Too Much

Google reader...how thou dost vext me, Yo.

So many great blogs, so little time.

I have so many on my blogroll now that I'm not enjoying them the way I should, so I need to edit my list down again.

It's way easier for me to edit my actual friend list on facebook than to cut down my blog reading list.
Bloggers NEVER tag fat pictures of me or ask me to join their farm/mafia/treasure ship/egg hunt.

Yes, I am aware I have sent requests for all of these things in the past, but I have since repented.

No more facebook games that require you to send crap to friends.

I need to find a way to edit my blog list, but there are so many cute blogs.

I think the Hipster moms are going to be the first to go. I can't pull off a horizontal striped ruffle top with a ginormous flower on top of my head anyway.
I didn't give my kids hipster names like "Lola" or "Finn" or some other obscure beatnik poet you probably haven't heard of.
I don't ride a Vespa and my bicycle does not have a vintage child's basket on it while I ride it in a skirt made from flea market finds and my Nana's closet.
Goodbye Hipster Mom blogs.

Boring Stuff

One of the women in our knitting group is having a baby- her third daughter.

The Knitting Bunch and I are going to make her a friendship quilt.

We are each knitting or crocheting a 9X9 square that Doreen will eventually stitch together and give her when she has her little girl.

I'm not a person who has learned a lot of fancy stitches, but I wanted to do something cute for her blanket so I got this pattern for a knitted dishcloth and used super soft Caron yarn and made this square.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out and decided to try some other patterns and make actual dish cloths for my house. They take longer since I'm doing different patterns, but it's still less complicated than keeping track of knitted cables.

This one is going to be a gift for someone. I'm not telling who until I give it to her.

And speaking of things I haven't told- I'll now reveal my big boring find at the antique store in Logan.

It's not that interesting, in fact, it's not interesting at all.

Sorry, but this blog also serves as a personal journal and most of life is one great big snooze, but I still want to remember it.

A few years ago, my dad gave me a replica plate from the Nauvoo Temple. He had gone out to see it with my brother and his family and I have cherished the plate. I bought a wrought iron plate holder thing and have displayed it ever since.

The plate holder holds two plates though and I figured I'd just go get another blueware temple plate for the other slot.

Great idea, but it was impossible to carry out though because they don't make them.

There have been a few here and there but currently- only the Nauvoo plate is being made and sold in vintage looking blueware.Anything else is from someone's personal collection and not only are they rare, but they cost an arm and a leg. If they only wanted my firstborn, I'd consider it, but I need my arms and legs.
(I'm kidding about the firstborn thing....mostly.)

I have kept my eye out for anything church history related that would work, but haven't had any luck so I just picked up a generic flowered plate at the goodwill and gave up.

While in Logan I found this plate:

It has a chip in it, so it was only 20 bucks.

Blueware, church history related and the right size.

Now, my dorky plate display rack is complete.

I'm telling you, I may be boring but I'm happy.

 My life is good.

 I could not ask for more- except maybe for Matt's transfer to NYC to go through faster......but for now the plate will do.

Easter Weekend

No pictures of bunnies and baskets here.

Matt and I skipped town for Easter weekend.

The kids enjoyed the weekend destroying the house and living on Mountain Dew and Pixie Sticks with Grey and Roe's dad and Matt and I headed up north to Logan, Utah for the weekend.

We stayed at The Anniversary Inn and Matt chose the room again.

This time, the theme was "Joanie's Diner" and when I walked into the room,I was speechless. Matt was worried that I hated it, but that wasn't the case. I LOVED IT. It was my favorite of the themed rooms we have ever stayed in.

It was a huge suite and it had a 50's theme. In the suit there was a diner with a jukebox, huge jetted tub and a giant steam.massage shower.

The other half of the suite was a cozy bedroom that totally transported me back in time. It had some cute decorations that were just like the things I'd find at Grandma Westfall's house and it even had this adorable cute pink sofa that I sat and knitted at while we watched movies.

The temple was within walking distance and Matt and I attended a session there. Neither of us had been to the Logan Temple before so that was fun and it's always nice to get some of that family temple work done.

 (This is actually the tabernacle, we hit the temple in the evening and I didn't want to lug my camera up the hill)

We hit the local eateries and the antique shops and I was able to find something I have been looking for for a few years now, I'll post about it another time.

(All hail the Mighty Osmonds...)

 While there we ran into Marshell's mom and sister, that was fun to see the Carters. They are as nice as can be. Later that evening, Matt and I made a quick Walmart run and ran into his cousin (2nd cousin, whatever) who actually lives in California, but was up visiting her boyfriend for Spring break. It was kind of funny that we were in this town where we thought we didn't know anyone and we were escaping real life and we see three people we know.

(hard to see but the Logan Temple is in the background)

We had a wonderful weekend, touring the town, talking and relaxing in our cute room, it was hard to leave it was so much fun.

I love my sweet husband, he is so good to me and so much fun to be with.

Today-- back to reality. The house has been trashed and we had teacher appreciation gifts to hand out at school today. I figure they have enough mugs and picture frames, so I gave each teacher a gift card and some candy.

They probably have plenty of candy, too but I know my kids. A little extra chocolate makes you less likely to duct tape them to a wall and run away.

Chchchanges

I seriously heard that song playing in three different places this week and yet it did nothing to get "Poker Face" to stop playing in my head over and over.

There will be some security changes to this blog.

If you find you cannot access this blog next week, please email me at spyswife@gmail.com and let me know and I will adjust the security settings.

I Covet

This table:

http://www.sticksandbricksnoho.com/2010/06/words-coffee-table.html

It must be mine. I have the letter stamps, I have a sander and I have access to loads of second hand furniture to experiment on......I just need to justify a new project, but I love this more than cake.

And you know how I feel about cake.

Speaking of cake, I'm making cake balls today.

My sweet sister in law, Marshell is the one who introduced them to me and I can never thank her enough.

 I'm going to be the most popular girl at knitting group. :)

If you're in the ward and you are NOT coming to knit night- quit making excuses and come sit with us.

This means YOU Corinne and Sam.

I'm calling you out.

Don't make me buy more sand art for your children.

Never Hike With My Children

I have to post something so my fascinating bra post doesn't stay at the top longer than a day.

Today the sun was out, the rain was gone, so Supermom here got the great idea to make some sandwiches, grab some bottles of water and take Grey and Romy on a short hike.

Brilliant idea.

Note to self (and the rest of Blogland)...never never ever ever take Greyson hiking.

Holy Nightmare, Batman.

We went out to Ensign Peak, it's a steep hike, but short with a big payoff at the end- you can see the whole valley from the top of the mountain there. It's the place where the pioneers layed out the plans for Salt Lake City and the view is incredible.

Or so I've heard.

Five steps in and Grey started to whine about how heavy out small sack of lunch was.

Fine, Mom will carry it.

Ten more steps in and his water bottle was too heavy.

Mom wasn't carrying that because A. his arms are not painted on and B. he brought the biggest water bottle ever known to man. I think it held 10 gallons, I asked him to bring a smaller one and he insisted he wanted the camel size water bottle.

I wasn't carrying it.

He asked if he could leave it on the trail and I told him I was going to leave HIM on the trail.

It is not a long hike and he was in full on Laman and Lemuel complainer mode just minutes into it.

I could not hike and play cheerleader to this kid who decided that no family outing is complete without at least one kid being a complete pill.

I quickly gave up trying to hike with my children.
 We stopped at the weenie lookout point about 1/3 the way up and ate lunch and ended our little adventure.

As he sat there taking the crusts off his sandwich and throwing them while yelling "bird food!" with every toss I had to laugh.

I had to remind myself that it's about the journey, not the destination. The journey is the point.

Life is made of moments and spending time with my beasties makes for some pretty amazing moments.

The view was still amazing, even at the wuss location.

I'm going to go back there next week- ALONE- and hike to the top and it will feel good to know I did it, but in spite of the whining and that one moment when I contemplated pushing Grey down the mountain, it was a great hike today, too.

After our Epic Hike fail, we rewarded ourselves with a trip to the Sweet Tooth Factory for some overpriced, but so very delicious cupcakes.

Sunshine, cute kids and cupcakes........

even better than finding the perfect bra.

Unmentionables

It's been a full week of project "get off my butt" and I have to say, I'm happy with my progress. Today was rainy and freezing, but I laced up my sneakers and hit the track at the high school. Last Monday when I ran for the first time since God was a boy, I made it to the corner before I thought I'd kill over and die, today I did a solid lap without stopping.

I know, it's pathetic, but it shows improvement and I'm sticking with it so far.

 I've got to find new ways to deal with things in my life. This whole laying in bed eating chips with a heating pad on my back and whining isn't doing squat for my arthritis or my mood. getting off my rear has helped my mood and already I am seeing an improvement in my body. Nothing huge, but enough that I see the change. I am not going to mess with the scale for now, this is a specific goal and that goal is to run that whole wimpy 5K and not walk at all.

I also found a decent bra.

I went to three stores today looking for one that will keep the girls from causing my back to break as gravity and momentum make them do all sorts of horrible things.

(This isn't going to get less creepy, so you may as well stop reading now, Caleb.)

Apparently, Sports Authority doesn't keep 36DDD sports bras fully stocked. Word on the street is that, they are use to athletes and physically fit people shopping there.

I accepted that I was going to have to look online for one until i found that Walmart had a big old --I mean new bra my size that supports the girls well and is comfortable.

Twelve bucks.

Thank you Danskin for selling out and allowing your clothing to be carried at the Walmarts.

If you're a bigger girl, this is a good affordable sports bra. It has two layers, that black layer is a support mesh that helps wick away moisture and keeps your girls from spilling out the top and giving you a 'third'.

It has an adjustable strap in the back, and is designed do it doesn't ride up and cut into your back and armpits. The cups separate and keep you in snug without making you feel like your chest is being smooshed in.

 No uni-boob and no third boob either.

I can't ask for anything more.

 My life is complete.

(Really, Caleb, I warned you to stop reading. I know you are wanting to stab your eyes out right now, but you only have yourself to blame. )

I've purchased and worn more sports bras than I can count and they almost always are horrible. They just don't design them well for women with huge tracks of land unless you have a lot of money to spend. I'd rather  spend my pennies on shoes, because shoes always fit.

So- if you are a size C cup or bigger and struggle to find an affordable sports bra- get the to the Walmarts and buy the "Danskin Now- Surplice Foam Sport Bra." If they don't have your cup size, add a size to the waist for each cup size down you have to go.

I'll bet you're going to be relieved when I go back to posting about the new toilet again, aren't you?

Not to worry, our special order toilet is in and all we need are some bolts and a free evening and even more will be all right in my world.

A downstairs toilet and a good bra.

I live a life of sweet  and easy bliss.....

Return to Saltair

Yesterday started off with Jane going to basketball....

Zane had  Rugby......

And, it was such a nice and sunny day, we loaded up the kids and did another cold cereal picnic out at Saltair.
We had to miss the family picnic in Utah County due to the Rugby game, but that didn't mean we couldn't still have one of our own later in the day.

The weather was still so nice that after we got home, Matt and I laced up our shoes and headed out to the track to get back to training, after we took a few days off for Lisa's fire.

My goal was to run as much as I walked and I can already feel that I am getting in better shape. I was able to do that and I feel really good about it.

 I desperately need a better sports bra.

I'm going to end up with two black eyes. I know- TMI.

For the first time in his life, Matt actually ran laps.

He doesn't need a sports bra, just better shoes.

I am still trying, not giving up and I hope to see results soon. It would help if I would quit eating black licorice like it was going out of style, but it's a process.

Burn

Right now I am scanning a stack of pictures that smell like a campfire and are still a little tacky from being wet.

These are the pictures that survived my little sister's house fire this week.

Wednesday, I was supposed to babysit Rori while Lisa and Erik went to a Jazz game. At about 4:00 Lisa called, hysterical.

Her house was on fire.

I called Matt, who raced from the office and we headed down with Zane, Grey and Roe.

It was bad, really bad.

Lisa had been spray painting a tub to refinish it and did it in a room that was not well ventilated. When she opened the door, a vapor cloud found the water heater and there was an explosion.

This is the second house Lisa has been in that had a water heater explode in it- the first was my fire when Parker was little. In our fire, the house was fine, but Parker almost died and has huge scars that will be with him forever. With Lisa's fire, she burned her hand pretty badly, but only second degree but the house was totaled.

People heard the blast and called 9-1-1 from miles away. the fire chief said there flames were a good 40 feet in the air and they were surprised they got the fire out. They also said they don't know how Lisa and Rori got out of there, it was a miracle and angels were watching over my little sister and niece.

At first we had hope that much of their stuff would be salvaged, the fire totally destroyed the bedrooms and bathrooms, but the kitchen and living room were okay.

Early Thursday morning, all of that hope was lost when a second fire broke out and took out the roof and garage. What the fire didn't destroy the water did.

We spent Thursday helping Erik get his tools out and his film equipment that could not be replaced as well as his guns and ammo. We couldn't guard the house 24/7 to make sure these things didn't walk off and Lisa and Erik needed to be able to rest and get away from the nightmare.

They basically lost everything. The house is insured, but it's a total loss. Not sure if they will just knock it all down and start over, or if they can fix what was destroyed.

The original blast blew out a load bearing wall, the second fore took out the load bearing beams that hold the roof up.

Such a mess and so traumatic.

There were many good people who helped.

 Good people like Lisa's neighbors and ward members. Lisa isn't LDS, but the women from the ward she would be in all were there bringing boxes, helping clean up and offering things they may need. Women from MY ward offered help and Doreen loaned us some Thermoses (is that the right way to say that?) and made some chicken salad for people so that we didn't have to stress so much about food and so that Erik's family could have some hot coffee to help get through the day. My stepmom support group rallied around and there are toys and clothes coming. Matt's brother came by and gave Erik some pants and helped get things moved while they waited for the insurance crews. Erik's work donated gift cards and is helping. My sweet in laws helped with the younger kids for two days, feeding them, making sure Rori had clothes and security while we all dealt with the house.  I cannot thank you enough Mom and Dad Olson for your help. Knowing Rori was with you brought comfort to us all, we knew she was safe and the focus of good attention while her parents dealt with the crisis.

There were also people who should have helped but did not. There is a reason I have stopped interacting with some people in my family. That is all I will say about that, but if I ever doubted my choice last year to disengage, this experience solidified it. 

 I have many many faults, but I've never understood the draw of the blame game or feeling like a victim. I've never understood the payoff from doing things you know are wrong, simply because you had your feelings hurt. Nobody's feelings are so tender that they are immune from doing the right thing.

Anyway- I'm off on another tangent.....

 Shutting up now.

Tonight, I chose to be thankful that my LisaBeast is okay, that our little Aurora is okay and our sweet Erik is okay. It's gong to take some time to get things back together again, but you can replace things, never those people we love and cherish.

And also never some of those pictures, so if you have been putting off scanning your photos- get off your butt and get them backed up. I always scan and then upload at Costco because as long as I have a membership there, for 3 bucks i can get a CD of any pictures I have uploaded, full resolution. No fire is going to take that away and if the technology changes, they will adapt and bring my memories with them.

I don't know that even with my skills at photo restoration that I can save some of their pictures, but I will try.

Matt and I plan to do stuff with the kids that is lighthearted and fun, we all need some time to emotionally recover from this. we need to be "yellow" this weekend.

Again, thank you so much to everyone who has helped and thank you to my Father in Heaven for saving my family.

Angry Mom Rant

Yesterday we played Herriman.

What a bad experience.

You know, it's awesome that they crushed Highland and everything and put the Forever Strong guys in their place and all, but what a group of creeps.

I'll start by admitting that our team struggles.

This year they added the off -season football players from Tville High and most of them simply do not grasp how the game is played.  They do not know Rugby and it's very frustrating, they do not seem to be willing to learn, either. So, this season our team loses.

Zane LOVES this sport but I am realizing it is a matter of time before he gets hurt really bad because his team does not know what they are doing outside of a few of the ruggers. It is discouraging to lose every game simply because you have a bunch of guys who think they are playing a new version of football and they refuse to listen to the coaches and learn the sport.

 I'm mad and so are the kids who actually play rugby.

This isn't off season football training.

Then we played this team yesterday and I will admit it, I told one of the parents off at the game.

I am not "that mom" but I have limits.

 When your kids cheat, when your kids take cheap shots and when the kids and the parents are making fun of the other team, you deserve to be told off.

I don't know what the deal was yesterday, but Herriman played dirty and they were proud of it.

They could have easily won without cheating, but they had to be bullies, had to cheat. I watched our smaller guys get choked and kicked and shoved when the ref wasn't looking, when they didn't have the ball. I watched cheap shot after cheap shot get made and then I watched the Herriman guys gloat about it. 

 The parents were just as bad.

I was astounded.

This is Rugby, it's a hard and rough sport but there are ethics and this team had none.

This mother kept loudly mocking our players and finally- in my sweetest and most charming voice I said to her "Excuse me, but will you shut the (happy word) up?"

She started at me and I went back to watching the game.

She then got up and moved to the side of the bleachers she was supposed to be on in the first place.

Eh.

Not my classiest move, but I can see why sometimes things break out into fights at kid sports. You get these parents who care more about winning than anything. I've heard all the sayings about winners and losers. I know they say only losers say it isn't about winning and all of that crap, but I have to wonder the message a kid learns when they are rewarded for cheating.

Better to lose than to win by cheating and I do not understand adults who don't grasp this.

There are so many times in life when rules can be bent and exceptions are made, but there are also times when the rules matter.

There are times when you just follow the rules because the quality of the experience is so much better when you follow the rules.

Why cheapen the wins by cheating?

I'm mad and disgusted.

And I know I should not have cursed at that woman, but I did and I can't say at this point I'd do it differently if given a Mulligan.

Rant over.

While Zane was warming up, Grey and I went walking around Murray Park and we alternated walking and jogging. Way more walking than jogging, but I did it. We got 2 miles in before the game. Today I'm going to do some yoga and see how I like it. They have some available for instant download on Netflix, so I can try before I buy.

No cake today, but that's because we are out of cake, not because I'm converted to healthy living after one walk in the park.

We do have pie though.....

Oink & A Contest

Most random title ever.....

I know I haven't been much of a blogger lately.

I don't have a very good excuse, I'm just painfully boring these days.

I'm trying to deal with my stupid arthritis in a new way.

I have felt overly medicated lately and to be honest, as I add more medications, the pain just adapts and I find myself frustrated and upset and it hurts all of the time.

The medications make me gain weight and nothing fits.

I feel like a total sow.

(My ears are smaller, but my butt is bigger.)

This just isn't working.

So--I'm going old school and I am going to try actually getting off my butt and work on making my body stronger.

I know- radical thinking, isn't it?

Matt signed us up for a 5K in May and I've never done anything like that since High School. I was a pretty active kid, but I was a spaz who doesn'thave a competitive so bone in her body I never joined actual teams. I ran a lot to get away from my house, back in the day when all you had were your sneakers and your thoughts because ipods didn't exist and I didn't have a Walkman.

Back in the days when I could take a bath or use the restroom without children interrupting and asking me questions or shoving pennies underneath the door, just to make sure I am "safe."

Back in the days when gravity and I were friends.

I digress...

When I had kids, I discovered how nice it is to sit on my butt and eat cake. Over the years I  have developed a skill for it that surpasses every other skill I have.

I am really good at doing Jack Squat.

Unfortunately, I think my conversion to the religion of Sloth has contributed to my health issues and I need to choose- I either keep looking for medical treatments to fix this and gain more weight from the medications and feel either pukey or stoned all of the time- and I still feel pain- or I get off my butt and try and make a change.

Change is hard and you all know I am a habitual quitter of hard things. I am also really good at quitting things.

5K is only 3 miles give or take. 

 I can do this.

I need to do this.

Ugh, do I have to do this?

As the weather gets warmer I am dragging myself outside and walking to the school and going to attempt to walk some laps at the high school while Zane has Rugby practice.

So far- it just hurts, but I hurt anyway so I guess I'm not out anything.

There you have it- why I have been a bad blogger. I feel like I'm in a transition phase and I need to decide if I am going to move forward, or crawl back under my rock and dig myself in deeper.

If Sarah  ( http://sarahandandyfamily.blogspot.com/ )can run a tri and stop and nurse Mr. Magnus (cutest baby ever) in the middle of it, I can run three lousy miles.

(Way to go, Sarah!!)

In other news, there is a contest over at the Bushman Adventures blog--- Tina is giving away a copy of her husband's book Impractical Grace right now for Mother's Day. I read it and it is a great book. You will love it, too. Head over to her blog and leave a comment to be entered in her drawing and if you don't win- head over to Deseret Book and pick up a copy.

http://bushmanadventures.blogspot.com/2011/04/giveway.html

Easy Peasy.