Ketchup time

Last friday we packed up and left at 7am for our 4 hour trip to MI to visit my longtime friend, Melisa. (& her family, of course). We spent the 4 days playing games, fixing up her house (ie, Tyler put together some dressers, I sat around & looked pretty) and catching up on the latest. I haven't seen Melisa in a year and both her boys have grown so much and I got to meet Calet! Such a CUTIE! We had a wonderful time and they may be coming to visit us at the end of August. (we can't wait!) Jaden & Daven introduced Anna to LARRY BOY from Veggietales. She now LOVES it. I guess I'll be looking on eBay for them...in other eBay news, I purchased my first PDA--some electronic planner thingy--anyone know what PDA stands for? Besides, of course, public display of affection. (Dana, I just knew you were thinking that when you read PDA) So that should arrive in 2 days and I CAN'T WAIT. Melisa has the Pda/phone/camera thingy and it looks awesome and she sold me on how useful a PDA could be for me--someone who just LOVES to be organized. (really, I do love it) I should have some pictures to post from my trip---but I don't have them now. I forgot my camera and so I'm relying on the mercies of Melisa to send those pictures my way...for now, I'm back--what have you all been up to?

Al Gore Video

Groundhog Day

Do you ever have a day that you wouldn't mind repeating? Today would be one that I would nominate. I exercised and it felt so good. I really do enjoy it. It seems the most difficult thing is just getting out the door...but I digress, after exercising I cleaned up the house. But guess what? It was pretty much clean already, so I was able to enjoy it all day long. I read 4 stories from THE FRIEND to Anna and then we sang tons of Primary songs on the piano. While I was reading & singing with Anna, I just felt like such a good Mom. I struggle with giving myself credit when I am doing things right, but I didn't feel that way today, I felt good. :)

Anna's friend, Celeste, came over to play for a couple of hours, so I could do the last load of laundry and organize the C2 room. After Celeste went home, Anna wanted my attention but I informed her that her Mama needed her time alone, and I went in the C2 room and scrapbooked for 2 hours. It felt incredible! Whenever I usually want to do something alone, I try to distract Anna so I can do it, but today I was very upfront with her and said I needed my time and guess what? IT WORKED. I'm going to have to be more upfront in the future...

So today I exercised, organized, scrapbooked, and packed for our vacation (we're leaving tomorrow morning) and it was just such a lovely day. Just lovely. When I was reading Anna stories earlier today and just before bedtime, Anna always snuggles up to me, usually with one of my arms around her as I read. It's just precious--I don't want it to change. Today was wonderful.

WOW

Hi everyone, I happened upon this site and it is a must-see. As you probably know the FDA doesn’t regulate anything that is put in to cosmetics (which includes makeup, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, sunscreens, etc) There are chemicals in some products that are very toxic and they don’t have to disclose it. This site has a huge database of cosmetics and it gives ratings on a scale of 0 – 10, 10 being the most toxic. Results may surprise you. I use to use L’Oreal’s Kids shampoo for my girls but I found out it is very toxic. You can type in to the database the name of any of your products you use and it will tell you how safe they are. Be sure to check out your sunscreen. It tells you if the sunscreen is toxic AND if it really works.

http://cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?key=21938573&message=Successfully+updated+Supporter+information

Pachelbel Rant

Drama in real life

Yesterday there was a fly in the kitchen. Anna is terrified of most bugs and so she begged me to "get it!" So I used my strong muscles and the flyswatter to rid us of the fly. Afterwards, Anna said, "Oh thank you, Mama! You saved my life!" Cute.

I went to workout this morning. Shannon was there and we chatted through the workout--it goes by much quicker with a friend. I did 30 on e and 20 on aw. I'm trying to get my house back up to par. When we had family come last week I tried very hard to ignore the house and just enjoy myself. Now I need to sweep, mop, vacuum, do laundry, etc...it feels good to work, doesn't it?

Tyler & Anna cleaned out the car for our trip up to MI on friday. I am SO EXCITED to see Melisa and her fabulous family. Anna cannot WAIT to play with Jaden & Daven. And I haven't even MET Calet, yet. She's the first of the 3 that I didn't see as a newborn. *sniff sniff* But I'm sure I'll make up for it this weekend...

In 30 words...

me in 30 words…

Talented
Creative
Wife/Mother
Sensitive
Generous
Worrier
Warrior
Strong
Positive
Cheerful
Silly
Smart
Tall
Overweight
Attractive
Friendly
Lazy
Precious
Nosy
Clever
Dedicated
Organized
Adaptable
Determined
Opinionated
Spiritual
Emotional
Uptight
Social
Capable

So much to do....

This morning I awoke to my phone ringing and didn't manage to get out the door until 11am to hit the Y. I did 30 minutes on e and 20 on lw. It felt G R E A T. I haven't exercised since last thursday because Tisha was in town and yesterday Anna had been throwing up. So I weighed myself today and I was a 1/2lb down from last week, totalling 10 1/2 lbs in 4 weeks, meaning that I now weigh 319.5 lbs. The last time that I weighed this weight was when I was pregnant with Anna. It feels good to be getting closer to 309--where I was when Tyler & I married. Once I get below 300lbs, get ready for a HUGE celebration! (low carb, high protein please)

Anna & I went over to visit my friend, Kathey. She let me borrow this book and it looks like it would help me out a lot. Then we went to the library on-base, the post office (located inside the library--quite convenient), the bank, and the commissary for some groceries. I am so pleased to report some items that we now have 1 years supply:
Shampoo/Conditioner
Soap
Toothpaste/floss
Toilet paper
Menstrual items
Dish soap (not dishwasher detergent)
Kleenex
Paper Towels

We also have some food storage, but not enough for a year. We're working on that. But I want to make sure that we have all those other things that we need aside from food. What do you have stored?

After all the errands we came home and Hailie stopped by, which thrilled Anna. She just LOVES her. Anna had t-ball practice, apparantly the last practice of the season. They'll only have games from now on. While I was there Orlando (my home teacher) was playing soccer. He came over & watched Anna bat. It was fun speaking spanish with him and learning certain terms like batear that you don't learn in school. After the practice Anna wanted to play at the park, so I sat on a park bench to watch her, next to a nice lady named Alisha. We struck up a conversation. She's recently divorced, her husband is addicted to cocaine and they have a 4-year-old daughter. Wow. I can't imagine being in that situation. We got along pretty well and she invited me to a local face painting at a park this thursday. That should be fun.

It's now 10:30pm, and my daughter is watching the blues clues vhs that we checked out from the library. It serves me right to say she could watch a movie after her bath after her t-ball practice. I talked with Alisha until 9:15 and then came home, bathed Anna and now she's watching the movie. I have GOT to get her on a better schedule. Well, now it's time for bedtime stories...

Overnight sickness

Since it's been so cool at night, we have been opening the windows and putting the box fan in them to bring in the cool air. The box fan in our room is directly above my head, naturally, and then I also have another fan blowing in my face--a must for me to sleep comfortably. It's so loud, though, that I have trouble hearing my alarm in the morning. So last night during all the fan noise, it was a surprise that I was able to hear Anna crying out for her Daddy. I immediately woke Tyler up and he went to see her and then came back saying that Anna had thrown up. WHAT?! That's wild. But I think that Tyler was more surprised that I was able to hear Anna through all the fan noise. I guess that moms were made with built-in antennas for such an occasion as this. So we cleaned Anna up and sent her back to bed. 3 hours later she threw up again. We cleand her up (again) and sent her back to bed with towels all around her. I awoke to her crying that she had thrown up all the over the bathroom floor. I was quite relieved because the bathroom has a tile floor--much easier to clean than carpet. The funny thing about this is that Anna did not exhibit one sign of sickness for the rest of the day. She watched several movies and ate crackers and kept her big bowl with her for the first half of the day. By the afternoon she was practically bouncing off the walls and asking me who she could invite to come over & play with her!

While Anna was watching her movies, I prepared a huge list for our new choir president. I listed all the names of choir members that have attended choir + their email & phone numbers + gave instructions for this first evening choir practice this coming Sunday. It took a while to do it--but it worked out. Then I worked on my application for school this fall. It's wild to think that I will be going back to college. Part of me is really scared, but the other part of me is more than excited. When I first started college back in 1996, I was 17 years old and just figuring a lot of things out about myself--and spent less time on my studies. Now I am older and I think I'll be a better student this time around. Plus my voice is more mature than a 17 year old. ;)

For FHE we went over to Kacey & Amy's house. We had a nice lesson on pioneers and then played carcassonne--such a fun game!

I talked with my Mom today. It looks like she & her husband will be moving to Utah. I am very excited for her next adventure. She's always wanted to sing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir--maybe she'll get her chance now!

The long awaited 2007 Family Pictures

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Busy callings

Well, I can honestly say that I'm busy with my callings right now. The Bishopric just called a very capable choir president to help me with the choir. However, it seems like I have a lot to do to help the choir president help me out. I'm sure that we'll get everything going smoothly soon.

Next week we're starting our evening choir practices for the cantata FROM CUMORAH'S HILL. I think that evening practices will be best so we can have more time to practice than if we had it in the morning and most of the time people come late, anyhow. I'm concerned that people may not come to the evening practices. Tyler tells me that I can't please everyone but I don't like to upset or inconvenience anyone. I guess that means I'm in for a lot of heartache along this mortal probation, eh? (ha ha) My friend, Shannon, said that if people are serious about coming to choir then they'll come at 5:30pm just like they'd come at 9am. I just hope that the choir members will come. I feel like most everyone is being very supportive, for which I am grateful. During the Sacrament today I began thinking about how Christ wants us to become "one" in the church. I thought that the same concept could apply to the choir. It's too bad I couldn't have these great thoughts during choir practice, instead of 1 hour afterwards...this ward really does have a great choir. They sang so well today!

After church I prepared some dinner and we had the Bristows over for dinner. Sis Bristow reminds me of my mom so much. She is 5ft 4in, has dark eyes & hair, plays the piano wonderfully and was the RS president, plus she's in her 50s! It's crazy! They were a lot of fun and I hope to get to know them better in the future. Age has never been an issue for me in having friends. Teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, etc, there's so many friends to be had! :)

Saying goodbye isn't easy to do

This morning we all got up and went to see Anna's t-ball game. She did so well and it was enjoyable--but probably a little bit boring for her boy cousins, since they are in BASEBALL and actually do keep score. But Anna's coach specifically told us that he really enjoyed watching Anna bat because she is "so good." That's our baby!

Anna went to a primary activity after her game while the rest of us went home to help Tisha & Vernon pack up their things. We had some breakfast, picked up Anna and went out to a frozen custard place called RITTER'S--so tasty! This custard place even has a playground by it where the kids can play = perfect! So the kids played and then we had to say goodbye. Poor little Anna, she wasn't ready for them to go even though she was exhausted from all the playing she's done the past 4 days...

We came home and took a nap outside in the tent because it was a BEAUTIFUL day outside. I don't think the temp went above 70 degrees. Very nice. Our next door neighbors were having a birthday party for their grandson who was turning 8 years-old and they invited Anna to come over. I cannot fully describe Anna's excitement when they invited her. She was overcome with smiles and started jumping up & down. And let me tell you---she had a lot of fun. They had all sorts of games and cake and ice cream and guess who won the watermelon eating contest? That's right, my fruitaholic baby girl. Her prize? A watermelon, of course! And most birthday parties have some sort of appearance from a disney movie or perhaps Barney the dinosaur, but this party had Darth Vader and two storm troopers come. Yeah. Hard core.

We invited Michelle & Rob over for games tonight. Their little boy, Jayden, is such a cutie! We played the newlywed game and some competitive skip-bo. I really like Michelle, she reminds me of my cousin, Tina. We had a good time getting to know each other. It's too bad they'll only be here for one year, until he finishes his dental residency. :(

Uncle Jill

My sweet little neice, Maddie, calls me "Uncle Jill." But she also calls Tyler "Uncle" as well...it's pretty cute.

This morning Tyler & Vernon took the boys & Anna fishing at a local lake. They had a great time while Tisha & I relaxed playing scattergories while the two youngest girls slept. After lunch we went to a local splash park (glorified sprinkler as Tyler calls it). Everyone had a great time. Here's a picture from the park:

Anna, Maddie, Josiah, & Isaiah. We are sooooooooo SAD that our company is leaving tomorrow. Anna keeps asking if they can stay a bit longer, "forever," she says. It's definitely been so fun spending time with everyone, we just wish it could last a bit longer! Right now they're roasting hotdogs and making s'mores over the firepit in the back yard. The kids wants to sleep in the tent tonight, plus we have some water balloons ready for action! Summer days are so fun, especially with family in town.

Family visiting...

Yes, yes, I know I didn't post yesterday, but I have a great excuse: Tyler's sister, Tisha, & her husband, Vernon, and their 4 kids came to visit us for 4 days! HOORAY! Anna has been telling everyone how her uncle & aunt were coming to visit. They arrived yesterday around 4:30pm. Previous to that time we were cleaning like MAD to get the house ready. Tyler did have a project that was due today that he was supposed to be working on-but the professor sent out an email that said the project due date was pushed back a week. I was so grateful--my husband could now assist me in the mad rush to CLEAN! We had a great time catching up with them and the kids had a great time. The kids swam and we played some badminton (we don't have a net but we do have some power cords that work...) and just enjoyed the time.


Today we all went to the YMCA. Anna had swimming lessons and Tisha swam laps with me during the lesson. Then we all swam afterwards. Afterwards we came home
for lunch then went to the AIR FORCE MUSEUM. We spent 2 hours there and then went to the golden corral. It was a different experience for me since I am on the SBD. And you should be so proud: I resisted all those golden favorites such as mashed potatoes and macaroni & cheese and banana pudding (you know, the one with vanilla wafers & whip cream..YUM). I CONQUERED THE CORRAL! And I'm here to tell the tale.

After dinner, Tisha & I went to play volleyball at the church with the RS. It was SO fun! We had a great time. In fact, there were 15 ladies that showed up! And my sil, Tisha, is AWESOME! She is so good at it. I didn't find out that she used to play volleyball in high school until after we left. She's quite athletic. She's just wonderful, I couldn't have asked for a better sister-in-law (sil). Now on to the pictures:
\
Maddie sleeping on the drive to the AF museum
Maddie, Tisha, Josiah, Tyler, Macie, Anna, Vernon, & Isaiah standing in front of the F-22 (the newest plane out by the AF---way cool)
Tisha, Maddie & me. Guess you can see my new haircut now!
Movie time--because I needed some downtime.

3 lovely ladies! Macie, Anna, & Maddie. This is our first time to meet Macie, she was born after we left OK. Isn't she precious? Well, aren't they all gorgeous?!?!?
Tisha & Macie!
Tisha, Macie, Anna, Maddie, & me (10lbs less, I might add!)
Vernon, Josiah, Tyler, & Isaiah. The younger boys showing off their, um, muscles.

Favorite/Least Favorite

Today I swam during Anna's swimming lessons and then Leia came over to play with Anna while my friend, Marie, came over to watch VEER ZAARA. She's the first brave soul to watch a bollywood movie with me here in OH. She really liked it! (naturally, it's the best)

Anna had t-ball tonight. When it was her turn to hit the ball she hit it directly into left field (she bats left-handed). One of the dads attending the practice told me that that was the best hit of the whole night. Then after she batted a few more times the assistant coach told the head coach to have Anna keep batting b/c she was giving the outfield some great hits to go after. My baby! (and the only girl on the team!)

My friend, Annie, posted this on her blog and it looked like fun:

Color(s):ORANGE!
Least fav color: pastel colors
Flower: Roses, I guess.
Least: the yucky bushes in my front garden...they have purple-ish blooms.
Scent: Calvin Klein's ETERNITY, White Diamonds perfume
Least: skunk
Favorite smells: cinnamon rolls baking
Least: Cigarette Smoke (nothing against the smoker, just the smell)
Sports: Racquetball, volleyball, softball, basketball
Least: Cheerleading
Games: Settlers of Catan (cities & knights expansion), Carcassonne, Hand & Foot, Spades, Scrabble
Least: Phase 10 - I like to have more strategy in games
Music: Bollywood music (mainly Shahrukh Khan), opera, IL DIVO, IZ
Least: Heavy Metal
Vacation Spots: Taiwan was fun, I am interested in a european trip--especially to England (Tyler's heritage) and Norway/Germany (my heritage)
Least: Don't go to Eureka Springs in january...
Hobbies: Singing, Piano, Scrapbooking, Hanging out with family, playing GAMES!!! (for hours on end...)
Movies: Veer Zaara, Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice (the long version), White Christmas, Easter Parade
Least: Yellow Earth
Favorite Actors: Shahrukh Khan, Colin Firth, Danny Kaye
Least: Jack Black
Favorite Actress: Preity Zinta, Julia Roberts
Least: Brittany Murphy, Madonna
T.V. Shows (when we used to watch): Seinfeld, FRASIER
Food: Chicken on a stick (yummy chinese food!), broccoli, my homemade granola
Least: Octopus, fuzzy meat, tuna cookies...wait, that was all during my Taiwan trip in 2004...
Dessert: Homemade vanilla ice cream, my strawberries & cream cake recipe...I like whipping cream, homemade tapioca pudding...pineapple upside-down cake
Least: I don't care for berries other than strawberries, and even them I don't like a whole lot--I like the strawberries & cream cake because it's a homemade white cake with whipped cream...the strawberries are there b/c other people like them and I think they're "pretty."
Favorite Candy: Twix, Kitkat
Least: I don't like nuts in candy bars (actually, I just don't like nuts period)
Favorite Fruit: Pineapple, Watermelon, Apples, Cantaloupe, Pears
Least: Grapefruit
Favorite Veggie: Steamed broccoli, peas, corn, beets, potatoes (but I'm not eating them now b/c I'm on the SBD)
Least: Asparagus
Fast food: Arbys, Braums (I miss you), BETO'S (in UT)
Least: McDonalds, Taco Bell (any cheap taco place)
Restaurants: Outback Steakhouse, Chinese Buffets, Chili's
Least: Frickers
Favorite Stores: Commissary, Hobby Lobby
Least: The Mall
Favorite Chore: vacuuming, folding laundry
Least: Bathrooms, sweeping/mopping
Favorite Animal: horse, giraffe
Least: Sharks
Favorite non-LDS modern-day historical figures: Helen Keller
Least: Bill Clinton
Favorite Books: Scriptures
Least: Romance
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
Least: Valentines Day...something always goes wrong on that day...

10 down

After my whole RKT fiasco on saturday, I was worried that my step on the scale would show either a 1/2 lb loss or even a gain. But, after my exercise regiment (because you must exercise before you step on the scale) I stepped on the scale and it showed a 3 1/2lb loss. Hmmm, I told Tyler that perhaps I should eat RKT every week! So that totals 10lbs down in 3 weeks. That's nothing to shake a stick at!

Today I taught Lea her voice lesson, then I went over to Jennifer's house and she gave me an awesome haircut. I don't have any pictures for you today--because we had our family pictures taken at JC PENNEY'S this evening and supposedly in a week they will be posted online, so I'll just send you the link then...I must say, I think I look really cute with this style. I had short hair all through college and Tyler actually prefers me with shorter hair, so I thought I'd appease him. There's nothing like a cute haircut that makes you feel cute, ya know?

After the family pictures we went to RITTER'S frozen custard. They had a sugar free vanilla custard and it was quite tasty! Now we're going to read scrippys and then tidy the house because Tyler's sister is coming to town on wednesday. COMPANY = YAY!

I could live a week on a good compliment...

Choir practice went pretty well--we now have a choir president! Hooray! So we have a choir president and 4 section leaders, what more could a choir director need? (besides more people attending, of course!) I sang Via Dolorosa last week and there's a man in my ward who really enjoyed it, in fact he wanted a recording of the song so I thought I'd email an attachment of it, but Tyler suggested just burning him a cd of all the songs I've recorded of myself singing, so I did that & Tyler gave him a copy at church. (hello run-on sentence!) He sent me an email regarding it and said such nice things:

Please don't apologize for the lack of an e-mail, the CD MORE than made up for the wait. We listened to it over dinner and it was superb. You are an incredible singer. I've heard other women with similar voices, but none can hold a candle. You have such control. I am not a musician, but I know quality when I hear it and you have quality.

I don't want to forget his compliments--especially when I doubt my singing ability, it will be nice to return to this post and re-read it.

How old?

You Are 18 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

$40 and 2 rice krispie treats

This morning I arose just before 7am to ready myself and then get the garage sale going. In OK the garage sales are typically on the weekends (fri/sat) and don't go later than about 2pm. (correct me if I'm wrong, fellow okies) But here in OH, the garage sale days are thurs/fri/sat and the major day of garage saleing is thurs--does that strike anyone else as odd? Anyhow, the times are different too. We had people coming to the garage sale up until 4pm. In the end we made $90. However, we spent $25 to list it in the paper + $16 to buy bottled water, bottled juice, & ingredients for rice krispie treats (I made 4 pans which equaled 48 BIG squares). So if you add that up, we spent $41 to simply have the garage sale so our total profit was $49. And I did let Anna keep the earnings from her toys which came the grand total of $1.50. She was thrilled, but less so when we explained tithing. She was insistent that she should get to keep all the money...any advice on teaching tithing to a 5-year-old??

I think that a lack of sleep leaves you prone to being more susceptible to temptation. The rice krispie treats (RKT) are good, don't get me wrong, but there are PLENTY of other treats that I would prefer over them. However, last night I went to be at 1am and I awoke at 7am. Yes, I know that you are wondering how I managed to get up after only 6 hours of sleep since I have sleep apnea (or did, or don't, or may still have it). I typically need about 9 hours to feel good. So, after 6 hours of sleep, my guard was a bit down on the diet and those RKT looked tasty...and somehow I convinced myself that sugar was what I was needing to feel more alert. So I ate one and felt terrible about it...my first real succumbmation (a word that should be added to websters) on the SBD, and later on in the day I had another one. The funny thing is--they didn't taste as good as I remember them tasting. Bottom line: I am 100% dedicated to this diet and even though I slipped a little today, I am still headed towards my goal weight. My goal weight reduction for the first month is 7lbs. In 2 weeks I have lost 6 1/2lbs, so I'm almost there...I just hope the RKT won't set me back too much.

Garage Sale Eve

So tomorrow is our garage sale. Guess what I've been doing today? Garage sale STUFF. Hopefully it will all be worth it tomorrow...

Doing things the hard way

So I wanted a cell phone that I could connect to my computer so I could download songs onto the cell phone to use as ringtones. Should be easy enough, right? Well, not for me. I somehow got it in my head that the term "bluetooth" meant that I could do the aforementioned action. Not so. Apparently "bluetooth" means you can do things wirelessly, like those star trek looking people with the "phone" in their ear that magically answers the phone when it rings...anyhow, my cell phone has a few quirks. It will switch ringtones from one person to another (shouldn't be a big deal, but it drives me nuts) among a few other unimportant things, but I felt it was enough to buy a new phone. I didn't want to extend my contract with tmobile for another 2 years, so I thought--why not buy it on eBay? Sure, why not. This was error #2. I bought a t619. It looked nice but the inside screen had over 50 scratches. I know. I counted them, well I stopped counting after 50...and there was static on the line when I called people + it showed that I was out of reception when I shouldn't have been. All-in-all: it didn't do what I thought it would do (b/c I didn't understand what "bluetooth" was) and the phone itself had problems. So, now I just decided to return the phone and keep my original phone. I should have just listened to my husband, he advised me that my phone was fine & I didn't need another one. He's right. I'm wrong. He's good. I'm bad. (little dialogue that we use to make admitting we were wrong easier...)

Anna had her swimming lessons, Leia also has lessons, here are 2 photos from today:

They are so cute! After the sw, Anna & I went with Nicole, et al, to a metro park (outdoor water park that's free to the public). We took sack lunches and the kids played. The weather was PERFECT! A great day to be outside. While we were there, I received a phone call from the director of graduate studies. He informed me that I would have to complete an undergraduate degree in music before moving on to a masters in music. So, hopefully my classes that I took at OSU will transfer here (especially my gen eds) so I can just focus on music and not have to endure (strive to pass) another biology class. Let's hope. So, now I have an audition to look forward to on August 31st. I need to get ready--I haven't had voice lessons since 1998. (it's been a little while...) So I'll need to try extra hard to prepare for the audition. I really want to "WOW" them, ya know? I'm thinking about singing O Divine Redeemer (sacred songs are allowed) and Pieta Signore (you have to have one foreign piece). I'm very excited to get back into music. I feel that the undergraduate degree will be very good for me. I've decided that this degree is for ME and no one else. So what that I already have an undergraduate degree--I want this one. :)

After the water park, I picked up Leia and she came over to play while I was messing with my phone and trying to figure out what I was doing with it...tonight we had volleyball at the church. I LOVE VOLLEYBALL. I feel like I'm pretty good at it, too. I'm not a star or anything, but I feel that I hit the ball where it should go about 85% of the time. It's a great workout for me. It's a major highlight in my week. I feel my confidence is higher while playing now versus when I played in YW growing up...I felt such pressure to perform/play the game well. Now I realize that I am good at playing and I greatly enjoy it. VB is good for me.

Worth my weight in gold?

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This morning after swimming lessons Anna went over to play at Bryant's house--she's been looking forward to it all week! Whenever we go over there, Anna will ask me if I'm going to talk with Sis. Redd, because--she explains--if we're talking then that means she can play longer. Too cute.

I met with a music professor at the college I'm interested in attending. After about 5 minutes into the conversation, we realized that everything she was telling me could have been conducted over the phone. Bottom line: I need to talk with the director of graduate studies in music. So she gave me his information and unfortunately he wasn't in his office while I was there--otherwise I could've actually made the trip there productive. So I left him a message and the world will know once I've heard back from him, or at least those of you who read this blog. (My blog is my world, right?)

We bought some italian green beans and some jalapenos to plant where the spinach was. I'm hoping to make some salsa with all the tomatoes that are growing. (YUM! YUM!) So, the garage sale is coming up--makes for a messy house, but it will all be worth it afterwards...right??

Deodorant

So I'm trying to build up my year's supply for our family. As you probably know, you shouldn't just have a one year's supply of food---but a year's supply of all that you need, including fuel, toiletries, etc. I think we now have a 3-4 year's supply of toothpaste, but are lacking the deodorant department. I do not use anti-perspirant. I think that if I'm sweating under my arms that my body was meant to do that. However, I do think that deodorant is fine to use. I have read that anti-perspirant/deodorant combos include aluminum in them. I have also read that lumps found in the breast (sometimes leading to cancer...) have aluminum inside them. So, I determined that I would avoid anti-perspirants all together. So, I just use deodorant. Wal-mart, in the past, has carried a brand name entitled "SIMPLY BASIC," and it sells deodorant without the anti-perspirant stuff. It's cheap and it WORKS. But guess what? They no longer sell it. At least not at my friendly neighborhood wal-mart. Every single deodorant for women had the anti-perspirant in it. I know. I checked them all. Then I looked at the mens deodorant and guess what? They have several just deodorants for sale. (If they didn't smell like cologne, I'd buy them!) So, my question in all of this, actually I have 2 questions: Why did wal-mart stop selling the ONLY deodorant that I will use AND why do women want anti-perspirants? It stinks.

So today I swam laps while Anna had her SW. Sarah swam as well and then we all swam after the lessons. It was fun until a storm blew in & we had to get out. We went to the mat room & the tunnels before heading home. I did some laundry, deep cleaning in the kitchen, and organizing for the garage sale. I'm getting rid of all of Anna's clothes from newborn-5T. Some are really really cute. (Of course I am keeping her blessing dress...some things just go without saying). I can't believe how much clothes we have! And shoes! I filled a whole basket of them...I hope that the garage salers will be out this saturday, and coming to my house.

Progress

Anna has swimming lesson when Leia has them. It works out great--I can chat with Sarah while the girls swim. Then the kids go in the nursery and we hit the fitness room. I weighed 323 1/2 lbs. That means (for all of you who don't keep constant tabs on my weight) I lost another 2 lbs on the SBD. The first week I lost 4 1/2 lbs and so my total weight loss for 2 weeks is: 6 1/2 lbs. YAY = progress. The diet is going surprisingly well. Tonight we had chicken fajitas for dinner and I used a large lettuce leaf instead of a tortilla. It was really good! All in all, food doesn't hold the same importance in my life that it used to--in fact, I spend very little time in the kitchen...which explains why the dishes are piled up in the kitchen...

We went to wal-mart to get Anna a new swimsuit. You may be wondering why we would need a new swimsuit when the summer is already half over. Well, Anna has been swimming so much that she now has a hole in her swimsuit. Yeah. So now we have an Ariel Princess swimsuit for my princess-obsessed daughter. Hey, she's happy = I'm happy.

I taught a lesson to Lea today, then made granola. We decided that we're not going to buy any more cereal from the store--I'm going to make granola. It really is a good recipe. It's from that ancient LDS wheat cookbook that was most likely made in SLC, UT or some very mormony location. It's chock full of good wholesome wheat recipes, including a pudding recipe that sounds terrible---can you imagine eating pudding with wheat flour in it? YUCK! But the granola recipe--it's good.

For FHE we talked about the pioneers and then for the "activity" we found space in our 1400 sq foot home for 14 boxes of food that we canned at the cannery last week. We found space for it all, but we're wondering where we'll put the next load from the cannery next month. Hm.

We decided we're doing a garage sale this saturday. It's amazing how much STUFF you can acquire in your home! I decided to go ahead and sell all of Anna's clothes from newborn to 5T. We don't need them and it will quench my need for getting rid of those things we aren't using right now. Plus we have a stroller, child's gate, and TOYS that Anna wants to sell. Someone asked me if I'm going to give the money from Anna's toys to her...is that how it works? Help me out people.

Catching up...

Yesterday I practiced with Deena at the church, then went to Anna's softball game. She did really well! I felt such pressure her first time to bat--I was worried about how well she'd do. For some reason I think it's really cool that she bats left-handed, especially since she's right-handed in every other way. Neat, eh? And she did a great job! We met the Neels at China Garden for lunch and then spent the rest of the day at their house (almost 11 hours total) playing games and hanging out. Their house is so relaxing and inviting--we all had a great time and consequently, got to bed waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay late.

This morning we started practicing From Cumorah's Hill (FCH) and it went really well! It's definitely more challenging than other things we've done thus far, but it will be so worth it! I sang Via Dolorosa and it went well---I sang from memory. For some reason I doubt whether or not I can remember the words, but I wanted to prove to myself that I did know the words so I didn't take up any music and it went just fine. *whew*

We came home & I made chicken parmigiana for dinner--almost completely SBD worthy, but not quite, but very close. How's my diet going? Well, thanks for asking: it's going so well. It's been 2 weeks and I feel great! I'm eager to see my weight loss tomorrow!!! I will keep you posted!

Unique Duet

It's all my fault

Tonights conversation went this way...

"It's all my fault, Mama."
"What's all your fault, Anna?"
"Mama?"
"Yes?"
"What does fault mean?"

Classic.

This morning I rose and Anna & I did various things around the house. I did laundry, dishes, tidied my room, tidied the ever-needing-to-be-tidied C2 room, etc. Tyler came home and after dinner he took Anna outside to swim, where they are now. It's nice to have silence right now, besides my classical musical playing on the computer...

Well, I am considering the idea of going back to school. Don't fall out of your seats, people. Yes I realize that I graduated last year with my degree and shouted hooray because I was DONE. I graduated from Oklahoma State University with a liberal arts degree focusing in history and religion. While they are very fascinating subjects, they are not what I wanted a degree in. I've always wanted a music degree, in fact I started out as a music major. I completed 2 years of a music degree, passed the sophmore boards (an exam of performing 5-7 pieces of music), but decided that I didn't want to teach music education in the schools and I was afraid that if I didn't marry that I would have to do that unless I switched to another degree. So I switched to spanish and stayed in that until I got sleep apnea & gallstones--at the same time. I went home to recover, and then my stepdad died. Hence began my time away from school...until I returned in the fall of 2000. Tyler & I married in January 2001 and we both began taking classes...until we learned I was pregnant, so I withdrew because of morning sickness. I did eventually go back to school and wanted to do music but it had been so many years since I took music and I didn't want to retake or audit those classes so I asked my advisor: "Which degree can I get in the shortest amount of time??" Liberal arts was the answer--my music classes applied towards it as well.

LONG STORY SHORT: I want a music degree. I went back & forth on either getting another undergraduate degree in music or getting a masters in music. For the moment, I am looking to get a masters in music--if possible--I'm worried because I don't have an undergraduate degree in music (If I did, I wouldn't even be pursuing the masters) so I don't know how it will all work out. Anna will be going to school full-time this fall (all day kindergarten) and I will have more time on my hands....so this seems like the perfect time to pursue more schooling since I'm taking a break from fertility as well. So, please keep me in your prayers--I hope to be accepted in the music graduate program at a nearby college---the professor that I need to speak with is currently out of town, so I am eagerly awaiting her return so we can discuss options. We shall see.

The whole idea of obtaining a masters is intimidating. I've told myself so many times that I just wasn't meant for college, which really isn't true. My self esteem is low in that area, perhaps because I'm married to an ideal student? I don't know, but I want to improve my self esteem. Any ideas how?

I will sleep well tonight...

This morning I went to practice some music with my good friend-she's amazing on the piano. (How do you do it??) Then I went to the Y to exercise, hurried home, showered both Anna & myself, got ready, grabbed lunch for the car, then cleaned out the car---more like zooming through the car and removing everything with no intention of ever going through the bags of stuff I found therein---raced (not literally) to meet Tyler and we drove to the cannery. We canned for about 3 hours. We canned white wheat, powdered milk, quick oats and rolled oats. It was really fun and Anna enjoyed her task of putting the little oxygen packet in each can or pouch. We dropped Tyler off at school and drove home to tidy up the guest room, then we hurried out the door for volleyball at the church. It was so FUN. I love playing volleyball because you don't have to be good to do it! I came home and my friend Angela brought over her grandparents. I guess they're staying here for about a week during their family reunion. They are pretty old and struggle to go up & down stairs and we have a guest room on the 1st floor plus a full bathroom. So, now I'm tired...and ready for bed...

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Happy Independence Day!

This morning we went to the ward pancake breakfast. They had eggs, sausage, & bacon as well---which I could eat, however the eggs were a little spongy...but I'm a food snob and I really only like eggs the way that I make them. Just ask my sweet husband. ;)

After the social we went over the Jessica's house to spend some time. I think it's because Tyler wanted to ride Barry's unicycle. They are so funny riding unicycles and wanting to juggle at the same time. We had a change of plans for the afternoon--Kelli called and said her kids were really sick so they cancelled coming over. We called Barry & Jessica and they came over with their kids. We had a super time! Check out the pictures:

The kids eating lunch in the backyard. They had a great time and it was less messy to clean up!

Tyler playing badminton with Barry---Anna is helping her daddy pick up the birdie...such a good helper...

Anna & Brenna playing with sparklers.

SUCH FUN!
I have two!
Jessica & her little newborn!

We played badminton, croquet (Tyler bought a set today), ate lunch, talked, did fireworks...then we went to a neaby town to watch fireworks. Just as they began it was pouring rain! We picked up our chairs and relocated to under a big tree. Soon it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing, so we went back to the car soaking wet! It was funny, I found myself laughing--I can't remember the last time I was caught in a downpour! It was definitely memorable! How was your 4th of July?

"That shouldn't hurt"

I went to the dentist this morning. Yes, I realize that I've gone 3 times in the past 4 weeks. Oh joy of joys. I had 7 cavities when I went in a month ago, 1 cavity for each year I didn't have dental insurance. ha ha! The dentist is really nice and the previous dental assistants were nice as well...except for the one I had this morning. She wasn't so great. Whenever I can feel pain while they're drilling my body just shivers to let me know it doesn't feel good. So she was drilling and I shivered, to which she replied "Oh, that shouldn't hurt." Oh really? Would you like to trade places with me? It hurts, believe me.

The whole dentist experience must have worn me out because I took an hour & a half nap this afternoon--something I don't really do, take naps. Today was kind of a blur. I didn't accomplish much and I couldn't seem to focus on anything, really. I took Anna to her tee ball practice. She did so well! She hit the ball 3 times and was able to stop the ball out in the field. And she was one of the few kids who knew where first, second, & third base were. (kind of important)

We hit walmart on the way home for some last minute fourth of july shopping--we're having a family over who just moved here, the husband is in Tyler's branch office area. They (Nick & Kelli) seem very nice and have a daughter (Madeline) Anna's age = perfect.

The Harvest

So, we planted 8 sugar snap pea seeds and watched in amazement as they grew...and grew....and grew. Finally it was time to "harvest" the pea pods. Tyler & Anna plucked all the peas out and this is what we came up with...

40 peas. Every time I look at them, I laugh. It's a good thing our lives weren't staked on how many peas we could grow...we'd be starving! Still, they were fun to grow. However, I may rethink the idea of planting the same kind next year...

Well, I know you're curious as to how my first weigh-in went, so here it is: I lost 4 1/2 pounds my first week on the SBD. Isn't that great? I was actually hoping for more, but I'm definitely pleased with it. I may have to rewrite my goal to lose 7 pounds in the first month! So, that's good news, eh?

I went to the commissary to buy some more SBD worthy foods. I loaded up on steak, pretty ironic since I'm not a steak person, but hopefully I will become more accustomed to it. We had a nice FHE lesson on music that the Pioneers used. One story was about a group of Saints that were singing Come, Come Ye Saints before they retired for bed. A group of angry Native Americans heard the song and decided not to attack the Pioneers but went home. The chief of that tribe actually played that song every night because he said he felt the Great Spirit was nearby when he did. Neat, huh?

The Natural Man

In the past, whenever I read about "the natural man" in the scriptures, I didn't think it necessarily applied to me--at least, I couldn't think of any way it did. Well, I now realize that my eating habits were definitely in the category of natural man. It was like an addiction (and in my mind it still is). All I thought about was food, when the next meal was, what it was going to be, what dessert I could make...and it made me happy. In my mind food = happiness. One day I realized that this wasn't good. I valued food above the scriptures, above most-if not above all things. I think that I have been feeding some emotional wounds with food my whole life. I think I'm finally ready to heal the wounds and walk away from my love affair with food--at least in the way that I used to eat. No more days where all I practically ate was sweets, no more 2nd helpings when I certainly didn't need them, no more obsession about what meal was next. I want it all to just go away and I want to start over. My weight has been a life-long trial and I think I'm finally able to overcome it. I am asking you all to please support me in this. Your words of encouragement are so helpful.