Name Dropping

Recently my hubby and I have had a bit of an obsession with playing the "degrees of separation" game. We've been quite amazed at how many famous (and infamous people) we are linked to. It also gives us a false sense of importance but we all need some ego stroking every now and again don't we? So here are some of our most famous connections:

1. The Prophet. We are just 2 degrees away from good ol' President Hinckley. "I" is good friends with the Gonzales family. As you may recall Elder Gonzales was recently called to the presidency of the Seventy so of course he must know the Prophet on a pretty personal level.



2. The Hummer "H2" (not a person but a celebrity none the less). Again "I" knows the guy who designed that beautiful automobile. In fact that "guy" has given a personal recommendation for "I" to be hired at GM. Too bad he has no control over the budget!



3. We are 2 degrees from the King of Pop!. That's right, the gender and racially confused Micheal Jackson himself! My brother in law's best friend (whom I happen to know as well) is (or was, not sure) Micheal's family doctor. Their kids even play together.



4. Well, since we are only 2 degrees from Micheal then we are only 4 degrees from "The King", Elvis Presley. (Are you impressed yet?)



5. Don't break my Achy breaky Heart baby! The "King" of the mullet that is. Billy Ray Cyrus. We are 3 degrees away from him. My aunt lived just down the street from Billy Ray's mama in Flatwoods, KY, Billy Ray's hometown.



6. Maradona! Only the greatest soccer player ever to walk the planet! Two degrees away from him. (man are we on a roll or what?)We know the guy who used to make fine apparel for the "King of Futbol".



7. Tom Cruise, 2 degrees away from him. My cousin was in Top Gun with him. (so...he doesn't really know Tom but it counts anyway right?)



8. Since Tom is on the list then we have to add to the soccer category the best looking player (or at least the richest) David Beckham. Just 3 degrees folks! Ok...well, unless you count "I"'s encounter with Coby Jones who is Beckham's team mate now so that would make it just 2 degrees.



So I could go on and on but you get the picture. How impressed are you with our list? What does your list look like? I dare you to beat Beckham and Elvis!

House of Flies

So I've decided that when the world was being created and things were made to afflict and torment man that the first thing that was created was the fruit fly. How awful are these little creatures? I think they were put on earth just to torment me. Last summer when we lived in Cincinnati we had a BIG fruit fly problem (and ants too but that's a long story in and of itself). No matter what I did I just couldn't get rid of them. I would think they were gone and then they would be back. I got very good at killing them though. I developed a great amount of hand eye coordination as I would grab them one handed while they were mid flight. For anyone who has every tried to catch a fruit fly you know how difficult this can be. So anyway,I was determined not to have a fruit fly problem again. I have been very careful to make sure to put all my produce away and not leave anything sweet or otherwise tempting for them out.

All of that went down the toilet when I came home from the store with 2 tomatoes last week. I had seen them (the fruit flies) at the store hovering over the tomato selection so I carefully made sure to pick 2 that were not as ripe and looked otherwise healthy. As soon as I got home the tomatoes went in the fridge and that evening I used both of them in the salad I made. So where on earth did the fruit flies come from? It has been since that day that I now can not get rid of them to save my sanity. One day I killed 20 of them in my upstairs bathroom. Anyone know why on earth they would go to the bathroom to hang out?? That one stumps me. I think they like water and have determined that perhaps they are like Gremlins and multiply if they get water on them somehow. Yes, that must be what it is. So today I am still killing fruit flies and practicing my hand eye coordination. (I had gotten a little out of practice since last summer)Again, this must be what is meant to torment me.

Miracles

Over the past couple of years I have truly come to appreciate the small miracles that occur each and every day. Some days of course are more generous in the miracle department than others. Having 2 small children makes me appreciate little miracles such as getting through the day without a major meltdown. Or having both of my children sleep through the night (definitely a miracle at my house). I still even appreciate the miracle of being able to take a shower at some point during the day. Today has been no exception when it comes to miracles. The miracles that happened today :

1. I was able to fold and put away 2 big baskets full of laundry and wash 2 more loads (you have no idea how big of a miracle this is!)

2. Somehow BOTH of my children took a nap (again, I cannot emphasize enough the greatness of such a miracle!)

3. I stepped on the scale fully expecting to be depressed when to my delight I had lost 5 pounds and all without really trying. (maybe now I will put a little effort into it!)

4. I took the girls to "Pumpkin land" and everyone had a marvelous time AND we were able to leave without a meltdown.

5. Perhaps the greatest miracle of today was going to the mailbox and finding not 1 but 2 checks for money that was owed to us by the hoodlums that shot out our car window over a year and a half ago. I cannot honestly express how big of a miracle and blessing this is for us at this time. Our unemployment has run out and Ivan just barely started a job today but will not get paid until the end of the month. I have been wondering how we were going to make it with $100 left to our name and bills to pay. The only thing I could do when I opened those checks was to cry and then offer up a very heartfelt prayer of gratitude to my Heavenly Father. Coincidence that we got that money at this time? I think not!

6. Last but certainly not least, both of my girls were ready for bed by 8 o'clock and I was able to get Sofi to sleep by 8:20. (Hmm.....lots of miracles centered around sleep huh?)

I am sure there are other miracles that I am failing to recognize so these will have to do for now. It makes me happier when I realize the good things that have happened during a day. I remember once a letter I got from a relative when I was going through a rough time and her advice to me was to be grateful and show my gratitude. It is true that when we focus on the good stuff that the bad stuff doesn't seem so bad and when we find things to be grateful for we can be much happier. What miracles have happened in your life recently?

I've been Tagged!

So here it goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago I was starting my final year at Ricks College (yes that's Rick's not BYUI. I'm so old!). I had been home from m mission for about 6 months and was enjoying being a hot commodity at school. Back then since it was a 2 year school there weren't many of us sister RM's. I had a lot of fun that semester and enjoyed all the attention I got. I was taking 18 credits and did surprisingly well (must've been those great study skills I learned on the mish). I had my heart broken a million times but that's because I was in love with anything that moved. Ahh...those were the days! What a fun time in my life. I'm glad I had such opportunities to spread my wings. It has made me much more grateful to be settled down with a family of my own. No more drama! (OK, a little bit of drama, but who can get away from drama when you have a 3 year old?)

What were you doing 5 years ago?

I was still in newlywed bliss. Ivan and I had been married for 2 months, had enjoyed our wonderful honeymoon to Hawaii (sigh....) and were now living in a basement apartment in Orem. Ivan was working full time at Noni and I was looking for a job. I was enjoying my new role as wife and lady of the house.

One Year Ago. . .

Ivan and I had just come back from a lovely summer in Cincinnati. He was starting his senior year at BYU and I was busy taking care of Lili and Sofi. Sofi had just started walking and was into everything. Also, Ivan's dad had started to get very ill. This was a tough time for all of us.

Yesterday. . .

Can I blog about Saturday instead? It was much more blog worthy than yesterday. Saturday I got to go to the General R.S. meeting at the Conference center. I rode up with my friend Laurie and now new friend Kara. We were stuck in traffic for a long time and almost out of gas, not a good situation to be in plus we were running late. Kara and I wound up getting out in the middle of traffic on State street and running 3 blocks in the rain to the Conference center. Unfortunately when we got inside there were no more seats in our section so we had to wait for them to open up other seats which worked to our advantage since we got much better seats than we would have otherwise. Afterwards we went to the Lion House Pantry for a little after conference snack and to wait for traffic to clear so we wouldn't run out of gas in the parking garage. It was a fun girls night out. One I had been needing for a long time! Oh, and the Conference itself was wonderful!

5 snacks that I enjoy. . .

1. Chips and salsa
2. popcorn
3. Cauliflower with ranch dressing
4. fruit (apples, peaches, strawberries...ect...)
5. ok...i admit....chocolate!

Five things I would do with a million dollars

1. Pay off all our debt.
2. buy my husband a newer car so he wouldn't have to drive little red anymore.
3. Go on a humanitarian trip to central/south America
4. Take all of the adults in my family on a very nice vacation (sorry, no kids. There are too many of you and your parents are the ones who deserve a vacation!)
5. Save save save so my posterity would have nest eggs

Five places I would run away to. . .

1. Hawaii
2. Shenandoah National Park
3. Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
4. Spain
5. the south of France

Five TV shows I like

1. American Idol
2. Amazing Race
3. Dancing with the Stars(I am a reality show junkie, I even vote!)
4. Old re runs of Little House on the Prairie
5. Antiques Roadshow

Five things I hate doing

1. Wiping snotty noses
2. getting up before 8 am
3. doing laundry
4. Dishes
5. drying my hair (it takes forever)

Five biggest joys of the moment

1. knowing that soon we'll have a "real" job. ( I know we will, I know we will!)
2. my hubby and 2 beautiful girls.
3. Fall weather!
uhh....I'm having a hard time thinking of 5. Does that make me a pessimist?

Five people I tag

Shauna

She is the only person I know of who has a blog who has not already been tagged.

Creativity

Sometime last week I went on one of my little "get out of the house without my kids" outings. I decided I would head out to my local favorite craft store Roberts. I love Roberts. I especially love their continual 40% off coupon! I was dying to do something creative and had a whole $7 in my pocket. I perused the crocheting section for a time but decided that to get started would cost me much more than $7. Then I found these cute little cross stitch kits that come with a little frame and everything. It was very tempting but eventually I decided to pass. Then on my way out I noticed the advertisements for classes at the front of the store. I have always thought about taking one of those classes but either never had the nerve to sign up by myself or didn't have the money. I really didn't have the money this time either but I did it anyway. They were having a card making class "Make 5 cards for $7". Bingo! An answer to what I was looking for. Never mind that I didn't ask Ivan if it would be alright for me to sign up, I just did it. So Friday Night I had my little girls night out sort of. I even convinced my friend Laurie to sign up too (must be some sort of weird hang up of mine left over from my youth to not be able to do things by myself!). It was way fun and I am so proud of the fact that I made something cute and crafty. Here are some pics of my creations:

My DH

So I have discovered that my honey has quite a few hidden talents. Besides of course his remarkable artistic ability he has a knack for photography. In particular photographing creepy crawly things or just plain old gross things. He finds it fascinating to get up close and personal shots of bugs and so forth. Then he likes to zoom in really close to see all the disgusting details of said slimy things. But who am I to discourage his new found interest. Perhaps if he got good enough he could make a career out of it. Maybe one day he could be the Jeff Corwin of spiders and snails. And maybe if we never find a design job he could become a photographer for National Geographic. Here are a few samples of his latest work. Enjoy!


This is a fly that was just about to die and crawling around on our floor.



This is about the biggest spider I've ever seen and he lives just outside our living room window. So far I have left him alone but I am quite tempted to relocate him. If only I were brave enough.



Let it be known that I hate snails and after this picture I think I hate them even more. GROSS!!



Another beautiful arachnid. I'm just glad neither of these creatures were inside my house.

California Deamin'

I haven't written in a while since I was out of town visiting my sister. Lucky for me she lives in about the coolest state, California. I love California. What's not to love? Miles upon miles of beautiful shore and cool stuff to boot. I love it. I had hoped though that my trip would be more than just a trip and more of a vacation. Since my hubby decided to stay home and work on some things it wound up being pretty much just a trip. There were some fun things that happened though.

For the first time in 4 years I got to go to the beach. I can't say enough how much I love the beach. I love the smell of the salt water and feeling the sea mist on my face. I love digging my toes into the cold sand and hearing the crash of the waves on the shore. It's so relaxing. I think my dream would be to live at the beach in one of those awesome beach houses and be able to take a walk every morning with the waves crashing against my feet. One day that is what I would want. To me the sounds of the beach are the most serene sounds there are in this world.

I was so excited to see how my girls would react to being at the beach. Lili couldn't stop talking about it for 4 days and was so excited when we were FINALLY at the beach. (And then she didn't stop talking about it for the next 3 days, she's still says sometimes how much fun it was at the beach) How much fun it was to see my girls so happy and entertained all day without any effort on my part. (Another reason I would love to live on the beach, or at least close to it.) They loved playing in the sand (Sofie also loved eating the sand) and running in and out of the waves. Lili couldn't get over how the waves would chase her. Every time a wave would come in she would run away and squeal, such fun. I myself did not lack in the "fun" department. My teenage nieces taught me how to boogie board.

Strange as it may sound with all the times I've been to the beach I have never been boogie boarding. All those years wasted! I think that was the most fun I've ever had playing in the ocean. It took me a few tries to get it right but when I did finally catch a wave it was one of the most awesome rides of my life. I felt like screaming out "Gnarly, righteous and totally awesome dude!" After a half hour or so my nieces decided to head to shore but I wasn't done yet, the fun was just beginning. A few minutes later while waiting for my next wave I notice out of the corner of my eye a lifeguard coming into the water after me. I though "wow, I know I'm not that good yet but does it really look like I'm drowning?" He got closer and I was thinking "man, too bad I'm not 17 again!" I mean, this guy could have easily been cast on Baywatch! He had the look I tell you, super blond hair that was just long enough and of course that California tan. And too bad for my nieces who bailed out early, they missed out on what I'm sure would've wound up being the highlight of their day. Instead the lifeguard encounter was wasted on a slightly wrinkled, graying 33 year old. The truth is I felt kind of sorry for the kid. From far away perhaps I looked like Bo Derek in my brown plunging neckline swimming suit(which I bought at Walmart for 12 bucks after I lost my my other one at the pool), but when he got closer he obviously realized he was dealing with a lady who resembled a sea lion more than any Hollywood starlet. He apologized to me and told me kindly to stay far enough away from the rocks and he was on his merry way. So there was no dramatic rescue, no being dragged to shore on his little red floatie thing and no mouth to mouth but it made for a good story anyway. When everyone asked me what the lifeguard wanted I told them that he said I needed to watch the bathing suit. That other patrons of the beach were complaining about too much skin which in all actuality was not so far fetched. Let's just say I understand a little better the importance of wet suits.

So after a few more attempts on the boogie board I called it quits for a while. I did get back in the water once more but after a few wipe outs I decided that perhaps the days of my youth really are behind me now. I am definitely not 17 anymore.

The best part of this whole day had to be the feeling of complete exhaustion. It feels good when you've played all day and are so tired you don't want to move for a few days (or in my case, can't move for a few days from being so sore after boogie boarding. It's quite the workout!)and being lulled to sleep by the sensation of rocking up and down on the waves is the cherry on top. I hope that it doesn't take me 4 more years to see the ocean again and next time I hope that my dear hubby is there with me.