Today we spent most of the day with my family. My baby sisters are in state (Colorado and Oregon) and we all got together at my brothers to make gingerbread houses. This is usually a tradition we do when we have our family Christmas party but since the 2 youngest have moved away - we have to wait and separate all the activities when they get here after Christmas. So . . . we did the houses today. Since I had to be at the theatre by 1:45pm to have mics out - I had a few things to do around the house before the party and the kids weren't moving very fast with chores either. So we arrived around 11am - an hour later than we were supposed to be. When we arrived only 3 (including us) out of 6 kids and families were there! I was surprised and a bit unhappy - simply because I thought we'd be late, have the kids get right to their houses and get out in time for me to get to the theatre. BUT . . . nope. We left the kids for about 30 minutes and ran to Target to get Geoff and I shirts for the big family picture tomorrow. I had already gotten blue rugby's for the boys at Old Navy and pink sweater hoodies at Target for the girls for Christmas. But since some genius picked the girls to wear pink - I had to buy one. I don't wear pink! My hair (auburn) always looked goofy with most shades of pink. So I never bought one. Sad - 3 closets and TOO MANY clothes and NO pink shirts! I found a pink and navy stripe rugby shirt but it's not my fav. I bought it and a blue stripe sweater for Geoff. We headed back to my brothers and by then the 'lost' siblings had showed up. One said she had heard 11am, the other said the same with lunch. We all decided to go ahead and order lunch from Ned's Krazy Sub. By the time we all finished eating (12 adults and 22 kids) it was about 10 minutes from when I needed to leave. We made arrangements for my mom to bring the kids home and Geoff and I leave. I drop off Geoff at home and run to the theatre. I get the mics prepped and in the dressing rooms 10 min. before cast call. I went to the box office to ask the stage manager when he was planning to turn on his computer so I could turn on the amps, laylas and sound board. He tells me . . . there is no matinee today. I FLIP OUT!! WHAT?!?!?!? NO ONE TOLD ME!! I could've been spending time with my family from out of state! Spending time with my own kids while they were building their houses! I'm so livid! I just gather my purse and say - "Mics are out - batteries will be fine through tonight. I'll be back at 7pm." I'm supposed to be there by 6:15pm but heck with that! I head back to my brothers and get there just in time to take some pics of the kids and their houses. We visit and enjoy stories and fun til late. So . . . although my bad attitude TWICE today was the LACK of communication - I feel it turned out ok and I enjoyed time with family and I still made it to the show tonight.
Family pics and cousin gift exchange tomorrow. Hopefully I'll figure out how to post the pics from this! Nighty night!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
RESOLUTIONS . . . .
Julie posted about her resolutions today and asked everyone if we had any yet, how we keep them and any tricks of the trade. Truth be known - I am one who waits til the last minute to set or think about the resolutions. I was curious about New Years Resolutions and where it began. This is what I found:
The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.
With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.
I also found the top ten resolutions interesting:
1-lose weight
2-stick to a budget
3-debt reduction
4-family quality time
5-find soul mate
6-quit smoking
7-find a better job
8-learn something new
9-volunteer/help others
10-get organized
With that being said - I picked 3 of the 'typical' goals and then 2 of my own. Thanks to my friend, Julie, now I'm in the mood. Here is what I've set:
1 - WEIGHT! I've posted about this recently and I've already started, but I need to STICK to it! I need to make sure that I don't fall off the wagon completely! That I don't completely give up. I am pretty good at getting started and sticking to it for a month or even two or three, but after awhile I get happy about the results and start to slack. If I keep up with it - I'd stay thin. But if I continue to slack - I end up like I am now! About 40 lbs. over what I'd like to be! I am starting my hard-core rigor right after the first of the year!
2 - POST! I am going to combine 1 and 2 and post about my weight loss. This will probably bore you but I hope that it will keep me motivated. If we have to "check in" we always do better, right?
3 - PICS! I have a great little camera now so no excuses not to take pics anymore. I was so good when the kids were little but I've slacked over the last couple of years. Not good! I will take more pics - can't hurt to have too many, right? And I am determined to learn how to post pics and post them. I have such cute kids and pics and can't post them! :( I may even get daring and show pics of me in my swimsuit as I progress. EWWWW!!!
4 - FAMILY! I am horrible when I leave my house for the theatre - I get so involved with the atmosphere there that I forget to come home right away. Usually a late night visit is 'required' after each night. Sometimes it's work related, sometimes not. But when I do get home, I feel the guilt and miss the family and home so much. So . . . I am going to be better about saying "sorry guys - I really need to get going!"
5 - WHISPER! Plain and simple - I yell WAY TOO MUCH! I yell at the kids to clean, I yell outside for them to come in, I yell for them to stop arguing, etc. etc. etc. It's time for me to calm down or at least stop the yelling. :) I have experimented in the past and it does make a difference when you just make a choice not to yell for a day. I whispered pretty much all day one Sunday and in turn the tone and spirit in my home was so different! I know this goal is not just one to take lightly or that will happen overnight but I'm determined to remember to "whisper" as often as possible!
There ya have it! My top 5 resolutions - not too far out of reach (like Julie did!) but challenging enough to work on! Now I'll pass the torch and ask you - have you set your resolutions yet?!?!?!
The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.
With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.
I also found the top ten resolutions interesting:
1-lose weight
2-stick to a budget
3-debt reduction
4-family quality time
5-find soul mate
6-quit smoking
7-find a better job
8-learn something new
9-volunteer/help others
10-get organized
With that being said - I picked 3 of the 'typical' goals and then 2 of my own. Thanks to my friend, Julie, now I'm in the mood. Here is what I've set:
1 - WEIGHT! I've posted about this recently and I've already started, but I need to STICK to it! I need to make sure that I don't fall off the wagon completely! That I don't completely give up. I am pretty good at getting started and sticking to it for a month or even two or three, but after awhile I get happy about the results and start to slack. If I keep up with it - I'd stay thin. But if I continue to slack - I end up like I am now! About 40 lbs. over what I'd like to be! I am starting my hard-core rigor right after the first of the year!
2 - POST! I am going to combine 1 and 2 and post about my weight loss. This will probably bore you but I hope that it will keep me motivated. If we have to "check in" we always do better, right?
3 - PICS! I have a great little camera now so no excuses not to take pics anymore. I was so good when the kids were little but I've slacked over the last couple of years. Not good! I will take more pics - can't hurt to have too many, right? And I am determined to learn how to post pics and post them. I have such cute kids and pics and can't post them! :( I may even get daring and show pics of me in my swimsuit as I progress. EWWWW!!!
4 - FAMILY! I am horrible when I leave my house for the theatre - I get so involved with the atmosphere there that I forget to come home right away. Usually a late night visit is 'required' after each night. Sometimes it's work related, sometimes not. But when I do get home, I feel the guilt and miss the family and home so much. So . . . I am going to be better about saying "sorry guys - I really need to get going!"
5 - WHISPER! Plain and simple - I yell WAY TOO MUCH! I yell at the kids to clean, I yell outside for them to come in, I yell for them to stop arguing, etc. etc. etc. It's time for me to calm down or at least stop the yelling. :) I have experimented in the past and it does make a difference when you just make a choice not to yell for a day. I whispered pretty much all day one Sunday and in turn the tone and spirit in my home was so different! I know this goal is not just one to take lightly or that will happen overnight but I'm determined to remember to "whisper" as often as possible!
There ya have it! My top 5 resolutions - not too far out of reach (like Julie did!) but challenging enough to work on! Now I'll pass the torch and ask you - have you set your resolutions yet?!?!?!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
MEAN MOM!
Ok - so I'm not the meanest mom on the block but I'm mean for making my kids clean "EVERY DAY - ALL DAY"! Well, at least according to them! All I want is the front rooms picked up of their "crap" so that I can vacuum and clean and their rooms cleaned. Geez! Is that too much to ask?
"Pick up your stuff!"
"Get dressed!"
"Clean your room!"
"Put your new toys away!"
It's always the same comments and they start out being comments then gradually get louder as the day goes on. By evening time, I swear the neighborhood can hear me yelling at my kids through the walls! I get so tired of yelling and screaming. I just want my kids to realize how important a clean home is to me. Every year for my birthday, Mother's Day, Anniversary and Christmas they ask "Mom, what do you want for your gift?" And I reply (just like my mother did) "A clean house and a happy family!" Is it that much to ask? I didn't think so. Get along, and pick up as you go. Not that hard. I'm not one to really talk as my parents will tell you that I had a disgusting room while growing up. I was the one who would rather live in filth than clean. I got allowance taken away. Clothes taken away that I had to pay to get back. Once, in college!, my dad came in and said "whatever is on the floor by 5pm is going away! I just assumed he meant in his closet til I paid my dutiful 25cents per item to get them back. I went to class and rehearsal and when I returned at 11pm - my room was cleared. Looked great and I didn't have to do it! HA! Well, when I went in to ask how much I owed - he looked at me seriously and said "I took them away", to which I replied "I know. How much to get them back?" He then told me how he took them to Deseret Industries! I FREAKED OUT!! "I'm 18 years old and I need my clothes back - you have no right to do this!" To which he replied, "You live in my house and I'm going to have a clean one. If you don't live by my rules, then there are consequences!" Needless to say, I bawled all night to my friends, who all brought me clothes to help me out. Some even stayed to help me clean my room and that was all it took. I had a very clean room from then on and I'm anal about my own house! To the point of driving Geoff and my kids nuts! I have to have it picked up before bed - I hate waking up to a messy house! I have to have the front rooms cleaned at all times (well, as best as possible) so that guests see a clean house! Especially now that I have students over. I love my Gold Canyon candles and the sweet smell of clean and a good scent! I can't relax until my house is clean!
Well, with that being said - I'm off to pour me a drink of soda with my Sonic ice :) and get down to the cleaning! Rooms are almost done and I can now sweep/mop and vacuum. Geoff is at work (yea!) and I have til 5pm to get it done! Then he has to keep it that way til I get home from the theatre at 10:30pm! HA!
"Pick up your stuff!"
"Get dressed!"
"Clean your room!"
"Put your new toys away!"
It's always the same comments and they start out being comments then gradually get louder as the day goes on. By evening time, I swear the neighborhood can hear me yelling at my kids through the walls! I get so tired of yelling and screaming. I just want my kids to realize how important a clean home is to me. Every year for my birthday, Mother's Day, Anniversary and Christmas they ask "Mom, what do you want for your gift?" And I reply (just like my mother did) "A clean house and a happy family!" Is it that much to ask? I didn't think so. Get along, and pick up as you go. Not that hard. I'm not one to really talk as my parents will tell you that I had a disgusting room while growing up. I was the one who would rather live in filth than clean. I got allowance taken away. Clothes taken away that I had to pay to get back. Once, in college!, my dad came in and said "whatever is on the floor by 5pm is going away! I just assumed he meant in his closet til I paid my dutiful 25cents per item to get them back. I went to class and rehearsal and when I returned at 11pm - my room was cleared. Looked great and I didn't have to do it! HA! Well, when I went in to ask how much I owed - he looked at me seriously and said "I took them away", to which I replied "I know. How much to get them back?" He then told me how he took them to Deseret Industries! I FREAKED OUT!! "I'm 18 years old and I need my clothes back - you have no right to do this!" To which he replied, "You live in my house and I'm going to have a clean one. If you don't live by my rules, then there are consequences!" Needless to say, I bawled all night to my friends, who all brought me clothes to help me out. Some even stayed to help me clean my room and that was all it took. I had a very clean room from then on and I'm anal about my own house! To the point of driving Geoff and my kids nuts! I have to have it picked up before bed - I hate waking up to a messy house! I have to have the front rooms cleaned at all times (well, as best as possible) so that guests see a clean house! Especially now that I have students over. I love my Gold Canyon candles and the sweet smell of clean and a good scent! I can't relax until my house is clean!
Well, with that being said - I'm off to pour me a drink of soda with my Sonic ice :) and get down to the cleaning! Rooms are almost done and I can now sweep/mop and vacuum. Geoff is at work (yea!) and I have til 5pm to get it done! Then he has to keep it that way til I get home from the theatre at 10:30pm! HA!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Dear Santa . . . .
THANK YOU!!
Christmas this year was great . . .
Kids were too excited and therefore bedtime was extremely late (11:30ish) so Santa got here rather late. It was almost 2AM by the time Santa finished his 'setting up' of the gifts. The kids woke up as he finished at 2:15AM and said they couldn't go back to bed. Thus making the adult figures stay up later than expected to make sure no one peeked before falling back asleep.
The morning came way too early with the voices of kids singing Christmas carols - VERY loudly!! "Jingle Bells" then yells of "Mom and Dad - get up!" Then "Deck the Halls" with more "Please get up!" After they switched to hymns - "Away in a manager" - we crawled (literally!) out of bed.
Santa DEFINATELY found our home! The kids were spoiled rotten and we had a great morning of gifts, toys, thanks, candy and tons of fun!! We followed it with visiting grandparents including seeing my baby sister who is here from Portland! We had a great day and the kids are still putting things together and playing with their toys.
The top 3 gifts for each are:
Kylee - beach cruiser bike, cell phone (I know - I'm crazy!) and digital camera
Jonathan - scooter, lots of Bionicles, electronic baseball game (practice hitting thing)
Dakota - Rip-stick (he can do it too!), RC Helicopter, 50" basketball hoop with glow-in-the-dark ball
Maddisen - Barbie house (it's as tall as she is!), Barbie cash register and lots of barbies
Geoff and I don't do a lot for each other but I got him some new clothes for his new job and he got me a bluetooth for my phone.
It's very rarely a "silent night" around here and it's never "all is calm" but in the sweet moments of family time, thank you's to each other for the gifts and in talking about the reason for the season - we do have small moments of "heavenly peace" and hopefully some "Sleep in Heavenly peace" as well!
Good night!!
Christmas this year was great . . .
Kids were too excited and therefore bedtime was extremely late (11:30ish) so Santa got here rather late. It was almost 2AM by the time Santa finished his 'setting up' of the gifts. The kids woke up as he finished at 2:15AM and said they couldn't go back to bed. Thus making the adult figures stay up later than expected to make sure no one peeked before falling back asleep.
The morning came way too early with the voices of kids singing Christmas carols - VERY loudly!! "Jingle Bells" then yells of "Mom and Dad - get up!" Then "Deck the Halls" with more "Please get up!" After they switched to hymns - "Away in a manager" - we crawled (literally!) out of bed.
Santa DEFINATELY found our home! The kids were spoiled rotten and we had a great morning of gifts, toys, thanks, candy and tons of fun!! We followed it with visiting grandparents including seeing my baby sister who is here from Portland! We had a great day and the kids are still putting things together and playing with their toys.
The top 3 gifts for each are:
Kylee - beach cruiser bike, cell phone (I know - I'm crazy!) and digital camera
Jonathan - scooter, lots of Bionicles, electronic baseball game (practice hitting thing)
Dakota - Rip-stick (he can do it too!), RC Helicopter, 50" basketball hoop with glow-in-the-dark ball
Maddisen - Barbie house (it's as tall as she is!), Barbie cash register and lots of barbies
Geoff and I don't do a lot for each other but I got him some new clothes for his new job and he got me a bluetooth for my phone.
It's very rarely a "silent night" around here and it's never "all is calm" but in the sweet moments of family time, thank you's to each other for the gifts and in talking about the reason for the season - we do have small moments of "heavenly peace" and hopefully some "Sleep in Heavenly peace" as well!
Good night!!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Chirstmas Eve Fun!!
We slept in a bit today but not for long. The kids woke up by 8am with hoots and hollers! Geoff and I stayed up last night til 2am wrapping presents and the tree was packed full and overflowing this morning!
(I got a new camera and my disk drive won't work, so I can't download the hardware to upload pics! :( AAAHHHH!!! )
Geoff went to work with the neighbor but just got home. We were talking about how the kids look like each of us and took this test. Fun! Some shockers but not all. People always say how Maddi looks more like me - so that one was a surprise. Jonathan was not a surprise though - he is a carbon copy of Dad! Dakota and Kylee are good mixes of us. We love our little ones! And think we have the bestest looking kids ever!! But we aren't biased at all!! :)
Merry Christmas Eve Day!! We are off to deliver neighbor gifts!
(I got a new camera and my disk drive won't work, so I can't download the hardware to upload pics! :( AAAHHHH!!! )
Geoff went to work with the neighbor but just got home. We were talking about how the kids look like each of us and took this test. Fun! Some shockers but not all. People always say how Maddi looks more like me - so that one was a surprise. Jonathan was not a surprise though - he is a carbon copy of Dad! Dakota and Kylee are good mixes of us. We love our little ones! And think we have the bestest looking kids ever!! But we aren't biased at all!! :)
Merry Christmas Eve Day!! We are off to deliver neighbor gifts!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
ExHaLe! ! !
This is season is officially ready to enjoy for me!
I have closed "A Christmas Carol" at Hale.
"Singin' in the Rain" doesn't start rehearsals until Jan.2.
No teaching til Jan. 7.
Students recital is done.
R.S. lesson is done.
Shopping is 99% done.
Today completed the last of my responsibilites for this season before the holiday. I taught the R.S. lesson today. It was my first lesson and the Christmas lesson. FRIGHTENING! I stuttered a lot but felt like it went ok. I focused on Mary and her example. I also shared some interesting facts about her and the Christmas story that I didn't know. As always, the teacher learned a lot more than the students! I always took the story for granted since we've all heard it for years. But as I searched for more info on Mary - I was intrigued and enlightened beyond what one would expect! I began to enjoy reading about the Christmas story! I didn't 'tune out' the lines that I'd heard over and over every Dec. Although I was so nervous, I hope that I got even a portion of the knowledge I gained across and that they felt the spirit as strong as I did. Mary is quite the woman and although I always thought highly of her - I now have a great understanding of her divine role in my salvation!
I'm enjoying my fireplace, family and a good movie right now. Dinner is done and we are going to wrap some gifts tonight. After the kids go to bed, I'm going to do a little bakin' so we can deliver them to family and friends tomorrow. I have to go get 3 presents for Geoff's parents and my dad (my mom is already done) tomorrow and then I'm ALL DONE! I wish you all the very best on this Christmas Eve-Eve! :)
I have closed "A Christmas Carol" at Hale.
"Singin' in the Rain" doesn't start rehearsals until Jan.2.
No teaching til Jan. 7.
Students recital is done.
R.S. lesson is done.
Shopping is 99% done.
Today completed the last of my responsibilites for this season before the holiday. I taught the R.S. lesson today. It was my first lesson and the Christmas lesson. FRIGHTENING! I stuttered a lot but felt like it went ok. I focused on Mary and her example. I also shared some interesting facts about her and the Christmas story that I didn't know. As always, the teacher learned a lot more than the students! I always took the story for granted since we've all heard it for years. But as I searched for more info on Mary - I was intrigued and enlightened beyond what one would expect! I began to enjoy reading about the Christmas story! I didn't 'tune out' the lines that I'd heard over and over every Dec. Although I was so nervous, I hope that I got even a portion of the knowledge I gained across and that they felt the spirit as strong as I did. Mary is quite the woman and although I always thought highly of her - I now have a great understanding of her divine role in my salvation!
I'm enjoying my fireplace, family and a good movie right now. Dinner is done and we are going to wrap some gifts tonight. After the kids go to bed, I'm going to do a little bakin' so we can deliver them to family and friends tomorrow. I have to go get 3 presents for Geoff's parents and my dad (my mom is already done) tomorrow and then I'm ALL DONE! I wish you all the very best on this Christmas Eve-Eve! :)
WOO HOO!!
Geoff got a new job!! YEA! YIPPEE!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!! HAPPY DAYs!!! I could go on and on!! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!
I mentioned before how my brother-in-law was going to contact him - well, he did!
Friday morning at 9AM, Geoff took his "dummy test" and passed. He only missed one - which he didn't even try to do. It was a word problem math thing that he said was just too confusing and the test was timed, so he was going to go back to it in the end but didn't have time. I thought it was interesting the questions the test had. IT even had an essay question! HA! It really was a dummy test!! Sadly, we learned that 5 out of 7 guys FAILED it! So Geoff was happy he did well and they were anxious to get to the interview. After he finished the test, the secretary asked him to sit tight while she graded it. She returned telling him his results and asked him to wait a moment longer for the 2 bosses to come in for his interview. Geoff was not prepared for that - thinking he would take the test and then wait to hear from them and come back another day for the interview. He was happy to get it done though. The interview went really well. It lasted less than 10 minutes and they gave him a clicker for the gate and asked him to be there Wednesday morning and invited our family to the Christmas Party on Jan. 2 at Amazing Jakes!! Crazy!! He filled out the insurance forms and found out how great the benefits really are. The job is with Roosevelt Water Conservation District. He is a Zanjero - spanish for ditch runner. It's physical labor but he's happy about that since we have both set a goal for the new year to get back into shape. He will miss his architecture-ing but he'll live for now. The hours are odd - 80 hrs one week and one week off. It will take some getting used to. The pay is better than he was making at Atwell-Hicks and there is a very low risk of layoffs since we will always need water! :) I'm very happy and hope this is an indication of the good year that is to come!!
I mentioned before how my brother-in-law was going to contact him - well, he did!
Friday morning at 9AM, Geoff took his "dummy test" and passed. He only missed one - which he didn't even try to do. It was a word problem math thing that he said was just too confusing and the test was timed, so he was going to go back to it in the end but didn't have time. I thought it was interesting the questions the test had. IT even had an essay question! HA! It really was a dummy test!! Sadly, we learned that 5 out of 7 guys FAILED it! So Geoff was happy he did well and they were anxious to get to the interview. After he finished the test, the secretary asked him to sit tight while she graded it. She returned telling him his results and asked him to wait a moment longer for the 2 bosses to come in for his interview. Geoff was not prepared for that - thinking he would take the test and then wait to hear from them and come back another day for the interview. He was happy to get it done though. The interview went really well. It lasted less than 10 minutes and they gave him a clicker for the gate and asked him to be there Wednesday morning and invited our family to the Christmas Party on Jan. 2 at Amazing Jakes!! Crazy!! He filled out the insurance forms and found out how great the benefits really are. The job is with Roosevelt Water Conservation District. He is a Zanjero - spanish for ditch runner. It's physical labor but he's happy about that since we have both set a goal for the new year to get back into shape. He will miss his architecture-ing but he'll live for now. The hours are odd - 80 hrs one week and one week off. It will take some getting used to. The pay is better than he was making at Atwell-Hicks and there is a very low risk of layoffs since we will always need water! :) I'm very happy and hope this is an indication of the good year that is to come!!
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