice. I threw out, picked up, aired out, sucked up so many toys and crap. It's now clean. They are down to two buckets of toys instead of five. I didn't even let them choose...oh, don't get bent out of shape...I didn't throw away anything of consequence.

When Jon got home, we even moved their dresser so they could have a wall free for wall ball. Austin especially would have gotten rid of anything so he could have a wall free for that! I'll probably regret that one soon.

We'll see how long it stays clean. We went over some new rules and they seem to understand them. Rules like, by the end of the day your room has to be clean and picked up...after you're finished reading your books, put them back on the bookshelf. Rules like that. Rules that will prevent their mother from having a hissy fit...as often that is.

Oh, and I also didn't allow a bin for Sam. Although she plays in their room with them all the time, I decided that it wasn't fair for them to house her things as well. So, we moved all of her little things to her room. That one is on my hit list now for tomorrow.

It's never ending.

"Likes To" game

Likes To game.

Thanks Sheri for this idea, it is fun! Here's what you do:

Go to Google and type in your name with "likes to" in quotations after it (ex: "Rebecca likes to")
Write down the first 10 things that pop up.

Here's mine:

1. Rebecca likes to think about things. (sure do)

2. Rebecca likes to make detailed pencil drawings of the animals she enjoys so much. (um...no)

3. Rebecca likes to say "Every product has a story". (I guess every product does, but I don't say that.)

4. Rebecca likes to read. (spot on)

5. Rebecca likes to spend time with her family while tanning on the beach. (This first part I can absolutely agree to, but the last...not so much.)

6. Rebecca like to spend what little spare time she has reading, traveling and taking cooking classes. (I don't travel very often, and while I enjoy cooking classes I haven't taken too many of those either.)

7. Rebecca likes to party on Thursdays. (You all know me and Thursdays...I'm a crazy woman!)

8. Rebecca likes to think of her stash as a processing backlog. (I have a stash?)

9. Rebecca likes to keep up with the times by maintaining a great web site to interact with her fans, but she's not pleased by everything she sees in cyberspace. (This is so totally true!)

10. Rebecca likes to read, garden and travel. (again with the reading thing, but I do like to garden actually)

Valentine Tag

Thought this would sort of fun...thanks for the idea Vaxhacker. :)

♥ How long have you been together? 14 years as a couple, going on 12 years of marriage

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Um, he's known me, or at least of me, since birth. But we started writing each other while he was on his mission and started dating after I turned 16 and he got home from his mission.

♥ Who asked who out? I asked him out.

♥ How old are each of you? He'll be 35 in a few days and I'm 30.

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? His. I only have one brother left, and well since he's quite interesting, and by interesting I mean scary, we don't see him much. Or at all.

♥ Do you have any children together? yep. Three, so far.

♥ What about pets? I'll take a deep breath for this one...our first pet together was a cat, followed by (in no particular order) another cat, a dog, another dog, a bearded dragon lizard, two sugar gliders, an umbrella cockatoo, two chinchillas, another dog, another dog, another dog and another dog. I don't think I'm missing anything here, but I could be wrong. At one time our food bill for the animals alone was over $500.00/month. We currently only have three dogs...thankfully.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Wow, this is a hard one. I think when we both played online video games...we were SO competitive with each other and I got to be better than him...which strained things significantly (only at Quake II, he can kick my butt at anything else). I read now, so things are good. :) LOL

♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope

♥ Who is the smartest? Depends on what you're talking about, but I would say generally he is. I'll never live that down.

♥ Who is the most sensitive? That's a tough one. I show it more, so I guess me.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Stanford's or Macaroni Grill

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Tennessee

♥ Who has the craziest exes? Me.

♥ Who has the worst temper? probably me.

♥ Who does the cooking? me. If I twist his arm he will once a month or so.

♥ Who is more social? me, of course.

♥ Who is the neat freak? Probably me.

♥ Who is the more stubborn? Jon, hands down.

♥ Who hogs the bed? me (He keeps me off his side by pumping up his side of the bed - we have one of those sleep number beds.)

♥ Who wakes up earlier? Jon (unless it's a day where we both have off together, then me)

♥ Where was your first date? The zoo.

♥ Who has the bigger family? Him.

♥ Do you get flowers often? No, but I don't want them. I prefer to have them living to enjoy them.

♥ Who is more jealous? me.

♥ How long did it take to get serious? After Jon was in the mission field for about 9 months, we both felt a connection. He told his companions he was going to marry me. So, when we finally got to date, it was serious right away.

♥ Who eats more? depends on the day. Unfortunately, since I'm home and have more opportunity to eat more, that means I probably do. Ugh.

♥ Who does/did the laundry? We share that, except I do almost all the folding...he's really good at putting them into piles though.

♥ Who's better with the computer? Jon. He's a genius with anything computer.

♥ Who drives when you are together? Mostly him. Men should always drive...he's better at it than me anyway.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hey all, Happy Valentine's Day. Especially to Jon. What a good and loving husband I have. He's the reason for a lot of things, but mostly the reason my heart still hammers in my chest and throat whenever he kisses me. We've gone through, how many...14 years of Valentine's Days...that's really something. I plan to share a lifetime of them with him.

I love you, Jon. :)

Under the Watsons' Porch

I just finished reading Under the Watsons' Porch by Susan Shreve. It as a fast read, faster than most fast reads. Very simply written and easy to follow.

It's about a 12 year old girl who befriends a neighbor boy who just moved in. This boy has a reputation of being a trouble maker, and has moved from home to home over the years. They decide together that they will form a club and invite all the children in the neighborhood 10 years old and younger to join their club. When everyone is gathered together, Tommy (the new kid), explains that the soil under the Watsons' porch is magical. He further explains that when they plant their own special seeds, in 1 week said seeds will produce lollipops. The children return in 1 week and lollipops have indeed appeared.

This book talks a little bit about the pain Tommy has experienced in being shuffled from home to home and about choices he's made resulting from feelings of abandonment. It is about the coming of age of a preteen, Ellie, and how right and wrong, black and white, help guide her, and she comes to realize that there are some gray areas in life, too.

Good read. I recommend it, especially for younger readers.

Christmas Jars

So, I'm a little late on this, or perhaps right on time. Anyway...this Christmas one of my gifts was the book Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright. Given my extreme fondness of books and reading, this one somehow got lost to me. (Truth be told, it was in my van, buried under papers and garbage.)

I found it this morning and just finished reading it. It was a very quick read and very short, however, the message is huge and the impact enormous.

It is about a aspiring writer who receives a odd Christmas gift, at a time when it is most needed. Determined to find out the gift's origin and the reason for it, she sets out to do just that. This little short story involves characters so intriguing and caring, you can't help but be wrapped up in it. It reminds me to be thoughtful of others, to allow my children the opportunities to be charitable and that the time we have with others here in this life should be cherished and not wasted. That every second matters and each small kindness we allow ourselves to give makes a difference to someone.

Ooooohhh...such a feel good book. I recommend sitting down to read this when you have a box of tissues handy and few minutes to spare (like when you're waiting for your children to eat because they are extremely slow and since you eat like a normal person you have a lot of time to just sit at the table waiting, and waiting for them to finish - for example).

Seriously, a great book. Worth the time, anytime.

Nothing of consequence

Yesterday Jon got home from work early, which hardly ever happens. So, instead of having to go out at all hours of the night, I went to get my deals early. This was nice for me. Although, I must say that the wait was much longer simply because apparently normal people shop much earlier than I do.

I got some good deals, but nothing particularly praiseworthy, meaning I didn't get anything for free this time. I did get Pop Tarts for .23 each. Not too bad...oh and fruit snacks the same price. I only went through and paid 5 times...I'm such a slacker.

It was good that I went through earlier though because one of the cashiers that I absolutely love needed help watching her little boy today, so he gets to come over and play for a few hours. He's a very pleasant little guy. It's nice to be able to serve her, instead of the other way around for once, even if it is her job to help me.

Alex and Sam were just fighting because we only have one pair of roller skates and they each wanted to skate. (I should inform you that their form of roller skating involves simply having the skates on their feet and standing in place.) They just resolved their conflict by deciding that they would each wear only one of the skates. I think they are beginning to realize that they are surprisingly more mobile with just one skate anyway. So funny.

Ok, now off to getting things done around here.

So funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygtBxhFc24A



Oh my goodness. I could not stop laughing when I watched this. Sorry I couldn't just post the darn video here...I'm still trying to figure out how to use this blog to my greatest advantage.



Watching this reminded me of an episode when Jon and I were first married. We still had our little Ford Festiva...and I was driving (this was the usual because Jon didn't fit very well in it and it was horribly embarrassing for him to even ride in, so needless to say, driving it was out of the question). I'm sure Jon could tell the story much better than I, but of course he exaggerates A LOT...but here's how I remember it.

We were driving to Cub Foods, before Winco and before coupons, and I happened to see this person (I can't remember if it was a woman or man...Jon would tell you without hesitation that it was a woman) driving crazily. I mean to tell you they were all over the road. I turned my head to gauk and laugh at how insanely funny it was when all of a sudden we were having an earthquake. Ya, it surprised me, too! The car was just jumping all over the road at this point and I was starting to think that maybe that person wasn't driving too crazy after all, given the circumstances.

Well, come to find out that while I was otherwise unobservant in my driving efforts, I had drove up onto the center flower beds. I took out several sweet annuals and if it wasn't for Jon yelling, "What the heck are you doing!?!?!" I wouldn't have turned and realized that I was being a ninnie and the one who was driving like a manic now. Jon was gripping the armrest for dear life and screaming at me to pay attention. By this time, I couldn't even see straight because my tears were clouding my vision.

When I finally pulled into a spot and it was determined that we were unscathed...Jon said to me, "I thought you were joking around until you almost hit that tree!" I was unable to even form a coherent response, all I could do at this point is laugh. I could not stop laughing and Jon just kept looking at me so frostily, which made me laugh even harder! Finally, he gave in and laughed with me. Man, what a miracle that only the flowers were damaged. I'll never forget that...even if I could, I have Jon to remind of it...frequently.

Ouch

Saturday, Jon and I worked out in the yard while the kids played. It was a lovely day. We were outside for about 4 hours. I pruned our grape vines and about 10 rose bushes. I'm not sure if it was the right time of year for pruning or not, but things were out of control. I wanted to take a chain saw to the apple tree, but wasn't brave enough. Jon climbed our biggest fig tree and really went to town on that one. He pretty much left the smaller fig tree alone. We were going to trim up the shoots on the plum tree that was cut down a while back, but decided not to...maybe it'll grow back someday. We got a lot done.

I wish I hadn't done any of it. Apparently, as it turns out I'm a softy. It doesn't matter that I work out all the time...I still pulled a muscle! I don't even know how I did it...and in my mid-section or side...I can't even tell which. Now, I don't know if you've ever done like, well 1,000 sit ups or crunches at once (ok, bad analogy since I've never done that...not even remotely close - well maybe in my lifetime), but I imagine that is what it feels like. I guess I didn't even realize before how much pulling this one muscle can effect your day to day stuff. Sitting hurts, walking, laying down (although not as much), just about anything hurts because of it. Yesterday it hurt like the dickens, in fact, I stayed home from church because I didn't want to gimp around like a ninnie.

And I guess I even knew the potiential for this, but it hurts even worse today! We tell people all the time after surgery that it can get worse, more swollen, hurt worse, etc. on the third day, so it shouldn't have surprised me...and actually tomorrow would be the third day. Ugh. I so totally don't look forward to pain worse than this tomorrow. Oh well...what do you do? I think I'll just curl up in a little ball and let the misery have me. Sounds good.

The Host

I finally broke down and read The Host. It was a very good read...slow at first, but very, very good.

What I liked about this book is that there wasn't really, even though there was, a main character. While it is mostly written from Wanda's perspective (an alien who is implanted into a human body), it is also just as much about the other characters around her. Wanda is a character so unlike any I've ever read about, ever. And then Ian, the hunk of a man he is, is so unlike anyone as well. Man...how to even explain this one...you'll just have to read it.

Strangely, I would have never read something like this, but since I enjoyed the Twilight series so much I thought I would give The Host a go because it's written by the same author. But, aliens invading the earth and taking over humans to save them from themselves was a little far fetched for me. It makes sense in the end though, and it's a truly good story. I highly recommend it.

I'm surprised, really..like really?

Sadly, there are few things that I feel I have a real grasp of knowledge of, but one of those few things is my mom. Ya, she's at it again. I wonder though, did it ever really get under control the last time? I don't think that it did...try as I might, it just got to a point where there was nothing more I could do for her.

I talked with her last night. She was very upset (literally freaking out) because I haven't opened her package yet. (See above) Now, I gave her only one of the reasons for my not opening it and that was that I wanted to take a picture of the package first before destroying it. The other, which I did not share with her, was that it smells of cigarette smoke. So, as with nearly all of my mother's packages I have ever received, I put them on the porch and let them air out for a fews days first. The smell doesn't dissipate entirely, but enough that we can go through the contents.

She was very insistent that the reason for my delay in opening said package was because I thought she put a bomb in it. When I told her that was definitely not the reason, she became irriate with me. She said that she assumed that since people were putting "bombs" in her apartment trying to take her out, that I would assume that someone tampered with my package and put one in mine as well. Oh dear....here we go again.

She then proceeded to tell me that she has called the police several times to report this as well as report that her things have gone missing. Now she is frustrated with the justice system because they are no longer taking her calls...meaning they send her to a "special" voicemail to take down her complaint there. I feel so sorry for the law enforcement there because it won't be long before she starts saying that she's hurt - instead of that her things are missing - just so they have to come out to check on her. Good grief.

She then proceeded to talk of the past...like it was still happening to her as we spoke. This is the part that gets really frustrating to me. No matter how many times I hear of these same stories, they are not the same, but always slightly more embellished. Like when she talked of my brother's suicide last night...it wasn't how it actually happened this time, instead it was my other brother and his friend who ganged up on Walter and took his life. I had to cut her off then. I tried to explain to her that she needed to think about what she was saying and that wasn't the way it happened and she was only going to scare herself if she thought that. She told me that I wasn't there, so I didn't really know. I'll steal a line here, "Oh, for the love of all that was holy, would the catastrophes never end?"

Since the last time I tried to help her - which I might add was the best situation possible for her - it was only to try to sabotage her, so she hasn't given me any information about her doctors or mental health professional since she moved. Now, I know the best place for her is an insituition, but apparently I'm the only one to think that...at least right now I am. (Although I'm sure in a few days time the Spokane police department will back me up here.)

Now, I just have to patiently wait for it to hit me...again. I so totally don't need this right now or ever, but I fear it will be inevitable. Only this time, I hope it's a little easier and we'll get through it quicker on account that I've gone through it so many times.

One thing that occurred to me, just right now actually, was that maybe Dr. B is right. I should write a book detailing all the craziness I've either witnessed or experienced. He thinks I'd strike it rich because people like to read funny crazy stuff to make them feel better. So glad he finds my life amusing.

Poor Jon. This is not something you're supposed to get used to, but I think he is getting somewhat used to it by now because last night when I told him about my conversation he just shook it off and said something along the lines of, "Oh well". Cracks me up.

Oh well. (The picture of the woman on the package, I'm told by the artist, is a self portrait...as for the other two pictures with no description, your guess is as good as mine.)

Just hangin

Today was a very low key type of day. I hardly ever have those with a 2 year old running amuck!

It was great fun this morning working with both Alex and Sam. Alex has all of a sudden decided that coloring within the lines has its benefits...such as actually being able to see the pictures he's coloring instead of a blanket of one color across the whole page. So, today he brought me a picture with a lot of color detail. It was only very colorful on one side, you could see the guy's hair and then his clothes and a board he was holding, all very neatly colored in and then the other half of the page was blank. I asked him about that and told him it would sure be nice to have the whole picture colored so he ran off to do so. He came back in less than one minute, the other half of the picture was completely blue. Oh well, at least he's making an attempt.

Sam just doodled circles all over a blank page...she threw some squares in there for a little contrast. All pink, of course.

Then, on Alex's free page (blank page he can do whatever with), he brought me this:

How cute is that? Obviously, it's his name...that's him up at the top of the name. Then that little tiny person down below is me...with a rain cloud over my head. LOL He's so funny sometimes.

Ok, gotta get going...have to supervise some homework.