We're all a little wierd. . . right?!?!?!

You Are 32% Weirdo

You're a little weird, but you'd be even weirder if you didn't have a few quirks. You are just strange enough to know it, but nobody else seems to notice your weirdness. That's because, deep down, everyone is a little freaky!

Are You A Weirdo?

Thank goodness for the truth!

I'm having a hard time with reality right now. My aunt died this weekend. She's became really sick and we've expected it for the past 2 weeks but when you hear the news, it's always shocking. Well, today as I talked with siblings and my Mom about who was going, when and how everyone was getting to and from St. Johns (SMALL northern Arizona town where my Dad is from) for the funeral - it HIT me! She is my Dad's older sister and the first to go of her generation in my family. Her husband died a couple of years ago, but suddenly. She was 71 yrs old - close to the age my Grandpa was - and very ill. BUT my grandparents are all gone now, so that means my aunts/uncles AND MY PARENTS are the next generation to "go". This is NOT a comforting thing. I'm NOT ready to lose my parents! My Dad is only 65 this year and my Mom a sweet "29" (or 61, for those who are really counting), but that's not the 'young parents' I remember. I remember them when they were MY age! Which in turn, makes me OLD too!!

Although I am very grateful and blessed with the knowledge that this life is just a small portion of our existence. And although the raw and mortal feelings of losing a loved one are real and hurt, I know that I will see her again and that she is enjoying the sweet reunion with her Dad (who she lost when she was only 20) and her Mom and her life-long love (married when they were 16!), my Uncle Kelly.

My siblings and I have such sweet memories of her. We 'lovingly' called her our "Cussin' Aunt". She was a small town gal who was not active in the church for many years. We would go and visit her in the summers on the way to the Homestead. This is more for me but I find them very fun memories of her:

*She had a windchime collection on her patio that we loved to hear in the wind. And it was always windy in St. Johns. (Up between Springerville and ShowLow on the rim)
*She lived at the top of the hill and we would walk down to the Maverick and get a Vanilla Coke. We were not allowed caffeine growing up and so if we could sneak one from Aunt Karen - it was a treat. (Sorry Mom!)
*We would arrive at her home with a BIG welcome! She would start talking and the 'typical' small town cuss words would enter her conversation. My Mom, horrified, would say "Karen, please don't cuss around the kids." To which she would reply, "Oh shit, damn and hell. Now they've heard them and it won't be a surprise." When I played Kate in Kiss Me, Kate, she came to see me. If you've seen the show, the first word that I utter is Bastard! And after that I slapped the man onstage with me. Afterwards, she came up and said "I loved your first word! That's my neice is what I told your Dad. I'm so proud of you!" HA!
*She would always tell us we could hit her back porch fridge anytime for a coke or whatever was out there, "but don't touch Uncle Kelly's beer - he's not good at sharing!"
*She always cooked! Breakfast was HUGE in her home!! And there was always something brewing on the stove - Uncle Kelly made the BEST green chile! YUM!! She introduced me to The Next Best Thing to Sex cake. But she renamed it. "Sex is good, don't get me wrong. But honey, I like to call this The Next Best Thing To Robert Redford." :)She also introduced me to my CocoMotion (hot cocoa machine) which she found after she became active in the church again and gave up her coffee. My kids and I LIVE on this machine in the winters. Her home was inviting, exciting and filled with FOOD and LOVE!
*She was always on the top of the fashion and trends. It shocked me how she could, being that she had to "drive to the valley and go shopping at the MetroCenter Mall". But she was always dressed to the hilt, a high stepper and had all the latest in trends. When cell phone charms were big, she came down to see us and visit my Dad when he was in the ICU (Cancer scare) and I was showing her my charms. She pulled her cell phone out and said, "those are cute but honey you gotta get more . . like me!" She could barely lift her phone it was so covered.
*Before she started going back to church, she used to smoke. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can't stand the smell. It hurts my eyes and gives me a headache. Maybe it was just love, but she never stunk to me. I can clearly remember hugging her and smelling the tobacco and the perfume. . . still brings a smile to my face.

She always made me smile and I will truly miss her! I love my Aunt Karen Mineer and am so grateful for the truth and knowledge that I will see her again someday!!

A random tagging of sorts . . .

Ok - this was HARD! You think you can come up with 7 random things, but when you think about it - random ain't easy. Either that or I'm just a predictable person. So, here's my attempt to tell you something you don't or wouldn't know about me.

The rules are as follows:

#1 Link to the person who tagged you.... Julie at Truly Delightful?!?!
#2 Post the rules on your blog.
#3 Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
#4 Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
# 5 Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.

So . . . here we go.
1 - My left leg is 3 1/2 inches shorter than my right. I know - wierd. I have scoliosis and was supposed to have back surgery to correct it but I was not diagnosed until I was 14yrs. By then it was very risky and it scared me. If I had been 3 degrees worse, they would have 'required' it but the drs watched it until I was 21yrs and it never worsened. So . . I am just careful about my choice in bathing suits, dresses, etc.

2 - I hate listening to the radio in the car. This is just random, in that people are amazed that I don't. I NEVER have it on if I have a choice. Maybe because I would much rather hear silence than music or talking. I hear that all day, everyday. I just want nothing to do but sit.

3 - I'd be very happy as a single woman. Don't judge too quickly! I UTTERLY love my family but I would be completely content with being alone. I would love to have a place of my own; where no one touches things I put down, I can put some ice cream in the freezer and it will be there when I go back, no one would mess up my cleanliness, I can have peace and quiet when I want and watch what I want and when I want to. I could spend my money the way I want to and have extra in the bank that won't have be spent on socks (because the boys played outside again without shoes) or posterboard (for yet another school project), etc. Maybe it's because I grew up in a large family and my 'career' is so "in your face" that I just enjoy my solitude.

4 - It really bothers me when I find out someone doesn't like me. I know we all have insecurities but if I find out - I want to fix it. I want everyone to be my friend and I want to be everyone's friend. Doesn't mean we have to be best buds but I never want to walk by someone and feel like they can't say hi or feel like they are talking behind my back sorely. I try and live so that many may say that I am a good and nice person. Sometimes I fail but I'm trying.

5 - I love my iced drinks. Everyone does but I will NEVER drink ANYTHING unless it's ON ICE. I don't care if it's even just a cold can of soda - MUST HAVE ICE! And I ALWAYS have a bag of Sonic ice in the freezer.

6 - I'm a list freak! I am like my mother in the respects of lists. I write lists for everything -
*groceries - I even have a pretyped one on my computer that I just circle what I need
*meal ideas - I have 35 meals listed with the ingredients needed - kids circle the meal they want and I know what I need to make it
*chores
*things to do
*my budget - I'm super anal about this one - have it planned out to the day for the next 3 months
*schedules - I have a Palm pilot "my brain" and I live by it. Even if something 'pops' up, I'll put it in after the fact. I always know where I was, am going or will be.
My dad walked in on my mom once with a bunch of papers on the table and asked what she was doing. She replied "making a list of my lists". That's me. List freak!

7 - I'm an avid multi-tasker! I HATE that people don't or can't do more than one thing at a time!! I will walk down the hall to do something and be thinking of all the things that I can do on the way back. Maybe it was the way I was trained in theatre. You can't just do one thing at a time in theatre. There are always lots of things to do. Geoff laughs at me because I can do 10 things at once and still hear his conversation down the hall on the phone. :) Maybe I'm nosy too. HA!

Ug. All done. Whew! Feel better now. :)
I tag:
Lene @ Embracethechaos
Laurie @ Treasure the Little Things
Danny @ Nor the Battle Too Strong
Lacey @ All You Need Is Love
Mommyx5 @ Party of 5
Lara @ Overstuffed

HAVE FUN!!!

All you have to do is ask

I am not afraid to admit that I have Cricket cell phone services. I have NOT had any trouble with them and I think their services are pretty darn good. I have 3 cell phones with them and pay less than $150 a month with FREE anytime minutes (yes, I don't have to count ANY minutes), FREE long distance (again, no counting), FREE voice mail, caller ID, 3-way calling and FREE text messaging (yet again, no counting). In the words of a friend, Julie, I think this is RAD! I use my cells WAY too much to be counting any minutes and I love my texting. My students never have to worry about not reaching me and they know they can text me anytime. Puts me in the know and a "way cool teach". :)
When I added Kylee, my oldest, on the plan for Christmas, I didn't think I'd have any hassle. Just like in the past, I'd pay my bill online and voila! Well, the "idiots" they hire at their store conveniently forgot to add her and gave her a completely separate acct. Normally, wouldn't be a big deal. BUT I know have to pay 2 bills and they are due on 2 different days! Talk about inconvenient! I have to enter my payment info twice and if I pay over the phone or in a store - 2 processing fees! (I won't even attempt to include in this blog my express distaste for all the dang processing fees you get on everything these days! STUPID!) Well, today I went online to make sure I had paid my bill(s) and I had (must've forgotten). I paid them on the same day, immediately right after one another and only 1 had posted! I went to my records and got my receipt number and began the grueling process of calling the 800 number and so the process began. Why is it you call anyone these days and can't get a live person? It's all automated and if you hit the wrong number of where you want to go - start over. I hate it, but yet again - another blog, another day. After 2 attempts, being hung up on and finally hearing a human voice, I was actually excited when he answered. And to top off my morning, I could understand him. Not some foreigner with an accent so thick I needed an interpreter (another blog). He had a normal name, Jeff, and was so polite. He explained to me how their computer system is not great but my payment had posted on their system and not to worry, no fees for late, etc. I was still in good standing with them. I've been with Cricket for a LONG time, probably since they started in Arizona. I've had my share of run-ins with them but all-in-all I like their service, their coverage areas are getting better (I never drop a call) and I took it with me out of state and it worked great! I didn't even have to pay roaming charges.
Anyway, I asked said Jeff "Is there is a way to combine my billing and have them all on the same acct and all due on the same day, instead of 2 accts?" He checked and again - Voila! Done. Now why couldn't this gal at the store do it for me? Who knows? Do I care? Well, kinda. But it's done now and all I had to do is . . ask.

21st Century Woman

I have been told numerous times and in different ways, all week thusfar that I was lucky to get "away" and have a "vacation". Well, I'm not sure now. The laundry is piled high from the weekend of not having any done, the bathrooms are in need of a scrub, my vacuum broke, dishes NEVER go away, I have not had time to get to the grocery store yet, and the list keeps going. I need a vacation from my vacation now!

It seems to be more work to come home than it is to leave. Worse when you take kids with, but nonetheless, daily chores are ignored while you are gone and they don't go away. They sit. Waiting for you to return. And it doesn't help that after the 'letdown' of having a much needed break, my body went into shutdown mode. I got a sinus infection and terrible cough. But Mom must prevail! Mom doesn't get a vacation. Mom has to work.

And my teaching is piled up too. I have makeups to do from the week of tech/dress rehearsals when I was cancelling left and right to be at the theatre. I have makeups from my weekend away. I can't afford to just give a discount on next months tuition and cancel the missed lessons either. The show needs my help now and so I will still be at the theatre every performance working backstage or running sound. Geoff will be there to help with the rain deck as well. Great extra money - to rid ourselves of debt this year - but so much time and little sanity.

How do women work these days? A full time job and a family?!?! It's insane! I consider myself very fortunate that I have been blessed with the talents to teach/work out of my home. And I have been truly blessed a supportive husband who allows me to work at the theatre, which I love, knowing that the extra money will help, but knowing full-well that the pay does not equal the hours put in. He says nothing because he knows I love it. I watch as televison depicts women who run a household with children, though usually only 1 or 2, and have a full-time job. HOW? There is no way to do this and be sane! How do you balance? I know many of my friends don't work and I'm envious. I would kill to be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) but it's not my reality. As I mentioned before, at least I can teach-at-home and still stay-at-home. I would quit the theatre but the money that comes from it has been a tremendous blessing to us. It's carried us through the past 2 years! At this point, we count on it. We need it. Or do we?

How can you balance necessity with desires? How can you balance work and home? How can you explain to your students - "excuse me, I must tend to this argument a moment" or "excuse me, they are making a mess"? I can't find the balance but my checkbook can't find a way around it.

My turn to play . . . what's in my purse?

Ok - so here it is. Julie challenged us to empty it out and bare all secrets.
I LOVE my "Ugly Betty" bag. My girlfriend and I got them this past summer at Lucky. If you've ever seen the tv show - Betty carries this and wears the orange pancho. I won't go as far as the pancho but love the bag!



So . . . let's see what she can carry:

cell phone
checkbook
crossword puzzle book
small water bottle
palm pilot - otherwise known as MY BRAIN!
wallet
27 receipts from our wkend away - we did some heavy shopping at the Mills Outlets!
2 French mints - from last trip to Rustic Hutch YUMMY!
2 mechanical pencils
3 pens
4 ponytails - different colors
blue tooth earpiece
18 Sonic mints - WOW! kids haven't found these apparently!!!
B & B hand lotion - Tropical Passionfruit scent
2 - 1 oz. hand Purell hand sanitizer
3 pantiliners
4 OB tampons
blue Post-It notepad
"J" shaped post-it notepad - multicolored
Singer's Saving Grace - Extra Strength (a nasty throat spray that works!)
3 peds (snagged from Dillards shoe dept for whenever I decide to try on some shoes)
"Modest is Hottest" chapstick from LDS Bookstore
B & B Bigelow Mint Lipgloss - tinted
Stride gum - Sweet Berry (1 pc left)
Stride gum - Forever Fruit (whole pkg not opened yet)
Orbit gum - Maui Melon Mint (2 pkg - 1 not opened and 1 with over half pkg left)
Orbit gum - Sweet Mint (2 pkg - 1 not opened and 1 with only 2 pc left)
cute "sock" change purse - bought at Rustic Hutch, so cute!
4 business cards - must have fallen out of my wallet
hotel receipt from this past weekend
3 gum wrappers with ABC gum enclosed
2 purse-sized Kleenex pkgs (1 full, 1 half)
2 wet-naps
bottle of Tropical Passionfruit perfume from Bath and Body
Makeup bag (won't bore you with all the contents - just know it's lots of Lancome')
pr of earrings - silver hoops
Secret Garden script (don't ask)
Talk by Elder Uchtdorf (to study for my RS lesson this Sunday in spare moments)
envelope with students checks
$10 bill - WOO HOO!!!

That's all for now. Geez!
I thought my purse was bare and organized.
Guess we can NEVER judge a book by its cover or a "purse by its weight"!

Baby proofing my house . . . again!

NO! I'm not pregnant! No! We are not adopting! (much to Geoff's dismay - who has talked of adopting since we married) We do have a new addition to the family though.

This little guy has been in the planning since we got our sweet Lady 2 years ago. I have always wanted a Shih Tsu and Geoff wanted a big lazy 'dawg'. I won! We were living at ASU East and a family - with kids! - moved in across the street. We became fast friends and spent many a day and night hanging out - movies, Wal-mart, in the street, etc. My kids were thrilled to have some friends their age move in across the street! One conversation led to another and we discovered that Julie's mom was a breeder of Shih Tsu puppies. I was determined to buy one and Geoff knew he couldn't back out now! :) We got Lady in March of 2006, just before Maddi turned 5 years old. I had always said I didn't want to 'raise' another 'kid' until my baby girl was going into school. I stuck by it and it was fate that my friends moved in just about that time.
(This is Lady at 3 months old - my fav pic of her!)
Lady has been the life and light of our lives for the past couple of years. Someone had said (not sure who, but would love to know now so I could tell them they were wrong! HA!) "You just wait. The newness will wear off and before long Lady will just fade into the background of your home." Well, she is still at the forefront and will always remain so! The kids love her, kiss her good night and play with her ALL the time. They argue who gets to hold her during movies, take her for walks, etc. They love when we take her to the groomers and she returns with cute bows in her hair too. The neighbors just adore her and all know her name. Kids come over just to say hi to Lady.

Well, we have wanted to breed too. Afraid of Lady's reaction to someone in her territory, we kept putting it off. Well, no longer. We got a boy Shih Tsu puppy this weekend and we are loving him! He is darker in color but looks as if he will be brindle with just a bit more black tipping than Lady. The kids have wanted a "Tramp" to go with our Lady but I refused. So, in honor of our neighbors puppy who died they have named him Duke. (We hope that is ok!) They really loved Duke W. who lived across the street and they think our Duke is just as playful and fun as he was. They came up with it on their own and they tell everyone that he is named after Duke W. who died. Dakota was heard saying . . . "they would've been good buddies". So sweet!


He is a handful, not like I remember Lady ever being. I'm not sure if it's because he's a boy or as with babies and toddlers, you forget how they get into EVERYTHING! Lady has not taken to him lightly. She runs from him, hides under the couch but knows that she is still the true "Lady" of the house. It will take some time but the kids, of course, are all over him. Currently Lady is on the couch next to me (she has figured out he cannot get on the couch yet) and Duke is laying on the tile sleeping. We love them both and hope that our home will return to 'normal' soon!!